DISCLAIMER: HG characters do not belong to me.

Chapter 83-The Party II

Katniss had found out from Gale that Rory could not make it this weekend to Posy's party because he was currently saving money to move to a larger apartment. He promised however that he would visit District 2 at the beginning of winter for that is was the start of the slow season for fisherman in District 4.

Gale had told Katniss on the train ride that he wondered if Rory had a girlfriend and if that was the reason he wanted to move into a bigger apartment.

Katniss felt guilty for thinking it, but she was glad Rory wasn't at the Hawthorne's, for Posy party was tense from the start. Adding Rory to the mix would have made it even worse for her. She and Gale had arrived before everyone else but Katniss sensed Gale's uneasiness about Dez coming and bringing her new boyfriend with her. Shortly after arriving however he started acting more like his usual self when he and Posy sat down the couch, the two of them in deep conversation.

Katniss, feeling out of her element because she had not seen Hazelle or Posy since before she left for District 9, decided to talk to the one person she felt the most comfortable with-Vick. She stood with Vick by the kitchen island while Hazelle was finishing up Posy's cake.

She found out Vick's pilot training was going well, and that he had three years left in District 13. He and Layla continued their long distance relationship and the two of them saw each other about every three months for a long weekend.

Layla arrived a half an hour later, Vick giving her a big hug and kiss with Katniss realizing this was the first time she had seen Vick openly show affection with her in front of everyone.

When the doorbell rang shortly after Layla's arrival, Posy bolted off the couch and ran to the foyer to answer. Hazelle asks Katniss to help her with getting the food out of the refrigerator and she happily obliges, wanting to keep busy in case it was Dez at the door. Luckily for Katniss, it was Posy's friends; bringing six teenage girls into the living room. Some of them immediately start giggling while glancing at Vick and Gale.

Katniss watches as Gale comes over to her, Vick, and Layla and starts making conversation; at one point Katniss feels relief when he puts his arm around her shoulder while exchanging laughter with Vick. Finally acting like she was his girlfriend and not some stranger.

However that all changed once Dez arrived with her new boyfriend in tow almost an hour later.

Posy embraces Dez and Katniss looks on as Posy says to Dez "You made it."

"Of course; I wouldn't miss this important day of yours" Dez says sweetly handing Posy her card and present. Posy putting it with the rest of the gifts by the dining room table.

Dez greets Hazelle before finally glancing over at Katniss, Gale, Vick, and Layla.

"Hi Dez" Vick says in his usual friendly tone. Katniss looks over and sees Dez's boyfriend standing off to the side, looking very uncomfortable.

"Hey Vick" Dez says cheerily walking over then says in a more forced tone, "Gale" nodding her head at him.

"Dez" Gale says back blankly.

"Hey Layla" Dez says to her and Layla greets Dez back in response. Dez openly ignoring Katniss.

Dez then beckons her boyfriend over and says, "This is Atticus" wrapping her arm around him possessively.

Atticus looking even more uneasy than before, greets everyone and shakes Gale, Vick, Layla, and Katniss's hand despite Dez giving him the side eye when he does. Dez then quickly ushers him over to Posy and her friends on the couch. Shortly after Hazelle tells everyone food was ready to be served.

Katniss sits with Gale, Vick, Layla, and Hazelle at the dining room table while Posy and her friends continue to chat away in the living room. Dez and Atticus sit over by the kitchen island. Katniss notices Dez picking at her food as usual.

She also notices Gale glancing over at Dez and Atticus frequently, unable to gauge what he is thinking. She sees Dez continuing to flirt with Atticus whenever she catches Gale's glances, giving him quick kisses whenever she can.

It did not go unnoticed by Katniss that Hazelle had barely said more than two words to Dez the entire time. She wonders if Hazelle does not approve of Dez bringing Atticus into her home, knowing that Dez had many female friends she could have brought instead.

When it is time for cake, Kantiss quickly gets up and helps Hazelle put the candles on. Hazelle giving Katniss an appreciative look while she helps her. The cake has the words "Happy Birthday Posy" with red and pink flowers on it. Katniss places fourteen candles on the cake and lights them.

Everyone gathers around the table while Posy blows out the candles and opens her gifts. Vick and Layla get her a large sketchbook with design patterns, Dez gets her a gift card to the Rosewood Café, and her friends get her jewelry and clothes. Gale, Hazelle, and it is later explained Rory all go in on a gift and get her a surprise trip to District 8 next week. Hazelle explaining to Posy that the two of them will be taking the train and seeing the sights of the District which included tours of the factories and design centers. The factories still manufactured and produced clothes, but the conditions were ten times better now and residents can take guided tours which helped with tourism for the District. Due to District 8 being so far away, they will be gone for the next week.

Finally, it was time for Posy to open Katniss's gift. Katniss feeling like her gift was inferior to the gift Hazelle, Gale, and Rory got her, but was pleased to see Posy get a joyous look on her face after she opens Katniss's gift. Katniss getting Posy a gift card to RAVE with an invitation for Posy to visit RAVE's main headquarters in the Capitol. Katniss owes Effie for the favor, she had gotten Effie's number from Haymitch and called her asking her if RAVE did tours. Effie telling Katniss that she could arrange one for Posy free of charge.

Posy gets up and walks over to Katniss giving her hug, telling her the gift was wonderful.

"I know you've mentioned you like shopping there" Katniss says pulling away from Posy's embrace.

"Yeah though I don't get to shop there often. Now I can. You should come with me."

Katniss gives Posy a smile, letting her know silently that she would enjoy that. For it was the first time Posy has suggested the two of them spend time together since Katniss stayed with the Hawthorne's.

Hazelle begins cleaning up after everyone finishes their cake, Gale and Vick getting up to help. Katniss talking with Layla, overhears Posy's friends tell Dez how much they like her hair for Dez currently had pink highlights in it. Dez relishing the attention she was getting, informed Posy's friends she could put pink highlights in their hair if they wished. Some of them taking her up on the offer.

Dez then heads outside to the back porch with Atticus. Once everything is cleaned up and everyone is sitting at the table talking, Katniss sees Dez come back inside to use the downstairs bathroom. She sees Gale quickly get up and walk over to the door of the bathroom, waiting for Dez to come out. Once she does she sees Gale and Dez head towards the main door, and then hears the door close behind them. She wonders what they are talking about while listening to Vick tell stories of dorm life in District 13.


When Dez emerges from the bathroom, she is caught off guard to see Gale standing there, waiting for her.

"Gale" she says uneasily.

"Can we talk?"

"Uh-okay" and Dez follows him as he begins walking towards the front door. He escorts her outside and they stand on the front step once he closes the door.

"What do you want to talk about?" she says crossing her arms in front of her.

"Is that the guy?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Is that the guy you fucked in my apartment?" Gale asks in a very pointed tone.

"How did you…."

"I saw a condom wrapper on the floor in my spare bedroom."

"Doesn't mean it was me."

"So you let your friends use my spare bedroom to fuck? My apartment is not a hotel."

"So what if was me?" she says defiantly. "We are not together anymore, that was your decision, not mine."

"I told you it was okay to have a few friends over. I didn't say it was okay to bring guys over and screw them."

"He's my boyfriend."

"He is your boy toy for the month."

"Jealous much?"

Gale is taken aback, not prepared for Dez to throw his jealousy in his face.

"What you did was beyond disrespectful."

"It was the spare room, not our old room. You know I would never do that."

He knows she is telling the truth, she would never have sex with another man in the bed they once shared.

"I worry about you."

He sees her face start to perk up, no longer looking hostile. "You do?" she says hoping he will say to her what she has been longing for since he ended their engagement. That he misses her and wants to get back together.

"Yes. And I still care about you. Are you still seeing Genevieve Higgins?"

"Yes."

"You are not gaining weight."

"Considering the fact that I was supposed to be married two months ago are you surprised?" she says her anger rising.

"Don't think I don't feel an immense sense of guilt over that."

"Not enough guilt obviously."

"There's something you need to know. Katniss is….staying with me this week."

"In the spare room right?"

"No."

He sees her look of hostility turn into a look of heartbreak.

"And yet you say what I did was disrespectful" she says blinking back tears.

Just then the door opens and Atticus appears and says, "There you are" eyeing her and Gale suspiciously.

Dez forces a fake smile on her face and says, "Let's go say goodbye to Posy" and grabs his hand heading back inside.

When Gale follows after and heads into the kitchen, he sees Katniss look at him questioningly. He gives her a look back that says he will explain later.

Katniss can tell Dez is upset by her body language. She watches as Dez hugs Posy goodbye and tells her she will call her in a few weeks for the two of them to go to lunch. Posy oblivious to Dez's change in demeanor happily tells her goodbye.

She watches as Dez leaves hanging on Atticus's arm, not even saying goodbye to Hazelle or Vick.

Before Katniss and Gale leave, Vick tells Gale he will be in town until Tuesday morning and asks if Gale will come over for dinner tomorrow night. Gale quickly taking Vick up on the invitation saying he will be there.

"Will you be here tomorrow Katniss?" Vick asks.

"Uh-I'm not sure." Katniss says not knowing how to respond for she didn't want to just invite herself over.

"I wasn't planning on going, I thought I'd let Vick hang out with his family just him and them. Do you want to grab some dinner with me instead?" Layla asks Katniss.

Katniss thankful for the kind offer accepts, agreeing that since Vick is hardly ever in town that Gale should spend the evening with just his siblings and Mother.

Katniss and Layla agree to meet at a restaurant close to Gale's apartment at 6 pm tomorrow.


On the train ride back, Katniss turns to Gale and says, "Out with it."

"Out with what?"

"Come on Gale. I saw you staring at Dez and Atticus practically the entire time we were there. And everyone saw the two of you go outside to talk. Everyone but Atticus that is."

"Were you the one who told him where Dez was?"

"No, your Mother did."

"I just wanted to ask her how she was doing."

"You told her I am sleeping in your bedroom didn't you?"

"Yes."

"She looked upset when she came back inside. Does this mean I am to sleep in the spare room tonight?"

"That might be best."

"Whatever Gale" Katniss says in an annoyed tone and they sit in silence for the remainder of the ride.


That night after taking a shower Katniss heads straight for the spare bedroom, moving her stuff from Gale's room earlier. While she's relieved that today was over, she was sad that she and Gale were not speaking to each other. Dez yet again the reason for their spat.

She cannot sleep and stares at her dreamcatcher hanging in the window. She leans up and turns on the light to do a bit of reading. Once she feels her eyes start to get heavy, she turns off the light and falls asleep.

She is awakened by sudden movement in her bed. She looks over and sees Gale squeezing into the bed beside her. This bed much smaller than the one in his room.

"Where's Harper?" Katniss asks in an unfriendly tone.

"Sleeping on my bed."

"Why are you here?"

"To apologize."

"You still love her."

"I can't just turn those feelings off."

"You got jealous seeing the two of them."

"I did."

She doesn't respond. When he reaches for her she brushes off his advances and turns her back towards him.

"Just because I got jealous doesn't mean I love you any less."

"Then why I am sleeping in here then?" she says refusing to turn around and look at him.

"You were okay with sleeping in here when you first got here."

"That was before you decided Dez's feelings are more important than mine."

"Come on Katniss. If Peeta was no longer living in the Victor's Village, would you have me sleep in the room you shared with him?" This time Gale's voice showing his annoyance.

"That's different, that was our home."

"This was our home too Katniss. For years it was my apartment yes, but, it became our place."

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because I don't know where you will end up."

"What are you saying?"

"Once you got a job I planned to ask you to move in with me, wherever that ended up being."

She turns around and looks at him. "I thought you said you wouldn't leave District 2."

"I am not leaving my job. And I would prefer you find a job in 2. But if no one in this District will hire you I am willing to leave. If they don't want you here, then I don't want to be here. I will figure out a way to commute to 2 if I have to."

She leans in and hugs him. "Thank you" she says softly.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Dez. In time it will get easier, for all of us."

"You miss her."

"I do."

She looks away from him, her insecurity rising. Sensing her thoughts he says, "I missed you more than anything when I first got to District 2. One thing I learned, is that time heals all wounds. I will miss her less and less. And she'll find another guy to love. She already has a new boyfriend."

"I think she is using him to make you jealous."

"Even if she is, if I leave here I will most likely only see her at Posy's parties. If they remain friends."

"I think Posy would like to."

"Dez would be the one who ends the friendship. I just don't want to see Posy hurt."

"So you stopped missing me?" Katniss asks curious to know the answer.

"I missed you less, I never stopped missing you."

"I missed you too, though when I realized I did I just forced myself to hate you."

He moves on top of her and begins kissing her. She wraps her arms around him and pulls him closer to her. After a few moments he leans up and says, "So does this mean you will move in with me?" grinning at her.

"What do you think?" she says as she bring his lips back down to hers.


The rest of the week goes by quickly for Katniss. On Monday she had dinner with Layla while Gale visited with Vick, Posy, and Hazelle. Katniss who was always cordial with Layla, enjoyed getting to know her better. One of the things she learns is that Layla's family was not from District 2. That her family had relocated to District 2 after the war. She learns that Layla's family was from District 8 and that they left after the war to start fresh in another District. While Layla's parents were both alive along with her siblings, almost all of her extended family including Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins died in the bombings during the war and during the uprising prior to the rebellion starting. Being extremely close to her extended family, it was devastating to lose them and her parents were more than eager to leave once they were able to. She says her parents picked District 2 due to the availability of construction jobs during the rebuilding process. She tells Katniss one of the things that attracted her to Vick was the fact that he too was an outsider at school, for most if not all of the kids in their class were from the District.

On Tuesday Katniss had an interview at a small village right outside the downtown area. She thought the interview went okay and was unable to tell if the interviewers liked her or not. On Wednesday she took a train into the Capitol to see a doctor recommended by her Mother about her scars. The doctor tells her he can easily remove the scars, but that the procedure wasn't cheap. Due to it being an elective procedure, she did not qualify for any government assistance. She arranges to come in on September 9 agreeing to the terms that she was to bring a third of the money with her to the appointment, knowing she would have to accept Gale's help in order to come up with the money. On Thursday she had two final interviews, for the one job she applied to within the downtown area didn't contact her for an interview which was of little surprise to her.

Both interviews were for schools in very small villages, the first interview in a village that was an hour away from Gale's apartment. She didn't get a good feeling once the interview ended and tried to forget about it while in route to her other interview, a village called Silver Lake. When she arrived she was in awe of the village's beauty. Surrounded completely by the mountains and trees, most of the houses were spread out and she sees a large lake in the center of the town.

She cannot tell what the interviewers thought of her, but they explain that they are currently looking for four teachers in their elementary school. She feels the odds of getting hired might be in her favor, for one of the interviewers mentioned that for the four positions available they only had three applicants who applied. Katniss knows most likely distance is the main reason, for the train ride back took an hour and a half.

When she arrived back at Gale's apartment that evening she is greeted by her Mother. Her Mother coming to 2 for tomorrow was Friday and Katniss's graduation ceremony from PES. The three of them have dinner together and Katniss talks about the interviews and her chances of getting an offer from Silver Lake.

"Silver Lake is a beautiful village, very small." Gale says.

"I guess they had a few teachers who retired."

"That's good for you" Mrs. Everdeen pipes in, trying to help make Katniss feel more confident about her chances of getting hired.

That night, while lying in Gale's bed for her Mother was in his spare room, Katniss asks Gale what he thought about moving to Silver Lake.

"Well, it would be a three hour commute to and from work, but the village is surrounded by woods which would be perfect for us and Harper."

"So you would be okay with moving there then?"

"As long as I'm with you."

She hugs him in response and gives him a quick kiss before laying back down to sleep, wrapping her arm around his chest for she had a big day ahead of her tomorrow.