Hello everyone! Sorry it's been a while. Things have been super busy for me but I finally found a chance to write another chapter. Hopefully I didn't lose too many followers over the months that I've been away. I'll try my best to update regularly. Enjoy!
P.S. Option 2 won the "vote" for the opening scene. Hope you like it.
Chapter 9
I wake feeling disoriented and unaware of my surroundings. Everything is blurry coming softly into focus. I feel a cool washcloth being swiped across my forehead in a repeated motion. As the seconds pass, I realize that I'm not in my room safe in the woods but instead back in my room I shared with my brothers in District 12. I then turn my attention to the person taking care of me and realize it's her. It's Katniss.
"Catnip." I croak out, my throat scratchy. My pet name for her is enough to bring her out of her daze.
"Gale." she cries out, collapsing on top of me with her face buried in the side of my neck. "You're…I didn't think you would…" she trails off.
"Is this real Katniss?" I mutter still unsure of what I'm doing here. It's impossible to be here, in a house that no longer exists.
"Yes. It's real." she says sitting up and wiping the tears from her eyes.
"What year is it?" I ask her, causing a baffled look to appear on her face. She tells me the year and feels my face, possibly checking for fever. I've gone five years back into my past. I am 18 again. She stands from the bed and I reach out for her to prevent her from leaving. Not a minute passes before my mother is by my side.
"Mom." I say with a long exhale. I'm a little alarmed when I don't see Katniss reappear. I spring up in a panic. "Mom, where's Katniss?"
"She's warming some soup for you. Relax, dear." she says easing me back towards my pillow.
"I'm wet." I say as I discover the layer of sweat covering my body.
"That's good; means your fever is breaking." she responds.
"Fever?" I ask, still confused.
"You've been sick, Gale, very ill. Barely conscious the past few days. You've had that girl worried sick about you."
"How?" I ask. Never have I ever known Katniss to be that distressed over me.
"She cares about you a lot. She's stopped by after school every day to check on you and has stayed with you even longer on the weekend."
"What about the hunting?" I ask in a low voice.
"She's done that too. That girl is quite remarkable."
"Yeah." I agree with her. I feel my body shiver profusely, indicating that the fever is fleeing.
"Let's get you into a fresh set of clothes." my mother says before helping me sit up. I unsuccessfully try to remove my shirt, barely able to move my arms over my head. My mother helps me and discards the soaked shirt onto the floor.
"Can't I get washed up first?" I ask, still uncomfortable with the amount of sweat covering me.
"I don't think you can make it to the wash tub." my mother says.
"No here, just wipe me down." I suggest. She leaves and Katniss returns a few minutes later with a basin of warm soapy water and a small cloth. She helps me out of bed to a chair placed close by.
"Where's my mom?" I ask her.
"Posy's having a meltdown. I couldn't get her to calm down so she sent me in here instead."
"Katniss you don't have to."
"No, it's fine." she tells me. She removes the washcloth from the bowl and starts with each arm. She then moves to my chest and makes her way down my abdomen. Her face tenses as she reaches the edge of my pants.
"I'll do the rest." I murmur to her. I know how awkward nudity makes her. The last thing I want is to make her uncomfortable.
"Let me get your back first." she says tilting me forward so my head is resting against her stomach. She gently moves the cloth across the back on me, pausing once to dip the cloth into the water once again. When she's finished, she rests my back against the chair. She pulls a fresh set of clothes and places them on the bed beside me.
"Katniss, I think I might need help with my pants." I tell her with embarrassment that I'm too weak to do this otherwise simple task. She nods and kneels in front of me, working on the button to my pants. My mind starts to go to a dirty place before I quickly force myself to snap out of this. How dare me think that? Here is my best friend, trying to help me and all I can think of is what I'd want her to do to me in the position she is currently in. Once she's unzipped my zipper, she stands and places her face in front of mine.
"You're going to have to lift yourself a little bit." she responds as her hands take hold of my pants and underwear. I brace the edge of the chair and pull myself up enough for her to bring my pants to my knees. She quite cleverly then uses her foot to slide my pants down my shins until they are free from my body. She hands me the washcloth and then walks to the corner of the room. I work carefully, making sure I don't fall out of the chair or anything. Getting dressed presents another challenge. I can barely get my shirt over my head. My eyes tear up in frustration. What's wrong with me? Why am I this weak? I need help but there is no way I'm going to let her do it.
"Katniss get my mom." I choke out. While she is away, I persist on trying to cloth myself. I work on my underwear and find my arms work a little better than they did when they putting on the shirt. My mom enters the room, just as I reach for the pants. She takes over for me, guiding my arms through the sleeves of my shirt and then helping me with the pants. I sit in the chair as I watch her strip my bed and replace them with the only extra set of sheets we own. She then helps me back into bed, positioning me with my back resting against a pillow against the wall. I'm not sure why she's doing this. All I want to do is sleep.
A calm washes over me when I see Katniss return holding a bowl with both hands. My mother mentions something about checking on Posy and closes the door behind her. Katniss slowly edges herself closer to me, being careful to avoid any spills. She holds the bowl just below my mouth and lifts a spoon to feed me. I want to ask her what happened to me but she continues to lift the spoon to my mouth before I can get a word in. The fear hasn't left her eyes…not yet. On perhaps the 10th spoonful, I purse my lips together. She jams the spoon between my lips, hoping to pry them open. I shake my head. She lets out a sigh as she lets the spoon splash into the broth.
"I want to talk." I demand.
"We can talk after. You need to eat." she stubbornly answers back.
"Promise?" I ask.
"Promise." she answers. I allow her to feed me until every ounce of soup has been consumed. She then helps me to lie down, pulling me forward before resting the pillow behind me on the mattress. I slowly slide down until I'm lying on my side. She lies down, facing me on the other side of my mattress. I don't like the distance between us. I want her body pressed up against mine like we were in the cabin in the woods. The Katniss before me would never do that. I doubt she has even realized any sort of feelings for me. To her, I am just her hunting partner. I place my open hand, palm up between us. I'm surprised when she laces her fingers between mine.
"What happened to me?" I whisper.
"We started hunting in the woods after school. I noticed that you weren't looking so good. I wanted to turn back but you wanted to keep going. I should have done more to stop you but I didn't want to start anything. The further we traveled into the woods, the worse you looked. Eventually you collapsed and couldn't stand. When I was dragging you back, you lost consciousness. After I got you to the fence, I had to fetch Thom to help me get you home. I've never been so scared in all my life." she says, closing her eyes causing the tears to escape.
"I'm sorry." I murmur, apologetically. While I don't remember any of this, I can perfectly picture myself acting this way. I do let my stubbornness get the best of me sometimes.
"My mom came to examine you. She said all we could do was wait."
"Have I been out the whole time?" I ask her, as I struggle to remember the past few days.
"No but you were delirious and were saying things that didn't make sense."
"Like what?"
"You said stuff about getting out and staying away. I couldn't really piece it together." she says.
"You were here a lot?" I ask her.
"Every day." she whispers back.
"Thank you."
"You'd do the same for me." she says, as if it were nothing. I see an uncomfortable look reach her face and I wonder what it for. I open my mouth to ask but she beats me to it. "You should get some rest."
"You'll stay?" I plead.
"I should be getting home." she replies.
"Katniss, I don't want to be alone."
"I'll get your mom." she says as she starts to sit up. I tighten my grip on her hand to prevent her from getting to far. She sighs looks down at me.
"Gale." she says with a long exhale.
"She has others to take care of. Please Katniss." I beg. She debates internally whether she should stay.
"Fine…I'll stay." she finally concedes as she rests beside me. I rather boldly take her hand back in mine hoping that I'll be able to know if she tries to leave me. We have a staring battle, each of us waiting for the other to close their eyes first.
"Gale, I'm not leaving." she finally says. I believe her and close my eyes. I can't see her but I sense that she does the same.
When I wake up, the filtered sun is shining into my room. Katniss kept her word and is still lying beside me although a new development has arisen. She is clutching my hand against her body, the back of my hand resting beside her heart. I can feel its faint beating as she rests peacefully. The warmth radiating from her makes me crave her even more. I don't dare act on my desires. I know it will only get me in trouble. Instead, I murmur her name over and over until her eyes flutter open. It takes her nearly a minute to fully wake and her cheeks blush when she looks down and sees my hand in hers, holding mine against her. She releases my hand and avoids looking at my eyes, clearly embarrassed. I want to tell her it's ok but I don't want to draw any more attention to it. The situation becomes even more awkward when my mother enters the room. Katniss springs up from the bed and mutters something about having to go.
"What was that about?" my mother says, giving me an accusing look.
"No idea." I say, still in a haze. I still feel a little out of it. "She stayed with me last night."
"I know." my mother says with a small smile creeping up on her face. "Saw her here when I came to check on you last night."
"I'm surprised you didn't send her home." I comment.
"Why would I do that?"
"It wouldn't be the first time you've kicked a girl out of my room." I say, referencing one of the more embarrassing moments of my life.
It was two years ago. Mom had taken the kids to an event at their school and I was home alone. I invited the prettiest girl in the Seam over to my place to fool around in the privacy of my home. My knowledge of when the event ended was off by an hour and my family arrived home just as things were getting hot and heavy. My mother discovered us in the room I shared with my brothers and interrupted us. She stood there looking cross as the girl I was with quickly dressed and left the room. To this day, Posy still asks me what game we were playing that made us make such loud animal noises. To this day, I've never brought a girl home. I grew wiser and learned to keep that at the slag heap…less chances of being caught.
My mom lets out a little laugh, as I'm sure she's replaying the situation in her head. I guess she's found some humor in the situation after the passing of time.
"You could have at least knocked first." I add.
"And why would I need to knock. Something I don't know about?" she asks, folding her arms in front of her.
"No." I say with disappointment.
"You sure?" she asks with a raised brow.
"Mom, it's Catnip." I sigh.
"So?"
"So she's my friend. You know that." I say, trying my best to conceal any disappointment in my voice. I'm not sure if I was all that convincing. All I know is that my mother is giving me a smug look. "Is there a reason you came here?" I ask, changing the conversation.
"You're sick. I wanted to make sure you are doing ok."
"Katniss could have—" I say before cutting myself off. I feel like I've given myself up. She has to know that I feel something more than platonic feelings for my best friend.
"I'll always be your mother. It's my job to take care of you." she says matter-of-factly. It makes me feel like an ass, questioning my mother like that. I keep my mouth shut as she checks my forehead with her hand for a fever. She mentions something about soup and returns with a full bowl. The broth warms me from the inside out. She takes the bowl from me when I'm finished and closes my curtains before tucking me in. It's funny how no matter how old I get, it's still nice to be taken care of her when I'm sick. I'm lucky to have ended up with a mother like her. She mentions something about checking on me later. Despite getting a full night's sleep, I can feel the lethargy sinking in and close my eyes, hoping to recover quickly. Then I can work on the next part of my plan: convincing Katniss to run. I was unsuccessful last time. Hopefully this is a new beginning, a new chance at the life I have always wanted, to be free in the woods with the girl I love.
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