Wow, thanks to everyone that reviewed! It was great getting feedback! Hope you enjoy this update on this Catching Fire weekend. I went and saw it in IMAX (worth the $$). It was a good movie overall, but I was a little disappointed that they changed the Gale/Katniss scene in the woods (no lake house?) PM me with any thoughts you had about the movie.


Chapter 12

When I enter the house, I slam the door behind me. The house is quiet. Rory is on the couch starting off into space. I'm not sure where my other two siblings are. I can hear my mother in the kitchen, trying to busy herself with work to take what happened off her mind. I slump down at the table and rest my head in my hands as I try to make sense of what happened. It was the same…just the same as it had been before. I wonder if history will repeat herself. Will she play the role of star-crossed lover? While it is a good tactic to get sponsors, I do not want to see her kissing Peeta Mellark in the oversized screen in the square.

I jump when I feel my mother's hand rest on my shoulder, trying to provide me with strength but it in fact it does the opposite. I take a deep breath in and out before I start to speak.

"It's all my fault." I tell her although I know she doesn't understand why.

"It's not your fault son." she says in a comforting voice.

"I could have saved her."

"How exactly?" she asked sitting next to me with a discerning look. She's waiting for an explanation.

"I could have taken her far away from here. Run away to the woods like I've always wanted to."

"This is the first I've ever heard about this plan." she remarks.

"I've been thinking about it for a while. I want to run after the Games are over regardless of her coming back or not."

"We'll talk more about this later." she promises, taking my hand. "She'll come back, Gale. You know how strong-spirited that girl is."

"But is that enough?" I question her.

"She's a fighter. You know she won't give up easily. That's an important quality to have in the Games."

"Mom, I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't come back." I weakly admit.

"Try not to let it worry you to much." she says. "Why don't you lie down until supper. I'll have someone wake you when the Everdeens arrive."

"You think they're still coming?" I ask with a furrowed brow.

"They will come. I'll make sure of it. The last thing they need is to be alone with their thoughts."

I walk back to my room and find Vick asleep in his bed. I don't even realize how exhausted I am until my head rests on my pillow. Between the physical activity of hunting earlier and the emotional weight of the Reaping, I feel drained. I'm ready to drift off but my mind has other ideas. I can't help but think of Katniss and how scared she looked as I was being dragged away. I wonder what's she doing right now and how she is feeling. At least she can feel a little better knowing that Prim is safe and taken care of. It's going to be hard doing the hunting by myself. We've always worked better as a team. At least my snares bring in a fair amount of game. Without them, I'd really be worried. My exhaustion finally inhabits my brain as I feel myself getting dizzier and dizzier until I finally doze off.

I wake up panting and covered in sweat. It was the worst nightmare I've had to date. I was in the woods, looking for her. I wove quickly through the trees, shouting her name in a panic to find her. It seemed like I'd never find her and finally abandoned the forest for the clearing. There I saw her, laying in the grass, her eyes closed. At first I thought she was sleeping until I looked down to see a pool of red spilling from her side. My fists tightened and I felt something in my grasp that I hadn't noticed before. In my hand was a knife. The unsettling part was that I was covered in blood…her blood. I quickly discarded the knife and ran to her, crouching down, pulling her body close to mine to see if there were any signs of life in her body. I then heard the sound of a canon fire and looked up to see her image in the sky. She was dead and I was the one who killed her.

I quickly make my way to the bathroom and close the door behind me. I strip down to nothing and submerge the lower half of my body in the tub that still holds water from my bath earlier this morning. I grab the soap and washcloth and begin scrubbing my body. No matter how hard I scrub, it's still not enough to wash away the guilt I feel, not only about the dream I just had but also what I let happen today.

I grab my towel and drying off before returning to my room to dress myself. When I start my walk down the hall to the living area, I hear soft chatter indicating that the Everdeens have arrived. I'm not 3 steps into the room when I hear Prim call my name. She quickly stands and runs to me, clinging onto me. I can only imagine how's she's feeling but I'm sure it's even worse than I am feeling. For a brief time today she thought she was going into the Games until her sister volunteered. She loves her sister so much. This must be killing her as well. My mother interrupts our moment, mentioning that dinner is ready.

"We'll talk later, Prim." I murmur my promise. She nods and releases herself from me. Our families take a seat at the table. I can't help but notice that her chair…Katniss' chair…is set in the corner on the room. She usually sits beside me, our side of the table being so crowded that our arms touch. There's too much space left on my side of the table tonight.

"Excuse me." I say before standing and striding toward the back door. I think I was quick enough to avoid anyone seeing the tears in my eyes. I sit on the top step on the back stoop and bring my hands to my eyes to wipe away the tears. In the past, I had though about how I would feel if someone I was close to was chosen for the Games. I never knew it could hurt this much. It isn't long before my mother is joining me. She is quiet, providing me with no words to break me out of this. Instead she rubs my back, trying her best to comfort me.

"I love her." I admit.

"We all do, Gale. That's what makes it so hard."

"No, Mom. I'm in love with her. I love Katniss." I elaborate. "I tried to tell her today in the Justice Building but I ran out of time. Now she'll never know…and I'll never know if she ever felt anything for me."

"Maybe it's better that way." she says. I look at her with confusion. She's usually on my side. Why would she want this? "The less distractions she has in that Arena, the better." Her words make sense. "And I can't have you falling apart in there. They are in a very fragile state. It's our job to lessen the pain for them, if only for tonight."

"Ok." I reply. I compose myself and walk back inside with my mother, apologizing to the Everdeens for my exit. I participate in the small talk during dinner, stay far away from mentioning anything involving Katniss. It proves to be difficult. I hadn't realized how much of our lives our intertwined. Most of my stories involve her in some way but I do have a few that don't, so I share those instead. After dinner, the children hang out in the living room while our mothers wash the dishes (at my mother's insistence). Prim sits next to me on the couch and I know she wants to talk.

"I'm worried." she whispers.

"She has a good chance." I tell her.

"We won't know for sure until after…" she trails off while looking over at our archaic television set distributed by the Capitol for required viewing.

"You ever see her hunt?" I ask. She shakes her head.

"So tried to take me…once. Got as far as the fence before I made her take me home."

"She's good…really good. Never misses a shot. Unless I mess her up intentionally." I add with a smirk. She gives a small grin. "It's a lot of the same tactical skills Prim. Finding cover, tracking, analyzing your surroundings."

"Killing." she interrupts me.

"That too." I reply quietly.

"You think she'd really do that? Kill another person?" she asks.

"In self-defense…yes." I say. I see Prim flinch at my response. "There's nothing wrong with that Prim. She'll need to protect herself so she can come back to us." I then decide to change the subject. "Prim, does Katniss ever talk about Peeta Mellark?" From what I saw on her face at the Reaping, there was definitely something there. He wasn't just someone she went to school with.

"Never, why?"

"No reason." I mutter. Our mothers join us and Rory turns on the TV. It's time for the recap of the Reapings throughout the districts. We are all quiet as we study the competition. It's weird watching the Reapings. I feel like I know most of these tributes so well even though they are only being introduced. I remember them from what happened before. They are all the exact same ones.

By the time the broadcast is over, it is late. Posy had inadvertently fell asleep in my lap. Her bedtime was hours ago. I tuck her into bed and then return to escort the Everdeens to their house. On my way out, I mention that I'm meeting with Thom. She nods and then tells me not to be out too late. After Katniss' family is safe inside their house, I head towards the slag heap. The slag heap is crowded as it always is on a Reaping night. Teens are celebrating their safety with all sorts of vices. This is commonplace in District 12. I weave through the groups until I find Thom sitting on a log by a small bonfire.

"Didn't expect you to show up tonight, Hawthorne." he says with a somber expression. I don't say anything in response; I instead grab the bottle of liquor and take a few chugs.

"Whoa, slow down. This is some strong stuff." he tells me as he parts the bottle from my lips.

"I need something strong. Something to distract me."

"I have the perfect thing. Wait here." he says, while leaving the bottle with me. I take a few more swigs and wait impatiently at first. The alcohol courses through my veins as I wait and finally mellows me out. He returns about 10 minutes later with Juniper Stillwater, the last girl I liked before I realized my feelings for Katniss. I never was successful in my pursuit of Juniper. Not too many boys really were. She was quite a challenge. Maybe that's why I liked her so much. There's something in the chase that I really enjoy.

"Hi Gale."

"Hey June." I reply with my little nickname for her.

"It's been a while."

"Yeah." I briefly reply.

"Maybe we could find somewhere a little more quiet to catch up." she says as she looks around at the crowds of people.

"Ok." I say, slowly standing up. I pass the bottle back to Thom before walking away with Juniper. We walk to the meadow, which is completely abandoned. We sit by a large tree near the middle of the field, resting our backs against the large trunk. She then reaches over and takes my hand in hers, interlocking our fingers while her other hand rests over the back of mine.

"You haven't been around." she says quietly. She says it in a way that indicates she's hurt by it.

"Yeah well I've been busy."

"I've missed you." she admits.

"You've missed me?" I say with a laugh. My tone has hurt her. "June, you barely gave me the time of day."

"I was just trying to protect myself."

"From what?"

"You." she says while averting her eyes away from mine.

"Me?" I ask in disbelief.

"It's no secret what you do at the slagheap Gale. Girls at school talk about it. I didn't want to just be another girl you add to your list."

"It didn't have to be like that." I reply. We sit in silence for a long period of time. I don't think it either of us really knows what to say next. She releases my hand and kneels. At first I think she's leaving but she sits on her knees.

"That was really brave…what you did today."

"What do you mean?"

"At the Reaping, running out like that to help Katniss." she replies. I guess she's right. I had never thought about that. Rules state that those eligible for Reaping must stay in their designated areas until the Reaping has ended. I ran to the center aisle to help Katniss with Prim. The last thing I wanted was any Peacekeeper to get their hands on Prim. Before I can thank her for the compliment, her lips are on mine. I reciprocate the kiss. I remember lying in bed at night wishing for this to happen, but things have changed. She's no longer the girl I long for. That girl is thousands of miles away by now. I gently part my lips from hers.

"June, I can't." I murmur.

"Ok." she says, a combination of embarrassment and disappointment on her face.

"I'll walk you home." I say as we both stand.

"No, you don't have to." she says as she starts walking. I catch up to her and take her hand, so she won't run off. We don't say anything until we are on her front porch. Tears are still falling down her face.

"June, I'm sorry." I say as I wipe them away. "If this had been a year ago…things have changed."

"It's my fault for waiting too long." she blames herself. I hate that she feels this way. She's a sweet girl. I feel terrible about leaving her this way. Maybe it's the alcohol running through me or the guilt that is settling inside of me, but I decide to finish what she started at the meadow. I pull her closer and lock lips with hers. I am quickly ripped from the moment when I feel her pushing me back forcefully and slapping my face. I catch a glimpse of her angry face before she disappears into her house. I start for home rubbing my stinging cheek, regretting even going to the slagheap tonight. I vow to never go to that place again. It only causes more trouble. Besides, I have more important things to think about. I have an escape to plan.


I enjoyed writing this chapter since we didn't read about what the families did after Katniss left in the book. Let me know what you thought about it. Katniss will be back in the next chapter.

Also, should Gale confess his feelings before or after their attempt to escape to the woods? Leave your thoughts in your review ;)