Ricochet
Chapter 33: Influences
Author: Carla, aka cali-chan
Rating: Most likely PG-13. Nothing worse than what's in the books.
Genre: Adventure/suspense/drama/romance... again, pretty much what's in the books.
Pairings: Peeta/Katniss, Rory/Prim... and probably others. You'll see soon.
Canon/timeline: Same-context AU— this fic still happens in the same world as THG, but the actual events in the books never happened. I'm adding about five years to the characters from the age they were at the beginning of The Hunger Games. Katniss is 21.
Disclaimer: Yeah, just let me go get my transfer laser and switch bodies with Suzanne Collins. Until I find it in the mess that is my room, anything you can recognize belongs to her.
Note: I've never really tried this before (and I'm sure it will eventually come back and bite me in the behind), but each chapter will be from the PoV of a different character. You should be able to tell whose PoV it is fairly easily, though.
Summary: "Primrose Everdeen." This can't be happening, Katniss thought. She desperately pushed through the crowd. I volunteer!, she wanted to scream. I volunteer as tribute! But she couldn't, because she wasn't eligible for the reaping anymore. There was nothing she could do.
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"The road to the future leads us smack into the wall. We simply ricochet off the alternatives that destiny offers." —Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
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Since her last conversation with Gale, Madge had taken to avoiding spending time with the Hawthornes. It wasn't that she was mad at them, or that she'd been upset by something Gale said; on the contrary, she was ecstatic from the news he gave her, thrilled that steps were finally being taken to find Katniss and bring her back. It was just that after that conversation, she realized maybe she was imposing on the Hawthornes too much, and she never wanted to impose on anybody.
It wasn't that she wasn't thankful for their openness, because she was. They'd taken her in and helped her feel better when she was at her lowest point, and she would never forget that. They would always be dear to her for that reason. But she didn't want to need cheering up anymore. Yes, her parents were dead, and nothing would ever bring them back, but she had to move on eventually.
How could she not, when they all had so many more important things to think about, like Katniss's rescue and the rebellion against the Capitol? The Hawthornes were a tight family, and deserved every second they had to spend together, especially if Gale was going to be sent on the rescue squad soon. She wasn't going to intrude in their family time anymore.
Besides, Katniss would be coming back soon. She would. And unlike Madge, she was part of the Hawthornes' family. She was Gale's best friend, and Rory's sister in law. She belonged with them. When she came back, they'd take her right back into their fold, as it was meant to be.
And, truly, that was more than alright with Madge. She welcomed the idea of something going back to the way it was before, something she knew how to deal with. Things had been changing so quickly since Prim got reaped; alarmingly quickly, really, all leading up to a single second when a single Capitol bomb upturned her life forever. The way she thought, the way she felt... everything around her seemed to be changing. And maybe it was a little too much to handle, all things considered. Maybe one thing being the same as before was a good thing, even if it meant fading into the background all over again. She was used to that.
She knew how to handle being lonely.
She didn't have the heart to refuse Hazelle's open invitation to her face (it would be terribly impolite, too), so instead she started pulling longer hours at work. Since she was in scheduling, it was easy enough to move her own name to the second shift dinner list. Nobody she knew had dinner at that hour; it was mostly Thirteen maintenance crews, the kitchen staff... a lot of plumbers?
It wasn't just a scheme on her part, either; the workload at the office really had increased a lot over the past couple of weeks, and they needed to put in extra weight. With the rebellion's efforts becoming more and more solid by the day, more and more people, both from Thirteen and Twelve, were enlisting in the military or in military-supporting jobs. And they all needed their schedules to be adjusted.
She didn't mind spending more time in the office, she liked it there. Her boss, the head of the Scheduling department, was an older man, maybe in his fifties, who seemed to recognize and reward talent. He always had a kind word for Madge when she did things right, and was understanding when she did something wrong. She liked him very much.
Her only other colleague was sadly not as nice— a stuffy man named Collett who was always looking down his nose at her. She had heard him at least once muttering about the people from Twelve and how they flooded in to take away jobs that were rightfully for the people of Thirteen. She paid him no mind; she'd had years of practice ignoring snide remarks from Gale and other Seam kids, so she knew how to ignore it. He had been doing the work of two people up to the point Madge was hired, so it seemed he still wasn't used to sharing his duties. Instead he seemed to see her as competition; the moment he heard she was taking extra work, he requested the same. She didn't really mind. He didn't talk to her unless it was strictly necessary, so they hardly ever interacted.
By Friday, however, she had already worked all her legally allowed extra hours, so she was left with a huge blank in her schedule she didn't know what to do with. Tired, she decided to skip dinner that night, choosing instead to go back to her compartment, change into her pajamas and call it an early night. It wasn't like that "reflection" hour was good for anything, anyway.
She was just coming out of the shower when her doorbell rang. She knew her roommate had to be at dinner, so she was surprised by it. Who could be coming to visit at that hour? She barely had a second to wonder before she opened the door and was immediately hit by the freight train known as Posy Hawthorne.
"Madge!" the girl exclaimed cheerfully, wrapping her arms tightly around Madge's waist. "Where have you been? Why haven't you been having dinner with us? We've missed you!"
"I— I've been working," she stuttered, caught off-guard, only managing an awkward pat on the girl's head. Raising her eyes she noticed Posy wasn't the only Hawthorne who had graced her with their presence that day: Gale was standing there, very visibly holding back a smirk. He almost took up the whole doorway, she noticed off-handedly, both in height and in the width of his shoulders. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at dinner?"
"We're going, we just had to come pick you up first!" Posy exclaimed again letting go of her and bouncing a little on the balls of her feet.
"She's been coming up every day before dinner just to check if you're here," Gale intervened, finally letting just a slip of that smirk come through. He crossed his arms and rested his shoulder against the doorframe. "She had this idea that you've been avoiding us, for some reason," he added, pointedly.
She wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want to bring the girl down, she seemed so happy to have found her in her compartment for once. "I just— Posy, I can't have dinner now... I'm not scheduled for it until the second shift, I'm sorry," she said, sticking to her "new routine" excuse. Gale's expression let her know she was busted either way.
Posy wasn't having it either. "Aw, please. Who writes the schedules? You do! Nobody's even gonna notice," she said, in a tone Madge had heard her use on Vick often enough. Something twinged in her heart at the idea that this little girl was treating her like she treated her own family.
"But Posy, I—" It was only when the girl skittered past her and moved toward her clothes drawers that she noticed what she was wearing. "I'm in my pajamas!" she squeaked, and when she turned to look at Gale again, his raised eyebrows let her know this had not escaped his notice. She fought the urge to cover herself, even though she knew it was a ridiculous feeling to have. Her Thirteen-assigned sleepwear was perfectly conservative, the same model of grey t-shirt and sweatpants that were assigned to everyone because of how cold it got underground during the night. But it was the principle of the thing.
As Posy started looking for some clothes for Madge to wear as if going through her drawers was something she did every day, Gale dropped his smirk. He leaned ever-so-slightly closer to her (something she was suddenly very acutely aware of) and spoke in a lower tone, so Posy wouldn't hear what he was saying. "She came to get you to come have dinner with us," he repeated, his steely eyes looking down at her, seriously. "I came to tell you... we found her."
She knew immediately what he meant. Her eyes widened, her heart started beating furiously in her chest. She knew what he meant, but she still had to make sure; it was too important for her to risk misunderstanding. "Katniss?" she asked, holding her breath in anticipation as she did. "She's still alive?"
"We think so," he replied, his grave voice rumbling as he whispered close to her ear. "President Coin already gave the go for the rescue squad."
She was about to ask more when Posy came up to them, a set of standard Thirteen daily wear under her arm, and started tugging at Madge's t-shirt. "Come on," she groaned. "You can flirt at dinner if you want, but first Madge needs to get ready if we want to get there before all the food is gone!" the girl exclaimed as she pushed her further inside so she could change. Gale threw his little sister an indignant glare. Madge was sure she was blushing all the way to the bathroom.
At the dining hall, the rest of the Hawthorne clan welcomed her back with open arms. She didn't get off without Vick teasing her a little about her absence ("The amazing, disappearing Madge Undersee! How is it that you just vanish from sight, Madge? Please reveal the trick to your awaiting audience."), but for the most part, dinner was about the same as every other day.
Rory wasn't around for dinner; as usual, when he got off classes he stopped by the kitchens to get his portion and spent the entire dinner period with Prim in the medical bay. She didn't see him until later, in their reflection hour, once they had moved up to the Hawthornes' compartment.
Their compartment was larger than hers, meant for a full family, and it included a small closet, more space for beds, and even a small sitting room. They were all making use of the wider space. Posy was finishing up some homework, Vick was already snoring away, Hazelle was working on mending some of her sons' shirts, and Gale was taking clothes out of a drawer. She was actually just about to excuse herself and go back to her compartment when the boy walked in, looking drained like he did every other night, and with a mumbled greeting to the rest of his family, dropped himself on the couch, right beside Madge. He looked up. "Hey, you're here," he commented, sounding surprised, as if he hadn't quite looked around the room prior to sitting down. "Finally decided to stop hiding from us, huh?"
She sighed. After spending a couple hours with the family— playing with Posy, joking around with Vick, talking about the day to day with Hazelle and even Gale, a little— she was feeling much too content, much too buoyant, to keep hanging onto the same excuse. "I'm sorry," she said instead. "I didn't want to intrude on you all anymore."
He scoffed, in that decidedly Hawthorne way. "Oh, please," he said, sounding so much like Posy in that moment, it was hard for her not to grin. "It's not intruding if you're invited. Besides, you know something, Madge?" He paused a moment to take off his shoes and stretch his legs as far as they could go. "If it was anyone else, I'd be mad at you and tell you to piss off. But since it's you... well, you're not bad, I guess. For a grownup."
She chuckled at his phrasing, but was touched by the sentiment. "Really?" she asked somewhat shyly. Even after she had avoided them for a whole week, the Hawthornes had done nothing that night but try and make her feel welcome, and she wasn't used to such freely-given affection. Particularly coming from Rory, who had seemed to push away the entire world since Prim was reaped. "I'm not that special."
"You know, Prim always speaks highly of you," he replied, seemingly changing the topic— but maybe he wasn't, really, she thought as he continued. "Those books you got for her? They made her so happy, you have no idea. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't have been able to do what she loves to do. Help people."
She waved him off easily. "Oh, that was nothing."
He shook his head. "It wasn't nothing. Those books are illegal, and you still got them for her. That takes guts. You don't think you have it in you, Madge, but you do." He finished the phrase with a shrug, like he was just stating a fact. "Besides, you know what I really like about you? You remind me of her, a little." His tone grew wistful as he thought about the girl he loved, still prone on her hospital bed with the doctors not having one word of hope for the people who cared about her.
"And I mean more than just the hair and the eyes," he vaguely gestured to Madge's features. Of course, Prim had those Town looks she got from her mother, which brought several physical similarities to other merchant girls, Madge included. "But what I mean is... you both always see the good in people. And, you know, we could use a little of that around here sometimes. Especially now that she's..."
He trailed off, obviously upset when thinking of Prim's condition. Madge had the urge to give the suffering boy a hug, but she wasn't sure if it would be overstepping his boundaries. Still, she felt incredibly overwhelmed by his admission. Rory was a good kid— a great kid, really. And Prim was the most important person in his life. If he thought Madge had even a little of the goodness Prim had in her heart, then she had to take that as the highest compliment. It meant the world to her. "She'll pull out of this, Rory. You'll see," she assured him, because that was all she could do.
He didn't look reassured (how could he be? He probably wouldn't until he saw Prim open her eyes again), but he nodded anyway. Then he got up, saying he had to change his clothes. "By the way, when I said we could use a little more of that," he mumbled as he passed in front of her, "I didn't mean just me."
She was about to ask what that was about when he walked up to their clothes drawers and patted his older brother in the shoulder. Gale, she noticed, was packing what looked like a small getaway bag. She wondered why, but after thinking about it for a second, it dawned on her. She spoke up just as Rory made his way to the bathroom. "So you're going on the rescue mission, then?" she asked, sitting a little straighter on the couch.
He looked at her, seemingly having forgotten she was still around, and nodded. "Yeah, we leave first thing in the morning."
She nodded, not sure how to feel about that, as he turned back to his packing. She was glad they were finally willing to rescue Katniss, and glad Gale would be there to make sure she was okay, but she was also very worried. It felt like so many things could go wrong, and she desperately hoped none would.
Silence settled between them again, and she simply watched him pack. He seemed almost eager in his movements, in a way that she didn't believe had anything to do with the mission itself. Yes, he wanted more than anything to bring Katniss back safely, but Gale Hawthorne of all people would know this was no walk in the park, and take that seriously.
But then she remembered hearing him comment to Vick the previous week that he was sick of being cooped up underground. He missed hunting, he missed being out in the forest. Maybe that's what was giving him that extra energy: the idea that, no matter how dangerous this mission was, at least he would get to be out again. Out there where he belonged, fighting.
She knew she'd never understand that feeling. She had only ever spent those three miserable days in the forest, and they were so marked with personal tragedy, she hadn't even had the peace of mind to appreciate the beauty, the freedom of being outside. But she wasn't about to tell him that, of course.
Finally putting the last item (an old, rundown wrist watch) inside his bag, he turned to her. She was startled, suddenly realizing she'd been staring. He signaled toward the door with his head. "Come on, it's late. I'll walk you back." She nodded.
They walked in silence down the dimly illuminated walkways. (Around the time people were scheduled for sleep, the light from lamps in the public passageways was brought down to half the regular intensity, to conserve energy). She was used to his silence by now, and figured he was mentally preparing himself for his mission the following day. She should just stay quiet and let him have this moment, but still she felt she had to say something.
"Listen..." she started again, breaking the quiet. He turned to regard her, brows furrowed the littlest bit, as if trying to figure out what her hesitation was about. She swallowed with difficulty. "After what happened to my parents... I don't think I could take it. I can't lose Katniss, too," she admitted, her tone shaky with emotion she was sure he wasn't up to dealing with. But she couldn't help it.
He didn't say anything; he stared at her for a moment, still with that frown in place and as usual she could almost feel the intensity in his eyes weighing on her. She didn't really expect him to respond to her confession. He'd done well enough when he tried to comfort her in the forest after her parents died. He had helped her tremendously, more than he could ever know, with very few words, but she wasn't expecting him to do it again. It was silly to think he would try to assuage her fears when she was staying in Thirteen, perfectly cushy while it was him putting his life on the line. She didn't say it so he would reassure her, she just wanted someone to know.
So they continued walking quietly. Once they got to her compartment, she saw there was no light coming from under the door; her roommate was probably already asleep. As she went to take her key-card out of her pocket, however, she felt him grasp at her elbow carefully. "Hey," he said, and she turned to look at him, wondering if something was wrong.
He hesitated for a moment, almost like he was trying to find the right way to put whatever he wanted to say. And finally, he found it. "You're not going to lose Katniss," he asserted, his eyes fixed on hers, his voice coming through strong and sure, as it always did. "You won't. We'll get her back. Whatever it takes, I'll get her out of there."
It took him a second longer to let go of her arm, which she felt more keenly than she knew she should, and she could do nothing but gaze back at him, wanting, needing to believe him— "you see the best in people," Rory had said, and she couldn't help but know that Gale was at his best when he was protecting those he loved. So she nodded.
With that he turned to leave, and she opened her door as she had previously meant to, but before walking in and going into bed like her schedule said, she paused, feeling like there was one more thing he needed to know, one more thing she needed to say, because if things did go wrong during that mission, she might never get the chance again. "Gale..." she called out.
He was already halfway down the hallway, hands inside his pockets as he walked, but he stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
She wrought her hands together, almost subconsciously, before saying the words. "I can't lose you either."
He was too far away for her to be able to see his expression as he took that in, but his head bobbed slightly as he responded. "You better take care of my family while I'm away," he said, as if their previous agreement from back in Twelve was still in place. It made her smile. "See you when I get back, Madge."
With that, he continued walking away, and she walked into her room, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.
The days after the squad left were agonizing, and not just for her, but for everyone. The whole district was tense with a sense of urgency. Whenever anyone brought up the ongoing mission, people would mutter among themselves in low tones as if just speaking about it could jinx it. But in reality, nobody knew what was going on. Madge had even tried asking Peeta, but it seemed he didn't know any more than what they were told in the daily public reports: the squad had arrived at the rendezvous point with the scouts, debriefed, and were now waiting for the right moment to go in.
It figured: now that she really wanted to know what was going on, she reached the end of her (admittedly short) list of acquaintances with high enough status in Command.
Until Monday, that was.
It was mid-morning, and she was just getting started with the most tedious part of her job: uploading the recent schedule changes to Thirteen's computer server. She was just starting on her second batch of modifications (the dreaded E-H segment, which somehow always seemed to her like it took the longest time), when President Coin herself walked into the office.
"Seemour, I need you to upload a series of schematics and send them to the squadron via communicuff," she said, in an efficient, no-nonsense tone. Her steps resounded loudly against the floor as she walked, even though she wasn't wearing heels. She was addressing Madge's boss directly without so much as looking at the other two people in the room, which Madge thought was rude, but she chose to ignore that; surely someone who was running an entire district had no time for pleasantries. Besides, she was talking about Gale. She wasn't about to interrupt that particular conversation for something as silly as the lack of a proper greeting.
It wasn't the first time the President had come into her office. She often needed Madge's boss to send communicuff messages for her because, as she understood it, President Coin's previous assistant had been fired and she had yet to find a replacement. Rumor had it, it had something to do with the mission to assassinate Seneca Crane. It seemed President Coin's former assistant had messed up when sending the squad some blueprints of the building's exit routes, and that resulted in them all getting captured. Not that Madge was one to pay attention to gossip, but since it involved Katniss, she couldn't help but overhear.
As far as Madge knew, the woman knew how to use her communicuff just fine, but for stuff that took more time, such as digitizing schematics and blueprints that had to be sent to large groups, she usually deferred the task to someone else who could handle computer code— in this case, Madge's boss.
That wasn't in his job description, however, and she had heard him more than once drop subtle hints to the President that she should look for a new assistant soon. In fact, that's just what he did in this visit, as well. "None of the last batch of applicants were adequate for the assistant position, madam President?" he asked her, his tone conversational, as he inserted the disk President Coin had just handed him into a slot on his computer.
The President didn't seem much interested in his hints; instead of looking at him as she spoke, she lifted her arm to check something in her communicuff. "None of them fulfilled the required qualifications," she said, in a clipped tone, which reminded Madge of the pre-recorded voice that announced the content of each level in the elevators. "However, if you have any more suggestions, feel free to drop them off at my office."
She pressed a few more buttons on the keypad on her wrist. "Let me know when the squad confirms they received the schematics," she all but ordered, and turned to leave.
Madge's boss spoke up before she could, however. "Actually, madam President, if you could spare me just a few more minutes, I think I have the perfect candidate for you right here." This piqued Madge's attention. She had been trying hard to make it seem like she was concentrating on her work, but it was hard to seem disinterested in the conversation, especially since Collett in the next desk wasn't even bothering to hide the fact that he was snooping.
Thankfully, she didn't have to pretend anymore, as her boss decided to involve her in the conversation instead. "Madge, could you come here?" She was surprised by the call, but did as he asked. Surely her boss couldn't have meant she was the "perfect candidate," could he?
She moved so she stood in front of her boss's desk, right beside the President, who turned her serious eyes to look at her. "Good morning, President Coin," she said, respectfully. Never let it be said she didn't know how to conduct herself around important public officials. While working for her father, she had had to stand in front of President Snow himself quite a few times, and he was a lot scarier than President Coin was. "Did you need me for anything, Mr. Belkin?"
"Yes, yes, thank you, Madge," her boss got up from his seat, walked around his desk, and stepped beside her, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Madam President, this is Margaret Undersee. She is a very driven young lady, exceptionally good with schedule generation and has proven to be a smart, efficient employee. I believe she would be an excellent choice for your assistant."
Madge willed herself not to blush at her employer's words of praise. She was surprised that he'd put her up for a promotion, since there was so much work to be done in the department and he couldn't afford to be down one employee, particularly not the one with the least seniority in the department. In fact, she could feel her fellow scheduler glaring daggers at her back as she stood there.
On the other hand, she was a little upset that he'd just set her up for this without consulting her first. She was already used to this job, she liked it. What if she wasn't interested in being the President's assistant? Did he even stop to think that she might have to reject a direct offer from the President just because he put her on the spot? That wasn't fair at all.
It was a bit of a relief, then, that the President didn't seem invested in what her boss was saying. She looked Madge over from head to toe, her face impassive, her expression revealing nothing of what she was thinking. "And she's qualified?" she asked him, though she sounded more like she was just humoring him rather than being truly interested.
"I have taught her everything I know," her boss assured her, affectionately squeezing Madge's shoulder while smiling down at her. Madge decided she couldn't be upset with him, even if he had presented her as a candidate for another job without consulting it with her. He clearly only wanted the best for her and she couldn't begrudge him that. She was lucky to be working for someone so nice.
President Coin's eyes slanted toward her again. "And how long have you been working here?" she asked curtly.
"Um, four weeks, ma'am," Madge replied, knowing too well that such time sounded like hardly enough for her boss to teach her "everything he knew," but she wasn't about to lie to the President for a job. If the woman thought that was too little experience, it only reinforced Madge's belief that the promotion should go by seniority. She was just a newbie, really.
Her boss seemed determined not to let that affect her chances. "She's been with us for a short time, but Madge here is very competent and dedicated to her job." He leaned forward a little, as if voicing a secret he wasn't supposed to divulge. "She's also the daughter of the Mayor of District Twelve, may he rest in peace." Madge tensed up at the mention of her father's position. She did not appreciate using that fact in her favor, nor someone else doing it for her. And she certainly hadn't been expecting it now that her father was dead and held no influence anymore.
She held back the urge to take back her boss's words, knowing that was a conversation to be had in private with him and not in front of the President. Unfortunately for her, it seemed that small detail was the one that finally made President Coin actually show an interest in the conversation.
Her boss noticed that, as well. "In fact, she served as his personal assistant for quite a few years," he added, his eyebrows rising on his forehead as if emphasizing his point. "I assure you, Madge is very well-versed in the complexity of the daily schedule of a high-ranking public officer. As well as the discretion it involves."
The President looked at her again, and this time her stare was contemplative, as if measuring her against her employer's words. Finally, she nodded. "Very well. Please be at my office tomorrow at 0700 hours, miss Undersee. You'll be on probation for the first two weeks." And with that, she turned on her heel and started walking out of the office.
Madge knew it would be rude to be snappish to someone so important, but she had to say something before the woman left. Becoming her father's assistant made sense because she already knew his schedule and the tasks he had to perform so well, but she knew it wasn't the same for every public officer, so she didn't think that give her an advantage over any other potential candidate. Plus, she didn't want the job if she had to use her father's name to get it. She had to say something.
Just as she had been about to protest, the President beat her to the last word. "Seemour, please show her how to send the schematics I just gave you. They need to reach the squad within the hour." And as the woman left the room, Madge realized: this way, she could help. If she took this job, she didn't have to simply watch as things happened around her anymore. She could be involved. She could know things. She could help her friends.
Starting with Gale. And Katniss.
She had to take this job.
The schematics were received shortly and correctly. Her boss took the afternoon to point out every important detail she needed to know for her new position. And promptly at 0650 hours the next morning, Madge sat outside of President Coin's office, trying to ignore the churning in her stomach that just wouldn't seem to go away.
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Author's notes!—
-Carefully pokes head out from behind bunker-
...I'm sorry?
I know, I know. I'm a horrible person. I have no excuse for the lack of updates, other than the writing just hasn't been happening. For months I just couldn't write anything at all for any fandoms, and when I did, chapter 37 (the same one I was struggling with since before my last update) still gave me trouble because Gale is being goddamn uncooperative. The chapter's still not finished, but I was already feeling terrible for leaving you guys hanging for so long, so I promised myself that I'd upload chapter 33 when I finished writing the first scene of 37. Yes, the first scene is the only one that's fully written. I hate myself for it. Prayer circle for my muse to come back to life, please.
That said, thank you so much to anyone who took the time to ask about the status of the next update for this fanfic. You all have been so nice to me and I don't deserve it. I didn't even get any death threats! I love you all so much. I hope I haven't lost most of you with this horrid lack of updates. I can't promise that I'll update any faster, but I swear to you that I'm trying my best. I hope you all can understand that, and know that I am appreciative of every comment, every line of support and encouragement you throw my way. You guys are the absolute best.
I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Not much in the way of action, but there are some very important seeds in here that will come up later on. And reading Madge's PoV always makes me feel very light, for some reason. For the record, "Belkin" is the name of a brand of computer and smartphone accessories, and it somehow seemed appropriate for someone who works with computer code and databases all day. And can I just say, the entire Hawthorne family are shipping them so hard, y'all. I love it. ;) Next chapter's Peeta, and with it comes the introduction of one particular character I'd been waiting for a long time to write. Please cross your fingers that I'm ready to post it soon!
I know I don't deserve any reviews for this, but if you'd still like to leave a comment, you're welcome to do so and I would appreciate it so much. Also if you're into social networking, I'm on Twitter (girls_are_weird) and Tumblr (girls-are-weird), and sometimes I post snippets of future chapters there. Thanks for reading! :)