Gale
After walking around aimlessly for about another hour, narrowly avoiding the Peacekeepers on patrol, and tumbling gracelessly to the ground over an unanticipated dip in the road, I decide that's the world's way of telling me it's time to go home. I suppose nobody told the sky that tonight is ugly and depressing, because it is absolutely beautiful out tonight. There's not a cloud to be seen, giving a wonderfully unobstructed view of the stars.
I'm reminded of one of Katniss' and I's late nights out hunting. It was a beautiful night just like this, and lately we had been doing really poorly on getting enough game, but tonight we collected a feast. We had so much that there was enough food for each of our families for days, and we would make so much money I'd be able to get medicine for Ma. She'd been really sick, and Mrs. Everdeen didn't have the kind of medicine she needed. Katniss and I celebrated our amazing night with some berries in our special place. We laid back and enjoyed the view, knowing our families would be fed, and healthy. It was the first time in a long time that we could just relax.
I can't believe I may never get another moment like that with Katniss. The Games start tomorrow, and I could very well never see her again. And now that Mellark guy has gone and made her look weak. And even if she does come back, she will never be the same.
Suddenly the faint sound of voices breaks through my muddled mind. Peacekeepers. I quickly step into an alleyway. This is weird usually the peacekeeper patrols don't bother to patrol this part of the Seam. The voices get louder as sluggish footsteps grow nearer. That's strange. I can only make out one set of footsteps, but then who are they talking to?
As they get closer I can tell that the voice is female, but I can't really understand any of the words. I press myself as close to the wall as possible when they pass.
"-so stupid. I should have gotten a fucking map or something. I have no idea-"
I look up to catch a glimpse of whoever it is, and I see a halo of blonde hair surrounding an angels face. Madge. Wait-What the fuck did I just think? Just now? What the hell has gotten in to me, halo? angel? What is happening to me?
Okaay, wait-Madge. What is she doing out here at this time of night? Is she trying to get herself killed? I step out of the shadows, and grab her wrist-
"AAA-"
I put my hand over her mouth to silence her screaming. I'm hoping no peacekeepers heard that, but we should probably vacate the area. Just in case. She unexpectedly kicks me in the shin with her right leg, and bites my hand. I release her and she makes a run for it.
"Ooow," I shake my hand out to try and release some pain. She's already halfway down the street. Oh crap. I start to chase after her, gaining some ground, but damn she's pretty fast.
"Madge! Madge stop! I'm not gonna hurt you! It's me, Gale!" I whisper-shout to her, not wanting to draw any attention to us. She didn't hear me. I raise my voice a small octave, "Madge! Stop!"
God, she's running like she's got the devil at her heels. I pick up my speed, and gain some more ground, "Madge, it's Gale!"
Her legs falter slightly and she gives a quick glance back. I stop running and hold up my hands. She's about fifty feet away, and I slowly make my way towards her. I'm not sure if she can tell it's really me so I don't want to frighten her. "Madge, it's Gale. Sorry for scaring you like that." I rub the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Gale?" She strides toward me, and stops only a foot away from me. Her cheeks are flushed, either from running or she's pissed, or both. "What the hell was that?" She uses both her hands and pushes me backwards. I stumble a few feet back. Yeah I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say she is angry with me. "You just sneak up on me in the dark, and grab me like that? You scared the shit out of me! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"I'm so sorry Madge. I honestly wasn't trying to scare you. I wasn't even thinki-"
"Yeah obviously you weren't thinking."
Okay, I think she's overreacting a bit, and she's the one who put herself in this situation. She's just lucky it was me, and not some sleaze. "I said I was sorry, and what are you doing out here this late? Do you have a death wish or something? It's not safe for a girl like you to be wandering the Seam at night."
Does she not realize how dangerous of a situation she put herself in? Madge doesn't deserve to be assaulted in some dump Seam street. She could very possibly be raped. I can never let that happen to her. She needs to know it's not safe.
"A girl like me, what's that supposed to mean?" And of course she takes a hold of those words, and not that she could have been hurt. I need to make her understand.
"It means a fragile looking, clueless pretty town girl isn't safe on the street at night."
"Excuse me, as I think I just demonstrated, I can take care of myself. Thank you very much."
"God you are so infuriating! Are you really so stupid? Hell, were you even thinking? I know you were raised to think everything is just perfect, and that you're an untouchable princess, but in the real world you're just a helpless little girl."
A look of hurt flashes across her face, and brings me back down to earth. Oh god, I am such a jackass, and we are being much too loud.
"I was thinking, actually. I was thinking that you might be upset after the interviews, and want someone to talk to. But I suppose I am stupid for ever thinking you'd want to talk to a girl like me!"
She throws my own words back at me in a scathing tone. She was coming to see me? "Oh god, Madge I-"
"Save it Hawthorne, you clearly don't need anyone to talk to, so I'll just be on my way." She replies. I think I catch a glimmer of tears in her eyes before she makes a swift turn and makes her way towards- the wrong direction.
"Madge." I call to her loud enough for her to hear, but not enough to disturb anyone.
"What!?" She turns back and I see a tear on her cheek before she furiously wipes it away with the back of her hand. "What do you want?" She asks in a quiet pleading tone.
"Your house is that way," I point to the right of where she was heading. If she had continued on that path she would have ended up in an even worse part of the Seam.
She visibly deflates, "Oh." She turns the way I pointed in a defeated manner. Oh god, I did that.
"Madge, wait. Please, wait?" I say it the second time as more of a question, hoping she doesn't run off before I can explain myself.
She doesn't reply or turn around, but she does stop walking.
"I'm really sorry, Madge. It's just. It's just that- Ugh" I rub my face frustrated with myself for not being able to find the words. I amble on over to her, standing behind her so she can compose herself if need be. I understand her not wanting me to see her look 'weak', and don't want her to feel that way. "Madge there are some really bad people out there." I put a hand on her arm. "They will hurt you, and they will enjoy it without a second thought. And I know you're strong and you can take care of yourself, but I'm worried about you. I don't want to see you get hurt."
She turns slightly towards me allowing me to see the right side of her face. "Yeah? What are you so worried about me for? I didn't realize you cared." She says in a bitter tone.
"Of course I care." I lightly pull her arm to have her face me. She turns willingly, but stares at the ground between us. I tilt her chin up, so that she'll look at me, "Madge, we're friends, remember? And I care about my friends, I don't like them being in dangerous situations." Her eyes start to drift away from mine. I move my hands cupping her face gently in my hands to refocus her eyes on me, to help her understand I'm being serious. "And sometimes when they put themselves in danger, I get mad because I don't want anything to happen to them. To happen to you. Do you understand me?"
She opens her mouth, looking ready to object, but her soft-looking lips close again and she nods instead. I smile nodding in return. I release her face and back up only a few inches, just realizing how close we are but not wanting to be too far from her.
"And I do want to talk to you. I was going to your house before to talk to you, but I thought that with the Capitol people over.." I trail off. I'm sure she knows what I mean without my having to explain.
"Really?" She gives me a doubtful expression.
I give her my best affronted look, "Yes, really. Madge Undersee, do you not know what a wonderful listener you are?"
A soft tinkling laugh escapes from between her beautiful, damn-kissable, lips. It makes me wonder if they're as soft as they look. An image of her pressing me up against an alley wall in the middle of a passionate fight, and battling for dominance in an extremely more pleasurable way, flashes through my mind.
What the hell is wrong with me? I somewhat successfully shake the scene from my mind, and grab her hand. "Come on." I tug her hand and she follows next to me. Very closely next to me.
"Where are we going?", she threads her fingers through mine, and examines our linked hands.
"You'll see." I say ominously.
She gives me her Madge look, "Why don't you just tell me?"
I turn my face towards her, and we're inches apart. "Because it's a surprise." We're having a staring contest, and my mind keeps going back to a certain image. I can't help it, my gaze moves down to her delectable mouth. I lick my lips, and her gravity pulls me towards her. We stop moving in a dark alleyway between two houses.
A small tongue pokes out between her lips, wetting them- subconsciously? Or does she want this as much as I do? She tilts her head up towards me, and I can't believe this is seriously about to happen. I mean it's not like I've been dreaming of this since the moment we met, but I- well, I have had quite a few dreams about kissing Madge Undersee.
Even my prejudices couldn't make me blind to her overall hotness. Honestly, hot isn't even a good enough word to describe her. I search for an adjective that will justify her beauty, but I'm sure I could live forever and never find a word to do her justice. So, I settle, "You're so beautiful." I whisper, as I trace her lips with my thumb. I hear her breath hitch.
I lean towards her with months of anticipation leading up to this- what is sure to be a mind-blowing, earth-shattering kiss. "I can't believe we're about to do this." I press my forehead against hers and chuckle, "Though, I can't say I haven't wanted to kiss you for a long time. I just never thought it would actually happen." She starts laughing quietly, and I smile. "But, wait-" I pull back quickly, "do you want me to kiss you? Oh my god. I've just been assuming you wanted to kiss me and you don't. And now-"
"Gale!" She laughs quietly.
Was she just going to stand there and let me molest her? "Don't worry Madge I won't do this again. That was so out of line. I don't know why I did that. I'm so sorr-"
"Gale," I pause for a breath, "shut-up." And suddenly small soft hands are pulling me by my neck down towards soft pink lips.
The first time our lips make contact is brief, but it sends a shock through my entire system. "Madge," I whisper her name, and then push my lips much less hesitantly to hers.
I've never felt this way. That one innocent kiss was much more satisfying than any quick release with some girl at the slagheap.
I press harder into her, and she surprises me by pushing just as hard back. I feel her tongue trace my lips, which makes me moan. I won't give her all the power, so I tease her by keeping my mouth shut. Which is really just a torture in itself.
I give up my efforts immediately when she nips at my lip, and slides a hand under my shirt trailing it slowly up my chest.
An unexpected growl reverberates from deep in my throat, "My oh my, Madge Undersee, you are quite the little minx."
Her girlish giggle in response to my words, somehow make me even more turned on. I make my way down to her neck, somehow lucid enough to be careful not to leave any marks. Madge starts walking backwards pulling me along with her, never breaking contact.
She turns us and pushes me against the wall, "My turn," she trails kisses from my chest to my neck. A wonderful burning sensation flows through my veins, and adrenaline just won't stop pumping. I've never felt so alive. Every touch leaves a blazing inferno behind.
She's having trouble reaching my face, so I lift her up pressing her against the wall. She wraps her legs tightly around my waist, and- dear lord we need to stop, but oh it feels so good.
Our lips return together fervently, and our sighs and moans mingle into one.
Faintly, the noise of a banging door slips past this Madge induced haze, but it's not enough to snap me out of it.
The sound of an angry old man yelling, on the other hand is, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DAMN KIDS DOING BANGING UP AGAINST MY WALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!"
Madge looks at me with wide eyes, and a laugh slips past my lips. Reacting quickly, I swing Madge onto my back carrying her piggyback style, and make a run for it. "Sorry, sir!" I yell over my shoulder. Madge is in a fit of giggles behind me, and I laugh right along with her.
Now that my sense has returned to me, I know that we have been making far too much of a disturbance for the peacekeepers not to have heard something.
"Okay, okay, shh. We need to be quiet. The last thing we need is to be caught by a couple of peacekeepers." She manages to contain herself, and we continue on in comfortable silence to where I was planning on taking her before we got distracted.
I feel her warm breath against my ear, "You can put me down you know."
She's so light; her weight is hardly any trouble to carry. I tighten my hold on her legs, "I know."
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
I chuckle, "No." I know it bothers her that she doesn't know, but it is a surprise after all.
The tip of her tongue traces the shell of my ear from top to bottom, and when she gets to the bottom she tugs on my lobe with her teeth. An unbidden moan drops from my mouth. "How 'bout now?" She says in a sultry tone.
"Nope," I emphasize the p making a popping noise. Why would I stop if she's going to give me this kind of treatment?
She trails kisses down my neck, "Pretty please," she says in an innocent tone.
"No way. We're almost there anyways, you could probably figure it out if you paid more attention to the road than my neck." Not that I want her to do so.
She scoffs, pauses, then blows a huge raspberry on my neck and giggles. The sensation mixed with her childishness makes me laugh.
We continue on with relatively few distractions, and make it there quickly.
"The meadow?" She questions.
"Yup, there's this small little clearing that I thought we could go to talk. We should be safe there, nobody has ever come across me yet." It takes me about five minutes to get to the clearing. It is a really small clearing, but from it you have a clear view of the sky. I set Madge on her feet.
I lay down while she looks around, "This is beautiful." She turns to me a playful glint in her eye, "Is this where you take all the girls?" She pause then adds, "Or guys?" She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively.
I laugh, "Yeah, all the girls," I give her a smirk, "and guys. Haha, but no. Unless you count my mom and my little sister, this isn't where I take all the girls, or guys."
I grab her hand and pull her down next to me, "Can't we just lay here and enjoy the view?"
She looks up at me, "Aren't we supposed to talk about the interviews? Or the fact that Katniss is going into the Games tomorrow? Or about how we went from hating each other, to friends, to making out in the time span of like two weeks?"
"Hey, I never hated you."
She gives me the Madge look again, "Shut up, you know what I mean."
"Also, I'm not sure it was quite two weeks."
She wacks my chest and gives me a stern look that reminds me of my mother, "Gale."
I run my hand through my hair, "I know. Let's start with the interviews." That is the easiest thing to understand at the moment. "What the hell was Mellark thinking? He made a fool of Katniss! Everything she accomplished to be intimidating-"
She sits up quickly, "Wait. I know what he did looks bad to you, but it was actually really smart." Smart? She's taking Mellark's side? Does she think it's okay that Katniss looks weak now? "You see he was-"
"Wait you're telling me that he was being smart?" I look up at her disbelievingly.
"Yes, Gale he really is." I open my mouth to protest, but she raises a hand to silence me, "Let me explain it to you from a Capitol point of view." I'm slightly annoyed, but I know I should hear her out. She has a way of explaining things. I nod in acquiesce, and she lowers her hand.
"They love Katniss; her poor little life from 12, her volunteering for Prim, her dress on fire, her 11 training score, and her modesty. And they love Peeta. Maybe not in the same way, but his charisma on the stage, and he got a score good enough for a Career, and then alas he's been in love with his fellow tribute since they were children. And now they are both going into a fight to the death where only one of them can survive. The Capitol citizens will eat this up! They love a good star-crossed love story. Katniss and Peeta will be getting a lot more sponsors, who are rooting for their love story."
"But he made her look weak."
"Maybe, a little. But if the other tributes see her as less of a threat, then they won't be out to get her from the start. And, she got an 11 how weak can you look after that?"
I sigh heavily. Not wanting to admit she has a point, "Yeah, I guess that makes sense. But I still don't like him."
"Why not?" That makes me pause, and think. Why not? I look at her. Well, I'm not sure. Because he's from town? No, he's never acted like some of the other guys from town. Like he's better, or something, he's friends with everyone. Because he made Katniss look stupid? But, I guess he really didn't.
I scratch my head in thought, "Well, I don't know.. Do I need a reason?"
"I suppose you don't need a reason, but I've always wondered.." She trails off midsentence.
I sit up in a leisurely position next to her and prod her shoulder, "Wondered what?"
She looks conflicted about whether or not she wants to say, "It's okay Madge, wondered what?"
She lets out a breath and in a clear voice says, "I've always wondered if maybe you liked Katniss. Maybe more than liked her."
She has? I never knew Madge put much thought into anything I might've been feeling before we became friends.
But do I like Katniss as more than a friend? I mean, I guess I always kind of thought Katniss and I would end up together but.. I don't know, do I? I've fooled around with other girls before, but I always had Katniss on hold for when I finally grow up. For when I'm ready to get married. But Katniss doesn't want the same things I want for a family. She never wants kids. At least not with the Games happening. But I do. I want a big family just like mine.
And then there's Madge. I've never connected with someone before like I have Madge. I've never felt the way I do when I'm with her, when I touch her, when she touches me. I don't know if I could ever find that with anyone else, but in all reality could I ever end up with the Mayor's daughter? I don't know. But I do know I don't want to give up yet.
My silence seems to have made her anxious, "It's okay if you do. I mean she came way before me, and we can forget about that kiss if you want." She's looking down at the grass, which she's sliding her fingers through, and pulling from the ground agitatedly. She looks uncomfortable, and I know she's waiting for me to respond.
"Madge, I don't want to forget that kiss. Do you?" Maybe she doesn't feel the same way I do.
She looks me in the eye, "No, I don't."
I smile, and lean forward giving her a small peck on the lips. "Good."
She smiles, and then frowns, "But what about Katniss?"
I sigh, "I don't know. I guess I always thought we'd get married one day. I never loved her like that though, I suppose I could've, one day. But now- All I know is I've never felt about someone the way I feel about you. I don't know if it's possible for me to feel like this with anyone else. And Katniss and I probably wouldn't have worked out anyways."
She nods, and I'm relieved, "I understand about Katniss, and about never feeling this way before. But Gale, do you think maybe we should take this whole thing," She gestures between us, "a little slower. We only just became friends, and now we want to- what? Start dating? Maybe we should stay friends, and make sure that we aren't going to rip each other's throats out after a week of being civil.
Why don't we wait until Katniss comes back, maybe even for a while after that? To make sure you don't have feelings for her, and to make sure we aren't making any rash decisions, because of everything that's going on right now. Then we can see where this goes."
I love how she says when Katniss comes back, and not if. It helps to know she believes in Katniss as much as I do. But friends? That might be kind of hard after knowing how amazing it feels to kiss her, but she's right. It would be stupid to jump into some sort of relationship so quickly. Especially with everything that's going on right now. "Damn, why do you have to be so reasonable?" I place a kiss on her nose.
She pushes me back, and says in warning tone, "Gale."
"I know, I know. It's a deal," I hold out my hand for her to shake, "no dating until Katniss has returned, and we've affirmed that I have no romantic feelings for her."
"Good." She shakes my hand. I pull her forward before she can take her hand back, and she lands in a heap in my lap.
I press my forehead against the side of her head and whisper in her ear, "But it's going to be really hard to keep my hands off you. Especially knowing what I'll be missing." I tug on her earlobe with my teeth, in a very similar fashion to what she did to me earlier. I kiss on down her neck, sucking at her pulse point.
I smirk in success when she releases a breathy moan, "Well, maybe we can have one more kiss before we start." She says her voice shaking.
"Mmm sounds good to me." I start to pull back, "But we probably shouldn't." I tease.
"Oh shut up," And once again I'm being pulled back to her wonderful mouth.
I don't understand it completely but I want this. I want her. I want Madge freakin Undersee. And now I have to wait, who knows how long, to have her. Well shit. This deal is going to be so hard.
AN: Sorry if this chapter is all over the place. I wrote most of it all today, because I know I've been slacking so I wanted to finish this for y'all. I'm going to try really hard to post this chapter from Madge's POV tomorrow! I've been procrastinating on my summer school work a lot, but I think it can wait another day. And to answer one of the Guest's questions, I will be having Katniss and Peeta live. I'm trying to make it as close to the book as possible. Sorry if any of you think it was too early for them to kiss, but I just really wanted to write that scene and it seemed so right. But I did make sure to have them take it slow. I love when y'all review, so please tell me what you think, and if you have any questions, ask away!