III. You saw me start to believe for the first time.
He meets her at Sae's, a half-hour later, after dropping Rory off at home, and she's already snagged a table, homework spread out. He made her promise not to buy coffee until he arrived, and she didn't, but that didn't stop her from buying a steaming bowl of beef stew and a piece of rustic bread. She almost bought one for Gale as well, but figured he would take it the wrong way, as though she were trying to undermine him.
She's facing the counter, so she can clearly see Sae telling Gale something that's making him flush. She pinches his cheeks and laughs merrily and he blushes harder.
"Ahh, you're a good 'un, you are," Sae is telling him. "And two coffees, you say? Who's the other one for, I'd like to know?"
"You know," Gale says. "Madge."
"No, I didn't know," Sae says smartly. "That's why I asked! I didn't know you two were friends."
Gale gives her a look telling her he sees right through her act. "We're not," Gale says sharply, and Madge curls into herself a little bit. She knew this was a bad idea. But then his voice softens. "But we might be," he says, more to himself than Sae, who grins widely when she hears this.
Beaming her approval, she hands him an extra piece of bread. "Go charm her," Sae whispers in his ear, for only Gale to hear. "I know you have it in you, Hawthorne. I've seen you with enough girls. But this one's special."
"I know," Gale says and he means it. He's always known it, which is in part why he always says and acts the worse around her. There's something about her that gets under his skin and crawls into him, exposing him for what he really is, for better or worse.
"Show her that you are, too." Sae says, giving him a wink and a push towards Madge, who, try as she might, can't hear what they're saying, and is desperately trying not to wonder.
Gale goes and he sets the tray down in front of her and she looks up at him as though she has been working all along.
"Hi," she says, her voice slightly cautious, but her smile is warm.
"Hi," he responds, and her eyes are so intense and blue he has to look away for a moment.
He hands her the coffee, which she accepts, gratefully, and she looks at him in surprise. "How'd you know I like my coffee like this?"
Gale smiles sheepishly at her. "Sorry to disappoint," he says, "but I didn't. Sae did."
Madge flushes. "Oh!" She says. "Of course. I'm sorry."
"No harm done," Gale says, and then, before he can stop himself, "Maybe someday I will."
She looks at him questioningly.
"Know. How you like your coffee." God, could he get any more fucking stupid? Gale mentally smacks himself in the head. What the fuck is he even talking about?
Madge blushes some more, and Gale can't regret his words if it causes a reaction like that. Suddenly he realizes that she's just as affected by him as he is by her. He's not sure what he wants to do with that information, or why, exactly, it's important, but he knows that it's invaluable, somehow.
Gale takes the extra piece of bread that Sae gave him and breaks it in half and offers it to Madge. She tries to refuse it, but he insists. "That's the best part," he urges her, "dipping the bread in the stew."
Madge grins and she finally relents. "I could deny it," she laughs, "but what's the point?"
It breaks the ice a little bit, and they both relax. Gradually, they begin to talk—of school, of activities, of colleges. Gale has an athletic scholarship to attend a university up north and Madge, who skipped a grade, is deciding between her father's alma mater and her dream school, the latter of which is close to Gale's college. They talk about their families, friends, Katniss and Peeta.
Madge is easy to talk to, and Gale's not a talker. She's attentive, responsive, and charming. He looks at her and thinks of lost time, of his own stupidity. He thinks of how truly lovely she is.
"This is nice," Madge says quietly after a few moments of silence.
Gale chews before he responds. "It is," he murmurs.
He looks up at her and it's as if he's really seeing her for the first time, this gentle, kind girl who, yes, is more financially secure than he is, and goes to a better school and will probably lead a more comfortable life than he will, but he can't hold that against her anymore, nor does he want to. She is someone who deserves that life, not because she is better than him, or born better, but simply because she is a good person. Madge Undersee deserves all that is good in the world and it's like realizing that is setting him free of this immature and irrational hatred he's had of her.
"I'm sorry," he says. "Because it's my fault that we—we haven't had or couldn't have had moments like this. I was so stupid and so, so wrong about who I thought you were."
Madge looks at him in the eyes. "And you know who I really am now?" There's no point in clarifying who Gale used to think she was.
Gale looks at her thoughtfully. He might have had an epiphany about her, but that doesn't mean he knows her well. He's assumed so much in the past, made so many snap judgments about her, and he knows this is his second chance. He doesn't know why it's so important to him, but he doesn't want to mess this up.
So he says, "I don't know yet." And, to Madge's shock, he gives her a shy smile. "But I'd like to."
000
"We're friends," he tells Bristel and Thom, taking a swig of beer so they can't attribute his flushed cheeks to anything else.
They're at a party, one of the last before finals start up and everyone's cramming so they can graduate with decent marks. It's a mixed crowd, both Seam and Capitol kids there. While there tends to be a lot of animosity between the two—particularly during sporting events—alcohol proves to be, as always, the trusty neutralizer.
Thom and Bristel immediately corner him when he comes in the room with Katniss, Peeta, and Madge in tow, particularly when they spot he and Madge talking to each other, all smiles.
"Really," deadpans Thom, while Bristel stands there, eyebrows raised. "Since when?"
"Since I got my head out of my ass," Gale snaps, knowing it's what they want to hear.
Bristel grins. "Well, at least you admit it," he says.
"And you finally got some good taste," Thom can't resist saying.
Gale chokes on his drink. "What the fuck?" He sputters. "What is that supposed to mean."
"It means that all of your other ex-girlfriends were clingy, self-centered bitches," Thom says bluntly, "and Madge is cool."
Gale scowls. "Thanks a lot, assholes," he mutters. "Tell me that now, why don't you?"
Bristel shrugs. "It didn't matter at the time," he explains. "It's not like you were with most of those girls for their personalities."
Gale flushes even harder, suddenly ashamed.
"Her, however?" Bristel jerks his head towards the opposite end of the room, where Madge is talking with the forward on Seam's basketball team, Kellen Cray. "She's special."
Gale shakes his head, thinking of Sae. "You don't have to tell me twice," he mutters.
Thom hears him, anyway, and his grin grows. "Well, well, well," he says, "is there finally a girl who's actually ensnared Mr. No-String-Attached, Gale Hawthorne?"
"We're just friends," Gale insists again. Something about the statement rings false, though- there's no "just's" when it comes to Madge Undersee.
He turns to Thom. "As for you, you should be nice to me."
Thom gives him a shit-eating grin. "Oh, yeah?" He says gamely. "And why is that?"
"Because I'm friends with Madge and Madge is good friends with Delly," Gale smirks.
Bingo.
Thomas face reddens. He's been panting after Delly for weeks now, after meeting her at a party, with no in. Peeta Mellark may be the nicest guy in the world, but Delly is like his sister, and he's just as protective as Gale is of his sister, especially concerning how sweet, and slightly naive, Delly can be.
Bristel raises his eyebrows at Thom, who begins to flush harder under his gaze. "Realllllllly," says Bristel. This is news to him. He looks at his friends. "Interesting. Both of my friends falling for Capitol girls. Never would've seen that coming."
Thom opens his mouth to reply, but his eyes sharpen on something in the distance. "Gale," he says, and Gale snaps his head up at Thom's tone.
Cray is trying to cozy up to Madge, his hands on her hips, and it's clear that she's uncomfortable, trying to squirm out of his grasp. She does so by walking over to the keg and getting another drink, tensing when he comes up behind her and throws an arm around his shoulder.
Madge's face registers annoyance and she slips out from under him once more, giving him a stern look and clearly telling him she doesn't appreciate his advances.
Madge can handle herself, Gale knows, but he hates the look on Cray's face: instead of chagrined, he looks amused by Madge, and the glint in his eyes reminds Gale of a predator.
Almost involuntarily, Gale curls his hands into fists and his scowl transforms into something like a snarl. Bristel sees this and lays a restraining hand on Gale's arm. He gives Gale a look- trust me- and walks over to Cray and Madge. Gale relaxes minutely. Of the three of them, Bristel has always been the most level-headed... And under-handed.
"Hey, Undersee," Bristel calls out cheerfully as he approaches them. He is the picture of friendliness, but when he looks at Cray his eyes are steel. "Cray."
He starts to talk to Madge about college, since they are concidentally going to the same one, and he watches Cray out of the corner of his eye. Cray hates being ignored, but eventually leaves, glowering menacingly at the two.
After he leaves, Madge smiles at Bristel. "I had things under control," she says, "but thanks all the same."
Bristel shrugs. "Safety in numbers," he tells her. He lowers his voice and leans closer, keeping an eye on Gale, whose eyes are narrowed suspiciously at them. "And between you and me, I did it more for Gale than you. He was about ready to pummel that guy."
Madge pulls back. "Really?" She asks skeptically.
Bristel nods mock solemnly. "He looked so incensed I thought he was going to turn into a werewolf and literally bite his head off."
Madge looks at him for a moment as if she isn't sure if he's serious, but then he grins, unable to hold form, and she throws her head back and laughs. Bristel looks at her admiringly. No wonder Gale is so smitten, whether he admits it or not.
"Let's go see Mr. Wolf before he bites my head off," Bristel says, and they walk towards Gale, who, he notices, puts his hand on the small of her back, and keeps it there for the rest of the night.
Bristel isn't sure if Gale realizes what he's signaled to the rest of the party, but the message is clear: she's mine. And Gale doesn't mind at all when Madge reciprocates the gesture - and the message - by leaning into him.
He's mine.