I know I haven't updated in forever but the thing is I'm not at all feeling inspired. And I don't know if it's because the story is no longer good or what but the number of reviews received are falling and as a result, I don't feel like updating as I feel not many people read this. Please if you like it, do let me know so I know whether the story is worth continuing or not. You don't have to give me lengthy 2 page review but still let me know that you're reading and want to read more. Anyway, here's the next chapter. It's short but it's here.

***...***...***

It's been 3 months since I have been officially divorced. The school year had finally ended and I couldn't be more glad. For 3 months, I had been on a trial basis in the school. If I motivated enough kids to take up archery in the following year, my job was permanent. And honestly, I really wished that no one would take it up. Why? Because I hated being a teacher! Sure, once in a while, something good happened but overall, I hated it. I realized I was only good as a guest, not a permanent archery coach.

I have to wait till the following week to know whether I got the job or not. I can't quit on my own because my damn contract says that if I'm offered the job I can't quit before 1 year and I really can't stand another year.

In the meantime, I will maybe go hunt sometime in the forests here. The forests here are different than 12 but at least the freedom I feel in there are no match for how I usually feel.

Just then I hear a knock on my door. Wondering who it is, I go to it. Seeing who it is, I freeze up.

I'm finally move when I hear the person's voice, "Hey, Katnip. Thought I'd come by."

…***…***…

"Hey, Gale." I say to him once he is in my house and sitting on the couch.

"Hey, Catnip."

"What are you doing here?"

"Had a week off. Decided to visit Rory and Posy."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to give me a visit."

"Yeah, so what's up with you now?" he asks me. I'm grateful he is not bringing up the last time we saw each other.

"Oh, waiting to know if I'm permanent or not yet at the school." I say trying to sound excited.

"You don't seem like you want to be permanent."

"Can I tell you something? I hate being a teacher or a coach, whatever you want to call me. But I can't quit before a year. So, the only way I can leave is if they decide to let me go." I confess to him.

"Well, good luck. I'm sure you must have made a terrible impression on them. I'm confident you'll get fired."

I laugh. "Thank you. Your wishes mean a lot."

"So, what do you plan to do if you are successful in getting fired?"

"I'll go back to 12. I can go back to hunting there and maybe help Greasy Sae's granddaughter. Not to mention, people there hate those preserved meat. A lot of them are so habitual to fresh meat, they're ready to pay generously for it."

"So back to the forest?"

"Yeah. What about you?" I ask him.

"Huh. What about me?"

"What about your job?"

"Oh, it's going good. Thankfully, it's no longer as, well, as full of action as before. It's relatively peaceful. I like it better that way now."

An awkward silence ensues. Please say something, I almost say out aloud. Because this silence is reminding me of our last meeting and I absolutely don't want to remember that.

"Katniss?" he says.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For the bomb. I mean, I never apologized properly then. But I do regret making it. If only I had listened to you about the bomb, about Coin, things would have been different. Prim would have been alive. I'm so sorry." What he says is so unexpected, I can't say anything for a minute.

"You don't know that." I finally say.

"What? Of course, I regret it. How-"

I cut him off. "I meant, you can't be sure that Prim would have been alive. Coin wanted me dead at any cost, possibly as a martyr, and when she couldn't get to me, she killed the person she knew would break me. Prim. Maybe she wouldn't have died in the bombing but she was my sister. And Coin wanted her dead."

"That doesn't excuse me and Beetee making that bomb."

"No, it doesn't. But it's not like I never did anything to put her in danger. The day I took those berries out, was the day I put my whole family and everyone around me in danger."

"But that was the right thing, Katniss."

"I know. And I guess you making that bomb seemed the right thing to you. I'm not defending your decision to make that bomb. I'm saying you did what you did and it's the past now. Yes, I was angry at you but no longer. I'm glad you're no longer that guy that made the bomb. I'm glad you're now the boy I first met."

"Me too. And I promise I never made another bomb after that. Even though I'm a peacekeeper but I never hurt anyone unless I absolutely had no other choice. I guess, I have already hurt so many people in the past, more deaths seem, I don't know, pointless and sad."

If there was any part of me that was still angry at him, I know, that part has now forgiven him. I have got my best friend back. I look at him and smile. He smiles back. For a while we just sit there not saying anything but now the silence is not awkward. It's a nice silence. The kind of silence where you're grateful for the person in front of you.

And then as if by an unknown force, we are both pulled towards each other and we kiss.

***...***...***

If you liked the chapter, tell me. If you hated it, also tell me. Anything you thought about this chapter, do tell me.