This is a one-shot Galeniss story I came up with while listening to music. It's based off the song "I Know You're Gonna Be There" by Luke Bryan, and it seemed perfect for Gale & Katniss's personalities, so I just wrote by the lyrics. It's really just a fly-by, but I do plan on writing more Galeniss later on, (Way later; I got stories to finish!) since it's my favorite ship. Anyways; hope you enjoy!
July 3
Gale,
I'm throwing a little fourth of July party. Wondering if you would want to come. I've invited some people we both know… I'm sure they'd be happy if you came.
You don't have to come, of course. It's fine; I'll understand.
9pm,
-Annie
I crumble the invitation up and toss it in the trash. No way in… I am not going. Nope. Nada.
Her face flashes through my mind, and I groan. I have to go. She'll be there. And I have to know… no, I already know. I just have to see her again. I have to.
I know she'll be there. For one, Annie is very thorough in her guest list. She leaves no one out. For two, it gives her a chance to catch up with Annie and the rest of our friends. Or rather… her friends; my ex-co-workers. Three, Annie has the best taste in music. And I mean best. She gets everyone's favorite bands to play, and I know she wouldn't miss her band for the world.
An idea pops up. It won't work. I already know that. But still, I have to try. I don't care what she does or says. Actually… I do. But it doesn't matter if she brushes me off without a sideways glance. It'll have been worth knowing I tried at the very least.
I fish my phone out my back pocket and scroll through my contacts. My finger stops above one marked: Samantha.
I shrug. She's as good as any. I press the call button and hold it up to my ear to wait for her to pick up.
"Hey Gale," comes her shocked voice through the other end. I sigh inwardly.
"Hey Samantha. I was wondering… my friend is throwing this fourth of July party, and I was wondering if you would come with me." She is silent for a while before her voice comes through, a little strangled and awed.
"And… you're asking me why?"
"Because I want you to come with me. Come on; I'll pick you up."
"O-Okay. Tomorrow night?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks for… y'know, inviting me." I can only imagine she's blushing red right now.
"No problem," I say in a light voice, trying to convince her I'm smiling on the other end. I'm not, but it'll works wonders if she thinks I am.
"C'ya then, bye." She hangs up and I take the phone from my ear. I hope to God this works…
~~~~The Next Night~~~~
I grab my new shirt out of my closet, and pull it over my head. It's a tight black shirt, but I'm just gonna hope it's good enough. I grab my pair of old Army boots and realize they're covered in dust. I quickly shine them up and slide them on. I hurry outside, push the keys into my old Army Jeep, and drive down to Samantha's; thinking the whole way how I'm gonna play out the night.
"Hey Samantha," I say as I pull up in her driveway.
"Hiya Gale." She opens the passenger seat and gets in, closing it firmly after her. Her golden hair is curled tonight, and she's wearing a short red dress that outlines her curves and has a deep V-neck.
It doesn't work though. There's only one girl I'll be looking at tonight. And chances are she won't be wearing some showy dress.
"We better hurry, it starts at nine." The digital clock says 8:50 right now, and it's a 15 minute drive to Annie's house.
"So who's throwing the party," Samantha asks, crossing her long legs and turning to me. I shift gears and back out before glancing at her and seeing a hint of jealousy that is quickly gone.
"Annie O'dair," I supply, and her eyes loose any hints of emotion at all. She's thinking she's happy it's not her party. I would've been fine either way, but this will do…
We arrive right at 9, and Annie smiles while waving us inside. As I pass, she raises her eyebrows at Samantha, but I give her a weak smile and go inside before she can trap me. Samantha gasps at the party decor, but I've been to Annie's parties before, and they're always fancy like this.
The music starts and Samantha pulls me over to the dance floor. I smile at her but tug her towards the bar, and she follows.
"Three of the strongest stuff you got," I say to the bartender, and he grabs a few bottles and sprays them into little shot glasses.
I catch two and Samantha catches one, and we clink them together before downing them. The alcohol burns the back of my throat and makes my head spin, giving me the feeling like I'm on one of those playground spinny things. What were they called… Merry-Go-Rounds. Yeah, the burning of nausea as they spun you around and the lightheadedness as you got off.
"Whew!" Samantha says, and blinks a few times. I lick my lips but make no other movements; the sensation fades after a few seconds.
I watch the guests file through the house, and soon there's a mob. I spot Thom and a few other of my old mining buddies hanging out in a corner, and I excuse myself. I work my way over to them and clap Thom on the back, and he beams at me.
"Finally get out of your hole?" He shouts above the clamor, and I laugh.
"Not really, but here I am! You come all the way from 12?" One of them - Cody - steps up.
"All the way from the the dusty coal tunnels, we did!" I laugh again and toss him a grin.
"Nice y'all could make it!" Colors flick on the edge of my vision, and for a split second I think I saw a blonde-brown duo, but when I turn, no one is there. I try to rid myself of my paranoia as I talk to the boys, but a little nag at the back of my brain tells me they came right when I was busy.
I head back over to Samantha soon after, and find her chatting with some girls. I try to back up, but she calls me over and leans into me drunkenly when I stand beside her.
"This is Gale everyone; Gale, these are my girls!" They all wave at me shyly, and I make no move to say anything. Samantha leans farther into me, letting her hands brush my shirt. "C'mon Gale, let's find somewhere a little… quieter." She says the last word in a whisper, then giggles.
I grab her hand and lace my fingers with hers, and pull her over to a table. "Why don't you sit here and wait for me to get back, ok?" I leave before she can respond, and make my way over to a table. I hold my breath when I come within sight of it, and see her. She's leaning against Peeta's side, laughing with Annie and Haymitch, and I watch as Peeta snakes his arm around her shoulders.
I make a conscious effort to get to Samantha, and pull her up from her chair. She latches to my arm and I smile. She straightens up and I wrap my hand around her waist, directing her to the same table I just saw. I plan to just go by, but Annie stands up and asks us to sit down.
She freezes, and instantly Peeta tenses by her side. Haymitch does a one-over, and Annie just looks pleased.
"Sorry," I say, not even looking to her. "We were just gonna go get some fresh air. Little hot in here," I add, trying to act convincing. Annie nods understandingly, and right before I go to turn away with Samantha, I can't stop myself.
I let a small smile slip, and nod to everybody as I speak. "Haymitch. Peeta." My throat tightens. I haven't said or even thought her name in a year. "Catnip," is what comes out, and she stiffens more. I nod again, and act like nothing just happened. Because really, all anyone needs to know is we're old friends. Just… friends.
I head towards the door with Samantha in tow, and push outside. I take a deep breath and move to the side, slumping against the side of the house.
"You ok?" Samantha asks, and I realize she's losing her short buzz.
"Yeah," I lie, and shake my head once as if to clear it.
It doesn't work.
"Wanna dance?" I ask, and her eyes light up as she nods. I lead her back inside, and as soon as the door shuts behind us a slow song is started. I bite the inside of my cheek but start dancing with her, and it doesn't take long before I'm anxious and my eyes are darting around. Samantha doesn't notice, she just keeps dancing and slowly losing her buzz more and more.
I make no sound when Katniss appears on the edge of my vision. Katniss. I almost gasp, and falter a little in my next step. Samantha looks worriedly at me, but I smile and she goes back to trying to get sober.
It's been over a year since I thought her name. Even when I said her nickname, I didn't let it register. Now, the name runs through my veins and fills me with a want so strong I can almost taste it. I swallow hard and keep dancing while Katniss hangs there at the edge of sight, talking with Peeta but not dancing.
Her eyes start looking over the dancers, and I quickly make sure I can keep her in my peripheral vision if I duck my head. Not that I'm going to. No, if her eyes come this far I'll-
Her eyes catch on us, and they rest there for all the time it takes me to notice. I lean towards Samantha, and her eyes flicker up to mine before she leans in and our lips meet.
Samantha's lips are soft and taste like alcohol, and are nothing like Katniss's.
Speaking of her… her face goes into shock and then hurt before she quickly turns and drags Peeta away. As he turns he sees me kissing Samantha, and his eyes widen right before Katniss tugs him away. I break away from Samantha and drop my hands, hurrying after Katniss.
The poor blonde stands behind me, looking at me with shock as I run off right after we kissed.
I chase Peeta's light head through the crowd until he gets released and stands in shock. I catch up to him and realize he's still short and I'm still tall; I'm a good five inches above him.
"Where is she?" I ask him, and he turns to me with a glare.
"Gone; because you couldn't keep your mouth to yourself!" He jabs my chest hard, and I don't move or say anything for the sake of his pride.
"Where. Is. She?" I repeat, staring him down. He gives me another glare before pointing to a back door that I run to, and muttering under his breath. "Idiot…"
I push open the door and see a shadow run past the house behind another one, emanating soft but furious sobs. "Katniss!" I say, and run after her, skidding around the side of the house she went behind.
I find her curled into a ball on the ground, back to the wall and crying into knees pulled to her chest. I feel tears prick the back of my eyes but push them away, going over and sitting down beside her.
One prase runs through my mind when she looks up at me with her big grey eyes. I know she'll be there.
And here she is, crying behind some person's house because I made her cry.
"Go away," she grumbles fiercely, and glares at me when I don't move. "Don't you have someone to get back to?"
It's a low blow, and we both know it. I flinch, and her gaze wavers for a second, but then her glare intensifies.
"I don-"
"Keep it for your girlfriend," she cuts me off.
"She's n-"
"Not what? Not me? Not good enough for you? You know that I love Peeta, Gale. Not you." I don't say anything and direct my gaze instead of at her to the wall in front of us. I realize this is an alley of sorts; the area between two house that's for dumpsters and graffitti.
I stay silent as her eyes bore into me, and I think it finally dawns on her she's playing dirty. Low. And she realizes I won't respond because I refuse to play on the level she's sunk to.
I hear her sigh frustratedly, and she slowly speaks again. "Look, I'm sorry. But seriously. We… us…" she pauses as if searching for the right words. "It never happened, Gale. It wasn't going to happen. I love Peeta now, and you have some gi-" I cut her off angrily.
"Oh yeah Katniss? If you're so in love with him, then why did you run out here and cry when you saw me kissing some girl. When I watched the Games, I didn't cry once when I saw you and him. Not once. If you love him so much, why are you still responding to the things I do?"
It's her turn to flinch. I keep plowing on, careful not to say anything as bad as what she said to me.
"Katniss, I want you to look me in the eye and say levelly you don't love me, and you do love Mellark. Do it." I turn to face her, and I feel a fire rise up in my eyes. She avoids my gaze, instead looking at the concrete below.
"What does that even prove," she mutters, and I almost lose grip on my patience.
"Gosh, Katniss, just say it!" She glares at me, and when she speaks her voice is shaky and quiet.
"Don't yell at me." I run a hand through my hand and calm down instantly.
"I'm sorry," I say, and stand up; towering over her small form that's still curled up. "I'm leaving." I walk away, and the tears threaten to spill over. I don't say goodbye, because if I do the words will come out broken and I'll know I won't ever see her again.
"I love Peeta and not you," I hear her say to herself. I knew how it was going to come out, and it turns out I was right.
The words are hollow and empty; meaning nothing to the speaker or anyone else. Anyone who heard them would know she was making a pathetic attempt to lie. It makes me shut my eyes as I walk back, and I have to try harder and harder to stop the dammed-up, salty, liquid curses from coming out.
I get to the end of the alley and right as I'm going to take the final step around the corner, the step that will forever mark me as torn away from Katniss, her voice rings soft through the air.
"I love you and not Peeta." The words are reversed, and I stop in my tracks. Those words aren't hollow. Those words are real and dripping with an unvoiced feeling.
I don't move, but stand still and let my thoughts run amuck.
"Gosh, Gale," she imitates me, "just say it back." I don't turn, but the words I've buried for the past year slowly flow out of me.
"I love you." I hear her shift and wait.
"Y'know, I don't feel like getting up and chasing you, so are you gonna come back or not?" I let a smile break my shocked face and turn back to see her tears have stopped flowing and are stuck to her cheeks in sparkling droplets. She's smiling back at me, and I rush back over, helping her stand and pressing my lips to hers as soon as she's steady.
Yes, I think as she kisses me back. I knew she'd be here.
Lyrics
I'm gonna put on my new shirt
Shine up these old boots
Take a deep breath
Try to keep my cool
I know you're gonna be there
I'm gonna have a couple drinks, just to knock off the edge
Not too much, don't wanna make a fool of myself
I know you're gonna be there, I know you're gonna be there
And I'm gonna bring somebody I barely even know
And when you turn my way, I'm gonna pull her in close
And the crazy thing about it is I ain't into her at all
I just wanna see if you still care
I know you're gonna be there
You love the band that's playing, you wouldn't miss them for the world
All our friends are coming out and if I know one thing, girl, I know you're gonna be there
Gonna walk right by that table were you always like to sit
And when I run into you, it's gonna be an accident
I know you're gonna be there
I'm gonna act like it ain't nothing, but another Friday night
And you're just some old friend and I'm doing just fine
Like I'm only going out to shake off another week
Maybe see the boys and catch a buzz somewhere
But I know you're gonna be there
And I'm gonna bring somebody I barely even know
And when you turn my way, I'm gonna pull her in real close
And the crazy thing about it is I ain't into her at all
I just wanna see if you still care
I know you're gonna be there, I know you're gonna be there
I'm gonna put on my new shirt
Shine up these old boots
Truth is when I see ya, I don't know what I'll do
Tada! That ends my one-shot... that actually isn't a one-shot. It started out as one; I promise! I just sorta kept going and the next part is in Katniss's POV. I honestly don't know if I should put it up or not, so I would appreciate it if you would drop a review and let me know!
Thanks to anyone reading... I hope you enjoyed reading as I enjoyed writing!