A/N: I'm trying something a little different for this chapter. I'm not sure I still have Katniss pinned down, characterization-wise, so any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Thank you guys so much for all of your feedback. Stay awesome.
The mayor didn't let me come back to their house for two weeks after what he lovingly referred to as "the accident."
As if it were an accident. Sure, did I plan on kissing Madge when she had that goofy pinata head on? No. That doesn't mean it wasn't on my mind. Almost constantly. It's just... in that moment, she was so completely herself that I couldn't help myself. For years I'd known the quiet Madge, the slight, studious girl in the back of the classroom whose shoes and socks were still white because she didn't trek through the coal dust every day to class. She sat in the back, never answering any questions, never drawing any attention to herself. But even then, I marvelled at how blonde and pale she was, fragile like a doll. The rest of us were calloused and dark, a product of the mines, but there she was, untouched by all of the filth.
Of course, all of the kids at school resented her. And could you blame them? Here we were, doomed to break our backs for the Capitol, and that girl would never lift a finger in her life. I just wish that they all knew her the way I do.
That day, on her birthday, I almost left to break Billey's nose after I heard what he told her. The thought flashed across my mind to break her dad's for the hare-brained idea. But that's not what she needed, I knew that. So, instead, I rocked her in that dimly lit room as she cried. Her hands were balled into fists against my shirt, her tears damp against my collarbone. None of that mattered to me. Not when the girl who had clumsily pieced me back together for my family was falling apart. I put myself out on a limb that day. Never before had I actually spoken aloud what she meant to me, not even in the slightest, but the moment she mentioned volunteering for the Hunger Games I could feel my mouth getting all swollen and wet like when you feel you're going to vomit and my hands started to shake.
She deserved to hear it. I'm not sure I prefered her father as an audience- I could hear him mouth-breathing and sniffling outside her door- but that was the first time it truly hit me, how alone Madge was in this glass castle.
I wish the rest of the kids at school could have seen her face when I told her what a wonderful person she was. Her eyes shone through her tears with a hope you never saw in this district. A watery smile was tugging at the corner of her lips and her face was flushed from crying. In that moment, I'd never seen anything so beautiful in my life as that hope.
But, when we were outside, and I was able to relax in the cool grass without the fear of Peacekeepers running me off it- or worse- I was more than content. She even let me bust the pinata open. And then seeing her, running around, doing nothing more with joking with me and laughing until our sides hurt, that's when I realized.
It wasn't that hope that made her beautiful.
It was her.
I couldn't help myself. When she clumsily galloped into me and knocked the both of us over, the warmth of her body seeping through her soft, cotton dress, I tried so hard for a second to just focus on the triangle of freckles on her collarbone. But I needed to see her face. I lifted that ridiculous horse head off and her blue eyes shone, pale and striking, the sunlight streaming through her hair and I knew then I had to kiss her. I closed my eyes and felt her chest hitch in surprise, the warmth of her cheek against mine and she hummed gently, so lightly, I felt like I could just lay there, the grass and trees grow around us and keep us permanently entangled, I didn't care about the mine or the hopelessness of District 12, just this beautiful girl whose heartbeat I could feel racing against mine. But she pulled back and I quickly became embarrassed. I was still pinned underneath her, and all I could do was blush and look away.
"Katniss," Madge's voice was low, like my name was a secret. "Promise me..." she waited until I met her gaze. "Promise me you will never do that again-" I felt panic rising in my chest. I couldn't believe I was so stupid. "Unless you mean it. Because if you're doing this just to make me feel better, it might break me," before I could even protest, her eyes fluttered shut and Madge was capturing my lips again, sighing into the soft meeting of our lips.
The mayor is so overbearing it's creepy. The fact that he caught us was understandable, but the fact that he waited until after Madge had rolled to my side, her arm lazily slung around my stomach, proved that he had been watching.
So, when I started yelling about how creepy he was, he didn't take it too lightly. In fact, he told me that I could never step foot in their house again. I told him that didn't bother me one bit, and, before she could get upset, I stepped toward Madge and told her I would see her at school tomorrow. The mayor couldn't do anything about that. There's only one school in the district. He sputtered a few times and I left, still smiling the whole way home.
The next day at lunch, Madge still seemed upset. She sat down beside me, not saying anything, picking at the crust on her sandwich. She sat there like that for five minutes. I snatched the sandwich out of her hand.
"Hey!" she cried out, and I handed it back to her.
"Listen, Madge," I took her other hand that was under the table. "You don't need to worry. Your dad will get over it. All you have to do is say please and bat your eyelashes at him and he'll be falling over himself to make sure you have what you want," I wasn't sure what else to do, so I squeezed her hand under the table, my lips quirking up a little.
"I know, Katniss, but you should have heard the things he said yesterday after you were gone!" My eyebrow quirked at this. What could this man have possibly said? He had no spine. "He made it seem like we'd been going around behind his back for ages, and I tried to explain to him that we haven't, but, honestly, can you blame him? So even when you can come over, it's not going to be the same, and we can't just-" she lowered her voice and looked around, making sure no one was listening. "I'm worried I'm never going to be able to kiss you again, Katniss! I mean, I really- it was- I liked it, okay, and I'm not going to be happy if your little stunt means it can't happen again!" her face was flushed with agitation.
"That's what you're worried about? Madge," I took my hand under her chin to direct her gaze toward me. "I'm not sure if you know this, but I play hide-and-seek with around two dozen Peacekeepers on an almost daily basis. If I can manage that, I'm sure we can figure out a way to sneak around your clueless dad. I promise," I wanted to kiss her again right there, just to prove it, but I was suddenly aware of several pairs of eyes on us. Our foreheads were so close, they were almost touching, and I could feel Madge's warm breath on my neck. I quickly snapped back and glared at each and every one of them. They turned around without hesitation. Apparently my threats on Billey's life were not kept secret after all.
Another week and a half went by, and Madge was still having absolutely no luck with her father. I was in the middle of hemming a dress of mine for Prim when I heard a knock on the door. I cursed to myself after accidentally jabbing my thumb with a needle and hurried over to the door to open it.
Outside was a well-dressed woman who I guess was around 40, her light hair falling above her shoulders. The minute I got a good look at her eyes, I knew who she was.
"Mrs. Mayor, please, come in," I probably sounded just as unsure and uncomfortable as I felt in that moment. She smiled graciously and seated herself in the kitchen, where the only good stool in the house was. "I thought you never left your room!" I blurted. "Why are you here if you're never with Madge?" I bit down on my lip before any other questions could come barrelling out of my mouth.
"Madge is the reason I'm here, dear," she answered casually, as if we spoke on a daily basis. "Her father is livid, still, and God knows I've tried to talk some sense into him," she got up from her chair. "Do you mind if I get myself a glass of water? All of this coal dust makes me thirsty," I nodded, and she proceeded to rummage through the cupboards, emerging with a chipped glass. Filling it and inspecting the water for clarity, she took a sip and continued.
"And I'm about to talk to him again. That's the good thing about saving your words, dear. When you open your mouth, it really means something. I digress. I'm taking you back to the house with me, and I'm going to have a little chat with my husband, and you shouldn't have any problems with him anymore," she pulled a vial out of her pocket, drank some of its contents, and her mouth puckered. "Now let's get going before this migraine becomes too much," I nodded and put the dress away, shouting to Prim that I should be back in an hour and not to go outside or answer the door.
The mayor's wife walked briskly; it took me serious effort to match her stride. "How do you know?" I couldn't help asking. I've seen this woman two times in my whole life. I'd be surprised if Madge saw her any more than I had. "It's not like you're... around."
She sighed. "I'm not, you have that absolutely right. But... it's not as if I'm deaf. It's rather convenient that so much happens in my husband's office when I'm right next to it. It makes it much easier to know what's going on in the house," I wanted so badly to ask her why she lived in there, why she didn't just come out and talk to Madge once in a while, but I held it back. I was afraid if I made her speak too much, she may decide to give up on the whole thing.
When we stepped inside the mayor's house, she motioned for me to come up the stairs. We both stood outside the mayor's office as she knocked, and when he opened the door, it seemed like he was going to faint.
"Katniss and I have come to have a chat with you, if you'd be so kind as to sit down," the mayor nodded meekly, returning to his chair. His wife sat opposite him, and, as much as I wanted to just bolt down the hall into Madge's room, I sat down beside her. "Well, now that we're all comfortable, I'm just going to lay it out. Katniss can come here whenever she wants-" she pointed her finger at the mayor when he attempted to interject "Quiet. I am speaking. You and I both know that we have done a terrible job of making our daughter happy. I have never seen Madge shine like she does around Katniss. You are not taking that away from her and that is final," she paused for a moment. "And- if they're together, then good for them! It means they won't wind up raising children in this miserable district to be slave labor to the mines for the Capitol. Think of it as another way of bucking the system," she rose out of her chair and left. Just like that. No goodbye, or anything.
I barely cast the mayor another glance before sprinting down the hall to Madge's room.