Chapter two.
He tossed and turned in bed, his confusion mounting. He didn't know why he couldn't get her out of his head tonight, maybe it was a sign of what his mother said. No matter, he had a plan.
He wasn't sure she would agree to it, in fact, it would take a miracle to get her to say yes. But he wanted her happiness, and he knew running would be the only thing to bring it to her. He thought he should wait until after the reaping, it would be too hard to run if either of them were picked, even harder to have to watch her die without being able to change anything. He figured he would leave the decision up to her, which is what it would be any way.
He slept, and for the first time since his father had died, Gale Hawthorne didn't have a dreamless sleep. He dreamed he was chasing her, he couldn't catch her. He kept calling to her to stop crying, that he would protect her. In her anxiety to get away from what was chasing her, she stepped in to one of his snares and was held up by the ankle. He swore and tried to run to it. But he then knew that he was the one she had been running from, he was the monster, and he had just trapped her.
He woke in a cold sweat, startled by what he'd just seen. He figured it was just his subconscious reminding him of his fears. He checked his watch lying on his nightstand. 4:30am. Damn. He knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so he took his time getting dressed and headed to the woods.
He found berries and a few katniss tubers and had a nice breakfast waiting for her to come through the trees. His snare lines had caught all the meat they would need for the next two weeks. But he didn't ask her out here this morning to actually hunt. His real reason was to present her with his plan, and the woods were the only place they could really talk. He looked down at his watch, 5:30. She would be appearing any moment.
She had an uneasy feeling the whole morning. She waited longer than normal to make sure the electric fence wasn't buzzing. She stepped through, feeling as if her every move was being watched. It was, but by him rather than someone who shouldn't.
"Good morning, Catnip." His familiar greeting sent a current through her body, one that made her relax.
"Good morning," she noticed he had already checked the snare lines without her. It was odd to her, but she didn't mention it. Judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he'd had just about as much sleep as she did. He had enough meat to last them, so why did he call her out here?
He saw the quizzical look on her face and took her hand. He led her to the stream without a word, but he didn't stop. He led her for about a quarter of an hour, to the place where the stream ran to the valley, on a hill where there were mountains as far as the eye could see.
It was beautiful, and it took her breath away just as it did every time she came here. They sat down and he let her eat her breakfast before they had their annual rant against the Capitol. On the day of the reaping, it was their tradition to come to this very spot and rant and rave where they couldn't be heard. It took care of a little stress and made it easier to get through the day's reaping. Afterwards, they would always have a feast of the two families celebrating their children's return home.
After Gale had gotten angry enough about the sick nature of the games, his expression softened. Here was the bombshell he had been waiting to drop. She stared at him, wonder crossing her features. Gale was never this nervous in front of her. Maybe, she thought, he was getting ready to tell her how he felt about her. She started to hope before she silently scolded herself.
"We could do it, you know. Take off, live in the woods."
She scoffs at him, unbelieving that he is trying to get her to run away yet again. He pleads with his eyes, willing her to understand.
"Gale, we can't leave. We have families. You want to start one of your own—"
"But I could. I could start one with you," he interrupts her. His words catch her off balance. His hands to go his mouth wondering if he said the wrong thing, cursing himself for letting the words escape his mouth. His brain starts shutting down, he's desperate for a clever response that he just can't think of.
But she smiled and took his hand from his mouth, his expression changed from one of horror to one of happiness. He took her cheek in his other hand and found her lips, kissing them in a way he's been dreaming about for months.
She broke away, much too soon. "We can't leave. But we can start something for ourselves."
He smiled, taking her hand as he led her back through the woods, back through the fence. He even went as far as to walk her home. He kissed her cheek and said goodbye, asking her to wear something pretty for the reaping.
He finds her in the square, wearing a dress he doesn't recognize. Her hair is up in a pretty bun, braids woven throughout. He smiles to himself at his beautiful prize. She finds his smile and returns it, unaware that most of the male eyes in this square are trained on her.
He sees Prim, nervous and scared for her life. He looks down at Rory and squeezes his shoulder before kissing him on top of his head and dropping to a knee in front of him.
"Rory, listen. If your name is called, you stand tall. You strut to the stage, you show no emotion. You be a man. That's just what they're looking for." He pulls Rory's face to eye level, "they just want a show. Do. Not. Give. Them. The. Satisfaction. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Gale."
He knows his instructions are meaningless. He'd die before he sent Rory into the arena, he would volunteer in an instant. He sends his brother to his place in the crowd before finding his own. He looks to the sixteen year old girl section and finds her. she looks distressed, searching for him. When she sees him, she smiles weakly and sends a message with her eyes. I can't lose you.
The vile Capitol woman gets up and introduces herself before reaching into the bowl of all the female names of district 12. But she doesn't call Katniss, she doesn't call Primrose. The name she calls is not Everdeen. In fact, Gale doesn't even know the name of the person called.
He exhales, not realizing he was holding his breath. He looks to her and her features light up—another year safe. Then anxiety and pain cross her face again. The Capitol woman is reaching into the boys names. Gale closes his eyes and prays a Hawthorne isn't called.
And it isn't. Peeta Mellark crosses the crowd and heads to the stage. A merchant's child. Gale darkly predicts he will die in the bloodbath. His thoughts are interrupted as Katniss, Prim, and Rory assault him with hugs.
This was his last one. He is free. He picks up the love of his life and kisses her in front of everyone in the square. She wraps her arms around him and kisses back. He smiles to her as he sits her down, "Let's go home."