"You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself."

When Thom invited Delly to the start-of-summer bonfire, he casually suggested that she bring along a few of her town friends. Well, he thought he'd been casual. Bristel disagreed and disapproved. "You shouldn't meddle anymore," he said. "It's too dangerous. It's not worth it."

"I didn't even mention Undersee," said Thom. "Besides, we're going to the mines in a couple days and that's dangerous. At least he can get some happiness from Undersee."

Bristel scowled, but spoke no more on the subject as they approached Gale's house. Chances were Undersee wouldn't even come. He couldn't imagine why she would.


Peeta had extended Delly's invitation to the bonfire on to Madge without expecting her to accept. She'd been just as surprised as him when she agreed to go without any fuss. She told herself it didn't have anything to do with Gale. There would be over three hundred people at the bonfire. Chances were she wouldn't even see him. That didn't keep her from hoping, though she knew she shouldn't, and she tried to ignore how terribly she wanted to catch a glimpse of him. For as long as she remembered, she'd done her best to avoid him, and now that it was imperative to do so, she found the challenge insurmountable.

I won't talk to him, she thought, creeping quietly down the stairs, past the hall where her parents slept. If I do see him, I'll only look for a second. The whole point of going was to take her mind off of the pregnancy, to have a little fun while she still could. That was Peeta's reasoning, at least. He didn't know anything that had happened with her and Gale, because she didn't know how to explain to him, or to herself, how torn she was between the need to see him and the need to stay away.

"You look nice," said Peeta, when she met him at the end of the street.

"Too nice for a bonfire?" she said, frowning down at her blue summer dress with a thin belt made of white leather. Her hair was held back in the usual bun. She'd thought about wearing it down, remembering how Gale seemed to like her hair that way, before also remembering that she wasn't supposed to care what he did or didn't like.

"No, it's a nice dress. Not too fancy," said Peeta. "You'll fit in alright."

Madge doubted that. She didn't feel that she belonged anywhere, especially not the seam, but that didn't stop her from falling into step beside Peeta and hurrying there. I'll just look for a second, she told herself again. Just a glimpse, a little one, and then I'll look away for good.


Gale didn't want to be at the bonfire, but it took less energy to be here than to argue with his friends. He sipped at his drink, wishing he was home. All of his family was here. He'd have the house to himself. As soon as Bristel and Thom stopped watching him, making sure he didn't bolt, he planned to slip away. Hopefully his friends would forget about him soon. They meant well, but they didn't know, couldn't know, how deep his misery went, how much it pained him to be where he should've been happy, but couldn't be, because he kept seeing Undersee in the smoke, kept whipping his head around, thinking he'd heard her, only to find that it was someone else. It was always someone else. Of course she wasn't here. This wasn't her place…

He couldn't help wondering what she was doing now. Was she still upset over yesterday or had she moved on already? Gale doubted she'd wasted too many tears over him. She had bigger problems. He didn't mean anything to her. Not really. She hadn't been looking for him yesterday. She'd been looking for someone to save her, for solidarity, for something he wasn't exactly sure of, but knew it couldn't have been him specifically, just whatever it was he represented to her.

"That girl over there's been eyeing you all night," said Bristel, nudging Gale in the ribs to catch his attention. Gale looked to the girl, standing by the bonfire with a group of others he vaguely recognized from school, and she smiled at him when their eyes met. An inviting a smile. One that beckoned him over, to ask her to dance, maybe ask her for more.

Not interested, thought Gale. He opened his mouth to say it aloud, to get Bristel off his case, but then had second thoughts. Maybe he should dance with the girl, just dance, not take her to the Slag Heap or anything. Maybe he should make an effort to have a little fun. He wouldn't forget Undersee unless he put some effort into it. He couldn't have Undersee one way or the other. Here are your choices, he thought, watching the girl turn to say something to her friends. You can keep agonizing over what's done, stay stuck, or you can try to push on.

"She's alright," said Thom.

"Yeah," said Gale. Light brown hair, seam gray eyes, pretty dress she'd probably made herself and that didn't compare to anything Undersee wore. The girl was alright. Maybe she was smart, too. Maybe she was funny. Maybe she could understand him better than Undersee ever could, because they were from the same place, had grown up with the same problems. Maybe she was the right girl for him. Maybe he could love her if he tried to know her. Maybe…

Gale handed his drink to Bristel and made his way to the girl by the fire.


Madge, who'd rambled nervously all the way to the party, stopped talking as soon as they arrived. She sat between Peeta and Delly, off to the side, on a fallen and half-rotted tree trunk. Every now and then, someone cast the three townies a questioning look and muttered something to their companions, before passing on. No one noticed them for long and no one said anything directly to them about how they shouldn't be there.

Obviously, Delly didn't feel at all out of place. She chattered happily about school, her plans for the summer, on and on. Peeta tried to keep up. He sensed he was the only one of them who felt uncomfortable being here. Madge seemed too distracted to notice the occasional curious looks they were given. Her eyes swept across the crowd. She wore a determined look. Peeta almost asked what exactly she was searching for, but knew she wouldn't answer truthfully with Delly around, so he tried to follow her shifting gaze.

He gave up when he spotted Katniss, prowling the edge of the party. She caught him staring, glared at him for a moment with such venom he felt it keenly from across the smoky clearing, and then she spun around, heading away from the smoke and the music.

"I'll be right back," said Peeta, rising from the log before he had time to think through his sudden urge to follow Katniss. Madge didn't acknowledge that he'd spoken or moved. She'd be alright with Delly for a few minutes. He'd be back before she noticed he had even left. Whatever was on her mind didn't leave room for anything else.

Katniss noticed that she was being followed before Peeta worked up the courage to catch up to her. As soon as they were a fair distance from the party, with the bonfire little more than candle flame in the distance, she stopped and faced him.

"What are you doing here?" she said. She didn't sound surprised to see him, though Peeta himself was still surprised that he'd followed her.

"Thought I'd walk you home," he said. "Just to, uh, be safe."

Katniss laughed, but she didn't smile. If anyone needed protecting in the seam, it was breadboy, not her. Realizing that what he'd said was stupid, Peeta turned red. Despite the cover of night, he felt Katniss knew he was blushing somehow. Thankfully, she didn't tease him. That wasn't her way.

"I wasn't asking why you followed me," she said. "Why did you come to the bonfire? Why did you bring Madge?" Her voice dropped lower as she spoke. When she was angry, she didn't scream. She growled. "Seriously, what were you thinking? If she's caught out here-"

"I thought she could use a little fun," said Peeta, losing his own temper. He respected that Katniss cared for Madge, respected their friendship, and even appreciated the advice she'd given him just recently, but he'd known Madge for much longer. "She'll have to go to the Nursery soon enough," he said, forcing himself to hold Katniss' steely gaze, no matter how much he wanted to look away. "She should be able to enjoy herself a little before then."

"And you really thought she'd enjoy herself here?" said Katniss.

Peeta shrugged. "She's always talked about wanting to come to the bonfire," he said. At that, Katniss did look surprised.

"Oh," she said, her voice returning close to normal. "I didn't know. She's never mentioned it to me."

"I'm sure there's a lot she doesn't tell you," said Peeta. Katniss winced. For a second, he enjoyed his victory, until he realized how minor it was, how petty. He hadn't followed her to fight over which of them was closer to Madge. He wasn't jealous. In fact, he'd always thought it was a good thing for Madge to have another person to open up to.

"She likes your music," said Peeta. "We don't have much of it in town You know how the Capitol feel about it. Gratuitous or something like that."

Katniss nodded, understanding that he didn't want to fight. All the same, after a short and awkward silence, she said, "You still shouldn't have let her come." It wasn't exactly against the rules for Madge to be here, but if she was caught, if she showed herself to the Capitol as the type to sneak out in the middle of the night to go to seam parties, then they would tighten her leash, make it impossible for her to go anywhere or do anything without being monitored. There'd be enough of that when she was in the Nursery.

"I know," said Peeta. He drew a line in the muddy ground with the toe of his boot and then wiped it away with his heel. "I just wanted her to be happy for a bit."

"Did it work?" said Katniss.

"I don't think so."

"Well, I guess we'll have to think of something else."

Peeta looked up at her. We? he thought. He couldn't tell if Katniss was smiling now or not. Maybe? Just a little bit.

"You're a good friend, Mellark," she said. "Go back to Madge. She'll need someone to walk her home, to be safe, ya know."

Before Katniss turned her back to him, Peeta caught a definite smile flicker across her lips.


Delly had run off with Thom. Peeta was...somewhere. Only when she found herself alone did Madge stop looking for Gale and begin to feel out of place, but of course, when she wasn't looking anymore, there he was. She took more than the glance she'd sworn to limit herself to. She followed every move he made, watched him spin some other girl, watched him pull some other girl close to whisper in her ear. She couldn't look away. She wanted to. She felt strange, sick and angry and something else she didn't have a name for. It didn't make sense to feel any of those things.

This is what you wanted, she told herself, watching Gale and the other girl dance. He was laughing at something she'd said and that strange, nameless emotion swelled in Madge's chest. This was your choice. She wanted him to be happy. He deserved to be. So then, why wasn't she happy for him? Why didn't she feel some sense of accomplishment for having done the right thing? Why did it only feel wrong to see him with someone else?

Madge finally tore her eyes away. She couldn't stay here a second longer, couldn't keep watching. Will he take her to the slap heap? Will he touch her the way he touched me? Will he tell her that she has a pretty dress? Madge kept her head down, eyes on the ground, as she darted through the crowd. She knew she should wait for Peeta to return from wherever he was, but if she did, she'd keep watching, and keep feeling these nameless things she didn't want to feel, and asking herself questions she shouldn't care about, questions she didn't want the answers to. The fire was too hot. Smoke stung her eyes. She never wanted to see Gale Hawthorne again.

She hadn't gone far from the fallen tree trunk, when the cry went up. "Peacekeepers!" someone shouted. The music died immediately, the last chord trembling in the moment of stillness before pandemonium broke. Madge found herself caught in the midst of a sudden storm, a stampede of people, pushing her this way and that. Panicked faces, lit and menacing in the bonfire glow, all unrecognizable, flashed past her one after the other. Where the hell was Peeta? Or Delly? Even Thom would be a welcome sight. Madge realized just how alone she was and the fear slammed into her.

Then she saw the Peacekeepers and the fear exploded, the shrapnel of it slicing right through her. There were so many of them. But why? Surely not just because they were all breaking curfew. There were always bonfires in the seam. The Capitol didn't approve, but they tolerated them.

Move, a little voice hissed in Madge's head, you can't be here, you can't be caught. The ranks of Peacekeepers moved closer in an unbreakable line, unaffected by the chaos all around. Move, the voice screamed, MOVE NOW.

Madge spun around to run with the rest. Outside of the bonfire's light, all was pitch black. She couldn't see, didn't know who jostled by on either side of her, didn't know where she was going. The sound of heavy boots drummed at her back. She had to keep running, blind, lost, alone. As long as she kept ahead of them, then…

Someone hit her hard from behind and she lost her footing on the muddy, up-turned ground. She tried to stand, but a foot broke through the darkness, pushing her back down. All she could see were feet. She felt them, heavy and painful, on her legs, her back, forcing her deeper into the sucking mud. Madge shielded her head with her arms. It was the most she could move. She'd be trampled to death if she didn't get up.

Oddly enough, the fear left her as she lay in the mud. The awful, nameless feeling was gone, too. There was only a foggy sort of peace, an unexpected acceptance. She'd rather die here and now than have the last of her freedom taken from her. And what did it matter, really, that she still had three months before her confinement? Were three months of freedom worth anything, when she would spend them in dread?

Someone tugged at the back of her dress, trying to lift her out of the mud, and she raised her arm to push them away, turned her head to tell whoever it was to leave her be, let her go. She expected Peeta, or Delly, or a stranger. Instead, she found Gale kneeling in the mud, hunched over her to fend off the stampede. "Up," he shouted over the screaming and the boot stomping of the Peacekeepers. "Now, Undersee!"

Madge obeyed. She didn't think twice about it. Her thoughts from a few seconds ago vanished without a trace. Gale kept her arm in an iron grip. His skin burned against hers, as if he'd been holding his hands in the fire. No longer lost, no longer alone, she ran with renewed determination, and wondered how she could've ever considered giving up.


"In here," said Gale, shoving her into an old coal shed. He closed the door and collapsed against it, using his body as an extra barricade. Not that it would matter if the Peacekeepers found them. He prayed they wouldn't look. They'd already broken up the party. They didn't seem to be looking for anyone. When he'd first seen Madge, getting tossed around in the swarm, he panicked, thought they'd come for her, but realized now that didn't make any sense. The Capitol wouldn't send an infantry just to drag home one girl in her first trimester.

But why send an infantry at all? It wasn't typical for the Capitol to use excessive force without cause? The bonfire had been tame. Nothing threatening, nothing out of the ordinary. Gale couldn't think about it now. He couldn't think much about anything with Madge panting nearby. He couldn't see her, but felt how close she was. There wasn't really room for both of them in the coal shed. If he moved just the slightest bit, he was sure to touch her, so he was very careful not to move.

After a while, everything went quiet. No more screaming. No racing footsteps. Madge had caught her breath. She was grateful now for the total darkness that kept her from seeing Gale. After a while longer, she worked up the courage to whisper, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me," snapped Gale. His anger whipped out at her, catching her off guard.. "Have you lost your damn mind, Undersee? What were you thinking, coming out here?"

"I thought you didn't care what happened to me," she snapped back at him. If he wanted to pretend, then fine, but she wouldn't tolerate being spoken to so harshly.

Gale took a deep breath. He groped for self-control. Everytime he caught it, though, he saw her being trampled into the mud and the fear he'd experience in that moment, greater than any fear he'd known before, was too much. It was easier to be angry with her. He opened his mouth to tell her how stupid she was, but he didn't want this to turn into a screaming match. The Peacekeepers might still be around. He stepped towards her, reached out through the darkness and grabbed her shoulders, intending to shake some sense into her instead.

Touching her was a mistake. As soon as he did, his anger dissolved. He could just barely see her face, but her expression was all shadow. She was breathing heavily again. She was alive, safe, here with him. They hadn't been alone like this since their last night in the Justice Building. If he tilted his head just a little, he could kiss her. God, he wanted to kiss her. He needed to kiss her.

"Shouldn't you go find your girlfriend?" said Madge. Gale didn't let go like she expected. If anything, his grip tightened.

"I don't have a girlfriend," he said.

"You're only sleeping with her, then," said Madge. She didn't mean for her words to come across so sharply. As soon as they left her mouth, she knew she shouldn't have spoken them at all. That nameless feeling welled up again. It had crept into her voice and, in the dark, more attune to the nuance of sound, Gale picked up on it with ease.

"You're jealous," he said, half in disbelief.

"Don't be absurd," said Madge. She tried to shake him off. He noticed, though, that she didn't try very hard. Nor did she protest hard enough. After years of fighting with her, he knew he'd hit a mark. He knew the difference between when she was lying and when she honestly believed what she said. Madge Undersee was jealous over him. Despite himself, despite everything, he smiled for the first time in weeks.

"I don't care what you do, or who you do it with," she said. "It's none of my business. Just like what I do is none of yours, so let me go and...and…"

Gale shifted even closer. His breath tickled her lips and she couldn't think anymore. She forgot how to speak. She forgot that she was supposed to want him to let go, when more than anything she wanted his arms around her. How could she do the right thing, how could she let him go, when he was standing right in front of her and she was thinking of how it was to kiss him and hoping that he would go on and kiss her again already, before she really did loose her mind waiting.

"I care," said Gale, unable to stop himself. The words rumbled deep in his chest.

"I know," whispered Madge, no longer afraid of the Peacekeepers overhearing, only afraid of the truth, out in the open, the uncertainty of what might happen next.

"You're jealous," said Gale. His hand slid from her shoulder to the back of her neck. She couldn't lie with him touching her like that. The emotion she'd felt, watching him dance with another girl, wasn't nameless. She just hadn't wanted to admit that it was jealousy.

"Yes," she said. That was all Gale needed to hear to forget about right and wrong, the danger of being near her, the absolute stupidity of leaning in to kiss her. His lips brushed against hers, barely touching, and the world that had been so long upside down turned right side up again.

"Madge," said Peeta, his whispered shout frantic on just the other side of the door. Gale let his hands drop to his sides. Peeta's hurried and passing footsteps served as a bitter reminder that they weren't alone in the world. The Peacekeepers were still out there. The Capitol still saw and heard everything. When he backed away, Madge couldn't stop herself from clutching at him, trying to keep him. It was harder for him to uncurl her fingers from his shirt than it had been to walk away from her yesterday. He held her hands a moment longer, committing every detail of this moment to memory, so that he could return to it in the good dreams, even if they killed him upon waking.

"I'm sorry," he said, finally letting her go. He threw open the door and stepped aside so that she could squeeze past. "You should go after Mellark, before he gets too far."

I can't, thought Madge, frozen in place. I don't want to. I want...I want...She didn't know anymore.

"Please go," said Gale, his voice strained, body tense. "Please."

She understood what he was trying to say. Go before we make a mistake. Go before we move too far to turn back. Before their story turned into Haymitch Abernathy and Maysilee Donner's. Madge darted past him. She ran after Peeta's shadowy figure, already receding in the smothering dark.


AN: DAMNIT PEETA! So close, but you knew it wasn't going to be that easy...Endless thanks for the reviews. I wanted to give you a little something for all of your patience, haha. Oh yeah, and the random Peacekeeper raid is important, so don't forget it ya'll :)