This isn't an actual chapter, but an excerpt from the beginning on chapter 13.
This is HOW Katniss and Peeta found out that Gale heard their nighttime encounter ;)
Enjoy!
I sit in the kitchen with my head on the table, feeling like complete crap, while Peeta makes us all breakfast. Even though I feel like I was hit by a freight train, I still have not decided whether the drinking was worth it or not. For all I know, I would have ended up killing myself before the end of that dinner, anyway.
"Should I put in some chocolate chips with the pancake batter?" Peeta's smiling in my direction, with a slight tinge of pity in his eyes. When all I do is groan, he decides to take that as a yes.
I think I fall asleep for a bit then, because the next time I pick up my head the table is set and Gale is sitting across from me. I expect him to have some amused look on his face, but he's completely stoic. I sigh and watch as Peeta sets chocolate chip pancakes on all of our plates. He then rubs a hand down my arm once and then sits down, motioning for us all to dig in.
They do. Me, not so much.
"Did you sleep all right?" Peeta asks Gale politely, probably more to fill the awkward silence that I couldn't care less about.
Gale's hands seem to tense, his jaw set, and all he does is give Peeta a look. He goes back to his breakfast.
The rest of the meal is spent in complete silence, one of the most uncomfortable I have ever had.
"I should really go see my family. I leave again, soon." Gale stands up without looking at either of us, and puts his plate on the counter.
Peeta nods with a smile and goes to give Gale a handshake. After, Gale is heading toward me, so I put on the best smile I can and prepare for a hug. But that's not what I get.
He sets down a piece of crystal in front of me, then leaves.
I look to Peeta, and he seems just as perplexed as me. When I see realization hit, I'm curious to understand. "What?"
He lets out a breath and pulls me up gently so I don't puke all over him. We walk to my mother's old room, and that's when I realize what the crystal is from. This specific bedroom has a small chandelier right above the bed; a crystal chandelier. There is a note on the bedside table, so I let go of Peeta and snatch it up.
Next time I stay (if I ever do again), please warn me about how obnoxious you two are with that. Honestly, I thought seeing Peeta naked was enough for one trip.
-Gale
Well shit.
Peeta and I look at each other, then the chandelier, then at the note, then back at each other again. There's no way we were so bad that we caused part of the chandelier to fall off. No way.
I guess I must have said this out loud, because Peeta bumps me with his elbow and has a large grin on his face. "Well, apparently here is."
