My history exam went fine, yay ^^ so I decided to update c:
Dislaimer: still don't own the characters or book or film or gah
Chapter 13
Katniss starts to sprint in the direction of where Rue's cries are coming from. I can hear my breathing speed up – my heartbeat is loud in my head as I watch the cameras flash between little Rue, twisting and struggling in the net, and Katniss, running as fast as she can, an arrow notched in her bow, ready to attack.
After what seems like hours Katniss reaches Rue and cuts her free with slightly shaky hands, and then Rue is free-
My breath hitches in my throat as the spear goes through her tiny body. Without hesitation, Katniss turns around and shoots an arrow straight through the heart of the boy who threw the spear. She then collapses on the ground next to Rue, who's staring at the blood that's spreading across her t-shirt. Katniss looks like she's going to cry, and I realise that hot tears are streaming down my face. I had never got this emotional when watching another show of the Games; they were just brutal, never… Sad, like this.
"Katniss?" Rue asks in a tiny voice. Toby reaches over and takes my hand, his thumb stroking circles on my palm in an attempt to calm me down. My tears drip onto my t-shirt, but I don't move to wipe them off my face.
"Will you sing to me?" Rue continues, drawing in a shuddering breath. Katniss nods wordlessly, already knowing that it's too late. I think Rue knows it too.
Deep in the meadow…
Rue's breathing becomes more shaky, and she shudders as she inhales and exhales.
Under the willow…
Rue closes her eyes as her breathing becomes more pained, and Katniss looks scared. Not the kind of scared when the Careers were chasing her, or when she was running from the forest. The kind of scared when you know you're going to lose a friend, and there's nothing you can do about it.
A bed of grass…
Katniss's voice shakes as she sings, but she doesn't stop. A tear slips out from underneath Rue's closed eyelids as she draws her final breaths.
A soft, warm pillow…
The cannon fires and I flinch. Katniss's voice fades away into nothing; there is only silence, only one person breathing. I only realise that I'm shaking when Toby pulls me into his arms and hugs me. I let out a sob and hide my face in a cushion, and he lets me cry, unsure what to do. He settles for placing one hand on my back, and one at his side, and turns down the volume on the TV.
Eventually, when I've stopped crying so much, he nudges me. He doesn't say anything, but the look he gives me lets me know that he's sad too. It helps me know that he cares.
I look at the TV again, wondering what horror I'll see next. But instead of the gruesome sight I was expecting to see, I see something wonderful. Katniss has arranged white flowers all around Rue's body, and positioned the little girl's arms so that she holds a small bouquet of the flowers, in the traditional pose that they bury people in.
Rue looks peaceful, despite the spear that is still sticking out of her chest. I guess Katniss wouldn't have been able to bear it, seeing the wound, and all the blood. She stands back from Rue, and touches three of her fingers to her lips, and holds them out to the girl. The cameras cut off quickly to some footage of one of the Careers, but it's too late. I've seen what she did, how she showed her respect for Rue.
I rub my eyes quickly and sit up straighter, pulling my hand out of Toby's, which I have been gripping tightly. I realise right now that I'm extremely thankful that he's here with me, and that I don't have to watch the Games alone. Even if my father could watch with me, I didn't think he'd be very comforting.
I sigh and push my hair away from my face, and lance at the clock.
"Shit!" I exclaim, and cover my mouth quickly. I've never sworn in front of Toby before, but he just gives me a weak smile and shakes his head at me. I guess even he's in a sombre mood after Rue's death. I don't want to look at the TV – I don't want to see Katniss's grief. I switch off the TV quickly, wondering how it got so late so fast. Then again, the time zone from here and the arena must be different.
I say goodnight to Toby and go upstairs, but suddenly decide to have a shower. I need something to relax me, to help me forget about what I've just seen.
I take longer than necessary in the shower, and turn off the water when it begins to run cold. I dry myself quickly and slide on an old t-shirt and some pyjama shorts and climb into my bed, and fall asleep quickly, exhausted.
I wake up late in the morning, and Toby comes into my room with some tea a little while after. He catches me up on everything that has happened – Katniss has begun to search for Peeta. I climb out of bed as fast as I can on a Saturday morning, and move sluggishly downstairs, still half asleep. I collapse onto the sofa, and get nudged by Toby occasionally whenever he walks past, so that I don't fall asleep.
The Gamemakers obviously consider Katniss's searching boring, so I let my eyes glaze over, not really showing the footage they're showing of Thresh, who appears to be very hungry. I feel a bit sorry for him, but I don't know him. He was from Eleven, same as Rue.
Rue.
I feel a sharp pain twist in my stomach as I remember last night's events. I shake my head to try to get rid of the images of Rue's body, but it's no use, so I try and pay attention to what they're showing instead.
Finally it cuts back to Katniss, who is now travelling along the river, near where she was discovered by the Careers. There's no sign of Peeta anywhere, and she looks like she's given up. But then, the cameras are showing that same patch of land that they showed before, the footage that had confused me. I finally realise what it means – somewhere in there, Peeta is hidden. I smile slightly, feeling pleased that I've figured it out.
Katniss however does not look happy. She seems sort of panicked, running along, expecting to see Peeta easily. After all, they were wearing black t-shirts, which stood out pretty well.
She pauses for a second, looking around her, hands on her hips. Suddenly, something reaches out and touches her leg. She yelps in surprise and springs out of the way, but then a mixture of surprise, shock and relief crosses her face. She's found Peeta.
I let out a sigh of relief, and allow myself to relax, momentarily forgetting about Rue. Katniss helps Peeta up, his face and hair caked in a grey mush that seems to be a mixture of sand, gravel and dirt. She helps Peeta to wash, flinching at the same time as him whenever he is in pain. The cameras zoom in on a large gash that is now weeping blood at a steady, alarming rate. Peeta explains to Katniss in a few short breaths that it was Cato who did this to him, with his sword. Katniss nods as he talks, but she doesn't seem fazed by the blood, or the size of the cut. I think back to her mother, who would treat men who had been injured in the mines. I suppose she's used to seeing death and injuries.
I blush and turn away when she strips Peeta, and so does she. I had no desire to look at Peeta in his boxers, although the thought made me giggle slightly, despite the circumstances.
Once they're done, Katniss helps Peeta up and they begin walking. Well, Katniss walked with one of Peeta's arms round her shoulders, her knees bent from supporting his weight as he limps along slowly.
They can only move for a little while, as every step causes a little moan of pain to escape Peeta, so they use a cave that's nearby. It has an overhang which protects the inside from view from the outside, which is good, because I didn't think they'd be able to fight or make a quick escape anytime soon. I knew that even if Katniss didn't feel the same way about Peeta, she wouldn't leave him to die. She wasn't that kind of person.
A little update banner flashes across the bottom of the screen, and it tells me that Peeta's leg is infected, and it will soon induce a fever if they don't get medicine soon. I groan get up, not wanting to watch more. As soon as they move into safety and I can relax, something happens and it's all ruined.
When I go into the kitchen, it's empty. Toby must be talking to my father or something. I pour myself some cereal and add the milk, before taking a spoon and walking back into the room with the TV. I take my time, hoping that the cameras have cut to someone else by now.
I'm not that lucky, and come back in as Katniss is inspecting Peeta's wound, which is now producing some form of pus. I shudder and don't watch while I eat my breakfast.
When Katniss has finished tending to it, she lies down next to Peeta, closer to him than is necessary. As she does this, she puts her hand to his forehead, and her eyes widen.
"You're burning up." She mutters, trying not to show how worried she is, but I know otherwise. Peeta sighs and put his arm around her, pulling her closer. They lie in silence for a while, and I assume they go to sleep, because the cameras switch to the fox girl.
I get up and go back to the kitchen, and wash my bowl and spoon. When I'm done, Toby comes in and tells me that my father wants to see me. I take my time as I go up the stairs, not really looking forward to having yet another awkward conversation with him.
It didn't always use to be like this. Back when my mother didn't need to drown in morphling today, and my father didn't have so much work. We were happy as a family, we didn't need someone like Toby, not that I regret having him. He's excellent company.
I knock before I enter, not bothering to wait for my father to give me permission to enter. He looks up as I come in, surprised that I didn't wait for it.
He beckons me closer and hands me a piece of paper as we exchange pleasantries. He tells me it's a shopping list, and he wants me to go get the things on it. On the list is a number of varying things, gum, bread, soap, some meat, things like that, general groceries.
I ask before I leave if he's been watching the Hunger Games, and he nods gravely, gesturing to the TV which sits opposite his desk. It's off for now, but he's working. I don't say anything else, wondering how he reacted to Rue's death, wondering what he thinks about all this.
My head starts to hurt a bit so I stop trying to wrap my head round my father, and go get dressed, pulling on some jeans, a jacket and a t-shirt, plus some comfortable boots. I brush my hair and tie it up in a ponytail with a leather cord.
I go downstairs, not wanting to leave immediately, because it's raining. I reassure myself that my father can wait for his gum, and go read my book on the porch, enjoying the sound of the rain but the fact that I get to stay dry. For once, it's a warm rain, the kind that indicates that it's summer. Our weather had been so non-summery recently, so I was very glad for the warm rain.
After a couple of hours, Toby calls me in for a very late lunch, considering I had a late breakfast of a massive bowl of cereal. I remember this time to bring my book inside, remembering what happened last time I left it there and had to go back to pick it up.
"Madge?" A figure steps out from the trees that line my garden.
"Gale?" I gasp, quickly checking behind me to make sure that my father or Toby haven't heard. But my father has shut himself in his office, and Toby is doing the washing up.
"What're you doing here?" I hiss. He comes closer, so that he's at the bottom of the steps.
"I wanted to make sure that you're okay." He says quietly, not looking at me. This surprises me.
"What? Why?" I ask, regretting it when I realise how sharp my voice is.
"With Zach and everything… He didn't bother you today or anything, did you?" He asks, shifting from one foot to another. I bite my lip, wondering how much should I tell him. In fact, why should I tell him?
Because he's just being nice, he's looking out for you. A small voice inside my head says.
"I…" Now it's my turn to look away. "He… He sat with me at lunch, and…"
"Did he touch you?" Gale almost sounds angry.
"He touched my arm when I walked away, but…" Gale had stiffened, and was now looking at me. He looked pissed off, but not how he is with me.
"Why do you care?" I can't stop the words leaving my mouth. "What am I worth to you?" He looks up at me, all previous anger gone – now he looks… Sad.
"I don't want him to hurt you, Madge." He says quietly. I take a step closer, so that there's only about half a meter between us. His grey eyes look into mine, and I don't know how to respond. I want to ask why, I want to know more, but instead I just stare at him.
Finally, he reaches out, and touches my cheek gently. Despite being on a step and him being on the ground, we're eyelevel to each other. I hope desperately that I don't blush, as it was something I tended to do all the time.
Gale left his hand there for a few seconds longer, before sighing and pulling away. As he turns to leave, I call after him,
"Wait! Will you come to school tomorrow?"
Gale doesn't reply immediately, and stops to think about it.
"Is Zach going to sit with you at lunch again?" He answers my question with another, and this annoys me, but I try not to show it.
"I think so. He said he would…"
"Then I'll come." He doesn't wait for my reply, and leaves quickly, ducking under the trees. And then he's gone.
He had been looking out me. He had wanted to make sure I was okay. I shake my head and force myself to not think about him.
He was an asshole to you. He promised that night that he would defend you, look where you are now. Forget about him.
Toby and I chat at lunch, not really about anything in particular. It's a picnic lunch, just grab what you want and make a sandwich. My favourite king of lunch, although I did have a particular fondness for hot meat pie.
After lunch, I decide to check on what's happened in the Hunger Games, seeing as I should've been watching when I was reading. I realise that I don't really care, wondering how they would know if I didn't watch one minute of it. But of course I'm watching it – how could I not, with Katniss and Peeta being a part of it this year?
Speaking of those two, the cameras flash to them just as they wake up. The little banner appears again at the bottom of the screen, informing me that Peeta's fever is still there, but hasn't got worse. I'm not sure whether to be happy or not; his leg looked awful, and in a fight I knew what the outcome would be. He would be dead in a minute, unless Katniss was there to defend him, although I didn't know what she was like with hand to hand combat.
They talk for a bit, and I curl up into a little ball, chin resting on my knees. Peeta starts talking about home, about here, District Twelve. He talks about how Katniss sung a song for everyone, and he watched her go home every day after that. I know it's meant to be touching or romantic or something, but I can't help but stifle a giggle. It sounded funny, and an image popped into my head of young Peeta staring after Katniss, eyes as wide as saucers, jaw dropped.
I push the image out of my head and focus on what they're saying. Peeta takes one of Katniss's braids in between his thumb and forefinger, and fiddles with it absentmindedly as he keeps talking.
"You had your hair in one braid, instead of two." He says, pausing to look up at her. She seems kind of shocked, but is trying to not show it. I twiddle my thumbs, staring at my hands, thinking about this. I guess he really did mean what he said at the interviews; he really did have feelings for Katniss.
How Katniss felt, I had no idea. She had never talked about Peeta at lunch, and I'd never seen her hang out with him. How was it possible to have such strong feelings for someone who you'd never spoken to in your life?
Besides, it might have been hard for them to hang out anyway. She was from the Seam, he was from the Town. My mind drifts to Gale, something which it seems to have been doing a lot recently. Like us. We couldn't hang out together, because he cared so much about what people said about him. I couldn't care less, and I was sure that people said things about me anyway.
Not that I wanted to hang out with him. The last thing I wanted to do was see Gale Hawthorne and his arrogant, annoying face. I sigh, and wonder why he does care about the whole let's-not-be-seen-together-in-public thing. Or maybe it's something different? I had no idea.
Katniss and Peeta are talking about different things now.
"Katniss." Peeta says as she brushes his hair away from his eyes. "Thanks for finding me." He really does sound grateful.
"You would have found me if you could." She replies, touching her hand to his forehead, feeling his temperature again. She looks scared for a second, and I feel scared too. What if his fever has got worse?
"Yes. Look, if I don't make it back-" he starts to say, but Katniss cuts him off.
"Don't talk like that. I didn't drain all that pus for nothing." She says, and I snort. That was very like her, to say something like that.
"I know. But just in case I don't-" Katniss stops him again before he can finish, this time by touching her finger to his lips.
"But I-" He tries to say again, not giving in.
And then, out of nowhere, Katniss leans in and kisses him. And for some reason, I have to look away from them. I feel sad, and I think of Gale. I could hate him, I could want to slap him, but that didn't mean I didn't like him. Despite everything he said, all my hatred towards him, I still had feelings for him.
Apparently, Katniss had feelings for Peeta. That, or she just wanted him to shut up. I assume it's a bit of both.
At first I think what I'm feeling is jealously, jealously that Katniss has the one she likes, and I don't. But it's not that, I realise. I'm just sad. Sad about all the complications of liking Gale.
I decide that now is a good time to leave, and put up the hood on my jacket as I step out the door. I stuff my hands in my pockets and feel the paper which the list is on crumple slightly. I smooth it out with two of my fingers, not wanting to take it out of my pocket and have the ink run.
I arrive in the town in a matter of minutes, into the plaza that is near the Justice Building. Lining the edges of the plaza are the shops, and I head for the bakery first, wanting to get it out of the way. I force the kiss from my mind as I step through the door, and manage to return Mr. Mellark's smile.
I buy some poppy seed rolls and a small cake for myself, and hand him the appropriate money. I take my time as I move around the shops, picking up the necessary items and the occasional treat for myself, like a small packet of sweets, or a bookmark. I never bought anything expensive, things that would never go noticed.
When I'm nearly finished, the rain stops. I take a minute to enjoy the sunlight that appears from behind the clouds, as it warms me up a bit. My hair is reasonably dry because I kept it under the hood of my jacket.
I stare at the ground as I begin to walk again, and only realise when it's too late before I crash into someone, who also seemed to be looking at the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry-" I begin to apologise until I realise who I've crashed into. It's Gale.
"Oh…" I say, as he looks up at me with tired eyes. He doesn't look angry, or even slightly annoyed. Just tired, and a little bit sad. I think back to what's just happened – Gale just watched Katniss kiss Peeta. That must have been hard for him.
A small, selfish part of me wishes that it didn't upset him, that he didn't care. I didn't want him to like her; I wanted him to like me.
"Um…" I say. Gale looks like he's about to start walking again, so I start talking quickly. "Did you see what happened on the Games?" Gale shudders, and looks at me like I've just hit him. I shut my mouth quickly, and wish I hadn't said anything. I should feel angry, but I don't. Too many sad things have happened recently, and Gale looks… broken.
"If you're here to talk about the Games, then I don't want to talk to you." He says, glaring at me. I force myself to not get angry, to not raise my voice.
"And why not?" I demand, looking him in the eye. I want him to admit his feelings for Katniss, so that I can just get it over with.
When I don't immediately get an answer, I speak again, my voice slower, less agitated.
"Gale… Look. I don't have anyone to talk to about the Games. Anyone. I go for days without speaking to my father, my mother is in bed, unconscious from her constant supply of morphling. And if you haven't noticed, I don't really have that many friends at school. In fact, I have none. And do you know what that means, Gale? It means that the only person who I can talk to is you." I finish in a rush, wanting to get it out. Gale pauses for a second, so I keep going.
"And I know it's hard of you because of you being friends with Katniss and-" Gale stops me by putting up his hand.
"You think that's why I'm like this?" He asks, his voice hollow. "That girl… That wasn't Katniss." I don't really understand what he means, so I decide to try to offer some form of comfort.
"I'm sure it was for show, Gale. She didn't really mean it, I mean she's never talked about Peeta like that, let alone talked about Peeta at all." I babble.
"That's not it!" He says, his voice louder now. I'm glad that the square is nearly completely empty; I didn't want anyone else listening in on our argument. "If it was all for show, then that wasn't the Katniss I know. That wasn't her. She would never do something like that jus for show. The Capitol's changed her." He spits. I feel anger bubble up inside me, and this time I do not suppress it.
"She trying to stay alive, Gale!" I yell, throwing my hands up in frustration. "Can't you see that? She needs people to like her, and if kissing Peeta is going to do that, then of course she has to do it!"
Gale's silent. I don't know if he's angry or sad or anything. He's just silent.
I'm nervous, wondering if I've said something really bad, but I can't think of anything.
"Madge." He says eventually. "I'm sorry about what I said… Before." I'm taken aback by this. Where did that come from? I don't want to question it though.
"I forgive you." I sigh. "And I'm sorry too, for everything." Gale nods, and holds his hand out in front of him.
"Friends?" He asks. I'm not sure about this. I wanted to be his friend, but had we been friends before?
"Friends." I reply firmly, taking his hand and shaking it. He smiles a bit at me, and I return the half smile.
"Can I walk you back to your house?" He asks, and I agree, wondering how he knows that I've finished m shopping. Although I realise I haven't actually – I had been crossing the plaza to go buy some shoelaces when I had bumped into Gale. I decide it can wait till tomorrow, and start to walk in the direction of the street that will take us to my house. I like being peaceful with him again.
As soon as we're out of sight and walking along my street, he takes my hand, although not after some hesitation. I lace our fingers, and wonder if this is what all friends do. I didn't really know, considering I'd never had a guy friend, and although I had had Katniss, she wasn't exactly the holding hands type. Then again, neither was I, but I liked the warm feeling it gave me when Gale held my hand.
We don't talk much as we walk, but the silence is not uncomfortable. When we reach my house, he pulls me into a tight hug, which I return with difficulty, as I'm still carrying my shopping bags. I manage to put them down as best I can, and wrap my arms round him. We stand there for a while, before finally, I have to pull away. Gale sighs when I do this.
"Can I see you tomorrow?" He asks, a slight smile playing on his lips. I nod and smile back, happy that for once we're meeting up on purpose, not bumping into each other at random.
"Sure. What do you want to do?" I say casually. Tomorrow's Sunday, and neither of us have any work because of the Games. Gale's smile grows as I say this.
"I have an idea, but I won't tell you till tomorrow." He's grinning now, and I groan, but I'm still smiling. I hate having to wait for surprises; I'm very impatient.
"Okay then," I say, "How about… Ten O'clock, in the square?" I expect a smartass reply reminding me that we can't be seen together, but he doesn't say anything like that. I can't help but hope he doesn't care anymore.
"It's a date." He says, still grinning. "Bye, Madge." And with that, he walks away. I want to call after him and demand what he means by 'date', but I can't. I wouldn't know what to say anyway. Did he really mean a couple-y date, or did all people say that?
I feel annoyed when a hot blush appears on my cheeks, and I wait till it's gone before I go inside, not wanting to give Toby a reason to tease me.
Wow this is a long chapter! 4,740 words to be exact, excluding the Disclaimer and note at the start and this one here. I just had a lot of ideas and wanted to get them all out. I told you all those two would make up ;) and now they've got a date tomorrow, I wonder what Gale's surprise is? ;)
My next exam isn't for a week, so I'll update as much as I can c:
Read and review! Your reviews are amazing!