This one's going to be short (sorry :c) because I need to go do some art stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or its characters, Suzanne Collins does.

Chapter 15

I've never kissed someone before.

So I don't really know what to do as Gale leans in and kisses me, but I let him. My mind goes empty of any protest, any conscious thought. There's just him and his lips and his hands, one on the back of my neck, the other on my waist, pulling me tight against him. I feel like I should do something with my lips but I don't know what that something should be, so I stay still.

He pulls away after a few seconds and his eyes are wide, searching mine, trying to judge my reaction. I stare back, not entirely sure what just happened. I had been sure he liked Katniss, so sure that he had no feelings for me. And yet he had just kissed me.

"Gale…" I whisper. I must not look happy, because he pulls away.

"I'm sorry," he mutters, looking at his feet.

"Don't be sorry," I say, trying to keep my voice gentle. "I just… I don't understand…" Gale sighs as I say this and runs his fingers through his hair in a brisk movement, messing it up. I resist the urge to smooth it back down for him.

"And… Why are you confused?" He asks, not meeting my eyes but grabbing my wrist and pulling me down so that we are both sitting.

"Because…" I look at my hands which are resting in my lap. "Because of Katniss…" Gale stiffens and sighs again. "Don't you have feelings for her?" I ask in a small voice.

"I… Madge…" He whispers, taking my hand. I won't look at him – I don't want to hear what he's about to say. That he only kissed me because he misses Katniss, that he would never want to be with me.

"Madge." He says again, his voice clearer now, but still quiet. "I don't have feelings for Katniss. I promise you."

This takes a moment to sink in, and I look up at him. I can feel a silent tear slip down my cheek, and he brushes it away with his finger. He looks concerned.

"Is that bad?" He asks quickly. "I'm sorry, Madge, I-" I cut him off by holding up my hand.

"Do you really mean that? You don't like Katniss?" I ask, my voice still quiet.

"I really mean it." He says firmly. After a moment of silence, he sighs. "Look, I just… Katniss is my best friend, and without her, my family would've starved by now. I couldn't live without her. But… She's only been my friend, and I want to keep it that way." I wait for him to continue, and I can hear the stress in his voice. "It's just… Everyone expected us to be together, didn't they? Even you thought I had feelings for her. Hell, I've thought about it myself, but I don't. I don't like her in that way. But everyone expected me to and I couldn't and…" His voice fades away and I squeeze his hand.

"Personally, I prefer blondes." He manages to say with a weak smile. I smile back, and shuffle closer to him.

"And me?" I ask quietly. "How do you feel about me?" Gale laces our fingers together and holds my hand tightly.

"Well, to start with, I found you utterly infuriating." We both chuckle when he says this.

"The feeling was mutual." I reply, with a smirk on my face. Gale grins and continues.

"And then… I saw Zach with you, and I hated it. I couldn't stand to see him hurting you." He clenches my hand tightly. "And I felt… Happy when we bumped into each other. I was hopeful that I would see you by the fence. And then when you got hurt, when you were cold in the forest… It was horrible. And I knew then how much I cared about you." He ends in a whisper, and I take a moment to think about this. I remember the concern in his eyes that day, the way he scooped me up in his arms and carried me all the way home.

I begin rubbing circles on his palm with my thumb absentmindedly, and look back into his eyes. We look and look and look, but it's not awkward, it feels… Nice.

"If you don't mind," Gale says quietly, "I'm going to kiss you again." I smile and he takes that for an answer.

This time, it's slower, more gentle. He only brushes his lips against mine for a few seconds, but it feels wonderful. When he pulls away, I'm out of breath, despite having only kissed him for a very short amount of time.

Gale smiles at me, and runs his finger along my bottom lip slowly, smiling more when my breathing accelerates when he does this. And then I'm pulled into a tight hug, which I return just as tightly.

"One more question." I mumble into his chest. "Do you still care about what people will say if they see me with you?" Gale waits a bit before he replies, thinking carefully about what to say.

"I didn't care what people would say about me being with you, no. Not because you were from the town. I cared because everyone still expects me to be with Katniss, but now… Now she's with Peeta. And that makes everything okay, because now I can be with you. If… If you'd like that, Madge?" He asks quietly. I can tell he's scared that I'll say no.

I like him, I know that. It feels… different when he touches me, even if our arms brush. It's like electricity running across my skin. And I certainly enjoy kissing him.

Then again, what will my father say?...

Screw him. I think firmly. I didn't care what he said, I didn't care what people at school said. If anything I needed a friend, and it would be extra nice if Gale could be something more.

"Yes." I reply, equally as quietly. "I would like that very much." He hugs me tighter and plants a kiss on my head, which makes me smile.

What was once a light breeze has now got stronger, and I shiver as we get up. Gale wraps one arm tightly around my shoulders, and we walk slowly. At the fence, he suddenly pulls me close and kisses me again, just a simple kiss, his lips pressed against mine. When we move apart, he's smiling, and so am I.

"Sorry." He says between breaths, "I'm just… I'm really happy I can do that now."

I smile at him and crawl under the fence, and he follows quickly. We walk through the square holding hands, and attract a few stares, but we ignore it. Everyone in the Seam knows Gale because he hunts; everyone knows me because my father is the Mayor. I don't care though, I only grip Gale's hand tighter as we walk, letting people look.

When we reach my street I stop, but Gale pulls me along, closer to my house.

"What if someone sees?" I hiss, resisting his pull.

"Yes, what if?" He says lightly, a smile playing on his lips. I sigh, and let him pull me along. I was fine with people at school knowing about… This, but I wasn't so happy with my father knowing. I only know that he will disapprove and perhaps force me to stay away from Gale, which I wouldn't like at all.

We stand outside my house and Gale pulls me close, resting his forehead against mine. He rests one hand on my cheek, and strokes his thumb back and forth, which leaves a nice feeling that lingers. When he kisses me again, it feels like the electricity that appears on my skin when he touches me, only magnified. I wished there was some other way to describe the feeling, but the only word that came to mind was electricity, so I left it at that.

I end the kiss this time, whispering that I have to go. He kisses me one final time, quickly, sweetly. We hug and walk in separate directions, and I throw a glance over my shoulder as I go into my house.

"MADGE UNDERSEE!" Toby booms. I turn around quickly, to find him standing at the other end of the hallway, brandishing a pan that I guessed he was going to use to cook dinner in. "WHO WAS THAT YOU WERE SHARING SALIVA WITH?" I sigh in relief and giggle. Of course Toby had been watching, nothing gets past him.

"Nobody, Toby. I don't know what you're talking about." I march past him with a grin on my face into the kitchen, and he follows. I lean against the counter and watch him, having to stifle a giggle as he manically waves the pan at me.

"Don't you 'nobody' me!" He cries. "Don't you make me use this!" I can't help but laugh as he sweeps the pan at me. He sets it down on the stove and turns to me.

"Honestly Madge, who knew you were like that, running around town, snogging boys from the Seam, no less…" He sighs dramatically and begins preparing dinner, and I Decide to help. We talk as we work, or rather, Toby teases me and I throw spaghetti at him for half an hour.

We eat dinner on the sofa in front of the TV, and Toby catches me up on the Games that I missed today.

"There was a feast. Peeta didn't want Katniss to go, but she did anyway, because he needs medicine. Badly. That girl from the same District as Cato, the huge one, she caught Katniss, and honestly Madge, I thought… I thought that was the end." Toby says softly. I try to swallow the lump in my throat that has suddenly appeared, but it doesn't work. Had I just missed my friend's death?

"But then that boy, Thresh appeared. He attacked the girl, and saved Katniss. He said it was like an exchange for Rue. And Katniss got back to Peeta with the medicine, although he was a bit pissed off that she left." I sigh in relief and smile.

Peeta does look a bit healthier. His leg has healed up a bit, and is no longer leaking pus, for which I am very grateful.

After we wash up our bowls, I head up to bed, but take a shower first, even though I had one this morning. I'm covered in dirt from the forest, not to mention several scrapes and bruises on my legs. Toby had made no comment, but I was fairly sure he would have guessed where I had been.

I collapse into bed, but for once don't fall asleep immediately. I close my eyes and think about today, the kissing, the forest, the strawberries…

And with that, I fall asleep, and dream of a huge tree in a meadow that grows strawberries on the branches, and they're as large as apples. I keep trying to climb up to get to them, but I fall off every time.

Didn't I say this would be short? Ah well.

Read and review! Oh, and thank you for the 2,500 views!

*note to my friend – don't stress about tomorrow, you're gonna be fine. I promise.*