I'm at the hob when I overhear her name. Apparently a maid let slip that she hasn't seen Madge in over a week. She told someone else that the mayor used to hit her and now people are saying Madge might even be dead. I don't correct them. It makes me feel sick that not one person thinks about checking on her.
By the time Katniss and Peeta return from the Victory Tour enough people have seen Madge to know she's not dead but that just makes them talk more. After the incident with Rory and her status as an honorary Hawthorne, most just assume we're an item. I don't correct them on that either.
There's a sort of celebration the day the Victors return, it's not as terrible as a reaping but it's not quite parcel day either. There are families from both town and Seam in the town square and as she always is now, Madge stands with us. That is until my mother shoos the two of us off to find our friends like Rory and Vick have
"That's alright Hazelle, I don't mind staying with you and Posy at all" she doesn't mention that her one and only friend is still at the train station
"Would you want to meet my friends Madge?" I can't decide which one of us is more terrified at my question "just until Katniss gets here?"
"Okay" she clears her throat "okay" I studiously ignore my mother's smirk of triumph as we walk away "You don't have to introduce me, I can just head back to your mom or find the Mellark's"
"I thought Katniss was your only friend?" I cringe, mostly at how jealous I sound "sorry that sounded bad. I mean I didn't know you were friends … with them?"
"It's okay" she smiles "it is just Katniss and the Mellark's though"
"And here I thought you were a good judge of character"
"I am! An excellent judge of character in fact"
"Rye Mellark? I beg to differ" my tone is light and joking but I am not joking
"You know the reason you two don't get on is because you're so similar"
"Take that back!"
"I will when you can prove me wrong" she smirks "seriously though, I don't mind entertaining myself for a while"
"Relax Madge, they're just people"
"Seam people and I'm still the Mayor's daughter"
"Seam people?"
"You know what I mean. They're going to hate me no matter what"
"Quit whining, you won me over didn't you?"
"I don't know, did I?" to the untrained eye she'd seem shy but I've become atoned to the tone she uses when she's teasing and it's my favourite
"Do my eyes deceive me, or is that the mayor's daughter on the arm of Gale Hawthorne?"
"Ha Ha, Thom you're so perceptive and funny" I bite back sarcastically "Madge this is Thom, Bristel and Levy. Guys this is Madge"
"Sorry I haven't washed them" Thom smiles, offering his hand out to Madge, the joke not quite reaching his eyes
"Nice to meet you all, I hope you don't mind me tagging along with you. I don't have to" Thom raises an eyebrow at me and I glare at him, hard
"There's a real party going on in the seam. You joining?" Thom asks, looking at me not Madge
"You go ahead Gale" she encourages
"Not a chance" Bristel speaks up "come on townie, you look like you can dance" I mentally remind myself to thank Bristel when she and Levy each take one of Madge's arms and drag her off ahead of us
"You need to back off" I grit, once they're out of earshot "she doesn't need your bullshit"
"Hawthorne, you are so smitten. That girl's got you good" I stop myself from growling at him but can't help shoving him away before I follow after the girls.
The gathering is in full swing when we get there, most of the occupants already inebriated past the point of being able to stand up straight. We get a spot by one of the two bonfires roaring and the five of us have to squeeze onto one of the log benches. I roll my eyes when Thom pulls two brown bags out of his jacket, handing one bottle to Bristel and swigging from the other himself
"Madge?" Levy holds out the bottle after taking her share
"I've never had white liquor before"
"Of course not" Thom snickers
"Does it taste like scotch? Or whisky? Because I quite like both"
"You asshole" Thom yells when I shove him from his seat, smirking "so she can handle hard liquor, big whoop"
"Let's see if she can dance too" Levy grins, pulling Madge up and swinging her into the crowd of people already dancing. She gets stuck in to it straight away and Bristel was right, she can dance. She doesn't miss a beat, the piano probably helps with that.
I start just watching her feet, impressed by how fast they move and how quickly she's picked up a seam dance. But then I just watch her, the smile on her face, the bounce of her curls with each move and all I can think is 'what the hell are you doing Hawthorne?'
"Why don't you marry her already?" Thom snickers
"It's not like that"
"But you want it to be" I don't, do I? She's nice and she's pretty and she lives with me. We woke up in the same bed and that was sort of nice too.
"No, I don't know. It might just be sympathy or lust, I don't know how real it is"
"So her dad, he was actually doing it then, hitting her?"
"That's not my place"
"Yeah yeah I get that" there's an awkward pause "lust huh?" he grins and I can't stop from laughing "let's be honest here Hawthorne"
"I'm trying?"
"This conversation is already girly enough without any sappy crap but it's more than a little bit of teenage lust" I blink, confused, what's his point?
"You're jolly" he says it like it tastes bad "you keep doing this macho protective thing, which is just disgusting" he grimaces dramatically "you haven't dated anyone since she moved in to your place. She moved into your place" he stresses
"You don't understand, she had no other choice"
"No, you had no choice. Don't get me wrong, you did the right thing and that makes you dumber and braver than most but be honest with yourself, you did it for more than lust"
Madge is dancing with Levy but looking at me, through the crowd I can see her face etched with concern, probably because of the pathetic look I know I've got on my face. I smile reassuringly and Levy recaptures her attention
"Go dance with her"
"Nah"
"Go on man"
"Nah, she doesn't need that right now. The last thing she'd want is some guy making moves on her"
"Then dance with her and Levy. You're friends right?" he slaps me on the shoulder "come on sour puss, turn that frown upside down" I don't notice over the commotion, I'm just trying to push through the masses dancing and gyrating but when Thom grabs my arm I just know it's something bad "Gale look" he points over to the girls and there's a scuffle around them. In our haste, people get shoved and I still can't get there fast enough. We push our way through the throngs of people and I get glimpses of what's going on. A guy grabs Madge, Bristel punches him, another guy tries to pull her dress up, Bristel punches him too. The first guy restrains Bristel, his friend yanks Madge's dress. Madge's dress tears. Her back and side are exposed. Madge turns away horrified and lands in my chest
"Let's go, come on, I got you"
"Looky here we've got a matching pair" the asshole who ripped her dress hollers
"Fuck you" Thom spits before I get the chance. They continue to shout at each other while I give Madge my shirt
"Are you alright?" she nods "put your arms in"
"Don't be daft Gale you'll freeze" she tries to sound authoritative but there is absolutely no power in it
"You've got to wonder" another townie pipes up "what makes the mayors kid become a seam slut? To let dirty miner's hands touch her?"
"You're going to regret that you filthy jerk off" Bristel yells, having to be held back
"Take Madge back to mine" I tell Levy, "this is going to get ugly" I want to pummel the creep but Thom stops me
"What are you doing? Let the townies sort out their issues, stay out of it" he hisses
"What's all this?" Great! Rye fucking Mellark! "You being a dick again Tatum?" Tatum Maxwell, I knew I recognised him! I watch the way Mellark looks at him and is tone is threatening. He's heard everything Tatum has said and he's pissed, maybe as pissed as me. Perhaps he and Madge really are friends.
"You know the only reason she's letting you fuck her is because she's damaged goods now. No self-respecting man would go near that" Tatum's friend laughs, throwing a grubby finger in Madge's direction
"Watch your mouth Zack or I'll fuck you up as well" Mellark glares at him. It seems to have the desired effect but Tatum only smirks
"Do you compare scars when you're doing her from behind Hawthorne?" I'm closer so I get to him first. I've definitely broken a knuckle but I'm pretty sure either his cheek bone or his eye socket is dust. Mellark gets to him as his head returns to front facing and shatters his nose.
Tatum's stays down for a few seconds before he staggers to his feet and spits out not one, but two teeth. The left side of his face is already ballooning, his nose is flattened and gushing an impressive amount of blood and he looks dizzy.
"C'mon let's get you cleaned up" one of the townies says trying to lead Tatum away and keeping him upright. Clearly I'm not the only one who thinks he's done but Tatum has other ideas.
"No!" he pushes his helper away and lunges for me. The air is knocked out of my lungs as he tackles me to the ground but it takes him longer than it should to recover and it's easy to roll us and get to my feet.
Tatum, on the other hand, sways a little as he does so and looks as though a breeze would blow him over, so when he runs at me again it's easy enough to catch his body and send him careening towards the trees lining the clearing. He ploughs into Heath Burny, a hulk on the wrestling team only ever beaten by the Mellark brothers. He's not the fighting type, keeps himself to himself but his taste in friends is clearly abominable because both he and Tatum charge at me this time and I'm knocked on my ass again.
Heath pins me and gets two decent punches in before Mellark tackles him off me. Tatum swings a punch but it's easily dodged and I barge him away to help Mellark. Some townie kid I don't know has his arms pinned behind his head while Heath lands hit after hit on his ribs. My hand screams as it connects with Heath's jaw but it does the trick and he's distracted by me so Rye can get out of the hold he's in.
I look up at Heath, yeah, that's right, look up. I haven't had to do that in years. He's got maybe two inches and fifteen pounds on me but I've seen him wrestle and his size makes him slow. He swings, I duck it and jab him in the gut over and over, after a minute he's curling in on himself and I'm exhausted
"Alright Hawthorne, you got me" he mutters through clenched teeth. I nod and straighten up taking a deep breath "go stop Mellark before he kills one of them will you?" I follow his gaze and find Rye holding Tatum and the other town kid by their collars and banging their heads together. I almost laugh but it makes my ribs start throbbing.
"Mellark" I call "I think they've had enough" he looks at the two barely conscious idiots in his hands and smirks before dropping them in a heap on the floor.
Madge is pale as a sheet when I notice her and something like sickness bubbles in my gut
"Levy I told you to take her home"
"She wouldn't leave"
"I'm not a child!" Madge explodes "are you mad?! What the hell do you think you're doing getting into an uneven fight, or any sort of fight because of me? And you!" she yells, glaring daggers at Mellark and wiping the smirk off his face
"You're adorable" I tell her quietly and kiss her cheek. I watch the anger dissipate then bubble up again repeatedly until she settles somewhere in the middle
"You two come with me" she snaps.
We follow after her like two naughty school children. Mellark has a bit of a limp and I've got a stabbing pain in my ribs with each step
"I don't know what you were thinking, either of you" she rants "damn testosterone. What were you even doing in the Seam Rye?"
"Better parties" he shrugs indignantly "nicer girls" he winks. Madge sighs, rolling her eyes. Boy, she really is adorable
"You both need cleaning up. I am not letting you go home looking the way you do, your mothers would kill me" Mellark and I share a chuckle which makes her eyes turn stone cold
"Sorry" we murmur in unison.
She leads us through the Seam like she knows where she's going but she makes the same turn twice. Eventually we get to the town border and we head around the outskirts towards her old house. She hasn't been back here since the morning she left with me and as soon as I realise where she's heading I try to stop her.
"Look you both need cleaning up and there's first aid kits here. It's fine, no one's here".
We sit in the kitchen, Mellark and I on stools by the kitchen island. For a while all I can think about is how I charged through here after I saw her father push her down the stairs. Or how she packed frantically, desperate to just get out. When I'm sure she's not uncomfortable with being here, I settle for watching her work.
She'd make an excellent medic, she's efficient and precise in laying out her first aid equipment. She starts with dousing a cotton wool bud in a clear liquid and then presses it to Mellark's lip. He winces
"You didn't have to do that, either of you" she says as she dabs at Mellark's lip with the cotton bud
"Yeah we did" he answers, as Madge moves across to me and douses another bud
"Fair warning Hawthorne, it stings like a bitch" he's not wrong
"Hell's teeth Gale, your eye" I grimace again as she wipes my brow
"Yeah, that Heath guy got in a few decent blows"
"Tell me about it" Mellark snorts "my ribs are in pieces"
"You got a few good hits in there too though man"
"Weren't so bad yourself Hawthorne" he grins
"Who knew it would take you two getting your heads smacked in to get you to get along" we both laugh and both wince. Madge patches up the cuts on our faces, smothers us in fast healing ointment from the Capitol and gives us each an ice pack for whatever ails us most
"I better go, thanks for all your help Madge" Mellark says, taking the cold pack from his head
"Are you sure? I probably have some pain killers here somewhere"
"Yeah, thanks, it's okay. I've had worse than this" Madge and I share a look after his not so subtle hint about his mother and he cringes "so thanks again Madge, see ya around Hawthorne"
"See ya Mellark" the second the screen door closes behind him the room seems infinitely smaller, it's also stifling
"I hate him having to go back there" Madge murmurs "with Bannock married and Peeta living in Victors Village, it's just him"
"Why doesn't he live with Peeta? I mean, it's better than him being at home"
"They need him in the bakery. If that miserable bitch had her way they'd live off Peeta's winnings but the bakery's practically a fourth son to Mr. Mellark" I let my lips quirk up at her summary and smile a little more at how her cheeks flush when she curses
"I'm sorry he can't get away from it with you anymore. You could bring him to the house but it's just so full already and with the kids- they ask questions" I mutter pathetically
"Um" she looks at her feet and shuffles awkwardly
"Sorry, that was rude, I just figured with you being together and all, that he stayed here sometimes and now that you're not here-"
"Uh, Rye and I aren't together" I knew that, I did. And now I've made a fool of myself sounding jealous and probably petty and pathetic. Shit
"You're not?"
"No, Rye and I are friends, just friends" again, I knew that, there's never been any mention of any boyfriend, not even when I was in school. Hawthorne you're a smitten idiot. I scratch my forehead, desperate for a way out of this situation and she gasps
"My goodness, your hands, let me see" when she takes my hand in hers, I notice the size difference. Hers are delicate and tiny, although her fingers are quite long. Perfect for playing piano I imagine. Mine are giant in comparison, rough, calloused, course and grimy no matter how well I was them.
She turns my hand over, so my fingers graze her wrist and the tips sizzle "this is definitely broken" she says lightly stroking my swollen knuckle "and these are deep" her fingertips ghost over my other knuckles and the gashes on them "Thank you. For defending me"
"Of course"
"Really Gale, you didn't have to but you did and I'm really grateful"
"He shouldn't have said those things" she wipes over a gash and I jerk my hand away a fraction
"Sorry"
"It's o-" the words catch in my throat when she blows cool air over the area, I swallow "okay" when she looks up our eyes meet in a way that makes time stop. She looks up at me through her lashes and I don't think her eyes have ever looked that blue.
I turn my hand and lightly grasp her wrist to pull her closer until she's standing between my legs and we're at eye level. I cup the back of her head in my hand and angle her jaw up "just tell me to stop" I whisper it but it still seems too loud for the atmosphere and her eyelids flutter closed.
Our lips are careful but curious, there's so much more I want to know about her and her lips. She's the first to pull away to catch a breath but comes straight back and presses herself to me. I'm itching to reach for her but refrain because honestly, I can't believe she's even letting me kiss her. Tentatively she takes my hands in hers and places them on her waist then places hers on my shoulders. When she pulls away again I groan in protest
"You're holding back" she whispers against my cheek "please, don't hold back" my mind tells me I should, after all she's been through I probably shouldn't even be kissing her, it's too much like taking advantage of her but I can't help myself and she looks so irresistible with flushed cheeks and a heaving chest. So I do as she says, I lift her by her thighs and place her on my lap, she wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, threading one hand in my hair and gliding the other down my back under my shirt. The skin on skin contact makes me shiver in just the right way and my spine tingles, I rest my forehead against hers and sigh "now kiss me" she murmurs. And I do, I kiss her harder and deeper than I've ever kissed anyone before and if it wasn't for the seat under me, the way her lips and tongue move against my own would've made my knees give out by now. She moves her hand from my back to my chest and reaches for the first fastened button of my shirt.
"Madge" I whisper, dropping my forehead to hers once more
"Yes?"
"You don't want this"
"Yes I do"
"No, you don't"
"Gale-"
"How about we just take things slow okay?"
"Slow?" she whispers breathlessly
"Slow" I confirm "how about we start with a date?"
"A date?"
"A date" I chuckle
"A date sounds nice"
"It does" I agree, moving the hair off one shoulder so I can kiss her neck "I really enjoy kissing you" I admit
"I like it too. I'm sorry you had to get beat up before it happened"
"I was not beaten up"
"You were a little" she giggles
"Was not" I argue. She quirks an eyebrow and a burst of laughter escapes me "okay, maybe a little" I concede.