Summary:This thing was a masterpiece until you tore it all up.
Note: Manqué means 'having failed to become what one might have been'.
Thank you forever and always to by beta, jeniezee for all her hard work! She never disappoints me :) And a thank you to all of you for reading and supporting this story! You have no idea how much it means to me! Also, there is a playlist for this chapter which can be found at .com.
Next Chapter: will be full of glorious finn/annie I promise!
Past
Gales loves his family more than anything. As the oldest of four children, he takes it upon himself to take care of his brothers and sister. Guide them in the right direction and demonstrate responsibility. Which is why when Rory secludes himself, Gale becomes concerned. Though what Gale and his parents believe to be a result from bullying, they soon realize Rory's behaviour arises from something far worse.
It is after his seventh birthday that Rory falls victim to retinal cancer. Their mother, Hazelle, is more endearing and positive towards Rory during the day, but Gale can hear the way she cries and prays for her son's health at night. For the first few months she makes all of his favourite foods for dinner, which puts a smile on Rory's face, if only for a little while. When he starts radiation therapy, however, no matter what their mom makes, he can only nibble at it. The rest he pushes around his place. Nothing stays down.
Their father tries to be supportive where he can, by helping around the house and taking Vick to school. But Gale knows they need the paycheck more than the extra hands in the house.
With each set of treatments Rory undergoes, Gale realizes his family is growing deeper and deeper into debt.
"You can come over and work for my dad," Madge, his beautiful, charming girlfriend tells him one afternoon as they rest by the edge of the pool. "He always seems to need someone new to keep his papers in order."
"Madgey, I'm really not so great with those things," he frowns.
"So? I'll help you! As long as you do most of the work, I can guarantee you'll get that paycheck every two weeks."
That day is the first time he tells her he loves her.
The money from Gale's part-time job helps substantially with his family's problems. One paycheck is able to put a week's worth of food in everyone's stomach and buys Posy diapers for the rest of the month. His hours are also flexible, giving him the time to study and make afterschool swim meets.
Even with Gale's money going towards food and necessities, his father cannot earn enough to pay any more than the minimum on their medical bills. The interest increases exponentially over the months.
When Gale is sixteen, his father takes his own life.
The insurance settlement covers a portion of the cost but not enough to prevent the government from taking their house to cover the remaining debt.
"I'm not leaving town, silly," Gale comforts Madge as she cries into his chest. They are lying, naked, beneath her silk bed sheets. "Ma says we're being put into government housing. It's just a few extra blocks away. I'll still be going to District Twelve Secondary. So, don't you worry your pretty head, okay?"
"Okay," she sniffles, looking up at him with her big blue eyes and squeezing him tightly.
"When we have a family, I'll make sure we're not living in poverty," he says while running his fingers through her hair.
"Even if we are, I'd happily live in poverty with you," Madge plants a kiss on his lips. "I love you, Gale."
"I love you too, Madgey."
Gale tries every day to make good on the promise he made to Madge. Every time he leaps into that swimming pool, he reminds himself that he does it for her, for their life together, and for their children who will someday need a father capable of taking care of them.
It is when he meets Finnick Odair that Gale's plan begins to develop flaws.
During their first year at Illinois State University, Gale watches as Madge develops this touchy-feely relationship with Finnick. He is as handsome as they come with his tall, lean yet muscular physique, hair bronzed from the Miami sun, and green eyes that flicker blue when reflecting the pool water.
Gale does not feel threatened by Finnick's good looks but by his colleague's abilities. With a grade point average of 3.5 and shockingly agile in the pool, it makes Gale look dumb and slow in comparison. Worst of all, Gale finds he would be able to deal with all of Finnick's charm if he were a narcissist. But he is not. Finnick's modesty and subtle charm in the presence of lust-driven women makes Gale sick to his stomach. So he decides to ignore his teammate during swim meets and when they cross paths in the hall and during classes.
"It'd be nice if you got to know Finnick," Madge casually says, cuddling up into his dark body after he rolls off her naked form,and onto the cotton sheets of his bed.
Gale looks at her incredulously out of the corner of his eye, "Please tell me that is not who you were just thinking about ."
"He's a really nice guy. Really easy to talk to. Though, he seems to be having a hard time making guy friends."
"…you don't say."
"Gale, please, I'm being serious. It won't kill you to go talk to him. You have nothing to lose. The two of you are part of the same athletic department. You can bond over it or something…"
"Madgey, baby, I love you," he kisses the tip of her nose.
"But no. Finnick's a big boy; he doesn't need you to make friends for him."
Shifting out from underneath his arm, Madge puts some distance between them. "Are you saying I'm not allowed to be worried about my friend? He's overwhelmed with all the attention and he could really use someone, who isn't a girl, to hear him out!"
"Overwhelmed? Really? Last time I saw him, which was this morning mind you, he seemed pretty damn comfortable with the sophomores that threw themselves at him." Gale says, reaching out for her. Madge pulls away further.
"Finnick isn't rude. If you talked to your teammate and got to know him you would understand!"
"Madge, I'm not going to try and be friends with him!"Gale shouts. She sighs as she sits up. Shuffling out from under his sheets, she slips into her clothes that lay askew on the floor.
"Wait, where are you going?" he grasps onto her wrist but she tugs it away, fiercely.
"When you want to stop being a stubborn asshole, come find me," she says as her voice hitches. The one thing Gale swore he would never do is make his sweet, little Madge cry. Yet here she is, with tears bubbling up in her eyes, and Gale can feel his stomach twist in guilt.
"Alright, alright! I'll talk to him," he pulls on a pair pants as he chases her out the door. Spinning her around on the balls of her feet, he envelops her in his arms. "I'm sorry, please don't cry."
Wrapping her arms around his waist, she nuzzles her cheek into his still bare chest. "Thank you," she smiles and kisses him gently, her eyes miraculously dry.
Talking to Finnick that first day did not turn out terribly. It had been awkward. But Gale sticks with it for Madge. As weeks turn into months, Gale realizes he and Finnick share one very important aspect in common. They have similar taste in beer. Neither man drinks domestic brands, only imported ones.
"I don't how those pussies on the football team drink that crap," Gale retorts as he sips idly at his Heineken, his focus trained on tapes of diving competitions from previous years. Coach Atala lists this as a requirement for their training after assigning them as partners.
"With your determination, Mr. Hawthorne, and Mr. Odair's natural skill, it only makes sense for the two of you to represent Illinois State as a synchronized team at competitions."
"You kinda answered your own question," Finnick answers, raising his eyebrow as he looks over at Gale on the other side of the duct taped leather sofa.
"What?"
"It's basic logic. Coors Light is for pussies. The football team drinks Coors light; therefore the football team is made up of pussies."
"Oh. Right. I knew that."
"Sure you did, Hawthorne," Finnick says as he takes a long sip of his Heineken.
"Fuck you, Odair," Gale says as he punches Finnick in the shoulder. It is a soft tap. An on-looker may even be so bold as to call it playfully. The gesture hangs in the air as a particularly large round of cheers blares out distortedly from Finnick's television speakers. Gale retracts his arm slowly from Finnick's shoulder.
Finnick does not say a word, only blinks.
"Uh. Sorry about that. I-"
"No," Finnick interjects. "It's fine, Gale. Really. I don't mind." Gale expresses the inklings of a nervous smile in contrast to Finnick's wide spread grin that illuminates his entire face. Ignoring the whiteness of Finnick's teeth, Gale laughs and clasps Finnick shoulder as he shuffles closer to him.
That night, Gale crashes on Finnick's floor and listens to the most popular student in the university gush about his family, his life in Miami, and how swimming became the most important thing in the world to him.
By winter of second year, they move in together. Gale still has reservations about Finnick, but those concerns affect their friendship minimally and their partnership in the pool, even less. They become an unrivalled duo that make the other university teams look like novices. No team can make a two and a half twist into a dive like Finnick and Gale. Their routine becomes an intricate dance, at a waltzing pace, between the two of them. A dance they refuse to do without the other. Some days, even as Finnick mumbles loudly on the plane ride back to Illinois from whichever state they have last competed in, Gale feels closer to Finnick than own brothers.
The first time Gale meets Cashmere is when he and Finnick are at the gym one morning for training. Clad in a pair of white short-shorts that hug her thighs and backside scrumptiously, a skin tight black sports bra that leaves her flat midriff exposed and long, straight blond hair tied on top of her head in a neat ponytail, Gale can feel his mouth grow dry.
Unlike every other girl in the room, she is completely lost in her routine, paying no mind to the boys as they bench press. When she finally steps off the treadmill, Finnick and Gale are switching spotting duties. Lying himself down onto the bench, Gale reaches up for the 140 pound bar when Cashmere glides over to them. The rubber tip of the water bottle is secure between her teeth as her tongue laps at the drops of water trickling out. Gale does not realize he runs his tongue over his bottom lip until Finnick nudges him in the side of his wide spread legs.
"Kind of pretentious of you, walking around without a shirt at the gym, isn't it?" Cashmere scoffs, his face. Or so he thinks. He looks down at himself, patting his shirt clad chest before sitting up and looking up at her, quizzically. "Those poor girls' panties didn't even stand a chance, Finnick."
Gale looks back at his roommate from the far end of the bench. He is standing there blinking at her. The smirk on her full red lips grows ever wider. "All that sun over the winter break must have fried your brain as it highlighted your hair. I thought you were supposed to be smart."
"I'm plenty smart, darling," Finnick side-steps out from behind Gale, "I also have a quite the memory too. However, your name seems to be slipping mine." Gale watches as Finnick's finger grazes the skin on her forearm ever so gently. "Would you please remind me?"
Cashmere's long blond hair whips around her shoulders as she looks back at him with those crystal blue eyes from under her thick, false black lashes. She flutters her eyelashes. "Catherine Reitz. Everyone calls me Cashmere."
"That's a beautiful nickname," Finnick says, closing the space between them and wrapping one hand around her slender waist the other grasps onto her free hand, "and it belongs to such a beautiful woman." His lips part slightly as he tilts his head down pulling her hand up. Ghosting over her pale skin, his green eyes stare pointedly as his lips part in a simple question, 'May I?'
Gale watches as her eyes flicker in contemplation. She is going to say yes to him like every other girl who Finnick took the time to flirt back with. Cashmere's red lips tug at the corners into a smile as those long fingers of hers yank themselves out of his hold, curl around his shoulders only to unfurl and give him a hard shove him.
"No."
With his mouth agape, Finnick trips over his feet and bumps into Gale.
All at once, the room falls silent. Gale can feel every pair of eyes turn to them. The inaudible sound of dozens of breaking hearts brings the room back to life, rescuing Gale and Finnick from being the center of attention.
Gale sputters out a laugh, bringing Cashmere's frantic eyes to him. Her crystal blues scrutinize his body swiftly, before a laugh trickles out of her full lips.
"Gale, darling," her voice pitches abnormally high, as she leans over him. "I think you should… do something about this?" she breaths into his ear, forcing his expanded thighs shut. He catches himself on the balls of his feet before he can fly forward and land on his face. "It's not appropriate conduct for the gym."
"Put on proper clothes and you won't have this problem," Gale spits back, watching as something turns cold and wicked in her eyes.
"If I'm not mistaken, I read somewhere that you have a girlfriend. What's her name again…Maddie, Maggie...?"
"Madge."
"Really? How boring." Cashmere twirls a golden lock around her finger. "Now I kinda feel bad. Go ahead, Gale, look all you want. Maybe it'll give you something to fantasize about while you two are in sack."
Gale looks straight up into her eyes, they giggle in torment. He can feel every vein in his body burn in vehement rage. Balling his hands into fists, Gale is up and out of the room before Finnick can stop him. If he had stayed one more moment, Gale would have broken her plastic nose.
Making his way into the change room, Gale violently rips his locker open, pulls out his everyday clothes and strips down, out of his sweaty ones. "Fucking vain cunt," he mumbles under his breath as pulls his shirt over his head and buttons his jeans. Throwing his gym bag over his shoulder, Gale slams his locker shut.
"You're actually going to let her get to you?" Finnick voice echoes through the empty room as he hovers in the doorway. "You're better than this, Hawthorne." Gale does not hesitate to shove Finnick into the doorframe and walks past him, hurriedly.
"Gale!" Finnick calls out to him, but he does not turn around. Reason is beyond his ears. Cashmere had no right to judge Madge. Madge is ten times the human being Cashmere has shown herself to be. Her arrogance is going to get her in trouble one day and when it does, he hopes she suffers greatly and he never has to see her again.
To Gale's dismay, he frequently crosses paths with Cashmere. They live with only a floor between them and attend three of the same lectures: Accounting, Economics and Calculus. If they were not core courses, Gale would have dropped them in a heartbeat. The tuition fare would be a small loss if it meant that he could sit in his classes without developing a migraine.
Gale learns how fortunate he is to not have to listen to Cashmere's whiny mouth spew argumentative slander in his tutorial along with lecture. While Gale would feel sympathy for Finnick, who is subjected to Cashmere's atrocious demeanor during tutorials, he is a big believer in karma and thinks his friend brought it upon himself. If Finnick did not want anything to do with her, he should not have flirted in the first place.
"Either she bitches at our TA for 'obviously' not having the right answer, which our TA definitely does, mind you, or she cries her fucking eyes out because she doesn't get the material. Listening to her cry is like a drill echoing in my skull." Finnick laments, with his head lolled back against the edge of Delly Cartwright's mattress. Finnick and Gale had ducked away from Gale's floor-wide birthday party, hosted by half the swim team. After they became heavily intoxicated from a slew red Solo cups filled to the brim with beer, they fumbled their way up to Madge and Delly's dorm room to crash for the night.
"But the crying won't stop until she gets the material, so I have no other choice but to help her!" he continues, clawing at his skull, "And helping her is easier than listening to her bitch, but she doesn't even say 'thank you'."
"Awww, poooor Finnny," Delly slurs from atop her mattress as she pulls Finnick's hands out of his hair. "The mean lady needs to be nice to generous, caring Finny," she giggles, weaving her fingers between the thick, wavy strands.
"Don't 'cha think little old generous, caring me deserves a reward for my valiant efforts?" Finnick asks, looking back at Delly. His green eyes wide and innocent as his jutted, pouting lips reach up to hers with the smallest space between them.
Gale watches from his seat across the room as Delly Cartwright contemplates, through her drunken haze, whether or not to reward Finnick for his hard work. Delly has not hidden the fact that she is attracted to Finnick and grateful for his friendship. Gale knows Finnick well enough to see when he is taking advantage of situations to indulge his lust and Delly is far too sweet and naive to resist Finnick's games.
"I think he does," Madge giggles from her spot in Gale's lap, "but Delly, shouldn't be the one to do it." Gale looks down at his girlfriend, as her head shifts from side to side on his thigh. Smiling up at him, Madge places a finger to his scowling lips. "I think Gale should do it, he could use the practice."
"Wait, what?!" Gale says incredulously. His eyebrows shoot into his hair line as the others begin to laugh. "Why the hell do I need practice when I've got you, baby?" But the comment only gets Madge and their friends to double over themselves in a howling laughter.
Finnick is the first to recover. "I'm taking it she never told you then?"
"No shit Sherlock," Gale rolls his eyes. Madge shifts up and out of his lap into an upright position, but her head lolls back down onto his shoulder.
"I kinda made a bet with Finnick last year," Madge mumbles, her lips peppering kisses along the base of his neck and across his collarbone. "That I could convince you to talk to him and eventually be friends."
"It was my idea," Finnick interjects. "Madge said she'd pay me fifty-dollars if she lost. But I upped the ante. Betting with money is so common, besides she was giving me this hungry, sultry look and-"
"Fuck you, I was not!" Madge shoots Finnick a glare as her lips peel off Gale's skin with a pop.
"Were too! Anyways, so I said that if she could convince you to mosey on down the hall and come say hello, I'd give her a kiss. But being the faithful girlfriend that she is, she countered with me kissing you instead." Finnick shrugs, giving Gale a sloppy yet playful grin.
Gale blinks, rubbing the sensitive spot on his collarbone from where Madge had suckled on his skin. He turns to Madge, who gives him a sheepish, little girl look. It is the first time Gale wants to be mad at his girlfriend. But he cannot find it in himself to stay mad longer than a few seconds. His sweet little Madge had only done what she does best, look after those she cares about. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulls her into his lap.
"So, should I give him that kiss now or later?" Gale smiles at them. Delly and Madge smile back at each other, after exchanging a small look.
"Later," they chime in unison. "When we're sober. I don't want to forget the look on your faces," Delly adds with a sharp laugh before it's abruptly interrupted. A scream tears through the empty hallway. Her blue eyes widen in alarm.
Shuffling out from around Finnick, Delly pokes her head out the open door and down the hall. Gale finds himself and Madge following her. Peering around the doorframe Gale spots Cray, their custy fourth year Resident Assistant, pushing Cashmere up against the wall. Her hands pressed up against his chest as he leaves kisses on her neck, while his knee is securely between her legs, hoisting her up higher.
Gale finds himself stunned into temporary immobility. He wants to move and rip Cray's filthy hands off he woman of his unfortunate desire, but he cannot. All it takes is that moment of hesitation for Finnick, standing his full height of six foot three, to push past Gale in sudden frustration and rage.
Gale watches Finnick pass him and take one of his clenched fists and slam it into the cement above both Cashmere and Cray's heads. Successfully making both individuals jump, Cray looks up at Finnick with hint of fear in his eyes but he does not let go of Cashmere.
"Walk away," Finnick says, sternly with narrowed, possessive green eyes.
"Why, she your property or something, Odair?" Cray asks, giving Finnick a smug grin. "I don't see your name on her." Cashmere squeaks in disgust as her heel finds Cray's inner foot causing him to pull away in startling pain. Taking advantage of his moment of weakness she knees Cray in the groin.
Doubling over, Cray falls against the opposite wall with a groan. The group watches Cray recover, slowly, his breath regulating. Licking his gray, chapped lips, Cray pops them with a shake of his head after his eyes sweep over Finnick and Cashmere's position by the door. Guiding himself upright with the assistance of the wall, Cray chuckles lowly, "You've got quite the woman there. She's a keeper."
"I am not a man's property, you repugnant fool!" Cashmere shrieks, "Especially not Finnick Odair's."
"You keep telling yourself that, darling," Cray says to her. They watch as he begins to walk away, slowly and carefully towards the elevator. Of the three standing in the doorway, not one of them takes a step forward. When Delly tries to approach them, Gale holds her back. Cashmere is a time bomb with an unknown detonation time. Getting caught in the crossfire would be detrimental.
"You're a fucking dumbass," Cashmere spits as she turns to face Finnick.
"You're very welcome, Cash, helping you is always a pleasure." Finnick rolls his eyes, earning him a forceful shove. But he does not so much as sway.
"I didn't ask you to!" she shouts. "I was in complete control."
"Sure you were. That's why he had you pinned to the fucking wall for Christ's sake! You weren't going anywhere unless he wanted you to!"
"Men," she guffaws in Finnick's face, her eyes level with his as she perches herself on her toes. "You all have big, fat egos that need to be stroked don't you? Some need to fuck a hot girl to feel satisfied. Others, like you, just have to come and save the poor fucking damsel in distress to help you sleep at night, don't you?"
"I was being chivalrous. I guess you must be as shit with the English language as you are with Accounting, if you don't know what it means."
Opening her mouth in preparation to rebut, Cashmere closes it soon after. Sucking her lip between her teeth, Gale notices the thoughtful look in her blue eyes.
Chewing on her lip, which is inches away from Finnick's, she falls off of her toes and back down to her original stature. Looking past Finnick and towards the group, she spots Gales first. And it is he who catches the nefarious look in her eyes.
"I'm well aware of what chivalry is but I honest to goodness, whole-heartedly feel that you have this obsession with helping me," she says, sashaying her boney hips towards the group hanging outside of their dorm room. "I bet Birthday Boy thinks so too."
Cashmere's small feet stop right in front of Gale. Balancing on her toes once more, she runs a red painted finger along the contour of his lower lip. He steps back, putting much needed distance between them as he reaches out to Madge, grabbing a hold of her hand, tightly. But it does not provide sanctuary from her advances; it only makes the smirk on Cashmere's lips pull higher. Taking a step forward, she sifts her hands through his coal black locks, tugging his face down, forcefully, to meet hers. Cashmere kisses him hard. Her teeth tug forcefully as his bottom lip as she shoves her tongue into his throat without consent. She tastes of cheap beer and weed.
"I'm not his property," she whispers, pulling away from Gale. "He can't do whatever he likes, when he feels like it." Cashmere says louder than before. The mischief in her blue eyes begins to flood with desperation as she watches Finnick intently while he fidgets uncomfortably in his spot.
Stepping away from Gale, Cashmere swiftly walks past a steaming Madge and confused Delly. Prepared to pass a shell shocked Finnick, Cashmere finds herself stopped as he grips onto her wrist as she makes a step past him. Swinging her around, he twirls her into him and envelopes her in a hug.
What Gale thought he knew about the relationship Finnick and Cashmere have developed, no longer makes sense. He can feel Madge's hand loosen as she looks up at him with an identical look of confusion as Delly's.
"I promise I'll be less impulsive," Finnick says to her softly. She nods, pulling away after she squeezes him gently.
"Monday, after tutorial then?" she asks, her voice small.
"Remember to brush up on your 'please's and 'thank you's," he jabs gently with a smile. Rolling her eyes, she shoves him gently as she picks up her red pumps and walks a couple doors down to her room.
The moment Cashmere's door shuts, Madge storms back into her room screaming in frustration. Gale wants to hit his head hard against the wall as his sympathy for Finnick withers and dies like a dandelion in the snow.
During their third year, Gale finds himself and Finnick in and out of diving competitions bi-monthly. They travel across to California and down to and around Texas and Alabama before they make a pit stop in Miami. After having a rough morning, with the appealing of scores, which was ultimately not decided to be in their favour, having dinner with the Odairs cheers Gale up considerably.
They are exactly as Finnick described them. His easy-going, quiet mother offers him more to eat while his grandmother, Mags, insists that eating too much today will only slow him down in the competition tomorrow. Finnick's sister, Penny, drills him with questions about his girlfriend and how she feels about him leaving all the time.
Like Primrose Everdeen used to.
While his brother Sebastian spends ten minutes at the table before disappearing to go back up to his room.
Which reminds Gale of his brother Vick.
Lastly, Finnick's father is every bit as overbearing, sports oriented and money conscious as Finnick claimed. But it did not bother Gale at all. If anything, it reminds him of his youth, when his father was around and they would sit at the table and enjoy Sunday dinner together. Then the Everdeens would come over for dessert and the two families would talk and play games until Prim could not keep her eyes open any more.
Being with the Odairs feels like home.
When they arrive back in their hotel room later that night Gale makes a phone call.
"Hello?" comes the familiar Virginian twang through the receiver.
"Hey, Catnip."
"Gale?"
"That'd be me."
"Long time no hear," he can tell by the inflections in her voice that she is smiling. "How have you been?"
"Y'know school's school. Competitions are getting tough. When we get back we're going to have to up the ante with a more difficult routine. Auburn University just handed us our asses to us on a silver platter. It was humiliating! I never want to have to go up and appeal for a score ever again."
"Sounds horrifying," she hides her laugh horribly. Not that this surprises Gale, Katniss Everdeen is a horrible liar. Her boyfriend on the other hand, Peeta Mellark, makes up for it with his ability to weave an intricate lie on the spot. A little like this roommate.
"How about you, Catnip? Still living with your mom?"
The silence that comes next causes a handful of worst case scenarios. What if Katniss wasn't well? What if her mom passed? What if they, too, found themselves consumed by their debts? The clock ticks on as the silence grows longer. Finnick's dreadful singing only adds to the pounding in Gale's ears.
"Catnip? Everything alright."
"Oh. I don't live with her anyone. Peeta and I … we have an apartment together."
"Congratulations!"
Silence ensues once more causing the crashing of the bathroom door to scare Gale out of his wits.
"Gale…" her voice cracks.
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to have to call you back, alright?"
"Katniss, is everything alright?"
He does not have to see her to know she is shaking her head, or that her nails are digging into her phone like they always do when she is crying.
"Is it about Peeta?" He can hear a crash and scream in the background. What rings loudest is the shriek for Katniss.
"I'll tell you everything later. I have to go." And she hangs up before he can get another word in. Gale looks up to see Finnick standing in nothing but a towel and a raised brow but he shakes his head. Placing his cellphone by his bedside, he makes a point of leaving it on before crawling between the sheets. Katniss is his best friend, he knows her better than anyone else. And he knows when Katniss Everdeen makes a promise she keeps it. She will call him back. Weeks pass by but she never does. It is as if his family is slipping through his fingers all over again.
It is four o'clock in the afternoon – which Gale designates as his nap time– when the staccato rapping on his door resonates through the room. Being too lazy to get up, he ignores the knocker in hopes that they will soon learn the room is empty and leave. However, the rapping does not cease and to Gale's discontent, grows quicker and louder.
"Finnick, I know you're fucking in there!"
Of course, the person to wake Gale on this fine Saturday would be Cashmere.
"There is probably a very good reason as to why he's ignoring you, so leave."
"Hawthorne, where is he?"
"Even if I knew, I probably wouldn't tell you."
Cashmere sighs, her head making the tiniest thump on the door, "Would you call him for me, please? He didn't show up for our study session and I really need his help or else I'm going to fail my finals."
Gale bolts from his bed and opens the door, ignorant of his messy appearance. "Did you just say please?"
She narrows her eyes, "I don't appreciate you patronizing me. Would you just call Finnick and ask him where he is?"
"Hard to say no to someone who asks so nicely. Give me your phone." Gale says.
"Why?"
"So I can give you his number."
"I have his number; he just won't answer for me. He might answer for you though."
"What did you do this time?"
Cashmere rolls her eyes, "Nothing. Just get a hold of him, please."
Grabbing his phone off his desk, Gale flips through his contacts before he arrives at number he wants. The dial tone rings and rings and rings and rings and rings before going to voice mail. Giving his phone a quizzical look, Gale tries again. It is not like Finnick to not pick up when he calls.
Once more, after five rings it goes to voice mail.
On Gale's third attempt, now worried that Finnick is dead in a ditch somewhere, the phone gets picked up after the second ring. "What is it, Hawthorne? I'm busy," Finnick answers, breathily.
"Too busy to tell me you're not dead."
"What the fuck? Hawthorne if you have nothing to say I'm hanging up."
"Cashmere, she came by looking for you and -" Gale is interrupted by an indignant groan and a string of profanity.
"I'm tutoring Lavinia right now; tell her I'll call her when I'm done."
Gale chuckles, knowingly, causing Cashmere to raise one of her perfectly shaped eyebrow. "He says he's tutoring Lavinia right now and he'll call you when he's done," Gale repeats.
"Tutoring or tutoring?" Cashmere asks, embellishing the latter option with a brisk thrust of her hips. Gale shrugs. Rolling her eyes, Cashmere motions for Gale to hand her his phone. He shakes his head.
"Gale, give me the phone or so help you god I will castrate you!" Cashmere threatens. Complying with the empty threat, he hands her the phone which she sets to loud speaker.
"Hello?" Finnick calls out, his voice loud and clear in the small room.
"Finny," she starts in a sickly sweet tone, "What is this about you tutoring another woman? Are you cheating on me now? I don't tolerate cheaters."
The line goes silent for a moment as fabric ruffles. "Cash, I'll call you in an hour. Don't contact me before then." Finnick sighs.
"You better! I don't want to be blown off again so you can get your cock sucked. I'm a busy woman," she says curtly, hanging up immediately. Handing Gale back his phone, she gives him a smile. "Thank you, Hawthorne."
"No problem?" he raises his eyebrow as he pockets his phone.
"I'll see you around then," she says, turning around and giving him a bright smile.
"Alright." Gale says, shoving his hands in his pockets. Her fingers curl wave as the stiletto heel on her shoes click away. Closing the door once she is a fair distance away from their room, Gale crawls back into bed.
But sleep does not find him. Instead, his mind goes back to Katniss. It's been 6 weeks and she has not called him back yet. He is tempted to call her himself but Madge insists he wait. Katniss always makes good on her promises. The realistic ones at least. For the first time, something terrible has happened to Katniss Everdeen and there is nothing he can do to help her.
Another series of knocks come what seems like minutes later, interrupting his thoughts.
"Who is it?" he calls.
"Baby, it's me. I brought lunch."
"The door is unlocked." He sits up as Madge walks in with a small Styrofoam bowl of soap. Placing it on his desk, she opens the plastic lid and the aroma of his mom's chicken noodle soup fills the room. The exact same kind his mother would make when he was a child sick in bed.
"Madgey, how did y-?"
"Your mom taught me back in eleventh grade when you were sitting with Rory overnight. Today, I asked Greasy Sae to lend me her kitchen and she was more than happy to, so voila! Bon appetite."
And it happens before he has processed the words in his brain. With flashes of his mom smiling that small, tired smile of hers but always finding the energy to encourage him, Rory's high pitched stutter as he tells Katniss all about Madge, Vick sneaking bread to feed to the squirrels and the day of Posy's birth floating through his head he says, "Madge, marry me."
Those clear blue eyes of hers blink at his, blankly, before they fill with the animation of her laughter.
"Oh Gale, you flatter me."
"No. I mean…" he quickly pulls his hand through thick hair before he gets down on one knee. Taking her hand in his, he asks again, "Madge Maysilee Undersee, will you marry me?"
"This is…Gale I….you don't even have a ring!"
Rising from his knee, he looks around the room. What could he possibly fashion into a ring? Scanning the room his eyes lay rest on a small length of rope sitting on Finnick's end table. Wrapping it around her ring finger he ties it off with a bow. "I'll buy you a real one, but for now this will do."
"Y-you're…"she stammers.
"Yes."
Her eyes gloss over with tears as she wraps her arms around his neck and plants a firm kiss onto his lips, "Yes, of course I'll marry you."
After that, Gale does not find himself worrying over Katniss Everdeen. She is not his family like she used to be. She has Peeta; he has Madge and that is enough.
Unlike the majority of his generation, Gale is not technology savvy. He chalks up his inexperience with computers and cell phones to his deprivation while growing up. Not that anyone takes the time to mock him for it; he is much too popular for anyone to care about such an insignificant detail.
After reclaiming their first place scores against Auburn University in their next large competition in California, Gale and Finnick became two of the most sought after young athletes of the decade. Signing contracts with agents from The Capitol opened door after door for endorsements and sponsorships with the companies for sporting goods, nutrition, fitness and grooming. Over the months, Gale and Finnick have sat in and out of meetings with their agents discussing various deals and contracts. Every time a series of six digits – or more if they were lucky – was offered to them, Gale could feel tiny bunches of fireworks go off in his brain. His cut of the money could buy his mom a house in the heart of the city.
Currently in a conference with Coriolanus Snow and his executive team, they discuss the fine details of their contract with Panem Sporting Goods, Gale spots Finnick tapping away at his cellphone underneath the conference table. Gale kicks him in the ankle, causing Finnick to jump and drop his phone in his lap.
'Catherine Reitz' illuminates through the shining backlight along the top bar. He tries not to groan audibly. Of all the days and all the times to message him, she decides now would be it? Finnick scrolls through the message full of small talk and it only reinforces Gale's belief of her inappropriate timing. However, as Finnick continues to scroll up, Gale realizes his judgement had been premature. Finnick seems to have been the one to initiate the conversation, with the phrase "I think I'm going to hang myself." Gale could not help the snort that comes out of his nose.
"Is there a problem, gentlemen?" the President asks them with a thin, raised, white eyebrow.
"No, everything is alright," Finnick looks up from his lap and smiles graciously at Snow. Giving them a wary look, he slowly turns back to continue his presentation on what is it that Panem would like them to endorse in the Fall.
When the meeting finally ends, Finnick is the first one to burst out of his seat, shake everyone's hands and leave. Gale watches as the President grimaces and Caius, the president's son, hides a chuckle.
"If Mr. Odair wasn't a guaranteed money maker, I wouldn't have thought twice about hiring a replacement after this afternoon. Would you kindly inform him of that, Mr. Hawthorne?" The President says, dryly. Gale plasters on the best fake smile and the least forced laugh he can muster as he collects and heads out of the conference room.
"It's Thursday and we haven't gotten to enjoy a single day of Summer Break yet," Finnick whines from his place atop his mattress in their hotel room. His eyes are fixated on the dashboard of his phone, waiting impatiently for a new message to come through.
Coming out of the bathroom, fully clothed and a towel around his neck Gale shakes his head. "It's a working vacation. Mr. Heavensbee said after tomorrow at two we'll have the weekend to ourselves. Then we start shooting our first commercial for Panem Monday after training."
"Really?" Finnick sits up with smile. "Thank god," he falls back against the pillow again just in time for another message to come through. Gale watches as Finnick's face becomes aglow and those long fingers of his tap rapidly at the tiny keyboard with an energetic rhythm.
"Who are you talking to?" Gale prods gently, making his way across the room.
"Catherine," Finnick says, with a growing smile as his fingers continue to type. Gale stops. Not once since they have met has Finnick called or referred to her as Catherine. And not once has he done so with a smile.
"What are you two talking about?" Gale inquires, carefully. Finnick holds up a hand as he types the last bit of his messages and presses send.
"She's at her beach house in Malibu right now. Apparently her brother got into some tiff with the cleaning staff over the air freshening scent used in his bedroom. We were joking around about him being a fruit," Finnick laughs breathily.
"Um-hm," Gale hums, toweling his hair off again.
"She's coming up to L.A.," Finnick yawns, as he places his phone on his bedside table. "And asked her if we wanted to have dinner with her and her friend, interested?"
Gale narrows his eyes, "Really, Odair? Dinner with her?"
"A simple 'no' would have sufficed," Finnick sighs, getting up and reaching into his suitcase for a change of clothes. Victor brand-named sweats and a t-shirt would not be appropriate for the dinner Cashmere probably has in mind.
Gale watches as Finnick picks out clothes with the utmost care from his place at the hotel desk. Every time it looks as if he has finalized his decision, Finnick changes his mind and begins to rematch his shirts and slacks. It is not as if Gale has not seen Finnick care about his appearance before. But something feels different this time. It is like he is trying to make an important first impression. A more important impression than at this morning's meeting, where he sat in blue jeans, a blazer and a white t-shirt.
"So you're friends with her now?" Gale asks, nonchalantly, turning on his laptop. As Finnick slips into a pair of black jeans and a dark blue button down shirt, he looks over at Gale while rolling his shoulders with a shrug.
"As much as I can be friends with her," he answers, picking up his phone off his bedside table and making his way towards the bathroom. "She's still a bitch, but it's more tolerable than before."
Gale nods, running the towel once more through his thick hair, "Does this friendship include sex?"
"What? Oh God no," Finnick says, walking back into the bedroom, smelling heavily of cologne with his hair slicked back with gel. "Trying to please her would be more hassle than it's worth."
Gale bites down on his tongue, hard, suppressing the snide comment that wants to slip past his lips. Turning to his laptop, now fully loaded with all the appropriate programs, he logs into Skype. And like every day since he last spoke to her, Katniss Everdeen remains offline. Slumping back in his chair, Gale rests his head along the top ledge.
"It's really no use being a miserable about it. Katniss will get a hold of you when she can," Finnick hums, looking over Gale's shoulder at the empty list of contacts.
"It's been 12 weeks, Odair." Gale shoots him a look.
"You'd be miserable too." But the effect the suggestion has on Finnick does not satisfy Gale. Finnick carelessly shrugs off the idea.
"Didn't you say her boyfriend's got some sort of condition?" he asks. "From what you've told me about her, she likes to focus on one thing at a time. I'm sure she hasn't forgotten about you." He continues with a smile. "You're kinda hard to forget anyhow, especially with that scowl on your face."
"You're an ass."
"I love you too." Finnick grins, cheekily. Gale huffs and turns his attention back to the screen in time for a window to pop up at the corner.
Madge Hawthorne is online.
And suddenly, it is as if nothing else matters. That the last 12 weeks of his life waiting for a message from Katniss had not mattered. That Finnick is not on the cusp of ruining his career because of a girl. Seeing the box with Madge's full name, flashing, as she sends an invite to video chat, all his turmoil dissipates with the simple request.
Gale does not notice the squeeze Finnick gives his shoulder or the soft click of the door as he leaves for dinner. Gale sits there with a grin on his face as Madge smiles back at him, her eyes brimming with tears as she greets him 'hello'.
It is all worthwhile.
Gale is not ready to leave Los Angeles just yet. It is a beautiful city to live in, temporarily. With it being constantly full of life and gold, refreshing sun, Gale found himself going to surf in the early morning and swim, leisurely, late at night. His three month long working vacation gave him a different kind of freedom than the type he gets back home. It had been perfect!
As much as Gale knows he would love to extend his vacation, the thought of leaving his fiancée by herself any longer was enough incentive to bring him home. He misses wrapping his arms around her slim waist and hoisting her up into the air when he kisses her. He misses holding her close when they sleep and most of all he misses the sex. Slumping back in his seat, Gale cannot help but smile. Only a few more hours now and he goes back to being all hers all the time.
Out of the corner of his eye, Gale catches a man fall into the seat beside him, with a groan. Even with the sunglasses covering his fresh tan and sensitive eyes, he knows it is Finnick. Gale stifles a laugh the best he can but the sound carries past his lips anyway, earning him the finger.
"Have too much fun last night?" Gale says with a smile. Finnick groans, again, lolling his head onto the back of the plastic airport waiting room chair.
"Considering it was his long overdue 21st birthday party, I would be insulted if he didn't have fun," Cashmere voice chimes in as she sits down across from them waiting to board the same flight back to Illinois.
"If you call going shot for shot with your boyfriend and his friends for sponsorships fun," Finnick speaks loud enough to be heard over the airport noise, but not loud enough to bother his hangover.
"Caius is not my boyfriend, first of all. Second, I told you he has a high tolerance and that you weren't going to win that bet."
Peeling his aviator's off his face, Finnick looks directly at Cashmere with a glint in his eye and a smirk on his lips, "I never said anything about regretting it. Somersaulting out of a pike off the balcony of your bedroom into the pool was worth it. It's too bad I had to do it all by myself."
"I kinda promised Madge a future, it would be counterproductive to kill myself at this point in the game," Gale looks over at him, irritatedly. Finnick shrugs and pushes his sunglasses back on his face, leaning his head back once more.
"Still worth it. Seneca said he'd get us a meeting with his Dad after that. You should be thanking me."
"When Mr. Heavensbee calls us with a contract, then I'll thank you," Gale smirks.
"Mr. Hawthorne, I'm seeing a completely new side of you! All ambitious and headstrong, it's kind of sexy," Cashmere purrs, teasingly as she licks her lips. Gale shakes his head and rolls his eyes while Finnick laughs, for a moment, before he shoves the heel of his hand into his forehead.
Gale sighs through a weary smile. Madge or no Madge, one more week would be nice.
"Boys, I have good news for you!" Gale and Finnick's coach, Atala,exclaims excitedly approaching them as they lift themselves out of the pool after a morning of training. It is their first session back in Illinois and it makes Gale miss the leisurely swimming. He is own worst critic when it comes to their routine and making sure the two of them are in perfect sync. Gale pushes them harder than their coach does and it surprises him that Finnick does not resent him even a little for being ruthless. But the tough love pays off and they both know it. They would not be half the team they are without it.
"Did Heavensbee call with another offer?" he asks as he towels off his dark head and hairless body.
"I've got better news than that," Coach Atala smiles wider. "You remember me talking briefly about Olympic Trials coming up, right?"
"Briefly as in every morning for the last three months or every hour on the hour since we got back?" Finnick inquires, with a raised brow, as he pulls his swim team hoodie over his head.
"Another sarcastic comment from you and you're doing 20 laps," their coach narrows her eyes at Finnick, whose amusement immediately falls from his face. "Anyway, I've been informed that the both of you have qualified for the trials next summer. This means we will have to tack on a couple extra hours of training a week, but I'm confident that the two of you can handle it. Congratulations!"
Gale stops, the towel in his hands slipping to the floor as he stares straight at his coach. Then over to Finnick and back to his coach. They qualified for Olympic Trials. The two of them actually qualified! If they make the top fourteen, they will go on to represent Team USA!
Before Gale can find the words, he feels Finnick's arms wrap around him and squeeze him tightly. Finnick's laughter bounces loudly off the walls and Gale can only find himself squeezing his friend back, joining him in his excitement.
They can be Olympians. They can potentially have far more money at their disposal than Gale could have ever imagined and he can take care of Madge, properly, never having to worry ever again.
It is not only Coach Atala who toughens the boy's regime; Gale refuses to let Finnick slack for a moment. Every time Finnick oversleeps for so much as five minutes, Gale pushes him to swim an extra fifty meters. And if Finnick is late for more than half of training, Gale steps back and lets their Coach punish his partner.
Finnick does not begin to make this a habit until a week after he comes back from Winter break. And it downright pisses Gale off.
It becomes a daily occurrence where Finnick would either not be up and ready to run track at five o'clock in the morning, having slept in, or he would not be in their room at all, hence missing the alarm all together and arriving at the pool hours later. Gale also finds there is always some insufficient excuse that comes with Finnick's tardiness. 'I was upstairs at Catherine's until one in the morning.' 'Catherine and I were studying all night for the test this afternoon.'
that Saturday, Gale loses his patience with Finnick.
"The actual fuck is your problem?!" Gale shouts, shoving his roommate into a wall of lockers in their change room. "It's ten in the morning! You were supposed to be here five hours ago!"
Finnick winces under Gale's tight grip on his shoulder. He holds his ground as he gives Gale a sheepish smile,looking up from under his bangs. "I'm sorry, Catherine asked me to go with her to a doctor's appointment this morning. It ran longer than I expected it to."
"The little bitch has got you running errands with her, too?" Gale voice echoes in the large room, making him suddenly aware of his surroundings, as well as the rigidness of Finnick's shoulders beneath his hands.
"I said I was sorry. I'll be more careful next time," Finnick pushes Gale back, gently, pivoting on his heel and shuffling over to his locker.
Gale sighs, running a hand through his dark, wet hair, "I don't know why you can't just let her go. She isn't your responsibility. You don't need to take care of her. You have a life too."
The jiggling of the lock stops. Silence hangs in the air as Finnick stands in front of his locker, perfectly , without warning, the open lock that Finnick has in his hand is snapped shut and whipped across the room.
Gale jumps.
"If it were ... Delly… who asked you to go to an appointment with her, would you?" Finnick croaks.
"Well yeah," Gale says, quietly, looking directly into Finnick's green eyes as they begin to drown in a sea of clear tears, rimmed in bright red. He has never seen Finnick cry before. And the sight hurts Gale far more than he could have imagined.
"Exactly. Delly is important to you, and you'd help her regardless."
"But with Delly it would be a one time thing! She wouldn't make a habit of always asking for my help!" Gale tries to reason again. "I need you, Finn. I can't do this without you."
Finnick shoots him another new expression full of exasperation. "There are more important things than having cash in your pocket and your face plastered all over billboards and magazines," he says, pulling his shirt over his head, exposing a large fresh, purple bruise on the inside of his shoulder. Gale feels his heart drop into his stomach.
"I didn't think I hit you that hard. I'm sor -"
"Save it," Finnick slams his locker shut, picks up his lock and re-fastens it through the door before walking out of the change room. "It's not your fault."
Gale wants to call after his friend, but the tear that drips off his chin stops him.
Gale tries to forget about the morning as best he can. He avoids going to their room, the library, and the gym, as well. He decides to make camp in an isolated corner of the study rooms in the Science Laboratory Building, where he sits twirling a pen round and round, watching for Katniss Everdeen to appear online. But after almost a year now, her name still remains amongst his offline contacts.
It is after seven in the evening when Gale finally decides to heads back to his room, trudging along, listening to Oasis, with the strap of his backpack tight within his fingers. He steps off the elevator onto their floor, with heavy steps, when he sees the two of them. They are leaning up against each other, their backs to the wall and her hand resting on his thigh. It looks cozy and for the first time since Gale has met Madge, he feels like she is beyond his reach.
Gale walks up to the pair slowly, closing the distance. He turns off his music and catches tendrils of their conversation.
"What kind of man would I be if I didn't take responsibility for my actions, Magpie?"
"Not much of one," Madge laughs, in that tinkling tune Gale loves so much, usually reserved just for him. "You're going to have to tell Gale you know."
"I know," he sighs.
"Just... remind me not to be there when you do."
"That'll be difficult considering I'm right here," Gale says with a frown. Their bright, eyes dilate as they stare up at him. Finnick's full of shock and fear. Madge lets go of Finnick's thigh and bolts onto her feet. She takes a step towards Gale. He takes a step back.
"So what is it that you have to tell me?" Gale can hear his heart pound in his ears as the anticipation tears him apart.
"I -" Finnick starts. He stops and sighs before starting again. "This morning. I hadn't been completely honest with you."
"Alright," Gale says, his voice cracking while he grips on his backpack tighter. Finnick pushes himself off the floor and leans with his bad shoulder against the wall.
"I'm dating Catherine. It's my responsibility to take care of her. So if she wants me to go to the doctor with her, I have to go. I'm bound at the wrist." Finnick shrugs, carelessly. Gale feels his heart slow down as he takes a step closer to them. Unfurling his hand from around his backpack, he reaches out and weaves his fingers gracefully into Madge's.
Gale wants to call Finnick out on his bullshit. He wants to fling his simmering anger at the friend who underestimates him. Having lived under the same piece of ceiling for the last three years, Gale knows when his best friend is lying. The authenticity in Finnick's eyes do not match his demeanor and smile.
However, Gale bites his tongue and smiles. "Was that so hard?"
"You took it a lot better than I expected," Finnick shrugs, stepping back to block the door as Gale comes up beside him.
Gale's eyebrows knit together.
"Cathy's asleep. She kind of had a meltdown during dinner and it's better if you just leave her be right now," Finnick says, as a crack splits in his mask and his lips tug down into a frown.
"Wake her up and carry her to her room or something, then."
"Gale, it's fine. If you're tired we can just go up to my room. Delly went home for the weekend, we have the place to ourselves," Madge offers, perching on her toes to his cheek and tugs him towards the elevator. Gale's eyes flash over to his fiancée, who is smiling brightly with a tinge of lust as she runs her tiny pink tongue over her bottom lip. Cashmere is probably sleeping in Finnick's bed anyhow.
Letting himself be guided away by Madge, Gale turns back briefly to see Finnick smile and wave at them. The mask breaking apart piece by piece as the couple gets further away. He looks exhausted and miserable. However, Gale still cannot find it in himself to feel sorry for his friend. If Finnick is going to be dishonest, then he deserves what he gets.
Despite his promise, Finnick is not more careful about being on time for training. In fact, every few days he decides to skip out all together, making practice pointless. Every time Gale tries to confront him about it, Finnick pushes him away with a slew of excuses. They only have a month left of classes before exams, and three left before graduation and Trials.
"Finnick has the rest of his life to spend waiting hand and foot on Cashmere. Is three more months of hard work really that much to ask?" Gale asks loudly as he paces the length of Madge's dorm room.
"Gale," Madge says, so softly that he cannot hear her over the shuffle of his feet.
"He's putting our asses on the line every time he decides he doesn't want to show up! It's the fucking Olympics, Madge; it feels like he doesn't even know what that means!"
"Gale," she speaks a little louder, but he does not look her way. His gaze is on the floor as his pacing gets quicker, his thumb nail between his teeth.
"Though, I really shouldn't be all that surprised. Caius warned me she'd be trouble. He said they weren't fucking, but I'm pretty damn sure Finnick has been waist deep in her pussy over since the summer. I know I wouldn't let a complete cunt of a study partner throw me a birthday party unless I was sleeping with her. "
"GALE WILLIAM HAWTHORNE, WILL YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!" Madge shouts, alarming Gale. He turns to his fiancée as her head pokes out from behind piles of books. Some were psychology, many were wedding-related. However, the book Madge has opened on her desk does not fall under either category. Closing it and revealing the topic, Gale raises an eyebrow. Isn't it not a little soon to be thinking about being a mother? Gale does not have time to dwell on this idea for long as his attention is taken away from the book and focused solely on Madge, who is red in the face with genuine anger.
"Since the first time you've met him, all you've done is harp on Finnick and his decisions. Has there ever been a point where you bothered to try and understand why!" Madge shouts in Gale's face. "If you stopped complaining for five minutes and went to talk to him - which I know you haven't - then I'm sure you'd get your answers!" she spat at him, her face now a bright shade of violet. She has never yelled at him before. Not like this anyhow, making him look like an idiot standing there with his mouth open.
"And you know what makes it all that much worse?" Madge continues, further silencing Gale. "Is that on top of having to listen to you whine about your roommate, I have finals to study for and a wedding to plan.
"Do you have any idea how difficult that is, especially having to do it all by myself! I am more than happy to wait a little longer. But no, you were the one who wanted the wedding this summer. So, I'm busting my ass over something it seems like you don't even care about anymore. I'm ready to fuck the whole thing!"
Gale opens his mouth, then closes it again as Madge gives him a teary look.
"All this dwelling makes it seem like Finnick's more important than me."
Gale feels the corners of his mouth tug into a frown. He would hardly say Finnick is more important, but then again, he has not been inattentive to Madge as of late. He has not thought about their wedding at all, besides how it conflicts with the date of the Olympic Trials. Then again, passing the Olympic Trials meant a secure future for him and Madge. Regardless, Gale would definitely not consider Madge any less important.
"Madgey, that's not true," Gale says, quietly, reaching out to her. "You will always be the most important person in my life. I am doing all this for us."
Madge sighs, relaxing in her desk chair. "Gale, do you remember what I told you on our last night in my room before you moved into the new house?"
"Not particularly," Gale says, after thinking about it for a few moments. Madge sighs again, shaking her head this time before her face falls into her hands.
"Go." Gale can hear the hiccup in Madge's words. He does not move. "Please, Gale. Go. Talk to Finnick. Try to understand where he's coming from. I know he's not trying to hurt you."
So he does. Leaving Madge to cry silently to herself before she throws the Expectant Mothers book on the ground.
When Gale steps foot on his floor, he does not have to go very far to find Finnick. His roommate is standing outside of their dorm room, talking solemnly to a pair of men who are caring large cardboard boxes. Moving day is not until the end of April, why would he want to leave before then? Gale wants to call out, but he cannot find his voice. His vocal chords are tight with dread.
Inching closer to the small group, Gale watches as Finnick shakes hands with the moving men, a sad smile on his lips before he turns back into their room, leaving the door wide open. He almost follows Finnick all the way inside until he spots Cashmere, sitting on Finnick's bare mattress with her back against the wall and a hand on her stomach. Gale situates himself against the wall outside of their door, not wanting to be seen yet.
"You are sure you want to leave like this? " Cashmere asks, in a quiet yet strained voice. "It's kinda cold of you."
After some time, Finnick answers. "I'm going to leave him a note."
Silence hangs in the air, once more. Peeking into the room, Gale watches as Cashmere idly pulls her fingers through Finnick's hair and massages his scalp as his head lays rest in her lap. "He's your best friend, I think you owe him an in-person explanation."
"I know," Finnick mumbles. "It's not like I haven't tried, it's just … I could never… timing is everything, Cath."
"And you think a note will miraculously make timing a non factor?" Cashmere asks, each word dripping with sarcasm. "If I didn't know any better I'd ask you if you have a vagina."
Gale knows that Finnick is rolling his eyes.
"There is never going to be a good time to tell him. You just gotta suck it up and do it! It'll be easier for him to handle if you explain the whole situation to him before and in person. If you tell Gale after, he's only going to resent you," Cashmere says, causing Finnick to sigh.
"That's what Madge said."
"Then you should listen to the girl that knows him bes—oh!" Cashmere gasps.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Finnick's voice raises half an octave in riddled panic.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Though, I think he likes Madge's idea too," Cashmere says with a smile. "Put your hand here."
The room goes silent again.
"Wow," Finnick's voice wavers. "Hey there, little guy. You really think I should tell Uncle Gale about you, huh?" Finnick lets out a hardy laugh and it makes Gale sick to his stomach.
He does not realize he is on his feet and standing in their doorframe until he is staring Finnick down. His green eyes are wide with fear and regret. Gale does not care though. All he can feel is that rush, like the initial plunge into a pool. As his body falls through the air, he can feel his stomach tighten and flip before the surrounding water numbs him.
The pregnant silence remains as Gale peels his gaze from Finnick and focuses it over to Cashmere, who looks far less afraid but infinitely more guilty. Gale blinks once, twice. Then he follows the curves of Cashmere's body downward until he reaches the noticeable bump. He can tell she is not very far along. Gale remembers, distinctly, what his mother had looked like when she had been carrying Posy. He had accompanied her to a great deal of her appointments when his father was busy at work.
Gale's eyes snap up from Cashmere's stomach to Finnick, who has now put some space between Cashmere and himself. Why is he such an idiot?! Why did he not realized this sooner?
"Gale, I can explain," Finnick says, his green eyes shining with intensity.
"Don't bother," Gale tries to keep his voice even as his hand clenches and unclenches. "It's over. It's all over." He breathes in and out, slowly, as his hands unclench for the final time and he briskly walks out of their room.
No.
His room.
Finnick will be gone soon. And Gale will never have to see the deceptive piece of shit he once considered to be family again.
As Gale begins to clean up the mess Finnick made of their professional diving career, he realizes he was the last to find out.
Finnick had apparently informed their coach four weeks before, requesting to still be listed as an active athlete so that his scholarship would remain unspoiled. He also informed their agent, Plutarch Heavensbee, that he is leaving the company and Caius Snow that he can no longer be under contract with Panem Sporting Goods. That was two weeks ago. And lastly, there is Madge, who smiled sadly at Gale and gave him a hug when he came into her room three nights ago. Gale did not have to ask to know she knew the longest.
Gale struggles with finals. Every attempt he makes to study becomes consumed by Finnick's lingering presence. The familiar sound of his voice as it hums, badly, to the melody of a pop song, the drop of his pen on his open textbook before he starts to twirl it again, and the smell of his deodorant.
Gale does not want to miss Finnick, but he cannot help it. Finnick was only trying to do what was best for the unexpected child; he did not intend to let Gale down. He did try to balance it all. Though, Finnick is far superior at balancing equations than relationships.
Maybe he should let Finnick explain.
However, Gale's willingness to listen is long forgotten on the day they graduated.
"What do you mean you're not coming home?!" Gale's voice rises to new heights as Madge stands before him in her graduation gown,her bright blue eyes avoiding his sharp gray ones. Heads of nearby family members swivel around to look at them, but Madge deflects their nosiness with a sweet smile.
"I'm staying here for a couple more weeks," Madge says quietly as she drags Gale away from large groups of people. She weaves him through tables and chairs until they reach a secluded area of the back gardens, where the school has decided to hold the ceremony and reception. "You'll barely even notice I'm not there."
"Barely even…" Gale nearly shouts, but takes a deep breath instead. "Madge, we're getting married next weekend. I'm sure as hell going to notice when you're not at the altar."
"I'vepostponedit…" Madge trails off as she pulls her pink, glossed bottom lip between her teeth.
"You've what?"
"I've postponed it," she says, with a little more confidence staring at into his eyes this time. Gale's mouth hangs open and gapes as it struggles to produce a sound.
When Gale finally finds his voice, the 'why' that passes his lips cracks.
"I … I don't think we're ready for it," Madge's voice cracks too as she holds back tears. "We haven't even lived together yet. How do we know it's going to work if we don't take baby steps first?"
"We've been together for eight years! You've lived a floor above me for half that time. Is that not enough?" Gale retorts, clenching his hands. "Am I not enough?" He can feel his heart shatter as he utters it, but it is Madge's tears that fall first. He rushes to catch them with the pad of his thumb.
"You've always been enough and always will be. I've … just spent a lot of time with Finn and Catherine lately. He's rushed into things with her because of the baby, and it's done nothing but make him miserable," Madge inhales, spinning her diamond engagement ring on her finger. "I don't want you to regret it later and be unhappy."
Gale takes her restless hands into his own, gripping them tightly before threading his fingers through hers.
"Regret being with you? I couldn't possibly." Gale leans down and kisses her softly. "I've wanted you since I was fourteen. I want you when I'm twenty-two and I'll want you when we're ninety-four. I love you, Madge. We're not them. We've known half our lives that this is what we've wanted. Nothing is going to change that."
Madge places another kiss on his lips as she wraps his arms around her. "I still can't believe you hit your head on the wall," Madge giggles, squeezing her fiancé's hands tightly. "Your depth perception sucks."
"I don't know about that. I've injured myself 60% less than I used to." Gale shrugs, as he squeezes back. Back then, it had not been depth perception that was the problem. But explaining that they met because he was watching an attractive senior walk by is not something Gale deemed appropriate to tell his nervous fiancee.
Madge's tinkling laugh fills their small vicinity as they walk back into the thinning crowd. One large group stood out though, as the laughter floated through the air loudly. Gale recognizes it as Madge's father. He has always had a hearty laugh, one that makes Gale miss his father from time to time. Her parents stand amongst the crowd with Gale's mother and siblings, Cashmere, her parents, Finnick and his grandmother and sister.
They approach the group slowly and quietly. Cashmere spots them first with her tired eyes and offers a weak smile.
"So nice of you to join us finally, you two have a nice little chat?" Cashmere says, her usual edge woven into her words but lacking genuine malice. Finnick is not the one who shoots an admonished look. It is, instead, Gersemi Reitz. Gale has not seen him before, and it surprises him.
As a man with a tremendous reputation and the CEO of one of the top twelve companies in the world, Gale expected the man to be more powerful-looking with broad shoulders and a stern look. However, Gersemi Reitz is anything but. He is a slender man with silver streaked blond hair, a thin goatee and dressed in a slimming gray dress shirt, a pair of dark slacks and black loafers. The way his blue eyes soften as they remove their gaze from his daughter and towards Madge makes him seem gentle, warm and fatherly.
"Yes, our chat went fine. Everything is good," Madge smiles at Cashmere. "Thank you again for letting me stay in your home for the next few weeks, Mr. and Mrs. Reitz, I really appreciate it."
"You're more than welcome! We're thrilled to have you," Gersemi chuckles. "Keeping Catherine relaxed is something even her brother can't do."
"My pleasure, I'm very happy to be a part of all this. It's kind of exciting!" Madge says with a smile. "I'm very much looking forward to it," she adds, squeezing Gale's hand. Letting go of it roughly, he locks eyes with Finnick. He drops Gale's gaze immediately, shying away from the circle.
"Yes, because pushing a child out of my vagina is oh so exciting." Cashmere rolls her eyes earning her a cool look from Gale. "What's wrong now, Hawthorne? Is the thought too much for you to handle?"
"Cath," Finnick warns, gently. "Leave it alone."
"Why?" Her shrill voice screeches. "So he can sit there and look down on me like the rest of the world does?!"
"Catherine, you're being incredibly rude," her mother chastises, making her grumble and fall to the seat behind her. The group falls into an awkward silence. Gale turns away from Cashmere over to Finnick, who stands protectively behind her with his dull green eyes and idle hands that pull through her hair gently.
Cashmere's shoulders relax as she stretches out on the folding chair with a smile on her face. Finnick does not smile back. If anything, he looks as if he is about to cry.
"You suggested Madge stay here, didn't you?" Gale says quietly, but Finnick hears his words loud and clear. "You had her postpone the day we've been waiting for since we were sixteen years old; all so she can help take care of your stupid girlfriend!" His voice crescendos, bringing attention to himself.
Finnick refuses to look up from where he has begun to brain a section of Cashmere's hair.
"Isn't that your job? Isn't that why you're here, why you threw our careers away so you could take care of her and that stupid kid?!" He points at the large swell under Cashmere's graduation gown.
The group goes quiet. Cashmere opens her mouth, ready to throw it back in Gale's face but Finnick puts a hand on her shoulder. His docile eyes brim with tears and he takes a deep breath.
"You're right. It was my idea to get Madge involved. I thought we might need a little extra help. Cath isn't handling this as nicely as Penny did, " Finnick laughs, but no one joins in. "I'm sorry you got caught in the crossfire of my mistakes. I never wanted that. I wanted you to have a good life, Gale. It's what you deserve." Finnick's tone remains even as he breaths through his nose. Finnick's sister offers him comfort with a gentle kiss to his head.
For the first time, Gale feels sorry for Finnick. His friend never asked for any of this. Especially not with her.
"You're really lucky, you know. Even though your career is shot, you still get to go home to a family that loves you. To a best friend that misses you," the words tumble out of Finnick's mouth before anyone realizes he is speaking again. Penny holds onto him tightly as his voice almost succumbs to his sadness. "I would give anything just to have half of that."
Gale can feel his chest tighten as the full force of Finnick's words hit him. When he told his mom that he would no longer be bringing home the big cheques, she told him she was proud of him and that with a degree in Technical Engineering, he can do many other things.
Finnick's parents, on the other hand, were angry with him. His father was probably fuming about how much of a loser his eldest son is while his mother, in her worrisome nature, probably blamed herself. At least his sister and grandmother still cared.
Posy's unsuspecting fingers bring Gale out of his thoughts. Looking down at his sister's sadness and confusion, he scoops the little girl into his arms. She already saw one family fall apart in her lifetime, she does not need to see another.
"Y'know," Gale starts, "If there was anyone who was going to understand what you're going through, it would have been me." He then turns away from the group and heads towards the campus parking lot, his mother and brothers following behind them after a rushed set of goodbyes.
Gale does not want to see their faces, hear any more voices that will make him stop, or turn back and face them. He knows, too, that he has made a fool of himself and he is not ready to own up to his mistakes, either.
By the second week after graduation, Gale has a part-time job teaching swimming to young children and begins helping around the house where he can. Just like old times.
"I really missed you," his mother tells him as she cooks dinner and he sets the table. "Thank you for coming home."
Gale looks up after he places the last fork on the napkin. His mother turns to him, her eyes glistening in the light as she offers him a large grin. Taking the pot of steaming pasta from her hands, he puts it back on the element and envelopes her in a hug.
"I missed you too," He says, holding her tightly.
"Have you heard from Madge?" Hazelle asks, pulling herself away from her son's embrace and going back to the pasta.
"We email back and forth. She's doing well. She really loves the Reitz home and doesn't think she could ever move back into her parents' home here. I told her that she better lower her expectations fast because my earnings can't meet her expectations yet," Gale says with a smile.
"Send her my best as well as to the Reitz' and Finnick, alright?"
Gale pauses, before placing the last glass down on the table. "Sure. I'll let her know."
Hazelle smiles, "One last favour, can you go get everyone. Dinner's ready."
Gale nods as he bounds up the straight staircase to the upper level of their town house. He was able to save some of the money from his career as a spokesmodel, allowing his mother to put a down payment on this quaint town house last fall. It thrilled his family to no end that they could finally afford a house again.
Gale knocks on both Rory's and Vick's doors simultaneously, earning him equally scowling looks. Over the years Rory's vision improved immensely with the radiation and experimental drugs. Rory now has ninety percent vision in both eyes.
"Dinner's ready," Gale announces, causing his brother's scowling faces to drop and a smile to cross their faces as they chase each other down the stairs. Rolling his eyes at their teenage antics, Gale then walks into his bedroom for a moment. Sitting down in his computer chair, he logs back onto his laptop. A new email is sitting in his inbox.
From Madge Hawthorne. Opening it up instantly, the email reads
July 15, 2006 2:04pm
Gale,
It's been 17 hours of what can only be equivalent to hell; at six pounds and seven ounces Noah Odair is born.
I've attached a picture of the two of us. He's absolutely adorable, Gale! I really want a baby now!
Love always,
Your Madgey.
He re-reads it three times before it sinks in. Hovering his cursor over the attached file, Gale hesitates. Does he really want to see the six pound mass of flesh and bones that has caused him nothing but trouble? Madge with a newborn baby would make the heartsick less though. Gale is about to click on the attachment when Posy's big lungs shout for her brother.
Taking a deep breath, Gale re-locks his computer and heads down for dinner. The baby can wait.
When Gale reaches the bottom of the landing, the doorbell ringing catches him by surprise. Looking through the glass pane beside the door, he nearly rips the door off of its hinges. Standing on his front step, with her eyes pointed down and her dark hair in its usual braid, Katniss Everdeen offers him a sheepish smile and a soft hello.
Sweeping her off her feet, he pulls her into a bone-crushing hug. Maybe the kid being born is a sign of good luck finally coming his way.