Chapter 38

"Madge, wake up." I whisper in her ear. I hate to wake her. She looks so peaceful. So beautiful. But I don't want her to wake up and be surprised that she's alone in bed.

"You leaving?" She says through a thick yawn.

"Yeah. I need to be out of here before Mabel shows up. And I can't let her pass me on the walk back to the Seam either. I'm sorry, I wish I could stay."

"No, you're right. Will you spend the night again? My father won't be back yet."

I nod. "Go back to sleep, I'll see you later." I lean over and kiss her forehead and her eyes close again. "I love you so much Madge Undersee." I whisper as I slip out of her room, closing the door behind me. I leave out of the back door of her house just to be sure no one sees me. Not that I expect to see anyone out and about this early. Sun's not even up just yet. I love the quiet stillness that the district is this time of day. And thanks to last night's rainstorm, everything is wet and steamy. I really wish I could get in the woods right now. Wish I could go bask in my happiness.

Last night was amazing and perfect. I hadn't planned to tell her so soon that I was in love with her. It just kind of played out that way. I'm glad I told her. The look on her face when I'd said it was hard to read at first. She made me repeat what I said, I think she thought she'd heard wrong. So I'd told her again. I'd laid it all out for her, shown every part of my feelings. And she'd said it back. It was everything I'd needed to hear. Everything I'd wanted and waited to hear. Those words came from her lips as if they were music. And then, in that moment, everything felt right, everything fell into place. My hands had explored every inch of her body, her skin soft felt like satin beneath my hands. Her touch, her breath, her lips against my skin, the sound of her moans-it was all perfect, all worth waiting for. It wasn't like anything I'd ever experienced before. It wasn't like anything I'd ever even imagined. It was better. It was Madge. My Madge. The Madge who also dreamed of having a future with me. This girl was everything.

I slip into my house expecting to be able to pretend I was home all night and instead find my mother sitting at the table. Waiting for me. Shit.

"Sit down. Let's talk before the kids get up.." Though her tone is calm, I know better. She's pissed.

"Ma, I know what you're going to say. And I know I wasn't supposed to stay out all night with Madge. But you don't understand. I have to see her."

"Gale, I know you've been treated as an adult for many years now but this is one of the few times that I need you to remember that you're not, that you're still a boy. And I know you like Madge, I..."

"I love her. Not like her, but love her." I interrupt correcting her statement.

"Gale, that doesn't change the reality of our world. She is still the Mayor's daughter. And you are of the Seam. She may not care about that, and I honestly believe she doesn't, but it still matters Gale. Her parents won't approve."

"I love her. I don't care about anything else. All I need is her approval, her love. And I have that." The defiance obvious in my voice.

"I don't want this to end badly for either of you. I need your word that you won't do anything foolish with her; that you won't get her into trouble. And I think you know what I mean."

"Ma, I understand, I promise I do. And I won't ever hurt her. We're being careful. You don't need to worry about us."

"I've said all I plan to say on the matter. You know my concerns. I hope you both know what you're getting into, what challenges you'll face. But I want you to also know Gale that I love you very much and it makes my heart very happy to know that you've found love with such a sweet girl." As she says this she reaches across the table, placing her weathered hand over mine.

I nod and take a deep breath. I know she's letting me off easy. She could be much worse about this. She could ground me. I'm a teenager who just got busted spending the night at my girlfriend's house. Most parents would flip. Sure, she's not happy with me but she does trust me. And I know she does like Madge even if she is worried about Madge's position in the district. Right now, all I need is to help Madge figure out what crap is planned for her future so that we can officially be together. Then, everything will be exactly perfect. Madge can be my girlfriend, both in public and in private.

I help my mother get the wood stove going and she starts breakfast. I don't feel like eating breakfast, I'm too happy to eat. So I give the kids my share of the food and watch as they eat. They gobble it right up. I suddenly realize how torn I am about Madge's father being out of town. For her and I, it's great. We get to be alone together at her house. I get to sleep with her in my arms all night. But I also can't get out into the woods to hunt. Without hunting, we can't eat. We don't survive. So while I want him to stay out of town I also need for him to come back soon.

At school, Madge has a glow about her. She looks more radiant than ever. By lunchtime I am literally counting down the hours until I can be with her alone again. Her eyes flash at me across the lunch table and I know she's thinking the same thing. We continue to uphold our friend illusion but it's killing me. I can't wait for tonight.

At the viewing I sit, making every effort to appear patient. Thank goodness for Posy. That kid is an ever welcome distraction. She stands in front of me singing a child's song and showing me the hand motions that go along with it. She continues this until the screen flickers and we all stand for the anthem. Madge slips in next to us with Prim only moments before the anthem so I didn't get to say anything. Just a quick moment where we smile at each other through a sideways glance. After that, I quickly find out that the bulk of the viewing this afternoon has been edited to show Katniss and Peeta. She manages to get him cleaned up a bit. Washes off all the mud he'd slathered on himself. Uses what's left of her burn ointment to try and help the infection on his leg. His leg looks really, really bad. I can tell the whole time that she's cleaning it how close she is to puking. She's always been slightly squeamish and his leg is oozing puss something horrible. He doesn't seem to notice how green she looks. He just stares at her and talks to her like nothing's wrong. I don't care if he did save her life after the tracker jacker incident. He still urkes me. She manages to get him up on his feet and moving though just barely. He can't walk very far at all and they can't stay any longer just out in the open like they have been while she worked to clean him up. Thankfully she finds a cave close by and they're able to hide inside. I hate the new rule. The one that encourages them to work together. He's gonna die soon. She has to know that just by looking at that leg wound. But she doesn't leave him. She isn't stopping to think about her own safety like she should be. He's making her an easier target. She's being stupid. She should be up in a tree, taking out tributes one at a time with the bow she got off the dead Career tribute. Not playing nursemaid to Mellark. And the best part? Just before they cut off the screen, she's freaking kissing him in the cave. When the hell did she start kissing people? Does she think this is a joke? She needs to get her priorities straight and get her head back in the game. She needs to get back home to us.

Before she leaves the viewing area, Madge whispers to me to meet her at her back door at 10 instead of midnight. Since she's home alone there's no reason to wait until midnight. The thought of two whole extra hours with her makes me smile in spite of what I just watched on the screen. My smile however fades when I notice she doesn't head towards her own house as she leaves. No, she's heading for the café. That means she's about to try and talk to Lily. I feel my jealousy boiling up knowing that Tripp will be there and that he'll do anything to take advantage of this opportunity. I put Posy up on my shoulders and head back home. If I hang around town I may be too tempted to wait outside the café. Or worse, I may get so jealous that I actually go into the café. No good will come from that.

A/N: Thank you all for your reviews and messages! I have had mixed response to my last chapter. Some of you wanted it more explicit, others were glad I was vague. My reasons for writing that scene as I did were mostly because I wanted to be able to keep this story at a T rating instead of changing it to M. I may write future stories that hold an M rating but for now this one will stay as it is. I did debate for quite some time as to what I wanted to do but in the end I didn't feel it was fair to change the rating so far into the story. Sorry if that disappoints some of you and I hope you'll continue reading. I do appreciate all of your feedback and am grateful for all my readers! :)