A/N: In this chapter, Katniss sees an old friend, and Gale gets jealous ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

Chapter five: Best Friend, huh?~

Gale set the prize box down on the empty table, turning around to observe his surroundings. There were seven picnic tables on either side of the shelter, with a single lane running down the middle where most of the traffic was. People bustled up and down the lane, moving around each other to put their coolers by their table, and stopping to talk to old friends.

Gale spotted a particular cooler on the left side - well, his left - that sat at the end of one of the picnic tables. It was blue and white - the Everdeen's cooler. Just then, Katniss' head popped up from behind the table, braid flinging about. She had something in her hand - a wrapper, maybe - and as she stood up, Gale began to make his way over. He had gone no more than a few feet when he saw someone approach her, and Gale stopped to see who this person was.

It was a man. Well, no more a man than Gale was...uh, *cough* not that Gale wasn't a man. He was just, you know, young. For a man. Eh, never mind.

The young man came up behind Katniss much the same way a predator would prey, and when she stood up to her full height he rammed his fingers into her sides and yelled, "BOO!" She screamed, the thing she was holding flying right back out of her hands. She turned around, poised to slap him, but upon recognizing who it was settled for a friendly slap to the shoulder. Gale watched in discomfort as Katniss smiled and turned around, wrapping her arms around him, the two laughing lightheartedly like good friends.

Too good of friends.

Gale resumed his route to the Everdeen's table, coming up behind Katniss, who was still hugging the unknown perpetrator in front of him. Gale coughed. The two broke apart, and she looked at him, eyes bright.

"Oh, hey, Gale. Did you find Grandma Sae?" She asked, remaining uncomfortably close to the musty blond before him.

"Uh, yeah, who's this?" Gale asked a little too nicely, barely answering her question.

Katniss turned around, looking up at the person she still held in her arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry, how stupid of me. This is Cato. Cato, this is my friend Gale," she introduced, holding out a hand to Gale as if presenting him to an audience.

"Best friend," He corrected, holding out his hand.

"Hi," Cato said politely as he shook his hand, a hint of a smile still on his lips from earlier.

He was surprisingly muscular, perhaps more so than Gale (though he would never admit to this, of course) and tall, at least two or three inches taller than him (again, he admitted nothing). He had on a pair of tan cargo pants and a well-fitted red t-shirt with the logo for Panem Sports on it. He looked like a preppy jock. It had only been thirty seconds, but Gale already wasn't liking him.

"So you're a good friend of Katniss, huh?" Cato asked, genuinely interested.

Oh, and he was a gentleman too! How sweet...

"Yep." Gale replied curtly.

"Funny, she's...never mentioned you." Said Cato innocently, scoffing a laugh.

Gale looked at Katniss, face frozen, speechless. Never mentioned? They spent every flipping day together! What the hell was that?!

"Cato, that's not...entirely true..." Katniss said, looking slightly ashamed.

"Noooo, I think I would have remembered if you did," Cato insisted.

He wrapped his arm tighter around Katniss' waist, and she laughed somewhat nervously.

Awkward silence...

"...Yeah, well, great meeting you, man," Cato said, obviously trying to break the ice.

"Yeah. Same here," replied Gale, smiling tightly.

He watched in disdain as this 'Cato' person bent his head down to his best friend's ear.

"Hey, I'm gonna go see Grandma Sae. Sit with you at lunch?"

"Yeah, sure." She replied, crossing her arms and giggling when he tickled her.

"Okay, sweet. I'll see you later." And with that, he ran out of the shelter and into the sun.

Katniss turned and looked at Gale, her smile faltering when she saw the clear look of anger on his face.

A/N: Oooh, Katniss is in trouble. (O.O)

I was gonna have Peeta be the one to sneak up on Katniss, but I decided on Cato because, well let's face it, Gale is in no way threatened by Peeta XD THAT, and I like Catoniss more than Peetniss, so, ya know *shrugs*

I'll still have him in the story though, I think, just gotta find a spot for him :)

'Till next time.