A/N: Here I am! :D You know...again ^^; lol anyway, here's another chapter.

I feel like I'm getting waaaayy too OOC. The story started out perfectly, but after the last few chapters I feel like I'm steering off-course XD SO, this chapter is meant to be a gentle push back towards legitimacy...you know. As legitimate as a fanfic can get. Haha ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

Chapter fourteen: Competition~

After lunch, Gale decided he needed a break from all of this 'family' business. He loved the Everdeens, but he wasn't so sure about their relatives. It was hard to believe even half of them were related to Katniss in any way - heck, it was hard to believe she was related to her own family sometimes.

Mrs. Everdeen was polite and shy, Prim was innocent and vibrant, and Katniss was...Katniss. She was quiet and reserved, with hard features and cold, grey eyes, and was very rough around the edges, but only in the sense that a diamond is rough before it's cut to perfection. And Gale couldn't believe how hormoneless she was, so much so that he likened her to a robot for the first few years of their uneasy friendship.

In fact, she was still pretty hormoneless - she never blushed when men walked by, never stuttered when they talked to her, and she certainly didn't get embarrassed in front of them. But she was also mature beyond her years (probably even his), and she held a quiet fire in her eyes that Gale liked to think only he could see.

He wasn't quite sure when or how he'd started to think of her romantically - maybe it was how different she was from other girls, maybe it was just the amount of time they spent together - but Gale knew that he would be perfectly fine spending the rest of his life with her, whether it be on friendly terms or otherwise.

While Katniss was occupied with Prim and Rory, Gale took the chance to silently excuse himself. He thought about heading over to the swing set, but it suddenly appeared far too close to the playground, and God forbid if he was going to be back there any time soon. So, he changed his direction to the opposite end of the park. He decided on the restrooms; he didn't really have to go, but he figured it was the one place where he could be alone, rather than surrounded by...them.

And besides - it was the only place for miles with four walls.

He exhaled at such a blissful thought, and before he knew it Gale's feet were moving toward the place of interest. He walked past the shelter, past the circle of camping chairs, and started on the long strip of sidewalk that led to the bathrooms. He passed several people on the way there, some of which he recognized and some he had never seen before in his life.

Gale looked to his right, noticing how packed the parking lot was. He tried spotting the Everdeen's van, but was unsuccessful. Giving up, he looked to his left. The baseball diamond he had noticed earlier was still there, but no one was playing. Maybe they were saving it for later.

Gale finally reached the restrooms, and he felt as though he had walked a mile to get to it. Through a desert. It was a single building, split down the middle for women and men; girls on the left, boys on the right. He picked up his pace, the idea of privacy (no matter how temporary) seeming more and more appealing by the second.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance, he heard talking. Voices, conversation. Coming from the women's room. And one of them sounded scarily familiar. Acting fast, Gale pivoted around to hide himself. He hid behind the women's side, pressing himself against the concrete wall, the coldness hitting his spine almost immediately.

Gale watched, frozen in fear, as Johanna exited the women's room. She was talking to one of the Odairs, but he didn't know who because Katniss had glossed over them when they were talking about her relatives. The blonde woman laughed at something Johanna said, and the two walked right past him, oblivious to his presence.

Gale let out a breath. Thank God. He unglued himself from the wall, checking once more to be sure that no other horrors emerged from the hellish portal known as the women's restroom. Satisfied with the lack of sound coming from said room, Gale walked over to the men's...and ran smack into Cato.

Gale stumbled back, barely able to right himself before he fell backwards onto the hard concrete, and Cato did the same, grabbing hold of the door frame to keep from falling.

"Aw, man. I am so sorry, man, I..." Cato began spitting out apologies, but stopped when he recognized Gale. "Oh, hey. You're Katniss' friend," he said, voice suddenly distant.

"The one and only," Gale said, giving him a bittersweet smile as he dusted himself off.

They stood there for a few moments, each standing in the other's way. Cato made a move to let him pass, but just as Gale moved to take the opening he blocked his way again.

"Look," he said, sounding like a grownup talking down to a child. "I may be completely wrong here, but I get the feeling you don't like me."

No, where'd he get that idea?

"Now, it's perfectly fine with me if you don't, but it'd be nice if we could lay off the hostilities." Cato finished.

Gale smiled. "I have no idea what you're talkin' about, buddy."

Cato's face shifted to stoic, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Look, it'd be nice if we could cut the bullshit. I know you like Katniss. And I don't blame you, she's a great girl. But you really don't have to worry about me being 'competition' or whatever, because she's not into me like that and I don't see her like that either. Okay?"

To say Gale was taken aback was a bit of an understatement. He was...he was...

He didn't even know.

But it was far beyond flabbergasted, that was for sure.

He stared at Cato for a moment, automatically replying, "Okay. Sure."

The blond slapped Gale's shoulder. "Great." He smiled, moving out of his way. "You don't have much of a chance as it is anyway, so it's only fair that I get out of the picture," Cato said politely as he made to walk back towards the shelter.

Finally finding his voice, Gale turned around to call after him. "Hey, what do you mean I don't have a chance?"

Cato turned around, smiling as innocently as a baby. "I think we both know the answer to that one, bro."

Gale blinked, narrowing his eyes and knitting his brows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Cato lifted his eyebrows, placing his hands on his hips. "How long have you known Katniss?" He asked. His tone reminded Gale of a self-help guru.

"Six years." He replied, not knowing where this was going.

"And how long have you liked her?"

"...About three."

"And during that time, has she made any romantic advances toward you?"

Gale grew silent, mulling over their interactions over the past few months. Ultimately, he drew a blank.

Cato smiled, holding his arms out. "Face it, man. You've been friend-zoned."

Gale stared after him as he turned and walked away, dumbfounded. He was shocked, angry, annoyed, irritated, livid...need he go on? But most of all, he was angry at himself. Because Cato was right. Over the course of the six long years he had known her, not once did Katniss ever express any romantic interest in him. She didn't even like talking about romance or love. So who was he to think she would feel the same as he did?

Gale snapped out of his horrific epiphany, turning back around to face the entrance to the restroom. He paused for a moment at going in - he suddenly felt like he didn't belong there. He glanced over at the women's room; he was feeling so many different emotions right now that he wondered if that was where he should be heading...

Dismissing the thought, Gale pushed open the door to the men's and went inside.

He should be ashamed to call himself a man...

A/N: Uh-oh, Gale's having some doubts D: But don't worry. He'll bounce back ;)

I feel much better about this chapter, but I'll let you be the judge of that :P

I'd like to take a moment to thank all of my reviewers, especially Jay's Song. You've reviewed every single chapter, and you always have something good to say. You are the light of my virtual life right now. lol XD

I also want to thank Guest for reviewing the last chapter. We all have different levels of weird, but I'm glad that mine is suitable to you lol ;)

Anyway, I'm going to be away for a while. Why? Because I am sick and tired of not being at least one chapter ahead T_T SO, to remedy this, I'm going to dedicate the next week or so to typing up chapters, and chapters only! ('-')/

See you in two weeks! (hopefully less) :D