A/N: I'm back! :D Well, not really. I just wanted to give you guys a little something to read while you wait for the big stuff. Enjoy! :3

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

Chapter 15: In Your Face!~

After doing his business, Gale began to make his way back to the shelter. He still felt utterly defeated, hopeless, and useless, but that didn't stop him from strutting out of the men's room like a boss...or from pitifully crawling back to his designated 'friend-zone' to be with Katniss again. Still, he had to hand it to Cato; he knew what he was talking about.

Katniss had never shown any interest in...well, men in general, really, but especially not in Gale. He knew that she didn't – *ahem* – 'bat for the other team', but he also knew that she had never once mentioned or said anything about a guy (romantically, at least) to him. Not now, not then, not ever.

As he walked along the concrete path leading back to the shelter, Gale spotted a small group of sports jockeys (Odairs, by the looks of them) tossing a football back and forth with all the finesse and grace of professionals. He would have scoffed to himself, but he was far too caught up in his own thoughts to care for the flawless techniques of a family he didn't even know. And so, he kept walking.

...Still, he couldn't help but hold on to the small sliver of hope that she just hadn't experienced the full concept of relationships yet. She was a late bloomer; maybe her hormones were still catching up with her, too.

'At 18 years old?' his mind all but shouted.

Gale had to remind himself that he was in a public place to keep from slapping himself in an attempt to spite his stupid conscience. But it – er, his conscience – was right. If Katniss hadn't shown the even slightest trickle of attraction to him by now, she probably never would. Ever. At all. Gale sighed.

You know, sometimes he just wanted to-

BAM!

A tremendous force struck him in the head and he stumbled, trying to catch himself (for the second time that day) from falling embarrassingly to the ground. For a moment he was seeing stars, but in a blink they were gone and Gale found himself staring at the perpetrator; a football. A flipping football. Looking up, he saw the Odair kids lingering on the edge of the sidewalk, as though unsure if they should approach him (or waste their time apologizing. Whichever).

Their leader – Finnick, if he remembered right – stepped forward.

"Sorry about that. Annie's still working on her throws." He said easily, flashing a lady-swooning grin that rivaled Gale's own.

The woman in question moved to stand behind Finnick, a shy – if not a little embarrassed - apologetic smile on her face. Gale flashed a grin of his own her way, and Annie looked as if she were about to faint. Clearing his throat, Finnick stepped forward again, blocking Annie from his view.

"So; you gonna be participating in the family baseball game?" He asked, smile back in place.

Gale didn't miss a beat. "Yeah, I am, actually. Why? Is it some kinda 'Everdeens only' thing?"

Finnick smirked. "No. It's just that we're pretty...well. You'll see."

Gale's eyebrows came together in confusion (and slight weirded-out-ness) as the bronze-haired man smiled wryly, stepped past him, bent down, and rose back up to his full height, the football in hand. As he glanced at it, Gale he realized it had 'ODAIRS' scribbled on it in faded black marker. Huh. He guessed they had had problems in the past concerning family property.

Or something.

"See you around," said Finnick, turning around and wrapping an arm around Annie and kissing his sister's forehead.

Seeing that they were returning to their game, Gale resumed his path back to the shelter. He wasn't really sure what Katniss had against them. They were...well, as she'd said, perfect. And that, in his opinion, was a perfectly fine thing to be, especially compared to some of the other, rather obvious...let's say, 'dysfunctional' families, Peeta and Johanna's being the two prime examples. But still, he didn't see why Katniss thought they were-

"Hey!"

Gale turned back around, seeing Finnick calling him from a distance.

"Thanks for taking that hit! Would've been a shame if it'd hit my car." He shouted, smiling an eye-shattering smile.

He once again turned his attention back to his family members, and Gale took the opportunity to look at the 'car' he had so lovingly mentioned. His mouth nearly fell open as his eyes landed on a very, very expensive-looking Corvette ZR1. It was yellow, had racing stripes, and was blindingly shiny. Finnick probably got loads of girls with that thing.

Ignoring the sudden surge of envy that flowed through his veins, Gale forced himself to tear his gaze away from the car that was worth more than his own home, and, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, began walking toward his goal again. What the hell did these people do for a living? Gale sighed. Where was he?

Oh, yeah.

Never mind.

A/N: Wow, no reviews yet? What madness is this? D:

Lol, jk XD

As much as I really hate to say it, I haven't written ANYTHING over the past week except this! D:

I really wanted to, I just couldn't think of exactly where to take the story next. I know how I want it to go and I know how I want it to end, as well as key points and events and stuff that happen, I'm just having a bit of trouble organizing them ^^;

But the main reason I haven't updated is because I've been using a tablet to write the chapters so far. And I. Am. Sick of it. I absolutely despise that little 7" touch-keyboard, and I've been thinking of buying a bluetooth keyboard so I can write on the go, but I can't afford it. This chapter was typed on a laptop, but it's a family laptop, so it takes forever for me to get a turn XD

So...yyyyyeeeeeaaaahh :/

But anyway, I'm out of my funk (of sorts), so I'm going to speed ahead and type type type! :D

'Til next time!