A/N: MAN, it feels like it's been awhile! ^^; I meant to update like, 2 or 3 DAYS ago. Buuut I'm lazy :P This chapter contains the first of 'the games' which, to keep in sync with the last chapter (duh) will be the sack race. Hopefully you'll find it as funny as I did :D

Anyway, here's the update XD

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games.

Chapter 20: Sack Race~

Gale inhaled deeply, drawing in a concentrated breath as he stared determinedly at his goal.

There, not 50 feet away, was the object of his interest, of everyone's interest.

The sack race finish line.

Childish as it may seem, Gale was going to take the games very seriously, and God forbid if he was going to be stopped from hopping his way to victory. Ever since joining forces with Johanna (granted, it was only about 20 minutes ago, but it already felt like far longer) Gale had become determined, very determined, to win this race, and every other game the Everdeen family threw his way, if only to crush Cato and win back Katniss.

It was kind of ridiculous, he knew, and to anyone else it would have seemed downright childish and immature of him to take something so silly so seriously, but he didn't care. All he wanted was to win.

"You ready?"

Gale paid Johanna no mind as he stepped inside the canvas sack that had been given to him, intent on ignoring her and just focusing on the task at hand. Johanna, however, just didn't seem to care.

"I hope you know that ignoring me's not gonna help you win," she said, stepping inside her own sack as well.

He said nothing, merely giving her a sideways glance as Enobaria, Johanna's mother, announced the instructions for the race.

"Alright, listen up!" She barked, and Gale immediately saw which side of the family Johanna took after.

"I assume you've all picked your partners by now, so here's what we're gonna do: everyone get in their sacks and form a straight line. You have to hop to the halfway point and back. No running, no waddling. Hop. Only one person from each team needs to make it across. And remember, it's just a game."

Gale rolled his eyes. Pfft. We'll just see how much fun the losers have.

He absentmindedly looked to his left, down the line of teams. He spotted Katniss and Cato a ways down, and he noticed that Peeta was paired with Foxface. Prim had apparently paired herself with Rory, who looked very nervous. Stifling a smile, Gale turned his head back to look at the halfway point. Johanna noticed him smiling, and gave him a look.

"Why are you smiling like an idiot?"

Said smile was dropped immediately, and Gale had restrain himself from strangling her. Leave it to Johanna freaking Mason to kill a good mood.

"Nothing," he muttered, pulling the sack up past his hips.

Enobaria continued. "Alright, get ready, get set...GO!"

And they were off.

Gale hopped with all his might, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the rims of the canvas sack tighter and tighter. He could hear Johanna grunting behind him with the effort to keep up with him, but he had no intention of slowing down. He hopped and hopped and hopped, uncaring of who he had to shove or push to get in front of, or of how ridiculous he looked. He only cared about winning.

Once he hit the halfway line, Gale pivoted with all his might and just barely kept from completely bashing into Johanna. Their shoulders grazed as he dodged right and she left, both frantically trying to keep from crashing to the ground from even the slightest misdirection of their upper bodies. Their eyes briefly met and for a fraction of a second Gale thought they were going to fall to the ground, but they missed each other and they were both off again.

About halfway to the finish line, Gale started feeling good about himself. He was going to do it. He was going to win and rub it in Cato's stupid face-

He didn't even have time to widen his eyes as a mass of blond and tan jumped in front of him and past his peripheral vision in a single hop. Gale held tighter to the canvas edges of his sack and hopped faster. His leg muscles were screaming for him to stop but he refused to give up. Not now, not ever. He was not about to let some stupid blond idiot cut in front of him and steal his victory.

Cato was in the lead.

And that shit just did not fly.

Willing his legs to move faster, Gale gathered the remaining energy in his legs and made one final leap, cutting Cato off as he aimed right. He felt as if he were going in slow motion, and he could feel every millisecond pass by as he wondered whether or not his efforts were in vain. Gale's body smashed into the ground with a resounding thud, the ground vibrating with the stress as the shock passed through his body. He lay there for a few seconds, waiting for Enobaria to call for a winner, and for a moment he thought that he hadn't touched the finish line at all, or even come close to it, really, and that maybe he should be waiting for the sounds of laughter and humiliation instead.

It took ages, but the announcement was finally made.

"WINNER!" Enobaria called, and Gale felt long claw-like fingernails digging into his arm as he was being tugged upwards into a standing position.

His head swam a bit from the impact of his fall, but it quickly subsided as Gale felt his arm being raised above his head in a victory-like stance. Man, it sounded pathetic, but the amount of elation he felt at being able to outdo, outsmart and outbest Cato was unmeasurable. The contestants and onlookers clapped and cheered, and he openly basked in the positive attention.

He spotted Katniss a ways behind Cato, her racing sack at her feet, clapping happily for him. He felt a bit guilty for his victory, but that feeling was soon shoved down into the recesses of his gut as his gaze fell on Cato, who was clapping as well. He could prove nothing, but he just knew that the blond was already planning ways to beat him at the next game. No matter. Gale would just have to take extra precautions to counteract whatever he had up his sleeve.

"I'll get your prize," Enobaria said, her fingernails leaving his arm.

Gale withdrew his hand and inspected the skin below his elbow, immediately noticing the little half-moon marks imbedded into his arm. Yikes. He'd hate to be her kid growing up. Just then, Johanna walked up to him.

"Nice goin' there, Sport," she congratulated, tossing her sack into the growing pile at Gale's right.

He gave her a look. "'Sport'?"

She nodded. "That's what I've decided to call you. You know, since you're such a bad one?"

He rolled his eyes. He wasn't about to let her bring him down from his victory-pedestal.

"Gee, thanks, Captain Obvious."

She smirked. "You're welcome, Sergeant Sarcasm."

He looked her, surprised at her wittiness. "Indeed, Comrade Comeback."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant Loser."

Gale watched in utter shock as she began to walk away, strutting with all the pride of a pack of lions. Gathering one last attempt for a comeback, he called out, "Thanks a lot, Senior Smartass!"

She kept walking, and for a moment Gale thought he had won, but she suddenly turned around, still walking, and replied, "Anytime, Dictator Dillwad!"

"Dammit!" He said to himself, eyebrows coming together in distaste.

Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to meet the eyes of none other than Cato. "Good job back there," he congratulated. Gale had half a mind to reject his fake praise, but just as he went to open his mouth, Katniss came trotting up to them, racing sack in her hands.

"Hey, Gale. That was really great back there," she said, all smiles. He knew she hadn't forgotten about the incident earlier, but at least she wasn't going to avoid him because of it.

"Thanks, Catnip," he smiled as he not-so-nicely brushed Cato's hand off of his shoulder, putting emphasis on the 'Catnip'.

She sighed with what he could only interpret as relief, and she smiled even wider. "You're welcome. I had only just turned around at the halfway point and you were already at the finish line."

"Yeah, well, you know me. Competitive, haha," Gale joked, giving Cato a meaningful look.

They all laughed, albeit a bit forcefully, and Katniss spoke again. "...Well, I'm gonna go to the bathroom, so, see you in a bit." She gave Gale one last smile, and, after Cato patted her shoulder, left for the restrooms.

Gale dropped his smile by a fraction, and Cato's face noticeably darkened a shade as well. Leaning into his ear, Cato said, "I don't know what you think you're gonna accomplish by this, but I think you should be reminded of what your chances are. Katniss chose me, okay? Not you. So why don't you just let it go."

Gale shoved him away. "She didn't choose you. You chose her. And she was just nice enough to say yes! So don't think that I don't have a chance, because I do. And I'm gonna prove it-"

"By what? Winning the games? Do you honestly think that Katniss is gonna be impressed by this stupid stuff? By brawn alone?"

Letting his anger get the better of him, Gale shoved him back again and jabbed an accusatory finger at his face. "Look, I'm the one who's known Katniss the longest, so don't act like you 'know' anything-"

"I think the fact that you've known her the longest and still haven't done anything about it speaks volumes," he smirked, moving his hand out of his face.

Cato made to leave, but just as he was about to walk past him he stopped. "Oh, and, if you don't mind, Gale," he said, placing a hand yet again on his shoulder. "Don't cuss in front of the kids." He walked away, and by the time Enobaria came back with his prize, Gale was absolutely livid.

"Okay sorry, I had to go all the way back to the shelter because some Dillwad didn't move the treasure chest out to the field like I told them to," she said angrily, and Gale immediately thought back to the 'language lesson' Cato had so generously taught him just moments ago.

Enobaria looked at him strangely. "...What's so funny?"

He shook his head. "Nothing."

"Oh. Well here's your prize," she said, and Gale felt an object begin to put immense pressure on his cranium. He reached up, and his fingers landed on a fuzzy, felt-like...what the hell?!

"Bunny ears?" He asked in disbelief.

Enobaria smiled ruefully. "For the sack-race! You know, because you hop? Like a bunny?"

Honestly, he was expecting better.

Cash.

Gift certificate.

Hell, even candy would be better than this. What was up with this family?

"What did you expect? This is a game for little kids," she smirked, and Gale narrowed his eyes at her.

"The next game starts in ten minutes. Be ready." And with that, she walked off, her gait reminding him all too much of Johanna.

Staring after the direction of the shelter, Gale's eyes landed on Cato, who was talking animatedly to Aunt Effie and Uncle Caesar. He narrowed his eyes at him.

Suck up.

Scratching one of his bunny ears, Gale stood humiliated as groups of kids walked by him, laughing and giggling like there was no tomorrow.

He'd be damned if he was going to let a single game go to Cato.

A/N: So was it funny? Cute? Good? Bad? How do you think things will work out for Gale in the other games? Feel free to let me know :D

It has been brought to my attention by Sasha, a guest, that I should do a small Peetniss kissing scene, if only so we can see poor Gale suffer- err, I mean react XD I hadn't planned on doing this in the story, but I think it's a great idea. So thanks, Sasha! You have officially altered the course of history as we know it! :D

I'll try and be faster with the next updates, but keep in mind no promises have been made.

'Till next time!