Katniss and the Rebels

Chapter 38: Love Is In The Air

AN: You ready for fluff? Only edited this once and skimmed over it again because I'm exhausted and wanted to post it tonight. Apologies for the mistakes but I hope the tooth-rotting fluff makes up for it

Madge POV

Today's the day.

The date of the 22nd of April has been haunting me for weeks and now it has finally arrived.

Today is the day of my ballet recital.

And this isn't like any other recital I have done.

I was upgraded to point shoes over a year ago and for some reason my teacher thinks that means I'm capable of leading the opening dance.

I'm not able to lead this dance at all but when I asked my teacher about it she simply looked down her long nose at me and told me that if I put in the work and the practice then I should be fine.

She also informed me that there would be people in the audience from colleges which offer ballet or dance as a study option; including the Academy of Ballet in New York.

So if I wasn't nervous enough about tonight, I certainly am now.

I'm halfway through picking at my breakfast when there's a knock at the door.

I roll my eyes, knowing that it's probably my dad who forgot his keys.

Why he was ever elected mayor of District Twelve, I will never know; he is always so forgetful.

I walk to the door and as I'm opening it, I open my mouth to say my usual lecture to my dad about writing things down and checking he has everything before he leaves the house but then I realise it's not dad at the door, it's Gale.

Gale standing on my doorstep at 8 AM on a Friday morning holding a bouquet of flowers.

He's wearing a bright smile along with his sweatpants and t-shirt and his schoolbag is slung over one shoulder.

"Morning M" Gale chimes

We had a whole half an hour conversation last week on what his nickname for me should be. He wasn't keen on Mad, Mads or Maddie so we're sticking with M for now. He seems to like it a lot and I have to admit that I do too.

I snap out of my daze and step down onto my doorstep to kiss him on the cheek, "Gale! Hi, what are you doing here?"

As pleased as I am to see my boyfriend on the most stressful morning of my year so far, I am a bit curious as to why he's here as usually he walks to school with his siblings and the Everdeens.

"Well I wanted to walk you to school." Gale shrugs "Katniss and I dropped the kids off early and she went straight to school and I wanted to wish you luck for tonight alone."

I usher him inside the house quickly and then close the door behind him,

"Thank you, it's great to see you."

Gale smiles and then I spot a tinge of red work its way up his neck and to his cheeks,

"Em…these are for you." He says before handing me the flowers.

One of my hands shoots to my mouth while the other hesitantly reaches forward and accepts them.

"Gale…" I whisper "You really didn't have to. These are beautiful."

Gale scratches behind his ear, "Well I just wanted to give you something for today. I know how important it is to you. Plus you took me out when we signed the contract with James."

That was true, a few weeks ago Katniss, Thom, Darius and Gale made 'Katniss and the Rebels' official by signing the final contract with the record company representative from the Capitol, James. The day after, I persuaded Gale to let me take him out for the night.

He refused to let me pay for a meal so we went to the cinema instead.

Still he didn't need to do this.

"Well thank you, I adore them."

I really, really do.

Gale grins and his shoulders relax. We make our way to the kitchen and I put the flowers in a vase of water.

"Okay just let me get my bag and we can go." I say, walking towards the door but then Gale stops me.

"Madge?" He gestures to the table where my half eaten cereal and toast lie abandoned, "Do you want to finish your breakfast?"

I open my mouth before closing it again because I'm not sure what to say. Yes I'm hungry and I should eat but my stomach is turning so much with nerves that I'm afraid that if I eat anything, I'll throw up.

Gale seems to spot my hesitance as he walks over to me and takes my hands in his.

"I know you're nervous about tonight but everything will be amazing. I promise and I'm going to be there in the audience cheering you on the whole time." Gale frowns "Well I suppose that's not appropriate for a ballet concert but I will clap at the right times and try not to embarrass you by shouting how amazing you are, sound good?"

This time it's me who blushes and I nod, "Yeah. That sounds perfect, thanks Gale."

Gale smiles and kisses my forehead gently, "So would you like to eat a bit more? You don't have to but I'll wait if you want a few more spoonfuls." Gale shudders "I'm in no mood to rush to school. Principal Snow is covering my history class this week and he's trying to feed us propaganda, it's awful."

I laugh, "You poor thing."

We sit down and his rants about Principal Snow distract me while I eat and in no time I've all of my breakfast eaten. I have to admit, I do feel a tiny bit better now but I'm not sure if that's because of the food or because of Gale.

I take two minutes to brush my teeth and throw everything I need into my bag before running downstairs to meet Gale again.

He kisses me gently before pulling away and opening the front door,

"You ready?"

I take a deep breath, reach forward to take his hand as I nod,

"Yeah, I'm ready."

…

Gale POV

I check my ticket to make sure I'm in the right row and when I'm assured that I am, I take my seat.

The quaint theatre is packed with people and I feel a little guilty because I didn't even know District Twelve had a theatre.

It's nice enough though, a bit run down but the stage looks purely magical.

There are no curtains drawn and a backdrop that's been painted to look like the night sky is proudly on display. Bright yellow and white stars are carefully painted on the dark navy background with a silver moon in the corner to compliment the design.

Thankfully Madge calmed down quite a bit during the day and everyone railed around to help distract her.

Katniss asked her for help on their Math homework during study class, Finnick and Annie started playing twenty questions with her at lunch and in between classes Darius didn't seem to know what to ask because he started questioning what her ideal first date with someone would be.

My phone buzzes from my pocket and I'm beyond grateful that it went off now and not after the show began.

From Rory: Going out with Prim, be home later

From Gale: ? Who's going to take care of Vick and Posey?

From Rory: Mum says she can handle it. Relax.

From Gale: Where are you two going anyway?

From Rory: None of your business

From Gale: …

From Rory: Sorry, we're going to the cinema.

From Gale: Okay, stay safe and tell Prim I say hi

From Rory: I will and you stay safe too

I smile and turn my phone off, storing it away in my pocket just as the lights flicker.

I presume that means it's showtime.

The few remaining stragglers take their seats and a few seconds later, the lights directed at the stage dim ominously.

The quiet chorus of an orchestra playing soft, gentle music begins.

I frown, casting my eyes around the theatre as I desperately try to figure out where the music is coming from.

The childlike, magical music grows louder and I suspect that it originates from below the stage.

I don't have any further time to dwell on that however because within a few seconds, the sparkling white lights are back on the stage again.

Except now the stage is no longer void of people.

On the stage there are three girls in the back with their hair tied into buns and wearing cute white pink outfits. On either side of them are two boys who look to be around Rory's age if not a little older.

Madge stands in the front and for a brief second everything is still.

The music is quiet, the dancers don't move but somehow I manage to catch Madge's gaze.

Her eyes are focused, concentrated but as recognition flickers over them, I spot a tiny, relieved smile grace her features.

Then there's a beat, the music tempo increases and as the dancers begin to twirl and move in sync with one another and the music, I keep my eyes trained on Madge.

I watch her lose herself in the music. Her long legs delicately glide from one side of the stage to the other, her moves coincide with her peers but there's just something different in the way she moves than from the others.

Something about her movements just seems so effortless, flawless even. But I think that what makes Madge come across slightly more talented than the others is her passion.

The love for her sport is clearly evident in her face; you can tell she has gladly practiced this routine a hundred times as she doesn't need to think twice about her moves.

They're all just so on point and perfect.

She's perfect.

A swooping, knowing feeling circles in my stomach as it has been doing for the past few months. I swallow and try to ignore it.

I know if I acknowledge it then I will have to accept what it means.

And I don't think I'm ready to accept just how deep my feelings go for Madge. We've been together for months and it's been brilliant.

She's smart, funny and clearly a magical ballet dancer. But I know that if I accept that I more than like her then watching her move to New York would feel like a thousand knives being expertly stabbed into my heart over and over again.

And watching her tonight, I know there is no way that she won't get accepted into the college she wants to go to, not with the amazing talent she has.

The music shifts and it turns darker and sharper so I sit up straighter and prominently ignore the doubts swirling in my mind.

But some part of me knows that if I were to get hurt by the capturing girl on stage, then it would definitely be worth it.

Because she's worth it, Madge is worth…everything.

…

Prim POV

I turn the corner and a grin spreads across my face when I see Rory standing outside the cinema waiting for me.

He's wearing a casual button up shirt and jeans but my mouth drops open anyway; partly because I rarely ever see Rory out of his trademark sweatpants and t-shirt combo so this is a welcome change.

He looks up from his phone and catches my gaze. He smiles and as he walks towards me, he slips his phone into his back pocket.

"Hey-" He starts when he reaches me but I interrupt him by kissing him gently on the lips.

Rory lets out a noise of surprise but then I feel eyelashes brush my cheek as his eyes close and he starts kissing me back.

We kissed for the first time back in December when Katniss and Gale were out at Peeta's birthday party but since then nothing much has happened.

Rory kissed me that night but ever since he hasn't made a move.

There's been flirting, blushing and lots of suggestion but every time we hang out, he just smiles, hugs me and then walks away.

And it was driving me a bit insane.

I could have talked to Katniss about it but she was stressed for a while with that man Jay? James? And her senior year is coming to an end so she's studying and busy most of the time. As much as I love talking to Katniss about things, I sort of wanted whatever is happening between Rory and me to be just between us.

I pull away and when Rory whimpers and his lips chase after mine, I know I made the right decision.

I giggle, "Was that alright?"

Rory's eyes slowly blink open

"What?" He whispers, "Yeah, yeah that was fine. No it was great, perfect! It was…yeah it was alright."

I bring a hand up to try and mask my laughter as my giggles increase and Rory's cheeks darken pink.

I've noticed that he's very cute when he blushes and tonight is no exception.

Thankfully I manage to gather my composure quickly enough,

"You ready to go?"

Rory frowns in confusion

I jerk my head to the cinema on our right and his eyes widen,

"Oh right! Yes of course!"

I grin, "Great!"

We make our way inside and as we walk upstairs and debate what movie to watch, I feel Rory's slightly sweaty hand take mine in his and I know that my smile will be etched onto my face for the rest of the night.

…

Thom POV

I throw the two potential sweaters on my bed and run my hands through my hair for the tenth time this evening.

Okay this is ridiculous.

This probably isn't even a date, scratch that it definitely isn't a date.

Just because Darius had winked at him at the end of school today and said 'it's a date' when they decided to go bowling that evening, did not mean it was actually a date.

I walk to the bathroom and splash water on my face, desperately trying to shake myself out of my thoughts.

Sometimes I hate Darius.

Like when he smiles that stupid smile at me where his teeth shine and his dimples are visible and his tongue pokes out in that small gap between his teeth.

Or when he talks to me as if he is flirting with me and how he doesn't do that with anyone else.

Especially when he makes those goddamn suggestive comments and then he never follows them up.

I look at myself in the mirror, the water droplets trickling down my face and I realise how ridiculous and pathetic I am.

Darius is just being Darius.

I need to get over…whatever this is that I'm feeling and move on.

He's my best friend, he always will be my best friend and I can't let my stupid hopes destroy that.

The chime of the doorbell sings throughout the house and I snap out my haze.

Grabbing a towel, I try and dry my face as I hurry back into my room and throw on one of the sweaters without even checking which one it is.

Rationally I don't know why I'm worried about what I wear, Darius has probably seen me wear my whole wardrobe twice over with all our years of friendship and he certainly isn't going to care about my fashion choices anyway.

I sprint down the stairs and relief floods over me that my parents didn't open the door before I did.

Not that they have a problem with Darius it's just…they keep hinting that he and I are 'a thing'.

And we certainly aren't a thing…or at least I don't think we are.

I pause in front of the door for a second to catch my breath before twisting the knob and opening the door.

Darius looks up from the ground and greets me with that special smile.

"Hey Tommy"

I don't know where he picked up calling me that but he's insisted on using that nickname for me and refuses to let anyone else use it. Gale called me Tommy one time last year and Darius glared at him all day so he never did it again.

But again, I'm reading too much into it. He gives other people nicknames like Katniss with Katstar and nobody else calls her that.

I smile, "Hey Dariee"

Darius swallows, "Okay so em, you remember when Gale went on his first date with Madge and we gave him advice on it?"

I frown, wondering what on Earth this has to do with us going bowling, "Eh, yeah?"

Darius flexes his hands and speaks hurriedly, "Well I know we told him that he had to bring something when going on a date with a pretty girl but I didn't know what to get you so is buying you stuff at the bowling alley okay? I'll pay for all your slushies, the raspberry ones of course because I know you love them."

I probably look like my eyes will bulge out of my head but I can't quite focus on that right now.

My heart has either stopped completely or is running a marathon.

I want to say something smooth or tell him he doesn't have to buy me anything or at the very least question that this is actually a date but instead all I can manage are the pathetic words,

"But I'm not a pretty girl."

Darius snorts, "Well I don't really want you to be."

I open and close my mouth like a stupid goldfish but no words come out. What do I say? Where did all of this come from? What do I do? Can I just kiss him? Would he mind if I kissed him because I kind of really want to kiss him…

Darius's smile slides slowly off his face and I helplessly watch as anxiousness cloud over his beautiful eyes,

"Oh em…" Darius scratches the back of his ear, a nervous habit of his, "I'm sorry."

"No I didn't-" I try to say

"Thom please." Darius interrupts "Fuck I'm sorry. I thought…I mean I thought you were flirting with me for a while…well I flirted with you and then you'd blush or flirt back and…I don't know it seemed like we were practically…together so I thought I'd…make it official or something because…we always seem to come close but neither of us cross the line." Darius shakes his head and laughs but it sounds too high pitched and fake, "It sounds ridiculous to me now, I'm-"

I can't bear to hear these painful words anymore so I stop him,

"Darius?"

"Yeah?"

"I like you."

Darius's eyes search mine, "Is there a 'but' to that?"

I shake my head but then I remember that we're still standing in my doorway and I pray that my nosy parents haven't been listening in.

"Let's em, stand outside?" I offer

Darius nods and I shut the door behind me, shouting to my parents that I'm going out and that I wouldn't be home late.

It's around 7 pm but the sky is still bright due to the lovely spring day so we walk down to the park by my house; bowling be damned.

We wordlessly sit on the swings for a few minutes, watching the couples who are out walking, the women gossiping on their evening jogs and the middle-aged men walking their hyper dogs.

The uncomfortable feeling in my stomach doesn't go away in the silence and I know that it's my turn to confess my feelings.

"I do like you. No buts." I add "I really do. I thought you were just…being you all of those times…we would kind of mention that something would happen between us and then…it would be forgotten about or swept under the rug so I didn't push it."

"I was scared." Darius whispers, I look over at him to find his that he has his head tilted upwards and he's staring up at the slowly darkening blue sky, "I was afraid that I was imagining things, afraid you wouldn't feel the same way and…my parents."

I nod in understanding; I had gotten the feeling on more than one occasion that Darius's had pretty conservative parents. They're lovely and they have been nothing but polite to me or Gale or Katniss but Darius and I were always especially close.

At the beginning I thought Darius was just a touchy-feely person so I got used to how he leaned his head on my shoulder or hugged me all the time but then eventually I caught on that I was the only person he did that with.

Nevertheless, he always sprung apart from me when his parents entered the room; understandable but a little unusual for Darius who never cared about being affectionate around other people.

"We don't have to tell them." I say quietly

Darius turns to face me, his eyebrows half raised and his mouth ever so slightly open, "Really?"

Unconsciously I lick my lips, "If…if you do want this to be something more…we don't have to tell them. Or even Katniss and Gale. I'm not…I wouldn't be ashamed or anything but if you aren't ready…"

Darius's eyes flit to my lips and unlike all of the other times where it happened so quickly that I couldn't tell, this time his gaze stops at my lips purposely for a few seconds longer before making eye contact with me again.

I'm almost positive that my breathing is coming out faster and less evenly.

"Are you…are you sure?" Darius asks cautiously

I nod, "If it's what you want."

Darius hesitates for a minute before covering my hands with his,

"I want you…I've wanted this for a while now."

I raise an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

Darius blushes, a rare but beautiful sight, "Yeah…"

I squeeze his hand gently, "So boyfriends?"

Darius doesn't answer.

Instead his eyes drop to my lips once more and he leans out of his swing to kiss me on the lips softly.

My eyes flicker closed and I kiss him back.

People say you feel fireworks when you kiss someone. I don't feel fireworks.

I feel more than fireworks.

It's different but it's oh so familiar. The comforting scent of his cologne envelops itself around me as the gentle breeze ruffles our hair. His thumb caresses the back of my hand as his lips brush over mine again and again.

His lips are so much softer than I thought they would be…and I thought about them a lot.

We pull away sometime later, both of us on the very edge of our seats so we can reach each other, our hands interlocked and our foreheads leaning against one another as we catch our breath.

"Boyfriends." Darius agrees after a minute

I smile, "Secret boyfriends though?"

Darius looks down at our hands, "I'm sorry-"

I press my lips to his cheek gently, "Stop apologising. It's okay, I really don't mind."

"Are you sure?" Darius still doesn't meet my eyes but I don't press him.

"I'm sure." I promise "Plus you were right. It's like we've been dating this whole time and this is just us making it official."

I catch Darius's lips quirk upwards at that, "Thanks Tommy." He doesn't look at me but when his head settles into my shoulder, I know everything's okay.

I know everything's more than okay.

The butterflies in my stomach are bouncing around the walls as they dance with joy at what just occurred. I replay our kiss over and over in my head and my smile just keeps growing wider and wider.

I really, really hope that this isn't a dream.

"Dariee?" I whisper around ten minutes later.

"Yeah?" He murmurs tiredly

"You still want to go bowling?"

He snickers, "Of course. I'm going to kick your ass at it."

I gasp in mock-offence but let's be realistic I'm absolutely rubbish at bowling and Darius knows it.

"Where did you even get the idea to go bowling on the first date?"

Darius shrugs, "I saw it on TV."

Now it's my turn to snort, "Of course."

"We can do something else if you-"

I turn and kiss his head, "Its perfect Darius."

He snuggles further into my shoulder, it must be pretty awkward seeing as we're on the uncomfortable park swings and he has to tilt his neck awkwardly but he doesn't complain.

"Let's just stay here for another minute yeah?"

I lean my cheek against his head and look up at the massive flock of birds that fly over our heads,

"Yeah, sounds perfect."

…

Katniss POV

I wake up to fingers gently treading through my hair.

I moan softly, stretching my legs out and blinking my eyes open.

I'm in my sitting room, my feet have hit the armrest of the couch and when I look up I see Peeta's bright blue eyes and charming grin looking down at me.

"Morning sleepy head."

It's not morning at all of course.

Prim went out to the movies with Rory so I invited Peeta over to watch some films.

We watched the breakfast club and I vaguely remember us starting Grease before exhaustion overpowered me.

"Hi" I mumble, rubbing my eyes and sitting up "Sorry for falling asleep on you."

Peeta wraps an arm around me and I bring my legs up onto the couch and slip into his side.

"Don't worry about it. I'm a little disappointed though; I wasn't able to sing along to all the songs because I didn't want to wake you up."

I roll my eyes but I can't help but smile,

"I'm so, so sorry." I say sarcastically

Peeta laughs, "I guess you'll just have to make it up to me."

My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat at what that could imply.

He leans forward and pecks my lips before pulling back and grinning at me,

"Don't worry. That was more than enough."

God, when will this boy stop being so perfect?

Not that I mind.

I like this; I like how he never pressures me into anything.

I just…like this.

I like spending time with him, watching classic movies and feeling comfortable enough to fall asleep with him, something that I probably wouldn't have done with anyone except Prim a few months ago.

Except I know that I more than like this…I love this…I really, really do.

And I love him.

Peeta grabs the remote from the coffee table and turns the movie up a tiny bit. He must have turned it down while I was sleeping and suddenly before I know it, the words that I've been holding back for the past few months spill out of my mouth.

"Peeta?"

He looks down at me and raises an eyebrow curiously, "Yeah?"

"I love you."

My words are so rushed and jumbled that I wonder if he understood me but when his eyes widen and his posture becomes straighter, I know that he did.

Fear fills my body and I open my mouth to take it back or to apologise but Peeta beats me to it.

"I love you too."

I let out a shocked laugh but it doesn't last very long as Peeta has leaned down and captured my mouth with his.

Something about this kiss is different than all the others we have had before. This is deeper, more passionate. There's a knowing feeling behind it and meaning now that we both know how the other feels.

It's loving and fierce all at once.

It's purely us.

And I can't get enough of it; I can't get enough of him.

And I hope that I never will

AN: All the fluff! This was supposed to be a chapter about the ballet recital and also Katniss's birthday but I kind of figured seeing as her birthday is in May that it would be too much of a jump for one chapter. Plus this way you get lots of more fluff. Darius and Thom were originally supposed to have been in a secret relationship the whole time but I wanted to write a scene for them and this happened. But I mean they were basically always together, they flirted so damn much. Also an explanation and glimpse at Prim and Rory.

We also finally got that everlark I love you! Whoop Whoop!

Okay so next chapter is most likely going to be everlark centric and on Katniss's birthday

See you then, thanks for reading and leave a review!

- xTeam Mockingjayx