Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
**This is a continuation of Chapter 42**
Madge rushes into the cold air of the night and squeezes her eyes shut to stop the tears from falling. She can't win Gale Hawthorne's heart, she at least thought she could win a measly game of Sorry. Her feet carry her down Katniss' stairs at top speed and she makes no attempt to slow down until she hears the door creak open behind her.
Thinking that Peeta has chased after her Madge turns around with a frown, ready to explain herself and her actions, though she honestly thinks she's been quite obvious, but then freezes.
"You're not Peeta," she spouts out quickly when her eyes find Gale. She blinks away her tears and sucks in a sharp breath of air.
"Sorry to disappoint," he grunts after shutting the door. He takes the steps just as quickly as she did. Madge is so stunned on the fact that he's out here she can't will herself to run away.
"Well I don't want to speak with you," Madge says tightly, crossing her arms and finally regaining her senses. She goes to march away proudly when he reaches her, resting his hand on her shoulder. Madge shrugs him off and mutters, "Don't touch me."
"Undersee," Gale groans, throwing his hands in the air. "At least let me walk you home."
"No," she quips, continuing on her way. But Gale stays by her side most of the journey, keeping his lips clamped shut. "For crying out loud, Gale," she turns to him angrily. "What do you want?"
"I wanted to apologize," he starts out gruffly. She lifts her eyebrows and slows to a stop under a streetlight near the edge of Victor's village.
"So you did rig the cards?" she asks.
"I was being rude and—"
Madge is taking none of his crap tonight. She cuts him off with a nod and says, "So that's a yes." She chews her lip while waiting for him to respond but he just stares back at her, his grey eyes sharp and pointed. "Was winning really that important to you that you had to rig the cards?"
"Important to me?" He laughs once, loud and deep. "Are you serious? You're the one that threw a hissy fit and ran out of the room!"
Madge gasps and crosses her arms across her chest. "Because you cheated!"
"You just couldn't stand the fact that you were going to lose! For once in your life you wouldn't get something you wanted!" Madge doesn't gasp this time but she throws down her arms, storming away from him without another word. "Undersee I didn't…"
"Didn't what?" she hisses over her shoulder as he follows. "Didn't mean to call me a spoiled brat? As if the rest of the District doesn't think it too!" Madge snaps around to face him and jabs her finger into his chest. "I don't get plenty of things that I want, Gale Hawthorne."
"Then please," he nearly spits, "enlighten me. What's something you don't get?" Her hand shakes as she lowers it, and Madge doesn't have the strength to hold his gaze. "Exactly. So don't blame me for wanting to watch you fall flat on your face for once in your perfect little life."
Madge lets out a watery laugh, taking a step away from him while shaking her head. "You think because I have enough money to keep food on the table that my life is perfect?" She takes another step back and swats at her eyes. "You don't know anything about me, Gale." She digs her nails into her palms to give her something to focus on other than the pain drilling in her forehead. "This was never about that dumb game, was it?"
His voice reflects a bit of guilt as he starts after her again. Maybe it's just the way her name sounds in his mouth. "Madge,"
"I hate game night," she tells him weakly. "I hate every aspect of it. I hate competing and I hate social events and I hate making the trek out here by myself every night."
"Then why do you go?" he asks.
"Because I'm good at games," Madge shrugs, still not meeting his eyes. "Katniss is good at everything and Peeta is good at everything and you're good at everything so maybe I'd like to be good at something for once."
"You're good at plenty of things," Gale mutters.
"Like what? Playing the piano?" Madge rolls her eyes. "Sure, just give everyone else another reason to call me privileged. And besides, it's not like anyone ever watches me play. It's not like anyone actually cares about that." She holds her hands tightly to her hips to distract herself. "So I thought that maybe if I did this stupid game night then you'd realize I'm not that. That I'm not just a privileged spoiled brat and—"
He cuts her of sharply, "Since when has what I ever thought about you mattered?"
Again Madge laughs, but then groans and throws her hands into the air. "Seriously, Gale? Are you blind?" She marches toward him and shakes her head slowly, finally regaining the courage to look into his eyes. "I go to game night because I'm good at games, sure, but mostly because you're there. Maybe if you saw that I wasn't some unattainable princess that everyone thinks I am… if you saw that I'm just a normal person who can be good at normal things then maybe you'd…" she finally trails off and sighs, unable to finish. "And then you go have to make me look like a baby," she grumbles, swinging her arms at him again.
But before she can continue he catches her wrists, holding her arms out so she can't hit him again. Gale's gaze meets hers, strong and cool and full of confliction.
"I hate game night too," he says quietly. Gale's still holding her arms away from her but oh how she wishes she could fiddle with her hands right now. "Mellark making goo-goo eyes at Katniss the whole night and confusing games I never really understand until we're almost done." Gale shakes his head. "Not my style."
"Then why…"
"The same reason you do," he says, answering her unasked question. She swallows once and blinks a few times, wondering if they're even talking about the same thing. "I can't stand you. I can't stand your expensive dresses and your frilly ribbons. I can't stand the sound of your freaking piano through the wall whenever I come to make a trade. I can't stand you!" Clearly, they are not talking about the same thing. "So you wanna explain to me why you're the reason I show up to game night?"
Maybe they are talking about the same thing.
"Gale, I—"
His fingers uncoil from her wrists and they fall to her sides instantaneously. Madge stands confused, staring up at him incredulously as he paces the small expanse between them.
"And every Saturday night when I get out of hell and ride up that elevator I think maybe I'll go to the bar tonight or maybe I'll stop at Thom's but somehow I always end up at stupid fucking game night!" He turns to her, his eyes instantly finding her, and demands, "Explain that!"
"I don't—"
"You always show up with this smile on your face like you don't want to be anywhere else in the world than in the room with a lovesick Mellark and a bored Katniss and me!" Madge licks her lips and lifts her shoulders, still entirely too confused by what he's trying to say. "For fucks sake, Undersee!" Gale throws his hands in the air and growls. "This was never about that dumb game!"
He charges toward her, almost as if he expects her to step back, but she stands her ground and watches him fiercely.
"I don't understand you," she nearly growls. "You go back and forth between degrading me and giving me almost backhanded compliments! Am I supposed to understand what's going on in your head?" Gale continues to stare at her as Madge lifts her shoulders. "If you have a problem with me then…" she takes a deep breath and lets her voice drop. "Then do something about it."
"I don't have a problem with you," Gale grunts, finally closing the distance between them. His hands reach down and cup her cheeks, gently yet firm. "And that's the problem." Gale stares down at her as if he's studying Madge's eyes. Trying to memorize the exact shade of blue. The speckles of grey that dance among her eyes. But finally his gaze drops to her lips the second she licks them. "You're driving me up a wall, Undersee," he breathes.
With a shaking voice she asks, "Are you going to kiss me?"
"I shouldn't," Gale says, yet lowers his forehead to hers. "I can't even win a board game without cheating, what makes me good enough for you?"
"Board games have nothing to do with this, you said so yourself," she grumbles. "You're just making excuses." Somehow her fingers find his belt loops and she links them through, pulling him closer. "Do you hate me or not?"
"No."
"Do you like me, then?"
"No."
She groans and loosens her grip but he takes another step closer, refusing her to slip away. "You have two options, Gale," Madge mumbles. "Kiss me, or take me home."
His lips finally tug upward. "I can't do both?" She makes a noise of protest as he leans down, skimming his lips over hers. Madge launches herself on her tiptoes to keep his mouth on hers. Gale grunts, dropping one of his hands from her cheek and gripping her hip the way she is with him. "Tell me you don't want this," he breathes as they pull away for a moment. Their lips lightly press over and over again. "Tell me you can't stand me."
"I'm not a liar," she says back as she shakes her head. "But you, evidently, are." Madge clutches his shirt and pulls him down to her again. He brings her body against his and holds her tight, allows his lips to find hers again. But eventually Gale pulls away, his cheeks flushed and his eyes wide. Gale's lips are slightly parted and he sends his tongue out to lick them. "Gale," she murmurs.
His fingers stretch up and brush her bangs from her forehead. "Hmm?"
"Should we go back?" Gale's grey eyes narrow in confusion as their grip to one another slackens. "To game night," Madge says with a smile.
"There are plenty of other places I'd rather go with you," he tells her, "than back to game night."
With her cheeks red hot and her body still shaking, Madge laces her fingers with him. The gesture stiffens him a bit but Madge doesn't expect anything else. "Then take me there."
"Undersee…"
"Or we can go back to game night," she shrugs.
Gale chuckles a bit, a noise very foreign to Madge, and then pulls her away from Victors Village. "I can't stand game night more than I can't stand you," Gale says. And then he pulls her close, and the two walk hand in hand away from the lights in town.
A/N: I always really liked the oneshot before this (chapter 42) and had been wanting to continue it for awhile. It's kind of cheesy but I liked writing it and I hope you liked reading it c: