Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Day One:
Madge Undersee has the habit of bouncing her foot.
At first Gale doesn't notice it but as the minutes drift into hours it's all he can notice. He watches out of the corner of his eye as her knee bounces up and down, and then the tapping of her shoe starts to get louder, like a sink that won't stop dripping in the middle of the night, and if they weren't on a crowded highway he would've slammed on his breaks right then and there and demanded her to get out.
"Will you quit that?" he snaps. Madge turns her head to look at him, furrowing her eyebrows. "That foot bouncing shit you're doing, it's driving me insane." She frowns, returning her gaze out the window at the trees on the side of the road that whip by, and resumes bouncing her foot. "I didn't have to drive you to Katniss's wedding, you know," Gale says. His hands tighten around the steering wheel. "I could've made you find another way."
"I'm paying you to drive me," Madge returns politely. "And I'm very grateful for the ride. But if I don't bounce my foot then my entire leg will fall asleep and that is probably my least favorite feeling in the entire world." She tilts her head back toward him. "You know, when your skin feels like static? And every move you make it—"
"Yeah I know," Gale mutters. Tap-tap-tap-tap. "But I'm not going to make it to Maine if you keep it up. Alright?"
Madge lets out a deep sigh and slams the heel of her shoe down on the ground. "Fine."
She begins to drum her fingers on the armrest. "For Christ's sake, Undersee!" Madge quickly folds her hands in her lap. "Will you just sit still?"
"We're going to be in the car for days, Gale, I've got to do something so my brain doesn't explode!" Gale never expected to be driving across the country for any reason whatsoever, but driving across the country with Madge Undersee in his passenger seat? A nightmarish fantasy he had never even considered. "If you would let me play some music maybe that would help instead of sitting in the silence." Her words are biting but he doesn't care. Gale doesn't like to listen to things as he drives, they distract him. "Come on, Gale," Madge turns to him and sticks out her bottom lip. "We've been driving for two hours and the sound the cars make as they drive past us is starting to sound like a Broadway number."
"No."
"Please? I can't read in cars or I get sick and I don't think you want me throwing up all over your fancy seats."
"No, Madge."
"Just one song!" Gale exhales and tightens his grip on the steering wheel again. His knuckles are white. "Pleeease?"
"Fine," he snaps. "Fine, Jesus Christ! Just one song and then you've got to shut up and quit all that bouncing and tapping and whatever the hell else you plan to do."
"Sure," Madge nods, smiling brightly. She dives into her purse which she stored under her seat and quickly pulls out her phone. She wastes to time plugging the auxiliary cord into Gale's stereo system, having spent the entirety of the trip mentally figuring out which plug goes where and how to switch it on just in case Gale ever said she could play some music. The speakers buzz as she clicks through her songs and finally she makes her selection. Instantly Gale's jeep is filled with guitar chords and piano tunes. "Ah," Madge sinks back into her seat with a smile. "Much better."
Gale waits for the chorus but after a moment he realizes that there is no chorus. "This is it?" he asks.
Madge cocks an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, where are the lyrics? Where's Taylor Swift screeching about her heart being broken?" Madge rolls her eyes at Gale. "Where's the funky beat?"
"Funky beat?" Madge snorts. "For starters, only a fraction of Taylor Swift's songs are about having her heart broken, so don't be an ass. Secondly, funky beat?"
"Pop music shit, I don't know," Gale mutters.
"There's such thing as instrumental music," Madge tells him patiently. "I just so happen to prefer lovely harmonies above funky beats." God, she was never going to let him live that down. The song switched, drifting into something else. Madge bites down on her bottom lip and looks at him expectantly. "You said one song, right?"
Gale tilts his head toward her. "You can leave it plugged in," he murmurs.
That night Madge and Gale end up on some unnamed road driving slowly. It's nearly three in the morning and Gale keeps drifting out of his lane, thankfully there aren't many cars around. If they hadn't started their drive so late in the afternoon maybe they would've covered more distance but they're barely out of California.
"You're too tired to drive," Madge scolds him. Long ago she changed the music so something uplifting and bright, it was meant to keep him awake rather than lull him to sleep. "Pull over, there's a motel up ahead."
"I'm fine," Gale yawns. "We'll just stop at the next gas station and I'll get some—coffee." Madge quickly clicks a few buttons on phone and instantly a new song is playing. Gale nearly slams on the breaks, snapping his head over to her. "Change it," he barks.
Once upon a time, a few mistakes ago, I was in your sights, you got me alone
You found me, you found me, you found me-e-e-e-e-e
I guess you didn't care, and I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard, you took a step back
Without me, without me, without me-e-e-e-e
"Pull over," Madge instructs, gesturing to the motel just up the street. "I have all of Taylor Swift's albums and I will play them if you keep driving."
"Change it!" Gale growls again.
"I'll sing along," Madge threatens. "I'll do it!" Gale reaches for the plug and yanked the auxiliary cord out of the stereo but the song continues to blast through her phone. "I knew you were trouble when you walked in," Madge screeches along. "So shame on me now-ow! Flew me to places I'd never been!"
"Undersee, shut the hell up!"
"OH! TROUBLE! TROUBLE! TROUBLE!"
"Fine!" Gale swerves off the street and into the motel parking lot and let out a deep breath, clutching the wheel. Madge smiles and stops her phone from playing. "Jesus Christ," he rubs at his face to wake himself up. "You're a fucking nightmare."
"I'll get us a room," she hums, sliding from the jeep.
Day Two:
Gale Hawthorne is disgustingly attractive.
They each had their own bed in the room they stayed in last night so he found it fitting to sleep in nothing but his boxers. Madge brushed her teeth and tried not to watch him in the reflection of the mirror as he crawled into bed, the muscles in his chest rippling. He passed out in minutes. Then this morning he woke up with the most beautiful bedhead and all she wanted to do was run her hands through it.
His chin is all stubbly and Madge starts daydreaming to the tune of the music she plays, imagining him kissing her with his damned scruff scratching at her throat.
Gale peers over at her suddenly and she jerks her head away. They've been on the road for a few hours and haven't spoken much.
"Are you staring at me?" he asks.
"No," Madge blurts. She turns her gaze to out the window. "Are you staring at me?"
Gale narrows his eyes at her. "What?" Madge fidgets and Gale clears his throat awkwardly, diverting his eyes back to the road. The GPS on the dashboard says there're still a few days until they get to Maine, most of the trip will just depend on traffic.
He doesn't find it fair that Madge has free range to look at him and he has to spend his time with his eyes on the road. If he was able to watch her he would, but he'll have to settle on soaking up the sweet smell of her vanilla body spray instead. She may be a pain in the ass but she's very nice to look at, and she smells wonderful. In fact, Gale quite likes the way her cheeks turn pink when she's flustered, and how she gets freckles in the summertime over the soft curve of her nose.
He needs to get his thoughts off of her. "Are you hungry?" Gale suddenly says. Madge leaps at the rough sound of his voice. "We haven't eaten yet, there's, um," he gestures to the sign on the side of the road. "Places."
"Places," Madge echoes. She glances at the sign. "Are you feeling something we can eat as we drive, or do you want to stop and stretch our legs?"
"We should stop," Gale says. His ass is starting to hurt. He pulls off on the exit and stops at the first pizza place they come across. He has never been more excited to get out and walk around, leaning down and pulling his calves in attempt to get them to not cramp up. She leads him into the sketchy little restaurant and instantly Gale is hyperaware of the amount of men staring at Madge.
Madge slides into a booth and a woman in a short skirt slides the two of them menus, smiling brightly at Gale before disappearing. Madge shoots her a look but she doesn't seem to catch up on it. Meanwhile, Gale is narrowing his eyes at a creepy old man a few tables away who is practically drooling at Madge.
"Give me your hand," Gale grumbles quietly. Madge cocks an eyebrow. "Now." She slides her hand across the table and Gale grabs it gently, offering a sweet smile. "Too many people are looking at you," he says in a voice that contradicts his smile. "I don't like it." His thumb caresses hers and she feels her heart in her throat. There's no doubt that her entire body is turning pink.
"Well we are just a few hours outside of Las Vegas," Madge rasps, and then clears her throat. "Not exactly the… um, cleanest place." Gale squeezes her fingertips as the woman returns to take their order.
Gale only lets go of Madge's hand as they eat and they keep their conversation to a minimum, making sure to eat their greasy pizza quickly and chug back flat soda. After paying and leaving a small tip they race back out to the car, Gale with his hand resting on the small of her back as he glares at the onlookers. They hop into Gale's jeep and speed away from the sketchy place.
"Eugh," Gale shudders as they pull back onto the highway. "Men are creeps."
"You're a man," Madge points out. He rolls his eyes and switches lanes. "The pizza was good though, I thought."
"Hit the spot," Gale agrees. "Reminds me of that place on Sunshine Street." Madge tips her head in agreement but says nothing, and again they fall back into silence. They drive for about half an hour before Gale speaks again. "Do you have any, uh, any music that isn't Taylor Swift?" he asks. "That has words."
Madge smiles and dips her head. "Yes…"
"Anything not awful?" He rubs at his eyes. "I've been driving for too long, I need something to keep me focused. Words… I guess, would do that."
Madge doesn't understand why they don't just have a conversation. Perhaps because they've never been very good at that. Madge and Gale's friend group overlaps in more than one way, they've ended up at the same party more than once with nothing to say to each other. A long time ago they attended the same high school, but reconnecting after graduating college has been a bit difficult.
"It might have a funky beat," she warns him. "Feel free to tap along on your steering wheel." She clicks through her phone until she finds something he will find acceptable. Madge makes an effort not to look at Gale as the song plays, not wanting to know if he approves or disapproves of her choice.
"You like Daughter?" he blurts.
And if you're still bleeding, you're the lucky ones
Cause most of our feelings, they are dead, and they are gone
We're setting fire to our insides for fun
Her head whips back around. "Yeah," Madge nods. Gale shifts uneasily in his seat, biting back his smile.
"Me too," he says.
That night, Madge doesn't have to threaten to play Taylor Swift to get Gale to pull over. The motel they end up at is a lot sketchier than the pizza place they ate at earlier, despite the fact that they have been driving for hours. Gale can barely walk straight so he stays in the car, trying not to drift off before Madge can get them a room.
"We need two beds," Madge says to the man behind the counter.
"Sorry," he responds as he combs his dark mustache with his fingers. "Only got one room open, Hot Stuff. One bed only." Madge cringes (Hot Stuff? Seriously?) but takes the room anyway.
Madge takes the keys and returns to Gale who's asleep against the steering wheel. He jerks awake when she opens his door and nearly falls on top of her as he climbs out of the jeep. She guides him to the room and they ease inside.
"This is a shithole," Gale mutters as Madge turns on a lamp, leaving yellow light to spill out into the room. "There's only one bed."
"It was all they had left," Madge says. Gale sighs and throws his shoulders back, allowing them to crack loudly. "You can take it, I'll sleep on the couch." Too tired to argue Gale collapses on the bed without changing.
Madge does her nightly routine, brushing her teeth and washing her face and switching into something more comfortable, all while listening to Gale snore. A while later she gets situated on the couch and tosses and turns, trying her damned hardest to fall asleep. Meanwhile Gale continues to snore, and looking at him through the dark curled on the mattress she's insanely jealous. He's the driver though, he deserves the bed.
But her back hurts and the couch is itchy and… oh, screw it. Madge leaps from where she had been laying and tiptoes over to Gale. She taps his shoulder. "Gale?" she whispers. "Where are your keys?"
"What?" he croaks. "What are you doing?"
"I'm going to sleep in the car," she says quietly. He blinks a few times, clearly half asleep. "I just can't get comfortable and—" Madge squeaks as he reaches up and grabs her wrist, tugging her onto the bed alongside him. "Gale, what are you—"
"Go to sleep," he murmurs, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her close. He smells like pine trees and leather seats. She falls asleep in minutes.
Day Three:
Madge Undersee has the softest skin in the entire world.
Gale wakes up with his hand around her hip, his fingers have slipped under her shirt and are teasing the skin on her back lightly. She's curled into him, her head on his chest and her ankle twisted with his, and holy shit he does not want to move. But reality gets the best of him and he eases away from Madge making sure not to wake her. It takes a bit to get their ankles unhooked but by the time he's off the mattress she's still sleeping. He leaves to pick up coffee before she can stir.
They get back on the road with no mention of their night together. Gale vaguely remembers her wanting to sleep in the car and his thought process was why sleep there when you can sleep here and whabam, she ended up in bed with him. He didn't mind at all that she was a cuddler because (secretly) he was too. And she was warm. And smelled nice. Hm.
You think I'm an ignorant savage
And you've been so many places, I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see, if the savage one, is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
"Oh, Christ, Undersee," Gale mutters. "Disney music? It's way too early for this shit."
"You think you own whatever land you land on," she hums.
"Don't."
"The earth is just a dead thing you can claim," Madge sings. "But I know every rock and tree and creature, has a name. You think the only people are the people who look and think like you, but if you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you learn things you never knew you never knew…" As she sings along to Colors of the Wind Gale can't help but think that she has a very nice voice when she's not screeching. Then again, she was only trying to get him off the road that night she was screaming Taylor Swift. "Oh come on Gale," Madge frowns during a musical break. "Everyone likes Disney."
"Speak for yourself," Gale tells her. Madge sings along to the rest of the song quietly, not showing off her voice like she had before, and Gale almost has the urge to sing along. He'd by lying if he said he didn't know every word, his younger sister Posy made sure of that, and Madge was right: everyone likes Disney.
It's not until A Whole New World does Gale cave, belting out Aladdin's parts with no regrets. Madge bursts into hysterics but Gale sings on proudly, even making hand gestures that go along. As if Disney isn't magical enough, Madge singing along to Princess Jasmine's parts give Gale pause.
The song ends beautifully and Gale resumes driving as though nothing had happened.
"You can't act like that didn't happen," Madge teases, reaching over and poking his side. "Because it totally happened and it was awesome." Gale scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Don't be a baby! It was fun, Gale!" Finally he tilts his head to look at her, finding Madge with absolutely the sweetest smile on her face. "Right?"
"You tell anyone that happened," Gale murmurs, "and you have to find your own ride back to California."
She laughs brightly and nods her head. "Deal." A few more songs play that Gale can't help but sing along to such as I'll Make a Man out of You and I Can Go the Distance, and each and every time he does so Madge can't help but laugh and sing along as well. The day drags on and it isn't until Madge's Disney playlist runs out do they have anything close to a conversation. "Gale," she reaches over and grabs his arm. "Did you see that sign?"
"What sign?"
"Back there."
"No," he shakes his head. "Why? Do you have to pee again, Undersee? I told you to either learn to pee in a cup or stop drinking liquids—"
"It said," she shoots him a glare, "that we're in South Dakota." He wrinkles his nose. That can't be right. South Dakota is most certainly not on their route to Maine. "Look, there's another," she points to a sign and Gale just barely catches it. What the actual hell? He quickly pulls off onto an exit and into a gas station. Madge runs in to pee and grab some snacks while he looks through the GPS. She returns with his favorite candy bars and a nervous face. "Well?" she wonders.
"We're in South Dakota," Gale mutters. He turns the GPS toward her. "Do you remember changing our destination to Minneapolis?"
"No," she shakes her head.
He frowns, dropping his head backwards. It probably happened when he was half asleep. "We're going to be set back a whole day," Gale grumbles. "This is your fault!"
"My fault?" Madge gasps and throws a candy bar at him. "How is this my fault?!"
"You distracted me with those Disney songs!" he says, slamming his hands down on the steering wheel. Madge snorts, quickly lifting her hand to her mouth to pretend she didn't. "Oh, come on Undersee, don't—"
"You got too into the songs that you didn't realize we were going in the wrong direction," she giggles. "Oh my God, Gale." He groans, dropping his head into his hands. "This is entirely your fault, don't even try to pin this on me." When he lifts his head again he's trying his hardest not to smile, but Madge can see it anyway. "Clearly we've spent too much time in the car," she says with a smile. "We should just stop for the day. Get an early start instead."
"That sounds good," Gale nods.
They drive around a little rinky-dink town and are very pleased to discover that it's not sketchy at all. In fact, it's very cute. Madge loves the feel it gives her, as though she's home. They easily find a place (with two beds instead of just one) and then walk into town to find something to eat. They stop at a diner and fill themselves up with real hearty home cooked meals and then travel to the bar next door for a drink.
It's one of those bars you see in movies that has a pool table and a counter and a dimly lit pathway to a bathroom behind a wooden door down a back hallway. No one looks at them strangely when they walk in, though the bartender does ask if they're from out of town.
"Honeymoon?" the lady asks as she mixes their drinks. "We've got the sweetest little bed and breakfast right up the road, it gets so many honeymoons you wouldn't believe."
"Oh, no," Madge quickly shakes her head and accepts the drink the woman slides across the table. "No. We're not… we're not together." Gale takes a swig from whatever it is he's ordered and sighs as it tingles down his throat. "We live in the same city in California," Madge carries on as Gale drinks. "Our mutual friend is getting married in Maine. My dad didn't want me to fly up alone so I got a ride with him."
"I see," she nods. "What're your names?"
"Gale," Gale says for himself, "and that's Madge," he gestures to the blonde. "I really like this place," he says. "It's charming, just sort of makes me want to do nothing but relax."
"Me oh my," the woman laughs, "you're quite charming yourself. I can see why blondie is taken with you, handsome."
Madge nearly chokes on her alcohol. "No," she coughs out. "No, no, I'm not—" but her words are lost as the woman behind the counter and Gale continue on to another topic.
Somehow throughout the night it's revealed that the woman's name is Lucy. She slides Madge and Gale drinks all through the night, and with enough alcohol in her body Madge decides to start playing pool with the group of men that are already over there. Gale watches as they teach her the basics of a pool stick and nearly leaps from his seat every time he doesn't like the position of their hands around her waist.
"So how'd you two end up on the road together?" Lucy asks Gale when he's alone at the bar. "I know because of your friend's wedding, but—"
"We live in the same city," Gale says, repeating what Madge said earlier. His brain is fuzzy and his eyes are locked on Madge, giggling as she knocks a ball from the table. "After college we both moved out west. Just a coincidence we ended up so close by each other, I guess."
"Sweetheart," Lucy reaches forward and pulls Gale's chin so he's looking at her. "There is no such thing as a coincidence. You two were meant to be in that city together."
"Nah," Gale wiggles from her grip and returns to staring at Madge. "She… she's always been too good for me. Her family, they've got a shit ton of money. Mine's dirt poor, well we were for a while, I've started bringing in some cash with my job now." Gale scratches his forehead. "We're friends with a few of the same people I see her all the time. Last I heard she was thinking of starting up some sort of business giving piano lessons. I dunno, she's just too good, Lucy. Too good for me."
"She's head over heels for you," the woman says.
"Nah," Gale repeats. "We don't… we don't even get along." That's not entirely true, they just don't talk.
"Oh, Gale," Lucy sighs loudly. "You best make a move on her before one of them boys over there takes her back to their place."
"Madge wouldn't do that," Gale says quickly. She's better than that, hopping into bed with a stranger. But the way one of the men is leaning over her makes him nervous, so Gale quickly pays Lucy for their drinks.
As he rushes over to her he hears Lucy say, "Tell her how you feel, kid."
He shoos one of the men away from Madge and pulls her toward him. Madge giggles and squeezes herself against Gale's chest, the gesture sets off fireworks inside his stomach. He guides her down the street back to the place that they're staying and she clings to him the entire time. Gale's never seen Madge drunk before but he's glad she's not a crier. She laughs as they make their way down the streets and eases against his side.
"You're so tall," she laughs into his ribs. "God, it's like you're a skyscraper!"
Gale chuckles and shakes his head. "You're just so short, Undersee," he murmurs. She continues to giggle. "Hey, you ever seen that one movie?"
"Oh, sure, that one movie. Gale, there are ten billion movies."
"The Notebook," he adds with a laugh. "Have you seen it?" Madge extracts herself from Gale's side and looks up at him, nodding. "You know how they lay in the street and wait for a car to come? We should do that." Madge bites back her smile but it escapes her and soon enough she's laughing. "There aren't any cars in this old town we'd be fine."
"I will not I am not sober enough to lay down and stand back up fast enough just in case."
He grins and stops her on the sidewalk. "Then let's dance instead," he says. Madge laughs again, lifting her hands to wrap behind his neck as his slide around her waist. "We've got to practice anyway, right? To dance for the wedding."
"Right," she whispers. Gale holds her close and they sway, despite the fact that there's no music. "Will you dance with me? When we're there?"
"At the wedding?" he whispers back. Gale feels her nod into his chest. "Of course," he exhales.
"You always end up with Johanna," Madge murmurs. Gale tenses. "Too many drinks and you're making out in the corner, you never even look at me."
"I'm not allowed to look at you," Gale says back. "And all Johanna wants is sex."
"How do you know I just don't want sex, then?" Madge chimes. "And who said you're not allowed to look at me? I like it when you look at me."
"Undersee," Gale sighs and squeezes her body close to his. "Madge," he corrects with a whisper. "You're not the kind of girl who just wants sex, you want conversation and sensuality. Hookups aren't something you do; they've never been something you did."
"I would if you wanted them with me," she murmurs. There have been plenty of nights Madge has watched Gale go home with a girl he just met while Madge keeps to herself.
Gale stops, pulling her chin up. "I'm so busy all the time," Gale says. "I don't have time for anything other than hooking up but you deserve more. I'd give you so much more if I could but I can't. And no one told me I'm not allowed to look at you I just can't look at you because when I look at you I want you and I justsaid I don't have time for wanting you and I fucking hate it."
"I've wanted you since I was in tenth grade," Madge tells him quietly. "You were in your senior year and you'd always sit at our lunch table and tease Katniss and I just hoped that you would notice me." Her voice shakes but Gale doesn't notice, he's too entranced in her words. "And then you went off to college and I forgot about you for a bit and then I went to college too and got my degree and then it was over and I moved out west and out of nowhere we ran into each other one day in town and I nearly threw up."
"Madge," he whispers. "What are you—"
"All the feelings I had for you in high school came rushing back and they're built off of some fantasy because you'd never want me and I feel so pathetic because I really like you, Gale Hawthorne, and—"
Gale kisses her. It's anything but gentle as he dips down, pressing his mouth fiercely to hers. They've both had a bit to drink and they stumble a bit on the sidewalk, their lips fumbling against one another's desperately. He kisses her jaw and her throat and clings to her. They make their way from the street back to their motel and stagger into their room.
"Tell me something," Madge pants as Gale slams the door. He cocks an eyebrow. "Tell me this is just because we're drunk. I can't stand anything else."
"You want me to say that we're hooking up because we're drunk?" he echoes. Madge nods her head ferociously and though Gale doesn't understand why, he says, "We're drunk."
"Good," she exhales. He says it because that's what she wants but that's not why he's kissing her, not in the least. "Good," Madge says again, lunging toward him to pull him to the bed.
Day Four:
Gale Hawthorne's naked body is just as physically pleasing as his partially clothed body.
She wakes up next to him in bed, his skin pressed against hers and his breath in her ear. She has a headache that just won't quit. She must move or something because Gale stirs and pulls her closer.
"Morning," he croaks. Even his sleepy voice is appealing. He attempts to turn Madge to face him but she pushes him away, shaking her head slightly. "What's wrong?"
Madge may have been drunk last night but not to the point of incoherency. She remembers the sex they had, the sweet nothings he whispered in her ear as they fell asleep that meant absolutely nothing. "You don't have time for me," she says, recalling his words from the sidewalk. "Remember?"
"Madge—"
"It's okay," she blurts, scooting out of bed. He looks as though she's slapped him. "We don't need to cuddle like it means something. I knew what I was getting myself into when I pulled you into bed last night." She hates it, but she accepts it. "I'm going to shower."
"Madge," he tries again. "Wait a second."
"You should get up," she calls as she enters the bathroom. "We're already late as it is."
The car is back to silence. Even Madge is refraining from tapping her foot or drumming her fingers on the door handle.
Gale hates it. He'd rather listen to Taylor Swift than be suffocating in this tension that's humming between the two of them. Goddammit, did he really say that he didn't have time for Madge? He'd make time for her if she wanted to be with him. Her apartment is half an hour away from his back in California but he'd make the drive every day if necessary.
She said something last night about how she fell for him during his senior year, and that's exactly when he noticed her too. Gale didn't go to Katniss's lunch table to tease her, he went in an attempt to get Madge to look at him. She was beautiful and quiet, he learned all about her through Katniss. Her looks are what pulled him in but he learned in time that Madge was kind and intelligent, that she was strong and brave. He forgot about her in college too but that was because he was studying his ass off trying to get out a year early (which he did). Seeing her at a coffee shop in southern California threw him off kilter entirely.
He tries so hard to shove her from his mind or to point out her flaws but he just can't.
Click-click-click-click, he looks over and finds her typing into her phone. Click-click-click.
"Who're you texting?" Gale asks.
Click-click-click, "Hm?"
"Texting," Gale repeats, gesturing toward her cell phone in her hands. "Who is it?"
"Oh," Madge lifts her shoulders slightly. "Thom."
Gale blanches. "Thom?" He repeats. "As in, my best friend, Thom?"
"That's the one," she nods. How in the hell does Madge know Thom? Or vice versa? "We all went to the same high school," Madge reminds him gently, not lifting her eyes from the screen.
"Did you tell him about us?" Gale asks.
Madge whips her head up quickly and Gale clears his throat. "No. Should I?" Click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click. Oh, God. She's telling him. Click-click-click-click.
"Give me that," Gale reaches across the car and grabs her phone before tossing it in the backseat. She gasps and throws her hair down. "It's rude. We should be conversing."
"Oh," Madge rolls her eyes. "Of course!"
"Don't be so sarcastic," Gale mutters.
"Conversing! We should be conversing! You're right, you're right. What do you want to talk about, Gale?" Madge turns to face him, leaning toward Gale waiting for him to speak. "Hm? Your hidden affection for Disney songs? The way you clench your teeth when you're angry? Maybe we should talk about the birthmark on your—"
"Okay," Gale cuts her off. "Too far."
Madge slumps backwards in her seat and resumes glancing out the window with a sigh. "I was telling him we'd be a little late, considering we got stuck in South Dakota." There's a long pause before she adds, "And no. I didn't tell him about what happened between us."
What happened between them. Gale nearly groans. They had sex, it's not the end of the world and it's not a toxic subject, she doesn't have to act like it is. It would probably help if Gale had enough courage to bring it up himself.
They stop somewhere in New York for the night, making sure to avoid a place with a bar and to get a room that has two beds. He showers and expects Madge to be sleeping when he comes out but she's not, instead she's staring at the pattern on the ceiling as though it's a message she's trying to decode.
"Do you care if I turn the light out?" Gale asks.
"No." He flips the switch and throws them into darkness. They're both quiet instantly. No goodnight. No sleep well. No see you bright and early. Just silence. Until, "I can't sleep."
"Me neither," Gale admits. There's about three feet between their beds and Gale rolls on his side to face her. Now that his eyes have adjusted a bit he can see her still staring at the ceiling. "Why can't you sleep?" he asks.
Honestly, Gale wants her to say something about last night. Instead she tells him, "I hate going home."
"Well we're not going home," he says. "We're going to Maine. Home is Delaware."
"So many people from home will be there," she says. "And then so many people from home won't be there, and I just…" Madge trails off and lets out a shaky breath. She must mean her mother. Mrs. Undersee passed away a few years ago, Gale remembers that he couldn't get to the east coast for the funeral. He still regrets not hopping on a plane and flying out. "Never mind. You should try and get some sleep. I don't know how you've managed to drive all this way. You really should let me drive every now and then, I do know how to drive, you know."
Gale lets out a tiny laugh. "I don't trust anyone with my jeep but myself. Sorry, Undersee."
He hears her echo, "Undersee." Again they're quiet. "Goodnight." Gale sighs loudly and shoves himself from his bed, crossing the few feet between and climbing into Madge's. "What're you—"she stops talking as he slides his hand around her waist, pulling her body snug against his. "Gale."
"We can make it work," he whispers. "You and me."
Madge buries her face into his chest and shakes her head. "You don't want that."
"How would you know what I want?" he grumbles. "You're not the only one who thought their feelings were unrequited." Madge's body tenses up but she doesn't lift her head to look at him. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Do I… what?"
"Believe in fate," Gale repeats. "Do you think it was an accident we both ended up in the same city in southern California or do you think it was predestined to happen? Do you think we met Lucy in the bar last night by chance or because she was supposed to open my eyes as to how badly I want to be with you?"
"Gale—"
"Don't Gale me," he murmurs. "I spent way too much time of my senior year of high school trying to get you to notice me." Slowly Madge looks up at him. "And when you didn't I just figured it was because I hardly had a nickel to my name and you were out of my league. Christ, seeing you in California, Madge, was incredible."
He wishes he could put it into words, the rush of air that blew past him when he first spotted her. He may or may not have watched her for a moment to make sure it was actually Madge Undersee, and then hedefinitely crept into the coffee shop she went into just to bump into her.
"We wouldn't work," she blurts.
"Why not?"
"Because I annoy you, you've said so yourself."
"In the best way," Gale chirps. Madge rolls her eyes but smiles just a bit. "I want to give it a chance. I'llmake time for you." Madge bites down on her bottom lip and Gale slides his hand up her hip to curl in her hair. "Give me a chance, Madge." Her eyes dart to his lips and eventually she nods. "Yeah?"
"Okay," she breathes.
Day Five:
Madge Undersee is a conversationalist.
She's good at pretending like she isn't, but secretly she is. She's the type of girl that doesn't want to talk about what college was like as a whole but would rather hear Gale's most embarrassing moment from each year and how he recovered from them and then wants to share her own. She wants to talk about life on a grand scale, the meaning of it, where it's taking them, why it's taking them where it is, the whole deal. She wants secrets and stories.
They spend the last few hours of their trip catching up on everything. Her voice is beautiful and sometimes Gale can't hear her words because he's just focusing on her tone. Not only that but she's a wonderful listener and laughs at all the right moments.
Gale allows Madge to plug her phone back in and they breeze through all of her songs. To say he's impressed is an understatement, there's a lot less Glee covers than he expected.
What you got in store for me?
Keep those, eyes closed next to me
And I don't want another day to break
Take our, steal our night away
Eventually, sometime in the early evening, they arrive at the hotel (not a motel, thank God) where all of the wedding guests are staying.
"Who the hell would go all the way to Maine to get married?" Gale grumbles as they unload themselves from the jeep.
"Peeta has a lot of family up here," she tells Gale, slinging her duffle bag over her shoulder. "They used to come up every summer. It's very beautiful."
"Mm, sure," he smiles as she rolls her eyes at him.
Their rooms are down the hall from one another and they part awkwardly, not knowing if they should say goodbye or hug or maybe kiss. In the end she just waves over her should before disappearing into her own space. His room is lonely.
There's a dinner that night for everyone that's arrived so far. Katniss and Peeta are all smiles and are happy to see that Gale and Madge arrived safe after what they think must've been a difficult drive. "It wasn't so bad," Madge says, sipping from a glass of wine. Gale is in the seat across from her and he smirks. They only hit a few bumps in the road.
Day Six:
Gale Hawthorne is restless sleeping alone.
With the wedding happening this evening everyone is finally starting to arrive. The rest of Gale's family shows up and they smother him with love. Posy now 12 years old jumps onto his back, and Rory and Vick who're both Gale's height attack him too. Hazelle smiles kindly and waits for the kids to be done before crossing to Gale and hugging him tightly.
"How was your trip?" his mother asks.
"A lot better than expected," Gale admits sheepishly. "Come on, you guys can get ready for the wedding in my room." Gale guides them up to his hotel room and as they enter his, Madge is leaving hers.
"Madge!" Posy screeches her name and rushes toward the blonde, throwing her arms around her waist and squeezing tightly. "You're here!"
"And you're tall," Madge laughs, hugging Posy back. Rory and Vick both are at least a few heads taller than Madge as well. "All of you. It's so nice to see you!"
"Oh, you too dear," Hazelle smiles and steps toward Madge. "You look lovely."
"Thank you," Madge blushes. Gale has to agree. She's dressed for the wedding already, her soft blue dress hugging her curves in exactly all the right places. Madge has done her hair as well, curling down her back elegantly. "I have to go help Katniss with her makeup," she says, "so I have to go, but I'll see you later!"
"I'll save you a seat," Gale promises, causing Madge's blush to deepen. She waves goodbye to the family before disappearing down the hall. Hazelle raises an eyebrow at his son but says nothing, nudging her children into his room to make them get ready.
It's only a few minutes before the wedding actually starts does Madge make her way into the church. She slips into the pew beside Gale and he reaches over, grabbing her hand and gently running his thumb over hers.
"Who would've thought Katniss would be a bridezilla?" Madge murmurs quietly. Gale chuckles, moving his hand so their fingers lace. "She's so nervous but she looks absolutely incredible." I'm sure she does, Gale thinks, but so does Madge. The entire road trip she'd been wearing nothing but jeans and t-shirts, which he has no problem with whatsoever, but seeing her all dolled up gets him sweating in a way he will never admit.
The wedding is nice and sappy, just as Gale expected it to be considering Peeta Mellark was the groom. There are lots of tears and lots of happy sighs and Gale notices once or twice that even Katniss is tearing up, which is a tremendous step in her emotional development, he thinks.
The wedding reception has an open bar and Gale makes quick work of it, knocking back drink after drink because Katniss is two years younger than him and is already married and Gale has spent a majority of his life doing nothing but one night stands. Thom tells him to slow down because a certain someone (okay, maybe Madge did tell Thom what had happened with her and Gale) might not like it if he's too intoxicated to take to bed. But Gale doesn't stop, and it doesn't take long for one Johanna Mason to corner him.
"Been looking for you all night," Johanna says, tapping his chest and pulling on his tie. "My God you clean up nice."
"Johanna no," he nudges her away and tries to step around her. The appearance of the stubborn brunette causes him to put his glass down for good, remembering how Madge mentioned that he always ends up with her. "Not tonight." He wants to use the excuse that he's seeing someone, but is he seeing Madge or not? She said she'd give them a chance and they slept well that night, but since they've arrived here in Maine they haven't spoken much. "There's someone else," Gale tells her.
"Oh, boo hoo," Johanna frowns. He ignores her and lifts his eyes to Madge who's sitting alone at a table sipping champagne. She glances in their direction once before knocking back the rest of her drink and waving over a server to bring her another. "She's probably all the way back is SoCal and I'm here and it's awedding, Gale, we might as well…" she trails off, clearly following his gaze. "Or she's sitting at that table?" Johanna frowns as Gale nods in confirmation. "Blondie? Are you kidding me?"
Gale shrugs and smirks, walking away from her. "I've gotta go," he says. "Sorry Jo."
Johanna rolls her eyes but smiles when he isn't looking. It is a wedding after all, and Peeta Mellark has some single good looking older brothers.
Gale settles into the seat next to Madge and reaches over, resting his hand atop hers. "No Johanna tonight?" she asks.
He grins, "I knew you were watching."
"Surprised you ended up here so quickly," she admits, drinking from her wineglass again. "So…"
"No Johanna tonight," Gale confirms. "Or tomorrow. Or at the next big event with alcohol where we all get together…" he stops talking when she smiles into her glass. "What do you say, Madge Undersee? Do you want to stick around and see if you can catch the bouquet, or you want to go back to my room?"
"Your mother and your three siblings are staying in your room tonight," Madge reminds him, tapping his fingers. "So I think we should avoid your room no matter the time we head upstairs."
"So bouquet, and then your room?" Gale asks.
"Ah, ah," she shakes her head. "You promised me a dance."
Gale leaps to his feet and extends his hand to her. "That I did," he nods. She accepts his hand with the sweetest smile.
Day Seven:
Madge Undersee wants out of Maine as soon as possible.
After sending Katniss and Peeta off on their honeymoon to some remote town in northern Maine, the wedding party dispersed. Gale and Madge loaded up his jeep and said goodbye to his family (who slept alone in Gale's room while he was busy somewhere else) before making a quick getaway.
"No wrong turns this time," she says as they pull out of the hotel parking lot. "Make sure the GPS isn't set Minneapolis."
"Already checked," Gale says, watching as Madge plugs in her phone. She says nothing about a funky beat, and Gale hopes that she's forgotten all about that. "I was thinking, though," he hums. "Maybe we could go stop in South Dakota though?" Madge lifts an eyebrow at him, turning on some quiet piano song. "I think we should go see Lucy."
Her cheeks erupt into the most beautiful explosion of pink and Madge tips her head forward. "I mean I guess so," she nods. Without her Gale probably wouldn't have acted on his feelings. That woman deserves a thank you. "You know," Madge starts, "we'd probably save more money if we just got rooms with one bed in them. What do you think?"
Gale chuckles. "I think that's a great idea."
A/N: This is my 'gadge month' submission, which was either roommate or road trip. I might still do a roommate one! Sorry this happened to be so long.