Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Gale sunk into the booth at the end of the row and dropped his phone on the table with a sigh. His head hurt, it was nearly four in the morning, and all he wanted to do was sleep. But his phone was dead, and his car was out of gas, and he literally had no way to get home.
He was still rubbing his eyes when the waitress appeared by his table.
"Good morning," she said brightly. He looked up at her and reciprocated her smile. Her golden hair was pinned up in a bun, her mint colored apron was tied tightly around her waist. "My name's Madge, I'll be your server today. Can I get you something to start with? Coffee, maybe?"
"Coffee would be great, thanks," Gale said. "Black." She looked him up and down and smiled another time before nodding.
Madge turned on her heel. "I'll be right back," she said over her shoulder before quickly hurrying away.
Once she was gone Gale rubbed his face another time. He wondered if she recognized him, even with his baseball cap and a bit of scruff on his chin. Gale Hawthorne was a big name, unfortunately.
He'd starting acting when he was younger in stupid commercials because their family needed the money. But he had a great memory and was good at it, and it turned into something he sincerely enjoyed doing. By the time he was 15 he had a main role in a Disney show, then at 18 he did a series of TV movies, at 21 he had his first main role in a movie that had been adapted from a book, and now at 23 he was a damn household name. At least for the teenagers that were freaking in love with him.
His fan base was out of control. Getting on Twitter was horrifying. He loved his fans, of course he did, but going in public could get a little scary. In the end it felt less like people enjoyed him for his acting and more for his good looks. It wasn't ideal.
But he made more than enough money to keep his family comfortable, and he loved his career an infinite amount. So the crazy fans he could deal with.
Madge the waitress returned with his coffee and a nice smile. "Ready to order?" she asked. "Or still looking?"
Gale hadn't even opened his menu. "Uh, still looking."
"No problem." Madge went to walk away when he reached out to stop her. "Yes?"
Gale cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. "Uh, I was wondering if you maybe had a phone charger I could borrow?" he asked. Madge's eyebrows lifted to her forehead. "My phone's dead," Gale said. "And my car doesn't have enough gas to get me home, so I need to make some calls."
Madge looked at his phone and nodded. "I'll be right back." She gestured to the menu. "Maybe take a look at that while I'm gone," she said.
Madge smiled another time before walking away, pushing into the back room of the diner without even looking over her shoulder. She had a nice smile, Gale recognized. And she wasn't freaking out that he was Gale. Which meant either she didn't know who he was, or she didn't care. Both were kind of refreshing, but also stung a little.
So when she returned with her phone charger for him to borrow he decided to ask.
"Just out of curiosity," he started to say as he plugged into the outlet. "Do you know who I am?"
A light pink filled her cheeks and she let out a little laugh. "Of course I do. But I'm sure you don't come into diners at 4 in the morning wanting to be swarmed by fans. Especially not your waitress." He smiled graciously. "Just out of curiosity," she echoed. "Why are you here at 4 in the morning?"
His smile widened. "Can I put in my order first?" he asked.
It was a slow morning, considering the diner was on the edge of a not-so-great side of town, so Gale asked Madge to sit with him. As he put some sort of nutrition back into his body (eggs and bacon, both super greasy but whatever) he told her the story of his night.
How he'd gone to a party with an old friend from high school, how there were way too many people wanting autographs, how he probably had way too much to drink. She smiled at all the right times, asked the perfect questions to keep the conversation going and make sure things weren't awkward, and seemed sincerely interested. And not just because he was Gale Hawthorne.
"And so you ended up here how, exactly?"
"I woke up in a bathtub with a dead phone. I have rehearsal tomorrow–shit, today at noon, got to be in at 11. So I got out of there. Got lost on some back roads, found one of those food signs that directed me here."
"Hm," Madge hummed and leaned backwards. "What a night."
"What about you?" Gale asked. She seemed interested enough in his life so of course he'd indulge her, but he wasn't shallow. Talking about himself all the time was draining, he wanted to hear about her. "Tell me your story."
"My story?" she echoed with a laugh. "Well I grew up in Maine," she started, and he let out a long whistle.
"Long ways away."
"Tell me about it. I wanted to go to school for music but my dad didn't approve. He's one of those hoity toity types. Works for the government. Whatever. Decided not to give me any money. So I moved out here for college and have been working here ever since." Gale sipped on his coffee with an arched eyebrow. "He still sends me money sometimes, but it's not a lot. And this job hardly pays the bills for school – I'm going to be in debt for like, ever, but I love what I do."
"And your music is…"
"Piano," she told him.
"Mmm," Gale took another sip from his coffee. "Nice. I like that."
"Oh, good," Madge said. "Finally I can die happy. My only goal in life was to impress the one and only Gale Hawthorne. Thank you so much for fulfilling a dream."
Gale rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha." Madge only smiled in response. After a bit he cleared his throat. "Thank you."
"For the phone charger?" she asked. "It's not a problem."
"No, for just…" he sighed, shaking his head a little. "For not freaking out, I guess."
Madge threw her head back. "Listen I like your stuff enough, but I'm not a Hawt-Horn." Gale cringed at the nickname his fans had given themselves. "I know you're a person underneath your rich and famous exterior."
"Well a lot of people don't." Gale looked over at his phone which was now charged. "Want to look at some of the tweets I get?" he asked. She immediately slid onto his side of the booth.
It was nearly 5 in the morning by the time Gale had finished his meal, and he hadn't made any calls or arrangements to get home. As if also realizing this Madge shifted awkwardly. "My apartment's not too far from here," she said. "If you, um, wanted to crash for a bit."
Gale lifted an eyebrow. "Really, now?" Madge tried her best to seem nonchalant. "When do you get off?"
Madge looked at the clock on the wall. "Ten minutes."
Gale licked his lips before smiling. "I can wait." She smiled back before sliding from the pleather booth and going off into the back of the diner.
She emerged ten minutes later with her curly hair spilling down her back. She still had her waitress uniform on and looked hilariously adorable and Gale couldn't help but grin. He knew what her offer to stay at her house meant, but he was tired and she was cute and to be honest, he'd enjoyed his time with her this morning. She seemed genuine and sincere and it was rare for him to find someone like that.
Her car was small and messy, which made her feel more real, and she was really, really bad at stick shift. "I'm still learning," she told him. "My friend sold me the car for cheap, okay?" Gale only laughed as he gripped the door handle. Soon enough they arrived at her apartment. "It's a little messy," she told him as she keyed in, but once inside Gale was relieved. Mostly there were just books and sheet music everywhere. The sink was free of dishes and the carped looked vacuumed too.
Gale clicked the door shut behind him and leaned backwards against the door. "Madge," he said softly, causing her to pause. "I appreciate your help tonight."
She turned to look at him. "Would've done it for anyone," she said. And he believed her.
They were both quiet for a moment. "I don't normally do this," he murmured. "Go to fans homes, and stuff."
"And stuff," she repeated, slowly striding toward him. His eyes drifted up and down her body. "I know you don't. You're one of the good ones."
"You can tell that from a conversation in a diner?" he asked.
"You could tell I wasn't crazy by the same conversation," she returned.
His eyes felt heavy and his heart was racing. "Fair enough." Gale reached out and grabbed her wrist, gently tugging her toward him. "Madge," he started again.
"Just shut up already," she exhaled.
Gale sighed as he leaned down to kiss her, his hand lifting to cup her cheek while the other swung around her waist. Madge pressed herself onto her toes and put her hands on both of his cheeks to deepen the kiss.
"Bedroom?" he forced out.
"That way," she gasped, jerking her head to the side.
He lifted her into his arms as she fumbled to kick off her shoes before wrapping her legs around his hips. Madge laughed as he tripped over her rug and whined as he burned kisses down her throat and moaned as his hands slid up her legs.
Gale prided himself on his acting skills but the noises Madge made in bed made him think he was pretty good at some other things too. Soon enough they were panting and covered in sweat, Madge with her head on his chest as he toyed with the ends of his hair.
She started laughing first.
"What?" Gale asked as he also started laughing. "What!"
"This is so funny," Madge murmured with a giggle. She kissed his chest. "My friends arenever going to believe me." Gale laughed a little louder as she sighed contentedly. "You should get some sleep," she finally said. "If you have rehearsal soon."
"Mm… you're incredible," Gale sighed as the two of them drifted off to sleep.
His alarm went off in the morning, startling the both of them. Their legs were tangled together, his fingers knotted in his hair. Gale groaned as he climbed out of bed, sitting on the edge and rubbing his face.
"Fuck," he exhaled loudly. Madge sat up slowly and stretched. "I've got to go," he said.
"I know," Madge responded. He looked over his shoulder at her and found her smiling sleepily. "It's okay."
He hesitated. "I don't want to go," he admitted. Madge sighed, her smiling slowly shrinking. "This was…"
"It's okay," Madge stopped him again. "I mean, I get it. You're… you know. You." Gale sighed too before turning to face her. "You should call a cab." He nodded in head in agreement before leaning forward, tilting her chin up to kiss her gently. She sighed and smiled, biting her lip when they parted. "Wow. Good at everything, aren't you?"
"Absolutely everything," he teased. After a few more kisses Gale finally forced himself out of bed and started pulling his clothes back on. "You're a dream, Madge Undersee," he said as he dialed his phone. It wasn't fully charged – they meant to put it on the charger before bed but got a little distracted – but it lasted enough to make a phone call. "Finnick?" he asked when the other end was answered. "Hey, I need a favor."
Gale sent his friend the address before climbing back into bed with Madge. She was still naked, completely under the blankets, sleepily cuddled in bed.
"Do you want my number?" Madge asked. Her eyes were closed, Gale having returned to playing with her hair. "I mean, in case you, you know." Madge wrinkled her nose. "Never mind."
"I'd love your number," Gale admitted. "I don't have much time, but, yeah."
With her eyes still closed she reached out into the air and Gale laughed as he handed her his phone. Squinting into the morning light Madge typed out her number. She'd barely saved it,Diner Girl, before it started ringing.
"Must be Finnick," Gale said, reaching for the phone back.
"God, I had sex with Gale Hawthorne and now he's getting a call from Finnick Odair? I feel like I should be on some reality TV show or something."
Gale laughed at her before answering. Soon he was kissing her goodbye another time, something that felt so natural, before climbing out of bed for the last time.
"I'll… talk to you soon," Gale said as he lingered in the doorway.
"I won't be heartbroken if you don't," Madge called back. Gale almost believed her.
Gale had someone else pick up his car from the diner.
He didn't text her, and he didn't call her.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, because holy fuck did he want to. But she was a normal girl going to school and working hard to pay her bills and she didn't need someone like him interrupting the flow of her life.
Gale liked her, he did. Madge was sweet and everything felt natural - even if it was just one night. It just wasn't fair to her to tease her with the hope of something when there really was nothing there. He didn't have the time. She probably didn't have the patience.
It wasn't until he ended up at another party about a month later, completely shitfaced from too much vodka, did he end up calling her.
"Fuck," he was slurring into the phone, leaning on the outside wall of Johanna Mason's house, needing to hear her voice. "I wanted to call you so fucking bad."
"Gale," Madge's voice was patient. "You've been drinking. You didn't want to call me."
"Yes I did," he nearly whined. "Finnick–he said it was a baaaad idea."
"It was a bad idea," Madge murmured back. "You should hang up. Go be with your friends."
"No, Madge," he kept pushing forward. He might've been drunk but he needed her to know. "You're the only person I've ever done that with, you know? I swear it, I really swear it." He heard her sigh on the other end. "I swear, that night was so fucking good." She sighed another time. "I want to see you."
"Gale, stop. You're drunk."
"No. I mean." Gale dragged his hand through his hair. "Yeah, I am. But who gives a shit? I want to see you." Gale turned from where he was leaning and saw Finnick looking at him curiously. "Is your driver here?" he asked his friend.
"Gale–" Madge tried again but he hung up.
"I need you to drive me somewhere."
Finnick knocked back the rest of his drink and shrugged. "Sure, mate."
Gale didn't notice the paparazzi following them as Fininck's driver sped to Madge's apartment. He only still had the address from when he texted it to Finnick forever ago, but whatever.
"You don't even know," Gale was telling his friend. "She's–sure, she's fucking normal. But she's something else, Finn. I'm telling you. You don't even know." He couldn't find the words. And maybe he was making her more perfect in his mind because he was drunk and optimistic, but he wanted to see her again. "You've got to meet her. She's so real, man."
The car halted to a stop and Gale recognized the place instantly. He hopped out of the car and Finnick followed. And then there were camera flashed. And then there was Madge.
"Hey!" Gale felt lighter the second he saw her. He smiled brightly and even her mouth curled into a soft smile. "Holy mother fucking shit!"
"Gale," she curled away from the flashes. "Can you–come inside, okay?"
"You should listen to her, mate," Finnick was saying, pushing his friend toward the apartment complex. Madge looked anxious and kept gnawing on her bottom lip. Her arms were tight across her chest. "Here, come with me." Finnick led Gale's wobbling body in Madge's direction. "You get inside, love." But Gale reached forward and pulled her close.
"Oh, wow," Madge laughed awkwardly. "Um."
"I'm so fucking sorry I didn't call you," Gale was saying.
Madge laughed a little again, mostly out of nerves. "You smell like vodka, okay?"
"Gale," Finnick rolled his eyes and pushed his friend into the apartment complex, pulling Madge with him.
Gale woke up in the morning with a pounding headache. He was on Madge's couch. There was a bottle of water and a few pills on the nearby table that he quickly knocked back. He could hear Madge and Finnick in the kitchen.
"Fuck," he groaned, rubbing his eyes. Finnick popped his head out to look at him. "You jackass."
"Oh, I'm the jackass?" Finnick countered. "You've got no fucking idea, mate." Moments later Madge poked her head out as well, smiling sadly at him. "You're in a shit ton of trouble."
She wouldn't even let him apologize. Madge wouldn't let him apologize about never calling, she wouldn't let him apologize for showing up in the middle of the night. He nearly exploded.
"If I was a normal fucking human being you'd be livid," he grumbled.
Madge shrugged. "But you're not." He hated it – and that was part of the reason he must've stayed along for so long. Because even knowing how Madge was, Gale was still Gale. God, he couldn't even imagine the way the internet would be blowing up with pictures from last night. How could he have been so fucking stupid? "I do wish you had called though," Madge said. "There's… something I have to talk to you about."
She was pregnant.
"And you're sure?" He'd asked her twenty times. "You're sure? You don't have any doubts at all?"
"Because that's exactly what I want to do with my life," Madge practically snapped. "Get knocked up by Gale fucking Hawthorne. I literally belong on one of those stupid MTV shows." She looked sad and confused and angry, but mostly with herself. "My life would be so much easier if I hadn't met you."
He couldn't help but agree. If he'd never met her she could just keep going to class and playing the piano and living her normal life. Gale hated that he couldn't have lived his own normal life, and now he'd fucked up someone else's.
"Are you keeping it?" he asked.
"I don't know," she said another time. He'd asked her that a few times already. Finnick stood off to the side looking deflated. "I don't know, Gale. Should I?"
He rubbed his eyes again. "That choice isn't up to me."
"Your opinion matters!" she nearly yelled. Gale sighed and looked up at her. "Or does it not? Do you not care?"
"Of course I care," he told her. Madge blinked away tears and tore her gaze from him. "Hey," he reached over to grab her hand. "This is my fault, okay? If I–if there was a way I could fix it then I would."
More tears started falling. "I just don't know what to do," she admitted weakly. "I'm scared."
His voice shook as he admitted, "Me too."
He promised to talk to her soon. Gale didn't want to leave her, not until they figured something out, but he had work and she had school. Madge was in a better state by the time he left but he'd wanted to stay.
"Mate," Finnick threw his phone in Gale's direction after they got in the car. "Look at this shit."
Up on his phone was Finnick's Twitter with a flood of messages from Hawt-Horns asking about the blonde girl in the photos. Relative? Sister? Friend? Girlfriend? We need answers!Gale wasn't sure how to react.
"I'm scared to check mine," he voiced.
Finnick threw his head back in a laugh. "I'd be if I were you too." After a moment of silence. "They can't find out who she is, Gale," he said. "They'll fucking ruin her."
"You think I don't know that?" he snapped. "I know that." Especially if they knew that she was pregnant. "Fuck," Gale rubbed his face another time. "What the hell am I going to do?"
"They're outside the diner." Madge's voice was soft, but he could hear the panic. "They have cameras. Like, a lot of cameras." Gale was still on set, at least an hour out. "What do I do?"
"Can you get off?" Gale asked.
"I–I don't think so." Madge let out a deep breath. "I hate this. I'm going to end up in some stupid fucking tabloid!"
"Madge," he couldn't help but laugh a little. "Try and get off. I'll send someone to get you. Okay?" She made some sort of noise in agreement. "I'll see you soon. I promise."
Someone got more photos of them. "Oh my God," Madge was peering over his shoulder to look at his phone screen. "I look awful!"
"Stop," Gale nudged her and smiled. "No you don't."
"I look bloated. Because I'm pregnant. And I look like I just got done working. Because I did. And I–"
"Look fine," he murmured. Gale had given her his baseball cap and a pair of sunglasses. It wouldn't do much to delay the public finding out who she was but at least it was something. In fact, he kind of liked how she looked in his things. "I promise."
Madge gnawed on her bottom lip. It was just the two of them in the back of his car. "I'm sorry," she finally said. Gale closed his phone and looked over at her, arching an eyebrow. "This is all my fault."
"This is hardly all of your fault."
She shook her head. "You probably think I'm stupid," she was saying, mostly to herself though. "Some stupid fan or–"
"Hey," Gale stopped her. "I don't think that." He reached over to grab her hand. "I don't think that," he said again. "You've handled all of this with grace, Madge. Honestly? I'd rather this be happening with you than anyone else I've encountered in the past, two years?"
That got her to laugh a little. "We don't even know each other."
"Then let's get to know each other. Actually." Gale turned to her. "I want to know you."
Her favorite flavor of everything was strawberry (except shampoo - which was vanilla). She thought black coffee was a sin. She was an only child but had always wanted siblings. Only one of her friends actually believed she'd hooked up with Gale Hawthorne - and he stood by her when she told him she was pregnant (Gale had to meet the guy, that sort of friend wasdamn loyal). Madge liked to sing in the shower. She never stayed up late unless she worked the night shift. She preferred cats to dogs. She ran track in high school. She was on the dean's list. Her favorite TV show was Law and Order.
Every fact she shared, he'd share one of his own. And soon two hours had passed and they hadn't moved from the backseat of Gale's car even though the driver had parked forever ago.
At one point Madge laughed, shaking her head at him. When he questioned why she simply said, "You're my type. Only, you know, famous."
"Wow," Gale chuckled. "I think I like you."
And then he kissed her again, and she met him halfway. Between their kisses she tried talking. "This is so stupid," Madge would say. "We're being so stupid." But neither of them could stop. Her mouth was addicting, his skin was warm beneath her hands.
He hardly had gotten her down on the leather seats before there was a knock on the window. They parted quickly to find Finnick standing there, holding up his phone.
"They've got her name," he said.
Her phone blew up basically minutes later from Twitter notifications.
You stupid slut! How fucking dare you! I'm going to fucking murder you!
Gale had never seen someone sink so much in such a short amount of time. "Hey, hey, hey," Gale tried prying her phone from her hands. "Stop. Stop looking at them."
"Oh my God," the words barely escaped her as she scrolled through the notifications. "Someone's going to kill me in my sleep tonight." It sounded like she was trying to joke but her voice was still shaking. All of the usernames had pictures of Gale as their icon from whatever movies he'd been in, all of their names something about Hawthorne_Lover9838423. "Oh my God, what happens when they find out that I'm–"
"Stop," he said again. Tears were springing to her eyes. "It's okay. They won't find out–"
"But if I keep it–"
"Shhh." He pulled her toward him, finally getting her phone from her hands. She leaned against his chest as he toyed with the ends of her hair. "It's–I mean, we'll figure it out." Gale shook his head, once again wishing his life wasn't such a big deal – or maybe that he'd gone on a different career path. "There's never–there's always going to be those people. But there're good ones too, I swear it."
She sniffled. "You deal with this every day?"
"Yep."
She turned her head into his chest. "Wow," she exhaled. She sounded tired. "I'm sorry."
Gale hesitated. "Me too," he murmured. "Me too."
She decided to keep it.
He decided to help.
Madge turned out to be stronger than he expected. The death threats freaked her out (they freaked him out too - he had to tweet multiple times about how not-okay that was) but the gossip in the tabloids didn't phase her.
"You know," Gale murmured one evening. "I'm glad it's you."
She smiled at him, one of those smiles from the beginning of all of the mess. "You know," she laced her hand with his as she echoed his words, "I was pretty sure that night had been a dream. Or something. I mean, I never expected to see you again."
"I'd hoped," Gale admitted. "Different circumstances, sure, but I still hoped."
He kissed her knuckles. "I'm finishing school," Madge said. "This… whatever happens, that doesn't change that."
"Good," Gale exhaled. He'd been worried about that, that this would somehow change her. But she's been resilient and strong. "I'm really happy to hear that."
"I think I'm going to have to quit the diner though," she told him. "Freaks me out being there since that one thing, you know." That time one of Gale's fans came in and tried dumping cups of water on Madge. She got the girl kicked out but it was still a little too extreme. "Things aren't going to go back to normal."
"Absolutely not," Gale agreed. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry about that," Madge murmured. "I mean, I kind of like it."
It had been an accident, ending up in the diner that Madge worked in. And it was definitely a mistake going back to her place considering he knew he shouldn't have gotten involved with a fan of sorts.
But what followed, no matter how messy and weird, was definitely worth it.
Having a baby was a challenge they both tackled head on, on top of Gale's acting career and Madge finishing school. But they managed. She graduated on time despite the belly, and he finished his movie despite the drama.
And somehow through the crazy fans and paparazzi, they ended up stronger.
And after the delivery with their baby in their arms Madge held up her phone to him. "Look," she said with a laugh. "Read this one."
Gale cleared his throat. "From DestroyGadge666," he started, already laughing. "'I bet their baby looks like a mutilated turnip. Shitty genes.'" Gale shook his head. "I honestly can't even formulate a response to that."
Madge bent down to kiss their perfect baby on his tiny little head. "Me neither." Gale tossed her phone to the side and cuddled closer to the two of them. "In fact, I don't even care."
Gale grinned. Neither did he.