Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Gale had been planning this for months. Months. Which really, was ridiculous, but after having his heart torn out by Katniss all those years ago he had to be completely sure that the next person he made a serious move on was at least slightly into him.
So the casual flirting, the weekly Snapchats to Madge Undersee, it was all part of a bigger plan. It would end with him kissing her under the mistletoe, her kissing him back, and then the two of them snuggling up by the fire with a bright future on the horizon.
But just because he'd been planning this for months meant absolutely nothing, considering he ruined it in seconds.
It was the eggnog. He hadn't taken into account what three cups of Finnick's original eggnog would do to him. Gale could normally handle his liquor and yet…
"I'm gonna do it," Gale had told Thom. He was leaning against the wall with his mug in his hands. His eyes were already glazed and he had a silly smile on his face. "I'm just gonna do it, Thom. I'm gonna kiss her."
Thom laughed and shook his head at his friend. "You probably should sober up a little first," he responded.
But Gale wasn't listening. He was staring off where Madge and Delly were sitting together, scrolling through something on their phones to show one another. Gale licked his lips when Madge looked up, smiling sweetly at him. She was always so sweet, with her soft smiles and hopeful eyes. And tonight he was going to kiss her.
And that was how Gale ended up situated permanently beneath a mistletoe, waiting for Madge Undersee to walk under so he could swoop in and kiss her after all this time. And it was that underlying excitement mixed with some underlying nerves mixed with too much eggnog that caused Gale to act prematurely.
Because the second he saw long blonde hair in his periphery he said "Mistletoe" and bent down, kissing the girl without thinking.
It was Delly Cartwright.
When he pulled back she was stunned, looking at him with her brown eyes (brown eyes, not blue, not Madge) and unable to say anything. Eventually she just huffed, righted herself, and walked away.
Gale looked up confused, because the entire room had stilled. Thom was across the room and he was more than angry. "What the hell?" Thom shouted. Because while he wasn't dating Delly, he too had a plan to win a girl over.
Thom quickly followed Delly out of the room, and soon Gale's eyes fell on Madge who'd drawn her eyebrows together and was staring at the mug in her hands rather than anything else. And she quickly left the room as well.
"Well," Finnick said loudly, pulling attention away from Gale who was still trying to sort out his thoughts. "That was unexpected."
A few people let out short laughs. His first thought was to find Thom, to apologize. Galeknew Thom liked Delly. He never would've–stupid eggnog–ever kissed her like that! He finally figured out how to work his feet and started to the kitchen, placing his mug down on the counter and swearing off eggnog for the rest of the night.
Madge hated having a crush on Gale Hawthorne.
She thought getting out of their small town and meeting more people would help – but it hadn't. He still lurked in the back of mind, his stupid handsome face and charming smile and bright gray eyes. She'd been crushing on him for forever it felt like.
The worst part about all of this was she really thought things were different.
He'd been so friendly to her, a side of him she always knew existed but never really got to experience first hand. Gale was being sweet, and flirty even, and would talk to her every day. She should've known he'd just grown up and learned how to be a friend. Of course he didn't have feelings for her.
Madge had allowed herself to get her hopes up. She thought maybe this party would allow for something monumental.
Instead, he kissed Delly.
The swooping feeling in her stomach had crawled all the way up to her throat before she managed to look away. She fought off the stinging in her eyes and blinked hard, worried her makeup would smudge and she'd look even more idiotic than she felt.
What else did she expect?
She left the room, unaware of whatever else was happening, and slipped into the bathroom.
"His loss," she told herself in the mirror. "Because you are beautiful and proud and confident. And it doesn't matter you've practically been in love with him for years, because you deserve someone better."
But that swooping feeling had clung to her throat and no matter how many times she swallowed it wouldn't go away. After blinking hard a few more times Madge slipped out of the bathroom and collided with – of course – Gale.
"Oh," she burst, trying to look anywhere but at him.
"Madge," he rasped. "I–I'm trying to find Thom, and–"
"I didn't know you liked Delly," Madge said, surprised the words were coming out of her. Maybe it was because of that cup of eggnog she had, but she couldn't stop it now. "I mean, why would I have known that? She's always so positive and happy, you know? Why wouldn't you like her?" Gale looked at her like he was a deer in headlights. "I guessed I just assumed she wasn't your type. But I mean–whatever–yeah, she's great, so of course."
He stared at her for a good five seconds before his eyebrows came together. "I'm drunk," Gale finally murmured, wedging his way past Madge and off to find Thom.
His dismissive manner made her heart shatter even more.
Gale finally got Thom alone. He apologized profusely, stumbling over his words from the alcohol, saying how he thought Delly was Madge, how he felt like shit, how he shouldn't have gotten drunk in the first place.
Thom seemed to understand, but was still upset. "I've liked her for ages," Thom said. "And you kissed her before I did. And that just–it hurts, you know?"
Knowing that his best friend didn't think he was a psychopath (just an idiot) made Gale feel slightly better, but he still swore off eggnog for the rest of the night.
With his plan in shambles and Madge convinced that Gale was into Delly, he sunk onto the couch defeated. Next thing he knew he was drifting off.
He woke up when he heard the front door shut, and Gale quickly realized that he must've fallen asleep. The aching in his chest from ruining the night and the alcohol and the warm, quiet atmosphere for the party must've made it easy. When he rubbed at his eyes and looked up he found Madge standing a few feet away from him, looking concerned.
"Are you okay to drive?" she asked.
Gale was still rubbing his eyes. "Thom drove me," he said. Madge made a face. "What?"
"Thom, uh, left. With Delly." Gale sighed loudly, he was out of a ride, but felt slightly better. At least something was in the works with Thom and Delly. And alright, maybe it wasn't the best way to get things started, but at least something good came out of Gale fucking up royally. "I can drive you," Madge offered. "I don't mind."
Gale looked up at her and nodded slightly. "If you're sure."
"Well you're the last one here," Madge said. Everyone had left without a goodbye, which Gale thought seemed fair. He had contributed to a very awkward situation. It made sense they just let him sleep. "So it's either ride with me or sleep on Finnick's couch."
Gale pushed himself to his feet, thankful he was feeling more sober, and offered her a grateful smile. She didn't seem to notice. They said goodbye to Finnick together and entered the cold before climbing into Madge's car. It was silent as they buckled their seat belts, and neither of them reached to turn the radio on.
They were halfway to Gale's when he said, "I don't have a thing for Delly." Madge barely glanced at him. "Thom has a thing for Delly. Like, a big thing."
"Kay," Madge murmured. She was very, very focused on driving.
God dammit, he'd already ruined the plan. Might as well go all in. Gale cleared his throat. "I have a thing for you," he said. He watched Madge tense up and readjust her grip on the steering wheel. "I had too much to drink. Saw the blonde hair. Thought it was you."
That caused her to turn. "What?"
Gale exhaled deeply, turning to look out the window. "I thought it was you," Gale said again. "Instead I kissed the girl my best friend is in love with and ruined something I'd been working up the courage to do for months." Madge was gripping the steering wheel fiercely. "Just thought you should know."
Madge was quiet the rest of the ride to his apartment, and Gale couldn't bring himself to look at her. He'd fucked things up so badly he was sure she wanted nothing to do with him. But when she finally stopped outside his apartment she killed the engine, turning to look at him.
"You thought Delly was me?" she asked.
Gale had been reaching for his seat belt, but he stopped, turning to look her head on. "Yeah."
"You were trying to kiss me?" Madge asked, trying to verify this completely.
"Yes," Gale said with a nod. She looked like she didn't believe him. Gale wasn't sure if he should elaborate or thank her for the ride and leave. He chose to elaborate, because again, he was pretty sure he'd already screwed his chances up. "I'm not good at relationships," he said. "Ever since Katniss…" Gale trailed off and shook his head slightly. "She really screwed me up, you know?"
"You seem fine," Madge said. "You hook up with girls all the time."
"Well, whatever." He reached for his seat belt again, this time getting it unclicked, but Madge reached out before he could climb from her car. "I used to hook up with girls all the time," Gale nearly snapped. "But not since–fuck, Undersee, I like you." He looked up at her with a huff. "And I can't–I'm not good at liking people because it scares the shit out of me. So I drank a little more than I should've, and I fucked it up. Okay? I'm sorry."
"You didn't," she said softly. Gale paused with his hand on the door. "You didn't screw it up," Madge clarified. Gale turned to her again but she was looking down at the steering wheel. "I've… liked you for ages."
He hesitated. "You have?" And just as hesitantly, she tipped her head forward. Gale scooted toward the console. "Madge," he murmured. Maybe he could still salvage this. Who was he kidding? He could definitely salvage this. "Look at me."
Gale reached out to cup her cheek the second her eyes met his. "Gale…" she breathed.
"I don't know why I thought I needed a mistletoe," he exhaled, leaning in halfway and giving her a chance to meet him there.
And when she did his other hand crawled up to cup her other cheek. It was soft, and quick, and sweet, and when he pulled away Gale pinned his forehead to hers. She smiled wonderfully and he thought he could melt.
"Well," Madge said, her voice a little higher than usual, "tonight was a mess."
Gale rubbed his thumb across her chin and grinned. "Could've been worse," he countered.
Gale never considered his mistake could've been fixed in seconds, too.