This is not really an Everthorne story. It's more like an Everthorne-friendship-falling-apart story. Warning: Sad.
In the fall, we circled through the leaves
And talked about the little ones
And we smiled, but never say too much,
The moment always vanishing
One by one, the neighbors' lights come on
Our October day is almost gone
Gale and Katniss's Sunday routine had been the same for years, ever since they met: the day was spent out in the woods, hunting, and sometimes just hanging out. Talking was a rare occurrence between them. Not that they didn't want to speak to each other, but because they knew each other's thoughts so well.
But one autumn day, Katniss's thoughts ran deeper than usual. Her sister Primrose would be of reaping age next May. She wanted nothing more than for her family to be able to escape the annual horror of the reaping. There was only one way they could do that.
"What if we ran away? You, me, our families? We could live out in that old cabin in the woods. We know how to hunt, we could provide for our mothers and siblings."
"We could do it, yes," Gale reasoned, "but what about Posy? She's barely four. And remember what happened last time you took Prim hunting?"
Of course Katniss remembered. Prim's soft heart had been so sensitive that she had broken down crying when her older sister had shot a deer. She started to see that maybe her idea wasn't so feasible.
When it started getting dark, they slipped back under the fence and walked to their houses. The porch lights of every home in the Seam lit their path.
I know the borderlines we drew between us
Keep the weapons down, keep the wounded safe,
And I know our antebellum innocence
Was never meant to see the light of our armistice day
Being in the Hunger Games had permanently changed Katniss. Going into the arena had caused her affections to shift. Gale was still special to her, but Peeta was the one who made her feel alive. He had something Gale would never have—-the common experience of the horror of the Games.
Katniss and Gale started to grow apart. Their relationship was strained even more after the Third Quarter Quell.
In the spring, we climbed the rolling hills
And talked about our budding plans.
And we smile, our faces like a mirror,
Showing us our secret side
"There is no District 12." Now that they were standing among the rubble of their former home, they were close to losing all hope.
The people of District 13 had welcomed them and the other refugees from 12, but they had also integrated them into their rebellion activities. Katniss had a major role as the face of the revolution, the Mockingjay. Gale threw himself into military training, designing weapons to be used against the Capitol.
But today, they were paying a visit to the desolation that used to be District 12, to remind themselves of what they were fighting for. Neither of them said much, still feeling the loss of their home and friends, and learning how to navigate their changing relationship with each other.
But in the fight,
The sharp words splintering the night,
How I couldn't be what you need
But oh, how I could make you bleed!
They may once have had a chance with each other, but with the uncertain future they were facing, they could no longer find comfort in each other. Gale knew Katniss didn't feel anything for him, but he still fought for the place in her heart which had been left empty with Peeta's capture and hijacking.
Their personalities differed too much for them to remain close friends. Both of them had seen violence, but while Gale desired revenge to pay back all the wrongs he had suffered, Katniss desired balance—-someone who could help her out of the dark hole of despair she had fallen into. Gale was too hot-tempered to be able to do that.
How much would I give to have you back again?
How much did we lose to live this way?
How had they gone from inseparable friends and partners to slowly drifting apart? Trauma had brought them together, and trauma had driven a wedge between them. They had been able to bond over losing their fathers and becoming the breadwinners of their families, but they had lost that togetherness the two times Katniss went into the Hunger Games. They would never be able to get it back. Innocence lost could never be regained.
You go home, I'll stay here
Seasons keep on marching
I'll stay here, you go home
With only strangers watching
It was an inconceivable tragedy. Prim's death was a nightmare that Gale could never know for sure if he was responsible for. Katniss kept asking, "Were the bombs yours? The ones that were dropped were your design."
Gale wished he could give her an answer other than, "I don't know." Uncertainty was tormenting him as much as it was her. He didn't even know if he should feel guilty.
Katniss couldn't live with not knowing if Gale had been involved in her sister's death, inadvertently or not. If they couldn't move on from this, there was only one course of action for them.
Gale was leaving. He would go to District 2 to take an administration job. The rift between him and Katniss would never be mended. "Goodbye, Gale." With those words, she closed the door forever on her former friend.
I know the borderlines we drew between us
Keep the weapons down, keep the wounded safe,
And I know our antebellum innocence
Was never meant to see the light of our armistice day
Please R & R!