To Kill a Mockingjay

We stood in front of the house trying to work up the courage to open the door to face Gale. I thought of a few theories that could possibly happen because of his presence. One, he could tear Peeta and I apart. Two, he could not only tear us apart but I would leave Peeta for himself. Three, I could digress because of this little visit. All of them are horrible, I barely had time or the strength to come up with any positive lists.

"It's now or never," Peeta said. His voice was firm but encouraging. He opened the door slowly, the house was dark and empty in the front. He walked in first, I followed in after a moment. He headed for the kitchen while I tried to catch my breath in the hallway.

"Don't tell me you're sick of me already." His voice came from the top of the stairs. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I froze. My heart was pounding like a hammer and gaining severe speed. I looked above me, there he was. He began to walk down the steps when Peeta walked in.

"Gale." He rejoiced. Gale smiled but never took his eyes away from mine. I stood defensively.

"Calm down Katnip," He chuckled. I cocked an eyebrow. "I have no tricks up my sleeves, I thought you'd be happy to see me." His lips twitched from trying to fight the laughter.

"I am." I croaked. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and then he was in my arms. He swept me up off of my feet and twirled us, I let my arms twist around his neck as we took in one another's embrace. Tears overwhelmed me and I began to sob. "Shhhhh," he breathed against my neck. I felt Peeta leave the room, guilt began to rise inside of me, but then Gale called out to him. He set me down and ran after Peeta. Instead of him being upset about my moment with Gale, he was having a moment of his own. His hands were shaking violently, his pupils were huge.

"Katniss...." Gale put his arm out to keep me away. "It's okay." I pushed him away and grabbed Peeta's hand. "Peeta?" I whispered. His eyes shot right through me. A tinge of fear hit me, I began to back away a little but his hands tightened around me. "Peeta!" My voice was a loud screech, Haymitch was at my side then. How long has he been here? Did he just get here?

"What the hell is going on here?" His voice was strained. He reeked of alcohol and depression. "I don't know, when Gale and I hugged he went under!" Haymitch pushed me out of the way and grabbed Peeta. He began to drag him towards the stairs and up to our bedroom as Peeta yelled and tried to break free from Hatmitch's grasp. "You and Gale get out of here, I will take care of him." Then they were gone.

We were outside in that instant, no questions asked. We ran away from the house and towards the woods. As we ran, I noticed that he still had his backpack and a blanket around his shoulders, his skin had been kissed from the sun, his muscles are more exemplified through his newer clothes, time did him well.

We ran for miles until we were far enough in the woods where no one could bother us. I stood against a tree as he laid his blanket down and set his backpack off to the side. "Tell me, is that normal?" His voice was filled with curiosity.

"He hasn't had an episode like that in weeks, I don't know what set him off. But for the most part, yeah, it's normal. I have them too."

His eyes widened a little. "Mine aren't as horrific." He nodded and looked away. I bit my lip, trying to formulate words.

"What about you? How are you?" I asked. He shot me an odd look, I couldn't name it. It frightened me. "I've been better, I've gotten better jobs, better pay, and have had more freedom. I know what you want to ask, so just ask." He smiled seductively. His answer took me aback, yes, I wanted to know if he was seeing anyone, but why should I even care? I have Peeta.

"I've seen a few girls, but nothing too serious."He smiled, I nodded.

"I've thought about you a lot lately, Katniss." I nodded again.

"Does that mean anything to you?" His face broke a little. He's never shown this much emotion before, how do I respond? My lips parted, but I couldn't make a sound. "I know you've thought about me too, it's written all over your face." He was stepping closer to me now. I took my eyes away form him, trying to find the air that suddenly refused to meet my lungs. "It's okay, Katniss, I know how you are with Peeta, I don't want to take that away from you."

"You're not even going to try?" For some strange reason, I was very disappointed.

"I've gotten over it, maybe you should too."