Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Well, there is a new Hunger Games about to happen in Town…” said the blond girl, playing with her hair and lying against the counter.

“Oh, Annabeth! That’s such a horrible way to bring him good news!” complained Delly.

Both girls were at the bakery, gossiping with the blond boy at the register. Annabeth just gave them a sassy laugh.

“But it’s true!” She says, so inadequate, matching her mischievous sense of humor. Annabeth looked both ways to make sure the three of them were alone at the Bakery. No other client was in view; Peeta’s parents were not there, and no sound was coming from the kitchen. Then, she cleared her throat. “Uh-hum. So… Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen are no longer dating”.

Peeta’s eyes went wide open. Now the girls have his attention. 

It was true. Katniss and Gale had slipped up with whatever they had a couple of days ago. It wasn’t a surprise to anyone when people finally heard they were together - the real shock was that they barely lasted three months.

“For real? How do you know that?” Peeta asked, very engaged, very entertained by this conversation. Why so engaged? He asks himself. I shouldn’t care. He was almost asking Grace Lincoln out, and he had already done everything he could do about Katniss years ago. Hell, only three months ago, he gave his final shot with her, although he still couldn’t quite understand what her final answer was. When the Gale gossip had started, everything could finally be over - all his doubts, his hopes, even his love for the girl (or he really hoped so). Yes, he could stop this odd obsession he accidentally acquired by looking at the daughter of his dad's first love and move on. 

But now, just hearing the name of the girl who lives in his dream state is enough to quit anything he says to himself. 

“I asked him yesterday!” Answers Annabeth, smiling ear to ear. “While I was… kissing him on the slag heap”. She whispers the last part. Delly followed her words with an excited smile towards Peeta. Both of the girls knew that Peeta had a little crush on Katniss since what?! The first day of school? But only Delly knows that Katniss and Peeta were close for a while… Until they weren’t.

“Tell him more! Tell him everything.” Delly begged.

The whole story started a little more than three months ago.

Gale and Katniss were at the Hob, eating Grease Sae’s soup, close to New Year’s Eve. To Gale, this date only brought a painful memory of Darius playing around with Katniss’ hair, asking for her kisses, serious enough for Gale to realize he did care for the girl, but slow enough to fight for her heart before another fellow stole it. To Katniss… New Year’s Eve was the date she first kissed a boy in her life. A kiss that stuck so much, wrecked every brick on her wall, and destroyed everything inside her  — such a depressing date.

Two years have already passed since Katniss Everdeen wildly kissed Peeta Mellark for the first time. They first became friends in school, after Peeta slowly approached her and gradually conquered her trust. Peeta still doesn’t know well how - he’s not confident enough to understand that it wasn’t hard to make Katniss fall in love with him. He was just himself, the sweetest baker boy, a loyal and funny friend, and a good heart. Katniss fell so hard that it scared her to death - if she could, she would be his little spoon and kiss his fingers forevermore. But there was too much between them - she was just a Seam girl, she had her mother and Prim as priority, and even without all this, she just… She can’t have kids, or a husband, or a family without the constant fear of everything blowing like her dad in the mines. Then, she had no alternative but to let Peeta live his life, as he deserved, without her. They were sixteen at the time. Now, her name is out of the pool of death, and she has escaped the Hunger Games for good, forever. And, of course, since then, Peeta Mellark comes to her head every once in a while. How life could be if she were brave enough.

“You know what? I’m done!” Gale says, out of nowhere, mad, upset, looking at Katniss’ confused face. “I’m done pretending I don’t listen to people, I’m done explaining why I still didn’t take your hand for marriage. So I’m going to at least ask you a question, because the last time I didn’t, you flew far away from me.” Gale took a deep breath, with the hot bone soup in his hands. “What do you see for us? What do you want from me?”

Katniss looked at both sides, embarrassed. From all the places in the world where he could bring this conversation, he chose the crowded one. 

“Gale…”

“'Cause I still want you, ya know? I still want you badly”. Gale said.

“Well…” started Annabeth. “We were kind of flirting, you know, distant eyes, some exchange of words in the public market or when he traded with my dad… For a couple of weeks, he was completely indifferent to me. And I’ve heard from Genevive Sinclair that he and Katniss Everdeen were officially a thing this year. Then, a couple of days ago, he opened himself up to my flirting, being oh-so very indiscreet by the way! He said he could show me where to collect apples if I wanted… But well, I would never go to the woods, and we went to the Slag Heap, you know, to see if maybe there were apple trees nearby… then we kissed! Like a lot!”

“And Katniss?” Asked Peeta, almost too rude for not even saying something about his friend’s biggest conquer. Almost too mad while remembering that the apple tree in the Meadow was his place with Katniss. The place they used to go to be together.

“Calm down, lovebird!” Laugh Annabeth. “Well, after a lot of kisses, I asked about his girlfriend. Everybody knew they were a thing...”

“What do you see for us?” Gale asked. After years in the woods together, Katniss has always considered Gale a friend. People even think they’re related somehow, like cousins, which they are not. What does Katniss see of them? Hunting partners. Friends. The irrational fear of crossing the friendship line again. She thought about the moments she imagined how Gale's lips would feel, right after she learned how it felt to be kissed. Then, she remembered those kisses… Peeta’s hands, mouth, and smell, alongside the heartbreaking decision to let him go. 

Katniss didn’t want to let anyone in or break anyone’s heart again. But by looking at Gale's face, she has already broken his heart anyway. So when Gale kissed her by surprise, after saying how much he wanted her, she just... Numbly kissed him back.

“…So he said that they were better just as friends.” Annabeth finished.

Katniss couldn't go much further in figuring out what Gale meant to her after that, but she could easily admit that being kissed was something. Now, her hunting Sundays with Gale also include the privilege of his lips on hers, feeling the touch of his hand racing her heart as they go even further than the time before. One day, she remembers how good the sensation of having lips on her neck is. Another day, she finds out that his hands touching her bare skin felt good, even the cold hand of his. One day, he carefully, carefully touches her breast. Finally, his hand finds a spot in the middle of her legs that she didn’t know was there. All those good sensations were going on too fast, burning everything like fire. But as quickly as the fire, all the bad sensations started to grow, while she and Gale started to misunderstand each other in every way.

“What are you thinking?” Gale whispers that one day, after smelling Katniss' scent at the point of his fingers. He slowly touches her face, putting a gentle kiss on her nose. Katniss' eyes were closed and she was leaning back against a tree, having Gale on her front. She felt the freshening blow of the wind, the warmth of Gale’s lips, and she listened to the few mockingjays’ ordinary whistle. She didn’t have to make too much of an effort to be just another part of nature.

“Nothing.” She said, smiling. After all the thinking she did with Peeta when they were (somehow, for some time) together, to give herself the privilege of not thinking about anything was a luxury. Fed by lust, living by the present. Was it possible, is this feeling… freedom? Reckless and empty freedom?

Gale wasn't happy with the answer, though. 

“Nothing? Katniss… It doesn’t count. It’s like kissing someone drunk”.

Peeta’s heart races with excitement, even against his wishes. Just friends. Why do I mind? He thought very honestly that Katniss Everdeen was just a part of his past, until it wasn’t.

“So, how was it?!” Delly asked, giving little jumps of joy, holding her girl friend’s hands.

“Oh, Gale is amazing. He kisses sooo good… and he does things… oh. That poor girl, losing a man like this. She must have really annoyed him”. Says Annabeth.

Peeta laughed, discreetly. “I don’t think he would ever break up with her.” He said. Yes, by his experience, she’s the heartbreaker. If Peeta could guess, maybe she did to Gale the same thing she did to him: Made him fall for her to destroy him by saying she won’t ever get married and have kids or have any future with a man. Ever.

“Well, Peeta, I’m sure it was him,” Annabeth says. “When he said, ‘I thought we were better just as friends’, the rage he had in his face… My guts never fail, and my guts tell me that that girl really did something that he couldn’t ignore. And now, the Hunger Games begin, because I’m sure that stupid bitch of Genevive Sinclair already knows the news and she’s going to throw herself at Gale as soon as she can. And, if you still have a crush on her, watch out! I heard that Katniss can be such a prize for some guys…” Spit Annabeth, poisonously. “The peacekeeper, the market boy…”

The ringbell at the bakery’s door rang so furiously that Annabeth gave a quick, scared jump. Rye Mellark entered fast and breathless, locking the doors of the store in despair before seeing that the girls were in there. 

“Oh, c’mon girls!”' He sighs, impatiently unlocking the door. “Look, go to your home and don’t go out at night or anything. It’s too dangerous outside now”.

“What’s going on, Rye?” Delly asked.

“The new Head Peacekeeper arrived today, and he’s not very peaceful. He’s right now whipping Gale Hawthorne at the square”.

Chapter Text

“Katniss… It doesn’t count. It’s like kissing someone drunk.” Gale says.

Gale broke her peaceful mood and reminded Katniss that she wasn’t part of nature. She wasn’t a flower, or a bird, or one of the tree’s branches where she lay her body. She was very human, with very human feelings, such as jealousy.

“How do you know? Have you ever kissed someone drunk?” She says.

“No, but it’s not hard to imagine” Gale said, giving an ironic laugh. 

Katniss knew that Gale was a good-looking boy, probably with a lot of volunteers to kiss his lips. She used to hear some girls whispering about him at school. She never thought much about it, because in general, before kissing Peeta, she never put her mind to such subjects. But now, fire is consuming. Jealousy, envy, possession, curiosity. “So, who did you kiss? And where?”

“Too many to remember. Behind the school, on the slag heap, you name it…” Gale spat, proud of himself, but just as jealous as she was. And also angry. Why does she talk like she’s pure when he knows he wasn’t her first man? “Just haven’t in the apple trees.” He said, and it was like lighting the fuse.

“Yeah, it was probably busy.” She quickly shot back.

Gale and Katniss faced each other, both of them swallowing all the bad words they wanted to scream at each other. The mood is heavy, the sensation of being in the middle of a non-declared fight, when you have to evaluate if it’s worth saying out loud all your mad, impulsive thoughts, knowing that you have to be there to listen to an answer. Gale has so much to say. Katniss too. But in the end, he just approaches her very slowly, holds her chin, and puts a kiss on her lips to remind her who she’s kissing now. To Katniss, the fight was over, but she should have known better. People in relationships should know that every unresolved situation always comes back to bite them in the tail.

The very next Sunday, it happened again. Katniss was talking about Rory, Gale’s sixteen-year-old brother who hunts with her during the week while Gale is in the mines. Katniss has been teaching him how to shoot and do traps, and on Sundays, the only day of the week that Gale is out of the mines, she tells him about his brother’s improvement.

“He’s better with the bow now,” she said, pulling an arrow out of a squirrel and handing it to Gale, who hangs the squirrel from a brace at his hip. “He just needs to be a little bit smoother with the merchants”.

“You’re not smooth. I’m not smooth. Why should he be?” Gale asked.

“You and I used to accept anything for a trade when we began. Also, we had some tips my father taught me before dying. Rory, he… He’s just rude; He doesn’t hide how much he despises them. No one will trade with a boy like that.”

“I still don’t see how different he is from us” Gale rolls his eyes.

“I don’t despise them. And we got older, better, and we’ve earned their respect. He’s just being proud and stubborn without a reason.” Katniss makes her point, displeased.  “He tried to haggle with Rooba! It almost got ugly to a certain point.”

“I’m gonna talk to him, but I don’t see a flaw in his being firm, like he is. If he thinks the merchants can pay better, then they should. If something, I think you just soften yourself with the Merchants...” Gale doesn’t even give Katniss a look while he provokes her. He’s putting a trap in its place, he's cold while talks, but burning by the jealousy to remember that boy again. That merchant. The way she kissed him… the nerve to bring him into the woods, under the Apple trees… The jealousy he felt when he first saw them…

“Well, Gale, I haven’t been fattening the squirrels or turkeys, so they’re not different as usual. Why do we suddenly think they are worth more now? Our rules and our deals are fine the way they are, aren't they?” Katniss also doesn’t look Gale in the eye. She definitely understood that his shit-talking, and she decided to pretend she didn’t. But she’s so pissed that she can’t stand even to be in his presence. But Gale is loud now, and he wants to face her, to make sure she’s facing him while she has the guts to defend merchants over his brother.

“They really don't have any other option but to trade with us!” He yells. “No one else does what we do. We can tell our prices anytime”. 

“We are not special, Gale, don’t think we are. We are just trying to bring food to our homes, that’s it. If someone else has the same idea as us, and is brave enough to face the woods rather than face hunger, we are replaceable. But not if we are loyal to people. Honest with people. Most of them were more than fair to us; They put aside a good trade to help two little kids have something to eat. They kept trading the usual with us after my father died, in respect to him. Don’t let a sixteen-year-old boy put ideas in your head!”

“I already said I’ll talk to him. He’ll know better before talking to merchants again” Gale said.

“Maybe he shouldn’t. He’s good with the traps, I can do the talking.”

“Yeah, but you won't do it forever, so he has to learn how to do everything…” Gale thought out loud. Too loud, enough to catch her attention.

“What do you mean, I won't do it forever?!” Katniss asks, madly looking at Gale’s face.

“I don't know…” He said. “Maybe Rory and Vick can learn enough to be out of the mines. I’ll be there forever, I know it, and you can do anything else you want. Stay at home, help your mother and Prim with the sick…”

“Why would I do that?” She said.

She has never been good at helping her mother and Prim. Actually, Katniss never really tried. Only being around people with all types of diseases, from accidents to burns, starvation, and occasionally pregnant ladies giving birth, was enough for her to be out of there as soon as she could. And Gale knows that. Gale knows everything about her. Why would she leave the only place where she feels good? Where she belongs, where she knows what to do, where she doesn’t feel useless?

“I don't know, Katniss. I’m just saying.”

“No, you're not just saying.” You are suggesting, she thought. But for what?! “You don't want me here!?” She yells. “You want me to stop hunting eventually, and for what?”

“I'm not saying shit. Just thinking out loud, thinking about all the options.”

Oh, no. Do all the options include leaving the woods to Gale’s brothers, while he works at the mines and she takes care of their kids at home? Is that it? Katniss never considered this scenario once in her lifetime. 

She felt shocked, angry, and disappointed with him for saying this. Worst, for not saying this. For passively-aggressively saying things that he knows she’ll hate, but never saying it directly. Letting her do the work of reading his mind to interpret things, but she is taken as crazy while he denies that she guessed correctly.  

“I got one option, and it is to do the only thing my father taught me before dying. You got it?” She said, firmly.

Gale felt silent. 

And that should be the end of it. Gale didn’t say anything before that, and Katniss was stubborn enough to keep the awkward silence between them, like a game that has no winners. On that day, they went together to do the trading in town and didn’t exchange a word with each other. After that, Sundays just felt different, like the first day of cold weather after a season of sun. Familiar and unknown at the same time. She felt like all Sundays were like when you dream you’re doing something that you do every day, but you know it’s not real. You know you’ll wake up. But for some reason, she and Gale were just make-believe versions of each other that never did.

The last Sunday of their relationship was the Sunday Katniss broke the mutual deal of not being themselves with each other. She didn’t even think much. She was just brutally honest with him and letting out all the paranoia that bubbled in her head during the last days.

“Gale, are you trying to annoy me?” She said, after he answered two of her questions in a neutral tone without eye contact. Kissing? Forget about it. It was the second or third Sunday that he didn’t even hug her like he used to. “To see how far I can go? To see how much I can handle? Because that is what it seems…” Katniss was loud enough to make the birds and the prey run from them, like they never did in the presence of the two silent hunters. “We don't talk, we don't negotiate, we just disagree with each other and ignore it until next Sunday, when you conveniently find some topic to argue more. What the hell are you doing?!”

“What am I doing?” No, Gale wanted to believe she didn’t say that. “I'm planning forward, Katniss! This is what people in a relationship do.”

“Well, if you're planning my life, you should see with me if I agree with your terms.” She spit.

“You never agree. You don't want anything. Then tell me, what are you thinking?”

Then, of course, she felt silent. She thinks Gale was the bad guy, but she can’t handle the truth when it comes around. Gale realized that when he said something real to her, she just answered defensively and vaguely. She doesn’t take a step further to improve what they have, and when he gets mad and keeps it to himself, trying not to spill on her everything, she says that he is trying to annoy her? He? 

“Nothing, huh? You always says 'nothing', so what the hell are you doing here?” He said. Now, if she wanted to finally be real, he was ready to listen.

“I'm here, Gale! Isn't it enough?”

For a moment, it could be. But how long until the moment is over?

“No, and whoever told you it was enough lied to you.” Gale answered. “What did you think when you brought him to our woods? What did you think while you were kissing him?”

And the conversation comes back to him, again. Gale never ceases to let Peeta Mellark go. And deep down, neither does Katniss.

“Nothing! He told me not to think about shit, because being there for as long as I could was enough for him!” She kept her angry tone with Gale.

“He told you not to think because he knew you were doomed to fail. You were never going to work out because he’s from town, you are from seam, and that's what town people want from us, explore sexually and then marry their kind.” 

“Oh, wait — wasn’t it you who rubbed in my face all those pretty girls in town you made out with?”

“Yes, and at least it’s fair and reciprocal to use them back like they use me. But you! I asked you, clearly, what you see from us and what you want from me, and you never gave me a fucking answer!”

Katniss and Gale were almost screaming and talking at the same time, their voices becoming the saddest duet a couple of lovers ever shared in the woods.

“For fucks sake, Gale!”

“I’m not him, I want you to think about us!”

“I’m here, completely open to you, giving all I can to you, doing my best to not question about tomorrow, because you know and he knew, that if I think juuust a little bit further, I’m not going to be here!” Katniss said. “I won't have kids or get married, and it won't change! You were the one who said you wanted me, and I gave you what you wanted, but now you said it isn't fucking enough for you!”

Gale felt silent for just one minute. He knew she was being real, and that’s the problem. She would do anything for him… Even kiss him to heal his heart. And she thinks that's what he wanted. But he wants her.

Maybe that’s the reason she broke up with the baker boy. Can anyone have her?

“Fine, thank you for an honest answer for once.” The leaves gently touched the floor, and the hurricane they created was over, finally, over. Because Gale had just given up. “You don't wanna be here, then don't be. I want you, and I didn’t lie, but it means I want you for good. I don't wanna leftovers from your relationship with another guy. I want you to want me. Do you, at least, want me ever?”

“I love you, Gale…”

“I know you love me, and I know the way you do. But don't you go and tell me that you love me while you leave me, if you're gonna leave me now. Just answer… You never, ever, wanted me?”

Katniss Everdeen didn’t answer. So her last words to Gale were I love you. And Gale accepted to leave with these final words rather than hear the truth.  

“For our own good, Katniss, I’ll forget I ever asked you anything. I see you on Sundays.”

Peeta knew Annabeth wouldn’t run to her house, and wherever Anna is, Delly comes after. So, as soon as Rye announces the whipping, there’s nothing Peeta could do but leave the bakery to his brother’s care and follow the girls. 

The square is just in front of the Bakery and the other merchant’s store; it doesn’t take two minutes to see the scene. They’re not alone. Almost all the district is there, suffering collectively in a silent gasp. How old is this boy, twenty? He has younger brothers to provide for, Peeta knew that - Katniss told him once. Three, if he remembers well. What could he possibly have done to end like this?

“He’s been trading with Ulisses since Cray died. But Ulisses was just a temporary head peacekeeper. Gale went to his house with the turkey in hand, and there was this guy, the new Head Peacekeeper, named Romulus Thread. Gale denied it, said that the turkey crossed the fence and he killed it with a rock, but even that seems to be a crime.” Someone whispered to Annabeth, someone that Peeta doesn’t know, but overheard.

“And the peacekeeper on the floor?” Delly asked.

“Around the 40th streak, he held the Head’s hand and said it was enough. He didn’t even see when the guy punched him in the neck, passing him out completely.”

The sound of the whip was deafening against Gale’s back. People were slowly stepping out, leaving the square in a state of shock, while others stood frozen, paralyzed by fear. Blood spilled everywhere; the young man was in the middle of a pool of flesh and blood. He was about to die, for sure, if he stayed there any longer. How many strikes did he receive? Wasn’t that enough?

Then, Peeta saw some agitation in the crowd beside him, and he heard her voice again. How long since he last heard her voice? Maybe two years. 

All his instincts made him leave the front of the circle and drag an agitated Katniss away from the scene, while she cries and screams. What was the last time he had her in his arms? Not the moment to think about it. Katniss moves to try to get away, but Peeta carries bags of flour heavier than her since he learned how to grab things. She could try as much as she wants.

“Let me go!” She screamed. “Peeta, let me go! I saw him! Let me take him out, let me go!!”

Peeta put her in the ground in front of him, still holding her hands and arms stuck. He waited until the exhaustion tamed her to look right inside her eyes. How long, damn, hasn’t he done it? Yes, two long years.

“Katniss, look at me… look at me… You can’t throw yourself in front of the Head peacekeeper.” He said. “One peacekeeper tried before and got knocked out. You are going to be whipped, too, if you do the same. You can’t be punished, alright? How are your mother and Prim going to be?”

Katniss looks right into Peeta's deep blue eyes. Those eyes… He once meant so much to her that she often tries to think it never existed, just to see if it hurts a little less. And there he is, saving her life again.

“But.. He’s going to die.” Katniss sobbed, shaking from her feet to her head.  “He’s already dead, please… Let me let him out.”

“Look, we’ll find a better way, a smarter one…Ok? I’ll let you go, but you stay behind me, we have a deal?”

Katniss silently nods to agree, while Peeta takes her hand and brings her slowly to the front of the crowd. She lied, she hadn’t seen Gale, she was just called out by Levy and ran as fast as she could. Now, seeing it, was more than ugly. Katniss couldn’t breathe, and she was only standing because Peeta was still holding her hand.

Gale didn’t make any sound anymore. Whipped. He was dead. Maybe she should really throw herself in front of the peacekeeper and be punished too, be killed too, it would be easier to erase this scene from her head.

Gale received two more strikes, and she couldn’t watch it anymore. Let the punishment come.

“Isn’t that enough?” She screams at the top of her lungs.

Thread stopped to whip Gale and turn his head in the direction of the scream, looking in Katniss' direction. She yelled again, “Isn’t that enough?” While Peeta begged her to shush and the Head of peacekeepers himself walked in her direction.

“Sorry, she didn’t mean that, right?” Peeta said, raising his hand in front of them in a protective way. People around quickly understood their role. Delly and Annabeth hugged Katniss away while two other miners formed a shield by Peeta’s side. “It’s her husband, she’s in shock. How many whippings does he have to receive for his crime? Forty?”

Romulus Thread stopped walking. He looked at Darius lying on the floor, and then he glanced over to Purnia as he demanded answers. Purnia was the old peacekeeper on Twelve, a good peacekeeper. She often eats from Greasy Sae’s soup and trades with Gale some meat and plants, too. By her sorrowful look, she also recognizes Katniss.

“What’s the standard protocol here?” He asks.

“For a first offense, the required number of lashes is 45, Sr. The second one is the double, and the third one is the fire squad.” 

Thread whipped Gale one, two, three more times.

“There you go, 45.” Thread wipes his hand along the length of the whip, splattering the blood on the floor. Then, he yelled at the people: “In this district, from now on, we obey the law. Remind you, the next one who poaches off the Capitol’s land will be meeting the whip, or the fire squad, in person. Squad, let’s go”.

Some of the crowd left while the squad of peacekeepers entered their vans back to the Peacekeepers’ headquarters. Peeta discreetly whispered for the miners to wait, since no one knew if they could be charged as traitors or rebels if they helped Gale right away. But, as soon as no peacekeeper was seen, they all ran in Gale’s direction and set him free. 

The rest was just a blur, full of despair. Someone cut off the strings, and Gale’s body fell on the floor. The other one quickly found a door, and Peeta just saw himself helping the others to carry Gale to Katniss' house, to be treated by Katniss’ mother. He lost track of Delly and Annabeth, but he made a mental note to pass by the girls’ houses to see if they were fine. He helped put Gale on the dinner table, and he thinks he saw Primrose Everdeen, taller than her sister with only sixteen years old, in charge of Gale’s first aid while her mother was in another room, doing what? Calming Katniss down? Giving her some tea or syrup? He didn’t know. The moment he stood up for Katniss against an armed peacekeeper until he left her house, all just a blur. 

Especially the moment he was on the edge of Seam, almost close to town, and heard her voice screaming his name. 

“Peeta! Wait, Peeta!”

Peeta turned around to see the girl running in his direction. She didn’t slow down when she reached him, throwing herself in his arms, almost dropping both of them.

“Thank you!” She said, crying and shaking.

What was the last time he had her in his arms? Well, the meadow was a fluffly matress, the last time he held her. And let her go.

Now, what to say to the girl you love two years after no seeing each other? After helped her to save the boy she loves now? You’re welcome? Not a problem to save your boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or something? Not a problem to numbly risk my life for you?

Well, de didn’t say anything and he didn’t have the time.

Katniss quickly left his arms and ran to her house, to Gale.