Panem High School {COMPLETED}

Chapter 36 - Madge

(Madge's POV)

Saturday afternoon, I text Gale. 'I know you're upset. Can we talk?" There. Completely emotionless. Not that you can put much emotion into a text. His reply is just as brief: 'Sure.' He's at my door twenty minutes later, and when I open it, he doesn't look happy.

"Gale, I'm so sorry," I start immediately. "I wasn't thinking last night. I shouldn't have said that."

Gale sighs. "Do you really believe it?"

I shake my head, eyes wide. "Of course not!"

Gale shakes his head and sighs. "Part of you must believe it, since you said it."

Is that true? Do I really believe that? I don't think I do. "I...I think, when people get upset, they say things they don't believe or mean, just to hurt the other person. I don't believe what I said. I'm sorry..." I can't start crying. I quickly wipe away a tear threatening to fall.

Gale frowns at me for a minute, then wraps his arms around me in a hug. "It's ok, shh."

"I'm so sorry," I say quietly.

"I'm sorry, too. It's ok. You were upset." Gale pulls back and throws a lopsided smile at me. "I have a feeling that isn't the only thing you wanted to talk about, though."

I smile. "Nope." I step aside so Gale can come in. We stroll to the living room, and sit side-by-side on the couch.

"So, what's up?" Gale says, casually, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Well...I wanted to talk about Clove...why don't you like her?"

Gale's face grows serious. "Well...first impressions are hard to push down, Madge."

I nod. "Yeah. But she's different now. Just ask Cato."

"You don't even know if they're dating."

"It's obvious!" I exclaim.

"Well, don't go stating it as fact until you've heard it from them, ok?"

"Fine. But you never answered my question."

He sighs. "I don't know...I guess just because she acted so much like Glimmer, maybe even worse, and you know how I feel about Glimmer. And then she yelled at you that morning. That didn't help."

I brighten. "She explained why she did that last night. It was because she didn't want to pull me down with her."

Gale nods. "All right, sounds reasonable."

I wait a minute, but he doesn't say anything more. "So...? Will you give her a chance?"

Gale thinks about this, then says, "All right. I'll give her a chance. For your sake."

I smile and throw my arms around his neck. "Thank you! You won't regret it!"

"We'll see about that," he mumbles into my hair. I choose to ignore that.

I pull back after minute, starting "Cato and Clove would be so cute together. Let's see. If we're Gadge, and Finnick and Annie are Fannie-"

"Since when did Finnick and Annie have a ship name?" Gale

"Since this morning," I say. "Anyway, what would Cato and Clove's be?"

Gale shrugs. "I don't know...um...Cave?" He laughs.

I roll my eyes. "No! How about... Oh! I know! Clato!"

Gale nods slowly. "Sounds good." I smile. For a few minutes, we sit in a comfortable silence. Gale breaks it by saying, "You know, you're cute when you smile like that. That smile that you do when you're proud of yourself, or accepting a compliment. It's cute.

I look down and smile at my hands, which are resting in my lap. Gale's hand finds his way to mine, and I look up into his startling gray eyes. We both lean in, and our lips meet.

That kiss, my first kiss, in the most unromantic spot possible, is even more amazing than anything I've ever dreamed. It's light, almost hesitant, and incredibly sweet and gentle. More gentle than I knew Gale could be. As we pull away, I smile sweetly. Nothing could ruin this moment.

~~~~

Turns out, a lot of things can ruin a moment. Your dad walking in on your first kiss, for instance. Your dad embarrassing you by making dad jokes right afterwards, for another, and scaring off your boyfriend. Your parents both wanting all the details, for a third. I refuse to budge on my "I don't know more than I need to about your love life, so same goes for mine" stance, and my parents give up. Being an only child really does stink sometimes.

The second I'm alone, I call Katniss. She freaks out almost as much as I do, about the kiss. I tell her all the details.

The weekend goes by incredibly slowly after that. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't wait for Monday to roll around. I can't wait to see Gale again.

~~~~

Bright and early Monday morning, I'm at school, looking for any evidence that Clato could be real. I spot Clove fairly quickly, sitting alone in the cafeteria. I sit at a table not too far away, and pretend to read.

Soon after, Cato sits next to her, and puts his arm around her. I can't hear what they're saying, but his arm is literally around her. If they aren't dating, they've got some strange problems.

Annie sits down next to me. "How's it going?" I suddenly remember that I forgot to tell her about everything that happened Saturday. I quickly explain, with as many details as I can remember. She looks so proud when I tell her about the kiss. Of course she is. She and Peeta have been playing matchmaker for three years now. Must be nice to see some results.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she says quietly. Annie says everything quietly. She's just naturally quiet and calm. Teachers love her for a different reason than they love me: she pays attention and never disrupts class; meanwhile. Even though I might talk sometimes, I also make the highest grades, after Finch Carrington. But Finch is really antisocial. She never participates in class, just quietly does her work.

"What do you think?" I ask Annie, pointing to Cato and Clove. "Think they're dating?"

"I think you should just invite them to sit with us at lunch and ask them."

Well. That makes sense. "All right."