Fallen Flower(G.H)

Chapter Six

I shower and comb out my hair. I change back into my clothes and step into Gales room. He's watching me from his bed and I step towards him kissing him quickly and roughly. He's surprised for half a second and then kisses me back pulling on top of him and stripping me naked.

Around an hour later I carefully get dressed again and sit up. Gale sighs and pulls me close.

"It'll be okay." He promises. "Together or not at all."

"Together or not at all." I agree. I kiss him quickly again. "I love you." I whisper. It could be the last time I say it in private.

"I love you too." He answers. He holds me close and I cuddle up to him. I feel safe in his arms but not safe enough to go to sleep. Obviously he feels the same way because he picks me up and carries me to the kitchen in the apartment and sets me on the counter. He roots through the fridge and smiles. "Remember my sixteenth birthday? You spent two days hunting and gathering to buy me something and make me a nice meal and then I found you asleep and covered in mud on my birthday." He chuckles.

"Yeah and you returned the favour a year later." I smile. He chuckles and kisses me again. He's intoxicating right about now. Nobody leaves us alone this long for a reason. Outside of the woods we're rarely alone and even in the woods we're mostly with Katniss. I kiss him back pulling him close to me. His hands start to roam my body.

"I just don't want them to change me." I say staring out the window. After our excursion into the kitchen we settled in the windowsill.

"How would they change you?" Gale asks.

"I don't want them to turn me into someone who will do anything to survive." I answer softly. "I want to stay me."

"You'll stay you." Gale brushes a piece of hair out of my face. I sit up suddenly. We haven't talked about it since the day of the reaping.

"Gale seriously. Don't go to the cornucopia. If you can grab a bag from the edge but don't go for the weapons. They'll probably have a bow but don't go for it." I urge him. Gale nods.

"I won't. We should also pick someway to find each other." He says. I think seriously for a moment.

"We can break a branch off the trees if there are trees." I answer. He nods.

"That'll work." He agrees. He takes my hand and squeezes it. I smile and squeeze his hand back. My smile isn't as bright as normal and it's a little hard to muster. He sighs and looks out the window. It's still pitch black outside aside from the city lights. We've still got hours before we have to be separated.

"Gale." I say suddenly. He looks at me. My tone of voice alarms him. "If I die."

"You're not going to die." He says harshly not wanting to entertain the thought.

"Yes but if I do, win for me. Go back and marry Katniss, be happy." I say. He looks at me and I get a feeling I've only gotten once before, I know I'm the love of his life and without me he might not be truly happy ever again.

"No. I'll win for you but I'm not marrying anyone but you." Gale shakes his head. I can see it in his eyes that he's terrified that it might happen. "If I die. You win for me okay? You don't have to get married but if you find some else don't hold back because of me."

"No Gale, there will never be another Gale Hawthorne." I say. I mean it. He's it for me. If it's not him then its no one. "I'll win for you but I'll stay single maybe become like Haymitch." The last part was a joke and Gale manages to muster a smile.

"If it's just us at the final two what are we going to do?" He asks.

"I'm not going to kill you. I could never. They'll have to kill both of us or they'll have to let both of us win." I answer.

"Good because I'm not going to kill you either." He says. He pulls me into his lap and wraps his arms around me. We stay like that for hours. Unwilling to let go possibly our last time together.

The sky is brightening and the sun starts coming up. We're both watching it from our window and I can feel my hot tears streaming down my cold face. Gale tightens his grip on me. It's the one night we wished could've gone on for eternity but it's too soon before we're separated and taken to our rooms. I'm given a pair of olive slightly tight fitting cargo pants, and a black v neck. It doesn't give me much indication of what's to come. I'm lead out to the hovercraft and handed my ring back. I slip it on and get my tracker. I'm led to a chair and Cinna braids my hair neatly.

"You can do this Sam." He says softly. I nod but I'm terrified. We both fall silent on the ride to the arena and soon enough we're into the room for the district twelve female. There's a table ladened with food and drinks but I can only manage to sip water.

"One minute." A robotic voice says and my breath catches. Cinna helps me into my jacket which has a surface that water runs off of but an interior obviously meant to keep me warm.

"Be prepared for some cold nights." Cinna warns. I nod.

"Thirty seconds." The voice says. I walk to the tube and climb in. It closes around me and I touch the walls panicking for a moment. I start to rise and I'm greeted by daylight. I take a deep breath and the smell reminds me of home. I shake my head and glance around. Woods behind and around me. A lake to one side. A field of wheat directly behind the cornucopia. An orange backpack is a few feet away from me but then I see the bow. If I had that I could win. I search the arena for Gale and soon find him. He shakes his head at me and I shake my head back. We're both thinking the same thing.

"10." I can feel the nervous energy around me and the excitement of the careerers.

"9." I position my body towards the bag.

"8." I slip up on to my toes and get ready to run.

"7." Gale is planning to head towards a bag near him.

"6." I just have to get the bag and get into the woods.

"5." These countdowns feel much shorter when you aren't in the games.

"4." Let Gale win. Please let Gale win.

"3." This could be it for me, or him, or both of us.

"2." One more second and this becomes a bloodbath.

"1."