Deep In The Meadow -Gale Hawthorne-

Finally

Leilani Everdeen

Gale and I ate our lunch together at the hob. "I'm going to miss you." I said and he looked over at me with a smile. "What will you be doing whilst I'm working in the mines?" Gale asked and I chuckled. "No idea, I'll probably go hunting still for my family and yours." I said and Gale chuckled, shaking his head.

"What's happening with us?" Gale asked suddenly and I spat some soup out, wiping my mouth with my napkin I looked up at him. "I have no idea." I said and he wiped my lip making me blush. "My mother hasn't stopped going on about 'us', neither has Posy." Gale said and I chuckled, he took a bite of bread. "Same with my mum and Prim." I said and he smiled.

He leant towards me, his warm breath tickling my face. "So?" Gale questioned, his lips inches from mine. "What do you say?" Gale asked and I blushed, I responded with a kiss, he smiled into it and so did I, till we both pulled away chuckling. "So, is that a yes?" Gale asked and I rolled my eyes. "Yes, you idiot." I said and he pressed his lips to mine, cupping my hair.

I felt bad being happy, not knowing what was happening to my sister. "Hey, what's the matter?" Gale asked, wiping a tear from my eye. "It's just, Katniss, even though she wanted us to be together I feel bad being happy knowing what's lying in store for her." I said and Gale sighed. "Katniss is smart y'know." Gale said and I bit my lip, nodding.

We walked out of the hob and towards my house. "Are you coming in?" I asked Gale who nodded and following me in to mother and Prim. Gale was holding my hand, Prim and mother looked up and glanced down at our hands, they both smiled wide and Prim ran to hug me. "Are you two?" Mother asked and I nodded, glancing up at Gale. "Thank you." Mother whispered to him and he nodded.

"My mom said to come over for dinner tonight." Gale said to me, my mother and Prim. "Are you sure?" Mother asked and he nodded. "Of course, Leilani helps my mother out so it's the least she can do." Gale said and I smiled up at him. "See you tonight." I said and he planted a kiss on my forehead. "See you tonight." I said and he left the house. "I can't believe you and Gale are boyfriend and girlfriend." Prim said and I chuckled.

"I'm so happy!" Prim gushed and I rolled my eyes, pushing my little sister playfully. We headed to the bakery to get some cakes for tonight. "Here, have them for nothing." Mr Mellark told me, I looked up at him. "No, no... I must pay." I said and he shook his head. "You don't. We're in this together now." Mr Mellark said and my mother pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you." Mother whispered quietly and he nodded, passing us a beautifully decorated cake. Alyx, Peeta's brother walked out of the back of the bakery and smiled at me.

"How you holding up?" Alyx asked and I sighed. "I just hope the two of them make it out of this alive." I said and he furrowed his eyebrows. "That's not gonna happen, my mother said district 12 might have a winner this year, and she wasn't talking about Peeta." Alyx said and I smiled softly. "They'll be ok, Katniss will make sure of it." I said and left the bakery, Alyx and I were pretty close - he was the same age as Gale and I, our family's had grew up together in the nicer part of town, Hazelle lived in The Seam, that's where Gale got his olive complexion from like Katniss who took after our father, Prim and I had blonde hair and blue eyes like our mother.

It was the first day of The Hunger Games after Katniss had scored an 11 in the training yesterday. I felt shaky and lightheaded, the Cornicopia was always a bloodbath and I hoped Katniss would stay well away and not get tempted by a bow and arrow.

We got ready to go over to Hazelle and Gale's, I was excited to see Posy again, she really was a sweet little girl. We got the cake and a loaf of bread and carried it over, I knocked on the door and Vick answered. "Mum, Gale! The Everdeen's are here!" Vick said, moving to let us in. Gale and Hazelle come out of the kitchen and Hazelle hugged me tightly. "Thank you for being there for him." Hazelle whispered in my ear, I smiled as Gale wrapped his arm around my waist.

Rory put the TV on. "Leilani!" Posy squealed, pulling me into a tight hug. "Hey Posy." I said and she giggled. "Are you really Gale's girlfriend?" Post asked and I nodded, she squealed again and tightened her grip on me, Rory and Vick shook their heads and rolled their eyes. She went and showed Prim her dolls whilst Hazelle, my mother and I prepared dinner. "We'll look after each other, alright? No matter the outcome." Hazelle said and I hugged her tightly. "Thank you."

I tucked Posy to bed once she'd had her dinner and stroked her hair till she fell asleep, I felt so sorry for her not knowing what she was growing up to be involved into, Gale was waiting at the door, smiling at us. He wrapped me into a tight hug, pulling me close to him. I breathed in his familiar scent, which was comforting to me. "She'll be okay," Gale whispered and I nodded. "Katniss is strong." Gale said and I sighed, he pressed his lips to my forehead. "C'mon."

We sat in front of the tv, I felt sick after that enormous dinner. Gale's hand found mine and I entwined our fingers, needing his support.