Chapter Eight

The Re-Education of Gale Hawthorne and Peeta Mellark

It didn't really take long for Gale to come to a strange realization. He liked Madge Undersee. A Merchant girl. The Mayor's daughter. All that he felt was wrong with their world began and ended with the futility of her father. And he liked her.

The fuck?

And to add even more to his confusion (and complete irritation if he were honest with himself) he realized that he also liked…Rye Mellark. Not for the same reasons of course, because despite everything he found Madge…pretty. Beautiful even. When she smiled. When she cocked her head when she was listening. He even noticed, on their walks, which were becoming rather routine and very frequent, the way the sun would glint off her hair just so.

He certainly didn't notice those things about Rye Mellark. But what he did notice about the middle baker's son, was the ability to work hard, to joke and laugh with people that had looked at him like a rare animal his first day of work. To go toe to toe with the ones that still did. The way he loved his brother. Because you only had to mention Peeta's name to see the way pride lit up Rye's face. Gale, having also seen that particular look on Katniss' face (not to mention feeling it himself when it came to his siblings) noticed the difference. The guilt that seemed roughen the edges of that pride.

Gale thought he might understand it, since everybody knew what happened in the bakery. Rye got out, leaving Peeta behind. But from what Gale saw, Peeta was a big boy and could take care of himself. He just needed to learn to duck. And as an older sibling, he could understand Rye's need/want to protect him. It wasn't an enviable position to be in, from what Gale could see. It made him see that maybe, just maybe, Katniss had been right. That being a merchant didn't mean an easy life and it certainly wasn't free from problems.

And that was how two merchants, and not the rebellion (or even Katniss) made Gale realize he was an ass.

When he and Madge walked, they talked. She would ask about his sister and brothers, his mother. He would do the same, her mother anyway, and she would hedge and shrug and say her mother suffered from headaches. The way she said it made him think that maybe there was something else her mother suffered from, but she wasn't going to tell him. Which was fine. Because what did he care?

But he did and that was what was annoying him.

"Gale, is that you?" Hazelle's voice rang out from the back of their tiny house as Gale walked in. He had removed his boots outside and did his best to shake off as much coal dust as possible before entering the house. It took almost a year after they'd moved here to stop feeling like a stranger in his own home. They had running water and electricity. His mother even had her own washing machine. The seam homes he had grown up in were slowly being upgraded or torn down. Katniss's old house was currently being renovated by the couple that had bought it. He wondered what his friend would think if she saw it now.

"Yeah ma." Gale called back. Hazelle walked out of their small kitchen drying her hands. From the smell coming from the room, he guessed she was starting dinner. He'd pulled day shift this week so he got home in time to actually eat dinner with his family, instead of being asleep or deep in the mines while they ate.

"So I heard something in town today." Never one to beat around the bush, Hazelle pinned him with eyes that were more on the blue side than the clear grey her late husband had passed to his oldest son.

"I bet you did." Gale answered, alluding the ever rampant gossip mill that served as entertainment for most of the district. His mother had been a launderer before the war. Once the modern conveniences moved into even the poorer homes in Twelve, she had to find a different line of work. She'd started to clean the homes of the richer families that moved into the abandoned houses of the Victor's Village. Except for Haymitch Abernathy's house. That one stayed empty either in respect for the late Victor or because no one wanted to brave the condemned property.

There was also some speculation of a ghost. But Gale didn't believe in such things. No matter what the reasons, Abernathy's house remained empty although someone would go mow the grass every so often.

Basically her change of employment meant she spent more time in town since she had more money to actually go to the merchant quarter. So who knew what had reached her ears that day.

"Don't be smart." Hazelle reprimanded without any real heat. She leaned against the door frame and smirked at him.

"Can it wait until I take a shower?"

"Oh sure, sure. We're having a guest for dinner." She added, almost as an afterthought.

"Who?" Gale called, moving towards the stairs. Almost as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. He paused as his mother went to answer. He nearly tripped over the steps when he saw the familiar blonde step inside.

"Hello Madge. Please come in." And suddenly, as the smirk on his mother's face widened and his equally wide eyes met Madge's he knew what his mother had heard in town that day.

"Shit." He muttered to himself. He left the confused looking Madge with his smirking mother so he could go take a shower. He vaguely wondered if he could drown himself in the stall.

Peeta chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he walked up the steps leading to the apartment above the apothecary. The fact that he was nervous was enough to make him want to go back home. When Katniss had stumbled through her invitation for dinner that morning when she came in to buy their bread, Peeta had been too amused to say no.

Now, for some reason, he felt the pitch and role of his stomach that he hadn't felt since the first time he'd talked a girl out of her panties. Of course, the payoff for that had been bliss, no matter how short lived. This, he didn't know how to do this. To be with a girl without ulterior motives. Unless that girl was Delly Cartwright who'd only ever been like a sister to him. And now that she was engaged to Thom, well, he liked his legs unbroken thank you very much.

Since Katniss had made her declaration of friendship a few days prior, he didn't really know what to expect. He saw her again the next night when he needed to get away from his mother for a few minutes. Peeta quickly realized that Katniss wasn't much of a talker, which he already knew from seeing her in school. But he hadn't had any real experience himself. But she gamely stumbled through a few of questions, which he'd made about hunting since that seemed to be a conversation she was comfortable with. She'd ask him a few things about baking and then they'd parted ways.

The next night, Prim had come out with her. The girl, who he figured must be about fourteen or fifteen, chattered nonstop. He knew about her favorite color, how much she enjoyed working in the apothecary, how her best friend Rory was getting a part time job delivering medicine for them to the older clients that couldn't get into town as much. Katniss had only spoken up a few times, her face showing an affectionate indulgence when she looked at Prim. He'd only ever seen one other place.

His brother Rye.

It gave Peeta a pleasant feeling to know that when it came to Prim, Katniss was just like his brother. He also noticed that the smile she wore made her whole face light up, making her look very pretty. Then he reminded himself that neither one of them wanted that type of relationship-really, Peeta wasn't equipped to handle one with her-and he concentrated on Prim.

It was when the questions about Rye started that Peeta was really amused. Especially the way Prim tried to ask them in such a way that it wouldn't be obvious why she was asking them. Peeta answered them then winked at the girl when Katniss wasn't looking, which sent a blush of crimson crawling up the younger woman's neck.

Realizing she was found out, she squeaked out a goodbye then rushed inside. Katniss watched the girl go with a puzzled scowl and looked back at Peeta who just shrugged. He wouldn't rat the girl out. But it didn't mean he wouldn't tease her unmercifully later on.

It was just that morning that his mother had finally let him out of the back to work the front. He didn't know what she was worried about. The whole town already knew thanks to the gossips that saw him walking to the apothecary after she'd attacked him. And nobody had done anything about it before. He was useless in the back anyway, only able to decorate. He couldn't help with the baking other than to take pans out of the oven.

When Katniss had walked in her face lit up in a smile before she could stop it and Peeta had to ignore the sudden urge to kiss that smile.

Friends, Mellark. Friends.

He had to admit, when she first suggested the idea of friends, he'd been wary. More than. Girls didn't really want to be friends with him. They either looked at him with a large level of disgust or challenge, depending what they wanted from him. The ones that were disgusted with him also more often than not, wanted him. That wasn't cockiness, though there was a certain amount of that he felt. After all, for all their judging him, they didn't have a problem fucking him.

Then there were the ones that thought they could change him. The few times he been with a girl like that he'd felt like shit afterwards. He didn't like to hurt people. He just wanted to forget for a little while. That's why it was easier to stick with the girls that hated him while he fucked them. At least there was no chance of them wanting more from him.

But not one of those girls wanted to be his friend. So he was trying like hell to curb his first instinct to try to bed Katniss. Because the thought of having a friend was much more appealing than just another girl to screw.

So, Peeta took a deep breath and smiled when Katniss opened the door, completely ignoring the way her return smile made his nerves jump once more.

A/n- ugh, transitional chapters are fun, huh? I'm so sorry this took so long to get out and it wasn't even that…good. Anyway, just wanted to show where our boys are at right now, mentally. We'll get back to some actual goings on in the next one. Anyhow, please read and review. Next up is the Games we Lost. If you're interested in Rye/Prim pairing, please go check that one out. There is a big surprise coming up in the second half of the story, but it's still a few chapters away. I really love that story. Also, come see me on Tumblr, jypzrose. I don't bite and I love making new friends and will happily answer questions. Thanks ever so. Lisa/Jypz