So I decided to write another Galeniss story, from Gale's POV. Hope you enjoy this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own The Hunger Games or any of its characters.

Chapter 1

I stand in the middle of the square watching yet another Hunger Games, only this time, it's different. The female tribute is not some girl from class, or one that lives down the road from me. The girl competing in the 74th Games is my best friend and hunting partner, Katniss Everdeen.

Before she left, I gave her simple instructions: find a bow and to remember that it's just like hunting. Nowhere in my instructions did I tell her to put her life in danger to tend to her wounded district partner. That's not what you do in the Hunger Games. It's every person for him or herself. Even the Careers who form alliances turn on each other near the end.

She is currently a sitting duck, waiting in a cave trying to mend a wound that will never heal. Even if she could heal Peeta Mellark, what could he provide her? He's a baker with no training in combat or weaponry. He's only a liability. I guess it doesn't really matter. He'll be gone soon and he knows it. He starts blabbering about when he is gone and the only way she can shut him up is to rest her head on his chest. During yesterday's required viewing, they left off with the two of them huddled close to one another of the cave floor, waiting for a miracle I suppose.

Today, the footage starts with a special announcement about a special feast at the Cornucopia. She perks up when the voice mentions they need something—in their case medicine. Before she even makes her next move, I know she'll go. It angers me to know she'd risk her life for someone she barely knows. What good would that do her? I shut down my thoughts as they begin to speak.

"Your medicine." Katniss says picking her bow off the floor.

"No." he urges her. Apparently he's figured out her intentions as well.

"You need it or you can't walk." she continues.

"Katniss, you're not going to risk your life for me. I won't let you." he says taking her arm. Finally. Who would have thought the most logical person would be the one who is delirious from a high fever.

"You would do it for me, wouldn't you?" she then questions him. He doesn't answer her, only asks why she is doing this, a question I have been asking all along. I wait with anticipation; maybe I'll finally get an answer. I then watch as she drops her bow and lunges toward him, her lips connecting with his. After a few seconds, my eyes can no longer endure the sight of him and her sharing an intimate kiss. My gut feels like it's being twisted and punched all at the same time.

I look back to the screen when I hear their voices again. She starts to leave but then he begs her to stay. She obliges, cuddling close to him once again. That feeling in my gut returns again. It only gets worse when I see her leave for the Cornucopia shortly after she drugs him with sleep syrup that her mentor sent. I don't think I could take watch my best friend dying on the screen in front of me. It's a set up, a trap, a way to bring the remaining tributes together for another bloodbath. I turn away from the screen and take a step backwards. I feel a hand on my shoulder. I look back to see my mother looking at me with sympathetic eyes.

"I can't." I murmur lowly.

"Be careful." she says rubbing my back. I make my way through the crowd until I reach the back. I quickly and quietly slip away without any Peacekeepers noticing my departure. My feet carry me swiftly to the border of District 12 to a chain link fence that has long been void of its electric current. I slide underneath the hole in the ground, where Katniss and I sneak through to hunt. I then find myself sprinting through the forest, not stopping until I reach the clearing. I slow my pace, walking then collapsing in the grass. I look down at the valley and take a few calming breaths.

We were here a week ago, her and I, on the day of the Reaping eating berries and making fun the Capitol accents. This is where I asked her to run away with me. She laughed off my idea, telling me it would never work. If she had listened to me, we could have been long gone by now. She wouldn't be in a death match kissing some other guy. She should be deep in the woods, safe, kissing me instead.

I almost told her. I was so close. We were alone in the Justice Building, to give our farewells. Just as I was about to tell her I loved her, I was interrupted by the Peacekeepers. I frantically tried to get out the words but just as I was getting there, the door slammed in my face. I lay back and close my eyes, wondering what she would have said in response when I told her. Would she have kissed me like she kissed him?

I lay there for the next hour, trying to clear my head but it always comes back to her. I think about how there is a good chance that I might never see her again and it's enough to make my heart ache. Who am I supposed to hunt with or say scandalous things about the Capitol to? I don't want anyone else. I just want my Catnip.

I make my way back to my home where my family is carrying on like normal. I walk into the kitchen area and give my mother the game I found in my snares on the way home.

"She made it back safely." she says with a smile. I breathe a sigh of relief. It still doesn't erase my annoyance with her actions. "She still shouldn't have gone back. She didn't need the medicine."

"People do all sorts of crazy things when they are in lo—" my mother says quickly catching herself. It's too late, though. I know what word she was going to say. She looks at me apologetically while taking my hand. I think she's always known about my feelings for Katniss, perhaps even before I really understood what was going on.

"You really think it's love?" I ask her.

"It might be." she says, trying to spare my feelings. I guess only time will tell to know for sure. I leave the kitchen for the living room, where my siblings are currently playing. Vick and Rory are playing some sort of pirate game while Posy lies on the floor flipping through a storybook.

"I didn't know you could read." I say crouching down closer to her.

"Just looking at pictures." Posy answers.

"Want me to read to you?' I ask.

"Yes!" she says picking herself and book off the ground. I sit down on the couch and she crawls into my lap. She hands me the book and I begin the story. While I read, she comments on the story or the pictures on the page. It's hard to believe that she's already 4 years old. I continue to read to her until dinner is ready. We meet at the table, each us of taking our usual spots. Conversation is at a minimum. With the Games taking up most of our day, there isn't too much for us to talk about anyway. It's Posy that breaks the silence.

"What are star-cross lovers?" she asks with curiosity to which I spit out the sip of water I have just drunk into the air. No one really knows what to say. I'm sure Vick and Rory aren't aware of the meaning and my mom and I just look at each other. Posy continues, determined for an answer. "What is it? They said it on the screen today."

It's what they always refer to when talking about Katniss and Peeta. They are the star-crossed lovers of District 12. It's been that way ever since he revealed his true feelings for her at the interview. A lot of people have found the story to be very compelling. I try to think of a way to explain it in the way a 4 and a half year old would understand but my mother beats me to it.

"It means they love each other but they cannot be together."

"Why?" she asks.

"Because only one of them can make it out of there Pose." I say, revealing to her the bitter truth of the Games.

"Why?" she asks again. This is the first year she's really been aware of the Games, asking a lot of questions.

"Because that's the way the game is played." my mother says.

"Well that's not fair." she says with a furrowed brow.

"No, it's not." I say quietly as I stab my peas.

"It's different this year thought...with the rule change." Rory finally says. Ah yes, that lovely rule change, where both tributes from the same district can come home alive. For some reason, I still don't trust that amendment to the rules made by the Gamemakers. I keep this thought to myself.

We continue eating in silence and then turn in for bed. The Capitol cut off our electricity early tonight to make up for the output used to broadcast the Games in our district. I close my eyes and slowly slip away, allowing sleep to take me away from this reality.

Thank you for reading this chapter! Let me know what you think about the story so far in the reviews.

I have to say I have some plans for this story but I'm not even exactly sure what will ultimately happen. I can promise you Galeniss though, even if it takes a couple chapters ;)