i've gotten back into gilmore girls and that's how we got here! you don't have to have watched the show to get this fanfic (if i do my job properly at least.) enjoy!

It was an easy task finding his uncle Haymitch in the small crowd of people waiting for their loved ones arrival at the bus stop. He was the only one with his mother's nose and inky black hair. Duffle bag in hand, Gale approached his uncle.

"Did you get taller?"

Gale scoffed. "Well I do eat my Wheaties."

"That would do it." Haymitch chuckled, leading him across the town square toward a hardware store, which he noticed on closer inspection was a diner.

"This was your grandfather's hardware store."

He nodded, following his uncle through the front of the diner, through a maroon curtain and up the stairs to the apartment where he would be staying for the time being.

Haymitch reached into this pocket for his keys to unlock the door. His mother had warned him that it would be small. It had been his grandfather's office when he was alive, but his uncle remodeled the place into an apartment.

"I know you don't want to be here and honestly kid I don't particularly want you here either. I happen to like my privacy, but you and I both know I can't say no to your mother. So you and I are just going to have to make the most of this, alright?"

Gale dropped his duffle bag, eyeing the air mattress on the floor.

"Yeah, that's where you'll be sleeping for a few days or until I get around to getting to the store to buy you a real bed."

He nodded, glancing around at the small apartment. No wonder Haymitch didn't want him here it was the size of a studio, barely enough room for one person. Granted, he lived in a two bedroom with four other people so he wasn't worried about how miniscule the apartment was. He had managed with worse.

Gale crouched down, dumping the contents of his bag onto the inflatable bed. It was mostly books, t-shirts and boxers. His mother was going to send the rest of things, hopefully sooner rather than later. "I'll be back," he called out grabbing his copy of Drown and his pack of Marlboros and heading out the door.

Haymitch opened his mouth to ask where he thought he was going, but decided against it. If he could survive seventeen years in the city, he was damn sure the kid could find his way around here. He adjusted his baseball hat and walked to the phone dialing his sister's number.

"Your son just arrived, limbs and attitude in tact... No, he's fine... I don't know. He's a pretty surly kid, Hazelle, got that from his father... I'll tell him to call when he gets back... He went to look around town, what do you mean? Hazelle if he can get around on the subway he can make three lefts and find his way back to the center of town. He'll call you later. Just stop worrying. Yeah. Bye. Tell the kids I say hello."

Haymitch sighed. This was going to be a pain in his ass; that much he was sure about.

xx

Haymitch was wiping down a table when his nephew came through the door, the smell of smoke following him as he moved past the curtain that led to the back. Hazelle had warned him, so he wasn't surprised about the pack of cigarettes in the back pocket of his nephew's jeans. If that was the worst thing he had to deal with concerning his teenage nephew, he would consider himself lucky.

Pulling back the curtain, he yelled upstairs, "People invited us over for dinner, so get showered and don't you dare smoke up there!"

Before turning he heard Gale's quick descending steps down the stairs. "Who are these people?"

Haymitch wiped down a now empty table, pocketing the tip. "They're just some people that are kind of crazy, but a whole less crazy than the rest of this town. There's Madeline, that's whose house we're going to, and her daughter, Madge, is about your age. She's a sweet kid so you'll probably get along if you can get that frown off of your face long enough to hold a decent conversation. Try and have an open mind, alright? So go take a shower and comb your hair."

xx

Haymitch warned him to be polite before he rang the doorbell. "You know, it wouldn't kill your James Dean image if you smiled a bit."

Gale groaned. "You know I've been around people before. I know how to act around strangers."

A blonde woman who looked to be in her early thirties answered, her hair in a low bun at the base of her neck. She wore a blue sweater that matched her eyes with jeans and flats. She gave him a warm smile. "You must be Gale. Mitch has told me a lot about you," she backed into the house, opening her arm to welcome them inside. "I'm Madeline," she glanced over at his uncle with soft eyes, "But he probably already told you that." She ran her fingers through the loose bits of hair around her face. "Feel free to take a glance around while I grab some plates."

Haymitch's eyes followed her as she walked away.

The house reminded him of his home in New York. It was a whole lot bigger than the small apartment he was used to, but it was just as full of life, not to mention warm and welcoming. Just about every available surface was filled with a knick-knack or photo. Gale meandered around the room, blocking out the conversation happening between Haymitch and Madeline. He took note of a particular photograph hanging on the wall of two blondes. One was Madeline, her hair was in the same low bun, but her arms were thrown around a teenager with the same bright blue eyes and blonde hair, the younger's hair was more on the platinum side. Gale wasn't above admitting that the younger blonde was pretty cute and maybe he wouldn't mind his time in this Godforsaken place if he had a blonde like her to keep his air mattress warm at night.

"That's my daughter, Madge. Actually, she should be in her room if you want to say hi. Down the hall and to the right."

Gale raised an eyebrow as he walked down the corridor. It wasn't too often that a mother wanted him in her daughter's bedroom, but he wasn't going to complain.

There were two people he hadn't met in the kitchen. A woman with blue hair was over the stove and a tawny-skinned man with heavily pierced ears looked back at him.

"I'm Gale," he muttered, raising his hand in greeting.

"I'm Cinna," the man started, "And this is Effie."

Effie was pale, her skin so light it almost seemed translucent to him. "This must be such a big big day for you!"

Cinna sent her a look, sending him a smile. "Madge is right in there. The food's just about ready."

"Nice to meet you," He added before turning toward Madeline daughter's door. She was sitting at her desk, her ice-blonde ponytail draped over the chair. He smirked as she nodded her head to the music, tapping her pencil on her notebook in what he assumed was to the tune of the song she was listening to. She shook her head from side to side for a moment before returning back to the beat of the song.

He grinned, lightly kicking the leg of her chair. She jumped out of her seat, tearing her headphones off. "What is your problem, Mom?"

Gale smirked down at her.

"You're not my mom."

"No I am definitely not your mother."

"Who— You're Gale, Haymitch's nephew, right?" She tipped her head, looking him over. "I'm Madge."

"Nice meeting you." He nodded, turning around to examine her bedroom. This wasn't the first girl's bedroom he'd been in, but it was the first that was interesting enough for him to look around at. The walls were covered in posters; his eyebrows rose at the Neutral Milk Hotel poster above her bed. But it was the sheer amount of books littering her bedroom that impressed him the most. A bookshelf was packed with novels of all sizes. He took note of some of the authors, mostly classics and a copy of his favorite book of short stories. Nine Stories.

"You're quite the reader, aren't you?"

She stood, peeking over his shoulder at the book in his hands, her small hands tugging on the straps of her oversized overalls. "That's a great book. You could borrow if you want."

He nodded, slipping the slim book back into its place. "Nah, but thanks."

"Do you read a lot?"

Gale shook his head, his eyes finding the window behind her. He crossed the room toward it. "Does this window open?"

Madge's blonde eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah? Just unlatch and push out. Why? Is it too hot in here?"

"Nah just thought it'd be a pretty good time for us to head out? Shall we?"

"Shall we what?"

"Let's get out of here," he tipped his head toward the now open window.

Madge leaned her weight onto one leg, removing her flat to rub her toes on the carpet underneath her feet. "Cinna made a lot of really delicious food and I know you're from the city so you don't know this, but there is absolutely nothing going on out there. Trust me."

"I don't even know you."

"I'm wearing overalls. I think that makes me look pretty trustworthy."

He gazed over her clothes, the faded overalls cuffed for her petite stature with a striped short-sleeved t-shirt underneath. The shirt was being tugged up and through the sides of her overalls he could see her pale skin

"My mother taught me to never judge a book by its cover."

She grinned, her hands coming up to undo her ponytail. Her slender fingers ran through the front of her hair.

Gale found himself struck by her. He platinum blonde hair was in waves, the tips almost reaching her waist. She slipped her foot back into her flat and reached forward to grab his wrist. "Let's eat and then I promise I'll take you on a tour, though I'm warning you, there is nothing to do at this time."

xx

It was a pleasant dinner, but he was much happier to be wandering down the streets.

"It has this pulse. It's kind of a cliché, but New York's like a living breathing person. And you can get Chinese at any time of the night, which is always as a plus."

"I do wish Mags' Seafood Shack was open all night. They have the best egg foo young in the tri-county area."

"You gotta be kidding me."

"I rarely kid when it comes to food, Gale. You'll learn that soon enough."

He glanced her way, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I don't doubt that after sitting across from you at dinner."

She chuckled, "Don't ever get between a girl and her dinner rolls. But I can't help but disagree with you. I think this town is just as alive as New York. Sometimes a whisper can be just as loud as a scream."

His eyes raked down her figure and then back up to her face. She was looking away from him, toward the town square.

"We should head back before they start to worry."

He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a small book. "Here, thought you might want this."

"Is that mine?"

With a smirk on his lips, he turned away from her, walking toward the diner.

"Stealing is a crime, y'know!"

"I borrowed it!" He called back, turning around. "I think you'll like my additions."

"Additions?" She looked down, opening the book to peer inside. "You've already read this?"

He took in the small smile pulling on the edges of her mouth as he backed away. It was a far cry from New York, but maybe this small whispering town had something to say to him and hopefully it sounded like a certain petite blonde.

thank you for reading!
reviews are welcome and appreciated!