Author's Note: Okay, I know what you're thinking "why haven't you posted in forever!" Well, if you read my story "He's my Best Friend, Lover, and Protecter" (which you should) you would know that my computer broke. I really can't express how sorry I am to say that it took so long to fix it. :'(Please forgive me! Anyway, here's Chapter 7! :)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Katniss's POV:

"Here's a bow" Gale says after I finally stopped screaming.

I give him a small smile, "Thanks"

He waves to me, signaling that I should follow him as we trek through the woods like we had many years ago. I'm surprised to see that the silent footsteps I had been used to are now gone, and instead my feet have been replaced with loud "Peeta-like" feet. I sigh with irritation and try to make my feet lighter but get little difference.

Gale notices and laughs at the new noisy Katniss. I roll my eyes at him and say, "Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything, though!" he says with an unchanged smile.

"Well, you were thinking it" I respond curtly.

Then I run up ahead of him and stay there, not letting him get in front of me. We walk silently for minutes, not spotting any game. About 5 minutes later, we reach a stream and I place my loud feet on a stone, trying to find more to jump across.

I jump to a stone that is about 3 feet away, but my foot slips on the edge and I fall in the waist deep water. Gale laughs and smoothly jumps on the rocks to reach me. He pulls me up, his touch sending shiver up my spine. Then he continues holding my hand and guides me to the other side. I can't help but feel help-less and stupid in front of Gale who has obviously been practicing.

I let go of his hand and again step in front of him, my legs soaked in water and my pants sticking to my legs. We walk for a few more minutes and then I step on a rope and I feel my drenched leg being pulled up to a tree branch. Rope is wrapped tight around me and I scream from surprise.

"GALE!" I scream at him, knowing this is something her placed there.

He tries to told back a laugh, but fails, making me even more angry at him.

"Get me down from here!" I screech

Gale continues laughing at my flailing body and screaming. Finally, he approaches me and finger with the rope as I hang without swinging around.

After a moment, I am dropped to the ground and I scramble to my feet. I cross my arms and give Gale the death stare.

"I'm sorry, Catnip. I forgot that there was a trap there. It's been a while since I've gone so far into these woods" he xplains frantically.

"Uh huh." I respond, not buying it.

"C'mon you have to believe I didn't set it up on purpose. And how was I supposed to know that you were even coming?" he tries to convince me.

I roll my eyes and sigh, "okay, sure." You see that's the thing about Gale. Even after years, he still knows me better than anyone else. I guess that could be counted as an unfair advantage his has. He knows just what to say to have me forgive him when I want to keep my ground.

I stare at him for a moment in perfect silence. The he reaches up his hand towards my face and puts a piece of my hair behind my ear. His fingers brush my ear and I unintentionally blush.

Our silence is broken by the quick pace of a deer that is skipping through the forest. On renewed instinct, I pull my arrow back and send it piercing the air and towards the deer. It hits the deer in the leg: definitely not my best work. But at least it's better than I expected.

Gale shoots an arrow, too. To my surprise, he has become more accurate, obviously practicing. He hits the deer in the stomach, causing it to collapse onto the fallen forest leaves.

I am obviously annoyed at how my my hunting skills have dropped but I rush to the deer and then Gale and I pull it into his game bag.

"I think that's enough for today, what do you think, Catnip?" Gale asks me

I just nod and start to walk back through the forest, yelling at myself for letting my skills slip away over the years. Gale follows me with the bag draped over his shoulder and we walk back to the car in silence as the sun sets below the horizon.

Okay, so I hope you liked Chapter 7! :) Thanks for all the support so far! 3 Please leave comments and feedback. I really love reading them! Bye for now guys!
~Ivy Blackwell