Future of the mockingjay

Chapter three: Heartbreak All Over Again

"Nice place you got here," Gale comments, nodding his head in approval.

"Thanks." Peeta's voice is friendly, but guarded. He eyes Gale warily as he enters our house.

My throat closes up and my heart starts thrumming frantically. I should be happy to see Gale after all these years, but my nervousness and anxiety outweigh my excitement.

"I'm going to bring Rue upstairs; Peeta, why don't you offer Gale some breakfast," I say, taking Rue's hand. The short walk to Rue's bedroom is just enough to slightly calm my nerves. When I enter the kitchen, I find Gale and Peeta tensely sitting across from each other, a cup of coffee in each of their hands. The silence is unnerving.

"So, Gale," I say, sitting down next to Peeta, "tell me, what's new with you?"

He shrugs, sipping his coffee, "Nothing much."

I look at him expectantly, struggling to hide my irritation. "Gale, you can't basically disappear for more than twenty years and then come back and say 'nothing happened!' You didn't even come to our wedding." He winces at the last part.

"Sorry about that," he says, looking at Peeta for a second and then back to me. "I would've come, but I didn't get an invitation.""I had no way of contacting you, Gale. You didn't leave me with anything. No number, no address. Nothing," I explain, my voice a little uneven. "I even asked my mom to find you. She works at a hospital in District 4, so I thought she'd be able to get to you... but obviously it didn't work out."

"So what have you been up to, Gale? Where do you live now?" Peeta asks, putting his arm around me. Almost instinctively, he tucks a loose strand of my hair back behind my ear.

Gale's hand clenches around his mug, and the skin over his knuckles goes white. For a second I am afraid the mug will break under the pressure, but he takes a slow breath, and I watch the blood flow back into his fingers.

"I've been staying in District 2," he says, looking down at his coffee. "I'm a Capitol Representative."

Peeta and I look at each other. A Capitol Representative, in my opinion, is just a tame Peacekeeper. Years ago, in this very district, I had put myself between a Peacekeeper's whip and Gale bloodied back. But Capitol Representatives are not as violent anymore. Their job is to make sure the district is functioning well, to provide connections to the Capitol, and to look out for the citizens of their district. As far as I know, they are the highest-ranking positions in the districts.

"Wow, Gale, congratulations!" I say, smiling at him.

"Yeah, thanks," he says, trying to smile back. He settles with a shrug.

"Have you... settled down yet?" Peeta asks tentatively. "If you don't mind me asking," he adds.

"No, it's fine," Gale replies, turning a little red. "And to answer that," he turns the mug in his hands, "well, no."

I blink in shock. I remember all too well how the girls in District 12 would practically throw themselves at Gale back when we were younger. Surely, someone as handsome as he is could get any girl he wanted.

"So tell us more about your job," I say, quickly changing the subject.

His shoulders relax, and he looks up, "Well I know what you're probably thinking. A Peacekeeper and a Capitol Representative seem grimly familiar positions, don't they? Well, it's actually a lot better knowing from the inside. Everyone is one whole community right now. Living in a district would be like living in a suburb, with the Capitol as the big city. We don't work to serve them; we work to supply our family. Each district uses its resources mainly for their residents, although we still trade for different goods.