Restless Nights (Gale Oneshot)

Life, for Gale, had been full of sleepless nights and pure agony ever since poor Katniss had been chosen for the Hunger Games. Gale had never been this tired. He was full of anxiety, fear, and most of all, anger. He was angry at whoever had chosen his Katniss for the Hunger Games. What did she ever do to the Capitol? Had she ever hurt anyone? Had she ever even cursed at someone? She was the best person he knew and now the Capitol was turning her into a bloodthirsty murderer just for their own amusement. The Capitol were such sick people.

Gale thought for a moment about any reason that the Capitol may want to kill his beloved Katniss. Maybe just to show that even the kindest of all people had defied the Capitol. Maybe just to torture the lives of District 12. But sometimes Gale found himself acting extremely selfish. He needed to think of the other district's residents that were being tortured by watching this as well. District 11 and Rue, who he hadn't see that often because he had heard rumors of people who had seen her skipping through trees. He just hoped everyone from the Lower Districts were alright.

Gale lay in bed, hair ruffled from many sleepless nights. Sweat made his shirt cling to his back like a monkey to a tree. He felt the intense heat on his back as the sweat drizzled down it, leaving dark stains on his shirt. He got tired of the shirt and took it off, angrily throwing it in the corner of his cramped room. He brought his knees up to his bare chest and placed his elbows on them. He cradled his head in his hands as he allowed his tears that he had stored up since Katniss had been chosen for her death. He tasted the salt of his tears as some rolled down his cheek and into his mouth.

His chin tickled as he felt the tears making their way to it. He wiped them away, not being able to take the feeling any longer, and wiped his hand on his blankets. He saw the deep, dark stain that it left on his covers and that made him weep all the more. He hated seeing his own tears right in front of him. He thought that tears were a sign of fear, of weakness. They were. They showed how afraid you were and eventually they came back to haunt you, to make sure that you never cried again, but you always did.

Gale had always loved Katniss .... he had ever since that first day in the Woods that he had met her. Just the frightened look on her face made him realize that she was the one for him. How one could not focus on anything but their fear, so on edge. To him it was charming and he loved it. He loved the way her fingers wiggled when she was nervous. He loved the way that she hunted instead of healed, like him. He loved everything about her and he would never let himself forget her and move on to someone else. She was the one for him no matter what anyone else said, no matter what the Capitol did to her.

Gale's bare chest gleamed in the moonlight that shone through his window. It reflected his sweat that nearly covered his body. He couldn't handle knowing that Katniss was possibly dying somewhere. He loved her and he refused to watch her be killed on the TV that broadcasted the Hunger Games, no matter how hard the Capitol forced him. He hated the Capitol for doing this to her and he refused to allow them to make him watch her suffer the wrath of President Snow, of the Gamemakers and of everyone else even remotely involved in this death trap.

Gale ran his scarred hands through his askew hair as he tried as hard as he possibly and mentally could to not forget Katniss's cute, adorable face that always seemed to show how she was feeling. Oh, how bad she was at keeping secrets, her clouded truths always showed up as clear as glass on her face. Through her eyes, her twitch of her mouth, even sometimes she did something with her nose that suggested lies or unproven truths. It wasn't that she lied often but when she did you could always tell, it was always obvious.

When his mother had come home a few hours before she had told him the updates. Katniss was still breathing, but she seemed to be falling for Peeta the male tribute from their district. When remembering this Gale winced and threw a pencil at the wall, leaving a dent in it. That would forever be a sign to him of Katniss and the day he was told of her unknown love. He sighed. How could she love him? She barely knew him and she had known Gale for as long as he could remember! If only she was here right now and he could tell her everything .... what would she say?

It would have changed his life if the Peacekeepers hadn't shoved the door in his face that last day that he had seen her. He was telling her that he loved her. Would she have replied with the same answer or would she have been completely taken aback and been too scared to ever speak a word again to him about her feelings. Would he have been able to read her facial expressions then if she had said nothing or would it all have just been an embarrassment to him? No matter what she would have said he would still suffer from restless nights.