||ODDS|| Newt x Reader In The Hunger Games

34. Aren't Roses supposed to be Red?

I was woken up by Nat early in the morning, majority of the citizens still fast asleep. She stood beside my bed and placed a finger to her lips, before gesturing me to follow her. Wordlessly, I fell into step beside her as we made our way to the bathrooms. Once I freshened up, I mumbled groggily, exhaustion still lingering in my voice. "It's been a while since I saw you."

She gave a small smile before saying, "Well the both of us have been busy, haven't we?"

I let out a chuckle. "I guess you can say that."

"Today Katniss needs to film a propo, telling everyone that there were no casualties from the bombings. Coin asked me to get you ready too, just in case."

"My costume is in my room." I said, unsurely.

"You won't be needing a costume, darling." She pulled me out of the bathroom and headed towards the large metal barricades. "The rest of the crew are in a spare room outside this bunker, getting ready for the propo. If we ask kind enough they might get you some decent clothing and a bit of makeup."

We walked along a narrow corridor with cracks running up its walls and went into a room large enough to hold around 20 people. A lot of them were huddled around Katniss, combing her hair and powdering her face. Effie Trinket greeted us with a warm smile.

"(Y/n)! You're finally here! C'mon let's get you ready. Oooh and Natasha darling, you look wonderful today." She said.

I turned to see Nat trying to hide the surprise on her face as her cheeks turned the slightest bit of red. "Uh, thank you. Um, you too." She mumbled out.

All the years of knowing Nat, I've never seen her this flustered. I caught her eyes and an amused smile laced my lips when she looked down at her shoes, pretending as though she wasn't affected by the compliment.

Effie grabbed my wrists and sat me down on a chair while a young man began to do my hair.

"Oh shut up." Nat whispered once Effie moved on to make sure the mockingjay was camera-perfect.

"I didn't say anything, Nat."

"Yeah, but you still have that grin on your face."

"I'm just surprised that Effie Trinket made you blush. And a lot of people have tried, but no one can make you blush that easily."

"I'm just sleepy. That's all." She waved it off.

I smiled before letting out a sigh. "You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You aren't just my escort, Nat. I consider you to be one of my closest friends."

She nodded and a smile tugged her mouth. "I know."

"Alright," Boggs' deep voice rang through the room, "If everyone can follow me in a single file, I'll lead you outside the compound. Be careful, the bombs have caused a lot of structural damage."

"I'll see you later, okay?" Nat said, to which I replied with a nod. She left the room, her blond hair swinging from side to side in her pony tail.

I walked behind Gale as we made our way through a narrow path of rubble and debris. Claustrophobia began to set in but I was relieved to see light seeping through a crack at the end of the tunnel.

"So Katniss," Effie said from somewhere behind. "It's '13 is alive and well, and so am I.' Katniss?" She let out a sigh when she recieved no reply. "Never one to waste it in rehearsal, I know."

I let out a quiet laugh at that. We made it through the opening and I took in a deep breath of the fresh air. But soon, the smell of the morning breeze turned into something sweet, like the scent of a rose. I climbed up a high rock and took in the view in front of me. The bombs left craters on the forest grounds and hundreds and thousands of roses lay scattered onto the land in front of us. The scent started to turn into an overwhelming stench.