Fire Burns Brighter in Darkness|| Peeta melark x reader

5

A/n: ik its been a long time since the last update but ive literally had nk motovation lmao. Plus school's back on now so probs another few months till the next chapter♡.

Words: 3k
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R-i-i-ip! I let out an inhumane sound as Venia, a woman with aqua hair and gold tattoos above her eyebrows, yanks a strip of fabric from my leg, tearing the hair under with it.
"Sorry!" She chirps in that annoying Capitol accent "You're just so hairy!"

I find it so irritating that everyone from the Capitol speaks in such a high pitched voice. They barely even move their mouths to speak, and it's like every sentence is a question. Odd vowels, clipped words and always a hiss on the letter s... I hate them.

Venia makes what's supposed to be a sympathetic face. "Good news, though. This is the last one. Ready?" I bite the inside of my cheek and dig my nails into my thighs then nod in anticipation. The final swathe of my hair is uprooted in a painful jerk.

It's been nearly three hours in the Remake Centre and I still haven't met my stylist. Apparently, he has no interest in seeing me until Venia and the other members of my prep team have addressed some obvious problems. This included scrubbing down my body with a gritty foam that removed more skin than grit, turning my nails into uniform shapes and primarily ridding my body of hairs. My legs, arms, torso, underarms and parts of my eyebrows have been stripped of the stuff, leaving me like a plucked bird. Ready to be cooked and consumed by the Capitol. My skin feels sore, tingly and vulnerable but I kept my bargain with Haymitch and havent objected.

"You're doing so very well," says some guy named flavius. He gives his orange corkscrew locks a shake and it applies a fresh coat of purple lipstick to his lips. It suits him a lot.
"If there's one thing we can't stand, it's a whiner, grease her down."

Venia and Octavia, a plump woman whose entire body was dyed a pale pea green, rub me down with a lotion that first stings but then soothes my raw skin. Then they pull me from the table, removing the thin robe I've been allowed to wear off and on. I stand there, naked and vulnerable, as the three circle me wielding tweezers to remove any last bits of hair. I feel so conscious of everything they're seeing, what they must be thinking right now. People in the Capitol get all sorts of surgeries to look their version of "perfect" I must look so alien to them, so childlike and imperfect. It makes me want to crawl out of my skin.

The three step back and admire their work.
"Excellent! You almost look like a human being now!" Says Flavius and they all laugh. Now I definitely hurt more like this. But I need to keep the act up, so I force my lips up and say "thank you!" In a sweet voice. "We don't get much cause to look as good as you all in District Twelve." I laugh awkwardly.

It wins them over completely. "Of course you don't, you poor darling!" Says Octavia, clasping her hands together in distress for me.
"But don't worry," says Venia. "By the time Cinna is through with you, you're going to be absolutely gorgeous!"
"We promise! You know, now that we've gotten rid of all the hair and filth, you're not horrible at all!" Says Flavius encouragingly. "Let's call Cinna!"

They then dart out of the room. I can't get over how much they treat me like some new creature they've never seen before. Then again, people from the Capitol probably aren't human. Though,  I still can't dislike them, it feels like they genuinely are trying to help me. They're just too dumb to understand anything outside of their little bubble.

It takes everything not to grab my robe off the cold white tiled floor and put it back on. I feel so powerless, all exposed like this. Was I really that dirty, like my stylists said? I push my insecurities aside, I'm sure this Cinna will just make me remove it as soon as he arrives.