#it's always Newt and Alby that push Minho's buttons like no one's business

[star--anon]

Minho's ears turn red when he's embarrassed or flustered. Or just when too many people look at him.

He likes to flaunt this boyish, carefree, cocky personality, but his ears never lie.

Everyone collectively agreed not to tell him. Minho could never understand why sometimes, during an argument or a Meeting, the Gladers would smirk and giggle.

It was the longest kept secret throughout the Glade, only getting out when Alby told him to "shut up and stop acting like you're so confident when your ears are redder than the roses Zart grows" during a Keeper Meeting

For a brief time, Minho actually grew his hair out just to cover his ears. But it kept getting in his eyes when he ran, so he eventually cut it and went back to his usual style.

Newt calls his ears his tail - same way a dog tail wags when it's excited, his ears go bright red when more than 3 people look at him

It went on like that until one day, during a meeting, Newt (Alby was busy chasing down a cow with Winston and Newt was his stand-in) told Minho to, "Shut up, you shuck puppy."

They got in a bit of a fistfight, and Minho landed a solid punch to Newt's shoulder, but by that point it was too late.

Puppy became the only thing Gladers would call Minho for about two weeks (until Minho punched someone square in the face for it). It's still the only thing you can say to Minho where he won't have anything smart or snarky to quip back with. His ears just go red and he looks away.

(Newt teaches it to Thomas once they get to Safe Haven)

[the-fiction-witch]

Hiding

MOVIE MAZE RUNNER COUPLE NEWT X READER RATING SMUTT

I sighed finishing up my work putting my tools away and heading off to the kitchens

"Hey y/n" fry smiled

"Hey fry, what's for dinner?" I asked

"Soup" he says "hey you seen newt? He hasn't come for his dinner? You two where the last ones Still out"

"No not since lunch, he went off to do his rounds didn't he?" I asked

"I don't know knowones seen him" he shrugs

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for him" I told him taking my soup and having my food, as soon as I was done with my food I headed up to my little hut just behind the homestead shutting my door locking it and slipping my shirt off throwing it in my laundry pile as I started fixing my hair slipping my sweaty jeans off throwing them in the pile too as I wondered around brushing my hair humming the little tune in my head I groaned feeling my bra strap digging into my skin so I slipped my bra off hanging it on my bed post slipping on one of my little strap shirts and climbing into bed, the bed was so heavenly after such a long day I almost went straight to sleep.

---

I walked along making sure my feet wouldn't make nosies to alert anyone of my presents as I snuck over to the shower block in the early morning light the runners not even up yet as I snuck close and hid myself away behind plants and trees looking though the small whole in the building work looking at y/n our only girl as she turned her private shower on waiting for the water to heat and I instantly bit my bottom lip looking at ever inch of her sexy plump female body as she slipped off her clothes from the glade leaving her in her white tight bra and little white panties

"Ummm baby" I groaned

"What are you doing hiding out here newt?" Minho asks With his towel around his neck clearly just going for a shower as he made me jump out my skin

"Aaah!! Minho! You shank what the bloody hell are you doing sneaking up on me?" I complained

"What are you doing hiding around the showers?"

"I was Uhhh... Looking for... Squirrels" I lied

"Uh hu? Not at all that your being a pervert?"

"No!" I argue

"Who you looking at newt?" He asks

"None of your business" I told him

"Three guesses?" He laughs "Ben?"

"No," I argue

"Gally?"

"No!"

"Y/n?" He smirked

"No..." I lied unable to look him in the eye

"Get to work newt, I find you out here again I'm telling Alby about your little hiding spot" he says

"You'll never find all my hiding spots" I mutter

"What was that?" He laughs

"Nothing" I yelled as I ran back to the glade.

I stood wrapping vines around there posts tieing them off if needed looking over to the other side of the gardens where I saw y/n weeding in her little denim shorts "uuummm..." I groaned already feeling myself get hard I told zart I was going for my break so I snuck out to the forest behind the garden hiding behind a thick tree watching her "uuhh! Ooh baby" I groaned slipping hand in my pants "ooh yeah, ohh yeah baby bend over for me, uhh shuck you look so good" I groan watching her bending up and down in those little shorts them not hiding an inch of her beautiful booty ummm I'd give my soul to get my hands in her but so would half the other boys "uumm... Shuck y/n baby, I want you so bad" I groaned as I knew I was close looking at her as she stood in her tight jean shorts as the had risen in her bending to be even tighter her breasts almost jumping out her low cut top "uuuhhh!! Uhh..." I groaned biting my mouth had so knowone heard me as my eyes rolled back and I finished in my pants...

---

I smiled humming my little tune as I arrived back in my room locking the door and pealing off my clothes from the day getting down to just my panties looking around for a shirt for bed as I did I stopped my humming as I heard a funny noise I couldn't pinpoint what the noise was it stopped as soon as I stopped humming so I shrugged and continued I couldn't find a clean shirt so I went digging around in my dirty pile and I noticed I couldn't see my underwear from yesterday in here... Hu how odd maybe they fell somewhere else or something I found a shirt from yesterdays sleep so I slipped it on going to go to bed but that noise just wouldn't stop, I was so confused, I walked around listening for it and it sounded faint but it was almost coming from my wardrobe that I mostly use for bedding and clothes I don't often wear, the curiosity got the better of me so I opened the doors to a sight I did not imagine seeing,

Newt stood in my wardrobe hidden away like a little mouse, in his usual tattered brown pants open wide at the button and zip, his orange vest tight to his hot skin, his grey hoodie concealing him but not everything he was doing, holding my panties from yesterday in his hand the other down his open pants clearly jerking himself off that was that strange noise no doubt he was clearly close as his eyes where closed and he bit on his mouth hard

"AAAAAAHHHH!" I Screamed pulling him out my wardrobe "newt what the hell where you doing hiding in my room!"

"I wasn't doing anything" he says quickly doing his pants up and hiding my panties in his pocket putting his hands up like he was innocent

"Not doing anything! Newt you where hiding in my wardrobe clearly jerking off you think that's not doing anything?" I argued

"I'm sorry okay... I'm lonely alright! With one girl around and a girl as sexy as you of course I got a little desperate! I just wanted to look just something to look at while I touch just so I don't have to imagine" he whines

"That's no excuse!"

"Please y/n... I was so close please I'm desperate" he begs gently cupping himself thought his pants slightly rubbing with his thumb and fingers where he was clearly begging for it

"Newt your a perverted slinthead! Hiding in my room, watching me get changed, stealing my underwear and god only knows what else your a perv! A discussing creep newt!" I yelled "stop touching yourself when I'm talking to you" I complain slapping his hand away form himself

"I can't help it! Okay I went a little too far what you think any of us can contain ourselves y/n" he argues "your one girl in a group of teenage boys where dieing here," he complained "bending over in those little shorts your low cut tops with your big boobs coming out hell how are any of us meant to resist! Okay I went to far but only because I'm desperate for anything, anything at all, you could look at me and I'd cum baby" he whines

"You really feel that way?" I asked

He nodded undoing his pants more and pushing them down enough to let his rather cock free rather long for such a slender boy "look what your doing to me... I can't stop myself, I'm addicted to it" he complained slowly jerking himself "I'm addicted to you"

"Newt... That's sweet but- you still can't do this" I told him forcing his pants back up again

"shuck it I can't take it" he groans grabbing my waist before I had time to argue he kissed me hard his hands on my ass grinding his hard cock against me next I knew he had ripped of my panties his hands groping my arse hard before he slammed me hard against the wall of my hut ripping my shirt off me too leaving me naked and exposed he pulled back to look at me and he groaned "bloody hell baby, you look even better then I imagined you would" he groans

"Newt stop!" I argue but he kissed me hard again feeling up my breasts as he for his cock out again within seconds he as inside me and I almost didn't wanna make him stop it felt so good having someone inside me especially someone as cute as newt

"Ummm shuck... Your heavenly angel" he groans gasping for air

"Aren't you gonna keep going" I giggled a little excited feeling him pulse inside of me

"I already did..." He says between breaths "I'm sorry, I said I was close you just felt so good i- I blew it"

"Aww it's okay newt" I smiled pulling him to rest his head on my chest as he got his breath back and some strength "there's always other things you can do for me till that's back again?" I smirked Petting his soft blonde hair

"You mean it?" He asks and i nodded he blushed a little giving my lips a kiss lifting me up carrying me till he drumped me on my bed "I'll go till you tell me to stop baby" he smirked kissing up my thigh "tug my hair if you want me to slow down, scream if you want me to go faster" he winked ...

[thatshankcallednewt]

Gally: Farewell - Part One

Prompt: Set in an alternate universe. You and the others (Gally, Newt, Thomas, Minho, Teresa and Brenda) are all invited to spend a weekend up at Minho's holiday house. Except, soon after your arrival, strange things start to occur as memories and guilt resurface. What happened that last summer and why can't you let it go?

Requested by Anonymous

WARNING: Themes of suicide/death

You spun the dial on the radio to turn the volume down as the car began to slow. You stared up at the massive house that stood against the thick woods with wide eyes and mumbled, “I thought Thomas said it was a cabin…”

Gally turned off the ignition and peered up at the house through the windshield, “Yeah… well, Thomas has never been one to describe things well. Besides, it’s Minho’s family’s holiday house, of course it would practically be a mansion.”

You nodded your head in agreement but couldn’t quite get over how big the house seemed on the outside. The property must have stretched over a good few acres, too, since Minho mentioned something about hiking trails and bonfire areas. But you never realized that they would own it all.

You stepped out of Gally’s bomb-of-a-car and waited beside the back of it as he begrudgingly pulled at the trunk. It always stuck firmly, every single time, but Gally never was bothered to get it fixed. He insisted that it gave the car character… as if the car needed anymore character than the faulty engine light, the in-and-out audio of the radio and the splitting leather of the car seats. Of course, you would never tell him that, it would only get him arguing with you and you’d done that too much today already.

It started with fighting over the playlist and then Gally getting you both lost.

“You gonna help me or what?” Gally interrupted your thoughts as he held two bags in his hands while gesturing with a nod of his head toward the rest.

You quickly snapped up the bags, sitting one of the straps onto your shoulders as you grabbed the ones left.

Gally shook his head before heading toward the house, “You always bring way too much stuff, you know that?”

You rolled your eyes, “Yeah, and you wear the same shirt every day.”

“I do not—” but before he could continue with his disagreement, another car pulled up in front of the house.

It was a station wagon with loud music pumping through the windows. You waved and smiled at the two boys in the front seats before they stepped out of their car, “Thomas, Newt, hey!”

“Hey!” Thomas said as he closed the passenger door, while Newt turned off the ignition. Teresa and Brenda jumped out of the backseats and greeted you too.

Then Minho came out from the entrance to the house, the doors swung behind him with a thump, “You shanks took your time! I’ve been here since morning.”

“Sorry!” you called out as you continued walking up the steps toward Minho, “Gally got lost.”

Gally shot a glare over at you, “You told me to go down that street!”

“No,” you countered, wide-eyed, “you turned down the other street! I was telling you to go down this one—”

“A year passes and you’re still the same old married couple,” Newt commented as he passed both you and Gally, “sometimes I can’t bloody believe you’re childhood friends.”

“Yeah,” Thomas said, “how have you not killed each other yet?”

“Self-control,” you muttered, but only Gally heard you.

You all walked into the house and you stared up in awe at how high the ceiling was. The others began to head over to the bedrooms but Gally stood beside you and said, “You’re gonna drop all your bags staring up at the ceiling like that.”

You poked your tongue out at him and walked away, he really loved pushing your buttons, it was basically how your relationship had been all these years. You would always count him as a friend but there were definitely times when he frustrated you to tears. It was a strange friendship you had but you cherished it nonetheless.

You dropped your bags by the foot of your bed. You thought you’d be sharing with one of the girls, or both of them, but since the house was so big, apparently there were enough rooms for everyone. You thought about lying down for a bit, driving always made you tired, but you could hear excited voices from the first-floor echo up to your room and hesitated.

Instead, you decided to unpack your bags. You didn’t feel like joining the others just yet and after spending hours in the same car with Gally, you needed a good break from people. Even if it were only ten minutes. You just needed to think, or, dwell on the past for a bit.

You snapped open your suitcase and started to fill up the small, wooden wardrobe that most rooms seemed to have. You put most of your clothes on hangers and carefully laid out your shoes on the wooden floorboards beside the wardrobe. You were going to be here just a little bit over the weekend, three nights, like everyone else, so you wanted to bring some good options. That’s something that Gally just didn’t understand.

The bed was queen-sized, and the linen was a simple white. There were a couple of paintings hung on the walls and a balcony, too. You eyed the view of the woods and smiled, you always loved the look of old trees and greenery, the smell of wood and crackling fires at night. You hoped that there would be a bonfire tonight.

Your eyes scanned the rest of the room briefly until they stopped on a framed photo sitting beside your bed. You blinked and felt your chest tighten, you couldn’t bring yourself to walk towards it, all you could do was stare.

It was a group photo of two summers ago spent down at the beach house you all rented together. You were all smiling in the picture, you remembered that day. It was hot, so hot that the sand warmed your feet. You remembered the salty air and the crashing of the waves and the blow-up beach ball that kept deflating because there was a tiny hole near the opening. It was a happy day, even though Gally made it his mission to dunk you under the ocean water every chance he had.

Your eyes skimmed the faces in the photo and stopped at one, “Alby…” he was smiling too and you felt your heart shudder.

There were a couple of knocks on the side of your door frame and a head popped in, “You coming down, or what?”

You looked over at Gally, “Yeah, in a sec,” you looked away from the framed photo and pretended to busy yourself with zipping up your empty suitcase and sliding it under your bed. You were hoping he would walk ahead but he didn’t move.

“Unpacked already?” he questioned as he stepped further into the room, “no time to waste with you, huh…”

You stood up immediately and hid the photo from his view by standing in front of it, “Ready!”

He gave you a strange look, but you quickly ushered him out the door and shut it behind you, suddenly noting that it would be tough to hide the photo with Alby in it from Gally since he has a tendency to hijack your bedroom. Always has.

You followed him down the stairs and met up with the others, all the while admiring more parts about the house as you saw them. Everything was obviously carefully chosen to fit the old country style theme, but with modern, fresh pieces that looked well-maintained.

Gally turned to look up at you as you stepped off the last step, “You know, you look like an idiot with your mouth open like that.”

“Well, you look like an idiot no matter what you do.”

He opened his mouth with a come-back ready, but Minho quickly interrupted, a neat trick that most people caught onto over the years to stop you both from arguing so much, “Welcome to the holiday house!”

“When are we gonna break out the beer or whiskey and get drunk, I wanna watch Minho sing those Korean songs he listens to,” Newt said, his hands in his khaki-pant pockets.

Everyone laughed at the memory of Minho singing and dancing to (although barely) Korean pop songs on the beach at night. You remembered that night, the crackling fire and Gally’s stupid concoction of liquor, it was probably what got Minho drunk in the first place.

Minho shook his head, “I have no memory of that, so it didn’t happen,” he smiled with his teeth and laughed, “I’ve got something a little less embarrassing planned. There’s a hiking trail that leads to a creek.”

“Pretty sure I’d rather just crash out on the couch for a bit,” Brenda said, “especially a couch that big with a TV that big.”

“Hey! We came up here to be one with nature!” Minho argued, “besides, the creek is big enough to swim in. And the hiking trail isn’t a marathon.”

“Yeah, me and Minho run it all the time,” Thomas said with ease.

Newt scoffed, “Yeah, but you lot are bloody obsessed with running! You did track in high school!”

“It’s an easy walk, I promise,” Minho said, “look, do you really just wanna sit around and watch TV?”

Newt smiled, “Guess not, just like giving ya’ a hard time is all.”

“Anyone else?” Minho asked, raised eyebrows expectantly, and when no one replied he clapped his hands together, “okay, let’s go!”

Gally complained the whole way, he was not much of a walking kind of guy, but when he got to the creek, he changed his mind. You could tell by the way he relaxed his shoulders and stopped frowning so much.

You all were pretty hot and sweaty after the hike, it wasn’t too hard either, like Minho promised, but the hot sun beat down pretty harshly. If it weren’t for the shade of the trees, you’d all be a lot worse off.

Everyone stripped down to their bathing suits and all the boys plummeted themselves into the creek as soon as they could, splashing each other. There was a small ravine with piled up rocks which they jumped off of, Brenda included. Teresa waded in calmly and you toed the water briefly before staring up at the trees. The sound of splashing and laughing, and the smell of nature and the feel of hot sun on your skin reminded you of the summers you spent with these friends many times over. It was a tradition, of sorts, to go away together in the summer break.

You were all friends in high school, well, you were friends with Newt and Teresa, and eventually after graduating you all drifted into the big group you were now. Newt and Teresa were friends with Minho and Thomas and Alby (who were all friends because of their shared interest in team sports), while you were friends with Gally, whom after a lot of coaxing, finally became friends with everyone else. And then Thomas became friends with Brenda in his first year at college, and this was the group.

It wasn’t always a functional group, but everyone had their moments.

“Hey, Y/N, if you don’t get in the water, I’ll chuck you off this ledge myself!” Minho shouted from on top of the rock, his wet, naked torso shining in the sun.

“I’m being one with nature in my own way, Minho!” you laughed and watched as Minho leaped from the rock, a big splash ensuing. Gally shielded himself from the mini-tidal wave with a concentrated frown.

“Y/N, there’s some watermelon in the cooler bag I brought if you wanted to cut it up,” Teresa said, her arm over her eyes blocking the sun.

You nodded and found Teresa’s blue cooler bag, ignoring the couple of beers that Newt must have secretly shoved inside. You took the piece of fruit, wrapped in plastic, out of the bag, and found a giant knife to cut it with. You set it down on the plate she brought and started cutting, after unwrapping it. It was only a half so there wasn’t much work to be done.

A shadow crossed over the piece of fruit and you noticed a pair of feet in the sand. You looked up and saw Gally, his hands on his hips, water dripping off him, “That’s not how you cut watermelon.”

You sighed and sat back, defeated, “Then you cut it.”

Gally didn’t argue, like you thought he might, “I will, since you can’t seem to do it right,” he took the knife from you, gently, and turned the plate so he could carve the fruit out. He didn’t say anything else and for a moment, you watched his concentrated green eyes as he carefully did his work.

You looked up at the others in the water and you thought of Alby, all of a sudden. You blinked and looked away at your hands.

“You…” Gally started, stopping cutting midway through the watermelon, “You’re being all quiet today, you know?”

You shrugged your shoulders.

He didn’t look away, instead he kept his green eyes on yours, “It’s weird,” he half squinted because of the sun.

You looked away from him, “Just tired.”

“Bull—”

But before Gally could finish his sentence, Thomas interrupted as he came over to you both, “Hey, you guys finished cutting the watermelon up?”

Newt followed closely behind, and so did Brenda, who commented on how slow Gally was at slicing it up. Gally shook them off and passed them the sliced pieces while he sped up to finish cutting the rest. You took a piece as Gally finished and stood up from the ground. The group ate their watermelon by Gally and you finished off your piece as you stepped into the cool water.

It came up just above your ankles, you stared at the small fish that occasionally swam by. The sun reflected in the water, dappled sunlight. The taste of watermelon on your mouth. You held the watermelon rind in your hand and thought about what Gally had said.

He could always tell.

You heard sudden splashing coming from behind you and seconds later, someone wrapped their arms around your waist from behind and lifted you up before plunging into the water, bringing you down with them. You were engulfed by the cool water immediately and thrashed against the person before you came up for air as quick as you could. You saw Minho come up for breath too, smiling widely at you. You splashed him, “Minho!”

“Gotta get you wet somehow!”

“Oh ha, ha,” you said and shook your head at him. You swam away and walked out of the creek, dripping wet. The sand caked your feet, it was a darker kind, since it was a creek it was more like dirt but a different consistency. You wiped the water from your face.

“More watermelon?” Gally offered, now standing. But he wasn’t really looking at you, he was watching Minho thrash around in the water after Teresa.

You shook your head, “I’m ready for some lunch, actually.”

“Got food up at the house!” Minho shouted, his mouth half-full of creek water. Teresa laughed and shoved him deeper, “feel free to go eat if you’re hungry!”

You waved at Minho to signal you’re leaving and turned to go back to the house. You noticed Gally following closely behind and he mumbled, “I’m hungry too.”

The house was cool when you got back, and you were thankful for the break from the sun. You wiped the sweat off your face and turned to Gally, “Where’s the kitchen?”

“Through the hall, at the end.”

You followed his directions and came into a huge kitchen. You immediately headed for the fridge and opened it up to see lots of food stocked up inside. “You want some cold water?”

Gally grabbed two glasses from the cupboard. You filled them and stifled a laugh as Gally gulped it down in seconds, you left the jug out for him to pour another glass.

“So, what kind of food should we eat? We have a lot of options. Sandwiches, dip…”

“What’s up with you?”

You frowned at him and closed the fridge. He was leaning on the stainless-steel island, his calculating stare held your own, “What are you talking about?”

“The car ride here, the creek… I can tell, you know,” he waited for an answer or explanation, but you couldn’t give him one, “I know when something’s wrong.”

  “Nothing’s wrong, Gally,” you went to open the fridge again and busy yourself but Gally came around the corner and slapped his hand against the fridge door.

“Don’t bullshit me, Y/N, we’ve known each other too long for that crap.”

You opened your mouth to reply but the front door swung open loudly, and the rest of the group came in, no longer dripping wet.

“Man, I’m starved,” Thomas said, “what’s to eat?”

You stared up at Gally as they began walking down the hall, echoing laughter, but Gally didn’t move, he just held his gaze. You glared up at him, frustrated, you fled the kitchen down a different hallway. This house was so big, you figured you’d eventually end up in a familiar place.

Once you finally reached your room, you closed the door. You felt heated, agitated or frustrated, confused and… a lot of emotions were surfacing, and you didn’t like it. You glared over at the photo on your nightstand and slammed it down so you couldn’t see it. Couldn’t see Alby.

You heard the others laughing downstairs and it only made you feel angrier and you hated it. You hated being this way, but you couldn’t help it. You hated that Gally could tell, too. You didn’t want to sit on the bed because of the photo, you didn’t want to go downstairs because of the others, so you opened the balcony doors and they swung as you walked out.

The balcony was varnished wood and there was a small chair. You leaned onto the railing and felt the slight breeze through your hair. You were suddenly envious of Newt’s beer in the cooler bag and wished you had some, even if it were only cheap beer. You sighed against the breeze and felt the tears, leaning your head into your hands you cried and hated that you did.

The hallway stretched out before you. The door, locked, stood at the end of the hall. You heard the taps on, the water gushing. You heard it splash over the tiles and stream out into the carpet. But instead of water it was blood.

You sat bolt upright in your bed, the sweat made your clothing stick to your skin. You threw the blankets off and sat in the cold of the night, letting your sweaty body breathe and cool down. You realized you were breathing heavy and tried to stop but your mouth felt too dry.

You stood up from your bed and decided to get some water.

You almost forgot that you were sleeping in Minho’s holiday house. But the familiarity of the hall and the stairs came back quickly, and you could manoeuvre yourself around, even in the dark. It didn’t take long to get a glass of water and before you knew it, you were on your way back to your room. The house was old and empty in the darkness and normally you might be scared, worried about what was lurking around the corner or in the shadows, but it felt peaceful.

You reached your room and set the glass down on your nightstand after swallowing a mouthful when you noticed something moving in the dark. You blinked and felt your heart skip a beat but when you turned on the bedside lamp, you saw Gally, “Gally?”

He looked at you as if you weren’t really there, his eyes watery and distant. You knew why. It was his nightmares, sometimes they got better when he went away from home but sometimes, they would get worse. You walked over to him and gently took his arm, “C’mon, Gally, let’s get you back to bed.”

“I’ve got to get to the water.”

You led him out of the room carefully, “No, you’ve got to sleep now.”

“Okay…”

You were thankful that at least it wasn’t one of his night terrors, that would wake up the whole house. You could deal with those, but you weren’t sure how the others would react. It had happened once on one of your trips, but it was on the night that the others went out drinking while you two stayed home. It was a horrible one, too, but you managed to calm him down even then.

You sat him down on his bed and he got settled in back under his blankets, “Goodnight, Gally.”

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

But he didn’t say anything else, instead he grumbled and turned over in his bed. You smiled down at him briefly but felt the exhaustion of the day overcome you, so you tucked him in and closed the door behind you.

You slept well after waking up in the middle of the night, so well that you slept in longer than anybody else. By the time you opened your eyes, you could hear them bustling around in the kitchen downstairs or showering in the bathrooms on the second floor.

You rolled over onto your other side and squinted against the sun that filtered through the curtains over the glass balcony doors. You yawned and scrambled out of bed in time for Brenda to pop her head into the room and say, “You hungry?”

You smiled and nodded your head, “Though I’m still trying to wake up.”

She giggled, “Nice sleep? These beds are the best. Thomas put on a pot of coffee so you should be awake in no time.”

“Mm,” you said, “coffee,” you followed Brenda downstairs, the house lit up in the morning sunlight, the breeze from late afternoon yesterday continuing in the morning.

You walked into the kitchen where Thomas and Newt were fighting over who would flip the pancakes and Teresa sitting by the window in the room next door, reading a book. Gally, supervising the others with squared shoulders and a focused frown, poured you a cup of coffee the instant you walked in.

He passed it to you carefully, “You actually look like you had a good sleep.”

“Only partly,” you took a sip of the hot drink, “and you?”

He tightened his lips together, “Guess so… Did I…?” he said quietly, not wanting to share with the whole group.

You nodded slightly, “But it was fine, easy-peasy lemon-squeezy. Got you back in bed in no time,” you smiled. “Just thankful you weren’t lurking out in the woods.”

He breathed a sigh of relief, “Yeah, well, same here.”

You touched him lightly on the arm and took your drink into the room where Teresa sat quietly. She put her book down as she noticed your presence, “You slept in.”

You shook your head as you sat down across from her, “So everyone keeps telling me.”

“You been going okay?” her blue eyes were soft and concerned, and you went rigid under her stare.

You raised an eyebrow at her, “Fine, why?”

“I talked to Gally yesterday… he said something might be wrong,” she watched you carefully but all you could focus on was gripping your mug, “Is it Alby?”

Your eyes darted up from your drink to her blue ones and you didn’t even have to say a word for her to know she was right.

She leaned forward in her chair and placed her book down on the coffee table between you, “I’ve been thinking about him too.”

You shook your head, “It’s just… everything we do together, it reminds me of those times we spent with him.”

“I know,” she said quietly, “I really do,” she pressed her lips together tightly. “I think… maybe you should talk to Gally about it, too?”

You kept quiet. Teresa didn’t understand, Gally took Alby’s death pretty hardly. Of course, everyone was upset and grieved over his death in their own ways but Gally couldn’t let go of it that easily. Because of what happened.

“Just think about it,” she said, before Thomas yelped in the kitchen, interrupting your conversation. You both glanced to the kitchen to see Thomas running water over the side of his hand and Newt frustratingly cooking the last couple of pancakes. Gally was quietly sipping at his coffee just watching the whole fiasco, you could tell from here that he was amused.

You stood up from the sofa chair and walked into the kitchen, “You guys need my pancake-cooking expertise?”

“No,” Newt grumbled, flipping the last pancake, “just about done ‘ere anyway. Besides,” he glanced over at you, “wasn’t my fault, it was Tommy’s.”

“Was not!” Thomas argued, his hand still under the cold water. “You were the one who bumped into me!”

“Like I said,” Newt cut in, “Tommy’s fault,” he winked over at Thomas who only rolled his eyes back.

Everyone quickly settled around the plate of pancakes to fill their plates and then everyone wandered on over out to the patio to enjoy the warm sunshine. You refilled your coffee and took your pancakes out, sitting beside Brenda on the steps instead of one of the patio chairs. You looked out onto the greenery and felt the weight of yesterday roll off your shoulders.

Thomas walked out onto the patio and grumbled, “So I was left all the burnt ones then?”

The day went by pretty quickly, Minho and Thomas went for a run on one of the more difficult hiking trails, Brenda settled down on the couch for the afternoon and the rest of you, Teresa, Gally, Newt and you, went exploring into the woods.

You took your camera with you and snapped some decent photos of the trees and the sky, the sun filtering through the leaves and model shots of Teresa. She quite enjoyed being a model for you.

You snuck some of Newt, with his hoodie, scuffed jeans and long, blond hair but he soon recognized the sound of the shutter-button and a sequence of photos of Newt holding up his palm to cover his face from your lens commenced. He laughed but soon shied away from the camera and you took that to mean no more photos.

It was a much harder task to take photos of Gally. It was like he knew you’d try, well, of course he would, you always bugged him with your camera — even when you were both kids. But once you hung back from the group, you managed to snap a few. When he noticed, he stuck the finger up at you just as you clicked the button. His smug grin and bright green eyes only made it better.

You stared at the photo, once back at the house, and thought about how you would get it developed properly once you got back home. It was just one of those photos that made you smile.

The door to your room creaked open and Gally was there, recently showered with wet hair and the smell of shampoo and soap. He wiped his face, “You staring at my handsome face?”

You rolled your eyes, “I wouldn’t exactly use the word handsome but…” you laughed, and he shook his head at you. He wandered over to the bed and then sat down beside you, the weight shifted the mattress slightly. He was quiet for a moment, but he was often like that, so you didn’t take it to mean anything. But then he reached for the framed photo you turned face-down and froze as he stared at it.

You sighed but couldn’t bring yourself to say anything.

He sat back onto the bed again with the frame in his hands, he didn’t take his eyes off it. He didn’t take his eyes off Alby. “This is why you’re upset, right?”

You took the photo from him, “It doesn’t matter.”

“Well, it does, actually.”

You looked over at him in the eyes, defeated. “Everyone… everyone came here but no one is even thinking about him.”

“That’s not true,” he said quietly. “I think about him all the time.”

“And the others?”

“How would you know if they weren’t?”

You fought the urge to pout at him because you knew he was right. A moment passed and a thought crossed your mind, “I had a nightmare last night.”

“I thought I woke you up?”

“Nope,” you sighed. “I was getting a glass of water before I saw you standing in my room.”

“The same nightmare?”

You swallowed, “Always the same,” you placed the frame back onto the bedside table, “I see the door, I hear the water and then I see the blood. Alby’s blood.”

“I’m sorry.”

You stood up from the bed suddenly and tried to shake those thoughts away, “Not your fault.”

“No, I’m sorry I can’t… that I couldn’t help you through it like you do with me all the time.”

You smiled sadly at him, “I know you would if you could.”

“Wake me up next time.”

You shook your head, “I’m sure… I’m sure it was just one-off. The last time I had that dream… it hadn’t reoccurred for months.”

“Just tell me you will, anyway.”

You opened the door further, your hand rested on the doorknob, “Maybe.”

You weren’t the one to wake Gally up because of a nightmare.

It was 2 in the morning when you heard the first shout. Your eyes were open in a flash, since being a much lighter sleeper than usual. You sat up in your bed, dizzy from sitting up too quickly and confused at where you were again. You blinked and heard something, a noise you couldn’t quite describe, coming from Gally’s room.

You slid out of bed with ease, finally remembering that you were in Minho’s holiday house. You didn’t bother to put on a hoodie to cover your pajama shirt which clung to your braless torso – it was dark enough, and Gally was in need of some help.

You creaked open his door, thankful that he was still in his bedroom. Except he wasn’t, because the last sound must have been him leaving his bed. You stared at his empty sheets and your heart beat fast in your chest. You left his room and stared down the hall, all other doors were closed. You ran to the banister of the stairway and looked down, you didn’t see anyone downstairs but there was a faint shuffling sound on the carpeted rugs.

You sprinted down the steps as best as you could, so you wouldn’t trip, but you still couldn’t see him. You knew not to wake him but sometimes he would still communicate with you when fast asleep. You gently, and quietly, called out his name. Repeated it as you walked through the first-floor.

Finally, there was a flash of movement down one of the hallways and so you followed. The rustling of his bare feet became less and less until you were sure he must just be standing still. When you rounded what you thought was the last corner, you saw a tall figure standing near the windows.

“Gally,” you whispered.

But he didn’t turn around, instead he just stared out the window. They were floor to ceiling, covered in curtains, but he peered through the slit in the material.

“Gally,” you said, and took a step towards him, “Let’s go back to bed, alright?”

There was still no answer, not even a register that you were there talking to him.

You neared him, still a dark shadow in this darkened house, and reached out towards him with one hand—

“Y/N?”

Your heart stopped and you whipped your head around to see Gally standing behind you, his green eyes awake and concerned. You shuddered away from the window but there was nobody there, nobody at all. “I—”

“Did you have a nightmare again?”

“No,” you argued, “No, I… You had a nightmare…” you turned to look at him again, “You woke up and I followed you downstairs, I…”

He frowned, hard, “I woke up and went to pee.”

“But you shouted…”

“Yeah, and then I woke up and went to pee,” he repeated, staring firmly at you, “I never came downstairs until I heard you wandering around down here like an idiot, calling my name. I figured you were sleep walking.”

“But…” you looked back at the window. The person you saw was tall and like Gally, but now that you thought more carefully of it, it wasn’t as tall, or as broad-shouldered… You swallowed and walked past Gally, “Must have been dreaming,” but you knew you were not.

Gally walked with you back upstairs to your room and he said goodnight, and half-joked, “If you need me in the night, my room is across from yours, not downstairs,” and with that, you were back in bed under your blankets, but you were sure you wouldn’t get a wink of sleep after what you saw, after seeing… Alby.