#they just pulled a Gally and saved her after everyone left

[get-the-medjacks]

@mazerunner-rarepairs major character (un)death and some potential extra rare advanced board content??

Some Rachel/Miyoko that has been stewing in my thoughts from the moment I read the FAQ for this event

AO3 link

[heliads]

Some Use

Based on this request: "Newt: The reader is introduced to Ava, and Ava takes a liking to the reader. She gives the reader “special treatment” but it’s just a plan to get information out of the gladers and to use her. Ava tries to use the reader a a test subject but the boys & teresa get there just in time.

masterlist

There have been three moments that you would describe as the most important in your life, the three times when the ground was pulled out from under your feet at such force that you felt like you might spend the rest of time falling until there was nothing left of you at all. Those moments have been as follows: when you woke up in the Box and realized that you were trapped in the Maze, when Newt told you he loved you for the first time, and now, when you’re finally walking out of the Maze with your surviving friends. 

The first two are easy enough to explain. Walking around in the Glade for the first time, knowing that you’ve been stuck in the middle of a giant labyrinth with no idea who you are or how to get out, is a massive revelation. 

Hearing Newt’s confession, too, was life changing in a different way. You’ve been stuck on the blond second in command ever since you turned up in the Glade. He’s kind in a way that you’ve never seen in anyone else, and he genuinely looks out for you. It was only a matter of time before you fell in love with him, but learning that Newt felt the same way was utterly fantastic. 

This, though? Right now, stepping out of the Maze? Words cannot describe how good this feels. You’ve been stuck in the Glade for the entirety of your known life, and while that admittedly isn’t that long, it’s still something. You never really thought you’d get a chance to leave, same with most of the other people here. 

It’s not like your departure hasn’t had its cost, though. There are too many people you had to leave behind, too many people who died trying to protect the rest of you. Every one of their deaths cuts like a blade, but the best thing you can do to honor their memory is to get out so their sacrifices weren’t in vain. 

Newt holds your hand, tight, as if he’s afraid that by letting go for even half a second he’ll lose you forever, just like everyone else slumped on the ground behind you. He’s not wrong to fear separation- even know, after you’ve left the Maze, two more Gladers die. One is Chuck, little Chuck, diving in front of Thomas to save his friend’s life. The other is Gally, killed as he stares out at what he did to the youngest boy to treat him like a friend.

You don’t know how to cope with it, so you don’t. You force your eyes away, burying your face in Newt’s shoulder. Your boyfriend pulls you close, but you can feel the wracking of the sobs he’s trying to hide as if they beat in time of Chuck’s stilled heart. Haven’t you been through enough? Haven’t enough sacrifices been made?

No, as it turns out. The answer is no. Still, you have to run from the broken out shell of the formed W.I.C.K.E.D. complex, through the sand to reach a helicopter waiting to ferry you away. You sit near the side of the aircraft so you can look out over the edge. It’s strange to watch the Maze disappear to a dot on the horizon, so small that only dolls could play in it. Is that what you were to W.I.C.K.E.D., back when you and the Gladers were still trapped inside? Little playthings that could be dragged around as your superiors saw fit?

Newt reluctantly lets you go when you touch down at your destination. It’s a facility of sorts, run by a man called Mr. Janson. You’re separated from the boys under the pretext of getting washed up and undergoing some initial tests to make sure you’re doing alright. Even Teresa is pulled from you soon enough, and it is there, waiting in the gateway between home and safety, that you realize the first of the lies you’ve been forced to swallow.

A woman approaches you from behind, asks if you can keep a secret. You say yes. What else could you do except maintain your silence? She shows her face once she decides she believes you, and your breath catches in your chest. You saw this woman shoot herself in the head just a matter of hours ago. This is Dr. Ava Paige, but if she’s not dead, then she’s W.I.C.K.E.D., and that must be worse.

Ava cautions you to hold back any expectations about who she is. She wants to trust you, she says, because after everything, you’re the one who’s been proven time and time again to have the best spirit for this sort of thing. Thomas is brave, Newt is caring, Alby is–was– solid as a rock of ages, but you are different. You always make the right choice, and Ava can count on you to do it again, right?

Again, you nod. You regard her from underneath your lashes, tucked away in the corner of a room initially meant for medical checkups instead of alliance-changing realizations. Ava says that she needs you to stay quiet so you can convince the rest of your friends to stay here. Thomas and Minho have always been itching to run away, you know that as well as her. They just need to remain in the facility a little longer so you can make sure everyone stays safe for as long as necessary. You want your friends to be safe, don’t you?

You do. When you’re finally allowed to leave Ava’s conference, you stumble towards a cafeteria. She’s allowed you to go out and rejoin your friends, isn’t that kind of her? You did have to undergo a few tests, just in case. Nothing major, just application of antibiotics to the various scrapes and tears in your skin, as well as an injection to your arm. She didn’t explain that one.

Newt looks pleased to see you, leading you over to the table where the rest of the Gladers huddle around each other, peering over each other’s shoulders in the hopes of spotting someone else they recognize. There are other groups from other Mazes, too, and they all talk about how great it is to be out of W.I.C.K.E.D.’s chokehold. You know the truth, and you stay silent. Aren’t you doing your job well?

Newt notices your bitten tongue, though, as he always does. He waits for the conversation to pick up, then speaks to you over the muted whispers.

“Everything alright, love?” His eyes rake over you as if he’s half expecting to see a different person crouched behind your frame. “You seem quiet.”

That’s the whole point, the quiet. If only he knew that you’re protecting him, just as he’s protected you. He’d be proud, wouldn’t he? Ava thinks so, and you trust her. You don’t know why, but you do.

However, you can’t say any of this, not yet. Ava has promised that you’ll be able to tell all soon enough, but only at the right moment. 

“I’m good, just tired.”

You rub a hand over your face to make the act convincing, and Newt seems to believe you.

“Me too. I don’t think I ever want to move a muscle again.”

This seems like the perfect chance to try out a little of what Ava was saying. “Maybe we don’t have to,” you offer, “This place seems pretty nice. I wouldn’t mind staying here for a while.”

Newt looks at you funny, like you’ve been reciting someone else’s lines from memory and he can see through every monotone syllable. “Yeah, but it’s not as homey, you know? It feels like a transition place, not our final location.”

You lift a shoulder. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem that bad to me.”

That’s because you’re useful now. You have a purpose, one made just for you. Newt doesn’t get it because he was second in command back in the Glade, he was always important. You’re important now, and you want to ride this high until it breaks.

Newt gives you one last curious stare, then shrugs and turns back to comment on something Minho’s just said. You glance around the room until you find a security camera tucked behind a ventilation unit, and flash it a cool smile. See, you want to say. I’m doing my part.

Ava Paige meets up with you the next day, same time, same place. She seems pleased. “You’ve been doing quite well, I think. However, rur work is just beginning. Tell me, how are the Gladers reacting to the change of scene?”

You cock your head to the side as you consider this. “I don’t know, I think they’re all just sort of shell shocked.”

Ava’s mouth flattens into a thin line. “What have they been saying, specifically? See if you can recall any exact conversations.”

A thought pierces your mind that this is an odd thing to ask. “I thought you could tell that from the security cameras.”

Ava waves a hand dismissively. “They only pick up so much. Your boys have been careful to stay quiet.”

She shoots you a warning look as if this is your fault, but you’re not sure that it is.

“Well, I don’t remember anything in particular.”

You do, actually, but something dampens the tip of your tongue, stopping you from spilling any further information. A lifetime of being on your guard has taught you when to trust people and when to keep certain things to yourself. Despite all of her kindness, a voice in the back of your head says that Ava is asking odd things. It’s also strange that you’re alone during all of this, isn’t it?

Ava sighs, as if she can sense where your mind is going. “I think we’re both stressing each other out.”

She reaches behind her for a syringe on a tray. You vaguely recognize it as the injection from yesterday. If it was another antibiotic, you’re not sure why you’re receiving it again, especially such a short time from the last dose, but who are you to question it?

After she removes the needle from your arm, you wonder why you were so troubled by her questions before. This time, you answer Ava freely, and she seems so pleased with you that you’d spill your soul out if it meant making her proud. That’s the best thing right now. That’s what keeps your friends safe. Your silence will only hurt you, and no one wants that.

A few days later, you stop worrying about the injections entirely. Ava hasn’t explained them, but they don’t seem to be doing anything wrong. You do have a rather persistent headache, one that refuses to go away and leaves your mind clouded and fuzzy, but that’s probably due to a lack of sleep. 

You keep having these terrible nightmares, ones that plunge you into horrible visions every time you shut your eyes. Sometimes, you swear you can hear your own voice screaming out at you to run away, but that makes no sense. Why would you want to leave?

If there’s one person who truly wants to leave, though, it might be Newt. As the days pass, he seems more and more troubled. You keep seeing him whispering to Thomas and Minho, but he always stops whenever he sees you approach. 

One day, he pulls you aside, careful to stay out of sight from the security cameras. The shadows under his eyes are darker, and he seems to be wrought of stress instead of flesh and bone.

“Listen, Y/N, is everything alright? You seem very much unlike yourself.”

You laugh. “What? No, I’m fine. Promise.”

Newt doesn’t seem to believe you. “You keep staring vacantly out across the cafeteria.”

That’s just because you need to pick up information to report back to Ava, but you’ve sworn not to talk about it. “I’m tired, like I said. Nothing more.”

He frowns. “Are you sure? I swear, Y/N, I wouldn’t be saying anything if I wasn’t serious. Is everything alright?”

You wave a hand dismissively. “I’m fine, I swear. I mean, it’s like a thousand degrees at the moment, but that’s just because there’s no air circulation. I don’t think improper heating is really a cause for concern, though.”

Newt stares at you as you roll up your sleeves, trying to avoid the baking temperatures of the facility. Distantly, you notice that he’s wearing a long sleeved shirt and pants, and that many of the other boys have donned jackets.

“It’s not hot at all, what are you talking about? Wait, what’s that?”

Newt points at your arm, and you look at him confusedly. “What’s what?”

“That thing on your arm. Hold still, please?”

Newt takes your arm gently in his hands before you can stop him, pulling up the sleeve of your shirt until he’s staring at the dip of your arm in your inner elbow. It’s covered by a deep, mulberry bruise, likely due to the countless injections delivered by Ava to that very spot.

Newt looks between the bruise and you, a deep furrow carving out the space between his brows. “What is this?”

You pull your arm away quickly. “Nothing.”

He takes your hand again. “It doesn’t look like nothing. Is this why you’ve been acting strangely?”

For some reason, you feel panicked, although you can’t decide whether you’re more afraid of him finding out or not. “I’m fine, I told you. That’s just due to the medical checkups, you know, like everyone else.”

Newt shakes his head slowly. “None of us have had medical checkups since that first day. I don’t know what’s happening, but I think this is wrong.”

You blink slowly. “They said you guys had checkups every day, just like me.”

A look of horror is starting to gradually descend over Newt’s features. “Not at all. Y/N, you need to find out what’s going on. Something isn’t right.”

Before you can ask Newt what he means by that, two guards materialize out of the adjacent hall, and gesture for you to follow them. Newt tries to go with you, but one of them forces him away. Newt shouts out at you before you disappear down the hall to be careful, but a raging headache descends upon you, and you can scarcely hear him at all.

You’re not doing well at all by the time you’re delivered to Ava’s room once again. She tries to start asking you questions, but you talk over her.

“What have you been doing to me?”

Ava smiles, evidently confused. “What are you talking about? We’ve been working together for quite some time.”

You shake your head, the movement sending your mind scattering to a thousand corners of your consciousness. “No, no. The injections. What’s in them?”

Ava tsks softly. “See, you weren’t supposed to ask that question. We were doing so well before you had to ruin it.”

You stare at her, feeling more unsettled by the second. “What does that mean?”

The large LED panels over her head makes Ava’s face glow waxy pale, as if she’s half corpse already. “We need a solution, don’t we, Y/N? We need a way to protect ourselves against the Flare. Some of that research involves seeing what Variables your brain can do without.”

She reaches for the syringe at her side, and you back away slowly. “No, no. No more of those.”

Ava sighs. “Come on, now. It’s for the greater good. Don’t you want to help people?”

You shake your head, unable to muster up a sound. It is the voice from the door, though, that answers Ava for you.

“She’s not helping you anymore.”

You and Ava turn in unison to see a group of Gladers storming into the room, led by Newt. You see Teresa, Thomas, Minho, all of them, all here to help you. Something like gratitude flashes across your mind, even as your head threatens to split itself in two.

Ava’s lips draw away from her teeth. “None of you are supposed to be here.”

Thomas just chuckles. “Yeah, and you’re supposed to be dead. It would have been a lot better for us if you would have just committed to taking that bullet like you said.”

Newt has reached you by now, and he takes your hand, squeezing it once as a comfort. “I went and got everyone the second you left. I knew something wasn’t right, and I’m glad we came when we did.”

You smile at him. “I’m glad, too. Let’s get out of here.”

Newt nods. “Sounds good to me.”

You try to leave, but you’ve scarcely taken a few steps before Ava calls something after you. “Do you really think you can leave? One alert to the guards, and this whole place will be on lockdown. You can’t just go.”

Thomas scoffs. “That’s no problem at all.”

He pulls a weapon you faintly recognize as a Launcher out of a backpack, shooting it at Ava once so she crumples to the floor in a haze of electricity. Newt starts to sprint for the door, you alongside him. You feel like you’ve spent your entire life on the run, either in the goal of escaping the Maze or, now, trying to leave W.I.C.K.E.D. yet again. As long as you have Newt by your side, though, you know that you’ll be alright.

maze runner tag list: @rogueanschel, @ellobruv-blog, @retvenkos, @neewtmas, @thatfangirl42, @hiya-its-amber

[writingsbychlo]

smoke and fire (09)

word count; 13,103

summary; following up a storm, there’s a crash on one of the highways, and things don’t always go as planned in rescue attempts.

notes; there is going to be some big realisations in this part. it’s angsty, but you’ll love it.

warnings; reference to death, panic attacks, car crashes, near-death experience, mild injury/gore reference.

“Holy shit..” You mumbled, staring out at the scene ahead of yourself on the intersection, Newt’s jaw dropped much like your own as you looked out at it all. Smoke curling up into the air, crushed cars and contorted metal with flames curling up. Blue sirens of other ambulances and firetrucks, the other side of the amalgamation of cars, and you stepped down from the ambulance in shock.

The call that had come over the alert ten minutes ago had been no joke, it was a true disaster, the no longer muffled wails of emergency vehicle alerts, the crying of people in pain, the workings of machinery and metal grating against metal to make you shudder in uncomfortable shock. The firetrucks of your own house pulled up next to you, the ambulance having the edge on this case as it was easier to weave through other cars along the highway, and the same look of shock was mirrored on all of their faces. 

This wasn’t the first car crash you’d dealt with, far from it, but it was certainly the worst. Police and traffic wardens were beginning to divert traffic, all the lanes with cars moving in both directions being stopped, and you planted your feet tightly to the ground and wrapped your jacket more tightly around yourself as the strong and chilling winds that had been the cause of the accident came back to claim more victims. The females roared up, only encouraged by the howling winds, and you cursed under your breath at the cold. 

An oil tanker had tipped over, blocking all of the lanes in both directions, broken fences from where it had tipped and cars had simply managed to smash into it and one another repeatedly as they tried to swerve, leaving the mixed wreckage of at least twenty cars littered across the tarmac. Bumpers, glass and framework, and there were too many pieces to began even starting to try and match them to smashed vehicles. 

Opening your door back up and hopping back up into the warmth of the ambo’ cabin, Newt ran a hand over his hair, scratching at the back of his head lightly as he sighed, gaze scanning repeatedly over the sights before him, and Brenda bumper her hips against his as she came to stand next to him. Twisting the dials on the radio, you unhooked the speaker from the set screwed into the dashboard, bringing it to your lips and listening as it crackled. 

“First responder dispatch centre, how can I help?”

“This is the paramedic of Firehouse ‘21, reporting to a call on the bridge entered-” Flicking your wrist up to take a look. “-eighteen minutes ago. Please notify all local hospitals to expect heavy patient incoming, various degrees of injury. Most likely to be expected is concussions, broken bones, burns and smoke inhalation, as well as various lacerations and punctures.”

“Noted, and the local hospitals will be informed. Thank you for your call.” The buzzing across the radios returned, static to fill the space as the call came to an end, and you hooked the material back up. Reaching backwards and behind your chair, you fished around for your bag, snatching it up in one hand and taking Newt’s with you, the man having paced away to stand with groups of firemen as they waited for their instructions. 

This was yet another call that Vince would take control off, ready to discuss a plan with the other house Chiefs to come up with a plan of action, divide and conquer the scene before you all, everybody coming at it from another angle to handle it. Slamming the door shut and wrapping your arms around yourself tightly once again to shield yourself from the cold. Stepping along towards your partner, your cheeks were already beginning to sting from the low temperature, and you came to stand before him, handing him his bag.

“Thanks.” He took the pack from you, hanging it on his shoulder, just with one strap, and tucking his hands securely into his pockets, bunched up in fists for warmth. “You call it in?”

“Notified all hospitals in the area, and gave them a vague list of injuries to expect.”

“Good call.” He mumbled, and you tried to tune into the chatter you were hearing. From what you could gather, the Chiefs had all divided up the area into sections, a certain number of cars and rescues to make. 

Three other teams on sight, one would deal solely with the tanker, neutralising oil and saving the driver from the cabin while making sure that the punctured and leaking tanker never met fire; arguably the most pressured job of them all as they struggled to fight off the looming explosion. The second and third team would split the cars on the other side, the morning rush who had all been heading into the city leaving far more casualties than those on your side who’d been heading the opposite way, and you would be left to deal with those on this side of the overturned tanker that was covering the entirety of the highway. 

There was so much commotion and noise that you couldn’t even hear the racing of the waters underneath, despite the crushing strength of the icy water running under the bridge below your feet, the rumbling of it normally audible when it was this chaotic, right after a storm had hit, but it was overpowered today. You shook again, the chilling temperatures making everything that much more difficult, the knuckles in your fingers already beginning to go stiff with the cold weather. 

“Alright, team. Listen up.” Your head snapped up as Vince spoke, his hands clapping together, rubbing for warmth before they were tucked back inside of his pockets, and you envied the heavy-duty jacket he already had on. “We have everything to the left of the overturned tanker. We are not - under any circumstances - to venture out of our zone. There is spilt oil, fires, and a lot of jagged metal. I don’t want to hear anyone telling other teams what to do.” He shot a pointed look to Gally, he scowled a little, everyone else chuckling and you supposed there was a story that you had yet to hear. 

Vince continued on, commanding the firemen, but you and Newt were able to tune out as you were left to your own devices, the two of you turning in unison to explore the area with your gazes. There weren’t as many cars to be attended to as you suspected there were on the other sides, but it was still over ten, and you worried your lower lip between your teeth as you tried to establish where to start. There were groans of pain, calls for help, and your fingers wrapped around your bag handle as you gripped on and tried to steady your thoughts.

The most concerning of it all was the van on the edge of the bridge. Clearly spun out, the side was dented and scraped from the collision. The barricades on either side of the van were missing, torn and unstable as one of the front wheels hung over the edge, but it seemed reasonably stable, no wobble or shake to it, even with the howling winds. 

“You wanna’ take that one?”

“Oh, no, that’s a treat for you.” You smirked, turning to look at Newt, and he rolled his eyes, holding out his fist and raising his brows. Matching his pose, you twisted to face him more fully, your fist landing on an open palm. “I can’t read you anymore. You used to suck at this game.”

“I have tactical skills now. It’s all about logic. I’m basically a Vulcan.”

“You’re basically a nerd.” You teased, and he scoffed, his good foot swinging up to kick you lightly enough in your shin that it didn’t hurt, but it still made you tremble as you tried to avoid it. He moved again, stepping towards you, and you shoved at his shoulder as you backed away. “Cut it out! I take it back!”

“Yeah, you better. Just for that, you’re taking the van!”

“Rock, paper, scissors!” You demanded, and he shook his head, turning his back on you and wandering away towards the car closest to himself, and you gaped at him a little, before turning back to analyse the van. It would no doubt need to be stabilised, and yet it was barely over the edge, but it was still concerning, and as you peered inside, you could pick up no movement, finding that there was an unconscious driver inside, if not unconscious passengers, too.

Turning back to find a fireman to help you, you jumped violently in shock at finding one directly behind you, your entire body jerking as you stepped back, and a familiar and raspy chuckle met your ears, held low to hide his brief amusement in a tense situation, and you scowled flashy up at him.

“Fucking hell, don’t do that!”

“I’m sorry.” He grinned, holding up a peace offering and apology that made your eyes widen. “I brought you a coat, so you wouldn’t get cold. Might restrict your movement a bit, though.” Thomas lifted the jacket up to sit over your shoulders, and you dropped your medkit to the floor, pushing your arms through your sleeves and wrapping it up tightly around yourself. For once, with the lack of any fires near yourself, you didn’t feel so overheated by the jacket, and instead comforted by it. 

“Thanks, I was freezing, actually.” He only hummed, letting go of the lapels as you fastened it up at the front, pressing down the velcro seals but not bothering to zip it up in case you needed to remove it frequently for your venture. Grabbing your bag from the ground beside your feet again, you stood back up. He was staring at you, a soft smile on his face but there was uncertainty hidden behind it, and you hated that you were at fault for it. 

You knew he was waiting for some kind of response to his actions of only a few days ago, the sweet touch of affection he had offered you after your visit to the vet. The dog was sitting happily and warm back at the station now, probably curled up on the couch, and yet you were standing here in the cold, trying to work out what to say to the man before you. 

Your mind had been clouded these last few days, spinning with too many thoughts to process. Your job, your friends, the life you’d lived for the last half a decade as opposed to the one looking you in the eye now, and whether you were willing to let yourself open up to that change. You wanted to, you wanted to let them in and to know that you had a true place in this house, but with your track record it was hard, and you were unfamiliar with having a family so intense after years of being alone. 

“I just need to think, okay?” Reaching out a hand when his shoulders slumped, he perked up a little as his fingers curled back around yours, loosely but enough to show he appreciated the gesture, and you squeezed gently. He nodded his head, licking over his lips, and while you knew that the look in his eyes was disappointment, there was also understanding. “I need your help.”

He took a sharp breath, his hand pulling back from yours as ‘Thomas’ disappeared and ‘Lieutenant Stephens’ took over. Jabbing a thumb over your shoulder, his eyes flickered to the van, brows furrowing a little. 

“It’s my job to head into that van, and in the interest of being less reckless, I figured you’d want to hook me up to some ropes before I do.”

“The fact that you even consider going in there without any deeply concerns me, y’know.” You rolled your eyes fondly, shaking your head as he stepped back, but he was spinning on his heel to begin commanding his team. The Truck team were already spreading out across the space deemed to belong to your firehouse, and Newt was halfway inside of a slightly crushed car to reach a patient, while Thomas began to gather equipment and a team for the van. 

Stepping over to said vehicle as you waited, you pressed your hand to the back of the van in a feather-light touch. Skimming your fingers across the cold surface of the backdoor, your fingers hooked under the handle, pushing down on the button and pulling the warped metal out, the door swinging open. 

From what you’d been able to see through the windows along the side, there was no movement, but there was still hope to get a verbal response as you called out. The cabin remained silent, and you peered inside, finding only one person sitting within there, a driver slumped across the steering wheel, airbag deployed and beginning to deflate. You suspected lacerations and possible broken lungs, as well as a concussion and one hell of a headache when they woke up. 

Pulling back, you rounded the car, peering over the barricade over the edge of the road and swallowing thickly at the height of the drop down into the river, the waters raging below you, and you checked the sights of the engine. You were no mechanic, and you couldn't tell much from the outside, but it didn’t look like the metal had crumpled too much, meaning you wouldn't have to cut away metal around his legs to get him out, making your job a lot easier if he wasn’t trapped under an engine that had been forced into the main vehicle compartment. 

“Ready when you are!” Brenda was waving a harness at you as you turned to face her, and Minho was busy planting anchors in the ground. Enough to support you, the passenger inside, and the ropes that would be secured around the vehicle to hold it steady. The team were working quickly and efficiently, threading them through the tyres and around the van in various locations to keep it still while you crawled inside. 

Taking the bundle of fabric from her, you dropped it to the ground, beginning to become familiar with these harnesses now, and you were certain you could get it on yourself. Pulling it up after stepping one foot into each loop, you eased it up your legs, tightening it at your waist and around each thigh, making sure that the straps were secure enough to reassure you. 

“You’re going to have limited rope, alright? So, try not to get it stuck on anything, because we need a lot of these anchors, we’re going to have to stand far back and away from the cracking concrete to have any grip.

“How much rope is ‘limited rope’?”

“About three metres.” She winced, and you turned to look at the vehicle, a brow raising. 

“Bren, this van looks about three metres if not more, can’t we get a longer rope?”

“We need all the rope we have for securing the van.” You knew she was right, there was more distance to be covered there, and it as important to keep both yourself and the passenger safe and secure, but it didn’t make it any easier to navigate the carbon and be able to move when you’d be tugging on a leash with no give. “Take a harness into the van, try to secure the patient inside of it. We’re getting another rope and anchor grouping set up, by the time you tend to them, we should be ready.”

“Gotcha.”

She grinned, holding up her palm flat, and you chuckled a little, before slamming your own hand against hers. It may have been a childish gesture, but something about the silly actions of high-fiving in support of one another had relieved just a little bit of the crippling tension looming over you both in the moment, and so as you grinned to one another, it was worth it. “You got this!”

“You bet I do.” You winked, hearing her let out an encouraging cheer, before she was hanging over the spare harness to you and walking away to take the end of your rope through all of the anchors and support set up to take the weight off of her. Thomas was working on another rope, giving you a simple nod as he watched you go, approval and encouragement you were sure, before you were placing your first foot onto the metal of the van, and then a second, climbing up and into the precariously hanging vehicle.

Once you were balanced within, both feet on the wooden backing of the van, you were left to try and navigate your way through the space. It was cluttered, work tools and plywood, all strapped down for security, and you were grateful to see that at least those restraints were intact; if they’d swung forward when this van had hit the railing, there was a likelihood they would have unbalanced the van.

Setting your bag and the spare harness down on the passenger seat the driver was still strapped in, and as you took another step forward toward him, the breath was forced from your lungs, the harness pulling tight around your stomach as the rope ran out, going taut through the anchors and giving you no budge. 

“You okay in there?”

You turned back to look at Chuck, his eyes scanning over the inside of the van, bright eyes and flushed cheeks as his curls blew around his face in the breeze, and you nodded. Looking over the man before you, your fingers took his chin gently, tipping his head up to sit straight instead of at the uncomfortable angle it had fallen to lay at, and checking for a pulse in his neck. It was weak, and his breathing was shallow, but it was definitely there. 

“Anything I can do to help?”

“You can grab a neck brace and the board from the ambo’, I don’t think this guy is waking up anytime soon.” Chuck nodded, moving away to gather the supplies you’d listed off to him, the heavy sound of his boots scuffling on the tarmac fading out as you focused on the man before you. There was a nasty graze across the side of his neck, a fleshy burn from the friction of his seatbelt against his skin, but he could simply be glad he was wearing it, because otherwise, he would have gone through the windshield. 

The airbag was going down, and you pressed onto it, the hissing of air sounding out as you pushed it to help it deflate, giving you more space to work with, and see what you were doing, trying to reach across his body as you waited for the fabric safety precaution to reside. 

His nose was bleeding and it was swelling with purple bruises under his eyes and across his cheeks, a broken nose that was bad and would need professionally resetting, but that was the only initial examination that you could do with your limited range of motion. 

Tugging a little on your rope again, and hoping it would offer a little more give, you were disappointed as it held strong, trying to work out how to get closer to the patient, to be able to properly reach him, and start examining him for the further injuries you suspected he might have.

“Okay, I got the brace and the board.” Chuck was panting slightly, lugging both pieces of equipment, the support like a surfboard under his arm as the padded brace swung in the other hand, and you chuckled. “Alright, set the board down, I’m not sure how I’ll get him into it, but you can tell Brenda we aren’t going to need the spare harness, he’s out cold. I’ll trade ya’.” He nodded, placing the board down on the ground and letting the brace follow. 

Picking up the edge of the fabric you’d left with your bag, you shifted, swinging it over your shoulder and the van rocked a little at your sudden movement, your blood running cold, but it stopped after only a moment as the ropes that the Squad team had set into place held it steady; Chuck’s eyes as wide as yours. “Maybe no more sudden movements, then?”

“I think that’s a good idea, kid.” You grinned a little, trying to reassure the young candidate despite your heart leaping into your throat with fear. “Now, pass me that neck brace, nice and gentle. Roll it cross the floor.”

He did as told, tucking the straps in carefully and pushing it down the slight slope of the van, watching as the plastic rolled unevenly across the floor before getting wedged behind the passenger seat, stuck just underneath it, but the bright yellow plastic was still partially visible. You reached, the straps around your waist restricting your movements and digging into your flesh, almost to a painful degree, and your fingers brushed over it, but you couldn't grab a hold of it. 

“God, I can’t do anything on this freakin’ leash.”

“Oh, please don’t do what I think you’re going t-” You ignored him, fingers working over the latch on the carabiner that was keeping you secure, and you felt the tension around your waist give way from the second that it was unhooked. “You terrify me, do you know that? Do you have no concept of danger?”

“There is no danger, Chuck, I’ll be fine.” Clipping the band onto one of the poles in the headrest so that you could reach it again easily, you stripped off your coat to give you more flexibility, and left it in the footwell of the seat you currently resided next to. “You guys got this van all roped up, and it’s right there. I just need to be able to move if I’m going to save this man’s life.”

You rubbed sweaty palms against the fabric of your pants to dry them off, your first call was to unzip your bag, and to locate a pair of sanitary gloves, before interacting with him at all. Once the plastic covers were sealed over your hands comfortably, you were settling into a slightly uneven passenger seat to get a better look at him. 

Ideally, you really needed the seatbelt out of the way, but in his unconscious state, doing that would probably make the man fall forwards, and so you tried to work around it. Pressing your fingers gently along his chest under the unmoving strain of a locked safety belt, you pressed for hard patches, finding none under your fingers, breathing a sigh of relief as you found no external signs of immediate internal bleeding, muscles tense but skin not having hardened up.

Moving up to his eyes, you lifted one eyelid open, finding the keyring on your bag and unhooking it, flashing the small torch across his eyes, and watching for any pupil reaction. It was fast, an immediate reaction that was impressive and reassuring, and everything about the situation with the man in the truck was looking up. He was incredibly lucky. You were progressively growing more confused, however, as to why he was so heavily unconscious when so little seemed to be wrong.

Even the nerves in his legs were twitching when given stimulus, suggesting that he didn’t even have any kind of paralysis or delayed response time. His body seemed to be handling the shock and the adrenaline exceptionally well, and he should be awake. 

Reaching under your seat, you leaned forward, finding the brace and tugging it out, brushing it off and undoing the velcro seals that Chuck had put into place as it rolled, the ripping down of the two sides separating filling the cabin. 

“Chuck, time for you to go and grab another fireman, I’m going to work out how to get him loaded up onto a board, and out to you guys.” 

“I’m on it.” He gave you a salute, an ‘aye, aye, sir’ following it, and you couldn't help but chuckle at his antics, a heart of gold in the kid for being able to find amusement in the situation. You assessed the situation, ready to try and get him out of here, so that you could follow swiftly behind him, not wanting to be caught in the metal box any longer than necessary. Once you had him out and being carried to the ambulance, you could properly tend to his wounds. 

You’d need to put some disinfectant on the raw skin where his seatbelt had been, clean up his nose, and do a more thorough bodily exam to confirm your results but as far as you could see, there was no harm in moving him. There was only the trouble of getting him onto the board by yourself, in such a cramped and awkward position. Sweeping your eyes over the vehicle for anything to help, you scanned the chair, raising a brow, and twisting to look at your own. 

It took a moment, but your suspicions were confirmed, a handle on the outside of the chair near the door was present, to adjust the angle that the chair was sat at. Testing it, you reached around your seat, pushing the handle down and feeling the chair spring forwards, the wrong directions, and you huffed. Instead, you tried pulling up next, and it began to retract. The more you inched the chair backwards, the further it went, never reaching a limit as it sat halfway flattened, a good bet that the driver’s seat would do the same, and it was the best option you had so far.

 The door on the other side was a little more battered, the metal warped in, and as Chuck returned with Thomas by his side. He took a single look over the cabin, before his eyes were widening, and then narrowing on you. 

“Did you take off your harness?”

“No!” You moved, kneeling a little, half between the man's chair and half on the passenger as you hooked your thumb under the edge to show him. “I just undid the rope so that I could move around and actually do my job.”

“Are you insane? Do you have absolutely no concept of danger?” Thomas hissed, and you stuck your tongue out at him, moving to get a better look at the gap between his chair and the door, and whether you were going to be able to get your hand to the lever.

“That’s exactly what I said!” Chuck agreed, and you sighed at the pair of them.

“Put your rope back on, right now, or else-”

“Or else what, Tommy? What are you gonna’ do, huh?” You paused, raising a brow at him, and his jaw snapped shut. “You gonna’ come in here and make me? Unbalance the van with all your stomping around as you wrestle me back onto the rope? I think not.” His lips flicked up at the sides, lips rolling together to contain his smile, and his head ducked, but you didn’t miss the quiet chuckle he let out. When his head lifted, however, the amusement was gone, and that same endearing concern was back, making you sigh. “You got this whole thing hooked up with wires, I’m perfectly safe. I trust you.”

He swallowed thickly at your words, nodding his head, before his shoulders slumped a little. “Alright, fine. So, you got a plan or what, sweetheart? Because I don’t see how you’re going to get him onto that board alone, so maybe I will have to come in and wrestle you back into your ropes anyway.”

“Oh, ha ha.” You scoffed, adjusting yourself to be able to reach, and wincing as the screeching sound of metal and the slight wobble at the uneven weight distribution toward the driver’s seat brought back unsettling memories of your time in the elevator month’s prior. “I’m going to lower the chair back, and loosen his seatbelt as best I can. We can wiggle the board under him slowly, I’ll get the neckbrace on him, and push him up far enough for you to drag him the rest of the way.”

Thomas chewed on his bottom lip, nodding slowly as he thought through, and watching as you moved to lean over the man. Your hand was pressed tightly between the side of the chair and the metal as you worked your way down, blindly searching by touch for the lever you needed, and finally, you squeezed your fingers over the handle, but barely able to move to pump it and lower the chair carefully. “No sudden movements, okay? I don’t want any extra stress on those ropes.”

“No sudden movements, I promise.”

You flexed the handle, the chair lowering by an inch, maybe a little more, and you kept it up, your arm beginning to ache from the angle you were working at already, but with each squeaky sound, his chair was lowering more and more, straightening his spine out carefully as he lay down, your other hand resting against his forehead delicately to keep his head straight.

As he was lowered further and further, you pumped the chair as far as it could go, getting his body as streamlined as you could, and you were already making progress with him. Chuck was ready, holding the board up for you, and you nodded your head, letting go of a tense breath and leaning back to rotate your arm slowly to ease the cramp that was building in the muscles and tendons of your shoulder.

Shifting between the seats, and standing hunkered over as not to bump your head against the roof, you positioned yourself before him, Thomas holding one side of the board for stability, and Chuck on the other, watching for your advice silently. Cupping his head carefully, glove covered palm under the back of his skull to keep him steady, you lifted his head forwards just slightly, holding him still and curling your fingers in a motion as though to say ‘come hither’, and the board inched forward. 

As the plastic came into your peripherals, you reached out, guiding it to rest on the fabric of the chair under his head, pressing in until they reached the junctions of his shoulders, and then they stopped. Your palm was held up flat to them in signal, and while it would have been just as easy to talk, something about breaking the tense silence felt wrong, as though it would disturb the concentration you all had going.

Supporting his head still, you moved your other hand to lift his shoulders up, grunting a little at the added weight and strain on your arms in the less than ideal position, but it worked. With each wiggle and shift, they got the board a little further down under his body, sometimes stopping when it got caught on the safety belt or his clothing, but otherwise being completely successful. As the board bumped the backs of his legs, still bent over the seat with his feet pressed to the floor, you placed his head down, facing a whole new challenge. 

“What now?”

“I need you to get in here with me.” His face deadpanned, and you grinned, the blank look on his face amusing you. “Relax, not right up here with me. I just need you to pull him upwards very slowly onto the board while I adjust him. Once he’s on the board, I can strap him securely, and get the neck brace on him. You guys get him out, I get out of this death trap, and I see some other patients.”

“Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“Try to keep his head still, okay? We don’t want him getting any more injuries that we could have prevented.” Thomas only nodded in conformation, before he was stepping up, the van wobbling a little as he did, and he lowered himself down to one knee.

Reaching over the man, and inching two thicker-gloved hands under his shoulders, finding it harder to get a grip than you did in just your rubber gloves. He didn't move, though, waiting to be told to do so as you unclipped his seatbelt, the material slinking away across his body and back into the holder. Just as you prepared yourself for the neck brace, turning back to the passenger seat beside it, you watched his head roll to the side, cheek pressing into the fabric limply.

“What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Thomas' voice raised a little, insistent he hadn't, and you fixed him with a questioning look. “I swear!”

You didn’t get a chance to question him, before a loud gasping was sounding in the van, followed by a groan that bounced from the metal walls of the van, and his eyes were snapping open. Everything was still for only a moment, and you tried to process your words, mind spinning and you didn't have a chance to think before he was sitting up roughly, the car rocking with his movements, and he let out another agonised noise at the motions.

“Sir, I need you to rel-”

“What happened?” His head whipped from side to side, face screwing up before he was wincing, and the blood that had dried on his skin from his nose was soon replaced by a fresh gush of red, dripping over his lower lip and along his chin as he panicked. Sitting up further, the car rocked, and his hands flew out, gripping onto the edge of the van for stability. “What the fuck happened?”

“(Y/N), put your ropes back on!”

Your head snapped up to Thomas, his eyes wide as he pointed to the rope you still had clipped to the opposite chair, and you nodded your head at the precarious rocking of the vehicle. A hand grabbed your wrist, jerking roughly in fear as your attention was brought back to the man, and there was another shout of your name from Thomas, falling on deaf ears as the pleas of your patient drowned him out;

“Are we over the river?”

“I need you to calm down for me, okay, can you do that?” You tried to place a hand on his shoulder, to stop the moving that he was doing, but the whole vehicle groaned under the pressure, the sound of snapping and crumbling concrete making itself known, and then came a tearing, a loud banging against the side of the van, and Thomas jumped a little as he backed out of the van to peer over the top.

“What was that?”

“(Y/N) put your damn rope back on, now!”

“What was that, Thomas?” Your voice raised, demanding again as the vehicle swayed and you struggled to remain upright, his jaw clenching and nostrils flaring. 

“One of the support wires snapped, the movement is too much, it can’t take the weight.”

“The supports are snapping?” The patient sounded more panicked than either of you, and the grip that had been almost bruising around your wrist was released, your hand snatched back to your chest as you gripped it supportively. That same large hand landed on your shoulder, a brief push as he struggled to his feet and pushed past you in a haze of blinding fear and adrenaline, the vehicle moving violently as he tried to clamber his way on shaky legs from the van. 

You fell, the pressure from his push making you stumbled and your legs caught on the edge of the passenger seat chair, your body falling backwards and head hitting against the dashboard, shoulder landing on the handbrake and a sharp shock of pain ran along your entire body at the feeling. The sounds of your team members shouting at you, at the patient, at anyone else all became muffled for a second as your ears rang at the collision, your eyes squeezed closed, and you forced yourself to take a deep breath in and out as you processed the pain and tried to suppress it to be dealt with later.

The car came to a steady rest, no longer moving so aggressively but simply swaying, and you tried to adjust yourself carefully to be able to sit up. Thomas and Chuck were watching, with no sight of the patient, and both of them relaxed a little as you came into view. 

“Is he alright?”

“Is he alright?” Thomas seethed, and you blinked a little to clear fuzzy vision as you focused on your surroundings. “That idiot almost just made this van tip. He ran off to find Newt, I assume. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, just a little achy.” You muttered, the understatement seeming to make the throbbing in your shoulder seem worse. “It’s not his fault, he was in pain and confused, he wasn’t thinking clearly, it’s not his fault, Tommy.”

His anger didn’t seem to die down at all, but his resolve broke, and he choked back whatever he had to say, shaking his head. “Can you reach your rope? We need to get you out.”

You regretted using the passenger seat as your test for the lever one, because even at the most outstretched your arm could get, you still couldn't reach it from here without moving. Shifting up onto your knees, the van jerked again, tilting a little further as a sound of metal on stone so piercing it made your stomach churn and body shudder sounded out, another lurch forwards, another wire giving way, and you still couldn’t reach your rope.

“No! No, don’t move! There are two wires doing four wires’ job right now. Please, just stay still. Let me think of another way to get you out, just give me a minute, I can do this!”

Thomas’ voice was frantic, and you took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself as well as him, knowing that while he was all worked up, his mind wasn’t going to be clear at all. “You need to relax first, you’re going to work yourself into an anxiety attack.”

“Relax? You’re hanging over a river in an unstable van that could go at any moment! How could you possibly tell me to relax?”

“Thomas!” His head snapped up, eyes wide, his gaze steady as his eyes found yours, and you watched his shoulders loosen a little. “Please, just take a breath. I need you to not be Tommy right now. I need you to be my Lieutenant, okay?” He nodded, forcing himself to take a deep breath despite how shaky the inhale was, and letting it go slowly. 

“Yeah. You’re right. Okay.” It was like watching him shift into a new person before your eyes, a single deep breath, before he was letting out a sigh, and he stood up from his hunched-over position to look around the area surrounding you both outside of the truck. He let out a ragged sigh, trying to steady his own nerves, and you were struggling to do the same, feeling you the rushing of blood inside of your ears was almost deafening as your heart pounded, palms growing sweaty. 

Distracting yourself, you peeled off the rubber gloves, fixing flexing when they were free of the latex, and you tried to control your jitters. The van was tipped at an uneven angle now, and as you leaned forward, it wasn’t much of a strain to catch sight of the raging river below. The river was raging, the normally calm and steadily flowing waters were trampling anything in their path; branches, twigs and debris jostled in the rolls of water as the storm floods were washing away all the broken branches and eroded concrete it had created, the barriers up the side almost flooding over as the heavy rainfall you’d had was drained away.

One thick blue rope was pulled to its maximum tightness around the front of the vehicle, caught against the car’s metal insignia across the front, and some of the strings were beginning to snap, one thread of cotton at a time coming loose. 

“Hey, Lieutenant?” He ducked back down, eyes wide as he stared at you, cocking a brow in silent questioning. “Not to rush you or anything, but that last rope is fraying, and I don’t think it’s going to-”

The van screeched against the concrete, dragging forwards a little more, and the sound of several voices suddenly shouting filled what had only a second ago been reasonably calm quiet. You couldn't pick out a single voice, it was a calamity of panicked yells and commanding orders, and Thomas had disappeared from the end of the van, leaving you entirely alone. 

It wasn’t a feeling you liked, sitting in a metal tin as it rocked unevenly, the sounds of the tearing rope becoming louder and more common, the more strain put on fewer threads was speeding up the rate at which the rope was giving way, and there was a burning in the back of your throat as tears threatened to burn. 

You sniffled, cursing yourself for being on the verge of tears when you had bigger priorities right now than crying, but you couldn't help it. You were terrified, you were facing a drop of twenty feet while trapped inside of a van, into water that would be well below zero in temperatures, travelling at speeds you’d never be able to kick your way to the surface within, and it was overwhelming. 

A gasping breath, and another one, before your eyelids were growing heavy and as you shut them, you felt tears begin to leak free. You were barely balanced in the passenger seat, your legs aching and muscles tensed as you tried to hold yourself steady at the uneven angle, and parts of your body were growing numb as the dull pain became overwhelming. 

“How ya’ doing in there, (Y/L/N)?”

You couldn't help the weak laugh that you let out, wiping at your cheeks and looking up to face Thomas, his eyes flickering over with concern, but he kept his emotions steady, handling this much better than you were; but then again he wasn’t the one hanging over the edge of a bridge. “You know, just hanging out.”

“Can’t be that bad if you can still make puns.”

“Oh, I’m loaded with them, ready to drop at any time.” You insisted, silently thanking him for the fact that he was overlooking the tears still running down your cheeks and the wobble of your lower lip, instead just offering you a chuckle at the ironic words you had spoken. “So, how’s that rescue plan coming along, or are you just planning to leave me in here? Just when I thought we were getting over our issues..”

“Well, this would be a pretty convenient way to solve all of that.” He grinned, and you wiped your cheeks clear, skin stinging from the hot salt. “We’re just going to get some new anchors into the floor. If we can get a stabilising rope around this van then we’ll send someone in to get you, okay? Just keep holding on for me, you’re doing great, an-”

You squeaked a little at the tremor that shook the vehicle, your eyes going wide and Thomas’ words dying in his throat. That preamble seemed to be the warning, because only a  second later, the van was jerking again, another foot or so over the bridge and the back wheels were almost over the edge now too. 

Your body fell forwards, side colliding with the edge of the dashboard, ribs flaring up with pain and your leg twisted a little as it was caught in the gap between the chair and the flooring. The van was almost perpendicular now, you were pressed to the glass, the board you’d intended to lift your patient out on had slammed into the glass and it as fracturing in one corner, and despite the fear you had expected to be racing through you at this point, you felt an unsettling wave of calm. 

The voices outside were louder, the two ends of frayed rope hanging by the passenger windows, destroyed and useless, and you swallowed thickly, pushing yourself up a little bit and trying to gain your bearings, a headache forming behind your eyes from the stress and the panic bubbling inside of you, but crying no longer felt appropriate. 

“Hey, Tommy, are you still there?”

“I thought you wanted Lieutenant?” He sounded about as stressed as you felt, and you could no longer see him, all of the weight being held on the rope that Brenda was supposed to be holding for you, and you had no doubt that she must be under immense pressure on the other end of the machinery to hold it steady, but the thinner ropes designed for you weren’t going to hold very long. 

“Yeah, but now I want Tommy.” You mumbled, knowing that he couldn't hear you, and you tried to sort through your thoughts. “I’m scared.”

“I know. But I have a plan, alright? You’re just not going to like it.”

“I can’t say I’ve been all that fond of any of your plans, if I’m honest.” He gasped, a false sound of offence echoing around the cabin, and the weight on your shoulders lifted a little. “You can’t be all that surprised. So far, you’ve had me crawling between buildings on ladders and abseiling into elevator shafts that were dropping. It would seem that me and these harnesses just have some bad luck.”

“Yeah, well, if you’d stayed on your rope both of those times, you’d have been just fine.” He teased, and you scoffed at his statement, knowing that there was an air of both truth and falseness about it. “I’m going to lower another rope down to you, and you need to clip it to your harness, alright?”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“Yeah, but then comes the scary part.” He was trying to sound brave and you knew it was for your own benefit, but you were seeing right through him. “I need you to hold still and let the van drop away. We’re going to cut the rope, and the vehicle is going to drop out from under you. We can’t get any more anchors in the tarmac because of the cracks, so we’re going to have to do this the old fashioned way.”

There was a rope being lowered, and the glass underneath of you cracked a little bit more as you reached for it, fingers brushing against the metal of the carabiner, and you felt relief flood through you at simply having it in your hands. Your fingers worked over the catch quickly, unscrewing it to be able to hook it onto the front of your harness, and making sure that you did it up as tightly as you possibly could with the trembling you currently had. Tugging twice on the rope, you let out a sigh of relief.

“Okay, we’re going to cut the final wire, and you need to slide between the front seats before we do. Don’t try to climb, you’ll unbalance the van and it could drag you over the edge with it.”

Your body tensed as you stayed still, daring to shift fractionally to press your feet to the cracking glass underneath you, and it splintered even more, chips beginning to fall away as it threatened to break entirely. “I’m ready.”

It was a lie, a blatant, stone-cold lie, and yet you knew it needed to be done. Only a second after you’d said it, the ground underneath your feet was falling away, the already unstable vehicle tumbled forward with a groan, and your eyes squeezed shut. The breeze it created as it passed you by, the spray of water that came up from the almost deafeningly loud crashing it made as it hit the surface of the icy waters, and ten you were swinging. 

Dangling precariously over the edge, the muffled shouts of everyone above seeming like white noise as you tried to focus on simply holding off the upcoming panic attack that was bubbling within you, the droplets of cold water on your cheeks a direct contrast to the tears that were leaking free. You felt nauseous, a hand coming down to cover your stomach as the other cupped over your mouth, a precaution as you felt your gut twist into knots at the way your centre of gravity was spinning. 

It was the same way that your stomach would flip on a rollercoaster as it shot down a steep cliff, but continuous and without the rush of thrill, each jerk in the rope as you were tugged a few inches back up towards the surface making more adrenaline surge through your body to drown out the screaming fear that was threatening to consume you.

You waited, simply trying to catch your breath, trying not to let the stress get to you any more than it already had, and as the edge of the crumbled and broken concrete came into sight. The tips of your fingers were stinging and sore as you scrabbled against the stonework of the road pulling yourself up until you were on your hand and knees, head hanging, and head pounding.

It was all too much, your body feeling weak and your mind buzzing as you thought over it all, and the flashing lights around you were almost blinding, but it reminded you of where you were. You reached out, a hand wrapping around your own as you were pulled to your feet, and the flushed face of the man who’d saved your life was standing before you. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” You whispered, and he chuckled, using his teeth to pull off his glove and drop it to the ground, before a warm palm was closing over your cheek. The other soon followed, thumbs wiping away tears you had forgotten were even present, and you sank a little into his touch as he held onto you. “You have a job to do, Lieutenant.”

“I can spare a second to make sure you're okay.”

You nodded, sniffling a little, and shaking your head free of his grasp to wipe at your cheeks yourself. There was enough adrenaline racing through you right now to give you the power to fight a pissed off bull, your entire body jittering from head to toe, and you could barely think straight. “Really, Thomas, I’m fine.”

He stiffened slightly, and you knew you were shutting him out, but you couldn't help it, you’d been so scared in the moment, and yet, it hadn't been alone. You were scared because for the first time you could remember in your career, there were people who cared about you, and that had somehow made it all the more terrifying a prospect. You’d never had so much to lose before now.

“I should get back to work.”

The silence felt weighted as it hung between you, and your arms wrapped around your body at the chill of the winds that were sweeping over. You knew he hated the change of topic that you’d made, he was reaching out to you once again, and you were too afraid to return it. “I think Newt is just about done here, why don’t you head back to the ambo’ and get him to patch you up, instead.”

“Thomas..”

“I have a team to run.” His voice was firm again, and you felt locked out. You knew you’d messed up, you had done it to yourself, but you hated that he was disappointed in you. It was an unfortunate turn of events, something unexpected that made everything seem like a risk, and yet you weren’t used to having people who cared around you, to feeling like such a close-knit member of a team that it would affect them all so deeply.

He was walking away from you, a frown on his lips, and you wanted to reach out, but you didn’t know how to.

You turned away yourself, regretting the action as you did, and you wanted to glance back over your shoulder, but you knew he was angry. Still, it didn’t help the pain you felt, the pit in the bottom of your stomach, and every step you took away from him with bad blood still sitting heavy between you made you feel like you were wading through wet concrete. It was odd, how only a few months ago this kind of arguing had been the usual between you both, and yet now, it made you feel like you could barely breathe, a weight sitting on your chest. 

You couldn't take it. “Thomas!”

When you turned, he was glancing back over his shoulder, face sitting neutral and a single brow raised as he waited for you to keep speaking, but as you took further steps towards him, his face softened a little further. He turned to face you fully, eyes widening a little and his jaw dropped to ask you what was wrong, but he didn’t get a chance. A soft sound left him as your body collided with his, your face pressing into his chest as your arms circled his waist, and his breath was rushed from his lungs at the impact. 

You didn’t know what to say, and so you didn’t say anything, because, after a moment of shock, he seemed to silently get the message. His head boxed, his arms wrapping tightly back around you as he pulled you up to his height, his head bowing as he held you just as securely as you were holding him, and you let the tension in your body slip away for a second, to let him hold you up.

“We’re okay, I promise. As long as you’re okay.” You barely caught his words, mumbled into your hair, and it took you a second to process them but then you were nodding, and pulling yourself even closer to him in that moment. He was warm, and comforting, and now that you were actually holding him, everywhere he wasn’t touching felt cold.

His arms loosened around you, coldness sweeping in around your hands as he moved, and you stole a further second in the embrace, before his arms were falling away fully, and you were letting him go. His jacket was shucked down his arms, his eyes flickering over your face slowly before he was lifting the heavy jacket up and wrapping it over your shoulders, pulling it tightly around you, the fabric already heavy with heat and comfort he’d created. 

He waited as you pushed your arms through the sleeves, a hand closing over your hand, thumb brushing over your palm as he held it up, your skin littered with grazes and raw flesh from the broken concrete you had climbed over. “Go and get cleaned up, alright?”

It felt easier to walk away now, his gaze hadn't been so harsh and his smile was burning into the back of your mind as he turned from you again, jogging over to join Minho and Fry as they were using the cutters to pry open the metal on the side of a car that had become quite contorted as it had roughly collided into another. Newt was already waiting for you, tinkering around the back of the ambulance as he waited, and when he turned to find you at the scuff of your shoes on the floor, the scowl on his face melted away, only to return a second later with much more power. 

“You took off your damn rope?”

“I couldn't reach the patient.” You whispered, a growl leaving his lips, and as he hopped down from the vehicle, wincing a little at the sudden pressure on his leg but ignoring it to walk over to you, your body tensed up. You were prepared to be yelled at again, to be chastised by your friend, and your walls were shooting back up in protection. 

“I was scared. Don’t fucking do that. That’s not what ‘bestest friends in the whole wide world’ are supposed to do, okay?”

You couldn't help the relieved laugh that bubbled from you, your head shaking a little as he stood before you. “Yeah, well, it’s not official until you get it stitched on a t-shirt for me.”

“Yeah, well, I’ll get an extra-large one. You and Tommy can share it.” He was smirking now, tugging at the jacket you had wrapped around yourself, and you flushed with heat, but didn’t flinch. Instead, you wrapped it a little tighter around your body, like a piece of armour, and smirked back.

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn't you?” He scoffed as you walked past him, hopping up into the ambulance to reach for the med bag of his that was sitting on the floor, and he took it from your grasp, a hand on your shoulder as he pushed you back to sit on the stretcher. 

It went quiet after that, as he held each of your hands up one at a time, mumbling apologies as he wiped disinfectant over each twisting fingertip, and cleaning the small cuts and scrapes across your palms. You had torn nails with dirt stuck underneath, and he took his time to file them down gently so as not to catch and tear any further, and you bit on your lower lip.

It was startling to be cared for so lovingly by another person. 

He took a clean wipe and cleared the dirt from your face, the aloe cooling against your skin as he said nothing about the tracks within the dirt you were sure existed, made by your tears, or the raw flesh of your lower lip from nervous biting. When it was all done, he brushed a delicate hand over your head, tucking your hair away behind your ears, and offering you a friendly and reassuring smile, before packing away his equipment. 

“You were right.”

“I usually am, love.” He grinned, closing up the backdoors of the ambulance and locking them tight, ready to make your journey back to the firehouse. Your legs swung under you as you watched him pack away, pouting a little bit as you realised that you’d lost your own medkit, your lucky charm that didn’t quite feel so lucky anymore, but it had at least found you House ‘21, and that's all that mattered now. 

“About a year. I know it hasn’t been a full year yet-”

“Almost has!” He chirped, and you followed him up to the front, taking a seat in the passenger seat and doing up your seatbelt securely.

“What I’m trying to say is.. thanks.” He started up the engine, backing out of the spot slowly as his job was all done, and you were well in need of getting back to the house. “Thank you for making me stick around, Newt.”

“Thanks for sticking around.” It was a simple reply, but you caught the meaning hidden underneath, and clearly, you weren’t the only one who struggled with really putting your thoughts and feelings into words. Newt was one of the best friends you had ever had, and for the first time, you were finding a home in a firehouse that you weren’t immediately looking to escape from, but saw a future within. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” He shrugged, eyes fixed on the road, but flicking over to you occasionally. 

“You’re shaking a little.”

You glanced down, finding that you were, in fact, shaking slightly. Your hands balled up into fists, and you tucked them a little further within the sleeves of the coat that you were wearing. “It’s just an aftershock. The adrenaline wearing off.”

It wasn't exactly a lie, the adrenaline you’d been flooded with was beginning to slow down, to fade away, and you were left with slight trembles and some nausea that wouldn't go away for hours, but you could handle that. You’d had the same feelings after the elevator drop, and after going into any burning building for at least thirty minutes, it was always scary. 

You just didn’t want to look any deeper. 

He didn’t push further, but there was a frown on his lips, and despite watching out of the window at the scenery flashing by, you could feel his gaze sometimes move over you, studying you, but silence hung heavy. The car was pulled into the docking bay, and you were still trembling, your mind spinning with everything that you’d encountered, and you hated that it was taking so long for your mind to clear. 

Ever since you were little, all you’d ever wanted to do was help people, to save lives, but there were times when you put yourself at risk to do so. You couldn't help it, when you’d spent so long living alone, you forgot what it was like to have to take other people into consideration. You didn't have much of a family to rely on, but every passing day made the crew of Firehouse ‘21 more and more your family, the people who would be there with you for the rest of your life, and that same burning was coming rushing back to your throat, and the ache behind your eyes. 

The door on the other side of you slammed shut, Newt exiting the vehicle, and your bottom lip shook. Your chest felt tight, and you gripped at your chest underneath the material, a hand freeing from the sleeve to press over your chest, your heart beating erratically underneath. Tears pooled in your eyes, and you took a gasping breath, everything suddenly coming crashing over you, and you could barely suck breath into your lungs despite how much you were gasping and trying to. 

The thoughts in your mind were spiralling so much that they seemed to go into overdrive, a  dizzying array of thoughts that made you feel like you were drowning. It was almost blinding, the flashes of thoughts from within your one head making you feel like you couldn't see, couldn't hear, everything was slipping away into background noise as the unsteady race of your heart, and the support of the door you were leaning on fell away. 

Two hands were holding onto you tightly, pulling you out of the vehicle and your legs gave way, a shock running up your body as your knees collided with the concrete flooring. It was a shock of cold, chilled metal and biting winds against ear stained cheeks, and your lungs were burning as you tried to breathe. 

A warm presence to your side, a hand wrapping over your own and undoing your fingers from the clutching that they held, your nails having dug painfully into damaged palms, and you clung to them instead. It was Newt, the shushing in your ear told you so, holding you tight and steady as you tried to focus, tried to clear your mind and sort through your thoughts, until there was nothing left but the sound of your own sobs echoing around the room. 

You were stronger now, and despite the crying that you couldn't seem to stop, you were able to be pulled to your feet, out of the cold and a wash of heat rolling over you as your feet followed the guidance Newt gave to you, the lights in the rec-room flicking on at his motion over the switch, the pair of your being the first of the team to re-enter upon coming back from a call. You settled down on the couch, curling into the cushions, and trying to get a grip on your raging emotions. 

“You wanna’ take this coat off now? Get comfy?”

They were the first of the words spoken to make any sense, to not be a garbled blur in your ears, and it was at least a good sign as you began to refocus. You nodded slowly, sitting forwards enough to peel the coat from your arms, and it was left sitting over the back of one of the armchairs.

He reached for the remote, the television flickered on in front of you, a movie you didn’t recognise playing on the screen but it gave you stimulation to focus on, your head pressing to the cushion as you sat steadily, shoes kicked off and legs pulled up tightly to your body. 

You didn’t understand much about what was happening on the screen, the characters flicking past and the conversation going over your head, but it was stable enough for you to use as an anchor. The doors opened and closed, you heard the firetrucks pull up, and they progressively trickled into the room. Newt was tinkering in the kitchen behind you, the hob flicking on and the sound of pots and pans clattering lowly, and the couch dipped a little beside you as Brenda sat down.

“Hey, how you doin’?”

Her shoulder bumped against yours, and you twisted your head to look at her, shrugging slightly and offering her the best smile you could. “Better now.”

She only nodded, glancing away over your shoulder, and you had no doubt that Newt was giving them a different story, but it was true. At this moment, you may be fragile, but you had a sneaking suspicion that the panic attack you had was unrelated to the accident at all. You were a paramedic, you worked with firefighter’s, risking your life on a day-to-day basis was just a part of the job description, but you’d made a crack in walls within yourself that you didn’t even realise you’d put up.

You had made breakthroughs in your own mind that you didn't realise needed to be made, and it had been so thoroughly overwhelming that you hadn't been able to handle the influx. Brenda moved, her own coat still sitting on her shoulders and she wandered away to get changed, taking Thomas’ coat with her, and she squeezed your shoulder as she passed you by. 

“Made you some tea.”

Chuck was next, a steaming mug held out in front of you, a mixture of herbal essences curling up into the air and you hummed happily at the smell, reaching out to cup the warm porcelain, your favourite mug holding the drink, and you smiled. “Thanks, Chuck.”

“It’s Gally’s. It had the word ‘relax’ printed in large letters across the front of the box, so I figured it might help.” You brought it closer, sniffling it lightly, and the smell of chamomile and vanilla flooded your senses, your mouth watering a little, desperate to taste, but you resisted. Instead, you blew cool air on it, your eyes flicking up over Chuck’s head as a shadow took over. The boy twisted to look too, his Lieutenant glancing down at him, and he took the hint, offering you a final smile, before he was moving away. 

Thomas took his place, and you sipped your drink as you watched him take a seat before you.

“I’m sorry for getting angry at you.”

“I was being reckless.” You conceded, and his head tipped to the side, his gaze fixed on his hands as he played with his fingers. 

“You were trying to save lives, you were doing your job, and I got protective. If it had been anyone else, I would have understood that. I shouldn’t have gotten mad, when I was supposed to be doing my job, being a Lieutenant, not something else.” He gave out a sigh, like he was chastising himself, and you didn’t want him to, even if he was right. 

“I’m not used to having people who care about me so much. I should have thought about that.” He dared to glance up, a nervous look in his eyes, and your voice remained low, a hushed whisper for a conversation only to be shared between the two of you. “I don’t mean to shut you out, Thomas. Especially not after the other day.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean.” You mumbled, a pink heat spreading across his cheeks. “It’s all just very new to me. I know you must feel like I’m playing hot and cold, and I’m really sorry about that, but I’m trying to work everything out. I’m trying to work out how I feel. I don’t know how to act around you, sometimes.”

A cheeky glance passed over his face with that, and you rolled your eyes at him, biting on the inside of your cheek to contain your smile as he grinned. “Oh, cut it out. I don’t mean you, I mean all of you. I’m not used to having a family, or such close friends. I’ve never belonged anywhere before.”

“You belong here, with us.” He was honest now, and a hand was pushing out across the cushions between you both, and offering, and you rested your hand over the top of his own. “So, not even a little bit of it was about me?”

“You’re insufferable.” He was beaming once again, clearly knowing just which buttons he was pushing, but his thumb lifted up, closing over your own. “Maybe it was a little bit about you. There’s something, I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s there. It’s different.”

“It’s different for me too.” He mumbled, and his fingers parted, letting yours slip between his to weave together, and that cocky smirk became more of a bashful smile. At least you know that while he may make you flustered, you had the same effect on him. That smile was back, the one you rarely ever saw, cute and shy as he looked at you, and you felt warm under his gaze, but you were unable to look away.

It was like a weight had been lifted off of your chest as you confessed it all, a rock you didn’t even know was there, like someone had been pushing down on your lungs and you were finally able to fight them off. His hand lifted, moving over the back of the couch, until his fingers were toying loosely with the ends of your hair, a tied back bunch that was falling loose from the stress of the day, and his fingers inched up towards the bobble. 

He waited, checking it was okay, before pulling it loose, fingers working through your hair as it was eased down and out of the pattern you’d put it in, to fall loose around your face. His fingers skated over your scalp, soothing the ache within, and you let your eyes fall closed as you sank into the touch he gave you. 

“That was your right of passage!” You bounced on the couch as Brenda fell into place beside you, unbalancing you a little, and her arms wrapped around you as she twisted you to face her a little bit more. Thomas’ hand fell away as he chuckled, and you didn’t even need to ask her what she meant, before she was barreling on; “You almost died-”

“Brenda!” You grinned at the loud shout Newt let out, and she shrugged. 

“What? She did! She knows she did, it ain’t a secret!” The blond huffed, and went back to his cooking, and you turned to face her again. “As I was saying, you almost died, and we rescued you. You really are a member of the team, now!”

“She already was, you moron!” 

“Newt! Shut your mouth!” She hissed, and he stuck his tongue out, and you felt the cushions shift again, lifting your mug to your mouth to hide your expression while waiting for the next voice to chime in. 

“It’s true, I wasn’t a part of the team until I almost fell into a mince grinder in a factory four years ago when the bridges gave it.”

“Oh, dude, c’mon. We’re cooking.” Fry huffed, and Minho shrugged. “Alright, well, mine wasn’t as exciting. Just a fire where the doorway collapsed, eight stories up. Brenda drove the truck around to the side and Gally smashed the window out, he made me jump out of it to reach the ladder.”

“I caught you, didn’t I?” Gally was stirring his own tea, before he came to sit in the armchair to the side of you all, and your attention turned to him, waiting for his story. “I got trapped in a crumbling building, debris fell on me. Thomas dug me out.”

You turned to face Thomas, his hand still sitting behind your head stretched out along the couch, tapping at the cushions, and he directed his gaze to you when he realised he had your attention. “What about you?”

“My story?” You nodded, and he swallowed thickly. Everyone else seemed just as caught in curiosity, as though they didn’t know the story, and he seemed lost in his thoughts. “Mine is a little different. It came before the firehouse. I was in a house fire when I was younger, my mom was pretty badly hurt, a lot of trauma, she never fully recovered. Newt lived across the road, we couldn't have been any more than six, but he came over the next day, and asked me if I needed a friend. I don’t think I’d be the same person I am if it wasn’t for him, he’s stuck by my side ever since. Does that count?”

Silence hung over you all, and you turned to face him a little more, his eyes locked on yours, despite everyone else in the room, and you nodded. “It counts.”

“So, you’re telling me that I need to almost die to be a part of this team?” Chuck sounded utterly appalled, and you couldn't hide your laughter, the sound mixed with everyone else's as it echoed around the room, harmonious mixing like wolves howling.

“Well, that and passing your exams, kiddo.” You bit your lip upon speaking the words, and the amusement in the room only continued, the hand from behind your body slipping down to rest over your shoulders, and you leaned into him once again. 

The stories continued being passed around, and there was an overwhelming sense of camaraderie as they all relived the moments that had bonded them so intensely. This was what made them a family, and what made them so important to one another. This was what you’d never had before, you’d never fit into a team like this. Every house was different; dynamics and friendships and interpersonal relationships, but you’d never found your fit before now. 

You wanted to fit in, you had wanted it for so long. Craved family and friends and to know that you had a place, and being here with them felt right, and yet it was like dread was hanging over you, sitting on the throne but having a sword on a fraying rope overhead. You were waiting for the other shoe to drop, for something to go wrong, to prove to you that you weren’t supposed to be here, that your life would be spent as a wanderer, and that this was as close as you would get.

“So, what movie are we watching? It doesn’t look very good.”

“That’s because it’s not an action movie, Minho. They’re all you watch.” Thomas sighed, and you shrugged. 

“I don’t know, Newt chose it.”

“Uh, no, wait a damn minute, missy.” The voice was closer than you expected, and Newt came to round the couch, kicking a foot at Chuck and telling him to move up on the other couch, offering you a bowl of pasta by placing it down on the coffee table before you. The gesture went unspoken but not missed, still trying to help soothe you, as though he knew you even better than he knew himself. “I did not choose the movie, it was just what came on when the television turned on.”

“So I can pick something else?”

“No, Min, you have awful taste in movies.” Your partner scowled, snatching the controller from him, and the group began to bicker, discussing what movie you would all watch, as though you wouldn't likely be interrupted by another call, or the end of your shift. You could always hope to reach the end. 

Lips brushed over your ear, and you paused, breath held as you waited to see what Thomas had to say. “What are you thinking about?”

It was a loaded question, the real meaning hidden between the lines. He wanted to know if you were thinking about him, or more specifically, all of them. It all felt too good to be true, too tempting, like a siren song. 

And yet, as warm honey eyes stared at you expectantly, soft and patient, a plate with a freshly-made snack from someone who loved you sitting on the table and a hot drink that was cooling in your hands, you placed the mug down, knowing that right now, you were willing to take part in the illusion, to put all thoughts aside and just accept what you had right now.

“Nothing. I don’t want to think right now. I just want to be here with you all.” He nodded his head, and you leaned forward to put your drink down on the table with your meal. “With you.”

“Okay, angel.”

The pet name made your stomach do flips, his confirmation having a deeper meaning beyond simply acknowledging your statement. He was accepting your feelings, and accepting that you needed time, but that you were processing how you felt. He was just accepting you for your trying, and giving you the time you needed. He leaned forwards, pressing a kiss to your forehead that made something spark in your guts, an excited anxiety at the gesture. 

He backed away, giving you space, and yet you didn’t want it. Shuffling forwards a little more, his face little up in something indescribable as you rested against him, head settling on his shoulder and an arm wrapping around his waist, and barely a second passed before he was holding you back. You didn't want to talk about it, or put any kind of label on it like ‘cuddling’, which Newt would undoubtedly do the next time he got you alone, because you still didn't know what it meant. All you knew was that right now, you wanted it.

For the first time in what felt like decades, you allowed yourself to be truly vulnerable with the people around you.

[peterspideyy]

necklace

written before newt came out <3

summary- someone finds a necklace causing all the memories ,you tried to move on from, to come back.

warnings- angst!, tdc spoliers, some fluff but mainly angst, panic attack (slightly)

italics are flashbacks (sorry if gets confusing!)

————

sweat was pouring off your forehead, as you and minho were walking back to the safe haven for the bonfire that was already being prepared, for tonight. you stopped to admire the view, as the sun soared down onto the beach, making memories from the maze appear up in your mind. but, you were glad you weren’t there anymore.

you were glad about a lot of things.

except one.

“hey, y/n?” minho shouted from infront of you, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. “hurry up would you? the time you get down, everyone will be shucking asleep.”

“oh slim it minho.” you laughed, glancing one last time at the shimmering blue water, before walking towards the boy who was laughing with you.

you knew deep down he was trying to keep your mind pre-occupied.

finally arriving at the bonfire, you placed your wood down, before using your left hand to wipe your forehead as you breathed out gently. you were about to get some water, before frypan already read your mind, handing you a glass.

“thanks.” you barely breathed, before gulping the drink down in seconds.

“another?” fry inquired, already knowing the answer was yes.

“yes please, but it’s fine i’ll get it myself. thank you anyway.” you beamed, patting him on the shoulder before walking to the kitchen.

entering, you walked to the sink filling your glass, before turning around and leaning against the counter as you gulped down the cooling water. finally having enough water, you went outside smiling as you took in the busy, yet peaceful haven. it reminded you of the maze.

you saw thomas and brenda on the other side of the bonfire pit, laughing and you decided to go over. but, you barely took one step before a small ‘excuse me’, made you wip your head around to see a women, about your age, smiling shyly at you.

“hi?” you spoke, walking closer to her.

“h-hi, are you y/n by any chance?”

you nodded, patiently waiting for what she was going to say.

“i found this earlier today, and i assumed you must of dropped it? it has your name carved in on the metal bit, so is this yours? sorry, for interrupting your day-“

her words blurred out, as you starred at the necklace she was holding up in her left hand.

it was his.

newt’s.

the last thing he ever gave to you.

was in this random women’s hand, as she dangled it in-front of you.

tears blurred your vision as memory after memory flooded back into your mind, almost knocking you sick.

“greenie, meet newt. when i’m not around he’s in charge.”

you glanced at the blonde boy, a slight blush creeping on your cheek as he took your hand in his and shook it.

“hi, love. welcome to the glade.”

“h-hi.” you stuttered, making alby chuckle, as you both starred into each other’s eyes, not once letting go of each other’s hand.

“right, go and sort out these shanks newt, before greenie here blurts out how cute you are.” alby sighed, rolling his eyes over the fact you both fell in love at first sight.

newt smiled at the girl. “well, i think she’s cute too.”

“y/n? are you okay?” the women asked, as tears started to flood down your face. but, you could hardly hear her.

“i love you, y/n. so so much.” newt mumbled into your ear, as his thumb rubbed comforting circles in your skin.

“i love you too. so so much.” you replied, leaning in the place your lips on his.

“oh god, have i upset you in anyway? i’m so sorry, i shouldn’t of said anything.” the girl panicked, as she took in your distressed figure.

your ears started ringing, as her voice sounded like it was growing further away from you. the only thing you could hear was newt’s laugh and your heart beating rapidly.

“hi, stranger.” newt smiled, running up to walk by you. you returned the gesture, yet it never met your eyes. you’ve been walking to the right arm in the middle of the desert, for days now. and you were exhausted.

newt noticed this, immediately intertwining his hands with yours, squeezing it reassuringly. “everything’s going to be okay, sweetheart. i promise.”

you turned to face him, smiling properly now as you leaned in to quickly peck his lips, squeezing his hand back slightly.

“hey, love birds! save your energy, yeah?” minho shouted from behind, making newt laugh loudly as you watched in awe at how happy he was.

everything came back.

“hello? y/n? is everything okay?”

every kiss.

newt pouted, as you started to walk away from him to check if brenda was alright from collapsing in-front of the right arm.

“hey! no kisses?” he whined, making you roll your eyes playfully, as you quickly kissed his forehead, making him pout deeper.

“you missed, love.”

you giggled, kissing him on the cheek, before walking away to a tent. however, newt soon grabbed your arm, pulling you back towards him, as you landed into his chest.

“missed again.” he smirked, brining his thumb up to wipe your cheek gently.

“and where was i supposed to kiss you?” you teased.

“erm, here i think.” he mumbled, before placing his lips on yours.

every smile.

you felt a gaze on you as you watched the right arm down below from a cliff, turning your head to meet a pair of honey orbs you desperately fell in love with. he smiled, making you blush.

“why are you starring at me like that?” you questioned, a playful smile on your face.

“you’re just so beautiful.”

“y/n?”

every disagreement.

“newt. there’s something off with this.”

“stop worrying y/n. i’ll be back before you know it.”

newt replied, placing a bag in the trunk of the car, before slamming the door shut, meeting your eyes briefly before packing some more. him, frypan and thomas were preparing to go to the last city to save minho from wckd. and you couldn’t help but have a pit in your stomach, that something bad would happen.

“i-it just doesn’t feel right.”

he sighed. not in annoyance. he knew if this was the other way round, he would be the same. he turned around, walking towards you before placing both of his hands on your cheek, turning your face slightly to face him.

“everything will be okay. minho will be okay. we’ll get him and come straight back to the safe haven. thomas will be okay. i- hey look at me.”

he spoke, as you glanced to the floor while he was talking. you looked back at him, making him grin.

“i’ll be okay. i promise.”

“i know you promise. but, i know what i feel. and i feel something terrible will happen.”

he placed a loving kiss on your forehead, “it’s just a feeling, darling.”

“i know but...” you trailed off before an idea came to you, “i’ll come with you all.”

“what?”

“i’ll come with you all.” you repeated, walking away from his grasp, as you started to pack a bag.

“yeah i heard you, but no. absolutely bloody not.”

“newt, please. i want to help. and if i’m with you, at least i won’t be worrying sick if i’m stuck here.”

he rubbed his eyes in stress. “i would rather you stay here, than coming with us and put yourself in unnecessary danger.”

“and you think i’m okay with you, going to a dangerous place? i care about you to much to let you go alone.”

he starred at you intensely, as you carried on placing objects in your backpack. “are you sure?”

“as long as i’m with you, i’ll be okay.”

he smiled, walking up behind you, before wrapping his arms around your waist, placing his head on your shoulder. “you stay with my at all times, okay?”

“okay. thank you, newt.”

newt never replied, only hummed softly, before kissing random places on your neck.

“y/n? can you hear me?”

every tear.

“why didn’t you tell me?”

“didn’t want you to worry.” he smiled, wiping a tear away from your cheek as he placed his jacket sleeve over his infected area.

“i-“

you barely got your words out, before you completely broke down, making newt’s heart clench at the sight, before wrapping his arms around you, as you sobbed into his chest.

“everything will be okay, y/n. everything will work out the way it’s supposed to.”

“oh god, let me get someone over to help me.”

every memory to the last moment you had together.

he coughed, blood dripping down his cheek. his head lulled back, as his breathing became hoarse.

“minho, gally, go ahead and get the serum, and then meet us back.” thomas ordered, making them nod as they stood up.

“you,” newt croaked, head falling forward, eyes scanning the people infront of him before he landed on you, “you go too, y/n.”

“no, newt, i’m not leaving you.” you begged, but you could barely hear it over newt’s wails of disagreement.

“y/n! please! go!” he roared.

you shook your head, eyes closing as tears fell onto the concrete ground. a gasp left your lips, as newts fingers lifted your chin up to meet his dark orbs.

“please, sweetheart.”

you nodded, scared to speak. he knew you didn’t want to go. but, he didn’t want you to see him like this.

you stood up, tears flowing freely now as you watched a small smile fall on your boyfriend’s lips. but, almost as he remembered something he quickly put his hand in his coat pocket.

“y/n.” he whispered, almost sounding out of breath, making you kneel down in front of him.

he pulled out a necklace, with a metal pendent attached to a leather strap. your name was carved into the metal, with a slight heart next to it, as you immediately recognised it as newt’s handwriting.

the last thing he will ever give you.

was in his hand, as he dangled it in-front of you.

“take it, love.”

and you did.

the memeories suddenly stopped, and you took a big gasp of air, as all your senses came back to you. but, it was still blurred.

you heard the safe haven surrounding you. you heard random voices, calling your name.

“y/n, i love youu.” newt sang drunkly, dancing around the bonfire in the glade happily, making you chuckle. 

you saw faint outlines of figures, looking at you intently.

seconds passed, and your hearing wasn’t ringing as sharply anymore. the outlines of people became in focus, and you saw minho, thomas and gally looking at you with sympathy in their eyes. the women was behind them all, eyes wide with shock at what she just witnessed.

you were crying. screaming. sobbing. yelling his name. begging him to come back. in the middle of the safe haven.

you looked around, embarrassment filling you as you saw people you didn’t know, giving you strange looks.

“y/n?” minho spoke softly, as you wipped your head to meet him.

“what happened?” it was thomas asking now, as he watched more tears fall down your face.

“t-the necklace. all she did, w-was give me that necklace. and i-i broke down.” you croaked, voice hoarse and weak.

“i don’t get why she was crying over a tiny necklace though.” the women spoke loudly, making gally see red as he turned around and started to put her in her place, as he walked away with the girl.

thomas and minho looked back to you, walking towards your quviering figure before placing their arms around you and guiding you towards your hut. entering, they placed you on the bed, saying how you needed to rest. you nodded, and as soon as your head hit the pillow, you were asleep.

dreaming of the boy you desperately love.

————

you woke up, suddenly. it was the sound of a voice saying your name that awoke you. but, it wasn’t just any voice.

it was his.

you looked around, noticing how it was still dark outside, before you decided to go back to sleep. but, out of the corner of your eye you saw something. you froze, as you saw a figure stood in the corner of your room.

“hello?” you croaked, as the figure walked into the moonlight.

your breath hitched as you saw who it was.

it was him.

newt.

but, he seemed different. he had a slight white glow around him, and he wore pure white clothes. he looked angelic.

“newt?” you mumbled, eyes wide at the sight infront of you.

the british boy smiled at you. widely. and in that smile you knew what he was trying to tell you.

it’s something he has already told you.

“hey! y/n!” newt called, limping up towards you, as you stopped in your tracks and turned to meet his gaze. he smiled, placing your wckd guard uniform on the bed, for when you were rescuing minho tonight.

“can we talk?” he asked, placing his hands in yours making you nod. he took you over to a bed, sitting down, as he looked around- probably checking to see if you were alone. once he was satisfied that thomas wasn’t lurking around the corner, he brought your hand up to his mouth, kissing your knuckles gently.

“if i don’t make it out of this-“

“no, newt. we aren’t saying goodbye.” you barked, pulling your hands away from his grasp. “we aren’t saying this because i know you’ll be fine.”

“y/n, please, listen to me-“

“no, newt. stop saying how you won’t make it. you will.” you stood up, starting to walk away before newt grabbed your arm pulling you back towards the bed.

“don’t walk away.” he sighed, his breath fanning your cheek. “i-i hope i make it out. i do. for you. but, just listen to what i want to say.”

you closed your eyes, nodding.

“before you came to the maze, i tried to kill myself.”

you gasped, looking at him, before threading your fingers through his hair to calm him down.

“i hated the place. i hated every second of every day. but, when you came up, just a scared little greenie, i swear i have never felt so much love towards someone before. you made life worth living, love. and i-i can’t put into words how much that means to me.”

you smiled, making newt return the gesture.

“i love everything about you. apart from how bloody gorgeous you are on the outside, you’re gorgeous on the inside too. i want to spend the rest of life with you, and if i don’t make it, i’ll always be with you. for the rest of your life.”

he wiped away a tear from your cheek, before he carried on speaking.

“i want you to live your life though. i want you to take care of yourself. i want you to be happy. i want you to find someone new-“

“newt, i can’t i-“

“ah i’m not finished,” he laughed, “i want you to find someone new, and live the life we were supposed to have. you deserve to live a good life. even without me. you hear me?”

you nodded.

“i need you to say that you understand what i’m saying and that you promise me you will live your life.”

“i promise.”

he beamed, “thank you.”

he wrapped his arms around your waist pulling you into a tight hug, as you closed your eyes at the feeling of him against you. he moved a piece of hair away from your ear, before whispering...

“stay happy for me, love.”

and as the memory faded away, you starred at newt, smiling back widely, as you silently told him that you understood.

you looked down to grab onto his necklace a smile still on your face, before glancing back up.

you froze.

your smile faltered.

he was gone.

————

a/n- hope you enjoyed this angst newt imagine! all i seem to write atm is angst, so i’m sorry about that ahah. hope you’re all okay <3

————

newt taglist-

@parkersbliss @sweetiesangster @marilovescevans @the-salty-asian @24kbucky

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Sweet Pandemonium - Gally (The Maze Runner) Part 16 of 16

Welp, this is it I guess. I’ve never finished a story of this size before, so ngl, I’m proud of myself. This story was originally gonna be a short possibly two parter imagine, I never intended for this to be 16 chapters long lmao. AND, I didn’t do much pre planning either. I kinda just made things up as I wrote, which is why this story is such a shit show. But a big thank you to the supporters of this shit show, it means a whole fucking lot. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming...

TW: Page 250

I keep forgetting to tag, fucking hell: @multifandom-fangirl4​  @dxllysoutsider​ @gladerscake​

~~~~~~~~~~

( not my gif )

Shakily changing into a stolen guard’s uniform, you found yourself more nervous than you probably should’ve been. 

You just dreaded going back, now with the threat of everyone you care about dying. 

Before, when it was just you risking your life, it was easier. You didn’t really care if you died if you could save someone else, and you knew that mentality was not the healthiest. But compared to Gally, Thomas, or even Brenda, you didn’t feel like you mattered as much. 

What could you possibly have to offer that would be greater than anyone else’s contribution?

“You ready?” Gally smiled at you.

Ah, but being able to be with Gally overpowered those feelings.

“Yup. How do I look?” You teased, jokingly twirling around to show off the heavy uniform.

“Pretty damn good, I gotta say.”

You brushed off the butterflies in your stomach with a scoff. “Well, a good uniform can make anyone look good, I think.”

“I mean, sure. But damn, you really pull it off.”

Your lighthearted conversation was cut short by a sharp cough, looking over to see Newt with an annoyed look on his face. “You guys are bloody disgusting, excuse me while I go vomit.”

“Oh, come on, man. Look at her and tell me she doesn’t look nice.” Gally pointed to you.

“Jesus, keep it in your pants, mate.”

You stifled a laugh as Gally turned a light shade of red, ignoring the suggestive comment with an eye roll. “I’m just sayin’.”

Newt walked away from the amusing exchange, still stifling a few coughs. You couldn’t help but worry. “Does he seem a bit off to you?” You asked. Gally looked to Newt then back to you, the sad look on his face giving you a guarantee that something was wrong.

You would’ve prodded further if it weren’t for Thomas giving the signal that it was time to start infiltrating the W.C.K.D. building.

The way it was planned, Thomas and Teresa would walk in the front together, meeting up with Newt, soon you and Gally would find them, making sure to keep a natural distance away. Brenda’s job seemed the easiest, to you at least, all she had to do was steal a bus. You prayed that Frypan didn’t fall to his death, and that Jorge would get back in time with the Berg.

“You’re worrying.”

You rolled your eyes at Gally’s tone. “Yeah, of course I’m worrying. When do I not worry?”

“Not as much as you’d think.”

Your felt your heavy breaths waft back into your face from the helmet you were wearing not allowing much to circulate. Seriously, how could people do this all day for a job? You ignored the queasy feeling in your gut as you found Teresa with the other two “guards.”

Entering into a stairwell, Gally suddenly stopped the group. “Hold on, hold on.” He said, looking over some sort of electric box. “I can get in here.”

“Kay, throw me the walkie.” Thomas ordered, motioning for you to follow with him to clear the area.

You heard Newt cough heavily as you descended down the stairs with your gun, right behind Thomas. “How long has Newt been like this?” You whispered.

“Now’s not the time, Y/N.” Thomas said, scanning next floor to see that it was clear.

“Thomas.” You pleaded.

Thomas huffed, an annoyed yet mournful face overtaking his features. You knew his answer wouldn’t be good, and you found yourself dreading what he would say. “He’s got the Flare...he’s been like this for awhile now. I just found out myself.” He frowned.

You cast your gaze downwards, tears already welling up in your eyes as you realized what this meant. Thomas didn’t give you a chance to respond as he quickly ascended the stairs back to the others, holding up the radio. “Frypan, we’re in. How you doing?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there.” Fry voiced. “Tell Minho hi for me.”

“Hang in there, buddy.”

Gally soon got into the box, quickly looking through the various labels until finding the right one. “This’ll work.” He assured.

“Okay, Brenda, what’s your status?” Thomas spoke through the radio.

“Working on it.” She answered.

“Copy. Just make sure you’re ready on your end.”

“Don’t worry, you know I’m gonna be there.”

Gally quickly set up the hacking signal up to the correct wires, shutting the box door with a grin. “Alright, let’s go.” Everyone quickly bounded down the stairs, stopping at the door at the bottom. “Lawrence, we’re in position.” Gally radioed, only to be greeted with silence. “Lawrence?” 

“If he doesn’t turn those bloody cameras off, then we’re gonna be in big trouble.” Newt expressed everyone’s thoughts.

Gally looked nervous, but peeking though the little window in the door, he huffed. “He’ll do his part.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, sighing heavily before readjusting the mask part of the helmet over your face. “Let’s get this over with.”

Teresa reluctantly placed her thumb over the ID scanner, and Gally quickly encouraged everyone through the door to cautiously speed through the halls to get to where Minho was being held. 

It didn’t take long to find the holding bay with Teresa leading the group, but you didn’t know if getting in would be easy with a bunch of guards inside.

“Teresa, stay back.” You ordered, gently pushing her behind you. The last thing you guys needed was for her getting in the crossfire.

“Ready?” Gally looked to everyone, they all nodded, clutching their weapons tightly.

As soon as the door opened, shots rang out from your side, making work of all the guards in no time. The element of surprise probably helped. “Huh, that was surprisingly easy.” You chuckled breathlessly, almost proud of yourself for getting some decent shots in, the recoil packed a punch though.

“Yeah? Don’t let it go to your head.” Newt sassed.  

Seeing all the kids exit their holding cells with looks of hopefulness, almost made you tear up. What could’ve these poor innocent souls had to endure by the hands of W.C.K.D. You risked a glace at your cousin, and you couldn’t tell how she felt. Did she feel joy that these kids were finally getting rescued? Or all that she saw in those kids was possible cure, dehumanizing them for the sake of her morality? 

You didn’t want to think about it anymore.

“The vault. How do I get in?” Gally’s voice caught your attention. The person he was holding a gun to simply said that he couldn’t. “Guys, this might take some time.” He voiced after looking over the heavy vault door.

You looked around and furrowed your brows when you saw one key person missing. “Where’s Minho? He’s supposed to be here.”

Thomas scowled, storming up to Teresa. “Where is he?”

Teresa quickly went to the computers, looking up his file. “Someone’s moved him up to the medical wing. Thomas, that’s on the other side of the building.”

Thomas sighed. “Okay, take me to him, right now.”

“Alright, I’m coming with you.” You and Newt both stepped up.

“No. No, you guys have to wait with Gally for the serum.”

“You can’t do this on your own.” Newt argued. “And Minho comes first, remember?”

“Just go, we’re wasting time!” Gally called out. “I’ll get the serum, we’ll meet you out back.”

Thomas nodded to Newt, but turned to you with a remorseful look on his face. “No, no, you’re not making me stay.” You expressed. “I’m part of this as much as he is.”

“Y/N, you’ve done so much for us already. I can’t ask you to do this.”

“I’m offering.”

“No, please. Stay here. We’ll be okay.”

You scowled, exhaling sharply. “Fine. Keep an eye on Newt.” You whispered, Thomas nodding then running out with Newt and Teresa. “Please, be careful.”

“They’ll be fine, just watch my six and the kids.” Gally said, starting to saw into the door.

You stood guard at the door, impatiently tapping your foot as you worried about your friends, especially Newt. You wished he had stayed with you and Gally so you could give him the serum as soon as the vault opened. You knew it wouldn’t cure him, but it would give him time, and that’s what he needed right now.

You heard Gally’s saw stop, smiling ear to ear when the vault door finally opened. You went inside to help Gally load up all the vials, the whole room glowing blue from the color of the serum. “Come on, we need to hurry.”

The room was almost empty of its contents, but staring at one of the only vials left, you debated. Emotion overtook logic as you grabbed a singular vial of the serum, gathering courage and turning around, only to be stopped by Gally. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“I have to find Newt.”

Gally looked at the serum clutched tight in your hand, putting the pieces together quickly. “No, no way.”

“Who know how much time he had left? This can help him.”

“It’s too dangerous.” He said slowly.

“I can’t do nothing while I know I can help him.”

“You’re not doing nothing. You’re gonna help these kids get to Brenda. I’m not letting you.”

“I wasn’t asking.” You said bluntly, a determined look in your eyes that made Gally speechless. He had seen that look before, and he finally realized he wouldn’t be able to convince you to stay with him.

Gally quickly pulled you into a hug with his free arm, placing a rough kiss to the top of your head. “You better come back to me.”

You smiled softly. “I will.” 

And with that, you took off without a glance behind you, determined to save your friend from a terrible fate. Of course, if you had glanced behind you to see Gally’s face, you probably wouldn’t been complied to stay. But you had to help Newt, he couldn’t become one of those things. You couldn’t save Gally all those months ago, couldn’t save Jeff...or Chuck. You didn’t want history to repeat itself.

You followed the signs that led you toward where the medical bay would be, making sure to avoid being sighted at all costs. You felt silly hiding in small confined places that made your legs cramp up and wish you had more flexibility or stamina at least. It definitely didn’t help that alarms were blaring all around you, making you believe you actually did get caught. But hearing a few guards talk loudly about how intruders were heading to the medical bay, you realized it was just Thomas who must’ve fucked up, or worse Teresa.

This was going to get a lot harder...

All the guards seemed to rally to the medical bay to capture Thomas and Newt, it wasn’t too difficult to blend in with everyone else distracted from the chaos of it all.

You heard gunshots and glass smashing down the halls of the medical wing. Those boys sure were making it obvious, weren’t they?

You clutched you gun to your chest, not feeling very confident about taking on the guards by yourself, but when you saw your friends with a newly escaped Minho struggling to avoid the guards, you knew you had to do something.

You saying a silent prayer, even though you didn’t know if there was any being out there that heard it, gave you some sort of comfort enough to charge the guards that were gaining on your friends. Shooting at will, not even sure you were hitting any guards, you heard a few men fall to the floor with pained groans.

You didn’t have time to be proud of yourself before you felt a sharp pain in the back of your head, immediately falling to the floor yourself with a yelp.

You looked up to see the annoyed face of Jensen, him leaning down and roughly grabbing onto you and hoisting you up to stand. “You’re a real pain the arse, aren’t you, youngblood?”

Teresa jumped when she heard the doors slam opened, gasping when she saw you on the floor with a bloodied face in front of Jensen. “What the hell, Jensen?”

“Look who I found at the med wing, taking out guards left and right.” Jensen sneered.

“I said alive, Jensen!” Teresa fumed, looking at your almost unconscious form.

“I know what you said, Teresa. She’s breathing, isn’t she?”

Teresa scowled at the man before leaning down to delicately lift you to your feet, ungracefully dragging you to a gurney from the lack of help with your dead weight. “Get out. Thomas is still out there.”

“Your wish is my command, my lady.” Jensen bowed sarcastically, turning on his heel to walk out of the room.

Teresa turned her attention back to you. “I’m so sorry, Y/N.” She whispered, quickly fixing up a wet cloth to wipe away at the blood leaking from your nose and mouth.

You groaned at the pained pressure of the cloth, weakly pushing Teresa’s hand away from your face. “Hurts...” You mumbled.

“I thought you were supposed to stay with Gally.” Teresa fussed, ignoring your discomfort to clean your face. “You shouldn’t have come here.”

“I needed to help Newt...” You frowned, holding up the serum that was once safely in your pocket.

Teresa sighed sadly. “It wouldn’t have saved him.”

“But it would’ve given him time.”

Teresa stayed silent for a moment, deciding what to do with you. You furrowed your brows when you felt her strap you to the gurney tightly. “What’re you...?”

“I can’t have you wondering off, plus, you might have a concussion.” Teresa said, inserting a needle into your arm, pulling blood from your veins.

“You need my blood to keep me from wondering off?” You glared. Teresa avoiding your eyes as she readied another needle. “You’re still looking for a cure...even though there is none.”

“I’m just going to run some tests.” She answered simply.

You bit your lip when you felt tears well up in your eyes, gently banging your head down onto the gurney in frustration. How the hell were you gonna escape now?

Gally could’ve sworn his heart almost stopped when he saw his friends jump out of that window. Did these guys have a death wish? But what scared him even more if that there were only three, not four. Please, tell me she made it... “Where’s Y/N?” Gally tried not to shout.

Thomas eyes widened. “What do you mean? We left her with you!”

“She went to find you guys, to give that shank the serum.” Gally pointed to Newt.

Thomas clenched his fists, feeling anger well up in his gut. “Teresa wouldn’t let her get hurt. If anything, she needs her. We’ll get her back, Gally.”

“I know, cause I’m not leaving without her.”

It felt like hours before you talked to Teresa again, her being so fixated on her tests tubes and microscopes. “Any luck in finding your make believe cure?” You teased mockingly. Teresa stayed silent, watching through her scientific equipment for any sign that her cousin blood did anything to get rid of the Flare virus. Teresa slammed her hands on the table when the blood wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. “Guess I’m not the one, huh?”

Teresa glared at you, not appreciating your irritating commentary. She chose to move on to Thomas’ blood that she took back in the church, and her eyes widened when she saw his blood destroying the Flare virus.

Just when she finished making the first serum that she knew would work, the whole building shook as a boom echoed around the whole city.

You strained your neck to look behind you, seeing an almost mushroom cloud of fire at the wall that protected the city. “What the hell...?” Your eyes widened even more when you could faintly see a swarm of people charging through the gap in the wall, quickly realizing that the people were fighting and destroying everything. “Teresa, we have to get out of here.” You said, noticing everyone outside the lab room where thinking the same thing and trying to making a quick escape.

Teresa frowned, storming over to you and removing your restraints, and quickly going back to her experiments. “I can’t.”

You quickly removed yourself from the gurney. “What do you mean? The city’s getting raided. They’ll burn this place down, with us in it.”

“Thomas is the cure, Y/N!” She yelled, making you speechless. “His blood is destroying the virus! He can save us all. I need him.”

“Teresa...if all went as planned, he’s long gone by now.”

“No, he can’t be. Newt is dying and Thomas won’t abandon him, you know that. He’ll be slowing them down. I have to get through to him.” Teresa exhaled shakily. “You can go if you want, I’m staying. I have to.”

You looked to the exit then back to Teresa, your cousin, your only family. In the past, most choices you made were clearly the right ones. But now...you had no idea what to do.

You wanted to choose Teresa...you really did. But you still had the temporary serum, you still had the chance to help Newt. “I’m sorry, Teresa.” You voiced, gaining her attention. “I want to stay with you. But I need to find our friends.”

Teresa’s face fell, frowning. “I understand.”

“I’ll come back for you.” Your voice wavered, feeling intense emotion wash over you, suddenly getting the feeling to tell her you loved her. But you cut the goodbye short, running out of the room and rushed to leave the building.

Thankfully, everyone was so focused on packing up to leave, you had no trouble escaping. But you almost didn’t want to leave the building when you saw the hell on earth that was just outside. But you pushed on, making sure you kept the hold on the vial safely in your hand.

You almost jumped when you heard your cousin’s voice echo around the city’s speakers.

“Thomas? Can you hear me? I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt. There’s still time for him. There’s a reason Brenda isn’t sick anymore. It’s your blood, do you understand? She isn’t sick because...you cured her. She doesn’t have to be the only one. You just need to come back, and this will all finally be over. Please, just come back to me. I know you’ll-”

The speakers suddenly cut out, as almost all power in the city was down.

You suddenly felt dread wash over you, you had to find Thomas.

Running through the city as fast as you could, you wished you were a Runner, then maybe your legs wouldn’t cramp up every time you exerted yourself. You felt the heat of fires and explosions as you sprinted, dodging multiple guards and people fighting each other. This wasn’t supposed to happen...

Finally getting to a clearing, you stopped to cease the wheezing in your heavy breaths, until you heard screaming. You quickly rounded the corner to see Thomas and Newt...fighting each other.

No...you were too late...

You ran to them, quickly trying to pull Newt off of Thomas, only for his attention to turn to you and tackle you to the ground. “Newt!” You yelled, tearing up quickly at the sight of his dead eyes and Flared up face. “Newt...”

Thomas pushed Newt off of you, giving you the chance to take the vial out of your pocket, but the new Crank got free of Thomas’ hold and attacked you again, the vial violently being thrown from your hand. You internally cringed when you heard a shatter. Fuck...

You felt your vision get blurry when Newt smashed your head against the pavement, the pain resonating throughout your skull and making you feel lightheaded.

You didn’t know what happened after that, you just woke up and Newt wasn’t attacking you anymore. You didn’t hear the sound of struggle anymore. You looked to your left to see Brenda, a look of pained shock on her face. Then you realized, Thomas was sitting next to Newt. 

“No...” You whispered.

You crawled over to Thomas, looking down at Newt’s body. You could barely see anything due to the tears that welled up in your eyes, making the world around you blurry. You couldn’t do anything but stare numbly at your fallen friend, unaware that Thomas had left.

“Y/N.”

You knew that voice belonged to Gally, but you couldn’t bring yourself to care. Or do anything when Frypan wrapped his arms around you to give you some sort of comfort, him feeling the same grief as you, if not worse.

Gally felt the pain of the loss too, but seeing everything being burned down too quickly, he had to speak up. “This place is gonna take us down with it if we don’t get outta here...”

Fry gently pulled you away from Newt’s body, reluctantly motioning for Minho to follow. “Come on.” Fry rubbed your shoulder.

You were basically on autopilot on the way to the Berg, where Jorge, Vince, and the kids were waiting to take off. “We have to find Thomas. He went back to the holding facility.” Brenda voiced worryingly.

“That damn kid.” Vince huffed.

The numbness went away enough to remember that you told Teresa that you’d be back for her. You had to find her again, but the Berg was already being lifted up into the air. In your heart, you knew wherever Thomas was, Teresa was most likely with him. That’s something you could rely on, at least.

“Hey...” Gally sat next to you, gently holding your hand. You could faintly see tear marks down his face, his eyes a shade of red and watery. “We’ll find them.”

You wished you believed that, but after everything that’s happened, you felt having hope was childish. You couldn’t bear to hope just for things to end terribly.

“I think I got him!” You heard Jorge shout, everyone, including you, rallying to the front to look out the Berg’s window.

“Yeah, that’s him. I got the hatch.” Brenda said, quickly springing into action.

“Alright, I got him. I got him.” Jorge said, proceeding to carefully turn the Berg around so the now open hatch was facing the burning building roof. “I can’t get any closer!”

Everyone crowded the hatch, calling out for Thomas and Teresa on the roof, reaching out their hands to grab them. Quickly noticing that he was injured badly, you started to reach out as well. “Thomas! Teresa! Come on!”

“Get closer!” Teresa called out.

“Jump!” Vince yelled, his body almost half out of the aircraft trying to reach.

“We gotta get closer!” Gally yelled to Jorge.

“Come on, reach!”

The Berg finally got close enough to where Teresa could help Thomas onto the hatch, everyone quickly pulling him inside. You looked back to Teresa, holding out your hand as far as you could. “Your turn, jump!” You called out. You furrowed your brows in confusion when Teresa made no effort to move, not even to reach out for you. You could see the debate in her eyes, wondering if she actually deserved to live or not. “Don’t leave me!”

Teresa’s eyes softened, almost bringing her to tears upon hearing that short but impactful sentence. In a matter of a few seconds, the next building over was destroyed, large chunks of debris falling, making the roof collapse into itself, taking your cousin with it.

“No!” You sobbed loudly, ripping apart your vocal cords and feeling your heart break in two.

The Berg quickly left the destroyed area, bringing you all back to their base to pack up and finally go to a place called the “Safe Haven.”

You fell back, feeling grief and guilt weigh you down. I shouldn’t have left her...she would be here if I had just stayed...

You looked to see that Thomas passed out, but he was alive. Brenda and Gally quickly patched him up, but he would have to be better treated when the Berg arrived.

Gally just sat next to you the whole ride, not saying anything, not even attempting to give you comforting touches in fear that it would just make things worse, he just sat there to let you know he was there for you.

Everything felt like it was moving too fast, like time sped up without warning or giving you time to adjust. It made you feel nauseous, but you had nothing in your stomach to throw up, besides bile, you which you did upchuck. You huffed at the burning feeling in your throat. “Damn it...”

Gally was right by your side, rubbing your back and telling you everything would be okay. But it wouldn’t be okay. You lost your close friend, and then you lost your only family that you had left. You couldn’t help the new flow of tears, Gally quickly pulling you close to lean on his chest. “It’s okay. Let it out...” He said softly.

“I could’ve...I could’ve...” You hiccupped.

“There’s nothing you could’ve done, sweetheart.” Gally hugged you tighter, feeling your body rack with heavy cries.

Hours later, you finally calmed down, the tears ran out a long time ago. But you noticed the machine hum of the Berg stopped. “We’re here!” Jorge called out, making you flinch at the sudden shout. 

“Come on, help me get Thomas situated.” Vince called out, gathering the group to carry him, including Gally.

You stepped out of the Berg to immediately smell a slight salty scent, you never smelled anything like it. And you heard an unfamiliar sound, almost like white noise. It was just after sunset, but it was still a little light out. But you instantly recognized the light tan sandy ground, the water the stretched out for miles and miles to the horizon.

You’d never seen a beach before, not even before your memory wipe before the Maze. It was beautiful, but you would appreciate it better without the rotting feeling of grief weighing on your shoulders.

You walked to where you saw Vince take Thomas, stopping right outside the entrance of the wooden hut. “Is he okay?” You asked softly.

“He’ll be okay.” Vince answered. “He should wake up soon, but I have to go and make sure things have been taken care of while I’ve been gone.” And with that, Vince walked away with a fast pace.

Minho then exited the hut, meeting you with wide eyes. “Hey...” He said awkwardly, making you give a tight lipped smile. “I’m...sorry, about Teresa. I know how important she was to you.”

You didn’t want to cry anymore, you were sick of crying and the thought alone made you exhausted. “I’m sorry about Newt. He...he was a good guy.”

Minho’s lip quivered slightly, but quickly covered it up with a sigh. “We all lost him.”

You brought him into a hug, not knowing what else to do. It was weird at first, you two weren’t the type to show physical affection to each other, but you felt the situation called for it. Minho hugged you back tightly, trying not to cry at the thought of never being able to hug his best friend again.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired.” You sighed.

“Yeah, I think everyone is. It would be weird if they weren’t.” Minho looked past you and smiled to himself weakly. “I think I should get some sleep. I’ll see you later.” You turned to watch Minho walk off, giving Gally a slight nod as he passed him.

Gally walked up to you with a small smile. “I would ask if you’re okay, but I feel like that question is pretty obvious.”

“Yeah...” You whispered. “I’m just fucking exhausted.”

Gally frowned, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Vince already has some beds set up for us. Shall we go?”

You nodded. “That sounds nice.”

You and Gally set up your beds next to each other, at your insistent request. To be fair, in a new environment, you didn’t feel safe at all. Ironic in the “Safe Haven.”

You didn’t get a lot of sleep, constantly worrying about how Thomas was doing. Gally seemed to sense your worry. “He’ll be fine. He’s a stubborn kid.” He said, bringing you closer to him. It did seem to relax you as you fell asleep soon after, but that didn’t stop the influx of nightmares to plague your subconscious. 

The next morning, everyone was up and atom, but you and your friends seemed to have been allowed to sleep in. “Who knew waking up beside you would be so nice?” You opened your eyes to see Gally smiling softly at you. You tried not to blush, temporarily forgetting the events that happened last night.

“You guys are disgusting.” Fry suddenly voiced loudly.

“You jealous, Fry?”

“Are you kidding? Of course I am.”

You chuckled weakly at the interaction, but you sat up and stretched, looking around to see the beach lit up in its full glory. “Wow...” You whispered.

Waking up to such a beautiful sight, it did bring a small smile to your face. You wished so badly that Newt and Teresa were there to share it with everyone too, but you tried to shake those thoughts away.

Later that day, you sat beside Minho and Jorge, watching Gally help build something from afar. “He’s lucky to have you.” Minho smirked, picking at the fruit in his hand.

You smiled slightly, not truly believing it. “It’s the other way around really.”

“Well, whatever. You two are good for each other.” Minho rolled his eyes, making you chuckle. “Thomas...” You heard Minho suddenly whisper, and you looked in the same direction he was, seeing that Thomas was indeed walking through the new area.

You and Minho quickly stood up, slowly walking towards Thomas, along with everyone else behind you guys. Thomas’ eyes were tired, just like the rest of yours probably were. He didn’t smile, you couldn’t blame him. There was nothing to say, so Minho brought Thomas into a hug. You were in so much pain from the loss of your cousin, but Thomas was in love with her, you couldn’t imagine how he felt. He lost two of the most important people to him.

You hugged Thomas too, silently communicating each other’s condolences through the gesture.

That night, you and Gally sat next to each other as everyone else gathered to hear Vince speak at the bonfire that was set up, a celebration of sorts of surviving.

“We have come a long way together.” Vince started. “So many have sacrificed so much to make this place possible. Your friends, and your family. So here's to the ones who couldn't be here, here's to the friends we lost. This place is for you. It's for all of us, but this,” He held up a knife, pointing it to the large stone pillar in front of the crowd, “this is for them. So in your own time, in your own way, come make your peace. And welcome to the Safe Haven!” He cheered, the crowd following suit.

You forced yourself to smile as you held up the drink in your hand, following along with the rest of the crowd that were actually happy to be there. You were too, but it was hard to convey those feelings. Celebrating didn’t feel right, not this soon anyway.

You watched as multiple people lined up to carve their fallen friend’s or family’s names onto the pillar. You knew who’s name Minho would carve, it was obvious. But you didn’t expect Gally to get up and carve a name. Of course you were curious, but it seemed like it would be personal.

You had a name in mind, but you looked over to Thomas who was frowning while reading something. You knew Teresa meant something to him too, they were close, almost as close you and her had been when you were kids. But you two were kids, you two grew apart. You didn’t know her in the end, not truly. You knew you didn’t deserve to be the one to carve her name. You would let Thomas be the one.

You thought back to your past, having more names pop up in your head, only one truly sticking out.

You stood up after the crowd cleared, walking to the stone pillar with the knife in hand. You found the place for the name, thankful that the light from the fire still reached. You held up the knife and started carving the name.

You smiled fondly when it was done.

“Who’s that?” Gally walked up behind you, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder.

You took a deep breath. “My baby sister...”

“You had a sister?”

“Yeah, my parents wanted me to choose the name, but she got the Flare along with them before I could give her one. It was only a week later that I finally gave her a name...even if she was dead.”

“How old was she?”

You frowned. “...three days old.”

“Y/N...I’m so sorry.”

You turned around to see Gally’s solemn face, but you smiled weakly. “I just have to believe she would’ve been better off, or in a better place.”

Gally only nodded, taking his hands in yours and leading you away to walk along the shore. “Things will be better here.”

“You really think so?” You asked, not sounding very hopeful.

“It have to be. We fought so hard for this.”

“I hope your right, Gally. What’ll life be like here though?” You wondered aloud.

Gally suddenly smiled giddily. “We’ll build our own city.” He nodded confidently, making you scoff.

“Oh really?” You raised your eyebrows skeptically, but a smile playing at the corner of your lips.

“Yeah! And we’ll have parties and bonfires every night.”

You couldn’t help but laugh loudly. “Easy there, tiger. We’ve only been here one day. Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Come on, dare to dream, Y/N.” He grinned.

“I’ll leave the dreaming up to you, Captain.”

You and Gally stopped and sat on a little incline of the shore to take a break from walking, just watching the sun come up. 

Gally was sitting behind you, his arms wrapped around your shoulders and you leaning into him comfortably. You basked in his body heat, shielding you from the slightly chilly air from the ocean tides. It felt nice, the nicest feeling you’ve felt in the past few days.

You looked up to see Gally’s eyes entranced in watching the waves, his lips naturally upturned in a slight smile.

You leaned up and placed a soft kiss to the underside of his jaw, seeing his eyes briefly close at the feeling and his smile growing into a shy grin. He turned his head and leaned down to place a kiss to your lips. “I love you, you know.”

You grinned. “Yeah, I know. I love you too...so much.”

Looking back to the ocean, you knew you guys were going to be okay now.

~~~~~~~~~~

Welp, yeah...I’m having trouble liking the ending, but I hope y’all do at least. BUT SIKE, this ain’t the end(technically). I’m planning on releasing a bonus chapter reallll soon, for all those heathens that wanted smut ;)

But for those not into that sorta thing, don’t worry! It’s not gonna forward the plot in any way, this chapter is the end of the main story, so you won’t miss anything. Just fluff and smut

[rai-wick]

Gally x Reader Chapter 16: Night in the maze (3)

GALLY'S P.O.V

"Guys, get up!"I heard Chuck yell. I opened my eyes to see the Maze opening.I scrambled up, my heart hammering. I couldn't believe it when ____ ran into the Maze after Thomas.

FLASHBACK

"Minho you have to leave him"I yelled as Minho dragged Alby, feeling ____ tense up next to me. I was about hold her hand when I saw her nod at Thomas and they ran into the Maze"NOOO!"We pounded the walls as they closed, her sparkling ___ eyes staring at me.We all gazed at the closed gates in shock.

"We have to open this this gate! We have to get them back"Chuck said worried.

"We can't"Newt put a hand on Chuck's shoulder"Besides there's no way to open the door"

"Either they make it back or...." I said as everyone stared at the gates.I didn't need to finish my sentence.

FLASHBACK

We all crowded around the Gates as they opened.My heart dropped as we looked at the empty passage.

"I told you Chuck.They're not coming back"Newt put a hand on his shoulder.We were turning away when he heard Zart say"No way"

"Yeah!"Chuck cheered as we saw Thomas, Minho and ____ carrying Alby back. Newt ran forward with Frypan and took Alby off them.

"What happened out there?"

"How did you guys make it out?"

"You saw a Griever?"Chuck asked, everyone's gaze on them.

"Yeah, I saw one" Thomas replied, panting.

"He didn't just see it"Minho shook his head.

"He killed it"____ said while gazing at Thomas, admiration shining in her eyes, a wave of jealousy washing over me.

~ A FEW MINUTES LATER~

Everyone assembled in the meeting cabin.My gaze met with ____. She gave me a small smile but I just looked away as everyone arrived. I felt her brush past me coldly as she went and stood next to Minho.

"Things are changing. There's no denying that"I gazed at everyone in the room"First,Ben gets stung in broad daylight.And then, Alby. And now our Greenie, here, has taken it upon himself...to go into the maze"I looked back at Thomas who was sitting behind me"Which is a clear violation of our rules here"

"Yeah, but he saved Alby's life"Frypan injected.

"Did he?"I raised my eyebrows at him"For 3 years, we have coexisted with these things.And now you've killed one of them"I pointed at Thomas"Who knows what that could mean for us"

"What do you suggest we do?"Newt asked tiredly.

"He has to be punished"I stated as everyone began to outrage.

"Come on"

"He killed a Griever!"

"Minho, ____"Newt silenced everyone by asking Minho and ____"You were there with him. What do you think?"I saw them look at each other before Minho replied.

"I think, in all the time we've been here...no one has ever killed a Griever before."I looked back at Thomas who was staring at ____ and Minho"When I turned tail and ran, this dumb shank"He pointed at Thomas" stayed behind to help Alby, along with this slinthead" ____ gave him a glare as he continued"Look I don't know if he's brave or stupid. But whatever it is, we need more of it"He looked back at ____ who nodded before both looked at us.

"We say he should be made a runner"They said in unison, ____ staring straight at me as everyone began to talk.

"A runner? What?"

"Guys, let's not jump the gun here"Frypan said as Chuck started to chant"Thomas! Thomas! Thomas!"

"If you want to throw the newbie a parade, that's fine"I shouted, quietening everyone"Go ahead. But if there is one thing I know about the maze is that you do not-" I was cut off by a sound.It was the Box. We all rushed over as it came to a stop.I pulled open the door with Newt and he jumped down.____ arrived next to me with Thomas as everyone crowded around the box.

"It's another girl"____ jumped down and knelt next to her as Thomas stepped closer, both of them staring at the girl intensely. She was thin, but not too small, pale skin and tar black hair.

"Is she dead?"___ shook her head, checking the greenie for vitals.Newt picked up a piece of paper in her hand and opened it.

"She's the last one EVER"He read aloud" What the hell does that mean?"The silence was broken as the girl awoke, taking a deep breath.

"Thomas"She panted then slipped back into a peaceful slumber.We all looked at Thomas as he stared at her.

"Still think I'm overreacting?"I questioned, glancing down at ____ who avoided my gaze.

"Bring her to the Med Cabin anyhow" Newt said and lifted her legs as ____ lifted her arms.They brought her to Clint and Jeff.

"Do you guys need a check up?"Jeff asked Minho, Thomas and ____.They all shook their heads.

"I'll let you know if anything happens"We nodded and left the cabin.____ walked off to her cabin, her face unreadable.I waited until the other guys had walked away before storming to her cabin.I opened the door and saw her sitting on her bed. She looked up tiredly before sighing.

"Yes?"

I swallowed deeply before saying"Am I not good enough?"

"What?" She looked at me in bewilderment.

"Are you bored of me? Would you prefer to be with Thomas? Is that why you keep picking him over me?" My face felt hot and my eyes were pricking as she got up and walked towards me, staring.

"Is that how I'm making you feel?" I clenched my jaw as she whispered "I'm so sorry Gally. I would never get bored of you" She hugged me tightly, softly stroking the back of my neck"You mean the world to me. Sure, Thomas and I get on great but he's just a friend he could never take your place"She cupped my face in her hands"Believe me when I say, Gally I love you 'till death does us part "I kissed her passionately, holding her close, breathing in her intoxicating smell. I pulled away after a while, both of us breathing heavily.

" I love you _____"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[roscoe-dream]

Happy Ending || Thomas

A/N: quite the opposite of a happy ending. oops. also I tried writing in bigger paragraphs so it didn’t seem so long, but I have a wattpad mindset to break every single paragraph. ugh.

word count: 2,055

WARNINGS: small mention of death (there isn’t a scene or anything). waterwork central. i teared up multiple times writing this.

⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀* * *

Words couldn’t even express his emotions.

When he woke up, he was confused. He was scared, he was worried. Had WCKD caught up to them? Where was he?

Stepping out of the cloth tent, he instantly reached to shield his eyes from the beaming rays of the sun, his sight not yet used to the brightness. The people of the Safe Haven paused their actions as Thomas stumbled through, watching in awe at the fact that they were a few metres from their savior.

He ignored the looks he was receiving, but instead let his own eyes wander about, looking at the sturdy construction of the huts that looked as though they’ve been built months ago, as well as the plantations that were distanced a few feet away from one another.

Was this it?

The Safe Haven, was he actually here?

Thomas pointed his gaze to the sea, feeling his body wash over with serenity as he watched the warm sun slowly hide behind the ocean. As he did this, he failed to notice someone walking in his direction after noticing his arrival.

The thuds of feet didn’t pull Thomas’ eyes away from the view of the waves, but rather the string of curses that came from the mouth of the Brit.

A hand clapped down on his shoulder eagerly, rocking Thomas’ body causing the brunette to snap his head in that very direction. “Hey there, Greenie.” Newt gave him a nod, a light sparkling in his beady eyes. Thomas couldn’t believe it, he was staring right at his best friend, who had died right in front of him. Newt acknowledged his stunned expression, a snort escaping him. “If Gally can do it, I should be able to as well.” He reasoned, making a ghost of a smile appear on Thomas.

But just as quick as it appeared, it vanished. His whiskey eyes filled to the brim with tears as he turned to his first friend, grabbing onto his shoulder tightly before pulling Newt into the tightest hug he could muster. “I’m sorry,” Thomas mumbled, his eyes clenching shut as he attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” He finally admitted, sniffling before pulling away to look into a pair of sincere eyes.

Newt simply shook his head, squeezing Thomas’ shoulder. “That’s just it. You did save me. You saved us.” He reassured, turning Thomas back into the direction of the bottom of the hill where he could see all of his fellow survivors. “You saved all of us. We wouldn’t be here without you, Tommy.”

Thomas slowly looked away from the camp, turning back to Newt, with even more questions. “But.. h-how? When I left.. when I left you, you were-” His voice could barely go above a whisper, afraid that if he raised his voice in the slightest, this would just disappear from his vision.

It was Newt’s turn to become hesitant, glancing down at his boots before returning back to Thomas. “Y/N.” He stated eventually, and the dark haired boy perked up immediately at the sound of your name, his body flooding with concern and worry as he realized you were not at his side or Newt’s. “She found me, after going with Minho to get the serum.” Newt paused, his eyes glazing over as he observed the crashing of the waves on the shore.

Thomas took note of his sudden change of mood, which only caused his concern and worry for the girl to increase. “Newt,” His voice was weary, but there was warning in his tone as he watched his blonde friend clam up just speaking about you. Releasing a slow breath, Newt eyed him, keeping eye contact to a minimum. “She uh, she got me back to Minho.. and then she-” It shocked Thomas to see Newt choke on his own sob, and the sinking feeling in his stomach let him know that Newt’s words were not going to end the way either of them wanted it to.

“I’m sorry, Tommy. She didn’t make it.”

In an instant, Thomas’ heart was in his stomach. The boy gapped at him, tears rolling down his flushed cheeks as he frantically searched Newt’s saddened gaze in hopes of finding a hint of amusement — Thomas hoped this was some sort of sick joke to wake up to, and that you would pop up with that beaming smile that always seemed to make his day a little lighter.

He swiftly turned his body in the direction of camp, his hazel eyes squinting as he made out as many faces as he could see from on top of the hill he was perched on. He barely had time to realize his own rapid breathing before Newt stepped closer to him, resting his hand on his shoulder once again. “She’s not here.” His words were soft, and careful. He didn’t want anymore damage to be done.

It was all too real. It was too real, and too soon.

Thomas let himself break, a ear piercing shout leaving his pink lips as he buried his face into Newt’s shoulder. The blonde boy didn’t jump like the campers did, he knew what was coming, and he also knew that the only thing he could do was hold his best friend while his heart broke for Y/N.

The broken babbles that Thomas spoke were too slurred to comprehend, and his mind was a prison — it was torture.

You was supposed to be here. If anybody deserved to have this happy ending, it was Y/N. He promised you that he would give you this happy ending, no matter what it takes.

“Tommy?”

Your voice was light, barely above a whisper as you caught the attention of the boy, his whiskey colored eyes on you immediately as you kept yours locked with the twinkling stars.

The pair of you were in the middle of the Glade, laying on the ground and watching the stars away from your friends who were sleeping in your makeshift beds. Sound was easily picked up on, so you both did your best to keep your volume low to avoid getting caught by Alby.

“Yeah?” He mumbled, his eyes trailing over the side of your face, memorizing them. Thomas didn’t turn away when you shifted your head to the side, catching gazes with him and staring at each other.

It was silent for a few moments, the two of you laying side by side comfortably and admiring each other’s features. “Where do you think we’d be, you know, in another life?”

The question left Thomas pondering, not having an answer of his own. He raised his eyebrows, silently signaling you to keep talking. You took the hint, rolling onto your side and resting the side of your head in your hand, your elbow keeping you propped up, offering him a soft smile.

“Well, in another life, we wouldn’t be in the maze.” You giggled, a sound that Thomas found himself melting at. His lips curled up in a smile as you spoke, listening intently. “I don’t know,” You shrugged lightly, glancing down at the blades of grass you were fumbling with before locking eyes with Thomas’ hazel ones.

“I guess in another life, we’d be together.” You whispered shyly, a strawberry blush coating your cheeks. “Me and you, all of us. We’d be with everyone in here, and we’d have a life better than the ones we had before we were put in here.” Your bottom lip found its way to your teeth, and you chewed on it as you thought of your next few words. “We’d have a happy ending.”

Your eyes were on the blades of grass now, avoiding Thomas’ stares at all costs. He noticed this, grabbing your hands in his and pulling you both up into a sitting position, his fingers laced with yours.

“You, more than anyone, deserve a happy ending.” He whispered to you sincerely, the pads of his thumbs rubbing over your knuckles. “You’ve been in the maze for three years. I’ve been here for almost a week, and it’s not ideal.” He tried to joke, smiling proudly when he was able to pull a small laugh out of you.

Your laughter died down and Thomas was staring at you in a way that was unfamiliar to you. Suddenly the feeling of him rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles shot a feeling straight to the pit of your stomach. Your cheeks flushed, and you began to grow flustered at Thomas’ gaze on you, but still, you didn’t want it to stop.

“You will have your happy ending, Y/N.” He insisted, tone even, yet assuring. “No matter what it takes, even if it’s the last thing I do. I will give you your happy ending.”

Thomas let out a yelp of surprise, followed by a small ‘oomf’ when you crashed your body into his, hugging onto him tightly. You buried your face into the crook of his neck as your arms wrapped around him. His body shook with laughter at the sudden action of affection you gave him, but held you close to him regardless.

“Thank you, Tommy.”

Thomas finally lifted his head from Newt’s shoulder, his wrist coming up to wipe at his bloodshot eyes. He didn’t dare meet the blonde boy’s stare, instead he looked out at the setting sun.

“This was it, Newt.” He broke the silence, shaking his head almost as if he were disappointed in himself. “This was her happy ending. Y/N’s happy ending, and she’s not even here to see it.”

Thomas was angry. He was angry at himself for keeping a promise to you that he couldn’t keep, for being here and instead of you. It didn’t feel right to him to live on paradise without you by his side. A sound of disbelief resonated from Newt, his arms crossed over his chest as he glanced over at the brunette. “‘Any ending where he’s happy, is a happy ending for me.’”

Thomas turned to look at the Brit, his eyebrows furrowed to match his perplexed stare. “What?” He was confused to say the least, unknowing of the quote Newt said out of the blue.

“It’s what she said to me before she,” He paused, gesturing with his hand before it slipped back into his armpit. “You know. I didn’t get it until now.” He spoke with a fond smile on his face, and a distant look in his eyes. “She loved you, you know.”

Once again, the feeling of Thomas’ heart in his stomach returned, simultaneously breaking. “I know.” The words were blunt, and it hurt him to say it. Newt’s bushy brows rose at the confession, a low hum emitting from his chest. “And you loved her.”

The statement now made Thomas sigh, giving him a reluctant nod. “Yeah. Yeah, I did.”

“Okay. So don’t be a twat and spend the rest of your life here on this beautiful island in agony because of this. It’s okay to grief, it’s okay to mourn, Tommy.” With every word that came from Newt’s mouth, he inched closer to Thomas until his arm was wrapped around his shoulders in a side hug. “But live the life you’re deserving of. And if you can’t do it for you, do it for her. Live your life for Y/N.”

The last few words of Newt’s small speech really struck a cord with Thomas.

So as he stood in front of the large boulder full of carved names, he clutched the metal carving tools in his shaking hands.

“You can do it, Thomas.” Minho’s voice piped up from behind him, followed by a few other encouraging words from Newt, Teresa, Gally, Frypan, and Brenda.

He let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, and began to carve out your name underneath the chubby boy with the rosy cheeks you took under your wing when he had first arrived in the box before Thomas.

His heart was broken, in need of mending, in need of you. He was finally free of needles, free of cranks, free of walls. Free of WCKD.

Thomas was finally home, but deep down, he knew that home would never be home without you here with him.

[mamashenisfav]

For Minho part two

Masterlist

part 1

You felt so useless. You couldn't help them or save them. You couldn't be what they needed, you weren't even able to be what you needed. You felt so alone and helpless, like nothing you could ever do would be enough. No against the Flare and WICKED. You didn't know how everyone else did it, you felt like you were literally going out of your freaking mind. Suddenly you were startled by the door opening. To your dismay, you had been found by Thomas.

"Oh Y/n" he sighed sitting down next to you and pulling you into his arms. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay" he coaxed. Before long, you had relaxed into his arms, the tears ceasing. After a while of sitting like that he asked

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," you replied staring at the door.

"Well, come then," he said helping you up.

"Where are we going?" you asked.

"We are going to get you cleaned up and then we will meet with the others on the best way to get Teresa here," he answered.

That's exactly what you did, and the plan was set. Thomas would go and lure Teressa away to a secure location where Newt, Gally, and a couple of men from the right hand would be waiting to bag her. You were waiting for them to arrive. You felt like you sat in that room for a lifetime before they came back.

When they settled in, you stood behind Teresa not wanting to look at her. Gally removed the mask covering her face. "Okay, so here's how this is going to go." Gally started, "I ask the questions, you give the answers" he finished. Teresa nodded sheepishly. "Okay we'll start easy, how do we get to Minho?" Gally asked.

"You guys don't seriously think that I-" she started staring at Thomas for help. Gally interrupted "Why are you looking at him? Look at me. He's not going to help you. Now answer the question."

Teresa paused for a moment before answering, "He's with the others in holding, on level three."

Newt stepped forward speaking up, "How many others?" he asked.

"28," answered Teresa.

"I can make that work" Brenda replied.

"You guys don't understand, that is maximum security, you can't even get in without a thumbprint ID" Teresa explained.

"And that is why we are taking you with us" Thomas answered.

"I don't know, we don't really need all of her, just her thumb" Gally spoke.

"It won't make a difference, you won't even make it through the front door-" Teresa started.

"Because of the scanners, we know, you are going to help us with that too" Thomas finished untying her and gesturing to the scalpel. She removed them one at a time until it was your turn.

"Y/n, I'm glad you here, I thought you were...." Teresa said.

"I don't want to hear it," you remarked hissing slightly as she pulled the tracker out of your neck.

"Y/n, I-" Teresa started, but you had already walked away

After you had gone through the plan several times and geared up, it was finally time. You were going with Thomas and Newt to rescue Minho and the rest of the immune children. Gally was in charge of finding the serum and Brenda was securing a getaway vehicle. Everyone was as ready as they were going to get, so you entered the compound.

While Thomas and Gally were handling security, you were with Newt who was coughing again. There is no denying that he was getting worse. You went to him to make sure he was okay. After a moment he stood a bit straighter and the coughing ceased. It was going time.

Teresa opened the doors to the pod where they were holding the immune kids. Thomas and you shot the guards with the stun gun. Newt located keys off one of the guards and began opening up the rooms. He assured the kids that everyone would be okay. You searched the room for Minho, but he wasn't there. This is when you came unglued.

You marched to Teresa, slamming her into the wall. "Where is he?" you demanded. When she hesitated you slammed her back against the wall, "Teresa, you really don't want to mess with me right now, because as I see it you are the only thing between me and Minho, we've come this far, so I'll ask you again, Where Is He?" you demanded. Thomas and Newt stared at you both in disbelief and in awe.

"I-I have to track him through the computer," Teresa muttered. You let go of her and allowed her to walk to the computer. After a few minutes of searching, she replied "They've moved him to the medical wing, Thomas that's on the other side of the compound."

"You'll take us there" Thomas replied helping her up. You and Newt followed slightly behind them. Your masks were back on and you were headed into the elevator. In the last possible second Janson appeared. The word tension did not even begin to explain the atmosphere. He informed Teresa that Thomas was back. He had no idea how right he was.

As you exited the elevator Teresa started again "Thomas, the serum won't cure Newt. It would barely buy him any time," You rolled your eye, 'What is her deal' you wondered.

"Don't listen to her Tommy, this is just another part of her game" Newt replied. Then Teresa urged again

"Thomas listen there is something that I don't understand about your blood. If you just left me to run some more tests, I could save him. I could cure Newt for real. Think about it Thomas, Brenda was infected. It was your blood that saved her. You can save him too," he ignored her, and gestured to the door instead,

"Open it" he commanded.

She complied, "Please Thomas, I'll protect you" she insisted.

This is when you had enough. "Oh, you'll protect him? Like you protected Minho? How many people does it take? How many people are you willing to round up? Torture? Kill? When the hell does it stop?" you all but scream.

"It stops with a cure" she answers. "There is no god damn cure" Thomas chimes in.

Before you could continue on your way you were stopped by the voice of Janson. "Don't waste your breath, Teresa, they've already made their minds up," he remarked as he and the guards loaded their guns.

You instinctively stepped in front of Newt. Thomas put his gun to Teresa's head. "Back up" he yelled. He then spoke directly to Janson, lowering his voice "Tell them to back off."

Janson chuckled, "Thomas I've known you since you were a little child, you would never shoot"

Thomas stared him in the eye. "You don't think so?" Thomas challenged. "Okay then, do it," Janson said lowering his gun.

"Shoot her" he urged.

Suddenly Teresa broke free from Thomas' grip and shoved him, you, and Newt backward. She then sealed you into the capsule. As soon as the glass door closed, Janson and the guards shot at it. You stared at Janson for a moment before Thomas pulled you away from the door. The three of you didn't get far before you were discovered.

You were hiding, trying to come up with a plan. The three of you rounded a corner when Thomas saw Ava. He pointed his gun at her. He still blamed her for all of this. He was about to shoot when you were being shot at. Before he could react you pushed him and Newt out of the way.

You started running and calling for Minho when you felt a pain in your side. You reached down instinctively and noticed blood on your hand. It couldn't have been that bad, and you definitely had bigger things to worry about. Newt, Thomas, and you were edging your way back shooting at the guards coming from all angles. "Shit. I'm almost out" Thomas said switching to his handgun. You and Newt were covering the side halls. "Thomas, get down" you yelled before throwing an electric grenade taking out the majority of guards. The three of you continued to run. You hid in a corner, thinking that you were in the clear. And then all of a sudden a guard came out of nowhere.

"Drop your weapons, get on the ground" he demanded. "I said get on the ground" he repeated. 'This is it" you thought 'after everything, this is what it comes down to.' You were about to comply when he was tackled out of the air and knocked out. You were shocked for a moment, but then that was replaced with relief. The three of you ran and embraced him. You were so happy that you barely noticed the pain.

"Is this real?" he asked.

"Yes, this is real" you answered. Your reunion was cut short and you heard gunshots coming towards you. The four of you ran and entered an abandoned room. Minho and Newt focused on barricading the door. You didn't feel well and were leaning against the wall. The guards were sawing through the bolt on the door. It wouldn't be long until they broke through.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Minho asked. With that Thomas grabbed a tank and threw it out the window. The four of you gathered to watch it drop. After all, you were kind of out of options.

"Okay," Thomas mumbled. "This is doable, we just need to get a little bit of a running head start" he finished.

The guards were almost through the door. "Are you sure about this?" Minho asked.

"Not really," Thomas answered honestly.

"Great pep talk" you chimed in.

"Yeah," Newt agreed, "We're all bloody inspired". Just then the guard made it through the lock.

"It's now or never," Minho said as he grabbed your hand. Then the four of you jumped.

You were surrounded by water. You searched for the surface, and then felt arms around you. You gasped for air as you were pulled out of the water by Minho. Before you could plan your next move you were once again being forced to your knees by guards. "You've got to be kidding me," Thomas said rolling his eyes. Just then you were surprised when one of the guards took down the other three.

It was soon revealed that this imposter was Gally. Minho was confused, but you promised to fill him in later. You were about to start running again when you stumbled. You groaned in pain causing the others to look at you. You glanced down to your side and noticed it was now soaked in blood.

"Shit," Minho cursed as he went to you and helped to support your weight.

The five of you started to head to your secret entrance, hiding from WICKED. It wasn't long until things got worse. Violent coughing was overtaking Newt, it was now more apparent than ever that you needed that serum. Thomas hoisted up his friend and rushed towards the tunnel. It was only twelve blocks. You could make it. You had to make it.

Suddenly, there was an explosion, the right hand had taken down the wall. It was an all-out war now. You had to move, you were running out of time. But it seemed that you were also running out of options. Gally decided to try the Walkie Talkie to see if Brenda or Frypan were in any position to offer you guys any assistance. As Brenda picked it up, Thomas took it from him. "Brenda...listen to me, we aren't going to make it, you have to leave, get everyone out," he said.

"No" Brenda replied, "I'm not leaving you okay, so forget it." she continued.

"Even though you should?" Thomas asked. A moment later she answered

"Thomas, I'm coming to you."

"What do you mean?" Thomas questioned. "The Berge is here, get to the top of a building near the tunnels," she replied.

"Okay guys we gotta move, we are three blocks away, we can do this," Thomas said as he boosted Newt up. Minho had looked down at you, about to help you up. You were pale and sweating, he had never seen you look so small and innocent.

"Up we go Y/n" Minho said hoisting you up. "Sorry" he whispered as you groaned in pain.

"Min," you huffed. You knew that you were getting worse. With every step, you were depending more and more on Minho to support you.

You had made it about a block before the group had to stop again. This time it was Newt, he was coughing up black blood. Just then the Berge flew overhead.

"Okay let's go," Thomas said, but then he saw Newt. Then he made the tough decision.

"You three go ahead, get the serum, and get back as soon possible," he said.

"No" you spoke up.

"What do mean no?" Thomas asked.

"I mean that I can't go with them" you answered.

"There's no way I'm leaving you here, I just got you back" Minho argued.

"We don't have time, Newt doesn't have time. I'll just slow you down. Minho, you don't have a choice. Please." you pleaded.

"I don't want to lose you again," he said.

"You won't, but you have to go now, Newt's life is on the line," you replied. He began to walk away when Newt grabbed his arm.

"Minho, thank you. Thank you for everything," Newt whispered.

"Hey, you just hang on, you hear me" Minho got back up and started to run away with Gally. He didn't want to leave you, but he knew you were right. He also knew that Newt's time was running out. You watch him and Gally runs away, knowing it could very well be the last time you would see him.

"We can't stay out in the open," you say trying to push yourself up, "Come on, we need to try to make it to the top of this building. It's our only chance."

Thomas knew you were right, Newt was running out of time. "Okay if we're doing this, we're doing it now. Come on Newt, we're getting up." Thomas said as he went to Newt's side.

"No. Tommy. Wait." Newt struggled.

"Newt, we really don't have the time right now" Thomas added. But Newt refused to move until Thomas agreed to take his necklace.

"Please, please Tommy, please" he begged.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it. Now we've gotta go, I need you to give me everything you've got." Thomas pleaded. Newt agreed.

Thomas helped him up, supporting the majority of his weight. He turned to you, "I need you to give me everything you've got as well. For Minho," Thomas said to you. You trudged forwards. Your entire body ache with each step, you were becoming light-headed, the blood loss finally getting to you. But you couldn't give up. Not now, not after everything you have been through.

Newt stumbled and wasn't getting back up. You heard Thomas pleading for him to just hold on. And that was when the announcement was made by Teresa. Telling him he could save Newt. That all he had to do was come back and it would all be over. You were currently sitting against the wall, trying to catch your breath. Then suddenly, Newt stood up and turned towards Thomas. Thomas was cautious, "Newt-" he started.

"Thomas watch out" you yelled. You tried to get up, go to Thomas and help. But it all became too much.

Thomas ducked under an attack from Newt. "Newt, listen, it's me, it's Thomas," he said trying to make him remember. Newt got up and attacked Thomas again. "I don't want to hurt you Newt" Thomas breathed. Newt was trying to choke Thomas, but then he stopped.

"I'm sorry, Tommy I'm so sorry." he cried. Newt grabbed the gun out of Thomas's side holster and held it to his head.

"Noooo" Thomas screamed knocking it out of his hand. Then Newt reached for the knife he had tucked away earlier. Thomas went to reach for it and Newt slashed his arm. Before Thomas could react Newt had the blade held to Thomas' chest.

Thomas kicked Newt off of him, he tried to tackle him, to get the knife away. at that moment you knew that Newt's or Thomas's life was on you, so you stand up with everything you had and run to their way. as your body slams against theirs's you felt so much pain from the knife that just handed at your shoulder. you feel on the ground, knowing that you just saved your friend.

Before Thomas could even truly process what happened, he knew what he had to do. Brenda ran up just as he was getting ready to leave.

"Thomas?" she called after him clearly devastated by the scene in front of her.

she runs up to Newt and infected him with the cure. Newt and you were both on the ground. one alive and one taking their last breath.

Thomas glanced over his shoulder one last time, but his mind was already made up. He was going to WICKED, he was going to end this once and for all. Brenda was going to go after him, to stop him, but was stopped when she heard you groan in pain. She instead went to your side and tore her shirt to wrap up your wound.

Nothing could've prepared Minho, Gally, and Frypan to see your lifeless body laying on the ground. Though they had lost people before, nothing had ever felt so devastating. Minho didn't know how to react, but his sense of survival took over as he went over your side.

"Y/n? Hey now, stay with me, I'm going to get you out of here," Minho said mostly to himself trying to have hope that you were going to live but really there weren't any of them since your eyes were already closed. the last thing you were thinking about was how you saved your friends' life and how much you loved Minho.

y/n could hear how Minho was yelling at her to open her eyes but no use. her pulse slowly slowed down, and at that moment Newt woke up looked around and his heart slowly broke at the sight of his dead friend, and his heartbroken best friend.

[the-fiction-witch]

Long Distance

MOVIE: MAZE RUNNER AU COUPLE: NEWT X READER RATING: SMUTTY SUGGEST + FLITY AF

I stood with my cup of tea waiting around outside the fitness building for them. Glancing around to campus, seeing everyone busy with their own thing. Until the door opened to minho and thomas 

"Oh thank shuck! I thought you'd gotten lost" I told them

"Relax newt don't klunk yourself" minho laughed as he began to walk 

"You two are always late" I sighed 

"I have to do my hair?" Minho complained, "you think I am leaving the changing room after my shower without doing my hair?"

"Fine, what were you doing then?"

"He was getting a little sugar off Teresa" 

"Really again? Can't you two wait till after class to shuck each other?"

"Not really newt, she's impatient. Besides we didn't shuck" he explained chiming into the conversation "just a blow job in the broom closet" he smirked 

"You still hung up in y/n?" Minho asks 

"No!" 

"Oohh come on newt, really? I shared a wall with your room I know how regularly you still talk to her" Thomas argues 

"No I do not, you a miss ‘earing" I argue 

"Ohh so I don't hear, oohh y/n, my beautiful little princess! I wanna be inside you so badly, I wanna fuck you raw my beautiful princess! Ever other night you think we are all out" minho laughed 

"That and I can't stream netflix when everyone goes to bed, because somebodies using all the wifi"

"She likes to call at night it's easier" I explain "time zones and all"

"Whatever newt, just don't be so damn loud with your digital girlfriend" 

"She's a real girl! You've met 'er several times?" 

"Newt… move on man. I mean yeah when you two were crushing on each other it was god damn adorable! But she's gone newt let her go. And maybe you can you know actually lose your virginity before your twenty one" 

"No, y/n's my girlfriend. I'm not breaking up with the girl of my dreams just because I 'ave to do long distance"

"Long distance never works out" Thomas laughed

"Well it will for us" I argued "I still love ‘er"

"Ughh" he both groan 

"We're not saying you have to break up with her newt we're saying you need to shuck something that's not your computer" minho says 

"I'm not cheating on my girlfriend minho" 

"It's not cheating! You think y/n isn't getting her rocks off with boys over there"

"No she isn't… we promised each other-" I began

"Ohh my God really? You saving yourselves for each other" minho laughed

"’ow about you do what you want with your dick I'll do what I want with mine" I sighed 

"Ohhh you poor boy, you are so unlucky" thomas laughed

"Why?"

"You finally get the balls to tell the girls of your dreams you like her on the day she announced she was moving back to England. Got her to agree to be your girlfriend she night before she left and now you promised to save yourself for each other… you poor poor thing"

"I'm fine Thomas, I Skype ‘er almost every day, trust me guys I'm fine,"

As soon as we got back to our house we shared it with a few other boys and everyone went to do their own thing. Thomas went to his room, Fry was out in the garden grilling, Gally was watching something on the living room TV and Minho went out with Brenda. So I went having a shower and washing my hair going to my room to get dressed, getting a nice shirt on and doing my hair basically trying to appear as good as I could from the waist up as I knew that what she would see. Setting up my laptop and getting a drink and some snacks as I likely would be in call with her all night.

And not a moment after I sat down to call her Skype began to ring 

'Y/n Y/l/n is calling'

I checked my hair a moment before I answered letting it load a second and I instantly blushed seeing her beautiful face, her hair done nicely and even a little make up done in her cute little dress smiling at me 

"Hi newt!" She giggled

"Hi y/n" I smiled back

"Happy anniversary"

"Aww 'appy anniversary princess" 

"I can hardly believe it's been a year"

"Me either" 

"Did you get your present?'

"No it's not 'ere yet, did you get yours?"

"I got it yesterday but I haven't opened it yet" 

"I told you, you could open it" 

"Well I wanted to wait" she smiled "I miss you"

"I miss you more" I told her, we sat four awhile eating snacks and having a little wine together much like if we were having a dinner date except instead of her being in the other half of a table she's on my laptop screen it was lovely chatting and catching up since last I spoke to her  "it's… a lot sometimes when your 'alfway across the world" 

"I'm not all that far really newt, just the end of a phone"

"I know, I just don't like messaging or calling I don't wanna bother you with the time difference and all" 

"Aww newt that's so sweet, but I'd rather you wake me and tell me you miss me then not tell me at all"

"Okay y/n, if you sure" I smiled 

"When's our next visit?" She asks "Christmas break, I'm coming to see you princess, remember?" I remind her 

"I thought I was coming to see you before Christmas?"

"You were, but it got cancelled because they moved the midterm so I ‘ave exams that week" I explain

"So can't I still come see you?"

"I don't know, I kinda have to focus,  all I'll Wanna do is be in bed ‘ere with you" I told her 

"Fine but you better call me so I don't miss you too bad" she smiled

"I will princess' I smiled she giggled blowing me a kiss so I gave her one too 

"Can you two keep it down? Some of us are trying to do work!" I heard Alby yell as he banged on my door making her giggle

"Sorry Alby" I laughed grabbing my headphones so only I could hear her "I really do miss you y/n, it feels weird you being so far away given everything. I mean we've been together and year and I've only really kissed you once, let alone anything else"

"Awww is that what's the matter newt? You getting all lonely?"

"Well… it's not ‘elping" I blushed "just ‘earing your voice...make me, you know" 

"Really? Aww poor newtie" she giggled "what about when I do this?' she giggled pulling her dress down flashing her beautiful breasts at me 

"Uummmm… you know what that does to me too" I smirked leaning back a little letting her see how hard I already was 

"Already?"

"All for my pretty princess" I winked gently rubbing on it though my pants 

"You got playtime last week newt" she giggled putting her dress back up

"Come on y/n please, I can't ‘elp it when you're so far away" I whine "please princess?" 

"Maybe" she giggled 

"I can unlock your toy box too?" I smirked playing with my phone a little "if my princess wanted her toys too?"

"Maybe later newt" she winked blowing me another kiss "love you" 

"I love you too princess" I smiled 

She giggled grabbing something from off-screen returning with her little box with the huge padlock on it so I smirked getting my own from under my bed and grabbing my phone “You wanna play on call tonight Princess?” I asked and she nods  “what’s the magic word?”

“Please newt” she whined so I unlocked my phone going into the app and unlocking the padlock on her box she giggled as it clicked unlocked and she took it off opening the box revealing all her little vibrators and her magic wand

“Can I ‘ave my toys too?” I smirked to her 

“What’s the magic word?” she giggled

“Please princess” I whined and she got her phone and next thing I knew my lock unlocked too so I could open my box to my little fleshlight and my lube “Playtime on call?”

“Come on” she giggled 

“Yes!” 

[wanderingaroundwriting]

Gally ~The Death Cure~

Prompt: *Plus Size Reader*

"It’s not as bad as it looks.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N stood beside Brenda, holding tightly onto the girl’s arm. She couldn’t believe what she seeing. 

Gally. 

Gally was a live. 

“How are you alive...we saw you die.” Newt spoke, breaking the silence. 

“No...you left me to die. I was was rescued not long after you by Lawrence. He is the leader of The Right Arm.” Gally answered. 

“So what you are a good guy now?” Thomas spat, he was growing more and more angry. 

“I was never the bad guy Greenie.” Gally replied, within seconds Thomas lunged for Gally, punching him to the ground. Y/N shouted at Thomas to stop, every ounce of her didn’t want to defend Gally but she couldn’t help it. Frypan and Jorge both pulled Thomas away. Gally stood up and wiped his lip of blood. 

“I deserved that.” Gally stated. 

“Gally if you say you are a good guy than can you help us? WCKD took Minho and we need to get him back.” Newt explained. “We need to get into the city.” 

Gally thought for a moment. 

“Lawrence can help...you have to get permission from him to enter and if he does...he knows the best ways.” Thomas knew better than to trust Gally but he could be their only way of saving Minho. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ride to where The Right Arm was located was rough and bumpy. Y/N never let go of Brenda and refused to look at Gally, she couldn’t bring herself too. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived to an old warehouse that Y/N didn’t want to enter. 

“Before we see Lawrence...just don’t stare at him.” Gally warned, everyone shared glances. Y/N linked her hand with Newt as they began their way towards Lawrence. They stopped at a large metal door where Gally opened in. 

“Gally...who have you brought back?” The man asked, as soon as Y/N looked, se understood exactly why Gally said not to stare. She felt Newt grip her hand tighter, assuring her she was fine. She looked at her friend and gave a faint smile.  

“Friends...from the maze. They need help entering the city to save someone important to them...to me too.” Gally explained, Y/N looked at Gally.

“How important can be?” Lawrence asked. He approached the group and stopped at Y/N. 

“V...Very.” Y/N whispered, avoiding looking at him. 

“Well then...I guess you do need my help. I can get you into the city no issue but only two of you go with Gally...the rest stay incase this is some trick.” Lawrence told them. “I can’t put my full trust in people I don’t know.”

“Newt and I will go.” Thomas spoke. 

“Come in and we will talk about how you are getting in.” Lawrence told them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N sat in silence beside Frypan as they began to discuss their options. 

“Underground tunnels are the way in...but once we reach WCKD we need to have a way in the building.” Gally said to them. “And I know that way.” Gally took Thomas and Newt outside onto the balcony. 

“You ever going to talk to him?” Frypan asked. Y/N looked down. 

“He...he hasn’t even looked at me.” Y/N spoke softly. “I can understand why.” 

“He made his choice not to leave and you made yours...don’t blame yourself.” Frypan assured her, she nodded her head. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Come back safely...both of you.” Y/N said to Thomas and Newt before giving them both hugs. Y/N looked at Gally who was opening the way to the tunnels, she wanted to badly to hug him, to hold him, but she gave a soft smile to the boys and backed away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like hours Thomas, Newt, and Gally returned but not alone, they had Teresa. Y/N ran over to Teresa to hug her but Gally quickly blocked Y/N from doing so. He glared down at the girl. 

“It’s okay Y/N.” Teresa said. Y/N fought back tears and moved away. It wasn’t till Gally sat Teresa down that she noticed Teresa’s hands were bound together. 

“You are going to help us get Minho.” Gally spoke. Teresa looked over to Thomas. “Don’t look at him, what are you looking at him? Look at me.” 

“Even if I could get you in...Minho isn’t where my access card will let me in.” Teresa told them. 

“You get us in that building and I can handle the rest.” Gally told her. Y/N looked at Thomas who remained silent, letting Gally intimidate her with no remorse. 

“You don’t have to be-” 

“Have to be what? She is the reason Minho was taken Y/N!” Newt shouted, he had never risen his voice at her before. 

“He’s right...she isn’t who she said she was back in the maze.” Gally added. Y/N not being able to fight her tears back turned away and left the group, she rushed outside and welcomed the cold air. She wiped the tears that still formed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Y/N...” She quickly turned and saw Newt looking at her. She turned away and said nothing. “I am sorry I shouted at you love.” He approached her gently. 

“Then why did you?” She asked. “No matter what she did...she is my friend...the first friend I made...”

“I...I haven’t been completely honest with you all and I know telling Thomas will be hard.” She looked at him, confused. Instead of telling her, he showed her. He rolled up his sleeve and there was a large scratch mark that looked infected. 

A Crank. 

“Newt...” The tears began to form again, it explained why he had lashed out on her. Without saying anything else, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer in. 

“I will tell the others.” He assured her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they returned inside they were all gathering supplies to start their mission of getting Minho. Y/N walked past Gally and straight towards Brenda and Jorge. 

“You are going to be with us...apparently there are others that have been captured. We are going to use a bus to get them all here safely.” Brenda explained. Y/N isn’t tough like Brenda or brave like Teresa. She isn’t sure how she had lasted this long without being killed. 

She was scared. 

“You are going to be alright.” Jorge told her, placing his hand on her shoulder. 

“I can’t imagine I will be much help...” Y/N told them. She looked over at Gally, for the first time he looked at her, she quickly looked away. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting outside the city walls with the bus was hard for Y/N. She knew knowing that her friends within the walls could be in trouble made her heart ache. She worried about Newt, she was scared for Minho, she felt guilty for Teresa. 

“They should be in there by now.” Lawrence who joined Brenda and Jorge said. “Gally knows what he is doing.” 

“Why did you save Gally?” Y/N blurted out. 

“When we found him he was barely breathing, I could have left him to die, but I also saw he was infected...leaving him there alone wasn’t something I could do...just a kid.”  Lawrence explained. “And now he is one of my strongest guys and most trusting too.” Y/N nodded her head, agreeing with everything he was telling her, because he was right. In the maze he was the strongest and everyone trusted him, including her. Just as she was about to say something else, the four of them heard a burst of gun shots and an explosion. 

“It’s happening...they must be in.” Jorge said. 

“That’s are sign to go in.” Lawrence said, Brenda hopped into the driving seat and the they all piled into the bus. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The city was in shambles. Y/N looked out the window of the bus and saw fire everywhere, places destroyed, and bodies on the ground. 

She hated death and she hated violence. The bus came to a stop when another large explosion went off, it was close enough to shake the large vehicle. Y/N felt useless like always just waiting in the bus while her friends were risking their lives. 

She began to have this feeling inside of her. She needed off the bus. She rushed from her seat and began to leave. 

“Y/N stop!” Frypan shouted. Y/N snatched a gun from one the nearest bags they had prepared and went outside. She wasn’t sure what this feeling was but it was only growing. She ignored the calls from Brenda and Jorge and ran towards the chaos. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smoke from the explosions made it difficult for Y/N to see. She heard constant cries for help, people pushing past her. She had just reached the end of a large crowed when a large man came past her, pushing her to the ground. 

She fell hard, hitting her head. 

The noises around her were muffled. 

Her vision was blurry. She pulled all her strength together and managed to stand on up. She clutched the gun which she had no idea how to use in her hand tightly and pushed on. 

She noticed the WCKD building and rushed towards it but stopped when she saw three men standing outside of it on the top floor. She looked up and shook her head. 

Thomas, Newt, and Minho. 

“Y/N?” She heard someone shout, she turned and saw a man dressed as a guard rushing towards her. She raised the gun and closed her eyes. She felt the gun ripped from her hands. She opened her eyes and saw Gally, he took of the mask. 

Pure anger. 

“Why the hell are you here!?” She didn’t answer, she turned back to Minho, Newt, and Thomas. Gally noticed. “What are those Shanks doing?” 

His question was quickly answered when the three boys jumped, Y/N placed her hands over her eyes, but opened them when she heard splashing. Gally pulled her roughly by the arm, towards the water fountain. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“That was pretty crazy Greenie.” Gally told Thomas while helping him out of the fountain. Y/N grabbed onto Newt’s hand and helped him out. She could tell the effects of the scratch was starting to takes it’s toll even worse now. He was pale, his eyes were a dark color, and he had veins all over his hands, face, and neck. 

“Why are you here?” Newt asked. 

“I asked the same thing.” Gally added. 

“Minho!” Y/N once again ignored the question and hugged her friend. He glady returned the hug. 

“We need to get Newt back.” Thomas said, they all agreed. 

“I know the way to the bus.” Y/N spoke. As they nodded their heads a group of guards rushed out from the building, their guns aiming straight at them. 

“Let’s go!” Gally shouted. Minho and Thomas both helped Newt as they rushed to find cover. The gun shots were close. 

Gally grabbed onto Y/N and pulled her down as they hid behind a flipped car. 

They got separated from the others. 

“Why aren’t you with the bus?” He asked her. She leaned against the car and closed her eyes. She has been trying to find the right answer since she left the bus honestly. 

“I d...don’t know...I h...had this feeling.” She told him. 

“And that feeling told you to run straight into this mess?” He was still angry. 

“Yes! Alright! I have been with you guys since the beginning and if anything...” She stopped and looked down, tears forming. “If any of you left me and I wasn’t there-” 

“Like when you left me back at the maze.” He spat. She looked at him, hurt by his comment. 

“I wanted you to come with us...and when you killed Chuck...and seeing Minho kill you...I couldn’t get that imagine out of my head for the longest time.” She looked at him, really looked at him for the first time since reuniting. He was older, his features matured. 

“I didn’t want to kill Chuck.” He told her. 

“I know...I know you were infected. I trusted you more than anyone Gally...I still do.” She admitted. 

“I thought you hated me.” He told her, she shook her head. 

“I was scared to talk to you...it took everything in me not to run to you when we first saw you.” He looked down and chuckled. Just as he was about to say something, more gun shots went off. He took her by the hand and the two peaked over the car. 

“We have to get to the bus.” Gally told her. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They ran. Gally still holding onto her hand. 

The city was on it’s last limb and they needed to get out. Y/N was so distracted by everything around her that she didn’t know Gally had stopped running till she had bumped straight into him. She looked up at him, noticing he was looking down an alley that lead to a large open bridge. She went to look but he stopped her. 

“Hey, why don’t you go ahead and get to the bus?” He asked her. She knew something was wrong. Who was on the bridge. 

“I don’t want to go without you...w...what’s wrong?” She tried to look again but he blocked her way. “Gally s...stop.” She managed to get by him and saw Thomas and Minho. 

Newt was laying on the ground. 

Without hesitation she ran towards them, tears blurring her vision. 

“Y/N.” Thomas stopped her and hugged her close, not letting her see him. “You don’t want to see him...not like this, this is now what you want to remember.” He was hurting, she could feel it. 

“I have to get back and get Teresa.” Thomas said aloud. 

“We will get to the bus.” Gally spoke. Y/N pulled away from Thomas and looked up at him. 

“How we will meet up?” She asked Thomas, he looked down at her, still holding her. 

“Don’t worry about that...I have this. You guys can keep in touch.” He told her. He handed Minho a walkie talkie. 

“Make sure you and Teresa both get back...please.” She warned him. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. 

“I will.” He told her. She back away and went walked over to Minho, forcing everything she has in her not to look back at Newt. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the bus Y/N was greeted by Brenda with a huge hug. Minho went straight to Frypan to tell him about Newt, Y/N pulled away form Brenda and sat down for a moment. Gally sat beside her. 

“You know if there was a way to save Newt Thomas would have.” Gally told her. She thought about Newt and only felt tears form. 

“I know...Newt would have done the same thing...he just...it shouldn’t have been him.” She told him. “Newt has done so much for us and now he is gone.” She felt him wrap his arm around her shoulders, she leaned into him and closed her eyes. She was tired. 

“Thomas went back into the building...I don’t think that building will last any longer.” Minho said. 

“How would we get to him if he can’t make it out?” Brenda asked. Gally looked at Lawrence. 

“I have a way.” Lawrence told them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why can’t I stay with you?” Y/N asked Gally. “We all work better when we are together.” 

“Knowing you are safe on the ground and away from this city will be better. Make your way to safe haven with these Shanks.” He told her referring to Frypan, Brenda, and Jorge. 

“You promise you will be there?” She asked. He had no words. Was that a promise he could keep? Instead he cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. She was taken back but didn’t hesitate to return the kiss. 

“We gotta’ go!” Lawrence shouted. Gally kissed quickly one more time before running off with Minho and Lawrence. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Safe Haven was everything Y/N thought it would. It was a gust of fresh air. She felt like she could relax without the constant fear. 

“Guys...guys they are here!” She heard Frypan shout. Y/N rushed to her friend and saw Minho, Gally, and Thomas. Thomas wasn’t awake. They all looked rough and beaten. 

“Thomas needs medical.” Minho told them, a group of people helped to take Thomas away. She looked around and her heart sank. 

Teresa wasn’t with them. 

“Y/N...” Gally spoke approaching her. She engulfed him in a light hug, afraid he was hurt, and she was right. She walked him to medical and sat him down. 

“It’s not as bad as it looks.” He told her with a faint smile. 

“You look exhausted.” She told him. He laid back on the soft cot and closed his eyes. She sat beside him and gently stroked his hair. He began to snore softly which made her smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry.” Thomas told Y/N as they sat around the fire with a bunch of others that she has yet to officially meet. 

“You did what you could. She knew what she was doing.” She told him. She knew his feeling towards Teresa. She knew how much he loved her, despite her being apart of WCKD. 

“Y/N...Greenie!” They both looked up and saw Gally, Frypan, and Minho standing by a large rock. The two walked over and joined them. 

“Here.” Gally handed Y/N a sharp stone, on the large rock was all the names of their friends that they had lost. She carefully carved in Newt’s name while Thomas carved Teresa’s. Gally took Y/N’s hand and led her back to the fire. 

“It’s a new start.” He told her, she looked at him and smiled. He was right. 

[heliads]

Are You Happy With Him?

Y/N is a Med-Jack in the Glade, who happens to be dating Gally. Newt happens to be completely in love with her, but he may have more of a chance with her than he’d first thought.

masterlist

The night is dark, the air is cool. Sparks dance away from the fire, and the Gladers mill about watching Gally pummel whatever boy had the misfortune to step into the circle with him, all the while pretending they can’t see the looming walls of the Maze rising up around them. Thomas is seated on the ground a distance away from everyone else, back leaned up against a fallen tree trunk while he listens to Newt explain everything there is to know about the Glade and the Maze and whatever else Thomas asks him. 

The sound of footsteps draws close, and seconds later another boy swings into a seat next to the two of them. Newt grins to see his friend. “Thomas, this is Minho. Think you’ve seen him around before, he’s a Runner.” Minho waves a greeting to Thomas, then glances back in the same direction as the two boys. “Newt talking you through life here in the Glade?”

Thomas nods. Minho keeps glancing around the campfire, then chuckles slightly when his eyes fall on the lone girl standing among the other Gladers. “Newt mentioned her yet?” Newt groans, but Thomas shakes his head. “No, not once. Who is she?” Minho adjusts his position so he’s facing Thomas, holding up his hands as if the runner’s about to deliver a key piece of information.

“That right there is Y/N. She’s a Med-Jack, although we all call her a Med-Jane because we’re a bunch of shanks who like to mess with our friends. The reason she’s so important is because Newt here is head over heels for her.” Newt rolls his eyes. “That’s not true, Minho, and you know that. Besides, it doesn’t matter how any one of us feel about her, because she’s seeing Gally. End of story.”

Minho groans. “Come on, Newt, there’s not a single person here who’d believe that klunk. Newt’s obsessed with her, but to be fair, we all kind of are. Anyways, the point is she’s one of the best Med-Jacks here, but you wouldn’t know it because Gally gives us a death stare whenever we talk about her for more than thirty seconds.”

Thomas looks up to see Y/N approaching the three boys. She jerks her head at them, and Newt and Minho move over so she can sit down. “I heard my name being mentioned. You telling the Greenie about how I’m the best person in the Glade by far?” Minho laughs. “We were saying that if he ever breaks an arm he should go to Clint instead.” Y/N lunges over to hit Minho on the shoulder, and the friends break into laughter.

Newt reaches behind him to grab a glass full of a frothy (and somehow dirty) amber liquid, taking a sip to Y/N’s disgust. She makes a face at him. “Honestly, I don’t know how you stand that stuff. It’s foul.” Newt grins at her. “Your own boyfriend makes it, I feel like you should at least pretend to stomach it like the rest of us.” Y/N rolls her eyes. “Not even our relationship can make me want to look at that poison.”

She sighs suddenly, eyes travelling across the campfire to where Gally’s pummeling yet another Glader into submission. “And it wouldn’t be the only habit of Gally’s that I disagree with.” Minho nods slowly. “It’s the Med-Jane impulse. Stops you every time.” Y/N gives him a look dripping with outrage, and she and the boys dissolve into laughter.

After a while, limbs get stiff and the four stand up to take a tour around the campfire. Newt points out the different groups of Gladers, and they’re doing fine until Gally ‘accidentally’ shoves a stumbling opponent into Thomas’ back, causing him to lose his balance. Thomas dusts himself off, but looks up when Gally approaches him. “What do you say, Greenie? Want to see what you’re made of?”

Thomas stares at him, uncomprehending, but Y/N makes a quiet sound of annoyance. “Come on, Gally. It’s the guy’s first day here. Give him a break.” Gally ignores her, speaking even louder to Thomas to explain the rules of the fight. Newt drifts over, gently pulling Y/N away from the ring. “Let Thomas have a go. Gally probably won’t rough him up that much.”

They step aside, hanging on the outskirts of the group. Y/N winces as Gally shoves Thomas face-first into the dirt. “It’s barbaric. Does he really have to do this?” Newt stares at the ongoing fight, at Gally clearly reveling in the chance to rough up another Glader, then looks back at Y/N. “Are you happy with him?”

Y/N turns to him, a look almost like outrage on her face. “Of course I am, why would you ask me that? Maybe he has a few habits that aren’t my favorite, but he’s still one of the best guys in the Glade.” Newt shakes his head. “I’m not talking about Gally’s necessity as a Glader. I’m talking about how he makes you feel. Are you happy with him, Y/N? Actually happy?”

Y/N opens her mouth to speak, then closes it again. “I should be able to answer that.” She’s silent for a moment or two longer. “I don’t know.” She stares back at the fight, flinching slightly when Gally’s fist crosses Thomas’ face as if she’s already mentally figuring out how much time she’ll have to spend in the Med-Jack hut trying to put the Greenie back together.

“I don’t think I am. I don’t think anybody’s asked me that in a very long time, and I haven’t thought about it in even longer.” Y/N tilts her head down, sighing quietly. Newt glances back at her, then carefully slides an arm around her. She leans her head against his shoulder.

The morning is bright, heat already pouring into the Glade. Newt is about to take his break for lunch, but he looks around and realizes he doesn’t see the one girl who should’ve been out to eat before him. He taps Zart on the shoulder. “You seen Y/N?” The Track-Hoe nods. “She had some argument with Gally, then headed out to the Deadheads for some peace and quiet. I don’t think she’s come back since.” Newt considers this. “I’m going to go get her, tell her it’s time for lunch. See you after the break’s over.”

The trees of the Deadheads sway slightly, offering some much-appreciated shade and cool despite the burning heat of the sun. Newt doesn’t have to walk far before he finds Y/N seated on a high-reaching tree branch, head leaned back against the rough bark. He climbs up after her, and they both pretend not to notice when his bad leg gives out, making him slip for just a second.

“Is there a reason you’re camped out in the middle of the forest?” Newt asks, and Y/N smiles ever so slightly. “I’m here to avoid Gally. I broke up with him and now he’s passive aggressively building things as if every hammer swing could kill.” Newt frowns. “At least he’s being passive.” Y/N laughs. “Focus on the aggressive. It’s mostly just aggressive.”

She sighs suddenly, looking up at the tree branches around her. The leaves seem to form a slight crown around her head. “I never thought I’d be the one to end things. Always thought he’d get tired of me and that would be that. I don’t feel any different than I did before. Maybe a little more free, like I can finally complain about things and not have to mince my words around him.”

Newt nods. “He’ll come around after a while. He’ll mess around and be bloody angry for a while, but then he’ll be back to our usual easily-bothered Gally.” Y/N smiles. “You do have a way with words. I feel better already.” Newt laughs at that, then jumps down from the tree, holding out his hand to help Y/N down. “You’ll feel even better when you have your lunch. Come on, I’m sure Frypan’s outdone himself, or at least he’ll pretend he has.”

The afternoon is late, and Y/N’s still working in the Med-Jack hut despite the fact that she should have left long ago. Gally finally warmed up to her again a couple of days ago, and he’s sent in a torrent of injured Builders to join the already large number of wounded Slicers that occupy the hut. She’s been busy all morning, and finally finished sending the last boy out with bandaged hands and a promise to stay out of trouble.

Y/N’s just doing the last checks to make sure her workstation is clear and ready for the next morning when she hears a soft knock on the door behind her. She turns to see Newt lingering by the door, and smiles. “You’d better not have cut yourself too. I don’t even want to have to look at a bandage ever again, or maybe just until tomorrow.” 

Newt grins, padding into the room to come stand next to her. “No injuries here. We’re all good.” His focus shifts to the cabinet open above him, and Y/N’s failed attempts to reach the door to put a faded glass bottle of ointment back inside. “Here, I’ve got you.” He takes the bottle from her hand, reaching up over her head to slide it inside and shut the door. When he looks back down, he realizes that his slight movement had shifted him close to Y/N, and they stand only an inch or two apart. He stands there for just a second, then leans forward with the air of someone taking a leap of faith and kisses her.

His hands slip around her waist, and Y/N presses her palms against the small of his back. When he breaks away, her eyes are light, and happier than he’s seen in a while. “I’ve been wanting you to do that for a long time.” She says, and Newt finally allows himself a smile. “I’ve been wanting the same.”

When morning breaks, it brings with it fear and overwhelming terror. After the doors to the Maze didn’t close at nightfall, the resulting Griever attack had left the Glade weak and unprotected. Newt walks with Y/N to the opening of the Maze, and wraps a protective hand around hers as they watch Gally prepare to sacrifice Thomas and Teresa to the Grievers in the hopes of protecting the rest of the Gladers.

Teresa, already tied to a wooden pole, argues desperately that their deaths will do nothing to save the Glade. Gally grows angry and orders Thomas to be tied up as well, but Thomas fights back against his would-be captors. The second Thomas lashes out, Y/N drops Newt’s hand, and the two of them join Minho, Frypan, and a score of other supporters to turn the tide, forcing Gally back with weapons drawn.

Y/N remains silent as Thomas speaks to the rest of the Gladers, urging them to escape the Maze with him. More walk away from Gally to join Thomas and the others, but still more remain on the other side. Finally, when the last of the Gladers willing to leave stand by Thomas, Y/N steps forward. She speaks directly to Gally, her voice cracking slightly.

“Gally, please. Come with us. You won’t survive here if you stay.” Gally shakes his head just slightly. “Good luck with the Grievers.” Y/N looks at him, remembering all of the love she’d once had for him in that moment. “Don’t do this, Gally. Please.” But Gally turns and walks away, leaving Y/N standing there to watch him go. Newt stands silently beside her, and Y/N looks at him with pain before allowing him to wrap his arms comfortingly around her. “He made his choice. There’s nothing you can do.” She nods hesitantly, and they walk together into the Maze.

The journey through the Maze is fraught with peril, and Y/N watches with horror as friends she’d known for months died at the claws of the Grievers. Finally, amazingly, a small handful of Gladers make it through the Maze and into the broken rooms of WICKED. Y/N holds Newt’s hand as they walk through the rooms, broken glass crunching under their feet. They do not intend to let go.

There’s a voice from across the destruction, from one of the other rooms. The Gladers group together instinctively, Newt pulling Y/N close to his side. A figure steps out from the darkness, and Y/N’s breath catches in her throat when she recognizes the boy. “Gally?” Her voice echoes across the room and he nods ever so slightly. Newt steps in front of her protectively when he notices the gun in Gally’s hand.

Gally shakes his head quickly when he sees the boy move. “I’m not going to shoot her, Newt. That’s not why I’m here. I could never hurt her.” Y/N speaks in a calm voice. “Put down the gun, Gally. We can talk about this, about why you’re here.” Gally shakes his head again with even more fervor than before. “I’m sorry, Y/N. I have to do this.” He takes a shuddering gasp, and his eyes clear for just a second even as tears begin to pour down his cheeks.

“Are you happy with him?” Y/N nods slowly when she hears his question. “Yes. I am.” Gally forces something that looks almost like a smile, but with the overwhelming twist of his face from the tears it looks bent and broken instead of joyful. Gally redirects his attention to Thomas, who is asking him to put down the gun. Gally shakes his head, sobs still racking his body. “I belong to the Maze. We all do.”

It all seems to happen at once. Gally pulls the trigger, Minho moves in a blur of movement to throw a spear through Gally’s chest. Gally stumbles and falls to the ground. Y/N lets out this quiet scream, her breath rasping sharply against her throat. Newt covers her eyes with his hand, making sure that she can’t see the dead body of the boy she’d once loved.

It is then that Thomas sees the blood starting to spread from Chuck’s chest, then that he sees the way Chuck’s breathing falters and he starts to collapse to the ground. Thomas bends over him, frantic. “Y/N, Clint, somebody! He’s been- he’s been-” Thomas can’t finish the sentence. Y/N kneels next to him, ignoring the blood beginning to stain her hands, but at last she stands up again and shakes her head almost imperceptibly at Thomas.

Silent tears run down her cheeks as Thomas stares at her in mute incomprehension, then turns back to Chuck. Y/N buries her face in Newt’s shoulder, unable to watch as the young boy breathes his last in Thomas’ arms. When it comes time for them to leave, Thomas’ screams echo down the empty hallways. Newt takes Y/N’s hand, whispers in her ear. “There was nothing you could have done.” She looks at him sadly. “I know. And it hurts even more for it.”

The two of them head back down the halls together, hand in hand. She won’t leave him, not now. Not ever. He needs her as much as she needs him, as much as the sun needs the moon and the earth needs one more chance to heal. They do not intend to leave each other, never again. They do not know if they will have a choice about it, but it does not matter. They would follow each other to the ends of the earth to give themselves the chance to stay together.

[nothingbutfangirlsmut]

The Maze Trials: A Gally Fanfiction

Pairing: Gally x Emi(OC)

Background: Emi, first girl the Glade has seen. Tougher than she looks and more than ready to prove it. Since day one her and Gally have been at each other's throats. Fighting constantly and not just with their words.

(Gally fanfiction which will include smut. It also has an actual story line. Think of it as an AU to the original Maze Runner. It'll mostly follow the main story line with some changes. Mostly focusing on Emi and Gally and their relationship.)

Chapter Six

This morning I'm with Newt trying out the job of a farmer. We are in the middle of the gardens. He's showing me the difference between all the plants.

"Can I ask you something?" He asked suddenly standing up and facing me.

"Sure" I said.

"What happened between you and Minho? I saw the two of you walking into the woods together then this morning at breakfast he was uncharacteristically quiet." Newt stared at me awaiting my answer.

"Well, he kissed me and the kiss progressed and got pretty heated but I stopped it. I told him I wouldn't let him go any farther than that kiss. Then I walked back to the homestead." I explained kicking at the dirt.

"I knew he had a thing for you. Pretty much everyone knew. The guy can't be subtle at all." Newt chuckled.

"You think he's mad?" I asked him.

"Nah, he will be over it before you know it and he will be right back to hitting on you again. Minho is not one to give up." Newt smiled.

"Do you like him?" Newt asked me taking a step closer.

I shrugged.

"I don't really know. I only remembered my name yesterday. I've only been here a few days. I'm still trying to fill everything out. I don't think I'm ready to like anyone yet."

"Well warn me before you get there cause I have a feeling most of the guys are going to attempt to get with you." Newt laughed as he bent back down.

"What about you?" I asked curiously.

He seemed to freeze for a moment. Then he started picking at the weeds in the dirt.

"I think you're wonderful Emi but not really my type." He said slowly and quietly.

I bent down to help him with the weeds.

"What is that suppose to mean?" I questioned quietly.

Newt chuckled. He popped his head up to look around him before turning back to me.

"It means you're not a guy so you're not my type." He gave me a small shy smile.

I couldn't help the large grin that spread across my face.

"No way!" I shouted earning me a slap on the arm from the blonde.

"Sorry" I whispered.

I laughed but made sure Newt knew his secret was safe with me. I think I just found my best friend. It'll be nice to have someone to talk to about these ridiculous boys.

"Anyone you have an eye on?" I asked quietly as we walked towards one of the tree stumps.

"I use to have a crush on Minho for awhile but that went away awhile back. Now I'm not really into anyone. Maybe one of these days a boy will come out of that box and change that." He smiled hopefully.

"I swear I will get you hooked up with someone one of these days." I grinned at him.

He laughed then started wacking away at the stump. The day went by quickly thanks to Newt and I chatting each other up. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed this much. Before we knew it the bell for lunch sounded.

"I figure after lunch I'm gonna throw you with the builders if that's alright. Speed up the process a little bit." Newt said as we walked towards the hut.

"Yes!" I exclaimed happily.

Newt laughed shaking his head. I think he already knew I was interested in being a builder. I just feel like I'll like that the best. Like I'll be the best at that. Plus I want to out do Gally in any way I can. Not sure why I have a need to do that but I do.

I got my food and found my seat. Newt took a minute to let Gally know the plan. I watched the blonde boy inform the angry one. He nodded once then glanced over to me. When he saw I was already looking at him he quickly looked away.

"I told Gally you were very eager to try being a builder." Newt laughed as he sat next to me.

"Why would you want to be a builder?" Clint asked scrunching up his nose.

"They're all idiots." Jeff whispered.

I just laughed and shook my head. They wouldn't understand if I told them why. I don't fully understand why. I just have this feeling and I think I should follow my gut. After lunch Gally came over and got me so I could follow him to work.

I was practically skipping as I walked with Gally. I was so excited to get my hands dirty. Of course Gally didn't trust me with a big job so he told the other builders what to do then made me go with him to gather more wood and other materials.

Gally took us to the edge of the woods to work on cutting out some wood to use. He handed me an axe then started chopping. I followed his lead chopping on the opposite side of him.

"Don't cut any of your fingers off. I'm not dealing with it." He grumbled as he continued to swing his axe.

"I won't cut off any of my fingers." I snapped at him.

He slammed his axe into the tree and left it there. He stepped closer to me his chest out like he was ready for a fight.

"Do you have a problem princess?" He asked harshly as he glared at me.

I swung my axe hard sticking it in the tree just as he did. Then I stepped away from the tree and towards Gally. I stood toe to toe with him. I wanted to make sure he knew he didn't scare me. Not even a little.

"Yea, I have a problem with the way you talk to me. You think because I'm a girl I can't do the same things you can? You think I won't make my corners as tight as you, I'll cut my fingers off, or I can't beat your ass. Don't you get tired of being proved wrong over and over?" I spat at him stepping even closer.

He growled grabbing my arms and shoving me against the tree our axes were in. His face was so close to mine I could feel his hot breath on my skin. I hadn't noticed the boys in the Glade that could see and hear us stop what they were doing. I was too distracted by the one holding me against a tree.

"You are either very brave or very stupid." He growled in my face.

"How about a little of both. I'd say I tip more to the brave side while you overload into the stupid." I said harshly as I stared him down.

His hold on my arms tightened. His face was getting redder by the minute. I was enjoying this way too much. I think pissing him off would be my new past time.

"I'm very close to beating the klunk out of you." He growled inching his face even closer to mine.

"I mean you can try but I can almost guarantee It'll go about the same as the bonfire." I smiled wickedly at him.

With a very loud growl he let go of my arms. I knew what was coming next. His big fist pulled back and went straight for my face. I let out a howl of a laugh when Gally punched the tree I was just against. He hissed turning around when he heard my laugh. I had moved out of the way at the last second. I could hear the shouts of the other gladers coming our way.

"You better get your swings in now big boy looks like the cavalry is coming to save you." I smiled wide as I did a little side to side dance.

"To save me?" He growled out in disbelief.

I nodded still doing my little dance.

"Gally! What the hell are you doing?" I heard Alby's booming voice.

I did the stupidest thing and glanced towards the leader's voice. Next thing I know I was tackled to the ground with a steaming Gally on top of me. He went for my face but it was easy enough for me to block him. I had to struggle a little to fix myself enough to roll us. 

Once I got myself in just the right angle while blocking Gally's random throws I pushed him off me. His hands held tightly on my shirt pulling me with him. We hit a slight slope perfectly causing us to roll a few times. I made sure that when we stopped I was on top. Gally groaned when his head roughly hit the ground.

"What the shuck are you two doing?" Newt asked in bewilderment.

I grabbed Gally's shirt and pulled lifting his shoulders and head a few inches of the ground.

"Gally here keeps looking for a fight. I think it's time I gave him a proper one." I stated while glaring at the boy below me.

"Enough you two!" Alby shouted.

My head snapped over to him. Those words threw my mind back into the dream I had. I glanced back at Gally who was laying very still. His hands tightly holding my wrists. I let him go and quickly stood.

What the hell is going on? My mind kept bouncing between reality and my dream. The similarities were seriously giving me a headache.

"Take both of them to the pit. Make sure they are next to each other. And no one is aloud to visit them. Make them talk to each other or not at all." Alby ordered angrily.

"The pit?" I questioned looking at Newt who was grabbing my arm.

Two boys went for Gally but he just growled, shoved them off, then stomped around Newt and I to where ever the pits are. Gally knew not to argue with Alby. I could tell just from the look on Alby's face he wasn't the person to cross.

Newt pulled me over to some horrible looking makeshift cells. They were built into the ground. He opened one of them up and gestured for me to get in.

"You've got to be kinding?" I asked staring at the hole in the ground.

"You two broke a big rule. I don't know what your issues are with each other but Alby wants them worked out. So, yes, get inside." Newt said sternly.

I huffed but did as he said jumping inside the small dirt hole. Newt quickly locked me in somehow then opened the one right next to me for Gally.

"Have fun you two." Newt said as he walked away.

—

[writingsbychlo]

home | thomas

word count; 15,944

summary; thomas is struggling to get over what happened, and he just needs a little help.

notes; this is just some cute stuff for my baby, because he needs it.

warning; PTSD, sad Tommy, he just needs a hug.

“Home,  a place that I can go, to take this off my shoulders, someone take me home.”

Thomas was a known hero around paradise, he was greeted with smiles, thanks, hugs everywhere he went. Even all these many months later, the effect he had on people’s lives had never been forgotten, but he couldn’t forget the effect it had on him.

More nights than not, he awoke with sweat dripping across his forehead and screams tearing from his lips. For the first month, everyone had ignored it, subtle looks of pity being shot his way or comforting pats on the back being given. By the time month two had rolled around, he’d began feeling guilty, noting how tired those who lived around him were becoming, and still, no one said anything. He was grateful for them ignoring it, nobody pounding on his door in the middle of the night or shouting at him, but he could clearly see what he was doing. 

So by month three, he’d moved himself a good mile away from everyone else. Built himself a new little hut near the shore and he screamed out his night terrors to his heart’s content, assuming they’d go away. By month five, Thomas had begun to fear he’d live with them forever, the images of Chuck dying, Minho being taken or Newt almost bleeding out, the pictures flashing behind his eyes every time he shut them. The boys had begun taking turns sleeping on the floor of his room, just to wake him up and comfort him when he started thrashing and shouting in his sleep. Newt had officially diagnosed him with PTSD, which hadn’t surprised him at all, he’d been musing with the idea for weeks, so to have someone else say it had been no shock at all.

By month seven, Thomas had grown tired of doing this to his friends, so he started laying awake at night, pretending to sleep until he’d convinced them he was okay, and they started coming less and less, and now, Thomas rarely slept. If he had a night terror, he’d run. He’d run for miles, until his lungs were burning and his legs aching, and then he’d turn around and drag himself back, before passing out for a few hours from exhaustion, before repeating the cycle. 

Everyone around him was happy, the community was thriving as the year marker rolled by and people began to feel at ease. Thomas was glad they were now secure enough to start going out and finding new people, others who needed help, needed saving and a sanctuary, he really was, but the expansion only increased his fear. 

Six months ago he’d safely been a good distance from anyone else, but now he could see other houses, with the rate their group was expanding, it wouldn’t be long before he was once again crowded, and once again keeping up the poor, innocent souls who had the misfortune of having to live around him. It had been a while since Thomas had actually joined the community, tending more to skirt around the edges, grab some food before everyone else in the morning and after everyone else at night, preferring his own sanctity. It wasn’t until late on a warmer evening that he finally saw his friend again, knowing it must’ve been at least a month since he’d spoken to anyone, a disapproving look on the blonde’s face as he entered the small stick hut, crates laying around with all of Thomas’ things in.

“I brought you some dinner, can’t bloody remember the last time I saw you eat a decent meal since WCKD, so here you go.” As if to punctuate his friend’s thoughts, Thomas’ stomach grumbled loudly at the sight and smell of the food, and the runner grabbed it, shooting his friend a grateful smile as he sat on his bed to eat it. “Not going to unpack, mate? You’ve lived here for a while now. Awful hard living out of boxes, don’t you think?” Newt wandered through the one-room cabin, picking up and putting down various items from boxes as Thomas chewed and watched him go.

“I did unpack. This is repacking.” His words were muffled around bites of food, crumbs spraying from his mouth and Newts eyebrows furrowed as he turned to look at his friend, hands on his hips intimidatingly. 

“Repacking, eh? And where is it you’re going this time? Another mile from your friends? Two? Do you know how bloody hard it is to walk on this limp? Now that I’m not running for my life I quite like to keep off it, bloody painful it is, and trekking up here to see your sorry ass isn’t the highlight of my month, you know?” The speech left Thomas frozen, mid-chew, as he stared at his friend wide-eyed, wondering where the sudden outburst came from. Newt ran a hand over his face, but didn’t apologise, however, he let go of the breath he was holding and his eyes met Thomas’ with a gentler look in them. “Look, mate, I know it’s hard. You don’t think it was hard for me? For Minho? For any of the newbies coming in? But we’re only going to keep saving lives, keep expanding, and you can’t run away forever. We all need you, we need you back, not this shell of you that goes on runs in the middle of the night to wear himself out, or the one that locks himself away from us all and sneaks about to eat and shower. I want my friend back, Tommy.”

The words cracked Thomas’ heart, because he wanted nothing more than to do just that, be that person for all of them and himself, but he’d given it time, and he’d tried his best, and no matter what, he just couldn’t. “I-I want that Newt, but I don’t know how to be me anymore. I-I’m just this broken hollow thing left over from what happened.” Tears lined his eyes and he pushed the tray from his lap, gaze directed to the floor and he palmed at his eyes roughly, willing the water back. 

Crouching before the broken boy, Newt pulled his hands from his eyes until their gazes met, a soft smile on his lips. “I know, but there’s someone I’d like for you to meet. She’s been here a while now, and I think she’s been pretty desperate to meet you. She told me to give you her thanks, turns out one of those younger kids you saved in the last city was her little brother, the only family she had left, you should’ve seen the tears in that boy’s eyes when we brought her off the boat a few months back, would’ve made your day, Tommy.”

He let a small smile flick at his lips at the thought, a soft cooing leaving his lips as a warmth filled his chest at the idea of reuniting a family. 

“Told her she had to wait, though, had to tell you herself because you’d come out of this hut one day. She’s helped a lot of us, Tommy, she even helped Gally. I’ve never seen the boy laugh but let me tell you, he cracks up when he’s around her. She brings everyone together, she makes this place feel like home.” 

He mulled over the thought, knowing he’d have to leave sometime, and knowing the least he could do was give his friend this chance. He had no hope of it working, but he could do the very minimum and try, because he owed them all at least that. “Okay.”

“Okay? Well, Tommy, you’ve just made my day. We can talk more about it soon, yeah? You need some rest.” With that, his friend clapped him on the shoulder and stood, ruffling his hair before making his way on unsteady feet back to the main village, a slight pep in his walk as he left.

To say Thomas felt overwhelmed by the noise would be putting it lightly. He hadn’t been around so many people in almost a year, and he knew all eyes were on him. People were already coming up to him and greeting him, hugs and handshakes were given as he walked quickly through the crowds to get his breakfast. People were shocked to see him, probably thinking he’d just disappeared, but nothing could replace the look on Minho’s face as he spotted them at the table, the Asian boy’s jaw dropping as his fist hit the table, startling everyone else and shaking water cups. 

The scene brought a genuine smile to Thomas’ lips, for a split second, before all eyes turned to him and anxiety once again overtook him and he froze in his tracks a few metres from the table. “Thomas? You’re.. here! Like, at breakfast with us!” Gally had been the last person he’d expected to speak, but he shuffled down on the wooden bench, a large space opening between him and Brenda as his lips twisted up in a hint of a smile, his eyebrows raised in an offer to the seat, and surprising himself, his feet carried him forward to sit in it.

It wasn’t quite as bad as he’d expected, he felt comfortable to be back with his friends, welcome and warm, and most of all, he felt loved. “Not getting any food, Thomas?” Brenda nudged him and he bit his lip, shaking his head as he looked over to the queue of people, all bustling and lining up to get fed, his heart racing uncontrollably at the mere thought. 

“Leave him be, he’s made a massive step just coming down here. We’re proud of you, mate. Missed seeing you at the table.” Newt reassured him he was still welcome, Brenda backing off as everyone dug into the food on their plates, his eyes finding the table as he picked at a loose piece of wood. It wasn’t until a soft voice, a voice he didn’t recognise broke his thoughts that he glanced up, eyes widening at the sight of the girl before him as her gaze was focused on Newt.

Waves of hair sat around her shoulders, eyes practically sparkling as a younger boy stood behind her listening intently to Minho as he chatted, arms waving excitedly and the boy’s fingers were gripping his plate with such enthusiasm Thomas thought it might snap. His gaze rose to the girl once again, her eyes now on his and his breath hitched in his throat, but he couldn’t find it in himself to look away this time. Her face held nothing but compassion, and she didn’t look at him with pity like everyone else did, or admiration, she wasn’t putting him on some podium and she wasn’t mentally coddling him like a child, she was simply smiling at him with care, and he decided he quite liked the way she looked at him.

Placing a plate down on the table, she pushed it across the table towards him, steam still rising from the fresh food and cutlery quickly followed, his eyes barely leaving hers to glance down at the meal before looking up to her once again. Her gaze was gone, however, her fingers ruffling Newt’s hair as she left, apple clutched in one hand as the young boy bid his farewells to everyone, following after her quickly. The smell of the food was getting to him and he picked up his knife and fork, glancing at the food wearily before tucking in.

“She’s lovely, isn’t she?” Brenda muttered in his ear, and his sights met hers, mouth full but he nodded quickly, before stuffing more food into his mouth, body ecstatic to finally have such a good meal. 

“Didn’t think we’d see you so soon, Tommy, I was gonna’ come talk to you about getting started in a week or so.” Newt began, and the boy reached for a glass of water, swigging half the glass before replying.

“I felt like we should start now. It’s been a year, I owe you that, at least.” He confessed, the blonde’s eyes crinkling at the middle, but Minho spoke up before Newt could.

“You don’t owe us anything. You saved all our lives, on multiple occasions. If it wasn’t for you, we’d all still be running around the maze like headless chickens. We do it because you’re our friend and we care, not because you have any kind of debt to us.” The table was silent for a second, and all eyes on Minho. “Shut up and eat your food, shanks.”

“And there he is. Worried you were going soft for a second there, Min.” Newt teased, laughs echoing around the table and for perhaps the fourth time today, Thomas smiled. He was sure his cheeks were going to start aching if he kept it up, but he wouldn’t mind, because this is what it felt like to be cared about, to be loved. He felt safe with his friends, he enjoyed the sensation, but he couldn't quite help but feel like something was missing. 

Exhausted would be an understatement, if one were to describe Thomas. He’d stayed awake the entire night just to be awake at breakfast time, and to fight off any terrors or nightmares that may have arisen. By the time the sun was setting, he was anxiously sitting on his bed. Everything in his body was telling him to get up, to go for a rumour to do a workout, to do something to get him so tired that his body was quite literally too fatigued to possibly consider giving him any kind of horrifying experience while he was asleep. He was, however, suppressing that urge, for his friends, because the way he had felt today was better than he could ever remember feeling, and that was saying something. 

His fingers pulled at the edges of the blanket sitting below him, real pyjamas adorning his body for the first time in what felt like forever, instead of just collapsing in whatever sweaty gear he’d run in and changing in the morning, and his eyes flicked over all the re-packed boxes sitting around him. He wanted to unpack them, he really did, but he just didn’t see this thing with this miracle girl Newt had mentioned ever working out. He was truly glad she made his friends so happy, and she seemed to be the epitome of sunshine form the small glance he had caught of her at breakfast, but he didn’t see himself being able to conquer this problem, so why should he take everything back out of boxes if it was only all going to end up in boxes again in a few months. It really didn't seem logical to him.

He continued to look around desperately, for anything he could spend the night doing while the dark hours passed in order to avoid having to face sleeping, but he was torn quickly from his searching when soft rapping on his door sounded out, and he swallowed thickly. Nobody but Newt or one of the other boys ever came out here, and they always just let themselves in. 

With slow and cautious steps, he made his way over, slowly opening the door before him and peering around it carefully, his eyes widening as he looked at you. Your hair was blowing in the wind gently, a cardigan hugged tightly around your body, and until he’d interrupted you, you’d been staring off at the sun setting over the calm waves. When you looked at him, he felt that same feeling come charging back. You were smiling, somewhat nervously yourself, and he brought up a hand to scratch at the back of his neck, opening the door slightly wider, just enough to wedge his body into the gap so he could talk to you.

“Hey, Thomas. I’m (Y/N).” He looked at you for a second, before nodding, choking down the lump in his throat as he held his hand out to you, nodding in a simple and silent greeting but your smile only widened at the act and you slipped your hand into his. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Your friends have told me a lot about you.”

His heart sunk, yet another person who wanted to ask him about WCKD, ask him all about the things he did or tell him just how brave they thought he was fo-

“Gally says you kicked his legs out from under him once. That’s pretty badass, he’s pretty large. I don’t think I could manage that.” He couldn't stop the laugh that broke free, he had never expected that to be the reputation of him that impressed someone, and he’d lost that memory under all the trauma, but pride and humour flooded his veins as you dug it back up for him so casually.

“I’ll be honest, it really hurt my leg. The boy is heavy and solid muscle, I think I hit him right on the bone, I had a nasty bruise on my leg the next morning.” He grinned, and your own laughter drifted around in space the two of you stood in, a blush rising to his cheeks at just how pretty you looked while smiling, and he ducked his head to cover it, clearing his throat slightly and getting his feelings under control before looking back up to you. “What.. um, what are you doing here?”

His face scrunched up on himself as he realised how rude that had sounded, but you didn’t seem to mind, and you shrugged slightly, your eyes finding his again. “I just thought maybe we could chat. I know Newt talked to you, he seems to think I’m some kind of happiness charm.” Thomas let his lips flick up in a smile, Newt wasn’t exactly wrong. He already felt happier and all he’d done was open the door. Looking back down at the empty path, his eyebrows rose. 

“You walked a mile up here for a chat?”

“I got to watch the sunset as I walked, it flew by. Besides, I have a feeling you’re worth the walk.” You promised, and that heat rose to his cheeks once again, his bottom lip clamping between his teeth as he thought about it. His fingers tightened around the edge of the door, holding it shut, your gaze left his for just a moment to flick up to his white-knuckled grip on the wood, before coming back down to his. 

“We don’t have to, I just thought it’d be nice. But if you do, we don’t have to do it inside. Your home is a private place, we could go for a walk or sit on the beach instead, if you wanted. It’s all up to you.” The calmness in your voice was nothing like the was his own shook when he talked, your tone was smooth and relaxed and his own jumped between pitches and frequency each time his anxiety spiked, and he would often just cut himself off mid-sentence altogether and just give up.

“No, no, it’s okay. You can- you can come in.” He waited for a second, looking at you before slowly opening the door, stepping out of your way as you took a tentative step over the threshold. You walked past him, and suddenly the house that had been perfectly fine to him moments ago seemed embarrassing now. He had boxes stacked high everywhere, overflowing with clothes and things he’d been given, most never touched or used, and the counters lay practically empty, save for the few things he was using regularly, and as he shut the door behind you he fumbled for a way to explain it all. “I-I don’t talk much, and I don’t get many visitors. I-I’m really sorry.”

His arms gesturing about the small spaces as he looked down at the floor, his hands falling to sit limply by his side and your own reached up, sitting on his forearm gently and you squeezed, just enough to comfort him before taking your touch away, and his fingers twitched at the loss. “I think you’re doing great.” Your simple statement made him feel infinitely better, and he let himself smile, still not bold enough to meet your eyes again as you took in the small place he lived. “You’re reading ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Good choice.” 

When his head snapped up, jaw open, you were running your fingers over the cover of the book that was sitting out, and he nodded shyly, your body finally turning to face him fully. “Y-You’ve read it?”

“Several times, actually. I took up home in a library for a while, once. Lived there for about a year. I must’ve read every book on those shelves.” You hummed, and his head tipped to the side. “‘Pride and Prejudice’ was one of my favourites. If you’re liking it, I could have a little look around and find you some other books that you might enjoy, if you’d like?” His head dipped in an eager confirmation as he nodded, enough confidence filling him to take quick strides across his room and take a seat on the edge of his bed, motioning for you to do the same, and you thanked him as you settled yourself comfortably onto the mattress.

The moment you had asked him about the book, his mouth had opened and he hadn’t been able to stop the words from flowing. He surprised even himself about how chatty he was being, and you replied to him just as enthusiastically. After that, the topics had changed, he’s spilled anything from basic facts like his favourite colour to more stories from the glade that he thought you would find funny, his heart skipping a beat every time he heard you laugh. 

The two of you had started by sitting at separate ends of the bed to talk, and you had shifted regularly, the both of you nose sitting amongst the pillows with your backs pressed to the headboard, legs crossed at the ankles as they stretched out before you and he was chuckling amicably at himself as he showed you the sketches from his notebook. As he reached the last page, he smoothed his fingers over his most recent drawing, which was just a simple sketch of the mountainscape he could see from his bedroom window.

You ran your gaze over it, your lips parted as you looked at it, and he studied you carefully as you studied his art, and he decided, one day he’d rather like to draw you, if you’d ever let him. “This one is my favourite.”

“It is?” He mumbled, snapping his gaze away from you when you looked up from the paper pad to him, and you hummed in acknowledgement, your legs carrying you over to the window to peek out at the scene, holding his book up before your face and comparing them.

“It’s so good, I’m so impressed! This is.. amazing!” You turned back to him, and he took the book from you, his teeth flashing to you in a grin, and you stood before him, his legs swinging over the edge of the bed to face you as a comfortable silence took over the room. “I should probably get going now.”

The frown he was so used to wearing, made its first appearance in your presence as he looked at you, and his chest tightened slightly. “You’re going already?”

You giggled at his statement, his brows furrowing as you checked the watch sitting on your wrist. “Tommy- can I call you Tommy?” He licked over his lips, nodding at your words and you lit up at the confirmation, your happiness lifting his spirits back up slightly. “Tommy, you know it’s been almost four hours since I got here, right?” His eyes widened, flicking over to the window to see just how dark it had gotten. Thomas did not know it had been four hours, in fact, it felt like barely any time at all had passed, and his mouth was dry as he was at a loss for words. “We’ll hang out again soon, okay?”

“I think I would like that.” He whispered, and you held your hand out, rubbing his shoulder slightly as a goodbye, before pulling your jacket tighter around yourself. He watched you walk toward the door, and without a second thought, he tore out the final page of his notebook, standing and holding it out to you when the noise had caught your attention. “I want you to have this. This drawing. As a thank you.”

“A thank you?” Your words were spoken as a question and a bashful smile too over his face, his hands fiddling and twitching in front of him as you took the paper from him.

“I laughed more tonight than have in at least a year. Thank you for making me feel like my old self for a while.” You looked at him carefully, the room growing tense as you stared into his eyes, and he felt like you were reading his soul just from the tender look you gave him. With quite possibly the softest smile Thomas thinks he’d ever seen, your head tipped to the side. 

“I didn’t bring out the old you. Who you were tonight, that’s who you always are, you just need a little encouragement to let that side of you show.” He wasn’t too sure what to say, and you chuckled, leaning up and pressing your lips to his cheek softly. “Goodnight, Tommy. Thank you for my drawing, I love it.”

Before he could respond, you had gone from the door, leaving the wood in his grasp as he watched you set off in a crisp walk into the darkness, back toward the hut you lived in, in a colony with everybody else. Raising his fingers to brush his cheek, he found dimples there, the revelation that he was smiling, widely, crashing over him and he couldn't help it, backing away and closing the door.

That night, when he laid his head down on his pillows, Thomas could still faintly smell you around him and on the blankets, and he didn’t think about the fear of going to sleep as he drifted off that night. Instead, he thought about how proud Newt would be of him, and how he couldn't wait to spend more time with you if this is the feeling he got afterwards.

The heat of the next day woke Thomas, the light filtering through the window on the opposite side of the room, and he groaned, wiping at his eyes, still unaccustomed to waking up while it was light. His body was sore and achy from the tense fits of fear he’d had, but his throat didn’t sting from as much screaming, and he was more well-rested than he had been in a long time. The nightmare haunted him, but going to bed happy seemed to ease the pain, and he couldn't help but lie in his bed happily as he let himself adjust to the morning. 

When he eventually made his way down to the table, most of his friends had already arrived, but unlike yesterday, they had chosen a bigger table, and he had more choice of where he would like to sit. Newt was chatting to Sonya, the two of them deep in a conversation, and Gally was arm-wrestling Brenda across the table as Minho refereed the interaction. Slotting himself beside his blond friend, he was greeted happily, his hair being ruffled and despite the scowl that came to his face, Thomas laughed gently at the action. 

“Two days in a row, look at you go, mate. Here, you can have some of my food.” Newt could sense that he was still too timid to go up into the queue for food, and Thomas appreciated the gesture, and as he looked at the plate, he realised his British friend must’ve already anticipated hs actions, because exactly half of everything had been eaten, scraped neatly to one side of the plate as the knife and fork sat beside it and he shook his head fondly at the way the boy cared for him.

The sudden squealing in a youthful voice of Minho’s name came as a young boy came sprinting toward the table at high speeds. The kid could only be eight or nine, and his eyes widened as he watched the boy turf down the side of the hill at high speeds, and Minho struggled to free his legs from the bench as he stood up to greet him, sweeping the boy up into his arms in a hug. Raising his brows at the interaction, Minho’s brows raised as the boy grinned happily, squealing and twisting in the ex-runners arms as Minho tickled his sides before letting him down. “Guess what, Minho!”

“What is it?” Taking a seat again to continue his food, Thomas shovelled his own meal into his mouth as he watched on curiously, and the kid hopped up on the bench beside the dark-haired runner, straddling it with one leg dangling either side of the wood. 

“(Y/N) said I can spend the whole day with you until she gets back, if it’s okay with you!” Thomas almost choked on his food at the mention of your name, and as if on queue, you followed after the boy, cheeks flushed as you jogged up behind him, panting from the sudden exertion.

“Oh, she did, did she? Well, what do you want to do then?” He tuned out of their conversation as he watched you slow to a casual walk, your eyes moving over everyone on the table as you greeted them happily, before your eyes landed on his, and you picked up a slight pep in your step as you walked towards him with purpose. He froze, swallowing the mouthful of food he had loudly and awkwardly, wincing at the feeling and how it must’ve appeared, but you didn’t seem to care as you stood before him, and he looked up at you from where he sat.

“Guess what we’re doing today.”

“W-We’re doing something?” He cursed himself inwardly for just how awkward he had sounded while saying that, but you breezed over it, nodding enthusiastically as you rolled on the balls of your feet. “Well, what are we doing?”

“That’s a surprise. Just wait here, and I’ll be right back, okay?” He had barely given you a sign of acknowledgement before you were leaving the table, heading towards Frypan serving food in the kitchens and he watched you leave with raised brows. 

“Should be fun, hanging out with (Y/N) is always fun, so your first time will be a blast!” Brenda’s hand clapped down on his shoulder, shocking him slightly from his gaze and he looked away from you, turning to look at his food as he pushed the last few bites up onto the fork. 

“Not out first time hanging out. We hung out yesterday.” It seemed to be a collective shock, and Thomas avoided the looks his friends were sharing as he rolled his eyes at the plate before him. “We just talked for a while. It was nice. She makes me laugh.”

“You deserve to laugh, it’s good!” Gally assured, and Thomas wasn’t sure he would ever get used to this side of the builder, but he did really like not fighting with him all the time. He shot up a grateful look of acknowledgement, not bothering to reply as you neared the table one again, sealing up your backpack and swinging it back up onto your shoulders. 

With another squeeze on his shoulders, he was encouraged to his feet by his friends when you asked is he was ready to go, and he congratulated himself when he made it to your side without stumbling over his own feet. Normally, he spent the day reading, or drawing, or doing a workout inside after eating, and it was normally night. Now, he was avoiding the looks he was being given by everyone around him, none bad, but they were simply surprised to see him up and about and interacting. 

You had already struck up a conversation, and as you began to deviate from the well-worn ground of the camp to lesser trekked passages into the wildlife, his eyebrows rose, and he turned to look at you curiously. It was only another minute or two before he realised the route you were taking, he would recognise this scenery any day, and casting his gaze out, he realised you’d already begun to gain some height, the roof of his own cabin being revealed to him in the near distance, and he could see through the window.

“You’re taking me up the mountain I drew.” He whispered, and your smiling face turned or him, nodding happily as he caught on and he couldn't stop the enthusiasm that began to rush through him. 

“If you think it looks beautiful from the bottom, wait until I show you the view from the first ridge, that’s where we’re stopping for lunch.” He laughed lightly at your words, looking out ahead of him as the two of you slowly began to disappear into the beautiful surroundings, the camp disappearing away below him with every step until it was a mere spec down on the beachfront. 

They seemed to go for hours, and though Thomas was used to physical exertion, he was more used to quick bursts of running, and on flat ground, the rocky passes of the hills and the long-distance trekking had him sweating as the soon got higher in the sky and the day moved on, bringing higher temperatures with it. He was sweating, a thin layer coating his brow and his pants mixed with yours in the warm air as the two of you continued your journey.

He was almost grateful when the two of you finally came to a stop, but he was breathless in an entirely different way as you finally stopped moving. You trekked forward into the space and Thomas could barely move for the sheer beauty of it. He could see from one end of the large island to another. He could see right down over the miles and miles of treetops they had walked through, birds and animals flying and leaping between them, the shade of the trees around him were giving him enough shade from the sun above that he didn’t need to squint as he looked out at the wildlife, the beach seeming so far away as everything suddenly fell into perspective, and he had a sneaking feeling you’d done it on purpose.

Everything felt so large up here, and he felt small. He felt reassured. Unless you knew your way up here, you’d never find it. Not even his friends would be able to find him up here, never mind WCKD or anybody that would want to hurt him again, and there was nothing for the miles and miles that the glittering sea stretched out toward the horizon.

The area they were standing on was beautiful. It wasn’t quite the top of the mountain, another mile or so winding up steeper pathways would need to be done to reach the summit, but you had brought him to the best-shaded area, a spot you clearly came to often as you confidently walked toward a spot, dropping your bag from your shoulders and leaning it against the trunk of a tree. 

You pulled a blanket from inside, laying it out on the grass, and laying out the wrapped pieces of food you had brought. He was stuck, fascinated as he looked out at the stunning view you had shown him. You never rushed him once, letting him take his time, just looking out and coming to terms with the place he lived, and the thing she was seeing around him. When he was finally ready to sit down, he made his way over to you, your eyes closed as you lay out on the blanket, your shoes toed off as you enjoyed the warmth of the sun on your skin. 

“Why did you bring me here?” You cracked a single eye open to look at him as he followed suit, leaning himself back against the trunk of the tree, kicking his shoes off of aching feet with a happy sigh. “Not that I’m complaining, this is incredible. It just seems.. almost.. personal, I guess.” 

“You gave me a gift, something personal of yours, that you shared with me. I wanted to share something with you, that nobody else knows about.” 

He glanced down at you, your eyes closed again and you missed the small smile he gave you as he took in your relaxed state. “You’ve never brought anybody else up here before?” You shook your head, never looking at him, as though it was the most casual thing in the world. “So, why me?”

“You’re special, Tommy.” You didn’t give him any further explanation, but he blushed at your words, and he tried to hide his red face as you sat up, opening up the wrapped food you brought with you, before handing a sandwich to him, his mouth watering as he looked at the food. “Frypan said chicken sandwiches were your favourite, so I got you that one.”

He had already taken a large bite of the food when he nodded enthusiastically, cheeks full as he tried to speak his ‘thank you’ around his food, his mouth full and words muffled, but the giggle you let out told him you’d heard him just fine, as you opened your own food and dug in. You had also pushed an apple and a piece of cake over to him, a bottle of water sitting between the two of you as you ate in silence, looking out over the place you called home, the squawking seagulls happily filling the empty space for sound. 

You had even been quiet when you had finished eating, as you lay back down, his arm was propped under his head, his eyes staring up at the sunlight that was flittering through the gaps in the canopy of the tree above you both. Your own head was resting on his elbow, your hair brushing against his cheek each time you moved, and for the first time in a long time, he felt content.

“I never got to thank you, Thomas.” You eventually mumbled, and he turned his head to the side, his nose bumping against your temple from your close proximity, and he huffed lightly, his breath blowing across your face, before he redirected his gaze to the leaves above his head. “I know you were looking for Minho, and I know finding my brother and all those other kids was just circumstances, but you saved him, and you brought him back to me. I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life alone in a library, and now, I have friends, and a family.”

“He seems very close with Minho?” Thomas eventually responded, and you let out a laugh, a sound of agreement leaving you. 

“He said Minho would look after him when they were locked up. Minho’s cell was the one across the way from his. He said Min used to pull funny faces through the glass for him, and would always tell him it would be okay when the lot of them were rounded up for tests. Minho was the older sibling he had when I couldn't be there for him, I guess.” You chuckled sadly at the end of your sentence, the quiet fading back in around your both. “This is where I like to come to think, and that's why when I saw your drawing of this mountain, it was my favourite.”

“I’m really happy you brought me here. It’s incredible, I didn’t think I’d ever get to see anywhere this beautiful, or have enough time to stop and enjoy it.” 

“Well, there’s a lot of other places I can show you, if you’d like to see some more?” You offered, sitting up and pulling your legs to your chest, wrapping your arms around them, his hand twitching by his side with the wish to reach out, and so he did, his fingertips trailing along your arm slowly from where he lay, your head twisting to look at him over your shoulder, a soft smile on your face. 

“I would like you to show me everything there is in life, I think I’m ready to start living it.”

He was desperate to get back out there and do something with you. His friends had already commented on his change in mood, when Thomas had started joining in with the conversations at the table. He didn’t speak much, but he added his opinion, and he laughed at jokes. He was confident enough to lift his head and actually look at the people sitting around him, instead of trying to make himself as small as possible.

For the first time in a long time, Thomas didn’t mind being seen by the people around him. 

Each day when he woke up, he found himself looking up at the peak of the mountain he could see, remembering the view he’d been given, and how different things could look from different perspectives. Today, was different, though. He was practically buzzing with excitement from the second your little brother had been seen zooming between the tables to find his older friend, his arms wrapping around Minho’s neck from behind in a hug, and he knew any minute now, you would be making your appearance. 

He was shocked at his own eagerness. This time two weeks ago, the only space that felt comfortable was his own bedroom, and now, he was starting to get antsy if he didn’t expand further than his own hut to the kitchens and back. He wanted to explore, he wanted to see more, do more, be more.

His thrill was bubbling over as he watched you calmly making your way toward the group, your bag sealed on your back again as you braised your hair behind your back as you walked, your eyes catching Thomas’ in a wink, his teeth flashed to you as he smiled. He didn’t need any encouragement from his friends this time, he was on his feet on his own, meeting you halfway up the path, and he didn’t care about all the eyes of his friends on his back as he met you, and he didn’t bother hiding the pep in his step.

“Hi, Tommy. You’re bright today?”

“Hm, and you’re like sunshine. Are we doing something today?” He pressed, a laugh falling from your lips at his urgency, his hands gripping yours desperately as you hummed, pretending to think it over as he whined impatiently, and eventually you caved and laughed. 

“Yes, we are. Do you not like just hanging around the camp? A little too boring for you?” You teased, and he rolled his eyes, a smirk pulling at his lips. 

“You promised to show me everything there is in life, and so far, all I’ve seen is the camp.” He huffed, jokingly, and you beamed. 

“There’s a lot more to life than sights, Tommy. I’m going to show you everything, in time.” He whined again at your response. “You have a whole life to enjoy everything now, Tommy, nothing is a rush anymore. Let me show you how to take things slow.” His jaw hung open, and you pushed a finger under his chin to close it. “Why don’t you go and pack us a lunch, and I’ll meet you in a minute?” 

With a nod, Thomas had bolted off, watching as you made your way over to your little brother, your words from the summit echoing in his mind as he watched you kiss the top of the boys head, thanking Minho for caring for him for another day. Frypan helped him, a grin on the boy’s lips as he looked between Thomas and you, but he didn’t care about his heated cheeks now, and he thanked his friend for the food, and the subtle extra rations he’s packed for you both. Clutching the food in his hands, you were weaving between the tables. 

With an open bag, you let him stuff all the food in, before sealing it carefully. Before you had lifted it up, he had taken it from you, slinging it up onto his own shoulders and adjusting it on his back. “You carried it last time, it’s only fair I carry it this time.” He shrugged off the act, letting you lead the way as you headed off on your next journey. 

This time, you had spent a few hours walking through the thick forestry of the island. It was a whole different kind of incredible, the from the flowers that littered the ground in fields and meadows to the animals he caught sight of as they went along, and you would point them out, telling them the names and little fun facts you’d learnt about them from all the reading you had done during your alone time in the scorch.

When you reached your final destination, however, he was torn for a favourite between this one and your last one. The pool of blue water before him looked so tempting that he just wanted to dive in headfirst, ripples spreading out across the surface from the waterfall that was crashing loudly from so far above, water spraying up as the sun trickled through the tree canopy in certain spots, lighting up the whole area with a certain transcendental glow.

You looked around the area, settling on a spot to set up camp as you took his hand gently, pulling him over to the shaded spot, and he placed the bag down, leaning it against the tree. He could feel the cool air coming from the force of the water cascading down from above, but it wasn’t quite close enough for the spray to get onto the bag, and he knew it was the perfect place to sit. 

You didn’t sit, however. This time, when you toed off your shoes, your socks followed, being tucked into the sneakers you had discarded. “I’m gonna’ swim.” Before he had a chance to question it, you were tugging your shirt up and over your head, the shorts you were wearing soon dropping to the floor to join your pile of clothing and he averted his gaze, heat travelling from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. The sound of your feet moving away from him sounded out, and you were trailing up the edge of a rock, not too high, but enough to jump into a deeper section of the pool as you looked over carefully.

“Wait!” He had called out to you before he could stop himself, and you turned to look at him, wobbling on the edge of the rock as he stopped you a split second before you jumped, and he was pulling his own top over his head, struggling to stop himself down to his boxers in a hurry as his forgotten clothes mixed with yours in a heap on the grass, his feet carrying him across the warm stone to stand beside you. “I want to swim too.”

His words were mumbled shyly, sure he just made a fool of himself in a bid to get his clothes off, but you smiled at him, your hand held out to him, and he took it tightly. You offered him a count of three, and he took it, his nerves crawling back as he remembered the last time he had jumped into water, his eyes on the pool below changing as images of the deep and freezing water of the last city flashed in his memory. With a deep breath, he pushed down the fear, your hand only tightening around his as he pushed off from the rock, falling for only a second, before he was plunging into the water below.

Everything about this experience was different, and he loved it. 

The water didn’t stab at him, a thousand tiny needles as the freezing temperature swept over him, but instead it was warm, like being wrapped in a blanket, and your hand in his reassured him, his legs kicking to drag himself up to the surface. He emerged just a second before you did, gasping for breath and using his free hand to smooth back the hair that was sticking to his forehead, pushing it back and away in messy styles up his head as you emerged from below. 

You were laughing, water trickling down your skin as you wiped the water from your eyes, kicking your legs beside his to stay afloat, and your touch never left his, your joint hands floating on the surface of the water between the two of you. You twisted, rolling onto your back and bobbing on the surface of the water, limbs spread out like a starfish, and he followed suit, the two of you floating in the pool with the ripples, the sound of rushing water being the only sound to fill the air.

“This is nice.”

“Just nice?” You questioned, your gaze finding his as you tugged on his arm, angling the two of you better until you were floating side by side, your shoulder and the length of his arm brushing against yours.

“No. It’s surreal.” He paused, taking a few deep breaths and rolling his lower lip between his teeth as he thought about his words. “I don’t feel like I’m really here. I feel like.. like I’m going to wake up at some point, in some WCKD lab being tested on. That none of this is real. That you’re not real.” His words trailed off in a whisper and you were quiet beside him for a moment, and he panicked, trying to backtrack out of the conversation when he felt the water beside him stir.

You were stood up, your feet only just reaching the bottom as you stood, the water lapping around your upper ribs and you pulled him toward you, guiding him into the same position. Your hand left his, trailing up his arm, as your other hand copied, until both your hands were cupping his cheeks. His lip trembled as you held him with nothing but pure adoration and compassion, tears lining his eyes. 

“I miss Chuck, and Winston. I miss my friends, and I can always see their faces in my mind but I’m starting to forget what their voices sound like.” His voice cracked toward the end of his sentence, a hot tear leaking from his eye and you were quick to wipe it away with your thumb. 

“It’s okay to cry here. It's okay to cry with me.” You assured him, and he felt the lump in his throat building. The moment the first tear had fallen, more were following, and soon his chest was heaving up and down as he struggled to breathe, loud sobs falling from his lips as his eyes closed. His hands found your hips, and you let him pull you closer until his forehead was resting against yours, your hands holding him as he shook, and spilled everything that was bringing him pain.

He told you every single name of everybody who he had met and lost along the way, having memorised each face and name. He sobbed about his fears, and how he tried his best but it just didn’t seem like enough and how he would’ve done things differently had he a second chance. By the time he’d finished spilling his heart out to you, his face was buried into your neck as he tried to calm his whimpers, and his arms were wrapped so tightly around your waist, your chest pressed so tightly to his that water no longer moved between you as two separate beings, but as one, around you both. 

Your fingers were running through his hair, nails scratching against his scalp as you shushed him softly. Despite the sadness that had come over him, he felt like a weight had been lifted off of his chest, like suddenly it was taken from his shoulders. He’s confessed his deepest, darkest worries and thought and now they were out in the open he felt like light was beginning to fill those crevices. He felt like he could breathe again. 

Walking him backwards gently, he let you move his body, his face adjusting on your shoulder until his nose was nuzzling against bare skin, because for this moment, while you held him as tightly as he was holding you, he didn’t feel the stress of the world, or the pressure of being the boy who took down WCKD, or even of the greenie that killed a griever. When you held him, he just felt like Thomas, and he wasn’t ready to let that go just yet. 

The water moved further and further down his body the further you moved him, until it was barely lapping his toes, and the soles of his feet were moving against warm and dry rock. Your hands slipped to his cheeks, pulling his face back until he was looking at you and you wiped your fingers under his eyes carefully, clearing away any last tears. Dropping from his sight, you tugged him down, water running from both of your bodies and back to the pool as you laid out on the warm stone.

His legs buckled under him from the exhaustion of his emotions and he laid down gently beside you, his head tilting to the side as he looked at you, licking over his lips as he tried to build up the courage to ask the question he so wanted to ask. It took him a minute, and a lot of false starts, but you waited patiently, and he smiled lightly, closing his eyes for a moment. “Will you please hold me?”

When he opened them again, you had rolled onto your back, your arms held out for him as you wiggled your fingers and he shuffled forwards, his cheek resting on your shoulder as your arms closed around him. One of his arms slung across your waist, the other resting above his head as he ran his fingers through your hair, the same way yours were doing to him, and he toyed with the loose strands that had slipped free from your braid. 

Your eyes had fluttered closed, but your hold remained on him, leaving soft and reassuring touches on his skin occasionally. He had the bravery to let his own eyes close, and though sleep never came, he wasn’t scared of his own mind for once, because Thomas quickly realised that the feel of your arms around him grounded him more than anything ever had, and you would be there to help him, no matter what flashed in his mind.

He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but by the time he finally felt better, your hair had dried and there were no longer trails or water on the rocks, but his stomach was growling, and the sun had moved far from the place it had held overhead, and was instead, was heading towards the horizon as the colours in the sky changes into pastel shades. 

You had a layer of goosebumps on your skin from the air becoming cooler, and he shifted, your eyes cracking open to watch him as he stretched out, spreading himself out like a starfish on the rock. You eased yourself up onto your feet, pulling your braid loose and shaking it free, your hair falling in ripples down your back. You held your hands out to him, and he whines as he took them. 

“Can’t we just stay here forever? I like it here.” You pulled him to his feet, laughing as he spoke, and you shook your head, making your way over to your clothes and picking through the pile to find yours. 

“There’s a lot more to see yet, a lot more to do, a lot more to experience. We can’t do it all here.” He grumbled under his breath, tugging his own clothes on, and grabbing the bag, rooting through it for his long-forgotten lunch. He handed your’s to you too, and the two of you stood under the trees, enjoying your lunch and chatting aimlessly as you ate, enjoying the last of the sights before you were ready to head back.

When that time eventually came, the sun was sinking low, a golden hue cast over everything and making it seem entirely different than it had in the regular light. As you began the walk back, he’s been bold enough to skin his fingers down the inside of your arm to hold your hand, and you’d laced your fingers with his instead, your shoulders bumping and brushing as your fingers remained intertwined for the whole journey.

He was happy to be home after a long day, but the closer the two of you got to the camp, the more his stomach began to sink as he realised that his time with you was ending, and when you finally emerged from the shrubbery and plantlife and back into what they would term civilisation, his feet became rooted to the spot, his hand still holding yours tightly and tugging on your arm to bring you to a stop.

“W-Will you stay with me for a little longer? We could watch the sunset?” 

“I’ll stay with you as long as you’d like, Tommy.” Your thumb rubbed over his knuckles, tugging him back into motion gently as you walked together toward the huts. “Let me go and get my brother ready for bed, and then I’ll come and find you, if you want to choose us a spot to watch from?”

“I’ll see you soon, then.” You leaned up, pressing another kiss to his cheek before pushing your bag down his shoulders, taking it with you as you moved toward the collection of huts all sitting in the middle of the encampment. He had chosen a spot on the grass, looking out over the water, and the area around him had begun to grow quiet when he finally heard you approaching.

Your footsteps were light, and he turned his head to look up at you, a large blanket wrapped around your shoulders for warmth. When you reached him, you took it off, draping it over his cold skin and he held an arm out for you, letting you tuck yourself back under the blanket. His hand slipped down along your side, sitting on your waist and his cold fingers slipped under the edge of your shirt to sit on the warm skin of your waist as you huddled together, your head resting on his shoulder. 

Shades of orange and pink fanned out across the sky in a way that looked almost like a painting, before fading into purples and blues, the deep ebony of the sky coming in as stars twinkled above the two of you. When Thomas finally tore his gaze away from the sky, he found your eyes closed, and he lifted a hand to cup your cheek, your breathing slow and steady, and he realised you were asleep. 

He rested the top of his head against yours for a second, biting at the inside of his cheek to hold in the smile that wanted to break through. Warmth was filling his body and he used his free arm to shrug the blanket off from around you both, before scooping you up under your legs and lifting you to his chest. 

He walked as steadily as he could, weaving between cabins as he tried to remember which one had been yours, and he nudged the door open with his foot gently. The empty room was dark, but the moonlight coming in from the clear night sky was enough to guide him as he placed you on top of your covers gently. Taking your shoes from your feet, your body shifting sleepily as he tried to pull the blankets out from under you, your hand reaching out to find his and he lifted it for you, your fingers lacing with his as you pulled your joint hands to your chest happily. 

“You can stay if you’d like. You don’t have to walk all the way home. You can stay with me.” You mumbled out your words, pressing a kiss to his knuckles gently and he reached behind him, but he hesitated at your offer. He wanted to, he really wanted to, but he couldn't ruin your sleep like his own was always ruined. “I’ll hold you through your nightmares, it’ll be okay.”

With a soft sigh and a kiss to your knuckles, he was kicking your door shut and toeing off his own shoes before easing himself down onto the bed beside you. The second he let his head hit the pillow, your own head found a place on his chest, your legs wrapping between his as your snuggled into him, and he held onto you tightly. Leaving a lingering brush of his lips against your hairline, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

For the first night in over a year, Thomas had a dreamless sleep. No terrors, no nightmares, nothing.

He was shocked or wake up in the morning and find you still curled in his arms in the same way, and that he was more rested than he ever had been. The second you had woken up and asked him about the smile on his face, he’d told you about his progress, and you’d been just as happy as he was. In his joy, he let it slip just how cute he thought you looked with a messy bed head and the morning sun rays around you, both of you blushing as he let the confession slip. He refused to leave the bed, instead, he held you tightly to his chest until your hunger for food had become too much and you’d forced him to release you so you could get up.

He watched you move about, stretching your body out in the morning and finding yourself a fresh set of clothing to wear, the ones you had slept in becoming uncomfortable on your skin now. “You staying here or are you coming to breakfast?” He teased, and when he made no effort to move, you held your hand out to him, your fingers spread out invitingly for him to sleep his own between, and with a groan, he forced himself up. 

The second his shoes were on and his fingers laced with yours, you’d been moving him toward the table. That day, he was bold enough to queue up for his own food, your hand in his giving him the confidence to do so. That afternoon, your brother had approached him, asking Thomas if he wanted to join his team to play soccer against some other kids, and he’d accepted. 

That night, after you had bid your brother could night and returned to your own cabin, you’d allowed him to crawl under the sheets with you again, slipping into a dreamless and peaceful sleep. As the weeks turned into months, and more time passed them by, and Thomas found himself spending less and less time in his own hut, but found more and more of his things appearing. He’d stopped taking his laundry and belongings back to the place he barely visited now, and instead simply unpacked them into your drawers with your clothes. 

The day he came home to find you wearing one of his shirts as pyjamas, was the day his heart stopped in his chest for a few seconds as he looked at you. It was also the day he began to wonder, if home really meant a place, or if it might be a person to him instead.

Thomas wasn’t really a jealous person. He knew you didn’t want to date Gally, but up until now, the most time you had both spent with anyone else was for mealtimes, or walking on the beach with your brother. 

But, as the safe haven grew bigger, a couple of the adults had realised that a lot of these kids had been taken and put into mazes and experiments before even learning basic things. All the younger kids had started attending classes, learning to read and write, learning their history and some basic survival skills. Now he was active and around, Thomas had started working to chip in like everyone else. He helped Newt in the gardens, and helped clear land to build more homes. 

For the first time ever, their whole group was free for a day, your brother was attending his classes and making new friends his own age, and he knew you were just being friendly, but he couldn’t help but want all your attention on him. You were chatting and laughing with the boy he could now call friend, but now he was standing along as everybody else interacted and thought about the plans for the day, but Thomas didn’t want anyone else right now, he wanted you.

As though reading his mind, you never turned away from your conversation, but you must have felt his burning and longing gaze on you, because your arm lifted from your side, stretching out in his direction as you flexed your hand at him, the same way you always did when you were telling him it was okay for him to hold your hand. With hurried steps, he stumbled to your side, both of his hands holding yours and he gave Gally a polite smile before pressing a kiss to your temple in thanks. 

He felt better, because you were giving him attention even when you weren’t giving him attention. 

He knew he couldn't occupy your time all the time, that wasn’t how things worked, but he liked to have all the time he could get, because he would happily give you every single second of every single day of his time if you’d let him. But, that’s not what life was. Life was knowing yourself better than anyone else, and it was knowing that the only person who had to spend every moment with you, was yourself. That life was nothing, if you couldn't love yourself.

You had taught him that, and you had taught him to love himself. He was proud of who he was, and he no longer looked back in negativity. As the year so far had passed you had taken his worries and regrets and crafted them into something beautiful. You had made them into something he was proud of, something he could look back on with fondness and nostalgia, and miss those he had lost without feeling like he had failed, and he would never be able to repay you for giving him his life back.

Nuzzling his nose against your hair, he held onto you tightly, enjoying the warmth of your side as his front pressed up against you. Your conversation with the other boy continued on for a while, but he waited patiently, and when it finally finished, he was quick to land hands on both of your hips as turn you towards him. Sliding his hands around your back to meet in the middle, he laced his own fingers behind you, pulling you closer to him until he could prop his chin on the top of your head. 

His fingers were weaving through your hair, and he was happy just holding you, until Newt’s voice called out to the both of you; “We’ve settled on spending the day at the beach. Are you coming or what?”

You glanced up at him, and he looked between you and his friend, nodding in response and you cheered happily, breaking away from his grasp to high five the blond boy as you told him just how much you loved the beach. When you returned to him, your hands had found his shoulders, propelling yourself into the air until your legs were wrapping around his waist from behind, your arms circling his neck and he chuckled at your actions, his hands coming down to grip your thighs as he adjusted you on his back. 

You had clung to him for the whole walk down to the beach, mumbling comments and jokes in his ear as you went, keeping his mood light and peppy. It was a hot day, the end of the summer and yet the heat was still dragging out, the sun burning overhead as the boys set up a makeshift set of nets, a soccer ball that had been washed up on the beach.

By the time lunch was rolling around, the girls had long since decided to tan in their swimwear, and the boys had stripped off their shirts in the heat, having abandoned their soccer match to lie on the sand. Thomas did a lot with his friends, and he almost felt bad for himself for having missed all this fun the year before, but the year before, he was still stuck in his bad dreams, and a year before, he hadn’t met you yet.

He was always close though, you were always within his sights, no matter what you were doing, and he’s watched you lay and tan as the sea had pulled out on the shore, and then he’d watched you explore rock pools and pick out shells you liked until the tide was coming back in. As the sea came in deep enough that you wouldn’t reach the rocks, you and the other girls had gone swimming, standing happily in the waves and gossiping. 

You were too far away now, he still had his feet on the dry sand while you were more than waist-deep in the sea. Luckily for him, Minho had decided to break up your girl chatter, racing into the sea aggressively and making as much splashing as he could as fast as possible. He could hear Sonya’s angry shouts from here, Harriet and Brenda both splashing him back aggressively as you cringed away from the saltwater in your face, and he smirked as he watched you back away from the boy, only for Newt to join him, and soon, he was following the boys into the water.

He could barely see through the splashing going on around him now, saltwater flying up from every angle in a blinding wall but he followed the sound of your laugh, his arms wrapping around your waist from behind and shielding you, turning you away from the ruckus, your laugh bubbling against his chest as you shook in his arms with your giggles. His lips found your cheek in a wet kiss, and he cringed as he pulled away. 

“You taste like the sea.” 

“Well I’m wearing half the ocean thanks to Minho.” You joked, and Thomas spun you in his arms. 

“Want a bit of revenge?” You nodded happily, and he mumbled a plan to the two of you, before quickly dunking under the water. You waited, the Asian boy screaming out in shock as he was suddenly lifted from the water, his legs dangling from Thomas’ shoulders as the boy emerged from under the water and he fell backwards from his perch, hands flailing as the group laughed, Minho spluttering once he emerged. 

“You’re so dead, Thomas! Newt, get on my back!” The blond boy didn’t have to be told twice, and Sonya squealed, hopping up onto Aris’ back as Brenda jumped up onto Frypan’s, Harriet lifting her hands and backing away in surrender and Thomas turned to you with a cheeky grin. 

“We can take ‘em.” 

“Yeah, we can!” You yelled, and he crouched down, your legs sealing around his waist once again as your splash battle took off. Water was tossed and thrown, bodies falling back into the water and reappearing on repeat, until everyone had swallowed enough water and was wearing enough seaweed to call it a truce. You were still sitting behind him, picking seaweed and grit out of his hair happily as the temperature of the eater began to catch up to you. 

The sun was sinking toward the place the sky met the land and the chill was beginning to sweep in. Twisting in his grip, he released your thighs, expected you to slide to the ground, but instead, you swivelled around, your arms tightening around his waist in the water and your arms around his neck as you looked at him now. 

His hands circled your back, pulling you closer to him, the breath between you shared. “Did you have fun today, Tommy.”

“One of the best days of my life.” He mumbled, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose and relishing in the low giggle he earned for the action. His hands smoothed up along the skin of your back, playing with the strap of your bra before sliding back down, his fingers tingling as he touched you, his forehead resting on yours. “I don’t know where I’d be without you. You changed my life.”

“I didn’t change anything. I just showed you how to make the most of the one life you get.” You shivered in his grasp, and he began to walk the pair of you back towards the shore, your legs dropping to walk on your own when the water dipped below your waist, and his fingers found yours to weave them together. As the sky darkened and the light faded away, your group made their way through the crowds to the showers to wash off the sand and salt, and he finally let you go as you stepped into one of the cubicles. 

When he emerged, you were still showering, and he changed quickly, racing down to the kitchens, water still dripping from his hair as he joined the dinner queue. Vince served him two bowls of soup, and two portions of bread, commenting on how nice it was to see him and he made the walk back up to the showers to meet you, only to find them empty when he arrived.

He panicked, he didn’t want you to think he’d left you, and he made the quick route to the cabin the two of you now shared, trying not to spill the hot food on his hands as he moved. When he opened the door, you had changed into one of his shirts and a pair of his boxers, and you were lighting candles delicately as he burst through the door. In your shock, you had dropped the match to the floor, the stick putting itself out and you grumbled, picking it up carefully and disposing of it. 

“I just went to get soup!” He panted, and you chuckled, making your way over to him and taking one of the bowls. 

“I see that, honey. Why are you stressing out? You haven’t been stressed for a long time.” His heart warmed at the pet name you reserved just for him when the two of you were alone, and he shrugged carefully as he sat down with his own meal. 

“I don’t know. I wanted to surprise you but you were gone from the showers, and I just panicked, I guess..” You looked at him with a soft gaze, swallowing your food and continuing to eat in happy silence. He was no longer shocked by your ability to calm him so quickly, instead, he found comfort in it.

He had long since realised that he would never be able to live without you, you were everything to him, and you didn’t even know it.

He had gone to return to dishes, dashing through the calm and cool night to put them back, and when he’d returned, you were already tucked into the pillows, candles blown out and blanket peeled back for him. He took his place on the usual side of the bed, and instead of turning you back to him as you usually would so he could pull you close to his chest, you faced him. 

Your hand came up to rest on his face, thumb stroking over his cheekbone carefully. “I have to tell you something, but I don’t want you to panic.” You whispered, voice carrying in the darkness and his heart rate sped up, a nervous chuckle leaving him. 

“That’s like asking a dog not to bark.” He muttered, but the air was tense around you both. 

“It’s been a while since anyone did a supply run, a good few months. We need more stuff and we have been building so strong, we have the capacity to save more people, now.” He didn’t like where this was going, and he reached up to hold your hand over his cheek, squeezing tightly as his heart raced. “Vince asked me if I would go with them.”

“Please tell me you said no?” He questioned, but the silence in the air answered for him, and he heard himself sniffle in the darkness, your cooing following, as he tried not to cry. “I don’t want you to go. I can’t come with you.” He wished with everything he had that he could go with you to look after you, but despite how much he processed it, he knew he couldn’t talk you out of it just like he could never go back there. “When do you leave?”

You sighed, the question hanging over him for a second and the longer it was before he got a reply the heavier his heart felt. “The day after tomorrow.”

“F-for how long?” His voice was croaky, and he let a single tear slip from his eye and drip into the pillow below his head, sniffling deeply to push down how he felt. 

“About a month.” He brought your hand to his lips, pressing shaky kisses to your palm, and the tips of each finger as he thought about the situation. You should move the rest of you things in while I’m gone. If we’re bringing more people back, we’ll need all the huts we can get, and you haven’t been back there in weeks. I don’t want you to close in on yourself just because I’m gone, honey.”

“I won't, I promise.” He wiped at his eyes, shuffling closer to press his lips to your forehead tenderly, before holding you there, your arms wrapping around each other. “I’ll go to breakfast and dinner every single day, I swear it. And, I’ll do extra work with Newt in the gardens, to fill my time. I’ll spend time with your brother, he wants to build a treehouse with me.”

He felt you tip your head to press a kiss to his jaw as he spoke, before you yawned tiredly. “He would love that. He thinks you’re the best, he loves you as much as he loves Minho.” You mumbled, face buried in his shirt as you drifted off to sleep.

The following day, you had told everyone about your trip, and they were shocked or find out that this would be the last full day in which they see you for a month. That night, Newt had arranged a bonfire for your departure, and Gally had whipped up a batch of his secret recipe drink. Frypan had stolen chunks of chicken and rolls of bread from the kitchens, and as the night rolled in, Thomas had found himself sitting on a log with you, a blanket wrapped around your shoulders as funny stories were shared between the group. 

A fire so tall he could barely see through the flames to the other side curled up into the air, sparks and still burning ash trickling away on the wind, and his hands were grasping a stick with a piece of chicken on, the same as everyone else, as you roasted bits of food. You were giggling, the effects of Gally’s drink hitting you, and your head rested on his shoulder, his own resting on top of yours as he simply listened to you talk to his British friend, spinning the stick in his hands as he watched the chicken rotate and cook on the end. 

He had missed it at first, but he jumped as he let his gaze flick over it one again. Your grip had grown slack, the heavier end of the stick sipping closer to the centre of the fire and the meat on the end of your stick had actually caught fire itself. Not only was your chicken ruined, but you hadn’t noticed the flames crawling along the thin wood pole towards your fingers, and he yelped, slapping at your hands to get you to drop it. 

Your gaze found his, brows furrowed as you looked at him, following his trial of vision until you saw the fire half-way up the stick, a shocked sound leaving you as you threw the whole thing into the flames, your eyes wide as the group cracked up laughing at the incident. With a pout, you picked up your drink, swilling the almost empty glass around before taking a sip of the liquid. 

“My chicken..” You grumbled, huffing through your nose and he chuckled, nudging you with the elbow pressed between you both as he pulled his stick back from the flames, showing you the perfectly roasted piece of meat. 

“You can share mine, sweetheart.” Turning to look at him, your pout was replaced with a cute smile, and he grinned at the sight of it, his head dipping forward to bump his nose against yours. 

“Thanks, Tommy.”

“Anything for you.” His nose nuzzled against yours a little longer, his forehead pressed or yours happily as you waited for the food to cool, before he held it out in your direction, letting you take the first bite. You shared the stolen treat between you both, sharing your bread out equally as well, until both of you had enough to fill you. 

You stayed out staring at the dying embers until all the warmth was gone and the night was dark and cold once again. You had hugged each of your friends goodbye, all of them bidding you well on your trip, cracking jokes and promising to do something fun when you returned. You had walked back to your cabin in silence, leaving one candle lit by the bedside as the two of you lay down. 

Something was different tonight. It was the first time Thomas was going to have to say goodbye to you, the first time he faced having to on his own for a while, and though he knew he could handle it, he was still worried. Not for himself, but for you.

You looked after everyone else, but who was going to be looking after you out there.

His thoughts were swirling and dragging him down to the depths as you played with his fingers, your eyes on him as he avoided your gaze in the low lighting of the room, your breath washing over his face from your close proximity. When your hand finally stilled, you called out to him, the sound of your voice dragging back to reality. 

“Don’t get lost in your head. I’m going to be fine.” You whispered, and he nodded cautiously, eyes scanning over every inch of your face, memorising your features. For once, his heart wasn’t racing, and his nerves weren’t electrified. Anxiety wasn’t coursing through his veins, and Thomas had never been so sure of his actions or his feelings in his entire life. 

Leaning in, his lips met yours softly, his eyes closing as he pushed into you, enjoying the soft sound you made, your hand coming up to lace in his hair, your legs tangling with his as you pulled yourself closer to him and he circled his arms around your waist, rolling onto his back. His fingers gripped your hips as his mouth moved slowly and passionately against yours, the air around him seeming to tingle each time he pulled back for breath only for your lips to meet again, and his tongue traced the seam of your lips, to which you happily parted them for him.

Tentatively, his tongue dipped out, playing with yours between your cheeks and a low moan left him, your whimper being muffled between the loving exchanges you shared, and eventually, you pulled back for air, pressing your lips to his in a final and chaste peck, leaving the same on his nose. You collapsed down onto his chest, tiredness creeping into his body, but he could feel the smile he held being returned on your own lips, your face pressed into his neck. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Tommy. I’m coming back to you, don’t worry.”

Your pledge held him steady as he fell asleep, your body weight on top of his making him feel safe and secure, and your confession of love making him feel warm and comfy in your embrace.

When Thomas woke up alone, the large ship on the horizon gone from sight, he wanted to get back into your bed, hold your pillow close to his chest so he could smell you, and simply wait it out until you returned. But, he didn’t.

He joined his friends for breakfast, just as he had promised he would do, because he wanted to make you proud.

His nerves were wracked. He had been sitting on the beach here for hours, ever since he’d seen the ship peek over the horizon as a tiny dot, and he’d practically been rocking with anticipation as it grew closer and closer. The small steamboat that had been bobbing on the shore was finally fired up as he watched the anchors be dropped from the main ship, the small one beginning to fill up for it’s multiple trips to and from to carry everyone back to the shore.

Firstly, came the newcomers. Shaken up and in awe, he remembered that same look being on his own face two years ago when he woke up, and one year ago when you’d started showing him how to truly live. The next shipload carried all the supplies, and Thomas was impressed by how well you had all done. It took almost forty-five minutes, he was timing it on his watch, to unload it all, the boxes being carried up the beach to put away. 

Finally, the little boat departed again, and he stood up, his legs shaky and nervous underneath him, and he distracted himself by wiping the sand from his jeans, brushing himself down and straightening out his clothes. 

He messed with his hair, ruffling it and flattening it, his hands continually running through it, and the little carrier ship finally came to a stop. He squinted, but he couldn't make anyone out, merely shapes unloading carefully and climbing aboard, and it seemed to take hours before it was slowly making its way back toward the beach.

He still couldn’t see you, amongst what seemed like a sea of bodies, he couldn't pick out your face, and his leg began to jerk and his foot tapping at the floor, adrenaline and anxiety riddling his body. Coming to a stop, the boat piled out, person after person and he watched carefully for you.

The last few people were making their way off, and he was sure the entire nail on his thumb was gone from how much he had bitten it, when at last, he saw you. You were battered and bruised, your shoulders sagging with exhaustion and you feet dragging. Your shirt was torn, and your bag was slung over one shoulder, but you had a tired smile on your face as you hopped down onto the sand, making your way up the beach.

He was calling out to you before he’d even registered it, his feet carrying him in rapid footsteps towards you and you looked up, your bright eyes meeting his and how he had missed seeing them looking into his own. You dropped your bag from your shoulder, your arms lifting tiredly up and open for him and he skidded to a stop before you, his body crashing into yours as he held you tightly. 

Finally, after all this waiting, you were back in his arms, and he pressed a kiss to your hair as he buried his face in your neck, his body trembling desperately and you held onto him, your hands coming up to squeeze around his waist as he cupped the back of your head, the other hand resting on your arm. 

“Tommy, baby, you’re shaking. It’s okay, I’m okay!”

“I missed you so much!” His eyes were lined with tears when he eventually let you pull back to look at him, and he watched as you own eyes filled with tears while you looked at him.

“I missed you too.” Dipping his head, he pressed breathless kisses to your lips, trailing them up across your cheeks, covering your face with the touches as he tried to steady himself. His hands slid down your arms to lace his fingers with yours, and his foreheads pressed together, and he felt himself finally slipping back into ease and joy now he had you in his arms again. 

“I went out every day, like I promised. I hung out with everyone, especially your brother. We hang out the most, he missed you a lot. He can’t wait to see you when his classes end.” You gave him a teary smile at the words and he lifted his hands, not wanting to see tears on your face, whether they were happy or sad. “What do you want to do? You want to sleep, or eat, o-”

“I really want to shower. I’m achy and dirty.” You mumbled, and he kissed your lips one final time, one of his hands leaving yours as he dipped down to pick up your bag, before leading you away. Holding the door open for you, he dropped your bag to the ground, and watched you rifle around for a change of clothes, before dragging yourself toward the cubicles. Your hand never left his, pulling him into the stall with you as you closed the door, and his cheeks heated up as you did.

“You want me to shower with you?” His voice was higher than normal, and he cursed himself at the way it had risen in pitch, showing off his nerves openly. Your eyes were sliding shut you were so fatigued, and his hands found the edges of your shirt, peeling up over your body and stripping you down gently, dirty clothes building a pile on the floor and he pushed them away with his foot. 

Twisting the handle for water, the warmth sprayed over your body, a low groan falling from your lips the second it did. He dropped his own clothes to the heap, stepping forwards push you both under the spray of water carefully. With a soft touch, he lathered a bar of soap in his hands, scrubbing the dirt and grime from your skin, the water running discoloured for a while as he removed the sand and filth from you, your face buried in his bare chest as he ran his fingers through your hair, detangling knots and washing away everything that had happened while you were away from him. 

When the water was clean once again, he reached for the worn towel, drying you from head to toe before helping you dress into your fresh clothes, only to find you’d brought him a set too. One of his shirts hung from your body, the long sleeves covering your hands as he scooped you up under your legs, the dirty clothes all bundled in the towel and you held the collection as he held you. 

You were too tired to eat, you just wanted to sleep, and he was more than happy to do whatever it took to take care of you, as you had been doing for him for so long now. You didn’t care about the light flooding in through the window, you only cared about crawling into your own bed, your hands clinging to him as you dragged him down with you. 

“I got you something.”

You sat up slightly, pointing at your bag in the corner and he raised his eyebrows, leaving the bed for just long enough to dig through the bag and pull out the neatly carved little wooden box, the contents jingling and shaking as he held it. Settling back in beside you, he sat up as you rested your head on his chest, an arm around his waist and your legs tangled with his. 

He popped the lid open, a selection of tools sitting inside and you covered your mouth as you yawned, hid fingers picking through the instruments he was seeing. 

“A wood carving kit?”

“I thought you could carve, like you said Chuck did. It’ll help you feel connected to him.” Tears welled in his eyes as he looked down at you, and he placed the box down, shuffling down until he could brush his lips with yours, your head resting on the pillow beside him.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” Your lips flicked up, twitching into a smile at the side. “What are you going to carve first?”

He contemplated it for a minute, humming under his breath, and his fingers trailed along your arms to your hand. “How about a ring-” He tapped the base of your ring finger with his own, circling the space the token of love is supposed to sit. “to go right here?”

You didn’t open your eyes, but you laced your fingers with his, a small laugh leaving you in a breath. “I think I’d like that.” You didn’t say anything after that, you soon fell asleep, but Thomas lay awake, his free hand running through your hair as he simply enjoyed being able to hold you. 

His mind drifted to how far he’d come, a grin pulling on his face. This time a year ago, he had been sceptically following you up a mountain, intrigued by the girl who had made him laugh when no one else could. Now, he was holding the love of his life in his arms, his thumb rubbing over the patch on your finger that a ring would soon sit on. 

And finally, Thomas knew what was missing. He knew his friends cared for him, loved him, and made him feel safe. But you made him feel different. When he was with you, nothing but pure joy and adoration filled his veins, his heart beating erratically when your eyes met his and you smiled at him with a grin you saved just for his eyes when it was the two of you, the one only he could get from you. When you said his name, his heart soared and he felt like he’d been lifted into the clouds.

When your lips met his, Thomas felt like you were breathing life back into his lungs and showing him a world he’d always dreamed of and never thought he’d get. When he was with you, he didn’t feel like anything was missing, he felt like he was complete.

When he was with you, he felt like he was finally home.

[peterspideyy]

chapter 15 | never look back

series masterlist 

previous chapter ~ next chapter  

————

“no. there’s gotta be another way.” thomas urged, walking to you all.

“like what? you’ve seen the building. she is our only way in.” gally replied.

she. teresa. when gally took peter, newt and thomas to the last city, he told them how the only way into wckd’s building, is her. sighing heavily, you don’t understand why your brother is getting upset with using teresa as our way in. she’s betrayed us.

“you really think she’s gonna help us?” thomas spat back.

“i don’t plan on asking for her permission-“

“am i missing something here,” brenda laughed, “this is the same girl who betrayed us, correct? same dick?”

gally chuckled, “i like her.”

“what’s going on?” brenda asked thomas. you looked down, unaware of the person sitting next to you, was about to erupt, any second.

“what you afraid your little girlfriend’s going to get hurt, hmm? this is obviously never been about rescuing minho.” peter shouted, looking at your brother. your eyes went wide at his sudden outburst, placing your hand on his, but he pushed it away.

“peter, what are you talking about?” thomas mumbled.

“peter.” you whispered, but he ignored you.

“teresa,” he stood up, “she’s the only reason, minho’s even missing in the first place, and now we finally have an opportunity to get him back, and you don’t want to because of, her?”

he walked forward, causing thomas to walk back.

“cause deep down inside you still care about her don’t you,” he whispered, hatred laced in his voice, “just admit it.”

“peter i-“

“don’t lie to me!” he screamed, shoving him against the wall roughly, making you jump at the sudden action, “don’t. lie. to. me!”

you rushed to your feet, placing your hands on his shoulder to calm him down. instantly, he dropped his arms to his side, his shoulders untensing, looking at your brother, “sorry.”

he turned around looking at everyone, before his eyes landed on you, “i’m sorry.”

before you could even reply, he walked away, gripping onto his arm, as he did so. your eyes watered, as you took in what happened. something has been off with him. the way he clings onto his right arm, all the time. the way he’s been getting…agitated. guilt started to overcome you, as you realised you should of been paying more attention, to the clear red flags.

thomas looked at you, “i’ll go and see him.”

“no,” you shook your head, whispering, “i’ll go.”

he nodded, as you followed where peter went, until you came to a roof. he was sat down on the edge, looking down as he fiddled with something. walking up to him, you sat down next to him.

“sorry about that. back there.” he mumbled.

“love, what’s going on?” you questioned.

he looked at you, “guess i can’t hide this anymore.”

you furrowed your brows, in confusion as he rolled his sleeve up to reveal, dark black veins, starting to pop up out of his skin. your face fell, and your throat started to close up, as you realised the one thing you wouldn’t have expected. he’s infected.

“no, no, no,” you shook your head, as your stomach started to do flips, “why didn’t you tell me?”

he smiled, “didn’t think it would make any difference. and i didn’t want you to worry. which is what you’re doing now.”

“peter, i only worry cause i love you. w-we can still fix this, though. we can get you the serum i-“

“we worry about minho first. not me.” he interrupted.

“no. peter-“

“y/n, he needs us. so if there is even a slightest chance that we can save him, we can get him out of there, then we have to take that. no matter what the cost.” he replied, before bringing his hand up to wipe away a tear which was falling down your cheek, which you didn’t even realise until the soft action.

“i will get you the serum, you hear me?”

he nodded, “okay. come ‘ere.”

he opened his arms up, making you shuffle closer to him. leaning your head on his chest, he rubbed your back, as you looked up at the last city, while you listened to his calm beating heart.

————

newt took the bag off teresa’s head, making her breath out heavily, as he walked back, sitting down next to thomas. she looked at everyone before freezing, eyes wide at the person who was supposed to be dead, all those years ago, “gally?”

“here’s how this is gonna go,” gally started, “we’re gonna ask you some questions, and you’re gonna tell us exactly what we need to know.”

she looked around, before landing on you, making you glance down.

“we’ll start of simple,” gally carried on, standing up and moving a chair in-front of her, “where’s minho?”

she shook her head, looking at thomas, “you guys don’t seriously think-“

“don’t look at him,” gally interrupted, “why are you looking at him? look at me. he’s not gonna help you.”

you scoffed, glancing at peter who was starring at teresa, harshly.

“now, we know you have minho in the building. where?” gally urged.

she looked down, “he’s with the other’s in holding. sub level three.”

“how many others?” newt inquired.

“28.”

you all looked at brenda.

“i can make that work.” she smiled, looking at jorge, who nodded.

“no,” teresa spoke, “you guys don’t understand, the whole levels restricted. you can’t get in without a thumb print id.”

“that’s why, you’re gonna come with us.” thomas mumbled.

“well, i don’t know,” gally titled his head, “we don’t necessarily need her.”

he stood up abruptly, walking over to a table, “not all of her.” he picked up a scalpel, walking back over to her, “we just need her finger.”

“gally, back off.” thomas warned.

“are you squeamish? i guarantee you she’s done a lot worse to minho.” gally said, pointing at her, making you roll your eyes. he’s right. she probably has done worse to minho. but, despite everything she’s done, she doesn’t deserve it.

“that’s not the plan,” thomas spoke, standing up; taking the scalpel out of his hands, “back off.”

“it won’t make a difference. do whatever you want to me. you still won’t get through the front door. the sensors will pick you up-“

“we know,” thomas interrupted, “we’re tagged. property wckd.”

he crouched down by her, looking up, “you’re gonna help us with that too.”

he gave her the scalpel, making her look at him, before she nodded.

————

you sat on the edge of the couch, your hand on the back on your neck, as you pressed a tissue to where your tracker was, but it was removed by teresa, just a couple of minutes ago. you were starring at nothing in particular on the concrete. you were just, thinking.

tonight, you were hopefully going to free minho. finally, see him, properly, after six months of not being with him, since you were taken. you couldn’t bare to think, of what wckd has done to him. all the pain. suffering. he’s had to deal with, is probably horrifying. so, the fact, your going to save him, from that devilish place made you glad, beyond words could explain.

your mind then progressed to peter. you have the get the serum. you wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if he get’s worse. or turns into one of those, monsters. you hate. despise that the world has done this to him. he doesn’t deserve to be infected. he deserves to be immune. he deserves the world, but instead the world repays him like this.

“hey,” peter’s voice interrupted your thoughts, “this is for tonight.”

he placed a wckd’s guard uniform on the couch by you, before sitting next to you on the other side, placing his left hand on your thigh, stroking it gently. you looked at him, catching a glimpse of his arm, before freezing under his touch. it was getting worse, and bigger each second. he noticed this, frowning slightly.

“y/n-“

you cut him off, by placing your lips on his. you felt him stop at the sudden action, before relaxing. you deepend it, silently telling him, how you were going to get him the serum. as well as freeing minho. you started to cry slighty, as you poured numerous of emotions and feelings into the kiss. pulling back, you breathed out heavily, as you leant your forehead against his.

“what was that for?” he mumbled.

“can i not kiss my boyfriend?” you giggled.

“of course you can. but, it was just out of the blue.”

you sighed heavily, opening your eyes to see him already deeply looking at you, “i need you to understand, that i will get you that serum.”

“minho first, then serum.” he replied.

you nodded, “i know minho is our priority, but i-i…you will get that serum. no matter what. j-just seeing your arm, made me remember the maze. when i was trapped in there for the night. in that moment, all i could think about was you. i don’t want to loose you. i never want to loose you.”

he nodded, taking in your words, “you won’t loose me, okay? promise.”

unbenknowest to you, peter didn’t agree with risking the chance of not saving minho, over saving himself. he thinks minho is way more important, than him. and he knows if he says this to you, you won’t agree. so, he keeps you happy, by kissing you passionately, ignoring the pain soaring through his body, as he allowed himself to feel every bit of love he has towards you.

“i love you, peter.” you whispered.

“i love you too, y/n.”

————

a/n- so, are you all okay? ahah! i think a few of you guessed it, but i didn’t want to spoil anything, but yeah. do you think peter will get the serum as well as saving minho? we’ll find out soon :)

————

taglist-

@dreamofaprilsblog @parkersbliss @missmulti @rubberducky-jrr @serasara809 @parkersdarling @euphoniumpets​ @whatthefuckimbisexual @parkeret @juliebean247​ @used-avocado​ @justahockeylover @jjmaybankswif @annoylinglyaries @24kbucky @hufflepuff-always-and-forever @agent-curt-mega @5sosupernatural @pcterparxer

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Sweet Pandemonium - Gally (The Maze Runner) Part 2 of 16

(Not my GIF)

~~~~~~~~~~

Everything started to spiral out of control when a new Greenie came up in the Box, Thomas.

You didn’t know him, but you felt connected to him somehow. Why? You had no clue. It’s almost driving you crazy that you can’t place why you felt this way, and if you were being honest, it almost scared you.

Thomas felt this way as well. He felt that same type of connection to you. He never spoke of it for the sake of him sounding crazy, well, even more crazy than everyone else already thought him to be.

All it took was a simple glance in each other’s direction to realize you and Thomas felt the same way about each other.

“Y/N!”

Gally’s irritated tone snapped you out of your daze. “Sorry, what?”

Gally rolled his eyes. “That’s the third time you’ve dozed off today. Get it together, will ya? This shack needs to be built and I don’t feel like getting scolded by Alby because you didn’t do your part.”

You tried not to blush as the rest of the Builders looked at you with amusement, probably glad that they’re not getting yelled at for once.

Gally noticed your eyes traveling to the other Builders and huffed. “Get back to work, you shanks!”

You almost could’ve laughed at how fast they went back to work because they were pretty much scared of the boy.

“What’s up with you today, huh?” Gally asked, surprising you with his slightly softer tone.

You sighed, biting your lip in thought. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just one of those days.” You lied, partly. You truly didn’t know why you felt the way that you did, but had a feeling it was because of the new Greenie. But you didn’t need Gally to know that, especially after he’s expressed so many times about how he didn’t like Thomas.

Yeah...he didn’t need to know.

Gally raised his brow, clearly not buying her reasoning, but he decided not to push it. “Well, just, get back to work, okay?”

“For sure, Captain.” You fake saluted, a teasing smile tugging at the corners of your mouth.

Gally rolled his eyes as he shook his head, struggling to hide a smile. “Shut up. Just get building.”

You sighed as you sat down in your hammock in the Homestead, relieved to have finished that new shack for the Slicers by sundown. After that talk with Gally, you made sure to focus extra hard and you managed to do more work than you thought you were capable of.

Your muscles ached badly. You needed a shower asap.

You tried not to scream when you bumped into a Glader, realizing it was just Thomas. “Oh, hey, Greenie.” You chuckled breathlessly.

Thomas’ face visibly from relaxed to one of irritation. “I have a name, you know.”

“Right. Right. Sorry. Guess I’m just happy that I’m not the one being called that anymore.” You chuckled, clearing your throat seconds after. “I was just heading to the showers so...”

Thomas blinked rapidly, quickly moving out of your way with a slight blush dusting his face. “Uh, Y/N?” He voiced, causing you to look back up to him with a smile. You noticed Thomas’ face contorting in thought. “Uh, sorry. Never mind.”

Before you could say anything, Thomas walked off in a hurry, causing you to tilt your head in confusion. But the aching muscles in your arms and legs begging for the coldness of the shower water caused you to shrug it off quicker than you normally would.

You tossed and turned that night, which was unusual as you normally were able to fall asleep in a matter of minutes.

You felt like you woke up as soon as you fell asleep, the opening of the maze doors woke you from a less than pleasant dream. Yet again, the dream you had left your memory as soon as it appeared. The one thing attaching itself to you from the dream was a face. Thomas’ face.

You groaned as the rest of the Gladers started to get up for the day, knowing that you must’ve gotten an hour of sleep, if even that. You just accepted that it was probably going to be a shit day.

The Builders didn’t have much to do surprisingly, only needing to touch up a few things. But you absolutely didn’t mind the shorter work day, having the night that you had made it difficult to focus on anything. Even Gally’s pretty face.

Still, you didn’t want to be a useless shank. So, against your better judgement, you decided to help out Newt, Zart, and Thomas in the gardens.

You were tired as hell, but you wanted to talk to Thomas eventually, and befriending him felt like the best way to go about doing so. Plus, Newt was an absolute delight to be around.

“Eyo, Y/N.” Newt smiled, “Gally finally given ya a break?”

You laughed softly. “Nah, just a smaller work load today.”

Newt nodded. “Because you work so hard, no doubt. Things are gettin’ built a lot faster ever since you came up, love.”

You rolled your eyes playfully and grabbed a little basket to help pick off some ripe fruit. “I’m just good at following orders, if that’s something to be proud of.”

Newt chuckled. “You give about as many orders as Gally does nowadays. If anything, you seem to be partners.”

You knew Newt probably didn’t realize his phrasing, but it still made you blush nonetheless. “Gally’s an asshole.” Thomas muttered out.

You tried not to laugh loudly. “He has his moments, for sure.”

“Gally’s an alright bloke, he just has issues with change. He’ll warm up to ya eventually. He even avoided Y/N the first week and a half she got here. It’s just how he is.” Newt said.

“You seem close with him now.” Thomas said, looking at you.

You shrugged. “Uh, I’d say we’re friendly. Well, I guess my definition of friendly anyway.”

“Do us a favor, get us some more fertilizer.” Newt asked Thomas.

“Uh, sure. Where is it again?”

“Show him, will ya, Y/N?” Newt asked.

“Yeah, sure.” You nodded. “Let’s go, Greenie.”

“You really think Gally’ alright?” Thomas asked once you both got a few meters into the woods.

“Yeah, I think so. Like Newt said, he’s just scared of change. I think it’s understandable when you live in a box that you can never leave, unless you wanna get horrifically murdered by Grievers.”

“When you put it like that, then yeah. I guess change would be pretty scary.” Thomas paused, “I just, I don’t understand how you guys have been here for three years without making any progress.”

“You’re acting like it’s easy, Thomas. I’m no Runner, but I can tell how hard it is to run a changing maze every single day, having to map it, fearing for your life in the process.”

Thomas stayed silent after that, only speaking up when you both passed the Deadheads. “Who was George?” He asked.

You shrugged. “I wasn’t around when he died. He was the first one to get stung by a Griever from what Newt told me...he wasn’t too eager to talk about him anymore after that.”

“Y/N?” Thomas started, “I don’t really know how else to put this without sounding crazy but...I feel like I know you from somewhere. I know how it sound but-”

The look on you face stopped Thomas from speaking any further. You couldn’t even describe how you were feeling. Almost like relief, but fear, all meshed together in some sort of weird understanding. “You feel that way too?”

A sudden snap of a twig caused the moment between you and Thomas to end abruptly, you both twisting around to see another Glader. “Ben?” Thomas asked.

You eyed the Glader up and down, noticing how frightening he looked. Black and purple veins protruding out all over his body. His eyes red, almost bloodshot. His heavy threatening gaze on you and Thomas.

He had been stung.

You never saw how anyone looked after being stung, not really. You imagined horrible things, things more horrible than how Ben looked now. But seeing him like that disturbed you to no end.

“Ben...” You said slowly. “Are you okay?”

Ben grunted in response, looking in between you and Thomas like he couldn’t decide who to look at. “You did this.” He whispered harshly.

You brows furrowed in confusion. “What? What do you mean?”

“You did this.” Ben raised his voice. “I saw you. Both of you! This is your fault!”

You gasped when Ben suddenly charged at you and Thomas. All the breath being knocked out of your lungs when he body slammed you into the ground.

You and Ben struggled on the floor, him quickly gaining the upper hand and placing his hands firmly on you throat. “Get off her, man!” Thomas yelled, tackling Ben off of your smaller body.

You coughed violently, gasping for oxygen as the pressure on your windpipe finally disappeared as Thomas saved you from being choked to death.

You looked around to see Thomas hit the infected Glader with an animal skull just in time, him quickly pushing a now disoriented Ben off of him and soon helping you to your feet. “Go, go!” Thomas yelled in your ear.

You didn’t have to be told twice.

You and Thomas took off in a sprint, adrenaline pumping through your veins as you feared of being caught by the fellow Glade member. The confusion taking a hold of your mind as you ran, still having no idea why Ben seemed so hateful towards you and Thomas.

Thankfully, you didn’t have to think about it anymore. Ben ultimately catching up to you both due to his Runner status and tackling you and Thomas down a hill.

You groaned in pain, feeling your body topple over and landing on your arm painfully.

Thomas, yet again, helped you get to your feet, making sure you didn’t get left behind. You yelped in pain as he grabbed your now aching arm, pulling you along as he yelled for help as loud as he could.

You almost felt relieved when you saw the Gladers running to your aid, but it was short lived.

Ben grabbed your bad arm and pulled you back, making you fall on your back, but he still went after Thomas first. “Hey!” Newt’s voice filled the air, then a sickening thump, Ben immediately falling to the ground.

Newt quickly ordered the Gladers to hold down the struggling boy, Thomas quickly rushing over to you. “Oh shit, are you okay?”

You nodded, sitting up with a painful groan. You looked down at your arm to see it bruised and bloody, short jagged cuts deep in her skin.

Ben screamed bloody murder over and over again, so loud and animalistic that it even your throat hurt, even though it already hurt from being choked before.

After being taken to the other Med-jacks, it didn’t take for Gally to barge into the room, an almost angry look on his face. “How’s Ben?” You asked.

Gally could’ve scoffed at the question. Obviously Ben wasn’t okay, but you asking about him first was the reason he could’ve thrown a fit. He had seen you at the scene, wanting so badly to go to your aid first, but he needed to help the Gladers get Ben to the Pit. “Seriously? How are you? You were hurt.”

“She’s fine.” Jeff answered for you. “A sprain, and some marks from Ben’s nails.”

Gally would’ve sighed in relief, if Thomas wasn’t there too. “Why were you even with that shank anyway?” He asked, acting like Thomas wasn’t even there.

“What? Just because you don’t like him, that means I can’t hang out with him?” You sassed.

Gally glared at you and Thomas. “Ben’s gonna get banished at sundown. Do me a favor and stay away until it’s over.”

You rolled your eyes as Gally exited the room, trying not to cry at the thought of a Glader getting sent to their death. “What, banished?” Thomas asked you.

You closed your eyes with a heavy sigh. “You know there’s cure for getting stung...it would be too dangerous to keep him here.”

Thomas quickly left the room, probably leaving to see what was going to happen to poor Ben.

At first, when Gally told you to keep away from the banishment, it just made you want to go just to spite him. But you had seen a banishment before, and it was horrible. It still haunted your dreams sometimes. You really didn’t feel like reliving that again, so you listened.

That, of course, didn’t stop you from finding Gally after the fact.

“Hey...” You said softly, running up to Gally to walk with him to the wall of names.

Gally didn’t say anything, he just kept his gaze ahead of him. You knew he was hurting. Ben was his friend after all. You looked down at his hand that wasn’t carrying a torch, and your hand twitched forward, gently grabbing his large hand.

You could sense that Gally tensed at first, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he squeezed you hand, letting you know it was okay.

“Hold this please.” Gally said, barely a whisper, handing over his torch to you.

You held the torch up as Gally reached up, placing his chisel at Ben’s name to cross his name out.

Another day, another death.

“I’m sorry, Gally.” You whispered, placing a gentle hand on his board shoulder.

Gally simply nodded, giving you a weak smile as he walked away, leaving you at the wall with only the torch as your light in the growing darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~

[rai-wick]

Gally x Reader Chapter 29: The last city

Y/N'S POV

We bolted through the tunnel, firing shots to keep the cranks at bay. We slowed down when we saw a mass of them gathering ahead of us. No matter what way we turned, we were surrounded.

"Thomas, what now?"I shouted over our firing bullets. Just then a large truck came roaring and Brenda popped overhead, shooting at the Cranks. We jumped in and Jorge drove away, running the cranks down.

"I'm impressed"Jorge said as we exited the tunnel"You guys, almost lasted a whole day"Brenda turned away to shake her head at us.

"I'm sorry"Thomas panted"I didn't wanna bring you guys into this"

"I think what he's actually trying to say is thanks for saving us"Frypan interjected.

"You're welcome"Brenda rolled her eyes.

"Hey, don't get your hopes up"Jorge looked at us through the rearview mirror"That checkpoint back there, that was the city's last defense. If that was overrun, chances are the city is too"

"Yeah, unless they figured out some other way to keep the Cranks out"I pointed out my window at something that had caught my eye making Jorge stop the truck with a jerk. We scrambled out to look at the shiny metallic city lying just ahead of us.

"Funny"Newt began"Spent three years trapped behind walls trying to break out and now we wanna break back in"

"Yeah, it's hilarous"Frypan scoffed.

"Jorge, how do we get to it?"Thomas squinted at the city.

"Don't look at me, hermano"Jorge took off his gloves"Those walls are new. I guess that's WICKD's answer for everything"

"Well, we ain't gonna figure it out from up here"Brenda ushered us all back into the truck.

"You really think he's in there?"I asked Thomas.

"Guess we'll have to find out"Thomas sighed.

"You know she's gonna be there too"Newt added making Thomas look at him.

"Yeah I know"

~LATER IN THE CITY~

"Keep close to me _____"Newt muttered, keeping his hand on the small of my back"We need to be careful"

"We'll be okay Newt"I smiled softly at him as we made out way through the bustling streets. It still weirded me out seeing this many people in one place.

"This place has really gone through hell"Jorge caught up to Thomas.

"We just gotta stay together"Thomas directed.

"We are the voice of the voiceless!"We turned to see a man yelling in a loud speaker while a truck drove him through the streets"They hide behind their walls, thinking they can keep the cure for themselves while they watch the rest of us wither and rot!"One of the masked soldiers stared down at me as they passed by and I found my gaze locked onto the blank mask. I don't know why but looking at that soldier made a shiver run through me"But there are more of us than are of them"People cheered as they drove away, still yelling into the loudspeaker. I stared after the soldier who was still looking in my direction but I was pulled away by Newt who pointed upwards to the helicopters.

"We need to keep moving"I nodded, holding onto his hand and we made our way by sticking to more covered streets. We found our way to where dozens of people were crowded yelling to be let in.

"That's it. That's our way in"Thomas pointed ahead to where the people were banging on the huge gated walls.

"Thomas!"Jorge yelled over the roar of the crowd as we pushed our way through them"This is not what you're looking for.All these people trying to find their way in, you think you're gonna find something they can't?"

"We came this far. I'm not turning back now"Thomas yelled back. I clenched Newt's hand tightly, making our way through the angry crowd to the front of the gate. I tried to ignore the hairs that have been rising since I saw the soldier and focused on not getting lost in the crowd.

"What the hell did we get ourselves into?"Frypan said as Brenda grabbed his hand to keep us together.

"Get out of my way! Get out!"Jorge yelled, making room for us at the front. People were hurling garbage and rocks at the gates. I saw Newt keep glancing backwards with a confused look.

"Newt?"I squeezed his hand to get his attention"What is it?"He didn't answer, instead looking to his left. I followed his gaze to see a man holding a gun and wearing a gas mask, walking in stride with us. Newt tightened his grip on my hand and we walked faster towards Frypan and Brenda.

"Hey guys, we gotta go now"Newt grabbed Jorge and Thomas"Look"He pointed behind us to where the soldier from the truck was shoving his way through the crowd to us. We looked around us to see gas masked soldiers coming from all directions. I placed my hand on my gun but suddenly there was a deep metallic creaking, silencing everyone. We saw large cannon guns being charged and aimed our way making everyone run away shouting.

"Let's go! Let's go!"I grabbed Thomas and we ran as the first gun fired, exploding the ground in front of us. Dust erupted as they shot all around us, people screaming for their lives"Down here!"I led us down a stone alley where we ducked from their line of fire. We kept running only to run straight into the masked soldiers. I saw them grab Newt, Frypan and Jorge shoving them into a van.

"Newt!"I screamed, trying to reach him before the soldier from the truck grabbed me and threw me into a van with him as well as Thomas and Brenda. They closed the doors and drove away as we struggled. Finally we gave up and just watched them with suspicion. I stared down the soldier from the truck, daring him to make a move, he just stared back at me through that blank mask. They pulled into a gated junkyard, stopping the van before opening the doors.

"Get out!"They shouted and we complied. We saw the other van screech and stop, its brakes squealing with effort. It was shaking as we heard Jorge yelling from inside. The doors opened and a soldier fell out with a grunt.

"Where is she, you son of a bitch?"Jorge jumped down and began punching the guy.

"Shit! Hey! Wait!"We ran over and pulled Jorge off the man. The soldiers separated us and I gave Newt a look over to make sure he wasn't hurt while he did the same to me. We both nodded, holding our hands up as guns were aimed our way.

"Everybody relax, we're all on the same side here"The soldier from the truck said.

"What do you mean the same side? Who the hell are you?"I shouted at him. He looked around at us, resting his face at me before pulling off his mask and making my heart stop.

"Hey _______"

"Gally?"

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