#maze runner aris oneshot

[lowkeyrobin]

TMR ; where you come from

includes ; newt, minho, winston, frypan, gally, aris, sonya, harriet, & brenda

warnings ; language

masterlist

NEWT

Maze A

long time friends to lovers type beat

so much history yet so little memories now 💔💔💔

MINHO

Maze C, you met in the cafeteria

you got wrapped up in their talk about befriending Aris and escaping

you tell each other about your mazes out in the scorch like campfire stories

WINSTON

Maze A

you worked as slicers together

losing him hurt like a bitch 💔

FRYPAN

the safe haven

you were at the right arm same time he was, you just never met til you reached the island and settled in

you bonded over food and cooking, thus beginning a friendship

GALLY

the last city rebellion group

he joined quickly after escaping WCKD

you showed him how to shoot, and all about the secret passageways you knew about around the city

ARIS

the scorch, you lead the group to Brenda & Jorge

love at first sight ass shit

he tells you all about the maze and wckd and all that

SONYA

the right arm

you helped Vince for years prior to her and Harriet arriving

instant connection, and she opens up all about the maze and wckd and how she and Harriet escaped

HARRIET

the scorch

you cautiously teamed up to get to the right arm

you, her and Sonya = badass bitches with guns group

BRENDA

Maze B, you were with Aris

she's intrigued by you

cue trauma bonding and both almost dying to the Flare

[that-tmr-girl]

Staring

Fingering, oral, face riding, thigh riding, vaginal sex

It's adorable. She's adorable. I mean Y/N is just so cute when she thinks I don't see her looking at me through the corner of her eye before dropping her gaze to the ground as her cheeks turned red.

I also knew exactly what that meant, and even better, I knew that she wouldn't say it. So I used this to my advantage and teased the hell out of her.

So far I had brushed my fingers over her waist and ass while moving past her, stretched just enough for shirt to slide up to show her my lower abdomen, put my arms above my head and leaned from the doorframe while talking to her, shamelessly stared at her chest before lying about not knowing what she was talking about, licked my lips while staring at her, and pretended I didn't know that my hand has moved from her thigh to her clothed pussy while I was still rubbing my hands up and down her.

She'd cave eventually. She always does, and that's my favorite part of this. The build up of it all before I’m inside of her. All because of some sweet, little, things. Just some absolutely pure affection.

My damn, I was having fun with this. I always do, but she was stubborn. Way too stubborn, but that just made it better.

In a completely innocent act of love, I grabbed her by her belt loops when nobody was around and pushed her against me. Cupping her face, I connected our lips before my hands just accidentally ended up on her ass. I also definitely didn't mean to grind on her while making out. I’m just not the type of person to do something like that. It’d be just mean to make her beg and feign surprise if I ended up inside of her. It’d just be a happy, little accident.

“Damnit Aris, stop that,”She complained.

“Stop what?”I asked, trailing my hands up her spine before pulling at her bra straps.

“That. Stop teasing.”

“I don't know what you're talking about. I never tease you,”I sighed, putting my lips on her jaw and making my way to the corner of her mouth. With an impatient whine, she threw her head back.

“Can you please just rail me already?”She groaned.

“What? I couldn't hear you. I was busy giving you hickeys,”I shrugged, waiting for her to say it.

“Stop teasing, and just-”

Cutting her off, I pressed my lips against hers, muffling her pleas to be mindlessly fucked. Pushing my tongue past her parted lips, things were almost messy as our spit mixed. Putting my hands all over her, I went from the back of her neck to her outer thighs. Moaning into my mouth, she put one of my hands on her inner thighs. Pulling away, I picked her up and wrapped her legs around my waist. Pushing her against the wall, I kissed her neck as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

“Come on, princess. I'll give you exactly what you need,”I promised, keeping her legs around me as I opened our backdoor. Immediately in our bedroom, I closed the door and threw her on the bed. Straddling her, I started sucking and nibbling her on neck while my hands were on her hips. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, I pulled apart and effortlessly tossed it off. Pushing her against the bedframe, I kept my lips against hers as I unhooked her bra. Pulling apart to take that off too, I started sucking on her nipple while pinching the other. Hearing her let out a needy whimper, I kissed to the middle of her chest before trailing my tongue down her stomach, stopping every now and then to suck on her skin. Coming to her jeans, I unbuttoned them before pulling them to her ankles. Staring at her, I just took in her features until she covered her stomach.

“No,”I said firmly, pulling her hands away.

“Aris-”

“I want to look at my girl. I want to see you squirm when I ride you. I want to see you throw your head back when you're close. I want to see you not even know how to keep your eyes open when I make you feel good. I want to see you bite your lip to muffle your sounds. I want to see all those pretty marks on your skin. I need to see everything I can do to my girl,”I listed, keeping her hands to her side. When she gave me a nod I let go and pressed kisses to her lower stomach before working my way to the hem of her panties. Hooking my fingers around them, I slowly pulled them off before wrapping my hands around her ankles and keeping her legs apart.

“You're just my pretty girl, aren't you?”I promised, tracing my fingers between her slit. Looking at her arch her back, I put a finger in and started pumping as I felt her drip on my hand. Staring up at her, I watched her chest start to quickly rise and fall as I teased her.

Gently pulling her legs down, I buried my head in her soaked pussy while moving my hands up her body. While flicking my tongue against her clit I put her breasts in my palm, squeezing her nipples just enough as I plunged my tongue inside of her. Repeatedly going in and out, I hummed before keeping my tongue inside of her soaked pussy, swirling it around her walls. With her sweet little noises encouraging me, I started flicking my tongue against her clit again, before moving my hands and grabbing her thighs. Wrapping them around my head, I moaned inside of her as she tugged on my hair. Giving her another sloppy lick, I tightened my grip on her legs as she pushed her hips deeper into my mouth. Hearing her let out her special sound, I moaned into her. Arching her back one last time, she came. Not letting go of her legs, I lapped up all her juices. Only when I felt her shake did I pull away. Spreading her legs though, I licked her inner thighs before nibbling on her skin. With a half pain half pleasured moan, she raked her nails down my neck until I pulled away. Tracing the soon to be bruises, I pressed a light kiss to them before meeting her gaze.

Pulling my shirt off, as I got on top I didn't let her know my next move. I never do.

“Ride my face, princess. Ride my tongue until you cum in my mouth,”I whispered in her ear, keeping my hands on her waist. Feeling hers travel to her stomach, probably without even realizing, I pulled them away again. “Don't worry about a thing, princess. Just relax, and sit on my face,”I urged. When she gave me a nod I flipped us over so that she was sitting on my stomach. Putting my head on the pillow, I helped her over my mouth.

Still, feeling the way she was holding back, I grabbed her hips and forced her further into me. Plunging my tongue inside of her, I felt her drip as she rocked herself against me. Tracing my tongue between her pussy lips, I listened to her muffled sounds as she kept her thighs around my head. Growing wetter, she rocked herself against me as I helped her increase her pace. With a pretty, high pitched whimper, she rested her pussy on me as she released. Tasting her, when she tried to pull away before I was done I grabbed her waist and got more. Because every last drop of her needs to be in my throat, on my thigh when she rides them, or on my cock. Maybe around the rest of my face if she's extra wet, but that's it. None of her cum is allowed to stay inside of her. Not when I'm here to make her feel nice.

When I did get all of her, I helped her off. Seeing the way she collapsed, I stroked her hair before she put her hands on my jeans. Taking them off for her, when she attempted to take off the rest of my clothes I grabbed her wrist and shook my head no. Sitting on the edge of the bed, I gestured for her to get off on my thigh. As she agreed and straddled me I put her where she belonged. Putting her arms around my shoulders, I kept my hands on her back as I let her go at whatever pace she wanted.

With soft moans by my ear, she did as I said. Choosing a desperate speed, she frantically grinded on my bare leg as I sang soft praises to her. Telling her how pretty she is, telling her how nice she sounds, how sweet my princess is, and everything that came to mind. With those words pushing her over the edge, when I told her how much of my good girl she is she sunk her teeth into my neck to stifle her screams as she came. Pulling away, as I saw those tears of overstimulation in her dazed, happy eyes, I kissed the tip of her nose before looking at her sweet smile. Pressing my lips against hers, when she cupped my face I leaned back so she was on top of me. Before she could react I flipped us around so that I was and kissed all over her neck and chest and jaw and temple and cheek and lips and anywhere that I could get to.

“You think you can take one more round?”I whispered near her ear. When she gave me an eager nod I took off my boxers and aligned myself with her entrance. Gently pushing into her, I waited for her to adjust. Closing her eyes, her breathing got raspy.

“You're okay, princess. You can take me. You always do,”I repeated, waiting for her to tell me to go. After she gave me a small nod I made her give me a verbal answer anyway. Through more heavy breaths she told me yes.

Pulling out, I slammed back into her with a grunt making her let out more whimpers. Crashing my lips against hers, I groaned into her open mouth as she moaned into mine. Wrapping her legs around my waist, I made my way deeper inside of her. Digging her nails into my skin, I savored the way she dragged them down my back, leaving deep scratches. Letting her do whatever she wanted, I bit her neck and listened to those special sounds as her walls clenched around me. Throwing her head back, I heard her scream my name before biting her lip to quiet her sounds. Feeling my thrusts get sloppy, when I twitched inside of her I only got more desperate. With another strangled scream she let go. Pushing myself into her one last time, I came inside of her. Letting her legs drop from my waist, I filled her up until I was spilling out of her. Only then did I pull out.

“Are you okay, princess?”I checked. Nodding her head, her eyes were only half open as she caught her breath. “My sweet girl,”I whispered, kissing her temple before getting off. Mumbling something, she grabbed my wrist and shook her head no.

“I'm just going to clean you off, okay? I’ll be right back,”I promised. Giving a halfhearted nod, she laid on her back.

Grabbing a rag from our bathroom, I wet it before walking back to wipe her thighs and stomach that were completely coated in white liquids. Letting out another relieved sigh, she then let me dress her in some fresh underwear, nightpants, and one of my hoodies. Wrapping it around her, I admired how comfortable and safe she looked before quickly dressing myself and laying beside her. Grabbing the book from my nightstand, I put my arm around her as she snuggled up to my chest, reading to her until she fell into a deep sleep.

[heliads]

Aris Masterlist

Long Way From Home (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) - You open your eyes one morning to find yourself not in your familiar Glade but an entirely different one. What’s more, you seem to be in the body of a boy named Aris. Multi-Part Imagine

[magravenwrites]

Requests are CLOSED!

Rules:

Please send in your request as an ask!

If you don't specify a pronoun, I will write fem!reader.

I will write character pairings as well as 'x reader'. Just let me know which pairing you want written/made.

Prompts can include song prompts, or be general prompts, but I ask for you to be as specific as you can, so I can try and write something you will like!

I will write for platonic relationships as well as love interests!

I will be accepting requests for moodboards, imagines and fics/oneshots.

I will write pretty much anything - fluff, angst, au's, crossovers and smut... 😉

I will also write for potentially triggering topics, relevant warnings will be included. I don't aim to romanticise these topics in any way, they are serious topics and will be treated as such.

You can find a list of fandoms and characters I write for below the cut.

If you would like to request something for another fandom or character that isn't listed, just send me an ask and I will do my best to complete it for you!

Bridgerton:

Anthony Bridgerton

Benedict Bridgerton

Colin Bridgerton

Simon Basset

Daphne Bridgerton

Eloise Bridgerton

Penelope Featherington

Marina Thompson

Downton Abbey:

Matthew Crawley

Tom Branson

William Mason

Bertie Pelham

Henry Talbot

Thomas Barrow

John Bates

Atticus Aldridge

Mary Crawley

Edith Crawley

Sybil Crawley

Rose MacClare

Anna Bates

Lucy Smith

Grishaverse:

(I have not read the books yet, so works will be mainly based off the show)

Kaz Brekker

Jesper Fahey

The Darkling/General Aleksander Kirigan

Matthias Helvar

Malyen 'Mal' Oretsev

Inej Ghaffa

Alina Starkov

Nina Zenik

Harry Potter:

Harry Potter

Ron Weasley

Bill Weasley

Charlie Weasley

Percy Weasley

Fred Weasley

George Weasley

Cedric Diggory

Neville Longbottom

Draco Malfoy

Oliver Wood

Seamus Finnigan

Dean Thomas

Hermione Granger

Ginny Weasley

Luna Lovegood

Young Sirius Black

Young Remus Lupin

Young James Potter

Young Lily Evans/Potter

Young Tom Riddle

The Hunger Games:

Peeta Mellark

Gale Hawthorne

Finnick Odair

Katniss Everdeen

Johanna Mason

Annie Cresta

Marvel:

(I am not up-to-date on all Marvel films/series, so please bare with me)

Steve Rogers/Captain America

Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier

Sam Wilson/Falcon

Loki Laufeyson

Thor Odinson

Peter Parker/Spider-man

Bruce Banner/Hulk

Clint Barton/Hawkeye

T'Challa/Black Panther

Scott Lang/Ant-man

Peter Quill/Star-Lord

Drax

Dr Stephen Strange

Vision

Nick Fury

MJ

Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow

Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch

Gamora

Maze Runner:

Thomas

Newt

Alby

Minho

Gally

Chuck

Frypan

Winston

Teresa

Narnia:

Peter Pevensie

Edmund Pevensie

Prince Caspian X

Mr Tumnus

Susan Pevensie

Lucy Pevensie

Poison Study/Glass series:

Valek

Ari

Janco

Leif

Yelena

Opal

Iris

Pride and Prejudice:

Mr Darcy

Mr Bingley

Elizabeth Bennet

Jane Bennet

Sense and Sensibility:

Colonel Brandon

Edward Ferrars

Elinor Dashwood

Marianne Dashwood

The Last Kingdom:

Uhtred

Finan

Sihrtic

Osferth

Aethelstan

Alfred

Aldhelm

Gisela

Stiorra

Thyra

Eadith

Aethelflead

Ealhswith

Throne of Glass:

(I have not read the last book yet so please bare with me)

Dorian Havilliard

Chaol Westfall

Rowan

Lorcan

Celaena Sardothien-

-Aelin Galathynius

Manon Blackbeak

Asteria Blackbeak

Elide Lochan

Lord of the Rings:

Aragorn

Legolas

Gimli

Frodo

Sam

Merry

Pippin

Boromir

Éomer

Elrond

Arwen

Galadriel

Éowyn

The Hobbit:

Thorin

Balin

Dwalin

Fili

Kili

Bofur

Thranduil

Bard

Tauriel

Poldark:

Ross Poldark

Francis Poldark

Drake Carne

Sam Carne

Jeffry Charles Poldark

Dwight Enys

George Warleggan

Demelsa

Caroline

Rosina

Elizabeth

Morwenna

Peaky Blinders:

Tommy Shelby

John Shelby

Arthur Shelby

Michael Gray

Ada Shelby

Polly Gray

[yeeharley]

2 and 3 for the identity thing asks!! (-ari/thompsborn :D)

2. have you ever found a writer that thinks just like you? if so, who?

ari. ari, ari, ari. oh my god you picked that well.

yes. apparently.

i’ll be reading your music oneshots :) i’m excited to see if mine live up to yours & your playlists are absolutely flawless.

3. list your fandoms and at least one character you identify with.

- the maze runner (no longer in it but honorable mention): newt, who i identified with all throughout middle school back when i was questioning and who is, apparently and canonically, gay.

- marvel: harley (i know he’s not canonically gay but everyone writes him as gay and he’s southern and i’m southern and he’s a truck flannel aviator sunglasses gay and i’m a truck flannel aviator sunglasses gay how could i not)

[that-tmr-girl]

The Rules {Part 1}

Oral

I already know what everyone would say if they knew about us. How it's a bad idea and we'll get hurt. How it would only end in feelings and disaster. How we'll both just be worse off than before. How history will only repeat itself.

But what's the alternative? I can't just go around taking every girl's virginity, and there aren’t exactly any other guys coming anytime soon. Besides, even if there was, they wouldn't know her the way I do. They wouldn't know the right way to touch her, where to be soft, how fast to go, and all the things she adores but won't ask for. And nobody else could be her. Nobody could make her sounds, taste like her, feel like her, look like her. Nobody could ever be her.

And now, nobody needs to be.

Brushing her hair out of her face, I whispered in her ear, listening to her laugh as I pulled away. Holding back a smile, I put my fingers to my lips as she gave me a nod, her lips still upturned in her pretty grin.

Taking in her features for a moment, I averted my gaze when I felt it become too much. Kissing down her stomach, I made sure not to look her in the eye as I trailed my lips against her soft skin before coming to her pants. Pulling everything off, I looked up at her for permission which she granted.

Accepting her answer, I licked up a teasing stripe up her middle. Giving me a whine, she clutched the sheets as I slowly pleasured her with my mouth. Not that it matters. She'd be pulling my hair soon enough.

Pressing a kiss to her clit, I gripped her thighs as I started plunging my tongue in and out. Arching her back, she let out small whimpers as I increased my pace just enough. Sure enough, her hands made my way to my head as she started tangling her hands in my hair. Moaning inside of her, I heard her grow just a little louder as she repeated my name through ragged breaths. Pretending that didn't kill me, I tuned out her sounds as I felt the way her legs started shaking. With her grip on my hair tightening, I kept her legs spread as she pushed her hips further into my mouth one last time before letting go. Keeping my mouth open, I got everything I could from her, savoring her white liquids on my tongue before swallowing them. Pulling away, I traced my tongue on her inner thighs just to be safe, feeling her cum warm my throat. Licking my lips, I got the rest of her before opening my eyes to see her out of breath with a dazed smile. Resisting the urge to call her my sweet girl, my beautiful girl, my love, my princess, I didn't say anything as I caressed her cheek.

“Need you, Aris,”She said through heavy breaths. And I need her too. Just not only in that way.

Pushing the thought down, I straddled her and aligned myself with her entrance before asking if she was ready. When she said yes, I slowly pushed into her. Hearing her moan my name, I closed my eyes to stop the tears as I tried to savor being inside of her. Holding her waist, I fit myself all the way in before holding still so that she could adjust. Holding back grunts, I didn't think anything of the way I kept my hands on her. Not until I felt her start to shake a little too much. I looked at her only to see little tears in her eyes. Pulling out and leaning over her, I was quick to wipe them and ask what happened.

“You’ve never held on that tight,”She managed to say through ragged breaths. Looking down, I saw the dark handprints, soon to be bruises I left on her, and she was never good with pain. Her tolerance was admittedly low so what could be so minor to some hurt so badly to her.

“I’m so sorry. I’m really, really sorry,”I promised, praying that she knew that I always only wanted to be gentle with her. With her body, with her mind, and with her heart. Hoping that she knew I didn't do it on purpose and never would. Silently pleading to myself that this wouldn't be our last night like this.

Being light, I ran my fingers over the bruises to try and soothe her. All the while, repeating my apology.

Feeling the way she seemed less tense, I pressed my lips to every single print before gazing up at her. While her tears had stopped falling, she just looked out of it. With a quiet yawn, I got my answer as to why. She was tired. Really tired.

“Is there anything you need from me?”I asked, still tracing my fingers on the bruises.

“Stay?”She whispered.

“Of course. I always-”

“No. Next to me. Stay next to me,”She clarified.

The rules. This was definitely against the rules.

But I don't care. I had missed her. Really, really missed her, and even if I didn't mean to, I had just hurt her. The rules can fuck off for one night.

Like I used to, I slipped her underwear back on, being extra cautious this time, before putting her in one of my hoodies. Only bothering with my boxers, I put the blanket over her before pulling her close. She seemed to lean into my touch as I pressed a kiss to her neck. Wrapping my arms around her, she intertwined our legs as she held me back.

This was breaking the rules. So many of them.

But I couldn't care less. Whether I said it or not, it was true. I had never fallen out of love with her.

[lowkeyrobin]

maze runner oneshots

NEWT

personal aid

clothing mender/maker

the night we met

rekindling a friendship in the scorch

MINHO

just like the rain

treehouse cuddles

they

FRYPAN

none here yet! ; leave a request

GALLY

I don't want to be your enemy anymore

BRENDA

the last city

HARRIET

none here yet! leave a request!

SONYA

none here yet! leave a request!

ARIS

none here yet! leave a request!

[heliads]

Long Way From Home (Part Two)

You open your eyes one morning to find yourself not in your familiar Glade but an entirely different one. What’s more, you seem to be in the body of a boy named Aris.

part one / masterlist / part three

You almost don’t want to wake up in the morning. This time, it isn’t because you’re tired, but because you’re afraid to ruin the picture of the Glade in your mind, like the second you open your eyes and are forced to be Aris again, it will all be over. 

Then the impossible happens, and you hear a voice shouting for everyone to wake. The strangest part of all? It sounds like Alby. It sounds like you’re home. 

You bolt upright, eyes flying open. You’re not in the lean-to anymore, you’re back in your hammock. You stare at your hands, then frantically reach up. It’s your face, your body, and most importantly, you’re not Aris. How did this happen?

You glance around, and your eyes settle on Newt, who’s regarding you with more than a fair amount of suspicion. “You alright there, Y/N? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” You shake your head, fighting back a crazy grin. “I’m fine. Great, actually. It’s good to see you, Newt.”

Newt nods slowly, looking at you like you’re crazy. “I know I’m a fantastic friend, but you don’t have to say it. You sure you got enough sleep?” You laugh. “Yeah, I’m sure.” You get up out of your hammock, treasuring the way that everything feels right again. You don’t know what happened yesterday, but everything feels back to normal now. Hell, it could have just been one strange dream. 

On second thought, maybe it wasn’t. As you swing your legs onto the ground, a small, folded piece of paper dislodges itself from the blankets next to you. You bend down and pick it up. From the second you notice the cramped handwriting, you feel your heart sink in your chest. 

It’s Aris’ writing, you recognize it after seeing the journal pages yesterday. There’s no other way it could be anything else. Sure, it might have been your hand that held the pen, your fingers that spelled those words, but the handwriting still isn’t your own. Isn’t that strange?

The note is actually fairly similar to the one you left for him. He introduces himself as Aris, and says something about how he woke up here with no idea of how he managed to end up in your Glade instead of his. He did mention that he might have made some of your friends question him because he started using slang from his Glade instead of yours. Apparently, calling Minho a ‘stick’ instead of a shank had earned him some stares, especially because he didn’t quite know how to talk like you.

You can’t help but laugh to yourself when you read the words. Even though you weren’t exactly there to see it, you can picture the scene well enough: Aris-you calling Minho a stick, and the dark-haired Runner rearing back with confusion. From the self-deprecating tone of the note, you can tell that Minho had plenty to say about that. Well, it’s not like it matters much anyway. You can say that you were trying to come up with new words or something. The excuse itself isn’t that important; what counts most is that you’re back home. 

However, even as the day progresses, you can’t stop yourself from thinking about the previous day. If Aris was able to leave you a note, that means that the whole switch wasn’t just a dream, but it had actually happened. How is that possible? From what you can tell, this sort of thing hasn’t happened to any of the other Gladers, just you and Aris. How does that make sense?

You should probably put the whole idea to rest. You’re back home, after all, and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. All the same, your mind keeps turning over those hours back in Aris’ Glade. It had been so similar and so vivid, but it seemed like every other detail about the place had changed. For one thing, you kind of want to suggest a few ideas to the various Keepers. The girls over at Aris’ place had great ideas about how to organize their crops to get the maximum amount of sunshine and shade when necessary. Plus, they actually had small irrigation channels running through the dirt, and you know that Newt has complained enough times about losing vegetables to drought that you could implement a few plans of theirs.

When night finally arrives upon you, you can’t help but feel slightly nervous. What if you find yourself back in Aris’ Glade again? After thinking about it for a few minutes, you fumble around for the note Aris had left you. You grab a pen and write your own response, talking about how it’s strange that you both went through the same thing and all that. Just in case, you make sure to explain in great detail what you do each day for your job and with your friends. If you switch with Aris again, you want to make sure that he doesn’t make any more slip ups and make your friends realize that something is wrong.

You fold a few blank pieces of paper around the note and put it at the same place at the foot of your hammock, then settle back down for sleep. As you begin to drift off to sleep, the thought occurs to you that somewhere in the world, Aris may be doing the exact same thing in his Glade. Will he find your entry in his journal and realize that he wasn’t dreaming either?

Dawn comes soon enough, but you’re still you. Still home. It’s good, to be sure, but you can’t help but feel confused. What was the point of all that, then? Why put you through that for it to just never happen again? The same thing happens the next day, and the next, and the next. You’re still in the Glade.

Things only change a week later. You’ve almost given up on ever seeing Aris’ Glade again when you open your eyes to see the familiar shade of the lean-to bearing down around you. You sit up quickly, glancing around to make sure of what you’re seeing- but yes, you’re back again. The same pull of muscles as you stand, the difference of height. You’re back in Aris’ body.

This time, you know exactly where the journal is, so you look for it first. There are a few more entries in Aris’ cramped handwriting, but the first of them is addressed to you now. Apparently, he’d learned your name from Newt in about the same way as you’d learned his, but it’s still a little strange to see your name there waiting for you, like it’s a connection spanning your two different worlds.

Aris seems just as confused about the whole thing as you are. He confirms that he heard that he was acting differently once he returned back to his Glade (which they call the Spring, for reasons you can’t entirely fathom), but that’s alright. To make things easier, he included a few details about himself, just as you had talked about yourself before. 

Aris describes himself as quiet to most except his closest friends, the results of a rocky start when he got here. Many of the girls didn’t trust Aris when he first showed up in the Spring, most notably this girl named Beth, who seems like Gally in female form. This makes sense, at least- a boy showing up out of nowhere made most of Aris’ Gladers (Springers? He didn’t include that bit) distrust him. They thought he could be a spy, or worse, someone sent to kill them. Another monster, just like the ones in the Maze. At least that name has stayed the same.

However, Aris proved himself over time, judging by the fact that everything carried on as normal and he didn’t kill a single person. He grew to become friends with Sonya, who’d you’d met first, and Harriet, one of the leaders of the Spring. There’s another girl, Rachel, who’s probably his closest friend of all. Of everyone here, you’re fairly sure that she’s the one who seemed the most surprised by the way you were acting last time you were here. If anyone is able to see through you and realize that you’re not really Aris, it’ll probably be her. You’ll have to be careful.

You’ll also have to be careful around Beth, who eyes you suspiciously. She wants a chance to prove that she was right, which means jumping at the slightest mistake you/Aris make. It’s going to be hard, but armed with Aris’ words, you feel a little better about what’s going on. So, this time you wait until you hear the sound of the others starting to get up, and head out for the day.

You try your best to seem more quiet, more like Aris. You head towards Rachel, who’s standing with Harriet nearby, and the three of you walk to get breakfast. You make one minor mistake, which is that you didn’t get eggs for breakfast. Apparently, Aris has them almost every day. You try your best to summon up some lackluster excuse about how you’re trying to switch things up so you don’t get tired of the same breakfast every day, but you can sense Rachel watching you out of the corner of your eyes. Pretending to be Aris is going to be harder than you thought.

Or so you tell him later that night, anyway. You sit in your lean-to that night, furiously scribbling away in the journal about how he needs to do better about telling you what it’s like to be him. Friends can only get you so far. How were you supposed to know that Aris had specific routines?

Funnily enough, you wake up to almost the exact same thing the next morning. You’re back in your Glade, thank goodness, but the note waiting for you at the end of your hammock seems to be written by a desperate Aris. Apparently he’d accidentally switched up who Alby and Gally were, and now Newt thinks that you’ve lost your mind. This isn’t made any better by the fact that the blond track-hoe is watching you with a raised eyebrow as you do your best not to laugh at a note that you’d supposedly written yourself the night before.

After that, you try to do better about providing more details. You carefully list out the most common Glader slang words (shank, slinthead, Greenie, and shuck, to start), and what they mean. You’re going to run through paper fairly quickly if this keeps up, but it’s all you’ve got to keep Aris on top of things. 

The same cycle repeats- you stay a week or so in your Glade, then wake up randomly to a new morning in the Spring. Sometimes, it’s only every seven days, and other times, you wake up after four or even three days to be landed back in Aris’ body. It’s a rough adjustment sometimes, but you think you’re getting used to it.

After a while, Aris’ face becomes as familiar as your own. You grow accustomed to the fact that no matter how much sleep you get, those dark hollows underneath his eyes never seem to go away. Brushing those same light brown bangs out of your face becomes second nature, and you learn how to laugh as Aris instead of you in someone else’s body. Even Rachel has seemed to stop being surprised by you, like you’ve finally figured out how to consistently act like Aris.

You settle into a comfortable habit of traveling back and forth between the Glade and the Spring. Eventually, you can tell where you are each morning without having to even open your eyes, based on whether you can feel the shade of the lean-to’s walls crossing your arms or if you’re swaying slightly from the more unsupported hammock. You can switch between being yourself and Aris with ease, like having to be Aris at all is just another part of you. Where do you stop and Aris begins? You’re beginning to think that it might all be the same.

This morning, for example, you’re back in your own body. You were away yesterday, and managed to set Aris on a path towards being more outgoing, despite his written protests. Hey- if the guy is firmly set on sticking to the shadows, you can at least make him talk to more people when you’ve literally become him. You’d left a particularly victorious journal entry last night telling him that if he didn’t go talk to a few more of the girls in the Spring, you’d stop telling him how to deal with Gally, and that’s a fairly dangerous threat all by itself.

Aris seemed to sense that you were reaching this point, because in his most recent note, he’s telling you off for being so outgoing in your own home. He says it’s exhausting to try and keep track of everything you’ve been doing with the other Gladers, and you can’t help but laugh at that. Hopefully, you’ll be able to switch places with him in another few days, and he can tell you how the whole thing went. 

Believe it or not, you’re actually starting to enjoy the whole switching experience. Even though you technically only interact with Aris through written notes and journal entries, you feel like you know him really well. He knows everything about you, more even than Newt and your closest friends. Aris has to, in a way- if he wants to be you, he has to know you. For some reason, you don’t mind him figuring you out.

You are excited to see this day through, though. A new Greenie arrived recently, one by the name of Thomas. Seeing as you were at the Spring yesterday, you didn’t exactly get a chance to get to know him, but Aris seems to think he’s alright. Apparently, he tried to run straight for the Maze once he got out of the Box, but tripped and face planted before he could get too far. Gally seems to hate him, but Aris says he seems nice other than a little impulsive behavior. You trust Aris enough to take his word for it.

Only a few hours have passed before something strange happens. The day is interrupted by the ear-piercing klaxons of a Greenie alarm, but that doesn’t make sense. The Box came up yesterday, there’s no reason it should be here today. You join the throngs of others in racing towards the hole in the ground, but sure enough- the metal roof of the Box is there for all to see. For some reason, it’s come up again. You can’t deny that you feel uneasy about the whole thing. The last time something changed in the regular routine of the Glade, you ended up in Aris’ body come morning.

Newt reaches the Box first, and the rest of the Gladers hang back so he can undo the latch. There’s no movement in the Box, and after a few seconds you realize that the Greenie is lying on the floor, unmoving. Newt jumps down, and shouts that the newcomer is a girl. Startled murmurs ripple through the crowd- so far, you’re the only girl to ever show up here. You push to the front of the group and look down into the shadowy metal recesses of the Box. Sure enough, it’s another girl, but not one that you recognize from your time in the Spring.

Newt says something about how the new girl seems unconscious, but a few seconds later she bolts upright and starts calling out to Thomas by name. Everyone seems worried by this, but what makes you panic most of all is when she turns to look directly at you. Suddenly, her voice is firm. “No more travel. You stay here.” Then she passes out again, and speaks no more.

Newt reaches for a slip of paper in her hand and reads it out. “She’s the last one. Ever.” This throws the Gladers into even more uproar, but you tune it all out. All you can feel is the drop of your heart in your chest. You heard what the girl said, didn’t you? She didn’t say your name, but you know she was talking to you. She had to be. ‘No more travel. You stay here.’

She must have been talking about your days spent in the Spring. If you won’t be switching bodies anymore, that means that Aris must be going through a similar thing. Is he reacting to a newcomer in his Maze? Has he gotten that same sort of message, is he thinking about you in the way that you’re thinking about him? You wish you could talk to Aris, you wish you had some way of getting to him, but all you can do is write him a note and pray that you wake up in his body so he can reach you. For some reason, you get the feeling that you never will again.

maze runner tag list:  @rogueanschel​, @ellobruv-blog​, @lxncelot​, @neewtmas​

[heliads]

Long Way Home (Part Three)

You open your eyes one morning to find yourself not in your familiar Glade but an entirely different one. What’s more, you seem to be in the body of a boy named Aris.

part two / masterlist

As it turns out, your fears are true. You don’t return to Aris’ Spring that night, or the next night, or the next. You stay firmly in your home, which should make you happy. For some reason, though, it doesn’t. You want to be able to warn Aris about what’s happening, but you cannot reach him. Have you ever been able to reach him, or just wake up and see through his eyes and hope that suffices?

That’s the worst part, honestly- the fact that you find yourself missing the Spring. Even when you’re laughing your head off at Minho’s sarcastic comments or Frypan’s jokes, you can’t help but think of other times around another campfire, when you’d been sitting next to Sonya and Harriet and the girls. They may have been Aris’ friends, but you’d started to think of them as your friends, too.

You find yourself wishing that you’d wake up in Aris’ Maze, to be able to go read his familiar cramped handwriting and be able to tell his mood from the closeness of the letters or the rushed slant of the words. That’s the closest you ever got to meeting him, and it’s kind of surprising to think about. After all this, you’ve never actually exchanged words. All you know is Aris’ world and yours, and how the lines between them seem to keep blurring.

The Spring wasn’t just Aris’ home, it was yours. You’ve spent months traveling between the two places now, and you’ve grown to care for every little detail as if it was your own Glade. You know the soft baritone of Aris’ laugh, the stretch of his fingers when he writes, all of it. Maybe it’s not just the Glade and the Spring that are blending together in your mind, it’s you and Aris as well. Where does he stop and you begin? You don’t think you could come up with a definitive answer if you tried.

However, you won’t have long to worry about this. Teresa wakes up soon enough, and after a few days, everything starts to go downhill. Minho finds a dead Griever in the Maze and takes Alby out to see it. The resulting attack leaves Minho and Alby stuck in the Maze overnight, and to make things worse, Thomas manages to run inside and get himself trapped there too. 

You, Newt, and some of the other Gladers spend the night camped outside the walls of the Maze, hoping that the Doors will open tomorrow morning to reveal your friends alive and well despite the odds. Every time you hear a sound, you jolt awake, sure you’re about to hear the piercing screams of your friends as they’re violently killed by the Grievers.

Despite your fear, Thomas and Minho still appear at the Doors of the Maze come morning, not exactly unharmed but alive. They carry an unconscious Alby with them. You watch the Med-Jacks take Alby away, and can’t help but feel worried. Alby’s been the leader since before you showed up in the Glade. If he succumbs to getting Stung, how will the rest of you be able to cope?

Gally seems determined to cause problems, and rails against Thomas for going into the Maze. Despite the fact that the Greenie definitely broke a few rules, he also helped two of your closest friends survive the night, and that’s worth something. In the end, Thomas becomes a Runner, and everyone does their best to keep moving on.

When the doors to the Maze refuse to close, you know then and there that the beginning of the end has come. You had a feeling that something was wrong when Teresa showed up and delivered that message, when the days passed and you never went back to Aris’ Spring, but this is certain. All around you, your once bright home has become apocalyptic, all charred buildings and smoky fires billowing ash up to the heavens. 

Dawn finally reaches its timid fingers out to the Glade, doing its best to brush away some of the dirt and reveal that there’s a life outside of the relentless night after all. The Grievers crawl and click away to the Maze, but not without leaving their fair share of damage. The amount of friends you’ve lost is staggering, even more so to realize that the same thing will probably happen again that night.

While Thomas recovers from a self-imposed Griever Sting (why do Greenies always make the worst decisions?), you, Minho, and Newt come up with a plan to get everyone out. Gally’s assumed control, and plans on a weird sort of ritual sacrifice involving Thomas and Teresa being offered up to the Grievers so you can avoid another killing spree like last one. It’s bizarre, and absolutely mad. You can’t stay here, not if that’s what’s going to happen.

After managing to free Thomas and Teresa, and doing your best to convince the rest of the Gladers to look for a way out through the Maze, it’s time to take off. Although you know you should carry as little as possible so you’re not weighed down, you do shove Aris’ notes and pen into your pockets before you go. 

For some reason, the thought of leaving his words behind almost feels like killing him. His written lines are the last evidence you have of Aris, and you want to be able to have them in whatever place awaits you beyond the Maze. You were stunned that they managed to survive the flames and destruction of last night’s Griever attack, but you’re not taking any more chances. You fold the pieces of paper as best you can before tucking them inside your pocket. You may not be able to see Aris anymore, but at least you can read his words and remember what it was like when you had it all.

It is hard to run through the Maze without stopping, hard to watch the Grievers scuttling out of the dark to attack your friends in droves so large they almost seem like spiders. It is hard to keep fighting, to keep watching the people you care about die. Some part of you wants to give up, to fling yourself over the edge or throw yourself at a Griever without a plan to get back. 

Then you hear the crinkle of paper in your pocket and you move, and it’s like you can feel Aris near you, watching your back. He’d say something in his usual quietly teasing way, like how if you thought you’d be able to give up now when he’d spent so long trying to figure out how to not give himself away in your Glade, you’d be dead wrong. You smile slightly to think of him, and keep moving.

Somehow, through some bizarre twist of luck and fate and whatever else is out there on your side, you and your friends make it through the Maze. There are far fewer of you straggling through the ruins of the WICKED complex than when you had set out, or even once walked the grassy plains of the Glade, but you’re out. That’s enough, isn’t it? It has to be.

You’re still stopped, once, to lose something even more dear. Gally shows up out of nowhere, crying in the shaky, sweaty sort of way that you only cry when you’ve been cheated out of everything you should have earned, and points a gun at Thomas. He wants to take you all back to the Maze, he says. You can never leave.

There’s a brief burst of conflict, and throughout it all, Chuck gets shot. He threw himself in front of Thomas to block the gunshot. Isn’t it surprising that the kid who had the best reason to get out was the one who got the closest to making it before he died? Isn’t that wrong, somehow?

Minho and Newt have to drag Thomas away from Chuck’s body before he goes willingly, and even then, his shoulders are wracked with treacherous sobs for a very long time. Your own tears flow down your cheeks unimpeded. You’ve already lost a lot, but this loss seems to cut at your very bones. Why force someone so young to go to the Maze if he could die like this? He should have been safe. You should have been safe.

You’re rescued at last by some soldiers dressed in dark uniforms, who manage to pull you from the rubble of the WICKED building and get you out. They take you to this facility that’s clean or at least shows signs that someone tries to keep it that way. They give you medical tests, wellness tests, clean clothes, everything superficial that does nothing to make you feel safe. You might be out of WICKED’s reach, but that doesn’t make you any more willing to trust anybody, not after what you’ve been through. You don’t know that you’ll feel safe for a very long time.

After getting cleared one final time by a Dr. Janson, you meet up with Thomas before heading into what appears to be a large cafeteria. From the second the doors open, you’re stunned. “Did he say all of these guys have been in Mazes?” You ask. Minho sees you from a few tables down and jogs up to get you. “Yeah, all of them. Isn’t that bizarre?” You shiver slightly. “Yeah, crazy.”

You stare around, trying to find some sign of anyone you met before in the Spring. If they managed to get out, they would be here, right? Sonya or Harriet or somebody. Most importantly, Aris could be here. The thought of meeting him after such a long time, of actually coming face to face and seeing him, makes you suddenly nervous. You glance around the room, searching for him, but there are too many kids here for you to find him in the crowd.

Minho leads you to a table where Newt, Frypan, and a few others from the Glade are talking to some other boys. The strangers talk about having a similar experience to yours, where Janson’s soldiers rescued them from the WICKED headquarters. They say they only showed up yesterday, but there’s one boy who showed up a week ago, from a Glade all full of girls. Yeah, that’s right, they say, don’t some people have all the luck?

You’re not paying attention to the boys anymore. You’re staring at the boy they just pointed out, the one sitting in a corner of the room with his back to the walls and a dark hoodie pulled low over his face. Your eyes widen even as a smile threatens to tug at your lips. Isn’t that like him, to find the one place in this crowded room where he wouldn’t have to deal with other people?

It is him, after all. It’s Aris. You stand without realizing it. Newt looks up at you, confused. “Everything alright, Y/N?” You shake him off. “Yeah, I’m good. I just- I have to talk to somebody. Stay here, I’ll catch you later.” With that, you ignore his concerned glance, and walk away from your table, heading towards the corner of the room. Your footsteps seem to quicken with every step, but the hooded boy doesn’t look up from the table until you slide into the seat in front of him.

Aris looks up slowly, gaze barely flickering up from his untouched tray to rest on your hands, folded in front of you on the table. It is then, when his eyes catch on familiar scars and the fold of your fingers, that his eyes widen and he stares at you in earnest. The two of you stay there for a moment or an eternity, just looking at each other.

Is it strange to see him now? You’ve never actually seen him in person, never had the chance to know what it’s like when his smile grows or the way he tilts his chin up slightly to ask in a voice that’s as well known to you as your own, “Y/N?” You smile slowly. “Aris.”

After all this time, all the words you’ve wanted to be able to say to him, you can’t think of a single one now. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that we got a new Greenie, but I’ve been stuck in the Glade for a while.” Aris chuckles, the spell of silence broken. “Me too. You had the thing where there was a new arrival and then a boy- or a girl for you, I guess- showed up the next day? Weird note saying they were the last one ever and that we couldn’t travel anymore?”

You nod. “Exactly. It was kind of creepy, honestly.” Aris’ gaze can’t seem to leave your face, like he’s afraid that the second he looks away you’ll get separated again. “Very creepy.” You glance around you. “Where are the others? You’re not the only survivor, right?” A sudden hurt pangs in your heart. You’ve gained so many friends in Aris’ Spring, but that means double the people to lose.

Thankfully, Aris shakes his head. “No, they’re alright. I wanted some peace and quiet, though.” You roll your eyes, unable to stop yourself. “Not every social interaction is terrible. Did you talk to Rachel, by the way?” Aris almost flinches at the name, and your smile falls. “No. Don’t tell me-” His mouth flattens into a thin line. “No, it’s true. Beth went mad and shot her. She was supposed to shoot me, but she didn’t.”

You tilt your head up, trying to fight back tears. “I’m so sorry, Aris. She was a good friend. The same thing happened to me, too. Chuck-” You can’t finish the sentence; the words choke your throat like ash. Aris looks horrified. “The little kid? So Gally shot him, he was Beth in your place, I guess. That’s terrible.” 

You force your shoulders to straighten. “There’s nothing we can do about it now. We lost a lot of people. Newt’s out, though, and Minho, Thomas, and Frypan. Few others, too.” Aris almost smiles. “That’s good. I was growing to enjoy Minho’s constant commentary.” You laugh at that. “Who doesn’t?”

A heartbeat later, Aris says something else, so quietly you almost wonder if he meant to say it at all. “I’m glad you got out, though. Really. With every new group of kids, I tried to find you, but you were never there. I was beginning to think that you weren’t going to make it out at all.” Out of some terrible and foolish instinct, you reach across the table to take Aris’ hand. He startles for a second, and then begins to trace his thumb almost absentmindedly over your fingers.

“I’m out, though. So are you. I get to meet you, which is crazy.” Aris’ lips quirk up in a smile. “No more crazy than waking up as me.” You sigh, eyebrow raised. “That’s true enough. It’s good to see that I’m not insane.” Aris glances from your hands, still interlaced, to you. “Only as insane as me.”

You smile. “That’s a fair deal. I’ve had a good time being you. Glad to actually have you here, though.” Aris nods slowly. “There are some strange things going on in this place. I’m not sure it’s all safe and sound.” You grimace. “I had a feeling something wasn’t right.” Aris sighs, but keeps his smile. “I’m not that worried, though.” You frown. “Why not?” 

Aris leans back slightly, allowing himself to look at you with a contented smile. This feels more like coming home than returning to the Glade after a day spent in the Spring, more perfect than surviving all of the Grievers. “Because I have you.” You have no idea what’s going to come your way, whether or not you’re truly safe or just in another world of trouble. For once, though, you know you have Aris. That’s worth everything.

maze runner tag list: rip aris sorry i keep bullying you for being shy  @rogueanschel​, @ellobruv-blog​, @lxncelot​, @neewtmas​

[heliads]

Long Way From Home (Part One)

You open your eyes one morning to find yourself not in your familiar Glade but an entirely different one. What’s more, you seem to be in the body of a boy named Aris. 

masterlist / part two

For a few moments before you wake up, you could pretend that you are anywhere else but here. When you keep your eyes shut, all you can hear is the distant sound of birds chirping, and you can feel a cool morning breeze drifting across your skin. If you try hard enough, you could make yourself think that you’re anywhere in the world. 

Then you hear a familiar shout telling all Gladers to get up and start the day lest they face the consequences, and your little vision is shattered. You sit up, grimacing at Alby’s sudden yell. “Does he have to be that loud this early in the morning?”

Beside you, you hear a quiet laugh. “Maybe it’s just you, Y/N. I mean, I’m fine with it.” You glance over your shoulder to see your friend Newt grinning at you from his hammock. For some reason, he’s already up and dressed. You pretend to glare at him. “We can’t all be morning people, Newt. Some of us are human.” He snorts. “Of course, I should have known. Now come on, Frypan’s making breakfast.” You cast one last tired glance at your pillow before forcing yourself to get up. “I can’t wait.”

You can’t help but look around you as you walk across the Glade. Even after the months you've spent walled up inside the Maze, it still stuns you sometimes, how normal all of this feels to you. Shouldn’t those massive walls bear down on you all the time, shouldn’t your shoulders tense with stress at the thought that you might never be more than a prisoner in this giant labyrinth?

All the same, though, when you see your friends talking and laughing, or take in the familiar ramshackle buildings, it doesn’t feel quite so bad anymore. Instead, it feels like home. A strange home, to be sure, but home nonetheless. 

When you sit down for dinner that night, you notice that your friends seem a little apprehensive. You glance over at them, frowning. “What happened? You guys seem like someone dropped a brick on your foot by accident.” Minho manages a half-laugh, but it doesn’t last for long. “The Maze was weird today. We kept hearing all these clicking noises, like something was going on. Plus, some of the guys say they’ve been seeing far more of those beetle blades than normal.”

Your brow furrows. “I saw them too. They’re practically everywhere.” Newt grimaces. “It doesn’t necessarily mean anything. You all could just be getting worked up over nothing.” Minho shrugs. “Maybe. The whole thing’s kind of weird, though. It feels like the Maze is almost getting ready for something.” 

His words hang in the air for a few moments before someone tells a joke to break the ice. Everyone laughs a little too hard to pretend that nothing’s wrong, but after that the smiles are easier to fake. All the same, you’re troubled by what Minho said. In the Maze, nothing is easy, and you don’t like the sound of something new happening. 

Maybe that stress sticks with you a little longer, and maybe that’s why you wake up earlier than usual the next day, before Alby or one of the other Gladers gets to shouting at the rest of you. You sit up slowly, blinking in the new light of dawn, and then freeze. 

Something is wrong. For the first few seconds, you swear that you can’t recognize anything at all. You’re in the Glade, sure, and the Maze is still there around you, but a few things are still unconditionally wrong. For one thing, the Homestead is not where it’s supposed to be, and instead a shorter, wider building takes up space in a different part of the clearing. And, you’re not in your hammock anymore, but waking up in some strange sort of lean-to that most definitely was not there when you went to sleep last night. Either the Builders are trying to learn construction in the dead of night, or-

Or you’re not in the Glade anymore. And, the more you look around, the more certain you become that this must be true. It is a Glade, certainly, but not yours. Not in the slightest. You shift slightly, trying to stand up, but almost fall. For some reason, you’re unsteady on your feet, like you’ve forgotten what it’s like to move in your body. The strange thing is, though, that when you look at your hands, they don’t look familiar either. There are freckles where there should be bare skin, smooth flesh where there should be calluses. It makes no sense. 

You rise slowly to your feet and take a few feet outside the protective cover of your lean-to. It’s well made, and the sudden thought occurs to you that you should tell Gally and the Builders about this. The only problem is that you have no idea how to find Gally and the Builders, because they most definitely are not here with you. 

You start forward, half stumbling and half walking, until you’re moving into the center of the Glade. You can see more lean-tos, each constructed to house another person. These people, though, are all girls. Every single one of them. Where are you? What could this place be?

Once you’re out of the range of the other girls, you find yourself drifting towards the edge of the woods. Back in your Glade, you would have called them the Deadheads, but here, you don’t even know. They could be the same trees, for all you know, but the fact that everything else is so different has you questioning so much as a stray blade of grass. 

Your feet take you deeper into the woods. You’re not even sure of where you’re going until you hear it: the gentle burble of water. There had been a creek somewhere in your woods, and when you see it here too, you almost laugh out loud in relief. 

Your laugh dries up instantly, though, when you catch sight of the face staring back at you from the water. It should be your reflection staring back at you, but it is wholly wrong. It’s a boy’s face, one with harsh cheekbones, a bird-like nose, and bright blue eyes underscored by dark, shadowy hollows that seem to stand out even against the lapis glass of the river. 

Your hand rises unconsciously to your head; so too does the hand of the boy in the water. It’s strange: he moves just as you do, and you can sense that he could be no one other than you, but it’s so very wrong that your throat almost wants to close up and choke you out of everything. You can remember this one time a few months ago when a hapless Track-hoe had been foolish enough to get stung by a cloud of wasps. He’d been miserable afterwards, with half his face swollen up, and he’d told you how strange it was to reach up and feel his face seem so utterly unlike his own. You hadn’t understood him then, but now you get it. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world, to not even know yourself. 

Soon, the thought comes over you that you’re going to have to do something. The day is steadily approaching, and soon dawn will be long gone. This boy whose body you now inhabit likely had a job, just like you had back in the Maze. You’re going to have to figure out how to survive here without giving yourself away. You can’t explain it, but some insistent voice inside you whispers that you must not be caught. For some reason, you know that you have to keep up the illusion of being this boy, even if you have no idea how to do that. 

A shout from behind you makes you jump. “Aris, is that you?” You don’t respond for a second, confused, but when the shout comes again you realize that they must be talking to you. You must be Aris, then. At least you have a name now. You turn around slowly to see a girl walking towards you through the trees. Her messy blonde hair is plaited behind her, and for a moment, she almost reminds you of Newt, what with the tired grin she wears when she greets you. Your heart twinges painfully in your chest when you think of all your friends back in the Glade. How are you supposed to reach them again?

By now, the girl has reached you and is looking at you quizzically. “Why are you up so early?” You’ve already messed up, then- this Aris boy must sleep in more than you did. You do your best to seem casual. “Couldn’t sleep. I thought I’d walk around a little.” The voice that scrapes from your throat is quiet and deeper than yours. You do your best not to react to it. 

The girl doesn’t seem to notice your hesitation. “I figured as much. Want to talk about it?” You shake your head a little too hastily. “I wouldn’t want to bother you with it.” The blond girl sighs, smiling at you. “You wouldn’t bother me, we’re friends. We’ve talked about this.”

So this girl is your- Aris’- friend? At least you can hang around her while you try to figure out what’s going on. This ends up being very helpful- over the course of the day, you find yourself relying on the blond girl for tasks as easy as remembering what your job is and where to go for meals. Through overheard greetings, you learn that her name is Sonya, along with a few other names of Aris’ friends. 

Through some blind twist of fate and a fair amount of luck, you manage to make it through the day without completely incriminating yourself. You did make a few mistakes, like having to fumble over names and slang that the other girls toss around. That, and you have no idea what this Aris guy is like as a person. A few times, you must have spoken too loudly or held back too little in a conversation, because you’re occasionally met with raised eyebrows and nervous laughs. Every time, though, you’re able to brush your slip ups off as not having enough sleep. Luckily, Sonya can confirm this, as she saw you up and wandering around at dawn. 

When night finally starts to fall, you head back to your lean-to with more than a little relief. At least now, when it’s dark and you’re alone, you can let yourself relax and stop thinking about this part you have to play. The sheer magnitude of what you have to do hits you now, and you slump down against the hammock you’re meant to sleep in. How are you supposed to keep this up if you have no idea what’s going on?

It just makes no sense. How could you possibly wake up in a completely different setting, and in a completely different body? Sure, living in a giant Maze was weird, but this is weirder. You want nothing more than to wake up back in your own hammock, one that is actually your size, and see your friends again. Hell, you’d even be delighted to see Gally trying to beat up another Greenie on Bonfire Night. 

It’s just that nothing seems right. At every turn, you're finding some given fact that’s been slightly altered to fit this new Glade. You feel like the ground has been pulled out from underneath you, and you’re left grasping for some way to stop from falling. 

You look around helplessly, as if searching hard enough will help you find some Exit Here sign to take you back home, and then you see it. Tucked in a corner of the threadbare blankets is something small and rectangular. You don’t know how you missed it earlier, but it looks like it’s been intentionally hidden. 

Sitting up slightly, you reach forward and grab it. It looks like a book of sorts, and when you begin to flip through the pages, you realize that it must be someone’s journal.  Aris’, actually. His cramped handwriting is scrawled all over the pages, sometimes dipping above or below the given lines in an attempt to get everything down. He’s talking about what he’s done every day, what he talked about with his friends, what new things he learned. 

As you read, you can feel yourself starting to smile, your worries slipping away from you. This is exactly what you needed- an instruction manual, of sorts, of how to be Aris. You read through carefully, and on the last page, you notice a pen clipped onto a fold of paper. An idea occurs to you, and you take the pen out, click it once to extend the job, and start to write on the first available page. 

You start off with your name. You mention how you woke up here in Aris’ body, how you spoke to Sonya and the others and did your best to blend in. You mention how strange it is to be in this place, where everything is not quite right and you’re never sure that you’re acting like Aris would. Before you know it, you’ve written a full page. 

At last, your sudden burst of inspiration leaves you, and you lean back again, strangely spent. You have no idea why you wrote all that, or who would ever read it, but you’re somehow glad you did it nonetheless. Maybe, through the impossible hope that you actually do manage to make it back home to your Glade, someone will read it and finally understand why Aris wasn’t quite acting like himself. It’s the best you can offer him. 

The night is fully upon you now, and it’s too dark to read anymore. You do your best to hide the journal the way it had been hidden before, then lie back and pull the worn blankets back over you. You have no idea what tomorrow will be like, if you’ll get any better at pretending to be Aris, but you can try. When you close your eyes, you can almost pretend that you’re back home in the Glade again. It’s surprisingly easy to fake. 

maze runner tag list: @rogueanschel​, @ellobruv-blog​, @lxncelot​, @neewtmas​

[heliads]

The Maze Runner Masterlist

Aris Masterlist

Gally Masterlist

Minho Masterlist

Newt Masterlist

Teresa Agnes

Confessions of a Judas Right Before the Kiss - Teresa knows what must be done for the Cure, for the world. Thomas doesn’t understand. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t, but Teresa won’t waste any more time trying to convince him. Oneshot

Thomas Masterlist

[heliads]

Newt Masterlist

Not Realizing Newt Was Crushing On You Would Include.. Headcanons

Foxes and Hounds - Based on this request: “Bridgerton AU. Reader, the diamond of the season, is the Duchess of Hastings. She wants to marry someone who likes her and isn’t after her money. Newt needs to marry to save his family’s reputation because his sister Sonya was seen alone with her fiancé Lord Aris before they were engaged.” Bridgerton AU

wckd is good / part two - Based on this request: “modern day AU one-shot where Newt is Venom and the female reader is Spider-Woman.” Marvel AU

What You See - Based on this request: “mordern au!newt whos readers classmate and reader fell for him because of how cute he is and they sit next to each other in class and reader keeps catching newt staring at them and its because he wants to ask them out” Imagine

Overnight - Based on this request: “during bonfire night reader had too many drinks from Gally, accidentally confesses to Newt. Newt gets flustered but reader is too drunk to go back to their own hammock so Newt carries reader and end up sharing a hammock.” Imagine

Survivors - Maze Runner x Hunger Games Crossover

Looking Up - Maze Runner x Top Gun Crossover

What It’s Like - Based on this request: “newt x reader where they’re in an established relationship in the Glade and during a bonfire night the boys ask newt questions about what it’s like to date reader. newt answers with the utmost sweetness. Reader overhears and fluff ensues!” Imagine

there is no other version of this story - Minho may be protected in the Safe Haven, but he’s never felt more alone. Newt is growing to realize that he will never exist in the Glade without something driving him away from peace. It is difficult to miss the one you love when you are separated by time. Based on the quote ‘someone has to leave first. this is a very old story. there is no other version of this story.’ Minewt Oneshot

Monopoly at Midnight - Based on this request: “modern au newt x reader? the gladers are playing monopoly and it turns into an all-nighter because Minho refuses to let anyone stop. during it, reader, being sleep-deprived, confesses her feelings for newt. in the morning reader doesn't remember but newt does and he confronts her?” Modern AU

Waking, Dreaming - Based on this request: “Newt x fem reader. The characters are high school students. Y/N and her parents move because her father got a new job. She joins Thomas, Newt, Minho, Gally, Alby, Teresa, and Brenda’s friend group. Thomas and Minho are on the boys’ basketball team. Sonya and Harriet are on the girls’ soccer team. Thomas is the valedictorian.” Modern AU

And We Will Try Again - Thomas thinks that watching Newt die will be the worst day of his life, and it is. It’s still the worst when he wakes up just to have to live through it again, and again, and again. He may not understand the time loop, but Thomas does understand this: having to lose Newt so many times is going to kill him. Newtmas Time Loop AU

Trouble and Consequence -  Based on this request: “newt fic with prompts 3 17 25 (‘You know, for a jumpscare to work you have to actually be scary,’ 'From the bottom of my heart, what the fuck,’ and 'Tell me you love me. I need to hear it just the once.’)” Imagine

The Jacket - Based on this request: “Prompts 29 and 33 (’You can say what you want about how you look, but [character]’s jaw literally dropped when they saw you, so clearly something is working.’ and ‘Is that my jacket?’) with Newt from TMR” Imagine

Who Could Stay - Based on this request: “Robin Hood AU, Newt x fem reader. Ava Paige is King John. Janson is the sheriff of Nottingham. Reader is Robin Hood. Thomas, Minho, Gally, and Chuck are the Merry Men. Newt is Marian. He’s a nobleman who the reader falls in love with.” Robin Hood AU

Dating Newt Would Include... Headcanons

Trials of Love Potions - Based on this request: “maze runner AU with the gang at hogwarts! newt x reader where they're both in hufflepuff. in potions they have to make amortentia and they smell each other” Harry Potter AU

Monstrous - Based on this request: “Newt x reader? Y/n has powers like Scarlet Witch, she’s made by WCKD. She was thrown into the maze. She trusted Newt the most. They never knew about her powers until Newt was going to kill himself but he got saved by y/n?” Imagine

Stuck Together - Based on this request: “Newt and Reader don't get along, deep down they care about each other, however they do think that one hates the other. One day they get stuck alone and share a moment, Newt asks why she hates him and Newt kisses her.″ Imagine

Choices - Based on this request: “Newt x Reader where they meet at wicked and then she escapes with newt (who doesn't have the flare) and they get to the safe haven and then they get together” Imagine

Alive - Based on this request: “reader’s the one that runs to help Minho in the maze at night. When she comes back, Newt is furious, because he was SO worried that he would lose her; he starts scolding her, but in the middle of the argument he sobs on her shoulder because he thought he would never see her again." Imagine

A Matter of Confidence - Based on this request: “Newt (tmr) where he likes reader but doesn't know what to do about it or how to deal with his feelings. Then he sees reader with someone else and he gets super sad. She talks to him and he admits what's happening″ Imagine

Safe and Sound - Based on this request: “reader is the first girl in the Glade. Some of the boys there were disrespectful. Newt is the sweetest of them all and the one she grew most attached to. She's everything to him but he doesn't think his feelings are reciprocated." Imagine

All This Time - Based on this request: “Newt x Reader where they're in the glade and reader comes up and is the first girl and everyone's kinda shocked and all and then Newt slowly falls for her but soon reader catches feelings too” Imagine

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. Imagine

How to Overcome - Based on this request: “Newt x reader in which she feels guilty over everyone they couldn't save and he comforts her? This is after they get out of the Maze or reach the Safe Haven. Newt is alive.” Imagine

Good For Now, Good Forever - Based on this request: “platonic newt & lesbian reader? just them being snarky smart dumbass friends together” Oneshot

Hope For The Best -  Based on this request: “Newt x Reader (TMR) // The reader gets the flare but so does her brother minho and newt panics” Imagine

Hoaxes and Hearts (Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) - Based on this request: “AU one-shot where Maze Runner characters are in Shadow & Bone. The pairing is Newt x female reader. Minho is Alina Starkov. Thomas is Mal Oretsev. Y/N L/N is Kaz Brekker. Teresa is Inej Ghafa. Newt is Jesper Fahey. He is Y/N’s boyfriend and a member of the Crows. Gally is the Darkling. Brenda is Genya Safin.” Multi-Part Grishaverse AU

The New Girl - You’ve been able to rely on Newt being there for you since the day you stepped foot in the Glade. Just when you’re about to gather up your courage and tell him how you really feel, another girl shows up in the Box. Imagine

Men and Tea - Based on this request: “newt fic with her using the “I like my men like I like my tea” and everyone’s staring at her until she says “hot and British” and newt is just like “hey I’m British” and she’s like “yeah i know” and he’s all blushy, flustered and cute?” Imagine

The Sting of Avoidance - Based on this request: “Newt x reader: they’re together and instead of thomas st*bbing himself with the griever needle, she does it instead and he gets worried about her” Imagine

Midnight Reassurances - Based on this request: “newt lives AU where him and reader have always had a thing between them but aren’t sure where they stand. one night he asks her to stay the night with him because he has nightmares of cranking out and they confess to each other?” Imagine

In the Long Run - Based on this request: “An AU where Newt is immune to the Flare. Fem reader ended up in the Glade soon after Alby and Newt. She became a runner/ the third-in-command, and she and Newt started dating.” Imagine

Being Miss Misery - Based on this request: “a fic with newt based off mr perfectly fine by taylor swift” Imagine

Never Trust Your Friends - Y/N might have feelings for Newt, the newly arrived blond runner. Newt might have feelings for Y/N, the second in command who’s been in the Glade longer than anyone except Alby. When Minho and Alby assign them both to work together on a project, they’re sure it won’t end well. Imagine

Rainstorm - Y/N and Newt have been best friends ever since she arrived in the Glade. However, she might find that her feelings over the blond boy have changed, especially after the events of a rainy day. Imagine

Into Thin Air -  Newt doesn’t know what to think after Y/N disappears one night in the Scorch. She’s nowhere to be found, until a few weeks later she shows up with the girls from Group B. The only problem is that she can’t remember who Newt is, and all Newt can remember is how much he loves her. Imagine

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. Imagine