#the maze of runner right arm

[justinewt]

Run Boy Run - TMR REWRITE Chapter Eight

[TMR REWRITE-MASTERLIST]

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Summary: Thomas, Grace and their friends had learned the hard way that not all of them were immune against the flare. This was a hard pill to swallow after they had been told they were and losing a friend after everything they already went through was really hard on them but they couldn’t stop. Not until they found the Right Arm, in the mountains. It was their goal but an unexpected storm pushed them further away from their original destination and they ended up in an abandoned building that wasn’t so abandoned actually. 

Words: 4.2k

Warnings: TMR Scorch Trials spoilers, tilte inspired from Woodkid’s song “Run boy Run”, some angst, lots of running, chasing, mention of blood and bruises

The group was still shaken by Winston’s death. They had walked across the desert in a heavy silence, dragging their feet in the sand, staring into space. There was something else on Grace’s mind, and probably on her brother’s as well. Teresa told them they should go back to WICKED, despite everything they did to all of them since they were children. None of the siblings could understand how she could say or even think something like this, as if WICKED was good after all; spoiler alert they knew it wasn’t true and it was unbelievable she would get over what they did so easily. Something really must have happened when they took her away. While they didn’t have much time to do anything to Grace beside from filling vials with her blood, they really messed with her to change her mind so quickly, but Teresa came with them anyway, not turning back. It would be unthinkable for Grace and Thomas to go back in any case. Grace tried to shake those thoughts off. Before night fell, they had found refuge in a bunch of large containers next to a collapsed ship in ruins in the desert. They were all sitting around the campfire while Aris put some more wood in it. The silence that hung over them was broken by Minho.

“I thought we were supposed to be immune.”

“Not all of us, I guess.” Teresa said, lying down against her bag, staring into the dancing flames of the fire.

“If Winston can get infected… we should assume so can the rest of us.” Grace glanced at Newt as he spoke. Maybe this was true, maybe none of them were actually immune to the flare. She frowned, thinking. It didn’t make sense that none of them were immune because if that was the case, they wouldn’t have bothered to take more of her blood after they already took some when they first got there. There was something that they wanted, at least in her blood, and if so, definitely in her brother’s as well. This was another reason not to go back. She didn’t want to be a rat lab.

“I never thought I’d say it…” Siggy had a tear rolling down his cheek. He paused, gathering his thoughts and words. “I miss the glade.”

The other kept quiet. At least in the glade, they had four walls around them and a whole system they built from scratch over the span of a few years. Grace had only been there for a couple months before her brother turned up, and then Teresa, and then things went south. She found herself wondering if any of the gladers that remained there were still alive today, if they made it out. Gally had been left dead in the old WICKED place that they were rescued from. Grace remembered this crazy look he had in his eyes when he threatened Thomas but Minho killed him, before they realized he had hit Chuck instead of Thomas. This was a sad day for all of them. They didn’t stick around long after they went to sleep and started walking again at sunrise. After a mostly sleepless night, they looked like zombies walking in line on top of the dunes, but they had to keep going if they wanted to find these Mountain men, or Right Arm, or whaterver they were called. Grace walked, letting her eyelids close heavily every now and them, swallowing harshly. The sun was hitting hard today, taking a toll on seven of them. They didn’t even have any water left. Minho tried drinking from his gourd, but nothing came out and he threw it away in frustration. They walked under the sun all day without ever stopping and they just slept directly on the ground, curled up. Grace woke up from a nightmare that ended with her screaming at the top of her lungs and upon opening her eyes and sitting up suddenly, she looked around quietly, to see if she had in fact screamed but no one moved and she sighed in relief, rubbing her eyes and yawning. After trying to get back to sleep but bein unsuccessful, she just stared at the sky and saw a thunder storm brewing in the thick clouds, far away from where they were. When she heard her brother’s jacket rubbing against the ground as he moved, she leaned on her elbow and looked in his direction, seeing in her peripheral vision lights in the distance. Their eyes met as he tried to wake the others. She realized what those lights could be the urgency in her brother’s voice and joined him in getting the other to wake up. They might be closer to the Right Arm then they thought when going to sleep.

“You see that?” Thomas enquired, breathing loudly, as if he was checking if what he was seeing was indeed real. And it was, all of them could see the lights in the distance. “It’s lights. We made it.”

That’s the moment the storm decided to make its entrance, turning their heads with a jump upon hearing the thunder. They stood there, watching the lighting strike a first time before picking up their bags in a hurry, urged by Thomas. They then started running as fast as they could with the thunder on their heels. They scampered towards the lights, fearing the lighting would hit them if they didn’t keep moving. Grace hadn’t thought much of the lighting she saw when she woke up and now regretted it. She had never seen lighting before. If she had realized it would turn into this, threatening their lives, she would have woken everyone up herself and told them about it. The last time she ran for her life, they had grivers coming for them, now it was thunder and they couldn’t fight it off with spears this time. They were getting closer to the abandoned building with the lights on when a lightning struck a car nearby and violently sent Minho flying to the ground. Grace was further away so she only lost her balance, falling down but she was all right. Newt instinctively helped her up and they looked at their friend. Thomas had fallen as well but he was already standing up and they rushed to help him get Minho to safety. The latter was lying still, passed out. Aris and Newt took care of him and Thomas grabbed Grace’s arm, dragging her along with them as she looked with wide eyes at the sparks coming out of the car. Siggy held them the door, urging them to get inside and he shut it right after Thomas and Grace stepped in.

“Put him down.” Thomas spoke. “Watch his head. Who’s got a light?” There was a click and the beam from Newt's flashlight illuminated Minho as they tried to wake him up, vigorously shaking him and calling his name. It took a moment for them to get a reaction from him and they all sighed in relief when he rolled his head to the side, taking a breath, coming back to his senses. “Here you are. Are you okay?”

“What happened?” Minho asked.

“I think you got struck by lightning.”

“Wow.” He breathed out. They then got him up carefully. Grace and Teresa looked around but it was so dark they couldn’t see a thing. The two frowned when they noticed the strange smell floating in the air and glanced at each other in disgust, having no idea what it was.

“What’s that smell?” Teresa wondered out loud. Grace slowly walked past her and suddenly stepped back with a shout after a crank jumped at her out of nowhere. He grabbed her forearm, growling at her and she gritted her teeth, yanking on it and losing her balance when she got him to let go, letting out a scream as she fell and crawled back with haste, scraping the sand on the ground with the sole of his shoe. Thomas helped her up, grabbing her by the shoulders when suddenly, another crank appeared from behind them and Grace squinted her eyes, realizing the cranks were chained, meaning they couldn't actually get to them. One after the other, more cranks revealed themselves. They were over a dozen, chained all over the place.

“I see you’ve met our guard dogs.” A female voice rose in the distance and a figure loomed in a doorway, light turning on behind her. Her face was his by the dark as she walked, avoiding the grip of the cranks with ease. It seemed like she was used to this and didn’t care about it all. The girl came up to them. Grace first thought upon seeing her was that she was pretty and seemed to be around the same age as her, with short dark hair and dark eyes which made the whites seem to glow brightly. She was, by a few inches, shorter than Grace. She looked at them with some sort of amusement in her round eyes. “You guys look like shit. Come on. Follow me.” She started walking away while they were still holding up their flashlight, practically glued to each other, on the alert. Raising her eyebrows, she looked at them. “Unless you want to stay here with them.”

Looking at each other and at the chained cranks around them from the corner of their eyes, they eventually decided to follow her. She led them through the abandoned building. No one said a word until they came in a huge room with lights hanging from the ceiling and at a least a few dozen people around. They slowed down their pace, looking around and the girl addressed them.

“Come on, keep up. Jorge wants to meet you.” They climbed a flight of stairs, Thomas walking right behind the girl.

“Who’s Jorge?”

“You’ll see.” She said, just glancing at him over her shoulder. They walked down a large hallway. Fires were lit in metal barrels here and there, people standing nearby, just staring at them with curiosity. “No one’s come out of the Scorch in a long time. You’ve just got him curious. And me, too.”

“Anyone else starting to get a bad feeling about this place?” Newt wondered in a low voice, almost whispering. Grace looked behind them, not really reassured either upon seeing a bunch of people following the group with smiles on their faces. After the trip to the WICKED facility, anywhere else was better but not knowing where you had ended up and what was going to happen wasn’t nice either. She tried looking straight ahead and kept walking.

“Let’s just hear him out. See what he has to say.” Thomas told them. After climbing another flight of stairs, they reached a sort of office and a man was sitting at a table, his back turned to the teenagers. The girl addressed him, and he rose his finger, saking for silence. He was focused on a radio station installed in front of him, carefully turning the buttons left and right, mumbling under his breath. Outside, the thunder was still going strong. The people that followed them there went to stand in the background, and Grace could tell she wasn’t the only one feeling trapped. Jorge eventually turned around, hands on his hips and he stared at the 7 teenagers.

“Do you ever get the feeling the whole world’s against you?” He enquired bluntly. The teenagers looked at each other in confusion and the man pursued. “Three questions. Where did you come from?” He proceeded to pour himself a drink. He seemed to be quite a character. “Where are you going? How can I profit?” As they kept quiet, a little unsettled, he added; “Don’t all answer at once.”

“We’re headed for the mountains. Looking for the Right Arm.” Thomas eventually said quietly. The people around them exchanged looks and the girl who met them among the cranks even frowned.

“You’re looking for ghosts, you mean.” He took a sip of his liquor. “Question number two. Where did you come from?”

“That’s our business.” Minho declared after a glance from Thomas. Jorge didn’t like that answer. He shrugged, pouting and two of his men grabbed Thomas and Minho, forcing them onto their knees and others held their friends back. Grace struggled a bit, but she wasn��t strong enough to fight them off. The girl took something on a table and scanned the back of his neck. The men then let the two teenage boys stand back up and the girl looked at Jorge, as if she had found out something incredible.

“You were right.” He put his glasses on his nose and she handed him the device.

“Right about what? What is she talking about?” Thomas asked, confused. Jorge chuckled, looking up at him.

“I’m sorry, hermano. Looks like you’re tagged. You came from WICKED.” He accused. “Which means… you’re very valuable.”

“Good plan, Thomas. “Just hear what the man has ot say.” Really working out for us.” Minho taunted bitterly, arms dangling beside his head as he and the rest of them had been hanged upside down above the void. The turn of events had been truly unexpected. Like Newt, Grace had felt there was something off about this place but never in her wildest dream did she think this Jorge would hang them by their feet.

“Shut up, Minho. Maybe I can reach the rope.” He tried to throw his torso upwards but let his body just fall back down with a grunt when Jorge’s voice rose.

“Enjoying the view?”

“What the hell do you want?”

“That is the question.” He walked up to the edge, and stood right in front of Thomas, some sort of stick in his hand. “My men want to sell you back to WICKED. Life has taught them to think small. I’m not like that. Something tells me that you’re not either.”

“Is the blood rushing to my head or is this shank not making any sense?” Minho wondered. Jorge barely glanced at him, pointing at Thomas with his cane.

“Tell me what you know about the Right Arm.”

“I thought you said they were ghosts.” Newt commented, frowning.

“I happen to believe in ghosts. Especially when I hear them chattering on the airwaves. You tell me what you know, and maybe we can make a deal.” He put his hand on the lever of the pulley around which the rope had been wound. Thomas shook his head.

“We don’t know much.” And this was the truth, but Jorge didn’t buy it and pushed the lever forward a notch. They let out loud gasps as the rope made them fall a little lower.

“Okay! Okay, all right. They’re hiding in the mountains. And they attacked WICKED. They got out a bunch of kids.” Thomas exclaimed. “That’s it. That’s all we know.” Jorge took a step forward, parting his lips as he was about to speak when someone came up to him, glancing at the teenagers hanging down.

“Yo, Jorge. What’s going on?”

“Me and my new friends were just getting acquainted. We’re done now.” He stared down at Thomas.

“Hey, wait. You’re not gonna help us?”

“Don’t worry, hermano. We’ll get you back to where you belong. Hang tight.” On these words he just walked away, and they were left there, even more in the dark regarding Jorge’s intentions with them. Grace feared he would really sell them back to WICKED, setting them back in their trip to the mountains as they would have to escape from their grip again, if they even managed to do so, or if he would consider making a deal with them and setting them free. She hoped he would choose the second option. If they went back, there was almost no chance that they would make it out again, but they would try hard anyway. After a while, they started dangling around and swinging in the void, pushing each other to try and get one of them to reach the lever. They pushed Teresa and she held out her hand, but it was too far away. Minho grunted in frustration. They kept on trying and she eventually got a hold of the railguard in front of the pulley. They cheered briefly, urging her to hurry up before someone came in on them trying to set themselves free. She pulled the lever down, making her friends fall lower. She sat on the edge and untied her feet. She then helped Thomas and once on his feet he helped Teresa get the others free as well. They could already hear an engine rumble loudly outside the building and knew it was WICKED as soon as they recognized Janson’s voice, but they couldn’t be caught. They had to get away, with or without Jorge’s help.

“Okay, let’s go. Let’s go.” Thomas looked at his friends as they were heading for the door when a man stood in their way, holding them at gunpoint. He stepped towards them, slowly. “We’re not trying to cause any trouble, okay? We just got to get out of here.”

“Is that so?” He smirked, showing a vacant space were a teeth should have been and he held up a walkie-talkie to his ear. “Janson, I got ‘em for ya. I’m bringing ‘em down. Don’t shoot us.” He then addressed the teenagers again, but they weren’t moving at his command. “Come on. Let’s go. I said let’s go.”

Thomas suddenly grabbed his gun, aiming the cannon at the ceiling and a shot went off. He struggled against the man, headbutting him which caused the latter to lose his balance and recoil with a grunt, his head bent forward after the impact but after staggering a bit, he came back to them, and again threatened them with his weapon but now, he was pissed off. The seven of them jumped when they heard a shot rang out in the room and Thomas probably thought, for a second, that he was the one who had been shot but then the man lowered his arm and his body crashed to the floor, revealing the girl that welcomed them here right behind him. They looked at the man’s corpse in shock but eventually followed her out of the room when she spoke, urging them to come along. Thomas grabbed his sister’s arm and he started running, joined in by the others. As they stepped out, Grace kind of glanced over her shoulder, trying to keep up with Thomas and she briefly saw Teresa just standing there, looking at something on the floor. She frowned in confusion as it stirred a lot of questions in his head but she soon taken out of her thoughts. They climbed a flight of stairs in a haste, joining Jorge in his office as a music started to play through the louspeakers around the place.He called the girl by her name; Brenda.

“We don’t have much time! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” He led them to a double door with glass so dirty they couldn't see through it until Jorge pushed it open and revealed a zipline.

“Oh, you gotta be kidding me.” Siggy declared.

“Plan B, hermano. You kids wanna get to the Right Arm? I’ll lead you to them. But you’re gonna owe me.” He then hung onto a cord tightly and jumped out, going down the zipline.

“All right! Let’s go!” Brenda pulled a cord and Thomas his friends to go. Minho and Aris were the first to follow Jorge’s lead. Grace felt her brother's grip loosen as he pushed her to grab a cord, right after Newt and she closed her eyes for a second as she felt the ground give way under her feet and the wind blowing furiously through her hair. Pon the other end of the zipline, Newt was there to catch her and she let go of the cord. Teresa joined them and once she reached them, they looked back for Thomas and Brenda, but no one was there. Grace stared anxiously at the empty zipline but eventually, Jorge refused to wait much longer and he led them away. Newt grabbed her shoulder to make her her follow them and they heard the building fall apart behind them.

They walked all night, almost without ever stopping and made their way to the Underneath, a series of underground tunnels that led through the whole city where they would find a man named Marcus, according to Jorge. So, for now, it was their destination. Grace was quiet the entire time, worried sick for her brother. She hated being separated from him and hoped that he and Brenda would make it and meet up with them at this Marcus’ place. They eventually stopped to take some rest and eat something but after a moment of peace, cranks were heard in the distance so they quickly packed up and left, not langering around any longer. They then started to walk through the city above ground. The group looked around at the people in the street, dressed in dirty clothing and looking tired and worn out. Some of them were wrapped in scarves and coats, grilling food over fires they started inside metal barrels. Avoiding staring at them, Grace just looked down as they walked. They reached a club where they found the man named Marcus. Not long after they got there, they found Thomas and Brenda, drugged up in the club. Thomas was lying on the ground as Grace and Teresa rushed towards him. He was then brought in another room upstairs. The two girls waiting for him to wake up. After a moment, he opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling before Teresa’s voice caught his attention and he looked at her, coming back to himself.

“Hey, you’re okay. Hi.” She gave him a sweet smile. Grace was right next to her and was relieved to see her brother safe and sound. “We have to stop meeting like this.”

“Welcome back, you ugly shank.” Minho leaned over their shoulders. Thomas then tried to sit up, helped by Teresa, squinting his eyes at the sunlight which dazzled him a bit as he had just woken up and he saw Brenda sitting on a couch while Jorge threatened Marcus into talking. He punched him in the face and Thomas stood up and went next to Newt, staring at the two men in the middle of the room. Grace watched, standing beside Minho.

“You’re going to have to leave my house.” Marcus said with difficulty.

“Listen. I don’t enjoy hurting you. Okay?” Jorge assured, shaking his head. “Where is the Right Arm, Marcus?”

“Wait, this is Marcus?” Thomas enquired, confused.

“The kid catches on quick. Are you the brains of the operation?” He spoke with mockery and too much arrogance for someone who was tied up and whose face was bloody and bruised. Jorge shut him up by grabbing him firmly by the hair, pulling his head against the back of the chair.

“I know you know where they’re hiding. So you tell me, and I’ll make you a deal.” He let go of his head, shrugging. “You can come with us.”

“I burned that bridge a long time ago. Besides, I make my own deal. You’re the one who taught me, never miss an opportunity.” He smiled and laughed.

“What’s he talking about?” Newt asked, frowning.

“I’m talking about supply and demand. WICKED wants all the Immunes they can get. I help provide that for them. So I lure the kdis in… they get drunk, they have a good time. And then, later, WICKED comes in… they separate the wheat from the chaff.” He looked pleased with himself and his little story.

“I changed my mind, hermano. I do enjoy hurting you.” Jorge violently kicked him, sending him to the floor in a grunt and pulled out a gun. He crouched down over him, holding the gun to his head, yelling at him to talk. Marcus quickly gave in to the threats.

“Okay! Jesus! But I’m not making any promises. These guys like to move around.” Minho helped Jorge lift him back up and he caught his breath before pursuing. “They have an outpost in the mountains. But it’s a long way. You got half of WICKED on your ass. You’re never gonna make it.”

“Not on foot.” Grace could hear the smirk on Jorge’s face. The latter then leaned towards him. “Where’s Bertha?”

“Not Bertha.” He whined, his lips shaking but Jorge didn’t care about his feelings. As he stated just a second ago, he did enjoy hurting him. Bertha was actually just a car, Marcus’ car and they set out for the mountains on board it. Now that they knew where they could find the Right Arm, they only had to make it there before WICKED could track them down because if Marcus was questioned by them, he would most likely snitch on them, especially after the mistreatment he suffered at Jorge’s hands. Mistreatment he deserved but he looked like the kind of guy who would make themselves the victim of any story.

[To be continued…]  

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Published (12/26/2022) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405​ @kika64

[star--anon]

what might've made the train scene in Death Cure just a little more fun was them trying to save all the carts using the Berg (or, probably, multiple Bergs) and one of the carts snaps off its lil' train-connecty thingie

the rescue group is so confused because why are the guards shooting at the train carts and not at the Berg?? these guys are idiots

a cart snaps off but nobody notices (kinda hard to notice when you're literally hanging from a helicopter)

Janson's like "lmao dw about the rest of the Immunes we lost. We'll get 'em back when the entire force of the Right Arm comes for that one cart that we managed to save."

or maybe he gets mad at how many Immunes he lost and straight-up backhands Minho or smth. violent Janson was such a treat in Death Cure

idk I just can't see any of the characters in Maze Runner agreeing to only save Minho's cart when all the other carts containing literal children about to be tortured were right there in their hands

[dame-nervy]

Gladers are WCKD - Chapter 13

I awoke later to the sound of the door opening, surprising myself that I had fallen asleep at some point, though it was probably due to boredom. Not a lot to do while sitting in a chair in a mostly empty room. I had tried to escape for a while but the bounds proved to be extremely well tied, leaving barely any moving room and no give even after what felt like an hour of pulling.

I looked up to see Clint and the other Medjack walking in, Clint dragged a stool in with one hand and carried the medic bag in the other, while a bowl of food and a drink were in the hands of the still currently unnamed guy. “Well, come right in then.” I said, groggy in my sarcasm as Clint put the stool right in front of me. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn real quick to keep your mouth shut.” Clint warned, sitting on the stool as the other gave me a look out of the corner of his eye as he put the food on the table.

“Shaking in my boots, oh wait, they’re over there.” I said sarcastically as I directed my head towards my pile of belongings, only to have my head pulled back around to face Clint as he looked at my face, thumb gently touching the scar on my lip, causing me to hiss in pain, glaring at him as I unsuccessfully attempted to pull my head away. “Are ya right there? Wicked doesn’t teach about personal space either?” I bitterly remarked, him frowning at me. “We should feed her to the Grievers and be done with this.” Clint said dropping my face before unwrapping the bandages around my hands. “Don’t joke about that.” the other Medjack cut in quickly, giving a pointed look at Clint. “Just saying, send her off into the mountain and be done with this problem. Ointment.” Clint said nonchalantly as he held out his hand. “Grievers what you call your other victims?” I taunted them as I fished for information. There had always been rumours about people never coming out of Dead Head Mountain, but it was always assumed that it was Wicked’s doing. “They’re the monsters that reside in the mountain.” The nameless Medjack answered after a couple moments of silence that were broken up by me hissing as Clint put the cream on my cut-up hands. He needs to work on his bedside manner. “I thought they were called Gladers.” I said with a glare as I looked at Clint. He gave me an unamused look as he started rewrapping my hand, stopping after he tied it to look at my wrist. “Couldn’t pull yourself out?” He smirked as he saw the irritation on my skin. I could only glare at him as he started with my other hand, going through the same motions as the room fell silent.

The metal screech snapped our attention to the door to see yet another boy, this one seeming younger than the others, probably in his late teens. His hair was dark brown and curly, face a little pudgy with freckles, and just to offset his youthful face was how he was easily taller than both other men in the room. “Chuck, you’re not meant to be here.” Clint said immediately as he stood up and turned to him. “You’re needed.” He says hesitantly, giving me a cautious look. Clint only sighed before turning to the other man in the room. “Jeff, finish up and make sure she eats.” Jeff! Finally! That’s his name. “Will do.” Jeff gave a nod as Clint and young, tall boy Chuck left together. Jeff comes over to me and finishes wrapping my hand, not saying anything just getting on with it. He then moved on to looking at me for a few moments before taking out a Q-tip and applying ointment to it before lifting it up to my face. I immediately pulled back, causing him to frown. “Stay still.” He told me as he grabbed my face - not unlike Clint had - and held me still as he worked his way putting ointment on scars I hadn’t even seen. “You mumble in your sleep.” His sudden statement threw me off. He wasn’t looking me in the eyes as he had yet to finish his current task on my forehead, but when he did he held eye contact so intensely-calm that I felt the need to reply. “So do a lot of people. It’s called sleep talking.” I told him in a condescending manner. He seemed unperturbed as he added the Q-tip to the pile of ointment covered material on the ground and gently held my arm as he started tending to the few scars there. “Don’t know of many people that dream about begging to be let go of.” He gave me a look, like he knew something, but even if he did, there was no way I was gonna say it out loud and confirm it. “It’s quite common for people being held captive. Shouldn’t you know that?” I quipped back. Jeff gave me a look as though he was starting to find me tedious, being a little less gentle as he swapped arms, causing me to hiss at him. “You act like you know a lot.” He remarked as he finished up, picking up the items he and Clint had used. “Maybe I do. Maybe I don’t. Maybe I just know people that know things. Maybe I don’t know anyone.” I felt like I was speaking in riddles with a smug smirk on my face. The annoyance in his eyes was clear now, he stood off the stool, towering over me. He leaned down, coming in close to my ear as I attempted to keep some semblance of distance between us. He stopped me by grabbing a hold of my neck - not hard but firm - keeping me in place as his form seemed to encompass me, and though I wasn’t claustrophobic I was certainly feeling it now. He stopped us like that for a few minutes, breathing next to my ear as I tried and failed to keep my cool, to show I was unbothered. But there was a moment when I lost it, I faltered, and I felt his smirk on my ear as he spoke “I don’t know if you think you’re being cute or smart, but either way, we will find out who you are, what you’re hiding, and who you’re working with. If you have any sense of self preservation, you’ll start talking the next time you’re asked.”

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[rainydaydreamsideblog]

(The Maze Runner) Imagine: He Protects You

It can be dangerous, especially for the only girl in the Glade.

Warnings: Guys being creeps in the Glade (nothing graphic), bullying, the Maze, danger.

. . .Thomas. . .

It’s a beautiful evening in the Glade.  You’re walking straight along the treeline on your way to run a final errand for Alby at the end of the day.  The sun is no longer visible, as it already descended far enough to be blocked by the walls.

Suddenly, you get the creeps.  It was hard to explain, but you feel goosebumps bloom along your skin, and you get the distinct feeling that you’re not alone.  The lovely glow of the bonfire is in your field of vision, but it’s so far away. It’s where most of the guys are gathered.  You can hear their distant whoops and hollers, reminding you that help is far away too.

A twig snaps, and your suspicions are confirmed.  There’s a figure following several feet behind you, lurking in the shadows cast from the trees above.

So, you veer off your original path to draw closer to the homestead where there would hopefully be someone who hadn’t made it to the bonfire yet.  Whoever it was must have caught on to what you were doing because they instantly pick up their pace.  You begin to hurry, increasing your speed so that they can’t catch you before you make it to what you hope will be a haven of safety.

Your heart is pounding, and your chest heaving with panicked breaths as you finally make it to the homestead.  

“Hello?” you call frantically.  

Suddenly, Thomas appears.  He sees your nervous state immediately, his hand taking yours.  But then his eyes lock onto something behind you, and he moves right past you to intercept your pursuer, effectively blocking them from you.

“What’s going on?” he demands.  Your follower is frozen to the spot, stuttering, failing miserably to offer up some sort of explanation.  Thomas steps forward, towering over the guy.  It’s plain to see that he is furious.  His forearms flex and his jaw is clenched.  You can hear his angry breaths as he speaks again.  “That’s what I thought.  Now, get out of here.”

As soon as the guy is gone, Thomas turns around to face you.  His close presence eases your fearful state when he steps into your space, filling your nose with his scent. “You okay?” he asks gently.

You manage a nod.

“We’re going to tell Alby right away.  This isn’t going to happen to you again.  Come here…” He carefully pulls you into his arms for an embrace, as if you’ll break apart if he’s too sudden. You bury your face in his chest, breathing a sigh of relief.  His heartbeat is close to your ears, like a lullaby.

“Thank you…” you whispered.

. . . Newt . . .

You couldn’t take it anymore.

The teasing, the taunts… The inability of certain individuals to just leave you alone.  Ever since you’d rejected him, Allan had made it his life’s mission to make your existence in the Glade all the more difficult.

Most recently, he had purposely bumped into you at lunchtime so that your meal was spilled all over your clothes and onto the ground.  Resources were limited in the Glade.  It was understood that wastefulness wouldn’t be tolerated.  You couldn’t afford to lose food or have clothing ruined.  Fortunately, your clothes would be fine after a wash, but the discarded food was a different story.

You dab at your tank top with a washcloth and pause to look at your reflection in the mirror.  It was all too easy to recall how quickly you’d reached your limit after Allan’s ridiculous ploy.  Your face is still wet from crying, eyes puffy, and lips parted as you took deep breaths.

There’s no use crying over spilled milk, you thought. Or in my case, spilled lunch.

After composing yourself, you decide it’s time to go back out there and face the music. You toss the damp rag aside and march determinedly out of the empty washroom.  To your surprise, you smack right into another individual coming in.  You instantly recognize the blonde hair and grumbles of complaint as he reels from the collision.

“Oi, shank, watch where you’re going-”  Newt quickly realizes it’s you and clamps his mouth shut, extending his hands to each of your shoulders to steady you gently.  He takes in the sight of your tear-stained face with his eyes showing clear concern.  “Hey, what’s gotten into you?”

“Oh, just… Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Newt looks far from convinced, and you lower your gaze.  He’s about to inquire further, but a familiar voice sounds from outside the washroom.

“Hey, _______!” Allan calls tauntingly, making you freeze up.  “How’s it going in there?”

Newt’s eyes instantly flash, and his face scrunches up anger.  You can hardly believe it when Allan continues.

“Sorry about my clumsiness earlier.  Maybe I can make it up to you.  Come on out before I go in there!”

Newt can’t contain himself anymore.  He turns on his heel and heads out of the washroom, and you follow behind just to see the look on Allan’s face when he realizes he’s been caught.

It is so worth it.  Allan’s stupid grin falls hard into a look of horror as the Second-in-Command approaches him furiously.  He doesn’t lay a hand on him, but he looks like he’s awfully close when he jabs a pointer finger in his direction.

“If I ever catch you bothering her, or even breathing in her general direction again, you’ll be a permanent Slopper for the rest of your time here in the Glade.  Do you understand, shank?”

Allan nods quickly, and doesn’t even wait to be dismissed.  He just hurries away, leaving you and Newt both standing there watching him flee.

“Coward,” he mumbles.  Then, Newt turns to you, resting a hand on your arm in a comforting gesture.  “I mean it, you know.  He’ll never bother you again.”

. . . Minho . . .

It’s hard not to panic when you glance up and can no longer see the sun above you. It’s the end of the day, and you’re nearly out of time.  The lightning pain that shoots through your ankle suddenly just becomes too much.  You lean against one of the ivy-covered walls and exhale.

“I don’t think I’m going to make it,” you say aloud, and the words weigh heavily on you.  You mentally scold yourself.  You can’t afford to think that way.  A Runner knows better.  With a wince, you continue limping on your way.  It’s not that the exit from the Maze isn’t close.  If memory serves you right (which it did), it wasn’t too far at all… but at your pace, it would take a lot of effort and some good luck to get you back in time.

Just when you are about to give up again, you hear footsteps rapidly approaching.  Your first thought is that perhaps your cowardly companion had a change of heart, but the footsteps didn’t match.

“Hello?” you call.

“_________!” Minho’s voice responds, and your heart swells with hope.  You aren’t out of the woods just yet, but your chances were much better with help. Minho nearly slides to a stop in front of you, instantly taking your arm and putting it around his broad shoulders to help you up.  There is no time to stop and compare notes, so you update him as he begins helping you back along the path.

“I sprained my ankle.” You hold onto Minho like he’s your lifeline as you push through the pain to keep up with his pace.  He’s right to go so fast.  Time is running out.

“Where’s Derek?” he asks with a grunt.

“He…he left me,” you gasp in pain.  “I think he was worried he wouldn’t make it out in time if he helped me.”

Minho goes quiet for a moment, and you can practically feel the anger rolling off him in waves.  His eyes are focused straight ahead at the path, and he huffs.  Finally, he bites out a sarcastic comment. “I think it’s safe to say that he’s getting demoted from being a Runner.”

You keep talking, trying to distract the both of you from the familiar groan of the Maze walls shifting.  “Why did you come out here?”

“Because it was getting late in the day, and no one had seen you,” he pants.  “Usually, you check in with me right away.  I knew something had to be wrong.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.”

You continue limping with all your might toward the gate, feeling your heart jump, as the walls on either side begin their agonizingly slow crawl to a close.  There’s a small group standing on the other side, ushering you both out anxiously.  It was mostly Keepers, a select few who had been informed of the problem by Minho.

The two of you fell onto the green grass, gasping for breath, while the others surrounded you.  Alby knelt down beside you, resting a hand on your shoulder.  You just let yourself breathe, tears welling up in your eyes from relief.

“So it’s true?” Gally questioned, brows raised.  “Derek left her in there.” “Yes,” Minho replied, sitting up.  “And he will face the consequences.”  He looked over at you, finally catching his breath.  “You’re safe now.”

. . . Gally . . .

James had been haunting your steps for far too long.  He was always there, always hanging around, and sometimes showing up at the most alarming of instances.  What could be done about it?  It wasn’t as if he’d taken severe enough action to warrant disciplinary measures, you thought.  He was only ever seen staring at you, smirking, and just being an all-around jerk at times.

This time, he’d snatched your tools away from your working station while your back was turned. After uncovering a particularly tough old root, you turned around to get a spade to chop it up, only to see that your things were gone.

A few laughs caught your attention, and you glanced over to see James and one of his shadows standing there, staring at you from several feet away.  You couldn’t say for certain, but it seemed like they had something to do with your missing tools.

So, now you’re debating with yourself on the best course of action.  Do you ignore him and try to rustle up some extra tools from Newt or Zart?  Or do you bother to give this shank the attention he’s so desperately seeking to get your stuff back?

You don’t really like the latter option.  Frankly, James gives you the creeps. The last thing you want is to play his little game… But every minute that you spend deliberating is wasted time that could be put towards helping the Glade.

As much as you despise indulging him, you find yourself marching right over to his work area.  Both James and his minion are laughing in amusement, shoving each other at the sight of you approaching.

“Do you know where my tools went?” you ask, pinching the bridge of your nose.

“I might,” James replies cryptically.  “And I might be willing to strike up a bargain for that information.”

You fold your arms across your chest.  “What could you possibly want?”

“Ohh, I don’t know…Perhaps a kiss will do.”

You make a face as the disgust hits you.  “Seriously?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?”

“Yeah, that’s going to be a ‘no’ for me.”  You wave off the concept, turning around.  You decided that your best bet is to find some spare tools.  This just wasn’t worth all the trouble.  Just as you start to leave, James comes running around to block you.

“Hey now, I didn’t say you could go.”

“Yeah, you might want to think about his offer,” James’ lackey said from behind you.  The two of them close in, and you clench your fists in preparation to fight.  If you make enough commotion, you’re sure that someone will notice and come to your aid.

You give him one last chance.  “Let me pass.”

“Come on, just one kiss.  Unless you want more than one after that-” to your relief, James is cut off by a new voice interjecting.

“What’s going on here?” The three of you turn to see Gally standing there, sweating from whatever project he was working on,with dirt and wood shavings on his clothes.  His expression looks expectant as he waits for an explanation, though his tall and bulky form makes him appear positively dangerous as he stares the two guys down with his hands resting on his hips.

“I, uh.. We…”  They break off in stutters and fumbled words.

“I’m fairly certain they have my tools,” you say, and Gally’s famous arched brows raise at the two guys in disbelief.

“Is that so?” As Gally walks forward, he plants his palms harshly on James’ shoulder, shoving him clear out of the way. James stumbles unceremoniously, almost falling straight into the grass.  Gally walks over to the bench and pauses.  He picks up a bundle of leather and tosses it to you, the tools rattling inside.  “Are those yours?”

You recognize it immediately.  “Yes, these are the ones.”

“You shanks had better never even speak to her again.  Understand?” He stares at each of them pointedly with all the authority of a Keeper, and they both nod.  With that, Gally walks up to you and ushers you away with a warm, gentle hand on your back protectively.

“Your timing was impeccable,” you say quietly.  “Thank you.”

“They won’t bother you again.  I’ll make sure of it.”

“I think you already have,” you chuckle.

[bee6r]

Rushed Reunion

⚠contains maze runner SPOILERS⚠

{Gally x !GN! Reader}

Summary: After reaching the last city, you reunite with Gally after thinking he was dead. (takes place in the Death Cure movie)

Warnings: Violence, cursing

WC: 1k

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

The streets are crowded as your group attempts to push their way through to the front of the barrier. You wonder silently why no one wants to cross it, given the lack of guards patrolling, but decide it is better to be safe than sorry.

People are screaming from all around you and the group, and it's all you can do, not to be separated from each other. Finally, you reach the street that winds down the middle of the square. Large black trucks pass, many of them carrying uniformed soldiers towards the border. You stare up at them, wonderingly and one catched your eye. You don't mean to exactly, but as the soldier keeps your gaze locked with his own, you let your eyes follow him down the road until the car turns and continues out of sight.

"Y/N," Newt calls from a few paces ahead, "we're going to try to make it to the front." You nod and follow him, along with the rest of the group.

It takes some pushing, shoving, and Thomas pulling you forward between two women who refuse to budge, but finally, you can rest your hands on the concrete fence. Thomas and Newt talk to each other in hurried whispers to your left, while you quickly survey your surroundings. Beyond the mass of people there is a strong iron wall, splitting only for seconds at a time as vehicles enter the city.

Resting on the tops of the walls are large weapons, all pointed away from the crowd, but you don't underestimate their power once activated. As if reading your mind, small red lights flicker on inside each of the machines and they spring to life, un-focusing on the entrances and instead setting their malicious sights on the front of the crowd. At once, everything goes silent, then, the first blast crashes to the ground on your right and screams erupt throughout the mob.

You're knocked out of your stupor as someone grabs your arm.

"Let's go!" a voice yells, and you can't tell if it's Thomas, Fry, or someone else. Instead of thinking, you run in the direction of the voice, trying to get away from the area of the blast but more attacks are already coming. The hit the ground behind you and it is all you can do to stay on your feet as the ground shifts. Suddenly, someone grabs you, but the idea that it may be someone from the Glade stops you from reacting immediately.

"Thomas?" You ask, but no one answers, and before you know it, you're being thrown into the back of a dark van. You scream, running towards the doors to escape, but you're knocked backwards as Jorge is thrown into the van as well. He doesn't hesitate to mimic your actions, throwing his weight against the door of the van right as it closes securely.

You sit back on your heels, trying to catch your breath, but Jorge continues to ram himself against the door as the van begins to move.

"Let me out you assholes!" He screams and you lunge forward grabbing his middle and pulling him back.

"Jorge! Stop, you're going to hurt yourself!" You try and scream over his consistent yells, but he continues trying to break down the doors, to no avail.

After about ten minutes of this, the vans stop, and Jorge backs up, readying himself for a fight, and as the doors open, he propels himself forward and out of the car and towards the soldiers.

You jump after him, wrapping your arms around his waist as he tries to run at the others.

"Where is she?" he yells, his voice booming in what you realize is a kind of highway overpass. "Where is Brenda? If you hurt her i'll-"

"Jorge I'm here, I'm right here," Brenda assures, stepping out of an identical van to your right. You release Jorge's middle as he crosses over to Brenda. You turn to the others, Thomas, Newt, and Fry, as they also step out of the van.

"Thanks for leaving me with him," you mutter as Newt walks over to pat your shoulder.

"Anytime," Newt smirks, and you smile. Thomas, however, is already striding over to the closest soldier, anger evident in his features.

"Where are we?" he asks, his voice and temper both rising, "where did you bring us?"

"We're here to help," another soldier calls, making his way over to your group, "no need to get angry." You recognize the voice but can't place it immediately. Apparently, Newt does as well, because he turns to you, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"Who are you?" Thomas asks, his voice still louder than anyone else's. The soldier sighs, and stops walking, only a few feet away. Then, his head turns towards you, and he takes off his helmet.

As soon as you see him, your arms are around his neck, pulling him closer to you. Gally's arms curl around your waist in return, and he snuggles his nose into the crook of your neck, breathing in your scent deeply.

"I-I thought you were-"

"I know," he whispers so that only you can hear him, "I know, and I'm sorry." Instead of responding, you pull him impossibly closer, never wanting to let go. When you finally pull away, he presses a quick kiss to your lips, and you smile.

"I missed you," you whisper, before turning back to the group. While the two of you reunited, the others had been talking. As you face Thomas, Newt and the others now, they turn to you, hope alite on their dirt-covered faced, and smiles starting to form.

"Okay," Thomas starts, "we have a plan."

PART 2 COMING SOON...

[petrichor-idyllic]

MINHO

MASTERLIST

CONTENT WARNINGS IN GREEN

○ FLUFF | □ SPICE | ● ANGST | ■ SMUT |• HEADCANONS

◇ FEM! READER | ☆ GN! READER | 《》 MASC! READER

□ LONGING FROM AFAR ◇

↳ Minho has always been cocky and self-assured. That is until a girl arrives in the Glade. A girl he's had some interesting dreams about.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

• SOME HEADCANONS ◇

↳ Just some headcanons about our favourite Runner.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

□ FIRECRACKER ◇

↳ Minho finally agrees to teach you how to fight after weeks of pestering him. Though, things take an unexpected turn.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

○ SAFE PLACE ◇

↳ After you narrowly escape the vicious actions of another Glader who couldn't take no for an answer, you find refuge in Minho's hut - and his arms.

Contains references to sexual assault but there's nothing explicit.

○ UNDER THE INFLUENCE ◇

↳ After the Greenie Day celebrations leave you a little bit intoxicated, Minho takes care of you and keeps you safe.

○ HIDE AND SEEK ◇

↳ You're training to be a Runner and, as the Keeper, Minho is made to look after you. Though, things take a dramatic turn as Minho is forced to save your life.

LET ME MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER ◇ ➤

□ PART 1 | ■ PART 2

↳ Somehow, you end up giving your best friend a massage. Things go about as well as expected.

Basically porn with plot. 18+

□ INAPPROPRIATE WORKPLACE BEHAVIOUR ◇

↳ You miss out on the Bonfire to stay to help Minho with the Maps. Unfortunately, he's a little distracted.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

□ AFTER THE CALM ◇

↳ Joining the group from the scorch, the Gladers take a blow after losing Newt to the Crank Palace. So, you help cheer Minho up.

Book-based fic. Contains suggestive content and spice.

■ REWARD AFTER A HARD DAY'S WORK ◇

↳ You try to spend as much time with your boyfriend as you can. So, when he finishes his long day of running the Maze, you decide to join him in the shower.

More porn with very little plot. 18+

□ BEYOND THE OTHER SIDE ◇

↳ Despite your feelings for one another, you and Minho have decided it's best to stay friends. But, after you nearly lose him to the clutches of the Maze, and he says some choice words to Gally - you decide enough is enough.

Book based fic. Some suggestive themes.

● ALL YOU HAVE ◇

↳ Minho has always had you by his side. He doesn't know how he'd cope without you. Well, now he might have to learn how.

Bro, you die. Rip.

WARMTH IN COLD PLACES ◇ ➤

○ PART 1 | □ PART 2

↳ You are an undercover agent for The Right Arm working behind enemy lines in WCKD's headquarters. Your simple intel gig ends up being the least of your problems as you're suddenly put on the front lines of a rescue mission. It doesn't help that the boy you're pretending to keep prisoner is pretty cute.

□ BEHAVE ◇

↳ You're obsessed with your boyfriend. It's just so hard to keep your hands off of him - even when he's working.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

□ MIRAGE OF THE PAST ◇

↳ Despite never seeing Minho before, you swear you recognise him. That's why you're always staring. Well, and the man is fine. Now in your place of refuge, the Safe Haven provides you with a home, and a new sense of freedom. A bit of flirting can't hurt, right?

Contains suggestive content and spice.

○ IT TAKES TIME  ◇

↳ You were immediately attracted to Minho when you met him in the Scorch. Now, after six months and many losses, you're reunited.

○ STAY CLOSE 《》

↳ Your dream of becoming a Runner is crushed time and time again. But that doesn't stop you from running out into the Maze to help Minho and Alby. Though, that doesn't mean you're the only one willing to risk your life to protect those you care about.

□ FRIENDLY COMPETITION ◇

↳ A friendly game of capture the flag turns heated thanks to yours and Minho's competitive spirit.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

○ SOFT AT HEART ◇

↳ Soft, sweet and caring; you're the mother of the Glade.

■ FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING ◇

↳ Your's and Minho's first time.

Some fluffy smut. 18+.

○ BLIND EYE ◇

↳ Minho has a crush on you. You're oblivious. He's losing his mind.

○ DECEPTION IN LIBERATION ◇

↳ You're from Group B. Meeting someone in the middle of a prison break is one hell of an introduction.

□ HIGH SCHOOL NOT-SO-SWEET-HEARTS ◇

↳ High school AU. Minho is popular and sporty. You're quiet and smart. It's a stereotypical high-school romance, except Minho is the one tripping over himself for you. And, well, you don't believe him.

Contains suggestive content and spice. Minho won't accept your rejection.

○ HOW TO WINGMAN (POORLY) ☆

↳ Everyone in the Glade is sick of watching you and Minho dance around your feelings for each other. So, they decide to do something about it. Well, they attempt to, at least.

○ DIE FOR YOU ☆

↳ Song fic based off of "Die for You" by The Weekend.

ON YOUR OWN ◇ ➤

○ PART 1 | ○ PART 2 | ○ PART 3

↳ You were put in a Maze all on your own, with nothing but your dog. The isolation is one thing, but what'll happen when you finally escape?

○ SOLIDARITY ◇

↳ Minho is used to being the tough guy; but he doesn't know how to react when he meets someone tougher than him.

○ LIFE BEFORE DROWNING ◇

↳ You're from one of the many alternative Mazes - and yours happened to be full of water. Though, you only realise how weird your Maze was when you reach the Safe Haven, and meet a certain Runner, who feels weirdly familiar.

○ SAVIOR COMPLEX ◇

↳ You're a new Runner, and a disobedient one. So, when you get stung, Minho is left to play saviour. And doctor. Though, as he looks after you, he starts to think you might not be so bad.

○ IN ADVANCE OF GREIF ◇

↳ Getting bitten by a crank is never fun. But, you're from a Maze, so, you'll be fine... right?

□ EXPOSURE ◇

↳ In an attempt to comfort Chuck, you confess an embarrassing secret about something you did back when you were crushing on Minho and before you started dating. Unfortunately, your boyfriend isn't as heavy of a sleeper as you originally thought.

Contains mild suggestive content and spice.

□ SPARKS ◇

↳ Now in the Safe Haven, the sexual tension between you and Minho has turned into a twisted game of restraint. Though, it's hard not to break when you finally catch a glimpse of Minho's lightning scars.

Contains suggestive themes and spice.

□ BEST FEATURE ☆

↳ You can't stop staring at Minho's arms.

Contains suggestive content and spice.

• INDOCTRINATION ☆

↳ The first time you ever met Minho in the WICKED facility, and the corrupt childhood you briefly spent together before things take a wrong turn.

[7s3ven]

CINDY LOU WHO. cedric diggory

( master list )

IN WHICH… Y/N L/N helps her crush and longtime best friend, Cedric Diggory, get with another girl. Deep down, she knows she’ll never be the bright and bubbly girl Cedric wants. She’ll always be the cunning snake with a knack for starting fights.

“Cindy Lou is bright, bubbly, and extraordinary… she’s everything I’m not.”

A/N: I do take requests so feel free to ask for one :). I mainly write for Maze Runner, Harry Potter, PJO, and Hunger Games

Guess you make him happy like I couldn't do. Cindy Lou Who. With your hair so long, lips so red. Maybe we met once, I forget

Scrolling five years back, I'm obsessed. Breaking my heart, 'tis the season, I guess. The snow's gonna fall and the tree's gonna glisten. And I'm gonna puke at the thought of you kissin'

“The boy who I love who's now in love with you. Cindy Lou Who.”

—

Y/N sighed as she impatiently checked her watch and tapped her foot against the stone floor. It was almost curfew and Cedric was still a no show. The rules were less strict now that school was done, but Y/N had a reputation to live up to. It was the least she could do with all the trouble she had caused this year.

“Y/N.” Cedric jogged towards her, looking out of breath. She arched an eyebrow and her gaze scanned his untidy uniform.

“… Do I even want to ask?” She questioned.

“Ah.” Cedric sheepishly smiled, “My friends and I were playing hide and seek. It was a pretty intense game.” Even during his senior years, Cedric was still the bright-eyed kid Y/N had grown up with.

“Right. Well, why did you want to see me? You know how I don’t like going out before curfew.” Y/N folded her arms over her chest, “Plus, you’re late.” She quickly added.

“I know. I’m sorry about that. I just had to grab this.” Cedric pulled out a black box, smiling. He carefully opened it, showing the necklace to Y/N. “Do you recognize the crystal?” He questioned, making Y/N scoff.

“Of course I do. It’s my birth month crystal. (Insert crystal).”

Cedric grinned. “You still know so much more about gems than me. You should’ve been put in Ravenclaw.”

“Oh, please. If I was put there, I would be sleeping in the hallways. I can’t figure out riddles.”

Cedric playfully nudged her with his elbow. “Don’t say that. You’re smart.”

The pair walked beside each other as the moonlight shone through the cracks of the castle. Cedric had slipped the necklace box back into his pocket and he gently cleared his throat.

“I’m going to give the necklace to Cho.” He suddenly blurted out, causing Y/N to pause. She looked over her shoulder at Cedric, wondering if he was joking. He wasn’t.

“Why? She’s your ex.” Y/N felt mildly disappointed that the necklace wasn’t for her. For the longest time, she had been holding onto her feelings for Cedric. Everybody could see it; the Golden trio, the teachers, even Draco’s posse. And yet Cedric had never caught on. She was starting to wonder if he was just messing with her.

“She helped me through a lot. I owe it to her.” Cedric smiled. Y/N gazed at him before she nodded.

“Okay… I’m guessing you want my help?”

“Yes. Please.” Cedric was ready to get on his knees and beg. Though, he was sure Y/N would find great amusement in that. She had always been a little sadistic.

Y/N briefly looked away, blinking away small tears and recollecting her composure so her voice wouldn’t crack. “What do you want me to do?”

edric had wanted to meet Cho at the black late, which was where he and Y/N usually hung out. That stung.

Y/N tied the last of the heart-shaped balloons before securing them to a nearby tree. Cedric was pacing around, wildly muttering under his breath.

“Will you relax?” The Slytherin girl piped up, rolling her eyes. “You’re making me feel nervous.”

“I can’t help it.” Cedric replied. Of course, nobody could help but feel anxious around Cho Chang. She was beautiful and smart and kind. Y/N had talked to her a few times, and if she were a guy or lesbian, Cho would be her crush too.

“Well, that’s the last of the balloons. Good luck, Ced. I’ll be nearby if you need help. Just don’t expect me to hug you if she rejects you.” Y/N playfully punched her friend’s shoulder. Cedric boyishly grinned and quickly embraced her.

For a moment, Y/N was speechless. She slowly hugged him back and awkwardly patted him. She could smell his expensive cologne and it almost felt Cedric was confessing to her instead.

Y/N was the first to pull away. She wished Cedric luck once more before hurrying off, her heart pounding in her chest. She felt envious of Cho. Y/N had been by Cedric’s side since day one. She had comforted him and supported him and hid her breaking heart when Cedric admitted to liking Cho the first time.

And now it was all happening again.

Y/N hid behind a tree just in time to see Cho walk out of Hogwarts and make a beeline for Cedric. She watched as they conversed and when Cedric showed Cho the necklace, she jumped with joy.

Y/N let out a small sigh. She pressed her lips into a thin line, accepting that she wasn’t the girl Cedric would ever go for. She wondered that if they weren’t childhood friends, would Cedric still be nice to her?

She was a Slytherin. A somewhat mean one with a soft spot for certain people. She started too many fights to count, and the threat of expulsion was always hanging over her head.

She wasn’t Cho Chang, who was pretty like the starry night shining above the calm ocean. Cho Chang was kind, sweet, and loving.

Cho Chang was Cindy Lou and Y/N was the Grinch with no room in her heart to change.

The next time Y/N saw Cedric, he was by Cho’s side. Y/N usually sat at the Hufflepuff table with Cedric, much to some people’s dismay, but today Cho was with him.

Y/N didn’t feel welcomed at that point so she sat with her friends, completely missing the way Cedric gazed over at her in confusion.

“Ah, Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang. Everybody’s favorite couple has finally reunited.” Ivy, a pale-skinned girl with light freckles lining her cheeks and soft silver hair grimaced as she sarcastically spoke.

“It’s a shame you never dated Diggory, Y/N. You guys were perfect together.” Hime sighed as she poured herself a cup of pumpkin juice. She offered to fill Y/N’s glass as well, but the H/C-haired girl declined.

“Boys are always stupid.” Evan, short for Evangeline, piped up. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing. I agree with Hime. He should’ve gone for Y/N.”

Y/N silently ate as she listened to her friends complain about Cedric, probably in an attempt to make her feel better.

“Has anybody noticed how he keeps looking over here?” Hime questioned, whispering quietly. “Chang never seems to have his attention for long.”

“I’m telling you, Diggory secretly likes Y/N but he’s scared she’ll reject him. So he’s playing it safe and going for an ex who he knows he had chemistry with.” Ivy retorted, sparing another glance at Cedric.

Y/N huffed in amusement. “Where did you come up with that?” She spoke for the first time.

“It’s obvious.” Evan backed up Ivy’s theory. “When he wins a Quidditch game, who does he run to? You. When he needs help with homework, who does he find? You. When he wants to go to Hogsmeade, who does he immediately ask?”

Evan arched an eyebrow while Y/N sighed.

“Me.”

“Exactly!”

“It’s a plausible theory.” Hime uttered. “You two have been friends for ages. He’s close friends with Hermione Granger too, but does he hug her and look at her like he does to you?”

“That’s probably because she’s younger and he doesn’t want to end up with a sentence.”

“Good point. What about Floral over there?” Hime nodded over at the Ravenclaw girl who was always arranging flowers or reading about them. Her name wasn’t Floral but everyone called her that and it stuck. “You three are all friends, right?”

“More like I was forced to befriend her, but sure.”

“Diggory doesn’t look at her the way he looks at you.”

“And how does he look at me?”

Ivy slammed her hands on the table, looking like she had been waiting years for this question. “He looks at you like Jack Dawson looks at Rose. He looks at you like Chuck Bass looks at Blair Waldorf. He looks at you like Luke looks at Lorelei. Like Morticia and Gomez, Bella and Edward, uh.. give me another one!”

“Percy and Annabeth?” Evan suggested.

“Yes! That’s how he looks at you. He’s giving you the I wouldn’t want anybody else by my side look. He’s probably just… confused. You’re like his Cindy Lou Who. You make him happy and you bring out the best in him.”

“Cindy Lou is bright, bubbly, and extraordinary… she’s everything I’m not.” Y/N gestured over to Cho, who was giggling with Cedric. “Cho Chang is more like Cindy Lou.”

“Cindy Lou Who has a nice ring to it.” Evan said, off topic.

Y/N nodded in agreement. “It does. The rhyme is satisfying.”

“Enough about language features! You have to get your man back, Y/N.” Ivy intensely stared at Y/N, determined to get Cedric and her together.

“He was never mine to begin with.”

“Then make him yours! Come on, Y/N, you’re beautiful- no. Gorgeous. And sure, you have a bitter side but guys who can’t deal getting a little burnt aren’t worth it. And I know that you burnt Diggory over and over again, with both your anger and literal fire.”

“Just so we’re clear, the fire thing was an accident. And I don’t want to force anything onto Cedric. I’ll just… go with the flow.” Y/N ate the last of her food and stood up, “I need to wrap presents. Don’t you dare try and sneak in to see your’s.”

Y/N was mainly referring to Ivy, who lifted her hands in surrender.

Again, Y/N failed to notice how Cedric’s eyes trailed to her. But Cho saw it.

“Cedric.” The raven-haired beautify tugged on his sleeve, “Can we talk?” She spared Cedric’s friends a look. “Alone?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

The pair walked off, fully aware of how Y/N’s friends were watching them closely.

“What did you want to talk about?” Cedric questioned, tilting his head to the side.

“I don’t want to assume anything, Cedric. But to me, it seems like you only confessed to me again to play it safe. I can tell that your true feelings don’t lie with me.” Cho glanced at Y/N, who exited a nearby bathroom and was too busy drying her hands to notice the couple. “They lie with her.”

Cedric followed Cho’s gaze, softly staring at Y/N with that damned look of adoration.

“I think someone else deserves this necklace.” Cho gently removed the jewellery, handing it over to Cedric. “Face it, you love her. You always have. You can’t try to love me, Cedric, not when Y/N exists.”

“She doesn’t like me back.” Cedric muttered, grasping the necklace.

“Are you sure?” Cho quirked an eyebrow. “Why do you think she stayed by your side for so long? Even when the other Slytherins teased her, even when you two argued, even when you kissed me in front of her. How could you not notice, Cedric? She brings you drinks after quidditch practice and buys you gifts and even stays at Hogwarts so you aren’t lonely. Why do you think she never dated anybody, Cedric? It’s because you were the one she wanted.”

Cedric shook his head. “No. She doesn’t like me. Y/N is smart and amazing and cunning. I’m not her type. Her type would be someone like…” He paused, thinking, “Matteo Riddle.”

Cho sighed as she shook her head. “You really have no idea, do you? Spend more time with Y/N and hopefully you’ll notice the things the rest of us do.”

She quietly walked off, leaving Cedric standing outside the Great Hall. Cho made an immediate beeline for Ivy, Evan, and Hime and sat in Y/N’s spot.

The trio clad in green glanced at her, confused and a little hostile.

“Cedric likes Y/N.” Cho quickly uttered so the group didn’t explode on her. “I got through to him but he thinks Y/N doesn’t like him back.”

“Thats bullshit. It’s so obvious!” Ivy groaned.

“Exactly.” Evan agreed, “But Y/N doesn’t think Cedric likes her either.”

Cho sighed. “It’s obvious they have mutual feelings but neither of them believe it. So, let’s force them to confess.”

Hime raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you like Cedric? Why are you willing to help us?”

“Despite our dating history, Cedric is still my friend. And I want to help him in any way I can.” Cho smiled.

“Oh, I have an idea!” Ivy exclaimed, “What if we get them under the mistletoe? But instead, they have to fight! We can call it mistlefoe!”

Cho, Hime, and Evan exchanged looks.

“I think we should just stick to mistletoe.” Cho uttered. “We could, uh, surprise them by decorating one of their common rooms? The Slytherin room is never decorated, right?”

“I wish it was.” Evan sighed, “It’s a cute idea. We could surprise Y/N by decorating the common room and then led her in and Cedric can be standing in the middle of the room under the mistletoe.”

“But to pull that off, we’ll need more help.” Hime added, “I don’t think four people can do that. And it’s only us in the Slytherin common room. Not even Matteo is here. So he can’t help.”

Cho glanced past Hime and Ivy, staring at the Golden Trio and their extended group of friends. She smiled. “I have an idea. But it’s going to involve working with Gryffindors.”

The group of Slytherins all glanced at each other before they shrugged in unison.

“Anything for Y/N.”

“Whatever.”

“Do I get to kiss Oliver Wood after Diggory and Y/N kiss?”

Cho, Evan, and Hime stared at Ivy, who only cheekily grinned.

“Um… I’m not sure about that last one. Let’s just start off with asking the Gryffindors first.” Cho sheepishly smiled.

“Ivy and I will get the decorations.” Hime offered, “There’s some extra ones in the basement if Hogwarts too. Evan, Chang, you can get those after you ask the Gryffindors.”

“Call me Cho.” The ravenette smiled before she stood up. “We don’t have much time. Let’s hurry.”

“Wait, we forgot something.” Ivy piped up, “Who’s going to distract Y/N?”

“Evan can distract L/N. I’ll ask the Gryffindors myself and if they accept, they can help me get the decorations from the basement.”

“Okay.” Hime looked around, slowly nodding. She smiled. “Let’s go.”

Cho approached the red table while Hime and Ivy hurried towards Hogsmeade and Evan rushed off to find Y/N.

It took a few hours for everything to be set up, but finally the Slytherin room was decorated and ready.

“I need to get something. I’ll be back.” Evan smiled, lying through her teeth. She watched as Y/N entered the Slytherin common room and rushed off to find her friends.

Y/N squinted her eyes as she walked into the dark room. “Huh? Ivy? Hime? You here? What did you do to the lights?” Nobody answered her. She tilted her head to the side, confused.

The lights suddenly turned on, along with multiple Christmas LED lights. She quietly gasped as she stared at the tinsel covered stairs and brightly decorated tree.

In all her years at Hogwarts, the common room had never been decorated. Slytherins weren’t exactly big on Christmas.

Y/N looked around, realizing she wasn’t alone. “Cedric?” She stared at the brunette boy. “What are you doing here? Have you seen Ivy or Hime? I can’t seem to find them anywhere.”

Cedric silently looked up. Y/N, puzzled, followed his gaze. She lifted her head, staring up at the floating mistletoe above her head. “Oh.” She whispered.

She looked at Cedric again, jumping when he was only a foot away.

“I’m sorry if I ever hurt you, Y/N.” He uttered, “I should’ve noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

Cedric didn’t say anything as he leaned forward to softly kiss her. Y/N froze, her heart almost leaping out of her chest.

“Y/N,” Cedric pulled away and brushed a strand of loose hair aside, “You’ll always be my Cindy Lou.”

[imababblekat]

Caught

A/N, "By popular demand, I present pt 2 to Chase! Thank you so much for all the love and support, it truly means a lot to me 💕

~xXx~

The panting breaths of the girl running beside you equaled your own, sweat trickling down your skin and you were sure hers as well. As a speed runner, even your feet began to sore in your tireless chance to escape New York's most threatening gang. You couldn't even begin to imagine how the brunette beside you felt, as she had been running in healed boots for what felt like miles. Regardless, you didn't spend much time thinking on either ones apparel, too occupied with escaping for your lives as you both rounded yet another corner in the maze of alleyways. Suddenly the girl grabbed your wrist, effectively pulling you down into another narrow back street.

"This way! We'll be safe if we make it down over here!", she informed, not once letting you go, though you wouldn't have fallen behind even if she had.

It was odd to you how she could have any idea of where the two of you even were, every alley looked the same; dingy and sketchy. Scaling across roofs with a clear look of what was around was your territory, but not an ounce of doubt came from you as you willing followed. If there was any chance to escape the ever enclosing Foot Clan, you'd take it!

However, you should have known that a clean getaway was not at all how the Foot let their targets go. Just as you and wavy haired gal made it into another alley she had directed you into, a few dark figures had jumped down to effectively block the exit ahead. A quick spin around, the area you both had came in from had also been blocked off by more clan members with brandished weapons. Your arms found the girls beside you, you both despite being complete strangers holding the other close as you were backed up against a brick wall. Nearly tripping backwards on a manhole cover, your eyes darted around for any chance to beat it, trained eyes finding multiple places to scale your way up and out of danger. Yet, still being held by the person beside you, you knew you couldn't just ditch her to the wolves. There was no way you could assist her in getting out your way, and you found your already panicked heart racing even faster as the Foot Clan closed in.

Back hitting the roughed apartment brick behind you, you groaned aloud.

"How'd I even end up in this mess?"

The girl beside you sensed your uneasness, and while she herself felt the same, she knew somethings, or rather somebodies, that you didn't.

"Don't worry, my friends taught me some tricks, and they'll no doubt be here soon anyways."

With what little comfort her reassurance meant to fully give you, you hadn't paid much mind to the strange way she'd put emphasis on friends either.

"Well I think showing off those tricks right now would be a really great idea!", you about shrieked as a few of the Foot lunged out, your body going stiff for the inevitable end.

Out of the blue, the few attackers who you were sure to be your demise, had been collectively knocked unconscious, bodies falling forward before your feet. You were left speechless, attention darting from their limp forms to the object that had rendered them defeated. A man hole cover, the exact one you tripped over earlier, tossed like a frisbee was what had momentarily saved your life. Speechless, you looked to the girl beside you, who had a strange expression of relief, to find her still holding your arms as you held hers, confirming that she had not been your savior. Not that she could have been of course; there was no way she could have gotten to the cover that fast, or even have thrown something that heavy! So who had saved you?

Your answer came in the form of four oddly familiar voices.

"Ahah, strike! Heck yeah!"

"That's bowling Mikey, not frisbee."

"There is such thing as frisbee bowling, Donnie."

"Is now really the time for a sports argument, Raph?"

No way. There was absolutely no way they were your saviors. Yet, low and behold, dishing out fighting moves you only ever saw in movies, were the four ninja mutant turtles you accidentally met some time back. While you had hoped to see them once again, you never thought you actually would. Here they were though, kicking serious Foot Clan ass, all the while arguing like true siblings and jesting your assailants. Each moved so effectively, working as a collective unit and taking out the Foot Clan as one, even if they had some attacks landed on them by the opposers. It was almost mesmerizing, watching how their giant forms moved around almost like a dance. It made you think back to that night they had chased you, how they were able to keep up with you and the thrill it had sparked.

The last of the Foot Clan had been taken out, weapons broken and then effectively tied up, the turtle masked in blue whose name you believed started with an L, clapped his hands together as though patting off dirt.

"Donnie, alert Casey and NYPD for pick up."

"Already on it.", the later replied, sticking a thumbs up as he typed away at his phone.

Brain still trying to wrap itself around everything that had just occurred, you were unware that the girl beside you had left your grasp and let go of you as well, till you saw her run to the group of terrapins with a wide smile. The fact there was not an ounce of fear displayed by her confused you even more. Were these the friends she had mentioned? Does this mean you weren't the only one who knew about them? How many more people were aware of their existence?

You could feel an oncoming headache as your mind began to become overwhelmed with thoughts and more questions. Perhaps it had also been the recent, deathly danger you'd been in, but something in your fight or flight triggered mind decided that now was a great time to remember the accidental photo you had snapped of the turtles. The photo that you had kept.

"Oh no. . .", you whispered in a newfound panic.

Sure at the time it had seemed fine and even kind of funny to have left the four with a sort of bait to give you another thrilling adrenaline rush of the sport you lived and breathed. However, actually being faced before them now, and especially after what you just witnessed what they could truly do, you had to wonder what kind of negative reaction they would have to seeing you once again. Focus turning to a somewhat high up fire escape to the left of you, you decided you weren't going to stick around and find out.

"April!", Mikey happily greeted, hugging the girl as she bounded up to the four.

"Are you hurt?", Raphael asked, giving her a quick glance over as Donnie broke out his watch to scan her vitals.

April shook her head, looking between the four brothers with a heavy sigh.

"No, I'm just glad you guys showed up in the nick of time. Thought I was going to have to use some of the moves Master Splinter taught me."

Leo placed a hand on her shoulder, his tone serious but expression relieved.

"Well, it's good that you didn't have to. How did you get caught up with the Foot this time?"

"You say that like it's a normal Friday occurrence."

"April. . ."

The girl sighed, shaking her head trying to recall despite the slight offense.

"I was out with some girlfriends at a fancy dinner, when I swore I saw some waiter making some sort of deal with one of the Foot Clan. A cat by the back dumpster gave away my hiding place after knocking over some trash and next thing I know we're being chased."

The four brothers eyed each other, before turning back to their human friend. Something April had said didn't sit right with the them, and it had been Raphael to bring up the concern.

"Whose we?"

It dawned on April then what she had exactly said. Internally cringing at having forgotten the person she accidentally corralled into her Foot Clan escapade, she felt instantly bad. Who knew how much you were freaking out right now. Not only had you been chased down by a bunch of assassins and running around with a total stranger, but you just witnessed four giant mutated turtles. Recalling back on her reaction to when she first met the brothers herself, she could only imagine what kind of freak out you were going through.

"Oh shit, sorry! I got so caught up in everything I forgot! I ran into them when I was-wait, where'd they go?"

The boys looked back to where April had turned her attention, only to find the spot she'd previosuly been backed up into void of any other person. The sound of a loud creak alerted the group to an old fire escape, and the one person the turtles didn't ever think to see tonight.

"No freaking way.", Mikey gawked, him and his brothers staring at your frozen form as you stared down at them having been spotted.

What sounded like a low growl reverated from Raphael, his face twisting into an expression of what you assumed agression.

"You-", he started as you yelped and frantically tried to climb your way up the rest of the old ladder.

"Wait! We won't hurt you!", Leo shouted, shoving Raph aside to step towards you.

Pulling yourself up by another rusty rung you huffed, staring indigently down at the leader in blue.

"You threw a manwhole cover like it was a paper airplane!"

Leo rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of a convincing reason as to make the action not seem like a such a threat.

"Yeah, well. . ."

As the eldest tried to think up an exscuse, Mikey scooted around him, making poses to flex his muscles and wiggling his brow ridges.

"What can I say, Anglecakes? These bad boys aren't big for no reason-ack!"

If not for the predicament you were currently in, you would have found the yellow banded turtle's flirtations and even his brothers responding head smack to be quite humorous. Shaking his own head, Donnie took a try at convincing you. Despite being the tallest out of the bunch, he was the least threatening next to Mikey.

"You can trust us, promise! Look, Aprils human! Just like you! We'd never hurt her!."

"What about the photo?"

Once more, the brothers looked to one another. They had been so busy fighting crime since your chance encounter that they hadn't had time to track you down and retrieve said photo. All they could do in that moment was trust that you wouldn't show it to anyone till they found you again. It wasn't easy either, their mere existence frightened people into literally calling them monsters before. If evidence of them had been spread to the wrong person, it could put their lives in even more danger. Yet, they had to. They had to hope and trust in faith that you, the person who gave them a run for their money across New York's infrastructure, wouldn't dare expose them. Perhaps they could use this as reasoning for you to find reliance in them as well.

". . .you show it to anyone?", Raph question with a tilt of his head.

"N-no, of course not.", you replied, still a little apprehensive of the terrapin in red.

"Well, if we trust that you didn't, then how about you trust that we ain't gonna hurt ya?"

It was surprising that Raph out of anyone would come to such a resolve. Thus far, the only interactions you've had with him all involved you thinking he'd tare you in two if given the chance. Yet, here he was, putting out an offer of freedom from suspicion or doubt, even if it was a little rough around the edges. You looked down towards the ground for a moment, thinking through your thoughts. Not once had the ninja brothers ever truly given any indication that they would hurt you. Hell, they just saved your life from the Foot Clan! Maybe they weren't as mad about the polaroid as you thought.

A sudden creaking noise cut you from your thoughts. Taking a glance at the old ladder you'd hastily began ascending, you had only a second to see the old rusted metal snap, before you felt a sudden plummet in your stomach and rush of air. A scream flew from your throat as you fell fast, knowing that from the height you were once at, hitting the pavement below would render you unconscious at the bare minimum. Seconds from taking a serious fall, you felt the suddenness of being securely caught by two strong arms.

"Whoa there!", Mikey cooed, straightening up as he safely carried you.

You opened your eyes to unintentionally lock with his. You hadn't realized how pretty they were. Crystal blue, like the sky on a lovely spring day. You also took note of how firmly he held you. Tight but soft and careful enough as to not crush you. The strength of his muscles made carrying you like carrying a feather, but with such great self control as to not let you be crumpled or taken away by an intense breeze. With this realization and a rosy blush overtaking your cheeks, you made a comment that had the cheese ball of a turtle's heart flutter just as much as he made yours in this moment.

"With how you caught me in that trust fall, perhaps you're not so bad after all, huh?"

~xXx~

tags; @varra-ren , @boa-hoa , @dressycobra7 , @genesis378

[tbsangstersgf]

maze runner boys headcanons

little things they would do if they were dating you

Newt

•loves to kiss right at the base of your jawline

•will come up behind you and do this

•loves putting his arm around you

•always giving you hugs

•calls you “love” and “sweetheart” (maybe darling)

Thomas

•constantly kissing your hands

•showers you with compliments

•forces you to be big spoon

•constantly holding your hand or touching you in someway

•calls you “baby” or “angel”

•leans his head on your shoulder any chance he gets

•likes to lay in your lap

Minho

•constantly flirting and trying to get you to blush

•loves to kiss your neck and cannot get enough of your lips

•calls you something like “princess” and “sugar”

•will occasionally let you style his hair if you’re lucky

•loves it when you wait by the gate for him to come back home

•makes you fall asleep on top of him very often

•always wants to make you laugh

Gally

•compares hand sizes a lot

•very needy and kinda clingy (in a cute way)

•loves kissing your collarbone and forehead

• likes it a lot when you sit in his lap(I can’t explain it, it just makes sense)

•calls you “short stuff” and “babe”

reminder:these are my personal opinion

requests open

[sehnsuchts-trunken]

Still Alive

Minho x reader

tw! cranks, talking abt death, trauma, um that's about it ig. it's an apocalypse you know what you're getting into

all the apocalypse au in my head has reminded me of maze runner so. this is happening

tmr masterlist

You're clinging to him with tear-stained cheeks and shaky fingers, mind reeling and frozen at the same time as you try to forget the images of those things, those inhuman things, clawing and grasping at you out of the pitch-black dark. Those contorted faces, those lifeless, black eyes, that disgusting, rotten flesh-

It hasn't been as real until now.

The flare had been a concept, an abstract concept that had doomed the unfamiliar world you were pushed into. For a few days, it had just been that, looming over everything, but still just stories, just pictures, just ideas.

Now it's real. It's not only a threat, it's reality. It had almost gotten hold of you.

Your fingers cramp into the collar of Minho's shirt, pull him into you, panting and terrified and barely safe. You drag him down to you, push yourself against him and kiss him with all the strength you can muster.

He's here. He's here and he's alive.

Your lips work against his frantically. He's alive. You're alive. You're alive. Your arms cross behind his neck, shaky fingers resting against his shoulders, to hold him close, to feel him here, right in front of you, to convince yourself of his pulse and his breathing and his warmth.

He's here. He's alive. You haven't lost him. He hasn't lost you.

He grabs you by the waist and hugs you close, pulls you so firmly into him that you can feel each inch of skin pressed against you. You don't realise you're crying again until you taste salt in your kisses. Minho loosens his grip on you only to bring his arms up and graze his thumbs across your cheeks, brushing your tears away.

You don't know just how long you're standing there, kissing him, reminding yourself that you're not dead yet, that he's not dead yet. It's long enough for your heartbeat to steady, for your hands to stop trembling. Long enough that the kiss turns slow - you're not sure when, only that he's cradling you in his arms again, palms splayed out to touch as much of you as possible, your fingers brushing through his hair in no hurry. He's here. He's here with you, for you.

"Not to interrupt-"

You flinch hard at the voice, jumping away from Minho and spinning in his arms, your heart skipping a beat and then thundering twice as fast again. You only relax when you see Thomas standing there, a few feet away and with his hands up in surrender, Minho's arms tightening around you once more and pulling you back against his chest.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't want to scare you. We just- We should get moving."

[justinewt]

Trust is Like Fire - TMR REWRITE Chapter Nine

[TMR REWRITE-MASTERLIST]

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

Summary: Driving through the mountains, they found the Right Arm, or rather, the Right Arm found them. For a first interaction, being shot at wasn’t the worst the group had had to face. Aris was reunited with old friends he made when he was in the maze, Sonya and Harriet. The two took them to a camp further in the desert, where their group was hiding. Starting off the wrong foot, they managed to gain the trust of the man in charge, named Vince but as the night fell, the day took a much darker twist, ending in the cries and tears of a family being torn apart.

Words: 7k

Warnings: TMR Scorch Trials spoilers, angst, some fluff, bruises, blood, gun violence, ANGST (I understand Teresa thought she was doing the right thing but only Teresa’s slander will be accepted here)

They had been sitting in this car they took from Marcus, going as far as making him cry like a baby because of it, for a few hours now. The roads were empty and all they saw for miles on end was desert with sands, stones and dry bushes. Jorge was behind the wheel and drove them into the mountains where they would normally find people from the Right Arm group. After taking a nap for a while, her head resting on her brother's shoulder, Grace sat up and rubbed her eyes and met the amused glance Newt was giving her before looking out the window, staring into the distance. Despite the conditions, this had been one of the most restful sleeps she had since the WICKED facility. Just like in the glade, they had been through a lot in a rather short period of time, and it was exhausting for all of them but they all knew WICKED was never going to let it and leave them alone so it wouldn’t come to an end for now. It would be a long time before they would experience a moment of peace longer than a few hours. They drove through the mountains, crossing paths with rusty and crumbling metal pyramid towers from which cables hung from all sides in the void. Grace had no idea what it was. After a moment, Jorge stopped the car and she turned her head, looking forward with a slight frown, wondering what was up. They all stepped out of Bertha, staring at a bunch of decrepit cars blocking the road.

“Well, I guess we’re on foot.” Jorge stated. The group gathered around him and stood there in silence. They walked through what felt like a cemetery, searching the opened trunks, taking a peep inside the cars. Grace followed Thomas, looking around the mountains, she almost bumped into him when he stopped by a car. She walked past him to stand by his side and followed his gaze to the dusty windshield and saw a bullet hole. The second after he brought his hand up to it, a shot was fired and a bullet hit the hood of the car, making a loud metallic sound resounding in the valley. Thomas grabbed Grace’s shoulders and brought her to the ground along with him as he shielded his head with his arm out of reflex. As bullets rained down on them, Jorge ordered the others to take cover. For a few seconds after they stoppes, the shots echoed through the valley like thunder.

“Hey, is everyone okay out there?” Thomas enquired, while he, Grace and Jorge, hid together behind a car.

“We’re fine.” Teresa shouted in response.

“Anyone knows where those bloody shots came from?” Newt queried, but none of them had an answer.

“That son of a bitch, Marcus. He led us into an ambush.” Jorge spoke, furiously taking off his gloves. Grace then looked at Thomas motioned for her to stay hidden as he slowly stood up to look around. A few other bullets were shot at their car, and he took cover again.

“What do we do?” He asked Jorge. Both Grace and Thomas stared at him, waiting for him to say something.

“Yeah. Hold this.” Jorge handed them a sort of bomb and Grace hesitantly grabbed it, glancing at her brother in confusion. “We gotta create a diversion. You get ready to chuck it.” Jorge then then took out a device with a small red button on top and she got on her foot, leaning forward to stay hidden, the bomb in her hand while Jorge told the others to be ready to run back to the truck and cover their ears. He then lowered his voice to address Grace. “Ready? One… Two…”

“Drop it.” A female voice ordered from behind them, accompanied by the sound of a gun being reloaded. They froze for a few seconds until the woman urged them and raising her hands in the air, Grace put the bomb down, not daring to turn around, just looking at her brother from the corner of her eyes. Jorge gave in as well and dropped the device he held in his hand. “On your feet. Let’s go.” All three of them slowly got up and she repeated herself, yelling this time. With her sniper, she moved for them to get to the side. There were actually two women in front of them, both wearing masks hiding their lower faces. The one actively threatening them had long dreadlocks falling a little past her shoulders and the other one, standing behind her, light blond hair in a side braid. The two walked towards them, pushing them to back up and got the others to raise their hands and stand beside Thomas, Grace and Jorge. The one with dreadlocks kind of frowned, lowering her gun and mask. “Aris?”

“Oh my god. Harriet?”

“My god. What the hell are you doing here?” She quickly swalked over to him and drew him into a tight hug. The others watched them, all staring and frowning in confusion. Aris then greeted the other girl named Sonya. They seemed so relieved to see each other. Grace looked at the blond, and the only thought that crossed her mind was how pretty she looked.

“Aris, you’re lucky we didn’t shoot your dumb ass. You all right man?”

“Uh, what’s happening?” Minho enquired.

“We were in the maze together.” Aris explained, reminding them that he was indeed in a maze full of girls and was the only boy, just like Teresa and Grace were the only girls in a maze full of boys. For some reason the three of them had found themselves in the opposite maze to the one they should have been in. Harriet then walked to the edge of the road and whistled. Grace followed her with her eyes until she looked at Sonya and crossed her gaze. she still had a candid smile stretching her rosy lips. She had the prettiest hazel eyes Grace had ever seen and she couldn’t get her eyes off of her. It felt like there had been an instant connection between them, as if time had stopped and nothing else mattered around them. Grace was very unfamiliar with that sort of feeling and didn’t know what to do with it but stand there and smile and probably look somewhat stupid, but she didn’t care. The fluttering in her stomach made it feel like thousands of butterflies were flying in there and she couldn't help but be confused and taken aback and yet, looking at Sonya was strangely comforting. She didn't remember her being at WICKED with them and still, it was just as if they had always known each other, which was even more weird to her. When she felt Thomas’ hand on her shoulder, she was taken out of her thoughts and contemplation in the blink of an eye and glanced at her brother, disoriented. Thomas was looking at her and she could tell that his eyes were asking her what was going on, but she just turned around and saw all the armed figures standing on top of the mountains. They had definitely found the Right Arm. Grace had a soft grin on her face. She glanced at Sonya, who was talking to Aris and the latter looked at her, both smiling at each other. Grace couldn’t understand what happened and why she was feeling like this toward someone she had just met a moment before. She wondered if Sonya was feeling the same as her.

She pushed these thoughts away, putting them to the back of her mind and the group of teenagers followed Sonya and Harriet down a wide, natural tunnel in the moutain. At the end of the tunnel, a big truck was parked sideways to block the path. Sonya waved her arm around.

“Back it up, Joe!” The vehicle began to reverse, and they walked out the gallery. Outside, there was a whole bunch of people, standing near cars parked there. The group silently followed the two girls, Aris on their heel and Thomas and Grace walked side by side, looking around with a tiny hint of apprehension in the back of their eyes, their friends right behind them.

“We’re taking them to base.” Harriet told someone without stopping in her tracks.

“Wait, so, how did you guys get here?” Aris wondered.

“The Right Arm got us out.”

“Wait, wait.” Thomas spoke, accelerating his pace enough to approach Harriet. She caught his attention by talking about the Right Arm. Grace had thought they might have found them after everything they had gone through, but she couldn't be sure, until she said this. Harriet stopped by a car, her hand on the handle and turned toward Thomas. “The Right Arm? Do you know where they are?”

“Hop in.” She gestured with her head for them to get in the car as she opened the door, giving them a slight smile. Thomas remained silent for a second, glancing at the car and he kind of looked at his sister next to him before finally taking the lead and getting in the car. They couldn’t all fit in just this one car, so Grace and Teresa went with Thomas, a soldier behind the wheel and Harriet in the passenger seat, and the others were lead to a second vehicule. Grace let her gaze linger outside when she saw Sonya walk past the window. The latter glanced at her with sweetness in her eyes as she disappeared into another car with Newt, Minho, Aris and Siggy. They drove through desert for a while, but they eventually reached a large camp, with dozens of people walking around. The teenagers were looking at this new place with wide eyes. Sonya and Harriet walked them into the camp. “They’ve been planning this for over a year now. This is all for us.”

“You guys are lucky you found us when you did.” Sonya added. “We’re moving out at first light. Where’s Vince?”

“Somewhere over there, I think.” A man said, pointing in the distance. Sonya and Harriet walked in said direction.

“Who’s Vince?” Thomas asked.

“He’s the one who decides if you get to stay.” Harriet spoke, glancing at Sonya with a smirk.

“I thought the Right Arm was supposed to be an army.” Minho jumped in the conversation and when he had barely finished his sentence, the deep voice of a man rose on their right. That was probably this Vince they heard about.

“Yeah, we were. That is all that’s left of us.” He shrugged, showing around him as he walked towards them. He was a middle-aged man, with dark blond hair with a goatee and a mustache. “Lot of good people died getting us this far. Who are they?”

“They’re immunes.” Harriet replied. “Caught ‘em coming up the mountain.”

“Did you check ‘em?”

“I know this guy, Aris. I trust him” She said, pointing at her friend. Vince was very suspicious of the group of newcomers, staring them all down with his hooded eyes.

“Well, I don’t. Check ‘em.”

“Hey, boss…” Another guy approached them and Grace looked over her shoulder, wondering what he was doing. She didn’t have time to think she unexpectedly caught Brenda in her arms when the latter suddenly fell forward with a raspy gasp. Grace stumbled, almost losing her balance as she crouched down, frowning in worry and confusion. Jorge rushed towards her and Grace gently dropped her on the ground, stepping aside, helped up by Thomas. None of them knew what to do while Jorge tried calling out to Brenda, holding her in his arms. She had a sick complexion, and her lips were almost black. Grace wondered how none of them had noticed that before because it couldn't have happened all of a sudden. Vince crouched next to Jorge, a hand on his shoulder.

“What’s going on with her?”

“I don’t know. Brenda, are you all right? Brenda?” While Jorge was focused on her, Grace watched Vince as he stared at the bandage on her leg. She watched him pull it down and reveal a nasty crank bite. The veins on her calf were prominent and dark, like Winston when he had been infected. Now that she thought of him, it seemed so obvious that she had been infected. She looked exactly like he did at his worst. Upon seeing the bite, Vince jumped on his feet, swearing under his breath and he pulled out his gun, alerting everyone around that there was a crank in the camp. Thomas almost ran to Vince, shouting along with Jorge to stop Vince from shooting her.

“Listen, okay?” Thomas talked to him, ignoring his order to step back. Two men grabbed Jorge by the arms and dragged him away from Brenda. “Listen, listen. This just happened, okay? She’s not dangerous yet.”

“You shouldn’t have brought her here!”

“I know. I—” He pursed his lips, kind of looking down for a second.

“We let Cranks in here now, the safe haven doesn’t last a week! Step back!”

I understand, okay? I understand.” He tried to speak to Vince as calmly as possible. “All right, just- just liten. Please. Please, okay? I told her that you could help. Okay?” Vince didn’t lower his gun so Thomas kept talking, trying to convince him to let her go. “There’s got to be something you can do.”

“Yeah, there is.” He said, breathing loudly. A silence hung over them until he loaded his weapon. “I can put her out her misery.”

“No!” Jorge yelled, struggling against the two men holding him. Grace stared at the scene anxiously. Before he pulled the trigger, a woman jogged up to them, raising her voice at him.

“Vince, that’s enough! Let him go. Let him go!” Jorge was finally freed by the two Right Arm members. Grace kind of frowned, slowly stepping closer to Thomas as they both stared at the woman. She had no idea who the latter was.

“She’s infected, Doc. There’s nothing we can do for her.”

“No, but they can.” She was staring back at the two siblings with a smile on her face, like she knew them. Grace stood just a little behind her brother and she looked at him in confusion, as if he would have an answer, but he seemed as lost as her, squinting his eyes as he gaped at her. When their names crossed her lips, Grace slowly turned her head towards her, dumbfounded. “Hello, Thomas, Grace.”

“You know us?” Thomas asked.

“Interesting.” Her smile faded and she nodded, looking down at Brenda as she spoke. Vince stared at the two. They weren’t the only ones confused right now. “It makes sense they’d put you in the maze. Though I must admit…”  The doctor went to kneel beside Brenda, holding her wrist. “I was worried they’d kill you after what you did.”

“Wh- What we did?” 

She stayed silent for a brief moment, her hand on Brenda’s forehead before looking back at them. “The first time we spoke, you said you couldn’t take it anymore… watching your friends die, one by one. The last time we spoke, you gave me the coordinates of every WICKED compound, trial and lab.”

“They were our source.” Vince said, just realizing something that none of the two siblings even remembered. Thomas and Grace stared at the woman in silence, as if they were holding their breaths, processing what she said. Grace had no idea what he did remember from their time working for WICKED and even though she did vaguely remember something happened, she thought it only involved Thomas and that on her part, for some obscure reason, she had tried to shoot herself in one of the bathrooms of the facility, before Thomas bursted in. She wasn’t even sure if this was something that really happened or if it was actually just some sort of fever dream.

“We couldn’t have pulled all this off without them.” She added softly. Thomas and Grace looked around, shocked and puzzled, and couldn’t hold Vince’s gaze or anyone else’s. They had never felt so lost. The doctor ordered that Brenda be taken into the tent, probably the one that was to be used as the infirmary and bring the teenagers some warm clothes. They might be in a desert, but it wasn't as hot as when they were crossing the dunes a few days ago. Thomas and Grace looked ahead of them, where Teresa was standing and she had a stern face, as if something tragic had happened. She looked away. Grace frowned, wondering if she was upset because the doc just said how they had betrayed WICKED before being sent into the maze. It was just like when she tried telling them they should go back to the facility they had just escaped from. Grace stared at Teresa, feeling something was off with her. “Thomas, Grace, come on. I need to get some blood from you.”

She led them to the tent while some other guys carried Brenda to a bed. Her chest was heaving rapidly as she only took short breaths. The woman put thin tubes in the crook of their elbows, just like they did at the WICKED facility. Grace wondered why their blood seemed so much more valuable than anyone else’s. She also thought that now, she would have bruises on both her arms. Thomas didn’t have any bruises anymore unlike his sister, which led her to believe they didn’t take as much blood from him as they did from her. She couldn’t help but wonder why. It was strange. About a dozen of vials of blood had been taken from her alone and this was still something that troubled her. They were sat by Brenda’s bed, Jorge on the other side, his hand on the girl’s forehead.

“In the beginning, we were lost.” The doctor was walking around the tent, grabbing a few things here and there while blood was being drawn from the two teenagers. “All we knew for sure… was that the younger you were, the stronger your chances.”

“You worked for WICKED?” Thomas enquired quietly. She stopped what she was doing for a second and nodded.

“Long time ago.” Thomas and Grace glanced at Jorge, who also had worked for WICKED a long time ago. They turned their heads back to her when she continued to talk, busying herselfs with various vials and liquids, including their blood. “You know, at first, we had the best intentions. Find a cure, save the world. It was clear you kids were the key, because you were immune. But why? Eventually, we found an answer. An enzyme produced by the brains of the immune. Once separated from the bloodstream… It can serve as a powerful agent to slow the spread of the virus.”

“So, you found a cure?” Thomas and Grace glanced at each other. She remained silent, letting her brother speak because she had no idea what to say and wasn’t sure if it would be relevant to talk about how much blood WICKED took from her, without telling her why.

“Not exactly.” She shook her head, dashing their thin hopes with these two words. “The enzyme can’t be manufactured, only harvested from the immune. The young.” Grace stared into space, listening. “Of course, that didn’t stop WICKED. If they had their way… they’d sacrifice an entire generation. All for this. A gift of biology. Of evolution. But not meant for all of us.” She sat next to Jorge and carefully pricked Brenda with the syringe. As the liquid ran through her veins, she let out a long sigh and her breathing calmed down. Just a few seconds after the injection, she already seemed more peaceful. Thomas and Grace watched her face relax.

“How long will that give her?” He asked.

“It’s different for everyone. A few months maybe. But that’s the catch, isn’t it? She’ll always need more.” She stood up, leading Jorge outside to let them all rest. Jorge parted his lips to say something but the doctor spoke, assuring him Brenda would be fine and he reluctantly left the tent. The doctor put her gloves in a bin. “Thomas? You know she can’t come with us, right?” And on these words, as she didn’t receive any answer from him, she left. She was a really nice person. Grace looked down at the little dressing on her left arm and the fading bruises on her right. Now that they were alone, she wanted to express her thoughts.

“Thomas…” At the mention of her name, he turned his head towards her. “what if some of us were like, more immune? That this enzyme produced by our brains was more… I don’t know, effective in some? And therefore, more interesting for WICKED… it would explain why they wanted so much blood from me. From us.” Despair quickly tainted her voice. “If what's in our blood has so much worth to them, they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice us. We saw what they did to the others.”

“They won’t get to us, okay? We’re safe here, with the Right Arm... I won’t let them take any of us. I won’t let them take you.” She looked up at him and he drew her into a tight hug. They eventually broke their embrace after holding each other for a minute and stood up, putting on their jackets before heading out. Grace took a step towards the entrance of the tent, and turned around when she didn’t hear her brother follow her. She watched him grab something next to Brenda, on the bed and approached. First thinking it might be some old lighter, it actually had a picture inside of it. Brenda’s voice caught their attention. They hadn’t realized she had woken up.

“He was my brother.”

“Hey. Sorry.” He gave it back to her, sitting down. Grace followed his lead and sat beside him. “Are you okay? How are you feeling?”

“You remind me of him.” She said to Thomas, staring at the little object. “He always saw the best in people.”

“Where is he now?” Grace asked quietly. Brenda turned on her side, resting her head on her arm and she shook her head.

“I don’t know. When we were kids… we were taken in by one of WICKED’s camps. They gave us a bunch of tests. They didn’t want me. They wanted him, though. They didn’t even let me say goodbye.” As she spoke, Grace was reminded of that faint memory of their mother cuddling them before they were taken away by WICKED. They barely had time to say goodbye to her and didn’t even remember her name.

“What was his name?” Thomas asked.

“George.” She replied with a smile. He pulled out the little figurine made by Chuck and showed it to Brenda.

“That was Chuck.”

“How did he die?” She asked softly after observing the statuette. There was a brief silence.

“Saving my life.” Grace looked down at her feet, fidgeting with her fingers. She lifted her head up when she felt him put a hand on her shoulder as he stood up. She got up in turn while he told Brenda to get some rest. Staring at the dry desert floor, Grace exited the tent after Thomas. She needed to get some fresh air. Jorge was standing right outside the tent. She looked up after almost bumping into her brother when he stopped in his tracks. Both Thomas and Grace rose their eyebrows in surprise when Jorge wrapped his arms around Thomas and then Grace, calling them “brother” and “sister” in Spanish. This wasn’t something they expected from Jorge, but he was very grateful for their help to save Brenda.

“If anything were to happen to her, I--”

“I know, I know.” Thomas patted him on the shoulder. He nodded toward the inside of the tent with his head, encouraging him to go see her now that she was awake.

“I guess I owe you, now.” He told them before entering the tent, sketching a friendly smile. The two siblings glanced at each other and stepped away. As they walked through the camp to go find their friends, Harriet and Sonya were chatting and laughing with their old pal, Aris. They found Minho, Newt and Siggy on top of a small cliff. They sat near them. Teresa was nowhere to be seen.

“I wish Alby could’ve seen all this.” Thomas declared. They all nodded at his statement.

“And Winston.” Siggy added.

“And Chuck.” He looked at the figurine in his hands.

“He’d be proud of you, you know, Tommy.” Newt told him. Siggy shouted at Aris, calling out to him and he waved at them.

“Hey Guys!” Grace looked at Sonya and knew she was looking back at her when she reacted to her waving. Harriet seemingly saw the interaction and turned her head to her friend, nudging her lightly. Grace then looked around and could see that the four boys, at least Minho, Newt and Thomas seemed to have noticed, and were looking at her with an amused smile as she was clearly trying to hide her infatuation for Sonya. They could tell the two girls liked each other already but none of them said anything about it.

“I kinda like that kid.” Siggy said, smiling but he got confused when he saw the amusement on their faces. “Why are y’all laughing?”

“Nothing.” Newt shrugged it off with a smirk and Minho changed the subject of conversation.

“Yeah. I still don’t trust him, though.” The five of them chuckled.

“Hey, where’s Teresa?” Thomas then enquired. It got Grace looking around, seeing she was still no where near them. She would usually stick with them, especially in such foreign environment where she didn't know anyone but she was somewhere on her own. Newt quickly gave them an answer, showing the cliff behind them.

“She went up there.” In the distance, they saw Teresa's silhouette standing out against the sky, the bottom of her coat floating in the breeze. Grace frowned, wondering what was up with her and it reminded her of the moment the doctor recognized them and said outloud how they apparently betrayed WICKED. Back there, Teresa seemed somewhat disappointed and upset but held it together. Thomas stood up and went to join Teresa up on the cliff. 

Daylight fading as night drew near, Grace stared into space, overwhelming herself with doubts and questions about Teresa strange behavior. She had never been as close to her as Thomas was so she couldn’t be sure what was going through her head at the moment. Grace sighed silently and gathering her hair over her shoulder with her hand, she lay down looking at the sky, placing her arm under her head. She ended up closing her eyes, letting her mind wander in her memory, reviewing more or less clear memories. She could hear the engines of WICKED aircrafts in the distance, as if they were really there but when she opened her eyes, the noises didn't go away and she stood up, glancing at the boys nearby and they all looked around, soon seeing the lights of said WICKED aircrafts and she widened her eyes. WICKED found them, after all their efforts to escape from the organization, they had been found. She couldn't believe it but... of course, Teresa was behind this. It made no doubt. She wanted them all to go back to WICKED and clearly said it to Thomas and Grace back in the desert, they should have known she would do something like this. The moments that were to follow were perhaps going to be a screaming bloodbath because of her delusion.

They barely had time to stand up. A helicopter launched a missile at the camp. They were thrown backwards by the force of the explosion below and Grace groaned as she fell on a rock. More bombs were dropped on them. Newt was the closest to her and he helped her up. Grace asked where her brother was since he was yet to return but the situation was escalating quickly and none of them knew where he was nor had the time to find out so they ran with Minho and Siggy, not knowing where to go as the camp was surrounded by WICKED soldiers. They were shooting on sight, immobilizing anyone who fled with the electric projectiles fired by their large guns. The four teenagers crouched behind metal barrels, jumping when another explosion sounded. Not far, they saw Vince and Harriet near a truck. He shouted for her to bring more ammunition as he fired relentlessly at the soldiers.

“Vince! Harriet!” Minho called out to them, and they rushed to the two Right Arm members. He talked to them, yelling to be heard. “How can we help?”

“You need to cover us!” Harriet stated.

“Hey! Do you know how to use this thing?” Vince handed his rifle to Minho as the latter nodded while he hurriedly loaded the submachine gun in the back of the pickup. Siggy and Grace helped Harriet, quickly grabbing a couple of smaller guns and Newt was given a sniper. Grace wasn’t exactly the most comfortable holding a gun but she tried to stay calm, only firing when she was sure she wouldn’t hit an ally. A bullet flew out of her weapon and a soldier lost his balance and fell down with a groan. She widened her eyes, staring at the body, taking quick breaths. It wasn’t the first time she saw someone die, but it was the first time she killed.  She quickly pulled herself together and continued to cover Vince. Newt, Minho, Harriet and Siggy by her sides, shooting with more ease than her but she was getting the hang of it.

“Vince, hurry up! There’s too many of them.” Newt exclaimed in an alarming tone. Not long after Siggy told them he was out of ammunition, Grace heard her own gun click and she realized she didn't have any bullets left either. Next thing she knew, she heard a clicking sound in the truck and Vince swearing. She had no time to process what was happening and fell to her knees. For a few seconds an intense pain shot through her body which suddenly stiffened and she crashed on the ground, unable to think, speak or move at all, just staring into space, feeling like she was paralyzed and couldn’t take deep breaths. Her lips quivered a bit as she tried to say her brother’s name, but no sound came out of her mouth. She felt someone grabbing her by the armpits and lifting her up but she was like a dead weight, her limbs hanging heavily and could do nothing but blankly watch as the soldiers tied her and her friends up. She kept trying to say her brother’s name, as if it was going to make him appear nearby to save them, but the sound she made was more like a gasp like when you're out of breath after running. By the time she could feel her limbs again, she was completely restrained, on her knees, lined up with the other members of the Right Arm but her and her friends were in the first row of the group of captives. It was the worst possible scenario. All their efforts to escape from WICKED had been ruined because of Teresa.

“How many did we get?” Grace lifted her head up upon hearing Janson’s voice. Strands of hair in her face, she stared at him.

“All of them. Give or take.” A soldier told him.

“Give or take what?”

“Well, they lost a few.” While they spoke, another soldier was passing behind the teenagers, scanning the tracking tags put by WICKED on the back of their neck. Grace frowned as the guard pushed her hair out of the way.

“B-2.” He stated before moving on to the next. Grace wouldn’t take her eyes off of Janson, an angry glower on her face. He looked around.

“Where’s Thomas? Where’s your brother?” He enquired, leaning down to grab her face, almost spitting his question through his gritted teeth. He held her face so hard it was as if he was trying to break her jaw.

“Right here.” When his voice rose in the background, Janson suddenly let go of her, immidietaly turning around to look where the voice was coming from. And there he was. Grace was relieved to see him but at the same time, her concern for him grew. She mumbled his name inaudibly. Soldiers surrounded him and one pushed him bluntly in Janson's direction. He had a smirk on his face.

“Thomas.” He punched him hard in the stomach and ordered a guard to line him up with the others. At the moment of the blow, Grace protested, trying to get up but was pushed back down by a guard. She watched her brother as he was forced to his knees right next to her. He straightened up and exchanged a look of mixed concern and relief with her. She would have taken him in her arms if they weren’t tied up. Janson approached a man nearby. “Okay. Bring her in.”

“Why didn’t you run?” Minho asked Thomas quietly. The latter sighed, shaking his head.

“I’m tired of running.” It was definitely not the only reason, and she was aware of it because she knew him. He came back for his friends and sister. He couldn’t leave them behind and that warmed her heart in this tragic turn of events. A large aircraft flew out of the clouds and over their heads, blinding them with its headlights kicking up dust and sand as it landed, making them squint their eyes. Four guards walked out, the Dr. Paige right behind them.

“Is this all of them?” She walked up to Janson.

“Most of them. It’ll be enough.” He assured.

“Start loading them in.”

“Yes, ma’am. Okay, you heard. Let’s go! Get ‘em on!” On his command, soldiers started picking up people and leading them to the engine, straight up dragging the most reluctant ones. The woman stepped toward the teenagers and waved at a soldier to bring Thomas and Grace. They were forced up and pushed towards her.

“Hello, Thomas. Hello, Grace.” She greeted them with an oddly sweet voice and they just stared at her, dumbfounded to see her alive after they literally saw a recording of her shoot her brains out. Even though, after all the shit WICKED pulled on them, another lie wasn’t so surprising. Accompanied by a soldier, Teresa appeared in their sight. Paige glanced at her. “I’m glad your safe.”

“What the hell?” Minho exclaimed.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Newt was understandably confused.

“She’s with them.” Thomas stated bitterly. Everyone either looked at Thomas, shocked by the news, or stared directly at Teresa. Janson approached.

“Teresa’s always had an evolved appreciation of the greater good. Once we restored her memories, it was only a matter of time.”

“I’m sorry.” She said, looking at her peers. “I had no choice. This is the only way. We have to find a cure.”

“She’s right. This is all a mean to an end.” Paige added. “You used to understand that, Thomas. You too, Grace. No matter what you think of me… I am not a monster. I’m a doctor. I swore an oath to find a cure! No matter the cost.” They all remained silent at her explanation. Teresa sided with WICKED when they didn’t care about any of them. They were just necessary sacrifice for their own survival. “I just need more time.”

“More blood.” The voice of the woman that told Thomas and Grace about their betrayal of WICKED rose behind them.

“Hello, Mary. I hoped we’d meet again. I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”

“I’m sorry about a lot of things too. But not this. At least my conscience is clear.”

“So is mine.” Paige replied quietly. Thomas and Grace jumped at the sharp sound of a bullet being shot. He grabbed his sister by the arm instinctively. Blood soaked Mary’s shirt as she slowly looked down at her stomach and collapsed. Vince shouted her name, struggling against the soldiers and he rushed towards her. Grace followed Thomas’ gaze and saw Janson, holding a gun in the direction of the doctor. Thomas tightened his grip over Grace’s arm, keeping her as close to him as possible and stared at Teresa in shock.

“Come on, Janson. Load them up.” Paige turned around, walking back to the aircraft. Teresa only seemed to realize the gravity of the situation now. “All these people. Get rid of them. Let’s go. Let’s go!”

Moving his hand from holding his arm to resting on her shoulder, she saw him discreetly slip his free hand inside his jacket while a soldier started pushing the two siblings towards the aircraft. He pulled out whatever he was reaching for, and Grace stepped away when he turned around and violently struck the soldier with his elbow, knocking him down. What he held in his hands was actually Jorge’s small bomb and detonator and he erratically shouted to everyone to stand back, catching Janson and Paige’s attention. The soldiers held their guns at Thomas and Janson ran towards them, raising his hands.

“Hold your fire!” For a moment, they yelled back and forth, their voices overlapping, making it hard to understand what they were saying.

“Stand back. Let ‘em go.” Thomas requested, pointing at the aircraft with his hand holding the detonator.

“Thomas, put it down.”

“Let ‘em all go!” He shouted again.

“You know I can’t do that.” Paige joined in, raising her voice.

“Thomas, please stop.” Teresa begged. “I made a deal with them. They promised we’d be safe. All of us.”

“And I’m supposed to trust you now?” His voice quivered slightly. Grace could hear the hurt, even though he wasn’t speaking loudly.

“It’s true. It was her only condition.” Paige assured.

“Shut up!”

“Everything can go back to the way it was. Thomas… do you really want all of them to die?”

“Listen to her, Thomas. Think about what you’re doing.” Janson said, getting annoyed at the teenager’s relentlessness. Grace glanced at Minho, Newt and Siggy and they slowly walked over to Thomas, standing around him.

“We’re with you, Thomas.” Newt declared. Paige and Teresa shook their head, telling him not to do it. But it didn’t matter to them, his friends would stick with him until the end.

“Do it, Thomas.” Minho encouraged. Thomas looked at Dr. Paige.

“We’re not going back there.” He held up the bomb in front of him, his thumb hovering over the button on top. “It’s the only way.”

They all closed their eyes as he was about to detonate the bomb. Paige yelled his name when suddenly, the loud horn of a vehicle sounded nearby. They turned their heads towards the car speeding through the camp, not knowing what was going on. Soldiers tried firing at the vehicle, but it was useless. Whoever was driving drove into a helicopter. The engine fell to the side, its blades spinning rapidly and hitting the ground, suddenly coming loose and breaking into sharp pieces that flew all over the place. Thomas threw himself to the ground to avoid getting hit. Everyone started running in all directions, screaming, shouting at each other. It turned into complete chaos in seconds.

“You good?” He asked his friends and sister, standing nearby.

“Freeze! Drop it, kid!” A soldier ordered Thomas to let go off the bomb but he glanced down at it, detonating it and throwing it at him and his colleagues. He turned around to the others, yelling at them to run and get down. They managed to get away a bit and shielded their faces with their arms when a blinding explotion blew the area up. Grace crawled to the side and stood up, looking around in panick. There were thick clouds of dust that had been kicked up and she didn't know where her brother or even her friends had gone. She heard shots being fired and gruntings but before she could determine where the sounds came from, she saw Vince jump in the back of the pick-up and shoot into the crowd of soldiers with the submachine gun. She ran into her brother, and they found the others, trying to flee from the soldiers who were getting dangerously close to them. 

Minho picked up a gun on the ground, yelling at them to go, firing at the soldiers. As Grace was just running past him, Minho ran out of ammunition and got shot at by one of their electric guns. She stepped away, glancing over her shoulder, hearing her brother calling out to his friend. She turned around, about to keep running to join Thomas, Newt and Siggy when suddenly, she felt this sharp pain in her back, her body stiffening up before it was shaken with tremors. Thomas screamed at the top of his lungs, crying out her name but it was too late for them to save Minho and Grace. She tried to crawl away, but her limbs were rigid and it was such strenuous effort for nothing, she sighed and watched her brother try to run to them, yelling their names as they were picked up and dragged away by soldiers. Grace felt a tear roll down her cheek as she tried to call out for her brother but just like the first time they were stunned, no sound would come out of her mouth. She was paralyzed and every effort to move even just her arm or hand was so straining that she found herself staring blankly at her brother and friends in the distance, feeling the heels of her shoes dig lines into the sand as they passed. Thomas was trying to run in their direction, calling out for them, his voice breaking as he screamed his sister's name for the umpteenth time. Jorge grabbed him to stop him from running into the wolf's mouth in a desperate attempt to save them. He pulled him away as they ran but he struggled against him. She knew he must have felt guilty to have to watch two people he cared about being taken away, especially after telling Grace he wouldn't let WICKED take them away, and now this happened.

To Minho, and his sister, nonetheless.

[To be continued…]  

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Published (16/01/2023) by Andrea

Taglist: @cathrin2405​ @kika64

[lowkeyrobin]

TMR ; how you meet

includes ; newt, minho, brenda, aris, sonya & harriet

warnings ; language, mentions of weapons, death

pronouns used ; you/yours

masterlist

NEWT

met at the mall in the scorch

you were barely fucking alive

thomas heald the gun up at you thinking you were infected and newts like "bloody hell, what happened to you?"

he quickly helps you because you're literally starving and dying of dehydration

you're slumped over his shoulder and barely able to walk

you thank him religiously for helping you

your friendship is the definition of the vibes of From Eden by Hozier

such a pure, wholesome relationship

most of the group had no hope for you but he did

because he wasn't going to let another person die

cries

MINHO

at the right arm

he caught your attention so fast

like who is that badass, tired, fast ass runner???

he honestly admires you

the way you hold a gun, the way you show facial expressions, etc

your determination to get him back from WCKD was probably the only thing actually keeping the operations going

even after the train rush failed, you wouldn't stop

even with your small time together, you'd built a weird bond

and you weren't gonna give up on him, even if his actual friends wanted to

BRENDA

Met in the Last City while reuniting with Gally

you worked with him and helped assist him and the others kind of helpfully kidnap the crew (???)

she didn't trust you at first, but you jumped at the sight of a rebellion and blowing shit up

she started to like you

the whole bus scene went crazy

she admires your fight and that you don't like violence, you like the rebellion aspect and taking down the bad people and find a way to make it fun for everyone yk?

you kept the kids so calm and collected, she wished she could stay so calm in a panic filled situation like you

ARIS

you came out of another maze just before him

you kinda sat in silence with him every day until maze b survivors showed up

he'd never showed you the vents, although he did talk about escaping with you

although iffy, you listened to him and the maze b kids

you had no one left, and you didn't want to stay if janson turned out to be with WCKD yk?

a quiet, mutual was bonded on the first day you guys sat in silence together

kind of like a mutual respect for one another although you barely knew each other

SONYA

you came up in the box before her

you showed her around and all that

she admires your hard work and how you don't give up, even with the most boring, mundane tasks or the most spine cracking, difficult ones.

you have a strength for defending the ones you love as well and she loves it about you

you have awesome fashion too tbh

HARRIET

at the right arm

she heald you at gunpoint and you were both trying to figure each other out

mutual bond of respect formed between you two

constantly teaching each other new things and stuff

you teach her how to use a pencil, she teaches you how to weave together blankets and shit

you're smart and quick thinking and she's kind of the arms of the operation, she's like your shield

w dynamic

[misskingshit]

𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 summary: After so long, you finally take the step. Note: I hope the fandom of The Maze Runner is not dead because yesterday I watched the movie and my fandom that was buried and gathering dust deep inside me, finally came out again, but I hope I'm not the only one. xoxo

At the beginning, when you arrived, you couldn't deny the fact that you were a little scared for being the only girl among so many teenage boys. Going through a place and feeling some gazes on you was uncomfortable, flirting (or attempts to) were unbearable, but you were lucky to be part of the best group on the glade, your favorite boy in it, Minho. He spent most of his time in the maze but whenever he came back the first thing he did was make sure you were okay and didn't have any trouble with any slimy boy. Your best friend… best friend. "What's up today, are you idiots or what, every five seconds some idiot gets hurt" you sighed "and you guys leave all the work to me" you looked accusingly at Clint and Jeff. "Why do you think they come? They all want you to attend to them, you're the only girl" the second mentioned says obviously. "You are disgusting" you turned around to continue organizing the table with the materials and remedies that you have. The noise of the door made with branches or whatever Gally used, was heard opening and you couldn't take it anymore "for God's sake stop being so stupid and be more careful or I'll have Clint start healing you" You turned around to see who had entered. "Shunk, I never really liked Clint" his voice sounds tired but playful. "Minho! what happened to you?" You analyzed everything you could about his clothes, a bruise on his right cheekbone, a cut on his eyebrow, and his lips somewhat dry and pale. Still, he was the most handsome boy you had ever seen. "The maze, I just tripped, nothing to worry about" he said "but I really would like you to heal me, not Clint" you both chuckled. "You are my exception" you grabbed a couple of gauze pads and alcohol to disinfect. You were standing between his legs, even so, his faces were at the same height since he was sitting on some kind of stretcher, the distance was very short, your body was completely bristling. Your gaze and his meet when you finish putting the band-aid on his eyebrow, you don't really know how to react when you feel Minho's hands on your waist, and even less when you feel his lips on yours. Without hesitation, although very nervous, you followed the kiss passing both of your arms around his neck, Minho pressed you more against him, he was perfect, the situation was perfect, everything was perfect. At this moment you didn't care about being the only girl, being locked up with murderous bugs and a little labyrinth around you, having forgotten everything about your past life, because now you had him and it was the best thing that could happen to you. Your lips collided very well, your saliva mixing with his at that moment seemed the hottest thing in the whole world. "If that's how you start treating your patients, they'll line up" Clint's voice came from behind him. "And I'll kick your asses one by one if you just look at her" Minho's voice sounded loud, mad, rude, Clint just raised his hands scared and left. You couldn't help but kiss his cheek and laugh a little "if you're like that to protect me, I'll make you jealous more often" you kissed him again. "You don't know how long I waited for this moment" he said between kisses, which each time became more passionate and needy. "Oh god Minho" you blurted out after feeling his hands squeeze your butt, kissing your neck. "Say my name like that one more time and I'll fuck you right here, right now” My God, the real man.

[dame-nervy]

Gladers are WCKD - Chapter 14

Vince used to say I had a smart mouth that would only cause trouble, Mary said I was clever enough to talk my way through anything, and when I met Jorge, well he told me I should work on my aim. Though I don't think any of them would expect my escape to have something to do with chewing.

It had been a long 24 hours - I'm guessing, I don't have a clock - of nothing since Jeff had threaten and fed me. Apparently, I wasn't interesting enough for anyone other than Clint and Jeff to come and check on, both saying a lot less than yesterday. Though, with all that time I was able to estimate that I was far away from most people, barely any foot traffic coming past my door. So, while being fed my one meal a day - though I'm not sure you can classify the grease trap grit I received as food - I had managed to spit some in my hand when the Medjacks weren't looking. After they'd left, I was able to use it to finally slip my hand free, though it was not without pain and the wonder of if it will lead to an infection later. Putting that out of my head I redressed myself, collected my weapons and waited by the door until I was pretty sure that no one was around. I opened the door only as far as I needed, quickly getting out and shutting it again before finding a dark hallway to hide in. The silence was deafening, but reassuring. I was alone.

It was only now that I discovered that I was in a building that was barely standing, lots of patch work and boarded up windows. Peeking through the boards I was momentarily blinded before seeing what was home base for the Gladers.

It was a large clearing of green land, men meandering around crop fields, sheds, pens with animals grazing, and buildings that were either new or very well taken care of. I couldn't believe my eyes at how they were living, I'd never even seen green grass before, not in real life. but then there was the 30 metre tall walls that reminding me of the wall around the last city and of what Sonya, Harriet, and Aris had said about where wicked had kept them. Must be Wicked's favourite architectural trait. And then I notice the gaps in the walls... my way out.

Even though I knew my odds would be better to wait for nightfall, there's no telling when someone would next come to check on me. Now might be my only chance. I found a boarded-up window on the side towards the back, peaking out of that one you could easily tell it was closer to the wall and not too visible to the main area, I could also see another hole in the wall, closer but easily exposed. I pulled the boards off, which was made easy by the fact that they were rotted out, thankfully since my busted hands ached after a few moments of pressure. I peaked out a little to see if I'd been noticed luckily finding no one around at all, the closest person being around 50 metres away.

The was no cover. there was no waiting around for a better opportunity. It was now or go and get comfortable in my seat. I climbed out the window, took a deep breath, steadied my nerves and ran.

.

.

.

.

.

"HEY!"

- - - - -

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[rainydaydreamsideblog]

(The Maze Runner) Spending a Rainy Day With Him

(Author’s Note:  In my fics/imagines/headcanons, Gladers are aged up, and also movie version...)

Thomas: Heavy rain usually puts most of the Glade jobs on hold.  Everyone will find a tree or covered structure to sit under and wait until the rain stops.  Wherever you are, Thomas will come find you.  He gently takes your hand in his, brown eyes meeting yours in a silent request.  You know that look very well.  With a smile, you nod.  The both of you go back to his hammock and climb in together, tangled up in a somewhat crowded mess of limbs, but it’s cozy.  He likes having you close like this.  Likes hearing your heartbeat, watching you breathe, and listening to you hum a gentle tune. It helps put him at ease.  He’ll lay there with your head on his chest as it rises and falls, his hand running up and down your back soothingly while you both listen to the rain on the roof. Every now and then, he’ll give you a squeeze or bestow a forehead kiss.  It’ll be a quiet time, at least for a little while.  After sorting through thoughts, he might start a conversation if you haven’t already.  It might be about your jobs.  It could be about the strange dreams either of you were having.  Or it could just remain quiet for a little longer.

Newt: When he feels the first drops fall on his cheek, he glances up with brows furrowed and lips parted to see if any more follow.  Upon realizing it’s the beginning of a downpour, he tells the others to pack up the tools and get out of the rain.  He’s already wondering if you found shelter already or not.  He’ll be keeping an eye out for you as he walks to the nearest structure. It’s not like he thinks you’re in any danger or anything.  He just wants to be sure you’re alright.  He’ll be glad when you do find him, and a little smirk of amusement will grace his lips when he sees the state you’re in.  Your clothes are a little wet from the dash in the rain, body shivering from the chill, and skin glistening.  Newt will put an arm around you and draw you to his warm side, remaining like that as you both stand at the edge of the covered structure and gaze out at the rainy Glade.  The time will be filled with quiet conversation with your faces inches apart, intent on each other’s pleasant company while the others goof around or chat behind you.  He’s not super crazy about kissing in front of others, but he’ll glance over his shoulder to make sure no one’s paying attention before leaning in for a tender kiss.

Minho: He’s just about to head into the Maze when the downpour starts.  Shuck.  Nothing like a rainy day to dampen a run.  If he gets caught in the rain while already in the Maze, it’s one thing.  But if it hits before he leaves, then he’ll just take the day off.  If he’s entirely honest, he doesn’t mind the break.  He heads back, removes his gear, and decides to pay you a surprise visit.  Runners are often up before most of the other Gladers, so it’s not surprising that you’re still in your hammock fast asleep.  Minho will greet you softly with a playful chirp in his tone, calling you by his own term of endearment.  When your eyes flutter open and you say his name in confusion, his heart just about leaps out of his chest.  He’ll tell you that it’s raining so he has the day off, and to move over.  You sleepily move over as much as you can so he has room to climb in with you, wrapping his arms around you.  He’s an early bird, so he probably won’t fall back to sleep right away.  He’ll enjoy watching you drift back into dreamland once more with the sound of rain tapping on the roof, pressing a kiss to your cheek.

Gally: He is by no means a slacker, but he can’t defy the weather.  Being that the conditions aren’t the best for building, he’ll tell the other builders on his team to head inside.  He huffs a sigh of annoyance as he badly wants to finish this project.  The rain starts to wash away the sweat that glistened over his skin as he takes his time picking up tools and whatnot so they don’t get ruined.  Since he’s already soaked, he’ll go out of his way to find you wherever you took shelter.  He’ll ask around if any of those shanks taking shelter under the structure have seen where you went.  Someone will point, and finally, he’ll spot you making a dash across the Glade.  He’ll stand there with hands on his hips watching you approach.  You’re out of breath, but there’s a glimmer in your eye as you greet him.  His heart pounds and lips turn up in amusement as he wraps an arm around you for a brief hug, not wanting to make a scene in front of the other Gladers.  A midday snack is being passed around by Frypan, so the two of you sit shoulder-to-shoulder on a bench.  You’re talking with each other and your closest friends around you.  It was almost like a bonfire with jokes being made and laughter.  Gally cracks up at a silly comeback you made to Winston, and suddenly, the rain doesn’t feel like such an inconvenience to him anymore.

[heliads]

ok so… i’m totally obsessing over Newt from TMR rn but i’m not sure if u still write for him🤧 but if u do i was thinking maybe something like during bonfire night the reader has had too many special drinks from Gally, accidentally confesses to Newt and lists everything she loves about him and then Newt gets all flustered and stuff (he’s so cute omg) but the reader is too drunk to go back to their own hammock so then Newt carries reader to their hammock but ends up sharing a hammock and then the reader doesn’t remember anything the next morning and then i’ll let u decide the rest😭

gally's special brew as a plot device >> it will always be famous to me

masterlist

In roughly thirty seconds, you’re going to reach a milestone you never thought possible. You’ve been waiting for this for a while now, counting down the days and hours and minutes like you were going to find yourself anywhere other than right here when your self-imposed timer went off. All you’ve got to remember the date is a memory, but given the fact that you only recall so many of those, it was easier to place than one would expect.

An alarm goes off across the Glade, ear-piercing klaxons rattling off of the high stone walls surrounding you. The rest of the boys around you start to amble towards the source of the noise, the Box newly arrived from who knows where, but you stay put for the time being, just breathing in the moment.

One blond boy next to you, your closest friend and favorite person here, nudges you in the leg with his foot. You’re both sitting in the unruly grass, ignoring the press of the green strands against your arms and calves. You have a habit of always wanting to keep him within reach.

“Why aren’t you racing towards the Box?” He asks.

You tilt your head to the side, staring up at the sky. Robin’s egg blue dappled with clouds, it’s the only pocket of space outside the Walls that you’ll likely ever know. “Today marks one year since I showed up here for the first time.”

Newt whistles through his teeth. “Shoot, already? Feels like time has flown. I swore you came up just last month.”

“No, I’ve been keeping count. Twelve months and I’m still here.”

Newt winces. He made a promise to you at the very start that he would get you out in six months, then, when that deadline came and went, he lengthened it to a year. The oath was only sworn because you were nervous about this place when you were still a Greenie and unused to the idea of living and dying here in endless repetition. You’re no happier about that fact now, but you are more used to it, at least.

“Well,” he starts off, “maybe you’re still here, yeah, but Minho and the other Runners are getting closer to finding a way out, I swear. Minho says they’re this close to having mapped the whole thing, then we’ll have an escape route for certain. Just give it another year. You won’t even notice the time passing, I promise.”

It’s kind of Newt to try to distract you again, even though you both know by this point that it’s useless. Minho is getting closer to traveling every pathway of the Maze, yes, but what Newt isn’t mentioning is how little the Keeper of the Runners actually is to finding something useful. Whenever you ask Minho what he’s learned about how to get out of here, he only ever comes up with a blank slate.

Still, harping on that doesn’t exactly make for a good time, so you’ll let yourself play along with Newt’s idea of your inevitable escape from this place for now. He’s losing hope even faster than you, even if he doesn’t tell anyone. It would be good to keep up the pretense.

You eye his leg, the one with the limp, and nod. “Yeah, next year for sure.”

Newt sits in silence for a moment or two longer, then stands up carefully, offering a hand to you. “Come on, then. We’ve got a Greenie to stare at and stuff to unpack from the Box, no time for musing. Besides, we’ve all got to get ready for the bonfire later tonight.”

You accept his offer of help, and when you’re on your feet once more, your smile is back. “I forgot about the bonfire! Oh, that’ll make everything better. Always does.”

Newt grins. “You’re just saying that because it’s the one time a month Alby will let all of us get proper wasted and skip work for the afternoon.”

“Of course I am,” you laugh, “I want to have fun! Is that such a terrible thing?”

Newt slings an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side as the two of you walk lopsidedly over to the Box opening. The other Gladers have already crowded around the opening, but there’s enough space for the two of you to peer in at the befuddled newcomer inside if you squeeze past a few Track-Hoes.

“No,” he murmurs later, once you’ve almost forgotten what you were talking about, “I don’t think it is.”

Damn right. You’ve looked forward to each Bonfire Night of your full year here with just as much excitement as everyone else. The soaring flames, the delighted shrieks and shouts of your friends, plus Gally’s special brew, everything about the celebration is a joy to behold. You can watch Gally kick the asses of people who should have known better to challenge him, or observe the Greenie as he tries to figure out his name.

Or, better yet, you can sit in a circle of your friends and tell jokes that get progressively worse as the lot of you get progressively more tipsy and tired. The night wears on, the stars burn themselves out above you just trying to catch a glimpse of your magnificently roaring fire, and all is well, as much as it can be around here.

At some point, you look up and you’re sitting alone with Newt towards the outskirts of the gathering. You don’t remember quite when that happened, but you’ve refilled your glass enough times that the memory loss sort of makes sense. Does anything here, though? No, not at all. Not ever.

Newt’s grinning over at you, saying something that you have to focus extra hard to hear. “Are you lucid again?”

“Not entirely,” you beam up at him, “Have I had a lot to drink tonight?”

Newt grimaces. “Probably more than you should have. You’ll be regretting it tomorrow, I can promise you that. Sorry for not cutting you off earlier.”

You shake your head a little too wildly and have to pause for a moment to blink the stars out of your eyes before continuing. “No, that’s not your fault. You don’t have to watch out for me all the time.”

Something almost like hurt plays upon Newt’s features, mixing with the warm glow of the firelight, and it makes you rush to say something so he stops looking so unhappy. “Only if you don’t want to watch out for me, that is. I like having you around. Makes me feel better.”

“Really?” Newt asks, amused.

“Really,” you confirm happily. “You’re my favorite person here by far. Minho teases me about that a lot, actually. He says I should soldier up and just tell you that, but he can’t bully me anymore, because I’m talking about it right now, aren’t I? He’s right, though, I do like you. Oh– I was thinking, Newt, and– and I think I’m okay, staying in the Glade forever, if I’ve got you here with me. You’re the best thing about this place.”

You hadn’t meant to ramble on like that, but the words came easily enough from your throat, and Newt seemed like he really wanted to hear what you were saying, so you went ahead and let him. 

Newt sits for a few minutes in stunned silence before clearing his throat a little too loudly. “Um. Well, I think you should get to bed. Like, now. I think you’re drunk.”

“No,” you protest, “well, I am drunk, yeah, but I’m not just saying that because I’m drunk. I mean it, Newt. I really do.”

Newt’s expression softens. “I know you did, sweetheart. Let’s go to bed anyway, though. I think some rest would be good for you.”

“Alright,” you decide. 

Newt stands up. You try to start walking back with him, but your feet refuse to cooperate on the uneven ground and you end up tripping more than you should. Eventually, Newt laughs quietly and picks you up, easily carrying you back to your hammock. He tries to set you down but you’re seized by the overwhelming panic that he’ll leave you here alone and you complain vehemently.

He’s still in a good temper, though (is it not wonderful to be needed?) and instead shifts so he’s lying down in his hammock instead, you on his stomach. You whisper goodnight to him and he says goodnight back, then a beat and a half later, did you really mean what you said? About me, that is? About how you–

You can’t really pick up what he’s saying, though. He was right about you needing rest, because the gentle swaying of the hammock and the soft beat of his heart under your head is just enough to send you off to sleep. Darkness pulls you under in an instant, and you’re rocked away to the tune of the crickets chirping somewhere in the distance and Newt still mumbling questions against the top of your head.

You can sense your hangover looming like dark clouds on the horizon, signaling a true storm of a day about to wreck you for good, but for now it’s just in the distance, not quite yours, not yet. The terrible feeling is warded off by an odd sense of calm and quiet. It’s warm now, warm and comfortable in your hammock, which is strange. Usually, you wake up cold on mornings in the Glade, but not today. It makes you want to snuggle down further, push off consciousness just a little longer.

Then your hand connects with something that isn’t one of your few allotted threadbare blankets or the knots of your hammock, something soft, like skin. A hand, one that isn’t yours. Your eyes fly open and– well, you don’t remember this, but you’re not exactly going to complain.

Newt is lying next to you, still asleep. You are curled up beside him, must have fallen asleep with your head on his chest. One of his hands is just touching yours, the other is cupping the back of your head to pull you closer to him.

Immediately your brain splits into two warring factions. One half wants to run away quickly, figure out what happened and why you’re here. This isn’t what you’re supposed to be doing, you know. Shuck, Alby would have a fit if he saw the two of you like this. Probably enough to throw you in the Slammer for a couple of hours.

The other part of yourself wants to stay here forever, to close your eyes and make Newt wake up first and handle it. You haven’t felt peace like this in a while. It’s just the two of you, soft and sweet and mostly folded over in sleep. Why should you disturb this? Disturb him? He’ll just be unhappy if you wake him and force him to realize that you’re here. Probably. Unless he’s the one who let you sleep in his hammock, which is more likely and far more terrifying.

Your issue is solved when Newt shifts slightly, rocking the hammock, and wakes up at last. You quickly shut your eyes and feign sleep, but judging by the movement of his chest as he laughs, you were caught in the act.

“I know you’re awake, Y/N.” He says.

You reluctantly open your eyes. “Maybe. By any chance, do you know why I’m here and not in my own hammock?”

You might just be kidding yourself, but you swear something almost like disappointment crosses Newt’s face. “You were pretty drunk last night,” he says at last, “I wanted to make sure you were alright.”

It’s a decent explanation, but that doesn’t explain why he’s looking at you like he really, really wants you to remember something about the events of the most recent Bonfire Night. “What did I do last night?” You ask slowly.

Newt shakes his head. “You didn’t do anything, trust me.”

“Then what did I say? You’re looking at me like you’re going crazy.”

Newt furrows his brows in a moment of indignation. “What? I’m not– I’m not looking at you like that. Anyway, you might have said a thing or two. Maybe.”

You stare at him in disbelief. “Newt, if you keep withholding information from me, I’m going to rock the hammock so much you fall on the ground. What happened?”

He has the audacity to laugh at your threat, as if you weren’t completely serious about it. “Alright, alright. You might have told me that you liked me.”

Your sense of terror, which had faded briefly after Newt woke up, is back in full force. “I did what?”

“You told me you liked me,” Newt repeats, “and I thought– well, you were drunk, so I thought you didn’t mean it, but–”

“I did mean it,” you whisper.

Newt’s eyes are wide when you dare to risk a glance back up at him. “Oh.”

That’s a bad oh. Has to be. You move to get up and try to run away before he can look at you like that anymore, but Newt tightens his grip around your waist, forcing you to lie back down. “Wait, wait. Don’t go. I like you too.”

Now it’s your turn to be surprised. “You do?”

“Yeah,” he says, smiling, “Have for a while. Minho teases me about that too, by the way. No wonder he seems so frustrated about it, he has to listen to both of us moping around even though we both like each other.”

You laugh. “That would be annoying, yes. He has to be happy now, though, we finally told each other about it.”

“That we did,” Newt says, and you can feel the upturned crescent of his lips as he presses a kiss to your forehead.

Maybe you spent a whole year in the Glade without ever seeing rescue. Maybe another year will pass without anything, or maybe five, or ten. Maybe you’ll never leave at all. Still, you’ve got your reasons to be happy after all. They start with him.

maze runner tag list: @rogueanschel, @ellobruv, @retvenkos, @neewtmas, @mayfieldss, @hiya-itsamber, @gods-fools-heroes, @hope92100, @w1shes43, @23victoria, @ilovexavierthrope, @fadedver