Ode to the Wicked » Newt

two

ii. ❝Tʜɪs ɪs ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪᴛ ᴀʟʟ ʙᴇɢɪɴs. Eᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ sᴛᴀʀᴛs ʜᴇʀᴇ﹐ᴛᴏᴅᴀʏ.❞

The Greenie was finally given a chance to relax at the end of her second day. Well, if taking an almost cold shower could be considered relaxation. Nonetheless, she was enjoying not feeling so dirty, and she was grateful that the boys had constructed makeshift doors for the cubicles. With a sigh, she turned off the water. The brunette took a moment to process her surroundings before realising her critical mistake. She groaned loudly, “Shucking hell!”

One day in the Glade and she had picked up enough slang to use it moderately well. She cursed again under her breath when she heard one of the boys further down tell her to ‘watch her potty mouth’. She almost felt relieved when she heard Newt’s voice.

“Greenie? Something wrong?”

She sighed, letting her forehead hit one of the walls. “I forgot to grab a towel.”

All of the Gladers in the room lost it and she almost laughed too, out of frustration. “Slim it!” she yelled back, imitating Alby’s famous words. It did nothing to quell their chuckling, if anything, her comment made the situation funnier.

“Hang on,” Newt replied, and then his voice disappeared. He returned a few seconds later, and she was met with a towel flung over the door. “Here you go.” She quickly grabbed it and towelled off.

Exiting the stall, she found Newt leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He wore a dishevelled tank and his hair flopped forward, still wet. He perked up when he saw her. He peeled away from the building's edge and moved to stand beside her. She heaved out a sigh of relief, and then smiled coyly. “Thanks, I guess.”

“You guess?” he smirked lopsidedly, falling into step as the two of them left. “I could have left you for dead.”

She laughed, poking his bare shoulder. “It would have been quite the show, actually.”

*

Walking to the table with her food, the brunette could feel several pairs of eyes on her. She attempted to ignore them as she passed by, and breathed a sigh of relief once she reached the table. That is, until she saw Minho grinning, then Gally, and lastly, Alby. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but when no one spoke, she began to eat.

“So, I heard you had some fun today…” Minho started, and she almost choked on her food. She coughed, trying to swallow properly, and then her head whipped to Newt.

“Why did you tell them?!” she cried, although he only put his hands up in surrender.

“It’s a small world here, Greenie,” Alby chuckled. She rolled her eyes, returning to the food. However, seeing that Minho was still laughing about her ordeal, she grabbed the best looking thing from his plate and took a bite, not bothering to return it. She was satisfied when she heard Minho grumble and pull his plate closer to his chest.

*

The sun had long dropped. The sky was dark and cast shadows over the Glade, and the fire crackling in the middle blew wisps of wavering light over the grounds. It reminded her of her journey here; those long, lonely moments in the box. And truthfully, she was a bit lonely. A sinking feeling had settled over her; she had fallen into the trap of thinking about the family and life she had before being put into the maze. She tried to push it far enough away so that she could sleep, like most of the other Gladers, who seemed at peace as they lay across the soft grass. The Greenie was a little farther away, sitting up against a tree since the dream world refused to accept her. She hummed softy, looking over the Glade once more, trying to forget her worries.

Night seemed to draw on, and sleep still would not come, leaving the girl a little aggravated at herself. Days here were going to be tough, and she needed her rest.

Like the first time she was approached in the dead of night, she fought the instinct to jump warily at the new presence. Instead, she resorted to clenching her fists as she calmed down. Newt inched down beside her and she audibly relaxed.

“Sorry, shank,” he smiled faintly, nudging her in a teasing manner. She raised her eyebrows, one part to not knowing what shank meant (although she had a good idea), and another part to curiousity.

“Why are you so intent on giving me a heart attack?” she asked, looking to the side so she could see his face. The Greenbean saw his lips lift again, though his gaze remained downcast.

“Brought you this,” he said, revealing a book. She looked at it, then up at him, and back at the book before plucking it from his grasp.

“101 ways to kill someone,” she mused, earning a snort from the boy.

“Unless I slipped you the wrong book...”

She couldn't stop a tight-lipped smile from appearing on her own face at the stupid joke. “Thanks, Newt.” Her expression brightened as she paused. “I guess.”

The blonde gave a mocking sigh. In the silence that passed, she took the chance to flick through the well-loved book. She noticed some of the pages had been dog-eared. She smiled to herself, feeling a little more comfortable knowing these rough-looking boys enjoyed reading.

“Don't lose it, though, or else Minho will kill me.”

“Minho?” she mumbled, her attention having been caught elsewhere. A single phrase on the page she was currently on sparked something inside her.

“Yeah, the book's his. He, uh, he likes to read. Might as well be the Glade librarian,” Newt explained, speaking fondly of his friend. He soon realised the girl was a little preoccupied with the book.

“Newt?”

“Yeah?”

“My name's Thalia.”

“Thalia?”

“Thalia.”

She looked up at Newt with a joyful smile, elated that she could finally remember something.

“Well then, Thalia, welcome to your new home.”

With one more piece of the puzzle solved, it really was beginning to feel something like home.

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A/N: Many thanks to anyone who is reading! I appreciate the support and I hope you are enjoying the story so far. I plan to update on a Tuesday/Saturday (AUS) timeline until all the parts are uploaded. I also added a cast/a celebrity I think best suits Thalia. Thanks again!