𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗨𝗦, thomas (tmr)

Chapter Thirty

Her cheeks flared up red, and her hand flew up to twirl a piece of her hair nervously. The boys' eyes were all on her then. Clearly, none of them had noticed them kissing.

Frypan sat back in satisfaction. Winston was watching her in quiet amusement, and Minho and Newt were asking questions over one another,

"When the shuck did this happen?"

"Why didn't you bloody say something?"

Clara focused her glare on Frypan, who looked smug in his announcement, and she silently seethed. She and Thomas hadn't talked about any of it, so she was mainly staying quiet because she didn't know what he would or wouldn't want her to say.

"Do we know where Teresa is either?" She finally asked instead.

Minho went to say something about how she was deflecting the questions, but Newt placed a hand on his arm and made him go silent. The group didn't have an answer for Teresa or Thomas' whereabouts, and Clara found herself growing nervous.

It was then that their conversation was interrupted by two boys they didn't know, who seemed keen to start conversation. They found themselves spilling the entire story of the Glade and the Maze to the two, who both seemed pretty invested. They seemed particularly interested in Thomas leading them out of the Maze, as it seemed that their experience in their own Maze was very different.

"These soldiers stormed the place, with guns and helicopters, and got us all outta there."

"What about everyone else? Everyone else left in the Maze?"

Clara noticed a figure approaching then. A weight lifted from her shoulders as she realised it was Thomas. The boy glanced at the unfamiliar boys they were seated with before he sat down besides Clara.

She found herself leaning into his side as he shuffled into his seat, with Thomas instantly relaxing and letting his thigh rest against hers. He was somehow entirely oblivious to the stares Frypan, Minho, Newt and Winston were all giving him. Frypan just looked heavily amused; shaking his head knowingly.

Thomas merely just turned his attention to the boys from the other Maze, not asking anything; just simply understanding what they were talking about and wanting to listen.

"We don't know. WCKD probably still has them."

As Newt continued firing questions at them, Minho leaned in towards Clara and Thomas, and the girl could instantly recognise the evil grin playing on his lips. She knew that Newt would be death glaring him from where he was sat on the other side of Thomas, and that Thomas would be obliviously staring back at Minho.

"Apparently," Minho glanced between Thomas and Clara and now the girl was absolutely certain of what he was going to say. "You-"

"-You were talking to Janson or something, right? That's why you took longer to get here." Clara interrupted casually, leading Thomas to tear his eyes confusedly from Minho to her.

"Yeah, it wasn't really anything, He just wanted to hear about what I knew about WCKD, if I was on their side. I said no, obviously."

She nodded thoughtfully, and ignored the intrigued glances Thomas was now shooting at the pair of them. He had figured something was up by the look on Minho's face and Clara's failed attempt to hide her embarrassment, but considering she and Thomas hadn't talked about their kiss, she didn't want to bring it up.

Clara's hand accidentally brushed the back of Thomas' then, and she felt herself wincing. As much as it was actually an accident, she did want to hold it, so the potential rejection was physically painful.