The Glade | Newt x Reader

Chapter Eighteen

-Y/N's POV-

The gladers haven't been acting the same. Since Nathan went missing yesterday everyone has been upset, mourning over the loss of a friend. I never knew Nathan well. I saw him at the mealtables a couple of times, but since he was a runner I never talked to the red-headed boy. The rest of the runners were sent out to look for him today, but nobody seemed to have hope. I remember how everyone says that no one survives a night in the maze, but can it be really that hard? I knew that I'd probably never find out, but I still had hope that maybe Nathan would come back before the doors closed.

The morning sun felt warm on my back as I stooped down to harvest my batch of carrots. I did exactly what Newt had told me to do when I was first learning to be a track-hoe. Carefully pulling the carrots out of the soil I was pleased to see they were fully grown and healthy. After I had pulled the whole row I stood up and wiped the sweat from my brow. The carrots were stacked neatly in the crate I'd left them in. The next step was to bring them to Fry so he could wash them and prepare them for meals. I hauled the crate off the ground and balanced it against my body as I brought it across the glade. All the gardening work calloused my hands like Newt's, and I'm by far more stronger than when I had first arrived.

"Need help with that?" Dominic said when he saw me walking by with the crate.

"Nope," I grunted, shifting the crate's weight to the other side of my body. "I got this."

Dominic walked over anyway and lifted the opposite end of the box so that he was walking backwards. My arms relaxed in relief of some of the weight.

"Thanks," I smiled.

"Anything for you," Dominic replied with a wink. I blushed and looked away.

Soon we reached Frypan's hut and placed the crate with the other vegetables waiting to be washed.

"What next?" I asked Dominic. My morning work was done and I waited to see if Dominic wanted to do something.

"Actually, I have to go to a gathering in five minutes."

"Really? But you aren't a keeper?" Usually only the keepers attend gatherings.

Dominic shrugged, "They said they have some sort of a job proposition for me."

As Dominic began walking in the homestead's direction, curiousity took over again. What kind of job could they be offering that they needed his consent? I knew. A runner. They were offering if he wanted to be a runner to replace Nathan. It made sense. I heard Dominic was fast and did well in his runner assessment. So did I. But they never offered the job to me. I first ran my hands under some well water in Fry's hut to wash the dirt out from under my nails. Then I made my way to the homestead a faster route. I made it to the wooden structure before the keepers had gotten there and snuck upstairs to my room. I sat on my bed as I listened to the keepers file into the base floor of the homestead. Once the footsteps got quite I knew the meeting must have begun. I creaked my door open and slipped through to the stairs. I walked a couple steps down until I could listen to the voices coming from below.

Alby was speaking and I heard fragmants of whatever he was saying, "-we wanted to ask you if you would be a runner."

I knew it.

"We need someone to take Nathan's spot and you passed your runner assessment by far. So, will you?" Alby asked.

The room fell silent and I tried to imagine how Dominic must be reacting. Then, he spoke.

"Yes, I will. But with one condition."

Everyone awaited to hear what his condition would be. I was just as curious. What on earth could he want?

"Y/N gets to be a runner with me," Dominic finished.

I sat shocked. He would really risk his chance of this job so that I could be a runner too? I could hear the room below me go up in chaos. People were asking things like 'Why' and telling him that it wasn't goint to work. One voice I heard over the rest was Newt's, who once again, opposed the idea.

"What? No. Not bloody happening," he said. 

Why's this always happen whenever someone brings up the idea of me being a runner? He doesn't think I'll be that bad at it does he?

"Calm down shanks!" Alby called out making everyone go silent.

Alby sighed, "We don't have any other choices for runners, and Y/N did just as well in her assessment. So I think we should let her if she is okay with it."

Newt began to say something but Alby cut him off, "I don't want to hear it Newt. We're running out of options. Someone go find Y/N."

When I heard Alby say this I turned around and jumped back up the stairs into my room. I don't want them to know I was listening. A couple minutes later Zart knocked on my door to ask me to come downstairs. I walked into the gathering room and stood beside Dominic in the center.  Everyone was watching me as I listened to Alby explain the situation. He got to the part where Dominic asked if I could get to be a runner with him. Before Alby moved on, Dominic interrupted to add another thing.

"I want her to be my running partner too," he said.

I saw Newt's eyes narrow at this, but I didn't mind. In fact, Dominic being my running partner made me want to be a runner even more. Alby nodded and continued to the last part of his explanation before asking the question.

"So Y/N, will you be a runner?"

I looked at all the keepers' expressions. Some seemed bored, while some seemed frustrated. When I looked to Newt he shook his head at me, as if telling me not to do it, and I saw desperation in his eyes. Turning back to Alby I said my final answer:

"Yes."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Wwowowowowo she's a runner! Anyways more interesting stuff to come. I think im gonna write a kiss next chapter soo.. stay tuned i guess? yeah im gonna try writing a kiss again wish me luck..? next chapter is out!