STATIC → newt , tmr [EDITING ; VERY SLOW UPDATES]

chapter x

"I think you enjoy it more than I do," he said, unable to refrain from teasing the older boy.

Tiago only licked his lips and smirked in response.

The two were silent for a few more minutes, huddled together and occasionally breathing warm air onto their entwined hands. Tiago felt comfortable for the first time in a few days. If he wasn't so cold, he definitely would have fallen asleep. Even in the freezing air, his eyes were fluttering shut every so often, his head lolling onto Newt's shoulder.

"Can you hear that?" Newt asked suddenly. Tiago felt the blond shift his shoulder, making him jerk his head up from it. "Listen."

Tiago's eyes were wide open now at the panicked tone in Newt's voice. He furrowed his brows, listening carefully for what the younger boy could clearly hear. When he concentrated, Tiago could definitely hear a faint whirring sound. He glanced up, the frown still on his face. Then lights came into view, over the hills in the distance. He stood up quickly, his eyes widening.

"Look."

Tiago pointed to the horizon, at the lights clearly advancing towards the camp. Newt stood as well, and Tiago heard him take in a shaky breath.

"WCKD ... We have to go, come on."

The blond gripped Tiago's shirt tightly, and Tiago didn't hesitate to turn and follow the younger back down the ridge. The sky was a dark blue-purple now, making it slightly more difficult to climb down than it was to climb up. Both boys slipped a few times, catching each other and then continuing to hurry as fast as they could without toppling over. Tiago could hear the whirring of the helicopter engines getting closer, could hear his own harsh breathing as he stumbled down the ridge.

Suddenly the whirring was above them, and then there was an insanely loud boom, and then everything was bright.

Hearing the helicopters had made Tiago instinctively drag Newt backwards, tucking them both behind a massive rock at the bottom of the ridge. When they looked past the rock, they saw the camp in flames. Tiago saw Newt move to run, but he grabbed his arm tightly before the blond could take off.

"Tiago―"

"Are you blind? The entire place is on fire, you can't just run in there," Tiago said harshly, fixing a glare on the younger boy's face.

"Minho and Frypan are in there, and god knows where Thomas is," Newt said loudly, panic evident in his eyes. "Aren't Brenda and Jorge in there too? Don't you want to save them?"

"I never said that," Tiago said, surprisingly calm given that Newt was absolutely right; he did want to save them. But Jorge had taught him better than to run into a battle without thinking things through. Tiago also knew that Jorge would do anything to save Brenda, and Jorge had survived longer than the both of them. "Look, Jorge knows what he's doing. They'll be fine. I need to get my bow, they took it into a tent near the medical one."

"I'm not going anywhere until I know where Fry and Minho are," Newt said stubbornly. Tiago could tell he wasn't thinking clearly; he could see the frantic edge to his eyes, hear it in his voice.

"Newt, you're going to get yourself killed if you run into that without any protection."

"Then come with me," Newt said, his voice getting higher in pitch as he spoke. "Follow me in. You can protect me, I know you can, just come―"

"I can't do anything without a bow and some arrows!" Tiago cried. He used both hands to grip Newt's shoulders tightly. "Newt, we can't do anything without a weapon."

Newt shook his head, forced himself out of Tiago's grip, and rushed off before Tiago could stop him.

"Newt!"

Tiago ran out from behind the rock, unthinking. He kept his eyes on Newt's sprinting figure. Newt was quick, but not quick enough. Tiago grabbed the back of his jacket, yanking Newt around.

"Tiago―"

Tiago quickly pressed his lips to Newt's, shutting the boy up for a few seconds. Newt shoved him off, his gaze hard. Tiago wasn't sure what expression was on his face, but it was enough to make Newt soften his gaze. He opened his mouth to say something, but Tiago spoke first.

"Newt?" he said quietly, voice questioning.

"Yeah?" Newt breathed out.

Tiago felt his throat tighten as he forced out his next words.

"Don't die."

They shared a look, one that Tiago knew was a promise. I'll try not to die if you try not to die. Newt nodded, his gaze firm and set once more, and then the two parted ways.

― ➶ ―

sorry for the incredibly long wait!! like i said in the author's note before this, i have been busy trying to prepare myself for university. as it turns out, i had most of this chapter written out anyway and i probably could've found some time to finish it earlier but i didn't want to stress out about it. i also wanted to make sure the chapter was good enough before publishing it.

i'm not sure how frequent updates are going to be after this chapter. i know there's only going to be about two more before the end of part one, possibly three chapters if i can drag it out long enough lol.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed and i'll see you whenever!! thanks for reading lol, vote and comment if you enjoyed :)