For My Help (A Minho Fan Fiction) [EDITING]

The Unexpected Message

"Psst. River. Wake up." The voice sounded distant to River, almost as if she was hearing it while underwater. As she woke up from her sleep, fighting against her closing eyes, she saw a face right in front of her own. She jumped back in fright, yelping.

"Minho!" Her eyes were wide with shock as she stared at the grinning boy, kneeling down beside the bed.

"Well at least you're awake now!" Minho's smile seemed to grow wider as River pretended to look mad, fighting back the smile that was about to break out across her face.

"I'm seriously going to glue your head to the floor." River growled while swinging her feet off the edge of the bed. She padded across the hardwood floor and began to walk out of the homestead, not caring if Minho followed her or not.

"Morning Frypan!" River said in a singsong voice as she got a plate and Frypan filled it with eggs and bacon. She inhaled the scent, and her stomach growled in excitement.

"Hey! You're running today, right?" He said in his usual cheery voice.

"Yup, unfortunately for Minho. That boy just does not want me to go." She shook her head before turning around and walking towards one of the empty tables. She was just able to catch a few words out of Frypan's mouth as she sat down.

"Well he has his reasons."

Suddenly aware of the sound of footsteps jogging heavily up to meet her, River scarfed down her food in a hurry. She knew that it was time to go and that she had about negative seven seconds to fill the remaining space in her stomach.

"Come on, we have to hurry if we want to make it when the doors open." Minho didn't seem to be in the usual cheery mood that he was always in around her. River wondered if this was because of how seriously he took his job. She always noticed that whenever he came back to map things out, he just wasn't himself.

Hopping up from the table, River cleaned up her plate and followed Minho to where he usually maps out the maze. Walking into the room, she was suddenly in awe by a model of the maze right in the centre of small hut.

"We've been mapping it for years and this is how far we've gotten." Minho walked up behind River, staring at the model. The walls were made out of small sticks that had obviously been placed with precision. From what River could tell, the maze was huge. It had an incredible amount of twists and turns that would be so easy to get lost in. Her stomach flipped while thinking about it.

"I've taken the liberty of grabbing your stuff for you." Minho held out a backpack that look heavy, but still manageable. River swung into onto her back and tested it's weight.

"Not as heavy as I expected." She shrugged, smiling slightly.

"And it's a good thing too. We can't have anything slow us down. Which leads me into the rules and schedule. Once we start running, we only stop for lunch. So no stopping because you're tired. Stay close to me at all times, and let me know if you hear any whirring or clicking noises." Minho beckoned her out of the mapping room and into the surrounding deadheads.

"Whirring or clicking noises?" River repeated, confused.

"Don't worry about it until you have to." They walked out into the rest of the glade, heading toward the west gate. River noticed that Minho wouldn't look at her. He kept staring straight ahead as they walked, showing no emotion.

As they reached the wall, the two stood waiting for it to open. Minho was bouncing on the balls of his feet, clearly itching to get out there. "Don't be nervous." He looked into her eyes for the first time since the map room, and River noticed that they held a certain level of concern.

"Don't worry, I'm not. I've got a four word motivational motto to keep myself going." She tucked a few strands of blonde hair behind her ears, and pushed the rest of her hair behind her shoulders.

"And that would be...?"

"Be careful. Don't die." The walls began to shake as the door in front of them started to slide open. River looked out into the maze, butterflies fluttering around her stomach. Minho nodded at her, and took off running as she followed quickly behind.

It had been a few hours since they began running and River had a steady burn in her legs. But it was easy to ignore compared to the shortness of breath she was experiencing. She pushed on, knowing she was stronger than this. She was always at least a few paces behind Minho, watching as he ran with ease. He made it look so easy. She was impressed.

Finally, Minho slowed to a stop beside a wall to the right of them. He threw himself onto the ground and shoved off his backpack, then proceeded to take a sandwich, an apple, and a water bottle out of it. River followed his lead and did the same.

It was silent for a few minutes as they sat there eating, both too out of breath to say anything, before Minho broke the silence. "You're doing really well!" He looked almost relieved.

"You seem shocked? Were you doubting my capabilities?" River raised an eyebrow, chuckling to herself as she took another bite of her sandwich.

"I'm surprised you made it three feet out of the glade." Minho teased, before taking a gulp of water to wash down his sandwich.

"Ouch!" River placed a hand to her chest in mock offence. "How much longer do we have?"

"Is the princess getting tired?"

"No, the princess is curious as to how much longer she has to outrun the fool for."

"First of all, you could never outrun me. Second of all, you get princess and I get fool? At least you're part of the royal family! Now I have to wear the hat with the dangly bells and entertain rich snobs like you?" Minho crinkled his nose.

"Don't worry, you'd probably look good in the hat." River blushed suddenly as the words flew out of her mouth, hating that she just complimented him without even thinking.

"Yeah, you're right. I probably would." He shrugged and stood up, preparing to start running again. River pushed herself up off of the concrete and slung her backpack over her shoulders just as something caught her eye on the wall opposite them. 

Something was shining bright, reflecting sunlight into her eye. She walked towards it and brushed away a few vines so she could get a closer look. It was a silver plaque. Reading the words on it made River's heart momentarily stop.

 WE WILL GET HER BACK.

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Author's Note

Well hello again! Kind of a plot twist ending there, or at least something to keep the story going. Also, is River starting to feel something for Minho? And does Minho reciprocate those feelings??

Also I'm really proud of myself because I've been updating often. I'm finally sticking with a story and that makes me really happy. Especially since school is super crazy right now. Anyways, thanks for continuing to read this story. It means a lot to me!

Let me know what you think in the comments! <3

Marin