Abused ≫ Newt [2]

Chapter 21.

"Emily!"
Emily looked up from her plate as the floppy haired boy approached her. Chuck had a big smile on his face, as if he had just figured out the answer for all of the world's problems.
"What is it?" she asked, setting what was left of her piece of bacon down on the plate.
Chuck took a seat beside her, cocking his head towards a tree near the edge of the Deadheads, "Thomas is over there."
Emily looked over towards the tree with narrowed eyes. Thomas sat against it, staring out over the Glade as he gnawed on a piece of bacon. "And?"
"And he's alone," Chuck wriggled his eyebrows, a sly smirk curling on to his lips.
"Chuck, I honestly do not know where you are getting with this," Emily said with a small laugh.
Chuck groaned, threw his hands in the air as if he had been saying the most obvious thing in the world, "He is a perfect victim for a scare!"
Emily rolled her eyes, "I am not going to scare my-" she cut herself off quickly. She pursed her lips and swallowed nervously. "I am not going to scare the Greenie."
"Please," Chuck said.
"No."
"Please," the boy batted his eyelashes, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout.
Emily sighed, tried to act as annoyed as possible. Though she could not help the smile that was slowing forming on her lips. She knew Chuck noticed, too, as he smiled victoriously before standing up. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her into a standing position beside him.
"Come on!"
He ran ahead of her, towards the Deadheads were Thomas sat. Emily rolled her eyes and quickly caught up to him, stifling a laugh at his overly-excited attitude towards the whole "prank".
"So," she said with a smirk. "What's the plan?"

Emily sat on a branch of a tree, her legs tucked tightly to her chest. Thomas sat against the tree, completely oblivious to the girl perching above him. Emily spotted Chuck a little ways away, leaning against another tree, busy carving something in his hands. She gave him a silent thumbs up, which the boy returned before tucking the small object in his pocket. He started making his way over to Thomas, a hop in his step as he ran a hand through his curly hair.
"Hey, Thomas," he said casually as he approached the Greenie. He took a seat next to him, quickly glancing in Emily's direction as he did so.
Thomas, who was busy drawing designs in the dirt with a twig, looked up, almost as if he did not notice Chuck approaching him. Perhaps he didn't.
"Oh. Hey Chuck."
"Everything all right?" Chuck's voice shook as he spoke. Whether with excitement or nervousness, she did not know. But she did know that she wanted to throw a rock at him, tell
him to act more cool, more casual, or else his brilliant plan would not work. But she stayed silent. No matter how much it bothered her.
"Are you thinkin' about the Maze?"
This seemed to catch Thomas's attention. The boy looked up from the ground once more, his eyebrows raised and his brown eyes wide. He shrugged, averting his gaze from Chuck's once more.
"It's hard not to think about it, honestly," he muttered.
"Hey, just do your best not to think about it, alright?" Chuck patted him on the back. "Think of happier things. Like... Emily, for example." the kid wriggled his eyebrows, a smirk forming on his lips. Emily had a sudden urge to jump out of the tree right then and there and strangle the boy. But, once again, she stayed where she was.
"Chuck, it's not like that," Thomas said quickly with a groan. "We're-"
"Yeah, yeah. I don't wanna hear it," Chuck said. "Here, I gotta show you something." He reached into his pocket, acted as if he were searching for something. Now was her cue.
Emily braced herself, waited for the right moment to pounce. Thomas leaned closer to Chuck, almost as if his curiosity was getting the best of him.
Chuck pulled out a rock from his pocket and handed it to Thomas. The Greenie held it in his hand, his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the tiny, unimportant pebble. Emily took the chance, pushing off of the branch and jumping out of the tree.
She landed only centimeters from Thomas, screaming at the top of her lungs, "Hey, Thomas!"
The Green Bean jumped, a scream erupting from his lips as he threw the pebble at her. He stared at her with wide eyes, confusion written all over his face. Chuck was rolling on the ground, clutching his sides as he laughed. Emily couldn't help but laugh, as well.
"What-" Thomas shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "What the shuck, Emily?"
"Dude," Chuck sat up, wiping a literal tear from his eye. "Please don't even try an' use Glader terms ever again."
"Do I sound that bad, shuck-face?" Thomas asked sarcastically. He then turned to Emily, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Seriously, though. Why?"
Emily settled down next to him, nudging him with her shoulder lightly, "Because it was funny. You should've seen the look on your face."
"It was not funny," Thomas pouted, crossing his arms and sticking out his bottom lip.
"You're right," Chuck chuckled. "It was hilarious."