Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 1

Emma chuckled, "yeah. I was going to sit with the other friends I've made because I'm so popular." The only people she spent time with were currently surrounding her. Minho and Ben weren't here, but outside of them, there wasn't anyone else that Emma spent time with.

"Yeah, you're a real winner here."

Emma glared playfully at Zart. "Slim it." He winked at her, taking a bite of his food. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nope, absolutely nothing." Nothing interesting ever seemed to happen.

She nodded, looking up as a few people passed by. "Hey," Minho slapped Newt's shoulder before looking at her. "Hey, Greenie."

"Hey," she returned the greeting.

Minho walked by with a few others. They exchanged pleasant greetings. At the back was Gally. As they locked eyes, she offered him a friendly smile. Part of her felt hopeful, but that died quickly. His eyes stayed on her for a few seconds before he looked away. He didn't smile in return or say hello. He ignored her, as he always did. It was as if she didn't exist. Sometimes, she caught him staring with his signature scowl. The Keeper of the Builders would whisper to others about her but refused to speak to her.

No matter how kind or considerate she was, Gally refused to accept her as an equal member of the Glade. He hated her, and Emma hated it. She didn't like being disliked. It would be different if she had done something to upset him, but she hadn't. She did nothing but enter the Glade as a girl.

As the group walked away, she sighed, placing her head on her hand. Newt snickered, patting her shoulder. "Don't worry about Gally, Greenie. He's just unfriendly." But that wasn't completely true. He wasn't the nicest guy, but he wasn't entirely mean. He helped out around the Glade whenever anyone asked. If someone needed help, he was there. That wasn't unfriendly in her mind.

"Yeah," Jack said. "You're not missing out on much."

"I know." That's what they always said. "I just don't like being unliked, especially when I didn't do anything wrong." Gally hated her for no reason, and it was bothering her. She was determined to get him to like her. "We don't have to be friends, but it would be nice if he didn't glare at me every time I breathed." It bugged her. They didn't have to be friends.

Grabbing her spoon, she messed with her food. Newt noticed the stressed expression on her face. Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "I can talk to him if you want. Shake some sense into him."

"No," she sputtered. "That would only anger him more." That wasn't what she wanted. Emma had to do it on her own. It would take time, but she seemed to have a lot of that.

Just as quickly as her mood fell, it was lifted back up by Alex and Brandon, who loudly sat down at the picnic table with them. Their discussion on pigs draws her in. It wasn't long before she was laughing alongside them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma sat on the second ledge of the tree hut. Her eyes scanned over the Glade. There were groups scattered around, hanging out before heading to bed.

This was her home. It wasn't much. It wasn't ideal. It wasn't easy, but it was her home.

Three weeks ago, she had been so scared when she arrived in the Glade. Newt was her first friend. He was the reason the Glade became her home. Rather than abandoning her, he stayed by her side. Newt fought for her. Instead of throwing her to the Grievers or forcing her to endure two weeks of testing out jobs, he made her a Garnder. He gave her a roll and a place to be.

Without him, she wondered where she would be. Perhaps a Slopper, considering Alby didn't care for her much. He saw her as a problem, a distraction at best. At first, that's what she was. The stares made it impossible to exist.

But it has been three weeks. Gladers stopped caring. People moved on. Life went on.

"Hey," a voice interrupted her thoughts. Emma looked over the side to see Newt staring up at her. "What are you doing up there, Greenie?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." It was too early to sleep, but there wasn't much else to do.

"Can I come up?"

"Yeah." Emma didn't think Newt needed to ask. He was free to do whatever he wanted.

She waited patiently for him. It only took the blond boy a few seconds. "Hey." He always wore the same expression—a mix between tender and considerate. Similar, but at the same time, incredibly different.

"Hey."

He sat beside her swinging his legs over the side. There was a comfortable silence that settled between them. It was like they'd known each other forever. Like they're old friends making up for lost time.

Emma doesn't allow herself to be curious about life before. Who she was before, that person was gone. Her memories are gone. All she knows is the Glade. But, sometimes, when the sun vanishes and the world goes dark, she imagines her life before. A colorless house with faceless people. Faces she can't remember because they're gone. A home she can't picture because she can't remember.

It makes her sad. It makes her miss something she can't even remember.

So, she doesn't like to think about it. She doesn't allow herself to be curious. It's easier that way.

However, she does allow herself to feel different things. Most importantly, she feels hope. It's silly. Something the others have seemingly forgotten. But she can't afford to feel anything less because, without hope, she would be left with nothing. She would be left with just the Glade, forever. She hopes that one day, they'll leave. That they'll be free.

For now, that day seems far away, but she remains hopeful.

"You okay there, Greenie?"

Emma nodded before she spoke. "I'm okay."

Their eyes locked. "I know it's a lot. You're doing well. Three weeks down, and you're working harder than half the Shanks here."

A faint smile crossed her features. "But not harder than you, right?"

"Right."

She hummed. "Of course." There's a moment of silence. "I don't hate it here. I don't think."

"Really?"

"I imagine there are worst places to be." Like the Maze at night. "But I still hold out hope that one day, the Runners will come back with news that they finally found the exit." Newt doesn't say anything. She knows in her heart that he has given up hope. It seemed to her that a lot of people have. "What do you think is out there?"

Newt didn't respond, not right away. He took a moment to reflect. The last three years inside the Glade have given him a lot of time to imagine what's out there. Never once had he voiced the thought aloud. Not until now. "I've imagined a hundred different things. Some good, some bad." Emma stared at him, unable to look away. "What do you think's out there?"

Without hesitation, she said. "Something better."

Newt smiled a vibrant smile, something that felt foreign. "I think you might be right." Emma wasn't like the others in the Glade, Newt concluded. He figured that out early on. She was different, hopeful. Something he thought the Glade might need. Something he thought he might need.