Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 16

It should have been her third bonfire, but it was her second. During the last bonfire, she was forced to stay on bed rest to let her ankle heal. Luckily, a few of her friends came by and made the night better. Part of her felt guilty, but they assured her it was fine. They had all been to dozens of bonfires. Missing one wasn't a big deal.

This bonfire felt different. It was different.

She was happier this time.

The beating of drums filled her ears. The festivities were in full swing. Gally had been in the fighting ring for a while. She had been watching him from the other side of the fire. He glanced in her direction a few times, but she managed to turn away just before he could catch her gaze.

She didn't want to make things weird between them. They had only been friends for a month. Before, she thought about him a lot. She thought about being his friend and making him like her. He occupied a large portion of her mind. After, he continued to stay in her thoughts. In truth, he wouldn't leave. Emma hoped a friendship with him would finally get him to vacate her mind, but it only seemed to make things worse.

She didn't understand why.

Emma watched as Gally stopped fighting. A few Builders patted him on the back. He waved at them with a smile, going to sit on a log nearby with Alexander and Lauren. Part of her wanted to sit with him, but she wasn't sure that was okay. They were friendly around the Glade and spoke in the evenings after dinner, but this felt different. The bonfire was a time everyone spent relaxing with their friends. Gally always stayed around the Builders. She wasn't a Builder.

Emma looked away and focused on the blond standing beside her. "Where's the new Glader?" In her hand was a glass jar full of Gally's secret recipe. A few times, she tried to drink it but couldn't do it. However, the drink was a bit of a tradition in the Glade, and Emma didn't want to be rude and decline the drink when it was offered to her by Ben.

Newt looked around. "Don't know, actually. Probably sleeping. He was a bit overwhelmed."

A frown appeared on her face. "Is he okay?"

He shrugged. "I'm sure he's fine."

"Does he remember his name?"

"Chuck, I think. Honestly, I could hardly understand him. He spoke so softly." She only hummed in response. "I'm going to go sit with Alby and talk to him about a few things. I'll be back in a bit, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure," she responded. "I'm going to find Jack and Zart." The two split up. Emma knew it wouldn't be long before Newt returned. The dark-haired girl walked toward where she last saw Jack and Zart. That was near Frypan. He had food, and they always ate a lot. Her eyes found Zart first. He was several inches taller than Jack. Jack was short, shorter than Emma. He often got lost in crowds.

But Jack and Zart were with someone else. It was Jordan. Instantly, she froze. Three weeks ago, Newt spoke to Alby about what he had learned from Emma. Of course, Alby was very displeased with what he heard. So, Alby spoke with Jordan, who was not happy being singled out and insisted he did nothing wrong.

After that, things were awkward. He refused to speak with her around others, always trying to corner her when she was alone. Somehow, he failed every time. There was always a friend close by to scare him off.

But he was persistent and rude. Jordan no longer ate lunch or dinner with them. That was fine with her. It was better that way.

Emma blinked a few times, realizing she was feet away from her friends, and any of them could see her and call her over. The last thing she wanted was to be stuck in an awkward conversation with Jordan on her one night to relax.