THANATOPHOBIA - newt [1]

~ THIRTEEN

But now. Now she hated being there. The grass was rough against her clothes, almost poking through to stab her. There were no flowers in sight, and the only smell was the leftover smoke in the air from all the chaos. It, once again, reminded her that there was no hope for the Gladers. And that they were stuck.

She sat, deep in thought about the sacrifices that were made. Mostly Alby. She knew she should've thought about the others, like Zart. But she rarely saw them, let alone spoke to them.

Alby was different. He wasn't just the first person in the Glade. He was a leader, a person for the scared. And he was Lela's friend. She always felt safe with Alby, no matter what the circumstance. She felt like she could tell him anything, and just sit in peace with him. Like she did at the Deadheads.

And now he was gone. Her friend, her leader. There was nobody to look up to anymore. They were the last left.

A loud noise behind startled her, causing her to jump up and shriek slightly. But she was only met with Newt, looking at her sheepishly with - surprisingly - a full blanket in his hands. Yes, it was singed a little here and there, but it would make do until the morning.

"Sorry." He apologised, "You looked really concentrated, I didn't want to interrupt."

"I was." Lela sighed, "What do you want?"

"Oh, wow." He scoffed jokingly, "well I wanted to sit and lay with you for the night." He turned around, But if you're going to be like that-"

"No!" She stopped him, holding his wrist gently as he turned to look at her, "please don't. Stay with me."

"That's what I thought." He grinned, sitting down comfortably, and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, before inviting her in, "You coming."

Lela nodded slightly, sitting beside him and allowing him to put his arm around her, draping the blanket across her shoulder.

"I don't get it." She said softly.

"What?"

"How you can sit there and crack jokes, even after what just happened." She explained.

"What do you mean?" He raised a brow.

"Newt." She exhaled, "We just lost sixty Gladers tonight. Including Alby. And you're sat there smirking at me?"

"I'm sorry-"

"I'm not mad." Lela told him. "I'm just... confused. How can you still smile?"

"Well..." He sighed, not sure what to say, "You've always said I was your beacon of hope, right? Then I can't dim myself down, can I? Otherwise how will you get through it?"

"Why would you pretend to be happy just for me?"

Newt moved closer, so their thighs were touching, "I've already told you. You mean a lot to me, Lela. If you didn't, why would I go back to the walls for you? Why was I the first to help when you were nearly taken in Homestead? Why are you always my priority, no matter the scenario?"

There was a pause in the air, as the two stared into each other's eyes longingly. Lela now knew that her feelings were real, she really did like Newt. She thought they may have been toying with her, but in that moment, she knew they were genuine.

And so she tried her best to explain it to him, "Newt, I like you." Was all she said.

He was taken back. She never got this deep with him, let alone actually admitted it.

"Y-You do?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded quietly.

"Le- I... I really want to kiss you, Lela." Was all he could form.

"Then why haven't you?" She smirked, "or are you not the big strong man you say you are?"

"I think I'm big and strong." He fixed his posture, and tried to flex his arms, but there wasn't any change.

"Yeah..." lela trailed off, "might have to keep working on that one." She chuckled.

Then she leant in towards him, hesitating slightly to double check that it was what he wanted. She opened her eyes slightly, noticing that Newt hadn't moved before understanding, and moving back.

She felt embarrassed for just a second, before Newt pulled her in closer, his lips softly touching hers in a gentle kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, and Newt didn't want to push it. He had already made progress so far with Lela, and didn't want to ruin it by being greedy and rushing into things.

They pulled apart and just smiled at each other. They were in complete happiness together. Lela yawned, it had been a long and stressful day. Very stressful infact.

"Tired?" Newt asked, and she responded with a nod, "Here."

He moved slightly, so that he was laid on his side, and gestured for Lela to join him on the floor. His jacket made for a makeshift pillow for them to share for the night.

Lela swiftly obliged, the thought of rest tempting her too much. She laid in front of him, her back against his chest as he wrapped them both in the blanket, warm and tight.

"Goodnight." He whispered to her, not realising that she had already fallen asleep. He pressed a light, but timid kiss to her shoulder before resting his head, and wrapping an arm around her waist.

_____

A/N

AHHHH IT HAPPENED!!