How I survived in an all boys glade

Chapter Twelve

- flirting or not? -

It's been a couple weeks now since I came up the box and into the glade, and I've learned a lot more about the guys here, especially how they just love to tease and make fun of each other all the time. I've also tried out all the jobs, well, not ALL of them.

Runner was off-limits to me, simply because I was the only girl among the group. They claimed it was for my safety, but I suspected it had more to do with their own insecurities about having a female presence in their tightly knit circle. And maybe a little because they are scared to not being able to runout a girl, but that's just my theory.

Bagger was another role I had avoided. The job entailed handling the deceased, preparing them for their final journey. The thought of coming face to face with death made my stomach churn, and I knew it was a task I could never bring myself to do.

As for the builders, well, the towering structures they worked on were enough to make my head spin. Even climbing the watchtower, a mere fraction of the height of those imposing buildings, filled me with dread. The idea of plummeting to the ground from such heights was a nightmare I could not bear to entertain. So now I just help out where I can, and it's really not that bad. my hand is now healed too, just a scar running over my hand is left, to remind me of how careful I have to be when working in the slicers hut. But now on with the telling, right?

"Y/N! Get up!" I am woken by the screaming of a guy's voice coming closer and closer to my hut. I also decorated a bit more with some plants and some more drawings I had made that I had hung on the walls of my hut.

"She-bean?!" Theo then bursts through the doors to my hut making a loud thud as the door swings to the side and right into the wall "What...?" I muttered, my voice muffled by the pillow against my face, seeking answers to the disruption of my peaceful morning.

"Come on, you gotta get up before the others eat all the eggs and bacon" He then explains "Just go without me...?" I groan just wanting to go back to sleep "I can't though, Alby said I had to wake you up before I can take some, since I was the last one to the table" he adds making me giggle slightly "how do you manage to always be the last one there...?" I then ask sitting up on my bed to see Theo leaning in the doorway "I need my beauty sleep" he defends "so do I" I joke laughing, as I get out of bed, making my way to my dresser grabbing a pair off baggy cargo pants and a gray shirt with buttons down the middle.

As I turned around to see Theo standing cluelessly in the doorway, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Maybe a little privacy while I change?" I requested, hoping to finally have a moment to myself. "Oh, yeah, sorry," Theo quickly turned around, his back towards me as I started changing into the outfit I had picked out for the day. "So?" Theo suddenly decided to speak up, breaking the silence in the room.

"So what?" I asked, genuinely confused about what was on his mind as I threw on my shirt.
"What's the deal with you and Newt?" Theo added, catching me off guard, and I nearly choked on my own spit. "I- what do you mean?" I laughed nervously, sitting on my bed to put on my shoes while Theo turned around at the sound of the bed creaking.

"You know what I mean," he told me, a slight smirk playing on his lips as he walked up to me. "The way you two are always hanging out, how you're ALWAYS flirting with each other, and let's not forget his nickname for you; 'LOVE.'"

"We hang out a lot too, and we are not dating," I explained, grabbing a green cap from my dresser and putting it on. "And the flirting?" Theo pressed on. "That is not flirting," I defended myself, feeling a bit defensive under his scrutiny.

"Then what would you call all the flirty touching?" he challenged, walking up to me with a knowing look. "Oh! Newt, you're so funny," he said sarcastically, putting his hand on my shoulder and fluttering his eyes dramatically. "Oh, stop it!" I laughed, swatting his hand away playfully.

"Now come on, wasn't it you who wanted eggs and bacon before the others ate it all?" I reminded him throwing on my jacket and walking past him towards the kitchen.

"You know you love me!" he yelled after me, before catching up and throwing his arm around my shoulder. "Ew, as if!" I replied, playfully pushing him away as we continued bantering, enjoying each other's company.