IT STARTED WITH A MAZE - Newt x Reader (F)

- WHEN THE TRUTH GETS OUT -

They all turn to look at me. "Think so," Frypan replies, though his voice is wary. It hangs in the air like a warning.

Minho steps forward, the night's moon casting his shadow across the ground. "Where the hell are we?" He mutters.

The mall is skeletal, lifeless - mannequins strewn across broken counters, vines curling down from the broken ceiling like hands reaching to pull us under. And something else - the emptiness. Not peaceful. Watchful. Like we're not alone. My father's words echo in my mind.

You wouldn't last one day in the Scorch. If the elements don't kill you, the Cranks will.

We aren't secure out here. I can feel it in my bones. "We need to go," I say suddenly, stepping forward, heart racing. "I don't think we're safe-"

"No, (Y/n), stop," Newt interrupts. The command is sharp. Cutting. Louder than the wind. It freezes me mid-step. Everyone turns. Newt's eyes are burning - not with anger, but betrayal. Hurt. That quiet kind of fury that builds and builds and doesn't have anywhere to go except out. "You think you can just drop that on us in the middle of an escape?" He says, voice trembling. "That Janson- Rat Man, is your father?"

The words aren't necessarily a knife - Newt is not someone who yells often. But spoken aloud they carry so much more weight than my own thoughts. I stare at him. "I told you because I didn't want you to stay behind," I say, struggling to hold my voice steady. "If you thought he'd hurt me, you wouldn't have gone. I needed you to leave."

"You needed us to leave?" Newt repeats, incredulous. His voice rises. "Without you?" He questions as if that is just as bad. "The point is, (Y/n), you should have told us," he says.

I glance around - Thomas won't meet my eyes. Teresa is silent. Aris looks away. Even Winston, sweet Winston, seems uncomfortable. I feel the heat rise in my chest, but it's not anger - it's shame. "I didn't tell you because..." my words drop off. I can't blame it on my father - because it entirely partially my choice to believe his threats. "I guess knew this would happen," I whisper, hands shaking. "Because I knew you'd look at me like you are right now. Like I'm poison." It's a low blow but I can't help trying to defend myself.

Newt's face twists. His breath catches in his throat. "I'm looking at you like I don't know who you are," he says. "Because I really thought we trusted each other more than that."

There's a long, cold silence. The wind outside roars, rattling the glass and making the dome groan like it might collapse. Frypan crosses his arms, his gaze downcast as he looks at me. "So what does that make you, (Y/n)?" He asks slowly. "Are you still with WICKED?"

"I never chose WICKED," I assure them. "I didn't choose him. I chose all of you." My voice breaks, and I fight the tears. "Newt, I told you why I went into the Maze. Because I wanted to save-"

"But you left out a crucial detail," Newt says, stepping forward again. His voice is trembling now. "Your dad works for WICKED."

"I didn't remember that!" I shout. "Not fully. Not in the details that mattered." Newt opens his mouth, then closes it. His fists are clenched. His jaw tight. He's chewing on his words like they taste bitter. My chest is heaving. The tension between us is electric, stinging the skin.

"Hey," Thomas finally says, stepping forward. "Newt, he clearly lied to her, just like he did to all of us." Newt looks at Thomas, then back at me. And I watch it happen - the conflict behind his eyes. Like he wants to believe that. Wants to. But can't.

He chews on his lip, blinking rapidly. Then looks away. And that - that - hurts worse than yelling ever could.

"I'm so lost," Teresa says suddenly, her voice hollow, cutting through the still air. Her eyes flick from one of us to the next, but they don't settle anywhere. "Everything feels like it's unraveling."