Perilous Love | Maze Runner

Worry

  A few other Gladers ring in with "Yeah!" And "It's all the girl's fault!"

  I look at Gally. His eyes are shooting daggers through my chest and he mouths one sentence to me that makes my heart stop.

  "If they don't kill you, I will."

  I need to get out of here.

  I quickly weave through the crowd of boys, some yelling things in my ear, others giving me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. I hear Newt calling my name, coming after me but I keep going. I run to the hammocks and my chest is heavy and I want to cry but no tears come out and thank God because I can't imagine how weak I would seem if I cried right now.

  Instead my chest is heaving up and down and I am pressing my hands to my temples, struggling to get a hold of myself. I am breathing so hard I start to hiccup and the anxiety attack keeps a grip on me.

  Newt finally reaches me and is shushing me, saying its okay, that I'm okay.

  "Newt, they all hate me." I say in between chest spasms.

  "No, no they don't. They're just scared, love." He whispers. He puts his warm, strong arms around me and I put my hands on his chest, holding onto him for support as I try to quiet myself. He is rubbing my neck in a kind, soothing way that reminds me of how a mother would make you feel better in times like this.

  My chest finally settles and I can breathe normally again, but my head hurts a little and I am still hiccuping. And Newt still has me in his arms.

  "Do you want to lie down?" He asks, but he is already walking me to a random hammock. I break away from his warmth and lie down on the hammock. He lies down next to me and I nuzzle my face into him and he pulls me in tightly and I hope he never lets go.

  "Newt?" I ask.

  Hiccup.

  He giggles. "Yes, love?"

  "How is it that I feel this way?" I ask, not opening my eyes, not moving an inch. I want this moment to last for an eternity and more.

  "Feel what way?"

  "That I know you. That I feel like I've known you forever and I am not afraid of you or your touch, or anything when I'm with you?"

  "I don't know, love. Maybe we do know each other, or maybe we're just crazy. But whatever it is, isn't it wonderful?"

  Tingles run through my bones.

  "Yes. It is truly wonderful." I say. I am running my fingers up and down his chest. It feels natural.

  "Please stop." He says.

  Crap, did I cross the line or something? "Why?"

  He takes a moment. "Because it tickles,"

  I laugh. He is so adorable. I do it with both hands this time, faster too. He is laughing is head off and swatting at my hands, trying to keep me away.

  "Stop! Stop! You monster!" He says in between laughs and coughs.

  "Mwahaha!" I try to impersonate an evil villain but my hiccups interrupt which makes him laugh even harder.

  He grabs my hands and holds my small wrists together with one hand, trapping me. "That's better," He smirks.

  Our eyes are gazing at each other. His brown on my blue. I am studying every feature of his face. His curved smile, his skinny nose, his perfect jawline.

  We both lean in a little bit closer, fore heads and noses touching, giving each other an Eskimo Kiss.

  I can't imagine how horrible it must be for someone to not experience this. The thrill of having someone so close to you, and the happiness of knowing they feel the same way back.

  I think it's about to happen. I think our lips are about to be together when we hear voices not too far away. We both look into the direction of the voices and see a couple Gladers coming our way. This is probably their hammock.

  "I should probably go to bed," I say as I stand up. He rises to his feet too. "Goodnight Newt." I dont want to say goodbye. I know it's for twelve hours and those twelve hours I will only be asleep but without him near me, without him next to me I feel cold. I feel lost.

  He wraps his arms around me again, burrowing his hands in my hair. "Goodnight, love," He says gently to me. "Sleep tight." He kisses me softly on my forehead and I melt.

  After a few more seconds, I hear the voices nearer. "Is that Newt and Olivia?" One of them echoes.

  I step away and wave to him. He will be right in the hammock next to me but the night is still young and he probably has to talk with Alby about this whole thing and my head is too full to deal with it tonight. I start my walk towards my hammock but then he quickly walks up to me. He grabs my wrist and spins me to face him.

  He whispers one last thing, "I just wanted to say that you are so cute when you hiccup."

AUTHOR: Hello, everyone. I am writing this author's note a year after this chapter was posted as I am currently editing it. I am realizing that Olivia and Newt's relationship is moving quickly, in such a way that wouldn't happen in the real world. This is because 1.) It's a fanfic and it's based on love so I guess it's gonna be a little unrealistic and 2.) I was just really excited to write this story and get to the romantic parts so yeah. XD Hopefully it doesn't bug anyone because I still think they're cute. But I am trying to avoid negative comments on the subject, so this is just to clear things up!