Aegis | The Maze Runner / Minho ✓

sixteen

Oh, God. I really wished he hadn't said that. The mental image that brought about made me want to crawl under my bed and never look at him again.

I squeezed my eyes shut when I felt hands on my own. They were trying to pull them from my face, but I was basically as strong as Minho was. He shifted around so he could get a better grip and managed to pull my arms away for just long enough that he could press his lips to mine again. I found my hands going to his face instead of mine. They grabbed his cheeks so they squished a bit.

My heart was doing backflips in my chest as his hand went to the back of my neck to bring me closer. I still felt awkward and unsure of myself, but it wasn't as bad as the last time. Slowly but surely, I was figuring out what to do.

I had to pull back and stifle a yawn. "Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I'm just exhausted."

"I'm not even going to complain because that was adorable," Minho replied with a grin. "Shuck, I like you."

I beamed at him, happy to know that he returned the feelings I had for him. If he didn't, I wasn't sure what I'd do.

"Alright, I'm gonna go up to my room," Minho sighed, leaning forward and pecking my cheek before standing up. He stretched his arms over his head, revealing a thin line of his skin that my eyes immediately dropped to. He noticed. "Get some sleep. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

I watched as he left and closed the door behind him. My room felt emptier somehow, the spacious area seeming more sparse with only me in it. A heavy breath fell from my lips before I closed my sketchbook and tossed it onto my cluttered dresser.

Minho was right. If I was a tornado, I could obliterate those rumors tomorrow.

-:-

It was a lot easier said than done.

The beginning of the day was horrible. Eyes followed me everywhere, but I refused the urge to run into my room and draw on my wall for the whole day. Whispers trailed around the Glade. It made me a little nauseous; these people had been nothing short of kind to me before my accident. Now, I was uncomfortable no matter where I went.

I sat with Newt, Theo, and Garret during lunch. Clark was nowhere to be seen once more. A weight was settling in my chest that made me feel like I was sinking toward the bottom of a lake. Garret and Theo tried to cheer me up as best as they could with banter and jokes. The two were so affable that they even made Newt smile. Just seeing that expression on his face was enough to make me grin as well.

Then Clark appeared out of nowhere. He pushed his red hair back from his face and plopped down beside me with a grunt. Just before I looked at him, my eye caught Luke staring from another table. Even if I didn't like him, I knew Clark did, and that was enough for me to approve.

Things began clearing up as the hours passed and the sun started its descent over the East Wall. The Keepers had done their part in shutting down the spreading of rumors. When I passed the Blood House on my daily walk, Winston waved at me with a knife in his hand. Nick was hustling around to spy on everyone's conversations. All Alby had to do was walk by a group of people and they'd fall silent instantly. Gally apparently took to threatening his Builders with putting nails in their hands if he heard a single word about Alex, Clark, or me.

Nick was right. Keepers stuck together, and I was grateful for it.

People began crowding around the West Door half an hour before it was scheduled to close. There was a jittery feeling swarming my stomach, heightening my nerves and making me antsy. Clark stood beside me with his arms crossed and his indifferent mask plastered onto his face again. Ironically, I was somewhat happy to see it. It meant that things were already returning back to normal.