Aegis | The Maze Runner / Minho ✓

eighteen

Another five minutes later and I was ready to go. Almost as soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I was whisked forward and a pair of lips were on mine. Kissing him had become a more normal occurrence over the months; I had stopped blushing furiously a while ago. When I asked what it was for, he simply shrugged.

Minho insisted on blindfolding me again, tying the fabric underneath my ponytail so I couldn't see a thing. My hands gripped onto his arm tightly as I walked. I strained to hear anything or use any other senses to gauge where we were headed, but it was basically impossible because everywhere in the Glade was the same. My brace dragged through the long grass annoyingly.

And then it scraped on stone, and I froze. "Minho..."

He tugged at my arm. "It's okay, promise."

I trusted him, but I couldn't fight down the fear that was creeping in my chest and filling it with congestion. Each of my steps caused my brace to make a scraping sound against the ground. It echoed around the high walls.

Even if I was blind, I still knew exactly where we were going. A left, then a right, and straight for a bit, another left, left again...

We stopped. Minho let go of my arm and untied the blindfold in one fluid motion. Sunlight poured into my eyes the instant it did, causing me to squint. And once I could see again, I was shocked even if I could picture where we were when my eyes were closed. It had been almost six months since I had been in the Maze, and somehow it seemed to be both different and the same.

The stone walls were still high as ever, weighed down by tendrils of thick ivy. Sparse stones littered the edges of the narrow pathway. Above us, the sun shined with powerful rays that cast shadows all around. I turned in a slow circle to soak it all in.

I couldn't control the mixed emotions swirling inside of me. It was a confusing mix of fear, joy, and relaxation. My heart knew that the Maze was a place I used to love running in, but my brain kept replaying the horrific scene of the Doors closing on me. It brought a prick to my leg that I couldn't help but wince at.

"You okay?" Minho questioned. He was watching me carefully to my left. "I can take you back. Shuck, it was a mistake bringing you here."

He sounded so disappointed with himself that I felt an ache inside of me. I shook my head, taking a step toward him. "No, Minho. I'm fine. It's just been so long..."

As soon as I finished those words, I took out my notebook from my back pocket along with my pencil. The new, crisp pages were soothing as I began sketching a quick outline of him. The ivy was a perfect backdrop. My eyes flickered from the paper to him every so often until he got the hint.

"Are you...drawing me?" Minho sounded both taken aback and excited. There was an edge of happiness in his voice. "I always knew I was your muse."

"And you ruined it," I joked with a sigh, shaking my head as I finished the slope of his shoulder. My memory was almost photographic from having to draw Maps from memory every day, so I didn't need him to stand in the same spot in order to finish it. "But yes, I am drawing you."

"Cool." He grinned widely. "When you're done, I want to put it up on my wall."

"Why?"

"Because I bet I look just as good on paper as I do in real life."

Minho's prideful comments had gotten so abundant that they almost always went in one ear and out the other. I ignored him as I walked to his side and gently eased myself onto the ground. The ivy dug through my shirt as I did so, pressing into my back in a way that wasn't very comfortable. However, I didn't mind much and instead focused on adding details.