The Girl

Chapter Twenty Four

  The kitchen was nearly empty, probably because of the time. Only a handful of other gladers are stranded throughout the room. Frypan hands us both plates with food on them and we sit down at a table together.

"We probably should've waited for Minho," I say, stabbing my fork into my mashed potatoes.

"He'll be here soon. He can still join us," Newt replies. Sure enough, minutes later, Minho arrives and joins us. He sets his plate down next to mine and sits next to me.

"Have you seen how fast this little one can run?" He says to Newt. Newt laughs.

"Nope, but I'm sure it's bloody fast considering she's got no weight to carry." I blush.

"I'm just glad we didn't run into any grievers. Then you really would've seen me run fast," I let out a nervous laugh.

"Don't worry, Beth. They don't usually come out during the day. Usually..." Minho reassures. I shrug.

"Things happen," I reply. We quickly clear our plates and return them to Frypan. We begin walking to the hammocks when I stop in my tracks and glance over. It's getting slightly darker. I grin.

"Beth? What's wrong?" Newt asks. I grab his arm and Minho's as well.

"Come here," I say and pull them over towards the deadheads quickly.

"Where are we going?" Minho asks, slightly annoyed.

"What? Tired from trying to keep up with me in the maze?" I sassily retort.

"Watch yourself," He warns but grins as he says it.

"Aw, come on. You love me," I wink before turning back to lead the way. I'm sure he rolls his eyes.

"Tada..." I say and gesture towards the tree I sat on yesterday afternoon. The boys look at me blankly. I turn around and climb the tree. They follow my steps and we all sit on one branch, me in between the two of them. We face out towards the maze, but the tree stretches so we can see over the walls.

"What are we- oh," Minho starts to ask before he's quieted by the incredible sunset beginning. I smile.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I say, not taking my eyes off the horizon. Both boys remain silent, admiring the natural beauty. The large orange mass slowly inches down the light blue sky. As the sun creeps downward towards the horizon, it's met with hues of pink, purple, red, and blood orange. The colors mix together beautifully and sink down into the ground as night arrives. I look up at the night sky, littered with stars. We linger a bit before I speak up.

"We should probably get going, we've got stuff to do tomorrow," I say climbing over Newt to descend from the tree. The boys follow.

"That was... amazing," Minho says. "How did you know?" He asks quietly. He probably doesn't want to lose his reputation. I shrug.

"I don't know, science I guess?" I laugh. "I noticed it yesterday but I didn't get to see it very well from the Glade."

"Thank you..." Newt says, placing his hand on the small of my back. I blush slightly.

"Well ya didn't think I would go alone, did ya?" I elbow him playfully.

"I'm gonna get some sleep. See ya in the morning, shanks..." Minho says as he takes a detour to get back to the hammocks. Once he's out of earshot Newt stops me.

"Come with me," He grins and pulls my hands back towards the Glade.

"Aren't we going back there anyway?" I giggle but follow him.

"We're going somewhere different tonight..." He says. After winding in and out of the trees we finally return to the Glade. I glance over to see all the Gladers asleep for the night. Newt notices too and smiles.

"What the hell are we doing?" I whisper to him as he leads me away from the hammocks. He remains silent with a smile still etched on his face. He pulls me towards the deadheads, trailing deeper and deeper into the forest. I'm about to speak up again when he pushes a branch down in front of us and gently guides me up closer to look past it.

A dark blue blanket is lying in the grass, in the middle of a collection of trees and incredible flowers. There are two candles on each corner of the blanket, holding it down and illuminating the breathtaking scene around it. The flames glow in front of the dark sky, sparkling stars aiding them in light. Flowers of all different types and colors are scattered in the grass, when I look down I can see a bright orange one and a white one hugging my boot.

"Do you like it?" Newt asks nervously, and I can feel his hand start to pull off my back. I open my mouth to say something, but no words escape. I turn to face him and my eyes brighten with a smile. I push myself up to kiss him gently.

"I love it," I whisper. His face lights up and he grabs my hand to pull me to the scene eagerly. I laugh and bite my lip, filled with excitement. He did all this for me?

"When did you do all this? How did you do all this?" I ask him as he lies down on the blanket and tugs my arm to be pulled into his side. He lies on his back, looking up at the stars with me on my side and my leg on top of his. My hand rests over his heart, and I feel myself breathe deeply and calmly.

"I found time," He smiles. "For you." He pulls my hair over my shoulder and tucks it behind my ear.

"It's just, amazing," I pull myself even deeper into his side.

"It was the best I could do in the middle of a bloody maze," He sighs. I wish we could forget about the maze.

"At least the sky looks beautiful," I look up.

"It's got nothing on you," He tilts my chin up and kisses my forehead. I smile shyly into his side. The coldness begins to set in, and I find his hand to lace our fingers together.

"Did you like running in the maze?" I ask curiously, but I can feel him tense next to me. It wouldn't be a great memory.

"I don't know. I liked being able to see more, but, I couldn't see enough. I felt more and less trapped at the same time. It's like there's not really a right choice. But how can there be in a place like this?" He sighs.

"When I'm with you, I feel like there is a right choice. I would stay here as long as I had to if I could be with you," I sit up while telling him, in an attempt to make him feel better about this dreadful place. He smiles and leans up to kiss me.

"I love you..."

"I love you too," I tell him. I turn to lay on my back with my head on his chest, each of us looking up at the stars. We gaze until the cold becomes too much, and we trail back to the med tent beside each other.