Ineffable | Newt

17.

"Need help cleaning up?" Minho's voice sounded from the doorway.

Katie looked up from the sink; her hair was tied back as she washed dishes. It was her day to clean and pack everything away, so while everyone went off to sleep or talked, she was in the kitchen.

She nodded and went back to the dishes.

Minho grabbed a rag and walked over to Katie, picked up a plate, and started drying.

The two of them worked in silence—well, almost silence. Minho spoke, telling Katie stories of the maze—which freaked her out—and the glade before she came up. It was interesting how long she'd been here already—about seven months. Katie stayed silent throughout Minho's retellings, remembering how much she had spoken to Newt and how terrible she felt. She didn't like talking. At all.

though something in her was itching to speak. As Minho was telling her about the time he threw a pot of oatmeal into Gally, Katie was practising a sentence in her head, repeating it and pretending to say it to Minho. a very specific sentence that she needed to get out of her chest.

"I like Newt." She blurted out, interrupting Minho's story.

The boy stopped wiping a plate, and his head looked towards Katie with furrowed eyebrows.

"What?" he asked.

"I like Newt." She repeated.

"I heard." Minho placed the rag and dish on the table."Why?"

Katie knew exactly why. She told Newt why, but she didn't want to repeat it; she didn't want to feel that way while talking again. Instead, she said:

"I told Newt."

"Why'd you tell him?" Minho inquired.

"He told me."

"So Newt likes you, and you like Newt." Minho clarified. Katie nodded her head, shutting off the water as there were no more dishes to wash. "So, are you two Shanks, like, dating now?"

Katie was confused. She never thought of dating. She couldn't remember if she had ever dated anyone before. She shook her head though, because, no, she and Newt weren't dating.

"Then why'd you tell me?"

Katie shrugged before smiling up at Minho.

"Talking can be fun."

A wide grin spread across Minho's face. His arm swung around Katie's shoulders and pulled her into his side, a mixture of pride and ego running through him. Katie's arm went around Minho's hips because that was where she could reach.

"You don't have to pretend you like talking for me." Minho moved his face down so she could see him. "When you told Newt you liked him, did you talk a lot?"

Katie nodded and rested her head on Minho's side.

"What happened?"

Katie shook her head and closed her eyes, remembering the terrible feeling of her chest closing up. The prevention of air haunted her.

"That bad?" Katie heard sympathy in Minho's voice.

She nodded and looked up at him. He looked down at her with a sad smile.

"Maybe talking really isn't good for you." Minho concluded, and Katie silently agreed. "Well, what are you and Newt going to do?"

Katie once again shrugged. Maybe she could date; who knows if Newt would even want to?

"Well, maybe you could just ask him." Minho suggested, rubbing his hand up and down Katie's arm.

Katie nodded, letting go of Minho and grabbing a rag. She went back to where the boy stood and started drying dishes with him.

The two worked in silence for a bit before Minho bumped his hip into Katie's with a cheeky smile.

"My two best friends are gonna to be shanking," he said.

Katie giggled a little and shook her head.