Run With Me ➵ Newt [2]

THIRTEEN | wicked attacks

"No, no, it's fine!" I said, quickly taking my hand off his. "You go first. And, uh... call me Rose."

"Oh. Okay."

Aris got up and entered the cubicle, looking more awkward than he'd ever been. There was silence for a moment, then I heard the faint pitter patter of water hitting the ground.

"What was that about?" Newt said quietly.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I was bloody talkin' about - you were holding hands!"

"I wasn't! I was trying to comfort him, Newt."

Newt cast his gaze down. He looked miserable, despite his fresh shower. My face softened and I went over to him. "Hey," I said softly. "I-I'm sorry, that was really bad of me to do. I should've thought better."

"No, I should be sorry," Newt mumbled. "I didn't mean to buggin' snap at you like that. And I-I know you two don't, uh... like each other in that sort of way. I just panicked."

I gave him a small smile. "It's fine. I don't blame you."

He leaned down and kissed me, his damp hair tickling my skin.

"I'm gonna go over to the others now," he said, pulling back. "See ya, Rose."

"See ya."

He walked away to one of the big tents in the base, and I watched him disappear into the crowd. When Teresa was done, I stepped into the shower stall and took off my clothes, hanging them on the hooks behind the door. I showered, scrubbing at every dirt and bruise on my skin. I found myself thinking about Mary's words again, and I couldn't help but admire her bravery to join WICKED despite knowing that they were the ones who shot my father in cold blood, leaving my mother to go insane from grief and the Flare.

I sighed, and turned off the tap. I wiped myself dry with a towel and changed into the new clothes I had picked out, which was a little difficult in the limited space I had. I pulled on a faded blue shirt with a mysterious white stain at the hem, a pair of ripped jeans and an olive green jacket that was a little too big for me. I stepped out of the stall and headed towards a tent where my friends were gathered at - they were hunched over a table, where platters and platters of food were stacked, their delicious smell wafting over to me. My stomach let loose a loud grumble and I realized it had been a really long time since I had eaten anything.

"Hey, Rose!" Frypan called out to me, his mouth full of food. "Come on! They have rice!"

I chuckled, and went over to his side, scooping some of the delicacies onto a plate. I grabbed some more food and snarfed them down, nearly choking myself as I was so hungry.

"Calm down, Rose," Minho said, rolling his eyes at me as he held up a roasted chicken leg to his mouth. "You're gonna choke yourself to death if you continue doing that."

"I didn't realize you had taken over Newt's title of being the mom friend," I muttered.

"Wait, what?" The two of them exclaimed together and glared at me. The rest of us laughed, clutching our stomachs as we tried not to spill our food. For a moment, I felt pure elation course through me - it felt amazing to be able to just chill out and joke around with my friends.

Maybe I can find a home here in The Right Arm after all.

-

I sat with Minho, Frypan and Newt up on a tall hill overlooking The Right Arm base. We stared down at the base below us, sitting in comfortable silence with each other. I spotted Aris and Felix chatting and laughing with Sonya and Harriet at a table at the foot of the hill, their faces stretched into expressions of happiness. Aris seemed a lot more at ease than he'd been when I talked to him, and there was a rare smile on Felix's face that I had never seen before.