When you're ready

Chapter 7

The next morning the first one who came for treatment at the med-jacks was Dennis. Some shank hadn't properly looked and a shovel had landed on Dennis's hands as he was removing some weeds. A mean cut on the back of his hand was the result, and I was busy cleaning up his wound with some disinfectant when Minho came into our practice.

I looked up for a split second, before returning to Dennis's hands.

'What're you doing here, Minho?' I asked him dryly.

From the corner of my eye I could see his dramatic expression, and I looked at him again, eyebrow raised.

'Aleeex' he whined as he pretended to cry, sticking out his hand as he did so. 'I'm in extreme pain. I can barely live. Look'

I threw a quick glance at his hand, where there was a teenie-tiny scratch, it wasn't even bleeding. I sighed and looked at him, unamused. 'I bet you can barely keep from fainting. Maybe you can ask Jeff to take a look at your terrible wound of war, he's right outside' I responded as I applied some ointment onto Dennis's wound and started wrapping it up.

'I knew you wouldn't take care of me like you do of Newt' he mumbled, but it was obvious he wanted me to hear. I side-eyed him; 'that's because this in no way compares to Newt's wound'

'You sure it isn't because I in no way compare to Newt?' I could hear his grin through his voice, and as I looked up I saw Dennis looking at me with an amused expression on his features. I hated myself for blushing from embarrassment at that moment, as I quickly finished wrapping up Dennis's hand.

'I'm done' I smiled to Dennis, who nodded and got up. 'You want me to treat you? Get your ass over here, then' I said as I turned to Minho.

Minho grinned, satisfied, and made his way to me. Dennis chuckled; 'good luck with him' he then said, and I mumbled a 'thanks' in response as he left to resume his work in the gardens.

Minho sat down on the chair where Dennis had just sat and smirked as he stuck out his hand for me to 'treat', even though there really wasn't anything to do about it.

Sighing, I took out some more ointment and lightly dotted it on his scratch to get him to leave me alone.

'Happy?' I asked. He nodded as he got up; 'thanks Lexy, really appreciate it' he said as he left.

I shook my head smiling and started putting the used medicine back in place.

***

In the afternoon a gathering was called. I was a little late because a Slicer had come to get treatment right before, so when I arrived the gathering had just begun.

The atmosphere was heavy when I walked in. Newt and Minho stood in front, next to Alby and the other keepers. I stayed in the back and tried to pick up on what was being said.

'Things are changing in the Glade', Alby stated, and everyone was dead quiet as they listened attentively. 'Newt and Minho ran into what was possibly a griever in the middle of the day a few days ago' he continued, 'and today they dragged back Ben as he got stung'

I gasped in shock as I looked at the boys in worry, hoping they didn't get hurt as well. They seemed alright, but their expression was so serious it barely took my worry away.

My brows were furrowed and I realized this was probably why Clint had been out the entire afternoon. He must've been taking care of Ben.

I felt frustrated that I hadn't known. My two best friends probably went through a lot of panic and fear and I hadn't even been with them to make sure they were alright. I fought the urge to reach them right now, to ask them if they weren't hurt anywhere and how this could've possibly happened.

'We have no idea what is happening and why it is happening, but we wanted to inform everyone about to circumstances and advise you all to pay extra attention and to stay focused. Maybe the creators are pushing us in a certain direction, we can't be sure about anything. But until we figure it out, we want to make sure everyone stays safe' Alby continued his speech; 'we'll hold another gathering if we're closer to an answer. Also, no-one is allowed to visit Ben without permission for the moment. Dismissed' he said lastly and left.

Everyone stayed silent for a few seconds, processing what had just been said before breaking into a panicked banter.

I rushed to the front, hoping to check up on the two boys but when I finally pushed past everyone in front of me, they were already leaving with the rest of the keepers, deep in discussion.

***

Newt POV

After checking up on Ben, who was still knocked out, I headed back to my room to get some rest. Today had been a rough day, I was tired both physically and mentally and decided to go to bed early today.

I opened my the door to my room, and was greeted by a sight I wouldn't easily forget.

Alex was facing me, hands above her head as she pulled up her shirt, revealing her in just her bra. She didn't see me at first because the shirt blocked her view, but when she finished pulling it off she looked at me and froze, just like how I was frozen. I should've probably turned and walked out immediately, but I found my eyes locking with hers in mutual shock for a few awkward seconds before I clumsily said 'oh.. sorry' and practically ran out of the room, painfully ramming my knee into the side table next to me as I did so.

When I got out, I leaned against the door and took a few seconds to get over my surprise and embarrassment. I couldn't believe I didn't remember to knock. Well, I had never actually knocked because I didn't really think about the possibility of Alex changing right at that moment, but now I realized how stupid that was. I silently cursed myself for accidentally invading her privacy like that, but at the same time at the back of my mind I could only think about how beautifully small her waist had looked compared to her hips, and I hated myself for it.

'What're you doing?' I heard, and I looked up to see Alby down the hall looking at me with his eyebrow raised.

'Alex is changing' I said as he approached me, trying to sound as if I couldn't care less. Alby looked at me in suspicion and I felt caught although I hadn't actually done anything.

'Alright..' he responded as he slowly walked past me, to his own room.

For some reason I sighed in relief when he was out of sight and then I wondered why exactly I'd done that. At that moment, I felt the door being pressed into my back and realized Alex must have been opening it, so I stepped aside and she peeked through the door in her pyjamas, a smile gracing her lips.

'I'm done' she said, and I couldn't really figure out if she was being shy or if she was grinning. I swallowed my awkwardness and tried in the most confident way possible; 'Yea, sorry about that. Should've knocked'.

She just shifted to the side to let me in in response, which I did.

***

Alex POV

After I had almost died in embarrassment from Newt seeing me in the most worn-out bra that The Creators allowed me to have, I finally forced myself to get over it and I opened the door.

When Newt walked in, I remembered what I had been wanting to ask him; 'are you alright?'

Newt looked to me in surprise at first, but then he seemed to realize what I was talking about. He sighed; 'yea, I am. I'm worried about Ben, though. Shank seemed to be stung real good. He talked all crazy so Minho knocked him out' he said, 'I have no idea what's gonna happen to him now'

I nodded. 'Then you and Minho didn't get in contact with the griever?'

'No, we didn't. He'd gone to take a piss and came running back looking all frantic, so we just hurried back immediately'

I felt bad for being relieved when someone got hurt badly, but I couldn't help but see my friends' safety as more important than Ben's. With my main worry off my shoulders now, I felt the tiredness of the day settle in quickly so I got into bed and slept soundly.