Hope for Us (NEWT) [COMPLETED]

Ch 35 - Alarming Clues

~Newt~

Everyone was expected to wake up earlier than usual, just like Alby ordered, but after the events of the night before, Newt wasn't really feeling up for a Gathering.

Alby went to get him personally, and Newt figured he was actually more interested in inspecting Sara's hut. 

"You ready, shank?" he asked as he not-so-discreetly peered over Newt's shoulder to look inside the hut.

"Yah," Newt replied in a bored tone, not bothering to hide the view from Alby.

"You shuck-faces haven't been wasting time," said Alby, and then he inched closer to Newt, scowling at him. "If you get that girl pregnant, I'll banish you both."

Newt cleared his throat as soon as Alby said that. "For the last time, that's not gonna happen." And for some reason, Newt felt he wouldn't have to worry about Alby's persistent questioning over that anymore; at least not now that things were a bit more tense.

Newt could barely even sleep last night. Eventually, he got over the confusion that happened with Thomas, but what really had him worried was Sara's reaction to that one letter he'd held onto for so long.

What could she know about it?

Today, since all the Keepers, Alby, and Newt would be busy at the Gathering, Sara would be in charge of giving Thomas the tour. Even though Newt wasn't too excited about that, maybe the little space he and Sara could give each other could make everything better.

The Gathering was a little different. Besides the usual Council, the five culprits from yesterday's incident would be present. Alby didn't normally allow that, and the reason was exactly why Newt was already expecting a tough morning.

Everyone was seated, and the five boys were being held down tightly with their hands tied behind their backs, courtesy of a few of the strongest Keepers.

Alby was the first one to speak. "Alright, I'm really tired of having shanks boo-hoeing about the girl and setting up all this klunk to put us against her, so I hope this goes by quickly."

Gally scoffed. "Easy. If you're so tired of it, just ignore it. No one likes that girl anyways, except for Newt here." He casually gestured toward Newt, always willing to test his patience, and it was starting to get out of hand even for someone like Newt.

"I beg to differ," Newt spoke up. "And I bet most of you here can agree with me. Be relevant, Gally. We're here to talk about these five shanks, not to hear your nasty opinions about my girlfriend," he added, annoyance clear in his voice.

Minho stood up. "Yeah, what do you shanks gain from separating the Glade's couple, huh? C'mon, we've got more important things to worry about than two idiots who fell in love."

One of the culprits surprised everyone with his shouting. "We're not advancing! That girl's always been suspicious, and that's not ever changing. And she's only distracting our leaders from what's really important. Like you said, there are more important things to worry about."

Newt couldn't keep quiet, and he finally snapped. "So that's why you lied about her? Our goal is the same whether she's here or not. What you caused was an unnecessary distraction!"

Another one of the culprits started laughing. "Newt, you're crazy about that girl. It's not doing you, or any of us, any good. We just wanted to help you get rid of what you don't need." Newt was appalled to hear how much everyone hated Sara. It didn't change even after the whole incident with her attack.

"Slim it!" Alby shouted. "All we want is to find a way out of the stupid Maze. I don't care who's our friend or who isn't, we all wanna get the shuck outta here. Whatever else you do against the real leaders who are always on the job to find answers and a way out, is a distraction that I won't tolerate."