𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗦𝗦, minho (tmr)

Chapter Eleven

As she ate her food, the Runner sat on the other chair at Gally's bedside, on the other side. He went to prop his legs up on the bed, but was immediately scolded by the girl. He fidgeted a lot, the girl realised, and couldn't seem to find a position in which he was comfortable.

Once she had finished eating, they sat in silence for a while, an unspoken way of the pair being respectful to the boy. 

"Are you okay?"

The question caught Florence off guard. Her eyebrows knitted in confusion as she looked at the boy sat opposite her with genuine concern written over his face.

"Of course I am, wh-why wouldn't I be?" But as she spoke, she felt her voice shake. She refused to let herself cry. She hadn't cried in front of anyone but Newt. She really didn't want that to change.

But she felt like she needed to cry so badly.

Why? It wasn't like she was stung. It wasn't like she was hurt, not physically at least. Maybe it was seeing Gally get hurled against the wall so helplessly, and having to watch as the Griever stung him without being able to do anything to stop it-

Yeah, that was it.

A tear fell from her eye before she was able to stop it. She wiped it away with her hand quickly, but Minho had already seen.

"Are you sure?"

His voice wasn't teasing. For once, he seemed as though he was entirely serious, and this only made Florence feel like she needed to cry even more.

Before the second tear could fall, Minho had moved and wrapped the girl in a hug. She could feel herself shaking due to the sobbing, and she knew that Minho's shirt would get damp from her tears, but in that moment she couldn't bring herself to care.

She wished more than anything that she could've stopped Gally from getting stung.

Minho's hand cupped the back of her neck, his fingers getting tangled up in her hair as he moved his other hand up and down her back soothingly. She clung onto the back of his shirt, burying her face in his chest.

"It's okay, I know."

And Florence didn't know how, but she knew he understood. In the two years he had been there, he must have wound up in a similar situation.

She pulled back from the hug, taking in his still concerned expression, and finally felt the wave of embarrassment from her tear-stained face. She wanted to seem strong in front of him, because he always was.

Reaching up to her face, Minho swiped his thumbs across her cheeks to dry her face of tears. Then, with a sad smile, he held out his hand.

"Let's get to bed, princess. You need rest."

She didn't hesitate to take it. She let the boy lead her from the hut and outside. Florence looked briefly over the Glade. She didn't realise how long she had really spent in there but it must have been a while, as everyone was now asleep. 

But one person was still awake. She was a little surprised to see their Greenie sat against the tree in his sleeping bag, holding something up in the air in attempts to view it better in the moonlight.

"I'll catch you up." 

She said to the other boy, squeezing his hand before letting go. He looked to what had captured her attention, briefly pausing with a chuckle, then turned to make his way back to their room.

Since she had a lit torch, she approached Chuck curiously. He jumped in fright at the sight of her, and she placed a finger to her lip to remind him to stay quiet.