Disclaimer:
TWENTY-FIVEEEEEE.
-✼-
Everyone was completely still, whether sitting or standing. Thomas looked like he was going to be sick. Gally's words had surprised me, all right, but I knew he couldn't kill us. No one would allow it.
Newt and Winston finally let go of Minho and they all sat in their chairs.
"He's finally whacked for good," Minho whispered. I wasn't sure if we were meant to hear that or not.
"Well, you're not the bloody saint in the room," Newt said. "What were you thinking? That was a little overboard, don't ya think?"
Minho's eyes squinted and his head pulled back like he was surprised by what Newt had said. "Don't give me that garbage. Every one of you loved seeing that slinthead get his dues, and you know it. It's about time someone stood up to his klunk."
I raised my hand. "I did- several times."
"He's on the Council for a reason," Newt pressed, ignoring me. I couldn't believe he was, in a way, defending Gally after what he had said about me and especially since he threatened my brother.
"Dude, he threatened to break my neck and kill Thomas!" Minho exclaimed. "The guy is mentally whacked, and you better send someone right now to throw him in the Slammer. He's dangerous."
Thomas opened his mouth to speak, but instead he stayed quiet. I was astounded by his ability to stay silent for so long, with what was going on. It was the longest I'd seen him go without talking.
"Maybe he had a good point," Winston mumbled, almost too quietly.
"What?!" Minho demanded, saying exactly what I was thinking. My eyes went wide with a mix of complete shock and burning anger.
Winston looked like a deer in headlights that someone had acknowledged what he'd said. "Well, he has been through the Changing — Griever stung him in the middle of the day just outside the West Door. That means he has memories, and he said the Greenie, Thomas, looks familiar. Why would he make that up?"
I could see where he was coming from. But what would Thomas have to do with anything? He was a good guy — not just because he was my twin, but he'd been nothing short of my partner in crime since we arrived.
Partner in crime. I remembered my memory from the Changing, when Thomas had referred to us that way. We were six at the time. And all these years later, we were still that way.
"Winston, did you see what just happened?" Frypan asked, and I was so glad he was sticking up for us as much as he was. "Gally's psycho. You can't put too much stock in his rambling nonsense. What, you think Thomas and Dylan here are Grievers in disguise?"
"Can I say something now?" That was Thomas.
"Wow, Thomas," I said in fake surprise. "You haven't spoken in so long I almost forgot what your voice sounds like."
"That's because I follow the rules." He gave me a playful push.
Newt had a teeny tiny smile on his face as he nodded. "Go ahead. This bloody meetin' can't be much more screwed up."
"I don't know why Gally hates us. I don't care, and I don't think Dylan does either. As for who I really am, you all know just as much as I do. And I guess, if Dylan's right, we're...siblings. Twins?" He looked at me for confirmation, which I nodded to. "I don't remember that. But if I remember correctly, we're here because of what we did out in the Maze, not because Gally thinks I'm evil."
Someone snickered and I looked around sharply to see who it was, but couldn't point them out.
Newt nodded, looking satisfied. "Good that. Let's get this meeting over with and worry about Gally later."
"We can't vote without all the members here," Winston pointed out. I was really starting to get annoyed with him. "Unless they're really sick, like Alby."
"For the love, Winston," Newt snapped. "I'd say Gally's a wee bit ill too, so we'll continue without him. Thomas and Dylan, defend yourselves, and then we'll take the vote on what we should do with you."
Thomas looked at me, signaling for me to start. But I was already waiting for him to say something. We sat there looking at each other for a bit, and then when I opened my mouth to speak, so did Thomas.
"All I—" I started to say just as Thomas said, "We didn't—"
We both looked at each other once more, and, in sync again, said, "Sorry."
"You go," I told him.
"No, you."
"Fine," I huffed, not wanting to start a stupid argument over who would talk first, especially with how sour everyone's moods were.
"All I saw when I looked out into that Maze was one of my friends in desperate need of help, and my leader about to die. My instincts took over and naturally, I wanted to help. So I didn't think twice and ran into the Maze. I didn't expect Thomas to follow me. Although I may seem hostile sometimes, I'm not that mean that I'd just watch as they struggled on. I'm fine with punishment because I understand that I broke the rules, but I won't apologize for doing so when we saved their lives."
Thomas took that as his cue to finish.
"I saw two people struggling to get inside these walls and they couldn't make it. To ignore that because of some stupid rule seemed selfish, cowardly, and...well, stupid. If you want to throw us in jail for trying to save someone's life, then go ahead. Next time we promise we'll point at them and laugh, then go eat some of Frypan's dinner."
I was proud of Thomas. Reaching over, I patted him on the shoulder and he gave me a half-grin.
"Here's my recommendation," Newt said and we both turned to look at him. "You broke our bloody Number One Rule, so you get one day in the Slammer. That's your punishment. I also recommend we elect both of you as Runners, effective the second this meeting's over. You've proven more in one night than most trainees do in weeks. As for one of you being the buggin' Keeper, forget it." He looked at Minho. "Gally was right on that count — stupid idea."
While I could sense Thomas's hurt, I shrugged it off. We couldn't be Keepers. We weren't experienced enough and had little knowledge of how things worked. It was probably for the better. Plus, we were elected as Runners anyway, though I wasn't sure how to feel about that yet. The Maze had given me the creeps, and after being Stung, I wasn't in a hurry to get back out there.
Minho didn't seem surprised, but he still argued. "Why? They're the best we have — I swear it. The best should be the Keeper."
"Fine," Newt replied to my surprise. "If that's true, we'll make the change later. Give it a month and see if they prove themselves."
Minho shrugged, seeming satisfied with the deal. "Good that."
"Can I reject that?" I declined politely. "I don't want to be a Keeper."
Frypan looked astonished, like I just told him I didn't want any bacon. "Why on Earth not?"
I shrugged. "I don't want to. I don't trust myself. I'll probably talk out of turn like friggin' Gally or something, and yell at people. I just don't feel as experienced as the rest of you. I'd be a terrible Keeper."
Newt nodded. "Very well. Dylan's out of the question for the position of Keeper of the Runners on her own accord." He paused and glanced around the room. "Okay, we had several recommendations, so let's give it a go-round—"
"Oh, come on." Frypan rolled his eyes. "Just vote. I vote for yours."
"Me too," Minho agreed.
Everyone else chimed in their approval, and I started to grin. But then we got to Winston and my smile faded. Newt looked at him. "We don't need your vote, but tell us what's bonkin' around your brain."
Winston gazed at us carefully, then went back to Newt. "It's fine with me, but we shouldn't totally ignore what Gally said. Something about it — I don't think he just made it up. And it's true that ever since Thomas and Dylan got here, everything's been shucked and screwy."
"Fair enough," Newt sighed, always the peacemaker. "Everyone put some thought into it — maybe when we get right nice and bored we can have another Gathering to talk about it. Good that?"
Winston nodded.
Thomas groaned suddenly. "I love how you guys are just talking about us like we're not here."
"Were you expecting paparazzi?" I asked, then leaned forward excitedly, getting all in his face and pretending to hold a camera in my hands. "Thomas! Thomas! How do you feel about being elected as a Runner?"
There were scattered laughs and Thomas pushed me away, a smile on his face as well as mine.
"Look, Tommy," Newt said. "We just elected you and your apparent sister as buggin' Runners. Quit your cryin' and get out of here. Minho has a lot of training to give you."
"What about our punishment?" Thomas asked.
"Tomorrow," Newt answered. "The wake-up till sunset."
That wouldn't be so bad, unless Thomas wouldn't shut up and I decided to slam my head against the wall.
The meeting was finally dismissed and everyone except Newt and Minho left the room immediately. Newt hadn't moved from his chair, where he was going through his notes. "Well, that was good times."
Minho walked over and playfully punched me and Thomas in the arms. "It's all these shanks' faults."
We both simultaneously punched him back. Thomas said, "Keeper? You want me to be Keeper? You're nuttier than Gally by a long shot."
"Yeah," I agreed. "Thomas'd spontaneously combust of boredom in all those Gatherings and stress. Not to mention he'd never stop asking questions."
Minho grinned. "Worked, didn't it? Aim high, hit low."
Thomas and I both smiled at our friend. A knock caused us to turn our attention to the door. Chuck stood there, looking like a Griever had just chased him. I felt my smile drop.
"What's wrong?" Newt asked as he stood up.
Chuck wrung his hands. "Med-jacks sent me."
"Why?"
"I guess Alby's thrashing around and acting all crazy, telling them he needs to talk to somebody."
Newt started toward the door, but Chuck stopped him. "Um...he doesn't want you."
"What do you mean?"
I knew who Chuck was talking about before he even said it, and I was right when he pointed to Thomas. "He keeps asking for him."
Thomas looked terrified. He was silent.
"Well, come on," Newt said to him as he grabbed his arm. "No way I'm not going with ya."
Thomas followed him with me and Chuck right behind. We left the Council room and went down the hall toward a narrow, spiraling staircase that was oddly familiar. Then I realized it was the very one I had gone down when I had woken up from my own Changing.
Newt stepped up first, then looked to Chuck. "You. Stay."
Chuck said nothing and nodded, but I could tell the poor little guy was hurt.
"Lighten up," Thomas said to Chuck as Newt went up the stairs. "They just elected us Runners, so you're buddies with two studs now." He tried lightening the mood, but it didn't do much.
"Yeah, right," Chuck whispered. He was looking at the staircase as if in a daze.
"I'll stay with you, Chuckie," I told him, squeezing his shoulder. I looked at Thomas. "You go ahead. Alby didn't ask for me."
Thomas shrugged and climbed the stairs. I led Chuck back down the hallway and out the door, relieved to breathe fresh air after being in that stuffy room for so long. My stomach growled.
"Please tell me it's almost lunchtime," I said, looking around the Glade.
"'Bout another hour or so," Chuck said, seeming to cheer up a bit. "You guys were in there for a while. What happened?"
I shook my head. "Crazy stuff. I'll tell you at lunch."
"Fair enough. I have to get back to my job," Chuck told me sadly. "I've been laggin' lately. Sorry."
My heart sank. I liked Chuck's company, and I hadn't spent much time with him since he was no longer my guide. But I nodded all the same and Chuck set off.
Did Minho go running? I hoped not. It was a selfish thought, but I really didn't have any more available friends in the Glade, which was pretty sad.
I had nothing to do, so I started walking toward the Deadheads, when I heard someone call my name.
"Dylan!"
I turned to see Theo running toward me, a smile on his tanned face. His curly, dark brown hair was unkempt and he was sweaty from working (despite the fact he was wearing a black tank top), but that didn't stop his joy.
He stopped in front of me and held his hand up for a high five. "I heard about your election. A Runner! That's great!"
I high-fived him with a confused look on my face. "How'd you already find out? The Gathering ended, like, five minutes ago."
He shrugged. "Frypan told me. He knows we're friends." He frowned. "I mean, we are friends, right?"
I laughed. "Yes, Theo. We're friends."
He smiled again. "I tried out to be a Runner, yanno. Obviously I didn't make it. Almost did, but I tripped and injured my hip pretty badly." He patted his left hip. "Never been the same since."
"Oh, Theo, that's terrible. I'm sorry," I sympathized, a frown pulling down my lips. That likely explained the slight limp he had when he walked— his hip injury probably hadn't healed properly.
Another shrug. "Oh, well. It happened. But hey, I'm happy for you." He glanced back at the other Builders, who were still working. He laughed ironically, a raspy sound that didn't nearly match his actual voice. "They didn't even notice I left. Better get back before they do. Congratulations again!"
"Thanks!" I called as he waved goodbye and ran away, pulling a hammer out of his pocket. I sighed as yet another friend went to work.
I decided to go take a shower. I went back in the Homestead and up to mine and Newt's room, grabbing some clothes and deodorant the Creators had sent up.
When I opened the door to leave, I hit something and there was a thud, then an "Agh, shuck!"
I pulled the door back to see Minho clutching his face, where a small trickle of blood was coming from his nose. His eyelids were squeezed shut tightly and features were contorted with pain.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry!" I apologized frantically. I ran back into the room and grabbed a random shirt from Newt's side of the dresser and handed it to Minho, who accepted it without a second thought. He pressed it against his nose to soak up the blood. I hoped Newt wouldn't mind that one of his shirts was now ruined, but I didn't have any more spare clothes or I would have used mine.
"It's fine," he said, his voice nasally. "But hey, why don't you patch me up with one of those bandages you have?" Though the shirt covered his nose and mouth, I could tell he was smirking.
"I told you never to talk about that! God!" I exclaimed, heat rushing to my face. "And for the last time, they aren't bandages."
Minho laughed. "I know. I just like to tease you."
I slapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey!" he yelled in mock anger, shaking a finger at me. "No hurting the already injured."
I remembered his nosebleed and grabbed his arm. "Let's go to the Med-jacks."
Minho dug his heels into the floor. "The Med-jacks for a nosebleed? Really?"
I let go of him and crossed my arms over my chest. "Well if you want to walk around with a shirt pressed up against your face, be my guest. I'm going to go shower."
"Have fun!" Minho called as I walked away. I rolled my eyes and walked downstairs and out the door, going to the back and into one of the open shower rooms.
And yes, I did lock the door that time.
gif is theo in his builder clothes *heart eye emojis*
________
yay some minlan bonding moments! brotp amirite
do you guys like theo?? (he was previously called dean but i changed his name. if you dont remember him then go back to chapters 10 or 14). personally i think hes a qt. AND NO HE WONT GET IN THE WAY OF NEWLYN YOU'LL SEE HE ACTUALLY IS A MAJOR SHIPPER
someone make a brotp name for them pls i'll love u forever and ever.
dedicated to Ciarapappy :)
ilysm!
~kristyn