The day started normal, like most days, but it didn't stay that way. It was fine for Emma, who always stayed in the Gardens with the others, but she heard the whispers. The murmurs of hostility on the other side of the Glade. Then, the arguing started. She was able to ignore it, assuming it was Alby getting on the Sloppers again for slacking.
But she was wrong.
It wasn't Alby. It was Gally. That became clear when Dmitri showed up at the Gardens, wanting to escape Gally's wrath. Emma wasn't sure why Gally was upset. Last night things were good. He was happy, smiling, laughing. What could have changed? Emma wasn't sure, but she was determined to find out.
When he didn't show up to lunch, she grew more concerned.
Emma spent the entire time thinking about him. Worried about what was going on. Newt told her not to worry. Gally's moods were well-charted territory by now. After three years, everyone knew to stay clear of him and let him stew in his anger until it dissipated enough for him to be tolerable.
But Emma wasn't like the other Gladers. She didn't want to let Gally sit with his thoughts all alone. She wanted to help with whatever was bothering him. So, after she finished her work, she set out to find him. It wouldn't be hard, she thought. There was only ever one place to find him, the Builders station.
Emma sought to find the Keeper of the Builders. She never once considered her actions. Never pausing to think it might be a bad idea. Gally was her friend. Being there for him wasn't a question. It wasn't an obligation or a chore either. Simply something she wanted to do.
The sun was in the early stages of setting. The sky a warm orange color. The Maze doors had long since closed, and the chatting of the Glade had increased in volume. Still, Emma wasn't drawn into any conversations. She was a girl on a mission.
The Builders station was almost entirely abandoned. The Builders having fled to stay out of Gally's path. Cowards. Emma thought they were cowardly for that. Gally wasn't the nicest person, sure, but he was a person. Not someone to be avoided on a bad day. As expected, Gally was at the Builders Station. His body hunched over a workbench as he gripped the edges tightly.
Emma sighed, rubbing her jaw as she began to approach. However, that never happened. Someone slid in front of her, stopping her. "Hey," Jordan smiled at her. "Done already?"
"Hey," she greeted, eyes flickering to Jordan's face. The last thing she wanted, especially right now, was to be caught in a pointless conversation with him. Emma didn't like the Slicer, and talking to him always felt like a chore. There was never anything interesting about their conversations, and truthfully Jordan scared her a bit. "Yeah, all done. I'm actually-"
"The Gardens have been looking great recently. Really kept up, especially now that you're expanding. Bet that was all you, huh?" Jordan raised his arm, shoving her shoulder back. Emma's body was tense, which resulted in barely any movement from the shove.
Emma pursed her lips, trying to fight her annoyance. Her eyes flickered to Gally, who was roughly racking his fingers through his hair as he paced. Even from a distance, she could see the flush of color on the back of his neck. "Newt, actually." She barely was listening. "Sorry, I can't talk right now. I'm trying to get to Gally-"
Emma went to walk past, but Jordan wrapped his hand around her upper arm. "I wouldn't do that," he said. "Gally's having one of his temper tantrums. It's best to stay clear until he's calmed down. They're dramatic, dangerous as well." There was a condescending smile on Jordan's face, like he knew more than her. Maybe he did, but not about Gally. Emma liked to think nobody knew Gally like she did. Nobody talked to him as much as she did. They didn't try. "You haven't been around long enough to know-"
"I know Gally, plenty, actually." Emma tilted her chin up, not backing down as she normally did when Jordan crowded her. Something brewed in her stomach, a primal desire to protect Gally from Jordan's harsh words against him. "I get everyone else is too scared to approach him, but I'm not." Aggressively, she ripped her arm from his grasp. "And I've told you to stop before. I'm not going to say it again." Jordan stared at her blankly, almost shocked by her outburst against him. Although, Emma wouldn't call it much of an outburst. "Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm going to talk to Gally. Go find someone else to bother."
Without waiting for his response, Emma was on the move. She should have regretted her harsh words to Jordan, but for some reason, she didn't. Telling him off was oddly rewarding. He had been bothering her for weeks and hadn't gotten the hint. Maybe he finally would.
Shaking off the encounter, she slowly approached Gally. Emma made sure to take gentle steps, not wanting to alert him to her presence just yet. Gally had stopped pacing and was hunched back over the table. His fingers gripped the edge so tight the knuckles were white. His jaw was clenched, and the flush on his neck went to his ears and cheeks. Luckily, his eyes were screwed close as he tried to steady his breathing.
Emma felt a frown pull at her lips at the sight of him. It wasn't just anger but pure frustration. His body was tense. She concluded quickly that she didn't like seeing him this way. "Gally," she addressed him carefully. "Everything all right?" Gally's entire body tensed further. Emma felt a jolt of panic, fearing she was overstepping. Maybe Gally needed alone time to decompress.
"Fine," he gritted. By now, he had opened his eyes but refused to meet her gaze. If anything, it seemed like he was trying to hide his expression from her.
Glancing down at the table, she noticed several different things—pieces of broken wood and shattered, rusted nails. There were scattered pages of paper with dozens of pen marks—scratching things out and different notes in various colors. "Well, that's clearly not the case." Emma decided to be bold. There was no sense in beating around the bush. That wouldn't work, not with Gally. "What's going on?" Taking a risk, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. She let it slide down his arm, nails grazing against his warm skin.
The action caused all of the tension to leave his body at once. She felt rather than saw him lean into her touch. It wasn't much, but it was just enough to be noticeable.
Gally took a minute to gather his thoughts. His breathing slowly evened out, and he managed to drop his head forward. Emma kept her hand on his arm, nails trailing up and down. Finally, he spoke. "Everyone's an idiot," he said lowly. "Everyone is a Shucking idiot except for me."
It wasn't the response she was expecting, and it surprised her. Emma couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, short and sweet. It wasn't condescending. Simply full of surprise. Her hand fell to her side limply. Gally glanced at her, feeling a smile of his own appear. "Okay," Emma said. "I'll bite. Why is everyone besides you an idiot?"
There's a fondness in her expression, something that Gally's always been familiar with. He's seen her look at many things that way, including him. He finds himself liking when she looks at him like that. "The other Builders don't know Klunk. Can't do Shucking anything right." Gally found himself venting out his frustrations without question. Any other time, he would find the level of trust between them terrifying, but right now, his mind is jumbled. "All of the measurements they did are wrong. I have to redo them myself, again. I have to repair everything broken in the Glade because nobody else can be trusted to do it right on their own. On top of that, Alby asked for two new benches. They made chairs. Shucking chairs!" He took a deep breath. "And now I have to do it. Fix the mess everyone else made." The last part was muttered under his breath.
Emma eyed the table, staring at the broken wood. She assumed it had once been a chair. Now they were scraps. Rolling her bottom lip between her teeth, she found herself thinking of different solutions. Gally was the Keeper of the Builders, but it wasn't his job to do everything. He needed to count on others to help him. "Okay," Emma said slowly. "How can I help?"
Gally turned toward her, letting go of the table. "What?"
"How can I help?" She repeated as she began tying her hair into a loose bun. "I'm pretty good with tools. Never used a hammer, but I can use a saw." Emma rubbed her hands together. "Did you finish the calculations? I don't think I could do those." She didn't trust herself not to mess them up. Gally would have to do them again. That wasn't fair to him.
He gaped at her. "Are you serious?"
Emma shrugged. "I don't think I remember too much about calculating."
"No, no," he waved his hand. "About helping?"
"Oh, yeah," she nodded.
Gally didn't understand. "Why?"
It was her turn to be confused. "Why wouldn't I want to help you? You're my friend." That's not only what friends did but what Gladers did. It was the right thing to do.
"You don't have to-"
"I know," Emma cut him off. "But I want to." Gally kept his eyes trained on her. It was intense. "Tell me what to do, Captain Gally."
His lip quirked up, but he was quick to hide it. "The wood on the rack over there needs to be sawed. There are already markers to show where. It won't be too hard." Emma nodded, conveying her understanding. As she went to walk away, Gally grabbed her hand. His rough, calloused fingers were gentle against her palm. "Are you sure?"
She stared up at him. "Of course." Emma wanted to help him. "You'd do it for me, right?" Which he had already. Gally had already done so much for her.
"Yeah," he whispered.
"Good that." It was all she could think of to say. Slowly, she pulled her hand back. Silently, she walked to the workbench. As Gally had said, there were already markers on the wood. It would be an easy job and wouldn't take long at all.
That upset Emma. The other Builders were quick to abandon Gally the moment his anger became too much. Anger that seemed warranted, considering nobody helped him. It wasn't fair that he had to do all of the work.
That was something Emma had noticed about Gally. From the start, he was always willing to help anyone in need. Why didn't they do the same for him? Sure, Gally was rough around the edges and hard to like, but did he really deserve to be treated the way he was?
Emma tried not to think about it. It would only upset her more, and she needed to focus on sawing the wood without cutting off a finger. Jeff and Clint wouldn't be able to fix that. Besides, everyone already thought she was clumsy. That would only prove them right. Emma didn't want that.
A comfortable silence remained between them. Emma sawed, which was easier said than done. She struggled a bit at the start but eventually found her footing. Gally stayed by the desk, reworking all of the calculations that the other Builders had messed up. The sun continued to set behind the Maze doors until it was dark. The lanterns provided enough light to keep them working.
Emma bit the tip of her tongue, concentrating on the task at hand. She had already gone through four wood planks, cutting them in different angles. They seemed to be bench legs, which made sense, considering Alby wanted new benches.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead with her forearm, she glanced up to see Gally. He was leaning on the table, arms crossed. His eyes were focused on her, but they were distant as if he was in deep thought. Emma wondered what he was thinking about.
She wondered, for a moment, if he was thinking about her.
If Gally thought about her as much as she thought about him.
Shaking off the thought, she dropped her arm. "Done?"
Her voice brought Gally back to reality. He blinked a few times, pushing to stand properly. "Pretty much, yeah. Are you?"
"Yeah." Emma walked toward him, leaving the wood stacked on the table beside the saw. "The bench legs have been made. Perfectly sawed, may I add."
"I have no doubt."
She rolls her eyes at his playful attitude but finds herself enjoying this side of Gally. The side the others don't believe exists. There's a feeling of relief that settles in her stomach. Whatever mood Gally had been in early seems to have vanished. Without thinking, she places her hands on the high-rise table Gally always works at. She jumps, sitting on the edge, but making sure not to crush any of the papers. His eyes watch her the entire time, but he says nothing. "What are you working on?"
The genuine curiosity in her tone doesn't go unnoticed by Gally. "Uh," he stuttered. "Dimensions for a storage shack for Fry."
"He needs a storage shack?"
"Yeah, mentioned it briefly." Gally's dismissive of the conversation. Of the fact he's helping Frypan without being asked.
Emma opens her mouth but finds herself stopping. Part of her wants to comment about Gally's kindness, but that's sure to get a negative reaction. He doesn't take praise well or forward gratitude. "And you didn't want to wait until the morning to fix the calculations?"
Gally shrugged as if it was obvious. "Just makes another day he doesn't have a storage shack."
She chuckles. "Yeah, makes total sense." Emma lets her gaze return to him. For the first time, she doesn't find herself surprised that he's already looking at her. In the distance, she can see the other Gladers eating dinner. There's no telling how long dinner's been ready, but she finds herself not caring much. Spending her evening helping Gally was more rewarding than any meal. "Hungry?"
"Hm?"
"Hungry," Emma repeated, but slower this time. "For food? That thing we need to live. Do you want to go eat dinner?"
Rolling his eyes, Gally tapped the table twice. Eating would be wise, but the idea of being around anyone else sours his mood entirely. The change in his features is noticeable. "You go. I'll eat later."
Emma tilted her head to the side, a questioning expression on her face. Gally didn't need to elaborate further. She understood. But he also missed lunch and needed to eat. "How about this," she began, "I'll grab us dinner, and we eat on the tree hut?" There's a heavy pause. "Sound good?" Before Gally could object, Emma launched herself off the table. She managed to catch herself with ease. It's almost graceful, and she forced the smirk off her face. "Be there in a minute."
Quickly, she headed toward the Kitchen. Emma moved swiftly, almost eager to get back to Gally. Eating together, away from everyone, was too good an opportunity to pass up. She enjoyed spending time with Gally, especially when it was just the two of them. He was always more open, less guarded when it was just them. Emma liked it that way. It was selfish, but she couldn't get herself to care.
"Hey," Newt greeted as Emma approached. "Was wondering where you ran off to."
"I was with Gally." There's no point in hiding her activities.
Newt, however, already seemed to know that judging by his lack of reaction. "Heard he's been a bit-"
"He's not," she cut him off, knowing what he was going to say. "The other Builders completely abandoned him today." Newt listened to her, as he always did. He was trailing behind her as she went to grab two plates. "You should really talk to them about that. You are Second-in-Command."
Newt raised his chin. "I'll do that."
"I'm serious," she said, turning to look at him.
His eyes searched hers, almost frantic. "I know." Because he did, Newt knew Emma better than he knew anyone else.
"Good." Emma grabbed the plates. "I'll see you later."
"Where are you going?"
"Where do you think?" Emma didn't have to see Newt to know that he was smirking. Shaking her head, she walked toward the tree hut. It was easy to spot Gally, who was only on the second level. Not too high, but far enough off the ground that people passing by wouldn't hear them.
It was a challenge to climb the ladder with two plates, but Emma managed to do it. Once Gally saw her, he was quick to grab the plates. She muttered a 'thank you' before climbing off the ladder. Her back already ached from hunching over to saw, but it didn't bother her.
Emma moved across the floor, taking a seat on the edge. Crossing her legs, she stared ahead. There were two plates between her and Gally. Neither made a move to eat their sandwich. Simply content to sit together.
Emma never imagined her friendship with Gally would blossom into this. Into comforting late-night talks and peaceful silences. Not after he spent so many weeks ignoring her. She hated it, at first, but now she's grateful. If Gally hadn't outright ignored her, Emma might not have been as compelled to win his favor. She might not have gotten to know him as well as she had.
Whatever they had between them currently was good, great even. It was perfect.
"Thanks," Gally broke the silence. His voice was quiet. For a moment, Emma thought she had imaged it.
"For what?"
Gally couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Are you always so modest?"
She pretended to think. "Yes. It's a gift." He snorted. "But you don't have to thank me, really." Emma didn't help him to earn gratitude. She helped him because she wanted to.
"I know," he responded. "But I want to."
Emma bit her lip, suppressing a grin. "I'm just glad you're in a better mood now."
Gally hummed, "yeah." He knew that everyone knew about his temper. It wasn't something he tried to control either. He was who he was. That was never going to change. Usually, it would take days to simmer down. Emma managed to calm him in a matter of seconds. It was unnerving, her power over him. "Suprised you didn't stay clear."
"Why would I ever do that?"
"Nobody warned you?"
Emma raised an eyebrow. "To stay clear of you while you're angry? Of course, they did." But she didn't listen.
"But you didn't."
"Why would I?" Gally was angry, but that didn't change anything. What was he going to do, hurt her? The worst would be yelling at her, and that wouldn't have bothered her. Her response seemed to catch him off guard. His lips parted, and an unknown noise escaped him. Yet, he said nothing. "Despite what you may be thinking, I don't actually think you're a jerk." Gally raised an eyebrow. "All of the time. I don't think you're a jerk all of the time. Only when you're ignoring me, which you don't do anymore." Gally said nothing. Emma wasn't sure he was breathing anymore. "And so what if you were angry? That doesn't make me want to be around you any less."
Gally's entire face flushes. Something that's becoming familiar. "You want to be around me?"
Emma was bewildered. "Is that not obvious? Spending time with you isn't a chore." It wasn't anything she was forced to do. Did Gally not know that? "Did you think differently?"
"I don't know what I thought," Gally responded.
She stared at him, watching his expression change several different times. There was a hint of disbelief but also relief. The other emotions were entirely foreign to her. Emma nudged him with her elbow. "You're worrying me, Gally. Don't think too much about it, okay?"
"Okay."
Emma leaned back, resting on her back as she stared at the sky, legs falling over the side. There were no stars, but there never were. She had given up trying to figure out why she remembered what stars were and simply accepted the reality. Stars were real, but she would probably never know what they looked like. The memories of her life before were gone, and leaving the Glade seemed less likely every day.
There's shuffling beside her. Gally had leaned back, staring up at the sky above them. His hand brushed against hers before coming to rest beside it. Their pinkies pressed against each other, but neither moved. Emma pressed her teeth into her lip once more, grounding herself. She had to remind herself that the action meant nothing to him. Gally probably didn't even realize.
Emma took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She wanted to stay in the moment for as long as possible.
The rest of the world faded away. It was just her and Gally on the tree hut, and for just a moment, nothing else mattered.