Of course, Thomas didn't listen, and ran out anyway. So, naturally, most people followed. Including Lela and Newt.
Lela was heartbroken when she saw what was left of the field. Her home. It was a mess. Buildings left in bonfires, any sign of crops they had were gone. And there were only about twenty Gladers left. They had lost nearly sixty of them during the attack.
"Where is everybody?"
"Who's that over there?"
Everyone looked to the five figures making their way over. Lela immediately recognised the walk. She knew that he would blame Thomas, and so had to get him to safety.
"Thomas, go inside." She told him, but he didnt.
"Gally..." He said, once the three had came close enough to see their faces.
Not even a word before Gally punched Thomas straight away.
"This is all you, Thomas!" He shouted, "Look around!"
"Back off, Gally! It's not Thomas' fault!" Lela defended, "He fought whilst you were hiding in the box like the coward you are!"
"You heard what Alby said!" Gally said to everyone, "He's one of them!"
He was about to reveal Thomas' big secret to the last of the Gladers.
"One of who?"
"He's one of them, and they sent him here to destroy everything, and now he has! Look around, Thomas! Look around! This is your fault! They sent him here, and now he's destroyed everything that we've built! He did all this to..."
Lela blocked Gally out, ignoring jis speech about how bad Thomas was and how they should banish him for starting it all. She was more focused on the fact that Thomas had taken the Griever stinger from Chuck.
"Thomas?" She stepped closer, "Thomas put it down."
"Maybe he's right." He said quietly, "I need to remember!"
Thomas swiftly stabbed his thigh with the stinger, allowing the venom to pulse through his bloodstream and make him start the Changing.
"Chuck, get the other syringe!" Teresa told the boy, who ran off to find where he had left it.
Thomas' body slumped to the floor, as Teresa held him close to her. Chuck soon came back, and they stopped the venom getting anywhere crucial.
____
"So what do we do now?" Lela asked Newt, "Medjack hut it trashed. There's no way we can leave him, either."
"Throw him in the pit." Gally scoffed.
"Oh, slim it, Gally!" Newt shouted, "There's no need for it!"
Lela's eyes widened, "Actually that's not a bad idea."
"What?"
"The Pit." She repeated, "It's safe in there, and it'll be warm enough for him to survive the night."
"You're right." Minho agreed.
Teresa nodded, "I'll sit with him through the night. Make sure nothing happens."
"Then we have a plan."
____
As promised, Teresa stayed with Thomas, which left Minho, Newt and Lela on their own. There was nowhere to sleep after the attack, and it wasn't likely any Glader would after what they had all been through.
Lela sat in the burned down, singed deadheads, still from the shock of what had happened that night.
It used to be her favourite place in the Glade. It was her safe space, where she could sit freely and talk to the flowers about anything she wanted to, with no distractions. She could smell the fresh scent of each white lily blooming in the forever-summer weather.
But now. Now she hated being there. The grass was rough against her clothes, almost poking through to stab her. There were no flowers in sight, and the only smell was the leftover smoke in the air from all the chaos. It, once again, reminded her that there was no hope for the Gladers. And that they were stuck.
She sat, deep in thought about the sacrifices that were made. Mostly Alby. She knew she should've thought about the others, like Zart. But she rarely saw them, let alone spoke to them.
Alby was different. He wasn't just the first person in the Glade. He was a leader, a person for the scared. And he was Lela's friend. She always felt safe with Alby, no matter what the circumstance. She felt like she could tell him anything, and just sit in peace with him. Like she did at the Deadheads.
And now he was gone. Her friend, her leader. There was nobody to look up to anymore. They were the last left.
A loud noise behind startled her, causing her to jump up and shriek slightly. But she was only met with Newt, looking at her sheepishly with - surprisingly - a full blanket in his hands. Yes, it was singed a little here and there, but it would make do until the morning.
"Sorry." He apologised, "You looked really concentrated, I didn't want to interrupt."
"I was." Lela sighed, "What do you want?"
"Oh, wow." He scoffed jokingly, "well I wanted to sit and lay with you for the night." He turned around, But if you're going to be like that-"
"No!" She stopped him, holding his wrist gently as he turned to look at her, "please don't. Stay with me."
"That's what I thought." He grinned, sitting down comfortably, and wrapping the blanket around his shoulders, before inviting her in, "You coming."
Lela nodded slightly, sitting beside him and allowing him to put his arm around her, draping the blanket across her shoulder.
"I don't get it." She said softly.
"What?"
"How you can sit there and crack jokes, even after what just happened." She explained.
"What do you mean?" He raised a brow.
"Newt." She exhaled, "We just lost sixty Gladers tonight. Including Alby. And you're sat there smirking at me?"
"I'm sorry-"
"I'm not mad." Lela told him. "I'm just... confused. How can you still smile?"
"Well..." He sighed, not sure what to say, "You've always said I was your beacon of hope, right? Then I can't dim myself down, can I? Otherwise how will you get through it?"
"Why would you pretend to be happy just for me?"
Newt moved closer, so their thighs were touching, "I've already told you. You mean a lot to me, Lela. If you didn't, why would I go back to the walls for you? Why was I the first to help when you were nearly taken in Homestead? Why are you always my priority, no matter the scenario?"
There was a pause in the air, as the two stared into each other's eyes longingly. Lela now knew that her feelings were real, she really did like Newt. She thought they may have been toying with her, but in that moment, she knew they were genuine.
And so she tried her best to explain it to him, "Newt, I like you." Was all she said.
He was taken back. She never got this deep with him, let alone actually admitted it.
"Y-You do?"
"Mm-hmm." She nodded quietly.
"Le- I... I really want to kiss you, Lela." Was all he could form.
"Then why haven't you?" She smirked, "or are you not the big strong man you say you are?"
"I think I'm big and strong." He fixed his posture, and tried to flex his arms, but there wasn't any change.
"Yeah..." lela trailed off, "might have to keep working on that one." She chuckled.
Then she leant in towards him, hesitating slightly to double check that it was what he wanted. She opened her eyes slightly, noticing that Newt hadn't moved before understanding, and moving back.
She felt embarrassed for just a second, before Newt pulled her in closer, his lips softly touching hers in a gentle kiss. It only lasted a few seconds, and Newt didn't want to push it. He had already made progress so far with Lela, and didn't want to ruin it by being greedy and rushing into things.
They pulled apart and just smiled at each other. They were in complete happiness together. Lela yawned, it had been a long and stressful day. Very stressful infact.
"Tired?" Newt asked, and she responded with a nod, "Here."
He moved slightly, so that he was laid on his side, and gestured for Lela to join him on the floor. His jacket made for a makeshift pillow for them to share for the night.
Lela swiftly obliged, the thought of rest tempting her too much. She laid in front of him, her back against his chest as he wrapped them both in the blanket, warm and tight.
"Goodnight." He whispered to her, not realising that she had already fallen asleep. He pressed a light, but timid kiss to her shoulder before resting his head, and wrapping an arm around her waist.
_____
A/N
AHHHH IT HAPPENED!!