A/N: I'm 10!!! 👆
~
Nothing happened in the maze. There was no Griever, bomb, or any danger. When I came back, none of the boys talked to me. It got me upset and made me realize how badly I needed them to be happy. It was ridiculous!
I stood in line, waiting for Frypan to give me food. He gave me a genuine smile. "Hey, Greenie. You okay?"
I shrugged. "Could be better." Then I turned my head to look at our usual table. Only Newt and Minho sat there, no Chuck. "Where are you having dinner, Fry?"
I didn't feel like sitting with the two boys at all. They were both angry for some reason, so not greet company.
"Just here. Wanna stay?" Frypan asked. "I just gotta finish these off and then I can eat."
"That would be nice. Thanks, Fry." I smiled, took my plate, and sat down behind Fry, who served dinner for everyone.
Boys were laughing and bickering cheerfully, which made me a bit happier. I saw how happy they could still be, even though we were locked up in a maze, that was maybe unsolvable.
"So what's wrong?" Frypan sat down next to me, also on the ground. We leaned against a maze wall that was right next to the kitchen and watched the boys eat, some of them even throw food.
I hesitated a bit, which Frypan immediately noticed. "Come on, girl. Spit it out."
I chuckled and started explaining. "Minho and Newt are mad about something, so they won't talk to me and keep giving glances. In the maze, a bomb went off and a Griever was behind me so I got all these abrasions that hurt like hell.. some people are making weird comments, the Dave stuff still bothers me, I almost killed Newt, Gally says things, I punched Minho and fought with him.. yeah.. that."
By the time I was done explaining, my eyes got watery. "And I cry all the time. It's lame." I added, voice shaky.
"Aah, honey." Frypan softly said as he put a hand on my knee. "Maybe you just need something relieving."
"Last time I did that I almost killed Newt." I cried out.
Frypan didn't ask anything about anything I explained to him. Just comforted me, which helped a lot, especially since he didn't force me to tell anything. "Then help me with the dishes. Must be very relieving. But it'll be alright."
I smiled through my pain. "Thanks, Fry." I paused and looked at him. "What did you bet for?"
Frypan chuckled loudly. "Are you seriously asking me that right now?"
"I guess I am. So what did you bet for?"
"That you would kiss Newt, then Minho.. and I didn't know about the rest. It's hard to choose between two slintheads, isn't it?"
I laughed out loud. "It indeed is hard, but you're right about the first thing."
Frypan's eyes opened wide, but also twinkled. "You kissed Newt?"
My stomach dropped by realizing I just told Frypan that.
"Don't worry. I won't tell. But spill the tea! That's also relieving."
"Well, we were in the woods. Newt jumped me, but then lay down next to me.." As I explained, I started to dream about the moment again, staring at the sky while talking. "And then we held hands, Newt suddenly got up and asked permission to kiss me."
"He asked shucking permission?" Frypan gasped.
"He did. And obviously, I agreed, so we kissed! It was very nice, but I never got chance to talk about it again. And now he's angry for some reason." I ended up sighing again. "And I don't know what to do with Minho."
Again, Frypan gasped. "You're in love with them both?"
"Crazy, isn't it?" I bit my lip. "I can't decide."
"Aah, now here comes the day I've been waiting for since I arrived here." Frypan grinned and straightened his back. "I'm gonna ask some questions. You answer with the first thing that pops up in your mind, okay?"
I chuckled. "Alright then."
"Who's the sweetest?"
"Newt."
"Most caring?"
"Both."
"Jealous?"
"Jealous?" I repeated. "Neither of them."
Frypan frowned deeply. "Neither of them?" He almost yelled out. "Chuck's right. You're oblivious."
"Wha-."
"We'll talk about this after. Next question. Who's the hottest?"
I giggled. "Minho, but Newt is cuter. They're both very hot, though."
Frypan laughed deeply. "I don't see that in either of them. Ugly shanks." He paused. "Best cuddles?"
"Best cuddles?" I repeated.
"The gossips go around in three seconds here," Frypan explained. "So we all know you cuddled both of them. Who's the best?"
"Hmm." I thought for a second. They were both very comfortable to lay with. "Both again."
"Who smells the best?"
"Newt for sure."
"Cleanest?"
"Newt."
"Funniest?"
"Minho."
"Protective?"
I hesitated. Newt and Minho were both very protective of me. "I will go with Minho, I think." I decided, thinking about Dave, and Minho beating him up.
"God, they have equal points!" Frypan sighed. "That didn't work."
"So what's with the jealous thing?" I wondered, since Frypan said we would take about it later.
Frypan palmed his face. "I can't believe you did not notice that." He shook his head and started explaining. "Okay, so all these things that I'm about to tell you are things I heard, alright? I don't know if it's true."
"Go on." I patiently said.
"Someone said Newt was jealous you left to the maze with Minho every day," Frypan said. "And someone else said that Minho said he didn't like all the nicknames."
"The nickname part is true." I nodded and thought about the conversation Minho and I had in the maze a while ago. "What else?"
"Newt was jealous as shuck when he saw you cuddling with Minho after what happened with Dave. And the time you fainted and were out for a day, then woke up and cuddled with Minho again.." Frypan paused. "They had this whole argue thing while you slept. Newt got pretty angry and so did Minho for no shuck reason. Just the jealousy."
"Wow." I breathed out. "I don't think it's true, though."
"And lots of other things. You should see their faces when you hang out with them! Those slintheads are over the top of you."
"Even Minho?" I gasped.
"Definitely," Frypan said in full confidence.
"But he hates me! Always acts mean, says stuff, and replies coldly most of the time."
"That's the jealousy. And Minho's not exactly the type of person that will share all his damn emotions with you, am I right? Gets upset easily, changes mood quickly, but doesn't dare to say a word about the way he feels." Frypan calmly explained. "That's just him."
"Probably." I yawned.
"You tired?"
I looked around the Glade. It was getting dark and even a bit colder. Most boys already left and I saw some walking around from a distance, but that was it. "Yeah, I think I will tuck it in for the night."
"Okay." Frypan got up from the ground and took me with him, gently pulling my arm. "I'll walk with you. Never know what creeps are in there. And I have my knives." Frypan grinned and motioned at the knives in his waistband.
I laughed and followed Frypan to my hut. "I think Chuck is already there," I whispered, hoping the boy wouldn't wake up from us if he was asleep.
"Good night, Jane," Frypan whispered.
"Good night, Fry. Thank you." I have him a genuine smile before closing the door.
"Jane!" Chuck whisper-screamed right away. "Newt is going to kill us too! He took a shower and got angry! Come here!"
"Sure." I chuckled quietly. "I'm gonna put on my pajamas first, okay?"
"Newt's clothes." Chuck corrected, then he turned around. "I'm not looking."
"Thanks, Chuckie." I smiled at his honesty and got dressed into Newt's sweater and shorts. And wow, they smelled so good. Better than animal piss, at least.
Just a faint candle lit up our hut when I lay down. "So what happened?"
"Newt took a shower, started yelling, and then threatened me, and not you! Just me, that's unfair!" Chuck pouted. "But we got him good. It was awesome!"
"I'm glad it worked." I smiled.
Chuck yawned big. "And there was something else.. but I'll tell you tomorrow."
Then he fell asleep. Curious about what Chuck wanted to say, I did too.
~
"What were you about to say yesterday?" I immediately asked when Chuck woke me up, his brown curls all messy.
"That you should join us for dinner next time, because I DIED! Literally. Minho and Newt were bickering on and on about some stupid thing that I didn't get. And I missed you. You could've used some comebacks on Minho because he ripped Newt's note apart, but you weren't there! And they kept on-."
"Hold up." I stopped Chuck. "Did you say note?"
"Yes." Chuck shrugged, confused about what could be so special about a note.
"It appeared that Newt wrote a note and then he found out Minho broke it or something."
"What was written on the note, Chuck?" I didn't hesitate to ask the question that had been bothering me for a long time.
"Something about Newt wanting to meet you during dinner at the tower."
My face darkened. Newt not being there at dinner, Minho ripping the paper, getting angry, being jealous? It kind of made sense. And the fact that Newt was angry at me after, was because I didn't show up at the tower, since I never got the note. Minho ripped it apart!
Anger pumped through my veins for Minho doing that. Sure, he was jealous, but he couldn't just rip that note apart!
"Where are you going?" Chuck asked once I got up.
"Looking for Minho."