thomas' POV:
I had spent a few days with the gladers, they were very interesting and honestly welcoming once I had broken down a few walls. I felt comfortable with hints of happiness for the first time in a long time. and i never wanted it to leave. honestly i felt like i was just waiting for the other shoe to drop- to lose them like i lost the pack.
what wasn't nice was getting woken up at 6am one morning from my designated spot on the couch by an energetic and cocky looking Minho.
"what do you want?"
i snapped, moving to shove my face under my pillow, he yanked it away from me, chucking it half way across the room.
"its time to start the day you crank, come on"
it was clear i wasn't going to get out of this so with a laboured sigh i dragged myself up- making a beeline for the coffee machine, Minho grabbed my arm last moment and spun me towards the bathroom.
"nope- get changed into exercise gear and follow me if you would."
i wish i wouldn't but whilst grumbling insults i did as he said and let him drag me to whatever we were going to do. i wondered why no one else had to do this...
we stepped out and into the freezing cold air- you wouldn't have any way of knowing it was summer with this weather. i shivered lightly, wrapping my arms around myself, miho bounced on his toes and turned to me. a grin on his face.
"first things first a light three mile run, then we'll actually hit the gym. come on"
my eyebrows shot up- three miles was light?
i ran, but not much- most of my work out routines were based around core, legs and arms... without running. i tried to keep up with him but holy shit he was fast, within the first mile i was gasping for air- having practically had to sprint the whole thing and Minho was nowhere to be seen. i jogged slowly- still trying not to choke on my own spit.
Minho popped out in front of me with a smirk.
"not much of a runner i see. i thought you were till you fell flat on your face a few metres in."
i glared at im, placing my hands on my knees.
"i do short sprints- not this shit"
i managed through laboured breath, he snorted.
"its fine, with a bit of practice we can do proper runs together, but i get it- ill slow down till we reach the gym alright"
i wanted to thank him but i was too busy swallowing down my lung. he kept to his word and the rest of our run wasn't fast paced at all, i was actually beginning to enjoy it as we arrived. now the gym, i liked.
i followed Minho in and guessing that this would be a re-occurring thing i got myself a subscription to it. we split ways to work on what we wanted, i headed for the rowing machine in the back- he went for a cycling one.
after an hour and a half of continuous working out i was done, i turned to find Minho but he was already beside me.
"you done?"
i asked, he nodded with a grin.
"you clearly know your way around a gym, glad someone will get up with me to go. how do you feel about making this an almost daily thing?"
i nodded in approval and he gave me a harsh pat on the back. it was good- it meant we were working on becoming good friends.
-
once we arrived back the others were up, newt looked rather surprised as i walked back in, i saw him look me up and down for a solid few seconds before turning back to gally who was trying to talk to him, i couldn't help the twinge of pink which tinted my ears. i took a long shower and began to get ready for the day- we were all going to the race track. alby knew the owner, they were good friends so the gladers were often allowed to go train there. now i could too- i didn't really know what their training entailed though. the only thing i was certain of was that it wasn't going to be conventional.
when we arrived everyone aside from Minho scattered- i watched them run off in confusion, Minho didn't seem to phased.
"they are going to need a bit, i know your car got totalled in the river and all- basically unsalvageable but we have a few spare ones, take your pick and after we train you can add anything you want to it. itll be yours to keep."
a grin broke across my features- i would total my car ten times over for this all, when Minho lead me to the garage my eyes widened in awe- there was such an array, all with the same colour patterns but they were still so individual. i ran my hand over a well shined Bentley and spotted a camaro, same make as dereks. i settled on the camaro ZL1- it was the best car i could possibly think of and with a few of my upgrades would be infinitely better than my old one.
Minho grinned at my choice, complimenting my taste but something about his smile made me think there was more than he was letting on. i didn't mull on it for too long, too busy ogling the beauty of a car. when i looked inside to see pristine black leather chairs and in the front cup holder a pair of my little pony swimming goggles.
"in case it rains"
Minho joked. i rolled my eyes, shoving them into the drivers side compartment.
"its already got armour on it cause we get a little rough in training so it should be fine- the windows are reinforced too."
Minho informed me- i don't know why it was relevant but i was sure it'd become apparent soon. Minho got in his- i recognised it from every race we had been to. his classic mclaren 620R i think.
i revved my engine and it purred like a dream, i went round in a large circle for a couple laps, getting used to the new car, it didn't take long for me to get comfortable in it. i pulled up beside Minho at the starting line, he rolled down his window and i copied the action.
"the first lap isn't a race against each other- its just so you can get a good knowledge of the track- its not too advanced but worth going through once"
he yelled over the engines rumbles. i nodded with an enthusiastic thumbs up.
"just follow me- speed up if you feel comfortable to do so"
he rolled his window back up and drove off, i followed close behind- as we drove i noticed all the gladers in specific positions around the whole thing- something was up... Minho rounded the final corner and before i could think further about the odd look on all of them he sped up, passing the starting line- there was a crackle in my car before his voice came through the speakers.
"alright now its a race- five laps, lets see how well you fare without your boost"
he cajoled, i grinned and slammed down on the accelerator, i was gaining on him quickly when suddenly my window was splattered with paint ball pellets, i glanced up to see newt and aris hammering pellets down on me and Minho- i tried desperately to get it all off my screen but ti just made it worse, eventually it cleared enough just in time for me to see gally shove over a pile of tyres, i twisted the wheel harshly making my car drift past and barely avoid the falling wheels. i looked back ahead and Minho seemed pretty prepared for all of it. i gritted my teeth and sped up.
"ooh- forgot to warn you, the rest of them will act as surprise attack kind of things- ya never know what could happen at a race after all, try not to get hit."
i took a deep breath and looked out at my surroundings more whilst also trying to stay on with Minho- i lost my attention on the track for a moment and went back to trying to win, i was right at his tail and looking to ram him but all too suddenly he took a sharp left- i didn't have time to avoid the bag of flour that pelted my car. cursing angrily i tried to get back on track now almost unable to see anything. it only got worse when frypan dropped a whole can of paint over my car.
there was no chance i would win if i couldn't see- i decided 'screw it' i fumbled in the side compartment before pulling out the pink goggles and shoving them on, then i yanked on my seatbelt till i had enough space to wrench my window down- i stuck my head out of the window- thankful for the goggles no matter how dumb i looked and drove on, i veered past multiple obstacles along with gally literally sprinting for my car- finally i saw Minho ahead of me, he was on the home stretch and there was no chance i would win this but regardless i sped up- trying to close the gap as much as possible. i passed the finishline inches behind him. i slumped out the window in defeat. i looked like a mess, paint was all over my upper half along with a large amount of flower now in my hair. Minho was doubled over with laughter at my appearance.
i got out the car with much effort, pulling down the goggles as i walked over to him.
"oh laugh it up- go on, mother fucker that was hard"
he was still wheezing, tears pricking his eyes- i couldn't help but laugh too- catching my appearance n a road mirror, the goggles had left a mark where no flour or paint had touched. i looked mental. the other gladers soon appeared all either laughing or trying desperately to stifle it. when Minho finally calmed down he faced me with an amused look.
"gotta give you credit- was a smart if not inceridbly dumb move sticking your head out the window, im surprised you lasted though- its pretty intense huh?"
i nodded.
"it just shows that i need to know more than how to go fast and cut sharp corners."
"and that is why you have us"
gally finished, puffing up his chest a little. i guess i did have them and to be honest it made my heart swell. i had barely known them for that long but i already cared so much about them as a whole. .i hope this never ends.