A/N: Also, what are we thinking of Valerie so far? I hope she doesn't come over annoying because she talks a lot :)
TW: A shirtless Minho (in case you faint)
~
The days started to get warmer in the Glade, even though we were all convinced there were no seasons. Gally told me over and over again the sun always shined and it was never extremely cold, except for the nights, sometimes.
"So it never snowed?" I wondered for the millionth time.
"Nope."
"It would be fun, though." I placed my pen on the ground. We were sitting on the floor in my hut, trying to write poems. Or rather, I was trying to teach Gally how to write it.
It was getting dark outside. Twilight fell a few minutes ago and my stomach was full with soup, the dinner Fry had made.
"I would push Carl's head into the snow." He muttered.
I laughed at that, loud and without shame. "I'll join you gladly. How's it going with the writing?"
He stared down at his blank paper. "I don't know what to write."
"Think of a subject you want it to be about. Happy or sad?"
"I don't know." He frowned even deeper. "Roses are red, violets are blue-."
"No." Giggling, I shook my head. "But you could say... roses aren't always red, violets aren't always blue... the society we live in, never seems to speak the truth. Smiles-."
"No. That's too sad. Write a happy one sometime." He leaned against the wall. For a few seconds he stared at nothing, but then his eyes started to twinkle. "I've got an idea."
"What is it?"
But he didn't reply and started writing like crazy, hiding his paper from mine.
I sighed, deciding I would just wait as I wrote my own thing. It wouldn't really be a rhyme poem, but something close to it.
As I wrote, my hair fell forward, almost onto my paper. My mind was spinning, working hard to create something nice.
She never needed to be saved,
But she thought it would be nice—
My pen nearly dropped out of my hands.
Gally tucked a strand of my red hair behind my ear, watching me carefully.
I would've sworn my heart skipped a beat. Almost gasping, I looked at him, trying hard not to raise a suspicious eyebrow.
He read my mind. "It, uh, your hair was covering my paper so I couldn't see what I was... writing."
"Right." I smiled at him and turned back to my paper.
"But I'm done with mine. Wanna hear?" His nervousness turned into a grin now.
"Yep."
"There lay the boy named Zart. On soft green grass, a man of heart. He'd go about his day walking with class. Oh, the little boy named Zart, a Glader and a Friend. The boy took a big shart. That's why he's known as, Zart The Fart."
I stared at him for a few seconds, the poem getting through my mind before I burst out of laughing. "It's..." Gasp. "Something..."
"It's very good, admit it." He had a crooked smile stuck on his face.
I, for some reason, laughed until my sides hurt. "It's very funny, that's what it is."
He pulled a face. "Poems can be funny. Now lemme read yours."
No, I don't want to read my poem to you.
"Why?" I covered my unsureness up with a laugh.
"Because obviously you're better at this than me, and I'm wondering what you wrote. Read!" He encouraged, chuckling too.
I don't want to read my poem to you because it has to do with you.
He folded his arms over each other, looking at me suspiciously. "Is it a sad one?"
"It's not too sad. Not sadder than others, at least." I shrugged. "Fine, then. It's a short one." I took my paper and started reading, "She never needed to be saved, but she thought it would be nice, to have someone everyone once in a while. To come pick her up off the ground, when she felt nothing but defeated." A pause. "It's not really a rhyme thing, but—."
"It's good. I like it." He smiled half. "Did someone pick you off the ground?"
I put on a mask, frowning and smiling at once. "Who said it was about me?"
"Who said it wasn't?"
"I do now. It's not about me." I tossed my paper in the trash can.
"Alright. Then it's not about you. And why did you throw it away?"
"It sucks anyway. And I don't feel like using another lose paper in case it gets in... wrong hands." I explained quickly.
He nodded, seeming to understand the situation. "What now?"
I put the pens back on my desk before hopping onto my bed. "Wrestling. You told me you would teach me twice, as I remember."
"It's getting late." Gally informed. "Though." He added fast.
"So? Or do you need your sleep hours?" I teased, almost sticking my tongue out.
"Not me." He sighed and took a look around my room. "Pretty cozy in here, isn't it?"
I looked around too. It wasn't too special. The small bed was still in the corner, the wooden and quite dirty desk next to it, some drawers, and a mini closet. By now I decorated my hut by asking the Box for lights I hung all over the ceiling and fake plants— since I wasn't able to keep real ones alive— were placed on almost every flat surface. I doodled with a black pen on white paper and glued those on the wall, hoping to make it look like papers, though it kind of failed.
"Had to do something to make it feel like home. And more pleasant to be here." I almost glanced at the million pillows on my made bed.
My big blanket was old pink. A smaller one was beige. All the pillow were pink, beige, or light brown, too.
Maybe the Glade wasn't that bad after all, as long as the Box kept giving me that kind of stuff.
"Mine's like an abandoned piece of wood." Gally mumbled. "And it stinks."
"Most likely caused by the owner." I blurted out.
He scoffed toughly. "Are you saying I stink?"
A faint smell of sweat, though somehow a comforting, misty and fresh scent.
"Nope, not at all." I grinned at him. "Anyway. Can we really not wrestle?"
"Imagine Minho's mind if he hears groans at this time in the evening. Let's not." He commented. "I'm wondering, does your leg never hurt? You clearly have a limp."
It hurts like hell every damn second.
"Doesn't hurt much." I scrunched my nose. "When I walk it does, sometimes."
"Won't activities like wrestling shuck it up even more?"
"Nah. It will be fine." I assured him.
He exhaled as if he didn't agree. "Okay... but if it does hurt you have to tell me and we'll stop right away."
"Will not be necessary." I smiled. "But I'll keep it in mind."
He still stood there, almost touching the lights on my ceiling as I just sat on my bed. "You may sit down, you know."
"You don't want me to leave?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Only if you want to." I let myself fall backward. "But I'm not tired yet. And I don't know what to here, on my own."
If I'm on my own my thoughts will take over.
He sat down on the tip of my bed hesitantly. "Okay."
I was still facing the ceiling with my eyes, watching the lights dance in front of me. "Who's your favorite artist?"
"I don't remember much artists."
"I do. Guess I liked music in the past." I admitted. "I would say you're quite Lana Del Rey coded."
"What?"
"I must go for Taylor." I added in a sigh.
"I have no idea-."
"I know." I cut him off with a smile. "Doesn't surprise me. I was happy enough when Newt recognized I'd marry you with paper rings." I paused, my eyes widening. "Those are the lyrics, by the way. I didn't mean to- uh, yeah. You get it."
He laughed at my sudden nervousness. "I guess I do."
"Do you like baking?"
He almost seemed startled at my sudden question. "I just let Frypan do all that."
"I'd love to bake. Just bake. Not cook for a few monstrous boys. But you know if I do..."
He raised an eyebrow, not understanding what I meant.
I sighed. "They'll say that it's what I belong to do, probably. Sometimes I'm afraid they'll catch me cleaning my hut. Bet they would say stuff about that too. Or about everything. I've gotten used to it. I guess—." I stopped abruptly. "Sorry. I, uh- I didn't mean to... vent, brag, rant, whatever."
Gally looked unsure what to do for a second. "It's okay." He reassured. "I'd like to know what you actually feel like, honestly. And I don't mind."
I frowned. "What do you mean 'know what I actually feel like'?"
"You say you're doing okay and you seem happy all of the time, but I'm pretty sure it's not that easy."
Well, he got me there.
"I'm happy." I said. "But when I'm alone... I don't know. I just- my thoughts overflow and I've got nothing else to think about, suddenly. Writing poems helps, but that's why they are so... depressing." Sensitive me took over, causing tears to form in my eyes. "Oh, god. This is embarrassing." I muttered.
"It's not. Just... keep talking about yourself, if you'd like. If it's relieving, I mean. I guess."
I shrugged. "Don't know what else to say. Don't you ever feel miserable?"
"No."
"Oh."
I couldn't deny it slightly disappointed me almost no one else understood what I f-
"But I get how you feel. I mean, it's quite logical when you're locked up here, being the only girl and surrounded with some bastards. Wouldn't blame you. But, now that you're the Third-in-command, you-."
"Wait. What?" I shot straight up.
"You didn't know you-."
"Oh, never mind. I forgot." I laughed slightly and lay back down.
"You forgot?" He spat out, but then laughed. "Alby told us yesterday, the Keepers. They're supposed to tell their workers tomorrow, so then the Builders will know too."
I nodded. "Ew. Then all the attention will be drawn to me."
His face grew sly. "Isn't it already?"
I tossed a pillow at him. "Shut up."
He chuckled and threw the pillow back softly. I gasped dramatically, not taking it and throwing back ten times harder. Then I grabbed another one and pushed it in his face too, laughing as I did it.
Before he got the chance to throw it back, I crawled off my bed, avoiding the pillows supple. One landed right next to me. I took my chance and again, pushed it in his face.
"Excuse me?" Gally scoffed unnecessary loud as he threw it with enough force to make me gasp.
"Rude!" A giggle escaped my mouth, I cringed at it, but he laughed even louder. I jumped onto the bed again, just to fall right off, my back hitting the ground.
I held my thumb up. "I'm okay!"
~
I was in a happy mood the next day. Gally left a few minutes after the pillow fight and I fell asleep with a smile on my face. For once, no thoughts interrupted my sleep.
It did disappoint me slightly he sat with the Builders the next day, but I convinced myself he had his own friends and it was okay he hang out with them. Smiling, I hopped across from Newt.
"What did you do now?" His eyebrows raised the minute he saw my face.
"Nothing." I smiled. "Yet."
He let out a laugh. "Today you will officially start as Third-in-command, Val. Guess you will be stuck with me the whole day."
"No one said that." I wiped some sweat off my forehead, noticing the sun shined right on it. It was hot that day.
"So you're basically saying 'Newt, I'd rather spend my time with Gally like I did last the last two weeks'." He mocked.
I rolled my eyes. "I didn't spent my time with Gally the last two weeks."
"You kind of did." Newt pulled a face. "But, it will mean I will win my bet. What do I get?"
"You won't win your stupid bet. And— oh my lord." My eyes widened.
Gally stood up from the table and seemed to have listened to my advice of not wearing his brown shirt. He wore a short-sleeved black one now.
And black looked surprisingly good on him.
It seemed like it was perfectly made for him. It fit tightly around his muscles and made his biceps spring out even more. Gally, the one I had called Potato Head, turned out be to be very attractive.
I had no idea why it took a black shirt to realize he was good-looking, but I was sure now.
"There's a reason I'm gay." Newt whispered, staring at him too. "But not for Gally. The personality is just not it."
"Gally's kind. To me, then."
"It's like grumpy and sunshine. This is a living movie, I swear." He held his hands up. "A hint of enemies to l-."
"Stop." I nearly slapped him. "Or I will tease you if you get a crush. I bet it's gonna be oblivious love and friends to lovers."
"Nah." He removed his eyes off Gally, but mine stayed glued on. Why did I only now realize he was attractive?
"Valerie, do not. I don't like this already." Newt gave me a push. "Stop staring."
"I'm not staring at all." I blinked and gave Newt a sharp glance.
"You're practically eye-shucking him." Again, he threw his hands in the air.
My eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me? Look who it says. You literally check out every damn Greenie."
He gasped. "I do not."
"You're waiting until a hot one comes up." I added. "Then you'll take your chance."
He shook his head in disbelief and focused on his food, ignoring me right on time, because Ben and Minho joined our table.
"Bloody hell you two doing here? I thought—."
"Day off." Minho took a bite of his apple.
"I have the feeling y'all get a lot of days off." I said, trying to steal a cookie from Ben, but he noticed me and slapped my hands away.
Minho threw his onto my plate. "Don't wanna get fat."
"Was that meant as an insult?" Ben stared at the Keeper, offended. He didn't bother to reply in words and just shrugged a bit. I happily took a bite of the cookie.
"Alby said he wanted to prevent us from faintin' because of the heat today. That's why we're not running." Minho eventually stated. "Talking about the heat, it's already like a million degrees here."
~
"Ah, come on, Newt! Please don't." I begged him later that day.
But no, he pulled his shirt off.
"What? It's bloody hot and everyone else here is shirtless." He defended, flexing his muscles. "Oh, and besides, now I can finally show the strength that I've been working on."
I frowned, looking at his chest for a while. "You don't have a six-pack, if that's what you think. Arm muscles is what you have."
"And veins. Veins are the best."
"Will agree with that."
I palmed my face a few seconds later. Literally every single boy walked around without a shirt. I didn't blame them, the sun nearly burned my skin, but it wasn't the most comfortable, walking around them.
"Shouldn't you follow the example?" Someone shouted at me.
"Hey, shut your bloody hole or I'll feed you to the Grievers myself!" Newt screamed back.
With my face bright red from either shame or heat, I followed the Brit to the gardens, close to where the Builders were working on a better greenhouse.
"Don't you dare set your eyes on Gally, Valerie. Or I'll throw you off the Cliff too." Newt threatened. "Oh, Minho has some muscles, bloody hell."
"Please don't tell me you're falling for Minho."
"Can't blame me if I would." He grinned. "But no, I won't." A pause. "Oh. Damn, Winston."
"Newt, politely shut up." I groaned. "Why are we gonna work in the gardens with this weather?"
I looked down at my clothes. A simple white top with blue shorts. The top had straps as thin as spaghetti. And yet it was too hot to live in. My skin was burning and—
"Sunscreen! Sunscreen!" Jeff and Clint approached the Glade with dozens of bottles full with sunscreen. Newt took my wrist and pulled me toward the duo, claiming a bottle.
"You mind?" He pointed at his back as he sat down on a bench.
"Nope. Not at all." I muttered. Kind of laughing at the situation, I sprayed his back full with the liquid and started massaging it in.
"Aha!" Ben appeared next to us. "I can't reach my back. Mind doing mine too, Val?"
"Just sit down." I told him, exhaling slightly, but not grumbling.
"If you want to prevent yourself from skin cancer, you better get sunscreen!" Jeff and Clint screamed over and over again.
"This is literally just a free massage." Ben chuckled. "I like it. Minho, get over here!"
"Hey! I'm not some worker that massages sunscreen into everyone's skin." I argued.
Minho came walking by, giving us a few glances before he, with a few protests, let me give him sunscreen too.
(A/N: Of course he had a six-pack with strong muscles on his arms, chest, and stomach. Veins ran across his arms, especially on his hands. His skin was tanned into a beautiful color. The sun caused a few freckles on his nose and the light made his skin glow even better.
- Vera)
"Are you kidding me?" I whisper-screamed to a shrugging Newt when a few more boys stood in line.
My next half hour I spent spreading sunscreen on their backs while I was sweating to death. My face was bright red, my head dizzy, and hands oily from the cream.
"Do you really not mind?" Gally's familiar voice came from behind me. I twisted around, finding him shirtless too, with clearly visible muscles over his stomach and arms.
Trying not to stare, I smiled at him. "Better than working in the gardens, I guess. You need sunscreen too?"
"Please." He sat down in front of me, shoulders broad.
Noticing I was more nervous than with touching the other boys, I worked on his back, spreading sunscreen all over it and the shoulders.
"Won't you faint even faster now?" He asked.
"I hope not. If I do, please catch me. I wouldn't like another concussion." I wiped some sweat off my forehead.
"Need me to give you sunscreen too?" He offered.
My cheeks flushed pink. "You're the first one to ask that. So, uh, yes, I'd like that. Thanks. Don't want to get... skin cancer, you know?"
"Yeah." He chuckled for a reason I didn't get, though I didn't ask either.
Once I was done with him, I sat down on the bench, moving my ponytail out of the way.
"Shoulders and back?" Gally wondered.
"Yeah. Just anything that can get red on my back." I shrugged and handed him the bottle.
Newt walked by, stared from Gally to me and repeated it a few times. Mouthing 'you're blushing' he winked, then walked further.
He was right. My face felt as red as a tomato.
Gally's large hand touched my shoulder without a warning, almost making me jump. And Ben was right too. It indeed felt like a massage. He gently, yet with some force kneaded my shoulders and rubbed the sunscreen into my back.
And I enjoyed it a lot more than I should've.
His hands on me felt like- no. It just felt like someone was giving me sunscreen. That was it.
"Thanks, Gally." I smiled at him about a minute later.
"No problem. And uh, you should put some sunscreen on your face, too. It's getting a sunburn already."
I'm blushing, you idiot.
"I'll keep it in mind." In my own ears, my laugh sounded quite nervous. "Thanks, again."
"You're welcome. Uhm... I'll get back to work. Rather not get Alby to... yell at me. Or whatever. Yeah." He scratched the back of his head before rushing away fast, leaving me with a knotted feeling in my stomach.
"You like himmm." Newt whispered.
I hit the back of his head. "As a friend."
He rubbed the place I hit him, gifting me offensive looks. "That's what they all say. I changed my mind. It's frenemies to lovers, oblivious love, and grumpy meets sunshine. I'll ask Minho for popcorn."
"Ah, shut up." I hit him again.
"I'm your biggest shipper." A crooked smile. "What shall I call you? Galerie? Vally? Galval? I think Vally."
"Shut. Up."
"Hitting me on the neck will not help, if that's what you assume." Newt confirmed.
"A kick in the crotch then?"
He shrugged. "I'll never get kids anyway."
"Oka-."
"But don't!" He nearly yelled it. "Please don't. That klunk hurts, you don't wanna know."
"I indeed don't want to know, Newt." I started walking closer to the gardens, my legs already aching and everything sweating from heat. "Don't we have water or something? It's so hot."
"Because I'm here, obviously."
"As a best friend, I support you and will say you're not that bad looking. Because it's true. Even Minho would agree." I put my hands on my hips after wiping even more sweat away. "What now?"
"Now, we work." He grinned annoyingly. "Come on. Grab a shovel or hoe and-."
"I'll grab Minho, then. Will be back in a-."
"Bloody concentrate!" He mocked. "Here, you have the shovel."
"Can I hit Carl?"
"No, you cannot. Remove the weed from the-."
"There's weed here? Can I have some?"
"Valerie, no. Just no. It's not funny. No one thinks it's funny."
"I'm no one, suddenly."
"You're still not funny." Newt sighed deeply. "Get to work. Remove the weed from in between the plants. No grumbling."
"I like you better apart from work."
"Well, I like to apart work and private stuff." He muttered. "Now sit down and work."
"What if I faint?"
"You won't-."
"Remember the last time I fainted? You freaked out and thought I died."
"Get your bloody butt to work, Val!"
"My butt's only bloody when-."
"Enough. E-nough." He pulled me down on the ground. "Work."
Then he fled (or limped) away.
I sighed and eventually started weeding all the unwanted plants out, putting them in a bucket as my clothes got soaked in sweat. The sun shined right onto me and it was anything but pleasant.
~
About an hour later, I still sat kneed on the ground, until my name got called out. My first instinct was to stand up, but I regretted that immediately when everything turned black. I fell over my own feet, yelping because I didn't see anything and knew I would hit the ground... until I didn't.
After blinking a thousand times, my eyes met a pair of blue-grayish ones. "Uh, hello." Gally said. "You okay?"
"You caught me." Was all I managed to get out, breathing quite loud for no reason. Shock?
"You kind of told me to catch you if it happened like an hour ago, so I did. You okay?"
"Yep."
Still in his arms, I inspected his face from closer by. "You've got freckles." I blurted out. A few of them were dotted on his nose and cheeks lightly.
He gave me a half smile. "You too. A lot."
"Sadly."
"No, I like them. You should, too." An even brighter smile.
"Maybe."
"Should I, uh- well, put you down now?" He raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah. Right." I cleared my throat. "That would be nice."
With an awkward laugh, he put me down again. I noticed by now his shirt was on again, even though it was still super hot. Maybe a few degrees cooler, but that was it. "How's the work going?"
"Uh.." I looked back at my sloppy work. "Good. Very good. I'm a natural."
"I can see." He snickered.
I looked down. Just then, my eyes caught a perfect-looking water bottle in his hands. Quite a large one, too. "Is that water?"
"I may hope it is." He held the thing up. "What else what it be?"
"I'll save you from my dirty mind right now." I said sheepishly. "Can you throw it over me?"
"What?"
"The water. Throw it over my head. I'm like dying out of heat here and I'd rather not have even more chance of fainting again. So please just squint it on me or something."
"You sure? Don't blame me if you cry."
"I won't cry." I scoffed. "Just do it."
"Fine, then. If you won't cry." He shrugged, opening the bottle. Before I knew it, it was covering my hair and shirt. The cold feeling made me sigh in pleasure, the body heat I had at first slowly fading.
"Uh." Gally averted his eyes, then looked back at me for a split second, blushing, and then looking away again. "Remember your... favorite color?"
"Yeah. Which you say is not a color?"
"That one. So, uhm, well." Gally moved in front of me more. "Your shirt is kind of... that color."
"Oh."
A pause.
"Oh."
My whole face turned a bright red when I looked down, my stomach and black sports bra clearly visible under my almost invisible shirt.
"Wait." Gally rushed to pull off his shirt and wrap it around me, covering me up as much as he could. "Let's just... I'll bring you to your hut." He stammered, quickly leading me to my hut by putting a hand on my lower back.
Even through the embarrassment, I felt the weird tingle in my body at his touch again.
And then a comment was made. Of a Builder. No more context needed.
Gally's eyes filled with fire so fast I thought he would explode for a second. "Don't." I shook my head, watching his already clenched fist. "Not worth it."
With a grunt, he continued to walk us further on a quick pace. He opened the door to my hut.
"Do you want your shirt back?"
"I think so. But if you- uh."
Before he could even fully replied, I removed his shirt off of mine. "Here you go."
His face gained a red color. His eyes averted again and I could see the struggle of not trying to look on his face.
Was I kind of exposing myself to the whole Glade? Yes. Was it fun to tease Gally? Also yes.
"I'll change." I smirked a little before closing the door. "Thanks for covering me up, Gally."
"Yeah, uh. No problem. Again. You're welcome." He seemed in a loss of words. "No problem."