Song - Safe and Sound (Taylor Swift)
"Gally! Eleanor!" A voice stirred me from my sleep. It took me a moment to register where I was. Who was holding me so tightly. Gally... The memories flooded in. I felt his heartbeat under my head. Felt the way I put all my weight into his body, similar to how we shared the weight of our situation. I felt his arms tighten at the sound of our names from somewhere far away. He must still be awake. How long had I been asleep? Had he been holding me, watching me this whole time? I peeled my face off Gally's chest, his shirt now damp from my tears. I looked up at the boy, seeing the tired smile he wore to try and hide the despair in his eyes.
"Guys?"
I shifted my body to see Chuck standing on the edge of the clearing. Eyes wider than usual, which was a sight. I felt Gally's grasp around me loosen.
"Yeah Chuck?" I croaked, wiping my face with my sleeve.
"Um... Thomas found something in the maze. They told me to go find you guys,"
Gally's jaw tightened, and his body became tense. I pulled away and slowly stood up, feeling lightheaded after all the tears I had cried. Gally stood up beside me. He gave me a look which I knew the meaning of. Even though I wanted to deny it. His eyes narrow, eyebrows raised and lips forming a thin line.
We followed Chuck through the forest, back to the meeting room. The other boys were waiting outside. They sent me glares like daggers as I passed through the swarm, into the room.
When I saw Minho and Thomas standing beside Newt, I felt so relieved I could cry again. I quickly did a once over, scanning their bodies, looking for any sign of injury. Nothing. The other keepers stood around the boys as they examined something in Newt's hand. Looks like something from a machine, a metal canister with wires peeking out the ends, covered in a gunk of sorts. They looked up at me and Gally as we entered. I saw their jaws tighten at the sight of the builder beside me. Tom gave me a slight nod and I quickly returned the favour.
"We found this... it was inside a griever," Thomas revealed. I slowly moved closer to the boys, finding my spot to the side of Newt. Gally followed behind me and stood slightly in front, making me frown, but I didn't say anything. His arms were crossed over his chest tightly. His shoulders tense and face sour. I swallowed nervously at the sight of him.
"These are the same letters we get on our supplies," Newt realized, looking up at Thomas across the room.
"Yeah. Whoever put us here obviously made the grievers. And this is the first real clue, the first anything... you've found in over three years, right Minho?" Thomas said.
"Right," Minho confirmed firmly.
"Newt, we gotta go back out there... who knows where this might lead us?" Thomas pleaded.
Thomas and Newt shared a look. Newt looked at him with such affection and yet his eyes were brimmed with fear. Then Newt looked at Gally. Gally saw the look on Newt's face. How he was considering it. Gally's entire body seemed to tighten as he interrupted,
"You know what he's trying to do right?" he seethed. "First, he breaks our rules, and then he tries to convince us to abandon them totally!"
He's mad but I can tell he is something else. Hurt. I gently brush my fingertips on his forearm. He ignored my touch.
"The rules are the only thing that has ever kept us together, why now are we questioning that?" he snarled. I looked over at Minho. His face gave me no insight to his opinion on the situation. As if Gally has done this countless times before. Why is he acting like this?
"If Alby was here, you know he would agree with me," he grumbled. Everyone looked at him, jaws tightening at the comment. I could tell Thomas was agitated as if he would throw a punch in Gally's direction at any moment.
"This shank... needs to be punished," he demanded pointing his finger at Thomas.
Newt stood quietly, mentally weighing up his choices, and carefully choosing his next words. He looked up at Thomas one last time, sighed, and then handed back the clue to Minho.
"You're right...Thomas broke the rules... one night in the pit no food," He declared.
I had to mentally stop myself from opening my mouth in shock. I was not expecting Newt to do that. Thomas hid his hurt well but not well enough for me to not notice.
"Oh, come on Newt! One night in the pit? You think that's going to stop him from going into the maze?" Gally protested, face red in irritation.
"No. And we can't just have non-runners running into the maze whenever they feel like it," he huffed.
Gally crossed his arms, waiting for Newt's words.
"Let's just make this official... starting from tomorrow, you're a runner," he declared voice only wavering on the word runner. I could see how hard it was for him to say it out loud. Newt held his gaze firmly with Tom, ignoring Gally's bewildered expression.
"Wow," Gally muttered before leaving my side.
"Gally," Frypan murmured as he passed him, reaching out for his arm. Gally swatted him away.
"Nah Fry," he hissed.
Fry began to follow him out the door, but I put a hand on his shoulder,
"It's okay, I'll talk to him," I murmured. Looking back at Newt, Thomas, and Minho, I saw the expression they gave me. Telling me I shouldn't bother. I shook my head in response and headed out the door.
Gally had already made it halfway across the grass when I left the room. I ran to catch up.
"Gally!" I yelled across the grass, ignoring the stares I gained from the other boys. He didn't turn. I ran faster, he continued to storm to the woods. We were at the tree line now when I shouted again,
"Gally!"
He suddenly turned around to face me, making me almost run into him.
"What?" he hollered; face screwed up in anger. Face red, breathing hoarse.
I took a step back.
"What's the matter Gal?" I whispered. "Something is wrong. That's okay. Just tell me," I pleaded.
He took a few steps back, further into the forest... out of sight.
"You know what bothers me? The fact that Newt has just abandoned the one thing that has kept us together the past three years. Things got low Ellie. Real low. We lost so many boys. Alby made these rules so that would never happen again and now look what is happening. Things are going to shit and we're falling apart, and no one seems to care. I can't see it get low again. I will not lose any more boys. I can't lose you. I will not lose you-"
I close the gap between our bodies, grab his face with my hands, and push my lips against his.
For a moment he was frozen in the same position, jaw tightened, shoulders tense. But then he wrapped his arms around my waist and melted into the kiss. I crossed my arms around his neck and felt my way through his lips. Enjoying the way his hands grasped my hips tighter with every kiss. I ran my fingers through his hair, gently tugging at the roots and he let out a tiny sound that made me understand exactly what he wanted.
His tongue grazed the bottom of my lip, inviting me to dive deeper... harder. I kissed his beautiful, soft lips until I was almost out of breath. He hooked his arms around my ass and quickly picked me up and carried me further into the woods.
"Gally," I murmured as he pushed my back against a tree, just hard enough for me to whimper. I hooked my legs around his waist as he smiled at my lips before diving into another all-consuming kiss. His mouth migrated from my mouth to my cheek, my jaw, and then my ear. He nibbled at my ear lobe while whispering,
"Eleanor," The sound of my name made my back arch, and a very embarrassing sound escaped my lips. His mouth found my neck as he kissed it, sucking at the delicate part that hurt just enough.
His hands explored the small of my back holding me tight, the other hand on the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. All earlier thoughts, memories, and tension melted into a puddle by our feet. The tightness of his body disappeared as I grasped his shoulders, feeling the way his body widened at the top. The way his muscles curved under my palm. It felt like all the questions, all the desperations and desires have now been answered. Like nothing would ever be left unsaid. Like we weren't stuck in the middle of a maze. We were just two teenagers, obsessed with the way our bodies felt when we were so close together.