I didn't see Minho for the following two years.
Why? He wouldn't come out of his dorm. Not even to greet me or tell me how he was feeling. He just stayed there. And when he was in class, he only stared at the wall with big eyes.
Alby said he didn't talk to them either. No more jokes or sarcastic remarks. This wasn't Minho anymore. This was a boy WICKED had ruined and traumatized.
Another reason I didn't contact him, was because the forbade me to. They threatened to do it again if I helped him. They said we had to learn our lesson.
Not seeing Minho affected me so much I didn't join the nightly trips anymore. He didn't join either. It broke me. Left me crying myself to sleep, but there was nothing I could do about it.
I knew, that if they hadn't done that to Minho, he would've been teasing me. I was growing up. Turning thirteen, with a more female body and mood swings he would've joked about.
But that day, all the boys, even Minho, looked like they could punch someone any moment. Their jaws were clenched, fists balled.
"He betrayed us!" Newt spat out, slamming his fist on the table. "He said he would join us and now he won't! I hate him."
Surprised, I looked at the blonde. He was always so calm and now... this.
"Who?" I whispered to Frypan.
The boy seemed disgusted. "Thomas."
"What did he do?"
"He's a liar." Minho added. He heard the news too. His face was made of steel, eyes sharp. "I don't want to talk to him ever again."
"You won't have to, because we're leaving tomorrow. Without him." Alby buried his head in his hands. "He promised!"
"What?" I blinked. "You're leaving? Where to?"
"That bloody project of him and Teresa." Newt's eyebrows furrowed in anger. "We're going into that stupid Maze he built."
Frypan madly chewed on his food. "And he told us he would come with us and now he will not."
"What Maze...?"
They all stared at me like I said something crazy.
My eyes rolled automatically. "You're the ones that never tell me anything."
"The project Thomas and Teresa worked on was a bloody Maze they're about to send us in." Newt summarized. "You should've joined us in the cleaning room to be informed!"
Minho and I made eye contact. He swallowed. I quickly looked away again.
"I didn't know that."
"Yeah, we're aware now."
Newt sighed. Stared at the table. "Yesterday he let me see- no, talk to Lizzy. He let me talk to her after all these years. Next day, he betrays us."
"Maybe he didn't know he wasn't going to join. Or he didn't want to hurt you." I stated carefully, hoping this wouldn't trigger their anger even more. "You can't blame him."
"Are you going with us?"
I remained silent for a minute.
"I don't know. They haven't told me."
~
It turned out that I would be send into the Maze half a year after the boys. Half a year of being awfully alone.
I did get to watch them leave. They were all lined up, along with about fifteen other boys. Thomas and Teresa stood in the corner of the room. Thomas had made desperate attempts to talk to them, but they refused angrily.
"Go say goodbye." Mary gave me a push. "You're allowed to."
I didn't hesitate to run to Newt first, and attacked him with a hug. He buried his head in my hair.
"I'm sorry." I whispered so quietly only he could hear it. "I'm so sorry."
"There's nothing you have to be sorry for." He muttered. "Also, gotta tell you something. You know what I found out?"
"Well?"
"I like boys better than girls. Romantically." He said, still hugging me. "Just wanted to tell you that before I leave."
I managed a very small smile. "I'm proud."
"Bye, love."
"Goodbye, Newt."
Next was Alby. He gave me a firm hug. Patted me on my head since he had grown way taller than me. "Make sure you make them pay." He told me. "Make Janson pay."
"I will." I promised. "Bye, Alby."
He nodded.
Frypan rubbed my back and let tears fall. "I'm going to miss you." He whispered. My heart was going through an indescribable pain. "So much."
I smiled through my tears. "I'm going to miss you too. But we'll always stay friends, right?"
"Always."
Minho was the last one I walked over to. He wore a blue shirt with grayish pants, his tiny, slim body fitting in it perfectly. Hair styled. Eyes narrowed.
He stared at me for a long time, face slowly filling with so much regret. He took a step closer. "I should've talked to you." He said. "Should have."
"It's okay." I ignored the different emotions mixing in my body. The tears in my eyes, hurt in my heart, but butterflies in my stomach. "We'll meet in the future. I promise."
He hesitantly wrapped his arms around me. I breathed in. The scent I had smelled for years. One that made me comfortable so many times.
"I don't want to say goodbye, Lee." He whispered.
I talked around it. It hurt too much. "Still the nickname, huh?"
"I'll never let go of it." He said. "My Lee. Your Min."
I sniffed. Hugged him tighter. "I don't want to leave either."
"Should we make a run for it?"
"We can't."
"I know."
We stayed like this long. His arms clasping around my body and mine clasping around his.
"Minho?" I slowly let go. Looked him in the eyes.
Four years of being in love with him. Seven years of being his best friend.
He looked at me too. Didn't even let me say what I wanted to say.
He had kissed me on the lips.
A gentle, careful kiss. Holding one side of my face. It lasted just a few seconds before he let go and inhaled some air.
"I love you." I told him. "Always have."
"I love you."
He hugged me again. "Please be careful."
"I will be. You... don't die." I murmured.
"Be careful, don't die."
I smiled, tears slipping now. I held onto him. He held onto me. We couldn't just let go after everything that happened.
"Time's up, kids. Say goodbye."
He only hugged me tighter.
"Come on. We ain't got all day. Let go of each other." Janson spoke. "Lenora, come with me. Minho, get your syringe."
We didn't let go.
A minute later, "Alright, that's it."
A guard pulled me away from Minho. He yelped. Jumped forward, but was too late; another guard had grabbed him.
"Let me go, you piece of shit!" He struggled. "Lee!"
I fought and resisted against the guard, but it didn't work. He was too strong and I was too broken. I got dragged away as they tried to control Minho from breaking down the whole place.
His yells were the last thing I heard before Janson closed the doors, the sight of the cafeteria disappearing behind me.
Make Janson pay, Alby said.
Before I realized it myself, I had elbowed the guard with all the power I had, grabbed an operation knife from a table, and ran over to Janson.
That's how I got the scar Minho would see on my back, three years later.