"Shouldn't it be here by now?" I ask Newt as a crowd gathers around the Box, everyone waiting impatiently for the Greenie to arrive.
"It takes a little longer for some Greenies."
"That's what she said."
"Venus, I swear to God, if you don't stop bloody saying that-" Newt yells before I cut him off.
"Okay, okay, jeez. Didn't know you were so sensitive to funny jokes." I mutter, rolling my eyes.
"I'm not sensitive, I'm annoyed." He snaps back. "There's a big bloody difference."
"It shouldn't take this long for the Box to come up though, right? I mean, the longest it's taken was like, thirty minutes."
"I know."
"It's been almost two hours, Newt."
"I know that too." He replies, running a hand over his mouth.
"That's a long-ass time."
"I'm gay, not stupid, Venny. I'm well aware of how long it's been."
"Well, glad you're also aware of your sexuality."
"Shut up." Newt snaps, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He scans the growing crowd for a second before his eyes fall back to the Box.
"What was that look for?" I ask. Newt looks down at me, his famous frown plastered on his face.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean the look you gave Archie before you looked back at the Box. You looked sad. Is everything okay with you two?" The Trackhoe shakes his head. "You haven't talked since that day, have you? The day you told me what was going on?"
"Not a word."
"You miss him?"
"How can I miss him if we were never together? You can't miss something that never was."
"Yes you can." I reply, my gaze falling to the trees in the distance. "If he was important enough to you, it'll hurt when he's gone, regardless of if he was ever yours in the first place."
Newt grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers. I lay my head on his shoulder, still staring into the distance, but not really seeing anything.
"When will it stop hurting?" He asks softly, his voice cracking.
"I'm not sure, Newton." I whisper back, squeezing his hand in mine. "But I'll be here to help every step of the way, okay?"
"Okay." He mutters, silence falling between us. The silence, however, is cut short by a loud, blaring alarm sounding through the Glade. Both of us jump slightly due to the sudden noise. I gently squeeze Newt's hand in mine again before pulling him towards the front of the crowd.
It only takes about ten minutes for us to hear a loud clang, followed by a low whirring noise as the metal doors slide open. Gally, with the help of Jeff, Clint, Alby, and a few others, pull open the cage doors, revealing the Greenie to the rest of us.
The boy inside looks no more than 16. He's covering his face with his hands in an attempt to block out the sun as his eyes adjust to the light. He frantically scans the crowd above him, his gaze falling to Newt and I. I notice the boy furrow his eyebrows as he lowers his hand.
I try to study his face, but am interrupted by Gally jumping down into the Box and getting face to face with the new kid.
"Day one, Greenie. Rise and shine." He says, grabbing the boy by the front of the shirt and yanks him out of the Box, tossing him into the grass like a ragdoll.
Laughter echoes throughout the Glade as the boy rolls over, panting and desperately trying to get away from the crowd forming around him.
"He looks like a Slopper to me." One Glader says.
"No, definitely a Trackhoe."
"Nah, man. Definitely a Slicer."
"I could use some help in the kitchen." Frypan says, grinning down at the boy. Voices blend together as everyone makes comments about the boys physical appearance or try to predict what job he'll end up with.
I notice the sweat beading his forehead as he frantically looks around, trying to find an opening in the crowd.
I watch him scramble back, forcing some of the Glader's to move. And then suddenly, almost as if he calculated it, I watch the Greenie stand to his feet and start running.
"Hey, we got a Runner!" Zart shouts, pointing at the Greenie's now disappearing figure.
"Shit, he's gonna go into the Maze!" I shout, realizing his plan. Without even thinking about it, I rip my hand from Newt's and sprint after him.
One thing's for sure, I was not made to run. I'm already out of breath almost as soon as I started running, panting and sweating within about five seconds.
"Venus!" I hear Gally and Newt shout from behind me, but I ignore them, focused only on stopping the Greenie.
"Stop!" I try to shout, desperately reaching out in an attempt to grab the back of his shirt. Just as I'm about to catch hold of some fabric, the Greenie stumbles, tripping over his own feet and tumbling to the ground.
I stumble as well as I try to stop, but I'm able to regain my balance before I hit the floor. Laughter echoes around us as I stand up, smoothing out my hair with my fingers.
I walk over to the new kid and stick out my hand in an attempt to help him up, but he declines, instead pushing himself to his feet and turning in a circle in order to take in his surroundings.
The laughter turns to cheers and shouts as he continues turning in a circle.
"You know, you're gonna get really fucking dizzy if you keep doing that." I say, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring up at him.
He finally tears his eyes away from the four, massive stone walls around us to look down at me, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Wanna tell me what the hell you were thinking?" I snap, taking in his appearance as he stares at me. The boy is about 5'10, with dark brown hair and eyes, a sharp jawline, and an upturned nose.
"Where am I?" He asks, his voice slightly raspy due to lack of water.
"Welcome to the Glade. Your new home." I reply, uncrossing my arms and instead fiddling with my fingers. I hear footsteps behind me as a few Glader's catch up to us.
"Alright, someone take him to the Slammer. He needs to calm down." Alby says from beside me.
"I'll do it." Jeff mutters, leading the Greenie away. The new boy is still frantically looking around as he walks towards the Slammer with Jeff.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Alby snaps, turning on me.
"You all were just gonna let him run out there. Someone had to stop him." I reply, glaring up at our Leader.
"You can't just go running after Greenies like that, Venus. You could've gotten hurt-"
"Which I didn't."
"But if you could've."
"Look, Alby. I can take care of myself, okay? You don't need to protect me. If the Greenie hadn't tripped and made it into the Maze and I hadn't even tried to stop him, I would've never forgiven myself. At least I tried to stop him." I snap before storming away, ignoring Alby's attempts to call me back.