~~~Authors Notes~~~
I cover a lot of the book in this chapter, so sorry if that's annoying. I just really wanna get past this part of tmr. OOPS.
But holy crap, Mockingjay Part 2 was the best thing I've ever seen. Has anyone else watched it yet??
On that note, enjoy! This chapter is full of everything, haha. I took note on some of the comments in the last chapter, and it seems that overall people like a mixed chapter of everyone emotion possible! So I will try to accommodate! ILY GUYS BYYEE!
*I'm fixing typos and errors later*
~~~~
~~~Brianne's Pov~~~
The room of Keepers remained silent. Most seemed stunned, or shocked. The rest? I don't even know if they were paying attention anymore.
Gally was paying attention though, "That's ridiculous!" He shouted, jumping from his chair and facing Newt, "Minho should be kicked off the council for saying something that stupid!" Thomas put his head in his hands, clearly mortified.
Minho wanted Thomas to be the Keeper of the Runners. That was crazy!
Then all at once, everyone burst into commotion, some sharing their thoughts of agreement, others wishing to banish all those who agreed.
Newt stood, slowly, placing his notebook down on his seat. I stared at him as he took a few deep breaths, "I have never in my life seen so many shanks acting like shucking babies. We may not look it, but we're adults around here. So buggin' act like it or we'll disband this council and start the whole thing from scratch," Newt walked around the semi-circle, making eye contact with each of us, "Are we clear?"
The silence that followed showed that everyone was more than willing to oblige, "Good that," Newt calmly sat back down. He looked to Minho, "That's some serious klunk, dude. Sorry but you need to talk it up for it to move forward."
"It's sure easy for you shanks to sit here and talk about something you don't know about. I'm the only Runner in this group and the only other person who's been in the maze is Newt, former Keeper-" Minho started, making my heart ache.
But Gally interrupted, "Not if you count the time I-"
"I don't!" Minho shouted, "And believe me, you or anybody else has even the slightest clue what it's like to be out there. The only reason you were stung is because you broke the same rule you're blaming Thomas for breaking. That's called hypocrisy, Gally, you little shuck-faced piece of-"
"That's enough!" Newt intervened, "Defend your proposal and be done with it."
The tension in this room, I swear could be felt by all of the Glade. It was as if the oxygen in the air had been removed. Gally, Newt, and Minho were currently flicking their eyes back and forth between each other, each one staring the other two down.
I understand the tension between Newt and Gally, but I don't really get the reason for the disagreement between Gally and Minho. What happened between them?
Finally the exchange was broken off, and Minho said, "Anyway, I've never seen anything like it. Thomas didn't whine or cry or panic, he never even seemed scared. He's only been here for a few days, and he's stepped out into the maze to save two shanks he hardly even knows. All this klunk about him breaking a rule is beyond stupid. He doesn't even know the rules yet," Minho took a deep breath, gaining confidence, "But that was just the beginning. After that, he saw me give up on Alby and leave him for the dead. But he didn't give up, he pushed Alby up the wall and saved him. But that wasn't it. Then the grievers came and Thomas fought them off, by himself. It's crazy-"
"Alright, we get the point," Gally snapped, "He's one lucky shank."
"No, you worthless shuck, you don't get it. I've been here two years and I've never seem anything like it," Minho paused, groaning in frustration, as he rubbed his eyes, "Gally, you're nothing but a sissy who has never once asked to be a Runner or tried out for it. You have no right to talk about things that you don't understand. So shut your mouth."
Gally stood, once again, absolutely furious, "Say one more thing like that and I'll break your neck, right here in front of everyone."
Minho, already standing, laughed. Like burst into laughter. I gave Newt a nervous look. I had a bad feeling about this.
Then Minho punched Gally in the face, sending him falling backwards onto the ground.
"I swear, Gally, don't ever threaten me again. Don't ever speak to me again. Ever. If you do I'll break your shuck neck, right after I'm done with your arms and legs!" Minho shouted.
I shook my head at Newt, internally screaming for him to get up and stop this. Thankfully him and Winston grabbed Minho, and held him back, from doing anything else.
Gally stood up, brushed off his pants and began backing out of the room, towards the door. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the door handle, "Things are different now. You shouldn't have done that Minho," His vision shifted to Newt and I got really scared for him, "I know that you hate me, that you've always secretly hated me. But you should be banished for your embarrassing inability to lead this group. You're shameful, and anyone who agrees with you is no better. Things are going to change, Newt, this I promise."
Are you freaking kidding me? How dare Gally saw that about Newt!
"And you," He said glaring at Thomas, "the Greenbean who thinks he's friggin' God. Don't forget that I've seen you before- I've been through the changing. What these guys decide doesn't mean jack," He paused, looking at each person, but his glare fell back on Thomas, "Whatever you came here for- I swear on my life I'm gonna stop it. Kill you if I have to." And then he was gone, slamming the door shut behind him.
Once again, all of the Keepers sat silently looking at each other. Crap had just gone down.
Minho, Winston, and Newt all sat back down, as Minho said, "Well, he's finally whacked for good."
"You're not the bloody saint in the room, at the moment either," Newt huffed, "What were you thinking? That was a little too much, no?"
Minho squinted at Newt, as if he was taken back by his response, "Don't give me that garbage. Every one of you loved seeing that slinthead get his dues. And you know it, Newt. It's about time someone stood up to him."
"He's on the council for a reason," Newt retorted, to my utter shock.
Newt defending Gally?
"Dude, he threatened to break my neck and kill Thomas! The guy is mentally whacked, and you better send someone right now to throw his butt in the slammer. You knew that he was dangerous before, but he's really freaking me out now."
"Maybe he had a good point," Winston whispered. Shut up, Winston.
"What?" Minho asked, giving him a dirty look.
"Well, he has been through the changing. Griever stung him in the middle of the day. That means he has memories, and he said that the Greenie looked familiar. Why would he make that up?"
Frypan spoke out next, "Winston, did you see what just happened? Gally's psycho. You can't put too much sense into his rambling shouts. What do you think Thomas is? A griever in disguise?"
Finally, Thomas shouted in frustration, "Can I say something now! I'm sick of you guys talking about me like I'm not here."
Newt glanced up at him and only nodded, "Go ahead, this meeting can't get anymore screwed up."
"I don't know why Gally hates me. I don't care. He seems psychotic to me. As for who I really am, you all know just as much as I do. But if I remember correctly, we're all here because of what I did in the maze. Not because some idiot thinks I'm evil."
Newt nodded, seeming content, "Good that. Let's get this meeting over with and worry about Gally later-"
"We can't vote unless all of the members are here. Unless, they're really sick, like Alby," Winston interrupted.
"For the love, Winston. I'd say that Gally is a wee bit ill today too, so we'll continue without him. Thomas, defend yourself and then we'll take a vote on what to do with you."
"I didn't do anything wrong. I saw two people struggling to make it back and I wanted to help them. To ignore them because of some stupid rule seemed cowardly and selfish. If you want to throw me in jail for trying to save someone, then go ahead. Next time, I promise I'll point at them and laugh and then go eat Frypan's food."
I agreed that this was a bit ridiculous. Thomas saved not one, but two lives, he should be rewarded.
"Here's my recommendation, you broke our bloody number one rule, so you get one day in the slammer. That's your punishment. I also recommend we elect you as a Runner, effective the second the meetings over. You've proven more in one night than most trainees do in weeks. As for you being the Keeper, forget it. Gally was right on that count- stupid idea."
Minho said, "Why? He's the best we have, I swear it. The best should be the Keeper."
"Fine," Newt huffed, "If that's true, we'll make the change later. Give it a month and see if he proves himself."
Minho shrugged, seeming tired, "Good that."
"Okay so there are several recommendations, so lets give it a go-round-"
Frypan cut Newt off, "Oh, come on. Just vote. I vote for yours."
"Me too," Minho said in agreement.
Me and everyone else nodded in approval. Newt's idea seemed to sound the most fair.
Well everyone but Winston thought so.
Newt stared a him, "Well, we don't need your vote, but tell us what's got you saying no."
"It's fine with me," He answered, "But we shouldn't totally ignore Gally. Something about it- I don't think he just made it up. And it's true that ever since Thomas got here, everything's been screwy."
"Fair enough," Newt said, "Everyone put some thought into it. Maybe when we get bored we'll have another Gathering."
Thomas rolled his eyes, and whined, "I love how you guys are just talking about me like I'm not here."
Shut up, Thomas, and quit whining. I mean, I'm not that easy to irritate, but everyone's sticking up for him and he's being annoying.
"Look Tommy," Newt said, "We just elected you as a buggin' Runner. Quit your crying and get out of here. Minho has a lot of training to give you."
"What about my punishment?" Thomas asked.
"Tomorrow. Wake up til sunset," Newt nodded, and then looked around at the Keepers, "Well you're all dismissed. Thank you for your time."
The Keepers left the room in a hurry. I stuck around, along with Minho, Newt, and Thomas.
I moved over and sat next to Newt as he scribbled on his notepad, "Good times, that was."
"It's not your fault," I said, knowing that Newt was stressed out.
"It's this shanks fault right here," Minho said, punching Thomas's arm playfully.
Thomas punched him back, "A Keeper? You want me to be a Keeper? You're nuttier than Gally by a long shot."
Minho gave us all an evil grin, "Worked, didn't it? Aim high, hit low. Thank me later."
Newt chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "Should have known you were just messing with the system."
"When don't I," Minho laughed. Then there was a knock at the door.
Chuck walked in, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. Or a griever, as I'm sure most here would say.
All four of us, lost the smily mood we'd been in, "Whats wrong?" Newt asked, his voice laced with concern. This made my stomach turn.
Chuck played with his hands, "The Medjacks sent me."
Newt exchanged a glance with me, "Why?"
"I guess, Albys thrashing around and acting crazy, telling Jeff and Clint that he needs to talk to somebody."
Newt stood and I went to follow him. What'd I miss?
But Chuck held up his hand to stop Newt, "Uh, he doesn't want you."
"What do you mean?" Newt asked, seeming honestly offended.
Chuck pointed behind us, to Thomas, "He's asking for him."
What? Why would Alby want Thomas? And not Newt?
"Well, come on," Newt said, after a few seconds. He grabbed Thomas by the arm, pulling him towards the door, "No way, I'm not going with you."
All three of us left the Council room and ran into the Homestead and to the stairs. Chuck went to follow, but Newt stopped him, "You. Stay."
Newt and I flew up the stairs two at a time, Thomas stepped up them slowly. Slow to the point that it was annoying. Once he caught up with us, we walked to the Medjacks room that Alby was staying in and Newt knocked on the door. A moan sounded in reply.
Newt pressed against the door, and it creaked open.
We stepped into the room, to find that neither Jeff nor Clint were here anymore. Only Alby was in here, lying motionless in bed, looking just as sick as ever.
"Is he asleep?" Thomas asked, lingering in the corner of the room.
"I don't know," Newt answered, quietly, as he walked over to the wooden chair next to the bed. He sat in it and I sat on the other side, "Alby?" Newt whispered. Then he said more loudly, "Alby. Chuck said you wanted to talk to Tommy."
Alby eyes fluttered open. He looked at Newt, then at me, and then at Thomas. With a groan, he sat up in bed, "Yeah," He simply answered.
"Chuckie said you were thrashing around, acting like a loonie," Newt bit his lip and leaned forward, "Whats wrong? You still sick?"
Alby's next words came out in a struggled breath, "Everything's gonna change," A sharp pause, "The girl. Thomas. I saw them," His eyes closed and he sank back into the bed, "I don't feel so good."
What? He's saying the same thing that Teresa said when she came up in the box. Everything's gonna change? What does that mean?
"What do you mean you saw them-" Newt started.
"I wanted Thomas!" Alby shouted, with a sudden burst of energy, "I didn't ask for you, Newt, or your girlfriend! Thomas! I asked for freaking Thomas!"
Um, no. Alby you can't talk to Newt like that, leader or not.
Newt looked across at me, and I held his stare for a second, before he shifted his eyes to Thomas, who just shrugged.
Why did Alby want Thomas?
"Fine, ya' grouchy shuck," Newt said, "He's right here- talk to him."
"Leave," Alby breathed, his eyes closing.
"No way- Alby, I wanna hear."
"Newt," A pause, "Leave now."
"But," Newt protested, and I could tell his heart was breaking.
"Out!" Alby sat up and yelled, his voice cracking, "Get out! You too, Brianne."
Newt's eyes flicked to the ground, clearly hurt by Alby's sudden hatred for him.
Newt finally stood, and I did also, "Don't expect me to kiss your butt when you come sayin' sorry," And then we left, slamming the door closed behind us.
But we really didn't leave, we just stood right outside the door. Like we were gonna leave Thomas alone and not hear what Alby had to say?
My hand reached for Newt's hand, and I mouthed, "Are you okay?"
Newt shrugged, before shaking his head, in defeat.
I exhaled, and we pressed against the door to hear what was happening.
"I know who you are," I heard Alby finally say, "I know who you are," He repeated, "Seen it. Seen everything. Where we came from, who you are. Who the girl is. I remember the Flare."
The Flare! I remember that too? But what is it?
"I don't know what you're talking about," Thomas answered, "What did you see? I'd love to know who I am."
"It ain't pretty," Alby sighed, "It's horrible, ya know. Why would those shucks want us to remember? Why can't we just live here and be happy?"
"Alby," Thomas seemed to warn, "The changing. What happened? What came back? You're not making sense."
"You-" Alby started, and then he was awkwardly cut off. Silence ensued. Newt and I looked at each other in confusion. I heard a couple bangs. But no talking.
Then Thomas finally shouted, "Alby!" A few seconds later, another thrash, "Newt!" He screamed and we threw open the door.
We burst into the room only to see Alby quit literally choking himself.
"Oh my god," I said in a panic.
"Grab his legs!" Newt shouted, at Thomas. But Thomas didn't move, "Just bloody do it!"
They grabbed onto Alby and held his body down. I stood knowing not what to do.
Newt put one of his knees onto one of Alby's shoulder, and then pulled at his hands, trying to loosen the hold Alby had on his own neck.
"Let go!" Newt yelled, as he tugged, "You're bloody killing yourself!"
I almost ran to get a serum to knock Alby out, but then finally Newt was able to pry Alby's hands away from hurting himself.
Alby fought for a few seconds, but as Newt held his arms, he seemed to calm down. He lied in bed, his eyes glazed over.
Newt slowly backed away from him, and Thomas did the same. Hopefully whatever had just happened was truly over.
Did Alby just tried to kill himself?
Alby finally looked up at Newt, his eyes droopy, as if he were moments away from falling into a deep sleep, "I'm so sorry, Newt," He whispered, "Don't know what happened. It was like something was controlling me. I'm sorry."
"Sorries, nothing," Newt said, his hands visibly shaking, "You were trying to kill yourself."
"It wasn't me, I swear, Newt."
Newt put his hands on his hips, "What do you mean it wasn't you?"
"It just wasn't me," Alby replied, looking confused.
Newt shook his head, as he picked the blankets up that had fallen onto the floor. He placed them on the sleepy boy, "Get your butt to sleep, we'll talk later. You're one messed up shank."
Newt gestured for all of us to go, and we did, but then Alby mumbled something as we left, "What?" Newt asked. And we waited for his response.
"Be careful with the girl," He said from the bed.
"Lets go," Newt pushed us out of the room.
"And Newt?" Alby called again.
"Yeah?" Newt huffed, totally over all of this.
"Protect the maps," And with that Newt pulled the door closed. Not another word was heard from Alby.
"That was crazy," Thomas whispered.
"I've seen crazier," Newt said, running his hands over his face.
"What now?" Thomas asked, putting his hands in his pockets.
Newt put his finger up to me, "I'll meet you downstairs, Tommy, okay? I just need to talk to Brianne for a minute," Thomas nodded, and he disappeared down the stairs, "Can I have a hug?" Newt finally asked, after a few moments of silence.
I almost laughed, "Of course," I pulled Newt close to me, and wrapped my arms around him. He did the same to me, his head resting on my shoulder.
"I don't know if I can talk to him again," Newt whispered, and I assumed he was talking about Alby.
"You don't have to," I said, my hand moving across his back.
"He- he just tried to kill himself," I felt Newt shake his head, "After everything we've been through, he went and did that."
"You've had a hard day," I tried to soothe.
"He talked me out of suicide, telling me how I was hurting everyone around me, but he goes and does the same."
"I know," I said, feeling oddly empty.
Newt pulled away from our embrace, "Now, I have to go try to get Thomas to tell me what's really going on. Everyone claims they've seen him, but nobody will tell me where or when."
"Don't stress out too much, okay?" I replied, pushing the hair off of his face.
"I'll try," Newt gave me a weak smile, "I'm thinking date night, tomorrow? Tommy will be in the Slammer and Alby looks like he'll be out for a while."
"Tomorrow? So soon?" I asked, surprised.
"It's never too soon to be with you," He answered, "And don't worry about the plans, I'll have everything sorted out. I love you."
"I love you," I returned, as Newt went downstairs.
~~~~~
"Hey," I greeted, walking into the Medjacks room that Teresa was in. Clint and Jeff both quickly glanced at me before going back to doing nothing, "I know that you guys are both upset with me-"
"At least you aren't oblivious," Jeff said, sitting down.
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I kept my composure, "But let me just tell you, that I had no part in my promotion. I didn't even know until a couple of hours ago that I'd been promoted. I'm sorry that I took that job from-"
"You just always get what you want."
"I do not," I said, shaking my head. What is he talking about?
"Newt's willing to kill for you. He will quite literally give you anything you ask for," Clint explained.
"That doesn't mean that I want any of this."
"But you'll get it anyway," Jeff gave me a cold glare.
"I'm honestly offended that you guys think so little of me. I thought out of everyone, maybe, just maybe, you would have my back. Apparently, I was wrong," I shifted on my feet awkwardly, "Look, I came to apologize."
"I see that, but you can't change what happened," Clint said, looking at me over his shoulder.
"What happened? Is this seriously about the job? I can just tell Newt that I don't want it! Because quite honestly, I don't. I don't wanna be anyone's boss. Thats not who I am. You both know that."
"No, don't tell him you don't want the job!" Jeff shouted, throwing me off. Why wouldn't he want me to step down?
"Why? Isn't that what this is about?" I asked, speaking of our mini confrontation.
"If you say no to being a Keeper, he'll find some other way to make you a leader."
"The he being Newt?"
"Yes, Newt. If Alby doesn't get better, he'll make you second in command."
I burst out laughing, "You're kidding me, right?"
"No, I'm not," Jeff said, with a straight face, "You don't deserve that position, Brianne. Even you must see that."
"I think that you shouldn't put me down as much as you do. I'm pretty close to our Glades current leader, as you said, so I would stop judging me, if I were you," I retorted, with a slight sarcasm.
"What are you gonna do? Have your boyfriend remove us from our jobs, just like you did with Victoria?"
"That was something entirely different," I sighed, suddenly feeling very small in the midst of the two people in front of me, "I'm done explaining myself to the two of you. I'm the Keeper now and if you don't like that then you can suck it."
"Suck it? Is that something a Keeper should be saying?" Clint asked.
"I don't know, I'll ask Newt all about it later," I smirked, flopping onto the second cot in the room.
"Thomas," Someone said.
"What did you just say?" I asked.
"I didn't say anything," Jeff answered, and we both turned towards Clint.
He shook his head, the color draining from his face, "I didn't say anything either. But who did?"
"Stop messing around!" I shrieked, getting nervous, "One of you just said Thomas."
"Thomas, Thomas, Thomas," The voice repeated and I recognized it.
"It's the girl!" Jeff shouted, pointing at her.
"Everything is going to change," She said, and I half expected her to be sitting awake in bed. But she wasn't, she was in a coma.
"Clint, write what she's saying down," Jeff commanded, seeing that Clint had some paper next to him.
"Why does everyone want Thomas today?" I mumbled, really confused. Why was Teresa saying his name? Why was she talking about 'things changing'?
"Look, I have to go watch Alby, the two of you need to keep a close eye on her," Jeff said, leaving the room.
I wanted to say 'Since when did you get put in charge?' But felt that it was probably too soon for jokes like that.
A few minutes after the weird babbling of the sleeping Teresa, Newt and Thomas came into the Medjack's room.
"How is she?" Newt asked, standing with his arms behind his back.
"She's alright," Clint answered, as he attempted to drop water into Teresa's mouth.
"She keeps talking, saying a bunch of nonsense," I informed him, sitting up in the bed.
"Did you write down what she said?" Newt questioned, glancing at Thomas.
"Yah, Clint has it on that paper," I pointed to the notes.
Clint stopped what he was doing and picked up the paper. He read, "She's talking about how 'everything is gonna change,' that 'this is the end,' and," Clint paused, suddenly uncomfortable, "She's saying his name, over and over again," He motioned towards Thomas.
"Thanks, give us a full report later," Newt said, dismissing him from the room.
At the new information, Thomas's face had grown incredibly pale.
"Pull up a chair," Newt said to him, as Newt sat on the bed next to me. Thomas did as Newt said, sitting also, "You recognize her?"
I almost had to double check to make sure Newt wasn't talking to me.
Thomas stared long and hard at the girl. His vision unmoving from her.
I touched Newt's leg, trying to get his attention. Newt raised his eyebrows at me in response. I flicked my head towards Thomas and then shrugged, as if asking 'What is this about?' Newt held his hand up as if answering 'You'll see.'
"Think about it, Tommy. Do you know her?" Come on, Thomas, tell the truth.
I almost thought Thomas didn't hear him, but then he finally said, "I do."
"You do!? From where? Who is she?"
"I don't know. It just clicked though. I remember her from somewhere," Thomas answered, rubbing his eyes with his hands.
"Well, keep bloody thinking. Concentrate, Thomas," Newt urged, trying to get Thomas to connect his emotions to real memories.
"I'm trying, so shut up," Thomas closed his eyes, clearly trying to remember something, "I just don't know-" He cut himself off. Maybe he remembered? Not only did Thomas stop talking, he stood abruptly from his chair, almost knocking it over.
"What's wrong?" I asked, wanting to stand too.
"Did you remember something?" Newt questioned.
"I-" Thomas looked around the room, then he looked at me, "Did you just say something before I stood up?"
"No?" I have Thomas a confused look.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought I heard something. Maybe it was in my head? Did-" He paused awkwardly, "she say anything?"
Thomas heard Teresa say something too? I thought I was crazy when that happened a couple nights ago. Or maybe that was last night? The days here are so long.
"Her?" Newt asked, seeming shocked, "No. Why? What did you hear?"
Thomas gave us both a scared look, "I could have sworn I heard a name. Teresa."
"No, I didn't hear that. But it must've come to you from a memory. That's her name, Tommy. Teresa. It has to be! Brianne, you called her Teresa, too, right?"
"Yah, I-" I started, but Thomas freaked out again. This time fully knocking the chair over.
"What's wrong with you?" Newt shouted, standing up.
"It's her! She's talking to me, in my head! She just said my name!" Thomas answered, his eyes wide.
"What?" Newt asked.
"I swear! I'm hearing her voice in my head. But it's not really a voice-" Thomas threw his hands up to cover his ears.
"Tommy, you need to come sit your butt down. What are you bloody talking about?"
"Newt, I'm serious. It's not really a voice, but it is!"
"Thomas, listen to Newt, you need to calm down," I said, trying to comfort him.
"What do you hear?" Newt asked, "Is it still her?"
Thomas ignored us and bolted toward the door. Opening it, he jumped into the hallway and sprinted down stairs without saying another word to me or Newt.
Once I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, I turned to Newt, "What the heck was that about?"
I went over to the window to see if I could watch whatever Thomas was gonna do.
And lo and behold, there Thomas was, sprinting towards the East Door of the maze.
I hadn't known Newt was watching him with me, until he said, "One crazy shank that kid is," A certain humor in his voice.
~~~~
"You seen Thomas?" I asked, as I took a bite of my dinner. I was a little nervous for him, not gonna lie. He'd run into the maze at one and I hadn't seen him come back yet.
Newt looked up from his food, "Yah, he ran in at least an hour ago."
"Oh good," I sighed, "It's one thing to survive the impossible once, but then who would ever risk it again?"
"Not me that's for sure," Newt said, and I sensed a certain weight to his words.
"Where'd Thomas go though?" I asked, not in the mood to pry, "I don't see him here."
"Somewhere in the deadheads. I'll go get him later," Newt laughed, "I think the shuckface needs a little time to himself."
"You know who else I don't see?" I looked around the dining hall, which was full of people.
"Who?"
"Gally? Where's he hiding?" I couldn't help the anxiety in my voice.
"He also, apparently ran into the Maze. I haven't seen him though. Maybe he stayed out there," Newt ate more of his food, "I just love when problems fix themselves."
"I talked to him the other day," I started, realizing that I hadn't yet told Newt about our conversation, "in the storage cellar."
"What? When? Why was he in there?" Newt asked.
"I don't know. He never said. And it was after you had the meeting with the Keepers, about Alby and Minho and Thomas being in the maze."
"He didn't do anything to you, did he? You'd tell me if something happened, right?" Newt sat up straighter, an underlying panic on his face.
"Yah, but nothing happened, we just talked. I told him about how you were sorry for everything that'd happened between the two of you. He apologized too. I thought I'd really gotten somewhere with him, but then today was a thing," I laughed to myself.
"Don't try to help him, Brianne. There's no point. I've tried to talk sense into him multiple times. He's changed, nothing will make him normal again."
"It's always worth a try," I took a deep breath. Putting my fork down, I was no longer hungry.
Newt did the same. He reached his hands across the table to hold mine, "Tomorrow, everything will be better, okay? Are we still on for our date?"
"Yah, but like what are we gonna do?Things are so crazy, something will ruin-"
"Nothing will ruin tomorrow, I promise," Newt squeezed my hands, giving me a smile, "I've already started planning."
"Really?"
"Yah, like I said earlier, you don't have to worry about anything."
"Sounds too good to be true," I grinned.
Newt kissed the back of my hand, before he stood, "I'll see you later? I should really go look for Thomas."
"Okay!" I called after him, watching Newt as he left.
Newt's so cute. He walked in between the tables, towards the exit, bumping into a few people as he did so. Every time he collided with someone, he would place his hand on their back and sincerely apologize. Then he would shake their hand or smile at them or say something else, immediately starting a conversation.
The Gladers love Newt.
You could tell by the way they talked to him. You could see it in the way the entire aurora of the people he was around changed. They sat a little more relaxed and they laughed a bit more freely.
I found that I wasn't the only one that loved Newt. Everyone did. I was simply an added name on his long list of fans.
And then this thought found its way into my heart: how could someone so loved feel so incredibly lonely?
~~~~~
~~~Author's Notes~~~
Hiiiii! I've been doing a lot of brainstorming for this book and I can feel it all finally falling together. This is like the longest story ever, which makes me insecure sometimes, but I don't know, I like long, thought out stories. Just me? Haha, okay!
But thank you everyone who was giving me creative ideas for Newt and Brianne's date! If I use any of them, I'll be sure to try to credit you.
One last thing, *two actually* HAPPY THANKSGIVING *almost* to all of my American readers!
AND LASTLY, I've set a goal of 300K reads for Christmas!!! It's kinda crazy, but I think it's possible! If not, then maybe for the new year!
BUT ILY GUYS AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER!! BYYEEE!!