"Light 'em up boys!" A dozen of firey torches flew into the wood pile, devouring it in flames. A few boys were playing instruments, and all the gladers were scattered around. I stood apart from them all, standing by Frypan's stand.
"Hey there, greenie," He said, eating some sort of sandwich. "You should eat something. Put some meat on your bones."
"I'm ok," I said, looking for Newt and Thomas.
"No," He insisted, "Eat. I don't have all this food here for nothin'," He handed me a sandwich, and I let hunger win over.
I suddenly spotted Newt, and I slipped away from Fry. "Make sure you eat that, Y/N!" He called after me.
Newt was sitting against a log, with his back to the fire. He looked lonely, and I was lonely, so I thought he could use some company. "Hi," I said shyly, sitting next to him.
"Hey there, greenie. Enjoying yourself?"
"Don't call me that."
"Sorry, Love," he laughed, shifting himself so he was facing me, "Just an old habit."
I looked over to a ring of boys, who were hooting and hollering. Two stood in the middle, running at each other and fighting. They switched out boys constantly, but one remained there. He looked intimidating, especially his eyebrows.
"Who's that?" I asked Newt, turning my attention back to him. He turned his head to where I saw looking.
He saw who I was asking about, and his expression darkened. "That's Gally, Keeper of the Builders. I don't normally tell greenies this, but stay away from him. Nothin' good will come from hanging out with that shank." He turned back to his drink, looking at the far wall.
I mimicked him, nibbling on my sandwich. "How long have you guys been searching the maze?"
Newt choked on his drink, turning to me. "How do you know about the maze?"
"Thomas told me," I answered, not quite getting what the big deal was.
"That shank," He grumbled, standing up. "Gonna throw his bloody butt in the slammer for a month." He walked off, leaving me alone again.
I chased after him again. It was starting to feel like tradition, me chasing after him, demanding answers. Some of the boys stared at me as I ran past, and I desperately wished that Newt would stop leaving me alone. Ignoring them, I looked to where Newt had gone. He stood by a stumbling Thomas.
I caught up with them, but neither of them noticed me. Thomas held a glass similar to Newt's, but it was empty. He stumbled around, using Newt to hold on to. "Newwwwwt," He mumbled. "I don't feel too good."
"Yeah, I know, Tommy. You must have been this shucking drunk when you bloody told the greenie that there's a maze within the first fifteen minutes!" He yelled, hitting Thomas on the back of the head.
"Oww, Newt. You're bloody hurting me," He said, mimicking his accent. "I only told her because I'member being the greenie, and how non-a-ya told me anythin'. And, she's preeeettty," He stretched out the 'e', leaning into Newt's shoulder.
"Shuck off, Tommy," Newt mumbled so low I could barely hear him, "She's not your bloody princess yet." He suddenly grabbed Thomas's elbow, talking in a much clearer voice. "Let's get you bed. You're gonna have a blast runnin' the maze tomorrow."
Thomas turned around, facing me. "Hey, look. It's Y/N now."
Newt's head snapped around so fast I thought it would break his neck. "Oh, uh, hi. Just bringing Tommy here to bed." He rubbed his ear. "Had a bit too much to drink."
"Yeah," I giggled, "I can see that."
Sighing, Newt turned back to Thomas. "Time for bed, ya shank." Grabbing his shoulders, he guided him towards the hammocks.
He left me alone, for the third time, standing there. I thought about what Newt said. "She's not your bloody princess yet." Did Newt think Thomas and I had a thing? Was there a hint of jelously in his voice?
I shook my head, baffled at what I'm thinking about. I've been here for a day! I have bigger issues to worry about than petty drama.
Something slammed into me, all of a sudden, and sent me reeling forward. "Hey!" I yelled, turning around. "Watch it."
"Ooh, a feisty one."
The boys suddenly cleared, creating a path between me and Gally. "Wha'd ya say, greenie, wanna see what you're made of?" Gally said, taking a steps forward.
The boys around us started to chant. "Greenie! Greenie! Greenie!" They obviously weren't gonna leave me alone, so I didn't really have any other choice. And, I wanted to show them that being a girl isn't any excuse for being weak.
"Fine," I said, walking towards the rink, "But don't call me greenie anymore."
"What do you wanna be called? Shank?" He started to circle around me, getting ready for a fight.
I began to do the same. "How about my name? Y/N? Or are you guys too invested in your own rich, diverse language to talk normally?"
Gally chuckled, then ran at me, hitting my stomach. The wind was knock out of me, and I went down. Gally pinned me down, and the fight was obviously over. (A/N Yes, I know, it's a short fight, but I usually don't like reading long fight scenes)
"Get off me," I growled, wriggling under his weight.
He grinned at stood up, offering me a hand. I didn't take it, and scrambled up on my own.
"No hard feelings, right, greenie?"
"Y/N."
"Y/N." He held out a hand, and he finally seemed kind of genuine for the first time. I took it, and the boys around us cheered.
Alby suddenly came towards us, holding up one of the mason jars. "To Y/N!"
"Y/N!" The boys cheered again in unison, and, for the first time, the glade finally felt like home. With the fire dancing next to us, all of the gladers that seemed to accept me, I felt like I belonged here. "Ok, boys-- and girlie-- let's pack it up for tonight. We gotta long day of work ahead of us tomorrow." As the gladers cleared out, I noticed Newt standing there with his arms crossed and a sullen face.
"You ok there?" I asked, standing in front of him, the heat of the fire warming my back.
"I thought I told you to stay away from that buggin' shank."
I shook my head. "He doesn't seem that bad."
He kept talking, despite my protests. "No, you don't know him. Before ya know it, you're gonna be found unconscious and bleeding from seven different places in Deadheads, and then Gally'll find some way to turn it on you, and then, you'll be banished." He took a deep breath. "And we can't have that."
"Newt, I'm not gonna be banished. And, I wouldn't let him beat me up that bad."
"Really? Cause it looked like he had you down in three seconds flat." He sighed then turned towards the Homestead. "I better show you your bedroom. Can't have all these shanks losing their control around you."
He started to limp off towards the homestead. "Come on, greenie. Time to get all bloody tucked in and such."
Up in the room, Newt showed me how the lock worked. It was simple, really. "Well, Y/N, if any of these boys come up here, tell me and Alby and I will through their bloody butts in the maze to spend a cozy night there."
"Alrightly," I said, fiddling with the lock. "'Night,"
"'Night, Love." He left the room, leaving me in the dimly lit room alone. Being cautious, I set the lock on the door and turned towards the room. There was a small bed, one window, and a small lamp. A small chest sat at the end, that said "For the Girl" in large, red letters. I suddenly heard yelling outside, and I hurried over to the window to see what was wrong. As I opened the window, a hot and humid breeze blew in. Newt and Alby stood there, and they seemed to be addressing all of the gladers.
"-never had a girl before, but you're gonna have to learn some self-control. She's not here for you're amusement or entertainment. She's in just as much of a problem as us and is deserving of respect. So, you may not make any moves on her unless she is okay with it. Gram, I'm looking at you." (A/N: I made him up- after Alexander Graham Bell)
A few boys laughed, but Alby continued. "I'm serious. If any of you touch her or make her uncomfortable, I'm throwing you in the maze to camp out there. You like that?"
Newt began to talk, and his soft voice began to melt away the anxiety from Alby's words. "He's right guys. Just respect her, and we'll have no issues." He looked over at Alby. "Alright, go to bed you shanks. Tommy's already out- follow his example. You gotta full day of work tomorrow."
Newt and Alby separated, Newt headed to his hammock, and Alby to his room. I closed my window, happy that they were all so protective of me. Opening the chest, I found a few changes of clothes and a box of toiletries. Although, once I emptied the box of its contents, I noticed something sitting at the bottom. A small note sat there, almost unnoticeable. I picked it up, and I was startled by what it said, and what it could mean.
"Believe her."