You squirmed in your hammock for a bit before opening your eyes to the sun beginning to peak over the Glade.
It was an almost perfect beginning of a new day until you felt a striking pain in your abdomen.
You rapidly scrambled around to get off the hammock and scurried over to the bathroom.
Sure enough, that time of the month had arrived, unfortunately.
On the bright side, it hadn't had time to stain right through your pants. You also carried at least two tampons in the back pocket of your jeans just in case.
You smiled to yourself as you imagined the panicked look on the guys' faces if they ever saw blood stains on your hammock. You did a decent job of hiding your period from them since you got there, so you weren't sure how they'd react.
You figured they'd probably force you to stay in the med-jack hut with Clint and Jeff until they knew exactly what was 'wrong' with you.
They would probably put on gloves to take down the hammock and form a circle around the bonfire where they'd burn it as if they belonged to some cult.
When you were finished, you cautiously peered outside, wanting to make sure you avoided Newt at all costs.
He'd always been so nice to you—almost always—and you grew to trust him; a decision you regretted from time to time—like today.
He was the only one who understood the normality of a menstrual cycle since you explained it to him; he wouldn't stop pestering you about it unless you told him. He was also able to recognize your PMS—you also explained that to him.
Ever since, he'd been keeping track of your symptoms just so he could 'take care of you.' You honestly thought it was a waste of time, but it meant so much to Newt, and you realized you were already deeply entwined in that mess.
The problem was that Newt made it a huge deal. The others constantly teased him because they insisted he acted like a gentleman only because he felt attracted to you.
To you, that was insane. He was nice and sweet the majority of the time, but he irritated you.
It didn't even make sense how such a nice boy could be so annoying when it came to him monitoring your work, ordering you around and making sure you were doing everything right.
On the other hand, when you were hurt or when you were on your period, like today, he was excessively nice. You didn't mind that; it was neat that everyone was fairly nice to you.
But Newt... oh Newt.
He exaggerated. You didn't know whether to believe he was an all-round nice guy or if he was just strict and had bipolar issues. Based on the others' recent perception of him, you figured he was probably dealing with some internal self issues.
You kept walking stealthily in case Newt came into sight. Once you saw that the coast was free, you happily made your way to the kitchen to fetch yourself some breakfast when suddenly, you felt another jolt of pain on your lower abdomen. You clenched your teeth and closed your eyes, hoping it would go away if you stayed put for a second—
"Good morning!" an accented voice called from behind you.
Curse this day, you thought.
You inhaled sharply before slowly turning around, trying to mask your grimace with a fake sweet smile.
"Hi."
"Are you alright? You seem kind of... tense." He eyed you suspiciously.
"No, no, nothing's wrong—I'm doing great!" You clasped your hands together in front of you due to nervousness. You desperately wanted to evade him this time, but your fabulous body language gave you away.
"Oh... I see what's going on," he muttered. "You should lie down, I'll go get you some breakfast."
You groaned dramatically.
"No, it's fine, really—"
"Nuh-uh. I insist. I can't have you work today like this, you're in bloody pain," he interrupted.
Literally, you thought.
"You want me to lay in bed all day like a useless potato sac so you can yell at me for it later?" You had a trace of hurt on your face as you complained to him.
"No, Y/N. I just want to help," he shrugged, a bit offended at your accusation. "Here, I'll take you to your hammock. You should go back to sleep."
"No! I literally just woke up a few minutes ago—seriously?" you asked in annoyance.
"I know how you get when this happens, but I won't have you work in pain and that's final," he argued, sounding like he hadn't listened to a word you said.
There was absolutely no way you were getting out of this one. Newt was as stubborn as Minho, and that was certainly saying something. You didn't fall too far behind from them in stubbornness, but Newt wouldn't let you have your way at all.
You trudged slowly back to your hammock and lied there, pouting like a little kid.
Not long after, Newt returned with a plate of food.
"Here, eat up and then get some rest."
"Newt, I still have to water the plants, dig up the fertilizer, wash the Runners' clothes, and pack their lunches," you listed everything with your fingers, "I have to get work done, I can't just sit around doing nothing all day."
"Don't worry about it—"
"What do you mean? I'm not having you make someone else do my job for me—I'm fine!" you insisted.
But he shook his head. "You're not fine, you're yelling at me."
"Because being on my period doesn't mean I'm gonna die. I can do stuff. I'll go to sleep right now if that's what I have to do to make you shut up and leave me alone," you told him, then you pointed a warning finger at him. "Just promise me that when I wake up, you'll let me finish my own job—don't send anyone to do it for me."
Newt gave out a long sigh. "Fine. At least you'll partially listen to me."
As soon as he left, you ate your breakfast and lied down. You didn't want to sleep; you didn't want to give him the satisfaction.
Unfortunately, sleep beat you to it, and you dozed off.
***
When you woke up, you were startled... then you remembered.
Really? Did I really just fall asleep?
You quickly got off your hammock but it was such a swift movement that you were stumbling before someone helped you steady yourself.
"Whoa there. You good?" Thomas asked you.
"Thomas! I'm fine—I just... I remembered I still have work to do," you replied with an impatient smile on your face.
Thomas furrowed his eyebrows.
"Work? No, you don't. Newt has you covered, don't worry."
Your jaw dropped.
"The one thing I asked him not to do. One thing, for shuck's sake!" You clenched your fists in front of you, lamenting your situation, which didn't seem all that bad but today was a good day for being dramatic.
"Whoa, calm down. Why are you mad? Isn't it a good thing he did that for you?" he asked, clearly confused.
"No, you don't get it," you whined frustratedly, "ugh! Step aside." You pushed him aside as you stomped your way out to the open of the Glade.
"WHERE IS NEWT?!" you yelled at the top of your lungs at random Gladers passing by. They only looked at each other in confusion or they simply shrugged.
At the furious hollering of his name, Newt made his way toward you in a flash.
As soon as he came to view, you stared daggers at him.
"I thought I told you to let me do my job!" You pointed aggressively to his chest, and he flinched at the force of your touch. "Do you even know what a period is? You should since I actually bothered to tell you before! It means I'm fine!" you hollered.
"Doesn't sound like you're fine; not with all that bloody yelling." He rubbed his chest where you had poked him. "And I kept my promise."
You stared at him with disbelief.
"I promised you that I wouldn't send anyone else to do your job... so I did it myself."
It was at that moment when you finally exploded.
"YOU—" you made a motion with your hands as if you pictured yourself strangling him. You clenched your fists in pure anger.
"I hate that you treat me like child!" you shouted. "I shouldn't have told you anything—I don't even understand you! You always yell at me at work for whatever thing, but then other days you don't even let me walk because you're afraid I'm gonna break a shucking leg like you!"
The last part made him wince, and you noticed hurt flash across his face. That didn't stop you, however.
"You think I'm not good enough to fend for myself? You think because you're Second-in-command you're better than everyone? Just stop! You're always finding ways to make me look like a dumb shank, or you don't ever let me do anything! I wish you'd just leave me alone!" Your face was burning in anger.
You wanted to stop because Newt didn't deserve to be yelled at; it just made you so angry that he always paid attention to your actions, making sure you did things correctly, and reprimanding you whenever you made a mistake.
He'd show himself an extremely good friend to you or he just yelled at you, frustrated that you weren't doing things right or that you couldn't do them yourself. There was no in between. You hated that.
When you stared into his eyes, you couldn't quite read the emotions that laid behind them. It was a mixture between hurt, anger, disappointment, or even hatred. You couldn't tell.
"Fine!" he yelled out of nowhere. "You want a bloody explanation? Here it goes. I don't yell at you because I think you can't do anything right or do things on your own! I do it because I worry about you! Any small mistake could mean danger to any of us. To you! And you're the last person I want to see getting hurt. I'd like to take some of the hard work away when you're in pain. Let yourself be treated how you deserve—take a break!"
"I don't need one! And I didn't hire you to watch over me."
"I'm sorry I helped you find your way around when you were a Greenie, alright? I'm sorry for trying to make sure you don't get hurt. And I'm sorry I act like a bloody psycho, especially when it comes to you not having to go through what I bloody went through!" Newt's voice cracked on the last word and he stared at you intently, desperately and silently begging you to understand his point.
You were so frustrated it was hard to process everything that rushed out of his mouth. It was beyond you that he actually cared that much.
"Why though?" your voice only audible so that Newt could hear. "I'm not even worth your attention," you said, pulling a straight face, trying to sound bold and not like you were drowning in self-pity.
"Because I made the bloody mistake of falling in love with you," he blurted out as he physically relaxed.
You weren't expecting that kind of answer. Your eyes widened and your lips parted; was he being serious?
For the first time since you've had consciousness and memory, Newt had said something to which your only response was silence. Not the complaining, the sarcasm, nor even the ranting you'd given him lately.
"No," your face contorted in incredulity, "that's not possible."
"No?" he made his way even closer to you as you felt his warm breath on your face. "Why not?" he whispered.
"Because..." you paused, unable to form a full sentence in front of him anymore. Shaking your head, you said, "you're right. It is a mistake."
"Actually..." He grabbed your face with both hands and captured your lips with his, kissing you as tenderly as possible.
You thought you were going to hate it as he leaned in, and you never thought such a good feeling could be possible. Your doubts vanished just as easily as your previous rage. You responded to the kiss, silently begging Newt to not give up on you.
You pulled away slightly, with your hands clasped around his neck, and brought one hand down to touch his cheek. As you brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes, you began sobbing, loudly. You let your head fall against his chest as sobs rattled through your entire body.
"I'm sorry. The things I said to you—I'm so sorry," you struggled between your crying.
"It's ok, you're ok, shh," he soothed you softly as he embraced you and placed his head on yours. "I guess I'm not the only bipolar one here," he chuckled. You smacked him playfully as you wiped the tears off your face.
"Actually, I've never seen you that angry before," you raised your eyebrows. "That was kinda hot," you admitted quietly as you averted your eyes.
"The things you make me do," he shook his head, then smirked.
Your face fell. "This whole time I... I just wanted to force myself to hide what I really felt. And when I couldn't, I just took it out on you. But..." you paused, furrowing your eyebrows, "I think I might be in love with you, Newt."
This made him smile.
"Y/N, you really scared me; I actually thought you hated me."
"No, I was being ungrateful. I never thought I deserved you, and quite frankly I still don't. Will you forgive me?"
"I already did. Now please, just stop talking," he said as he leaned down to kiss you once more.