A couple weeks later, and the Buzzer was going off again. Which meant two things. One, Chuck wasn't going to be a Greenie anymore, and two, I've been in the Glade two months.
Two months of hating Gally. Two months of dealing with Minho's sassiness. Two months of running. Two months of falling for Newt.
Newt and I had decided that maybe we wanted to be more than friends. It was awkward at first, having a boyfriend. Especially with all the other Gladers around, and all of them being guys. But we got used to it. Everybody knows now, and nobody really cares. Of course, Gally always makes fun of us, but that's nothing unusual.
"I suppose I should head back to the Glade.." I muttered to myself. I packed up my lunch, and started running back where I came from.
I was finally running on my own now, and Minho had taken over the spot of another Glader who was taking break. Honestly, it was about time I was able to run on my own. Minho had stayed with me much longer than he was supposed to, and I have a feeling the Keepers made him because I'm a girl, and apparently I need more training. I suppose it doesn't matter, I like Minho anyways.
I finally reached the Glade, and saw people crowding around the Box. Although I desperately wanted to go join everybody else, I knew I had to report to the Map Room first. I sighed, and headed over that way.
Once I finished mapping out my run, I went over to the Box. I squeezed my way to the front of the crowd, standing next to Minho. He smiled, and I did the same.
Eventually, the Buzzer stopped and the doors opened up. I saw a boy squinting, and covering his eyes with his arm. People immediately burst out, making comments.
"Look at that shank."
"How old is he?"
"Looks like klunk in a T-shirt."
"You're the klunk, shuckface."
"Dude, it smells like feet down there!"
"Hope you enjoyed the one-way trip, Greenie."
"Ain't no ticket back bro."
I rolled my eyes at all the comments, and went over to the rope. I threw it down into the Box, and the kid reluctantly put his foot through the loop. I helped Newt, Alby, and Minho pull up the rope. When he got to the edge of the Box, we grabbed him and pulled him up. He stumbled, and landed on Minho. Both of their faces turned red, more so Minho's. They scrambled to their feet, and Minho quickly came over and stood by me.
Looking closer, I gasped. I recognized him! He was the boy who was clinging to Minho in my memory! They had some sort of bond, but I had no clue what it was. "I recognize him!" I whispered to Minho, and he nodded.
"Me too, but I have no idea how. He seems really familiar, we must've been close." He said. I was about to say something else, but I stopped when I heard Gally's voice.
"Look at the Greanbean, gonna break his shuck neck checkin' out the new digs." He spat, and several boys laughed. The Greenie had a confused, and somewhat hurt, expression on his face.
"Shut your hole Gally." I growled, rolling my eyes. The new kid was observing everybody, taking it all in. When he came to Minho's, who's arms were folded across his chest, his gaze lingered just a tad longer. No one seemed to notice except for me, and Minho. "I think he recognizes you too!" I whispered to Minho.
"Where am I?" The boy asked. Alby answered before anybody else could.
"Nowhere good. Just slim yourself nice and calm." He said, and I mentally facepalmed. He's going to scare the klunk out of the Greenie!
"Which Keeper he gonna get?"
"I told ya, shuckface, he's a klunk, so he'll be a Slopper. No doubt about it." A voice said, and laughed. More boys pitched in, and soon everybody was making negative comments about the kid. I heard Gally making the worst ones, and I felt the anger rise up in me.
"I said shut your holes!" I yelled, and they shut up. "Thank you" I muttered sarcastically.
The Greenie was looking around, puzzled by where he was. When he met Gally's eyes, I noticed how terrified he got. Looking over at Gally, I realized his eyes were filled with cold hatred. Alby then started rambling on about how he'd give him a tour tomorrow. When he stuck out his hand for the kid to shake, he didn't take it. He just walked away and sat down under a tree.
I turned to Minho. "Do you remember anything about him? Anything at all?" I asked, and he shrugged.
"I'm not sure. I feel like I know him well, like we were really close before.." He awkwardly trailed off.
"Minho, what the hell is wrong with you? You've obviously been hiding something from me the past few weeks! Just tell me already!" I exclaimed.
"No, it's nothing.. Seriously. Nothing." He quickly said. Too quickly, to be honest. I glared at him.
"Tell me."
"No."
"Yes."
"Rosa, no."
"Minho, yes!"
He'd finally had enough. "Rosa, stop! It doesn't matter, you'd probably just laugh at me!" He stomped away.
"Minho, wait! I won't laugh!" I called, but he just kept walking. I sighed, and suddenly heard a scream. Looking over to the Greenie, I saw Newt walking towards the source of the scream.
I really wanted to go find out what caused the scream, but the Greenie looked lonely. I walked up to him, and patted him on the shoulder, causing him to jump a bit.
"Hey, you okay?" I asked him, and he sighed.
"No, not really." He said, and I put my arm around him.
"Don't worry, you'll be okay. Yeah, you have no idea what the shuck is happening, but it gets easier. Trust me, I felt a lot worse when I first got here, being the only girl and everything. You're lucky. Besides, it's not that bad here when you get used to it." I told him, and he smiled weakly. "I never caught your name?" I said.
"Thomas, I think." He told me.
"Nice, mine is Rosa." I replied. I opened my mouth to speak, but I saw Newt approaching us.
"Rosa, it's Ben. We need you over by where the Builders work." He said stiffly, giving a slight glare to Thomas. I nodded.
"Right, I'll be there in a minute." I said, and he walked away. Thomas looked confused, and I took my arm off of him. "Sorry about him. He's my overprotective boyfriend. You'll really like him once you get to know him, trust me." I smiled, standing up. He nodded uncertainly. Suddenly he jumped up, seeing a Beetle Blade above him.
"That was one of them beetle blades." Chuck said, walking up to us. Knowing they'd be fine together, I took of running to where Ben was. He had been fine since the changing, nothing weird had happened to him. We were actually pretty good friends.
When I reached them, I saw Alby, Gally, and Newt struggling to hold him down. He had a wild look in his eyes, and he was thrashing about. "HE'S EVIL! HE'S GOING TO KILL US ALL!" Ben was screaming. I quickly got down and cupped his face in my hands.
"Ben! Ben, calm down! I'm here, just focus on me right now. Okay?" I said loudly, and he stopped screaming and thrashing. He was breathing heavily, and the weird look in his eyes went away. "What happened?" I asked him quietly.
"The Greenie.. He's evil.. He was the one I told you about. The one designing the Maze. He's working for the Creators!" I gasped. He seemed truly terrified of Thomas.
"Ben, calm down. It's all going to be okay." I told him, and he flipped out.
"No! It's not! We have to get rid of him!" He screamed. I didn't move.
"Shh, we'll talk about all of this. We'll make sure everybody is safe." I said, grabbing his hand. He nodded, and sighed. The five of us stood up, and Alby took Ben off to the Homestead. Gally went back to work, leaving Newt and I alone. He didn't say anything. "Okay, what's your deal?" I asked him.
"Well, maybe I'm annoyed because you're flirting with the bloody Greenie." He muttered.
"What the hell?! I'm not flirting with Thomas! He was afraid, and you know exactly how he feels. We all know how he feels." I stated, and Newt sighed.
"Fine, I'm sorry. I just don't want to lose you." He said, and I pulled him into a hug.
"You'll never lose me. We'll always have each other." I whispered to him.
---
It was starting to get dark, and I was going to go use the bathroom. As I approached the door, Gally stormed out. He glared at me, and I just shrugged it off, entering the bathroom. I saw Thomas and Chuck standing there laughing, and I smiled. "Did you two just piss Gally off?" I asked them, and they nodded. I grinned at them, pleased. "Good, he probably deserved it."
The two of them left, and I cleaned myself up. When I was finished, I exited the bathroom to see Thomas and Minho talking to each other. I pressed myself against the side of the bathroom, watching them. I couldn't tell what they were saying, but I had a feeling it was a good conversation. Thomas started to walk away, but Minho put his hand on his shoulder to stop him. He told him something, and they both smiled at each other. Then Thomas finally walked away.
I went over to Minho, and he jumped. "H-how long have you been here?" He quickly asked me. A plan started forming in my head.
"I heard the whole thing." I lied, hoping it would make him come clean. His jaw dropped in shock and fear.
"You can't tell anyone! Newt is the only one who knows! I-I just.. Gah I'm sorry.. Just.. I can't help feeling that way.." He trailed off. I was confused, but I continued anyways.
"Well, do you want to talk about it?" I asked him, and he shook his head. "Well.. Just saying.. I didn't hear anything." I smirked, and his face turned red with anger. "You have to tell me sometime!" I shouted, and I snarled at me. He spun on his heel and stomped away to the Homestead. I rolled my eyes, walking over to the Deadheads.
When I got there, I found Newt waiting for me under a tree. He smiled at me, and I did the same. "What took you so long?" He questioned as I sat down next to him.
"Eh, it wasn't nothing. Minho just won't tell me something. Apparently you're the only one who knows." I said, rolling my eyes.
"Oh, that.." He said awkwardly. I looked at him strangely, but ended up shrugging it off.
It was finally dark, and the two of us were laying on the ground together. He had his arms around me, and I was snuggled into him. His warm embrace was calming, and I let out a content sigh.
"Hey Newt?"
"Yeah?"
"You'll still love me when we get out of here, right? Even though there's tons of other girls in the world?"
Newt sat there in shocked silence.
"Rosa, of course I will! You're mine, you're the only one I love. No other girl could ever replace you." He said, hugging me tightly.
"Good." I said quietly, drifting off to sleep in his arms.