Since arriving in the Glade, Y/N had always been more reserved than most of the boys. Understandably, because she was the only girl. However, her quiet demeanour and choice to remain private made her an easy target for the boys in the Glade who didn't get their fill picking on one another.
Y/N was good at walking away when one of the boys started making lewd comments or being invasive. When she did, they usually stopped. Most boys still had some respect. One, however, didn't seem to.
Today, it was sweltering in the Glade. The sun beat down like it was trying to set fire to the Glade and working in the gardens wasn't easy. At least the builders and the slicers had shade and buildings to hide in. The track-hoes had nothing.
Her normally baggy t-shirt now clung to every curve of her body and some of the boys seemed to ogle. Newt rarely saw Y/N mad, and right now, she was furious. She stood tall with her shoulders straight, fists clenched and eyes narrowed.
"Who would'a guessed." One boy snickered. "Y'know, you don't have to hide under a shirt like that all the time."
Y/N let out a heavy breath and turned back to her work. She knew it wasn't worth the fight. It never was and never would be. Besides, if she started throwing punches, being tossed into the slammer would probably be the kindest of punishments. Sure, the boys could be crude, vulgar and bothersome, but Y/N had her friends. People like Newt, Minho and Frypan who would stick by her side no matter what. She focused her time and energy on them while ignoring all of the other boys.
"Wait, isn't that Newt's old shirt?" The boy laughed like the sight was unbearably hilarious.
"Yeah, it is." Newt snapped. "Because it was you who stole and set fire to her last one."
A smirk crossed the boys face like the act was something to be very proud of. "It was worth it."
"Maybe to you it was." Newt narrowed his eyes and stepped forwards. "Now get out of here. You have a job to do."
"Standing up for Y/N, huh? Trying to protect her?" He crossed his arms. "Since when was that your job?"
Newt's blood was beginning to boil. Rarely did he have such a strong resentment towards someone as he did right now. It was difficult for Newt to hate someone, but this guy had made it very easy. "It was since you started treating her like you do."
"C'mon man, drop it." Another boy tugged at the dark haired boy trying to pick a fight.
"No," He growled at his friends trying to pull him away. "I wanna see what Newt here will do."
"I'll stand here until you leave, that's what."
"Oh, then we'll be here all day." He laughed. As if Newt would stand there, doing absolutely nothing for the day whilst his skin burned.
"Fine."
The boy underestimated how unwavering Newt could be, especially when Y/N was involved. For at least twenty minutes, the blonde just stood there, eyes locked on the boy, hardly ever blinking. Newt seemed just fine, but the boy began to grow uncomfortable.
Unable to hold his gaze much longer, the boy shifted his weight and looked away, then back again. "What're you looking at beanstalk?" He asked mockingly, as if Newt had just been staring and their silent duel hadn't happened.
Something about the way the boy said it set Newt off like a fuse. He dropped the wires in his hands used to tie vines and he stormed right towards the boy. His cheek twitched as he approached out of sheer anger, his eyebrows knitted together so tightly hardly anything could tear them apart. Since Newt was the perfect picture of peace, what he did next caught the boy by surprise.
Newt's fist screamed through the air and crashed into the boys face with more power than necessary. It was enough to make him stumble back and rely on the ground for support as his world spun in circles. For the first time in his time in the Glade, Newt actually looked intimidating to the boy as he towered over him.
"That's cute," The boy coughed violently and struggled to get to his feet. When he did, a fist slammed into Newt's face with just as much, if not more power than his own punch. Luckily, though, it didn't knock him to the ground and so he readied to throw another. That was until he felt a warm hand holding onto his wrist like it was the difference between life and death. When he looked down, he met Y/N's eyes and his mind seemed to clear. It was then he realized what he'd done. He'd hurt another Glader. The other boy may have also, but Newt threw the first punch.
The boy was now situated back on the ground, eyes wide with fear. He must've fallen to the ground just before Y/N stopped Newt's punch.
"You lay a single bloody finger on her or speak to her like that again, Alby is going to hear of it." Newt half screamed.
"Doesn't matter," The boy laughed unevenly, wiping some of the blood from his mouth. "You broke one of the rules. Alby's gonna hear about this first."
"Go ahead." Newt snarled and head back for the gardens before his next move was to start kicking. Y/N still held onto his wrist and once they reached the vines she made him look at her. His chest was still heaving up and down out of pure vexation, no sign of calming down anytime soon.
"You realize what you just did?" She whispered sharply.
Newt sighed and lowered his head in shame, his wavy hair shrouding his eyes. "Yeah, I do."
"Newt..."
"I don't care. He shouldn't have done what he did."
"And neither should have you."
Y/N was right and Newt knew it. He was reckless. Idiotic. Careless. The moment had gotten the better of him and now he had no idea how Alby was going to react. Sure, he'd told the leader every so often of how this boy in particular bothered Y/N on a regular basis, but he'd never done anything violent. Newt just had.
The rest of the day was awful. Newt couldn't stop the spiral of thoughts in his mind telling him how stupid he'd been and what his punishment might soon be. The sun only heated the Glade even more, draining everyone of their energy. It was just after the sun had set behind the maze walls that Alby called everyone into the council hall.
The building was hot and humid, making it nearly unbearable to be in.
"He was being a shank, always has been one." Gally admitted. "Not gonna lie, he kinda had it coming."
"So what you're saying is that it was ok for Newt to punch him?" Winston questioned.
"No, he still broke a rule. And I'm not saying it's ok for people to go around smiting each other now. But, this guy has been at it for months and should have known better."
"Since when were you one to defend Newt?" Minho laughed slightly. Gally never seemed to take anyones side but his own, yet in this case, he was all for keeping Newt safe.
Gally scoffed. "It's kinda obvious. It takes a lot to piss Newt off. He wouldn't just blindly punch a someone for fun. This guy has been so awful, he made sweet little Newt go macho on him." Gally looked around the room for support. "I think that says something."
"Gally's right," Frypan agreed. "But they both did both break a rule."
"So we give them a punishment." Zart spoke up for the first time in what seemed like his life. "Preferably a worse one for the guy who caused this problem in the first place."
"Two nights in the pit, then. No food. Both of you." Alby looked between Newt and the Glades newest criminal. Alby almost felt bad for the kid. He'd made almost the entire Glade hate him now.
Everyone agreed with Alby's punishment, and in need of entertainment, Gally made the guy apologize to Y/N right in front of everyone. A little smirk rose on Newt's face as he blabbered out his apology in front of everyone.
The next couple of nights in the pit weren't all that awful. Y/N snuck food in for Newt once she knew everyone else was asleep and talked for a little bit before disappearing back into the dark. Even though the situation had been rather miserable, and potentially dangerous, Newt didn't regret it. He'd punched someone. That was something he never saw himself doing, but was glad he did. Hopefully now, everyone would leave her alone.