An ice cold shower was exactly what Florence needed.
She had made Ben guard the door for her, so she could focus on the shower rather than any unwanted boys invading her privacy. She would've gotten Minho to stand guard for her, but his ankle prevented him from being able to put up a fight if needs be, so she chose the other runner instead.
Florence didn't know if she enjoyed showers this much before the Glade, but she was enjoying this very much. She tilted her head up to the thin stream of water and ran her hands through her hair.
This is probably the only guaranteed place for privacy. How often am I going to get privacy around here?
"Are you done yet? How long do you take, jeez?!" She heard Ben's impatient voice from outside, and let out a groan.
There's something missing here. Obviously freedom, but something else. Music.
Florence's eyes sprung open at the random word that had popped into her head. But her heart jolted, as if the word was meaningful, as if music was meaningful. Her mind flashed to something; and she didn't know if it was a real memory or her imagination.
She found herself in a dirtied room, sat on the floor with her bare feet scratching against the concrete. She looked only about five, with dust floating in the air around her and the figures she found herself with - an adult woman and a young boy about six.
She squinted to see their faces, but they were blurred just enough so she couldn't make out any facial features.
And in her hands was a guitar.
She didn't know how she knew how to play it, but her fingers were gliding along the strings with ease as she played a soft tune, singing along gently.
It felt real.
"Alright I'm done." She grumbled, snapping out of her daydream, and turned off the flow of water. She reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself, drying herself before changing quickly into her previous clothes.
Do they have hairdryers here?
Opening the door all ready but with wet hair still, she gave Ben a large smile, the boy in turn rolling his eyes and already taking off across the Glade.
"Slow down!" She called after the boy, before breaking into a jog to keep up.
"I know this is a little awkward, but I have some questions." She told him, and a flicker of amusement passed his face.
"Go ahead then Greenie."
"I know you get weekly deliveries with stuff you need and all that, and I was just wondering if I could request a few things." She fumbled with her hands, feeling nervous to be asking this.
She needed a lot of things.
"Of course. Obviously there's a few things you need that we definitely don't have." Ben chuckled, and Florence blushed with embarrassment.
Ben led her into the Homestead and down a corridor into a room she hadn't seen before. Newt had mentioned the Council room before, so she assumed this was it.
There was a semi circle of chairs in front of another lone chair, and there were shelves of things on the walls either side. Newt and Alby were stood at a table, talking in hushed whispers with their heads close together.
"Clearly the Creators are telling us things are gonna change-"
"I still think it was an accident-"
Florence only caught a snippet of their conversation, but she knew it was about her. Ben must have heard too, because he cleared his throat awkwardly, and tapped his hands on the back of a chair with nerves.
"Alright Ben?" Newt asked, straightening up and turning to the pair. Ben looked to the girl who hung back slightly, and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Greenie wants to put in some requests for supplies." He widened his eyes at the boy as if to say girl things, and Newt flushed red.
"Of course Greenbean. Let me get you the list." Newt fished through some papers and pulled out a piece that he then handed to the girl. On it was a few things;
Serum
Clothes
Plates
Bandages
Florence took the pen from the boy and tried her best to block out the looks of the boys on her. She was embarrassed to say the least.
She began to write down what she needed - clothes, hair ties, sanitary products - and desperately attempted to cover her writing as casually as possible.
"Okay that's it." She put her pen down and tucked a hair behind her ear. Newt took the list back from her and she turned to Ben so the pair could leave.
Just as she reached the door, she remembered her weird daydream from earlier, when she was playing the guitar. She placed her hand on Ben's arm to stop him, and spun on her heel to face Newt.
"Hey, sorry I just forgot one more thing." She spoke nervously, worried the boys would think her weird for asking what she was about to.
"What is it? I'll write it down."
"Can I ask for a guitar?" Her words earned two confused looks, and a rather amused one from Ben.
"A guitar? What the hell would ya need a guitar for?" Alby asked, beyond bemused with her words. Florence merely shrugged.
"I think it would raise spirits in here. I don't know, I just thought it would be a good idea."
Newt smiled, "I'll write it down. It's hella worth a try. We need some sort of entertainment, we asked for a bloody tv and they said no." He exchanged a look with Alby, who caved, and so Newt wrote it down.
Florence thanked him quickly before darting from the room. She felt a tiny bit embarrassed about asking for a guitar since it was so random, and as Alby questioned her on it. However Ben quickly caught the girl up, and he had his own questions about her odd request.
"You can play the guitar?"
"I have no idea." She swiftly replied, and continued walking without looking at the boy.
"Then why did you want one?" Sighing, she finally stopped.
The pair were close to the Deadheads, and there didn't seem to be anyone around. Still feeling paranoid, Florence glanced around to see if anyone was nearby and took the boy's wrist, leading him behind a tree.
"What are you-"
"-I think I remembered something." His eyes grew wide, and he opened his mouth, as if he was going to say something. He eventually let his mouth shut again, having not found anything to say.
What was he supposed to say? No one remembers anything, except from if they go through the Changing apparently.
"Don't look at me like that!" She hissed, and Ben rolled his eyes.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to look at you! What did you remember?" She paused, and for a moment she considered lying. She considered telling the boy it was a joke, and that she had made it all up.
But she didn't.
"I was in the shower, and this thing popped up in my head. I was in this old, dirty room with this woman and this boy and I was playing the guitar. It's not really important I guess, but I think it's real."
She paused to study his expression, but he didn't give anything away. He was just watching her, listening intently, with a blank expression.
"I know it's real." She was done now. She tucked a hair behind her ear, and watched the boy expectantly.
Am I going to seriously regret this? I only found out the boy existed today.
He hummed as a quick response, so she knew he was listening, and thought more carefully about his reply.
"I believe you. The only thing I'm wondering is how you can remember something and the rest of us can't." Ben folded his arms across his chest and rested against the tree they had been hiding behind.
"I don't know! I wish I did, really." She gave him a sincere frown, and the boy began to chuckle at her panic.
"I know it's not your fault, relax. But I don't think you should tell anyone else. People get crazy in here. They'll turn on you." He warned the girl.
"I know. Please don't tell anyone what I've told you." The boy patted her shoulder with a fond smile; he just had a feeling that himself and the girl were going to be good friends.
"I wouldn't dream of it Greenie."
The pair left the trees, trying their best to act casual - and although they were hardly actors - no one suspected a thing.
The walls had closed by now, and Florence found herself chuckling as she pictured Minho struggling to climb the stairs up to their room in the Homestead. When she entered their room, she found the boy perched on the edge of the bed with a gloomy expression on his face.
Of course he's feeling down, he can't run!
His extreme upset still surprised the girl, she had only seen him happy; usually in teasing her, or in a snappy mood; usually in hitting someone with a snarky comment.
But not upset.
"Are you okay?" She asked him, tilting her head sympathetically as she watched the boy in concern. He went to scowl automatically, but stopped himself, placing his head in his hands.
"I'm just frustrated." He replied, and returned to being quiet. Florence frowned, and sat down beside the boy.
She shuffled closer to him so their shoulders and their legs were resting against one another. He couldn't look at her, the fact he had never really let himself feel upset since adjusting to life in the Glade playing on his mind.
"You know you can talk to me right?" She asked him softly. He glanced to her quickly, and seeing her sincere expression, he realised he could.
"We've been looking for a way out of here for two years." Minho paused, running his hand through his hair. He let his eyes leave the girl's face and sighed.
"And now I've sprained my ankle and I can't run for what- a week? I'm just setting us back more. We're never gonna get out-"
"Hey." She stopped him in the middle of it, hesitantly reaching out and placing her hand on his. He found himself turning over his hand so their fingers could interlock.
"You're helping in this place more than anyone Minho. You're not setting us back, you're figuring out how to get us out. And yeah you got hurt, but we have other Runners. Maybe it's good for you to take a break."
Minho thought over the girl's words and smiled a tiny bit. "You'd want me to take a break so you could see me more huh?"
She rolled her eyes and shoved his shoulder with her own. "If that helps you to let your ankle heal then sure."
He smiled again, chuckling lightly, but his sadness returned. Florence let her eyebrows knit together in concern and she let out the smallest sigh. She knew almost definitely that she would regret what she was about to say, but she said it anyway.
"Can I give you a hug?" She asked gently, leaning in towards the boy to speak as softly as possible.
To say he was shocked by her question was an understatement. It was pretty much the last thing he expected her to say.
"I'd love a hug princess."
She let one of her hands rest on his furthest shoulder and the other around his back, burying her head in his neck to comfort him. In turn, the boy brought his hand up to the girl's arm, the one that rested across him. His cheek brushed her hair as he glanced down to look at the girl set on making him feel better.
Their breathing settled into a rhythm together, and their heartbeats too. It was calming, and for the boy it was comforting beyond belief. He couldn't remember the last time he had hugged someone.
And then she pulled away.
"You're having the bed from now on, you need it." Expecting pushback from the boy, she let herself fiddle with the sleeping bag she had walked over to.
Nothing. No response.
She wanted to sleep in the sleeping bag, but she was at least expecting Minho to protest a little, like he had yesterday.
Still, nothing.
Pouting sulkily, she tucked herself into the sleeping bag and finally turned to face the boy. He was flat on his back on the bed, mouth wide open, asleep.
"Are you kidding me?" The girl asked herself exasperated.
Internally complaining about her own inability to get to sleep quickly, she threw the covers on top of Minho and returned to her sleeping bag. She shuffled to find a comfortable position on the ground, and contrary to her previous thoughts, fell asleep within minutes.