Very quickly, your dream shifted from innocent to disastrous. One moment, you were prancing around with the other Gladers, enjoying the night, before it turned sour, and all sorts of creatures crawled out of the depths of hell—the maze—and began wreaking havoc. You watched Minho be pulled from your grasp, a shocked yelp escaping him as he was flung across the grassy field. What you assumed was a griever trampled over him, but you didn’t get to look for long as you felt your side being pierced. You turned to face the monster. You only got a peek as it leaped at you, the last thing you heard being Minho’s shout.
You woke up with a scream, clumsily disentangling yourself from Minho’s usually-comforting embrace. You sat up straight, panting with clammy skin. Minho popped up beside you, hands immediately ghosting over your trembling form in concern. He soon realised there wasn’t an active threat and breathed deeply.
“Hey,” he quipped, trying to grab your attention. You were staring into the darkness, still, with eyes glazed over and unblinking. He shook you and you slowly dragged your eyes to rest on him. “Nightmare?” he asked, rubbing your shoulder soothingly. You nodded, swiping away a lone tear on your cheek.
“Can we lie down?” you asked, your voice barely a whisper. He gave you a curt nod and then fluffed the pillow, falling back into it with open arms. You lay down apprehensively. Minho pulled you closer. You turned on your side, resting your head on his chest, wrapping an arm around him. He hugged you as best as he could, letting his chin sit on the crown of your head. Every time he breathed, you could feel the air tickling your hair.
“You haven’t had nightmares since you got here,” he started softly. You didn’t say anything and instead dug your cheek deeper into his shirt. “What was it about?” he tried again. Your eyes squeezed shut and immediately the dream replayed; you could see every brutal second. But what hurt you most was hearing Minho sounding so vulnerable and helpless.
“Monsters,” you said eventually, very quietly.
“Should I check under the bed?”
You let out a short, croaky laugh. You shook your head no. You sighed shakily, your arms tightening. “I lost you.”
“That would be a nightmare,” he teased, to which you gave a small, unseen smile.
You played along. “Uhuh. It was terrible.” The joking was helping to ease your fear, which you were grateful for.
You lay in silence for a few more minutes before Minho broke the silence.
“You good?” You took a moment to maul it over, and then nodded into his chest. “Good.”
After that, you knew he had drifted off, but you weren’t bothered. You didn’t want to sleep just yet, and you were content to listen to Minho’s breathing; a comforting, low hum.