16
Someone messaged me wanting the original picture on the cover. So here it is! 😉
I woke up to the sound of screaming.
I quickly made my way out of the room, not minding that I was only wearing short shorts and a tank top. I ran out of the homestead, and up ahead a group of Gladers were encircled around something. A new greenie again, perhaps?
I picked up my pace, curious to what all the ruckus was about. What I saw proven the 'curiousity killed the cat' saying to be true.
Minho was on top of Thomas, a hand gripping the collar of his shirt. Thomas looked so angry, looking at Minho like he wanted to rip his face off. Seems like this just started, since everybody suddenly started to chant.
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
"Fight!"
And I remember, one of the rules was to never hurt a fellow Glader. "Excuse me," I muttered as I pushed people out of my way. Minho raised his fist, and just when he was about to hit Thomas, I found myself shouting. "Stop! Stop it! What the shuck are you guys doing?! Are you out of your minds? Damn." Minho lowered his fist, looking down at Thomas bitterly before getting off of him.
He started taking big strides towards my direction, stopping infront of me. "I hope you enjoy your life with him, Nic." His words dripped of anger and sarcasm, and I can't help but feel a little jealousy too. Or a lot of jealousy, actually. He walked past me without another word. And I got stuck between helping Thomas or going after Minho.
I did the only sensible thing I could think of right now. "Newt!"
••
"One night in the slammer." Newt finally said, being the one in command as Alby was...not okay. "But he didn't even land a fist on Thomas." I argued again. "One night in the slammer, Minho. Go."
Minho just rolled his eyes and walked himself out of the shack, shaking the hands of the Gladers trying to pull him off. I crossed my arms and sighed. Why am I even defending the guy? He almost hit Thomas. Almost.
And I still don't know why the fight started in the first place.
We ate dinner without Minho. And it felt just like that dinner we spent when they got trapped in the maze.
"And then Newt just hit me on the head." Chuck laughed, finally finishing his story. No one seemed to care about what he was babbling about, but I didn't want the kid to feel bad, so I just laughed along with him.
I only ate half of my dinner, keeping the other half for Minho. Even though he didn't give me half of his back in the maze. I rolled my eyes at my own childishness before excusing myself from everyone else.
"Where are you going?" Terrence asked, pulling my wrist back. "Minho." I said before shaking his hand off.
"Minho?" I called. No reply. "Minhoooo."
"What?" He said a few seconds later. I approached him and sat infront of the small door. "Hi." I smiled. "What do you want?"
I raised the plate of food, which consisted of half a piece of bread, and some soup. "Sorry, it's already cold." His face softened, but he quickly masked it with one of his bored expressions. "I'm not hungry."
How cold.
Silence took over, until a growling sound cut it off. "Uh huh, not hungry, okay." I chuckled. "Can you just leave?" He held his forehead with his finger and thumb, massaging it softly. "Okay, but eat this first. I won't leave until you do."
He rolled his eyes, making a 'tsk' sound, before nodding his head. I pushed the small bowl through the opening, followed by the bread. He ate fast, obviously famished. "There, done." He shaked the bread crumbs off his hands before pushing the small bowl back out. "A thank you would have been nice." "I didn't ask you to bring me food." "But I did." "That's not my problem. You promised to leave, right?"
I sighed and stood up, giving him one last dissapointed glance before walking off. I stopped for a while. "We're gonna check out that new part of the maze tomorrow, so get some rest, Minho." My voice was calm and steady, like I didn't feel a thousand weights on my shoulders.
No reply.
I continued walking, when his voice suddenly filled the air. "Thanks." I didn't look back, I wasn't gonna give him that. Instead, I walked straight like I didn't hear anything.
I reached the Homestead, heading straight for my room. Before I could even touch the handle, the door freaking opened. "What the..."
Terrence's face came into view, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "What are you doing here?" I asked, kind of surprised. "I just wanted to talk to you."
A puzzled look made its way to my features. "About what?" "About Thomas and Minho." I gulped as the names escaped his lips. "They're my friends and they're fighting. Over you. So stop it, Nicole. Stop making them both fall for you, just choose one." But I'm not even doing anything!
He made his way around me and left. Somehow, Terrence is right.
I really did have to choose.