The Link // Maze Runner Fanfiction // Book 1

chapter seven

"Why can't he sleep with me?" Minho whined.

"He's my boyfriend, not yours," I reminded him, barely holding back laughter.

Minho pouted and grumbled something about a shuck bromance. Newt walked into the Map Room, where Minho and I had been arguing about who Newt was going to share a bunk with tonight. We had this same argument about twelve times already, me winning eleven of them.

"Can I puh-lease have Newt tonight?" Minho asked, dramatizing the word 'please'.

"No Minho! I'm his girlfriend."

"And I'm his best friend!"

"But he lets me kiss him! He wouldn't let you."

Newt shot me a glare as Minho perked up. I was in tears from laughing so hard as Minho started to chase Newt around with his lips puckered. Newt took shelter behind me and dodged Minho.

"He'll let me kiss him," I boasted. To prove it, I turned around and kissed Newt full on the lips. Minho stomped his foot and pouted like a little kid.

"Keep it up and I'm not sleeping with any of you!" Newt shouted over our playful bickering. Minho and I turned to him and pouted.

"If Newt doesn't want us, we always have each other," Minho started.

"Yeah! Newt, you can sleep alone. I'm taking your best friend," I teased.

Newt frowned and reached out to grab my collar. I stepped out of his reach and stuck my tongue out. He threatened to chase me, but we both knew that I was faster. Finally, he managed to snag me by the back of my shirt and pull me backwards. I toppled backwards into him and Minho. All three of us landed on a heap on the floor.

Gally walked in right at the worst time. When we had fallen, I had landed on Minho and it must've looked bad. He flipped out, yelling that I was cheating on Newt with Minho again. Since Newt had been unconscious, he didn't know anything about the first time I had been accused of cheating by Gally.

Newt sat up and looked between me, Minho, and Gally. He looked very hurt, but surprisingly fast, he had Minho pinned to the ground. His fist was raised and he looked livid. I had never seen him so mad and frankly, it scared me. Minho didn't deserve to be beaten to a pulp because of shucking Gally. I scrambled up and shoved Newt off of Minho.

"Don't hurt him!" I shouted, getting between Newt and Minho.

"Why? Don't want me to hurt your little side boyfriend?" Newt spat.

I glared at Gally, who was leaning against the doorframe and watching us with an amused smirk. "I'm going to kill him."

"What?" Minho asked. I had said it under my breath so that they could barely hear me.

"I said, I'm going to kill him," I repeated, lunging at Gally. Minho grabbed my torso and pinned my arms to my side. I struggled against Minho, who addressed Gally. "If I were you, I'd start talking. I'm about two seconds from letting her go unless you explain yourself, shuck face. After you explain, you better run."

Gally must have taken Minho's threat seriously because he immediately fessed up. After Gally confessed, Newt walked over to Minho and I and bent down to my eye level. Minho released me so that Newt could hug me, but I remained stiff as a board.

I found Gally near the Deadheads. He put his hands up in surrender when he saw me, but I wasn't there to fight. When I told him that I was actually there to talk, he let me sit down next to him and did not interrupt me once.

"The reason why I've been rude to you the whole time I have been in the Glade is because I'm jealous. I mean, have you seen yourself? You're absolutely stunning! You are strong, independent, have a smoking body, and I also don't have any other options. I am only trying to ruin your relationship with Newt because I want to be with you," Gally confessed.

His reason made sense, but it was just so hard to believe. I knew I was pretty, but I didn't realize I was everything else. I was too engulfed in my own thoughts to realize that Gally had placed his hand on my lower back and it had started to slide down. It's fine, I thought. He doesn't mean it.

Apparently, he did. Gally leaned forward and tried to kiss me as his hand slid even further down. One hand was now in my back pocket while the other had grabbed my thigh. I tried to push Gally away, but he had me cornered against a tree trunk. He began to roughly kiss up and down my neck, leaving a trail of slobber on my skin. You've survived Grievers, my brain reminded me. Don't let it happen. Deck him.

And so I did. I reared back my fist and him as hard as possible in the jaw. My fist made contact with a sickening crunch. He recoiled, giving me enough time to slide out from underneath him and ran as fast as I could away from Gally.

Lucky for me, Newt and Minho didn't ask questions as I stumbled into our shared room. It was normal to see me like this. I decided, as I listened to Minho and Newt joke around with each other, that I would not tell anyone about what just happened.

***

I sat up straight. Moonlight illuminated what I could see of the Glade through the windows. I was shaking as the images from the most recent nightmare flickered through my mind. First, I had been in the maze. I saw that oddly familiar little girl waiting for me at the end of the hallway and began to run after her. The scene distorted and suddenly she became a Griever. I cried out in pain as it jumped on me. Instead of metal spikes, I felt Gally's hands groping me.

My breathing was heavy and my skin was slick with sweat. I realized that Newt was awake when he whispered over to me in the dark. "Are you alright, Ellie?"

"Do you want the truth?"

"Yes, I want the truth."

I sighed and buried my head in my hands. "No, Newt. I'm not. But don't worry about me, I'm sure it's just the Creators messing with my mind. Go back to bed."

"I will bloody not. Come lay with me and tell me what's wrong."

Too tired to fight, I reluctantly crawled under the covers of his bed with him. I listened for the sound of his heartbeat to calm me down and rested my chin on his chest.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning. I don't like to admit it, but I'm absolutely terrified of the Grievers. Always have been, ever since I arrived. The night you came things changed for me. Up until you came, I had nightmares about the Grievers. Then we all became Runners and I almost got killed by a Griever. When I went through the Changing, I saw awful things that I don't want to burden you with."

I paused, unsure if I should go on. Newt encouraged me to continue with a gentle nudge. I took a shaky breath and went on.

"Minho and I found you in the maze, moaning in pain. That scared me more than any Grievers could, ya know? I had more intense, vivid nightmares after that and I felt awful for not being able to help you. It was my idea to tell everyone you were chased by a Griever. I felt like it was impersonal to tell everyone how you really broke your leg and to be honest, I don't think I can admit it out loud. I do love you and I hope you know that. Just please don't try it again."

I wiped away a stray tear that had slipped down my cheek and nuzzled my face into his neck. He smelled like soap, with a small hint of sweat. He kissed the top of my head and my sorrows faded away as I slipped into a peaceful sleep.