maze runner imagines.

compliments: newt.

there was just something wrong with that girl.
how could one be stuck in a place so hellish,
and still find ways to look absolutely beautiful?
in my humble opinion,
y/n is a creature from the deepest part of the woods.
while the rest of us ended the day with exhaustion numbing our limbs and a threat to collapse in the grass,
y/n waltzed around the glade like it had been another easy day.
and make no mistake,
y/n worked twice as hard as any of us shanks did.
it was almost as though she floated around the place as opposed to walking;
she was that much of a beauty.
chuck often whispered to me that she was the sunshine of our glade.
bright,
radiating with energy,
always finding a way to cheer someone up.
gally swears up and down he saw her reach her hand out and make the tomatoes sprout from their vines.
of course,
gally is the most paranoid out of us,
but there was no denying her splendor.
but never would i dare to tell her this.
y/n has a weird thing with compliments.
she told me once they make her feel "inferior" to the rest of us.
as if she could ever be such a thing.
the glade practically thrives because of y/n.
"if you wouldn't say it to the boys, don't say it to me."
she demanded,
and we all agreed to her terms.
though it didn't stop us from gossiping amongst one another about her.
every month,
the new greenie would step out and revel at our only and beautiful girl.
but after learning her rule,
they kept quiet but found commonality in the rest of us.
"she's gorgeous!"
they would say,
and i'd smile and seek her out from the rest of the crowd,
not like it was possible to lose her in it anyways,
and agree with my whole heart.
"she is."

today was a little different though.
our usual greenie came up out of the box,
and the routine continued as usual.
the boy in the box shook with fear and tried to hold back his tears,
and felt threatened by the stares of gally.
when pulled out of the box,
he ran through the grass and soared as though there was an exit.
i couldn't help but laugh along with everyone.
but when i turned my head to find y/n's lovely smile intwined with the laugh that sweetened the air,
her face was twisted into a look of disgust and anger;
such an ugly expression for someone so beautiful.
"what's wrong?"
i asked her.
"it's not funny. they're scared."
"we all were."
"exactly. this place is evil. and this? isn't helping any."
her chastise made me feel a bit guilty.
i lowered my head to find a thought,
before feeling her hand touch my shoulder gently.
"be nice to him. he's gonna need you."
and i did just that.
tommy and i became friends quickly,
and he was one of the nicest chaps in this place.
granted,
he had been scared out of his wits,
didn't know his name,
and looking for any friend he could,
but there was something real about him.
"who's that?"
thomas asked as we sat adjacent to the fire.
i directed my eyes to where his gaze laid,
and of course,
it was on y/n.
"y/n. she's a runner."
"she-she's a runner? she's so..."
"pretty? yeah, i know. she's a beautiful runner."
"huh.."
"don't go telling her that though."
"what? why?"
"y/n doesn't like compliments."
"yeah, right."
"i'm dead serious, tommy. you're asking for trouble."
thomas got to his feet and brushed the dirt off,
and i was sure the bits of hooch lingering against his tastebuds were clouding his perception.
"where are you going?"
"i have to tell her."
"no, you don't."
i spoke sternly,
chasing after him and grabbing his arm to hold him back.
y/n had been drawn to our interaction,
naturally,
and headed our way.
"great. you've done it now you bloody slinthead,"
i muttered to him.
"everything okay?"
"yeah, fine."
"you're beautiful,"
thomas spoke with no hesitation.
i winced and waited for the condescending words of y/n that were sometimes followed by a slap,
(ask gally, he'll tell you how hard her soft hands can hit.)
but instead,
she only smiled and fluttered her eyes.
"thank you, greenie."
y/n walked away offering no explanation.
my mouth dropped.
there was absolutely no way that in her three years of living in the glade,
she was suddenly accepting compliments with a smile and batted eyelashes.
there was something angry seeping inside of me at the interaction.
i didn't have a name for this emotion,
considering i'd never felt myself become so bitter,
but i was angry to say the least.
i wasn't sure why.
after all,
i'd never made the bold move to compliment her to her face.
maybe that's what she wanted all this time,
someone to defy her rules and compliment her anyway.
well,
someone other than gally.
those two were quite the opposites.
i left thomas behind and jogged over to where y/n stood,
huddled by her runner friends,
and tried to ease her way out of the conversation so i could ask,
"what was that?"
"what was what?"
she replied.
"t-that! with tommy!"
"what? i can't say thank you?"
"not after you've spent three years demanding the opposite. what? are you sick or something?"
"no i just...think he's cute. i don't know!"
i folded my arms across my chest in some attempt to show my anger;
anger that i had no business feeling.
"well, i hope you two become the happiest, shuck-faced couple ever!"
"newt!"
she called before i could walk away.
and for some reason,
i didn't move an inch.
i wanted nothing more than to walk away and leave her alone to indulge in that weird fantasy with our new greenie,
but something compelled me to stay.
whether it be the hurt in her voice,
the flames glowing in her eyes,
or simply because i wanted to remain in the presence of y/n.
"what is the matter with you?"
"nothing. just don't set rules if you're not going to follow them."
i watched as y/n shifted her weight onto one leg and folded her arms.
"is there a compliment you'd like to pay?"
"there's millions of compliments i want you to know, y/n! i wake up thinking of ways i can tell you how absolutely gorgeous you are without saying it! or-or how hot you look coming back from the maze! maybe even how heavenly you are when you're just standing there! god, y/n. you're absolutely beautiful and i want to tell you every time i see you."
i ran a frustrated hand through my hair once my rant was finished.
"newt...are you jealous?"
so that was the word for this poisoning feeling that suffocated me from inside out;
the feeling i got from seeing thomas and y/n interact.
"no...i'm not-i'm not jealous. you're buggin' straight out of your mind if you think so."
"then you won't mind if the greenie and i flirt."
was she testing me right now?
waiting to see if i blow up and beat tommy in an attempt to win her?
if i was being honest,
i contemplated it for a split second.
but i know y/n enough to know something that barbaric would only turn her the other way.
she found clarity in words and thoughts from the heart.
"i've made a fool of myself enough for one night."
i turned to walk away again but felt her fingers wrap around my wrist gently,
pulling me back to face her.
"don't be mad at me."
could i be mad at her?
was the unrequited love entirely her fault?
especially when i just became aware of my own feelings?
i stepped in a little closer to her and brushed her cheek with the back of my index finger.
"i could never be mad at you, love. not for long, anyways."
i smiled down at her to reassure her,
and watched as her worry melted into that smile.
without thinking,
i then leaned into y/n and let our lips fall together,
where the love we tried so hard to fight could blossom.
it was an ethereal feeling;
i felt as though i were practically floating.
the sweet taste of y/n numbed everything inside of me,
and i finally felt myself soar.
when she pulled back,
she kept her hands at my neck where they began raking through the hair there.
"so...thomas was just a ploy?"
i asked with a triumphant grin.
"more like encouragement."
she whispered with another peck to my lips.

the rest of our time spent together was spent in laughs and long lasting kisses.
and every morning we woke up together,
i'd kiss her temple and whisper three years worth of harbored compliments.
my life was complete with y/n by my side.
and there was never a bad day.