centre | newtmas au

35

Thomas

He stared at her, his heart hammering in his chest. Her words echoed in his head, and he had to try very hard to keep his mouth from hanging open.

'I know it's a lot to take in' Teresa said, her face softening. He knew then that she cared deeply about him, just from the look in her eyes. He decided to trust her; to believe in everything she said, as painful as some of it was. He knew how much easier it would be to call her a liar and turn on his heel and run, and never speak of it again. But he wasn't going to be a coward.

'So what now?' he asked.

'We wait' she replied with a weak smile. 'And you need to go process everything I just told you'

He nodded, felt he had nothing left to say and began to turn away, but as he looked at Newt across the grass he felt something tugging at his heart.

'Thank you' he said, his eyes jumping from hers to Newts. He hoped that was enough. She seemed to have understood because she shook her head gently.

'You don't owe me gratitude. You needed each other, it was the least I could give you'

He smiled and allowed himself to walk away, his heart somehow feeling both heavy and light simultaneously. He would let his thoughts take over in a moment, but only after he had seen Newt.

"You okay?" Newt said, stumbling slightly as Thomas wrapped his arms around him and pulled him in as close as he could, taking in everything, the way his chest rose with his breaths and the way he smelled slightly of smoke and earth. His face was buried in Newt's shoulder so his voice came out muffled when he replied.

"I'm okay" Thomas said, taking in one long breath and leaning back. "We're going to be okay"

"Of course we are" Newt responded gently, trying to understand the expression on Thomas' face. But of course, Thomas couldn't repeat anything to Newt, so he never could understand. Not yet anyway.

"Can you leave me for a while?" Thomas asked.

Newt only nodded. Thomas liked it that he never pried. He headed for his spot against the log and was grateful to find there was no one else there, and he slumped down against allowing the tears to flow easily from his eyes.

He created this place.

He had sat up in a control room and watched them on a screen, watched them suffer and live in fear of the unknown. He had done that to them. He had trapped them there.

But that didn't matter anymore. He was no longer a creator of the maze. He was just a boy, like all of the others were, shut in the centre of a maze unable to escape. Except now, maybe they could.

Despite his anticipation, this thought made him sad.

The glade had become a home, to him and to everyone else. It was a place they had built themselves from the ground up, and a place they had loved. He felt that the walls protected him from all the dangers out there, all of the unknown. In the glade it was safe. But he couldn't cling to that safety anymore, because from what Teresa had told him, WCKD had dark plans for them.

Teresa had told him about what he had done before the maze, and through the haze of the bad, he had begun to admire who he was. He was brave. He had gone behind WCKD's back and leaked co-ordinates of the maze. It was thanks to him that they were getting out of here.

'You needed each other, it was the least I could give you'  she had said.

Teresa had altered their memory serum to make their pain easier to bear, because they would've had each other. Thomas had leaked the co-ordinates because he believed the maze trials were wrong, and this was his own way of repaying the suffering he had caused. They had both created at least some good from all of the bad.

Thomas hoped that was enough.

"Tommy"

He turned his head and watched as Newt registered the puffiness of his eyes and redness of his nose.

"Tommy" he repeated softly, sitting down beside him and holding Thomas' face in his hands. "Bad day?"

"Yeah" Thomas replied, feeling the guilt begin to claw at him, creeping up and threatening to choke his words. He repressed it and thought of Teresa, how adamant she was that he told no one. He wasn't about to give in and reveal everything to the WCKD employees listening in the control room.

"Anything I can do?" he asked.

"Just being here is enough" he responded, shifting his weight so he was leaning on Newt. "But can I ask you something?"

Newt nodded.

"Do you trust me?"

Newt paused for a second, a troubled look passing swiftly over his face. If Thomas hadn't been so accustomed to every inch of Newt's face, he wouldn't have noticed it.

"Yes" he replied. "I mean, bloody hell, it's hard sometimes, especially when you run off on a suicide mission without telling me about it"

Newt sighed. "But of course I trust you, Tommy."

"Okay. Good" Thomas responded quietly.

"Why?"

Thomas took a deep breath and sat up straighter to pull in Newt's focus.

"I just need to know if you'll believe in me, believe that when things get hard, I'm still the Thomas you fell in love with."

Newt frowned but nodded nonetheless. "You know something?"

"What?"

"I'll follow you anywhere"

Thomas felt the tightness of fears grasp slipping, as soon as Newt said those words. He was so afraid that when it came down to it, and Thomas had to get them out of there, they would think he was crazy. But he knew that if he had Newt's trust, and Newt's belief in him, everything would work out just fine.

"Anywhere?" Thomas repeated allowing himself to relax.

"Anywhere." Newt replied with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Thank you for being here with me" he said.

"Always"

hi :) i am getting sad writing these chapters because it's coming to an end soon and i really really love these boys.

anyway, i hope you enjoyed! thank u for reading as always.

(this isn't the end !!!!! there's at least another 5 chapters. update coming today or tmrw )