Stay With Me

Epilogue

It had been a while. Felt like it had happened forever ago and yesterday at the same time. We were sitting around a fire, like we used to have back in the Glade. Some people were talking, laughing, messing around, celebrating. We had found it after all:

The safe haven.

We had stuck ourselves on some island in the middle of nowhere. Just sun, sand, and zero flare-ridden zombies trying to eat us.

I was trying hard to focus on what Brenda was yapping about, but I couldn't quite pull my focus from the enormous rock we had set at the very front and center of our little piece of civilization. I could see it all the way down at the other end of the beach from where I was sitting, wedged between Brenda and some other girl named Cleo.

"Hey, Bren?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, I got a lot on my mind. Can't really focus right now. Do you ming if we pick this up later?"

"Yeah, go ahead," she pat me on the back reassuringly, "Go do whatcha gotta do."

I made my way down to the beach, granting a friendly wave to the other Gladers I passed on my way. Not really Gladers anymore, I guess, not without the Glade.

"Hey kid." I said aloud. I wasn't really talking to anyone though. The beach was mostly abandoned at this hour. I sat down on the sand, looking at the rough edges of where I'd carved her name. It was sloppy. She deserved better. I sighed heavily and continued to talk to her, "I miss you. We all do. Minho probably misses you more than everyone else... Not more than me though. Never more than me. Shank thinks he's better than me just 'cause he was your boyfriend. Ha!" I sniffed, I didn't want to cry again, "I got to cook with ya. That's better," I was nodding to myself like I needed to be convinced, "That's better..."

"Frypan?" I jumped at the sound of the voice. I turned and saw a blonde girl standing behind me. Sonya. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead." She dropped down next me and put her head on my shoulder unexpectedly. It was comforting though. I didn't tell her to move. She reached out and ran her fingertips across the roughly carved name of my best friend.

"God I miss her."

"Yeah, me too."

"Fry?"

"Yeah Sonny?"

"Will you tell me about her again? What she was like after she left our maze and got to yours?"

"Of course I can. This moron thinks he can tell you better though." I had seen Minho walking towards us and shot him a small smile as he sat down on the other side of me.

"That's because I can."

"Yeah, slim it, punk."

"I still can't believe her actual name is Kate."

"Yeah that was a weird discovery."

"I think Y/N suits her best."

"I think you're right, Minho," Sonya agreed, "Even Eliza never felt like it was the right name. And it was her damn name. Or we thought it was at least."

They talked and laughed and reminisced and even cried a little, staring at the shabby memorial of everyone they'd lost over the years. Soon the sun began to set over the horizon and Sonya and Minho eventually left. I wasn't the only cook anymore, so I could afford to pay a little extra time with my friend. She was sitting next to me on the sand. I felt her there.

"They're wrong you know. About your name. Y/N, Eliza, Kate... You're always gonna be my Limabean."

And as the next wave crashed on the shore, I could've sworn I heard her. A clear-as-day whisper, "I know."