𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙑𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚

Talking Again: Ch.22

TW: Talks of suicide (More detailed than previously) 

I stayed awake the entire night I spent in the Slammer, shivering in the uncomfortable and tiny space.

All that time to myself obviously led to some overthinking.

When I went into the Maze and saw the Griever, I wasn't really that scared. Well, not for myself anyway. The main reason I didn't want to die was because I wouldn't get to know if the Gladers escaped eventually.

As annoying as those boys could be at times, I really did love them. I couldn't imagine Noah having to grow up and live in the Maze forever, or Newt and Alby being stuck as the leaders even when they got old.

Basically, I really didn't care what happened to me as long as I knew that I had helped them. And dying would most definitely hurt instead of help, so that's why I was afraid. Simply getting stung seemed to cause enough chaos.

Of course, I couldn't go a few minutes without thinking about Newt. So I thought about him often throughout that night. A lot.

The fact that we had met before the Maze made things seem even crazier. We didn't even recognize each other at all when I arrived. Same for Minho and Alby. For goodness's sake- Newt even had a little sister!

It would be wrong to withhold all this information from Newt. I still cared about him and he cared about me, so I would tell him about Sonya. From what I could remember she seemed like a great person anyway. I wondered where she was now, outside of the Maze. Probably missing Newt...

"Wakey wakey- AHHH!"

I jumped in surprise, "WHAT THE HELL?! NOAH?"

"Jeez, I didn't expect to see you awake already! And those bags around your eyes scared me even more, gosh." he mumbled.

"How lovely of you. Perfect way to start off my morning."

"I know right? Seeing this face cheers just about anyone up." Noah said with a sarcastic cocky smile.

He pulled the keys to the Slammer out of his pocket and crouched down, beginning to unlock it.

"Hey, how'd you even get those things anyway?" I asked, pulling myself against the bars.

"Minho gave 'em to me since he was too lazy to get you himself, and didn't wanna deal with Newt's morning attitude. But in my opinion, I think it means that he's beginning to like me more."

"How the shuck are those two things even related dude? It's literally just keys and Minho being lazy."

"Listen, I've been trying to convince Minho to let me be a Runner for ages. Working as a Builder is boring. I wanna get to move around some more! I can't ever sit still anyways, or at least that's what Newt tells me. Maybe this is just a sign that Minho's trusting me more."

"In that case, I agree with Newt. And, you're slightly delusional." I chuckled, climbing out of the Slammer.

Feeling the beaming Sun never seemed so appealing to me until that moment, because after the cold night I experienced, it was much needed.

"I am not! But whatever, you gotta get to breakfast. Alby, Newt, and Minho are waiting to meet with you. Hurry up." Noah exclaimed.

***

"Here comes Miss Alice in Wonderland!" Minho shouted as I walked over to the table.

The only spot available was the one next to Newt, so I placed my breakfast down there.

Maybe it couldn't hurt to talk to him a little more, since my plan of distancing myself didn't seem to be helping anyway.

"Let's just get to talking, Minho. You're already losing some running time from this anyway." I suggested.