Bound | Newt Love Story

5 | Cheers

After my training Newt told me to follow him. I was completely confused but once we got to a stone wall with all the names of the Gladers in it, I realized. Chuck had told me about this a couple of days back. All the Gladers sign their names and the ones with lines through theirs are dead. Newt smiles at me and hands me a knife he was holding. I reach out for it, our hands touching momentarily, before I grab it all together. I find a blank space right under Newt's name and above Chuck's. I begin carving in my name, it's harder than it looks. 

***

My mind is racing. You would think standing in a shower would clear your head, but under these circumstances it's not helping at all. The meeting with all the Keeper's is going on currently. They're deciding what job I get and I couldn't be more nervous. It's been a whole two days since I tried every job out and for the last two days I've been a nervous wreck. They were supposed to have the meeting the day after "try outs" but a problem with the Track-hoes came up and they postponed it. So I've literally been following Newt around for the last 48 hours, not that it bothers him. He asked me to go with him, seeing how bored I was. I helped him in the Gardens, we fed some of the livestock and even played a few games with some of the fellow Gladers. 

The cool water from the shower splashes down upon my back, my right arm pressed up against the stall's wall. It's weird to think that we're stranded inside this maze but whoever put us here wants to keep us alive and well. Somehow there's running water. A mystery literally no one knows the answer to. The bathroom is located right behind the Homestead, with ten showers and one bathtub, which is unfortunately used only for the injured. I say unfortunately because I would love to soak in that bathtub with some candles lit and just relax. But that's not really possible. The bathroom comes with two sinks and a mirror. Along with bars of soap and shampoo that are sent up in the Box every month. 

My relationship with Newt has literally blossomed. It's almost as if we were already in a relationship before. Which may be the case, seeing as neither of us remember anything before the Glade. I haven't talked to him about this connection that I feel, but I know he feels it. Or at least he feels something towards me now. I always catch him staring at me. Not in a creepy way at all but in a very loving way, like he's admiring something. But he always looks a different way when I catch him. If he only held the gaze for a few more moments, I would probably confess everything to him. He just has a way of doing that to me. A way that makes me feel protected and like everything's alright.

I duck my head under the water of the shower, getting my brown hair wet. I run my fingers through it, trying to get the dirt out of it. I turn in the shower and grab the bottle of shampoo perched on a wooden shelf in the shower stall. I squirt some in my hand and run it through my hair, massaging my scalp. I sigh out at the amazing feeling. 

Along with being the only girl comes with a couple of rules. Not rules for me, but rules for the rest of the boys. Alby made these rules when one of the Gladers almost walked in on me changing. I get the bathroom all to myself. Which comes with a set back though. I have to shower last. But it's more of a luxury than anything, because I get the whole bathroom to myself. Newt has made a habit of standing right outside the bathroom door, making sure that no one tries to come in. Tonight, he obviously isn't because of the meeting. Another one of the rules is that no one is allowed to come into my sleeping quarters, unless I let them obviously. 

I dip my head into the water, the water running through my hair and pulling the suds from it. The water runs down my long hair and over my body. I grab the bar of soap and begin trying to wash the existing dirt off of my skin. Following Newt definitely has it's setbacks. He likes to get down in the dirt and doesn't really care about getting dirty, which ultimately forced me to get filthy as well. I hum as I try to scrub the dirt out from under my fingernails. Newt's hygiene is pretty good compared to the other boys. He takes showers every night, with the rest of the boys showering only about four times a week. Newt always smells good, too. But he has a certain scent, not like peppermint or the smell of the soap bars. But something more genuine. Something that sends me into a trance every time he gets close to me.