" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

seventeen.

[CHAPTER SEVENTEEN]

~

Eleanor hummed a song softly to herself as she tossed a handful of feed to the chickens gathered around her. The hot midday sun shone down on her shoulders, and there was no doubt in her mind that the exposed skin of her neck and shoulders were currently getting scorched. She regretted pulling her hair into a ponytail that morning.

It had been two days since the Greenie named Rick had arrived, and every day he sat at the table with her during meals. It seemed as though he was slowly warming up to life in the Glade- he even managed to make quite a daring comment to Minho at dinner the night before. The Runner looked shocked, turning to look at Eleanor almost as if he was asking for her help. Though the girl only shrugged, smirking as she looked in between the two boys sitting beside each other, happy that Minho was no longer treating him like an outcast. Newt, on the other hand, refused to speak to the Greenie unless he absolutely had to. He had cut down on talking during meals, and the few times that he did were directed only towards Minho and Eleanor.

This made her greatly confused, though she hadn't had the chance to question the blonde boy about it yet.

Eleanor set the empty chicken feed bucket beside the door to the Blood House, picking up a bucket full of water to pour into the pig pen. She began making her way over to the pink animals when she noticed the familiar short brown hair of Rick. The Greenie was making his way over to her, a pail of grain for the goats in his hands and a confused look on his face.

"I'm surprised to see you here," he commented once he reached her, smiling in greeting. "You don't really look like the type of person that enjoys slaughtering animals every single day."

"We don't slaughter them every day- just every other day," Eleanor corrected him with a short laugh. "Besides, I don't kill them. I raise them, fatten them up so that they can be slaughtered."

Rick chuckled at this, following closely behind her as she made her way over to the pig pen. "You know, on the Tour yesterday, Alby told me that there three rules here... but not one of them had to do with staying away from you."

"Newt's just a little protective," Eleanor told the Greenie, surprising herself by standing up for Newt so quickly. She had known that the blonde boy had lied to Rick when he told him to stay away from her, but she decided not to call him out about it.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Eleanor stopped in her tracks at his question, turning to look at the Greenie with wide eyes. "No," she said quickly, which only made the boy eye her questioningly. She said no more, however, feeling her cheeks heat up in a blush as she started pouring the water into the pigs' empty trough.