" WHITE BLOOD " T. MAZE RUNNER¹

nineteen.

[CHAPTER NINETEEN]

~

Eleanor saw red as she stormed away from the Homestead. Anger boiled inside of her as if she were a pot whose contents were threatening to spill over the edge in the form of blinding rage. Her hands balled into tight fists at her sides, the girl took off in the direction of the place where she knew she wouldn't be found- the Deadheads. She often avoided the dark wooded area, though that gave her all the more reason to head in that direction; not many boys hung out in the forest, so she would be alone. Leaves crunched beneath her feet as she retreated into the trees and out of sight of the rest of the Glade.

She could hear the sounds of footsteps behind her, and she didn't have to turn around to know that it was Newt. The sounds of uneven footsteps over the forest floor was enough to tell her that, and the boy called after her as he struggled to catch up. It took Eleanor all that she had in her to not turn around and slap him across the face, for all the anger she had boiling inside of her was because of him. Because of what he did.

Unfortunately, Eleanor's self control just wasn't enough. Newt only had the chance to call her name one more time before she spun around on her heels to face him. What surprised her, however, was that he was only a couple steps behind her, and he had to stop abruptly in order to not run into her. Eleanor glared up at the boy through narrowed eyes, face flushed red with anger and her fists clenched at her sides.

"Ellie-"

"Don't Ellie me, Newt," Eleanor growled, taking a step towards the boy in attempt to threaten him. Though Newt stood his ground, staring down at her with almost pleading eyes, and this only angered her more. She clenched her jaw, growling in frustration as she placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away from her. Newt stumbled backwards, his balance thrown off because of his bad ankle, and for a moment Eleanor felt guilty. Though she quickly pushed the feeling away and took another menacing step towards him.

"You inconsiderate slinthead." She spoke in a low voice as she attempted to contain the anger fuming inside of her. She didn't want to make any rash decisions that she would later regret. "What make you even think it was okay to tell Nick and Alby? I trusted you, Newt, but you had to be a total dick and tell them, and now they think I'm crazy!"

Eleanor was going to say so much more- oh, how she had an earful planned for the blonde boy standing, completely baffled, in front of her- though she was cut off before she had a chance to say anything else. Newt didn't cut her off with words, but instead he cut her off by pulling her towards him and pressing his lips to hers. Eleanor was completely surprised, and her eyes were wide open as she felt Newt's shaky hands grip her cheeks gently. The kiss was nothing like one would imagine after reading about couples making up by kissing; this kiss was awkward, nervous, and rather rash.

Eleanor was the first to pull away, her heart hammering against her chest as she stared up at the boy who had just kissed her. Newt was watching her closely, his eyes wide and his lips slightly parted; his eyebrows were pulled together as he studied her, as if he were trying to read her mind simply by looking at her.

"Why?" was all Eleanor managed to choke out. Her throat felt tight, her heartbeat rapid, and her feet swayed beneath her as if the whole world was shifting back and forth. It was a feeling that she hadn't felt in this life, one that was foreign to her, and she struggled to understand it.

"Because I care about you, Ellie. I told Nick and Alby because I don't want you to have to bloody worry about this all by yourself. I don't want anything happenin' to you. I told you we were going to figure this out, and I thought that this was the best way to begin." Newt spoke rapidly, his accented voice raised slightly, and shoulders heaved as he breathed deeply.