black veil ◦ scorch trials || thomas

16.

SIXTEEN ; BOTTOMS UP

     He laughed. Perhaps a little too loud, a little too airy, but he laughed all the same. He pressed his lips together to suppress the sound, but he failed. Thomas shook his head, flashlight shaking as he rubbed his eyes.

     Evan looked at him in disbelief, wondering why the hell he was laughing. Her eyebrows were furrowed, creating creases on her forehead. She almost smacked him for his reaction. Out of all the things she thought Thomas would do, this was certainly not one of them.

     "What the hell's so funny?" Evanna asked, her tone snappy. She didn't mean to, she was more just baffled by his response.

     Thomas ran a hand through his hair as he let out a breath. "I just... I thought you were more perceptive than this."

     "Excuse me?" Evan didn't hide the offensive tone in her voice. If anything, she added a little extra to make sure Thomas knew he was being ridiculous. He only chuckled, though.

     "Evan, there are a lot of things I feel towards Teresa," he began, "but liking her is not one of them."

     She didn't know what to say. Embarrassment flooded Evan like an unwanted tidal wave and she felt her face grow hot. She felt foolish, stupid. And although she had every right to think Thomas still had some feelings for Teresa, mainly because of their past, the more Evanna thought about it, the more she realized that the longing looks mostly came from Teresa.

     Other than that, Evan felt invasive. This was none of her business, she didn't even know any of these people.

     After a moment of silence, Thomas turned to fully face her. He was frowning, as if he couldn't believe something. "Why do you think I came back for you?"

     Evan could answer this one. "Because you needed me," he would never tell her how differently he took her words. "to get through the Scorch."

     So maybe deep down she knew. Maybe Evan realized what Thomas felt. But perhaps she didn't want to know. She didn't want to set herself up for disappointment she was so sure was to come. Evan had dealt with enough let downs for a lifetime. She couldn't really bear anymore.

     Evan didn't want to hurt Thomas either. Even though there was a chance they both felt the same, she knew how it ended. The Right Arm would never allow her to enter the Safe Haven. She would have to leave them all behind and she didn't want it to discourage Thomas. He needed to go on and save the others, he needed to find a Cure and destroy WICKED.

     He couldn't do that if she was weighing him down, holding him back. Which was why Evan ignored Thomas' sigh. She ignored the glint in his eyes and the slump of his shoulders. She swallowed thickly and averted her gaze.

     "Hey, you guys," Brenda's voice came from not too far away. Though it was barely above a whisper, Evan could hear it clearly all the same. "Look at this."

     Thomas looked at her for another moment before he turned away and walked into the direction Brenda's voice came from. Evan followed him silently. She wanted to walk away more than anything. But she didn't know where she was and she wanted to stop running away from things. She also didn't have a flashlight so she would probably get lost.

     "What is it?" Thomas asked as they reach her.

     Brenda shone her light on the walls, revealing dark streaks of what looked like dead tree branches. Evanna cringed at the sight. Her eyes widened when she watched Brenda lean closer, inspecting it. She almost vomited at the sight, and here the other girl was, getting closer and more curious. Evan sighed mentally.