Ten | newtmas

fourteen

A/N: I just wanted to let y'all know before you read that theres a bit of a trigger warning, as various mental illnesses are discussed. If you need specifics, feel free to message me. Thank you.

I walk outside of my room for the designated medication time to see Chuck walking up to the back of the line.

    "Chuck!" I yell, taking bigger steps to get to him quicker.

    Chuck turns and smiles his normal, cheery smile, walking to meet me while I stop to snap ten times.

    "Newt, have you been in our room this whole time? You missed Minho, he was-,"

    "You're okay now? Everything is fine?" I ask.

    "Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" Chuck asks nonchalantly, shrugging and putting his hands on his hips.

    "Why wouldn't you be? I..." I trail off, before closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. "You scared me there, Chuck."

    "With... oh. Sorry," Chuck says, his smile disappearing.

    "Don't be sorry, I just need to know what to do," I say, feeling bad that I may have upset him. It's not his fault, obviously, I just don't want to be caught off guard.

    "I'll tell you what, after this, I'll explain everything. Okay?" Chuck says.

    I want to nod but can't, so I give him a small half smile. He seems to take it as an agreement, because he walks back to the line, leaving me to stand alone.

    The line is long, so I hold back, deciding to wait til there's less people. Lines are difficult for me, having to pause between steps so much. Besides, I don't have any of those strikes Thomas was talking about.

As if on cue, in the corner of my eye I see someone run extremely fast toward the line. Looking up, I see him stop at the back and fidget nervously, moving back and forth shifting his weight onto his left, then his right leg, and bouncing slightly in his place.

Thomas. Is he going to skip out on his medication again? Winston isn't here so there's nobody to give anything to. But he looks extremely nervous.

I fight the urge to get in line, but anxiety starts creeping in at the awkwardness of just standing here like this. I'm almost halfway to the line from my room, just stood frozen in my spot in the middle of the hallway. The scene reminds me of my last day of school, collapsing to the ground.

    Suddenly, the line looks more appealing.

After I eventually get my medication, I set off slowly but surely to find Chuck. It takes me a few minutes, but I find him in the room he was in yesterday with most of the Normals.

    "Dude, I will reach through this screen and strangle you if you pick Vanessa. She's a psychopath," Minho says angrily, watching the TV. "Sorry, Jeff."

    "Sociopath, you moron," Jeff says, his expression not showing that he actually cared.

    Jeff is a sociopath? I wouldn't have guessed it from meeting him yesterday, but it makes sense. He's in here, after all.

"Close enough," Minho says, his eyes not moving from the screen.

"Newt!" Chuck snaps me out of my watching them when he speaks. "Sit here!"

He's sitting across the room, so I map out my route to him before making my way over in big steps, trying to get there in under ten. It works and I make it there in eight, so I sit next to him and tap out the rest on the floor while Chuck starts talking.