Ineffable | Newt

6.

Katie tangled herself in the sheets as she slept. Her hair was scattered all over the pillow, and a small bit was stuck to the bottom lip of her open mouth. She was having a dreamless sleep like usual; she hasn't had a dream since she got to the Glade. Tomorrow was an exciting day; tomorrow a new person would be sent up in the box. That meant everyone would stop calling her Greenie.

The grumbling of the maze shifting and changing became a sort of lullaby to Katie; it was normal. However, what wasn't normal was the screech of a griever, so it was no surprise that Katie nearly jumped out of bed from the piercing scream.

Katie bolted upright, her chest panting and her body trembling.

No one's ever seen a Griever and lived. Newt had told her, and that scared her to death. She guessed that her mind just thought that hearing a Griever meant that one was close, so she got scared. Katie wiped the piece of hair out of her mouth and looked around the room; it was still nighttime.

She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. She wanted to be held. But not by herself; Katie wanted someone to hold her. But who would do that? Everyone was asleep, as far as she was aware.

Even if everyone was awake, who would she ask? Who did she feel safe enough to ask and then have hold her?Katie limited it to three boys that she spoke to the most:

Frypan, with whom she spent the most time, but she didn't know where he slept. Katie found out that all the keepers got their own room, and the rest of the boys slept in hammocks scattered around Homestead.

The other was Newt; she liked Newt. He made Katie feel safe, and so did Minho. All those three boys didn't mind when Katie hid behind them or held onto them when she was scared. Unfortunately, Katie also didn't know where Minhos' room was. Come to think of it, she only knew where Newt's room was, and that was only because that was where she first woke up.

Newt was there then.

Katie peeled the sheets off her body, shuffled her way to her door, and opened it. She didn't have second thoughts about this; actually, Katie didn't see anything weird about asking someone to hold her. Like Newt had thought, Katie did have a different way of thinking and communicating.

Her legs carried her to Newt's room, where she knocked politely twice. A minute went by with no Newt. Katie knocked again, but then realized he was probably asleep. Instead, she opened the door as quietly as she could and walked through. Newt's chest rose at a steady pace as he slept, his back lying on the bed and one arm hanging off the side. Katie thought to herself as she crept up to his side.She almost felt bad for waking him up, but then she remembered what she wanted.

She bent down on her knees and reached out to place her fingers on his shoulder, but stopped herself to look at him. He appeared to be at peace, and Katie reflected that Newt had been nothing but helpful and a good person since she arrived.She felt completely safe around him, so she opened her mouth, and for the first time since being in the glade, she didn't feel a sense of dread.

"Newt." Katie whispered softly. No answer. She finally placed her fingers on his shoulder, pushing it slightly. "Newt, wake up."

Katie's soothing voice brought Newt out of his slumber. He blinked twice and moved his head towards the girl, causing instant confusion, surprise, and a sense of

"Katie?" He asked with his eyes half open.

Katie nodded but frowned once Newt closed his eyes again. She didn't want him to sleep; she wanted him awake. Her fingers poked him again, but this time a little harder. Newt groaned but still didn't open his eyes.

"Bloody hell," he mumbled. "What do you want?"

"I want you to hold me." Katie spoke with a straight face. She noticed Newt's eyebrows furrow.

"What?" He looked into the darkness. Katie thought he hadn't heard her properly, so she repeated her statement.

"I want you to hold me."

Newt's expression changed instantly; he propped himself on his elbow, mouth agape, and eyes wide at the girl in front of him.

"Katie, you're talking." He said.

Katie felt the familiar sense of dread rising again—what if he gets mad at her for talking now and not before, forcing him to interpret her actions instead of just speaking?

"That's great!"

Katie looked up at Newt, who held such a genuine smile on his face that Katie couldn't help but smile a bit back.

"What did you want again?" He asked.

Katie, still feeling a sense of dread, made a holding motion and moved her finger to point between her and Newt.

Newt, who drooped more into his elbow, noticed that she went back to signing. Never had he heard a more beautiful voice in his life, but she wasn't comfortable speaking, and that was that. It didn't mean that he wasn't confused by her demand.

"Why?" he asked.

Now Katie was confused. She looked at the ground for an answer; she had to give a reason. She just wanted to be held; it was a simple thing. When Katie couldn't figure out what Newt wanted her to say, she looked back up at him. His smile was now accompanied by an eyebrow-furrowed, confused face, and one eye was closed due to him being tired.

Katie signed that she wanted him to hold her, but he thought she was being rude, so she added a please.

Newt stared at her for a couple seconds, and Katie stared back. His pupils darted back and forth, looking into her eyes, trying to find a hint of her joking or a sign that she might talk again, but her actions were too sure. When he realized that Katie was dead serious, he sighed, giving in to her.

"Okay." He mumbled and shifted to the opposite side of the bed from Katie.

Appreciating that Newt had finally understood what Katie wanted, she lifted the sheet and lay down beside him. The bed was definitely not big enough for the both of them, but Katie didn't really care; honestly, she didn't even notice. Newt put his arm under the pillow, and they lay on their sides facing each other.

"So..." Newt prompted Katie, but when he realized she wasn't going to do anything, he sighed. "How do you want me to hold you?"

Newt couldn't remember his life before the Glade, so as of now he has had no prior experience like this, and neither did Katie. She furrowed her eyebrows at him for a second. Then she lifted his arm and moved towards him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, and she placed her head on his chest. She closed her eyes and sighed in content. Newt, however, was frozen with one arm in the air. After his initial shock, he slowly brought his arm down and around Katie's back; the arm under the pillow also moved to hold her. Newt shifted his body so he was more comfortable, and Katie hummed, his shirt muffling the sound.

Katie fell asleep a minute later, but Newt stayed awake for a bit more. None of the other boys have ever done this; were all girls like this? Newt thought he would never know. But right now, he liked holding Katie; it felt nice. And the most important part: Katie had finally spoken—to him too, not anyone else.