control ⇢ the maze runner / thomas [1] ✓

Chapter Thirty-Eight

"SAVE YOUR STRENGTH, STAY ALIVE."
—Stay Alive, Hamilton

"You changed the melody every time."

CONTROL,
CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

THOMAS WAS LUCKY enough to get his gathering. Even though Ruby was a trusted friend, she wasn't allowed inside. She didn't particularly care though. She knew there was nothing she could do anyway.

Instead, she stayed out with Teresa and Dimitri. "Ruby, how much do you remember about us?", Teresa asked randomly.

Ruby glanced up and raised her brows. "Not much, really. Just that we had a fight. It doesn't seem right."

"No, that's right. We did have a fight. I wanna talk about it", Teresa said nervously. "Do you—"

Teresa was interrupted by Thomas being practically thrown out of the meeting room. He and Newt argued for a moment, so Ruby decided not to interrupt them. That would just be selfish. However, the moment Newt went back inside, Ruby was on Thomas like white on rice. Teresa looked seriously disappointed.

"What happened? What did you decide? Is there a plan, or are we all screwed?", Ruby asked, firing off question after question.

"Calm down", Thomas chuckled, placing his hands on her shoulders. "One question at a time, please."

Ruby took a deep breath, nodding. "What happened?" So Thomas recapped the meeting for her. ( In fewer words, of course. ) Ruby looked surprisingly calm when he finished. "So you want us to fight to the death, and, if we live, jump through the Griever Hole?", Ruby asked, arching a brow. "Am I getting this correct?"

Thomas paused before nodding. "Yeah, that's about it in a nutshell."

Ruby shrugged. "Okay."

"Wha— okay?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah. Okay. Like you said... We promised to death, and we ain't dead yet. If you're gonna go fight demonic creatures and jumping off a Cliff, you'd better be waiting to catch me at the end."

An amused grin spread across his face. "I think I just figured out why I fell in love with you... And why I would do it all over again, too."

Ruby's heart fluttered. "So does this mean I'm still your number one girl?"

Thomas laughed, playfully flicking her forehead. "Always. I gotta go. Newt told me to wait for him at the Box. But I think the plan is on. Get ready."

Ruby nodded, watched him leave. She went back to Teresa. The blue eyed girl had been watching. She looked troubled. "Okay. I'm sorry, I just got way too excited. What were you saying?"