PART ONE

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I'm sorry, but I don't have chapter titles (or an overall title) yet so please bear with me!

**also, the story doesn't start right when Y/N comes up; it's a while after**
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     I've been alone for the past few minutes, waiting for Frypan to come back to the kitchen. I think he said he was going to talk to the Slicers...something about being low on meat, maybe?
     So, I'm left to chop carrots. How exciting, I think to myself as I roll my eyes.
     All day, every day, I work in the kitchen. The Council didn't really give me much of a choice when I first came up, so here I am.
     I feel so...stereotyped. The only good thing about this job is that I get some alone time.
     But being the only girl in the Glade is hard. Not only am I constantly avoiding the looks and insults of Gladers like Gally, but I hardly have anyone to hang out with.
     Thomas and the other Runners get up earlier than everyone else, and since they run during the day and map when they get back, he's never around.
     Not that we're great friends or anything. It just seems like he actually cares about me, not just what I can cook for him.
     And Newt—
     The kitchen door slams against the wall with a sudden bang, causing my knife to slip and my finger to almost get cut off.
     Whenever Fry comes into the kitchen, he opens and closes the door like a normal human being; only one Glader is arrogant enough to make such a show of entering a room.
     I turn reluctantly, already knowing that it's Gally. When I see him walking toward me with a smug look on his face, I exhale and return to my carrots—which, I might add, are much better company than he'll ever be.
     "Don't you have work to be doing?" I ask in as kind a voice as I can muster.
     "I'm hungry," he replies matter-of-factly, leaning on the counter beside me.
     "It'll be suppertime soon," I remind him.
     "So?" I can hear the smirk in his voice.
     "So just wait like everyone else." My patience is wearing thin and I cut the carrots more aggressively. The knife whacks against the cutting board, giving my ears a welcome alternative to his voice.
     "Come on, shank. Can't you make an exception for a hard-working Keeper?" Gally folds his arms dramatically across his chest.
     I scoff inwardly. As if his toned biceps could convince me to make something for him.
     "Please don't call me that," I reply through gritted teeth.
     I want to slap him so badly, or at least point out how unhard-working he appears at the moment, but instead I say, "Fry's making a stew for supper; I'm sure you'll survive until then."
     I set my knife down with a little more force than necessary and walk across the kitchen to grab the last of the carrots out of the bucket I got from Zart earlier in the morning.
      I return to my post, grateful that Fry was kind enough to wash the vegetables before he left.
      While I try to avoid making eye contact with Gally, I feel his eyes on me as I take up the knife again.
     He shifts, leaning closer. "Well, couldn't you—"
      "I'm. Busy." For emphasis, I reach out with my free hand and push him away. "Now get out!"
     At that moment, the kitchen door opens again. I step away from Gally, set down my knife, and turn to see Newt in the doorway.
     "What are you doing in here?" he asks Gally.
     As Newt walks in, Gally pushes off from the counter. "Just chatting," he replies offhandedly.
     I roll my eyes subtly but Newt catches it and I look away, embarrassed. Gally may be a jerk, but he's still a Keeper; and I know that—unfortunately—that warrants him at least a little bit of respect from me.
     Newt's eyes linger on mine for a moment until Gally says, "Why are you here?"
     "Fry sent me to make sure Y/N was doing alright," Newt replies casually.
     Gally chuckles, nudging my shoulder with his. "They think you need a babysitter," he laughs, talking to me as if Newt isn't even in the room. "Guess they're just worried about you...wouldn't want anything to happen to their precious little girl, would they?"
     As Gally looks me over, still smirking, Newt moves between us and pushes him toward the door.
     That self-satisfied grin never leaves Gally's face as Newt and I watch him go.
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Didn't proofread—sorry!—cuz I'm already typing out the next part!

If anyone actually read this, thank you so much!💖

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