Stay With Me

3

You joined the party somewhat reluctantly, smiling shyly at all of the boys welcoming you to the Glade, sticking close to Minho or Newt when you couldn't find Chuck. Someone handed you a jar full of... something. You couldn't quite tell what it was. All you knew was that it was absolutely foul tasting and burned your throat on the way down. You set the jar down by a log and plopped down on the grass in front of it, staring at the orange and yellow flames of the bonfire. Minho sat down on the grass next to you, his sweaty skin reflecting the fire's light. 

"Hey Y/N, how's it going?" 

"It's going alright, I guess. I mean, I was thrown up here in a box and told we were probably never getting out of here, and on top of all that I can't remember jack shit besides my name, but otherwise..." you paused to look at his expression. He was smirking at you.

"But other than that it hasn't been so bad, right?" He nudged you with his elbow playfully. 

"Yeah, not so bad," you replied, nudging him back with a light laugh. He chuckled along with you and ruffled your hair. As you smoothed your (h/c) locks back down, he stood up, "Friends?" You asked.

"Friends." He offered you his hand to help you up off the ground and you took it. That was a mistake. The runner hoisted you up off the ground and threw you over his shoulder like  a sack of flour. You squealed like a piglet when he started prancing around the fire, holding onto your legs. You had your arms wrapped tight around his waist so you didn't fall or slam into his back while he jumped and ran around. You both laughed along with the other Gladers who were hollering and laughing at the sight. 

You waved at Chuck and Newt as you passed by, Chuck practically falling over from laughing so hard. Minho did another lap around the bonfire before putting you down and moving to stand next to you rather than in front. 

You bumped his hip with yours jokingly as you tied your hair up in a quick bun, making sure you were prepared for the next time he played one of his tricks. He bumped your hip in return, smirking at you while you finished doing your hair. 

You looked away from your friend when the Gladers started cheering again, whooping and yelling from the sidelines. You hadn't noticed a circle had formed around the bonfire until now. You looked to see what they were cheering for. 

You soon spotted Gally, walking along the edge of the circle. What is going on? you thought to yourself. 

"What the shuck..." Minho said from beside you, his voice trailing off. Clearly he was just as confused as you were. You found Newt across the circle and made eye contact. Seeing your questioning gaze, he shrugged, also oblivious. 

"You're gonna fight him, it's tradition for the greenie to fight Gally," a boy said from behind you. Seeing your nervous expression he halfheartedly reassured you, "It's just a game, kinda. Get out there, Gally will explain the rules." The boy gave you a push and you stumbled into the circle, walking up to Gally. You shot Minho a worried glance over your shoulder and he returned it. 

Gally rattled off the rules for the fight and you nodded, showing you understood. The two of you crossed to opposite sides of the ring of Gladers, watching each other closely as you circled the fire. You smirked at him and he returned it with a scowl. Your breath caught in your throat as an uneasy feeling crept into your stomach. It's just a game, right?

Gally made the first move. When he finally got close enough, he lunged at you, trying to knock you over and out of the circle. You dodged him just in time. The Gladers were cheering for you. 

Gally collected himself after missing you and regained balance. He charged towards you again and you dodged him once more, the Gladers cheers for you growing louder. This time you charged towards Gally. He tried to trip you but you dropped to the ground and swept your leg underneath him, taking him out ant the ankles. He landed on his ass. Everyone whooped and  laughed. You stood up and moved away from Gally, ready to go again, laughing with everyone else. But when Gally stood up you saw the look in his eyes and took a few steps back. Your heart skipped a few beats and your knees felt weak. 

Gally lunged forward and you tried to dodge him again but this time you were too slow and he shoved you to the ground. The Glade was still full of cheering. You scrambled to your feet but he threw you o the ground again, harder than the last time. Once again you hurried to your feet and tried to escape him. You were too slow.

Gally caught you and slung you over his shoulder like Minho had earlier. You tried to wriggle free before he could take you out of the circle, and you managed to fall hard to the ground. When you tried to stand up and move out of his reach he grabbed a fist full of your hair and pulled, making you scream out in pain. Your hands flew to where he held you, pulling and scratching and hitting his hand, trying to make him let go. 

Your vision was blurry from tears as you scraped and clawed at his hand. The Gladers' cheers had changed from shouts of amusement to shouts of concern. 

"Let her go!"

"Stop it!"

"Gally That's enough!" 

You could see the vague shapes of the boys running towards you from across the circle. 

"GALLY!" the shout rang out across the Glade, silencing the boys, "DROP. HER. NOW!" 

Gally released his grip on your hair, inches from the edge of the circle. You hit the dirt with a thud, and you let your head fall to the cool ground, curling up in a little ball. The next ten minutes happened in slow motion. Alby and Zart, the keeper of the gardeners, escorted Gally to the slammer, Newt and Chuck helped you up and walked you to a hut where you got poked at and checked for serious damage by the medjacks, Clint and Jeff. Someone came into the hut and took Newt aside, you didn't know who. 

You heard hushed whispers from were you were lying, curled up on a cot on the other side of the hut. Newt and Chuck left and the Glader who had entered the medjacks' hut earlier came and scooped you up, bridal style, and carried you into the homestead. He placed you on a bed, tucked you under the thin blanket, and left. You fell asleep barely thirty seconds after. 

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Hey everybody, so this is my first author's note in the fic so I'll try to keep it short. I know that was kind of a long chapter so I wanted to give you a nice break with the next one, but knowing myself I don't know how well that will go. In the meantime, enjoy this frog and have a good day! If nobody's told you yet today ILY and I'm proud of you!