PROLOGUE

SHE WATCHED HIM from behind the large window, her hands splayed across the glass.

Her world was muted, her blood pounding against her skull. Her breaths were coming out in sharp exhales, her lips quivering. She bit down on them hard and held her breath.

Don't cry. Not here, not right now.

Her hands slid down the glass and the girl folded them around her thin frame. She hugged herself tightly, trying to bury some of the emotion. She was overflowing with sadness, rage, and regret. Her heart felt heavy and ached. She shouldn't have agreed to this, although it was inevitable. The girl closed her eyes, allowing one single tear to slip before she drew her sleeve across her eyes quickly.

He was on the operating table, his messy blond hair surrounding his head like a halo, his eyes shut. A small group of doctors hovered around him, flashes of green. Two security guards waited by the side, ready to take him away. However, the girl paid no note to them. Her attention was focused solely on the boy, her eyes glued to his form.

He was already wearing the shorts-and-T-shirt uniform of the Glade and looked so peaceful. The girl smiled sadly.

If only the world around them was peaceful.

The girl let out another shaky breath. Her mind slipped back to the previous night, allowing herself to remember.

The boy and the girl were in the boy's room, tangled between the sheets. The floor was littered with their clothes. The tension was palpable and the silence was electrifying. They both silently stared up at the ceiling, expressions blank. No one wanted to be the first to speak. The boy was afraid of the words that would tumble out of his mouth. The girl was afraid her anger would take the reigns of her body.

A few moments passed before the boy summoned up all his courage and spoke.

"We have to talk about it," he gently said. He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it more. The girl rolled away from him, inhaling deeply.

"I don't want to talk about it. Can we just please go to sleep?" The girl closed her eyes, voice tinged with sadness.

The boy sat up and rested his head against the wall. "We have to talk about it," he said. "I'm being sent up tomorrow with the other nine. You know that already."

The girl's eyes snapped open and she breathed deeply. Anger flared up inside her. Her fists clenched as she sat up quickly and faced the boy.

"Well, what the hell do you want me to say?!" she snapped. "You know I can't do anything about it." She flung the sheets off her body and got up. She bent down and began grabbing her scattered clothes.

"Bloody hell!" The boy exclaimed. "I didn't mean it like it was your fault! I just want to talk." The girl ignored him, slipping on her undergarments. She turned away from him, slipping up and buttoning her pants. The boy got out of bed too and also began pulling on his clothes.

"Please say something." The boy begged, slipping his shirt over his head. "About this, about us, anything."

The girl finished putting on her tank top and turned to face him, a sad smile gracing her features. "I'm sorry," she said thickly. "You and I both knew that this wouldn't have worked out. We shouldn't have even let this relationship happen in the first place."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "Are you saying that all the times we spent together were nothing?" he asked in disbelief. "The first time we meet, our first kiss, our first I-love-yous?" He paused. "Tonight? Our first time?" he whispered.

The girl really wanted to. She wanted to turn around and tell him the truth, then kiss him senseless. She wanted to tell him that she was lying, that she only had to do this for him. But she knew she couldn't. She had to save them both of more heartbreak. She breathed deeply and grabbed her jacket that was slung over a chair. She slipped it on and turned around to face the boy, who was awaiting her answer. His beautiful brown eyes scanned her emotionless face, looking for something she wouldn't let him find.

Love.

"I'm sorry. I meant what I said. WICKED never would let this," she gestured to them both. "work out. We are not meant to be together."

The boy's face slipped before he put up a stony facade quickly. "I see," he said, hotly. He plopped down on the bed, his eyes refusing to leave her face.

"I don't want to fight with you right now." The girl muttered. "I have to get to the lab and finalize the last few things."

The girl swallowed deeply as she glanced at the vent where she had come from.

"I should go," she whispered, running a hand through her tangled hair.

"You should." the boy retorted. He didn't even move and looked away as the girl bent down and unscrewed the screws of the large vent door. She opened the vent and turned back one last time, allowing herself one last look.

"Goodbye sweetie," the girl whispered, cracking a small, sad smile.

The boy managed to crack a smile too.

"Goodbye."

And then she was gone.

The girl's eyes flew open, bringing her back to harsh reality. She blinked a few times, refocusing her eyes. She rubbed her tired eyes, refusing to let herself shed any more tears.

She then turned her attention back to the boy behind the window. The main doctor that had been preparing the boy lowered a mask to his face. Metals tubes slid into the boy's ears as the machine began whirring.

The boy's hands moved a little and the girl saw the muscle in his jaw twitch.

The little muscle that would twitch whenever the boy was angry or in pain. The one the girl would kiss to make him feel better.

The boy was in pain, but the girl knew that he wouldn't even remember. Just like he wouldn't remember her.

The girl watched in silence as the machine began erasing all the boy's memories in just a few beeps. Memories of their kisses, touches, and moments. Memories of their friends and the horrifying "crank pits". All of it. The girl nearly broke down right there, but kept her walls up. She watched as he continued to twitch. The doctor pushed a few buttons on a screen, erasing the last remnants of her.

The doctor leaned in, pulling the mask off the boy's face. He set it on a table before gesturing to the security members. The girl's breath caught in her throat.

It was time.

The security team walked over, lifting the boy off the bed without effort. They hoisted him onto the waiting gurney. They pushed it out of her room and paused it in front of the girl.

"Miss Brookes?" One of them acknowledged her quietly.

The girl nodded and then followed them closely as they began wheeling the gurney down the hall. Through the twist and turns of corridors and halls, the girl walked with her whole body numb. She was simply putting one foot in front of another, dread building up inside of her. She refused to look at the boy, in fear of making the pain worse than it already was.

After reaching the basement of the WICKED headquarters, the girl allowed herself one look. His face was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and his hands still twitched slightly. His soft blond hair still surrounded his head. The girl's eyes roamed every inch of the boy's skin hoping to permanently etch his face into memory. His cute button nose, his pink lips, and the little crease between his eyebrows. Everything about him was perfection and this could potentially be the last time the girl would see the boy in person.

When they reached the shaft of the lift, where the box was, the girl nearly broke down, but held herself together. She inhaled deeply and turned her face upward, fighting back the tears.

Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry...

The men hoisted the boy up again, one holding his legs and the other his arms. They began climbing down the ladder. The girl pursed her lips together, muffling a sob. She was holding herself together by a single thread, a thread that threatened to snap any second. When the men reached the bottom of the ladder, they threw the boy in. His body hit the steel floor with a loud thump.

There were already nine other unconscious boys in the box, their eyes closed. The boy was the tenth and the last.

The last of the 10 that would be the first subjects in the maze.

The girl swallowed. The men climbed back up and stood next to her. One of them pulled out a small device from his pocket.

"On your command, miss." he said, finger poised over a red button.

The girl closed her eyes and forced the next words out of her mouth.

"Launch the box."

Then the metal doors of the Box slammed shut with a loud, echoing thunk.

The Box began to lower.

A loud sob fell from the girl's lips. A tear trekked down her cheek. Then, ignoring the two men, she turned and began sprinting away. Everything was a blur because of her tears. She let out another sob before clasping a hand over her mouth, staggering into the elevator. She began stabbing the button for the floor 5 furiously, begging the doors to close faster as tears finally began slipping from her eyes alarmingly fast. When the doors finally closed, the girl slowly slid her back down one of the walls as the elevator began rising.

Burying her face in her knees, she finally allowed herself to cry.

Goodbye Newt.

[A/N]

Hey guys! If this is your first time reading this, I really hope you enjoyed this! If you have already been with me with this story, I just wanted to say, thank you for sticking with me through this! I have decided to rewrite this and edit because I have been looking back on my writing and just...dying because I think it sucked so much... Some things will be the same and others will be slightly changed, but overall I am using the same concepts!

This story will take place one month before Thomas' arrival and will follow my OC through her adventures in the maze. I really hope you like it and please review, favorite, and follow!

Lots of love,

xx hartgurl729