Notes: Hello. Thank you for actually clicking on the title. I warn you, it's been a good couple years since I've written any fanfiction so I'm probably rusty. I'm sorry to say I haven't actually read the Maze Runner series (I really do want to, I swear). It's just that I'm in Korea right now and getting American books is even more expensive and I really want the physical books. As soon as I get back home though, I plan to read all of them.
This fiction (in case you didn't read the tags) has a Female Thomas as the protagonist. She won't seem very similar to our Thomas (at last, what I know of him via the fandom/fanfiction) but that has more to do with nurture vs. nature. I'm currently debating whether or not to involve a Newtmas/Thominewt relationship in this story. Newtmas shipers please give me your input and I will consider them.
For Thominho shippers, I swear this is absolutely a Thominho fic. Enjoy and please give feedback.
Disclaimer: I don't really know why I have to do this since it's obvious, but I do not own Maze Runner or its characters
"WCKD will find you," the man swears, his blood mixing with those of his own victims.
A masked figure looks back. "If the Director is as intelligent as he likes to believe... He'll know better than to look for me," the figure's mechanical voice replies, before dropping the burning matchbox into the pooling gasoline, setting the entire building aflame.
Thomas wakes up in her new bed. She does not jerk awake, she does not gasp. The dream is an old one. She glances to her right and sees the clock. 5:30 in the morning. Well, at least she got some sleep. Thomas gets up and goes through her daily workouts before taking a relaxing shower. Once dressed, Thomas goes to the kitchen to make breakfast and lunch.
On her way to the kitchen, Thomas knocks softly on the door right next to hers. "Chuck, I'm going to make breakfast and lunch. Start getting ready, we need to get to school a bit early today," she gently calls. She hears a muffled noise from Chuck and some ruffling as the boy tries to get out of his usual blanket cocoon. Thomas chuckles at the boy's tendencies.
Thomas makes both breakfast and lunch nicer than usual since today is Chuck's first day of High School as well as his first day of school in a few years. She honestly couldn't care less about going to school, but it was important to Chuck that she goes as well and Thomas would never deny Chuck anything if she could help it. Chuck wanders towards the island, still half asleep, ready for school. Thomas chuckles at the sight and makes a note to check that Chuck actually has everything ready before leaving.
Chuck's eyes widen at the sight of the extravagant breakfast. "Wow! This looks amazing!"
Thomas smiles and ruffles his hair. "Well, today is a big day. Figured we might as well start it off well." Chuck's smile could light the room as he devours the food. Thomas just smiles as she calmly eats her fill.
While Thomas cleans up and finishes up their lunch boxes, Chuck glances at her while squirming in his seat. "What is it Chuck?" Thomas asks without looking up.
Chuck hesitates. "Could we… maybe go to school today on the bike?" Thomas blinks and looks at Chuck, her eyebrow raised. "I mean, since we're transferring so late in the year and…"
Ah. So he feels nervous being the "new kid". Thomas internally pats her back for looking this up on the internet the other day. "Sure, Chuck." She smiles. "Only for today though. We'll start using the car tomorrow. It's safer and more convenient anyway."
Chuck beams. "Okay!" He rushes back to his room for his helmet. Thomas laughs and takes the time to make sure Chuck actually has everything he needs. Of course, he forgot his notebook and pencils. Thomas quickly puts her things into his bag and is at the door before he gets back.
The two leave their humble apartment and head to the parking lot for Thomas' motorcycle. It's one of the more expensive things she kept from her old life simply because she put so much time and money into customizing it to her specifications. Thomas can understand why Chuck would want to show up at school on it for their first day. It would make quite the first impression.
The siblings arrive at Glade High at 7:30, when students are just beginning to trickle in. Everyone turns at the sound of Thomas' bike approaching the parking lot and many of the male students gawk at the sight of the bike. Thomas fixes Chuck's helmet hair and the two head for the front office without so much of a glance towards their new classmates. Well, at least Thomas does. Chuck can't help but take a quick peek and see everyone's awed expression towards Thomas and grins at job well done.
"Okay," Thomas starts as they leave the office with their new schedules in hand, "I'll see you at lunch at the cafeteria. If you happen to make friends then just let me know before you meet up with them." Chuck sends a brilliant smile that Thomas returns before heading to his first class. Once he turns around the corner, Thomas' smile vanishes. She closes her eyes before sighing. Time to face her first class.
"A motorcycle?" Minho raises his eyebrow. "What kind of shank shows up on a motorcycle?"
"The kind that wants to leave an impression." Newt rolls his eyes. "And she most certainly did."
"Maybe they just wanted to make sure people wouldn't mess with them for being a Greenie," Teresa adds. "I can certainly understand that feeling." Teresa was the last Greenie. Now Glade High has two.
Minho snorts. "Yeah, and maybe the shuck-face is just a sensitive little flower." Newt sends Minho an unimpressed look. The bell rings before the blond could reprimand Minho and the trio sit in their respective seats.
"Class, as I'm sure you all know, we have a new student joining us today." The teacher lets in the new student. The entire class falls silent as the greenie walks in. No one in the class was there when the Greenie came in on the motorcycle. And no one expected the Greenie to look like Thomas.
Minho didn't know what he was expecting the Greenie to look like, but the most gorgeous girl he's ever seen (and that's including celebrities) was not it. The Greenie has softly flowing brown hair and a perfectly proportioned hourglass figure, but Minho could see the strength that hid behind her clothing. And shuck her eyes. Eyes like those should be illegal; the brown was so deep it reminded Minho of his father's prized whiskey. The only marks on the girl's face were moles that seemed to form a constellation; a flaw on anyone else that seemed to just make her all the more celestial-like. Minho frowns at himself. He sounds like some love-sick shuck-face.
"Now, sweetheart," the teacher says, facing the Greenie. "Why don't you introduce yourself?"
The Greenie glances at the teacher before facing the class. "My name is Thomas Runner." The class waits in silence for more. The Greenie's forehead scrunches and her lips purse, shoulders getting tense.
…That's it? This is how she's going to do her first impression? Minho snorts, "Who names a girl Thomas?"
Newt immediately turns to glare at Minho. "Minho!" he scolds.
The Greenie, Thomas, doesn't seem to mind Minho's sass. Or more accurately, doesn't even notice it. "I never cared to ask," she responds.
Again silence.
Minho rolls his eyes. The Greenie sure knows how to kill the atmosphere.
The teacher coughs. "Yes, well. Thomas, why don't you sit in the back seat over there behind Newt? Newt, please raise your hand." Newt obliges. Thomas wordlessly grabs her things and walks to her new seat.
Newt turns to the Greenie and smiles. "Welcome to Glade High, Greenie. I'm Newt, this is Teresa, and this dumb shank is Minho," he says while pointing to Teresa then Minho. Teresa waves to the Greenie with a small smile and Minho mock salutes. "If you need anything, just let me or Teresa here know."
Thomas nods to all three students, apparently already forgetting Minho's rudeness. She considers Newt's offer before asking, "In that case, may I borrow some paper and a pencil?"
All three students stare at Thomas. "You… didn't bring paper and a pencil on your first day of school?" Teresa asks.
Thomas shrugs. "Not exactly." She gives no explanation and just looks at Newt, waiting for his response.
Newt jumps and quickly goes through his bag. "Yeah, here. I just use this for scratch paper so you can use it for the day." He gives Thomas his spare notebook and pencil.
Thomas nods. "Thank you, I'll be sure to return this tomorrow." She doesn't say another word for the rest of the class period.
Minho looks at the Greenie for a moment longer. She's beautiful alright, even more so up close, but what kind of shank does what she does? Minho sighs, he already knows what Newt and Teresa will do after class. Newt does it for every Greenie and Teresa will feel too sympathetic not to join in.
Thomas is packing her things for lunch when Newt and Teresa approach her. "So Greenie, since I'm sure you don't have any lunch plans… wanna join us at our table for lunch today?" Newt offers.
"The people at our table are all really nice and they'll help you get to know the school a bit better. It's kind of tradition for Greenies to eat with Newt," Teresa adds.
Thomas stares at the two. "What the hell is a Greenie?" she finally asks.
Minho rolls his eyes. "It's what we call the new kids."
Newt looks at Minho before explaining. "Glade High's pretty strict about cussing and such, so we all just made up some words to get around it. You'll get used to our Glader terms soon." Thomas nods. "So, you wanna eat with us?"
"Only if my brother can join," Thomas immediately replies. Minho raises his eyebrow. "We're supposed to eat together today."
Newt shrugs. "Sure. He's a Greenie too."
Thomas nods and quickly packs her things. The four walk towards the cafeteria and waiting at the front doors is a slightly chubby freshman with curly brown hair. He perks up at the sight of Thomas and comes running over towards her. "Thomas!"
Thomas' face immediately melts into a gentle and warm smile. "Hey Chuck." Minho, Newt, and Teresa openly gawk and Thomas. She looks completely different with a smile on her face as opposed to her usual blank expression. Thomas turns the boy to the trio, "Chuck, these are my classmates: Newt, Teresa, and Minho. They invited us to eat lunch with them."
Chuck beams at the trio, "Hi! Thanks for that!"
Minho finds himself smirking at the kid's energy, "No need for thanks, shank. Newt here loves picking up strays."
Newt glares at Minho. "Ignore this shuck-face. He's a bloody idiot." The five walk into the cafeteria, Minho and Teresa getting in line for food and Newt, Thomas, and Chuck going straight towards their usual table.
Thomas finds herself somewhat grateful to Newt. He's so warm and kind to Chuck that the normally shy boy easily relaxes into his normal fun-loving state. He introduces the other students already at the table: Alby, Gally, Frypan (whose real name is Siggy), Winston, Jeff, and Brenda. Brenda immediately takes to Thomas as she is 'always down for another girl to balance out this sausage fest'. Thomas doesn't quite understand what the girl means by that, but from Chuck's smile she'll take it as a good thing. Minho and Teresa join soon after.
Thomas sits with Chuck to her right and Brenda to her left. Teresa pouts that she should be next to Thomas but Brenda simply claims first-come-first-serve. Chuck hasn't stopped smiling since they sat down. Thomas raises her eyebrow at Chuck. "What are you so happy about?" she asks. A smile forming on her own face.
Chuck just laughs. "Nothing!" He quickly goes through the delicious lunch Thomas made for them, only to find a little bit more food on his plate. He glances at Thomas, she only sends a smile his way. "Thomas…"
"I'm not very hungry today, and it'd be such a shame if we wasted the food right?" Thomas replies. Chuck nods and accepts the food Thomas keeps passing to him, while make sure Thomas is actually eating something.
Lunch is some kind of weird social experiment for Minho. He finds himself staring at the new Greenies throughout most of lunch. Not because Thomas is pretty or anything. …Okay, not only because she's gorgeous. The siblings are weird. Thomas especially. She acts like less of a sister and more like a mother for the kid. Minho's pretty sure she gave more than half of her lunch to the kid instead of eating it herself.
"I really messed up my first impression…" Chuck was telling Thomas about his own introduction. Apparently the kid was so nervous he was stuttering through the whole thing.
"I'm sure it couldn't have been that bad," Thomas reassures him.
Teresa nods. "Yeah. Thomas here only said her name, and look where you two are. Eating with the 'cool kids'." Brenda laughs and gives Teresa a high-five.
Minho has enough self-control to not say that Thomas would have been fine no matter what; someone as gorgeous as her is going to find a group to be with no matter what. And Chuck doesn't seem to have the same blessed genes apparently.
"That's right Chuck," Newt assures. "I know for a fact that there are plenty of really nice people in your grade. They'd love to hang out with you. Give it some time."
With the comforting words pouring in, Chuck squares his shoulders, a look of determination on his face. "Alright! I'll do better this time!"
At that Thomas blinked. "This time?" she repeats, looking at Newt questioningly.
Newt smiles, "You're gonna have to introduce yourself at the beginning of each class, Tommy."
Thomas grimaces at the thought.
"Oh!" Chuck suddenly yells, surprising half the table. "Thomas! Um… Thanks for lending me your stuff…" he finally mumbles.
Thomas simply smiles and ruffles his hair. "Think nothing of it."
"The shuck are you talking about?" Minho finds himself asking without thinking. He can feel Newt giving him 'the look' again.
Thomas just shrugs. Chuck squirms before admitting, "I forgot to pack my notebook and pencil so Thomas put hers into my bag…" His eyes suddenly widen. "Wait, does that mean you didn't have anything?" His eyes starting to water in guilt.
Thomas pats Chuck's head. "Newt lent me his things. I didn't miss anything in class, promise."
Chuck looks at Newt with wide eyes, as if he was a shucking hero, before thanking the blond over and over again. Newt just smiles and waves it off.
Minho frowns again. He finally says what's been on his mind, "You two siblings are weird as shuck."
At that, both Newt and Teresa yell "Minho!" and glare at him for rudeness.
Chuck flinches and looks down, his shoulders falling. "…Really?"
The temperature at the table suddenly drops to arctic temperatures. Everyone at the table besides Chuck suddenly stiffens and Minho finds himself staring at Thomas. Thomas' entire expression hardens and her eyes suddenly take on a cold and murderous look that chills Minho to his very core. If looks could kill, Minho would already be scraped off the wall and buried in the ground.
"…No…" Minho manages to gasp. "Just shucking with you, Chuck."
Newt side-eyes Minho again. "What Minho means to say, Chuck, is that siblings aren't normally as close as you and Thomas. But that's hardly a bad thing. If anything, it's enviable."
Chuck glances up, "Really?" A smile forming on his face.
And just as abruptly as it came, the chill vanishes without a trace. "Of course, Chuck." Thomas smiles at Chuck and ruffles his hair.
The lunch goes on without any more incidents (partially because Minho decides to keep his mouth shut).
"God it's finally over…" Minho groans as he stretches. No one should be forced to sit through so many boring classes.
Newt just smirks at Minho as he packs his things. The blond looks to Thomas, who is already packed and about to leave. "Where's the fire, Tommy?" he laughs.
Thomas pauses. "…I promised Chuck we'd meet up at my bike after school. And my name isn't 'Tommy'," she blankly responds.
Minho snorts. "It's called a nickname, shank. And I think the kid needs more than five seconds to make it to the parking lot anyway."
Thomas, once again, makes a face at the Glader term. "While that's true, I should still be waiting for him."
Newt smiles and Thomas. "Then I'll go with you right now. Minho can catch up with me at the parking lot and Teresa's got club work so she'll be staying anyway." Thomas hesitantly nods and the two leave.
"I still think it's weird…" Minho mutters.
Teresa sighs. "Maybe. But we don't really know anything about them, yet. There's got to be a reason for it, otherwise Chuck wouldn't be okay with it either."
Minho has to give Teresa a point there. For all that Thomas acts weird as shuck around Chuck, the kid doesn't seem to mind all that much; only when it seems to affect Thomas.
Minho finally packs his things and heads for the parking lot. He arrives at the parking lot to see what a worried Thomas looks like.
It isn't like Thomas is panicking or anything. She isn't pacing or talking to herself. But there's a nervous energy inside her that seems to spread into the air itself. And her face does little to hide the fact that she's very concerned. She's constantly scanning the area looking for something.
Minho glances at his watch. It's only been fifteen minutes since school ended, the shuck is she even worried about?
At that thought, Thomas' eyes widen, her expression showing absolute relief, and she rushes away from her motorcycle towards Minho. Or well, past Minho. Minho turns to see Chuck rushing over as well.
"I'm sorry, Thomas! I-I was talking with Aris and I didn't notice the time," Chuck exclaims.
Thomas doesn't say anything at first. She simply holds the boy close letting her breath out. Minho raises his eyebrow at the scene. "Why didn't you just text her?" he asks.
Thomas and Chuck both send Minho blanks looks. Chuck looks to the ground before mumbling, "I don't have a phone."
All the other boys stare at Chuck with eyes wide and mouths gaping. It's not like there aren't people who are without phones, but anyone who could afford Thomas' motorcycle should be able to afford a shucking phone. Minho and Newt immediately turn towards Thomas, who simply says, "Nope."
Minho and Newt stare at Thomas, mouths gaping. What teenage girl doesn't have a cellphone?
Thomas shrugs at her classmates' frozen stares before looking at the slim boy behind Chuck. "Well, why don't you introduce me to your friend?" She asks with a gentle smile towards both Chuck and the kid.
"Oh!" Chuck jumps. "This is Aris. We're in Geometry together and we started talking after class was over."
Aris looks to the ground. "I would've invited Chuck to eat lunch with me, but I knew about the Greenie tradition."
"Really?" Chuck asks. Aris nods and Chuck quickly turns to Thomas with big, begging eyes. "Can I eat lunch with Aris tomorrow? Please?"
Thomas laughs. "Of course you can. I'll figure out where I'll eat myself too."
Newt makes a face at Thomas' statement. "What are you talking about Tommy? Aren't you going to eat with us tomorrow?"
Thomas is equally confused. "I thought you only did that for the um… 'Greenies'," she responds.
Minho rolls his eyes. "Obviously. He's not asking you as a Greenie, Greenie. He's asking as a friend."
Thomas' eyes widen. Newt laughs. "Honestly, Tommy. Everyone loved having you and Chuck at lunch. Of course you're welcome to eat with us."
Thomas smiles to Newt. "In that case, I would love to eat lunch with you from now no. If it isn't too much trouble."
Minho snorts. "Only if you keep asking permission every time." Newt smacks Minho on the back of the head.
Thomas just nods at Minho's comment, taking it completely seriously, and says, "Then I'll see you both tomorrow. If you'll excuse us, Chuck and I have some errands we need to get to." She and Chuck get on Thomas' motorcycle and wave goodbye before leaving the three boys in the parking lot.
Aris quickly says goodbye to the upperclassmen and rushes home and Newt and Minho casually walk towards Newt's car. "Interesting Greenies we have this year," Newt comments. Minho nods.
Back at their apartment, Thomas and Chuck finally finish unpacking and are now lounging in their 'living room'. Thomas is using her laptop to look up what she and Chuck would need to catch up with their classmates while jotting down the titles. Chuck is struggling with his first homework assignment. He knows Thomas would be more than willing to help him, but he wants to try on his own first.
"Um… Thomas?" Chuck calls.
Thomas pauses and looks up. "Yes?"
"Um… Aris brought something up when we were talking after class and…" Chuck is fidgeting now and starting to mumble.
Thomas smiles at Chuck and pats his head. "What is it, Chuck?"
"Um… I was wondering… if we could afford to get me… a cellphone." Chuck finally manages to get his request out.
Thomas blinks. She didn't even think about that. Thomas remembers the slight incident at the parking lot and quickly calculates what she has liquidated. Satisfied, Thomas smiles. "Sure. It seems to be something that every teenager has anyway. I'll get one too."
Chuck blinks at that. "By the way, Thomas. Why did you tell them you didn't have a phone? I've seen you use one before."
Thomas glances at where the phone in question would be. "That's just a 'work' phone. I should hopefully never have to use it again." Chuck nods in understanding. He hopes so too. "I don't think we can afford the nicer phones right now, but at the very least I can get us two practical phones. I'm going to have to ask Newt what phones would be good tomorrow."
Chuck practically glows at the thought of him and Thomas going to school tomorrow. Thomas smiles back at Chuck before getting up to prepare dinner. Just before entering the kitchen, Thomas looks around their apartment. This is the home she's made for herself and Chuck. This is the peaceful life they've struggled for so long to live. And she will protect it. From anything.