*I do not own Maze Runner*

When Thomas stepped inside of Homestead, he saw a couple of Gladers arguing over something. It wasn't uncommon to catch that kind of scene in the Glade, considering they all lived on their own figuring how to make things better every day. What attracted his interest, however, was that he knew those Gladers pretty well.

Since he'd been sent to this weird place a month ago, he has yet got to know most of the teens around there. Becoming a Runner didn't help either. Currently, all he did was running. It was hard to interact with people when you were not just away from the others during the day but also at the night because your body screamed at you to take a rest. How Minho gained all the trusts from the others was mystery.

The point was, Thomas had very few friends. So when he saw Newt and Chuck sitting in a circle with Gally and Frypan, he approached them without hesitation. "What're you discussing about?" he asked as he casually sat on one of the bunks.

"Hey, Tommy." Newt greeted him. "Nothing important actually… but I'm kinda curious what you'd say."

"Yeah, he's a Runner. He probably has a better idea than any of us." said Chuck.

Not knowing what the discussion was about, Thomas raised an eyebrow and stared at his friends for a moment. "Idea of what exactly…?"

With that question, Gally scoffed as if he despised Thomas's opinions before they even came out. "This shank doesn't even know what he's doing. I bet he'd choose the same with Chuck."

"What's wrong with my choice? They're important!"

"No one said they ain't. I'm a cook, remember?" Frypan rolled his eyes. "But your choice is not for survival. It's more like a picnic."

"Are you guys gonna tell me what's all this about any time soon?" Thomas was beginning to lose his patience and interrupted the conversation. The silence filled in the room for a second before Newt opened his mouth again.

"Okay, Tommy. If you're gonna be stuck in the maze for a week, what'd you take with you?"

"You can pick three but not 'a bag full of weapons' kinda thing." Frypan took over Newt, completely ignoring Thomas's confused expression. "I chose a flash light, water and machine gun."

This time it was Gally who rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like you know how to use it."

As two Keepers started arguing each other, Thomas finally grasped the situation. Apparently, four Gladers sitting in front of him were having meaningless discussion. It must have come from boredom, he guessed. "What did you choose?" he asked younger boy.

Chuck blushed slightly and answered. "I chose a flash light, water and food."

"That's not so bad." Thomas meant what he said but couldn't help breaking into a smile. The idea of not bringing any weapons in the Maze just defined Chuck's personality and Thomas loved the boy for who he was.

"If getting pricked all over your body is not so bad," Newt jumped in. "I don't wanna know what bad is to you."

As much as Thomas wanted to defend his first friend in the Glade, he's got to admit that wandering in the place full of evil creatures without weapons would be a death sentence. He'd been lucky to have Minho by his side at the time they both had to spend the night in the Maze. He knew now how stupid he was to throw himself into that place with nothing to protect himself or no specific strategies. The memory of that night was still haunting him once in a while.

Newt must have sensed what Thomas was thinking because he clapped his hands suddenly to change the atmosphere. "Now it's time to hear the fearless greenie here. What would you bring Tommy?"

Gally and Frypan stopped arguing and looked at him. Chuck seemed as curious as they were. Thomas had to clear his head before started thinking about his choice. "Well..." he paused. "I'm not bringing a flashlight for sure."

"What? Why?" Chuck's voice was full of disbelief.

"It's not so dark in the Maze and we probably shouldn't move at the night anyway."

As soon as Thomas realized what he'd just said, Gally raised an eyebrow dramatically. "Seriously? I'm sorry, I must be confusing you with someone else. You're not the one who tried to kill yourself by rushing into the Maze, thinking you could be a hero or something?"

"Wow... I think you spend too much time bickering with Minho, man." Not caring the dirty look from the other boy, Frypan continued. "You sound so much like him."

"He's got a point." Newt agreed.

Thomas found hard time not to laugh at Frypan's smart comment but he knew it would only make things worse between him and the Builder's already damaged relationship. So he coughed. Chuck did the same. Gally scowled at them but said nothing.

Not even trying to hide his amusement, the blond boy got their conversation back in the track. "Alright. You took flashlights off the table. What else?"

"I'm not taking a gun either. Or machine gun."

"Why the shuck not?" asked Frypan.

"They are too loud. Not to mention about ammos that eventually run out." Out of the corner of his eyes, Thomas saw Gally made a triumphant face. It felt so weird that he actually reached an agreement on something, anything, with the other boy.

"So you're not bringing a flashlight or a gun..." the youngest boy frowned. "Would you bring water at least?"

Thomas nodded and answered. "Yeah, I would. Along with a knife and a spear." That was it, he thought himself. He would take water, a knife and a spear.

"Interesting... but reasonable."

Newt's response was close to a compliment but Thomas didn't take his word for it. The boy sounded like he knew better than any of the others and he was not the only one who sensed the same thing.

"You haven't shared your opinion yet. What would you choose?" asked Gally.

Newt instantly faked innocent expression. "Oh, you wanna hear my choices?" he ignored the Builder's growl then smirked. "I choose water, food and Minho."

Everyone drew a sharp breath at the same time but Thomas recovered quickly. He was chosen to be a Runner for a reason. "Wait, is that allowed?"

"Who said it's not?"

"Then I would bring him too!" Chuck exclamed.

"No you can't. He's mine now." Newt stated matter-of-factly.

"What's the shuck that supposed to mean?" asked Frypan as he represented everyone in the room.

Newt looked genuinely surprised which made Thomas even more confused. "Are you bloody kidding me? This is people we are talking about! Sure we can spare flashlights or knives or whatever you want but people? I mean, what would you do? Cut him into half?"

Thomas didn't know what to say. He thought the whole conversation was supposed to be their imagination. Then why they couldn't choose the same person? He really didn't get it.

"Come on, Newt! It's not like we're actually planning to throw ourselves into the Maze. It's just a talk!"

"Wait, so you wanna bring him too? I thought you hated him, Gally."

"Shut up, Fry."

"Well, you still can't have him." the blond boy repeated. "Besides, you're probably gonna kill each other anyway."

Thomas couldn't tell if the boy was serious or not but the idea of taking the Keeper of Runners was so fascinating and he didn't want to back down quietly. He was sure the others felt the same way. "Maybe we should ask Minho." he waited to get everyone's attention and continued. "I bet he has an opinion too."

It was almost funny to look at the other boys' reactions. Newt just shrugged murmuring something like "fair enough". Frypan was deep in thought for some reason and Chuck was staring down on the ground, assuming he'd already lost the game. Gally's face was full of emotions but surprisingly, what stood out the most was expectation. How the Builder who apparently never got tired of finding fault with everything the Runner said or done could expect anything was beyond his comprehension. The boy was the last person Thomas could think of. Minho would totally agree with him on that right away.

"What're you shanks doing here?"

Speaking of the devil, the lead Runner decided that moment to step in. He was taking off his Runner's belt on the way up to his bunk. "Aren't you supposed to be cooking Fry? I'm starving."

"Who the shuck does he think I was waiting for..." Frypan gave a grunt of discontent but left the room to ready their supper. It seemed like he lost his interest in 'who's gonn be Minho's buddy' competition.

Before anyone else could, Gally greeted a weary boy in his own special way. "What took you so long? Found another dead Griever?" he was doing pretty good job acting like he had never wished to be with his personal enemy under any circumstances. "Hopefully the real one this time?"

"You care about me that much? I'm touched." Minho didn't even twitch his eyebrow when he countered. He just smiled in a way Thomas would never been fond of. "And the answer is no, by the way. It wasn't those slimy, shiny, cute little monsters from hell. It was some stupid shuck-face wandering about in the Maze. Sound familiar 'Captain'?" the teen's smile has turned into a smirk.

Gally's retort has never come out of his mouth because Newt responded first. He was visibly irritated. "What? Again? Who was it?"

"Does it matter?" the Runner sat down on the bunk tiredly. "Seriously Newt, if you and Alby can't hold those idiots in leash, I swear I'm gonna teach them how things work here by myself."

"By teach you mean beat the living out of them I suppose?" Thomas really liked the older boy but he had to promise himself not to piss him off. When it came to think of it, Gally could be considered as a brave man in a sense.

Minho flashed a bright smile that reminded Thomas so much of a little kid on a sugar high. "You know me so well."

"No one's gonna beat anyone, alright?" Newt sighed loudly and shook his head. "You tell me what happened later and I'll talk to him."

"Good that."

As two young executives reached peaceful agreement, a sudden low rumble broke the air. Four of them stopped moving and laid their eyes on the youngest. Chuck smiled shyly and rubbed his belly.

"Thanks Chuck. You just made my point." Minho said with no hint of humor and stood up. "Let's go nagging Frypan. He's taking so long." with that, he started walking out of Homestead.

Thomas and Newt exchanged their looks. The sound of dinner fascinated them too but there was something needed to be settled.

"Minho, wait." the blond boy called out to the Asian. "We have a question for you."

The Runner turned around, showing the others his annoyance. "What?"

Chuck looked at Thomas and Thomas looked at Newt. Newt cast a quick glance at the Builder before he posed a question. "If you're gonna be stuck in the Maze for a week, who would you take with?"

Minho was about to open his mouth but remained silent. Thomas guessed the boy was probably thinking which way he could end this conversation sooner; giving an answer or shrugging it off.

He came to a conclusion pretty fast and let out a single word. "Gally."

Everything froze in an instant.

Thomas didn't quite understand what just happened. The word was so foreign to him like he had never heard of it in his entire life. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. From the look on his face, Newt must have felt the same.

Gally was completely lost for words. His face was indescribable. Thomas could have laughed at him if he was not so busy gathering himself together. He would totally understand if Minho had chosen Newt or Alby or even Frypan over him. They've known each other for two years. It'd still hurt but he could live with it. But Gally? Seriously?

"I don't get it."

Thomas didn't care who said that. He felt so betrayed. How could Minho, who survived in the Maze together and defended him at the gathering even suggested to make him a Keeper of Runners, chose someone like Gally over him? The boy had threatened to kill him for God's sake.

"Why?" Newt was the first to recover from the shock. The question came from the bottom of his heart.

The Runner seemed a little taken aback by the others' reactions but explained anyway. "'Cause I can ditch him without hurting my conscience."

The world stopped moving again. But this time, it went back to normal in a second.

"That's true."

"Hey!" Gally barked at Newt and turned his head to the Asian. "You think you're funny shuck face?"

"What? I was just being honest." Surprisingly, or maybe not so much, Minho didn't seem he was joking at all.

Even though Thomas had been constantly abusing the Builder in his mind, he found the Keeper's reason cruel. Gally wasn't his friend and probably never would be but that didn't allow him to think it was okay to just let the boy die in front of him. That was not the way people supposed to be. Minho should've known that too.

Gally clenched his jaw and glared at his nemesis. "Maybe I could use you as a bait. I'm sure Grievers would love you."

"Oh, I love them too." the Asian teen smirked evilly. "Only when I compare it with you though."

Newt groaned loudly as two Keepers started yet another quarrel and stopped the Builder from charging his opponent.

"I still don't get it." said Chuck all of a sudden. "You picked Gally just because you can ditch him? It doesn't make any sense." his face was covered with confusion.

"It's his hobby to mess around with people. Don't take it seriously Chuckie."

What Newt said was true but at the same time, Thomas was sure the boy answered honestly on some level. He just didn't know which part. "Hey, Min," he was kind of afraid to ask but couldn't defeat his own curiosity. "If you bring me instead, will you ditch me too?"

Thomas braced himself for being scoffed by his friend. He didn't know if he could ever regain his footing after hearing he was disposal.

Minho raised an eyebrow before opened his mouth. "Why do think I chose this shank." he nodded over at Gally who was clearly in a bad mood. "I'm better off alone. That's what I'm saying."

The answer made Thomas both relieved and unsettled. Who in the world would want to be trapped in the Maze all by himself for seven days? He always considered the Keeper as a lot of thing but even for him, it was crazy.

"Can I take my words back?"

"That's what I call a smart choice." Gally applauded Newt in a twisted way.

"What're you guys talking about?" Minho ignored the look on the Builder's face and held his arms across his chest.

Thomas wasted no time getting to the point as he caught the blond boy's annoyance. He didn't want to set off Newt either. "We were just talking about silly stuff. Like what we'd bring if we're stuck in the Maze."

"Aren't we already?"

"Well, yes, we are. But you know..." Thomas suddenly felt so stupid but then he saw Minho wearing his trademark smirk. He really should learn how to deal with this boy. "Yeah, you're charming. I get that. Just humor us and pick three."

"You're gonna be there for a week by the way." added Chuck.

It didn't take much time for the Runner to answer and he looked so confident as he did. "Dagger, water and fully loaded gun."

Frypan must have loved it but it was not something Thomas wanted to hear from his trainer. "You really think it's a good idea to draw five more Grievers by shooting just one?" he didn't even hide his disappointment. He just blurted out.

"Guess we have another slinthead." Gally gave a comment with too much joy. "It's not like I didn't already know but still..."

"Gally, my friend," Minho fired back without missing a beat. "Would you do us a favor and stop pretending like you're smarter than me? It only makes you even more stupid."

"But you chose a gun." Thomas found himself jumping into the Keepers' dispute. He wanted to know why Minho picked a gun instead of more decent weapon.

The Asian gave him a challenging look. It was somehow very engaging. "I'm not planning to use it in the Maze."

"What do you mean?" asked Chuck. He wasn't the only one who got confused though. Everyone did in fact.

Minho's face was dead serious but Thomas couldn't tell if it was genuine or fake. "You don't expect me to just sit still and do nothing for seven days, do you?" The boy continued when he got no response. "If I'm gonna stuck in there for that long, I'm gonna find a way out. Then I'll track down those shanks who sent us here and shoot them in the head. That's what the bullets for."

Thomas was speechless for a good ten seconds. He got completely stunned by how firmly determined the boy was. Sometimes he forgot that Minho had been doing what he did for past two years. No matter what he found, or to be exact, what he didn't find, he always went back to the Maze with the same determination; bringing back hope to the Gladers. That fact amazed Thomas once again. No one could've done that.

"Well, if you'll excuse me." with that, Minho turned around and stepped out of Homestead, probably went to get Frypan so that he could nag him.

Newt frowned for a moment and opened his mouth. "On second thoughts, I would definitely bring him with me."

No one agued this time.