It was a cold morning; thick, ashen grey clouds adorning the sky and blocking out the faint sun.
The group of teenagers were hiding out in an abandoned house in the middle of the Scorch.
This had become a routine by now, as they continued to head over to the Right Arm, they would hide out in broken down houses, buildings, shops and hotels.
The group was large, most of which were boys called Minho, Thomas, Newt, Frypan, Winston, Jorge and Aris, but with only two girls named Teresa and Brenda.

The group were spread out throughout the house, Minho, Thomas and Newt sharing a room, Frypan,, Winston and Aris in the lounge, Jorge in his own space and Brenda and Teresa together in the master bedroom.
Of course, Brenda could not sleep, but this was normal for the short haired girl. The girl lay slightly upright, her head leaning against the top of the headboard as she listened to Teresa snore gently beside her. Brenda was born in Canada, she was quite short and with very short hair. Brenda has large whisky-brown eyes, and eyelashes that looked like smudges against her dirty, olive skin. Her face was slightly rounded, with pinker cheeks and many scars littering across her body, including those of ink along her arms.
Teresa began to stir beside her, and Brenda couldn't help but look down and admire the girls beautiful features, her soft ivory skin and thick, black eyelashes that stood out prominently from anything else. She had soft, rounded, naturally pink lips, that thinned out into a hard line as she slowly awoke from her dream. Brenda smiled softly as the young girl's cobalt eyes flickered open beside her, the sunlight streaming through the small crack in the moulding curtains.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Brenda said with a smug smirk, her hand reaching up to wipe her tired eyes. Teresa growling lowly, her black locks mussed with sleep as she slid up against the headboard also, staring forward at the end of the rugged bed.
"Sleep well?" Teresa questioned, glancing at Brenda curiously, her hand fiddling with the grubby undersheet that lay atop of her sleeping clothes.
Brenda snorted and shook her head, her eyes clouded with exhaustion. "I haven't slept in three days." She answered, running her calloused hand through her short, sticking up hair.
Teresa didn't reply, she only glanced to Brenda sympathetically and ran her, cold, thin fingered hand across the other girl's scarred shoulder.
They sat there in comfortable silence for a while and Brenda glanced at her watch.
"Its only twenty past six..." She mumbled with her deep, husky voice.
"We have about and hour before the boys get up." Teresa chuckled, her nose scrunching in the way that Brenda loved as she did so.
Brenda had begun to doubt herself more and more during the days she had met Teresa, the raven haired girl had completely flipped her world, with those perfect eyes and laugh, those beautiful eyes and skin and her flawless figure- she couldn't get the girl off her mind, and it was killing her. She knew Thomas was protective of her, but then again, they were related, what hurt her the most was that Aris was also taking interest in Reese, but there was nothing she could do.
"Bren?" Teresa asked, using her nickname that snapped the short haired girl back to reality.
"Hmm?" She hummed in response, her doe coloured eyes flicking back to Reese who was looking at her expectantly.
"I don't want to leave... Minho is taking us further into the Scorch, and he mentioned that we are going to where most of the Cranks are..." Teresa whispered, her blue eyes flickering with worry as she expressed herself to the beautiful girl before her. Sure, Teresa thought Brenda was beautiful, stunning, perfect, attractive, funny and probably had urges toward her - but that didn't mean she liked her... Right?
"I understand, Reese. But we have to go that way in order to get to Right Arm. Once we get there, everything will be much better and we will be safe from anything. Just, know that I wont let anything happen to you, alright?" Brenda replied, her eyes glazing with sympathy as she shot the young girl a small smile. Teresa nodded stiffly, and Brenda could almost feel the anxiety coming off her in waves. "Do you promise?" Teresa spoke up, her voice quiet and gentle.
"I promise." Brenda finalized and pulled back the blankets, getting out of bed and onto the rotting carpet, that felt damp beneath her toes. She glanced up at Teresa who was staring at her intently, and Brenda reached for her long top, pulling it over her bra, smiling gently as it came down below her thighs. She slept in lingerie, so what? They were both girls, and there weren't any feelings between them... Right?
Teresa followed soon after, unlike Brenda, she wore clothes to bed, that included baggy sweatpants and a thin tank top that had many rips along its hem.
"We probably shouldn't wake up the boys, I will go see if the water works in the bathroom." Brenda smiled and walked towards the bathroom that was connected to the bedroom. Once she entered the girl glanced around the small room.

It was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the small shower was grimy and cloudy. She opened the door, wincing slightly as it creaked loudly, the noise amplified by the room. Brenda leaned across the small shower space, pushing the head of the shower away from her body as she twisted the rusted tap. A small churning noise erupted from the wall for a moment, and unfortunately nothing came out of the head. Brenda growled lowly and then turned to the basin, twisting each faucet, smiling softly as the cold water began running, but the frown returned when the water was cloggy and brown.
"Ridiculous." The teenager growled before leaving the bathroom, returning back to the bedroom with an apologetic smile.
"I guess we will have to check at the next house." Teresa said bluntly, opening the rugged backpack that she owned and rummaged through the pack for her clothes. She smiled in triumph and pulled out her clothes, quickly turning around and stripping and pulling a grey tank top over her head, and then some cargo pants.
"You have so many scars on your back, where'd you get them from?" Brenda asked suddenly, lifting the back of Teresa's shirt up gently and running her finger along the protruding, purple lines, ever so softly. Teresa's body stiffened immediately, and she felt the hair along the back of her neck rise as the girl touched her.
"My time in the maze, I suppose..." She trailed off and Brenda pulled her hand away slowly.
Brenda nodded and stood back, pulling the back of her top down once more. Teresa's body relaxed slightly and she turned around, her cheeks a burning crimson colour, when she reached for Brenda's arm and stretched it out, reading the tattoo on her arm.
"Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove.

Oh no. It is an ever-fixed mark. That looks on tempest and is never shaken... You like Shakespeare?" Teresa read off the girl's tattoo, her eyebrows furrowed in such an adorable manner that it made Brenda's heart lift and pound hurriedly at the contact.
Brenda hummed in response, her brown eyes flicking back down to her arm quickly.
"I suppose, I really did enjoy his plays and literature." The girl chuckled.
Teresa ran her fingers across Brenda's arm, tracing over the inked patterns of birds, letters and symbols, making the girl's voice falter and her breath catching within' her throat. Teresa finally stepped back, sincerity in her eyes as she stepped back and slipped on her shoes, her eyes trained at her feet.
"Do you have more tattoos?" Teresa asked curiously, her gaze flicking back up to Brenda with a small, sheepish smile across her perfect face.
"Yes, on my lower back shoulder blade, thigh, nape of my neck, and ankle." She said in return, turning around and lifting her heavy backpack from the floor.
"May I see them some time?" Teresa asked curiously, lifting up the hairbrush and combing her hair gently. Teresa hadn't seen them before, as Brenda covered them up with makeup, due to the fact that they were very personal to her.
"Hmm, maybe someday." Brenda replied, slipping on her combat boots as she slung the bag across her back, wincing at the sudden weight on her strained and tired muscles.
Teresa nodded in understanding and sat on the edge of their bed, eyes fixed on her wrist.
"I wanted to get a tattoo, a few years ago." The black haired girl giggled, her eyes flicking back up to Brenda who stood by the door expectantly.
"Really? What of?" Brenda questioned, her hand reaching up to press some of her hair down onto her head again.
"A dove, with the words 'hope' underneath." Teresa replied sheepishly.
"That sounds cool, where were you going to get it?" Brenda smiled and made her way towards the girl again, crouching down at her knees.
Teresa faltered for a second, her eyes darting up to the nicotine stained ceilings. "On my arm, or maybe hip." She finally replied.
Brenda nodded and lifted her hand up slowly, tracing her fingers along the jutting hip bone of Teresa's body softly, a small smile ghosting over her lips.
"Y'know, I used to be an artist back in Maryland. I always keep my set with me, if you would still like to get that tattoo sometime?" The brunette asked, her hand retracting away, much to Teresa's dismay.
The black haired girl smiled softly and nodded quickly. "I would appreciate that, thank you, Bren." She whispered.
"Anytime, Reese." The girl laughed back, prodding the girl's dirty arm playfully.

"Oi, you girls! Hurry up, we have to get a move on if we are going to make it to the next home in time!" Minho's voice came from upstairs, the sound of the other boy's laughter sounding loud through the paper thin, rotting walls.
Brenda and Teresa cast each other a playful smile, before standing, with all of their gear, and heading down the creaky stairs.
"Alright, alright, we are ready."

Authors Note:
Ah, so I am now complete Benderesa trash as of now, and it is causing how much physical pain of how cute these two would have been together.
Note; this story isn't following the books/movies plots, so please do not get them mixed up.
Also, in future chapters, there is probably going to be smut, so... Keep that in mind!