"Happy Birthday!"
Thomas awoke from his dream with a start. Not that he had dreamed of anything pleasant- he never really did anymore. Mostly, he would be transported back into a painful memory, forced to relive it until someone came to wake him. Sometimes he wished that he could wipe everything he remembered away, left with only his name and all the time he had spent with Teresa. But there was something about waking up at two in the morning on his birthday did not put him in a good mood. He groaned against the harsh light and buried himself under the covers.
"Get up, you lazy bum," Teresa yelled, and Thomas shushed her, afraid she would wake the guards, but she waved him off. "I already checked, no one in these halls for three more minutes."
Thomas groaned again and tried to burrow deep into the safety of his bed, but Teresa yanked the covers to the cold cement floor. "Nope, you don't have much time to get ready the way it is and we have to go."
Thomas pulled himself to the edge of his bed and swung his feet onto the floor, the cold already seeping through his thin pajamas. "Where are we going?" he asked groggily.
Teresa smiled in a way that made the air in Thomas's room seem warmer, and she exclaimed, "On an adventure."
The two were slinking through darkened corridors, their dark clothing hiding them from grazing eyes. Teresa wouldn't tell Thomas where she was leading him, only that he was going to love it. They sneaked behind many guards, although Thomas was sure they were being watched on camera. Teresa led him down a hallway he had no recognition of, and silently opened a door to an unmarked room. Before she entered, she turned around to Thomas.
"Close your eyes," she instructed, clearly impatient. Thomas did as he was told, and Teresa held his hand and guided him into the dark room. The light leaked through Thomas's eyelids as Teresa flipped a switch and she excitedly told him to open his eyes.
His eyes absorbed the setting: "Happy Birthday Tom" banners and multi-colored confetti thrown about the room; a long table with a sloppily decorated cake sitting atop it; chairs with cushions; balloons littering the floor. Teresa waiting expectantly as Thomas tried to think of something to say. Finally, he broke the silence.
"This is certainly better than what I did for your birthday." Teresa's eyes lit up and she asked, "Really?" as if she didn't already know. Thomas laughed. "Overachiever," he said to her.
"Hey, you wanna spend the whole day having fun, or do you want to keep calling me names?" Teresa smiled thinly and raised an eyebrow.
"The whole day?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, all twenty-four-minus-two hours left of it."
"Don't we have to go to the development room again?" He asked, skeptical of the plan.
"Come on, Thomas," Teresa whined. "The only thing that isn't done with the Maze is the Homestead, and you don't even need to be there for that."
"Are you sure they won't need us for anything?"
Teresa put her hands on her hips. "Do you want to spend twenty-four-minus-two hours with me?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Then shut up and eat your cake."
_
Thomas and Teresa sat in that room until breakfast, and already they were feeling tired from little sleep. They lumbered out into the cafe and grabbed a bowl of cereal. Sneaking the bowls back to the decorated room, they ate breakfast followed by cake and invented a new game to play with balloons. They ate lunch at their normal time, careful to not get in the way of anyone, and stayed in the room laughing and giggling until dinner. Thomas suggested was about to suggest they go eat when Teresa stopped him.
"Ready for your big surprise?" She asked, barely being able to contain a smile.
"There's more?" Teresa nodded her head and started to pull on her sweatshirt. Thomas followed her lead and they both shoved on their tennis shoes. As Teresa opened the door, Thomas couldn't help but ask where they were going. Teresa's face broke into a smile and she whispered, "Outside."
Thomas was quiet the rest of the trip as he followed Teresa down a maze of hallways. He could remember the last time he had been outside- when he was first brought to the WICKED complex. Finally, they approached a metal door with a keypad. Teresa's fingers flew over the numbers and after a sequence of beeping, the latch to the door clicked open. She swept the area and quickly slid through the opening with Thomas on her heels.
A breeze hit their faces and Thomas felt like crying with relief as the smell of fresh grass stung his nostrils. Trees surrounded them, wafting a smell of pines to the two through the chain-link fence surrounding the area. Thomas noticed a picnic table off to the left and thought this must be some sort of recreational place. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he opened them, he saw Teresa carefully studying him, looking for a reaction. Thomas's face broke into a smile and he grabbed Teresa's hand, giving it a quick squeeze, one that sent electrifying spikes down both their spines.
"Teresa..." Thomas started, breathless- partly because of the fact that he was outside, and partly because he was holding Teresa's hand. He looked at her and she smiled expectantly, waiting for an answer, and Thomas got so lost in her blue eyes, it was like he was swimming. He stared at her, memorizing her face; the way her lips curled when she smiled, how her pale freckles crossed the bridge of her nose. Coming back to his senses, he quickly pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, "It's beautiful."
She nestled her head in the crook of his neck and said, "I thought you'd like it." Her hair was tickling his cheek as he asked, "You did?" They pulled away and looked out into the beautiful sunset ahead of them, the hues of red and orange hanging in the crisp sky, and Teresa proudly announced, "Actually, I knew you'd like it." Thomas snuck a side glance at her. "Thanks" he said through a small smile.
After a while of standing and breathing in the fresh air, the two sat down against the building and silently watch the sunset through the chain fence. Even after the sun was past the horizon, the two sat in twilight willing the sun to come back. It's not until they could see the constellations breaking through the dark tapestry of the night sky that Teresa whisperd, "We should probably go back."
Thomas is flung from his daydreams as he agrees. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty tired."
Teresa stood up and giggled, "You're not done with me yet, Tom. We've still got three hours of your fabulous sixteenth birthday left."
"Can't the birthday boy choose when he wants to sleep?" Thomas whined but Teresa just shook her head. They made their way back to the celebration room unharmed and talk for the last three hours of the day. Teresa pulled out two peanut butter sandwiches and handed one to Thomas.
"Here's your Sweet Sixteen birthday dinner," she says in a posh voice.
"Wow, Teresa. Couldn't you have at least gotten jelly?" Thomas wrinkled his nose in mock disgust. "You are such a disappointment."
Finally, the night came to an end and Thomas walked Teresa back to her room at midnight. As they came to her door, Thomas lightly grabbed her wrist. She turned to face him, and he whispered, "Thank you."
She nodded, and Thomas is swimming in her eyes again. He stares at them, so deep and rich that they could go on forever. Without even thinking, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. Shocked, he opens his eyes and quickly pulls back.
"Oh, God. I'm sorry, Teresa. I wasn't thinking and-"
"No."
Thomas is startled. "What?"
Teresa laid her arm on his shoulder and placed her hand around the back of his neck and stood on her tiptoes to be eye level with him. She brought her face just inches from his and whispered, "No. It was nice"
Suddenly, they were kissing again, a light touch, but just enough for them to melt into each other. Thomas put his hands on her hips as sparks make their way up and down his back, starting from his neck and electrifying his whole body. He pulled away to breathe, and the absence of her lips on his was so startling that he brought up a hand and touched it to his mouth to trap the warmth.
Teresa lowered herself from her toes and softly dropped her arm to her side. She slowly backed away to the door, not wanting to leave, but knowing she has to. She couldn't hold down a smile as she whispered, "Night, Tom."
Thomas managed to whisper, "Good night, Teresa," before she closed the door. He walked to his room without dropping his smile and that night, tainted memories don't haunt his dreams.
That night, he dreamt of her.