Chapter 3
"Lexie!"
Newt waved to her from a table at the far end of the kitchen. She waived back, grabbed her dinner quickly and headed over to him. He sat with Minho and Gally on either side of him, Zart and Adam on the opposite side of the table (was this seating arrangement becoming a habit, she wondered?). She sat down at the remaining open corner, across from Gally and next to Zart. The canteen was buzzing with the energy of the day, the boys all glad to be back into their normal routine. Minho looked at her, stopping his attack on his dinner momentarily.
"Did Ben not come back with you?"
"Nope. I think he's still in the map room." She replied. "He seemed even more excited than usual. What happened today."
Minho looked thoughtful for a moment but then just shrugged. Typical Minho.
Lexie returned to her dinner of chicken and green beans, her mind still on the possibilities of tomorrow. Unwittingly, she glanced up at Gally, who was chatting with Newt about the day's progress. He looked happy, and it made her smile in response.
"We're better off than I thought we were," he told the thin blonde next to him, "I laid out the basic plans for the addition to Homestead today and we should be able to start tomorrow."
"That's great!" Newt seemed genuinely excited for him. She watched them talk, feeling peaceful as she took a drink of her water. "I was thinking maybe Lex could give you a hand for the next few days, if she wants to."
She sputtered on her water, and Zart gave her a pat on the back.
"You alright, girl?" Zart chuckled at her.
"What do you need my help for?" She asked a little too forcefully. She cringed at herself, irritated with her inability to be cool. Ever.
Newt grinned at her. A usual habit of his, but she thought it seemed a little sly for her tastes.
"Well, Gally was telling me Fry needs more utensils. Forks, spoons, bowls, cook pots, and the like. You're pretty good with crafting our track-hoe tools and you were a magician with those trellises. I thought they might appreciate the help."
She looked blankly at Newt, his grin still firmly in place. She hazarded a look at Gally, and she was surprised that he looked totally calm about the proposition.
"You don't have to," Gally said matter-of-factly, "but those other klunks aren't very good at detailed work, and I'd rather not be using forks that will give me splinters."
"Hey!" Adam looked indignant. Gally shrugged as if to say 'you know it's true.'
"I would do it myself but I really need to oversee the building of the addition." He looked sincere, and it threw her for a loop.
Lexie blinked a few times, thinking. It wouldn't be so bad getting away from the muddy fields for a while. They had really done all they could there anyway, they just had to wait for them to dry out at this point. It would definitely keep her busy, and she would most likely see a lot of Gally… although she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing at this point.
"Sure, if you can show me the basics, I think I could do it."
"Do what?" Ben took that moment to show up, freshly showered, and pulled up an unused chair to the end of the table. Gally's expression turned slightly sour as he turned back to his food.
Lexie smiled up at Ben.
"I'm going to help make Fry some utensils for the kitchen. But forget about that, what did you find today? You are way too happy and it's suspicious."
He grinned at her and shook his head, digging into his dinner.
"Not ready to tell yet. Don't worry, you'll be the first to know."
"I'm turning in for the night. Lexie, if you want to find me after breakfast tomorrow I can show you the basics to get you started."
Gally didn't wait for a response before he marched out of the kitchen, narrowly missing running into a smaller boy near the door. Lexie frowned after him. What was he mad about all of the sudden? He was always so moody. She caught Alby's eyes from across the kitchen, he had been frowning at Gally's departure as well, and he quirked an eyebrow at her in question. She shrugged lightly and turned back to her friends, who had already moved on to talking about their predictions for tomorrow. What would the new greenie look like? Would they get another girl (this was always a hot topic)? Would Fry get those spices he's been asking for for months? Whatever came up in that Box, they were ready.
As the group finished dinner, they headed for the Homestead. Lexie almost hoped she could run into Gally and ask him what was wrong, but he chose to hang his hammock out in the forest, a good 20 yards back from the Homestead. She had heard him say once that he just didn't like sleeping indoors, didn't like being closed in. She thought that was ironic considering they lived inside 4 cement walls and he build more walls for a living.
As Lexie headed toward her bedroom to turn in for the night, she pulled Newt's sleeve and lead him into her room, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Okay, spill it." She stage whispered it, not trying to disturb the boys who were already sleeping.
He looked at her, wide eyed with an innocent expression.
"Spill what exactly?" She sighed exasperatedly.
"Ugh, Newt, I know you, when you're up to something you get this evil little smirk and it makes me nervous. What are you thinking having me work with Gally tomorrow? Are you guys planning some sort of prank?"
He dropped the innocent act and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at her through narrowed eyes.
"I'm not blind you know. I see the way you look at him."
She blinked back at him, mouth dropping open a bit in surprise. He had noticed her looking? She had barely noticed herself looking! And it was a recent development!
She gulped a little at his narrowed eyes; he was clearly waiting for her to respond. Was he angry?
"I, uh, what?"
Newt sighed, rubbing his eyes with one hand, and looked back at her. His scowl was gone but he did look serious.
"Maybe you don't even realize it yet. I know it's a bit of a surprise to me that it even took this long."
"For what?!" She was nervous. Above all she didn't want to anger her best friend, no matter what it was about. He and Ben were important to her.
"For someone to fall for you, or for you to notice someone else."
She blinked again stupidly, and shook her head in defeat. She held her head in her hands and sighed.
"I don't know what I'm noticing. I'm trying not to notice anything in the first place!"
Newt looked at her sadly. He probably hadn't known that this had already been on her mind so often.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked softly.
Lexie brushed her hands back through her hair, resting them on the back of her neck, and looked at her friend.
"It's not as though I'm planning anything. I don't even know what it is I'm feeling, this is kind of a new thing for me. And if I am feeling something like that, like falling for someone, wouldn't that cause problems? I mean it's not like everyone here can just pair off, I'm the only shucking girl!" She groaned, her frustration boiling over.
Newt reached forward and put his hands firmly on her shoulders, drawing her attention to him. His expression was kind and all-knowing, although she knew he didn't remember anything about relationships, just like she didn't.
"Look. I know some of these slintheads are crude, and say nasty things, but the lot of them really like you as a person, and I know they all respect you. You're a part of our life here now. If you were to show interest in someone, I think that's great. Why would they deny someone happiness when that's all we're striving for each and every day? You deserve it, and so does Gally."
She scoffed then, incredulous.
"Gally does not fall for people. It's just not… him."
Newt raised an eyebrow, dropping his hands down to rest on her wrists.
"Are you sure about that? I mean granted, I haven't asked him anything of the sort, but how would you know if you didn't pursue it? Gally is rough but he's not cruel. If he wasn't interested, he would let you know and he wouldn't be mean about it. He cares about you, too."
Lexie sighed, not willing to give in so easily. She simply couldn't imagine him thinking about her the way she had been thinking about him. In an intimate way, with his arms around her and his lips on hers, his hands in her hair, his scent overpowering her senses. But maybe Newt had a point. She wouldn't want someone else to decide her feelings. Why should she assume him?
She shook her head, and gave Newt a weak smile.
"So what? You're my match maker now?"
Newt cracked a wide smile and wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug.
"That'a girl. And don't worry. I'll talk to Alby about this tomorrow, make sure he doesn't have any objections."
Her eyes widened in panic and she pushed his arms off of her.
"Newt, you wouldn't! That's too embarrassing!"
He laughed openly at her, putting a hand over his mouth to stifle the sound, and she heard a couple Gladers mutter and stir on the other side of the door. She shot him a death glare. She did not want people overhearing this conversation.
"Would you rather tell him yourself? You know he needs to find out one way or the other."
She shook her head emphatically. That would be even more embarrassing.
"Fine, fine! You can talk to him about it. But no one else, please! And tell me what he says!"
He held his hands up in self-defense.
"Alright tiger you got it! Now get some sleep, tomorrow's a big day."
He patted her on the head and walked past her towards the common area of the Homestead.
"Oh, and Lex?" He looked back at her with a slight frown, "Be careful with Ben, okay? I don't know what he'll think about this."
Lexie frowned at his words, but closed the door behind him. She slid down to the floor, taking a deep breath. Newt the match maker.
Newt the meddler is more like it.
She would have been completely content harboring her budding feelings for the rest of her life here.
Okay… maybe not. I've only been thinking about it for a few days and I'm already going crazy.
But she was more worried than anything. This might seem all innocent now but what if she were to screw something up? What if Ben wouldn't be okay with this? What if she did tell Gally she liked him and he denied her, or laughed in her face? What in the world was she doing?
Abandoning the depressing thought train; she stood up, stripped down to her underclothes, and crawled onto her small cot.
The cot that Gally made me…
She groaned. He was going to be the death of her and he didn't even know it!
A/N: How is it going so far? Like I said, gonna be a slow burn. Don't worry, lemons be in yer future. I'm finding it a bit hard to establish a clear identity for Lexie. I want her to be strong but obviously she is unsure of herself. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
