A/N: Hi. Hope you like this chapter. Drop me a few words via reviewing?
The next day, Lacey wakes up in the hammock to find Newt leaning over her. "Hey," His face stretches into a smile. He's still close to her, and she smiles back, "Morning," then he takes her hand, and pulls her out of the hammock. "We've got a lot of work to do today – you're trying out the slicers!" she groans, "Can I at least have a shower first?" Newt looks a little surprised, "Uh…Yeah, but, um, they're kind of open showers. Lacey frowns, "Open showers?" He smiles, "There are no cubicle doors. It doesn't normally matter 'cus we're all boys, but I'm guessing you probably want some time to yourself?" She nods, "Right then, I'll stand guard."
They head over to the showers, and before they go in, Newt hands her a new set of clothes, and a bar of soap. She smirks, "Don't peek!" then heads in, relieved to finally have some time to herself. Lacey tries not to spend too long in the showers, because she still wants to have time to get some food, but she can't help relishing in the hot water, and the feeling of being clean. Once she's done, she ties her hair up into a ponytail, knowing a bun will come out quickly. When she walks out of the showers, Newt grins at her, "What?" she asks, and his smile widens, "Your hair looks nice like that." She blushes, and they head over to breakfast together.
The week goes by quickly, and Lacey doesn't seem to be good at anything. She hates the sight of blood, so the slicers and the med-jacks don't work out. She's not strong, and she quickly gets bored of being a builder. She isn't the best at cooking, and manages to burn herself with the soup. The idea of bagging bodies rattles her, and she doesn't last an hour. It looks like she will probably end up being a slopper, and she can't stop thinking about how un-fair it is. She's lying in the hammock one night, staring at the ceiling, and she can't stop thinking about how much she wants to try and be a runner. "Newt?" She calls out, "Lacey?" he replies, "Why can't I be a runner?" she questions, Newt sighs, "It's dangerous. You've seen the grievers." She bites her lip, "Yeah, but what if I am a really fast runner." His voice changes, and he sounds angry, "I'm not letting you be a runner. No way in hell." Lacey huffs, and Newt doesn't speak again. The both spend the rest of the night tossing and turning.
In the morning, she gets up really early, and sneaks out of the room. She finds Alby getting up, and eating alone in the breakfast hall. "Hey, Alby?" He looks up, "Can I talk to you?" He nods, "Sure." Lacey walks over to the table. "I've tried every job, except being a track-hoe, I'm crap at all of them. And being a track-hoe is so boring." Alby raises his eyebrows, "Can I try being a runner? Just for one day?" He looks conflicted, "Please, and if I'm bad, I promise I'll go and be a track-hoe or a slopper, no complaints. Just please – let me try it." He sighs heavily, "Fine. But if you're bad, I don't want to hear another word." She grins, "Thank-you! Thank-you!" He rolls his eyes, "Better be quick. Minho will be leaving in ten minutes."
Lacey wolfs down her breakfast, and Minho is waiting at the doors, which are opening as they stand there. "You sure about this?" He asks, "Certain." She says, and with that, Minho starts to run, leaving Lacey to follow him. They run all day, and Lacey's surprised with how good it feels. She's not that fit, but she knows she'll get fitter and faster with time. At lunch when they stop, Minho glances over at her. "You'd make a great runner, you know." She smiles, "Thanks!" She's not expecting what comes next, "I like you Lacey. I really like you." She realises what he means, but tries to play it cool, "I like you too, Minho." He starts packing up the food, "You know what I mean." She can feel herself shaking, and he starts talking, "Don't tell me you don't feel something when I do this." Then, he learns closer and she's too shocked to react as her places his lips upon hers, and it takes a few seconds before she pulls back. "I don't like you like that, Minho." He frowns, "So why have you been leading me on then?" She sighs, "I thought we we're just messing around. I didn't realize…I'm sorry." He laughs, but he looks a little shaky, "Don't be, it's my fault." Then he starts to run back to the glade. It takes a few hours to run back, and they don't talk the whole time.
They start to near the Glade, and Lacey can hear shouting. She can't quite make out who it is, so she runs a little faster. When she nears to entrance, she sees Newt fighting with Alby, and he looks mad, really mad. "Are you BLIND?" He screams at Alby, "Or STUPID?" Alby looks taken aback, and no-one notices Lacey as she walks into the glade. "Newt?" She smiles, to be met with a death glare, before he storms off towards the deadheads. She frowns at Alby, "What happened?" Alby sighs, "He was mad at me for letting you run." Lacey didn't feel surprised. Instead, she jogged off to the deadheads, after Newt.
"Newt?" She called out, walking further into the forest. She found the boy leaning against a tree, fuming. He turned around, and words started pouring out of his mouth. "Are you insane? You could have gotten yourself killed? After I told you it was dangerous!" She smiled, "But I'm okay. I was good. Minho said I could be a runner." He snarled, "I say you can't." she looked shocked, "And since when do you make decisions for me?" He grabbed her t-shirt. "Since you started acting like an idiot." Then he kissed her.
It wasn't anything like kissing Minho. It was angry, but still gentle, and she could see fireworks behind her eyelids. He held her against the trunk of a tree. She couldn't get enough of him. Her hands gripped his t-shirt so tight it hurt. He had his hands against the tree, trapping her beneath him. When they finally stopped, he looked surprised at himself, "No-one can know about this."
