Holly was up early the next day and stood in front of the broken window with her arms folded over her chest. She stared at the window for a while, wondering when and how a brick wall appeared behind the bar steels. She couldn't see anything outside nor feel a bit of fresh air secluding them in that building. She heard gladers from the other rooms complain about the same thing. She drew a deep breath and realized that wondering wasn't useful especially about any stuff related to WICKED. Anything about that organization was messed up. While she rubbed her temple, someone knocked at the door.
"It's open" she called out and turned around to see who it was.
The door slightly opened with a head peeking in. It was the younger version of her boss, Thomas, smiling at her.
"You got a minute?" he asked shyly.
"Well, there's nothing really to do" Holly laughed and sat on the bed in a lotus position. "Come in"
And so did Thomas. He quietly closed the door behind him and sat down across her. He looked at the closed bathroom door and could hear that the shower was open.
"You didn't join him today?" he asked teasingly.
Holly blushed, tucking her hair behind her ear, and shook her head. "Uh, no, I wanted to sleep some more"
"Oh right, how are you feeling? We really got worried when we heard you screaming"
"I feel much better now, thanks for asking" she smiled sincerely. "I guess I was too tired that my mind started playing tricks on me. How about you? What's up?"
"Nothing really" he shrugged and flashed Holly a friendly smile. "I just felt like it's been a while since we last talked"
"Oh yeah. Somehow life in the Glade seemed easier, huh?"
"I know" Thomas said then sighed while fiddling with his fingers, reminiscing about life at the Glade. "Sometimes I wonder if staying there was a better idea"
"I'm sure it's not. Anything related to WICKED doesn't involve anything good. A better idea is getting out of here and finishing them once and for all"
"I actually don't know what to do anymore" he sighed.
Back in the Glade, the two of them had enough time to talk to one another. When they were done working at the gardens they would either sit under the big sturdy tree or back at the homestead in their own hammocks, talking about whatever. Holly somewhat became Thomas' confidant. Despite having Minho, Newt, Chuck, Alby, and Teresa as friends Holly was someone who never doubted him even once. She was always ready to support him.
Holly got up and decided to sit beside Thomas. "Are you scared?" she asked.
Thomas looked straight into her eyes and nodded. He'd been scared since the moment he found himself in the Glade and even more scared when Gally almost shot him and Chuck. He just wanted everything to end. He didn't want anyone else to die or be put into danger.
"Don't worry, I'm scared too" she whispered, pulling Thomas' head to rest on her shoulder.
"What should I do? I can't even talk to Teresa" he mumbled.
"You can't?"
"No" Thomas frowned, his eyes staring down on his hands. "I'm worried that WICKED might've done something to her"
Holly stroked his head gently. "Shh, don't overthink too much. It wouldn't help"
It was easy for her to comfort somebody else but deep inside, she was still worried about her previous dream. She couldn't stop thinking about Jake and Minho even though she's supposed to concentrate on helping the gladers.
"Stay strong" she spoke again. "Remember that you're not alone. We're a whole group here and we all want the same thing—to get out of here. In the meantime while we're in this building, we have to gather all the strength we need for whatever WICKED has in store for us"
"That is if we'll ever survive without having any food"
"We still have water. Sooner or later, I'm sure we'll find food"
Thomas had a whiff of berries from Holly's hair as he took a deep breath and smiled. He sat upright to face her.
"Thanks for listening to my randomness" he said and gave her a friendly hug.
Holly hugged him back and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. "You're always welcome to come see me for a talk. Although, why didn't you just talk to Minho or Chuck? I'm sure they'll be willing to listen as well"
"Minho tends to blurt out sarcastic remarks and Chuck can be as negative as I am. I need someone who'll push me forward and that's either you or Newt. The two of you help me a lot with your kind words. I appreciate it."
"Like I said, you're always welcome"
"On a different and less depressing topic, Newt had told me several times about his future plans" a sly grin formed on Thomas' lips.
Holly looked at him curiously, wondering what Newt could've told him. "What plan is that?"
"About you guys living together after all these has ended"
"Oh that!" Holly's cheeks turned crimson then she laughed. "Yeah, that's already set in stone. Of course, you guys will still be a part of our lives. We'll have afternoon teas talking about the hardships we've been through and next chapters of our lives. I'm sure it would be fun after all of this is done"
"Well at least I have something good to look forward to" he grinned. "And of course I would be there. You're basically my family. We all are"
As they continued with their little chat, the bathroom door opened. Newt stepped out with his wet blonde hair tousled and a white towel wrapped around his waist. He was startled to see Thomas sitting on the bed with Holly, not expecting to see him in the room at all.
"Well, I should go" Thomas said quickly and headed for the door. "Thanks for your time again"
"Yeah, no problem" she waved with a smile and watched the door close.
When they were alone, Newt grabbed clean clothes from the dresser and approached Holly. He slipped a pair of boxers underneath the towel and a pair of black pants before sitting beside her.
"What was Tommy doing here?" he asked curiously, pulling off the towel and draped it over his head.
"He just wanted to talk" Holly replied. "Said that it's been a while since we sat down and chitchat"
"He's missing spending time with you already?"
Holly nudged him with a suspicious look. "Don't tell me you're jealous over your own best friend"
"I don't think Tommy would try to steal you from me. He's got that Teresa" he chuckled then pushed her hair back to see a glimpse of a faded love mark on her neck. "Like he said, you're mine"
Holly tackled him down on the bed laying on top him, showering kisses all over his face. She still couldn't believe that she was Newt's girlfriend. She never really imagined herself being in a relationship but there she was, doing things she had never done before with the one she loves. Newt caressed her cheek and felt a rush of blood in his cheeks making him feel hot. Like Holly's thoughts, he couldn't believe it either that a beautiful girl such as her was his. He had been trapped inside the Glade for two years without any memory and no contact with the opposite sex. Then all of a sudden, she came along and changed his miserable life. A really small part of him was thankful to WICKED for letting him meet the girl he'd want to spend the rest of his life with.
"Say, if you were to get married in the future to a, I don't know, some buggin' blonde shank maybe, how many children would you like to have?" he asked out of the blue with a sheepish grin.
"W-what?!" Holly's voice was kind of high and loud, completely surprised with the question that she just laughed. At present time not once did she ever talk about kids and she clearly remembered her sixteen year old self neither.
"Why are you so surprised?" he also laughed.
"W-well, you're suddenly talking about children!" she blushed and rolled to the bed lying on her side to face him.
"I'm not saying to have one soon" he cleared things out. "But someday in the future when everything is alright, how many do you want?"
Holly was quiet for a while and thought about it. She did like children but, she hadn't gotten to the point of thinking having her own. But now that she had Newt and planned on living with him in the future, it didn't seem bad to plan about future children.
"Hmm three" she answered shyly.
"Three?" he chuckled and looked at her curiously, wanting to hear more about what she had to say.
"Yeah, I think three children would be great. Two older boys and the youngest would be a girl. I can imagine that the two boys would be like you and Minho always bickering"
Newt laughed and could also imagine that that would be the case if they did have two boys. "Three children doesn't sound bad"
"How about you, how many do you want?"
"Maybe ten" Newt teased.
"Ten?!" Holly had hit him playfully on the chest and laughed.
They spent the whole day locked in their temporary bedroom talking about their future together. They talked about baby names, painting their own house together, going on picnics, buying their very first pet, etc. For that whole day, they forgot about WICKED. They had a piece of normalcy even if it was for a short while and it felt good.
