After her story un-folded, Newt could see why she didn't want to talk about her Trial. He had been through some pretty deep stuff in the Maze, but she had gone through all of that with no-one.

"I'm confused," Newt rubbed his temples as if that would suddenly make everything more clear. "What do ya bloody mean 'discontinued'?"

Penny visibly flinched. Just by looking at her, he could tell how drained she was. Her skin was much paler than usual and her eyes had dark grey circlets around them. Newt was worried that she'd go psycho again, beating him like she had beat the toilet days earlier. She seemed to be holding it together as best as she could, but who knew how long that would last?

"WICKED had t-three trials of t-the Stranded going o-on. Six m-months in, they d-deemed the r-results they w-were getting 'unsatisfactory'" She snapped 'unsatisfactory', great disgust fueled into the word. "So t-they pulled the subjects o-out, wiped their brains a-again, and p-put them in a b-better experiment," She paused. "But I am the o-outlier. They d-didn't have a-anywhere else to put m-me, so they l-left me there"

Newt knew that WICKED were a cruel, corrupt organization, but he never knew they were do anything as terrible as leaving someone there. He felt angry for some reason. Angry that WICKED had done that to her. Angry that WICKED had merely left her there to suffer, as if she was insignificant as an eraser speck. She wasn't the easiest person to be around, granted. She was a know-it-all and sarcastic, but she was also sweet when she wanted to be and a good listener if needed. Nobody deserved that, and it bothered him that WICKED had picked Penny of all people to do such a cruel act to.

"You're family-" Newt began, desperate to find a silver lining for her somewhere in this. He felt foolish for wanting a happy ending, because he knew good and well that happy endings didn't exist for people like them. But dammit, if someone deserved a happy ending, it was the Gladers and Penny. "What about your family?"

"I t-told you. I g-got to WICKED HQ and I l-learned the truth" Penny's fingers ghosted upon the scar over and over again, a almost mesmerizing motion that caught Newt's eye. "I don't h-have a family. I h-have the opposite. I am a-an orphan. The w-whole point of the Stranded w-was to see how subjects r-react to being i-implanted with f-fake memories"

Penny's voice sounded distant. Newt could tell that she was getting farther and farther away from a stable mental state, and talking about her Trial obviously wasn't making it any better for her. But still, curiosity had overcome him. He needed to know. The story had sucked him in and he needed to know what happened next. "I w-was brought h-here by the saviors. And I w-woke up in here the n-next morning"

Penny looked at Newt. She really looked at him. She placed a shaking hand upon his cheek, rubbing her thumb back and forth. Newt found himself leaning into her touch, letting his eyes slide closed in contentedness as he listened to her breathe. He had only known her for the few days that they have been stuck in here, but it was then in that moment that he felt he knew her forever. It was then that he had believed that they had known each other before the Trials, whether he had remembered it or not. He wanted to remember it. So badly, he ached to remember her before the Trials had torn at their stability. He wanted to hear Penny talk without stuttering, he wanted to see her smile without it vanishing seconds later, he wanted to hear her laugh an actual laugh.

They stood quiet for what felt like hours but was only minutes. They could've stayed like that forever, but the irritating sound of the Slot opening and closing stole the moment away from them.
Penny moved her hand from his cheek and they both rose from their seats on the bed. Cautiously, they both strode over to the door. He could feel the tension in the air as they both looked at each other with confused glances. Whatever they were going to find couldn't possibly be good.

And it wasn't.

It was a single piece of paper at the foot of the door. Newt, hesitantly, leaned down on his knees and picked the paper up in his hands. He was surprised to find that his hands were shaking. He shook the feeling off as quickly as he could. He was the most level-headed Glader, and spending a few days with a girl wouldn't take that away. He flipped the paper over and was greeted with a sentence written in a handwriting he would recognize anywhere.

"What d-does it say?" Penny asked. Newt immediately folded it up and held it close to his chest. He didn't want her to see what it said. He didn't understand what it meant, but it obviously had something to do with her. "Nothing" He lied, and he knew she saw right through him, but he held it far away from him.

"Seriously Newt, w-what does it s-say?" She asked, reaching for the paper. Newt pulled back from her and continued to hold it tightly to him. Newt had seen many people go through the changing, and he was used to having to walk along glass to keep someone from going over the deep end again. Though Penny wasn't stung by a griever, he knew that this was a similar circumstance.

"Newt, give i-it to me" She reached for it again, this time snatching it right out of his hands. Newt reached for it back but her eyes were already upon the sentence. Newt watched in vain as her facial expression went from curious to completely distraught. She looked at him, grey eyes in shock.

"Why w-would they w-write this?" She asked, voice cracking into a sob. Penny dropped the paper to the ground and cupped her face in her hands, sobbing into her palms. Newt had been there to see Gladers cry, but this was much different. He was used to Gladers whining about how much they wanted to go home, but he'd never heard a more heart-breaking sob than Penny's. With the Gladers, he usually only offered a few words of advice and a gentle pat on the back. He had no idea what to do with Penny.

The only other girl he knew was Theresa, and even then he barely knew her. Penny, whatever she was to him, was something much more special to him. He had no idea what that meant, and it scared him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know" Newt placed a hand on Penny's back, awkwardly rubbing small circles in attempt to calm her down. She continued to sob, but he could hear the volume of her sobbing lessen. "What does the bloody note mean?"

Penny leaned her head on Newt's shoulder, removing her hands from her face and sniffling.

"I was s-so alone," She sucked in a deep breath. Newt continued to rub her back, not knowing what else to do. Girls were definitely different than guys, and he wasn't sure for better or for worse. "I didn't s-see a way for t-things to get better. I found a w-way out"

Newt looked at her in shock. Her words brought back the dark memories of when Newt tried to find a way out. How he climbed the thirty foot Maze Walls and tried to leave the world he lived in. He owed his life to Alby, who dragged him out of the Maze, kicking and screaming about how much he wanted to die. The memories made Newt feel numb, something he didn't want to think about under any circumstance.

Penny didn't have anyone to drag her out.

"I tried t-to drown m-myself b-but I couldn't f-figure out h-how to work the danking s-shower!" Penny cried out, kicking at the piece of paper at her feet.

Newt held her close, as close as he could without making both of them uncomfortable. He understood her way more than he cared to admit. He hated thinking about how low he felt, but he knew that Penny had felt that way too. They were alike yet so different at the same time, a refreshing feeling but a horrible one at the same time.

Newt pulled Penny away from him and held her by the shoulders. She looked at him with tear filled eyes, a sight he couldn't bare to see.

"Stop crying" He whispered, grip tightening on her shoulders.

"What?" She asked, confusion in her voice.
"Stop crying" he repeated, and pulled her forward. Newt pressed his lips onto hers, kissing her as gently as he could. He had no idea what had come over him, but he didn't mind it. Neither did Penny. She kissed him back, lips slightly fidgety against his own as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Newt being so tall, she practically had to pull him down a few inches for her to kiss him. Newt pressed his lips onto hers more firmly and she responded with matching intensity, standing up on her tippy-toes atop the note that had given her such grief before.

'You forgot the drowning part' the note had read, a taunting message from WICKED about what their actions had driven Penny to do. But the two, messily pulling themselves closer to the other, was another action that WICKED had driven them to do. Maybe WICKED finally did something right, putting them together.