Disclaimer: I am not James Dashner
Chapter 11: Futile Remembrance
3rd Person POV
It was dark in the Glade. Nothing but the unearthly tones of crickets and the silent rage of the nearest fire was heard. Low snores were perceived from both inside and out of the Homestead. Every Glader was asleep in their respective bunks behind the Homestead's wall, with only a few exceptions.
Newt was leaning against a tree stump near the Gardens, his eyes still centered on the closed lids over the where the box should've been. It had been hours since everyone had went to acquire sleep, but Newt couldn't sleep. The restlessness in him was too much; it outweighed any form of sleep that was to form in his eyes. He was extremely tired and had yawned numerous times, but his eyes refused to shut. His perturbed thoughts haven't settled down, and all he could do was wait torturously—knowing he could do nothing.
Minho had come out of the Map Room a couple of hours after dinner and joined him in his quest to wait for the Box to rise again—if it was ever going to. The Runner didn't say much, and only leaned against a huge rock a few feet from Newt. Chuck had come to join after some of the Gladers went to bed, proclaiming that he couldn't sleep.
Right at that moment though, Newt was the only one awake. Minho and Chuck had drifted off to dream world a while ago, leaving Newt the only one conscious. The second-in-command had calmed himself down earlier, but didn't move from his spot. His mind raced with thoughts and the mysterious whereabouts of Andy, and he couldn't get the picture of the hazel-eyed girl out of his mind.
It had only been a few long hours since she was taken, but Newt already missed her. He didn't know if it was because of his uncertainty to where she was or if she was okay, but he wasn't able to rest until he saw her again. His hair was already disheveled from the countless times he ran his fingers through them out of frustration, and the ground around around him was almost bald—he had ripped off most of the grass and piled them up to one side to distract himself.
Alby had come to check up on him a few minutes before he went to bed, but Newt still remained unresponsive. His concern had lessened a little, but it hadn't diminished. He didn't know what he would do without Andy around; he wasn't even sure if he can do anything if she didn't come back. His mind was a mess and he was fidgety from his anxiousness.
He didn't know which was worse—the fact that she was gone, or the fact that he had absolutely no clue to what happened to her. Both were bad, and both were happening.
Newt dragged his palms down his face for the umpteenth time, sighing hopelessly. Maybe she went back to her old life. Maybe she was being shipped back to wherever she came from. Maybe she was a mistake the Creators didn't mean to send, and now they wanted her back. Maybe she was dead. Newt shook away all his morbid thoughts, squeezing his eyes shut to conceal his distress.
He lo-cared about her…a lot. And he wanted her back. He needed her back so he wouldn't end up doing anything crazy once more.
After a few more slow minutes, Newt felt his eyes droop. He tried his hardest to keep his eyes open, but the sleep was already winning the fight against his will to stay awake. Sparing another last glance at the Box, he finally let himself fall into a slumber.
The familiar sound of chains and metal scraping against metal made Newt jolt awake, his droopy eyes struggling to adjust to the gloomy surroundings. No alarm was heard, but the definite sound of pulleys signaled him that the Box was moving. He hastily stood up, rubbing his eyes hardly and waited to see if it was just a figment of his imagination.
It wasn't.
"Minho!" he yelled, running towards the center of the Glade. "Wake up. It's moving!"
He turned to look at the Runner, making sure that he was awake. Minho's eyes snapped open abruptly, as he drowsily stumbled into a standing position. He nudged Chuck beside him and they both joined Newt in running to the Box.
Hope spread in Newt like wildfire as the hollow resonance of the machinery rang through the silence of the Glade. Even without the alarm, the piercing clangs of metal cut through the stillness of the place like a vase crashing in a library. Newt's hearts raced as he and Minho both slid the double lids open, peering into the never-ending abyss below. In his head was only Andy as he waited for something to pop up from the darkness.
"Chuck, go get Alby and the others!" Minho ordered the young Glader, who scurried off as he was told.
Newt's eyes didn't avert from the blackness even after Alby arrived with a few other Gladers, traces of sleep still in their eyes. His jaw clenched in anticipation, fists balling into his sides as he kept his gaze firmly in the empty hole. He heard the shuffling of the other boys behind him, talking and filling in the silence of the Glade.
"Did he get any sleep at all?" he heard Alby's voice somewhere behind him.
"I don't know. He was the one who woke me up," Minho replied. "Was awake when I went to sleep."
Newt ignored all the mutterings going on, crouching by the edge of the Box and waiting impatiently. He sighed in frustration as the ground continued rumbling along with the noises of gears, but nothing was appearing. Minho mirrored his stance on the opposite side of the box, looking ready to jump in if the Box arrived with Andy in it.
Newt frowned, not understanding why Minho was so worried about Andy. Sure, they were best friends; but Minho seemed a little too concerned for Andy's wellbeing. Other Gladers like Clint, Alby, Gally or Winston—Newt didn't mind. He knew that Andy only viewed them all as friends, but with Minho, it was different. They were best friends and they were really close, but Newt would sometimes catch Minho staring at Andy a bit too long for his liking. The fact that Andy liked spending time around the Runner didn't help much either.
With Chuck, Newt could be assured nothing would happen—he was like a brother to Andy. With Minho, Newt was never sure. And he didn't like it.
Shaking his head, Newt decided to forget his petty thoughts and focus on the situation at hand—the Box. It was coming up—it had to come up—but it was taking a long time. Every slow and torturous minute passed by with Newt fretting and exhaling in frustration. What in the damn bloody world is taking the shucking Box so long, he thought angrily.
Suddenly, just as fast as it had dropped, the Box flew up right into the visible space where they could all see.
A few Gladers had brought their torches and had moved closer to give the Box some light. Newt abandoned all his thoughts and jumped into the Box just as it stopped and settled into its place. A sharp surge of wind blew upwards as the Box halted but Newt didn't wobble in the slightest.
With the light from the nearby torches, he made out a few set of supply bags and a figure crouching in the corner. Quickly walking over to the corner, he found a girl huddling to herself, blond hair strewn across her shoulders and knees.
"Andy?" Newt whispered, almost in disbelief. He would recognize her familiar frame anywhere, and he was sure it was her. He felt the Box vibrate as someone jumped down too, but he ignored it and stooped down to meet Andy. "Andy?" he whispered again as he lightly brushed her hair out of her face.
The girl's head snapped up, and dark hazel eyes stared back at him. Newt's serious expression broke into a one of immense relief and happiness. "Andy!" he said, letting a laugh of disbelief mixed with relief escape his lips. "It's you. It's really you."
Without any warning, Newt pressed his lips to her, smiling into the kiss as his hands stroked her cheek. He kissed her gently, not wanting to scare her away since she just came up from the box. Elation and glee washed over him as he breathed out a chuckle against her soft lips.
She was back.
That was all that mattered then and there.
He was so overwhelmed with relief and cheerfulness at her return that he didn't realize she wasn't kissing back. He only came to register it when she backed away, trying to move away from him. Newt speedily pulled back, keeping a hand on her shoulder. He mentally scolded himself for being so rash, knowing that it must've been torture for her to go down the Box and come back up. Well, I've sorta been tortured too, he thought and smiled at Andy.
Her eyes were wide with surprise though, looking at Newt as if he were crazy. Before she could open her mouth to speak, Alby cut her off.
"Need some help up, shank?" he asked, towering over the Box with a rope in his hands. He threw the rope down and Newt swiftly placed her foot in the loop.
"Hold on tightly," Newt said, grinning and placing Andy's hands on the rope. He gave the rope a tug as Alby and the others started pulling her up. Newt chuckled when she yelped in surprise, keeping a firm hold on her waist to refrain her from falling.
When she reached the top, Minho helped pull her up, a beaming smile on his face. Newt's grin was wiped off instantly as he hastily made his way out of the Box, wanting to be near Andy. The joy kept bursting in his chest as he thought of her being back in the Glade. Nothing else was in his mind except for that thought—she was back.
Yeah, she was gone. But now she was back.
"You're back," he heard Minho utter in disbelief. "I'm so sorry. For everything, really. I was an idiot. I can't believe you're back. I'm sorry. I-I…" Minho shook his head and laughed, pulling Andy into a tight hug.
Newt sent a glare at the Runner as he stood opposite the pair, his fingers twitching because he was supposed to be the one hugging Andy. He—Newt—was her boyfriend, for god's sake. He deserved to be the one hugging her first. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Chuck bounding happily towards Andy; most likely wanting to hug her too.
Feeling a tad bit selfish, he cleared his throat loudly, making Minho dart his eyes towards him. Minho rolled his eyes in annoyance, and reluctantly let go of Andy, giving her a wide smile. Newt turned her around to meet him, but was instead met with a confused and horrified look. Getting the wrong idea, Newt cupped her cheek and chuckled.
"It's me—Newt," he exclaimed, grinning. "You're back. You really are back. I can't…I can't believe you're here," he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly as if, if he let go, she would disappear once more. He buried his face in her hair and whispered, "I was so worried. I didn't know where you went. The shuck box just took you away. I-I couldn't sleep, god…I didn't even know what to do without you. I'm sorry for letting you stay there; I should've pulled you out. Shuck, I-I lo-I love that you're back. I'm so excited you're here, Andy. Bloody, words can't even…"
Newt breathed out a chuckle in her hair, kissing the top of her head in pure happiness. The merriness of the situation was short-lived though.
"Who are you?"
With a question that was barely above a whisper, Newt jerked back as if he was struck by fire. He blinked at Andy's bewildered expression, as her eyes darted wildly around the Glade. His jaw dropped slightly as his eyes widened, his grin nowhere to be discerned. He backed away, pain tugging at his chest as the question repeated itself in his head.
Andy observed Chuck, Minho, Alby and the other Gladers with the same expression on her face. One by one, the Gladers raised their eyebrows in hope she would identify any of them but she didn't stop. Her eyes landed back on Newt and he finally registered the look in her eyes—unidentifiable.
She didn't recognize who he was. She didn't recognize Minho, Chuck, Alby, Gally—no one.
Just like that, he felt his heart break.
"Who are you?" I asked again, feeling the fear creep up my spine.
After I arrived up in the Box, I was immediately kissed—kissed. My mind shouted at me to do something, but for some reason I couldn't. Webs of questions filled my brain as I was hauled out of the Box into some guy's arms. I didn't understand a word he said, and was honestly shocked at his hug. I didn't know why it happened.
Then, the blond boy from before hugged me too. He whispered many things in my ear, about how he was worried, I was taken down the box, I was back, and stuff I didn't fully comprehend. Nothing was making sense. So instead of having something else come to me as a surprise, I decided to just voice my mind.
Nobody answered.
Silence fell over where we were as soon as the question escaped my lips. The boy that hugged me instantly let go and stepped back. For some ridiculous reason, I felt hurt at that, but shook it away. The eyes around me widened as I frowned, the frustration and puzzlement that was pent-up since I opened my eyes starting to leak.
"Seriously, who the hell are you guys?" I asked angrily. "Why am I here?"
The silence continued, with the boys passing looks from one another. The face of the boy in front of me crumpled in pain for a reason I wasn't aware of. It did make me feel somewhat guilty, but that was absurd—I didn't even know him. Don't you? A voice in my head spoke up and I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. I didn't know. Do I? I asked back since my memory was blurred.
Soon, I was frustrated of the silence and shouted, "Answer me! Who are you? Why am I here? Where am I? Don't just…say nothing!"
"Andrea," a deep voice called from behind the blond boy. A tall, dark-skinned man stepped to the front and squinted his eyes. "What do you remember?"
"WICKED," I said automatically, slightly taken aback by the steadiness of my voice. "I'm Andrea from WICKED. I work for them. I help them. I live with them. Now, answer me—why am I here?"
The boy's eyes suddenly widened as he turned to one of the other boys. "Get a paper and a pen! Now!" When the boy nodded and ran off, he turned back to me. "Andrea. I want you to tell me what you remember. Everything."
"I…I'm Andrea. I work for WICKED. Uh, I-I'm their top engineer. I…I help them and I live with them," I answered hesitantly.
"We get that. Anything' else?" he prompted, staring at me sternly.
Searching through my mind, I found that there were loopholes in my memories. I remembered things—but not everything. Major important slides were missing from the designated shelves in my head. Shaking my head, I said, "I don't know. I can't remember everything-"
"Try, Andrea!" the boy barked. "What do ya remember?"
I took a few steps back, recoiling in fear. I hadn't even been there for ten minutes, and the boy was already madly interrogating me like I was a criminal. The blond boy from before frowned and said, "Don't shout at her."
"I remember, um, people…" I muttered pathetically, not knowing what else to do. "WICKED's using us to find a c-cure…for something. Lots of us are used. Teenagers mainly. T-they say we're smart. They study some people too. I…I can't remember who. They have cam-cameras, I think, watching these people. And-and they…they…I-I don't remember!"
The dark-skinned boy growled as a boy came rushing with a stack of papers and a few pens, placing them on the ground. "Well, try, Andrea! Try to remember! You shanks write down whatever she says! Don't miss anything!"
Staring back at the heated eyes of the boy, I shook my head hopelessly. "I can't remember."
"Shuck it, try! You went down there and came back for a reason! Remember something, shuck-face!"
"Hey!" a boy in a blue buttoned up shirt spoke, glaring at the dark-skinned boy. "Lay of her, man."
"She needs to remember something!"
The blond boy decided to join the conversation and said, "She's trying! Can't you see she's confused as much as we are too?"
"Yeah, only difference is that she remembers a few things from the real world! Things we don't know! Things we only dream to know!" the dark boy snarled. "This is a one time chance, I'm not risking it if she forgets!"
"Why don't you tell me something?" I asked suddenly, breaking off their spat. The anger in me started to rise as they spoke like I wasn't even there. Glowering at the dark-skinned boy, I said, "Tell me where I am. Why the hell am I here?"
The boy sneered, walking closer and towering over me. I refused to be a coward and didn't back away. "You don't tell me what to say."
"Then don't count on anything coming out of my mouth," I hissed lowly. "Unless you answer my questions, don't hope that I'll tell you anything about the real world."
His jaw clenched visibly as he stared me down in fury, but I didn't move away. The two boys behind him quickly pulled him back. The blond one sent me an unreadable look before stepping closer to me. Since I was still wary of them all, I unconsciously took a step back away from him. His face twisted in hurt, and my consciousness immediately felt guilty.
"Andy," he started slowly. "I'm Newt. Do you, uh, remember me?" he asked hopefully, smiling uncertainly. I frowned, shaking my head. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, then. Um…you remember nothing about the Glade? At all?"
"What's the Glade?" I asked, confused.
'Newt' frowned and rubbed his hands together, looking lost. He turned around and shrugged at the boys, and another boy stepped forward—this one was Asian, and had a blue shirt on, his hair was also probably the most perfect compared to the others.
"The Glade is where we—the Gladers—live. I'm Minho, a Runner and your best friend ever. Alby here is the almighty Glade Leader. Newt is second-in-command and also your boyfriend. Chucky boy here is a Slopper, he's like your lil' bro. Ring any bells?" he asked carefully, eyes glimmering with hidden expectation. I took in every word and frowned despairingly, shaking my head. Minho sighed and scratched his head. "Uh…you remember the Maze? We Runners run out there. You wanted to run out there too because you wanted the pink shoes," he tried again, smiling slightly. "We come back before the doors closed so we won't get trapped and eaten by the shuck Grievers. Remember…do you remember anything here?"
"We don't need her rememberin' anything here. We need outside stuff-"
"Slim it, Alby," Minho sighed, rolling his eyes. "We'll get to that later."
His words were confusing me even more, since I didn't understand anything. He was also fast, so I couldn't catch up but something did catch my ears though, and I heard myself ask, "Grievers?"
"Yeah, grievers," Minho nodded. "Giant sluggish monsters like a wretched remake mash up of Frankenstein in a steel bowling ball?"
My eyebrows knitted as I tried remembering the word—Grievers. The word was familiar. I could almost picture the monster despite Minho's lame depiction of it. My memory was still blurry though, and I huffed in annoyance when nothing other than a picture surfaced.
"I showed them to you on your second day," Newt said. "At the West wall. You were complaining about wanting to shower that day. And Minho waved at you before going into the Maze. And you were homesick and pranked him with Chuck too, remember?"
I almost wanted to shout when he asked 'remember?' I was getting tired of the word, but my eyes lit up with recognition when I heard the word, "Did you say Maze?"
Minho and Newt shared a look before nodding, their eyes intensely staring at me. I let my eyes dart to a wall nearby, seeing a straight crack break in the middle of the wall. It's a door! my mind screamed.
Just like that, memories started to flood my brain. The loops were being filled in speedily, and it was so sudden that the force made me tumble backwards, clutching my head in pain. Faces and voices started speaking in my mind, and memories of Newt, Minho, Chuck, Thomas and the girl—everything came rushing back.
The treasure chest containing my memories was unlocked. Everything resurfaced; even the memories before the Glade.
WICKED, Thomas, Teresa, Leo, Rachel, Arris, Ms. Paige, Dr. Cooper, a nameless guy, blueprints, prototypes, animals, Grievers, the Maze, the Box, Beetle Blades, Changing serums, problems, Grief serums, notes, my turn—I remembered every-single-freaking-thing!
The downside was that my mind couldn't handle the information overload, and I fell to the ground, screaming in pain as I clutched my head. I tried to hold the pain in, but it was too much. It felt as if my head was about to explode, as it throbbed wildly that my hand could actually feel it.
"Andy?" a concerned voice called as I felt someone rush beside me. "Shuck, are you okay?"
"What's wrong? What hurts?" another soothing voice asked.
I shook my head, squeezing my eyes as I tried to talk without my head hurting even more. "I remember," I gasped out, and let out another shout of pain as the veins in my head pounded with every word. Repressing the pain for a moment, I said, "I remember everything!"
"What? What do you remember?" Alby's voice boomed. "Andrea, speak!"
"WICKED," I choked out. "They…sent us," wincing at the pain, I breathed erratically, curling up into a ball. "Teresa's bad, they want me to finish what I started. I can't fail…I can't fail! Things are turning bad…dangerous times…" I trailed off, whimpering at the pain I felt. "Oh god…it hurts."
Alby didn't care about my pain though, and continued asking. "Write it down, Clint! What else? What else?"
"Alby, stop it! She's in pain, can't you see that?" Newt's voice snapped.
"More, Andrea!" Alby urged, ignoring Newt. "What else? Tell us everything!"
"Alby!" Minho growled. "Enough, shuck-face."
I shook my head, swallowing hardly and trying to continue saying what I could. "They want results…variables…they're examining how b-brains work," I said, strangled. "We can't escape. We have too, but we can't. The world's bad…but this place is going down. They sent the trigger…only a matter of time before-" I was cut off by a sudden sharp hammer to my head, falling back on my knees and keeping my head on the grass.
"Andy, stop. If you can't-"
"No," I wheezed out, feeling beads of sweat form on my forehead. "They don't want us here anymore…things are turning bad…nothing's good. The end is coming. It's starting…I can't…I can't say…"
I tried hard to open my eyes, and saw Thomas a few feet away. Suddenly, just like how the treasure chest was unlocked, it was locked back again. The memories stopped flooding as the throbbing stopped. The soreness didn't disappear though, and I found myself standing and pacing wildly.
"No, no, no, no, no…" I mumbled, my hands buried in my hair and pulling at the roots. "No! I can't remember…I can't forget!"
"No, don't forget," Alby said from somewhere. "Hold onto those memories, Andrea!"
I couldn't. As the lock was turned, I felt all the memories being sucked back through the tiny gap in the keyhole. I tried reaching out for it but they were like water—filtering through my fingers like it was nothing. Shaking my head furiously, I tried to spit out all I could remember in hopes Clint heard enough to write them down.
"The ending, it's coming! They sent her—the girl—she's a trigger! Thomas…you're their favorite, you've always been. Variables…there are consequences! Times are bad! They want to end this…" I let out a scream as I couldn't grasp anything else. A face of a woman popped in my head and I found myself muttering, "I can't fail. They don't want me to fail. I can't disappoint them! Oh god, I can't fail!"
"Hey, hey, Andy," I felt someone grab my shoulders firmly, keeping me in place. I opened my eyes to see Newt, his face marred with a worried frown. "Andy, love, slow down. We can't understand you."
I laughed out of the blue, sounding like a crazed maniac with the hopeless expression still on. "Don't talk to me!" I shouted, pushing him away and cackling. "I'm bad, I'm bad…I'm them. I…I can't fail! They're not good! Things are bad…the world's bad. Everything's bad…they're bad…they're good. WICKED is…no."
In all honesty, if I were looking at myself, I'd be reminded of Ben—only crazier.
As my laugh merged with my cries and my smiles formed into a crazed grimace, I fell to the floor, my eyesight starting to cloud over with blackness. The memories were all gone by then, but the pain that was ripping my skull apart wasn't. The ground was spinning and I felt like I was floating above it, my head rolling around in a smashed haze. I breathed in and out harshly, staring up at the starless sky as the shadows crept over me.
"Andy!"
"Shuck it, get her help!"
"Jeff! Med-room, now!"
"Andy, you're okay. Damnit, hurry up!"
"She's not responding!"
The noises hurt my ears and brain so much more. So, I closed my eyes.
"Andrea," a woman called as I stepped into the metal contraption.
Turning around to meet her eyes, I answered, "Yes?"
She sent me an empty smile, pressing a button on the side of her wall. The metal gate came down, trapping me inside the Box. As the gate closed with a loud click, the gears of the pulleys started reverberating. The last thing I saw through the many holes on the gate was the glint in her eyes.
"Don't fail us."
Something was being sucked away as my eyes opened. Even if the room I was in didn't have lights blaring straight into my eyes, it still stung. I shut them as I tried to recall what had happened before…nothing floated to the back of my mind. I remembered nothing except for the feeling of a vacuum in my mind as it sucked all that I could remember away.
I blinked my eyes slowly as I regained focus, seeing the wooden ceiling of the med-room above me. Swallowing the bitter taste in my throat, I groaned as I tried sitting up. My muscles tensed as I stretched my back, trying to get comfortable.
"Easy there," I heard a voice say from my right. My head snapped to meet Newt's, and he smiled tiredly. "Hi."
It took me a moment to actually answer, since I was taken aback at how exhausted he looked. His weary eyes were opened to his widest extent available, which was a lot smaller than usual. The bags under his eyes were quite visible, even in the dim surroundings of the med-room. His body was sagging on the side of the bed as his head rested against his palm.
"Newt," I said, starting to smile. "Hey."
Newt gave me a lopsided grin, his hands resting on mine. He straightened his back to look at me properly and I felt a sudden feeling of guilt hit me. I didn't know why I felt it since I didn't do anything, but it was there—lingering at the back of my blurred memories. Before I knew it, I flung myself at him, wrapping my arms around him. Newt caught me, slightly surprised, but placed his arms around my back. "What's this for?"
"I don't know," I mumbled, nestling my head against his neck. "I just wanted to hug you."
I heard Newt chuckle softly as he stroked my back, placing a light kiss on my head. We just stayed like that, holding each other for a while. I breathed in, confused at all the jumbled thoughts in my head. I didn't know what I did, but I did something. I let go off Newt and tried to smile, seeing him grin at me happily for some reason. The troubled, empty thoughts in my head were too loud though, and I frowned.
"What happened?" I asked.
Newt blinked, his eyebrows creasing. "You don't remember?"
"I remember being sick of that word," I said, shrugging. "And I remember…going down the Box. And then I came back and nothing else. Why? Did something happen?"
His mouth opened to speak, but then he shook his head and closed it. "You really don't…remember?"
"I don't know. I remember remembering…" I trailed off. "I, um, I-I don't know…damn it, I can't recall what I remembered." Rubbing my head, I let out an infuriated sigh. "Why, Newt? Did something happen?"
"Um, I think I'd better show you," he said and took something from the desk beside him.
He handed me a few papers with messy writing on them. I frowned, reading the familiar but unrecognizable words on the papers. As I shuffled the papers one by one, I shook my head and turned to look at Newt. "I don't understand," I said, holding the papers up. "What are these?"
"Clint wrote those," Newt answered. "When you came up, you started talking about things. You told us information that we didn't know—everything you remembered. It all came in pieces though, so this is all Clint could catch."
"I remembered something?"
Nodding, a troubled expression crossed over Newt's face. "Yeah. You remembered a lot…but it wasn't the best time for you."
I ignored Newt's mumble as my eyes scanned the papers. The first paper wrote 'Who Andrea was'. Below the title were points and sentences like 'works for WICKED,' top engineer,' 'lives with WICKED,' and 'helps WICKED.' At the bottom of the paper was a huge, capitalized question: 'WHO/WHAT IS WICKED?' It was even circled.
The next paper was titled 'Everything she said.' The notes were 'finding a cure,' 'watching with cameras,' 'WICKED sent us,' 'Teresa's bad,' 'things are turning bad,' 'she can't fail,' and a few more. Questions beneath it were: 'a cure for what?' 'Who is Teresa?' 'What's turning bad?' 'Can't fail what?'
The next paper was the same as the second one, but had shorter points. Clint must've had a hard time trying to hear and jot everything down. 'Results and variables,' 'how brains work,' 'can't escape,' 'sent a trigger=the girl,' 'the ending is coming,' 'Thomas=their favorite,' 'consequences and bad times,' 'she can't fail.'
What caught my eye was the last point—'she's bad. Everything is bad.'
Questions included 'can't escape what?' 'What consequences?' 'A trigger for what?' 'What is the Ending?' and 'who's bad?'
I felt my eyebrows meet each other in a frown as I read the questions, trying to find answers in my head. Nothing wanted to come forward though, and I angrily placed the papers down. "I can't believe I forgot this."
"It's okay-"
"No, it's not okay!" I exclaimed, shoving the papers back in his hands. I pressed my fingers to my scalp in frustration. "I remembered, Newt! Didn't I? I said all this, I remembered something but now…" I broke off in a pathetic cry. "I can't believe I forgot. I remembered…everything. Not pieces, but I remembered everything…didn't I, Newt?"
Newt seemed hesitant to answer. "Uh, n-no you-"
"I did, didn't I?" I prompted, my fierce gaze steady on him.
"…yes," he answered slowly.
My lips formed a sardonic smile as I let out a bitter laugh. "And I just forgot everything. Just like that," I said. Newt opened his mouth to speak but I shook my head. "No. Don't say anything. I can't believe I forgot. I'm such an idiot. I remembered! I knew things…I-I had knowledge of the real world, Newt. I remembered."
"Andy, it's fine. It passed-"
"Exactly—it passed! I remembered but I let it pass! I freaking remembered everything, Newt—everything! I knew who I was, who put us here, why we're here, maybe even a way out!" I shouted and buried my face in my hands hopelessly. Every single past tense I used sent a crushing pain in my chest. My eyes moistened as I breathed in and out slowly, thinking of how I could let the memories fade away.
I felt Newt put a comforting hand around me, whispering about how it wasn't my fault. I only scoffed pathetically and shook my head. "It's not your fault, love. You tried your hardest to tell us everything you could."
"But it wasn't enough!" I retorted, removing my hands to give him a heated glare. However, the tears started leaking out and instead of looking angry, I looked forlorn and worth of pity. I rubbed my eyes, trying to rid the tears. "I only left more questions, Newt. God, I'm so stupid. How could I let the memories just go? It was there in my head, but I just forgot. I'm so…shit…I'm so useless."
I felt rough hands separate my face from my palms, cupping my face and turning me to face Newt. I stared hardly at Newt, trying not to let more tears fall. His dark eyes stared back at me, frowning. From the corner of my eye, I saw his jaw flex for a moment before he spoke.
"You weren't seeing you, Andrea. You don't remember being there. Well, let me tell you," he said sternly. "You were in pain. Every word that came out of your mouth made you fall and clutch your head like it was about to burst. Don't you know how worried I was? Minho and I were ready to pounce on Alby just because he forced you to talk, but you kept going on! Even when your head was hurting, you tried your hardest to tell us. You kept talking until you passed out, Andy!"
I tried shaking my head, denying what he claimed but Newt only held my face firmer. "So, don't say you're useless," he said softly, grimacing. "You did more than any of us could, Andy."
Squeezing my eyes shut, I let out a shaky breath. "Okay," I whispered. I placed my hands over his and nodded slowly. The franticness in my head evaporated as I looked at Newt properly. Suddenly feeling embarrassed at my outburst, I said, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," he replied, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. The smile that I was fond of crept over his lips as he kissed my forehead. "I'm just glad you're back. You're here, and that's what matters right now."
As if I just remembered that I went down the Box, leaving Newt and the others, I asked, "How long have I been gone?"
"Not even a day," Newt answered, smiling at the fact. "Just a few hours, you came back up in the middle of the night. No alarms, but the Box rose."
"Wow," I exhaled. It felt like I had been gone for days, with all the black outs I went through and my lost of memories—again. One thing was clear in my mind though. "I'm never going near that box again."
Newt snorted. "I'm never letting you go near that Box again."
I laughed, leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on his lips. It wasn't very chaste for Newt though, since he pressed his lips hungrily against mine as soon as I pulled away. I didn't fight against it, finding that I missed the feeling of his lips on mine. Ignoring the sore feeling in my back, I wound my fingers through the smooth waves that curled around his neck. Breathing in his scent, I leaned my body closer to him.
Newt deepened the kiss, his tongue gliding across my bottom lip smoothly before slipping in. The pressure rose as I moved my lips against his urgently, my legs dangling off the bed to brush against his. A low rumble erupted somewhere from behind Newt's throat as he kissed the side of my lips softly, leisurely trailing down to my neck. I only sighed in pleasure, breathing against his ear.
Usually, this was the part where I pulled away—not wanting to step over any unspoken boundaries—but I didn't this time.
"I was…worried…about you," he breathed out between kisses. "I…didn't know what to do…I didn't…know…where you were," he said, his voice breaking slightly. His lips came back up to linger against mine as he talked, breathing unevenly. I stared into his deep eyes, seeing the concealed pain and instantly felt guilty. Newt looked down, trying to smile but ended up grimacing. "I-I couldn't do anything. It was terrible."
"I'm sorry," I said timidly, stroking his jaw. "It won't happen again…I promise."
Newt gave me a small smile before capturing my lips once more. I responded eagerly, allowing one of my hands to press lightly against his chest and tug at the collar of his shirt. A low growl escaped his lips as he moved his lips roughly, his hands wrapping around my waist. "I'm glad you're back," he said. I moaned silently as he pressed his body closer to mine, standing up and placing wet kisses down my neck.
What I didn't expect from him was a bite, and I gasped out as I felt the sudden sharpness. He stole my breath for a heartbeat, an electric charge surging sharply through me that I couldn't tell whether it felt good or not—it didn't stop me from wanting more, though. I wrapped my legs around him, my fingers pulling softly at his hair as I greedily took his mouth again.
I couldn't really lie in that moment; I wanted him. Despite everything that happened.
"Andy," Newt panted, his voice strained as he broke the kiss. I breathed against his lips, bringing my eyes to him curiously. "As much as I…don't want this to end…it'll be really disturbing…with another person in here…unconscious or not."
Spotting my frown of confusion, Newt chuckled and jerked his head to the space behind me. Regaining my breath, I quickly turned around to see the girl.
The girl—I had forgotten that she arrived in the Glade in the first place!
Turning back to face Newt, I met his annoyed but amused gaze. I blinked, not knowing what to say since the girl was on the bed right next to me. She was only a few feet away, not very far. Newt was right; getting it on in the same room with an unconscious girl would end up extremely awkward. I sat back properly, running my fingers through a few strands of my hair while trying to compose myself.
"The girl, is she okay?" I asked as Newt sat back in his seat, holding one of my hands in his.
"I'm not sure. I didn't really move from the Box after you…you know," Newt admitted sheepishly. I frowned as I heard his confession of not moving, but he continued. "But I think Alby said she's in a coma."
I nodded, letting the information sink in. After it did, I narrowed my eyes at Newt and asked, "You didn't move from the Box?"
"Um…no?"
"Did you eat? Or sleep?" I raised my eyebrows when he scrunched his face. "Did you do…anything at all?"
A tense silence passed until Newt spoke, "Would it be bad if I said no?"
"Newt," I groaned, knitting my brows. "Seriously? You haven't eaten at all? I don't-wait. What time is it? How long has it been since you ate?"
"It's only ten in the morning. The runners left a couple of hours ago—oh, and Minho said he'll come visit you when he gets back," Newt replied. I remembered my slight argument with Minho and frowned, realizing that I haven't apologized yet. I could possibly do that when he comes to visit me later on. "I have eaten though. Clint brought me an apple awhile ago."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes. "An apple? Only one?"
Newt seemed to think for a moment before answering, "Mhm."
"Yeah. That's it," I sighed, pulling his hand weakly to try and get him to stand up. "You need to go eat. Now. No excuses."
"But I can stay-"
"If you come back in ten minutes or less, I will…do something," I ended my threat in pretense anger. At Newt's amused grin, I said, "I'll figure something out. And it'll be bad, you won't like it."
Newt rolled his eyes and rested his head on my hand. "But I can stay. It's no big deal. It's just food."
"Newt, I can see that you're hungry," I said to him knowingly. "You haven't eaten since yesterday. Go fill up your stomach." When Newt looked like he was about to refuse again, I cut him off. "No buts. Besides, if you don't eat you'll get skinny and unhealthy, and you won't be so good-looking anymore."
At that, the blond boy smirked. "I'm good-looking?"
"You won't be if you don't eat," I responded, smiling widely and poking his chest.
"Fine," Newt sighed, catching my poking hand and caressing it gently. He laughed and said, "I'll bring some food back for you, okay?"
"Why can't I go myself?"
"Clint said you're on bed rest," Newt answered smugly. "So I'll be the one taking care of you."
"Okay, fine," I nodded, kissing him lightly on his lips. Newt grinned and placed a soft kiss on the corner of my lips. Playfully, he kissed my cheek, forehead, nose, and started going down my neck. I giggled as his breath tickled my skin. "Newt, no. You aren't distracting me. Go get food."
Chuckling, he rested his forehead against mine and entwined our fingers. He inhaled deeply and smiled. "I'm glad you're back," he breathed out against my lips. "I like you here with me."
"Me too," I said, squeezing his hand and kissing him quickly. "But you still have to go eat," I added with a sly smile when he didn't move.
"Okay, okay," Newt laughed, removing his hands from me and walking to the door. "I'll be right back."
"No, eat until you're full first," I retorted. He gave me a final grin before stepping out. I hollered, "Don't be back in ten minutes or less!"
I heard his faint reply of 'understood!' before his footsteps turned hollow and disappeared. My ears picked up sounds of voices outside the door not a second later, and I strained to hear. Two voices—one asked 'is she awake? Can I see her?' and the other retorted with a 'yeah, go keep her company.'
The door to the med-room shook as I braced myself for who it would be. The door opened to reveal Chuck, standing in the middle of the doorway with his arms on his waist like a superhero. He beamed when he saw me, and bounced over to my bed.
"Andy! You're awake!" he exclaimed, rushing to hug me.
"Hey, Chuck!" I laughed, wrapping my arms around him and swayed from right to left over and over. "There's my little bro. So…what'd I miss when I was gone?"
When he pulled away, I ruffled his hair affectionately. He happily replaced Newt in the chair next to me and started babbling away. "Not much. The girl came but they just put her here, nothing else. Oh! And Newt stayed outside all night, you know! Minho too, and me! Of course, I had to wait until Thomas was asleep…but that's not important. But he sleeps really late though. I had to pretend to close my eyes for, like, an hour before he finally doze off! Then Frypan told me to clean up a few leftover dishes, but it was cool—I went through his fridge! It was shucking awesome! Then Wes asked if I could follow him to the bathroom because he was scared! Hear that? The shank was scared to klunk in the dark! And then I stayed with Minho outside and-"
I grinned as Chuck continued, not bothering to stop and see my reaction. It wasn't a bad one, though. Since the black outs and events that occurred, he really was the sun through the grey clouds that I needed. That was one of those rare times I actually liked listening to Chuck's rants.
That evening, after I tried to persuade Clint to let me go back to the Ranch—and was denied every single time—he decided to lock me in the med-room. It wouldn't have been that bad if it weren't for the sleeping girl in the bed next to mine. Creepy thoughts made their way into mind as she laid almost lifelessly—the slow rise and falls of her chest being the only sign that she was alive.
I was just waiting for the moment where she would snap her eyes open and attack me like a raged lunatic.
After Newt brought me food and sent Chucky away, he stayed for a couple of hours. We talked about random things, stole a few kisses here and there and tried to figure out what my memories meant. Alby came along a few hours ago to interrogate me and ask if I still remembered anything. Nothing came back to me unfortunately, so with Newt's help, he gave up and left. Alby dragged Newt away to the Track-hoes though, claiming that the blond boy was slacking off.
So there I was, all alone in the locked room, save for the comatose girl a few feet away. I would turn my head to study the girl a few times, and questioned why I said that the girl was bad. Clint and Alby concluded that the unconscious girl was dangerous because of how I claimed that they sent her up as a trigger. Yeah, but they still left you in a room with her, my mind scoffed.
Even if I was a little bit crept out by her, she didn't look threatening. In fact, she looked quite innocent. Alby wasn't too sure of her presence in the Glade, and I didn't understand why. She was sent here just like every one of us—only difference was that she brought a note, knew Thomas and I, fell into a coma, and the Box just so happened to go down with me after she arrived.
Yeah, that wasn't such a huge problem, was it?
I sighed in boredom as I rested my head against the wall, the papers Clint wrote on still in my hands. I tried remembering and staring at the words for a long while, hoping that something would magically pop in my head, but nothing did.
A rustling sound of keys caught my attention. I sat up straight, ready to hassle Clint into granting me liberation from bed rest. When the door opened though, I saw that it wasn't Clint—it was Minho. Black eyes stared back at me as he froze in the doorway, blinking when he saw that I was awake.
Trying to avoid any awkward situations since we haven't really apologized officially, I just smiled. "Hey, Min."
"Uh, hey," he answered, scratching the back of his head. He shut the door and walked over to me hesitantly. His mouth opened a few times with words to speak out, but nothing escaped. Finally, he settled with, "You're awake."
"Have been awake," I sighed glumly. "For hours now. Sadly, I'm on bed rest. Didn't anyone tell you?"
Minho shook his head, standing awkwardly facing me. Since he was taller than me sitting on a bed, I had to look up. "Nope. I, uh, ran straight here, actually. No pit stops whatsoever."
"Oh," I said and smiled, knowing that he was supposed to go to the Map Room first thing after Running. Instead, he came here. I couldn't stop myself from asking though, "Not the Map Room first? A sudden Gathering, maybe?"
Minho winced slightly at my sharp tone, and I wouldn't have caught it if it weren't for the faint scrunch of his eyes. It was wrong of me, but I was still figuring out how to correctly break down the whole apologizing method. What better way to start the convo, right? I muttered mentally.
"There's no Gathering," Minho mumbled, huffing and looking down at his feet. "The Map Room's not that important…right now."
"Oh, yeah. Why in the world did I think otherwise?" I murmured above my breath, rolling my eyes. When I saw Minho frown, I realized how I was acting a bit too spiteful. It wasn't his entire fault either, and I wasn't being fair. Sighing I tried to manage a weak smile. "Gosh, this is awkward, isn't it? I'm sorry."
A smile came over Minho's face at my straightforward apology. I returned it back, smiling even brighter. Frankly, things always tended to happen before I knew it was going to happen. I never seemed to be ready for anything these days, and was taken by surprise most of the time.
So yes, it was shocking when Minho wrapped his arms around me tightly in a bear hug and lifted me up. I let out a tiny squeak as my butt left the bed, and felt my body being spun around in Minho's arms. He was taller than me, so when he twirled with me in his arms like a rag doll, I kept my grip around him firmly in fear he'd accidently slip or toss me away.
"Minho!" I yelped, my feet stretching to reach for the floor. "Put me down! Are you serious?"
After a hearty laugh, Minho settled me back down on the ground. I couldn't help but smile as I steadied myself, holding onto him so I wouldn't stumble over the dizziness. I straightened my clothes and stared up at Minho, pleased that no heart-to-heart was needed between us for apologies. Honestly, I wouldn't know how to speak up if things got deep and heartfelt.
Minho smiled back at me, but he seemed hesitating to do something. I had a guess to what it was though, and threw myself at him. He automatically wrapped his arms around me in a tight embrace as I my hands encircled his chest—because he was just so tall. I pressed my head against his chest and mumbled out, "I'm sorry for being bitchy just now, and that I annoyed you that day…and also for avoiding you."
"Why the shuck are you apologizing?" Minho scoffed, resting his head above mine. "It was my fault. Everything was. I was just stressed out and stupid, and I'm sorry."
"It's not all-"
"No, wait. Before anything else," he cut me off, breaking the hug to rub his hands nervously. "I spent all day in the Maze—yesterday and today—just trying to come up with an apology speech…and I'm quite proud of what I conjured."
Resisting the urge to smile widely, I asked, "Really? An apology speech?"
"Yes, now slim it and let me talk," he retorted playfully. Exhaling deeply, he started. "Andy, I'm…sorry," he said before scrunching his face. "And, uh, I'm an ass-no, wait. That's wrong. I mean, you're my best friend. It was wrong of me to shout at you like that. I was being an asshole…um…what the shuck comes next?" he muttered as I laughed. "Oh, yeah! The reason I blew up was cause I was having a rough day. With Ben and the Gathering and you getting attacked by Ben-"
"Thomas got attacked, not me," I interjected.
"Yeah, but the psycho shank managed to hit you too, didn't he?" Minho said, huffing. "Now—back to my speech! I've noticed over the years that I…uh…I'm really bad at controlling myself when things get so stressful. So that's why I blew up at you, I've done it to many shanks here too…but it doesn't mean I should've done it to you. I'm a bad friend, I know. I totally understand if you want me to never speak to you again or something. Shuck, I probably deserve it. But I needed to tell you that I'm really, truly, sorry. If you don't want me around after this, I'll stay away-"
I cut Minho off with, "You're getting real dramatic here."
Minho scowled at my teasing tone, and folded his arms. He opened his mouth to continue his speech but then closed it. His eyes narrowed as he said, "You made me forget my speech!"
"Oh, thank goodness," I breathed out, laughing. "That was a horrible speech. It was like…instead of a vow, you admitted to cheating on me on our wedding day," I said before actually realizing what came out of my mouth. When I saw Minho start to smirk, I punched his shoulder and added, "And that's just a way of saying how extremely bad your speech was."
"It wasn't that bad," Minho said feebly.
Crossing my arms, I grinned. "Yeah, not that bad but it was unnecessary. I just said that I was sorry, and your melodramatic 'never speaking to me again' part was pretty much useless. That's never happening."
"Hey," Minho narrowed his eyes playfully. "I worked hard on that speech."
"I'm sure you did," I replied, suppressing my laughing.
Minho pushed me jokingly and turned around to remove his slim backpack. When I heard the zipper unzip loudly, I tried to look over him curiously. Minho sent me a look that told me to be patient before going back to his backpack. I scowled slightly and huffed but waited until he turned back to me.
"Okay, um," he said, holding something behind his back. I tilted my head to see but Minho moved away, shielding his back from my sight. "This is gonna maybe sound crazy…or look crazy, uh, but just—shuck, I can't believe I'm doing this—just take it, okay?"
"Take what?"
Swinging his hand out from his back, he thrusted a tiny flower into my face. I blinked, observing the small, white daisy in his hand. It was drooping slightly, a few petals missing in action and looking like thick dictionaries or heavyweights had just crumpled it. A small smile spread on my lips despite that, and I felt my face heat up for some reason.
"A flower," I stated quietly. "You got me a flower?"
Minho scratched the back of his head with his free hand and shrugged uncertainly. "Yeah…um, I just saw it…in the forest," he confessed, looking down at his shuffling feet. "And I thought, why not get an apology flower, right?" I let my smile widen as he sighed. "Shuck, this is stupid. Know what, just forget I-"
"It's not stupid!" I exclaimed, grinning. Slowly taking the dwarf-like daisy from him, I twirled it in my finger. "I think it's cute, actually."
"…I guess 'cute' is okay," Minho replied, smiling bashfully.
I laughed lightly, fiddling with the wrinkly flower. It was in bad shape and I said, "Poor flower. Why did you put it in your bag? Nothing fits in there."
"I couldn't just barge in with it in my hand," he answered, shrugging. "But you, uh, like it, right? The apology flower, I mean."
Nodding, I sent Minho a genuine and thankful smile. Inspecting his nervous and awkward posture and giggled at how adorable he looked just then. Usually, Minho was composed and sarcastic and looked…cool. His abashed self was rare to perceive but I liked it.
"I love it," I said. "And it's a daisy, actually."
"Well, you can call it that too, if you want," he chuckled lowly.
I let out a breathy laugh again as my eyes swooped down to the flower. I twiddled it between my fingers, seeing a few torn petals drop to the floor. The place was suddenly silent—but the comforting type of silent. When I looked back up at Minho, I saw that he was staring at me with an unreadable glint in his eyes, but a soft smile on his lips.
To express my gratitude—and just because I wanted to—I hugged him again, feeling his muscled arms come up behind me. I let myself relish in his warmth and smiled, saying a quiet, "Thank you, Minho."
"Welcome," he replied softly in my ear. After a few long, tranquil moments of silence, I heard him speak again. "Hey, Andy?"
"Hm?"
"Is it okay if I get deep?" he asked, wrapping his arms tighter around me.
I frowned, knowing what he wanted to talk about. Quite honestly, I didn't want to reminisce anything about the Box after seeing Newt's reaction over it, but I hesitantly nodded. "I guess so."
"It was shucking terrible," he said shakily, his chest rumbling against my ear as he spoke. "I didn't know what to think or what to do. I mean, we just argued stupidly the day before and I was planning to apologize…but then they said you were gone. The Box broke it's own rule and brought you down," he let out a hollow chuckle. "What were the chances of that happening, right?"
The dreadful feeling of hearing him so timid pained me. Not knowing what else to say, I settled on, "I'm sorry."
"Wasn't your fault," he shook his head. "The shuck Box was a slintheaded shuck-face."
I laughed at his wording and said, "Such a slintheaded shuck-face. Even though it doesn't have a face."
Minho joined me in laughing and I felt a quick, light pressure on the top of my head before it disappeared. I furrowed my brows, wondering if Minho just kissed my head. He had never done that before, but it felt sort of nice. I sighed and continued enjoying Minho's huggable physique. He was warm, and very cozy too.
After a few more minutes, I broke the silence. "This is getting boring. Let's talk about something fun."
Minho let go off me and rolled his eyes, albeit the playful grin on his face. "Fine. Fun. What has been fun for the last 24 hours?"
"I don't know," I answered, sitting back on my wooden bed. "I don't have to work, but that's not fun at all when you compare to being here. Um…how was running today?"
As I asked that, Minho's eyes widened. A flicker of sudden realization made me frown in confusion. He let out a disbelieved breath, saying, "Shuck it. Oh man, I can't believe I forgot. First thing ever in three years—can't believe it slipped my mind."
"What?" I asked curiously.
"Today, in the Maze!" he exclaimed, pacing the room and fidgeting. "I found something—something crazy! I never thought it was possible, but I saw it with my own two eyes!"
"What? What'd you find?" I asked again, the curiosity from his quick change of emotion increasing.
Minho stopped pacing to look at me, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "A Griever, Andy. A dead Griever."
"No way," I breathed out after a moment of pure silence. A Griever couldn't just die. It was huge and deathly but if so—what killed it? It couldn't have gotten into a fight with its siblings, and Gladers weren't allowed into the Maze when the doors close. So what Minho said sounded dodgy.
"I'm not lying, I did see one," he said firmly and started putting his backpack on. "I need to go tell Alby."
That caught my attention. Seeing Minho's bag perfectly strapped back on, I jumped off my bed to the door. "Great! Can I come too?" I asked, wanting to escape the torture of the med-room.
Minho scrunched his face, looking uncertain. "Um, not sure. Clint probably wouldn't-"
"He gave you the keys," I pointed out. "That obviously means he's freeing me!"
"Actually, the keys were hanging outside the door," Minho replied, smirking. "Sorry, Andy. I don't think Clint'll be happy to see you out and about."
"But I want to get out of here. Please, Min? Please?" I pleaded, pouting. "They won't be mad," I tried again, giving Minho a hopeful smile.
Minho walked over to me, placing his hands on each side of my shoulders. He sighed and led me away from the door to say something. Unfortunately though, it was me who didn't have a chance to listen when he rushed out of the room, closing it and locking the door behind me. My eyes widened when I realized what he did, and I pounded pathetically on the door.
"Minho!" I exclaimed angrily. "Get me out of here!"
"Sorry. No can do, babe," I heard his snicker come from beyond the door. I rapped on the door louder and Minho said, "I'll tell Newt you want out, okay? See you later!"
I frown in disbelief, knocking on the door continuously. "No, Minho! Just open it! Don't go, come on!"
"Remember not to do anything stupid!" was all I heard after that as his footsteps turned faint.
There goes that word again—remember. Combining being a prisoner in the med-room and hearing that awful word once more, I let out an annoyed huffed. Crossing my arms and sitting back on the bed, I waited for someone else to enter the room. I'll probably just push and shove the next person through the door until I'm out.
A/N: Sorry that nothing huge and dramatic happened to Andy. Something will happen though, later on. Not yet. She just needed to be there when Minho gets stuck in the Maze—which is the next chapter! Thanks for all the reviews! But there are too much to reply to…so I'll be replying to the questions and theories and emotional ones. I'm sorry. :)
AnimeLover-DarkKnight321: Thanks for the review! I had to reply since you're the first reviewer for Chapter 10 and first reviews always make my day. And I'm glad that you got excited seeing that in your notifications. And thanks for loving it! :)
kimzie-kitty: Yes, you are my 100th reviewer! I'm so happy! Unfortunately, I don't have any giveaways… :( I'm sorry. But I appreciate your long review, and I loved that you expected differently. And thanks for saying that it's your favorite chapter! I'll try writing faster. Thanks again, you are amazing! :D
Newtie: You wrote a long review, so thank you for that! I love them a lot. I'm sorry that you were in rage, but I loved reading your review! I imagined several different voice intonations in my head by all the exclamation marks. It brought a smile to my face. All your questions have already been answered by the chapter above. And I love you too! :)
GirlWhosWaiting: I was literally checking my phone every hour just to see if you reviewed. I love reading your reviews! You make my day everytime, and it was hard to not smile in front of people because they get suspicious when I smile at my phone…but anyways, I love you for reviewing! And thanks for saying I'm your favorite! You are amazing too, and always will be! Thanks once more for reviewing so lengthy again! :D
Newtella: I had to reply to your long one. And your reference to the Man Who Can't Be Moved was brilliant. I can't believe I didn't think of that song. I hope it wasn't too painful…I like making people smile, not cry! Thanks for reviewing! You made me so happy! :)
Guest (mindylover): Thanks for the review! She will get the pink shoes *spoiler much* later on towards the end! I hope you stay tuned because next chapter is when Andy loses Minho! O.O Thanks again!
Megan VR: Yours is probably the longest review I have—so thank you! And thanks for loving the box dropping scenario! Everything'll be revealed one by one, so I hope you stay with the fic! Thanks also for saying there's originality in Andy. I try to diverge her from the typical 'tagging along' OC. Your comment made me smile, so thank you once again! I think I wrote too many 'thank yous', but I had to let you know how excited I was at your review! :D
Glowfower: I'm sorry if your theories weren't exactly accurate, but I appreciate them and your review! Thanks for loving her and her, I'm really torn between those two boys right now. They won't break up…maybe. Thanks again! :D
Potterheadzzz101: Thank you for saying this story is amazing—you are too! I hope you're alright with the Mindy scene above…and I love their relationship too. :)
Lottielue1: Thanks for your review! Andy's back though, so no heartbreaks for now! And Minho got to say sorry, and everything's happy…before the next chapter though. Sorry if you wanted Andy to forget, I just…needed her to remember. Thanks again for reviewing! :)
TenebrisSagittarius: Thanks for the review! I love seeing new usernames in the review areas. And thanks for saying it's amazing, it's nice to know. Vote for Newt then, if you want them together! Thanks again! :)
Thanks for reading!
PS. THIS IS WHERE I ASK IF YOU VOTE FOR NEWT OR MINHO. PLEASE TELL ME SO I CAN BE SURE WHICH BOY TO END THIS FIC WITH. JUST ONE REVIEW WITH A BOY'S NAME IS ENOUGH. AND IT DOESN'T MEAN NO INTERACTION WITH THE OTHER BOY IF THE WINNING BOY WINS. THE DRAMA AND TRIANGLE IS STILL ON. :D
