Dear readers...
I'm SO SORRRRYYYYYYYYYY! I've been so busy I haven't been able to get on! But 'm now glad to say that I've finally updated :) and I hope you enjoy this little chapter, I hope I don't make you wait so long next time, and thank you to those who have followed, favorited, and reviewed my story, as sucky as it is... anyway, time for responses~!
TSCxHG: Hey! I'm glad you like it :) I'm sorry it's been a while since I've updated, life got in the way, but I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'll try not to make you wait so long next time ;)
tainted-nymph: Sorry :( I've been really busy, and I honestly wasn't sure if anyone was reading it anymore... I'm not the best writer :) anyway, here's an update for those of you who are still interested, I hope you enjoy!
" BUGGIN 'EL!" Anne couldn't stop laughing as she watched the Greenie trying to win at least one arm wrestling match against the Gladers, she noticed a spark of something in the boy's eyes that seemed to show that even though he'd just been creamed by Fry, he was still having fun. At first she hadn't been sure weather he'd fit in or not, but after the third round of truth or dare it became obvious that the boy was already fitting in with the others, and had gained quite a lot of respect when he chugged down seven straight jars of the awful tasting concoction Gally had come up with, and though he now seemed to be totally hammered and would most likely swear to never drink another drop of that Maze forsaken drink ever again in the morning, he honestly seemed to be having the time of his life. If there's one thing Anne's learned in the Glade, it's that forgetting everything is how many of the boy's cope, this is why they need these parties from time to time, though the boys can act a bit immature, no one actually thinks of them like that, they're just a bunch of kids who had to learn to live like adults, most of their minds have already matured great deals, and that's something she couldn't help but admire
" Hey Mini-bean! Greenie here seems to think you'd be an easy match, so get your butt over here and show this klunk-head how it's done!" said girl turned and raised a brow at the boy, who had a nervous but determined look on his face, she simply raised a brow
" You sure kid?" his face simply hardens in determination as he nods, she shrugs and takes a seat at the arm wrestling table "Okay, but whatever happens isn't my fault" she grips his hand and takes her position, making sure to be mindful of his scrawny arms
" Ready...set...FIGHT!" with that the Kid begins to push on her arm, much to her amusement, so, feeling nice she lets up a bit, letting her arm back a bit, giving him the satisfaction of pushing her down a couple of inches, this caused some amazed gasps from the crowd, and causing her grin to grow. That move lifted the kid a few pegs in the others mind, but then she started to put more strength into it, lifting her arm back up and pushing slowly until she'd turned the tables, letting up right before she pushed his hand into the table, just to make it looked like he put up a pretty good fight, though the boy didn't comment she could see the frown on his face, a disapproving look ah... he caught on... then proceeding to push his hand into the table cheers and laughs broke out, many guys giving him pats on the back, she shrugged and gave him a wink, as if saying Sorry, but hey, it gave the crowd something entertaining to watch didn't it?
" Oh yeah, and did we forget to mention that Mini-bean has never lost a single fight to anybody since we've been here?" Anne didn't see who said that in the big herd of people, but she did hear the kid's exclamation of shock, causing her to laugh this is gonna be a fun night
Most of the night had been pretty fun, there'd been some wrestling, and food, dancing, story telling, ghost stories, and basically some all out fun. At some point the Kid had just wandered away, leaning against a log, he starred at the sky, his eyes blank, but also seeming to just take everything in, Anne simply smiled and plopped down next to him
" It's all pretty amazing huh?" he opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated, jolting when the sound of a griever broke out through the Glade
" Are those the monsters you were talking about?" sighing, Anne nods sadly
" Yeah, I wish they were a joke... but they exist, and trust me, you don't want to deal with 'em" he nods slowly, before both of you go quiet for a while, just both taking in the sounds and scenery, and drinking their jars of Gally's juice
" Why-" hearing the hesitance in the boy's voice, Anne turned to face him "Why'd you go easy on me?" Anne simply shrugs, a small smile on her face
" It's hard to gain respect here, and you- though very scrawny- are someone I would put my trust in" at his confused look, she laughed slightly "you're a good kid greenie, probably one of the most mature boys I've seen here yet, I trust you, so don't ruin that, got it?" the boy gave a soft chuckle and nods
" Okay, okay, I get it, just try not to make the whole 'going easy on me' a regular thing, alright?" the both laugh
" That, I can do" Suddenly out of nowhere a drunk glader stumbles over the log and lands right in between the two, mumbling something about cheese. Both occupants of the log stare in shock for a couple of seconds before they're sent into a huge fit of laughter "come on, lets go find a safer place, who knows what these drunkerds'll do, besides, I don't want to get pulled into the clean-up, it's too much of a hassle, especially cleaning up the vomit..." with disgusted faces the two of them stand up and begin walking. Most people have already either gone to bed, or are passed out drunk somewhere, the ones who aren't are just getting to cleaning up. When they reach the tower, the boy gives the rope ladder a doubtful look, his voice still slurring slightly from the amount of drinks he's had
" You sure that's safe?" Anne shrugs at the question
" I've gone up and down it a million times, it's fine, though if you want to chicken out now, be my guest" Glaring at her, the boy began climbing up, she grinned cheekily in reply "I thought not" once they reached the top, the newbie flopped onto his back in exhaustion, Anne only laughed at him
" How are you not tired!? That had to be at least fifty feet!" Anne shrugs and pulls herself all the way up
" It's not too hard for me, I guess I'm just fit" Grinning cheekily she shoves the greenie to the side a bit, just to give herself more room "either that or your just a fatty" that comment earned her a kick and a mock glare, she only laughs
" You're calling me fat?"
" Hey, I'm a twig and you know it!" Mock glaring she shoves him for good measure, causing him to mumble to himself
" Yeah, a heavy twig" shoving him again, the girl returned the glare, though both couldn't help but smile afterward, Anne leaned onto her back and stared at the sky, something about it just drawing her in. for what seemed like ages, but in reality was only minutes, Anne starred at the sky, unaware of the boy who was secretly watching her. After a while though, she began to feel his stare, glancing at him, she tilted her head, a smile on her face
" Yeeeeeeeeeeeeees?" the boy quickly looked away to hide his embarrassment
" Well um... I was just wondering... you seem so tough and- not to say that your not, but I just- I mean-" sighing and rubbing his head, the boy looks at Anne, a nervous look on his face "Why's that Gally kid so protective over you? I mean no offense, but he's kinda a fish bone, and your just a major bad*ss. Well, you still look like a fish-bone, but... you get what I mean" laughing, the ex-greenie ruffles the boy's hair
" Hey, he's better than he seems, he may be a total wus, but he's growing, I can tell, though I can see a bit of a temper growing behind him, he's a good kid. He's also grown up real fast, I can already see the lean muscle he's been growing, but hey, I'm sure by the time we get out of here, he'll be a wall of muscle!" suddenly realizing something the girl pauses "did that klunk-head try'n intimidate you?" Frowning at the unsure nod the boy gave her, Anne rubbed her temples
" He's kinda a bit... paranoid isn't he?" The brit in front of her looked pretty uncomfortable, but seemed generally interested in what she had to say
"Uhg... don't blame him, he just cares about me a lot, after all, the first thing we really knew was each other. I suppose he has trust issues, and is rather protective of me, I was the first thing he knew when he woke up, his first memory, and for us, I suppose that's important... the first person to arrive here was Alby, he was alone, and that reflects in his personality, then not long after, Nick came up, and sort of became his solid rock, the two are definitely as close as can be. After that, each boy came up one by one. Clint? He came up right before a sniffling Winston came up, that boy was as clumsy as a clown! I heard the first thing he did was trip and cut his head open on a box, of course he jumped into action instantly and bandaged up the kid, that was the first bond the two had, they became kinda like brothers, though Clint sometimes forgets to be aware of how sensitive the boy can be. It's kinda sad how much the poor kid is ignored around here, I suppose that's why I attached to him, I don't think anyone should be left out or mistreated, that may be because of how small and frail Gally was when I first saw him, he'd been hurt, his nose was actually broken" the girl had to snort at that "That ended up in his attractive attributes today, as you can plainly see, his nose looks like a shuck grievers- sorry, I got off topic, anyway, before I saw Gally, I was alone, and afraid, I had to grow up and take care of myself, I have yet to depend on others for that. But my point is I don't want others to feel that way, which is why I decided to make everyone feel as welcome as possible, this is our temporary family and temporary home, we might as well make it count, right?"
" You sure talk a lot..." bursting into laughter, Anne can't help but agree
" Yeah, ramblin peoples ears off is a talent of mine, so watch out, or I'll literally ]make your ears bleed!" the two laugh for a bit before a smile spreads across their faces "anyway, I hate to be a bummer, but we better head off to bed, you've got a big day tomorrow" the boy laughs, moving his way over to the ladder, swaying at an almost concerning rate
" Yeah, wouldn't want your boyfriend getting mad at me now would ya?" that earned the scrawny boy a kick to the side
" Shut your face shuck-face, or I may just decide to feed ya to the grievers tomorrow" the two continue to climb down the ropes, at a much faster pace then they'd used to climb up it, easily letting themselves slip or step down a few notches at a time
" What, right after you finish sucking faces with Gally?" that one earned a kick to the face
" Watch it kid" he only grins in reply, waiting till he reaches a good distance away to reply
" What can I say? I've been hanging around Minho too much, he's a real sucker for drinking competitions! And sharing all the latest glader gossip speaking of which-" sliding all the way to the ground, the boy lets the rope sway a little, forcing Anne to slow down as he takes a few steps away from the ladder "I heard a certain rumor that your last target was the leader of the glade, seems you've been encasing the glade with your witch charms huh?" Anne lets herself fall the rest of the way down, swinging her leg under the drunks legs and making him then fall onto his back, in his dizzy daze, he felt pressure on his torso and what appeared to be a face above his
" Watch it, for the next few weeks you'll be considered the new laughing stock, the greenie always is, and I can either make it better, or worse" The brits vision barely manages to focus to see the scrawny looking kid on top of him, pinning him down, and grinning is amusement "now get to bed Klunk-head, you're drunk"
It was about four in the morning when Anne found herself practicing her usual morning routines, washing and re-braiding her tangled mane, pinning it up and to her hat to make sure it didn't come out, running around the Glade, climbing up things, exercising, stretching, making her rounds to make sure all medicines were in place, checking on the animals and getting them their early morning snacks and meals, pampering the kittens, and just generally making sure everything was in place, finally, she makes her way back to the homestead and begins to climb, climbing higher and higher, pulling herself up one windowsill at a time, finally she makes it to the top, pulling herself onto the roof and looking out at the horizon, though now covered in sweat, she felt energized, full of energy and ready for the day, and though somewhere deep down she knew it would be good to question where her strength came from, she just chose to assume it was all in the past. Now that it was getting close to the sun coming up((though they wouldn't see it quite yet)) she just wanted to suck this whole veiw in for a while
" Hey Mini-bean, shouldn't you be waking the Greenie!?" or not... rolling her eyes, the girl hops/climbs her way down the rickety building, frowning at the villain who disturbed her peace
" Morning Nick, please try to refrain from ruining anyone elses" the boy made a mock hurt face at her
" Aw~ is Mini-bean feeling tired?" the only response he was rewarded with was a punch to the shoulder and eye rolling, the boy simply gave an amused smirk at her response "Well, your certainly cheery this morning..." she then made her way through the sleeping area, trying to find the new greenie, though, with no luck, until she ''accidentally'' stepped on Minho's hand, where after a short verbal war with the sleepy runner, she was directed to the woods where she soon found the boy sleeping against a tree, almost looking peaceful, however that soon ended when he was awoken by a kick to the side
" Up 'en addam Shuck-face, it's time for your first ordeal of the day" She however only got a groan in return
" Can't this wait till later...? my head feels like the buggin apocalypse is happening inside..." Rolling her eyes, Anne gives the boy another soft kick
" No. now get your shuck *ss out of bed before I dump a bucket of klunk on ya" after only receiving a grunt, and from then on nothing but silence, no matter how much she pestered him, she decides to go with a... not so... warm approach
" Mini-bean? What're you doin in here so early?" that was Fry's question when he came into the kitchen, only to find Anne leaving with a large bucket full of ice and water
" Giving the shuck-faced greenie a wake up call" she only gets a laugh and understanding nod in return, making her way back to the sleeping boy
*SPLASH*
Scrambling to his feet the soaked and now freezing boy looks left and right before his eyes fall into a hard glare on the perpetrator " Was that really necessary?" the girl grins in reply
" For you? Yes indeed" the boy pulls himself up, frowning at his now soaking clothes, if it wasn't for the warm morning air he would have been totally pissed at her, but hey, right now he was only mildly pissed.
" You're an #sshole ya know that?"
" Indeed I do, now come on, we got a long morning ahead" leading him deeper into the forest(and causing him a lot of confusion, and many questions) she brought him to the darkest depths of her favorite hangout place in the Glade. After a good ten minutes of walking, they found themselves at the ivy covered wall, causing the greenie to frown
" What are we even doing here?" only shushing him, Anne moves the curtain of vines aside, only to reveal complete darkness " Seriously? Pitch black darkness ooh~ so exciting" Glaring at the boy for his sarcasm, she shushes him again
" Quiet, now just be patient" after a while, all is quiet, the greenie sitting impatiently, and girl in disguise starring through the grimy window into the dark void beyond. It was a good long fifteen minutes of silence later before an eerie red glow shown on Anne's face, causing her to smile "It's here" scooting back for the boy she watched as he got a good look out the filthy window, at first, she saw no reaction, but then his face slowly paled, turning slightly green as he stared face to face with the slimy slug like creature, unable to say anything before the creature suddenly jumped at him, causing a scream to break out from the kids throat, and he quickly scooted away, terrified of what lay just beyond the glass. Anne's face showed mild surprise "Woah, I've never seen one of them do that before... they usually just sit there... huh, strange"
" WHAT IN BUGGIN H#LL WAS THAT!?" Anne only laughs at the boys hysteria
" That my friend, was a griever"
After a couple hours a downtime, a quick meal, and day of working in the barn and as a ''bloody butcher'' as the kid would call it, He'd finally found something else to complain about, much to the relief of Anne who really couldn't stand all his questions about the maze and it's inhabitant's " I mean seriously, the questions never stop! What's with this guy!? Was I that annoying as a greenie? If so, I sincerely apologize to you and all the other people here who had to deal with me" Minho, the one she had been talking to for the last hour only laughs at her misfortune, they were currently eating swiped goods from Fry while relaxing in Anne's special clearing it the Forest, a preferred hangout for the gang when they wanted to just get away from the glade((or at least from the other gladers))
" Hey, now you know how we felt, it's even worse that we had to deal with a klunkhead that always resorted to violence, hiding, and unintentionally hurting himself" that comment received a glare and a punch "Besides, you weren't nearly as bad as that little bugger Gally, he was a real piece of work, all that paranoia, violence, yelling, not to mention all those stupid questions and how he always followed you around like a stupid puppy, I mean seriously, what's with that? It's like you were his mother or something" that rewarded the asian with a kick
" Hey, don't be too hard on him, I mean, he's one of our top builders now right?"
" Doesn't change the fact that he's as melodramatic as a chic..." Laughing at his grumblings, Anne couldn't help give a snide remark
" Look who's talking princess" that earned her a punch to the arm
" That's Queen to you!" that caused a huge laughing fit to the point of Anne's stomach hurting
" See? This is why I always come to you to talk to, you actually listen(if only a little) and make me laugh"
" Hey, what can I say, I'm pretty great" coming with a dramatic pose and a wink, this caused even more laughter to bubble from Anne's throat
" You're a real klunkhead aren't ya?" grabbing another handful of chips Anne gave the boy a smirk, only to have it wiped off her face as he stole a couple out of her hands, earning him another punch
" Only for you babe" Mock gagging the ex-greenie stole a few more chips from the bag
" You're disgusting,watch out, I don't think our little Brit would want you cheating on him"
" Oh ha ha, very funny, now what about you and Gal' you guys are still having a lovers dispute? Watch out, Nick may see that as his time to steal you from him" Minho took that as a chance to steal another chip from her hands
" Oh whatever, I already told you guys, we're working on it, it's not my fault Gally's a drama queen" crunching on a few more chips she begrudgingly adds "or that he suddenly started ignoring me..." the runner next to her only rolls his eye's
" Changing the topis, when are you gonna bring the greenie in for Runner tryouts?" Anne only shrugs
" Who knows? I think I kinda mentally scarred him this morning" at the confused look that Minho gives her, she explains " remember that window I was telling you about? Yeah, I showed it to him" that caused Minho to shudder
" You showed him your creepy pet?"
" Hey!" Anne punched him again, glaring the boy down "It's not my pet, I just like to look at the things, and they happen to just sit around... being boring. -But anyway, that's not the point, so what happened was the thing just kinda leaped out at him, smacking it's face into the glass, pretty weird right?"
" Dude, just because they don't try and attack you through the window every time you go to see them doesn't mean the 'must kill children' urge isn't normal, it's actually kinda weird the bug's and such are so chill with you" Shrugging, and crumples up the now empty bag and tosses it into the secret bag she keeps hidden in the forest
" Whatever, it's weird for me, but now he's asking all these questions and stuff, it really freaked him out, I have no idea when he'll be ready to go into that Maze" Minho simply shrugs in response
" Well, keep an eye out, when he is I want to know, he could be a good addition to the team" Anne only rolls her eyes, an amused expression on her face
" Yeah, yeah whatever, you just want to have more bonding time with your new girlfriend" after punching her in the shoulder, the boy simply flopped back onto his back, before sticking out his tongue and stealing the last of the chips, crumpling up the bag and stuffing it back into her worn out backpack
" Whatever you say klunk-head"
" Adam!" Anne glances up, an amused smile appearing on her face as she see's the greenbean rushing up to her, with an ecstatic smile on his face "Nick told me I'd find you here" his eyes shifted to Minho, and an amused smile appears on his face "Though I didn't know Mr. sarcastic would be here"
" That's Queen sarcastic to you peasant" Pointing his chip dust covered finger at the boy, Minho gave a little smirk "or should I call you princess?"
" Minho, manners, pointing is rude" pausing to pack up her stuff, Anne gives the boy an amused smile "and everyone knows you're the only princess here" after tossing her bag into the tree, she glances back at the Greenie, a smile appearing on her face again "so what did'ja need greenbud?" shrugging a bit the boy's smile grows
" Nick said you'd give me a better spot to sleep... plus they got sick of me complaining about the smell of blood in the smoke house..." letting out a little laugh at the kids disgusted face, she replies
" Of course Nick would put me on bed duty" pausing, she remembers that all of the keepers now have beds, her herself is sharing a bed with Winston, which means there's an extra hammock open in the room now "well... I had a conversation with Winnie this morning about letting you stay in my old hammock until you get used to all the guys... he didn't seem to mind, so I suppose you'll be sharing a room with me and him for a bit, if ya don't mind that is" the boy simply nods, a small smile on his face
"Good that"