Disclaimer: I do not own James Dashner! Wait that came out wrong.

Minho was doing his run on the northern part of the maze called Sector Seven. It didn't look like "The Maze". Instead of massive, ivy-covered concrete walls this one was made of thin plywood. He could very well bulldoze through the material and on to an exit but he didn't need to. He had seen the map earlier and had memorized it down to the last dead end. And while he knew this maze was different, he didn't mind. He navigated every twist and turn with the grace and speed of a seasoned Runner. It wasn't long before he reached the exit. A figure stood on the way. It was a girl with long black hair that fell to her waist. When she caught sight of him, she gave him a big smile and waved excitedly. He smiled back, reaching the finish line with a loud whoop.

A cold, female voice announced his time over the speakers. "Eight minutes and twelve seconds."

"I'm the man!" he exclaimed, fanning the collar part of his long sleeved white shirt. The girl clapped her hands slowly. "That's the fastest time anyone ever got. I'm impressed," she said before giving him a wink.

"Impressed? Sister, you are in love with me. Admit it." He turned his back on her as he continued to catch his breath. He loved the rush those daily runs gave him.

"I am. You knew that. Why didn't you save me?"

He quickly turned to look back at her, startled by her question. Thick rope now bound the girl's entire torso and her hands were tied behind her back. Her face was a mess. A gash ran the width of her neck so deeply he thought he could see muscle underneath the torn skin.

"I waited for you and you never came! Why? Why?!" She was crying.

"...Alex is that you?" Dread filled his guts. "But...we made it back to the Glade. I don't understand." Memories of the south gate, of his rescue attempt resurfaced in his memory. He remembered collapsing on top of her. Alex was alive.

"What's there to understand? You left me. I'm dead because of you!" she screamed.

Dark eyes flew open. Minho sat up, gasping for air. His shirt and sheets were soaked through with sweat. As his sleep-induced daze wore off, he realized he was in the sick room. From the sunlight pouring in from the window he could tell it was mid day. His gaze landed on another bed across the room. It was empty and looked as if it hadn't been used in a while.

"Alex." He remembered the state he found her in, the cuts, the angry-looking wound on her neck. She was a shucked-up train wreck. Where is she?

He jumped out of bed, immediately regretting his decision as the entire room began to spin. His nightmare gripped him with fear. Alex was dead.

"No. No, it can't be." He shook his head to fight the dizziness and wobbled his way to the door. He ripped it open and found her standing there with a surprised look on her face, her hand positioned by the knob on the other side of it.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. Her hair was short again. Her face was dotted with scabs and bruises but it was Alex. And she was alive. It was all he could think of at that moment.

When Minho neither moved nor spoke after a long time, she added, "When did you-" The tall boy grabbed her by the arms and easily pulled her into the room. He was still staring at her, his almond eyes wide open and unblinking. It felt as though someone had filled his lungs with helium. He felt like he was about to float.

"Where were you?!" he demanded angrily. Alex was appalled by his insane reaction and tried to shrug his hands away, which only succeeded on them holding on to her even more. "I said where were you?!"

"Will you slim it?" she shot back. "I just went down for a bathroom break. Relax." She also changed her bed sheets after she bled through them but he didn't have to know that.

He let out a strangled cry and pulled her into a bear hug. She was startled by his behavior. She had been hustling and bustling in the sick room the whole morning and he had slept through all that noise like a log. Then he woke up and became a doped up version of his insufferable self.

"Minho what's wrong? Your heart is racing."

She could feel it pounding loudly against her own chest like war drums. His breath came out in hot quick puffs against her neck and he was shaking. Unsure of what to do, she rubbed his back in an attempt to calm him down. It was the first time she had seen him act like that. Knowing his versatile temper, she was wary on how to go about approaching him.

"Don't ever do that again." His voice was deeper. It cut through her like ice.

"What, pee?"

"Leave my bed in a mess. Pull a disappearing act on everyone. Have random boys pull you in the shucking maze. Scare the klunk out of me." He whispered the last sentence so softly she barely caught it.

The Alex from two days ago would've swooned and flew up in the air with heart-shaped eyes upon hearing that. Things changed though. There was something about sharing a near-death experience with someone that deepens one's connection with that person. She knew she felt that way with him. Suddenly her teenage mega-crush on the bad boy seemed superficial. She felt something deeper towards him now, something akin to genuine admiration and respect.

"Swear it!" He squeezed her tighter.

"I swear! I swear. Hey, look at me." She wanted to push him a little further so she could look at him. He wouldn't budge. A wet, sniffing sound came from behind her, making her pause.

"Minho-?"

"I need a minute," he replied, his voice hoarse and scratchy. Alex understood. She hugged him back and stood on her tiptoes so she could gently rock him back and forth. Most of the time he was silent. Only the occasional hiccups gave away the fact that he was crying. She could only imagine how awkward it was for him, for someone who had a reputation of being tough as nails, to end up breaking down in front of her of all people. Still, Alex would be lying if she said she hated everything she was seeing. She liked how it proved to the world that Minho was still human after everything he'd been through.

When he pulled away, he immediately turned his back on her and faced the blank wall by his bed.

"How long was I out?" he asked, wiping his face with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Half a day. The entire night before that. Clint said you ran yourself to exhaustion so I'm guessing you needed the sleep."

Minho rolled his eyes in annoyance. Great. He missed the day's run.

"One of the more seasoned Runners took over the west gate for you," she added, reading his mind.

"Oh that's...great."

Silence fell over the two of them. Alex didn't know what to say with him refusing to look at her. His ears turned a bright shade of red. Just when she thought they would go through the night not talking to each other, Minho broke the silent spell.

"I gotta go pee," he said before bolting out of the door.

Alex sighed, collapsing on her newly-made bed. That was awkward. And if that blush told her anything it was that she wasn't the only one who felt that way. A smile crept up her lips. She had no idea what to expect from him when he woke up from that stupor but it wasn't that. Minho, the person who always had a comeback for every single damn thing, was rendered speechless. And she was right there to see it all happen.

Man, that was priceless!

Author's Note: I was very adamant about the crying part of his chapter. I entertained a lot of what-ifs regarding that god-awful hiccuping noise. What if he developed a throat infection? What if he choked? What if he was hungry? Meh, whatever. Lemme know what you think in the review page. *shakes head* Seriously Minho?!

Inspiration of sap portion is the 6-minute short film titled "This Time" by the Jubilee Project starring...guess who? =) Yeah. Even the girl in the film reminded me of Alex...even though technically that's not how I imagined her to look like. That make sense? No? Okay, review!