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Chapter XXVI

Broken Hearts

For nearly two weeks, nobody was allowed inside the Med-Jacks' hut. Not even Alby, who had talked to Clint and Jeff both, nearly pleading them to let him in. Well, Alby didn't plead, of course. His face was serious as always, like he wasn't much affected by what had happened. But his eyes told me otherwise; filled with concern and fear. Though it didn't exactly fit the situation, I couldn't help but laugh at him. When he wasn't trying to convince the Med-Jacks to let him in, he paced back and forth in front of the building with his arms behind his back, stern. Only when things escalated like this, he'd care.

I felt bad for the new greenie. Earlier today, the alarm rung. The arrival was a good distraction the first few hours, even for me. If I remembered correctly, the boy's name was Rich. Unlike our previous greenie, Rich was tall and pale, and much older than a lot of the boys already here. I didn't get to talk to him much, but he seemed nice. When everyone left to worry about Newt again, I left the boy with Dean. I couldn't bother explaining to him what was going on - even thinking about it made my throat tighten. I wasn't sure if Dean knew either; I wasn't even sure if anyone really knew what had happened. Newt's secret weighed heavy, and I couldn't afford to keep it, as much as I wanted to.

After dinner I approached Minho, who had been distant since what had happened. I didn't exactly know what he knew, but from the look on his face when he saw me, it couldn't be anything good. Ignoring his expression, I put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze, before I asked, "How are you?"

"Have been better," he said, eyeing my hand but not shaking it off, which I was grateful for. Even though I hadn't seen Minho much, I had seen him fidgeting with his fingers at dinner, and I had seen him running his hands through his hair much more than usual. Those things he did when he was nervous seemed to have increased.

"I need to talk to you." I looked around to see if anyone could hear us. "As in, alone. It might be important."

Without saying anything, Minho grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards the Deadheads. I nearly fell over because of his fast pace, but somehow regained my balance. "Where are-," I began, but he rudely cut me off.

"Slim it." I could almost feel the harshness of his words. It sent shivers down my spine. He knew.

After what could have been two minutes at most, we reached a small wooden building. I had never actually seen it before, though I had already been in the Glade for two months. Minho let go of my wrist, and I almost sighed in relieve, shaking my hand to make the blood flow again. He retrieved a small key from his pocket and unlocked the door, before unpatiently gesturing for me to go in.

I crashed into a wall before I could turn to look at him. My first instinct was to flee, but he put both his hands next to my head, blocking any escape route. Minho and I had had arguments before, but never had I been scared of him like this. His face was barely inches from mine. Up close, I could feel his warm breath on my forehead and see the frustration in his eyes. He definitely knew.

"Why didn't you shucking tell me?" He spat, slamming one of his hands into the wall. The sound echoed in my head, a wave of dizziness washing over me. I flinched away, even though I knew that Minho would never put his hands on me. I hoped so, at least. "You knew, didn't you? You knew that he was going to do it."

"I would have tried to stop him if I knew, wouldn't I?" I was hurt that he thought I would just let Newt jump off a wall. I hadn't known him for nearly as long as Minho did, of course, but I had grown to like him - I considered him a friend, Minho too. And I didn't want to lose two of my friends like this. "How could I possibly know that he wanted to end his life?"

"He trusted you with himself," Minho said, shaking his head as if he was confused, but not backing away. "I don't understand why."

"What do you mean?"

"He barely knows you. We've been mates since the beginning."

I felt bad for him. He sounded actually upset that he hadn't come to him with his problems. "I guess that's how scared he felt. I may not know him as well as you do, but I know that Newt doesn't like feeling weak, or that he doesn't want people to think he's weak." I took a deep breath, trying to regain myself. Only now I felt the lump in my throat. "He doesn't only need to stay strong for himself, but also for the rest of the Glade. That's a very big responsibility, and you and I both know that if no one else is going to do it, take care of everyone, then he will. He doesn't want you to worry."

"I'm worrying now," Minho muttered under his breath, and I couldn't help but laugh. The boy quirked up an eyebrow. "What?"

"I never thought you were capable of that," I said. "Worrying about others."

"I'm shucking human. Any normal shank does that klunk."

"You're a boy, for God's sake."

Minho let out a short chuckle, almost as if he couldn't believe what I just said. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"For one, you're pretty unsensitive. To be honest, I can't imagaine you dealing with the stuff Newt deals with."

Minho raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of his chest, finally giving me a little space to breathe. His eyes were still angry, but not as filled with rage as minutes before. "You have no idea what I deal with." He narrowed his eyes, trying to study my face as much as I was trying to study his. Anything I said could set him off again, so I had to be cautious with my words.

"I honestly doubt that it could be as bad as Newt's mental state," I said, fiddling my hands behind my back. "I don't know what happened to him that made him so skittish, but it can't be anything light."

That was the wrong thing to say. "I have to lie to people every day!" He yelled, his harsh words causing me to back into the wall again. "I have to make sure everyone keeps believing that we are going to escape this shucking hell, and I spend every day doing this useless job just because I care! You can't just tell me I don't, and nearly get Newt killed, just because you think you're something special! You can't always be shucking right, Harper."

Though I was very confused about the whole escaping-this-shucking-hell thing, I couldn't contain my own anger. "This is not about me being right, you know. And don't you dare say I got Newt killed, because I helped him. I talked to him when he was upset and needed my comfort. I don't think he can say the same for you, can he?" I regretted my words as soon as they came out of my mouth. We had both gone too far and we both knew it, but were too stubborn to actually admit it.

"Take that back," Minho said, hurt interlaced with his voice. He accusingly pointed a finger at me. "No, actually, I'm done with your klunk, Harper. Figure yourself out." With that, he turned around and stormed out of the hut, slamming the door for effect.

I stood there, stunned and left with a thought; How could I mend two broken hearts?

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Guest, TheDarkGirl007 and This poet, thank you for your sweet reviews, they really made me smile :). bridgetlynn, those are two damn long reviews, man. I'll have to agree with you on the way Alby is portrayed. I think that in a lot of fanfictions, people went with the movie too much (which isn't bad) and made Alby a nice guy. That's exactly what I was trying to avoid in this fanfiction, so I hope I didn't disappoint you ;). I also think that sticking a couple of teenagers in a maze isn't exactly what I would do to find a cure for a deadly virus, but hey, you need to somehow build an interesting story. However, I do think Teresa isn't that bad. I actually prefer her over Brenda. From my point of view, she tried to do what she thought was right in order to protect her friends. Anyway, end of the review of the reviews. I was kind of planning on this fight, because Minho always finds a reason to get upset (though I kind of think he has actually the right to be here). To find out what happens next in 'Another One of Those Girl in the Glade Story That Is Somehow Trying To Be Unique', favourite/follow/review! Until next time!

- paperkite