Well, hello there!
It's been like eighteen years so I don't expect anyone who used to read this story to read this, but just in case - I want to say thank you. Thank you for all of your support and thank you for all those beautiful reviews - rereading them was just such an amazing and heartwarming experience, I couldn't be more grateful.
I'm sorry for not updating sooner - writer's block is a real meanie and life just has this funny way of getting in the way. I'm not going to make any promises, but it seems that I'm still not done with this story yet and I'm going to keep writing until I can.

Enjoy the chapter and have a great day :)

One Moment

The past three days were hard and pretty lonely.
The past three days, Moon had been very discreetly gathering data about… alright, let's face it — Moon had become a stalker and she was surprisingly good at it. No one would have guessed that stealth was something she could actually be great at, but she was objectively excellent when it came to observing the others and avoiding Newt.

It wasn't just Newt either — she had to avoid Minho as well. His strong sense of duty and structure made him keep running the Maze like a crazy shuck-face, and even though Moon was a Runner, she didn't want to have anything to do with that. After all, she found the way out, did her part, thank you very much. Also, she had far more important things that needed her attention.

Thomas has not been doing great when it came to his settling down in the Glade. Since he was the new Greenie and already rather jittery, Alby had prohibited them to disclose any unnecessary information to him in order not to overwhelm him even more. That, of course, included their planned takeoff that was meant to happen in 24 days. To Moon, that day seemed so distant and surreal that it felt completely out of her reach. She blamed that on Thomas, too.

The new Greenie wasn't adapting to his new lifestyle very well. Except for Newt, he had no friends and most of the Gladers were keeping their distance or giving him space to properly cool down, which didn't seem likely to happen any time soon. Thomas was bombarding others with questions wherever he went and the Gladers were not having it, sending him from one post to another. Having her own first days fresh in her memory, Moon was trying (and failing) not to be too spiteful about it.

Anyway, as was mentioned earlier, Moon had proved to be amazing when it came to following Thomas around wherever he went without him suspecting a thing. It wasn't her fault when she got busted only a few minutes into watching him being a Trackhoe — that was on Chuck, who came to her running, calling loudly that Newt was looking for her all morning.

Moon tried to discreetly disappear in the other direction, when from the corner of her eye, she noticed how Thomas broke off from his working group and started following her. Very casually, Moon started running. Thomas did too. Suddenly, there was nothing casual about that.

Although, their race didn't last for very long, since Moon ran into the Maze and turned around just in time to see Thomas abruptly stop in the grass before the Gate, his shoulders rather stiff.

"Looks like someone didn't love his time in the Pit," Moon remarked, smirking.

Thomas was glaring at her. "I just want to talk to you."

"Not interested." Moon turned around and started walking away, deeper in the labyrinth.

"You freaked out when you found out I remember my name," Thomas called after her loudly. "Newt told me you also knew your name when you came here… Is that true?"

Moon stopped dead in her tracks. So he and Newt were talking about her, that was just great. She turned around with narrowed eyes because it felt like he was insinuating something.

"I'm not like you," she said coldly.

"And how could you know that?" Thomas scoffed, shaking his head. "You don't know me. I don't even know me!"

You're lying. You are a liar.

"Yeah, that makes two of you," came a judgmental voice from her right side.

Moon winced, feeling every muscle in her body tense. Right there next to her, in a broad daylight, stood Luna, her wild dark eyes piercing right through her. And that was impossible. As the panic started rising in her chest, Moon tried to make her disappear by pinching herself on the leg. It didn't work.

"This is not the kind of nightmare you can wake up from, sweetheart," Luna chuckled and the sound was terrifying. Moon took a quick step back, almost losing balance and falling.

"Are you okay?" Thomas called after her and she could clearly hear the confusion in his voice.

I'm insane, Moon thought, staring breathlessly at her own reflection.

"You only realized that now?"

Moon closed her eyes, but the image of Luna's wild smile was projected onto her eyelids. This was insanity, it had to be. It definitely felt like it. Obviously, with Thomas parading about and everything else falling apart, it just had been too much for her. Being basically alone for three days definitely didn't help her mental state, and now she was just straight up—

"What the hell are you doing, Tiny?"

Moon opened her eyes and saw that Minho was now standing next to puzzled Thomas, staring at her with a great amount of scorn. More importantly, there was no sign of Luna anywhere. As if she never existed.

Moon exhaled in relief and tried to quickly pull herself together.
"Oh, I don't know if you've heard but I'm a Runner?" she reminded helpfully. "So I'm running the Maze?"

"Not without a babysitter you don't," Minho shook his head resolutely. "Get your ass back in here!"

Moon sighed and started walking back because there really was no point in trying to run. Minho was faster. Minho would catch her. And then he would definitely drag her ass back through the mud and in front of the new Greenie.

"In fact, make yourself useful and go get Ben," Minho told her the moment Moon stepped back over the Glade's border and she gave him the best glare she could muster. "Go on, chop, chop!"

I shucking hate this guy…

Moon started jogging away (with no intention of obeying his orders, mind you) and in the corner of her eye, she could see that Thomas tried to follow after her. Fortunately for her, Minho stopped him by grabbing him, and started telling him something she couldn't hear.

It didn't really matter anyway. Her cover was now blown and maybe it would be good for her to get away from here for a few hours. Even though she hated being Minho's lackey — she did quite like Ben and so she was actually going to get him.

xXxXx

"This is the day."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

Ben threw back his head, gazing up at the puffy clouds.
"I kinda lost hope a long time ago…"

"Nonsense," Moon shook her head. "Today. I'm pulling out the big guns."

"And that is?"

"Eager to hear the plan, aren't ya?" she smirked, stretching out her arms. "Okay, here it goes. You're gonna ask, he's gonna say no and then it's my turn to say 'Oh, Ben, don't you ever learn? Minho can't let me run with you, he's so unbelievably in love with me, it could literally break his heart.'"

Ben laughed. "That could actually work…"

"Right? And if not that — I'm gonna confess my feelings for him. That will shuck him up good. You know how he hates everything emotional…"

"Yeah, he does," Ben agreed, thoughtfully considering the plan. "But is it enough, though? Shouldn't you also… like hug him or something? Run a hand through his hair maybe?"

Moon snapped her head to him, narrowing her eyes.
"Do you want to run with me or do you want me dead, dude?"

"Just saying — this isn't the first time we've tried this…" Ben lifted his hands in surrender.

"How about you run your hand through his hair, you shuck-face?"

"I don't want him to break my hand!"

"And I do?!"

"Whatcha guys talking about?" asked Minho, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Seeing how Ben immediately tensed up merely at the Keeper's presence, it was quite clear that he wasn't going to ask him anything. So it fell to Moon to once again step up.

She cleared her throat and turned to Minho with a sweet smile. "Just about my feelings for you," she purred. "You know, how they're getting deeper and deeper every second we spent together… And we do spend a lot of time together, if you understand…"

Minho was staring at her, totally deadpan, and after a while he just nodded, his eyes checking her over. "Yeah," he drawled out. "I know what you mean."

The shock hit Moon as hard as a baseball bat in the face. "… you do?"

"I mean, I thought I'd kill you in the start, but… you know how it is. After some time, you get used to it… And then you start to feel things… that you think you never could…"

Moon was staring at him, her eyes big like two coins and Ben literally had his mouth open.

"I have to admit though… In the beginning — I never thought it would be you… But we got closer," Minho literally moved closer to her and Moon started to back away. "And now… I can finally tell you…"

Oh my God… Somebody kill me now, please. Creators?! Where is a Griever when you need one?

Minho leaned closer to her, looking deep into her eyes. "There's no shucking way I'd let your shuck-face in the Maze with this shucking slinthead, so shut your mouth, tie your shoes and let's go." He almost moved away but as he remembered something, he leaned closer to her again. "And by the way… try something like this again — I'm gonna kick your ass off the Cliff. And don't think even for a second I'm not serious."

Moon really didn't. She just stood there, frozen, completely shocked by everything that just happened. Her feelings were completely mixed and confused. First she was just relieved it was all a game, then super embarrassed that she so easily bought Minho's confession and then actually scared because the look in his eyes and his low voice was quite terrifying. When he left, she looked up to Ben, and he looked to be in quite the same state as she was.

"Oh my God…" she let out in a strained voice and quietly.

"So…" Ben exhaled, trying to relax a bit. "We're not running together, huh? Like never, I guess?"

"Looks like it, yeah…"

"Move your ass, Tiny!"

"Coming!" was Moon's immediate response and she quickly rushed after her Keeper like a puppy.

Moon didn't want to talk to Minho about Thomas anymore. The warm sense of kinship she had had with him lasted maybe five minutes before the Runner just did a complete one-eighty and totally abandoned her. He tried to make her talk to him, but Moon wasn't taking the bait. He told her that Newt was looking for her, that Thomas was freaking out about his situation most of the day, keep asking questions and generally just annoying people to no end — just like she had — but it earned him no reaction other than a casual hum of agreement.

"So you're really going to do it like this, huh?" Minho asked, narrowing his eyes. "Clam up and wallow in your own paranoia?"

"Not sure what you mean," Moon replied levelly, shrugging. "Everybody told me to let it go — so that's what I did. Just keeping my head down, going with the flow…"

Minho put an arm before her, making her stop and look at him.
"… do you think I'm retarded?" he frowned.

"I'm not sure how to answer that — I don't want to see you cry again."

"You've never seen me— Don't try to change the subject, you shuck!"

"I don't care if you believe me or not," Moon said callously, evading his arm and continuing her run. "I'm kinda tired of all the constant drama…"

Minho gave her a look that clearly said 'drama is your shucking middle name' but he let it go. He was kinda angry after, though, which Moon seriously didn't understand because she would think he would be elated that he doesn't have to listen to her talk through all the run. After all, that was one of his dreams, as he had told her many times before.

Moon didn't really care about Minho's feelings at that moment — there was no space inside of her for that. With everything that was happening with Thomas and the new symptoms of her insanity, there was hardly enough room to exist. Not to mention the fact that she was still pretty ticked about Clint's betrayal and the fact that she and Newt were currently not speaking.

Newt's absence in her everyday life in particular was something she could physically feel. Sometimes in her chest, sometimes in her stomach, and sometimes in her head. It's been only three days, but a strange hollowness that kept on reoccurring and Moon was pretty sure she knew what it was linked to.

When they returned a few hours later, Moon walked away from Minho without saying goodbye, her eyes unwillingly searching the Glade for a sign of tousled blond hair and coming up empty. She was just about to head out to the Kitchen to see if she could get a little appetizer from Frypan before dinner (she usually could), where she saw it.

It was Thomas. Of course, it was. And he was talking to Chuck. However, this was not a casual conversation. The curly-haired boy had his hand on the Greenie's shoulder and his face was all sunshine and laughter. He was laughing with Thomas.

Just like that, Moon saw red. Hot and thick anger that wasn't there a second ago was suddenly brewing inside of her chest, rising up into her head, filling her nose with bitterness. Thomas really had the nerve to come here, acting all innocent and lost, monopolized all of Newt's time and attention and now he was just hitting it off with little Chuck?!

That's it!

She managed to make three very angry steps towards the two of them before someone harshly gripped her by her elbow and pulled her back.

"Easy," Minho told her when she tried to violently break off his grasp.

"Let go of me," Moon growled, shoving him away.

"Yeah, I don't think I will…" Minho shook his head while giving her a rueful smile.
"I would never in a million years describe you as stable, but the murderous glare you have going on right now… not safe."

Moon couldn't care less what he thought. Turning her head, she could see Thomas just actually smiling at something Chuck was telling him to and she wanted nothing more than to just punch that grin off his shucking Creator fake.

"I knew you could never let it go, Tiny," Minho remarked.

"You don't get it," Moon hissed and stopped fighting him. "He's dangerous."

"Oh, is he?" Minho raised his eyebrows. "Should I call the mob then? Are you ready to crucify him? Make an example out of him?"

I see you found your new favorite go-to phrase to keep me in line.

"Maybe I am," she spat back.

"No, you're not." Minho shook his head, finally letting her go. "But whatever, go ahead. Get all crazy on his newbie ass and get yourself thrown in the Pit, I don't give a shuck. Having you under a lock is probably safer for everyone anyway."

Moon rubbed her aching wrist, her eyes lowered to the ground. Her anger quickly turned into hurt that turned into desperation. Her word meant nothing to the other Gladers — not even Minho, not even Newt. She had no proof that Thomas was a threat and they were not even willing to help her get it.

You're gonna regret not believing me, Moon thought when she gave Minho one last glare before walking away from him. She really wished for him to fall on his face with this, she really did.

She walked through the Glade, trying to push the stinging feeling of loneliness away, when she noticed that Newt was standing by the gardens, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. Moon's gaze lingered a moment and it shouldn't because he sensed it and his head turned into her direction. She could clearly see him mouth 'Moon' before he abandoned his shovel and set off in her direction.

Oh, God…!

Moon was instantly flooded by panic. Without thinking about it twice, she turned on her heel and ran. She was too embarrassed to even check if he was following her, so she ran straight into the Homestead and hid behind the main door. After a couple of minutes when nothing happened, Moon could feel a sting of disappointment in her chest.

Oh, right. You run from him and then you're bummed that he didn't chase after you? Seriously…

Moon rubbed her face with her hand, just so completely done with herself today. After a moment, she decided to hit the showers — maybe a stream of semi-warm water would help you turn off her crazy brain for a moment. And she just finished washing her hair when the door to the bathroom opened making her freeze with her hands still in her wet hair.

"… Moon?"

Moon cursed in her head. It was Newt. He really got her cornered.
"You're really not supposed to be here," she said levelly after stopping the water and wrapping herself into a towel.

"I've been looking for you," Newt said, clearing his throat. "For the past three days like literally everywhere. If the others didn't mention noticing you now and then, I would have believed you grew wings and flew out of this hellhole."

Yeah, that's because I'm awesome at stealth now.

"I've gotta give it to you — you got real good in avoiding me."

Thanks for noticing.

Moon pulled the shower curtain away and stepped out. Newt stood there, in front of the door, looking at her with those dark eyes of his. For once… she found she had nothing to say. What was there to say, really? They were staring at each other for a while and it was the simple things that were leaving Moon completely dumbfounded. She hasn't really seen him for quite a while and now when he was standing just a few steps away… she realized how much she missed just being around him. Just… seeing him. Up close.

"I was thinking about it, you know?" Newt broke the silence, biting his lip. "I'm not here to apologize."

That statement should have made her angry. Annoyed. Sad. Anything. But it didn't. It didn't make her feel anything except maybe… acceptance.

You don't have to apologize, Newt… You are who you are.

Newt was staring at her, his dark eyes uneasy. "Moon?"

This was most likely the longest time she had ever been quiet so she couldn't really blame him for being uncomfortable.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Moon said calmly.

"That's bloody right," Newt agreed, seemingly not very sure how to react to her statement. "So why the hell are you mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you." She really wasn't. She was just… tired. Exhausted of him never seeing things her way, and hurt about them seemingly never being on the same side.

"Oh, you're not?" Newt raised one of his eyebrows at her. "So you no longer sleeping in our room is just a mere coincidence?"

"We just sort of… hit a stalemate," Moon sighed, dropping her eyes to the floor.
"I knew neither of us was going to budge and despite what you might think — I don't particularly enjoy arguing with you, Newt."

Newt shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his dark eyes unreadable.
"… what is that mean?" he asked, his voice soft. "You don't want to be around me anymore?"

Are you crazy? "I didn't say that," Moon quickly replied. "I just didn't want to… keep pushing you against your beliefs. I know I have no right to tell you what to do."

Newt was looking at her. His eyes were deep and warm and maybe a little lost. He was there, right in front of her, and it seemed like ages since they last were this close to each other. Feelings started stirring inside of her and Moon bit her lip realizing that just like that — she had lost her calm composure.

"But screw that, you came here, so I'm gonna do it anyway," she exhaled heavily. "I know I should suppose to… respect your choices, trust that you'll be able to make your own decisions and whatnot, but you know what? Too shucking bad."

Newt blinked but remained silent.

"I know you're like really smart," Moon went on before he could even try to cut her off. "I know you're knowledgeable and sensible, responsible — all that stupid great stuff — but you know what you also are? A shucking idiot. You trust everyone, see the good in people, give chances one after another! You care and that makes you vulnerable and don't think even for a second that I'm gonna stand aside watching you burn your fingers just because you're so good and kind and—"

Before Moon could realize what was happening, Newt moved forward. Suddenly, his hands were on her face, and before she could even take a breath, he leaned closer and pressed his lips gently against hers. Moon's eyes remained wide open in consternation and even though it was quite cold in the room, she could feel a mass of hot energy surging through her body from her fingertips, piling up right in her chest. It lasted only a few seconds before Newt let go of her with a startle, backing down, his face displaying a great amount of shock.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," he blurted out quickly, covering his mouth, his eyes flickering across her face. "I just— And you're in a towel… that was—"

"Intense…" slipped through Moon's lips. She placed her hand across her heart, literally feeling the heat there. It couldn't really feel like this… Was she supposed to feel like this?

"Yeah…" Newt exhaled in agreement, lowering his eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Moon slowly moved closer to him, watching him carefully look up.
"Are you sorry?" she asked softly, hesitantly placing a hand on his chest. Newt looked down at her, sinking deep into her eyes.

"I…" he breathed out.

"Are you?"

"… not really, no."

"Good," Moon nodded slowly. "Don't say it then."

She closed her eyes and moved forward to kiss him. It felt different with her eyes closed, it felt… more. Her mind was completely blank all of the sudden, but not like after the Creators wiped it clean — this felt amazing. There was only her and Newt, Newt and her, nothing else mattered, nothing else was important, Thomas who? Moon didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore, just Newt. Only Newt.

She didn't even realize that her hands moved towards his face, but she knew exactly when he moved to embrace her. He pulled her closer, locking her inside of his warm arms and Moon never felt so safe in her life. All that intensive energy was rushing through her veins and her doubts were suddenly gone as if they never even existed. This was real. This feeling was real. This wasn't just in her head, they meant something.

"Newt? Newt!"

There was some calling outside and Moon didn't even care, she hardly even noticed. Whoever it was, he could wait — this couldn't. Newt obviously shared her opinion, since he didn't do absolutely anything to stop.

"Newt? Where the shuck are you?!" the voice was getting stronger and closer, and Moon could tell it was Alby.

With a sigh, Newt pulled away, resting his chin on the top of her head for a while. "Bloody hell…" he mumbled. Moon could literally feel the frustration in his voice and she couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"NEWT!"

"You should go…" Moon said even though she wanted nothing less. "Before he rips his vocal cords again."

"Who bloody cares…" Newt exhaled but slowly pulled away, giving her one last look, his dark eyes burning. "I'll see you later, I guess…"

"That's quite likely, yeah," Moon smirked at him.

Newt smiled and walked out of the door. The moment he was gone, Moon covered her face with both of her hands. It was on fire. Her body was on fire. Her mind was on fire. Her life was on fire.

Feeling completely dazed, Moon put her clothes on and walked out of the Homestead. She didn't have any particular location in mind, she just strode along, careless, playing the kiss over and over in her head until she felt positively lightheaded. Moon chuckled at herself, pushing the wet hair out of her face.
And then her smile died on her face when she saw two of the Bugglers — Terry and Cage — carrying something her way. Something that looked like a body.

Moon moved closer, to get a better look and managed to recognize the boy covered in blood just before the two of them carried him into the woods. It was Matt. The rest of the Glade seemed to be gathered by the southern wall, and Moon quickly jogged up there and towards the closest person within her reach.

"Hey," she said, making Ben turn around. "What happened?"

"Matt's dead," he told her grimly, his usually carefree face contorted with grief. "The Builders were working on the new tower and it seems like—"

Ben didn't get to finish his sentence because suddenly, there was a scream and Moon turned just in time to see Gally launching at Thomas and punching him right in the face. There were people holding him back instantly — Alby, Frypan, Minho, Newt — Gally didn't care, he just kept pushing towards the seemingly terrified boy lying on the ground before him.

"IT WAS HIM!" Gally was shouting, trying to shove through his friends. "HE DID IT!"

"It was an accident!" Alby was yelling back. "That's enough!"

"HE WAS THERE!" Gally boomed, pushing the Great Leader away, but then Minho was on his back, putting him into a headlock. Within a few seconds, they were both dragging him towards the Pit.

"Gally's nuts," Ben said, shaking his head. "The whole construction fell on Matt, the Greenie had nothing to do with it."

Moon was staring at the dark-haired boy that was still lying in the grass. The right side of his face was already starting to swell and there were clearly tears in his eyes as he stiffly watched as they dragged Gally away. Newt was there, squatting next to him, talking to him. Then he looked up and met her eyes, and at that moment Moon realized that all they got was that one moment.
That was it, just that.

Now back to reality.

xXxXx

"Did you come to mock me?" Gally glared at her when she approached the Pit with a lantern.

"Now how could you ever think I would do something like that?" Moon gave him a smirk. Gally didn't answer. He just frowned when she tossed him an apple she brought him and didn't even touch it.

"You're not supposed to be out during the night, troublemaker," he grunted.

"Bring the dictatorship down a notch, would you?" Moon rolled her eyes, taking a seat next to the reed bars. "It would be over soon anyway with us leaving and all that. Time to starts readjusting."

"Says you."

Moon didn't react — there was no point in arguing with Gally. She had tried before and she would not make the same mistake again — that guy was basically a walking mountain. Nothing could move him.

"I've always known you're crazy but this…" Gally shook his head. "Do you seriously believe that the Creators will let us just leave this place?"

"I don't actually," Moon said. "I think they sent someone up here to make sure it won't happen." She didn't even like Matt. He wasn't her friend, he was barely her acquaintance. However, be that as it may, she still felt a sort of… connection to him. Even though they didn't get along, it felt like they were on the same team. They were the Gladers. And then there was Thomas…

"Just this once your never-ending suspicion of every newcomer could come in handy," she noted.

Gally was watching her intently.
"So you don't trust Thomas either, huh?" he asked with clear doubt in his voice.

"I don't," Moon said, raising her eyebrows. "That makes us a team… Wouldn't you say?"

Let me know what you think of the chapter and have a great day! :)