A/N:

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CHAPTER FOUR

As we walked out of the wooden building I took another chance to look around the glade. I could see bunches of boys doing different things around the glade. Some were working on what looked like the start of a new building and on the other side I could see some people in what looked like a garden. However, most of the boys seemed to be heading towards the few tables that were set out close to the middle of the glade. It appeared that we were heading there as well. As I followed Newt I could sense people starting to notice me. I was getting more and more stares and could feel whispers following me. Subconsciously I moved closer to him as we walked, uncomfortable with all the staring.

When we arrived at the tables I expected us to sit down so I turned towards the nearest bench. I felt a hand wrap around my upper arm and gasped, moving to pull it free until I realised it was Newt. He had begun to steer me away from the tables but looked at me when I did that and quickly let go of my arm.

"Oh sorry," he said pulling his hand away. My arm felt cold at the loss of touch.

We walked over to a boy who was handing out plates of food to others.

"Hey Fry." Newt called out to the boy as we approached.

"Hey guys," he said back with a large, goofy smile, "Hey Greenie." I smiled back at him, immediately feeling a sense of liking towards him.

"Hi," I said back smiling at him. He handed Newt and I our plates and I thanked him and followed Newt to one of the tables. As soon as we sat down a bunch of other boys joined our table. I looked around uneasily at all of them. I was sat in between Newt and another guy I didn't know. He was tall and lanky with red hair and he peered down at me as though surveying my body. I looked away uncomfortably and moved a little closer to Newt, who I noticed was slightly glaring around at all the boys. When I moved towards him he looked at me and gave a small but warm smile. I immediately felt better. I tried for a smile back but I'm pretty sure it turned out more like a grimace.

Tentatively I prodded my food, wondering what was in it. It looked like some sort of meat stew. When I noticed Newt and all the other boys tucking in greedily, I decided to give it a try. Taking a spoonful of the stew, I smelled it and then took a bite. A warm delicious sensation filled my mouth and I began to scoop more and more food into my mouth. Newt nudged me and chuckled when I looked up with a mouth full of food.

"What? It's good." I giggled back at him.

After finishing my food and putting the plate back I followed Newt and the others to a large fire pit. Sitting down on a log I watched as Gally, Alby and a few other boys got the fire started to raucous cheers from everyone else. I smiled slightly as I watched everyone else having fun.

A couple of boys tried to catch my eye or began to walk over to me but I always looked away or moved to a different spot, not feeling quite comfortable with the way they were approaching. However, apart from these few things nothing too bad happened. I began to feel like maybe this place wasn't so bad, maybe I could be happy here.

Newt came over to me soon after with two glasses of drink. He sat down next to me.

"Here." He passed me a drink. I sniffed it and wrinkled my nose.

"Ugh. What is this?" He laughed and shrugged.

"Dunno. It's Gally's secret recipe," Newt replied taking a gulp.

"Oh, then I think I'll pass," I chuckled putting the glass down next to me.

"Oh come onn," Newt insisted, "It's good!" He took another gulp and looked back at me. I raised my eyebrows and reached for the glass. I slowly took a sip, and choked. A strong burning sensation filled my throat and I spat it out.

"You drink that?" I managed to cough out. Newt laughed and thumped me on the back.

"You get used to it after a while," he told me confidently.

We looked out across the boys, sitting in a comfortable silence. After a while, Newt waved over some others. An Asian boy with black hair and a strong build sat next to me, along with Frypan.

"Greenie," Newt introduced, "You already met Frypan, and this is Minho."

"Hey Greenie, nice to see a girl for a change." Minho greeted me. I laughed, taking it as a joke.

"How are you finding the glade?" asked Frypan. I thought for a minute before answering.

"Overwhelming," I said honestly, "It's a lot to take in and so much I don't know yet." Frypan nodded in understanding.

"It can be at times but you'll find your place here." Newt told me, "I know you will." I looked over at him and he was staring at me. I looked into his brown eyes and felt grateful that I had someone like Newt to help me, not one of those creeps from before. He seemed so genuine and sweet.

"Ahem," coughed Minho, breaking me out of my stupor. I didn't realise I had been staring at Newt for so long. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"You gonna drink that?" Minho asked me, pointing to my drink. There was silence for split second and then we all burst out laughing. I gladly handed my drink over and we laughed as he attempted to chug it down. It didn't end up so well.

I still had a smile on my face as we continued to talk and, as we did, I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging.

Newt

The greenie and I sat together against a log. We had been talking for a while when I spotted Minho and Frypan and waved them over. I glanced at her as I did to make sure it was ok. Luckily, she looked fine with meeting some new people.

I greeted both of them, for a second forgetting that the new greenie didn't know them.

"Greenie, you already met Frypan, and this is Minho." I introduced them and watched as Minho sat down on her other side.

"Hey Greenie," he said, "Nice to see a girl for a change." She chuckled and Minho grinned at her. I narrowed my eyes at him before shaking my head. What was going on with me?

"How are you finding the glade?" Frypan asked the greenie.

"Overwhelming." She replied, "It's a lot to take in and so much I don't understand." As she answered I looked at her closely. She seemed almost relaxed on the outside but I could tell she wasn't used to the glade yet and had her worries.

"It can be at times but you'll find your place here," I told her, still looking at her, "I know you will." She looked at me and my stomach flipped. The unfamiliar tingling sensation came back and I had to fight the urge to squirm. For a moment we stared into each other's eyes and the rest of the glade seemed to fade from my mind. My breath caught in my throat as I stared at her.

"Ahem." Minho coughed, ruining the moment. I silently cursed him as she looked away.

"You gonna drink that?" He asked her, pointing at her barely touched glass. They all burst out laughing and I had no choice but to join in, especially when Minho attempted to chug the thing and coughed it right back up.

Throughout the rest of the conversation I kept looking over at the girl but the connection, sadly, didn't happen again.

A while later Gally approached our little group. I sat up straighter, feeling protective.

"Hey Greenie," he said with a sly grin, "You heard of the tradition around here?" I realised what he was saying and rolled my eyes.

"Gally, no." I told him firmly.

"What?" he replied, trying to act innocent, "It's a tradition."

"What is it?" asked the greenie and Gally grinned. I mentally face palmed myself. The rest of the Gladers gradually fell silent as they realised what was happening.

"The new greenie," Gally began as I glared at him, "has to fight our best fighter." I looked at the girl to get her reaction. She looked taken aback. I stood up defensively.

"Gally, stop." I raised my voice, "She doesn't have to fight if she doesn't want to."

"What?" A voice sounded from behind me. I turned to find her staring at me accusingly. She raised her eyebrows.

"Because I'm a girl?" She asked. It was my turn to feel taken aback and I stuttered in my response.

"Well- I- uh- I didn't mean it like that. I just meant if you didn't want to…" I trailed off and rubbed the back off my neck, unsure. I chanced a glance up at her, worrying that I might have just ruined what little she thought of me. But when I looked up she cracked a smile.

"Don't worry," she chuckled, "I'm just kidding." I smiled back in relief.

"Well, I wasn't." Gally butted in. I glared at him again.

"You want me to fight?" She asked quizzically staring at him. Gally chuckled and shook his head.

"Not quite." Now it was my turn to act confused, "What I was going to suggest was that you nominate someone to take your place. Unless you want to, of course." He finished with a sly smile. She laughed.

"I'm good."

"Well then, choose your nominee." She thought for a moment, looking around the glade before turning back to Gally.

"You said they have to fight the Glade's best fighter?" She questioned.

"That's right," Gally replied confidently, puffing out his chest and looking around the glade. I rolled my eyes at him and turned my attention back the girl, wondering who she was going to pick. I would feel honoured if she did pick me but deep down, I hoped she didn't.

"Well then," she spoke to Gally with a smirk on her face, "I pick you." Every Glader seemed to freeze for a second. Then we all burst out laughing. Gally went bright red. I clutched my stomach wheezing; he hadn't seen that coming. I looked over at her and she was laughing along with the rest of us. She looked so carefree and spirited and I couldn't help but admire that. She looked good when she was happy.

Gally stuttered as the rest of us struggled to stop laughing.

"Everybody shut up!" He finally yelled before turning back to her. She was standing there confidently, with a wide smile on her face.

"I am the best fighter." Gally said, trying to act with some dignity.

"Oh really? I would never have guessed." She said back without missing a beat. We all burst out laughing again and Gally went an even deeper shade of red, if possible. He stalked off, pushing boys aside and muttering. She just chuckled and went to sit back down.

I could see others making a move to sit next to her so I quickly resumed my position before they could, hoping they would leave us alone. However, most of the boys crowded around our small circle and joined in the conversation.

While everyone was joking and laughing, I kept sneaking glances at her. She looked in her element and I was glad that she no longer seemed to be worried or uneasy about staying in the glade.

Girl

After the incident with Gally, most of the other boys came and sat with us. I didn't mind. We all sat and joked and laughed for what felt like hours.

I was sat in between Newt and Minho, just like before. Every so often when one of us moved our skin would brush against each other, Newt more often than Minho. When I was arrived at the glade, I thought I would be uncomfortable with any touching, but after spending just a few hours here I learnt that this wasn't true for everyone.

I knew Newt a bit better than Minho, having talked to him alone before, but I felt relatively comfortable with both the boys. They didn't seem to be creepy or make any unwanted advances, but rather treated me as any other Glader. I was grateful for that.

Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for all the boys. Throughout the bonfire I caught several people giving me weird glances, almost longing. I tried to ignore them for the most part but was uncomfortable all the same. I hoped that this was just a new experience for all of them and it would soon stop, but I doubted this to be true. I was stuck with a group of boys who hadn't seen a girl for as long as they could remember, of course some of them will have unpleasant notions in their heads.

It was getting late and I was feeling sleepy. Despite all the boys laughing and chatting loudly around me, I could feel my eyelids drooping. I was tired out from the day I had.

My head fell to the side and landed on something relatively soft. I could feel my body starting to relax, even though I screamed at it not to fall asleep. Not here, in the middle of a bunch of boys.

However much I fought it, sleep was still inevitable. I tried to discern whose shoulder I was lying on but couldn't be bothered to use the brain power to figure it out. Slowly, I drifted off into a deep, peaceful slumber.

Newt

I felt something drop onto my shoulder and turned to find the greenie asleep. I chuckled softly and continued with my conversation, trying not to move too much.

It wasn't until I heard a few of the boys make some suggestive comments that I decided to take her back. I wasn't sure what these guys would do if she was left here sleeping, or if I could stop all of them.

"Hey," I said softly to Minho, "I'm gonna take her back to the homestead, alright? Make sure these guys don't get any bloody ideas. We're gonna need some rules about how they can interact with her." Minho searched my face for a second. I knew what he was looking for. Any slight sign that I had intentions other than what I had told him. I didn't, and he knew it. We had been best friends for a while and he, and Alby, knew me better than anyone. We trusted each other.

He nodded and replied.

"Agreed. I've heard some of the ways these guys have been talking about her and I don't like the sound of it." I looked up at him, but as I had thought didn't see any hint of jealousy as he spoke. It seemed he just wanted to protect her and I was grateful for that.

"You need any help carrying her?" he asked me. I looked down at her form before shaking my head.

"I think I can manage." Minho nodded, said goodnight and then resumed his previous conversation.

I careful stood up, placing her head back on the log. Gently, I scooped my arms under her sleeping body and pulled her up from the ground. As I was walking with her in my arms, I could hear catcalls and suggestive comments that made me want to punch someone.

"What you doing with the girly, you shank."

"Hey Newt! I want a turn!"

"Yeah! Save some for us man."

I ground my teeth and continued walking.

Eventually I bumped into Alby. He seemed surprised to see me carrying the girl but nodded once he realised, she was sleeping.

"Where should I put her?" I asked him, having not sorted out sleeping arrangements beforehand. Alby thought for a moment before replying.

"Well, it'll have to be a private room for the time being. Would you mind letting her sleep on your bed tonight?" he asked me. I shook my head, I didn't mind.

"Where should I sleep then?" I asked. He surveyed me for a minute.

"I trust you, Newt." He told me, I nodded, "Sleep in the same room for tonight, I don't want no other shank coming in and doing who knows what." I nodded again and moved off in the direction of the homestead.

The girl wasn't too heavy and I managed just fine. Once we arrived in my room, I laid her down carefully on the bed, taking care not to wake her. I arranged the covers around her sleeping form and closed the window, blocking out the little light from the bonfire and the calls of other boys. Then, I retrieved a blanket from the storage room and curled up on the bench on the opposite wall. Turns out I was feeling quite tired as well.

I looked up at her before settling down.

"Goodnight greenie," I whispered, before lying down and falling asleep.