warning: a double dosing of brits

Moonshine Helps For Some Reason

Gotta admit, my heart twinged a little. Speedrunning pissing people off was enjoyable on its own, - don't get me wrong - but ever since fate burdened me with the ability to change the future, I had claimed some sort of cosmic responsibility over it. If I could save some teenagers lives, then fuck I was going to try.

The rabble soon returned, even though I'd dampened the atmosphere a little. My choice to sit anywhere close to Gally's crowd was certainly an interesting one, though it didn't last long. Another couple rounds of moonshine later, they all began to congregate near the log pile for a good old fashioned bout of beating the shit out of each other, leaving me all on my lonesome by the fireside. Despite the biting winds and whatever kinds of noises bloodthirsty drunk kids make, it was pretty tranquil.

Perhaps I was just too used to being on my own.

"What's up with you then?" My internal peace shattered as an all-too-familiar individual plonked himself down beside me. I sighed, my stomach churning a little.

"Oh, just contemplating my poor life decisions, how about you?"

"Don't even get me started." he mumbled, taking a swig of amber liquid. Some kind of guilt intensified in my chest as we watched the flames flicker up into smokey tendrils. For the first time since I got here, I had realised what goal I was chasing. Beatrice Harlow was trying to resurrect the dead.

"You made quite the entrance back there." Newt half-chuckled in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Wow, really? I hardly noticed." I retorted, still trying to untangle my thoughts. I had only just arrived. Nobody was dead and nobody would die if I just got them to trust my judgement. And that was the problem, wasn't it? They weren't gonna listen to me, not if they could help it. Shit, they barely listened to each other, let alone someone who'd just flounced in and expected everyone to trust her word with unabashed confidence.

"Yeah, well. Most people are terrified when they get here. At least 'till Alby knocks the sense back into'em."

"Guess he just gave up when he got to me then, huh? I broke my arm and still didn't get the memo."

"Nah, you just haven't gotten used to everything yet." He patted my shoulder playfully, "Besides, nobody's fully in their right mind here, anyway."

I gave a sarcastic half-smile, "That's reassurin'."

Through the fire, I could make out the silhouettes of Alby and Minho discussing something in a hushed whisper. Occasionally they'd glance over at the epic wrestling match between Gally and Ben or make intentional eye contact with Newt, who was trying to hide it with conveniently timed sips. Clearly, they didn't know what to do about me. They'd given me time to collect my thoughts. They'd allowed me to stay at the bonfire. Hell, they'd even provided me with company while they observed me stewing in madness.

I followed the path of an ember as it died on the breeze. The only way this was going to work was if I somehow convinced Alby that I knew what I was doing. Which, to be fair, I didn't.

I felt a gentle tug on my shoulder, turning to see Newt offering a sip of his moonshine, "It's not as bad as it looks, I swear." He passed me the jar and I held it up to my lips, gradually sipping up my ration. It burned on my tongue, sparking all the way down my oesophagus, but in the satisfying sort of way. Sort of as if I'd licked up all the stars only to watch them slowly reappear one by one. Wordlessly, I handed it back to him.

"You must think we're all a bunch of twats."

"Yup."

He took another gulp and tossed the jar back to me. At least I enjoyed this specific twat's company so far, no matter how much it twisted my gut to be around him. I could fix this. It hadn't happened yet. And it wouldn't. Not if I got him on my side. Not if I used him to get Alby and the rest of the glade on my side. There was plenty of time yet. I let the alcohol numb me and the scent of ash carry me through the night and into the morning where maybe, hopefully, I'd come up with a plan.

Author's Note: Hello and extra long chapter today, hope you enjoy that because they've been getting longer. This is my favourite chapter so far, not only because Bea gets drunk, but also because hello plot relevance and character development. Also Bea having a one on one finally is quite fun, we get to see a bit more of a reserved nature here compared to all her previous snarkiness. It was also pretty fun to write. Still working on my dialogue, but honestly I quite enjoy the slight banter towards the end. That's it for this week's ramble. Thanks for reading my stream of consciousness (because why would I edit the A/Ns? I ain't that fancy)

Have a great day, week, month and year wherever you are in the world:)