Vivienne had no idea the gasp she had heard was hers until she heard another one, this time much deeper. She looked up at the figure to see wet blond locks, water drops slowly falling down, hitting smooth skin, foregrounding muscles –
"Newt!" she squealed, tearing her eyes off of her friend. She turned around abruptly, almost dropping the glass she held so firmly seconds ago. "I-I'm sorry! I had – had no idea you were here."
"No, it's um… it's fine. Just… give me a second?" Vivienne heard as he exited the pond and straighten his pants. She had no idea how to feel about the whole situation – after all she had no idea he would be there; at the same time she was well aware her gaze lingered on him for way too long. "…It's okay now," he mumbled shyly.
It wasn't okay, at least not for Vivienne. Newt had only his khaki pants on – on which wet stains began to appear in all the wrong places - and his still wet chest glimmered in the sunlight, leaving Vivienne obscurely disturbed.
"Don't tell me you want to drink from here." He pointed at the glass in her hand, making her shift her gaze back to her hand.
"No, I… I wanted to get some for my flowers." He arched an eyebrow, curiosity taking over.
"You got flowers?" he asked in disbelief. Newt was aware of wildflowers in the deadheads, but he never thought of picking them, assuming they wouldn't last too long. Besides, it was not like he needed them in the room he only slept in – plus he wasn't a girl.
"Yeah, daisies. They grow deep in the deadheads, near a wall," she explained, repeating Ryker's explanation.
"You shouldn't venture so far on your own." She hated she knew what he meant. "I mean… I know those slintheads pretty well and I doubt they'd try something, but… just to be safe." Normally she'd probably argue, but after everything Ben had been putting her through recently she agreed with a short nod. "Anyway,…" He rubbed the back of his neck
"Anyway... I didn't want to walk in on you."
"It's fine," he chuckled, brushing the matter aside, "I was just doing some exercise for my leg."
"Makes sense," she agreed, "But have you been doing this for a long time? Because if you started now then you shouldn't put too much pressure on it-" she ranted on before he stopped her
"Six months or so; Jeff – and when he couldn't Clint – would come here with me and help me, show me what to do. Now I'm good to do this on my own." She had too many questions and too little courage – or maybe respect? – to ask him for details. If he wanted to tell her how he got his limp he would. "Why aren't you at work?"
"Could ask you the same thing," she chuckled, "We finished early, so Gally let us have free afternoon. He was supposed to talk to Alby, but when I stumbled upon him he… he was really odd, distracted…" she trailed off hoping Newt would help her understand.
"He's got his days…" He shrugged.
Vivienne saw it was all she was going to get so she just dropped it. She went passed Newt and half-filled her glass.
"Hey, since you and I are free how about another drawing lesson?" She smiled genuinely at the suggestion.
"Sure," she laughed, "But let's go to my hut first."
Newt was telling her how Zart tripped and face planted right into fertilizer, when she noticed a sheen of white-gold hair leaving her hut. She stopped dead in her tracks as Ben's eyes met hers, boring into her whole being. She only tore her gaze away from his when she felt water splash onto her palm.
Her hand was shivering lightly, slowly empting the glass; she wrapped her other hand's fingers around her wrist to stop it from shaking.
"Ben," Newt greeted him with a small nod, and so did Ben.
"I heard you finished early." He turned his attention to Vivienne, his eyes glimmered with something unspoken, but nonetheless frightening.
"Yes," she admitted, putting too much pressure on the 's'. She couldn't help but wonder if Newt noticed – part of her wanted him to.
"Nice flowers you have in there. Your job Newt?" The other boy laughed.
"Now you made it bloody awkward for me." He turned to Vivienne. "Maybe next time," he grinned, showing off his pearly teeth. How was it possible they were as white as in TV spots? Ugh, Vi, focus!
"Well, I better go finish mapping the Maze. See ya later, shanks." And with that he jogged off and she couldn't help but exhale in relief. She looked Newt up and noticed that his face was decorated with a glimpse of a frown but other than that he seemed unbothered.
"Does he visit you like this often?" The question caught her off guard, though she knew she should've expected it.
"No," she stammered.
Newt didn't ask her anymore questions.
Newt was good. Well, not better than her, but it was obvious he drew before. He was precise and careful – like always – with a small frown and eyes focused on the paper. She only waited for his tongue to come past the corner of his lips.
As if he sensed her watch him he looked up and Vivienne was forced to concentrate on her own sketch. They were lying on their stomachs not too deep into the woods and the options of what to put on paper seemed endless. But it was a single ray of sunshine filtering through trees, leaving a stain on the grass that stunned her.
"I don't know how to draw a nose," Newt admitted, breaking her out of her ponder. She looked at a piece of paper she ripped out of her notebook so he could have a sheet to sketch on.
She glanced at his drawing and gasped. It was a portrait of a girl around their age, and she was absolutely gorgeous. Though all her features remained grey, her eyes seemed to glimmer with joy like she'd never seen before – it was hard to be euphoric in the Glade.
"Who is she?" Vivienne couldn't help but ask.
"My sisiter." Her heart skipped. Could it be… Could Newt remember? Could he know…? Should she tell him about her brother?
"You reme-" he interrupted he,r abruptly shattering her hopes.
"No," he confessed, his tone enfolded with sadness, "But I like to think of my family." He looked at her. "I mean I must have one. Maybe they even wait for me outside those walls." The corners of his mouth lifted in a delicate, dreamy smile. "I imagine having a younger sister, sometimes an older brother who'd play football with me. I imagine having dinner with my parents and arguing over grades…"
"I've never really…" She looked away, small hint of pink emblazoned her cheeks. "Thought of my family. I mean… It seems scary to even think of them." It was. Her mother's and brother's voice in her head.
I'll take care of you sister. – Take care how? Is it possible he was one of creators? Did it mean it was safe here? Vivienne had never even thought of it.
The bleeding will stop soon, Vivienne. – What bleeding?
She felt Newt thumb caress her cheek and she realized a few tears unwillingly escaped her.
"Sorry," he said, though he had done nothing wrong. But she refused to tell him so. She refused to spoke up yet. She needed to know more. She only had to find out how to.