Season One, Episode Fourteen: Awkward Encounters
"What's on the menu tonight, Frypan?" Minho asked, taking a seat at the table. The friendly boy just smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.
"That would be a surprise, my friend." Frypan was already everybody's friend, even though he had been there the least amount of time. It wasn't just that he was the cook-his friendly, approachable manner was accompanied by a slightly chubby, sort of endearing demeanor that drew the others towards him. Ever since the day he'd arrived in the Glade his clothes had been a mess, and it was no different now. Tonight the mess was created by a certain, tomato-y substance that Minho thought he would never see again.
"Spaghetti?" he said, getting excited. "Now we're talking!" He tapped his fingers on the table and waited while Frypan brought the pot of spaghetti to the table.
"Congratulations Minho, you get the first serving!" Frypan made a swooping bow, and as if they could sense food, the other Gladers started pouring around the table and began ladling heaps of noodles onto their plates. Ben sat next to Minho on his right, and Will took the seat at his left. As per routine, Elizabeth and Newt sat together, and P.F. and Dalton started arguing about which was better-spaghetti with the tomato sauce, or without. P.F Argued against the sauce, while Dalton took the sauce-on side.
"What klunkhead wants to eat naked noods?" Dalton asked. A couple of the Gladers around him laughed, but P.F. shrugged and twirled his fork in his hand.
"Sauce just gets in the way. If they're alone, you can just melt butter on top with a little bit of salt..." he closed his eyes and shook his fist. "Mmm sounds good already!"
"Whatever. I know how to settle this. Yo! Elizabeth!" Dalton signaled the girl with a head-bob. She looked up from her food with a noodle still halfway out her mouth.
"Would you rather eat spaghetti with sauce or without it?" he asked. Elizabeth slurped the rest of the noodle up and pursed her lips.
"I would have to say without it," she said, her nose wrinkled as she looked at Dalton. "Sorry."
"TAKE THAT YA ROTTEN SHANK!" P.F. pumped his fist into their air and started gloating. Several other boys joined in, but most of them sympathized with Dalton.
"Man that's messed up! She likes naked noodles, too?"
"SHUCK! What is this world coming to!"
"You won't catch me buttering noodles."
Elizabeth waited for the chaos to calm down before she posed the question: "It's my turn, then, isn't it? "
Minho raised an eyebrow. "Turn? We weren't playing a game," he said. Elizabeth shrugged.
"Dalton asked me a question, and so I get to ask someone a question, too."
Alby stroked his chin, interested. "Any rules to this game of yours?"
"Let's make it so we can only ask 'would you rather' questions," Elizabeth replied. The noise level at the table gradually quieted. Elizabeth's proposition of playing a game as a whole Glade was intriguing and seemed fun.
"Aw what the hell," Nick said, twirling a noodle around the end of his fork, "Count me in."
"Then my question is for Frypan to answer," Elizabeth said. Frypan looked up mid-chew. He hadn't expected to be chosen.
"YEAH, GO GREENIE!" Hank whooped.
"What sort of bloody nonsense is this?" Zart grumbled beside him. Elizabeth cleared her throat and clasped her hands together, apparently trying to appear formal and composed.
"Would you rather be stuck in the Maze alone, or with someone you hate?"
Frypan blinked. "Um...I don't really hate anyone," he said.
"But if you did?" Elizabeth said, and then she smiled. "This is all theoretical, Frypan."
"Damn. I think I would choose to be alone," Minho said, probably remembering how much Dave hated him.
"I wouldn't want to be alone, though," Chris said, leaning back in his chair. "Besides, if I had to run away from a Griever, I could just stab the guy and escape."
"You would sacrifice another person? That's jacked up!" Newt was incredulous, but Chris just smiled. A discussion arose around the ethical issue Elizabeth's question had brought up, and by the time things had cooled down enough for Frypan to finally answer the question, the spaghetti was gone. This night, however, nobody left the table. The only one missing was Dave.
"I choose to be with someone I hate," Frypan answered. Elizabeth nodded.
"What's your reasoning behind that?" she asked.
"I don't know, I just wouldn't want to be alone in the Maze. If I'm going to die, I'd rather have someone with me."
"So it's your turn, then, right, Greenie?" Doug asked. Frypan looked around the table at all the faces, trying to pick the right victim.
"Gally, let's go with you," he finally said. The boys turned to look at Gally, who, while was still sitting with the group, didn't look like he was paying much attention. He glared at Frypan when his name was called, but he wasn't given a chance to decline.
"Would you rather drink vomit or eat toenails?" Frypan's voice was strong. His question earned him a good round of laughter and several other gross jokes to be passed around. Gally crossed his arms.
"Toenails," he said.
"GROSS GALLY" Ben said. Gally just raised an eyebrow and then narrowed his eyes.
"I choose Minho and Chris," he said. Minho grinned at the chance to answer and Chris ran a hand through his dark hair.
"Curious about me, roomie?" he asked. Gally didn't reply, instead, he asked his question.
"Would you rather always lose or never play?"
Chris sucked in a breath, but his answer was immediate. "Ooh, good one, Gally. I would choose to lose rather than miss out on all the fun of the game." He winked at Elizabeth and she focused her attention elsewhere.
Minho took a bit longer, but he eventually settled on never playing, and then continued the game: "I'll ask Ben. Would you rather have to cut off your own arm, or the arm of your friend?"
"And I'll take Clint. Would you rather be attacked by one Griever, or by all the men in the Glade?" Chris asked.
The game continued with much debate and conversation. It was more engaging-albeit more opinionated-than they had originally expected, but everyone later agreed that it was a nice change from their usual, less mature chatter. They left dinner much later that night than usual
After the satisfying dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, Elizabeth excused herself from the table and walked to her hut to begin her nightly routine. She was about to open the door when Ben stopped her. He grabbed her arm and spun her around until she was once again eye-level with his chest.
"Ben-" she started, but he placed a calloused hand on her lips to quiet wrapped his other arm around her, holding her against him as she started to struggle.
"I'm sorry, but can we just talk about this alone?" his voice was husky and his breath fanned across her cheek. Elizabeth screamed against his hand and wriggled, but Ben just dragged her forward until they were inside the hut. There he released her and she scrambled away from him.
"Don't scream!" Ben held out his hands and Elizabeth stood frozen in place, her eyes wide as she watched him carefully.
"I don't want to hurt you or anything, I just want to-" this time it was Elizabeth who cut him off.
"Don't do this. I am not in love with you, and I am not interested in being romantically involved in any way with you. I'm sorry if that hurts you, but you need to leave."
"If you would just let me kiss you, maybe you would see that-"
"NO. NO, BEN." Elizabeth's voice raised to a shout and Ben checked the door. His arms fell to his sides and he was so still it made Elizabeth even more nervous. She looked around for something-anything that might help keep him away.
"I'm not trying to be a creep, I just really like you," Ben finally said, without looking at her. Elizabeth found that she couldn't respond. She just stood there watching his back, waiting for him to either say something else or leave. Fortunately the moment was broken when somebody opened the door.
Unfortunately, that person was Chris.
"Good evening, Elizabeth. What are you doing in there?"
Ben panicked and swirled around, looking at Elizabeth with desperation. She said nothing, but kept her eyes on the newcomer, wary of his presence. Chris smiled at her and leaned against the door-frame.
"Is he bothering you, miss?" he asked, gesturing towards Ben. Elizabeth followed his gaze and met Ben's eyes. He stared back at her with blue eyes. She turned back to Chris and gave him a bright smile.
"He wasn't bothering me, but thanks for checking."
"Oh really? I thought I heard you shouting? Are guys allowed to be in here, anyway?" Chris cocked his head and reached out and moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. His finger gently caressed the edge of her jaw. Elizabeth flushed and shook her head, causing him to drop his hand. Why is this happening! she thought.
"I was shouting because...because I think I might have been an actress in my past life, and Ben wanted proof so I demonstrated a scene!" The lie was incredibly cheesy at best, but it was the first thing that popped in her head. Chris seemed amused; he leaned forward and suddenly, before Elizabeth could process it, his hand was on her breast and his face was impossibly close. His body was angled in a way that Ben didn't notice, and the man that had been hitting on her just moments before was forgotten about.
"Yes, she is right. I thought it was interesting, her being an actress and all. She is quite good, actually," Ben stuttered. Chris didn't even look at him. He gently squeezed Elizabeth's breast, and to her horror she couldn't react. She couldn't do anything. What is happening!
"Mmmm, is that right?" Chris asked, and then he removed his hand when Ben started walking towards them.
"Anyway, I'm sorry to bother you, Elizabeth," Ben said awkwardly. He slipped past the two of them in the doorway and was gone. Elizabeth started shaking for real then-her head ached and her heart pounded with fear. Chris smiled at her and then frowned.
"Don't cry," he said. Elizabeth instinctively closed her eyes when he leaned in. Something wet touched the corner of her eyelid and the tears that had fallen there were licked up.
Elizabeth screamed. She forced her body to react and brought her knee up into his lower abdomen as hard as she could. He let out a grunt, and his arms went for his stomach. She took the chance and sped past him, her body propelling itself forward out of sheer will. She ran towards an unknown destination, trying to forget everything that had just happened. Trying to forget Ben and his confession. Trying to forget the weight of Chris's hand...
She ran until her lungs screamed for oxygen, and then she ran some more. She ran until her legs felt like jelly underneath her, until the world started spinning and she couldn't see what was in front of her. Some of the Gladers who were still awake shouted at her as she ran by, but she didn't hear them. All she could hear was Chris saying: 'Don't cry.' All she could hear was the desperate beating of her heart and the ragged gasps of her breath.
When she finally collapsed, she was at a part of the wall she didn't recognize, and the air was cold with the shadow of night. She fell to the ground face first and sobbed into the dirt, trying to wash the nightmare away. She wept because Chris had taken advantage of her. She wept because she had stood there and done nothing. She wept because no one knew. But most of all, she wept because in all her time living in the Maze, she had never felt so alone.
I told you, Liz. I told you he would hurt you. Love is nothing but heartbreak.
Newt was almost dreaming when someone knocked on his door. Why did everybody always knock on his door? Why didn't they ever bother Nick or Alby?
"Newt?" It was Minho.
"Come in," he replied sleepily. His friend came in, and Newt silently cursed him for being such a night owl.
"Sorry if I woke you, but I think you should go find Elizabeth," Minho said. Newt looked up at him.
"Find her?"
"Yeah. Hank and I were talking and she just ran by suddenly. It was a while ago, so I woulnd't really care except that I just talked to Zart and he said he saw her too."
"Maybe she runs every night," Newt mumbled, turning his face into his pillow. "Go to bed, Minho."
"Normally I might agree with you, but Zart said she looked really upset. He tried yelling at her but she wouldn't stop."
"What does this have to do with me? She's probably sleeping now." Newt could feel sleep...it was so close. Minho shook him suddenly and he groaned. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes.
"I'm awake," he said.
"Zart was really worried so he went to check up on her, but she's not there, Newt. She's not in her hut."
"And you think I'll be able to find her?"
"You're her best friend, or at least that's how she sees you, anyway," Minho sighed. "Look, Zart is looking for her now, but I really think you should be the one to find you. Hard as it is for me to say...I think she feels the most comfortable around you."
Worry for Elizabeth crept in as his brain finally processed what Minho was telling him. "I'll find her," he said, slipping his shirt over his head. Maybe she was having another memory or something. He wrapped his blanket around his shoulders, more awake now that he was standing. Shuck it was cold. Elizabeth was probably freezing in that skinny body of hers. Minho clapped him on the shoulder.
"I know you will," he said.