Season Two, Episode Two: Chris Makes a Move
Newt's recovery was slow-going, but he had lots of visitors, and was able to read a few of the books the Box had sent up. His favorite was Watership Down, which he convinced Elizabeth to read. Since their reunion, things had gotten a tad awkward between the two of them. They felt comfortable around each other as they always had, and talked freely about most things, but there was something new that had not been there before. Newt mostly blamed himself.
Aside from his shame of his suicide attempt, his growing feelings towards Elizabeth were almost suffocating. It was hard for him to concentrate on anything when she was near, and whenever they made accidental physical contact, he pulled away because her touch was like fire on his skin. Even when she was not there he felt that she was, and his dreams at night were becoming increasingly scandalous. It was embarrassing. Things were great the way they were and he didn't want to shuck everything up. He considered talking to Alby or Minho about it, but once he thought he had set his mind to saying something, he lost his nerve and backed out.
In his defense, Newt was positive that Elizabeth was attracted to him, too, maybe as much as he was to her. She was always so much brighter when he was around, and she blushed every time they touched; every time he pulled away. He could see it in the way she smiled for him, and the way she wanted to be with him. She wasn't awfully good at flirting, but sometimes she would try peering up at him from beneath her eyelashes or would laugh too hard at one of his attempts at a joke.
Time passed slowly. Damon and Stoy were sent up into the Maze. Damon became the first Slicer, looking after the animals and killing them for food when needed. Stoy was a Slopper, but unlike a normal person he enjoyed doing all the chores nobody else wanted, so it worked out well. Clint and Jeff had a pair of crutches for Newt made so he could finally get up and walk around. He made sure to exercise his leg, the forever reminder of his struggles. "A true reminder of his strength," according to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth. It always came back to her. Something was bothering her lately, but she refused to tell Newt what it was. She was still her same, chirpy self around the Glade, but he knew her better than that. He was talking with Minho and decided to mention it, seeing if he could pry any information his friend might know.
"That's just you going into parental mode, Newt. I'm sure she's fine," Minho rolled his eyes. Newt raised an eyebrow.
"The hell does that mean?" he asked.
"Let me put it this way...if Glade Mother was a job, it would be you."
"I was expressing concern about a fellow Glader, that's all, you greasy shank," Newt said.
"You need to learn to let go, mama hen. Your ducklings can't stay with you, forever. They need to learn how to sort out their own klunk," Minho retorted.
Chris was bored. He was bored of being a Bricnick, and he was bored of being in the Maze. He didn't like sharing a hut with Gally, and working with Dave was absolutely annoying. The other Bricnick was a stickler for rules, and ever since he'd murdered that kid or whatever, he'd turned into a sop. Chris didn't see how he could have killed anyone in the first place. When you want to kill someone, wasn't it a do-it-and-done sort of thing? Chris didn't have any experience (at least not to his knowledge, anyway), but he imagined that if he really wanted to murder someone that bad he probably wouldn't feel guilty about it afterwards. Obviously Dave had killed the dude for a random reason and couldn't rightly justify his actions.
Not that he should really need an excuse, Chris thought. He had always thought of the Maze as a kind of survival-of-the-fittest gig. Sticking a bunch of guys in a confined area wasn't exactly an invitation to get friendly. Whoever sent them here was probably doing a sadistic experiment.
A smattering of color against the bland landscape caught his eye. Elizabeth was wearing a blue dress with white sleeves. It went past her knees, but overall showed a lot more leg than he was used to seeing her comfortable with.
Chris admitted to himself that what he did to Elizabeth was wrong. He knew it was, and yet she was so easy to tease. Touching her relieved some of his masculine desire, and he had never crossed a line he thought she couldn't handle. She'd done that herself, when she kissed him in a drunken state. Oh he remembered it, alright, just as much as she did. He knew she did, because she couldn't look him in the eye even more than usual, and actively went out of her way to avoid him, which she hadn't done before.
"I'm gonna head to the klunker," he told Dave. Dave did a jerky thing with his head in response and Chris jogged to catch up with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was going back to her hut to change. Wearing a dress was a stupid idea and apt to get her in more trouble that what it was worth. She didn't know what she'd been thinking.
Immediately she felt her face turn a crimson shade of red, because she knew exactly what she had been thinking. She was thinking about what Newt's face would look like when he saw her in a dress. She was thinking about what he would say about it, if he would start stammering nervously and stumbling over his words.
"Hey, there,"
Her heart fluttered. She imagined turning and seeing him there, lanky and adorable, with that messy hair and the crinkles around his eyes. She turned.
It was Chris.
The flutters turned into something more unsettling and dark. Her bones stiffened in defense, as if bracing themselves for impact. She tried to swallow her fear, but when she spoke, her voice cracked anyway.
"What do you want, Chris?" She dreaded the answer. She never should have asked.
"Well you're straight to the point," Chris replied, raising an eyebrow. His lips curled up in to a smile, and if he wasn't such a slime, he might have been charming. He was so attractive it was uncomfortable. It would have been easier if he was less...noticeable.
"I was just thinking about when you kissed me."
No. He doesn't remember! He hasn't brought it up in the two months since it happened! He didn't remember! He thinks he's making something up!
"W-what do you mean?" Elizabeth was suddenly even more aware about the dress she was wearing. Why, oh why did it have to be today?
Chris sidled up until he was walking in step with her, his arm brushing against hers as they moved. Elizabeth tried not to let it bother her, but it did. It really did. Everything about him bothered her. Everything he-
"Don't be coy, I know you remember." His lips were suddenly on her ear. He pulled away and smiled at her. Elizabeth's head was spinning. She suddenly wished that Chris had never been sent up into the Maze. She wished that her mother or whoever was in charge with the immunes had taken one look at him and decided that he wouldn't benefit from the testing. She had never wished anything so mean before, but now she did. Even more so when he took her hand and started swinging it and whistling a tune, as if they were a couple on a pleasant stroll.
She pried her hand out of his and stopped walking. They were in the Deadheads. When had they gotten there? At what point did she stop thinking about where she was going? He had led her here, in this forest where no one would see, and no one would hear. He had done it all on purpose, and suddenly she felt very small. She wished he was not here. Anywhere but here. She almost wished he had died from the Flare.
"You always look so nervous, but I really won't do anything to hurt you, Elizabeth. I'm just having a bit of fun," he was so close.
"Maybe your idea of fun does hurt me," she responded. She turned to walk away from him, but his hand was suddenly on her arm, holding her in a vice-like grip. He pulled her towards him, her feet dragging in the dirt, her hands trying to shove him away.
"Let me go!" she picked up a pile of dirt and flung it into his face. He blinked and grabbed her other arm, his grip tightening.
"That doesn't work. All it does it get dirt in my eyes, which is a shame because now I can't see you. You really are beautiful, Elizabeth,"
"Don't ever say that again!" Elizabeth tried kicking out, but somehow she had been forced up against a tree, her back scraping against the bark. She brought her knee up, but he dodged the blow and bent his head down to her shoulder, and then her collar bone, sniffing at her skin with his olive nose. Elizabeth writhed against him and his head hit against the tree. He growled and pulled the sleeve of her shirt down with an awful "RIP."
"Why? It's a compliment."
"Chris, stop. I'm going to tell Alby and he'll-"
"He'll what? Alby is a prune, just like the rest of them. He won't do anything. Nobody will." Chris licked her shoulder and Elizabeth let out a choked sob, wriggling against him with no luck. He was that much bigger and stronger than her. Where had her strength gone? She had never felt so helpless.
"They won't do anything, because all those shanks have been dying for something like this to happen. We all want the same thing, Elizabeth. Don't you know anything about men?"
Elizabeth closed her eyes and the tears fell from her cheeks to her tattered dress. Her back ached from the bark. Chris's hands were everywhere they shouldn't be, his lips on her neck, his tongue on her shoulder. The world was spinning and starting to melt into a nightmare.
"JUST WHAT THE SHUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" As suddenly as it had started it was over when Chris was dragged away by an angry Alby. Elizabeth stood against the tree, shaking and terrified, her tears blurring her vision.
"WHAT. THE. HELL." That was Newt's voice. She couldn't see him clearly through the fog, but she would know his voice anywhere.
"YOU SHUCKING PERVERT!" Gally.
"TAKE THAT YA STUPID PRICK!" Minho. They were all there. Elizabeth covered her face with her hands. Thank God they were all there. Thank God they had come.
There was the sound of punching, the sound of a slap, somebody hit the ground with a thump and an "oof!" More shouting. More cussing. More fighting.
"Elizabeth," someone's hand was on her arm. She immediately withdrew from the contact, but then leaned into the touch when she realized it was Newt. He looked furious. His face was red and his body trembled with contained rage. She saw the way he shot a murderous glance at Chris, and the way he tugged her hand. She had never seen him so absolutely livid before. Any other time and she might have been amused by the serious look on his face. Even angry, he had her heart.
Somehow Elizabeth was able to walk all the way to Newt and Alby's hut without falling. Somehow she was able to wait for him to close the door before she ran to him sobbing, shaking, scared. He held her and they sank to the floor in a wet puddle, his arms around her, her tears making their way onto his shirt. It was quite like the way they had been reunited, and yet not. Those tears had been relieved and happy, these were frightened and hurt.
"Please stay with me! Please don't go! Please stay!" she cried over and over. Newt held her close and stroked her back and wiped her tears away when they fell.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here, always. I'm here."
"Stay with me, Newt!"
"I'm staying, Elizabeth. I'm staying."
His accent was so familiar. He smelled so warm. Little by little the tears ceased and she was able to calm herself down and just relish in the safety of Newt. She couldn't keep crying forever, and when the tears stopped flowing, he offered her some water which she drank in one big gulp.
"Did you hurt you?" Newt asked, his voice taking on the steely tone from before. Elizabeth shook her head.
"No," she said.
"Did he..." Newt licked his lips nervously, "Did he-" Elizabeth interrupted, saving him from saying the words.
"He just kissed me. Nothing else."
Newt let out the breath he'd been holding, then reached for her hand. His movements were slow, his touch gentle.
"How did you find us?" she whispered.
"Dave gave us the tip. Chris told him he was going to take a klunk and then he went straight for you, the ..." Newt's voice faded as he listed off a string of insults under his breath.
"Thank you."
"Has this happened before?" Newt asked, after the room had been quiet for a pause. Elizabeth hesitated, and he scowled.
"Elizabeth! You were the one who wanted these rules set in place the most! Remember the first meeting we had? If you see something, you say something! That includes you!" Newt ran a frustrated hand through his hair.
"I knew something was bothering you...if I had known about Chris..." his voice trailed off again and he looked at her, blushing. Elizabeth responded with a blush of her own. Their bodies were close. She could feel the heat from his hands and smell the spice of his skin. Being close to Chris had been repulsive. Being close to Newt was igniting.
"Ben and Snow like me," she whispered, "they told me themselves." Why was she whispering? Newt leaned in closer, until their noses brushed against each other.
"I like you, too," he said.
She closed the rest of the distance between them.
His lips were softer than she thought they'd be, and warm. He was surprised at first, but then kissed her back slowly, eyes closed, hands on her waist. Elizabeth's heart was beating so fast it was a wonder she was still alive. His kisses were gentle and tentative, his hands moving from her waist to her arms, and then back again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and dug her fingers in his hair.
Newt groaned and his kisses became suddenly hungrier, more aggressive and insistent. He drew her closer, his mouth exploring, no longer shy. His taste was intoxicating; he tasted like sunshine and wine and everything good and bright in the world. He whispered her name against her mouth and she kissed him harder and pulled him closer.
The moment lasted forever and not long enough. When he finally pulled away they were both gasping for air and shaking with adrenaline and emotion. Elizabeth's lips felt sore, but at the same time not sore enough. She longed for him. She loved him.
"I love you," she said. He blushed and his lips brushed against hers again, teasing. He nuzzled his nose against hers and laughed a bit. His mouth found her cheek, then her nose, and then her lips again, softer this time but no less desperate.
"I love you, too."