I didn't get a chance to talk to Jackson, Alby stayed so late that I fell asleep. I woke up early, the morning light had yet to spill over into the Glade, for a while, I just laid there. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to do anything. I struggled with my memory, trying to look for even a glimmer of what had happened that night, any detail, but it was all just blur of sounds and voices mixed with color and fire.

Why can't I remember? It has to be my brain, they did something to me. They won't let me remember things, anything, Not even a name! Why are they tormenting me? Why me?! What did I do to them!?

I cried silently into my pillow as the chill ran through me, like an omen of something bad was going to happen, it was still here. How could things get worse? What could be worse than this? Then I thought about everything and I realized that it was over for me. My life here in the Glade would never be the same. Now that this had happened, I would be treated like a disease, no one would take to me or even look at me. I'd be the topic of everyone's pity and Alby would just create more rules to keep me 'safe'... but they wouldn't work. I will never be safe here.

Footsteps approached, I looked up and the sun was streaming in, who knows how long I'd been awake.

"Greenie?," it was Clint. I didn't say anything. "Greenie?," he rocked my shoulders. "Gathering is starting."

I took a deep breath, I have to go. I sat up, but my body was begging me to lay back down, crawl under the comforters and close my eyes. Clint helped pull me to my feet.

"You hungry?," he asked, but I shook my head. He didn't fight me and guided me out of the Med hut and to the corner of the Glade.

As we approached the dreaded hut built into the corner, I felt nothing. Alby had told me that Lee would be banished, but I didn't believe him. I figured something would happen and Lee would just get a few nights in the Slammer, maybe no food and then the Glade would go back to what it had been. Except now, I would be the one on lock down, Alby following my every move, watching me go about the days and questioning my actions.

Clint sat me down beside him, the room was already full. I hadn't even really noticed we had entered, but I did feel all the eyes in the room draw to me. I wanted to wipe away their stares, hold my head high and show them that I was not as broken as I felt, but I couldn't. My head dropped and I looked to my feet, tugging on my hair until Alby started.

I heard his voice, I knew he was talking but as I watched him, the words were drowned out, almost muffled like he was too far away. I looked around, the room was quiet, everyone was looking at him but still I felt eyes on me. Then I looked back, behind me, Newt stood beside Aidan, his eyes were like magnets to mine.

He didn't say anything, but I could feel him, his warm presence and sweet latency made the room feel a little smaller. He gave me the smallest smile, it was just a lift of the corner of his mouth and the room was clear and my ears could hear.

"... must be done," Alby said.

I turned back to the front,"What did he say?," I whispered to Clint.

Clint's brow furrowed in confusion but before he could answer, Lee took his turn.

"You all know me," he was led to the front of the room, when he passed me the wind from his movement hit me and the stench of his being lead to nausea rising inside me. I clutched my stomach and closed my eyes.

"You okay?" Clint asked.

I nodded, taking deep breath through my mouth.I hadn't seen him since before the bonfire, that's when I last remembered. Both his eyes were swollen and purple, he had some cuts on his cheeks and his lip. He looked awful, not only from being beaten, but from the Slammer, his looked tired and sweaty, dirt was caked on his skin and clothes.

"I'm a Builder. I have helped shape the Glade in the sort time I've been here...I know I haven't been here long, but I would never break a rule. I didn't even try to run when I first got here."

"But you were alone with her Lee," Mihno was agitated. "That's a rule."

"No, it wasn't! Alby got rid of that rule!"

"I had," Alby agreed. "But that's not why you're here," he redirected the conversation.

"We're not here to go back and forth. We've already done that," Siggy stood up. "Just admit what happened!"

"Nothing happened!," Lee trembled with rage. "She can't even remember, so it's my word versus Gally! She invited me back to her room, you all know it. She did to Jackson and now she's all over Newt?! The girl is moving through us all!"

"Slim it!," Siggy spoke with a deadly demanding tone.

"Gally is a Keeper. He's a leader," Zart snapped to Lee. "You're just some Greenbean."

"So is she!," Lee bellowed.

"We're not going to reach a decision," Tucker shook his head.

"Not with that attitude," Zart told him. "We need to look at the facts. Fact is, I believe Gally."

"That's not a fact, Zart," Mihno replied. "But he's right. I believe Gally over this... this jacked slinthead. Aidan even saw some of it."

"Slim it," Alby quieted the room. "I talked to the Greenie. She doesn't remember that night," Alby announced.

I pulled out a few strands of hair as Alby mentioned me, I wanted to fade into the walls but I was there and everyone could see me.

"We have witnesses that places Lee in her room and I believe her: you were only a friend to her. She's talked to me, she knows how it looks when she hangs out with the boys but who else is here? She doesn't want that image of people thinking she's dating all these different Gladers, I don't think she would do this."

"She just doesn't remember what she told me," Lee locked his eyes on me. "You said yourself: she can't remember."

I clenched my hands in my lap and my legs closed, my jaw felt like I would never open it again as my teeth grinded against each other. Clint put a hand on my shoulder then stood up.

"He needs to be banished!"

"I agree!," Newt finally spoke.

I looked back at him, Aidan had pulled him back from where he had stepped forward and hushed him, but he glanced to me, sending me his support.

"Well you attacked me. Your words not really good here," Lee sounded smug.

"We don't know what really happened, how can we banish him?," Mihno scratched his head.

"Because he is a threat to one of us. He's a threat to all of us," Alby told the room. "I agree, he should be banished. All in favor?"

Siggy raised his hand, so did Zart, Clint, Billy, Gally, and then Mihno's hand went up.

Does that mean...

"Is it really happening?," I asked Clint.

"Lee will be banished tonight," Alby stated. "We are here to keep the Glade safe. No judgement leaves this room."

"No judgement leaves this room," everyone repeated.

"Wait no! No! No! Don't do this!," Lee begged.

"Yes," Clint told me. "He's getting thrown into the maze where he belongs," his eyes followed Lee as he was pulled away from the front of the room.

I looked back to Newt, he eyes were on mine, like they had never left. Without words I could tell he wanted to see if I was okay, I gave him a small nod and took a deep breath. Banished... he's really being banished.

"NO! GUYS NO! GALLY'S LYING! HE'S LYING TO YOU! SHE'S A LIAR TOO! LOOK AT HER! SHE'S LYING! DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE!," Lee was screaming he was begging as Billy helped Aidan drag him from the Gathering. He tried to fight, he swung and hit Aidan in the face, sending him crumpling to the ground. Siggy and Mihno shot up and helped pin Lee down. "GET OFF ME! LET ME GO!"

My breath caught as I watched the boys tackle Lee in the aisle of the hut. Newt jumped over the mess and crouched in front of me.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he guided my face with his hand to face him. "Look at me. You're okay," he told me. "You're safe."

I let a single tear slide down my cheek, I fell into him and he wrapped his arms around me. "You're safe," he told me again.

The struggling stopped and Lee's shouts faded as the dragged him back to the Slammer, Mihno had to use one of the pointy sticks to get him there. Newt's warm embrace shielded me from the room, kept out the bad things and hid me from everyone else.

"Since Lee will be banished, I say we strike Newt's actions and let the matter rest."

"What if he hits someone else?," Tucker complained and I pulled away from Newt.

"You know he wouldn't do that," I held back my tears.

"He's never broke a rule before, Tucker. Don't make this into a thing," Zart gave him a dirty look.

Tucker rolled his eyes," Alls I'm saying is I thought we had to determine if a rule was broken and what to do about it."

"Slim it," Zart told him sternly. "I agree. We forget the fight ever happened."

"All in favor?"

Clint, Zart, Siggy, Winston, and Gally raised their hands.

"It's done," Alby told the room and then walked out without another word.

I wrapped my arms around Newt's torso and hugged him tightly," I'm so glad," I told him, the tears had returned. He pulled me closer and rested his head on mine, he rocked me gently and I had never felt so at peace.

Clint slipped out and the room was cleared, Newt and I were alone.

"Tell me," Newt's accent floated into the air. "Tell me what you're feeling."

"I don't know," I whispered. "I just feel...relieved. I'm glad they didn't punish you."

"No way the lads would of. Most of them told me they would have done the same...but I meant you. How are you feeling?"

"I... I just still don't believe it."

"Hey," Newt pulled away so he could look at me I hid my face behind my hands, I don't know why but I didn't want him to see me. "Hey," his voice glided into my ears like a sweet song. "What happened... it's not your fault."

"No... not that," I choked on a breath. "They're really going to banish him...?"

"If I had it my way, we'd hang him from the wall by his thumbs and stick him through the heart," his voice was dark and unforgiving.

I peeked through my fingers, Newt was still watching me, his honey eyes were blazing with heat.

"Newt... what's going to happen?"

"They'll take him to the entrance and we'll push him out. The doors will close and he'll be the maze's issue."

"What if he survives?"

"He won't," Newt reassured me. "He'll be gone. He'll never come back."

It was a relief to hear that," How can you be sure?"

"No one survives," he told me, taking my hands in his.

I sighed," I'm just so scared Newt..."

"Why?," he moved to sit beside me on the bench.

"I just... every time something goes right, something happens. And I can feel it, something bad is gonna happen."

"No, nothing is going to happen," he gently ran his hand over my hair. "I am going to keep you safe, I promise."

I believed him, Newt had never sounded more sincere. I knew he would protect me, but that didn't stop the feeling inside me.

"What's going to happen?," I asked him again.

"Once Lee is gone, we're going to find our way out of here. We're going to get out of the Glade. Together. Right?" I nodded, eager for that to happen, anything to get me away from this personal level of hell. "I'll even start running the maze again."

"Newt you can't, your leg."

"I will do anything to get you out of here," Newt's eyes locked on mine, and my eyes drifted to his lips.

I wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on mine, I wanted to kiss him for everything he had done for me, everything he had promised to do for me. Show him how much he meant to me and why I would stay by his side for as long as I could; I would fight Grievers and spend years trapped in this maze if it meant that I could stay with him.

"Newt..," I looked back up to him.

"Yeah... " he sounded a little nervous, slightly out of breath.

"I want to kiss you," I told him, not holding it back anymore.

He swallowed and took a shaky breath, all of his confidence seemed to evaporate. "I want to kiss you too," he said softly, his eyes now on my lips.

"Then kiss me," I felt breathless.

Newt took his hand and placed it on my jaw, his thumb stroking my cheek and his fingers tangling into my hair, my breathing stopped. I felt a rush pass through me and everything was forgotten: Lee, Alby, the bonfire, even the Glade faded into the background. Newt's eyes were on my mine then flickered to my lips for a second before he leaned in. I wasn't nervous, I wasn't scared, I was ready.

Then we connected, it was a moment of absolute clarity as everything inside me was bright and alive. Even with my eyes closed, it was blinding, the electric power surged through me and exploded into pure bliss by the pressure of his lips. My mind buzzed with the sensation yet it was utterly blank with no ideas or thoughts or worries. I was completely in the moment, nothing from the past or the future was able to interrupt the bond we had in that second of time. Even as we had never been closer, he was still so far, my hands moved with their own initiative, wrapping around his neck and drawing him nearer. Newt must've felt the same because a new feeling of his other hand on my back appeared and pulled me towards him.

I had to pull back, I needed to breathe, even though the kiss had only been a few seconds long, my body had forgotten how to function. I opened my eyes, Newt was right there, his nose still touching mine, brushing ever so slightly. I felt a new rush, my head now was processing everything letting the reality of what had happened shake my entire core. Newt's eyes were still closed, but his fingertips danced in my hair as he breathed slowly, so I did the same, letting my fingers explore his curls.

He opened his eyes and looked to me and I couldn't stop myself from smiling, I was filled with too much joy and excitement for it to not show on my face. Newt followed, his grin putting those adorable divets in his cheeks.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," he told me, his voice was so low and sexy.

"Me too," I admitted, even though he already knew that.

I really kissed him, it finally happened. It was indescribable, no words could come close to the feeling inside me right now. Newt kissed me.

Newt took his hand from my face and I slowly unhooked myself from around as we both sat up a little straighter. My hands settled in my lap and he intertwined my fingers with his.

"I meant what I said," he said looking down at our hands, he wasn't talking about our kiss.

"I know," I nodded. "I want you to know, I'll protect you too."

He looked up with a grin," Glad to know you have my back."

"Always," I smiled while watching our fingers dance together. Newt sighed and I felt him looking at me, so I met his eyes," What?"

"You're just so... beautiful," he told me. I couldn't stop the smile and I felt a blush in my cheeks. "Especially when you smile," he grinned.

"And you.. you always know how to make me smile," I told him as my blush deepend.

"Good," he chuckled. "I'm glad I'm good for something."

"You're good for a lot of things," I told him.

He smiled and shook his head softly, like he couldn't accept the compliment I'd given him. "I'll try my best to prove you right on that."

"You won't have to try too hard," I joked.

It'd be nice if this was my life, sitting here with Newt. Not thinking about the Glade or any problems, just being with him and living in the moment. If it could always be this happy, I'd never want to leave the Glade... but just outside the walls of this hut was the world we were living in. The world in between the four stone walls that consumed every part of our lives. Once we stepped outside, I'd be back to be the Greenie: the girl with no name and we'd both go back to the real world of Glade life.

"I don't want to go out there," I told him.

"I know," he nodded. "We can stay here for a while."

And we did, we stayed there. We talked, made jokes, laughed, and Newt even tried to sing at one point. Then he stood up and stretched, claiming to be famished, so we left. And that was it, the shelter from the Glade was over and we were back into reality. Newt tried to get me to eat something with him, but I wasn't hungry. I went to take a nap and it wasn't until I was outside my little cabin that I stopped myself.

I can't... I... I can't..I backed away from the small room. I turned and ran but instead of into the Deadhead I went straight for the Homestead and into the Med hut.

"Breathe! Breathe!," Clint sat me down right. "Breathe with me," he calmed me down as I followed his lead.

Even though my breathing was normal, I was still crying and I curled up onto my cot. Jeff covered me up with a blanket and said something about getting me something to drink. Clint sat beside me, rubbing my back and told me everything was going to be okay. I knew it wasn't... because just as soon as my feeling of doom had left, it came back and it felt stronger. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up to voices, I rubbed my eyes and turned to see it was Newt and Clint.

"Newt? What's going on?," I sat up.

He sat down on the bed," The sun's setting," he told me. "Lee's about to be banished."

"She should stay here," Clint intervened. "She needs to rest."

"No," I shoved the covers off. "I need to be there."

"Greenie, you don't have to go."

I sat on the edge of my bed," I know. I just think... I need to see it for it to be real."

Winston came into the hut.

"Cut yourself again?," Jeff was annoyed.

"No," Winston shook his head and turned to look at me. "They're taking Lee to the gate."


I want to say thank you to all who leave reviews. You're kind comments, guesses of the plot line, and even critical observations inspire to me to keep posting new chapters. Thank you so much.