By sundown, Newt had already let the two builders out of the pit giving them a fair warning that if they pulled another stupid stunt it would be the maze for them. The builders apologized to him, Alby, their keeper Gally, and of course to Holly before going back to work. From then on, the two builders kept their distance away from the only female in the group.
Straws scattered all over the homestead's floor which Holly and Chuck were using to make baskets. A majority of their baskets for gardening were already worn out that Alby told them to make a few new batches. Chuck, who was now wearing the flower crown, was already on his second basket while the only female glader was struggling on making her first one. Unfortunately, Holly's thoughts were distracted when a glader was giving them the instructions on how to make one.
"It's quite easy" Chuck said as soon as he noticed that she was having a hard time and took a new set of straws to demonstrate it for her. "You just loop it here, then over this one, and over this. Just keep doing it and then you'll be having a basket in no time"
Holly tried it for herself and slowly began to catch up until she had finished the base of the basket she was making. "Thanks a lot, Chuck. You're such a big help. My mind is just all over the place"
"I wouldn't be surprised; you must be tired with all the work"
"Yeah, that" she muttered even though that wasn't exactly the reason why.
As she continued with her weaving, she noticed a group of guys standing at the courtyard. It was the Keepers along with Newt and Alby. The tall blonde British had a stern look on his face just like any respectable leader, nodding once in a while with whatever Minho was telling them. He then softened a bit and laughed, hitting Gally on the shoulder with his hand after Winston made a funny remark. Like an electrifying feeling, Newt looked at Holly's direction when he felt that someone was looking. Holly was startled and embarrassed that he had seen her looking. He smiled shyly at her and in return, Holly shyly smiled back. She quickly looked away with her cheeks heating up again and growing red, her mind occupied with things that had occurred by the tree earlier that day.
Newt tried to kiss her.
She couldn't explain the intense feeling growing inside of her like a bubble that was about to burst. Her only concern was giving Newt the vaccine sooner or later and wasn't expecting anything else other than that.
"Hey Chuck, what do you think of Newt?" she cleared her throat when her voice cracked.
"He's pretty nice" he shared and started on his new basket. "—and a pretty good leader too. When Alby isn't feeling well or anything, he's the guy you run to. He's very approachable. He's also the one who made me feel comfortable during my first day"
"Yeah, he's a pretty good leader" Holly mumbled after finally finishing her first basket.
"You do know he likes you, right?"
Holly was completely taken aback with what Chuck said and struggled making a loop on her new basket. "W-what? That's completely rubbish"
"Is it?" Chuck snickered. "It's pretty obvious if you ask me. He's around you almost all of the time making sure you're alright. And he was up to punching the two klunks who tried to harass you. He isn't like that to everybody. Do you like him back?"
Holly's face grew hotter and was now a shade of red. "I-I don't know. I never liked anyone before in a romantic way"
"Well, I think you two will make a great couple"
Chuck grinned and watched Holly. The young girl wasn't able to hide her content. She patted her cheeks and hoped that they didn't look like a pair of bright red apples. The feeling she was having was completely alien to her. In her present time she had guys like Minho confess to her just to be rejected in the end. She didn't give love any thought for being a TAIMN traveler was her priority. Newt hadn't admitted or confessed anything but did try kissing her in which Holly didn't oppose to. In fact, she was actually looking forward to it until Chuck ruined the scenario. Too preoccupied again with her own thoughts, Holly didn't realize that Newt had walked in and stopped in front of them. His forehead formed a crease while looking at her with concern.
"Are you alright? Your entire face is red" he pointed out.
Holly nodded and sneakily kicked Chuck who started snickering again. "I, yeah, just feeling a bit hot that's all"
"If you'd like, I can call one of the med-jacks"
"Oh that's not necessary, really"
"If you say so" Newt smiled and walked away before taking another good look at her.
Chuck fell back laughing so hard at Holly that he was almost into tears. Holly groaned in embarrassment and buried her face on her knees, feeling a hand roughly patting her back.
"That's alright, the identity of your crush is safe with me" Chuck said with a grin.
"Shuck it" she mumbled with her face still scarlet red.
The clanking of pots and pans echoed throughout the glade indicating that it was already time for supper. Everyone lined up in front of the long table with their plates filled up with steamed carrots and grilled chicken. Holly carried her food and water around, looking for a nice spot to have her quiet dinner. She liked eating by the bonfire the most and was lucky enough to see a vacant space. She walked towards the bonfire and quickly stopped as soon as she saw Newt having his dinner there. She turned around to look for a different spot but was surprised to see Alby standing in front of her with a smile.
"Are you okay? Seems like you've seen a ghost" Alby joked.
Holly laughed softly and held her food and drink close to her, "I'm fine. Just looking for a place to eat"
"Well come on, there's enough space for you by the bonfire"
With no other choice, Holly followed the leader of the Glade to the bonfire with a forced smile. Newt was busy having his dinner and didn't seem to be bothered seeing Alby approaching but was a bit surprised to see Holly following him.
"I hope you don't mind Holly joining us" Alby grinned and took his seat.
Newt swallowed hard, shook his head, and opened his arms wide as a welcome, "Not at all. It's open for everyone"
Holly quietly took a seat a few inches away from him and concentrated on her food, nibbling a piece of her chicken and looked around completely avoiding his direction after their awkward moment. Although there wasn't any grand feast for the night, it was still merry with games and the like. It was their way to relax after a long tiring day of work. Alby was pulled up by the others toward the circle to have a friendly match with Gally. Almost in an instant, everyone was gathered by the circle to watch the match leaving Newt and Holly alone by the bonfire. While everyone around the circle was roaring loud cheers, the bonfire was left with an awkward silence. Newt ran his fingers through his blonde hair, breathing in enough courage to speak up first.
"Do you think Jake is getting worried?" Newt suddenly spoke to break the awkwardness. "I mean with you missing?"
Holly was surprised for a moment but remembered that she had shared stories about herself to Newt. "Oh yeah, I can imagine he's already going mental" she laughed and slightly forgot the awkward feeling she had. "But he'll be glad when he finds out I'm in good company"
"You really think you're in good company?"
"Well, I don't see anyone trying to kill me"
Newt laughed and sipped on his drink. He ran his slender fingers through his hair and cleared his throat before speaking again, "Listen, about earlier, I didn't know what has gotten into my head. I must've been too tired that I wasn't able to think straight"
Holly smiled to herself and replied nervously. "I-It's nothing, don't worry about it"
"Really?" he looked at her curiously. "Because for a moment, I thought you wouldn't talk to me anymore for my stupidity" his expression turned slightly glum at the thought of not talking to her.
"Don't be silly, I wouldn't ignore you just because of that. Everything is fine" she assured him.
Behind the cold stone walls, the maze began to change like it always did every night. No one really minded it anymore for they knew each one of them was safe in the glade once the gate to the maze was shut. Holly looked at Newt's direction and watched him gulped the juice Gally made.
"Why do you drink that thing? It tastes bloody horrible" she laughed, eating the last piece of chicken on her plate.
Newt looked at the jar he was holding, shaking it a bit. "It actually tastes good if you keep drinking it. It's actually some kind of energy drink for me. It helps me whenever I have a lot of things to do"
"Seriously?"
"I wouldn't lie to you" he handed her his jar that was still half full. "Try it again"
For a moment, Holly hesitated. She had already tried it and doubted it'll taste any better the second time. But how could she resist Newt's request? She slowly reached for the jar and sniffed it a bit. The strong smell of herbs and barks filled her nostrils that made her feel sick. Closing her eyes, she took a quick gulp and handed the jar back to him. Newt laughed softly at the face Holly was making. She obviously didn't and would never like it.
"Your sense of taste must be damaged already" she joked and closed her eyes, resting her head back against the log after acquiring a slight headache.
Newt rested his head against his palm and watched her, smiling. "Yes, it must be. Hey, do you mind telling me things again?"
"What kind of things?"
"Anything you can think of. You or whatever you fancy telling me"
"Anything about me is boring"
"I highly doubt that. Tell me anything you remember"
Holly opened an eye and looked at him. He was looking at her like a child waiting to hear a bed time story not caring whether he had picked the most boring book in the world. He just wanted to hear it.
"I don't have many friends" she laughed, looking up wondering how many stars were there. "I'm usually quiet, spending most of the time alone with books"
"Books?"
"Books" she repeated, nodding. "Even if I'm just alone in my room, the books take me to wonderful places. Usually it's my escape when things don't go the way I want it to. It keeps me busy"
"What's your favorite book?"
"Hmm, there's a lot" then she beamed after remembering the one she liked the most. "Peter Pan"
"Ah, the boy who never grew up" Newt chuckled and was slightly happy to remember that story.
"Yes, that. I like it a lot. But since there are no books here, I don't get to have my quiet time. A bunch of people are always talking to me. It's my first time to have so many friends and I like it"
She looked at Newt to see if he'd fallen asleep with her boring story. To her surprise, he was listening to her intently with a smile on his face as if he'd just heard the most interesting thing ever. Her face turned scarlet just seeing his smile and quickly looked away.
"Enough about me, why don't you tell me something about you?" she asked, turning all the attention to him instead of her.
"What can I tell? I don't have any memory of who I am" he laughed and sat up straight.
Holly lay on her side to face Newt using her forearm as a pillow, eager to know some things about him. "Tell me anything about you before I arrived"
The loud cheers ceased after a majority of them headed back to the glade to get some sleep when Gally won the match. There were no other sounds except for the crickets chirping and crackling of the fire. Holly and Newt were the only ones left in the open, like any other night, without any signs of being sleepy or tired.
"Hmm, what to share" Newt mumbled scratching his head. "I used to be a runner"
Holly gasped, excited to hear something unexpected. "You were?"
He nodded and smiled after seeing the spark of interest in her eyes. "Yeah, I was. Along with Minho, we'd go through the maze looking for a way out of this prison. Unfortunately, as you can tell, we haven't found it. Days, weeks, and months passed and I was slightly getting the hang out of my new life here. But once in a while, I would start questioning myself—who am I? Why can't I remember anything? Why was I taken here? So many unanswered questions haunted me for so long" the smile on his face faded. He stared at the bright orange flame with a stern look as he continued his story. "I started to lose hope. I was scared but mostly mad at the bastards who brought me here. So one day, I decided to climb up one of those walls" he pointed at the tall walls covered in ivy. "I tried killing myself by jumping off. For some reason I didn't die but scarred me forever" he chuckled and stared at his leg that was forever injured, a remembrance of what had happened to him. "On the good side, Alby straightened me out. He told me not to lose hope and we'll eventually find our way out. I also have to stay positive for the other shanks"
He looked at Holly who had been quiet the entire time and was startled—her face was struck with fear and sadness, not expecting to hear such a story that tears rolled down her cheeks uncontrollably. He panicked and moved closer helping her sit up.
"H-hey, what's wrong?" he asked.
Holly continued to sob and watched as Newt wiped her tears gently with his thumbs. Just looking at him, she could tell that he was a very brave guy and a very optimistic one also. Her heart ached for him that behind the beautiful smile was a broken person.
"Calm now, I didn't mean to make you cry" Newt chuckled, wiping the tears that constantly trickled down her rosy cheeks.
Holly choked on her own tears and tried her best to find her voice, "I-I'm so sorry about what happened to you. I shouldn't have asked"
"Ssh" he whispered and kept the smile on his face. "You deserved to know it. It's not something I'm proud of though. What matters now is that I'm still here, breathing"
She looked down at Newt's leg. She had often wondered why he had a limp and assumed that he had it before entering the Glade. But hearing what happened to it left her completely speechless. WICKED, in short, messed up Newt's life to the point that he wanted to end it. Her chest tightened and wept silently when all of a sudden, slender fingers tilted her chin. She looked straight into Newt's eyes and sniffled.
"A beautiful flower such as you shouldn't cry. Although you still look beautiful when you do" he chuckled, pushing her sweaty hair back and caressed her smooth tear stained cheek. "Hm, I think I just thought of a nickname for you—my Tinkerbell"
She looked at him innocently, sniffling. "Why Tinkerbell?"
"Well, why not? Peter Pan is your favorite book. I can be Peter Pan and, well, he needs Tinkerbell"
Holly closed her eyes and relaxed, rubbing her cheek against his hand like a cat showing her love for her master and whispered, "Tinkerbell sounds great. I'll be your light when you're in the dark".
A fluttering feeling churned Newt's stomach upon the words that came out of her mouth. The same feeling he had when the two of them were sitting at the tree that afternoon. With caution, he leaned closer, this time having an idea on what he really wanted to do. He quickly leaned back once her eyes opened. Her eyes that reminded Newt of the blue sky stared back at him making his heart beat fast.
"I can now say that Alby is completely right" Newt laughed without taking his eyes off of her.
Holly looked a bit confused and curious. "Right about what?"
"That…I fancy you" he finally confessed. "I really do"
The young girl blushed and for the first time felt happy to hear such a confession. She gently stretched her hand forward, brushing her fingertips along his cheek and to his soft lips.
"I like you too" she whispered back.
A bright smile appeared on Newt's face. He was completely happy that he wanted to jump and shout. It was something he hadn't felt in quite a long time. But rather than making a commotion and waking up the other gladers, he just cupped both her cheeks gently and looked into her puffy eyes before pressing his lips against her soft plump ones for a kiss he'd been longing to give. Holly's eyes shut close and her heart fluttered as soon as their lips touched. Without holding back, she kissed him back in a gentle and loving manner with her arms slithering around his waist. She held him close, kissing him all throughout the night until she got familiar with the taste of his soft lips.