Newt was scared to be angry. Thomas realized that one day, and felt stupid for realizing it so late. How was possible for him to miss all the clues?
The tenth days he and Minho had brought him flowers, he had yelled at them and, as soon as he had realized what he was doing, he had stormed out crying.
And a week before, Thomas has surprised him from behind and had startled him, and Newt had punched Tommy. He had look so devastated after that, and had lied on the bed, too depressed to move, for days.
"You are scared to be angry!"
"What are you talking about?"
Newt' eyebrow lifted to show his confusion, and Minho had an identical expression of surprise.
They were in their quarter, sitting around the table, eating their dinner. Well, Thomas and Minho were eating it. Newt was moving the fork around the plate and taking a bite every now and then.
"Newt, let's face it, every time that you was yell at us because we were acting as idiots and we deserved it, you get upset and teary and you are scared to be angry…"
"Slim it, Tommy, Slim it now!" there was an hint of something in Newt voice, a pleading for being left alone, but Minho did't get it.
"Thomas is right, back in the Glade you was the one that keep everyone at their place, even if the Alby was the leader you were the one that cared for us and that let us know when we were stupid. Now you are scared to be yourself. We gave you time to find your bearings, but now we have to face it, you cannot keep doing that to yourself…"
"You don't understand! YOU CANNOT UNDERSTAND! YES, I'M SCARED, I'M BLOODY SCARED I'M LOOSING MY MIND!" Newt yelled, and after, with a softer voice he added "I'm scared to be mad, to pass the Gone, to hurt you…" Newt finished in a whisper.
"You are not going mad…" Alby spoke gently.
"Shut it, Alby!" Newt answered dryly before realized who he was spoking to.
Minho looked disturbed and shocked, Tommy just devastated and Alby guilty.
"Great, my hallucination just told me I'm not going mad, brilliant, bloody brilliant and reassuring! Thank you Alby! and stop to look at me with those pity expression, all the three of you!"
"Newt, slim it, man, everything if going to be fine…"
"Oh, really Minho? you just told me I should allow myself to be angry and now I should slim it? shuck you all, I'm going to sleep, I hope to not find any of you here when I will wake up!"
Newt stood up, too fast if the spinning head was any clue, and limped till half way to the bedroom before fainted, crumpling to the ground like a rag doll.
The other two boys could just watch him fall, too far from him to be able to catch him.
They ran to him, and Minho send Thomas to grab Cliff, meanwhile he lifted Newt limp body to carry him into the bedroom. He took a moment to observe the blonde in his arms. Newt' face was paler than usual, his lips almost white, but his cheeks were red, and Minho realized he could feel the heat coming from the blonde. Great, a fever was the last thing they need now…
Cliff could find any reason for this sudden change in Newt's health. "My guess, that by now is good as the one of everyone else, is that this is a reaction to the cure. I mean, it was the first attempt, and Thomas here said they gave him some medicament. It's quite late for this kind of effect to show but I haven't any other ideas… Unless… mmmm…"
"What? Unless what? Talk shuck face!"
"Slim it Minho… Cliff, Unless what?"Thomas tried to be nicer but he was driven by the same urgency of the older boy.
"I was just thinking… he got the immunity, his brain learned how to combat the sickness, and his antibodies were helped to combat the virus… what if he get infected again? Its possible that his brain, his kill zone, will combat the Flare, but his antibodies will have no help this time… that will be coherent with the timeline but…"
"But what?" Minho had never been the patient one
"But they said that Munies couldn't diffused the Flare, they are always clean…"
"So?" but also Thomas was eager to know
"So we have a Crank here in Paradise…"
