I looked around the Glade, observing more now that I was walking. It was rather large and square shaped with a clearing in the middle with a heavily wooded area in the far corner. The sun was up now but it wasn't terribly warm or uncomfortable. There were giant walls surrounding the Glade with four open areas leading outside. There were a few other buildings scattered around. In the corner next to the trees was a small building, the one I had seen when I looked at Winston. There was a small fenced area that held a few cattle and some pigs next to it. I could see a few chickens running around free. We were headed to the homestead in the corner across from the animals. In the very center of the glade was a metal grate level with the ground. I was not sure of its purpose. Behind it was a long intimidating building. I could see a heavy looking lock on the front door from the distance we were at. In the last corner there was a small hut that and its right a field full of growing vegetables.
"Dani?" Newt had stopped in front of me. I almost stumbled into him because I was not paying attention.
"Sorry I was just looking. This place is amazing." I said gesturing to our surroundings. Newt nodded and began walking again.
"That sure is one way to put it." He mumbled barely loud enough for me to hear. We were almost to the homestead when I looked down at my side again.
"Wait…Newt?" I asked as the honey blonde turned to look at me again. I pulled my hand from my side and looked at the crimson stain on it. "What happened to me?" I questioned. The boy ran his hand threw his blonde hair.
"Well that's a bit of a good question. Minho and Ben found you last night. You said you had been shot and they brought you back here. You were passed though so we had the medjacks clean your wound and sew you up. Guess it was whoever shot you had bad aim or something." He tried to joke with me but I was just so lost.
"Who would shoot me?" I asked shaking my head.
"No clue. You tell me love." Newt shrugged and began walking again. "No one here really remembers ever really seeing a gun little long shooting one. There never has been a weapon like that in the Glade." I felt my stomach twist. That means I had to have come from outside of the Glade. Outside of wherever we are. And someone really didn't like me. Newt saw the trepidation on my face and put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry Love, you won't get hurt while you're here I'll make sure of it." He warmly smiled at me. I could feel myself begin to blush so I turned away from Newt, not wanting him to see.
Newt held the door for me when we got to the homestead. I smiled and mumbled a thank you before going in. No one was inside once again. I was somewhat grateful not wanting anyone to see the small traces of color on my face. Newt gracefully took the stairs but I was slower and winced slightly when stepping with my injured side. Newt had already opened the door and begun laughing when I reached the top. "Oh hey Jeff, good to see you up and well." Newt chimed happily as he walked through. I bit my lip and looked down at Jeff. He was sitting on the ground leaning on the bed, clutching is wrist in his hand. Jeff scowled at Newt, who was leaning against the table by the window.
"I am so sorry Jeff! I really did not mean to hurt you! I do not know what came over me!" I apologized and sat on the bed next to him, flinching a little from the pain in my side.
"It's okay, I mean I understand. I would probably attack someone too if I woke up surrounded by these ugly shanks and I." Jeff joked and stood up.
"I promise I only twisted enough to sprain it, not break something. And by the looks of the swelling and coloring it will probably take a few weeks for it to heal." I bent down and gingerly touched his wrist around the swelling and stopped once I saw Jeff grimace. "It's warm to the touch. I think about you'll begin to feel better in about two weeks, but you should wrap it and keep it compressed until then." I pointed to his medical bag behind Newt. Jeff nodded raising an eyebrow at me, before looking to Newt.
"Right I knew that. All of that. In case you were wondering." Jeff shrugged and moved to his bag and began unpacking it.
"No you bloody didn't." Newt shook his head moving out of his way. He chuckled when Jeff gave him a glare. Jeff grabbed a bandage and began to try and wrap his own wrist, failing miserably.
"Here let me." I volunteered and carefully wrapped his whole wrist. "I'm really sorry."
"You're fine! Really, but how do you know all that? How to you know fight and now what to do with my hand?" Jeff asked watching me bandage his wrist.
"Um, I'm not actually sure… it's like I already knew it. I didn't have to think about it. My body just did it. And now it's like that stuff is just common knowledge." I pursed my lips unable to put words with my feelings.
"It's okay something's they let us keep, like what trees and grass are and our names. Others they make us forget before we come, like our past, our families, or why we're here." Newt spoke monotony while looking out the window. I nodded tying the wrap off. I thought of the flashes I had been having, like the one with Winston in the animal house. Were those normal? I felt like I was stepping into my past whenever I saw flashes…
I decided to keep them quiet, not wanting to say anything with Jeff there. I trust Newt, not sure why but I do. I looked over at the boy who was examining me finish the bandage. Maybe it was his soft chocolate colored eyes, or his boyish face, or that interesting accent that was so easy to listen to. His brown eyes flashed to me making me smile and then glance towards the ground. I made a mental note to tell him later, when the time was right. The door opened behind us and Clint walked in carrying another bag with medical supplies.
"Uhhh, and can I ask why is the bleeding Newbie helping the medjack take care of his hand….when she's bleeding. Again. All over Minho's shirt. He's going to be so mad." Clint groaned and threw his bag on the bed.
"She was helping him because she actually knows what she's doing, unlike you two pieces of klunk. She would actually make a decent medjack." Newt crossed his arms. "Plus she's not bleeding as badly this time." He added. I looked down at the crimson stain that was growing slightly on my side.
"Shank, shuck, klunk, what are you guys even talking about?" I questioned them earning another big smile from Newt.
"Just glader talk greenie you'll catch on." he smirked at me. I tried giving him a dirty look back but it's hard to stay mad at that smile. Clint made his way over to look at Jeff's wrist.
"Awe man, I really wanted to amputate a hand…." Clint mumbled making Jeff hit him with his good hand. My mouth dropped, there was no reason for that! Was he serious? I clutched my side, a little scared of what he was going to do to it. "Oh Dani I was only kidding! Partially….Alright, well lets sew you back up." Clint gave me a cheesy smile said and patted for me to go to the bed. I glanced at Newt, who nodded to the bed reassuring me. I sat down and looked back up at Clint as he pulled out a few wipes and a brown bottle.
"Okay I'm going to wipe some of the blood away and put some numbing gel on the wound," Clint turned around and looked at me. "But I'll need um to see the wound to operate on it." He pointed to my side with his hand that held the bottle. I bit my lip again and looked at the three boys in the room, feeling self-conscious all the sudden.
"Do I have to uh…" I began to play with the buttons on my shirt not really wanting to take it off in front of them. Newt sighed.
"Dani, you're really worried about decency when you just paraded around in your underwear in front of the whole glade? Who by the way haven't seen a girl in years. " Newt motioned towards the window. I flushed, eyes getting big. I wondered how ridiculous I looked, half naked in front of a bunch of teenage boys.
"Oh my god." I put my hands over my eyes. They hadn't seen a girl? I can't image the thoughts running through the boy's heads seeing me, especially since it was Minho's shirt. That is not the kind of first impression I wanted anyone to have.
"Well don't worry too much I think you scared the klunk out of all of them when you beat the crap out of Gally. No one will mess with you now." Clint laughed a little. I did feel bad about hurting the other boy. He was so angry, but I guess no one had told the rest of the boys I was there, or how I got there or that I existed. I would be upset too. "Wait! What happened to my clothes? I didn't show up like this." I had a sudden epiphany and opened my fingers to peak through. Clint shifted uncomfortably now.
"Well your jacket is over there," Clint pointed to a wooden chair with a white blazer draped over it. There was a large blood stain on one side. "Your heels are under the bed, but we figured you wouldn't want those. They're not very practical. And well your dress I kind of cut off, so it was pretty much ruined." Clint spoke and rubbed a hand on the back of his head. "I'm really sorry. I had to cut it off to get to your wound." He apologized to me.
"It's okay you did what you had to do. And thank you for that. Both of you." I smiled towards him and Jeff.
"So go ahead and bloody lift up your shirt, nothing we all didn't see last night. Hurry up, we don't want you passing out again." Newt motioned to me now before looking to the floor. I sighed and laid down on my good side before lifting up Minho's shirt. Clint got to work right away cleaning the wound.
"Well you didn't do a ton of damage. I'll just have to fix one end of the stiches, just take it easy from now on. It'll be better in a week or two." Clint said and began to put some gel from the brown bottle on a wipe. I looked up at the other two boys who were looking anywhere but towards me. At least they were polite I thought.
"Well, I am going to go grab you some clothes. I mean if you want to continue to wear that it's fine, I'm sure the guys won't mind, but I'm sure I could find you something in the glade that'll fit." Newt pushed himself up and began towards the door.
"I'll come with." Jeff said making Newt shoot him a questionable glance, which I managed to catch out of the side of my eye.
"Thanks." I said as they left the room. Clint worked quietly and quickly. He patched up my side again and packed up his tools all before the guys got back with clothes. I climbed up off the bed and made my way over to the window, looking out at the Glade. There was a small sense of familiarity about the place, but I really couldn't place why. I quickly spotted the tall honey blonde boy had his hands full walking back to the homestead. Jeff was babbling to him quickly, using a lot of frantic hand motions. He pointed up towards the window and then towards his chest. Newt said something back and Jeff responded by pulling his shirt out and pointing down it. Both boys looked back up to the window, making me back away afraid of being seen spying. There was no way they were not talking about me. I looked down at my own shirt, not seeing anything significant about the button up. I decided to glance inside down at my bra, slightly speculating if they were just talking about the fact that I had boobs.
That's when I saw it. There was a small triangle of white paper sticking out from the top of my lace bra. I furrowed my eyebrows and pulled the paper out carefully. I opened the folded paper, revealing three messily written words. WICKED is evil. I gasped and had a sudden flash. I saw WICKED written on the top of a small notebook in my hands. Wicked was typed out on a clear screen in front of me. I stood in front of a toned dark haired boy with friendly eyes. Thomas. His name was Thomas. "WICKED is good Dani." He smiled at me and reached out to me. I hesitated but raised my hand out carefully towards him.
Creaks of the stairs outside snapped me back to reality. I quickly shoved the paper back in my bra before moving to sit down back on the bed. My heart was racing as I tried to digest what I just saw. The boy, Thomas, he was so familiar but I could not grasp a memory of him. I knew his name, I recognized his face. I know I am close with him. I trust him. But I couldn't remember anything else. But I thought over his contradictor statement. What is WICKED? It was like something was locking my brain from connecting to any memories of Thomas or WICKED. Trying to think back was beginning to make my head hurt. Newt walked in, now alone. I put on a smile for him.
"I got the smallest pair of boots and pants we had, but also managed to swipe a belt for you." Newt said crossing the room. He dropped everything on the bed. "I only could find a tank top for you though." He said before down. He grabbed something from under the bed. "But I am nice, so I guess I can let you wear my spare shirt." He smirked at me and handed a light weight sweat shirt styled top.
"Thank you Newt." I smiled down at the shirt.
"Yeah well they will hopefully be sending more clothes with this month's supplies and Greenie. If we get a Greenie this month I mean…." He mumbled as he stood up.
"Greenie?" I asked standing up next to him.
"I'll explain everything later." He sighed and walked to the door. "Get dressed and come down when you're ready. I'll take you on the tour." He spoke grabbing the door handle. His dark eyes shifted quickly down to my chest before meeting my eyes. I crossed my arms. He nodded awkwardly and left the room. I took a deep breath. He must know something about the note. I quickly shed the button up and pulled on the tank top and long sleeve. I grabbed the pair of gray cargo pants next. They were quite large but the belt made them manageable. I looked towards the door before pulling the note out again. I decided to put in in one of the pant pockets just for right now. I bit my lip, thinking once again about WICKED. What did it mean? I wanted to ask Newt but I was worried he would ask more questions, I felt like I knew something I shouldn't. I put on the boots next, surprised how well they actually fit. I stood and ran my hands through my dark hair. I need answers. I took a deep breath and headed down to meet Newt.
"Okay so do I have to really go through all of the different jobs? I mean you are the one who said I would make a decent medjack and I don't really enjoy cutting up pigs or cleaning up crap." I pouted looking at Newt. He rubbed his face and sighed. "Or should I say cleaning up... klunk?" I said unsure of the lingo. That made Newt smile.
"Okay I'll talk to Alby please just don't try to do that again. It sounds so bloody awful coming from you." He laughed at me. I sent him a dirty look, but couldn't help but smile as well. We had just got done walking to the different buildings of the glade. Newt was explaining all of the jobs the boys had. Being a slopper, builder, bagger or a slicer really did not sound like suitable jobs for me. Plus I really did not like the way some of the builders were looking at me. Now we were walking towards the very center of the glade. Newt put his hands on his hips. "Just because you're a girl doesn't mean you get special treatment you know." He added shrugging, his grin still lingering. We stopped in front of a large grate stuck in the ground. I peered down into it but only saw darkness.
"This is the box. It's like a metal elevator. A new boy, the Greenie arrives in it once a month Supplies come up about once a week. After we clean it all out the lift goes back down. We put a list of supplies we want or need in every once in a while. Sometimes they comply, most of the time not." Newt explained. I walked around the whole thing.
"So there has never been another girl sent up ….. at all?" I questioned from across the box. Newt just shook his head. I pursed my lips and looked back down at the ground. "And no one else has ever come from out there?" I pointed towards an opening in the giant walls. Newt shook his head once again. I stared back at the opening in the giant wall, only able to see a T shaped break in the corridors. The walls were completely covered in vines. My eyes were attracted to a sudden flash on one of the walls. "Wait…what is that…." I said and took off running towards the break in the wall.
"Dani!" I heard Newt call out for me but it was too late, I had already gotten too large of a head start. "Dani stop!" Newt yelled at me, but I could barely hear him. I was so focused on the flash on the wall. I saw it again but this time it was farther up on the wall, it disappeared under a vine. I was about to cross through the opening when I felt strong arms grab around me. I went rigid.
"Not so fast girly." Minho whispered in my ear. He turned me around away from the opening and sat me back on the ground.
"I swear I saw… I saw something. It looked like metal." I tried to walk around him again but he stepped in my way.
"No one is aloud out there, not even if they came from there." Minho said sternly.
"It's one of the rules I was just about to get to." Newt was breathing very hard behind us.
"Why not." I asked crossing my arms. I looked again for the flash of metal but I couldn't find it now.
"It's not safe Dani." Newt said putting his hand on my shoulder to turn me around.
"He gets to go out there!" I yelled pointing at Minho.
"I'm different." Minho shrugged.
"He's a runner. He's the keeper of the runners actually." Newt explained. I pursed my lips at them. Newt hadn't told me about the runners yet, but I knew they were the ones who went outside the Glade every day.
"What if I want to be a runner?" I crossed my arms. Minho raised his eyebrow at me.
"No. No way. Sorry Dani but there is no-" Newt started but Minho cut him off.
"She's fast enough." Minho said making Newt scowl at him. "But we can't let you go out there, not right now. Unless you want to be a Grievers dinner." Minho said looking at the sky. Grievers. The word sparked something. I saw the image of a great monster running towards me. I gasped quietly, shaking away the thought. I looked too seeing the sun setting fast. Something clicked in my head.
"They're going to…" I said and then a loud crack rang out threw the glade. All of the doors began to close. Minho glanced up at me hearing what I said. I didn't make eye contact and looked back to Newt.
"There are rules here Dani and so far you have broken two of them…" Newt sighed running his hand threw his long shaggy hair.
"I think that's a new record." Minho mumbled. I glared at him.
"Everyone does their part. Never harm another Glader. Never step outside the Glade." Newt counted them out on his fingers.
"Well technically I didn't actually step out of the Glade. This uh, shank," I pointed to Minho, "made sure of that." Minho actually busted out laughing. It was one of the first times I think I had seen him smile.
"Did she just?" Minho managed to say while gasping for air. He actually clutched his stomach from laughing so hard.
"I know, I tried to tell her." Newt smirked and shook his head at me. I put my hands on my hips making a sour face. I was about to say a snide comment back when a small plump boy came running over to us. He had a mop full of messy curly hair and couldn't have been that old. He smiled at me but that was gone as soon as he saw Minho and Newt.
"Uh hi Newt. Minho." The boy said nervously, stopping a few feet away from us.
"Hello Chuck, what do you want?" Newt yawned looking down at the boy.
"Frypan told me to ask you and her if you are going to eat food at all today, or not because he doesn't want to waste any more." Chuck pointed back to the small hut located next to the field. My stomach ached, I hadn't even thought about the last time I ate something.
"Right, okay well Chuck could you please take Dani to get some food. I have something to discuss with Minho and Alby. I'll be right there after." Newt nodded. The boys eyes got big and he nodded his head repeatedly. He seemed so excited to be given such a task. I couldn't help but taking a liking to the little boy.
Chuck and I walked along in silence, but I kept catching him glancing up at me. His chubby cheeks bounced a little as we walked. I honestly just wanted to wrap him in the largest bear hug ever. "So it's Chuck right?" I asked him. The boy nodded back. "How long have you been here?" I wondered, he seemed so young, I couldn't imagine him growing up in the Glade.
"Almost a month. I was the greenie until you came. Well I'm actually not sure if you count though. No one has called you greenie." The boy said but kept giving me side glances. He seemed nervous.
"Is there something wrong Chuck?" I asked him. I didn't want the boy to be scared of me. I thought he could have been intimidated slightly if he saw me earlier when I freaked out and accidently hurt people…
"Oh nothing. It's just…" He turned his head back towards where Minho and Newt were at. They didn't seem to be talking, just walking next to each other kind of uneasily. They both seemed very tense. "I've never seen Minho laugh. Or smile. Ever. It was kind of weird and scary at the same time." The boy smiled up at me. "I've also never seen anyone kick the crap out of Gally before. It was fun to see." He laughed a little.
"Well I'm glad to provide some entertainment for you." I giggled along with him.
"Hey Chuck!" an African American boy called out from behind a make shift kitchen. He was stirring a large pot that was sitting on a suspicious looking stove. The stove was attached to a wooden bar that was made in an L shape. Winston and another boy sat at a far table, talking while eating their soup.
"Hi Fry, pork stew again?" Chuck questioned trying to peer over the counter.
"Hey I work with what I got." The boy shrugged and smiled at me. "You're Dani right?" He pointed at me with a wooden spoon. I nodded.
"It smells great." I said moving closer to the pot.
"Well, she likes my cookin' and she's obviously a fighter. Just ask Gally. I think she's a keeper." The boy grinned again. "Everyone calls me Frypan. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too but why does everyone keep mentioning that! I feel so bad! I really need to apologize to him." I put my hand over mouth.
"Because Gally finally got what was coming to him." Frypan said nonchalantly as he began to pour us bowls.
"He's kind of a bully…" Chuck mumbled.
"Yeah well you kind of antagonize him with your little pranks Chuck." Frypan laughed. "Well here you guys go. Enjoy." Fry handed us our stew. My mouth watered at the sight of the stew. It smelled fantastic.
"Hey Chuck, why don't you and your friend come sit with us?" Winston called out from his table. Chuck looked up at me, like he wanted reassurance it was okay. I nodded to him and took the lead over to the table.
"Hi guys." Chuck spoke softly and sat next to Winston. I sat down next to the blonde boy on the other side of the table. He and Winston both openly stared at me. I cleared my throat before looking up at them. Winston looked back towards his stew but the blonde just grinned.
"I'm Zart, Keeper of the-" he started but I stopped him.
"Keeper of the Track-hoes I know. And you're Winston, keeper of the blood house. Newt already gave me the tour." I smiled back at them both.
"Oh good so you know what kind of pull I have around here then." Zart smirked at me. "You know being a keeper and all." Winston laughed and looked back down at his soup. Chuck snorted.
"Oh Zart slim it. You don't have any more pull than the rest of us here!" Frypan called to us, walking towards us with his own dinner.
"Well, I mean we obviously have more pull than the sloppers or even the baggers." Zart retorted. "No offense Chuck." He added looking over to the small boy. The boys shoulders slumped.
"It's okay." He mumbled. I felt bad for the boy, thinking he deserved a better job than that.
We ate our dinners, the boys mainly making small talk with me and Chuck. Finally Fry threw his spoon down. "Okay Dani, I can't take it . You have to tell us. We haven't been able to get anything out of Ben all day. And Minho obviously won't share. Where did you come from? How long have you been here? What happened to your side?" The questions came rushing out. All of the boys looked towards me.
"Uh…" I looked around for Newt, afraid of what I could and couldn't say. "Well Chuck I think that is our cue to leave!" I stood quickly grabbing my silverware. The boys groaned from the table, making me laugh. I followed chuck over into the makeshift kitchen and threw our bowls into an old rusty sink. However when we were leaving a box under the bar caught my eye. WICKED was stenciled clearly on the side of a wooden crate. I froze, staring at the box making sure I read it right.
"Dani?" Chuck said already walking outside the hut. I quickly caught up with him. We walked in silence out towards the middle of the Glade.
"So you're a slopper? Here, I mean that's your job?" I asked Chuck breaking the silence.
"Yeah." He frowned. "That's where they put people who aren't good at anything." The boy sighed. I stopped walking.
"Chuck, stop thinking like that. I think that you're awesome okay? You're really kind and funny. I bet the pranks you pull on people are hilarious." I tried to cheer him up. "Plus, if you were as sucky as you think you are do you think Newt would have trusted you to keeping up with me? I mean from what I hear from the boys, I'm pretty dangerous." I grinned down a him, comforted to see the boys smiling again.
"Yeah I guess you're right." He said. I messed his curly hair up with my hand.
"Of course I am!" I laughed at him.
"There you two are. Sorry I missed dinner." Newt said walking up to us.
"Well sorry for you because it was delicious." I said back putting my hand on my stomach. Newt just shook his head.
"You can go now Chuck." Newt said seeming a little annoyed the boy was still there. Chuck nodded and quickly took off.
"Bye Chuck!" I called to him, earning a wave back. "Don't be so mean to him!" I hit Newt in the chest. "He's just a kid!"
"I'm not mean to him!" Newt cried out in defense.
"Well you're not nice to him and I'm not afraid to hit you again. But with more meaning." I glared at Newt. He just held his hands up in defense.
"Okay! Okay!" he laughed a little at me. "But were not done yet with our tour. Come on." Newt motioned for me to follow him.
"Hey Newt, can I ask you a question." I looked to him as we were walking.
"Of course." Newt said.
"What is WICKED?" I asked him. Newt paused a little, but continued walking.
"No one really knows for sure. People say there are associated with the Creators. Whoever made this whole place. It's on all of the supplies we get from the box. And it's written on the walls outside in the maze. Whoever or whatever WICKED is, they must be pretty powerful." Newt spoke calmly. I didn't respond, thinking over what he had said. WICKED was connected to basically everything in the Glade and even the Maze. They kept us alive with their supplies but they were also keeping us here with their walls. That was quite an interesting and complicated concept.
We walked behind the homestead, where there seemed to be a wooden cage stuck in the ground. "This is the slammer. It's where we put people who have broken our rules." He gave me a side glance. I looked sheepishly at my feet. "Hopefully you will not have to worry about this place." He joked with me. A sudden cry echoed through the Glade, making us both pause. It had come from outside.
"You said the maze was dangerous. That's why." I looked to Newt. He nodded. "It's…." I paused biting my lip. I was unsure of what all I wanted to share with Newt. I felt like I could trust him but I still didn't know him that well. But the flash of the monster running at me from earlier was too disturbing. "It's like a giant monster isn't it?" I asked. Newt looked at me, surprised at first.
"Yeah." He said quietly.
"That's why you wouldn't let me go outside the walls. Because they come out." I spoke. Newt nodded at me, but wouldn't looked at me. He scanned the area quickly with his eyes and then motioned for me to follow him. We walked closer to the backside of the homestead, where no one would be able to see us.
"Dani, I need you to tell me. Have you been completely honest with me?" He grabbed both of my shoulders making me look directly at me. Being so close to him made my stomach flip. I swallowed hard looking into his dark chocolate eyes. "You seem off. You're different. You're really calm actually. I just feel like you're keeping things in maybe. Is there anything you want to say?" I bit my lip again. I was afraid of what to say. I wanted to spill my guts to Newt about all of the flashes and how I felt strangely familiar with almost everything in the glade, including him. I wanted to ask more about WICKED. I wanted to tell him about Thomas. But I was scared. I backed out, deciding I could always tell him later.
"No Newt, really. Guess I'm just still trying to absorb everything. Honest." I put my hand on his chest. I could feel his heart beating in his chest. A little faster than a normal pace. I smiled sweetly up at him, honestly not minding being this close with him at all.
Until someone cleared their throat behind us making both of us jump. Our hands shot down to our sides.
"Newt, Alby wants to see you and Dani. Now." Ben stood with one hand on the corner of the homestead. "Sorry if I was interrupting. Something." Ben trailed off, moving to turn away.
"You were not interrupting one single thing, Ben. I promise." I said catching up to him.
"Is that right Newt?" Ben asked looking back towards the blonde. Newt ran his hand threw his hair.
"Right, not a single bloody thing." Newt said before moving to catch up with us. Ben threw his arm around my shoulders. I stiffened immediately.
"Good to hear." Ben smiled sweetly down to me. I gave a small smile back. "Alby is in the homestead." Ben walked us around front. Newt nodded and walked to the door. "I hope to see you tonight after the meeting. Maybe we could go for a little walk?" Ben said grabbing my hand as I began to walk away.
"Yeah maybe." I nodded to him, taking my hand back. Ben smiled again and headed off. I was defiantly not a fan of how touchy Ben was. Then again I was just being touchy with Newt a few seconds ago… I ignored my confused feelings and turned to Newt. He opened the door for me and we both headed into the homestead.
Authors Note: So so so sorry for not updating for a while! I was sick and I have been working non-stop, so finding time was so difficult. I also start class again this week so I will have to find a balance between work, school and having time to write! I am so sorry once again! I hope you like this chapter. I really wanted to introduce a few more characters and make a few more connections. Let me know what you think or if you have any questions or advice for me! I would love to answer anything you may have for me! And thank you sooo much again for actually reading this!