The days of the month trickled past slowly, an agonizing hour by hour. But somehow, despite how slow it was, time moved steadily forward. A month after Meg arrived, a boy named Clint appeared in the Box, shaken and worried, but silent, absorbing everything they told him, listening carefully to them, rational in his terror.
It was routine for them now. Though it had been four months, they were not often jarred from routine. Once, they'd been taken completely by surprise, unable to react logically and unemotionally - when Tim accidentally cut his hand.
Clint, unlike the rest of the newbies, and even unlike the Firsts, Nick had admitted, was immediately ready to throw himself into work, even more so than Tim. He'd taken him by the hand and began to just order everyone about. Nick, grab some clean water. Saph, get some clean rags. Alice, grab the soap.
"It's pro'lly just personality," Saph had said to Hedy one day, watching Clint work. He never moped. He worked too hard, really.
"He's gonna wear himself out." Alice predicted worriedly, touching the bandages on the ankle she'd rolled a day ago. Clint had tied it up for her, but Alice insisted she felt better, not wanting to worry anyone after Tim's scare.
Even Meg, still quiet, much shyer than Clint, noticed how he'd absorbed little. "He's not taking it in," she said slowly. "He's keeping his body occupied so his brain doesn't have to be."
Hedy bit her lip. "We should bring him water," she said to Saph. "He says he's not hungry, but I'm worrying about him. He skips meals."
"Good to see some human emotion in you, Gorgeous," Minho said, appearing behind her. She twitched, turning to glare at him, but not before Saph grinned.
"Come here, handsome, get yourself something to drink."
Minho obeyed, mostly because everyone obeyed Saph. She was little, but she was bossy, and she somehow always managed to get her way. Luckily, her way was usually best.
"Hedy, you're out tomorrow," Minho wiped away the water that was spilling from the edges of his lips. "Newt needs a break. Alice, you too, but only if you're up to it."
"Is he okay?" Hedy asked, alarmed.
He rolled his eyes. "About as okay as Clint over there."
"Fuck you, Minho." Hedy scowled.
"Watch your language," Minho said primly, mocking Alice's tone.
The youngest girl blushed a little, and Meg and Saph exchanged knowing glances. Hedy ignored them all.
"Pass me a cup," she asked Saph. "I'm gonna bring Clint something to drink and tell him to take a break."
Wordlessly, Meg passed her a cup, filled with cool water, not bothering to ask what she'd do if Clint didn't listen to her. It was a little scummy. Nick had said it meant that the water was hard, had minerals in it, that it was good for them. She didn't give a shit either way, as long as it was there and stayed there, refreshing and necessary.
She carried the cup of lukewarm water over to Clint and Nick. Nick had given up, and was shading himself next to Tim, who looked like he was still in pain. They didn't have any medicine, but Clint had asked for some in the Box yesterday.
It was strange, surreal to her still. She felt jealous of Clint, but as she offered him the cup that he gratefully downed, she wondered if she should be. He was scared. It was in the stern lines of his expression, the lines at his brow and lips, the tenseness to his neck. He was just as chickenshit as she was, as Alice was, as all of them were. The only difference was in how he was handling it.
"Maybe you should take a break."
It wasn't a suggestion. From the corner of her eye, she saw Nick sit up a little straighter, listening to Hedy's no-nonsense tone. She didn't command the same obedience as Saph, because she did not nurture and love the others; she demanded respect because she was stern and ferocious.
Clint faced her back, but she saw nervousness across his expression. Confrontation. It wasn't what he was expecting or wanted. Immediately, he dropped the fertilizer and nodded, though he kept his gaze steady. "I s'pose you're right."
"C'mere, shank." Tim called. He'd gotten the hang of their – Minho's – slang, no longer shy. He was as one of them as any of them. Tim and Nick were butt buddies, Saph had once commented snidely. The pair of them were always together.
Clint obeyed. It was easy. Hedy wondered if his problem wasn't just his fear, but his shyness, the same way Tim had been. But Clint was always working – retying Tim's bandages, helping Saph pick vegetables, helping Meg clean up cow shit – klunk, as she'd gotten to calling it, just like Minho.
"Nick! Hedy! You gotta bloody see this!"
Newt's voice broke through the wooded area, and Nick and Hedy's eyes met. She stuck a hand up, pulling him up, and the two followed Newt's voice. Tim and Clint watched them leave, not following. Though they were part of the family now, the Gladers, as Nick called them, with all their names on the wall, there was still an intrinsic bond between the original six, an authority that they carried.
They jogged over to where Newt was yelling, and Minho was already there.
"How have we never noticed the buggin' glass?" Newt breathed. "Look at it. It's like a screen."
"It's like… a freaking television into the Maze. We can watch it after the Walls close."
Cold fear crept into the pit of her stomach. "Is it new?"
Nick looked at her like she was an idiot. "How could it be new?"
"Maybe the same fucking way giant doors open and close on their own every damn day!" she snapped at him.
Newt's hand was heavy on her shoulder. "Hey," he said wearily. "We shouldn't argue right now. We've got enough bloody stress to deal with without a fight in the mix."
That silenced her, but she still wondered. Nick buried his face in his hand for a moment, squeezing, wiping his face down.
"How'd you find this?"
"Figured I'd walk around the perimeter, cool off in the trees." Newt shook his head. "A bit tired of the bloody sun boring down. And I saw it."
"We'll watch it after the Walls close," Nick decided, and Hedy agreed.
"I'll do it," she volunteered. "I'll just hang out here. The Walls should be closing pretty soon, anyway." Turning to Newt, she shook her head, and said, quietly. "You were out late today. I worry about you."
The grin he sent her was the falsest thing she'd ever seen, including Minho and Saph's sarcastic verbal plays. There was nothing of Newt in the strange upward grin he sent her. "Don't worry 'bout me. I'm the buggin' king of the world."
There was something ominous in his tone, something she were missing.
Minho and Nick left after that, complaining about their hunger, and Minho promising to bring back the cartography equipment – or a paper and pencil and ruler.
"You should go get some water," she reproached Newt.
"Finished my bottle just now."
The stress of the day hung over him like a second shadow. Newt's eyes were hooded, trimmed with bags and heavy brows, so close and tightly drawn it seemed like they were tied together. Throwing himself down on the ground, he stared at the glass.
Hedy was not one for unnecessary touches, for cuddling or horseplay or anything of the like. But she watched him, and her heart ached. Moving to stand behind him, she noticed that he was so tall she could easily reach his shoulders without having to bend down. Massaging his back, she listened to his sigh of relief.
Her fingers found knots in his back, lumps of tight muscle hidden next to his spine and beneath his shoulder blades. His neck was tight, too, and she dug in her fingers as hard as she could, moving his shoulders and head with the force of her squeezing.
"Does that feel okay?" She didn't ask it timidly. Hedy was not shy. But this was a tenderness she was unused to. Never before had she been so close to anyone else, except for Minho's stupid punches and squeezes and creeping up behind her to spook her. But that wasn't intimacy the way this was. Newt was letting her in, allowing her to see how he was feeling.
The Gladers were close. In their situation, there was no other way to be, no ability to take individual space. But this was a new level. With every knot that her fingers dissolved, Newt's expression seemed to clear just the slightest bit more. It was not just that she was offering him comfort- she was offering him herself, the breaking down of the tight ice she kept around herself, showing only him that she was there.
The darkness beneath his eyes was still there, and his brows were still drawn, but his mouth eased and his shoulders seemed wider, expanding as they relaxed. Eventually, she released him sitting next to him as they waited for the telltale groan of the Walls.
"Did something happen?"
His tone was bitter. "Woke up inside a shucking maze, but other than that, nothing's bloody new."
"Don't be an asshole. You look worn out."
"I am."
"Minho asked me to go out tomorrow. Give you a break."
"I can go," he said defensively, crossing his arms.
She sighed. "You look fucking dead. And I'm sick of picking vegetables with Clint the silent star and Tim staring at his plants like they're his long lost mother."
Laughing at that, Newt eased a little more. "I could use a break," he admitted. "Legs cramped up for a bit out there."
"Getting out of shape?" Saph teased, surprising them by appearing a few feet away. "A li'l birdie warned me y'all were getting ready for a sleepover by here, so I brought you kiddies some snacks."
"Good that," Newt enthused, suddenly more cheerful.
The transition from apathetic to bright startled Hedy, and she eyed him suspiciously. Saph kept the chatter up for a moment, offering them sandwiches and water. But when the girls met eyes, Hedy saw Saph was just as worried as she was. He was trying to hide his mood from Saph, and both of the girls knew it. Saph was astute, and much more sensitive than her sense of humor let on. Hedy wondered how long she'd had been worried about Newt, if he'd showed signs of this stress earlier and Hedy was too self-absorbed to notice.
The groaning of the walls left Saph with a visible jump. Sheepishly, she waved a hand. "So loud," she said. "Always gives me a start."
"Feeling a little jumpy, Savvy?" Newt teased.
"Screw you," Saph advised sarcastically. "Nothin' 'round here is jumpy, 'cept my stomach after I smell your nasty sweaty pits."
Her scream was muffled by Minho's armpit around her mouth and nose. She flailed against him.
"You're disgusting!" she shrieked, waving a hand in front of her face, wiping it down and trying to suck in fresh air, her composure lost for once. Hedy noted her momentary reaction, and wondered if perhaps Saph's mask was even tighter than hers.
Not noticing, Minho and Newt both laughed, deep belly laughs. Minho's sounded like a cough, rusty, but Newt's laugh was a roar, loud and deep.
"Watch out, or I'll poison your food," Saph warned. "Revenge is a dish best served cold."
Hedy's own lips quirked at that. "I'd love to see that."
"See! Even Gorgeous wants you dead."
"Mutiny," Minho grasped his chest dramatically. "You slinthead traitors."
"It's not mutiny if you aren't a leader," Newt pointed out reasonably.
"Slim it," Minho pointed, waggling his finger, mocking Saph.
Saph left to go feed the rest of the masses, but Minho plopped down next to Hedy, staring at the glass as the sun began to pass over the wall, shining against the slightly reflective, clean surface.
"So, when's the movie start?"
"Get outta here, smartass."
"Please, you missed me today."
"You wish—"
"Slim it!" Newt's voice rung out, silencing them.
They were quiet for a moment, but nothing happened. Newt relaxed.
"Sorry. Thought I heard something."
"In a few hours, I'll tell Nick and Meg and Alice to come out here." Hedy said. "We should have someone watching it at all times, while the Walls are closed."
"Sounds boring," Minho pointed out.
"Is it any more fucking boring than picking vegetables and wondering why the fuck we're here?" Hedy demanded scathingly, actually irritated. Nobody but Minho got on her nerves badly enough to piss her off. What did it matter if their situation were boring? Of all the adjectives that could be applied to their lives, 'boring' was far from the worst possible option.
He held up his hands defensively. "Just pointing it out."
"No fighting now, kids." Newt imitated Saph.
Leaning back, Hedy watched the glass, only vaguely listening as Newt and Minho began to talk about the Maze, Minho pulling out paper and pencils and the two drawing what they could remember, trading jabs about each other's abilities. While Minho's lines were more accurate, they also looked like a four year old had drawn them.
"So, how about Alice's giant crush on Nick."
"We are not going to do this," Hedy rolled over onto her stomach, stretching. There was no way she'd be a part of this conversation.
"Do what?" Minho grinned. "Please tell me you've noticed."
Rolling over, Hedy stared at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"
Newt began to chuckle. "You're in for it, mate."
Minho looked blank. "Why? I'm not the one with a giant crush on the Glorious Leader—"
"Minho, she can't talk to you without blushing, she runs with you all the time, and whenever you say no to her about anything, she looks like she's gonna cry."
"So sue me for being good looking," Minho shot back sarcastically. "Just because she appreciates how sexy I am doesn't mean she has a crush on me. She never stops looking at him."
"Can we not make assumptions about anyone here, then?" Hedy asked irritably, feeling defensive for the girl. "She'd be embarrassed if she heard this."
"So the princess does have a heart," Minho grinned. "Hidden away, deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down…"
Newt chuckled. "Slim it, Mini. She'll stab out yours if you don't."
Listening to the sounds of laughter in the distance, soothed by the soft scratches of sharp pencil against paper, with mocking banter between Newt and Minho, Hedy fell asleep.