This chapter is some cute fluff with Newt. Like I said, I haven't decided if I want a love triangle, so this is just friendship. Sorry. Anyway, yeah, enjoy. Sorry it took so long to upload this. My teachers all decided to give tests and essays at the same time! I also had to deal with the tragic death of Shakespeare, the goldfish that I co-owned with my best friend. May he rest in peace. In her fish filter. Which is where the rest of his body got lodged after his friends tried to eat his dead body. *sniffle*
Acknowledgements:
Thanks to FreyaHawthorne for favoriting and following my story. Thanks Dauntlessgladergroupa for favoriting my story and following me. Thank you PrincessEnchilada for following and favoriting my story and for reviewing every chapter! (And thanks to those of you who review every time!)
Reviews:
Serena: I'm glad you still like the story! I was worried that I was putting in too much fluff…and yet I continue to fluff my way through the chapters…I have not yet decided if I want a love triangle or not! I originally just imagined her with Minho…but I love Newt so…I don't know! Thanks for the compliment!
Lovely Unicorn: Thank you! Enjoy!
PrincessEnchilada: I am simply going to sum up my reply like this: THANK YOU! And also, I will try not to disappoint you with the upcoming chapters and you're welcome!
Sorry if I missed anyone!
The next time I wake up, not only am I hit with the ache in my limbs, but also by an overwhelming smell that isn't at all pleasant. I crinkle up my nose and try to find out where the stench is coming from. Jeff walks into the room just as I realize that it's me. My eyes widen in embarrassment.
"Hi, Sydney," He says with a smile. That's one of the things I like about Jeff. He always uses my full name.
"Oh, um, hi." I really wish I could shower or something before he tries to help me recover. It's only my third day here, but I seriously need to wash up.
"Okay, so here's the rundown of your injuries," he says. I brace myself for the worse. "As far as Clint and I can tell, both of your ankles twisted, your left arm and left wrist are broken, your right shoulder is dislocated, three of your fingers are jammed, that gash on your chin will need stitches, and your eye and that lump on your forehead are going to continually need ice. We're pretty sure that there's nothing internally wrong, either. Altogether, that's actually not that bad. The worst part is the broken wrist and arm. Everything else should fade quickly with only a little bit of pain." He pauses to take a breath. "I'm going to find Clint, so he can set your bones, shoulder, and fingers." As an afterthought, he adds, "And then maybe somebody can show you where the shower is." He seems apologetic, but I still glower at him.
Jeff leaves the room and I lean my head back on my pillow, exhausted even after a long sleep. I wish I wasn't so beat up from the fall. I want to go do something. At least you're not dead. My thoughts remind me that even though I'm uncomfortable, it could be a lot worse.
Clint strides in eight minutes later. The shy boy gives me an awkward smile and heads over to a small counter.
"This will only take away a little bit of the pain, unortunately. It will still really hurt while I'm setting everything," he says, while handing me two little white pills.
"Thanks," I mutter, as I down them with a glass of lukewarm water.
"Let's get started," he grunts, slowly rolling up his sleeves.
Twenty minutes and an enormous amount of pain later, my fingers and shoulder are back in socket, and only hurt a bit. My ankles, eye, and forehead have been iced and the swelling has gone down considerably, leaving only a numb, throbbing behind. My chin has been stitched; I was told it would leave a scar. Honestly, that doesn't bother me at all. And the worst of it all- my broken wrist and arm were set, and have been properly splinted and wrapped as neatly as possible. The setting of those bones, might I add, involved much yelping and moaning on my part.
"There," Clint says with a final flourish. "You're fixed. You can leave, I guess, there's no real use in keeping you here. Just make sure you come back often so I can check on you. Don't do anything stupid, shank. You don't need to mess yourself up even more." With that, he faces the counter and starts working, so I stroll out the door, feeling more free than ever. I can't believe that I was allowed to leave. I made it through a night in the maze and fell of off a huge wall, and less than a day later, I'm walking around.
As soon as I step outside, I run into a problem. I don't know my way around at all. My eyes sweep back and forth across the Glade. I see lots of little buildings, and many boys working, but none that I know. I can't exactly walk up to anyone. I smell so terrible, I would scare them away.
I settle on the plan of searching for a shower by myself. I wander helplessly around the Glade, shyly peeking into buildings, only to realize that it isn't the shower, and that lots of boys are staring at me, dumbfounded.
After walking around for a while, with no luck of finding even a bathroom, I sit down under a tree near some vegetable gardens. I relax there aimlessly for some time, picking grass, until I see a tall shadow looming over me. I glance up, worried that I will be taken back for more medical work.
I relax as I realize that it's only Newt. He looks down at me, with a trace of a smile on his lips.
"And what do you think you're doing out here?" He eyes me questioningly.
"Clint told me I could go. So I wandered around…and ended up here."
"Were you looking for someone?"
"Not exactly. More like a something."
"Ahhhh. I see." He smiles at me, and I find myself smiling too. "Would you like help finding this something, I wonder?"
"That would be nice," I sigh. He extends a hand to pull me up, and I take it gratefully, being careful not to bump my left arm. "Right this way," He says, and limps off, with me trailing behind him.
We walk to one of the only buildings that I didn't enter. It's rather small, which is surprising.
"There's a shower in there?" I question.
"Yeah, but there is one problem."
I wrinkle my brow. "Problem?"
"Yeah. There's no curtain."
My eyes widen in alarm. There is absolutely, positively, no way that I will ever shower without a curtain in a glade full of hormonal teenage boys. Ever. "No." Is all I end up saying.
"I wasn't recommending it." He stops and runs his hand through his light blond hair. "I've got an idea. Wait here." With that, he runs off, toward all of the hammocks. Within two minutes, he comes running back, a white sheet in his arms. "Hold this," he shoves the bundle of cloth into my arms, and takes off running in the opposite direction. I think I see what he's getting at. After I wait a few more minutes, Newt comes jogging back, this time a hammer and several nails in his hands. "I borrowed these," he mumbles, once again relieving me of the sheet.
We enter the building, which I am relieved to find empty. There's a makeshift shower head in the corner, and just as Newt said, no curtain. We head over to it, and Newt takes the corner of the sheet and nails it to one of the wooden plank that's part of the wall. Then he heads over and nails the other corner of the sheet to the adjourning wall, creating a sort of triangle shower. The sheet is perfect, because it's thick enough that you can't see through it, and tall enough that you can't see under or over it. I feel better about showering, but I am still worried about privacy. Newt reads my thoughts.
"I'll stand guard while you shower."
I raise my eyebrows at him. "How do I know that you won't look?"
He just looks at me. "Are you gonna get in, or what?"
"Just checking," I mutter, before ducking under the curtain.
I peel of my nasty clothes and pile them unceremoniously on the floor. I hope I never have to wear them again. I walk over to the showerhead, and mess around with the knobs until water comes out. It's not freezing, but it definitely isn't hot. I shower as fast as I can, being extremely careful of my injuries. I still feel uncomfortable, even with Newt and the curtain for privacy.
When I finally feel fresh and actually clean, I turn the knob, and the water flow stops. At this point, I realize that I have to put on my old clothes. Gross. As I'm walking to the pile, I hear Newt's voice.
"Are ya done in there?"
"Um, yeah," is my awkward reply.
"Minho brought you some clothes." Relief and warmth fill my heart.
"Great. Where?" In reply, a smile stack of folded clothes slides under the sheet. "Thank you." I investigate what was sent to me.
Obviously, they didn't have feminine underclothes, so I grab my old ones and wash them in the water. I wring them out time after time, until they are only slightly damp, and I slip them on. The rest of the clothes I wear are from the boys. There's a small, cotton, light green t shirt that fits well and is comfortable. The pants are brown and slightly tight, but it's the better than putting my old pants back on. The only other clothes are some socks that I put on under my combat boots. I brush through my long, wet, curly hair with my right hand. Unfortunately, I will have to do something about my long hair later. It's too long as it is. I sigh and step out from behind the sheet.
Newt is sitting casually on the floor and I approach him. "Hi," I say.
He smiles and appraises my new look. "You smell much better."
"Hey!" I pretend to be offended. "Seriously, though, thanks for helping me out. There's no way I could have done that by myself."
"No problem. If you need any help again, just find me." He smiles genuinely at me.
"I'll hold you to that," I laugh.
"I have no doubt that you will." We both nod our heads and sit quietly for a moment. I don't know what he's thinking, but what I think, is that I found a new friend.
Hope that this was acceptable! Don't forget to tell me your ideas! 3
Quote of the day:
"Foreign Contaminant." *robot voice* (Walle)