Chapter 7

Anna stepped into the Glade, her vision limited in the dim light of the sun, which had mostly set. Minho was waiting for her outside, smirking.

"How was your chat with Cutie Newty?" he asked. Anna swung at him playfully.

"Shut up," she laughed, falling into step beside him. Minho snickered.

"But really," Minho said after a moment. "How is he?"

"He seems fine," said Anna. "He's shaken up, but who wouldn't be, really?" Minho nodded, falling quiet again. They had joined the rest of the Gladers by then, and Anna realized that she hadn't eaten anything all day.

"I'm gonna go get dinner," she said. "Want to come?" Minho shook his head.

"I've already eaten," he said. "But you can go, I'm gonna go hang out with Rob." Anna nodded, walking off towards Frypan.

After a couple days, the general murmur of interest following Newt's incident began to wear off. The Gladers resumed their usual activities without bothering to talk to Clint or anyone else about whether they would ever release the former Keeper of the Runners from the Homestead. Anna wasn't sure whether she was relieved or annoyed about this, as she had hoped that the Gladers would care more about their Runners. On the other hand, though, she was happy to be free of people pestering her about it, and she was sure Clint and Jeff were, too.

About a day and a half later, Clint called her over during lunch.

"Hey, Anna," he said. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure," she replied, wary. She got up from her table, giving an apologetic glance to the people sitting there with her. She and Clint walked a couple steps over so they wouldn't be stepped on by anyone.

"Look," Clint said. "I need your opinion on something."

"What is it?" she asked.

"You're the… um… closest to Newt out of all of us, right?" Anna, to her disgust, blushed. She gave a small nod. "Well," Clint continued. "I think that he's pretty much ready to get up and start walking around, but I just wanted to make sure you feel comfortable with me letting him. I know you're good… friends with the shank, and I figured I should get the okay from you first."

"Oh!" Anna said, exhaling in relief. "That's all. I was worried." Clint smiled.

"Sorry," he apologized. "So you're good?"

"Yeah," she agreed. "As long as you think it's fine. I trust your opinion."

Clint nodded and told Anna that she could go back to lunch, as that was all he needed to ask.

A couple hours later, just after the Runners came back, Anna was fidgeting nervously, standing in Newt's room of the Homestead. Newt looked happier than he had for the past couple days, alight with the concept of being able to leave his prison.

"Can I get up, now, Clint?" he asked impatiently. "I've been stuck here for a whole bloody week."

"If you shut up, I'll let you out quicker," said Clint, who was bustling around the room checking things. Anna almost snickered at the pout on Newt's face.

After about ten minutes, Clint finally let Newt stand up, teetering uncertainly on his feet.

"Whoa," Newt muttered, flailing his arms to stay upright. "This is bloody weird."

"You okay?" Anna laughed.

"Yeah," Newt said. "I'm good at th—" He interrupted himself by stumbling and almost falling over. Anna rushed forward and wrapped an arm around his waist without thinking. She froze.

"Sorry," she said awkwardly, removing her arm. Newt shook his head.

"No," he said. "You can keep doing that." Anna grinned. She resumed the position she'd been in before, and the pair of them stumbled around the room for about five minutes. Clint stood to the side, stifling his laughter. Anna awkwardly steered Newt towards the door, and the two of them tottered out into the Glade.

"Hey, Minho!" Newt yelled. "Check it out!" Minho jogged over, grinning, still slightly breathless from his trip to the Maze.

"Hey, man!" Minho said. "Haven't seen you in a while. How's it going?"

"I'm good," Newt answered, though he winced slightly as he shifted his weight from one foot to another. Minho didn't seem to notice this, however, and continued to make small talk with Newt as Anna stood by awkwardly.

"So," Anna broke in. "Newt and I are gonna go for a walk around the Glade before it gets too dark, if you want to join us."

Minho shook his head.

"I would, Anna, but I'm all worn out from running," he sighed dramatically. "Guess you'll have to go without me. All alone." Anna squinted at him. Was he playing matchmaker? She hid her suspicions, however, and nodded slowly.

"Okay," she said casually. "See you tomorrow, then."

Minho walked off, leaving Anna and Newt to wander the Glade. She glanced at Newt.

"You ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," Newt replied, smiling. "I've gotten better at it." Anna noticed (with a shameful feeling of satisfaction) that he didn't ask her to let go of him.

The two awkwardly intertwined teenagers meandered slowly around the Glade, stopping eventually when Newt began to trip over his own feet. They sat together on a fallen log in the Deadheads, listening to the noises of the wind whistling through the trees. Anna realized that she was still entwined with Newt, and rather than letting go, she leaned towards him and rested her head against his shoulder. Newt looked down and smiled, placing an arm around her shoulders. As Anna sat with him, awash with happiness, she realized that Minho's intentions had been good. He knew how much Anna subconsciously wanted Newt, and he had helped it happen. Anna made a mental note to thank him later. For now, though, she was happy to sit with Newt and forget about her problems.

Newt and Anna walked back to the Homestead after about an hour. Newt, who had lost his newfound skill at walking while they were sitting together, had to be propped up by Anna on the way back, both of them laughing as they stumbled over things in the dim light. Newt's bright white bandaged foot was pretty much the only thing that Anna could see clearly as they crashed through the underbrush and into the Glade. After a long while, they made it back to the Homestead and stood for a moment outside the door, catching their breath and laughing uncontrollably.

"Okay," Anna gasped. "I'm gonna let go of you now."

"Alright," Newt said. She slipped her arm from around him and let it fall to her side. Newt swayed but didn't fall, using the wall as a support. Anna smiled to herself. Then the two of them walked hand in hand into the Homestead, stopping once they reached Anna's room.

"Can you get back on your own?" she asked. Newt nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Night, love." Anna felt color rise in her cheeks as he reached up and brushed her face with his thumb. She pulled his face close to hers and kissed him, closing her eyes despite the fact that she couldn't see much anyway. They broke apart after a few seconds, and Anna practically floated to her room, levitating on a cloud of bliss that propelled her along the floor. She pulled back the sheets of her bed and climbed in. She closed her eyes and lay back onto the pillow, but had trouble falling asleep for all the warm, happy fantasies buzzing around her head.

The next morning, Anna found it a little hard to settle back into her routine when Newt was always right around the corner. She worked hard to help supervise the Gladers, but soon realized that having a second-in-command meant that she had a lot less work to do than she previously had, and she couldn't tell if she liked it or not. While she was glad not to be stressed out all the time, she also wasn't sure if she wanted so much free time to think about their hopeless situation.

Anna was being selfish, though, because the only thing she should have been feeling then was gratitude that Newt was recovering so quickly. He had figured out how to walk around on his own, but he still had a heavy limp that Anna wasn't sure would ever go away completely. He didn't let this bother him, though, as he had adopted an overly positive attitude over the past couple days, and Anna was glad that he had. Better optimistic than moping around all day. For some reason, moping had become herjob, as she had woken up irritable that morning, and had avoided talking to people.

Anna's gloomy attitude remained throughout the day, and she wasn't even sure what was bothering her. She sat alone at the lunch table that afternoon, picking at her sandwich and wondering what it was that was upsetting her. Anna was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't even notice Newt place his tray down beside her and plunk awkwardly onto the bench until he snapped his fingers in front of her face. Anna blinked, startled. She spun around, laid eyes on Newt, and relaxed.

"Hey," she said casually.

"Sorry," he replied. "I didn't mean to freak you out."

"That's okay," she said, turning back to look at her uneaten lunch.

Newt flicked her.

"What's up?" he asked. Anna rubbed her shoulder indignantly, glaring. Then she sighed apologetically.

"Sorry," she said. "I've just been in a bad mood all day and I can't figure out why." Newt frowned thoughtfully.

"Maybe you're upset because you feel like I'm stealing your thunder." Anna blinked.

"No," she said hurriedly. "No, I'm sure that's—" Newt placed a finger on her lips, shushing her.

"Yeah, you are," he said. "And I don't blame you. You're mad that I went and flung myself off of a bloody wall and took your job. You don't want to say it, but I can tell."

As he said it, Anna felt a dam inside of her break, and the feelings of resentment she'd had previously gave way to remorse and fondness for Newt and how well he knew her. Without thinking, she flung her arms around him and buried her head against his chest. Realizing what she was doing, Anna cleared her throat loudly and let go, smoothing her hair back with one hand.

"Sorry," she muttered. Newt laughed.

"Better now?" he asked. Anna smiled.

"I guess," she admitted.

The rest of the day went much more smoothly. Anna went back to work after lunch, and the next couple hours flew by. The Runners came back at the usual time, and Newt told Anna that he would take charge of the Glade for a while and she could go to bed early. Anna obliged willingly, and her mood had improved so drastically since that afternoon that she found herself smiling to herself as she walked to the Homestead.