AN: I'm really sorry about the late update guys, I know some of you have been asking for faster updates but work has been horrendous, I'll try to see if I can get a quicker update up by next week tho! ;A; I hope you all understand!

"Are you two even listening to me?" Newt looked over at his two friends who had joined him at the kitchen.

He had been talking for at least five minutes now, only to realize that neither of them were even listening to him. Thomas was listlessly staring into the distance, his face just barely short of slipping off the back of his palm and looked like he had the life sucked out of him during the night previously. Qiufeng looked… Stressed. She was staring at something in the distance with deadly fixation with her chin resting on both her hands and he didn't think he had seen her have bigger eye bags in all of the time they had spent here.

Thomas was the first to respond, snapping out of his daze to slowly glance at him. "Yeah, sorry. Couldn't sleep last night."

Newt tried to be sympathetic. "Can't blame you there." He turned to Qiufeng and Thomas' gaze followed. Her gaze hadn't shifted an inch and she only seemed to be getting more and more stressed by the second. "I'm guessing you're not the only one."

Her focus wavered as she came to a realization that they were talking about her and her gaze shifted to them. She seemed to be indecisive about something and instead chose to give an awkward laugh and smile. "I'm fine," she said lightly as she casually grabbed the lunchbox that was set on the table. "I was uhh, up thinking about… Stuff." Qiufeng laughed again as she slowly backed away towards the open glade.

Newt and Thomas exchanged glances.

"Also I think I hear the runners gathering, I'll catch up with you guys later!" she ended off before turning tail and running towards the mapping room.

"Does she know she's a terrible liar?" Thomas asked as she disappeared behind the metal door.

"Don't think so." Newt shrugged. "Anyway come along now greenie, Winston's waiting at the Bloodhouse."

Qiufeng shut the door to the mapping room hastily, leaning her back against it afterwards. She had contemplated telling Newt about the note yesterday, but after no one realized that it went missing she failed to find the courage to bring up the topic.

She couldn't possibly tell them that she had destroyed such a precious clue without even managing to see the entire message! Qiufeng had decided at about three in the morning that she shouldn't tell the gladers and just attempt to try and solve it herself. Her hands pressed against the side of her face harshly and she shut her eyes tightly. She would be ostracized, banished without a second thought, kicked out of the glade! Then she would be ripped apart by the grievers outside and everyone will be trapped inside forever because she had burnt that vital clue. And it would be all her fault.

"You alright?"

Qiufeng snapped out of her daze and glanced up quickly to see Lester standing there. He seemed somewhat concerned. "Yes!" she replied quickly with a bright smile and without a second thought, hoping that she didn't appear nervous.

"You sure? You look like you've gonna explode any moment now," the blond laughed as he eyed his fellow runner who was obviously stressed out by something.

"I, well that is…" Qiufeng laughed awkwardly as a bead of sweat rolled down her cheek. Was the map room always this hot? She glanced sideways, hoping to find something to change the subject to.

Just when she thought she would have to spill the beans and get kicked out of the glade as griever food, there was a soft creaking sound from behind her. A soft gust of air blew into the room and when she turned behind Tim was there behind her, his head poking in from outside. "Ah!" he exclaimed when he saw Lester and Qiufeng inside the room, his eyes widening in surprise. "I found them!" he called out to someone else outside as he disappeared back out.

The mapping room door swung fully open after he did so and there stood the rest of the runners. Minho was there as well, standing a little further away with his arms folded. He looked slightly annoyed and Qiufeng wondered if it was because they were late. "What're you guys even doing inside?" Dave asked, one side of his mouth quirking up a little and his green eyes twinkling with amusement. "Are you really going to ask them that you shuckface?" Tim laughed out loud as he brushed aside his long black fringe, without waiting for an answer from either Lester or her.

Qiufeng felt herself quickly turn a bright red as she realized what they probably thought they were doing, and why Minho was annoyed. "I-It's n-not…!" she tried to say quickly to salvage the situation, but she was tripping over her words too much for them to make sense. "Seriously guys, I was just reviewing the maps from yesterday." Lester laughed as he too joined the group.

"If you say so." Tim shrugged with a cheeky grin, his brown eyes mischievous.

"R-really!" she insisted, her glance flickering back and forth between the group and Minho to check the latter's expression.

"Stop teasing her guys, can't you see the poor girl's face is practically a tomato already?" Stan chided as he jumped down from his seat on a wooden box and approached the group. She gave him a weak smile of appreciation. "Not to mention, Minho's face seems to be getting blacker by the second too," he added in a low voice when he was near enough. The group eyed their keeper warily before coming to a silent agreement that they should be quiet for now.

"Ready?" Minho asked as they all gathered in front of him, voice a little ticked off. "Today y'all will be running solo, there way too much ground we haven't covered over the past few days and we need y'all to grow up if by some shuck miracle an exit starts appearing." He finished and motioned for them to do any last minute preparations they might need to do before they left. It wasn't like he had the right to feel like this, after all he was the one that pushed her away. But then again he couldn't help feeling a little annoyed.

Qiufeng felt a strange sense of excitement fill her as the runners started doing any last prep before they left the glade. She was going to be alone today, which was great because she could use some alone time to calm down and think after all that has happened during the past few days. Perhaps she could even figure out the meaning of the note later and stop stressing out over it. A little part of her protested, wanted to be alone with Minho again but she pushed the feeling to the back of her head. Emotions could come in later. For now, escaping was priority.

Still, she was a little surprised that her fellow runners were still being pretty friendly with her. Considering what had happened yesterday, she was sort of expecting to be shunned by them as well. The other gladers had started to try and keep a distance from her, who knows what the creators would do if someone got too close to something they considered precious. But her team, it was as if yesterday never happened at all.

"Something on your mind?" someone asked and she looked up to see Tim watching her curiously. "You've been acting pretty off, I heard from Newt as well when I passed by him earlier."

Qiufeng blinked, wondering if it was that obvious since morning. "Oh um," she laughed, "It's honestly nothing."

"If there's something weighing down on your mind you should get it off your back before you go out," Dave suggested as he stood up from double checking his bag. "Since we're running the maze solo today you wouldn't want to have any unnecessary distractions."

She took a moment to consider his offer, he did have a point. Even if she couldn't share the secret message on the note with them, she could at least ask them why they seemed as if they weren't bothered about yesterday as much as some others were. "So like…" she began slowly. "Like y'know, I'm just surprised you guys are still so casual around me after yesterday."

There was a short silence and for a second she panicked and wondered if perhaps she should've just kept her mouth shut. What if they were just pretending to be alright with her? For the sake of it being less awkward and all since they were on the same team currently. What if they were just-

"I don't see a reason to act any differently." Dave's voice cut through her thoughts and she looked up in confusion. "I mean yeah sure maybe you are some precious thing to the creators, but just by putting you down here it obviously means that beside your value, they intend to use you as well."

"So that sort of puts us all in the same boat." Tim glanced upwards thoughtfully as he swung his backpack on and stood up. "Besides you've been here long enough for most of us to know that you're not that sort of person… Either that or you're an actress with talent from the Gods."

"But you can't even hold yourself together just for one morning." Stan laughed out loud. "Now hurry up before Minho kills all of us before the grievers can."

Qiufeng felt herself break into an appreciative smile. She wasn't say exactly very close to the four of them, she had only spent time with them in a group of friends. But they had spent a good deal of time together, and it was only then that she realized that perhaps they were all really good friends to her even if not the closest. She took a deep breath as she stood up and faced the open walls, her courage renewed. It seemed as though everything was going to be just fine.