Newt- 02

Newt was done. Done with running. Done with fighting. Done with everything. He just wanted to collapse into the sand and wait for The Flare to take his mind and body over. But he knew he couldn't. He had people to take care of, friends to watch out for, and - currently - a pretty girl next to him that looked like she might keel over at any minute.

When he first saw Evelyn rolling down the dune, he was sure that she was a Crank past the gone. Of course, the closer she got, the easier it was to hear her repeated grunts as she hit the sand over and over again. Now, though she was still covered in sand, it seemed that she wouldn't stop smiling. Her smile was pretty, but now it was kinda creeping him out. That might be because there was sand between her teeth. It kinda looked like small maggots if you squinted.

He handed her his water bottle, "You gotta little sand in your teeth."

Evelyn took a took a quick swig and smiled again, "Better?"

Minho looked over Newt's shoulder at her teeth. "Hey, you actually have teeth. Couldn't tell before."

Evelyn rolled her eyes as Newt elbowed Minho. "Oi, don't tease the girl."

It was as if he had flipped a switch. Her eyes went from looking at them amused to staring ahead, serious as ever. "The girl has a name."

"Right, of course," Newt shifted his pack. He didn't know what he had done wrong, which, of course, meant that he had definitely made a mistake. He turned to Minho again. "Oi, don't tease Evelyn."

She smiled slightly, letting him know that the switch had been flipped again. "Nobody calls me Evelyn."

Newt grinned at her. "Good thing I'm a nobody."

Evelyn looked a little surprised. "No you're not."

"Really?" He and Minho shared a puzzled look. "Why do you say that?"

She shrugged and tucked her thumbs behind her pack straps. "Almost all the girls over in Group B know who you are. They all talk about the attractive European guy." Newt blinked a few times, trying to comprehend it.

Minho imitated Newt, "bloody hell." Then he wiggled his eyebrows at Evelyn. "Do I get talked about?"

Evelyn tilted her head, probably trying to remember his name ever being mentioned. "No, I didn't even know who you were before today."

Newt burst into laughter. "Thank you, Evelyn!" He shoved Minho lightly. "Now maybe his ego will shrink a bit."

Minho - embarrassed that he wasn't that well known, and pouting about it - struggled to change the subject. "The girls have set up camp. Probably a good idea, the sun is setting."

Evelyn tugged on Newt's arm, sending tremors down his spine. "Can we go a little farther than the girls before setting up camp? Maybe then we could reach the cure faster."

Newt shrugged, still wondering what the tremors were caused by, and off Evelyn went. She seemed to be frolicking through the sand. Not trudging. Not walking. Not running. Not even skipping. Bloody frolicking of all things. It scared him a little actually. A few minutes ago she seemed to tired to stand. Now she looked like she was dancing through the sand.

Then, without warning, Evelyn tripped and somersaulted into the sandy ground. Concerned, Newt ran up to her. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"No more energy," Evelyn wheezed breathily. "There's a bag of chocolate in my pack, can you get it for me?"

She struggled to take off her pack and hand it to him. He dug around in it until he came across a large plastic bag full of chunks of chocolate. She took a large bag and stuffed it into her mouth. "Thank you so much." Though around the chocolate it sounded more like "Frawk voo ro muck."

"Uh, sure." He surveyed the sandy scenery around him. "You know, seeing as you collapsed on this spot, I think we should set up camp here."

After setting up, Newt sat next to Evelyn in front of the fire. "Did the girls really talk about me in Group B?"

She smiled up at him. "Of course, an attractive specimen like yourself has to be talked about by the girls?"

Newt was a little taken aback. "You think I'm attractive?"

He thought she winked at him, but it could have just been a trick of the light. "What do you think?"

With that one cryptically ambiguous response, she climbed into her sleeping bag.

Maybe, he thought, just maybe. Newt smiled at the thought, he could only hope.