Nurture

Compared to most, Hugo was considered a "lazy dog." He didn't like running around, he barely had the energy to walk, and he would much rather sleep than do anything else. That was simply the kind of dog Hugo was. However, there was one person that could bring out the care within Hugo. One person who could bring out his motivation to walk or even run. There was one person… who Hugo cared about the most.

"I understand… not wanting to hurt others."

The first time Hugo met Hope, she had been thrown away just like him. Hugo was too slothful to be a guard dog, so instead, he was going to be put down. But then, this woman found him… and brought him to Hope. Hope, who barely had any life left in her. She was the first human who accepted his laziness - the first human who taught him that hurting others wasn't everything. Hugo wanted to help her stand. He wanted to help her back up.

Of course, this mentality wasn't plausible for a dog to feel. It was impossible for animals to feel that kind of want. Still, dogs felt things. They knew things about their owners that no one else did. They knew when they were in trouble. They knew when they were being rewarded. Dogs were empathetic creatures with innocent wants, and one of those wants… was to protect the one who gave them life.

Hugo wanted to protect Hope's life, just like she once did for him. So once Hope had fallen asleep, Hugo licked her hand and turned away. He ran out of the infirmary, through the Glade's grassy floor, and toward the corner where the Homestead was located. There, Hugo would find the one boy that he knew for certain could protect Hope just as he did. This was what a dog could do.

Within the Homestead lay many sleeping teenagers. They all laid on hammocks, some of them snoring loudly, some of them breathing softly. Each of them had had a long, hard day, and they deserved the rest they were given. However, off in the far corner of the cottage… was a boy. A boy that deserved sleep like all the others, yet couldn't find the urge within him to do so. From outside, the moonlight shined down on his person, causing his old eyes to sparkle. Physically, the boy was young. But mentally, he was older than the oldest stone that made up the Maze. He had seen things, felt things, and had been through things that a boy his age shouldn't have.

But there Newt was: stuck in the Glade. There Newt lay, staring up at the palm of his hand. His hand had been worn and torn. Bristled and crippled. That hand of Newt's had been abused and used. It had done things that shouldn't have been done. Yes, it was a traumatized hand. Though, it was also a hand… that had touched Hope's.

"It's amazing…"

"You're amazing…"

"Your life is important, Newt."

"Newt… Thank you so much."

Newt was a busy person - his hand showed that. However, he was also an observational-type. He saw things and noticed things. And sometimes, maybe those things he saw or heard weren't any of his business. Maybe they involved… someone else.

"I wanna do something nice for him."

"You're their comfort, Frypan."

"I wanna spend the day with Chuck."

"I think your feelings are perfectly valid, Chuck."

"You're… a wonderful person, Gally."

It was strange how Newt always seemed to catch Hope's acts of kindness, even when those acts didn't pertain to him. After Hope had abruptly stormed out of the kitchen, Frypan following behind her, Newt followed behind the two. After Hope had spent the day with Chuck, he had stumbled upon them talking by the showers. And after everyone had left Gally and Hope in her room, Newt stayed back and overheard their conversation. So yes, each and every time Newt was blown away by Hope's kindness.

But it seemed that, maybe, the world hadn't treated Hope with the same kindness.

"I-I'm sorry!"

"I'm perfectly fine!"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm weak…"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not strong."

Hope had been hiding a deep sadness within her, and Newt couldn't bear to watch from the sidelines any longer. She was his friend, after all, and he wanted to help. Still, Newt didn't know how to help Hope when she was so adamant about not opening up to anyone. From time to time, Newt found ways to comfort Hope during her rare shows of sadness. But that was only for the moment. What about the times when Hope was alone? What about the times when Newt nor any of the other Gladers were around to snap her out-of-it? And why was such a kind person… scared of someone reciprocating that kindness? Newt almost wished that, every time he touched Hope's hand, he could feel what she was feeling.

More than anything, Newt wanted to understand Hope's heart.

"Woof!" All of a sudden, a quiet yet close sound cut through Newt's thoughts. He snapped his head over to the right, dropped his hand, and widened his eyes at the sight of a dog standing beside him. "Ruff!"

"Uhhh… What?" Newt muttered, squinting his eyes to see the black dog in the blackness of night. "Hugo? What're you doing here?"

"Ruff, ruff!" Once more, Hugo let out a quiet bark. But then, afterward, he stepped his paws forward and bit onto Newt's sleeve. He even started pulling on it. "Mph!"

"What's your deal…?" Newt asked while slowly sitting up. "What do you want, boy?"

"Woof!" Hugo let go of Newt and pointed his nose toward the Homestead's door. "Grr."

"You," Newt raised an eyebrow, "want me to follow you?"

In response, Hugo let out a happy noise and twirled around in equal happiness. The reaction made Newt smile, shake his head, and ponder what the hell his life had turned into. Nevertheless, the boy stood up from his hammock to follow behind Hugo, who was already walking out the door. As Newt walked across the Glade, the only thing he could hear were his footsteps as well as the bugs hiding in the grass. It was a peaceful night, and the temperature was perfect.

But after a few moments, Newt realized where Hugo was leading him. And that realization… made Newt's heart thump in his chest. He followed the dog into the infirmary, being as quiet as he could; he then followed Hugo into Hope's room, being as quiet as he could. Newt's heart wasn't quiet, though.

Thump! It went the moment Newt saw her body hidden underneath the blankets.

Thump! It went the moment Newt saw her sleeping face.

Thump. It went the moment Newt saw… the dry tears lining Hope's cheeks.

"…Oh no." Newt couldn't keep in his dread. "What happened?"

"Mmm…" Hugo only grumbled as he jumped up onto Hope's bed, laying beside her.

"Is this why you brought me here?" Newt whispered. But, this time, Hugo only stared back at him. Those dull yet all-knowing eyes of Hugo's bored into Newt's - the boy could only stand there and stare back. He didn't have any answers, but that… that wasn't really the issue here. The true issue was Hope's tears. Therefore, Newt's eyes left Hugo's and found Hope's face, all of his hesitation leaving his body. Newt walked up to the sleeping Hope, deliberately sat down on the bed beside her, and lifted his hand… to her face. He placed a strand of her hair behind her ear, relishing in how soft it was. Then, Newt took his thumb and wiped away her tears, relishing in how Hope didn't push him away. "Hope… I don't like seeing you cry…"

Hope was in pain, and Newt didn't know why.

"Hello, Newt!"

The girl who always greeted him with a smile was in pain.

"Oh my gosh! You're so good with a dagger, Newt!"

The girl who always found joy in the smallest of things was in pain.

"What's your favorite color?"

The girl who genuinely wanted to know him was in pain.

"Newt… You are irreplaceable."

The girl… who had made Newt feel wanted… was in pain. And upon realizing all those things - recalling all those times that Hope brightened his day - made a powerful pain course through Newt's own body. A type of pain that he had never felt before. It crushed his soul, broke his heart, and made him want to do things for Hope… that just couldn't have been said out-loud.

At that point, it wasn't that Newt wanted to help Hope.

It was that he needed to.

"Mn…" And, it seemed, the world was going to give Newt that chance. Suddenly, Hope started stirring in her sleep. Not in a good way, though. Her body scrunched up into a ball, her face contorted in discomfort, and from her lips escaped sad whimpers. "M-Mm…"

"…Hope?" Newt mumbled, but his only answer was more of Hope's cries.

"Mph… Nnn…"

"Is she," Newt looked at Hugo, "having a bad dream?"

Hugo blinked once. "Ruff."

"Mn…" But then, Hope unexpectedly let out a screech. "N-No…! Please, no! No!"

"Hope!" Almost immediately, Newt went into action: he played one of his hands on Hope's shoulder and the other on her cheek. "Hey, Hope! C'mon, wake up! It's just a dream!"

Hope's eyes snapped open when she heard the word 'dream,' but unlike Newt, she didn't feel freed from her dream. Her mind was still dealing with the aftereffects of the nightmare, and she could still hear word-for-word what the nightmare had said to her. The poor girl didn't even notice that Newt was there. All she heard… were the voices.

"The world is a very sick place, Hope."

"You're sick!"

"It will be hard to cure such a broken, traumatized world."

"But you're already broken. You're incurable."

Hope's body stook, while even more tears lined her eyes. That nightmare had been the worst one yet, and it had probably been caused by Hope's negative attitude before falling asleep. Hope had just been so sad, so confused, so worried that her body forced herself to fall asleep. Although, it was obvious that Hope's mind wasn't done with her yet. So now, her body was feeling the effects; her body felt cold and numb. Hope was so scared.

There were voices in her head. There were scars on her skin.

"…Hey."

And yet, when Hope heard that voice, the voices in her head stopped.

"It's okay."

And when she felt something stroke her cheek, Hope's body stopped shaking.

"You're okay now."

Hope knew that voice. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

"N-Newt…?" Hope squeaked, slowly glancing her eyes upward. "Is… I-Is that really you?"

Newt's voice… saved Hope from her mind.

"I'm right here," Newt whispered in that smooth voice of his. "You're safe, Hope."

"W-Why…" Hope sniffed as Newt wiped away a newly shed tear from her cheek. "Why are you here…?"

"Hugo brought me," Newt answered. "He was worried about you."

"Then… Then I'm sorry about him," Hope sighed and then deliberately sat up from bed. She combed through her hair a little bit, wanting to focus on something else, and refused to look Newt in the eyes. "Hugo means well, but I'm… I'm sorry you need to see that. I didn't want anyone to-"

"Is this what's been bothering you all this time?" Newt interrupted Hope, not wanting to hear another word of her self-deprecation. "The reason you haven't been sleeping, the bags under your eyes, the fainting? You've been avoiding sleep, because you have bloody nightmares?"

"Oh my goodness…" Hope huffed, burying her face in her hands. "I didn't want anyone to know about this! I just wanted to… be able to deal with it! On my own!"

Newt stared at Hope sadly. "Why?"

"Because… B-Because you all have enough to worry about," Hope remarked with a sniff. "I didn't wanna burden you with my stupid problems."

"Hope, that's…" Newt shook his head. "That's just not true."

"Yes, is it!" Hope protested. "You all are going through so much, and I didn't want to add to that misery. Y-You don't deserve negative things, you deserve-"

"I didn't mean that," Newt interrupted her once more. But, this time, he moved closer to Hope on her bed. She felt him… right behind her. "You're right: we are going through a lot. However, if there is anyone here who deserves to talk about their misery, it's the girl who helps us move past it. Who helps us feel better."

"D-Do I," Hope wiped away some more of her tears, "really do that?"

"Ask anyone here," Newt said. "They'd say yes."

But Hope didn't elaborate any further. And neither did Newt. He could tell that this was a hard thing for Hope to confess, so he didn't want to push her any longer. Likewise, Newt knew he couldn't fix what was going on with her. Those were her dreams, after all. Her mind itself. Thus, Newt thought up a different approach to help Hope. It wasn't the most solid plan, but it did help one of Newt's biggest worries.

He didn't want Hope to be alone.

"…W-What are you doing?" Hope stuttered after hearing Newt stand up and seeing him lean against the far wall. "Newt, are you…"

"I'm staying," Newt remarked, falling down the wall until he hit the ground. "I'm staying here all night."

"No, you… Y-You don't have to do that," Hope tried to stop him. "I'll be fine. I've been fine for the past few weeks, so I can handle it."

"But I don't want you to handle it alone anymore, Hope," Newt acknowledged, making Hope's eyes widen in response. "I don't want you to wake up crying anymore. I don't want you to hide behind a smile. I don't want you to be alone, Hope. You don't deserve that kind of isolation."

Hope took a shaky breath in and out. "That must not be comfortable, though."

"I'll be fine - I've slept on worse "beds"," Newt said with a shrug. "Plus, just being with you will make me feel better."

"Th-That's…" Hope's cheeks lightly reddened. "Newt…"

"What?"

"You're so kind."

"Says you."

"No, really… You're always doing things for others."

"Again, says you."

"Pfft," Hope snickered. "It seems we're quite alike."

Newt snickered back. "You think?"

"I know, because I'd be doing the same thing if I were you," Hope confessed while a conflicted smile formed on her face. "I wouldn't allow any of you… to be alone."

"Then we've come to an agreement." Newt smirked. "This mean you won't argue with me any more?"

"I don't… have the energy to do that," Hope said as she plopped back down onto her bed. With her head nuzzled into her pillow, Hope turned her body to the side to look straight at Newt. For a few moments, the two stared into each other's eyes, understanding swirling within them. It was true that Hope didn't necessarily like the way things had turned out, but she wasn't going to be angry at Newt for it. Or Hugo. They simply wanted to help, and that made Hope grateful for them. Hence, when Hugo moved up to snuggle underneath Hope's arm, she was ready to speak. "Hey… Can you tell me a story?"

"A… story?" Newt restated quizzically. "What kind of story?"

"I dunno…" Hope breathed. "Maybe one about… the time before I got here?"

"You mean the three years?"

"Well, there must be a nice story in there somewhere."

"Hm…" Newt thought for a moment, prompting silence to fall between the two. But as Newt pondered, Hope had the time to ponder Newt's face a little more. From above, the moonlight shined down on his pale skin, and his messy blond hair almost seemed to sparkle in it. His face was young but handsome - his body was slim but strong. Once again, Hope had to admit how good-looking Newt was. Whatever girl (or boy) he chose, was going to be the luckiest person in the world. "What're you starin' at?"

"H-Huh?" Hope finally noticed Newt's smile, and she immediately turned flustered. "N-Nothing! Nothing at all! I was just, uh… Y-Y'know… Resting my eyes?"

"Well, don't rest them just yet, 'cause I got a story to tell you," Newt claimed, causing Hope's eyes to practically light-up.

"Really? What is it?"

"It's the story of the war between the Cooks… and the Builders."

A/N: Well, here you go. I hope I did alright!

And SnowyDragon250, trust me, the moment will happen soon. (^_^)