Friendship

Newt hadn't stopped smiling for the past twenty-four hours. There were even times when he was smiling so much that he needed to cover his mouth. He did get some weird looks, but Newt didn't seem to care. If this was what true happiness felt like, then… then Newt wouldn't let it go for anything. He'd hold it tight and never let go.

"I'm happy, Newt!"

Last night, after Newt had confided in Hope, they had fallen asleep together once more. It sounded a little sinful, but in reality, it was one of the most innocent things in the world. They spent so many hours of the night simply talking in bed. Literally, only talking. Hope and Newt smiled together, laughed together, and got closer as friends. And although Newt was glad to see Hope sleeping so soundly, he did feel a tad sad that their conversation had ended. In all seriousness, Newt could have talked to Hope for the entire night. But, again, Hope's health was most important to him. And again again, Newt had left before Hope had awoken the next morning, still worrying about her personal feelings.

Though, a friendly reminder that Newt's giddiness never ceased. That entire day, he was going crazy with happiness. And despite not being able to talk to Hope that much, he didn't necessarily need to. Since, instead of actually talking to her, Newt would send Hope some little… looks of sorts. He'd stare at her for a long time, wait for her to notice him, and then smile suggestively. At first, Hope would smile brightly and wave upon seeing his gaze. But after a while, and Newt got bolder with his expressions by biting his lip or smirking, he had started making Hope blush at his antics.

Her reactions made him inhumanly joyful, but Newt didn't necessarily care how inhuman the feeling was. All he cared about… was Hope.

"So I take it that it went well, then?" While Newt was sending another teasing-look Hope's way, Minho's body suddenly blocked his view of her. Newt huffed, looked up, and saw Minho staring knowingly down at him. "I hope you know that you look like an idiot."

"And I hope that you know that you are an idiot," Newt retorted, prompting Minho to let out a snicker.

"Pfft, good one. Though, I'm not the one with a little crush."

"I-It's not a 'crush,' Minho!" Newt argued… a little too quickly. "I'm just… relieved, okay? And, I mean, aren't you supposed to be happy for me or something?"

"Oh, I'm happy for you. But I'm also not an idiot when it comes to you," Minho acknowledged and then sat down beside Newt. Burning in front of them was the fire, which was as bright as the sun underneath the night sky. "I've just never seen you like this, man. It's weird."

"I… gotta agree with that," Newt said, playing with his uneaten food with his fork. "I don't really know how to bloody feel. I've been keeping that day a secret for years now, and now that I've broken that, I… I don't know how to feel."

"About what?" Minho questioned. "About your feelings or… about her?"

"At this point," Newt smiled, "I think those two things are the same."

"Dang, dude… What did she say to you? You're really actin' weird."

"You might die of embarrassment if I tell you."

"Nooo, me?" Minho acted like he was offended. "I would never be disgusted by your cheesy speeches about teamwork!"

"Tch, I hate you," Newt clicked his tongue, but his smile stayed nonetheless. Moreover, when Newt started talking about last night, that same smile deepened. "Look, Min, she just said that… she was happy that I was alive. That I was with her. That I was able to meet her. And I feel the same, y'know? I'm happy that you saved me, and I'm happy that… I lived long enough to meet her."

Minho didn't cringe at those sappy words, though. All he could do was mutter Newt's name. "Newt, that's…"

"Which reminds me: I never actually thanked you for saving me, Minho," Newt unexpectedly remarked. He turned his smile to Minho, whose eyes were still wide open in bewilderment. "So thank you, man. Thanks for saving this ugly shank."

"…Oh god," Minho scoffed after a short pause of him collecting his thoughts. "Yours and Hope's cheesiness is gonna be the death of me."

"Wait, what?" Newt smirked. "What did Hope say to you?"

"Just… the regular."

"What? You don't wanna tell me?"

"Nah," Minho answered, pointing his eyes across the fire to Hope smiling with Chuck. "I think that… I'll keep that conversation between us."

"Heh," Newt chuckled, "I guess I'm not the only one with a crush."

"Oh, so you admit it!" Minho shouted. "You do have a crush on her!"

"And you're not denying it, either!"

"Don't change the subject!"

"And you stop making assumptions!"

As Newt and Minho started bantering, Hope sneaked a glance over at them and smiled warmly. After hearing about how Minho had saved Newt's life, her feelings toward him had grown even stronger. She respected Minho so much, and so did Newt. The two of them were best friends, who knew each other like the back of their hands. They protected each other, just like Hope wanted to protect their friendship.

Two days later, Hope was sitting in the Infirmary with Jeff and Clint. It was finally time for her to get her stitches out, so Hope was equally nervous and excited. Likewise, since Frypan had given Hope the morning off, Hugo was sitting beside her instead of eating the Breakfast leftovers. He snuggled into her side, allowing Hope to calmingly pet his fluffy fur with her hand that wasn't hurt. While, the hand that was hurt, was feeling the polar opposite of "fluffy."

"So this is gonna hurt less than putting them in, but it's still gonna hurt," Clint said in that blunt tone of his. "Just… try to focus on something else."

Hope nodded. "R-Right."

This time around, Hope didn't have Newt or Chuck to accompany her. And she was, of course, completely alright with that. Hope had noticed how busy Newt had been all that morning, and she didn't want to burden him with something more. Moreover, everyone else was unnaturally busy that day, so even as Jeff had started cutting the string, Hope tried her best not to make any noises to distract anyone. Clint was right about it not hurting as much as the last time, but it still felt uncomfortable to feel the string move through her skin.

"Okay, it's out," Jeff said, quickly wrapping a bandage around Hope's finger and squeezing it. "All we gotta do now is bandage up the scar and keep it from re-openin'. Can you do that for me, Hope?"

"Yes, but… will there be a scar?" Hope asked while Jeff wrapped another layer of bandages. "Will it ever fully heal?"

"It depends," Jeff answered. "We've seen some scars disappear and others never go away. Sorry to say, but you might have to live with this scar for the rest of your life."

"O-Oh…" Hope gave him a fake-smile. "That's okay! I-It's small, anyway."

"True," Clint agreed as he handed Jeff some tape. "We've seen some large, ugly scars in our day. Honestly, this tiny thing is beautiful compared to the other ones."

"Pffft," Jeff snickered. "You are so weird, dude."

But Hope didn't laugh. She didn't even have much energy to smile anymore. So when Hope left the Infirmary, that fake smile of hers instantly dropped. She lifted up her two arms and turned them upward, and although those same arms were covered by her shirt's sleeves, Hope could practically see the two individual scars trailing from her wrists to the underside of her elbows. "We've seen some large, ugly scars," Clint had said. "Honestly, this thing is beautiful compared to the other ones." There was another mystery that Hope hadn't been able to solve yet, and it was the mystery surrounding those two scars. Ever since Hope first saw them in the shower, she never took one during the day again.

Something about those scars made Hope not want to even look at them. A part of her was ashamed of those things, and another part of her found them… ugly beyond comparison. She had tried her best to forget about them, barely even allowing herself to think about them. But after what Clint had said, Hope had been reminded of the "ugliness" lining her skin. And, for some reason, Hope also remembered… that girl.

"You're my toy!"

"I hate you!"

"Please…"

"DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Though, for the past three nights, the girl hadn't talked. Instead, it had been the woman.

"It's okay to give into emotion, Hope.

"Let yourself be free.

"Let yourself be open.

"Because, if you do that, other people will follow."

"What," Hope clenched her hands into fists, "does it mean?"

"Hope?"

"Gah…!" Hope jumped into the air. "What the…?!"

"Well," Hope's jumpscare sighed, "at least you're back to normal."

"M-Minho…!" Hope yelped before giving him a curious look. "U-Um, excuse me if this is rude, but shouldn't you be in the Maze?"

"I came back early. Again," Minho said with a shrug. "I wanted to talk with you about something."

Hope tilted her head. "Y-You did?"

"For the past three days, you and Newt have seemed… closer," Minho acknowledged, causing Hope's eyes to widen in response. "I thought that, maybe, you two would've calmed down by now, but… you still haven't. It's getting annoying."

"W-W-What?!" Hope stuttered uncontrollably, her face reddening. "Are you serious?! A-Am I seriously being more annoying than usual?! I-I am so sorry if I've caused any of you to feel annoyed! Or even worse, uncomfortable! Whatever it is that I'm doing, I can try to sto-"

"Haha!" All of a sudden, a rare sound was heard by Hope's ears. And an even rarer sight was caught by Hope's eyes. Now standing before her was Minho… laughing and smiling more happily… than Hope and ever seen before. "I-I'm sorry, it's just… your face! Pfft!"

"O-Oh, uhm…" Hope then deadpanned. "Hey… Why do I keep getting these kinds of reactions…? I don't get it…"

"No, seriously, I'm sorry… I… I don't know what came over me," Minho said while he eventually calmed himself down. Though, his smile remained. "I was just kidding, Hope."

"You… You were?" Hope asked, completely oblivious. "But why would you…"

"I actually wanted to thank you," Minho stated, and Hope's eyes widened once more. "That shank's much happier now than he's ever been. I've never seen him smile this much, and I… I never thought that I would see it. It's honestly amazing."

"Minho…" Hope murmured out his name. That compassionate smile of his… pulled at Hope's heartstrings. "You really care about Newt, don't you?"

"I guess you could say that," Minho said, moving his hand to rub behind his neck. "I would do anything for him. Anything in the world."

"Then… I should be thanking you right back," Hope remarked as a smile formed on her own face. "Without you, I wouldn't have ever met Newt. And that's a life that… I don't wanna even think about. I am so thankful for you, Minho. You are such an amazing friend and person."

It was Minho's turn for his eyes to widen. For the first few moments, he didn't know how to respond to Hope's thanks other than to just… stare. She cared so much about other people, and that was something that Minho could relate to. If his friends had friends, then those friends were his friends, too. And if those friends had saved his friend, then Minho was forever in their debt, exactly like how Hope was thanking him right then for saving Newt's life. At that moment, Minho could clearly see how much Hope cared about Newt. How much she cherished his life. And if she cared this much, then…

"And I… I want to be your friend, Minho!"

Then maybe Minho should finally take Hope up on her offer.

"Yeah… I'd like to be your friend, Hope," Minho said as he lifted his hand and placed it atop of Hope's head. At first, she froze against the touch, but as Minho spoke, she slowly relaxed and accepted it. "I'd really like that." Furthermore, before Hope could respond, Minho patted her head a few times and then stepped past her. He placed one hand into his pocket, while lifting the other up into the air. "C'ya later, Hope!"

"C-C'ya later, Minho." And although she was a little stunned, Hope was glad that Minho had ultimately accepted her as a friend. The girl was so glad that she gave Hugo, who had been sleeping against a tree, two happy thumbs-up. "You see that, Hugo?! I got Minho to be my friend!"

"Mph…" In response, Hugo made a few sleepy noises. "Mm…."

Before Hope could laugh-out-loud at her dog's laziness, though, she heard her name being called once more. "Hope…!"

But that voice… This new voice calling out to her… made something within Hope snap. She slowly looked away from Hugo, moving her head to where she could perfectly see the boy running toward her. Hope saw his limp as he ran. She knew why that limp was there, too. She knew the truth, and the truth almost made her cry right then and there. But Hope didn't cry, because she…

"It's okay to give into emotion, Hope.

"Let yourself be free.

"Let yourself be open.

"Because, if you do that, other people will follow."

Merely seeing Newt's face made Hope wanna let go of every worry and every complication of hers. She felt… ready for anything.

"Hope…!" Newt yelled her name again once he'd reached her. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting your bloody stitches out today?! I could've-!"

"Come with me for a second," Hope said, clasping her hand around Newt's wrist and pulling him away. "I need to tell you something."

"What…?" Newt mumbled in confusion. "Tell me what?"

In response, Hope stopped and let go of Newt's arm. She had brought him to a lonely part of the woods, where no-one but them stood. Hope simply stood there for a few seconds, not turning around, before she finally took a long, deep breath. "There's one thing I haven't told you yet, Newt. Something that I… I think I should tell you about."

"Okay…" Newt said as he took a step closer to her. And despite his worry, Newt's voice was gentle. "What is it?"

Hope took one more deep breath, but instead of talking, Hope decided to just show him. With her back still facing Newt, Hope lifted up her sleeves on either of her arms. And when she almost lifelessly dropped those same arms to her sides, sunrays sparkled through the trees and landed on the dark, red scars. Newt's breath stopped. From Hope's wrist and all the way down to the crevice of her elbow, was a perfectly straight scar on either of her arms. Now, Newt was no Medjack, but he knew a deep scar when he saw one. He had multiple on his leg, after all. Nevertheless, once that initial shock wore off, it was exchanged… with pure, unadulterated rage.

"N-Newt…?!" Hope yelped when she unexpectedly felt Newt's hand on hers and saw her entire world spin around. Then, now that Hope was facing him, Newt used her hand still in his to lift her scarred arm. However, Hope wasn't able to question him about anything, since her main focus… was on the anger she saw in his eyes. "Newt…"

"Did someone do this to you?" he questioned in a low growl. "Did someone touch you like this?"

"I-I… I don't know…" Hope stuttered, a little afraid. "They were there when I… when I was… brought up." Hope started stammering even more after Newt lifted his other hand to start trailing his fingers against her skin. His warm fingers started at her elbow, softly trailed down her scar, and then reached her finger tips. The sensation was ticklish, but it also didn't feel… bad to Hope. "H-Hey, Newt, you shouldn't worry too much. I'm fine. They're obviously kinda old, so whatever happened to me must have happened long ago. P-Plus, if someone did do this to me, I'm safe in the Glade. No one will- U-Um?!"

All of a sudden, Newt pulled on Hope's wrist. This effectively pushed their two bodies together, causing their body heats to become one. But that action wasn't what made Hope blush like crazy. No, it was when Newt placed his hand against her cheek… and placed his forehead right to hers. He held Hope there, in his embrace, and uttered his promise to her. "I will never let anyone or anything hurt you like this again, because you are… you are too bloody important to me. Every part of you… is important, and I… I don't wanna let you go."

It might have been selfish of him, but Newt didn't care. After all those nights of sleeping at Hope's side, and after being fully accepted by her, Newt never wanted to let go of this feeling. He wanted to protect it with all his might. When Hope was around, he felt happy and whole. Accepted and seen. Her smile, her laugh, her future… Newt wanted it all. And if someone dared to hurt a single hair on her head and threaten to take that peace away from him, then… then Newt would go against the entire world for her. He wouldn't let anyone take this girl away from him.

He'd kill them if they tried.

However, as Newt silently walked away from a flabbergasted Hope, a certain boy had watched their exchange in the distance. A boy that was too curious for his own good.

A/N: Friendly reminder that I do not own 'Maze Runner' nor its characters! I only own Hope!