Ada sat with her back against the wall trying not to stare at Newt who was doing the same a few feet away across their small room. Normally at this point in the evening they would still be out in the Glade with everyone else, helping to tidy up the huts for those who slept outside or lighting the hanging lanterns in the kitchen so Frypan's crew could prep for breakfast. Neither of them were used to being in their room together for more than the few minutes it took them to go to sleep and she could see her own discomfort reflected on Newt's face.
When she allowed herself to look in his direction, which again, she was trying not to.
He had lit a candle he had produced from somewhere at one point so when she did chance a glance her view of his face flickered in and out of focus. The effect could have added a creepy atmosphere she supposed but instead she found herself thinking pleasant if nonsensical things such as comparing his slightly otherworldly appearance in this light to an elf or a fairy.
Something out of a story.
Not that she could remember any stories.
She thought she might have liked reading them though.
She also thought Newt's face in the candlelight was downright pretty.
She thought it might be awkward to tell him so though and their current situation was already awkward enough, sharing such a close space after he attended a secret vote to determine if her weirdness rose to the level of a threat or not.
Surely Newt's prettiness in this moment was an objective, observable fact but something told her Gladers didn't go around calling each other that so she refrained from offering that particular comment as a peace offering.
She did wish that he would offer something that would calm her fears though.
Anything.
They had finished their food in relative silence which had done little to calm Ada's fears.
He had insisted she take the one apple on offer. That was something.
And of course he had seemed to pick up on her lack of enthusiasm for eating with the other boys on that particular night which was passed for reassuring in the current situation. That or Alby had told him to keep her away from the group and wait for an opportunity to interrogate her.
"Good luck," She thought ruefully, dragging her sneaker-covered toes in small circles on the floor just to have something to do. "Not much point to questioning someone who doesn't remember their own life."
Unless…there was.
Ada's foot froze in place then dropped flat to the floor, her possibly brilliant idea disrupting her anxious action.
Newt wanted to trust her.
She knew he did.
It had only been a week and they had come so far from unwilling sharers of the same space to something resembling friends. Not that she could say with any certainty that she had a lot of experience with friendship. If anything, the vague and unreliable instincts she had in place of actual memories left her somewhat convinced that she hadn't exactly been a social butterfly in whatever had come before the Glade. Maybe she was basing that assumption on nothing at all, maybe she had grown up with more friends than she could count. Or maybe she had been bullied relentlessly. Or maybe she had been mixed up in a test tube by the Creators and kept in a cage her whole childhood. Or maybe she was a clone of some sort that the Creators had sprung into existence fully formed a week ago before tossing her in the box. Or maybe…
Ada pinched the skin of her arm just hard enough to break the rushing cycle of her thoughts and bring her back to what she knew to be real in this moment.
She was with Newt.
In their room.
She trusted him.
He wanted to trust her.
She needed him to trust her.
Trust required the exchanging of information deemed important in some way to the person divulging it.
She was pretty sure anyway.
So maybe Alby told Newt to question her.
Fine.
She had some questions as well.
"Newt?"
His head snapped up as she broke the silence, his eyes searching for hers in the semi-darkness a bit more panicked than she had expected.
Ok, maybe she needed to work on her casual tone.
She hoped it was that and not the fact that he was truly that on edge in her presence.
"Yeah?" He responded, his voice slightly high in pitch before dropping down to its normal register. "What do you need?"
Ada shifted a little to a more comfortable position, tucking her knees up against her chest.
"Well, it would be nice to feel like I was one of you guys and not a bomb that's about to go off."
He had the decency to look a little bit ashamed at that statement.
"You are one of us," He insisted, his voice not betraying any doubt, not that she could detect anyway. "Listen, all of this is shucking weird there's no denying that…well, weirder than normal. But I…we…want you to feel safe here."
"You could help with that," She shrugged, faking a casualness she definitely didn't feel. "Answer some of my questions, tell me more about this place."
His face instantly crumpled into a grimace like she had said exactly the wrong thing.
Ah.
So she wasn't imagining her new status as someone to be kept at arm's length.
"Anything else that would help?" He asked hopefully.
"Alby told you not to tell me anything," She stated the obvious, the lack of surprise softening the blow a bit. "At least not anything important."
Newt hesitated, clearly contemplating if he should attempt to deny it, then sighed and reached up to ruffle the hair at the nape of his neck in what was quickly becoming a recognizable sign of the boy's discomfort.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," He admitted with another sigh.
"I wonder if you telling me that counts as telling me something important," Ada joked, offering up a small smile as her best attempt at a peace offering.
There was a brief moment of silence before Newt graced her with a genuine chuckle in response which prompted a larger smile on her part.
A small sense of relief rushed through her.
Weird gifts from the Creators, impromptu gatherings and less than ideal orders from Alby aside…
Newt was still Newt.
"So you can't tell me anything Alby would think is important," She pressed on, pushing herself to her feet and crossing the small distance between them. "How about you answer some questions that don't matter at all?"
She dropped down directly beside him leaving Newt jumping slightly and scooting hurriedly to the side to make room for her, almost knocking the candle over in the process.
"Well?"
"Why would you want to ask questions that don't matter?" Newt asked skeptically, still shifting his gangly form a bit to keep their limbs from touching.
Ada shrugged.
"The sharing of information leads to bonding and a sense of mutual community," She explained matter of factly. "Anthropologically speaking."
That earned her another smile even if it was paired with his clear exasperation with her.
"Anthropologically speaking?" He echoed, a barely concealed laugh under his words.
"Yep," She confirmed. "So, what do you say?"
Newt shifted again, stretching his legs out in front of him and visibly relaxing back against the wall.
"Sure, Greenie. Why not?"
Newt watched while Ada mirrored his position, her own legs stretching out next to his though hers didn't cover anywhere near the same amount of the floor. She really was a bit on the tiny side. She was also way closer to him then he was used to unless she was in pain, or passing out in his arms or…
"Newt?"
"Yeah, yeah, sorry," He snapped back to the conversation at hand hoping the light wasn't strong enough to show that damned blush that he could feel making a repeat appearance on his cheeks. "Go on then."
"Favorite meal Frypan makes?"
"That's easy," Newt answered, relieved that the question was truly innocuous. "Bacon."
"Bacon isn't a meal," Ada pointed out.
Newt rolled his eyes and nudged the girl next to him with his shoulder.
"Ok Milady," He teased. "Sorry it doesn't meet your standards. Say that after you've been here a bit longer. It's a meal if I say it's a meal."
The flickering candlelight revealed that she found that at least a little amusing and if her shoulder had remained pressed against his Newt very studiously did not notice.
"Ask me one," She ordered, once again redirecting his attention to the task at hand.
Had he always been this easily distracted?
"Um, favorite color?"
"Brown," Ada answered immediately, taking Newt by complete surprise.
"Brown?" He repeated, his face scrunching up in disbelief. "Not pink?"
It was her turn to shove gently at his shoulder with hers.
"I know I'm the first girl you've ever met but you can't just assume we all like pink," She insisted.
"Sure, but brown?" He pressed with a laugh. "Seriously?"
"Yes!" She waved her hands in emphasis. "Brown like…dirt…and trees…and outside! Brown is warm, and alive and…safe."
Well.
He felt like a bit of a slinthead when she put it like that.
"My turn," Ada said. "Most embarrassing moment?"
"I'm not sure I want you having that kind of leverage," He chuckled. "Let's see, as far as I can remember, obviously, well…"
He glanced her way only to find her watching him intently from far closer than he had been prepared for.
He jerked his gaze forward again, clearing his throat before speaking in a rush.
"When I came out of the box. I uh…I threw up."
Ada gasped.
"You didn't!" She sounded entirely too thrilled by this horrifically humiliating information but Newt couldn't bring himself to care too much.
"I did," He confirmed, shaking his head ruefully. "I was dizzy and everyone was yelling and it was bugging hot and…"
He brought his hand up to his mouth and then moved it away dramatically deciding that Ada's resulting giggle was worth the burning in his cheeks from divulging that less than stellar anecdote.
"I guess my entrance wasn't that bad then," She said.
"Ah no, sorry yours was still way worse," He joked. "Total basket case, you'll never live it down, I don't make the rules."
They continued on that way for so long he lost track of what time it was, finely tuned internal clock and all. There were some pretty significant clues though. The candle several inches shorter than it had been when he lit it. The lack of noise on the other side of the wall indicating that the other Gladers were sleeping or close to it.
The way Ada had slumped steadily towards him, her head nodding in between questions as sleep fought to take her too.
"Hey, Greenie," His voice dropped to a whisper without his conscious decision to do it as he reached out to gently shake her shoulder. "Time for bed."
"I'm not tired," She insisted quickly, a point that was drastically undercut when a yawn erupted out of her immediately after.
Newt scoffed.
"Sure thing, Greenie. Not tired. Got it."
He eased himself to his feet, his knee protesting after being in one position for so long. He ignored it, turning and reaching his hands out to pull Ada to her feet next to him.
She released his hands, one of hers coming up to muffle another yawn.
"Thanks, Newt."
After that they shuffled around getting ready for bed, toeing off their shoes, blowing out the candle, flopping down in their respective places, Newt on the makeshift mattress and Ada in her hammock.
Newt stared up at the ceiling, still feeling out of reach for him. Silence enveloped the room and he was sure she must have drifted off when Ada suddenly spoke into the quiet.
"Newt?"
Her voice was almost impossibly soft in a way that squeezed at his heart uncomfortably.
"Yeah?"
He resisted the urge to turn towards her even though in the darkness he likely wouldn't have been able to glimpse her anyway.
It still felt dangerous somehow.
There was some irony in that.
After everything he'd seen and been through and survived…
A bugging girl practically small enough to fit in the palm of his hand felt dangerous.
"About what Alby said…I mean…what I assume he said…I mean…just…you don't really think I'm your enemy right?"
Newt sucked in a breath at her blunt question, the question that they had been avoiding all night really.
That definitely didn't qualify as a question that didn't matter.
Not by his standards anyway.
And it shouldn't have been that easy to answer honestly anyway.
It's not like he had any proof that she wasn't his enemy. A spy like Alby suspected.
Or worse.
It shouldn't have been easy to answer honestly.
Didn't stop him from doing it.
"No," He answered firmly, surprising himself with the forcefulness behind his answer. "No, I don't think you're my enemy."
They lapsed back into silence then Newt spoke up with his own final question.
"About what Gally said…you wouldn't really take your chances in the maze right? No matter what?"
He tried not to read into her slight hesitation anymore than he hoped she had read into his a moment earlier.
"No," She finally answered, the vice in his chest loosening just a bit. "No, I won't do that."
Newt let his eyes drift shut after that, tried not to think about what Alby would think of how he spent his night, about why the Greenie's answer mattered to him a little more than it should, about how they still had no idea why they were stuck next to each other.
He must have succeeded.
More or less.
Because the next thing he knew he was falling into the blissful nothingness of a dreamless sleep, the soft sounds of Ada's breathing seeing him off.