Thomas Sangster/ Newt Imagines& GIFs

143. Newt'

description - Newt saves you from overly flirtatious Gladers.

Being the only girl in a place filled to the brim with teenage boys had its ups and downs. You couldn't say you didn't like the attention you got from the rest of the Gladers. Some of them were very attractive, and had you been in a different situation where remembering who you were and getting out of the Maze weren't your biggest problems, you might have even gone out with a few of them.

But the truth of the matter was that you couldn't focus on trivial things like "hooking up", and no matter how many times you told the rest of the Gladers that, a lot of them just couldn't get it through their thick heads that you would never be able to see any of them as anything more than friends.

Well, except maybe one. Newt. He was definitely not like the rest, in more ways than one. He didn't flirt with you, didn't pine for your affection, didn't undermine your abilities to help out in the Glade just because you were a girl. It was for that very reason that you two were such good friends, a fact that most of the other boys were fairly jealous of.

You'd been working in the gardens that morning, picking peaches off trees, although it wasn't your designated job. There weren't too many opportunities around to fill up a full day of work as a Med-Jack - people didn't get injured too often, and if they did, it would be something so minor that could be fixed very quickly. But the gardens were a perfect place for you to help out in, because it guaranteed you seeing Newt every day.

The only problem was that a few Builders were chopping some logs nearby, and they were cat-calling loudly every time you reached up to pick off a peach. Your shirt would ride up slightly and show off your midriff, which apparently drove them crazy.

You decided to take a break until their attention shifted elsewhere. You sat on a large log on the side and wiped the sweat off your brow. Unfortunately for you, the Builders had also decided that a break was in great need, and came over to join you.

"Hey, beautiful," one of them said. You recognized him as Ben; he'd always had somewhat of a crush on you but you didn't know if it was genuine or just a side-effect of you being the only girl in the Glade. He wrapped his arm around you, sticky with sweat. You wanted to scoot farther away from him but another of his friends sat on the other side, trapping you.

Ben leaned in close to your ear. "What do you say you and I ditch these losers," he said, jerking his chin towards the other Track-Hoes working in the gardens, "and go have some fun?"

"Don't you have a job to do?" you heard a voice with a thick accent say from behind you. Ben's arm dropped as if burned, and the three of you turned to look at Newt, who was clearly unimpressed, his hands on his hips.

"We were just joking around," Ben said, a light-hearted grin adorning his face. "Shuck it, it's not like we're going to steal your girl."

Newt raised an eyebrow. Before he could say anything, Ben and the other Builder got up and walked away, glancing over their shoulder every once in a while, all with an amused expression on their faces.

"You know I didn't need saving," you said as Newt sat down in Ben's spot, "but thank you." Then you jokingly added, "Can't have Ben steal your girl, right?"

This made Newt stiffen slightly, and he let out a forced laugh. "You know, you also have a job to do," he said. Was he really changing the subject?

"I was just taking a break."

"Did you finish picking all the peaches yet?"

"No."

"Then forget about your bloody break."

You frowned slightly, not understanding why he was so irritated. The joke about you being his girl couldn't have gotten to him that much, could it? It had been just a joke. It wasn't like there was anything between the two of you. You would have liked it if there was, but he didn't feel the same way.

Or did he?

"I've got some inventory to take care of," he said in a clipped tone, getting up. "I'll see you at dinner."

You watched as he walked away, his limp noticeable, and wondered what could have possibly turned his mood so sour.

[part 2]