You sat by Teresa's side in the Slammer as she sat by Thomas's, wiping his forehead with a cool cloth as he moaned in his ... you didn't know what to call it. It wasn't a sleep, not really. Newt stood outside, hating that Gally had thrown you in there for being an 'abnormal girl', but he couldn't help you now.

He had to wait.

"I can't believe he did that," Teresa laughed humourlessly. "It was so stupid. And we all got landed in the Slammer."

You stared down at him, gaze blank and listless. "He wanted his memories back, I guess. He wants to know why we're all here. I can respect that, even if that wasn't the safest way to go about doing it."

"But you've never been one for safe methods," Teresa joked. "I've only been here a few days and I can already tell that."

You gave a light chuckle. You looked at her, gazing longingly down at the sleeping boy, and you voiced the conclusion you'd come to. "You like Thomas, don't you?"

Teresa tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling. "I guess so."

"Why?" you asked. Then, you hastened to add: "Not that I'm judging you, of course."

"He's sweet, and I cant deny his looks," Teresa admitted. "And ... I think I can remember flashes of my life before the Maze. And I can remember Thomas. I always feel so ... safe with him. Everything feels right."

You rocked back and forth a little in your chair, leaning forwards to speak more quietly. "I can definitely understand. I think we all knew each other before the Maze. But I feel what you described with Newt. I think I was close to him." You flashed a mischievous smile at the other girl. "And Thomas definitely likes you."

Teresa blushed. "But does he like me for ... me? For Teresa? Or does he just like me because I'm the only girl that isn't taken in this shucking awful place?"

"I think he loves you for Teresa," you assured her. "Just like Newt loves me for Y/N."

"How can you be sure?" Teresa asked.

You gave her a secretive glance, your tone still low. "He tells me things, you know. And I'll tell you, if I think you need to know. Us girls gotta stick together, hmm?"

She laughed. "Thanks, Y/N. I think I'll tell him how I feel if we get out of here."

"And if we don't?" you couldn't help but ask.

The other girl looked away. "Then ... I don't know."

There was a groaning sound from beneath you, and you and Teresa both instantly looked down. Thomas' eyelids were fluttering, and Teresa hastened to press the cloth to his forehead again, wiping away restless sweat. You beckoned to Newt and Minho, who huddled closer to the bars.

"Teresa?" he groaned.

You flashed a knowing look at her, and she made a quick face at you, smiling down at Thomas.

"Hey."

"What do you remember?" you asked. You didn't really want to rush him, but you needed to know.

Who knew when the Grievers were coming back? Who knew when more people might die?

Thomas blinked, sitting up slowly. "I- I remember working at WICKED." He looked at you mournfully. "I'm so sorry we did all of this to you. So, so sorry."

"We?" you repeated.

Thomas looked at Teresa. "Teresa, we worked for WICKED. We did this to them."

"No." She shook her head, tears spilling down her cheeks. "That- that can't be right."

Then Thomas glanced to you. "Y/N ... I can't even begin to apologise for what I did."

"What you did?" you said slowly, aware you were repeating everything, but not caring. You needed to understand.

"I- WICKED asked for ways to make people more co-operative. I said to give them someone they thought was a friend to lull them into a false sense of security, but have that person not truly be their friend at all." Thomas swiped at his eyes quickly. "They took you. They took you from the rest of us, they tortured you, they experimented on you, and they made you so afraid of yourself and them that if they hurt you, you'd do whatever they asked."

Thomas didn't try to conceal his crying now. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. You can hate me now."

You wanted to be angry. You wanted to scream, you wanted to hate him, but deep down you knew it wasn't his fault: Thomas hadn't known what they would do. He'd thought they were talking about WICKED's enemies.

A swell of anger surged up, but you looked at the boy in front of you, who had loved you, and hadn't ruined your friendship when you let him down, the boy who was probably your only hope out of the Maze.

The boy who was your boyfriend's best friend and your best friend's crush.

And you couldn't be mad at him.

"It's okay, Thomas," you told him. "It doesn't matter what you did back then. That was years ago, right?"

Thomas nodded slowly. "We were seven."

"See?" you said. "You didn't know."

"And it doesn't even matter what you did then," Newt broke in. "Because all that matters is who you are now."

Thomas nodded thoughtfully. Then he glanced around. "Why the shuck are we in the Slammer?"

You sighed. "Gally's taken over. He's scared, Thomas. He's scared of everything that's changing. All he thinks he knows is that everything started changing when I showed up, and then you and Teresa."

"They're Banishing you at sundown, I think," Newt added. "Gally gave us a choice: stand with him, or be Banished. But-" he raised a hand as Thomas opened his mouth, giving a warning, 'let me explain' look. "We will help you. I will not let my friends-" his gaze wandered over to you. "-or the love of my life be Banished."

"Let me guess," Minho teased. "Thomas is the love of your life."

"That is exactly right," you nodded. "I have just been a cover-up girlfriend. We all know who the real romance is between."

You all laughed, though Thomas and Newt were both blushing. You leaned through the bars, beckoning to Newt, and kissing him sweetly. "I'm just kidding. I love you."

"I know," he grinned, causing you to reach your hand out and slap him lightly. His smile, however, faded abruptly as he looked over his shoulder.

Gally approached, murder in his eyes.

"The lot of you! You're getting Banished, now!"

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