Day Six Hundred and Thirty Nine

Soon, as it turns out, did not arrive, and the seconds crawled into minutes that turned to hours turned to days, until the feeling of Newt's hands in hers and the proud smile she often elicited was barely anything more than a memory Ada yearned for on the cold nights where the firelight did little to warm her.

The council hall remained unused, the torches unlit and the windows still barred, waiting.

Newt, to his credit, seemed only slightly more put out than usual, his calming presence and mindless bickering only slightly dulled. If the others had noticed a change in him, it went unsaid. When she had woken up the next morning and sat with their usual group at breakfast, she had half expected to be met with the cold shoulder, for that blank look to creep back in and for cold indifference to take hold whenever he looked at her.

Ada almost wished that was the case, wished he was kind enough to be cruel about it. If he acted like he hated her then maybe the guilt wouldn't be so extreme. Maybe she wouldn't feel like she was constantly making the wrong decisions when it came to him.

Instead, Newt was almost normal. Worse than normal, really. Civil. He still spoke and interacted with her when they were in a group as he usually would, all smiles and laughter and teasing remarks dimmed slightly by a tense smile and the occasional sad look. The only difference, really, was that he no longer sought her out, no longer reached for her hand under the table or sent her those private dimpled smiles that felt like a secret shared between the two of them.

Part of her wished he would just do something, be angry or yell or demand for her to tell him, because the careful and almost deliberately polite way he acted around her was making her feel more lost than she ever had been. As if the friend she had come to lean on and depend on was standing right in front of her, but changed slightly, detached and just out of her reach.

"My my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning." Gally mused as he nudged her, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Ada blinked up at him, craning her head back and squinting against the sun. From her position sat leaning against a tree at the forest's edge, all she could make out looking up from that angle was a vague Gally-shaped blob bathed in harsh lighting.

"The void." He replied simply, rolling his eyes. "I called your name like five times, did you seriously not hear me?"

Ada glanced around, mildly watching the other gladers hard at work. From the position of the sun she had been sitting there like that for nearly an hour. "Oops."

"Figured I'd give you the hour to brood."

"I'm not brooding."

"You're brooding, Newt's brooding, Alby's brooding because you are, this place is an emotional mess." He rolled his eyes again and kicked her shin gently. "Now get up, c'mon. New Greenie's gonna be here in ten minutes so get your ass in gear." He clapped his hands impatiently, ushering her into a standing position. "Come on, let's go."

"I'm going, I'm going." Ada huffed, pushing away from the tree. "What's got your panties in a knot, huh?"

Gally muttered something she couldn't hear before he turned around and started walking towards the box. "Just wanna build my buildings but everyone's out here being depressed. Only sane one around here, I swear." He muttered.

"I can hear you, you know that right?"

"Good, now hurry up."

Ada stuck her tongue out at his retreating back before following, scuffing at the grass with her shoe.

"Alby says he wants you to do the tour today."

Ada stopped walking, her jaw dropped. "That little sneak said he'd do it!"

"I know," Gally smirked, "but then he saw how 'busy' you were this morning and decided that you should have the honours."

"I'm gonna kill that shank."

The shank in question was six foot and had biceps the size of her head, but as her eyes landed on Alby across the glade and he sent her an eager thumbs up, she promptly decided that size was irrelevant and she was going to murder him regardless.

"When you're done plotting all the nefarious ways you can commit homicide," Gally mused, "I suggest you go wait by the box with Minho and Newt. Siren'll be going off any minute."

Ada's eyes darted towards the centre of the Glade, where Newt and Minho were standing in idle conversation at the edge of where she knew the box was. The doors were closed already in preparation, and the box siren was a dull red ready to burst to life at any given moment.

Gally patted her shoulder idly as she left his side, and it took all the focus she had not to flinch away from him. Whilst Newt's lessons, if they could be called that, had helped her slowly grow accustomed to skin on skin contact it still came as a shock sometimes, particularly when she wasn't expecting. An unfortunate side effect of Newt putting their sessions on hold meant that the panic slowly crept back in every time someone touched her.

After a near panic attack when Alby had patted her arm nearly two weeks after her and Newt's talk in the map room, the gloves had gone back on, and were only removed during the night. They became as much a part of her as her heart and lungs, and she grew to rely on them just the same.

Minho waved her over happily when he spotted her, not noticing the brief look of panic that crossed Newt's face.

"Hey, Minho." She said wearily as she approached them, leaning against the pole attached to the siren. She glanced at Newt, fingers itching nervously, and shot him a tentative smile. "Newt."

"Hey, Ada." He said just as quietly.

Minho glanced back and forth between them with a raised eyebrow. "I've missed something."

"What else is new?" Newt said dryly.

Ada looked down at the box, mind scrambling for a way to change the subject. "So, any chance either of you want to give the tour?"

Minho scoffed. "Nice try, Ada, but Alby's already told us to not let you weasel out of it. No matter how adorable you look with that little put out expression."

Newt cleared his throat, shooting Minho an annoyed glance.

Minho glanced down at his watch, pretending to ignore him, and Ada took the brief opportunity to glance at Newt. He was holding himself stiffer in the month since their conversation, and a permanent frown line seemed to have worked its way onto his face. He was looking down at the floor now, his hand coming up to press against his chin.

Keeping his head low, Newt looked up from under his eyelashes and met her gaze, his long fingers brushing over his lips. The urge to look away was overwhelming, but Ada couldn't seem to move her head, keeping her eyes locked on his as he slowly lowered his hand and lifted his chin, his adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed heavily. Tension cracked between them, sharp and deadly as a blade.

Minho groaned dramatically and looked back up, the sound shattering the bubble she had found herself in. Her cheeks burned, and when she tried to swallow it felt as if her mouth were stuffed full of cotton. She looked away quickly, but not before seeing Newt flush a faint pink, his eyes closing for a mere moment as he looked at the ground again.

"This is taking forever." Minho groaned again, kicking at the siren. "How long does it take for a damn box to come up?" A beetle blade scurried across the grass beside them, and Minho cupped his hands around his mouth to yell after it. "Can you hurry up please!"

"Don't yell at Micheal." Ada tutted, but in all honesty she wasn't sure that was Micheal at all. She hadn't seen the beetle blade since her third month in the glade, a year and a half prior.

Newt opened his mouth with a furrowed brow, likely to ask who the hell Micheal was, when the siren next to them erupted with sound, so deafening it had Ada's ears ringing as her hands shot up to cover them. Minho swore and nearly fell over, stumbling away from the siren.

Newt lifted his head, hands clamped down tightly over his ears, and shot Minho an amused half smile. "I think they heard you." He yelled over the noise.

Ada turned back to the box, that all too familiar whirring starting up again as something heavy and massive came crawling up the shaft, metal screeching against metal as the box drew to a grinding halt. The siren shut off as quickly as it started, and Minho and Ada shared a single tense look before climbing down onto the edges of the box to swing the doors open.

The smell of sweat and fear was pungent as the sunlight lit up the box, revealing the shape of a rather muscular teenager huddled in the corner by the crates labelled medicine. Hooking her fingers into the holes in the walls, she lowered herself into the box and crouched at eye level, hands up in a surrendering position. Trying to keep her voice as light as possible, she nodded at the stranger and smiled. "Hey there Greenie, let's get you out of here."

She reached forward to offer a helping hand, but the figure tensed up and backed away, body poised for a fight. The light fell onto his face, revealing thick dark brows and even darker eyes. Black hair framed his angular face, curling around the edges of his strong jaw. His thin lips were curved into a scowl. "Who the fuck are you?" He hissed, voice raspy from what she assumed was either lack of use, or screaming.

"My name's Ada." She replied, trying to keep as relaxed as possible. "Can you remember yours?"

He opened his mouth and closed it again, swallowing heavily. "Dave."

Ada tried to hide the surprise she felt – a greenie remembering their name whilst still in the box was nothing short of a goddamn miracle. "Okay, Dave. Nice to meet you. Why don't we get you out of here, yeah?"

He looked her up and down, likely sizing her up, and the scowl faded away as he hesitated for a moment. "I don't know you. I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Well, feel free to stay down there," Minho's voice came from above them, and when she glanced up and squinted against the sun she could just about make out his annoyed frown, "but lunch is soon and I'm gonna guess you're pretty hungry. Plus, those boxes you're sitting on are kind of important, so if you don't mind?"

Newt nudged Minho disapprovingly before looking back down at them, a crinkle between his eyebrows. He didn't look amused, and she turned back to the Greenie just in time to see his eyes darting upwards back towards her face.

She didn't want to know where he was looking before that.

"Where the hell am I?" He spat, climbing to a standing position.

Ada quickly followed. "Your new home." She said simply.

Her fingers hooked into the edge of the box again, but before she could lift herself a hand appeared in her vision, extended out to her. She recognised the red shoelace instantly, and when she looked up it was to see Newt staring down at her with a stoic expression, the slight trembling in his hand the only thing giving him away.

Ada took it hesitantly, allowing him to pull her out of the box. The weight of his hand in hers was welcome, but was gone in an instant. Her fingers itched with the urge to reach out and touch him again.

She turned back to Dave as Minho lifted him up, and a shudder ran through her when she realised he had watched her climb out of the box, but his eyes most definitely weren't on her back. Newt's frown seemed to deepen when Dave shook out his limbs and cast a wary gaze around the glade, eyes cutting sharply around with distrust. He was taller than she had expected, stocky. He would make a good builder.

She made a mental note to introduce him to Gally later.

"Right, Greenie." Minho clapped his hands together, rocking back on his heels. "Name's Minho, this is Newt. We're gonna get started on these supplies while our girl Ada here gives you the tour."

"Actually, I think I'm gonna go with them." Newt spoke up.

Ada frowned up at him, not understanding his sudden need to supervise her. "No, it's okay, Minho needs your help more than I do."

Newt opened his mouth to protest when Dave spoke up. "I don't see any other girls. Are you the only one?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "You get used to it eventually."

Dave looked her up and down again, this time more deliberately, and she felt herself tense up. "No complaints here." He grinned, but something about it was wrong, cold. "Guess we know what that's for."

"Excuse me?"

"Oh c'mon." He shrugged. "Place full of guys and one girl? At least whoever put us here provided entertainment."

Newt and Minho tensed up beside her, the latter's voice cold when she spoke. "Actually Newt, maybe you should go with Ada. I can handle a couple of boxes by myself."

Ada was almost inclined to agree, her desire to be around the new greenie alone lessening by the second. "Stand down, Minho, it's fine. I'll give him the tour and then pass him along to Alby." She shot him a knowing look – whatever bullshit that was running through Dave's mind would be squashed in an instant the second he set eyes on Alby and his muscles.

"Ada–"

"Newt," she shot him a raised eyebrow, lips pursed, "I am perfectly capable of showing someone around the Glade. Now go help Minho with the boxes."

She walked away before he could respond, jerking her chin at Dave to get him to follow her, but the feeling of Newt's eyes burning into her back persisted the entire way across the Glade.

"You the leader here or something?" Dave scoffed. She didn't appreciate the mocking tone in his voice.

"Of sorts." She settled on. "There's a sort of hierarchy here, as there is in any civilization I suppose. Alby is at the top, with Newt as second in command. I'm somewhere between the two."

"So what do you do? Make the decisions? Seems like a job better left for someone else, don't you think?"

"No, I don't think." Ada rolled her eyes. She stopped walking, forcing Dave to stop as well. "Before we continue I highly suggest that you listen closely here. In that little hierarchy I mentioned, it's important to remember that you are currently at the bottom. That means there are rules you need to follow, jobs you need to do without complaint, and most importantly it means you need to respect the people around you, myself included."

The greenie looked as if he had listened to about half of what she had said, if not less. "Yeah, whatever." He said, looking around at the walls with wide eyes. "Why the fuck are there walls surrounding this place?"

"Rule number one;" Ada carried on walking, "no questions until after the tour. We'll tell you everything in our own time, likely either at the bonfire tonight or tomorrow morning when we try you out for jobs."

He frowned heavily. "I say we skip that part. So, being the only girl here, how does that work? Do we rotate?"

"Excuse me?" She asked incredulously. The urge to turn around and walk right through the maze doors and stay there was growing more overwhelming by the second. "What exactly is it that you think I do here?"

Dave shrugged, shooting her a lascivious smile. "Seems pretty obvious to me. This 'civilization' you keep talking about has to grow somehow." He took a step forward, his hand lifting to shift her hair back over her shoulder, calloused fingers scraping across her collarbone, and she flinched hard without thinking.

"Rule number two:" She spat out, taking a step backwards and shooting him a heavy glare. "Under no circumstances do you touch me like that ever again."

"Am I allowed to touch you a different way then?"

Ada swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. "Stay here." She said, locking eyes with Alby, who was over by the builders. She waved him over. "I'm handing you off to Alby, he can finish this."

Dave's hand shot out to curl around her forearm. "Oh c'mon, I was just playing around. You don't need to leave."

"I will throw you in the maze with the Grievers if you don't let go of me right now." She realised only after she said it that her threat would have made a lot more sense if he actually knew what she was talking about. His fingers on her skin were hot and clammy, not like the gentle and soothing touches she had grown used to receiving as of late. She tried to pull away from him, but his grip was unrelenting.

"So where's the sign up sheet?" He leered. "I wanna put my name down first."

"What's going on here?" Alby's familiar voice was welcome, and when Dave looked up at the muscular teenager standing beside him he dropped his grip on her instantly.

"Perfect timing." Ada cradled her arm against her stomach, rubbing soothing circles into the skin that felt contaminated by his touch. "You can finish touring the new Greenie."

"Something happen?" Alby cut his eyes over to Dave, and they narrowed considerably when he took in how close he was standing to her and how far she was trying to lean away from him.

"Nothing I can't handle. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go take a shower. Or ten." She walked away before either could respond, shooting a harsh glare at Dave over her shoulder as she did. Predictably, he was too busy staring at her ass to notice.

She hoped Alby put him in the ground before she had the chance to.

Newt caught up with her just outside the Homestead, out of breath slightly. When she glanced back towards the slammers, she saw the supplies he had deposited there teetering in stacks that didn't look organised in the slightest. Minho was huffing and shooting glares in Newt's direction as he tried to sort out the mess the blonde had undoubtedly left behind. He didn't say anything immediately when he reached her, simply standing beside her and staring at her, his gaze lingering on the arm she still held closely to her stomach.

"Tell me I didn't just see what I thought I saw."

"Between you and Alby, a girl can't seem to get a moment of peace." Ada said instead, dropping her arm. She shifted awkwardly on her feet, her heart rising steadily into her throat. This was the closest she and Newt had been in nearly a month, and certainly the only time his attention had been fixed on her the way it was now, all protective intensity that she didn't know how to react to.

"Ada," Newt's tone had an undercurrent of warning, "I'm serious."

"So am I." She said simply. "I handled it. Now calm down and go and help Minho with those boxes."

"I already helped him."

"I think I just heard him get crushed by a pile of crates." Ada winced.

"Did that new glader put his hands on you?"

"Minho's definitely screaming for help."

"Did he?" Newt stepped forward, his eyes burning into hers. "Ada, I'm serious, is he bothering you? Alby and I can put him straight-"

"I am perfectly capable of handling things myself." She rolled her eyes. "I don't need you or Alby standing up for me."

"I'll always stand up for you." Newt said, seemingly without thinking, his eyes cutting away from hers when he realised what he said, the tips of his ears bright red.

Frustration rose inside her. For a month now he had been brushing her off, keeping her at arm's length, and now for some unknown reason he was being overbearing because, what, he didn't think she could handle herself? Ada had spent a night in the maze and walked away from it breathing, she had come face to face with a Griever not once, but twice, and lived to tell the tale. She had been stabbed and attacked by someone she was supposed to have trusted, by another glader, and she had come out the other side stronger than ever.

She didn't need Newt and his stupid hot and cold attitude to protect her from a few suggestive comments from someone who was clearly all bark and no bite.

"I'm going to go shower." She shook her head. "Go help Minho with the boxes."

Newt didn't respond, his eyes flashing over to where Alby and Dave were standing over by the name wall. She couldn't see much from this distance, but both of them seemed to be tense and in a rather heated conversation. Newt opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, before closing it again and looking down at her.

His eyes scanned her body, likely to make sure she hadn't been lying and she really was alright, but unlike Dave it didn't make her feel uncomfortable, or objectified, didn't make her feel like throwing herself to the Grievers or scrubbing herself clean in the shower. Something about the intense heat in his eyes had her burning from the inside out, and she fled to the showers to escape it.

The door slammed shut behind her, and Ada spent the entire time under the freezing stream of water trying to remind herself that Newt was angry at her, and whatever looks she was imagining coming from him were likely just that – her imagination.

—

Glade bonfires were usually something Ada enjoyed.

The firelight, the dancing, the sound of laughter carried across the expanse of land by a light breeze that would stave away the overbearing heat from the flames – all of it was something that often had her thinking that being trapped in the glade forever wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

But Dave's arrival had soured the experience so much any joy she would have usually felt at such an event was quickly diminished, leaving her disgusted and cold.

Alby had joined them at the Homestead after showing the greenie around the glade, but Dave's attitude of general disinterest was difficult to believe considering the fact that he had had his memory wiped and was shoved into a death trap filled with deadly monsters. His cocky and arrogant attitude was quick to make itself known, but unlike Minho, Dave did not pull it off well.

"I want to punch him." Minho said as he handed her a drink, hopefully Gally's recipe, if there was a God. She took a solid swig, relieved that it burned as it went down. "I want to take his face, and smash it into a rock."

Ada arched an amused eyebrow as he leant against the wall next to her, turning his eyes to where Dave was wrestling with Gally in the sand pits. It had become a tradition of sorts, that the newest glader and Gally would go head to head. It was an intimidation act, she knew, but she also knew that Gally was a big softie that just wanted idle entertainment most of the time. He did seem to be handling Dave rather roughly, though, if she really looked at them.

"Not like you to get so violent."

"I don't like this guy."

"I'm not particularly fond of him either."

"Yeah?" Minho asked, taking the jar back off her to take a hearty swig of his own. "What he say to you?"

"Asked if he could put his name down on the roster for my 'entertainment.'" Ada scowled, shooting the boy in question a filthy glare. It was the height of her evening so far when Gally shoved him down too hard and Dave nearly broke his nose on the ground.

Minho frowned in confusion. "Enterain– oh, ew! What a prick."

"Tell me about it. What did he do to you that has you wanting to bash his face in so violently?"

"... He insulted my hair."

"We ride at dawn." Ada scoffed.

Minho ran a hand through his hair, scowling, when his eyes caught on something on the other side of the fire. "Don't think Newt's overly fond of him either." He said, jerking his chin.

Ada cast her eyes over to where she knew Newt stood, and was amused to see an annoyed frown furrowing his brow. His lips were pressed tightly together, his arms crossed over his chest with disapproval as he looked down at where Dave and Gally were wrestling. His eyes flicked up all of a sudden, connecting with hers instantly, as if he knew she was staring at him.

She looked away quickly.

The gong went off at the door to the kitchen, and Charles emerged holding a massive bowl of something that smelled delicious. Half the glade immediately rushed in his direction, including Minho, who thrust the jar of alcohol at her and sprinted away before she had time to even blink.

Ada let out a bemused laugh before sinking down against one of the now vacated logs by the fire, not hungry enough to join the chaos thronging the entrance to the kitchen. A bead of sweat broke out across her collarbone from the heat of the flames. She watched them dance, content to just sit there and watch the embers flicker.

Someone sat down next to her gracelessly, interrupting her peaceful bubble as they slung an arm over the log behind her. The distinct smell of sweat hit the air. She had grown well accustomed to it, considering the hard work they did day in and day out, but she still shrank away regardless, crinkling her nose in disgust. Dave grinned down at her, dark hair plastered to his head with sweat.

"Food's ready, you should probably go eat." She said, shuffling across the ground to create more space between them.

Dave shrugged and followed, erasing the distance between them again, grinning lewdly down at her. "Ate at lunch, not hungry." His eyes landed on the jar cradled in her hand and he was quick to grab at it, gulping down the last few mouthfuls of liquid. "Will have some more of this though. Go refill it for me, would ya?"

Ada raised a disbelieving eyebrow, finger running soothingly down the dagger tucked away in her belt, imagining the satisfaction of impaling him with it. "If you want another drink you're gonna have to get one yourself."

"Feisty, that's cute. So, this bonfire is being thrown for me?" He asked, a cocky smirk forming on his face. "Guest of honour, something like that?"

"Something like that." Ada nodded, eyes flitting over to the other side of the fire.

"So whatever I say goes, right?" His eyes drifted away from her face, settling on her collarbone and then drifting just below it. Ada pulled her jacket tighter around her, not caring that it only made the heat from the fire oppressive. "I at least deserve a bit of a present, don't you think?"

"I'm hungry," Ada said suddenly, wiping her sweaty hands on her trousers, "gonna go get some food."

Dave's hand, his arm still resting on the log, clamped down on her shoulder to keep her in place. Her hand found the hilt of her dagger immediately. "You don't gotta leave," he scoffed, "I was just making conversation."

"If you don't let go of me right now, you are going to lose your hand." Ada looked up at him, eyes narrowed. Disgust swarmed her stomach hard and fast as he took the opportunity to lean in slightly, his eyes cutting sharply down to her lips.

"Your friend Alby gave me the rundown of this place, doesn't seem so bad. Then again, I'm just saying, if I'm gonna be stuck here forever I think I deserve some compensation, don't you agree?" His other hand landed heavily on her thigh, and Ada jerked harshly in his grip, slipping her dagger out of her belt. Dave's eyes landed on it and he shot her a mocking grin. "Please," he scoffed, "we both know you aren't gonna do anything. You even know how to use that thing?"

"You really don't want to find out." His hand left her thigh, drifting upwards to settle on her waist. Nauseated, Ada tried to stand, but the hand on her shoulder was unrelenting. Black spots had started to crawl in at the edges of her vision.

"Why don't you put that thing away and let's go somewhere a bit more private, huh?"

All things considered, Ada thought, killing the new Greenie wasn't really how she wanted to bring the night to a close, but if he insisted on acting like an ass then she supposed disposing of him wouldn't be such a bad thing. "I swear to God if you don't stop touching me right now-"

"Alby wants to talk to you." A new voice cut in, and Ada sighed in relief when she looked up and saw Newt stood there, arms crossed tight across his chest, his entire body tensed like a live wire. The glare he levelled at Dave was almost enough to make her shudder.

Dave didn't even look up, and she could feel his eyes burning daggers on the slope of her neck. "Busy."

"Now." Newt spat, looking away from Dave long enough to glance down at her, his eyes taking in how uncomfortably tense she was, how her skin was paler than usual. His piercing gaze landed on her hand clenched around her dagger, and then cut across to where Dave's hand was clamped down on her waist hard enough to bruise. His eyes darkened, arms unfolding. "I suggest you move, Greenie."

Dave let out an annoyed groan before climbing to his feet, his eyes still fixed on Ada. The second his hands were off her she scrambled backwards, shoving her trembling hands into her pockets as she stood. "I'll see you later." He winked down at her, looking her up and down once more before shoving his way through the other gladers to get to where she knew Alby was in the kitchen.

A thick silence enveloped them as Ada took a deep breath, trying to hide the sheer relief she felt. "What, uh, what does Alby want with him?"

Newt looked down at her, jaw clenched so hard a vein throbbed prominently in his neck. His eyes were darker than she had ever seen, pure fury radiating from him. "He doesn't."

"Then why did you-"

"Did he hurt you?" Newt asked, taking a step forward. His hands clenched at his sides, from fury or from restraint she wasn't quite sure.

"No." Ada shook her head. "No, just got a little too close for comfort and said some... stuff. Like I said earlier, I can handle it. You shouldn't have interfered like that, now poor Alby has to deal with him."

"Better Alby than you." Newt swallowed heavily, his thumb and forefinger rubbing together harshly. "I know you didn't want me to get involved, but I had to get him away from you before I put my knife through his skull."

Ada let out a breathy laugh, lifting one hand to rub at the side of her neck anxiously. "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna lie and say I wasn't glad to see you."

"What did he say to you?" Newt demanded.

"Doesn't matter." Ada shook her head. "But I think it's safe to say I'm gonna be avoiding him as much as possible from now on."

"Ada," Newt took another step forward, so close the heat from his body was stronger than the warmth of the bonfire at her back, closer than he had been to her in a long time. Her heart pounded against her ribcage, but unlike with Dave, where she wanted nothing more than to be as far away from him as possible, the urge to step forward and bask in his warmth was almost overwhelming. "Please. Tell me what he said."

"Just made some gross comments about me being the only girl here and what that must be for." Ada grimaced, the memory of it sour in her mouth. "Said he deserved some compensation for being trapped here and suggested we go find somewhere more private. I would have left sooner but..." She rolled her shoulder, still feeling the strength of his grip as he kept her pinned in place, "he's annoyingly strong."

Newt didn't say anything for a long moment, simply staring down at her with his eyes swimming with cold fury, so black with anger she could hardly recognise him. "Cross his name off the wall." He spat, his voice shaking with lethal rage. "I'm gonna put him in the goddamn ground."

He turned away from her, an immovable wall of fury, and it took a second longer than it should have for Ada to realise what he meant. "What? Newt-" She darted after him, hand closing down over his forearm, digging her heels into the ground in an attempt to get him to stop walking. "What the hell do you think you're doing, stop it."

"Stop it?" Newt asked incredulously, spinning back around to face her. "Stop it?"

"Just drop it, okay? I'm fine." Newt scoffed in disbelief at her words, so Ada reached up her hand to brush her fingers against his jaw, hoping to calm him down. "Seriously, Newt. Let me deal with this. His words are just words. Did they bother me? Yes, but it doesn't matter. And if touches me like that again, next time I'll cut his hand off before he can even think about getting any further than my thigh, alright? Now calm down."

Newt tensed up again, bringing his face down closer to hers. "Your where?" He asked. "Who the hell does he think he is?" He turned around again, furious gaze settling on where Dave was talking to what looked like a very confused and very annoyed Alby. "Give me your knife."

"I'm not giving you my knife, Newt."

"Give me your knife, I'm gonna drive it between his eyes."

"You absolutely are not." Ada rolled her eyes, still tugging insistently on his sleeve. "Newt, I swear to God, take one more step in their direction and I'm gonna-"

Newt clearly had a one track mind, or listening suddenly wasn't in his skill set, as he ignored her and continued on his apparent war path.

Ada huffed in exasperation, eyes landing on the door to the council hall almost directly to their right, and grabbed at his arm properly to steer him inside. "You are unbelievable, what the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked incredulously, slamming the door shut behind them, positioning her body between him and the exit.

"Ada, move."

"Oh, what are you gonna do?" She scoffed, "just kill him in the middle of his bonfire? In front of the entire glade, just murder him where he stands?"

Newt's steely eyes met her own, his jaw clenched so hard she was impressed he didn't break it. "That's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"And then we'll have to banish you," Ada put a hand on his chest to shove him back when he tried to step around her, "toss you to the Grievers, what then?"

"Worth it."

"No, it's not." Ada threw her hands up in exasperation before crossing them over her chest. "You're being ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? Are you fucking kidding me right now Ada?" Newt finally stopped trying to push past her, instead standing so close she could feel his breath ghosting over her face. He took a step forwards, and she took one back without thinking, her back coming flush with the door as he caged her in. An excited thrill coursed through her entire body.

"Newt-"

"What's ridiculous is that he thinks he can saunter in here and put his hands on you like that and get away with it." His voice was raised slightly, his cheeks flushed and eyes alight with a blazing inferno that threatened to scorch her where she stood. If she took a breath deep enough her chest would come flush with his, and it was all she could focus on. "What's ridiculous is that he thinks he can talk to you like that, can touch you like that, and not be put in the fucking ground. Or better yet, the maze."

"Why is this bothering you so much?" Ada asked incredulously, raising her own voice to match his. "What do you care how he talks to me?"

"Are you serious?" Newt leaned down closer to her, and Ada shoved her head back further into the door to try to keep an inch between them, heart pounding frantically in her ribs. "Why is it bothering me? It's bothering me because he's making you uncomfortable and acting like a dick and he's putting his hands on you when he has no right to do that and-"

"Why do you care?!"

"I care because it's you!" He yelled. "Because it's you and you have to know how I-" He cut himself off, searching frantically for the words. "You have to know that I-"

"That you what?" Ada asked, exasperated, searching his eyes with her own for any hint of an answer.

Newt's eyes cut down to her lips, and she swallowed heavily when she realised just how close they were. She moved her head slightly to the side, her nose bumping into his. One of his arms came up at her side to lean against the door, and she could see his hands shaking as he lowered his head slightly, panting.

Ada gulped. "I thought you wanted space."

"Right now all I want is you." His lips crashed down against hers, almost knocking the breath out of her as he reached up his other hand, settling it against her jaw.

Ada didn't hesitate, one hand fisting in his jacket to draw him closer, the other tangling in his hair and tugging at the strands. Newt groaned against her mouth, pushing his body closer to hers until she was entirely covered by him, the door at her back, unable to think or breathe. His fingers twitched, his featherlight touch on her jaw moving up and up, his fingers tangling in the long strands of her hair, wrapping them tightly in his fist to angle her head backwards.

Euphoria and need burst inside her, a tangled web that eclipsed everything as every desire she had ever felt, every brush of fingers and slow deliberate touch, crashed to the surface like a rising storm. Newt gripped her harder, bringing his other hand down from the door and onto her waist, clutching the fabric so hard in his trembling fingers it was a miracle it didn't tear. Ada let out a breathy whine against his lips, the sound making Newt's hand tighten in her hair as he swept his tongue across the seam of her lips, losing himself in her.

The hand in his jumper rose to cup his jaw, fingers digging into his skin, and Newt pulled back with a pained groan, his forehead falling to hers as he breathed her in. "Ada... please, if you don't want this please tell me, if you want me to stop-"

"Don't you dare." She kissed him again, hard and desperate, the rough press of his mouth against hers and his body against her own not unwelcoming, like she had thought it would be, not terrifying. Only dizzying in the most delightful way. She pushed up onto her toes, nails digging into his shoulders as he pushed her further against the door, one hand slipping under her tank top and settling on her bare waist, hot and heavy against her skin.

Ada gasped into his mouth, arching her back towards him, head spinning. Newt smiled against her lips, an infectious grin that she couldn't help but return as he smoothed his lips over her jaw, angling her head back to press feather light kisses against her throat. She carded one hand through his hair, holding him closer, desperate for him to continue–

The door shifted behind her as someone tried to get in, and Newt slammed his hand down onto the wood to stop it, pulling away from her with a gasp. He stared down at her, molten lava burning in his veins, chest rising and falling with harried breaths. Ada looked up at him, lips red and a delicate flush rising high on her cheeks, and she was an intoxicating sight, one that he was desperate to see over and over again.

The door shifted behind her again, three knocks rapping sharply against the wood. "Out." Alby's gruff voice came from the other side of the door. "Now."

"We-" Ada cleared her throat, cursing the croak in her voice. "We, um, we were just-"

"I don't want to know." Alby said. "I do not want to know, please don't tell me."

Newt chuckled, the sound throaty and hoarse. She could feel every movement with the way he was still pressed against her. "We'll be out in a moment, Alby."

Alby let out a disgusted sound, pushing away from the door. She could hear him muttering something under his breath as he walked away, but she was fairly certain she didn't want to know what it was.

The only sounds in the silent room was their heavy breathing as Newt slowly pulled away, his hands leaving trails of fire on her skin. Ada took a deep breath, lifting one hand to try to fix where his hands had mussed her hair, refusing to look him in the eyes.

Please don't regret this, she thought helplessly, please don't tell me this was another mistake.

She wasn't sure she could handle any more mistakes between them.

Ada held her breath, terrified.

Newt simply smiled softly, a dimple appearing in his cheek and a subtle look of awe in his eyes. "Alby was right." He said softly, nothing more than a dazed whisper against her skin.

"About what?" She asked, but Newt simply grinned and shook his head.

Ada let out a breathless laugh, sinking back against the door. "Was this another mistake?" She asked, quirking her eyebrow in challenge, pushing down the apprehension fluttering around her stomach.

"Not a chance." Newt shook his head. "I don't think you and I could ever be a mistake."

Ada grinned slowly, but jumped when Alby banged on the door again. "I swear to God if you shanks aren't out here in the next five seconds I am breaking down this door and throwing you both in the slammers. Separate slammers. Opposite ends of the prison, God help me."

Newt scoffed. "Alright, alright, keep your panties on, we're coming."

Alby spluttered indignantly, and as Ada made her way out into the glade, Newt following closely behind her, joy shining in his eyes, she thought that maybe telling him everything wasn't such a bad idea after all.