Day Six Hundred and Sixty Nine

Somehow, the walls of the maze seemed even more colossal from where she stood directly in front of the stone, squinting against the glare of the sun. She hadn't stood in front of the name wall for a long while, never studying the intricate lines carved into it like she knew Minho and Alby did sometimes, trying to derive answers out of the letters.

The wall was considerably more full now than the last time she had cared to look at it, with more deep scratches and lopsided letters carved into the rock than she knew what to do with. It was hard to imagine that not even two years prior she and Alby had stood side by side, carving their names into the stone for the first time.

She eyed her own name, noting the scratches had faded considerably over time. Still noticeable, of course, but nowhere near as clean and fresh as the harsh white lines that made up the last few months' set of greenie's.

More names were crossed out as well, more than she cared to look too closely at.

"Thought I might find you here." An amused voice came from behind her, and Ada turned her head to see Minho stood with his hands clutching the straps of his runners harness, lips quirked into half a smirk. "That was a lie, I was looking for you for half an hour before Alby pointed you out to me within ten seconds of rolling out of his hammock. The man knows things, I swear."

"Or you're just blind." Ada rolled her eyes, turning back to the wall. Finding her in the crowd was never exactly difficult. Not only was she the only girl there, but the red of her hair was noticeable from the other side of the glade.

"Mean," Minho jested as he came to stand beside her, looking up at the wall with a pensive expression. "What has you out here? This isn't normally your preferred sulking spot."

"Just reminiscing." She ran a hand over the first letter of her own name, remembering how scary and foreign the glade had seemed back then. Another lifetime ago, when it had only been the five of them, with only one body in the ground.

Minho's eyes found his own name and a small smile graced his lips. "Well, are you almost done? Alby says new Greenie will be here any minute, and we still gotta cover section seven today."

Ada sighed, lowering her hand. "Is this what life is always gonna be like for us?" She asked, shoving her hands into her pockets. Her fist closed around the wooden bird she kept with her at all times. "Just greeting new gladers and running the same corridors we've always run, knowing there's nothing there?"

Minho hesitated before shrugging. "You said it yourself, it's not so bad. We have a life here, a pretty good one. Friends, family, a home."

"You're really happy living with that for the rest of your life?" Ada gestured to the rest of the glade. "Happy with just this, being constantly monitored and watched, all our supplies handed to us, not in control of anything that happens?" She knew the answer, she knew Minho wasn't the type to sit idly and be content with a life trapped the way they were.

A gilded cage was still a cage, and no matter how they dressed up the glade with their bonfires and laughter it didn't change the fact that their home was a prison.

"No, I guess I'm not. I just don't really know what else to do. We finished mapping, we finished running. It's like there's a vital piece of the puzzle we haven't been given yet and we're just waiting for someone to hand it to us."

Ada looked up at him for a moment before slumping forwards, her forehead thudding onto his chest as she groaned. Minho let out a shocked laugh as his hand came up to pat her back. "This sucks."

"Is certainly one way of putting it." He tugged on the end of her ponytail, drawing her attention back up to his face. "Keep your head up, okay? We'll figure it out."

Or we just keep running and running until we all end up dead.

She wasn't about to voice that thought out loud.

"Have you, uh," She trailed off, rubbing the skin at her neck nervously, "have you talked to Newt recently? I haven't seen him today."

"Your boyfriend's fine, promise." Minho winked down at her, shooting her a grin she didn't return.

"He's not my – you know what? Never mind, forget I asked." She turned to walk towards the map room, and Minho followed instantly.

"He still not talking to you?"

"He hasn't so much as looked at me for three weeks now." Ada shook her head, the frown that seemed to permanently grace her face twisting deeper as she cast her eyes to the ground. "I don't know what to do about it. Every time I try to talk to him he flees the room like his ass is on fire."

"I've seen him do it, very impressive considering his leg." When Ada shot him a glare, he patted her shoulder sympathetically. "He'll come round. You just gotta give him time."

"Don't know how much more time I can give him before I go insane."

"Before you go insane?" Minho quirked a disbelieving eyebrow. "And here I thought we crossed that bridge a long time ago. Give us a warning before the psychotic break occurs, yeah? Don't think I could handle you if you got any more loco than you already are."

"Is this supposed to be comforting? Because you're having the opposite effect on me, if you can believe it." She shouldered open the door to the map room, sighing in relief when she found it empty. She wasn't sure she was ready to face anyone else at the moment.

"I'm a very soothing presence." Minho shrugged. "But seriously, Ada, we all made the choice not to tell him. We have to deal with the consequences of it. We knew he'd find out eventually."

"Oh yeah? Has he been icing you and Alby out completely as well?"

"No, but he doesn't feel for us the way he does about you."

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Seeing her confused expression, Minho cast his eyes skyward, seemingly praying for patience. "Lord, why did you have to land me with the two idiot ones? Ada, let me lay it out for you. Newt cares about you in a way he doesn't care about the rest of us."

"Don't say that," Ada shook her head, "Newt cares about everyone here. We're his family, he loves all of you."

"Yes, but not like he loves you."

Ada leant against the table, at a loss for words. "I honestly don't know what you're on about."

"He cares about all of us, would die for any of us in a heartbeat I'm sure – well, except for Dave, he'd set that shank on fire himself – but you're the person he relied on, opened up to the most, trusted the most."

Ada swallowed heavy, tears burning the back of her eyes. She looked away quickly, suddenly finding the ground the most interesting thing in the room.

"I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty." Minho crossed the room, taking her gloved hands in his. "I'm saying it to make you understand why he's acting the way he is. He'll come round eventually, he just needs more time."

Ada remembered wishing, nearly two months ago now, that Newt had been kind enough to be cruel about the distance he had wanted from her. But now that he was shutting her out completely, she wanted desperately to go back to the fleeting glances and reserved looks, for even they were better than the reception she was getting at the moment.

"I hope you're right." She said eventually.

"It's Minho, I wouldn't count on it." Alby's voice interrupted from the doorway as she shouldered his way into the room, arms stacked heavy with the maps he had taken back to his hammock that night to study. "What were we talking about?"

"Newt."

"Ah, about that-" Alby said sheepishly.

"I was meaning to talk to you, actually," Ada interrupted, pushing away from the model to take some of the maps out of his hands. "I was thinking, about what happened with Newt, and how we all know that there's no way out of here, and-"

"Ada, hang on-"

"I want to tell the rest of the glade that we finished mapping." She said, right as the door swung open again.

"Alby, got the paper you wanted-" Newt cut himself off, eyes immediately landing on Ada. His carefree attitude immediately dissolved, warping instead to something standoffish and cold. He looked thinner, face gaunt, hair mussed and purple bruises weighing down his eyes. Had he been sleeping? Or eating? She didn't know, and was terrified to ask.

"Thanks," Alby said wearily, looking between the two of them with narrowed eyes. "So, you want to tell the rest of the glade? Are you sure that's smart?"

Newt's expression shuttered, and for the first time in nearly a month he didn't immediately leave when he was in the same room as her. Instead he watched her carefully, as if waiting for her answer. Ada swallowed heavily, hands fidgeting at her sides, before nodding. "I think it might be a good idea."

Newt shook his head and turned around, slamming the door behind him.

Ada grimaced and followed him without thinking, ignoring the halfhearted protests of Alby and Minho. The sun hit her the second she stepped outside – it was jarring after the cool darkness of the map room, and the light that hit her eyes almost blinded her. "Newt, Newt wait-"

"Piss off, Ada." He said without looking back.

"Can you just wait for a second?"

He didn't bother responding, nor did he bother to look back.

Ada picked up her pace, coming around his front to cut him off before he could get too far. "Newt, wait, listen, please."

"Ada," he looked directly into her eyes for a second, no trace of emotion in them whatsoever, as if he had flicked a switch and took away everything that made him the kindhearted and gentle friend she had grown so used to. "I do not want to talk to you. How much clearer do I need to be about that?"

It felt as if someone had taken a dagger and thrust it into her chest, and she was fairly sure she hadn't been this stressed even when she had come face to face with a Griever during her night in the maze. "It's nearly been a month, will you just hear me out?"

"I did hear you out, remember?" Newt scoffed sardonically. "Not good enough. Now please, leave me the bloody hell alone."

"I thought you'd be happy." She argued, taking a step to the right to block him when he tried to move around her. "That I wanted to tell everyone. I thought you'd be pleased." Wasn't that what he was mad about, after all? That she had kept such a colossal secret to herself?

"Pleased? You thought I'd be pleased?" He spat. "Ada, the only reason you want to tell everyone is because you're feeling guilty that you didn't tell me. You only want them to know so you can ease your own guilt, not because you think they actually deserve to know you've been lying to them all. They deserve better than that and you know it. I deserve better than that, damn you."

"Newt-" Her hand shot out to grab his arm, but he wretched himself out of the way before she could touch him. Something flashed across his face that she couldn't identify.

"Don't." He looked away quickly, jaw clench, eyes fixed on the Homestead. Ada withdrew her hand quickly. His voice was much quieter when he spoke again. "Leave me alone, Ada. I'm serious."

He was walking away before she could stop him, but she found that she didn't want to. She didn't want to see him looking at her that way again – she wasn't sure she could stomach it.

When she returned to the Homestead the conversation between Alby and Minho stopped abruptly, and both of them looked at her with identical expressions of curiosity. Ada winced, looking up at Minho. "That went... well?"

"Sure, sweetie." He patted her arm. "Sure."

"I don't think we should tell the rest of the glade." Alby said after a beat of heavy silence, his shoulders tense as he crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, Ada, but I really think this should stay between us."

"Alby, it's been six months. Six months of rerunning the maze, looking for a way out, and there isn't one. We've nearly finished mapping it again, we only have three more sections left to go, do you really think there's going to be anything there we didn't spot the first time? We know every inch of that place, every square foot and blasted corridor, don't you think the others deserve to know that we're not getting out of here anytime soon?"

"You're the one who didn't want anyone to know." Alby said. "You said they needed that hope, that sense of security, that this place would fall apart without it. Why are you changing your mind now?" Realisation lit up his eyes before she could answer. "Because of Newt. Ada, I get that you're feeling guilty, but I refuse to let this get out of hand. As far as I'm aware, the only people who need to know about this are the people in this room, and Newt. That's it."

"What about Ben?" Minho asked. "He's been a runner for nearly a month now, don't you think he deserves to know?"

"No." Alby shook his head. "He's a good man, but I don't trust him not to blab. This needs to stay between us, just like we decided. Alright?"

Ada and Minho shared a heavy glance before nodding.

Alby crossed his arms, clasping his hands together. "Alright. Minho, I want you to go and see the new Greenie. Newt told me he's out of the box and already remembers his name, which is good. Said it was Sigs or Siggy or something."

Minho snickered, so Ada stomped hard on his foot. "Ow – Jesus christ, woman, what did I say about warning me about the psychotic break? Good lord." When she raised her eyebrows in challenge, Minho backed away with his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright, I'll go see to the new Greenie. New shanks are remembering their names faster and faster these days, what are the creators feeding them?" He muttered as he left, shutting the door with a solid click behind him.

Ada sank back against one of the tables, not liking the sudden silence that descended over them. She looked up quickly when Alby leant against the table next to her, looking at her with that damned all knowing expression that she resented the more he stared at her. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"You know damn well what. Wipe that stupid smirk off your face."

"I'm not smirking."

"You're either smirking or having a stroke, so if you need me to get Clint and Jeff tell me now. If not, then pack it in."

Alby let out a delighted laugh. "I've missed that attitude of yours. You've been so mopey lately."

"Not mopey," Ada said defensively, "how dare you, I've been delightful company."

"That why Newt runs out of the room whenever you enter it?"

Ada stiffened, "No, Alby, he does that because I lied to him and he found out about it. Catch up."

Alby raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright... We need to talk about that, you know?"

Ada shook her head. "All due respect, Alby, I really don't want to talk about this with you. Or anyone, for that matter."

"What happened between you two?"

"Nothing."

"Not what it looks like from where I'm sitting." Alby nudged her shoulder with his, looking down at her with serious eyes. "Listen, whatever's going on between you two is your business. If you really don't wanna talk about it with me, then fine, I'll drop it. But it's hurting you, anyone with a pair of eyes and half a brain can put that together, and I don't like to see you hurting. So if you want to tell me, I'm here for you. Alright?"

Ada considered him for a moment – the gentle look in his serious eyes, the open expression on his face, the small smile curving his lips. Avin was the only other person she had ever seen him treat so kindly, so gently. At that moment, she would have told him anything.

"He's pissed because I didn't tell him about the maze. Understandably so. But it's more than that."

"I had a feeling." Alby smirked, but his face quickly became stoic again when she levelled him with an unimpressed look.

"We might have, sort of, kissed?"

"Yes," Alby curled his lip in disgust, "your sickening display at our one year celebration, I remember. Unfortunately. I had a nice little chat with him afterwards, don't you worry."

Ada looked up at him with a horrified expression, mortification slamming into her. "You didn't."

"'Course I did. Can guarantee you the shank won't be doing that again."

Ada grimaced sheepishly.

Alby stiffened. "Are you kidding me? When?!"

"In the Council Hall-"

"Oh my god, that's what you were doing in there?!"

"You were the one that interrupted us, what did you think we were doing?"

Alby groaned dramatically, sinking his head into his hands. "I thought you were arguing, or chatting, or needed some space, not that, not kissing, oh ew-"

"It's not ew!" Ada exclaimed, suddenly getting offended.

"It most certainly is." Alby lowered his hands and raised a rather judgemental eyebrow at her. "Do I need to punch him? I will do it."

"No you don't need to punch him, don't be ridiculous." Ada rolled her eyes, exasperated.

Alby looked at her closely for a second, seeing the dark bags smudged under her eyes and the remnants of sadness she couldn't wipe off her face.

"I don't get it." She said after a while. "You and Minho kept it from him too, and it doesn't seem to bother him. I mean, I get that it was my call and that it is mostly my fault, but I don't understand why he isn't angry at you two as well. Not that I'm not glad for it, he's an ass when he's pissed off."

"I think Minho might have been right earlier." Alby ignored the shocked delight on Ada's face and pushed on. "He cares about you, differently than he cares about us. I think he never even considered the idea of you lying to him and it threw him off. I mean, the one person who you trust explicitly has been lying to you for months, you're telling me you wouldn't be angry too?"

"Of course I would." Ada nodded. "I'm not mad that he's angry. I deserve to be on the receiving end of it."

"You were trying to protect him." Alby gently took her hand in his, squeezing it comfortably. "You were doing what you thought was right. That's all anyone can ask of you really. He'll understand that one day."

Ada looked up at him, throat suddenly tight, and had never been more thankful that he was by her side. She smiled as she leant her head against his muscular bicep. "I really hope you're right."