chapter fourteen:
Run

"Why?" Elizabeth asked Nick. The boy with brown hair to his shoulders that was also the Leader of the Glade. Asked Elizabeth to make tomato soup for dinner. It didn't even seem like five minutes since lunch was served and since Elizabeth was able to think about anything other than the note.

"Because I got a craving," Nick answered like it was nothing.

"So ya want me to serve tomato soup tonight to the whole Glade, just because ya have a craving?" Elizabeth asked, trying to hold back the smile that was trying to escape.

"Yes," Nick answered, which finally got Elizabeth to smile. She agreed to the tomato soup and told Nick a bye before she entered the Kitchens.

"Frypan, we should serve tomato soup tonight," Elizabeth suggested. Frypan agreed and let Elizabeth enjoy some free time. The female Glader just didn't know that Frypan was in on Luke and Ash's plan.

"Lizzie!" Elizabeth turned around and noticed her young friend running up to her.

"Yes, Chuck?" She asked confused since she thought he had to do his job as a Slopper. The job that she didn't want the poor boy to have.

"Clint needs you in the Homestead." Chuck unformed Elizabeth. She nodded her head before she headed towards the Homestead.

"Lizzy!" Newt called out for his twin. Elizabeth froze in her tracks and wondered where Newt has been in the past couple of days. She also wondered why he was the second person to stop her.

"Yes, person number two?" Elizabeth asked for the second time.

"I finally thought of a joke that can beat yours!" Newt yelled in excitement causing his twin to chuckle.

"Go on then."

"Why did the tomato blush?" Newt asked Elizabeth, eager to see her reaction.

"I don't know," Elizabeth answered, waiting for Newt.

"Because he saw the salad dressing!" Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at her brother's joke. They both bent over laughing while holding their stomachs before Elizabeth thought of a pun.

"That's the sealiest thing I've ever heard." Elizabeth joked, laughing a bit more. Soon the second in command, Alby, joined them.

"What happened to your 'order', Newt?" Alby asked, rolling his eyes. Elizabeth couldn't help but chuckle a bit as Newt's face burned red.

"I was telling Lizzy to go to the Med-jacks but she then told this joke." Newt lied, causing Elizabeth to glare at him.

"What was the joke?" Alby asked, curious to see if it was even funny. Elizabeth smiled and continued on her way to the Homestead. She quickly looked behind her to see Alby and Newt laughing which caused her to smile even wider.

Once Elizabeth was on the second floor, she started to poke her head in each room looking for Clint. On her fourth time, she found Jeff instead who was treating someone.

"Jeff, by any chance have you seen Clint?" Elizabeth asked before she saw who he was treating. "Ash? How can you even get hurt this fast?"

"Some shank didn't see my hand and made a cut on my hand. Wait, you do know I'm a Slicer? I've seen you kill the chickens in the Blood house." Ash explained. The blond girl thought about it hard until she realized that she has in fact seen Ash in the Blood house before.

"Clint is two rooms over," Jeff answered Elizabeth's question. The female Glader nodded her head before saying a bye and heading to the other room to see what the Keeper of Med-jacks wanted. She tripled knocked before she slowly entered the room. But instead of entering herself, she felt hands on her back, pushing her inside and closing the door behind her. She instantly turned around and tried to open the door but it wouldn't budge.

"I SWEAR TO MERLIN THAT I WILL STRANGLE WHOEVER PUSHED ME IN HERE!" Elizabeth yelled while she continued to attempt to open the door. She let out a huff after she realized that she wasn't leaving the room anytime soon. So she went ahead and sat on the bed and stared at the door. Not a minute later did the door open and another body was thrown in the room. Elizabeth immediately jumped to her feet, since she was going to run to the door to escape. Instead, the door shut behind the person and Elizabeth immediately knew she was stuck in the room with someone else. That was until she realized that it was Minho.

"Beth?" Minho asked confused.

"Minho? Do you know what's going on?" Elizabeth also asked.

"Not a clue." Minho replied before they both sat on the bed.

"So, uh. . . What do we do?" Elizabeth asked trying to think of something. She didn't know what they had to do to get out since it seemed like the whole thing wasn't really thought out.

"Beats me. Nick just told me to come here and the next thing I know, some shank pushes me in here." Minho explained his story. Elizabeth nodded her head while she tried to figure out who would push them in the room. Then it slowly came to her.

"Did Luke or Ash asked you a question? Something like 'Do you like Elizabeth?'" The blond girl asked. Minho furrowed his eyebrows, slowly putting the pieces together.

"Yes," Minho replied.

"Ash asked me a similar question. Then the next thing we know is that Luke asked to go into the Maze. Ash is here getting 'wounds' treated. Frypan let me leave the Kitchens early, Chuck told me to come here because Clint asked me to come. Then Nick told you to come." Elizabeth stated fact after fact while the wheels in her head turned.

"So that means that they wouldn't have done this unless we both said yes to the question," Minho muttered. Both of their eyes widen before turning towards each other.

"You like me!?" They both yelled at the same time. Their eyes held a glaze with each other while their hearts started to beat faster.

"Wait, does this mean that Ash and Luke are trying to hook us up?" Elizabeth asked.

Minho simply nodded his head while his eyes stared into Elizabeth's brown/green eyes before they drifted to her lips. She took notice of the gestures that Minho was doing with his eyes. Before she could even move her eyes to copy the action, Minho had already cupped her lips with his own. His hands were holding on Elizabeth's cheeks while Elizabeth's arms made there way around his neck. Elizabeth's heart fluttered, her stomach melted while she copied the lip action. It didn't take long before they pulled apart for air, unaware that there was a beetle blade watched everything.

Minho rested his forehead against Elizabeth's while they took deep breaths. Million little thoughts ran through Elizabeth's mind. For example; What happens now? Do they now have a label? Do they act like nothing happened after they leave the room? Was it a one-time thing?

"What now?" Elizabeth whispered like it was their little secret. A little secret that they were keeping until they knew what was going to happen.

"I don't know," Minho whispered back. Silence took over them. Elizabeth switched positions so she was in Minho's arms while they laid on the bed. She felt Minho's grip around her tighten while they stared straight ahead.

"I like this." Elizabeth stated.

"I do too, Beth." Minho replied.

***

If it wasn't for the sound of the Doors opening, Elizabeth would still be sound asleep. Sadly it did wake her up and to find herself alone in the room. She let out a sigh before she got off the bed and left the room. Slowly she brushed her hair with her fingers before she gave up and put it up in a messy bun. Her slow steps weren't slow enough as she found herself in the Kitchens.

"You're late," Frypan commented while cooking breakfast. Elizabeth let out a sigh before she stood next to Frypan, helping with the food.

"Sorry. I just finally was able to get a good night of sleep." Elizabeth explained while she toasted the bread and kept an eye on the bacon. Poor pig, may it rest in peace.

"Mhm. So what happened to you and Minho? All Ash and Luke told me was that they unlocked the door to see the two of you asleep." Frypan confirmed Minho and Elizabeth's thoughts and prediction.

"So I was right. And nothing happened, we just snogged." Elizabeth paused afterward, wondering if it meant that they were dating. She really really liked Minho now that she thought about it more and especially since she felt something other than pain. Something that she felt during the kiss.

***

"Help!" A yell echoed through the Glade. Elizabeth immediately got up from her spot and ran towards the West Door. Her eyes widen as she saw Ben laying at the end of the corridors. Not even asking anyone for any help, Elizabeth took of sprinting inside the Maze. The Doors were going to close soon but she knew she had enough time to get Ben.

Once she reached Ben, she tried to lift him up. In the end, she wasn't strong enough. Her heart sunk deep into her stomach as she noticed that he was unconscious. But a scream escaped her lips once she saw Nick's torn up body. She instantly found strength in her and started to drag Ben's body. His body grew lighter which made Elizabeth realize that someone was helping her. They were able to get Ben out of the Maze before the Doors closed.

Elizabeth collapsed onto the floor, holding her knees to her chest while she let tears escape her eyes. She was the only one who probably seen Nick's torn body since she was able to drag Ben's body a good distance away. The memory of the body in the corridors broke her, destroying whatever image that made her look strong. She felt strong arms wrap around her while whispering lies to her.

"Everything is going to be okay, Beth."

○●●●

While rereading the Maze Runner and reading Minho fan fiction. I realized that Nick was the leader before Alby so I had to go back and fix a few things. Sorry about that.

Harry Potter reference :-)

This has to be the longest chapter I wrote so far. But I'm crying because of Minbeth and Nick. (I imagine Nick being played by Nick Robinson because why not?)

Thank you for 400 reads! Thanks for sticking through my writing that I like to call klunk. I love you all!

JMC