CHAPTER TWENTY
• just a kiss •

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six months ago - WICKED headquarters

Thomas rushed down through the isles of glass cabinets, the only thing on his mind being to find Teresa. To find her and explain why he did it.

Why he give away their coordinates.

Why he lied about what he was doing during all the extra hours spent in the computer room.

Why he performed surgery on himself so his plan could work?

Why he toyed with her brain?

Why he betrayed them all?

He rounded one of the cabinets, being careful to not hit his shoulder on the glass and cause a commotion. Thomas knew he was being followed; he knew there wasn't much time before the guards found him and took him away. When that did happen, his fate would be put into Ava-or worse Jansons-hands.

Who knew what would happen to him then.

The blue lights surrounded him, reflecting off his irises as he scurried along the storage room. This was a place he rarely ever saw; there had never been a need for him to look at testing tubes, because his job had always been to build the mazes.

He knew he would find Teresa here, though. Unlike him, the girl always found herself examining and studying the small containers of liquids. Thomas wasn't stupid-he knew they were all of the failed cures that had been used on helpless citizens. Or what WICKED liked to call them-cranks.

Cranks were the people who were so badly infected with the flare that one could say they were gone.

They were brought in from all over the world; kidnapped and enslaved. Kind of the same concept as the test subjects for the maze trials, except these humans-if you could even call them that-stood no chance against humanity. In fact that was the very thing they were lacking.

The sound of a door opening startled him, and he quickly turned to the left to avoid being in eyesight. Thomas could make out the red lights that shined from the center of the room; he knew that's where Teresa would be.

His steps slowed as he saw her raven hair from across the room. A smile lit her face; her arms swinging to the side slightly. "Hey."

He moved quickly to be in front of her, keeping his distance but at the same time being close enough so he could whisper to her. "Did anyone see you come here?"

At his panicked words she seemed to finally realize that he wasn't coming to just have a friendly chat with her. Teresa shook her head, glancing around the room from the new paranoia that had arrived with his urgency. "No, what are you talking about?" she asked him softly.

"We don't have a lot of time," he confessed, his breaths now getting heavier with every word. His fate was soon arriving, he was about to forget everything.

Her eyes glanced into his with the same loving look that she had for a year or so. Not that he would've noticed by any means; she was cursed with the fact he was in love with someone else. Someone who was no longer with them.

"Thomas," she tried to understand, "what do you mean?"

"I just- I just needed to try to explain things before-" He was cut off by a black shadow passing behind two of them. Teresa pulled them over to hide behind another cabinet, attempting to hide from the guard.

"Just listen to me, okay?" Thomas begged, "Whatever they tell you about me. Whatever they say. I just need you to know...I had to do it."

She peered at him questionably, not quite sure what the words leaving his mouth meant. "What did you do?"

The silence was enough for the both of them to hear his tight breaths. Thomas shut his eyes for a second, thinking over the best way to word everything he needed to say in a single sentence or two. He could hear the footsteps getting closer to them, it would be any second now that they would find him.

"I couldn't keep watching them die," he muttered, "I couldn't keep watching her suffer."

"Thomas-"

"They don't deserve this, T," he cut her off, "you have to understand. I can get them out."

Teresa shifted her eyes between his face and the men who were charging up from behind him. "How?" she rushed out, knowing that there was indefinitely not enough time for this conversation.

The boy took a quick glance back, his eyes widening. "Evony," he spoke quickly, "her brain, I cracked a code and connected-"

"Over here!"

One strong guard grabbed ahold of one of Thomas' arms, sending him crashing back into the man. Somehow in the midst of all the chaos the gold chain necklace managed to slip out of his pocket and onto the floor in front of Teresa's feet. He was then pulled away from the girl before he had a chance to finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry," he called out, but she only stared back at him with an untrustworthy expression.

Thomas glanced back down at the star necklace. There was no way he was going to get that back.

And so he got pulled away and out of the room. He had met Jansons eye by the time they emerged from the doorway; he could tell that his fate had been sealed right then and there. However, Thomas knew Ratman wouldn't kill him, because the man needed him apparently. According to the doctors he was special.

That meant there was only one more place to go. It also meant that he was going to forget. He was going to forget everything that made him him. His friends, his life, his memories.

His girl.

Evs.

He didn't want to lose her, and as of right now could only pray that what he had done to both of their brains would be enough to restore their memories.

They made her forget; he was going to make her remember.

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Evony was drunk.

Maybe it was important to say how she got to her current state. Well, for starters, Evony barely ever drank enough to slip out of her awareness zone. Most of the time it was simply just her sipping on a jar of Gallys drink until the group decided everyone was going to go to bed.

However, she was stressed. It had been only one day since finding the letters on the bodies and she couldn't stop her mind from racing. She needed to calm down, and in her brain she decided that the best way would be to forget about everything for a night. So what if she did something stupid; she wouldn't remember it in the morning anyway.

After a long hour of Newt and Thomas trying to stop her and her grabbing another jar to drink in return, Evony had fallen to the ground and instantly began laughing with the other boys.

Thomas watched from his spot on the log, where he sat next to both Newt and Alec. He hadn't realized how much they cared about each other until that night. Sometimes he saw the pair pull each other closer or intertwine their fingers with each other. Anybody could tell that they were obviously in love; he was surprised he didn't notice it sooner.

Then again maybe he didn't have an eye for that type of stuff.

He watched as Evony messed around with her friends: Max, Minho, and Ben, and even Frypan who seemed to be scoring them. The four were tackling each other onto the ground, pinning back their arms to declare they had won the fight. Thomas heard the screams of cheering after every round; it seemed that she and Minho were dominating as a duo.

His eyes then glossed over to the fire where he watched the red and orange sparks flicker out of the flame and onto the charcoal ground. The light from the fire shone on the five gladers faces, bringing a sort of glow to them.

He probably could've stared at the fire all night if he hadn't heard the shrill gasp from across the fire. "What-" he asked out loud, but soon found the source of the sound anyway.

Evony came running up to him, carrying something small in her hands. The four other boys she had been with were following right on her tail. Thomas and Newt had just enough time to send each other a questioning look before the girl reached where they were sitting.

"Thomas, look!"

Her voice was unmistakably drowsy, her words already slurring together from the alcohol. If he hadn't grabbed her waist to stop her she would've collided right into the three of them on the log.

The first thing he noticed was the small animal that was inhabiting her hands. Evony had made it pretty clear for him to see, as it had been shoved in his face the moment they were both grounded.

"This is Gary the turtle," she informed with a bright smile on her face. The creature got shoved back towards his face again, "Isn't he adorable."

Thomas didn't even get a chance to answer before one of his friends had cut him off. Minho came up beside the girl, stealing the turtle out of her hands which resulted in a loud gasp of disbelief. "This isn't Gary; his name is Sheldon."

"Sheldon?" Fry jumped in, "No I'm pretty sure it's Gary."

Evony threw her hands as an act of annoyance, however, it also made her stumble. "Because that's his name! Do you idiots listen to anything?"

"Yes I do," Max slurred, "That's why his name is Sheldon and not Gary."

Newt, Thomas and Alec continued to watch the group go back and forth on what the name of the turtle was. The whole time the brunet kept one sturdy hand on the girl's waist; he didn't want to see her fall, and it was clear she could at any moment.

"His name is Gary!"

"No it's Sheldon, you slinthead!"

Evony pushed Minho-who at the time was holding the turtle-and stole the pet back from him. She pressed the dark green shell up to her cheek, smiling with satisfaction. "I found him; I should get to choose the name."

"It should be a group decision," Ben argued, his arms crossed over his chest.

She stumbled again this time falling back into Thomas' chest. Laughing with delight, Evony spun around to face the three boys. Her mouth then dropped open like she got the best idea in history, "You should choose!"

Thomas swore she couldn't smile any bigger if she tried; it was like she was walking on clouds without a care in the world. Then she grabbed onto one of his hands, and that's when he felt a little bit of the bliss himself.

"I don't know-" he tried.

Evony playfully hit him in the chest, "No, come on. Choose. Gary or Sheldon."

The brunet glanced back at Newt to see him hiding his smile with one of his hands; Alec too seemed to be covering up his laugh.

"Say Sheldon, shortie," Minho professed, "Before I take a pile of klunk and shove it right down your-"

"Min!" Evony exclaimed, latching onto Thomas' arm, "Be nice."

He felt his face flush a deep red.

Max brushed over his laugh with a serious tone, "Just choose. Sheldon-the obvious right choice-or Gary-the obvious wrong choice."

"I, uh-"

"Thomas," Evony pleaded, her voice taking on a softer tone to it.

He blinked at her, his mind fuzzing out just by the way she said his name. It was pathetic. "Yeah, yeah," he nodded unsurly, "I like Gary better."

Max, Minho and Ben grunted out in annoyance while Frypan and Evony cheered with accomplishment. Newt only patted the brunet on the back, gently laughing at the scenario he had just been put through.

The excitement didn't last long though, because merely three seconds later the topic changed once again. Max had suggested that everyone in their group should play a game together, and of course, the rest of the boys had agreed to the fun.

Thomas-along with everyone else-had taken a seat on the ground. The group of eight teenagers had formed a circle in which they sat in. Newt was on one side of him while Evony- who was quite energetic at the moment-was on the other

Frypan started, "Never have I ever stolen food from the kitchen." Everyone raised their hands with pride; the chef only scoffed.

Next was Ben, "Never have I ever skipped my job."

Surprisingly both Minho, Max's and Evonys hands rose at the same time, the three of them letting out drunk laughs while raising their eyebrows at each other.

The game went on like that for a little while. Thomas stayed quiet most of the time, letting the main four take over asking the questions-( they seemed to be the most into it anyway). It was estimately ten minutes later when he felt that the questions had started to become more personal than the first few had. His theory was confirmed when Evony asked her fifth question of the night.

"Never have I ever had sex in my hut," she asked, a fake serious look on her face.

Proudly, both Minho and Ben raised their hands together, latching their fingers at the top. Thomas tried not to laugh; he could tell Evony was disgusted, but the fact they had done so so proudly was what made it funny. They looked like two psychopaths sitting there with their wide grins.

The girl next to him grabbed a handful of dirt and sent it in their direction. The containments hit their faces, making both the boys wipe the brown from their eyes. Thomas was still laughing at him, and he knew it was a mistake from the moment his eyes met the keeper of the runners.

Minho smirked, "I see. How about 'never have I ever kissed someone'."

"That's not how you play, Min," Evony reprimanded, "You're supposed to say something you haven't done."

He just waved her off, "Who cares. I make my own rules."

And so the group began to put their fingers down one by one until everybody but him had done the action. Thomas felt like shrinking down into a hole. He was the only one who hadn't put a finger down and now he could feel all the eyes on him. Whether Minho had done that on purpose or not did not matter, the effects were still the same.

It was when Evony noticed that someone finally said something. She forcefully grabbed his hand, staring down at his fingers in pure shock. "You've never kissed anyone?"

"No," he twirled his thumbs in his lap, "I haven't."

She let out another small laugh, sliding closer to him. Then before he had time to think of what her next actions could be, the girl reached up to grab his face and connected their lips.

It might've been the shortest kiss in all of history, but it still happened.

Evony smiled at him and grabbed his hand, messing with his fingers, "Put your finger down."

Thomas stayed in shock, not being able to comprehend what just happened. She kissed him, but she only kissed him so he could join in on the game.

He felt Newt nudge him with his elbow. Turning to the blonde he saw his friend gesturing to Evony to ask what all happened. Again, he stayed silent, not knowing what to say and afraid that if he did speak that he would go on blabbering about how nice that one second when their lips met was.

Then came the second thought. Regret.

She's drunk, he told himself. She's completely gone and she did something she probably wouldn't have done if she was sober.

He glanced over to the girl; it didn't seem to be affecting her the way it was for him. Then again, she won't remember it in the morning so why would it matter.

The kiss didn't matter; it was for the game.

At least that's what he kept trying to tell himself.

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Evony puked again. Feeling her insides lurch like how they were right now had to be one of the worst feelings ever. It was worse than being woken up by a cold bucket of water-yes Minho had done that once.

Thomas kneeled down behind her as she did, holding back her hair so that it wouldn't get into her face.

"Are you feeling any better?" he asked her gently. His thumb absentmindedly rubbed down the small of her back, which helped to provide her some comfort.

"A lit-" She cut herself off by heaving once again, except this time nothing came out except for a bit of saliva. Evony could feel herself coming back to her senses every time her insides got removed. At least now she was at the point where she was aware of her surroundings; however, she couldn't in fact recall a single thing that had happened after she took a sip of her fourth drink.

Thomas had been incredibly sweet to her. He had realized that she wasn't feeling good so he had led her out to a spot in the woods that was away from the group. Now he was helping by keeping her hair up and offering small words of comfort.

After one more dry heave, Evony sat back on her butt, letting her back collide with Thomas' chest. He stroked the hair out of her face, softly smiling down at her. "Wanna go to bed or go back to our friends?"

"Bed," she responded immediately, sitting herself up and preparing to stand. Apparently Thomas still didn't trust that the alcohol was completely out of her body, because he insisted on helping her get onto her feet.

They walked her to her hut, and Thomas had her stay there while he went to go get her some clean clothes. It wasn't long until he came back with two pieces of articles in his hands.

He held them up, "Uh- well, I couldn't find any of your clothes so I just brought you some of mine." There was a pause, "If that's okay?"

Evony nodded a yes and took the outfit from his hands. It was one of his t-shirts that happened to be a tad big on her considering their small height difference, and a pair of sweatpants that every Glader had been sent up with.

She pulled both items on-trying the drawstring tighter since they were also a bit too big for her-then finally turned around to face the boy. "Well, I'm going to sleep," she began, "Goodnight, Thomas."

He nodded contently, his eyes shining with a sort of gleam to them, "Goodnight, Evs."

Evony then drifted off the sleep imagining herself pressing a small kiss on the boy's lips. Except for some reason it felt like more than just a figment of her imagination.

Thomas watched as the Grievers legs pinned her to the ground, the mouth eating away at her chest. He watched until he couldn't take it any longer. Then-with his heart in his throat-he turned around, hearing the last dying scream from the girl he loved.

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MAE's FUN NOTES
don't we all love the last
paragraph ❤️❤️❤️

anyway I know nobody
probably wanted another
drunk person chapter but
I thought it went along with
Evony being so tense and
wanting to destress.

Hope you enjoyed <3 Ily