Disclaimer: I give James Dashner full credit for the Maze Runner Trilogy. The only character I own is Kelley.

That night, Newt had refused to leave my side. Alby allowed him to sleep in a chair next to my bed but needed to have a few words with him tomorrow. 

I knew what they would talk about. They would talk about me. I wondered how Newt planned to work his way around Alby's rule. I didn't want him to lose his title as second-in-command just because of me.

Newt fell asleep before I did. He was adorable. He had slouched down in the chair with his arms folded across his chest. His head hung backward and his mouth was slightly open. I watched him until I finally couldn't stay awake any longer.

I had a nightmare. I was being chased by twenty or so grievers in the maze. I ran back to the Glade and got to the Homestead, but the maze doors didn't close. Grievers ran everywhere, killing everyone and destroying everything. I even watched them rip Newt apart. Then they got to me and started ripping my leg to shreds.

I woke up in a cold sweat and started crying. The pain in my leg had been real. It was acting up for some reason. I didn't know if it was because I had moved in my sleep, but it felt like my leg was being stabbed and torn apart all over again.

I hadn't realized Newt was awake until I felt a hand on my arm.

"Oh. Newt. It's you. I'm sorry. It's just my leg."

"Are you sure? I heard you mumbling in your sleep."

Darn. I didn't want to tell him that I had a nightmare. I was already vulnerable enough. I didn't need any more of his pity.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just...my leg."

Newt was silent for a while, "Alright." He put his hand in mine, "Hold onto me."

"Okay. Thank you." I gave his hand a little squeeze.

He leaned over and kissed my forehead.

"Try to get some sleep now, love."

I smiled and closed my eyes, pretending to fall asleep. The truth was, I knew I wouldn't fall back asleep. Not after seeing Newt being murdered by the only things I truly feared so far. It was a horrifying sight that I prayed would never happen. I only pretended in order to comfort Newt. I had to at least make him think I would be fine.

Time passed slowly and soon I could feel the light of the sun as it rose. There was a knock on my door and Newt got up.

When he opened the door I heard Minho's voice.

"We need to talk." He said.

"Alright, but be quiet. She's still sleeping." Newt went out into the hallway and closed the door.

I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I could only hear the mumbling of a conversation. I couldn't tell who was who, but the conversation suddenly got very heated. Eventually, they were talking so loud I could actually hear the words. Newt was the first one to start yelling.

"Shuck it, Minho! She's being a bloody Track-hoe and staying with me. I don't want her getting hurt again, so just slim it." 

It almost hurt me to hear him so angry, especially towards Minho.

"I told you I was sorry, but that was the fastest shucking Griever there ever was, and it was just Kelley's first day. She was amazing, you should have seen her out there. She knows what it takes to be a Runner. When she's better, we'll send her back into the maze." Minho said.

"Send her back into the maze? Are you bloody kidding me? What makes you think she'll want to go back into the maze? What makes you think I'll let her?"

"Look, I'm sorry that I couldn't keep the Griever from getting her. I know you're angry at me for not protecting her better, but I tried my best."

"Well, your best wasn't good enough, slinthead. She's staying with me, and not going back out in that bugging maze no matter what you do or say."

I couldn't stand it anymore, I had to break the conversation. 

"Newt?" 

"Great, you bloody woke her up."

Newt opened the door and walked in, followed by Minho.

"Sorry about that, Greenie." Minho stood at the edge of my bed with his arms folded.

I looked at him. "Shouldn't you be out running already?"

He lifted up his wrist and checked the time. "I've got a few more minutes. I just needed to have a few words with Newt."

Yeah, a few loud words.

I wondered why Minho would still want me as a Runner. I know I was decent, but this was unnecessary. He should know I want nothing to do with the maze by now. 

Newt wasn't exactly helping my case either. Sure, he wanted to protect me and make sure I never got hurt again, but there was no sense in yelling at Minho about it.

"I also wanted to check up on you and see how you were doing," Minho added.

I was slightly surprised.

"I thought you said you weren't going to grace my presence very often. Should I consider this a blessing?" I smirked at him.

Minho stared at me for a while and then smiled a bit, "You're a strange one, Greenie."

I smiled, "Thanks. Have fun prancing around like a shuck idiot out there."

He shook his head and left. I thought I heard him laughing, but I wasn't sure. I looked at Newt who still seemed very perturbed by Minho's visit.

"You should go easier on him," I said.

"How much did you hear?" Newt asked avoiding the topic.

"Enough to know that you want me to be a Track-hoe but Minho thinks otherwise."

"Easily the most slinthead idea he's had."

"Newt, like it or not, Minho did save me. Please, go easy on him." 

Newt paused and grabbed my hand. "Okay, I'll go easy, but you're not going back in that maze."

"Trust me, I wasn't even having second thoughts about going back out there. I highly doubt that I'll even be able to run properly after this..."

I stared at my leg. What Minho had told me about it had bothered me. What if my leg doesn't heal correctly? What if the first step I take snaps my bone in two and I can never walk again? It scared the living daylight out of me. I wondered how long I would have to wait until I felt confident about walking. But if I wait too long, I wouldn't even have the muscle to do so at that point.

Newt snapped me out of my thoughts.

"You'll be okay. Trust me. I went through the same thing when I broke my leg, and look at me. Sure I have a limp, but you get used to it after a while. We can have klunk legs together."

I smiled. "We could start a club."

He smiled and laughed a little. "A club?"

"Yeah, the 'Klunk Legs Club'. How does that sound?" 

"Absolutely horrendous." He was chuckling like crazy.

"Aww, that's mean!" I smacked his arm playfully. "I thought it was a nice one."

We both laughed for a while. Then he brushed a piece of hair out of my face and kissed my cheek. I probably blushed hard enough to make a tomato feel pale. It was so nice to have Newt here with me. It made the pain bearable. 

"Do you want me to get us breakfast?" Newt asked.

"Yes please, I'm starving."

He nodded and went to the door.

"Don't burn the place down while I'm gone."

I snapped, "Curses, you've foiled my plot against the Homestead."

He laughed and walked out the door.

I was left to my lonesome now. Nothing to do except watch the world light up outside my window. 

Something was starting to bother me. I wasn't sure what it was or where it was coming from. There was a nagging feeling at the back of my brain. I couldn't place it. I knew I was forgetting something, something important. Then again there were a lot of things that I couldn't remember. Most of them were incredibly important. 

My family.

My friends.

Where I had lived.

What I did with my life.

If I was a good person or not.

But this was slightly different. It was like something was trying to reach to me. Like someone was trying to tell me something. 

It was almost as if I were playing charades, yet the person I was supposed to watch was on the other side of a one-way mirror. They could see me and were trying anything within their power to warn me, but I couldn't see them. All I could guess was that there was someone on the other side and they had something to say.

What was the world like outside of the Glade? Why were we confined in here? What purpose could this possibly serve to the people who sent us here? 

The answer couldn't have been that justified.

Who sends kids into a maze to suffer and die?

Then that song came back to my mind. Still no words, just a tune, and a feeling.

I had had something before this life. I had people who I cared about and who cared about me. Could they see me? Were they close by? Could they possibly help me out of this place?

I had so many questions and no way to receive an answer. I wanted answers so bad, yet I was afraid of what they might be. There were so many possibilities, so much I didn't know about where I was and why I was there.

I only knew a few things. I had loved people and they loved me, and I was taken away from them by whoever put me here. I would make these people pay for what they did. That was guaranteed. I promised myself that I'd make them regret the day they separated me from my family. I'd force them to give me back my memories. Surely, if they had the technology to take them away it would be just as easy to return them.

I thought about the song again and the strong tie I had to it. There had to be words, something in that song that would bring back some sort of memory. A memory of something. 

I'd take anything at this point. A sandwich restaurant that I ate at often. The school I went to. A teacher I didn't like. A stuffed animal I slept with. Maybe a pet I had once.

The more and more I thought about it, the more it hurt my head and my heart. There was so much missing, so much that I needed.

The door opened and snapped me out of my trance.

"Hope you like scrambled eggs and hash browns." Newt smiled as he held the two food trays.

I smiled a little bit, "Thanks."

He walked over and gave me my food, then stared at me for a while.

"You alright?"

I started eating my eggs, "Yeah, I was just..." I waved my hand in the air trying to think of the right way to put it. "...lost in thought."

He nodded slowly, "Well, I talked to Alby a bit."

Oh dear, here we go.

"What did he say?"

"Well...he's not very happy with me."

I looked up at him. 

"But he's making an exception."

I dropped my fork, "You're kidding."

He smiled a bit, "No, not this time. Alby...he understood. He told me that if it were any other Glader, they would have been thrown in the slammer and never let out until they began to decompose."

I laughed a little. That was very much an Alby thing to say. 

I could tell Newt had more.

"But?" I asked.

"But since he's known me so long and has never seen me as shaken up as I was yesterday, he knew you were more important to me than anything. There's only one condition."

"What is it?"

"We can't tell anyone and we can't make it too obvious."

I smirked, "So we're like secret lovers?"

He shook his head and chuckled a little, "Yes, secret lovers."

I ate some of the hash browns. They were dry and needed ketchup.

"This'll be fun," I said.

"Fun for you maybe. I wish I wouldn't have to hide it from everyone else. It limits how much I can kiss you."

I blushed, "Oh..yeah I guess so."

He chuckled a little and we ate our food in silence. 

The time came that Alby walked in and told Newt he needed to get to work. Newt nodded and kissed me on the cheek. 

Alby groaned, "I thought I told you I didn't want any of that, you shank."

Newt scowled at him a little, "Well you already know, so I don't see as to why I can't kiss my girlfriend in front of you. The point was to keep everyone else from knowing."

Alby shook his head, "Another thing I just gotta say before things go too far. I don't want any Glader babies, okay? Keep it appropriate."

I cringed, "Alby, what the shuck."

Newt blushed a little, "That's a little too far, you slinthead."

Newt got up and walked out of the room. Only Alby stayed.

"I guess I should thank you."

He raised an eyebrow, "For what?"

"For letting me and Newt be together. I thought for sure it would have been a no."

Alby glowered at me. I knew it was the same expression he had always given to me, but somehow it didn't seem as harsh. There was a subtle softness to it I hadn't noticed before. Alby really does care about all of us Gladers, despite what he says to your face.

"Don't go thinking I did it for you. I did it for Newt. I don't understand why he sees so much in you, but he does and I've tried shucking hard to fix that. Just...don't break his heart, good that?"

I nodded, "Good that."

He stared at me for a while as if trying to sense if I was lying, then he left the room.

I was finally starting to see behind Alby's tough shell. He was a real softy on the inside. I wasn't going to be able to look at him the same way knowing how much he cares about what happens to Newt. The only thing that bothered me was that he thought I'd be the one to hurt Newt. That I'd be the one to cause problems instead of keeping them from happening.

Then again, I was still a bit new and the first girl they'd ever had. I knew Alby wasn't going to trust me until I had proven myself multiple times. Once wouldn't be enough for this guy. He was almost like a protective grandpa who had been hardened by war but softened by the love he has for his grandchildren. 

Dare I say that it's kind of cute? 

Hours passed, leaving me in solitude. 

Frederick returned and I updated him on the condition of my leg and how Newt and I had gotten together. 

He squealed like a six-year-old girl. 

Frederick was annoying, but I was glad to have something to keep me entertained as the hours dragged on. 

Eventually, lunch rolled around and Clint brought me some food. He kept me company for a while, checking up on my leg and making sure the wound hadn't been infected. After a while, he had to leave. I wasn't sure why, but he left and I resorted back to Frederick as my only source of entertainment.

I counted down the hours until I could be with Newt again.

Newt's P.O.V.

Time seemed to move so slow. All I wanted was to go back to Kelley and make her laugh. Her laugh is bloody gorgeous. 

I couldn't stand the idea of her being up in that room all alone the entire day. I was worried she would start to get depressed. It comes naturally when you're stuck in a place as close to hell as this. 

The look she had on her face when I came back to give her breakfast scared me. Something was bothering her and she wasn't telling me. I wanted to make her happy and let her know everything would be alright. She had done so much for me, more than I could ever tell her. I needed to make it up to her. I needed to see her smile. I needed to make her understand that as long as I was there, she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

I yanked a weed from the ground and dusted the dirt off my hands. I looked over at the Homestead. She was so close yet so far. I wondered if I would get in trouble if I left for a while to talk to her.

Then Alby called for me.

"Hey get your shank butt over here."

I cursed my luck and walked over. 

"What do you want?"

He nodded towards the Deadheads, "Walk with me."

I wasn't sure what was going on, but I followed anyway.

Alby finally talked after a few yards, "I want to talk about the Greenie." 

Again? I was getting really fed up with this topic. I was beginning to think it was Alby's favorite.

"Look, Alby. I know the bloody rules. I know what you want me to do. Now can we shucking drop this?"

He scrunched his eyebrows together, "Don't jump the gun, you shank. I wanted to talk about her job."

I felt stupid.

"Oh. Well, what about it?"

"I wanted to ask for your opinion first since you seem to be the only one who cares a klunk ton about it."

"Make her a Track-hoe. I want her close so I can keep an eye on her."

He nodded, "I'll keep that in mind. Anyone else I should talk to?"

Not Minho. That shank couldn't think of a bright idea to save his life.

"Zart, Clint, maybe Frypan. I heard they had good things to say about her."

"What about Minho?"

My heart skipped a beat. 

"What about him?"

"I thought he said she did pretty good out there."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Alby, what the shuck is running through your brain? You know we can't send her back out into the maze."

He shrugged, "I'll see how I feel after talking with Minho. You know what I think about making Kelley a Runner. She's definitely different and we need all the help we can get out there."

My stomach churned and I clenched my fists. This couldn't happen. I wasn't going to let it. I had to snuff out this idea before Minho got to Alby. Something told me if they talked long enough, Kelley would be a Runner and there would be no changing that. 

"Alby," My voice came out bitter and harsh, "She's not going to be a Runner. Look at her. Do you really think she'll ever be in proper enough shape go back out there and run every day for the rest of her life? We have countless other Gladers we can choose from to become Runners, why choose her? This is bloody ridiculous. I can't let you do this to her."

He stared at me for a while, "How much of that was your own fear instead of hers?"

I was slightly taken aback. "What do you mean?"

His voice began to rise. "You know very well what I shucking mean, Newt. Is this because she's scared of getting hurt or because you're scared you'll lose her?"

I looked at him incredulously, "Does it make a difference?"

His face scrunched together in anger, "It makes all the difference. It means that maybe I should have decided to keep you two on opposite sides of the Glade instead of letting you have at it behind everyone's backs. Your attachment to her is getting in the way of finding our way out."

"No, it's not."

"Then you better suck it up."

"Why don't you bloody understand that this is what's best for her?"

"Because it's not. I'm the shucking leader, not you. Now slim it."

"No, I won't. Fine, I'll admit that the main reason I don't want her out there is that I'm afraid she might never come back, but that shouldn't be why you'll make her a Runner. It should be because she's the most capable out of all the Gladers, and right now she isn't. I know you don't fancy the idea much, but I need her. I need her and I don't expect you to understand why."

Alby wouldn't look at me. I felt myself starting to get desperate.

"I swear on my life I will find someone else to replace her as a Runner if you just promise that she'll stay in the Glade with me."

Alby went silent and the suspense was killing me. Even though I had known Alby more than any of the other Gladers, it was still a mystery as to what ran through that head of his.

He sighed, "You're a real shuck-face, you know that?"

I waited. I knew an answer was coming. Alby rubbed his face with his hands.

"Fine, she'll be a Track-hoe thanks to your constant whining."

"Thanks, Alby."

"Don't shucking mention it. Seriously."

I nodded and walked back to the Gardens. At that moment the Runners came back in. I couldn't wait to rub it in Minho's face that I had won.

Back to Kelley's P.O.V.

There was a knock on my door and I sat up slowly. I guess I had fallen asleep. I felt drool on the side of my mouth and wiped it off.

"Come in," I said.

Newt walked in and smiled.

"You alright there?" I asked.

"Your hair's an absolute mess." He sat in the chair beside me and ruffled my hair a bit.

I swatted away his hand, "Don't do that. You'll make it worse. Is there a brush somewhere around here or something?"

"I'm sure Clint has one for you lying around, but don't worry about it. You look cute." 

I blushed, "Thanks. So how was your day?"

He shrugged, "It had its ups and downs. But I have some good news for you."

"What? Is the wheelchair here?"

"No, that won't be here for another few days. It's actually about your job."

"My job? What is it?"

"You're going to be a Track-hoe with me. You'll start as soon as Clint says it's okay for you too."

I smiled, "That's great! I can't wait to start."

Then I thought of Minho and how keen he was on making me a Runner.

"I'm surprised Minho agreed to this,"

Newt's smile faded, "He didn't. Alby's probably telling him about it right now."

"So...you made the decision without Minho?"

Newt looked at me quizzically, "Yeah. What? Do you want to be a Runner all of a sudden?"

I shook my head, "No, of course not, but I just thought that it was kind of a rule for all of the Keepers to agree on the job before it was made final."

His face dropped, "Well that shuck idiot doesn't know what he's talking about." He shook his head and muttered to himself, "It's like they can't even think."

"Who's they?"

"Alby and Minho. Alby wanted to make you a Runner again. I swear, it's like they don't remember what happened to you out there. Your leg doesn't work and last time I checked you need both legs to bloody run."

I rested my hand on his arm, "Hey, it's okay. Like you said, I'm a Track-hoe now, so there's no sense in stewing over something that's already been resolved. I'm safe now thanks to you."

He looked at me and held my hand, "Sorry. I just worry about you too much."

"What's to worry about? I stay in a room all day, safe from grievers and safe from Gally."

He chuckled, a response I had wanted to get out of him.

"I'm in a safe place with safe people. Stop worrying and relax."

He sighed and smiled, "Alright, I'll try, but no promises."

The door started to open so I quickly let go of Newt's hand. Minho walked in. He looked glum and glared at Newt quickly before facing me.

"Hey, Minho."

"Hey," It was bland. I could tell he was trying not to show how upset he was, "I'm gonna need the watch back."

"Oh, right."

I had forgotten about the watch honestly. It also disappointed me that the only reason he came in here was to get it back.

I took it off and tossed it to him.

"Thanks," He walked out before I could say anything back.

"I see he took the news rather well," I said sarcastically.

Newt scowled at the door as if Minho was still there, "He can bloody deal with it."