"Listen, I've found you in stranger places," Minho admit, tossing down the stinky running shoes he'd been carrying into the soft grass. He put his hands on his hips and looked down to the girl currently hiding out at the base of a tree, hidden by the grass.

"But this one? It worries me." He scratched the back of his head a little awkwardly as he sat himself down in the grass beside the girl. The decent with his long, tired limbs made it less than graceful. "At least, a little bit." He stifled an unsure laugh.

Balled up at the base of a tree, engulfed by tall grass, hidden from the view of her fellow gladers, only the sound of distant voices and wind rustling the grass, things had been alright. Now it felt like she was being faced with reality once again. How Minho had found her? She had no clue. But if she was going to talk to anyone, she was glad it was him.

"Hey, Minho." She greet him quietly and lift herself up to sit leaning against the tree. Heavy, her head fell back and thunked lightly against the tree. She just didn't have the energy to hold it up anymore. "Done for the day?"

The runner raised a brow at the girl and smiled softly before looking down to pick away at a piece of grass. "I can't say I'm ever done. But I think I'm calling it a day. I'm just...tired."

"Tell me about it." Y/N sighed. She moved her legs a little to the side to push his. The pair had always been good friends, talking about their frustrations and worries was a common thing. They had little ways of reminding each other they were on one another's side. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Minho pursed his lips. "Alby has just been pushing really hard. It's like somedays he thinks I'm some shuck robot."

Y/N caught Minho's distraught eyes when he looked up. It was evident to her he wasn't done speaking.

"It's like..." He seemed to fight against himself. "It's like everyone thinks I'm some machine who doesn't feel anything. And I know somedays it can seem like we're not making progress—but I just—"

"Wished everyone could see inside your head and understand whats really going on without having to try and say it?" Y/N asked, filling in the quiet air Minho was struggling to fill.

Surprised, Minho paused and processed. "...Yeah."

Feeling as though he'd said what he needed to get off of his chest and into the open air, Minho moved closer to Y/N. He laid down in the grass and propped his head up on her legs. Staring up at the tree canopies overhead he took in a deep breath.

"What's up with you, then?" He asked.

Y/N bit the inside of her cheek. She shrugged. Minho craned his neck a little so he was able to see her. "A lot, Minho. I'm really confused."

"Mmm," He mumbled, encouraging her onward.

The girl lift her legs slightly making Minho's head slip off of them a little, so he swat up at her playfully. She didn't necessarily want to talk about it. But at this point, she'd been keeping it a secret for too long. Minho was a painfully good listener. That was a massive surprised when she'd first discovered that. In the very least though, she knew he'd hear her out.

"I found something." Y/N asked.

"What, your courage?" He quickly quipped back and snickered to himself.

"I'm a runner, Minho. I'm pretty sure I've already got that." Y/N couldn't help but also laugh with him a little. "It's something else."

Minho shrugged. "Ok, so really. What did you find?"

"What if it changes things?" Y/N asked sadly.

Suddenly, Minho sat up with a concerned expression on his face. "You found something in the maze. Didn't you?"

The girl avoid his gaze. Overwhelmed with guilt, she cursed herself. "Yeah."

"Is it a way out?" He put a hand on Y/N's leg and shook it gently, eager for her to tell him everything.

"I don't think so," Y/N admit. "It—it's something else. Too hard to explain. I'll have to take you there. I didn't want to bring any of it back with me incase something happened."

"Bring it back with you?" Minho asked. "What do you mean?"

The girl threw her head back against the tree trunk in frustration. Or, maybe she was upset. She wasn't sure. What she'd found a while ago had her thinking for a long time and it was all coming boiling to the surface. She now had to follow through with what she'd told Minho. "They're clues...things from before the maze."

Minho looked to the maze doors. Then, back to his running partner. They had time to go back out there.

He looked out to the maze again, then to Y/N. He saw how conflicted she was. There was a reason she'd held this information from him for as long as she had. He understood. He trusted her.

"Okay," Minho took in a deep breath. He shift where he sat so he could grab the hands of his running partner. "You and I are going to go out there tomorrow and figure out what we can, alright? Tonight, let's just hang low."

"Yeah, okay." Y/N swallowed hard and agreed.

"What do you say we go grab some dinner and work on the maps in my room?" He asked the girl.

Seeming a little more relaxed, like a weight had been lift off her chest despite the looming threat of tomorrow, the girl willingly stood up with Minho.

It took him no more than a couple of seconds to reach down and grab his running shoes and by the time he was back up and turning towards Y/N, she had her face in his chest and arms around his torso. She let out a deep breath and winced.

"Uhh," Minho wasn't sure how to react. It wasn't because he didn't want the hug or that he was uncomfortable. It was that he was worried for Y/N. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, let's go." Y/N quickly turned away from Minho without looking at him, struggling her way out of the long grass and in the direction of the kitchens. Truth was Y/N was afraid that she'd lose her best friend tomorrow. What she found in the maze could change everything and she feared it might be for the worse.

Minho, a little baffled, shook his head and chased after her. Maybe she just needed some time with her other friends at dinner to get her mind off of things for a while. Needed some time to come down from having to tell him what she just did.

That may have only been partially true. After dinner, when Minho returned to his room with some drawing supplies to work on the maps, Y/N was right where he'd left her, a disheartening look in her eyes as she stared at the floor. Gently, Minho set down the papers and went to go sit beside Y/N. Unsure of himself, he rubbed his hands on his legs and then leaned forward.

"Listen, I don't know what you found. But whatever it is, we'll figure it out." Minho tried to assure. "...don't feel like there's something you can't tell me."

"I—it's okay." Y/N made herself to snap back to reality and forced a smile at Minho. "Let's just finish the maps for today and hope we can sleep."

Minho figured that sounded alright. He'd be lying if he said these sorts of nights weren't his favourite. Working late into the night on the maps with a faint light, Y/N at his side until they both passed out from exhaustion. If there was one good thing in the Glade and the entirety of their hellish circumstances, this was his little piece of hope.

Their morning and run out into the maze was quiet. Y/N obviously still had a lot on her mind but Minho didn't push. He figured it wasn't worth it. Whatever she was going to show him today was going to be the same regardless and he respect the fact that it took all of her confidence to tell him in the first place.

When Y/N finally slowed her jog and came to a walk, scanning the floor of the maze, Minho tilt his head quizzically. "This the spot?"

"Yeah," Y/N muttered. "I just have to—"

Minho nearly tripped over the girl when she suddenly knelt down to the ground. She sent her hands grazing over the stone floor until she stopped. For a moment she fought against the stone, as it seemed from where Minho was and he couldn't get a good view of what she was doing. Then, the sound of stone being set down on stone. Y/N slightly turned around a sort of grabbed Minho's leg.

The keeper knelt down beside his running partner. He looked to her first, and when she didn't speak, he looked to the ground. There, a slab of stone had been lifted revealing a small hole in the ground. Inside, a box.

Y/N lift it out carefully and sat it between the two of them. Still without speaking, she opened up the box and handed Minho a stack of paper.

Except...it wasn't paper. It was photographs. They were pictures from what seemed before their time in the maze. Had the two of them planted these here? Was it trick made by the creators?

The photos told a story of their own. Told a story of seemingly unlikely friends, of fights, Minho getting pummelled by Y/N in what seemed like some sort of gym class. Photos of the place they must have lived to the two of them sleeping on the floor, having been drawing together. Of what they drew, it was hard to tell. But what he did know was that nothing much had changed.

"Were you afraid to show me this?" He asked, shuffling through the photos which were really begin to pull at his heartstrings. He'd just seen them and they already meant the world to him.

Y/N sighed. "I wasn't sure what you'd make of it. We were obviously close before the maze." For a moment she paused until holding up a new piece of paper to Minho. "But this is what I was afraid of...this explains everything."

Minho accept the piece of paper and looked Y/N in the eyes. If she was afraid she had good reason to be. The idea of one piece of paper explaining everything terrified him just as much.

Y/N hadn't been lying. The note, that they themselves must have written before being put here, didn't fall short. It explained who they'd been, who WICKED really was, but there were no clues about how to get out. That was something they must not have even known at the time. Overwhelmed, Minho took a minute to think. He flipped the page over a couple of times while Y/N looked through the photos.

Finally, Minho smirked to himself, stifling a laugh. That caught Y/N's attention and she looked up. "So was this why you were afraid to show me?" He asked, flipping the paper around and handing it back to Y/N.

Confused, she looked down at it as she took it from his hand and immediately her expression fell when she saw what he was referring to. "Maybe." She shrugged.

"Why?" Minho asked. On that paper, Minho's younger self had left a note. One that told him of how amazing of a person Y/N was, and that he wanted himself to find this note so that when he and Y/N were in the maze together, that they find one another. His younger self who wrote the note made it very clear about how he felt about Y/N.

Y/N faltered. "I...I was worried you don't feel the same anymore."

Minho's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "Are you dense in the shuck head?"

Y/N very quickly retreat from her gloom at Minho's sharp comment.

"I've been trying to find a way to tell you that I like you since—well, since that bonfire you and I had to hide out in the maproom after you beat Gally in that fight." He spat.

A small smile broke on Y/N's face as she let out a small laugh of relief. "That's a long time, Minho." Y/N teased.

"Shut up," He felt is face heat up. "Now what do we do with this crap?"

"Well," Y/N tried to calm her nerves. "We should probably tell Newt about the letter."

"Which part?" Minho asked nervously.

"The part about who we were and WICKED. I think if you tell him the other stuff, you'll never hear the end of it." Y/N laughed.

"Yeah, good plan." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And the photos?"

Y/N thought for a moment. "Our secret." She smiled at him. "There has to be a reason they got put here. Maybe it's a blindspot on WICKED's surveillance. Bring them with us and I don't want to think about what could happen."

"Smart," Minho admit. He helped Y/N pack away the papers back into the box and beneath the maze floor.

Knowing they'd have to leave soon, Minho lift his hands to grab his running pack and shift his weight a little awkwardly. "Thank you for showing me. That took guts."

"It wasn't that bad, I just put it off for a long time." Y/N kicked at the ground. "But, you're welcome. It's nice to share the burden."

"And it was nice to get one off of my chest." Minho started up a slow jog. "You have no idea how long I've been keeping that shoved down." He reached out to jab at the girls side but she dodged, laughing. Minho knew in his heart nothing had changed. Maybe they'd lost their memories, but not their sense of home in one another. He was just glad now he could be honest about it.