𝒕𝒘𝒐, bonfire

FEAR OF HER.
[ chapter two ]

✧・゚: *✧・゚:*

"EVE?" Newt knocks on the homestead door, "You in there?"

"Yeah." She replies lazily, her arms folded behind her head while she stares up at the roof of the homestead.

"Are you decent?"

She rolls her eyes, throwing her legs over the side of the so she's in a sitting position before trudging slowly over to the door, swinging it up, "Yes."

There was an incident a year ago, where a group of boys walked in on her while she was changing, and like usual she nearly bit their heads off for not reading the sign on the door that said 'changing - keep out'.

Newt smiles at the girl and she returns it, showing a side of her that not many get to see, "It's bonfire time. The boys are lighting it now."

They both start to make their way over to the crowd around the large pile of sticks, the homestead door slamming shut behind them.

"You spoken to the Greenie much?" Newt questions, as the shouts of the Gladers start to get louder and louder.

Evelyn shakes her head and he hums, already expecting that answer but asking just incase, for once, she had actually gone out of her way to be nice to the new comer.

The blonde and brunette takes a stick each from Gally, the end of them wrapped and on fire.

Eve smirks, surprised that she was actually allowed to hold a stick for once before throwing it onto the pile once Alby shouts, "Light it up!"

Everyone starts to cheer and clap their hands, almost forgetting for a second that they're stuck in a square surrounded by a maze. Newt lazily throws his arm over Eve's shoulder, lifting his hand up to ruffle her hair. She smacks him away, chuckling happily.

"Gladers! Gladers! Gladers!" They all begin to chant, throwing fists up into the air like they're at a football game.

Every single month they did this, it was a small ceremony for whenever a Greenie came up in the box. A welcome party to help them settle in and get to know everyone better.

Gally shoves a jar of his special mixture into Eve's chest and she grasps it before holding it up into the air, meeting everyone else's, "To the Gladers!"

Newt leads them over to a log and they both lower themselves down, facing away from the fire and commotion. Evelyn takes a large sip of Gally's drink, no longer pulling the disgusted face that she used to do.

"It's getting better." She mumbles, glancing down into the drink and watching the small bits of onion float around on the surface.

"Are you sure about that or are your taste buds just going numb?" Newt raises an eyebrow at her, his lips pursed.

Fry jogs over, kneeling down in front of the pair and holding out two meat kebabs. They both take them, saying their thanks to the chef before immediately digging into them as he runs off again, going to serve everyone else.

"These on the other hand... are gorgeous." Evelyn wipes a bit of the meat fat off of the corner of her mouth before taking another bite.

"Here he comes." Newt whispers, his head raising up to meet the Greenie's eyes.

Eve clicks her tongue before jumping up, making sure to take her jar of juice and kebab with her, "Talk to you later, Goldie."

The Greenie takes her spot beside Newt, his eyebrows furrowed as the girl walks over to Minho and sits next to him.

"What's up with her?" He turns his head to Newt, "Did I do something?"

"You didn't do anything, mate." Newt reassures him, "She just dislikes Greenies."

"That's what Chuck said. Uh, do you know why?"

The blonde boy shakes his head, picking at his kebab with his fingers, "I don't. To be honest, I don't even think she knows."

"She's scary."

Newt laughs out loud nodding in agreement, "That she is. And, believe me, she gets scarier the more you get to know her."

Thomas looks ahead at the doors to the maze, the shadows seeping through the gaps and the noises changing volume.

"Hell of a first day, Greenie." Newt says, glancing over at the black haired boy when he just nods sadly, moving his gaze down to his lap, "Here. Put some hair on your chest."

He passes him the jar full of orange liquid, some of it splashing over the rim as he places it in the boys hand.

Reluctantly, the Greenie sips it, not even swallowing it before spitting it out again between his legs. Newt chuckles as the boy begins to cough, trying his best to get rid of the nasty taste, "Oh, what is that?"

Newt shrugs, taking the jar back and examining the formula inside, "I don't even know. It's Gally's recipe. It's a trade secret."

"Yeah, well, him and the girl are still assholes." The Greenie grumbles, glancing behind Newt's head to see Gally fighting some of the other gladers.

"She saved your life today. You should think yourself lucky, she rarely cares for the Greenies." Newt licks his lips, looking at the walls, "Trust me, the maze is a dangerous place."

"We're trapped here, aren't we?" Greenie says quietly, staring at Newt's saddened face.

"For the moment. But..." Newt turns around completely, pointing over at the bonfire and the people around it, "..you see those guys, there, by the fire?"

Thomas moves around as well, noticing Evelyn with her legs draped over Minho's while they have a playful argument. Behind them, are a few taller boys, all of them stood up with a drink in their hand.

"Those are the runners." Newt tells him, "And that guy in the middle there, who's talking to Eve, that's Minho. He's the Keeper of the Runners. Now, every morning when those doors open... they run the maze, mapping it... memorising it, trying to find a way out."

The Greenie furrows his eyebrows, "How long have they been looking?"

"Three years."

"And they haven't found anything?"

"It's a lot easier said that done." Newt bites his lip, "Evelyn's nearly died a few times, but that might just be because she does things the most dangerous way."

The blonde pauses at the sound of the maze rumbling and he holds up a singular finger, "Listen. Hear that? That's the maze changing. Changes every night."

"How is that even possible?" The Greenie mumbles, trying to work it all out in his head.

Newt smiles, shrugging, "You can ask the people who put us in here, if you ever meet the bastards."

He takes another swig of the drink, squeezing his eyes shut at the sour taste, "The truth is, the runners are the only ones that really know what's out there. They're the strongest and the fastest of us all, and it's a good thing too because if they don't make it back before those doors close... then they're stuck out there for the night. And no one's ever survived a night in the maze—"

He rolls his eyes, chuckling to himself, "—except Evelyn, but she's just a lucky shank."

"What happens to them... ones that don't survive?"

Newt swallows, still not turning to face the new boy, "Well, we call them Grievers. Of course, no one's ever seen one and lives to tell about it. Evelyn has, though she very rarely opens up to people about what happened when she was out there. Either way, they're out there."

"Eve, get your nasty, long legs off me!" Minho grumbles, grabbing her ankles and throwing them off of him.

Evelyn sits up straight, pouting at him, "Are you worried your trousers are gonna get dirty?"

"They are already dirty, thanks to you."

She gasps, placing a hand on her chest in a joking manner, "How dare you? I didn't do anything!"

Minho glares at her, tilting his head, "Sure you didn't. Sure."

"I swear on my mum's life, I didn't touch your pants while you were sleeping." She laughs, knowing darn well that she ruined his pants as part of her prank.

"For all you know, you're mum might be dead." He smirks, scraping up the last of his food on his plate, not meeting my eyes.

Evelyn punches his arm, causing him to cry out in pain, "Watch your mouth."

"Greenie! Greenie! Greenie!"

The two best friends head's shoot up at the chanting, both of them squinting through the flames to see Gally taunting the new boy into his fighting arena.

Eve stands up, rubbing her hands together in excitement, "This should be fun."

"Or boring." Minho grumbles, walking beside her as the approach the crowd, pushing through to get a better view.

Gally rolls his sleeves up, the cheers from the audience dying down when he begins to talk, "The rules are simple, Greenie. I try and push you out of the circle You try and last more than five seconds. Ready?"

Without even letting the boy answer, Gally has already charged at him, shoving his shoulders back and sending him into a group of boys, who push him back into the circle, not letting him leave so soon.

Gally pushes the Greenie's back, causing him to slide and face plant the sandy floor. The dusty material getting in his mouth and eyes.

"Come on, Greenie." Gally smirks at the boy on the floor, "We're not done yet."

The black haired boy stands up, dusting off his clothes and spitting down some sand, "Stop calling me Greenie." He mumbles.

"Stop calling you that? What do you wanna be called?," Gally's eyebrows furrow, chuckling slightly, "Shank?"

Everyone laughs, including Evelyn and Minho glanced down at the girl, the smile on her face quickly disappearing, telling him that the laugh was fake.

"Does he look like a shank?" Gally tilts his head, watching as the Greenie slowly makes his way towards him, wrapping his arms around his waist.

Ben moves over to beside Eve, throwing his arm lazily over her shoulder while she links her arms across her chest, not very impressed by the fight when the new boy is thrown to the floor again.

"You know what? I think I'm settled on shank."

Again, the Greenie sprints at Gally, doing the same position as before, only to be walked back slowly, both of the boys feet slipping slightly on the sand.

Evelyn's eyes widen a little when the Greenie shoves Gally to the floor on his stomach, causing the Gladers to let out mixed noises - some happy, most shocked.

Eve kneels down in front of Gally, smirking at his aggravated face, "Getting beaten by a Greenie, not like you, Gall."

He raises his head, their eyes meeting and he jumps up, quickly shoving her face back before kicking the Greenie's legs, making himself smash his head on the floor.

Gally glances back at Eve, his eyebrows raised in triumph, causing her to roll her eyes at the stuck boy before standing up again.

"Thomas. Thomas." The Greenie whispers, scrambling around until he's stood up, "Hey. Thomas! I remember my name! I'm Thomas."

They all pause for a second, slightly shocked at the fact he had remembered his name so quickly compared to everyone else.

"Thomas!" Alby holds his arms up, causing the rest of the Gladers to cheer the boy's name.

Everyone rushes closer to him, welcoming him more and congratulating him. Evelyn watches from a far, her arms crossed over her chest as Thomas sprays Gally's concoction into the air, covering all of them in little droplets.

The happiness is cut short when the loud screech of a Griever erupts from the maze, causing everyone to go silent. Evelyn clenches her jaw at the nightmare sound, wanting to forget everything again.

"What the hell was that?" Thomas mutters, his eyes wide in shock.

"A Griever." Eve announces loudly, causing every single boy to turn to her, looking at her and making sure not to pull a face or say something that could piss her off, "You should be safe in here. Nothing gets through those walls."

And without saying another word, she turns her back on the crowd, stepping over a log before trudging back to the homestead, her arms still crossed and her nails digging into her biceps. Thomas watches Eve, his eyes not leaving her back until he's pulled back by Alby.

"Let's tuck it in for the night." The leader pats Thomas' shoulder, snapping him out of his daze before gently pulling the boy towards the sleeping area.

Evelyn lays on her back in her hammock, throwing a rock into the air before catching it again, repeating the action while listening to the snores of the boys around her.

"Can't sleep?" Thomas whispers, turning his head to look at Eve.

She keeps her eyes on the stone, not meeting the black haired boys gaze, "No."

"Why?" He questions, still keeping his voice low but making sure she can hear the curiosity in his words.

"Why do you need to know?" Evelyn throws the stone onto the floor before glaring at Thomas, "Just go to sleep. You need rest." 

"So do you." He counters, smirking happily to himself when he sees her jaw clench, knowing he's technically right.

"Incase you've forgotten, Thomas. I've been here for three years, I'm used to getting barely any sleep. You on the other hand, are not." She rolls away from him, letting him know that the conversation has ended.

He grumbles nonsense quietly under his breath before closing his eyes, forcing himself to fall asleep.

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