005. COMFORT

AFTER MINHO left his side, Thomas stood stationary for a few moments as he contemplated to go find Evelyn, or stay away and leave her alone like all the other boys seemed to do. But after a couple of seconds, his legs are carrying him across the Glade and through the trees. As he makes his way through the wood, his eyes scan up each tree, learning from their encounter previously that she was good at climbing. But, with his eyes too high, he manages to miss her this time.

"What are you doing?" A voice calls from a few steps behind him.

He swings around, eyes widening in surprise to find her curled up at the bottom of trunk. His head tilts as he studies her for a moment whilst she uses her hands to frantically wipe at her cheeks in an attempt to erase any evidence of her tears.

"Looking for you," He finally answers, slowly taking a few steps towards her.

She sniffs, grinding her jaw in annoyance at herself when she fails to stop the tears from cascading down her cheeks. Her teary eyes peer up at him, "Why?"

"To make sure you're doing okay," He replies with a gentle smile developing on his lips. He lowers himself to the ground beside her, making sure to keep at least a foot away, respecting her personal space.

Evelyn studies him carefully with her eyebrows slightly scrunches, "I don't like you," She states after a short silence, her soaked cheeks and puffy eyes now completely visible for him, "But, I don't know why. I think I remember you. . . from before."

Thomas curiosity sparks as he listens to her intently, "Before?" His brows raise.

"Before all this," She lifts a finger to point around at their surroundings, "Before the maze. I've seen you in my dreams."

He bites his lip, attempting to hide his happiness and to stop a bright smile from erupting onto his cheeks because he was in exactly the same boat as her and it relaxes him to know he wasn't alone. Because, only the night before, Thomas had dreamt of Evelyn the entire night and when he woke up, all he wanted to do was speak to her about it.

She narrows her eyes at him, "What are you smiling for?" She questions, for the first time ever actually putting effort in to not appear snarky.

He speaks quietly, almost a low tense whisper, "I've seen you too," He raises his voice as he becomes more confident to continue, "It was all a bit fussy, but your face was the only clear thing."

Evelyn rolls her eyes, pushing her palms into the dirt at either side of her to reposition herself slightly. Thomas isn't sure if she did it purposely, but she moved closer to him by a few inches.

"You're making it seem like we were in love," She tuts, laying her head back against the tree trunk behind her.

He shrugs, pursing his lips while he sets his head back against the bark too, "We could've been, you never know."

She turns her head completely to him, leaving her temple resting on the wood as she finally comes to notice how close they've gotten now that her nose is at most twenty centimetres from the side of his head.
Instead of backing away, she pretends not to care and continues their conversation, "How come I hate you then?"

But when Thomas rotates his head to meet her eyes, she quickly turns away so that he doesn't notice the closeness between them. He picks up on the quick movement, but decides to leave it, knowing she's only just come around to him slightly. He chuckles lowly, one of his hands clutching at his chest as he jokes sarcastically, "You hate me?"

She shakes her head with a small smile dancing on her lips but she still refuses to meet his gaze completely, knowing that if she turns to him that they'd be within kissing distance, "Don't worry. I hate a lot of people. If it helps you, on the scale, you're second and Minho's first."

"Really?" Thomas turns his eyes away from her, letting his gaze carry over the forest as the pair become more comfortable, "Minho said you were best friends."

"He said that?" She smirks in triumph, already preparing for how she'll tease Minho later, "Thanks for informing me of that, Thomas," She wipes at her cheeks one last time, successfully erasing any evidence of her previous sorrowful mood.

He looks back at her, breaking the silence with a question because he's stunned at her sudden change in emotion, "Don't you wanna talk about it?"

She bites the inside of her cheek, shaking her head as his words carry her back to her previous feeling, "No. If I spoke about every friend I've lost, we'd be here for days. It's just something I have to live with."

"But you shouldn't have to live with it," Thomas replies, watching her carefully as she finally moves her head to look at him too. Her brows are slightly risen and her eyes show a glimmer of surprise, as if she's shocked that he's trying to comfort her, "Evelyn," He breathes, "You're not okay. I can tell. Just let me help."

She shakes her head again in dismissal, "I'm fine. I've already survived three years in this shithole, I'm sure I'll be able to survive the rest."

His brows crease in sympathy, "Surviving and being happy are two different things. Don't you want to be happy?"

She scoffs, turning her head away once more to escape his concerned gaze, "Of course I do. What type of person doesn't want to be happy? But, I physically cannot be. Not when I have to watch my close friends die and be banished. Thomas, you'll soon understand what it feels like to lose the people who helped you become who you are. . . the people who saved you and showed you what family actually is."

"Evelyn," He sighs, "You can't give up on yourself."

She bites her lip anxiously, quietly saying, "I already have."

Thomas senses that was her attempt at ending the conversation, so he remains silent and moves his eyes from her to help her relax slightly. The both of them fall into a peaceful silence, listening as the wind whistles through the dark trees and brushes a few leaves to the ground. Subconsciously, Thomas' hand drifts closer to hers on the dirty ground between them and he stops moving once their pinkies are overlapped comfortably. He feels her tense slightly as her eyes drift down to their touching pinkies. She lets out a shaky breath before she pulls her eyes away and allows their hands to stay that way; feeling slightly comforted by the small action.

Feeling her relax beside him, Thomas smiles gently and drops his anxious shoulders as he too relaxes into the silence enveloping them. Progress.

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flashback.
WCKD COMPOUND
age 12.

Thomas hears the doorway to the rooftop click open and closed behind him but due to the soft footsteps that tap on the concrete afterwards he immediately knows it's Evelyn. He remains with his back to her, waiting patiently for her to come over in her own time and sit next to him on the ledge.

"Knew you'd be out here," She says, jumping up into the ledge and swinging her legs over so they dangle over the edge precariously.

"How'd the test go?" He asks, glancing over at her with his brows risen. He takes the quick moment to flick his eyes over her and check for any fresh bruises or cuts but down to her long sleeves he can't check her as much as he wants.

"It was a better one," She answers, turning her gaze to overlook the compound. The only time she appreciated the place she was jailed in was at night, with the small pricks of lights breaking through the darkness it looked almost majestic and surreal, "How'd yours go?"

"Alright," Thomas shrugs, "Mine are never anything compared to yours."

She snorts, "Have myself to blame for that. They don't appreciate my attitude much."

"I don't know why," He smirks, "I think it's hilarious."

"Probably end up getting myself killed at some point," She bites her lip anxiously, curling her hands around the edge of the concrete ledge, "Not really looking forward to that."

"Don't say that," Thomas shakes his head, moving his hand and laying it closely to hers so that his pinky lays over hers comfortingly.

Her brows furrow at the contact and she meets his eyes, "What's this all about?" She chuckles, wiggling her pinky under his, causing his to move in the same manner but he never removes it.

"Letting you know I'm here for you," He answers with a sweet smile that she struggles to keep her own lips straight but eventually a smirk bursts through, "I was going to go for a hug, but I don't really want to be sent flying over the edge."

She shrugs, "I don't like hugs."

He hums in understanding. Progress.

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    BY THE TIME Thomas and Evelyn return to the homestead, the sun has completely fallen and the majority of the Gladers are sleeping soundly in their beds with drool slipping past their lips, except for a few boys who are huddled around a small fire laughing quietly with one another.

"Where have you two been?" Chuck asks, watching the dark haired pair collapse onto their hammocks.

"Nowhere, Curls," Evelyn smiles gently towards him as she kicks off her shoes, "Just get some sleep, okay?"

Chuck nods slowly, repositioning himself in his hammock before he speaks again, "Minho told everyone you were having se—"

Thomas let's out a hoarse cough, cutting the young boy short before he says anything that will awaken the whole Glade. Evelyn's eyes narrow as she takes in Chuck's word and Thomas watches her carefully as her head rotates whilst she looks for her best friend. Finally, she spots him by the small fire and she rises from a hammock before wandering over, leaving her combat boots off.

"Minho," She calls.

Minho's head snaps up and their eyes meet instantly. Thomas can't see Evelyn's face, but he's able to watch  over her shoulder as Minho's eyes widen in terror as he recognises her furious expression. Beside Minho on the log, Frypan throws his head back with laughter whilst he smacks a hand down on Minho's shoulder.

"You better run, boy," He laughs, which causes Minho to jump from the log and sprint away from the grass into the darkness.

Immediately, Evelyn's sprinting after him with nothing on her feet but socks, yet she still manages to run extremely fast on the uneven skippy ground. Minho gets chased through the long grass and the boy's crowded around the fire erupt into laughter as they watch the scene unfold. Thomas stands from his hammock and takes a few steps forward, managing to get a better view of the best friends. Minho's shrill screams fill the Glade, but none of the snoring boys seemed bothered by the noise, clearly too used to the events.

Suddenly, Evelyn pounces forward and catches Minho's waist, dragging them both to the ground. They roll around for a bit until eventually Evelyn lands on top. She glares down at him while speaking to him furiously, but they're too far away for anyone to hear the terrifying words she's snarling in his face.

Eventually, Evelyn rises and leaves Minho on the ground as she wanders back to the homestead. Letting out a tired sigh, she drops down onto a bench between Newt and Gally and both boys congratulate her with pats on the back and loud shouts of triumph.

A few moments later, Minho slinks over sheepishly, his head hung and his shoulders drooped. He grunts in annoyance as he sits back down on his positioned beside Fry, who continues to laugh at the state of him.

"You scream like a little girl, Minho," Gally teases.

"Yeah, whatever, Gall," Minho huffs.

"Would've thought you'd be a bit better at outrunning her by now," Newt smirks.

"Shut up, man," Minho pants breathlessly, "You're supposed to be on my side."

Evelyn smirks, leaning forward and grabbing a kebab from the grill hovering over the fire. She sits back and says, "They might say they're on your side but they're all on mine really."

"I've figured," He rolls his eyes, "What about you, Alby? Who's side are you on?"

"Do not get me involved," Alby wags his finger.

Minho sags his shoulders until his eyes catch onto a boy stood under the roof of the homestead. He lowers his voice as he speaks only to the people surrounding the fire, "The greenie is lurking again."

Evelyn scoffs, "You're so childish," She looks over her shoulder, "Thomas!" She calls, and instantly his eyes catch onto hers. She motions to the empty space of log next to Minho, "Come sit if you can't sleep." As she turns back around, she sends a smug smile to her best friend.

"You. . ." Minho grumbles, shuffling closer to Fry as Thomas wanders over, "You shank."

At either side of Evelyn, Gally and Newt exchange a similar glance of shock as they both noted Eve's positive tone as she chose to speak to the greenie and invited him over to join them around the fire. Never in three years had she done that within a day of the boy being new.

"Grow up," She snaps at her best friend, "You smell much worse than him. Imagine how he feels."

Thomas rubs his hands anxiously on his knees as he sense the tension growing now that he's arrived, "Do you think Ben might make it?"

Evelyn's face falls slightly and Minho notices causing him to raise his brows daringly, "Regretting your decisions now, huh?"

"Shut up," She snaps harshly, waving him off as she returns to eating her kebab, leaving someone else to reply to Thomas' question.

"No, mate, he's gone," Newt says simply with a gentle shake of his head, "No one survives a night in the maze, especially not if they've been stung."

"Just gotta forget about him, greenie," Minho hums, and to Evelyn's surprise he doesn't say anything too rude or childish.

"I scratched his name off," Gally nods, motioning towards the far wall in the distant that harbour the name of every person who has ever step foot on the Glade. Evelyn bites her lip, dropping her head to his shoulder as she whispers a quiet empathetic apology to him, in which he just shrugs and moves a hand to rub her bare arm in response.

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a soft chapter

also thank you to the lovely lass who gave me the idea for the pinky thing it's really cute imo

never proof read