❝looking to every stranger for a fight❞

JEM AND GALLY WERE HANDING CRATES TO PEOPLE WITH EXHAUSTED FACES. Normally, they would much rather be unloading the Box than doing their actual jobs, but it was so excruciatingly hot. Plus, they were smack dab in the middle of the Glade with no shade in sight.

Sweat dripped down Jem's face, but he honestly believed that it was evaporating off of his skin pretty fast. He tried to take deep breaths, but the hot air did almost nothing. Plus, they had to lift heavy boxes. He could practically feel Iris laughing at him from where she was packing away her supplies in the shade.

"What do you think of the new Greenie?" Gally questioned after a moment. Just talking took energy that they did not have, and Jem was sure that he had never been that miserable before.

"I don't know," he panted out, taking a pause and putting his hands on his hips so that he could just breathe for a second. All they had seen of the new kid was the little stunt he pulled after Gally pulled him out of the Box. "I mean, he ran pretty well until he face-planted, but I haven't really talked to him yet."

Gally just shook his head and looked over to the Pit where the Greenie was being pulled out of the Pit by Alby. Jem was surprised because it usually took hours for the people that came up to calm down and stop trying to kill everyone. Gally informed him, "I don't trust him."

"You don't trust anybody," Jem pointed out. Gally was suspicious about everyone and everything. He was cautious and careful, which was odd because he always seemed so much like the brave and daredevil kind of guy. He was, sometimes, like when it came to fighting, but he was weirdly questioning about a lot of things.

The Builder glared at his friend for being that way about his gut feeling. He was supposed to support him in his decisions, no matter how delusional they were. "Yeah, well, I especially don't trust him."

"Why? He seems pretty normal," Jem commented with a shrug. The guy had yet to do anything that made him reasonably angry. Unlike his friend, he did not just hate people for no reason. Well, except Iris. He was sure that he had a reason, but he could not exactly remember what it was.

Gally just frowned and narrowed his eyes at the kid walking with Alby as he was introduced to the key people in the Glade, his leaders. "I don't know. He just gives me a weird feeling."

"Maybe you're in love with him," Jem suggested with a playful grin. Gally just glared at him before picking up another crate and handing it off, ignoring the smug smile on his friend's face because he thought he was so funny.

Jem looked back over at the new kid, and he frowned when he noticed him talking to the blonde girl. Iris grinned as she shook the kid's hand, and the contact made Jem's blood boil. It's just because it's Iris. Just looking at her makes you mad. Gally, noticing this, chuckled, remembering their conversation from the day before about the girl. "Speaking of in love, there you go again."

"Shut up," the Slicer scoffed, shooting Iris one last glance before he got back to work.

The group finished unpacking over the next hour or two. They were about to get back to work when Gally spotted something in the distance. The Greenie was walking toward the Wall with Chuck trailing behind him frantically. The Builder muttered, "What the hell is he doing?"

"Gally, don't," Jem called, knowing that his best friend was most likely about to cause a problem of some sort, but he was already speed walking toward them. Jem had no choice but to run after him to make sure he didn't do anything too stupid.

"Hey," the bigger guy yelled before shoving the boy in the blue shirt before he could take another step. He flew and landed on the ground about a yard away with a grunt. He grinned at the boy who then took his opportunity to hit him in the leg and tried to crawl away quickly. The boy standing up tried to calm him down. "We've gotta stop meeting like this, Greenie. Calm, calm, calm, calm. Take it easy. Just relax."

"Gally, what the hell?" a female voice behind the exclaimed, and Jem turned around to see Iris, Newt, and Alby running over to them. The blonde girl was about to interfere since she got there first, but Jem grabbed her arm and pulled her back, allowing their leaders to handle the situation once they got there.

He gripped her wrist firmly to prevent her from getting involved and somehow getting hurt between the struggling somehow. He tried to assure her, "He'll be fine."

"Your friend is out of control," she informed him, gesturing over her shoulder where Gally was practically kicking the kid around. Newt and Alby finally same to a stop and told Gally to get off of Thomas. Iris was more focused on Jem, though.

"Oh, come on," he scoffed, wondering why she had to be so dramatic when Gally literally just saved the boy's life. He would never survive an hour in the Maze, and the Grievers weren't even out yet. "The kid is much better off on the ground then he would have been if he'd gone into the Maze. You overreact way too much."

"Oh, for shuck's sake. You are so irritating," she groaned, wrenching her arm out of his grip and glaring at him. He was making her seem like some uptight, stuck-up control freak for trying to keep Gally from bullying the poor kid that must have been terrified and was just curious.

"I'm irritating?" he responded in disbelief. He was just trying to stop her head from exploding over something that was really not that big of a deal. However, he was getting sick and tired of her. "Your little 'I'm Little Miss Sunshine' act is transparent, princess."

Iris could not take it any longer, and she lunged toward him, her hands in fists and ready to fight. Jem flinched back a bit, but before she could come in contact with him, two strong arms wrapped around her waist and held her back. Minho's voice told her, "Hey, hey, hey, calm down."

"Let's all take five," Alby instructed, seeing that this group of people was definitely not going to work well together. Four of them had already almost gotten into a fight, and they just needed to disperse and take some time to calm down.

She glared at Jem as he exhaled deeply and stormed off. Minho released her once he was sure that it was safe, and he raised his eyebrows at her in concern. He had never seen her so angry before. Usually, she was really happy and nice to talk to, but at that moment, he was scared of her. "You okay?"

"He just makes me so angry," she breathed out, getting louder at the last part as she kicked a rock. He ducked quickly because the stone went flying a good thirty feet before dropping to the ground, almost hitting one of the Gardeners that was walking by. The guy jumped because scurrying off to the plant beds.

"I really don't understand this fight you two have going on, but I think Alby's getting sick of it," he warned her, and when she tilted her head at him in confusion, he raised his hands in defense and shrugged. "I'm just saying that you might need to be careful. You were pretty close to punching him there."

She nodded, appreciating his concern, but she was pretty sure that she would be able to keep her emotions in check. That day, she was just hot and tired, but she would be fine once she took a nap. "I'll be fine, but thanks."