❝nothing ever comes like it did when you were in it❞

IT WAS FINALLY TIME FOR THE BONFIRE. Well, the set up for it at least. It involved a lot of moving of logs and kindling and tables, so they started working early in the afternoon. A bunch of guys moving logs and other heavy things usually ended with a lot of injury, so Iris was there to help anyone that needed anything before or during the party.

Minho came running in about halfway through the set up, and she took a break from running around and helping to walk over to him. She gestured to his bandaged arm that seemed to be doing a lot better already. She asked, "Hey, how's that arm doing?"

"Great, actually. It hardly bothered me at all today," he answered with a grateful smile. She nodded back at him and turned so that they were standing side-by-side and staring out at all of the guys working. "Man, I cannot wait for the bonfire."

"Me neither. Tonight, unless someone is bleeding out or on fire, you guys are on your own. I'm not kissing any baby cuts tonight," she informed him. She wanted to enjoy herself that night, and she was not about to have to stop and take a break for a splinter. For a bunch of guys living on almost nothing, they were all wimps.

He raised his eyebrows and gestured toward his arm while giving her his best puppy god eyes. "What if my stitches come out?"

"I might make an exception for you, but please try and not let that happen," she pleaded. She really did not feel like doing anything major that night either. She would rather have to kiss someone's baby cut than have to sew Minho's arm back together.

He smiled back at her, winking as he replied, "Anything for you."

"Thank you," she sang in response. She hated having to do major fixes because it really stressed her out. Someone's life was in her hands sometimes, and despite the rush she got from being thrown into that situation, she would really rather everyone be safe.

Her eyes widened when she saw one of the Builders drop his end of a log, and it fell and crushed someone's ankle. She winced and sighed as she heard the all too familiar, "Iris, help!"

"Gotta go," she breathed out, patting Minho on the back in farewell as she began heading toward the injured person. They had gotten the log off him, so he could be in pain for a second while she finished her conversation. "Duty calls."

"Ha! You said duty," he laughed out, pointing at her mockingly.

She just glared at him because she had forgotten how childish he could be. She called back to him as she jogged over to the kid groaning on the ground, "I actually hope your stitches come out because I am not helping you."

《 ✢ 》

IRIS DOWNED HER DRINK AS SHE LAUGHED AT WINSTON'S DANCING. She was sitting on a log as everyone else celebrated. That was her favorite part of the Bonfire, looking at everyone else being happy. As long as everyone else was having a good time, so was she.

Jem, on the other hand, was talking to his Silcer friends and sipping on a drink himself. He was waiting for the fights to start. He and Gally were tied at the moment in wins, and this was going to be him getting a leg up on his friend. Alby removed the 'no hurting fellow Gladers; rule for the one night when it came to the fights because it was all fun.

He watched as Winston went over to Iris and held out his hand for her to take, shouting over all of the yelling, "Dance with me!"

"Y'all are idiots," she laughed out, and Jem swore that the fire burned a little brighter when the smile appeared on her face. She raised her cup and shook it to show them all that it was empty. She informed them, "I'm gonna go get another drink."

"Lame!" Winston called after her, and she just shook her head with a chuckle as she made her way over to where Gally was standing with his table set up.

He had a stack of cups and a huge bowl filled with his little mystery drink that he made for every single Bonfire. It tasted awful, and she was pretty sure that there was no real alcohol in it because they never got alcohol in the Box. Whatever it was, it tasted awful but did the trick. He raised his eyebrows as she approached. "Can I interest you in a drink, milady?"

"Yes, kind sir," she responded, and he took the cup from her and filled it up before handing it back. She smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

"Should I be worried that our best doctor is on her third drink of the night?" he questioned. She was the first responder if anything bad happened. She was not too worried, though, because Jeff and Clint had had less than a drink, so if anything happened, they would be able to fix it hopefully.

She shook her head and joked, holding up her cup, "No because unlike some of you idiots, I can hold my liquor, or whatever the hell this is."

"I'm never telling," he told her, and for all that she knew, he could be slowly poisoning them once a month until they all die and don't notice. Gakky was not that smart, though. "This recipe is going with me to my grave."

"When do the fights start?" she asked. She enjoyed watching the fights because it was a bunch of guys stumbling around without a clue in the world how to fight. It was absolutely hilarious to watch until someone got hurt and she had to fix them up.

He raised his eyebrows and gestured to his tall and huge body with smirk as she rolled her eyes at his antics. "Why? You gonna try to take all this down?"

"I might. We all know that I could kick your ass," she responded, and he chuckled. Jem watched this exchange with a frown, and he did not even notice that he had broken his cup until he looked down and saw his fist clenched so tight around it.

"Well, Jem has first dibs," he told her, and he leaned around her so that he could see his best friend glaring at him. "And judging by the look he's giving me right now, I have a feeling it's about to start."

Iris clapped her hands together excitedly and watched at the Slicer boy made his way over to them, cracking his knuckles threateningly. The girl had to fight the urge to laugh because oif how goofy they looked. Jem questioned, "Gally, you ready?"

"Yep, let's get things started," Gally responded, moving out from behind the table and getting himself warmed up.

Jem glanced at the girl standing there, and he smirked at her while he jumped in place and shook his hands up, preparing to fight. She honestly was unsure of who was going to win because they had a chalkboard marking their scores, and they were tied for first place. He told her, "Sit down and enjoy the show, princess."

Gally started it off, trying to shove the boy that easily dodged his advances. Jem them reached down and swept Gally under the leg. The Builder stumbled a bit but regained his composure quickly, getting back into fighting stance. They repeated this routine for a minute under finally, Gally dove into the boy.

Jem fell backwards, and Iris, along with a few of the other guys, winced when they saw his forehead go slamming into a rock on the ground. He stood up, but he was wobbly. Everyone looked at him with concerned looks, and Iris finally had to step in. She placed herself in between the boys and placed her hand on his chest. "Jem, you're hurt."

"I'm fine," he breathed out, wiping the blood that had dripped into his eye. The bleeding was honestly getting concerning, and she really wanted to fix it before it got any worse.

"No, you're not. That looks nasty," she insisted, and when he looked her in the eye and saw the worried look that she was giving him, he finally gave in, giving Gally a look that said it was not over. She just sighed and led Jem over to the Med-jack Hut where she had supplies set up outside. He sat down on a log, and she kneeled between his legs so that she could reach his forehead. "Man, you must really like having me patch you up. This is the second time this week, and it's only Wednesday." She dabbed some alcohol on his cut, and he flinched back a bit. She shrugged. "Sorry not sorry."

He watched her as we worked, and his breath hitched just slightly then she cupped his cheek to hold him still while she cleaned the cut. After a moment, he was able to gather his composure and speak up. "How do you do this all day and not get bored?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I like helping people, and every once in a while, we get someone who's really hurt. I love that rush," she answered. Of course, she did not like it when someone was hurt, but she sure as hell liked fixing them up.

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked at her, slightly scared at that last part of the sentence. Helping people was a good reason, but that part seemed a little odd. "It's a little scary how happy you are while talking about someone in a lot of pain."

"Yeah, well, it's scary how excited you and Winston get when talking about slaughtering pigs," she responded because there had been many times that Winston had gone into some kind of trance while ranting about pigs, and it was honestly terrifying to witness. She had seen Jem do it on a couple occasions as well.

He grinned. "Ooh, I love me a good dead pig."

"See?" she laughed out, rolling her eyes. She put some medicine on the pad that she had to tape to his head and smoother it out, making sure that everything looked good before she cleared him to go. "Okay, I think you're all good. Get back out there, asshole."

"Thanks, princess,"he responded, and she nodded back at him. She waited for him to head back to the fire, but he did not move, which confused her and made things kind of awkward.

Iris did awful during awkward silence. She never had any clue what to say, and she always ended up saying the most random thing and making herself look like an idiot. That was what she did at that exact moment because as he kind of turned on his heel to leave, she spoke up. "Hey, um, do you dance?"

"No," he responded after a very brief moment of hesitation, and she cursed herself for being such an idiot. Maybe she should not have had three drinks after all. It was getting to her head.

She nodded, and the only thing that she could do to escape the situation was to head back to the fire. She nodded at him, and she then turned and began to head back to the party. "Okay, well, your loss."

Jem watched her as she jogged back toward the fire, her hair swinging and hitting her back. He then turned around and groaned, banging his head against the wall of the Hut. He immediately regretted it when his head started pounding, almost as much as he regretted saying 'no' to her.