CH. TWENTY
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Joan runs into the kitchen with wide eyes, which meet Newt's first, then trail over the others in the room: Winston, Fry, Zart, and Minho.

"Whoever covers for me gets free oil," she announces, attempting to catch her breath.

"What did you do this time?"

"And... cologne!" She adds.

Newt's eyebrows lift even higher.

"And my love for you...?" She peeps. "Gosh, please just tell Alby I'm not here!"

They all share a glance. "What did you do, then?"

"Look— it's a long story."

Minho arches his back, stretching. "We have all the time. Right, guys?"

"I don't!" She shrieks. "Just help m— oh my god." Fast, the girl crawls under the table at the sound of someone entering, and she holds her breath.

"Anyone seen Joan?"

Yup, that's Alby.

A long silence. Then finally, "Nope."

"Why?" Must be Newt.

"She mixed salt in Clint and Jeff their food, broke a window in the Med-Hut, told the whole shucking Glade that the Med-Jacks have a secret relationship, and painted "I LOVE JEFF" on Clint's shirt, and "I LOVE CLINT" on Jeff's shirt."

Payback for locking her up!

The one who bursts out laughing must be Minho, according to the way she can see him shaking. Then Fry follows, and soon they're all laughing.

"Well, if she's not here, I'll leave." Alby sighs. His footsteps trail into the distance until they're no longer audible, and that's when she reveals herself again.

"Thanks!" She gives them a thumb up before she rushes away, all the way to the lake so she can fulfill her wish to go swimming. Hopefully, Gally won't be a dirty little klunk this time and let her keep vision on her clothes.

The water is cooler than last time, but refreshing and clear as always. Little stones and shells morphing in the sand below her. A few water lelies.

It's a great distraction from the aftermath of the Changing, just like talking to Gally, messing with the Med-Jacks, and running away from Alby.

Honestly, it's all just to keep her mind off things. At night, she tries to think about other things, but she fails. It's always flashbacks or nightmares that wake her up. No longer daylight, or Camil's yells.

But she'll survive. Eventually.

"Alby's looking for you."

She nearly stops swimming at his voice. "I know. I fled."

Gally takes a step closer, the bottom of his shoes cracking shells. "Not afraid someone's gonna steal your clothes?"

"Definitely afraid," she says. "But I mean, I've always got more clothes. And after what I did to Jeff and Clint, I don't think they'll try much."

A grin starts to form on his face. "I might."

"You wouldn't," she says. "Because I already dislike you enough that I'd hit you without you having to steal my clothes."

"Alright." He chuckles. "Is the water nice?"

"Why? You wanna join?"

"You'd drown at my looks, and I don't want to be blamed."

Joan scoffs, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure you mean drowning because of how bad you look. Besides, can you even swim?"

"I don't know," he replies. He crouches down next to her clothes.

"Don't even dare," she snaps. "Remember last time? When you also had to deliver my clothes back?"

His whole face gains a red tint. "Well, that changed my mind," he mutters, and he gets back up. "I'll go snitch to Alby."

"I wouldn't do that," she suggests. Ugh, constantly kicking to keep herself up is getting tiring. "I've got plenty plans to get payback."

"Woah, woman, you're so scary." Gally gives a fake gasp. "Putting salt in my food won't do much, really."

"How lovely it would be to decorate your room with bows, dye all your clothes pink, and destroy that white sweater."

His face falls. Just a little bit, but it definitely makes her grin. "You wouldn't."

"I would. But as long as you don't snitch, I won't." Shrugging, Joan starts making her way to the surface.

Gally lifts his chin, giving her a suspicious glare. "What are you doing?"

"Getting out of the water. What does it look like? Swimming is quite tiring." The girl squeezes excess water out of her hair before she completely moves out of the lake.

It sends a shiver down her spine to stand this revealed in front of someone, Gally, but she can't be too embarrassed. It's like wearing a bathing suit, or a bikini, and she knows Gally won't hurt a fly. Not in a dirty way, at least.

He stands rooted to the ground when she passes. "So? You're gonna tell Alby or not? Now's the time, since I'll be gone in a minute."

The tree he's staring at, across the lake, must be very interesting, because he can't keep his eyes off it. "I think I will tell him."

"Alright." Her elbow brushes against his arm as she puts her pants on. "You better hurry, then."

"Yes," he says, but he doesn't move. "I should."

She hums. "Hey, what's up with the tree? You seem intrigued by it, Gally."

"Mhm." His Adam's apple moves, yet the rest of him still doesn't.

"What color is it?"

"Navy bl— brown," he says quickly.

Joan starts laughing out loud at this absurd situation. "Navy blue is the color of my—"

"I said brown," he cuts her off.

"Oh, yeah. You totally did. Just don't listen to me." She holds her hands up before she takes her shirt and puts it on. "What do you think? Is this one better or the red one?"

The slight blush increases to a complete red face. "What?"

Man, it's too funny to get him embarrassed.

She shrugs. "I mean, you're the only boy here who has seen my undergarments. Need someone to tell me what color is better."

"I don't think..." he swallows. "Don't think my opinion in that really matters."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. Because I'm not— like, I'm not planning to see the colors of those again," he says, half stammering as he does so. "So decide for yourself."

"What do you think about... black?" She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Yellow doesn't seem fitting... sage green?"

"Still think the tree is more interesting," he says through his teeth, eyes focused on the thing, indeed. Joan finally finishes putting her shoes on, sticks her hand in her pocket, and takes a necklace out.

"You mind?" She holds it up. "I made it yesterday. Just gotta work on the opening. Can't put it on by myself."

He clears his throat, muttering some kind of agreement. Quickly, he puts the thing on, his fingers tickling her back, then he has turned away from her again.

"Thanks." Joan puts her hand on her hips. "So what are we staring at now?"

"The water."

"Beautiful," she comments.

"Sure," he says.

"You won't snitch?"

"Never ask me the color of anything again, and I won't."

A smile forms. "Deal. Hey, what size do you suggest, though?"

"Oh, shut up."

She manages a chuckle, yet her cheeks are also catching a blush by now. "Well, imma go before this gets too crazy. See ya."

❀

"What job would you be if it weren't for your legs?" She asks Camil a few days later.

Finally, she can go back to working all the time and keeping her mind off things. She waited to get payback once her wrists were healed, so it's been a while since she got locked up with Gally, and the nightmares haven't changed in that time. But alright, she's doing okay. Physically.

"I guess a Runner," he says. "I'd like to know what's out there. Perhaps find a way out, too."

She just hums. Honestly, her interest in escaping has faded. Out there it's worse than here. Maybe someday, another girl will come up. If not... she'll keep living here, pretending it's fine, or maybe if a cute guy comes up, she'll get girls in this place in another way.

Damn, those thoughts are alright to have but feel illegal.

"Can you imagine all of us here? As adults?" She manages a laugh. "Maybe it'll finally be clean! And you'll finally grow some facial hair."

He pulls a face. "Definitely not. I wanna live in an awesome house."

"We can build that here, too."

"No, we can't," he insists. "It's different. I want to be free, not locked up in a labyrinth."

"Out there, it's not better than here," she says. "Trust me—"

"No. I have my opinion and I'll keep it," he answers sharply. "But neither do I want to fight, so let's not."

"Fine," she mutters, slightly upset she can't convince him. Two kids have died in her time here, both in the Maze. She doesn't want to lose Camil, too. "Just don't act like that Greenie. What happened to him, anyways? I never really thought of him afterwards."

"What Greenie?"

"The one I saved. Or tried to," she says. "What happened to him?"

"Oh, eh." He scratches the back of his head. "The Griever kind of... ripped his heart out."

"Ah." It hits her with a whole wave of emotions, but her face remains of steel. "That's not great."

"We buried him while you were out," he continues. "You did your best to save him, really."

She can't find herself getting angry at the dead Greenie. At least now she remembers how horrible it is outside. Knows more. Has things a little bit solved with Gally.

"Well, let's just get dinner." Camil starts wheeling away. "You finished with that?"

Joan nods, putting a lid on the jar she just poured another liquid in. It's a perfume she made. It smells quite good. So quickly, she ends up applying some on her neck with her fingers, then rushes after Camil.

They meet Newt on their way to a table, and he insists that they join. Camil says he already promised he'd join Winston, so he leaves her alone with Newt.

It's quite awkward. She doesn't know why, because Newt seemed like a kind, genuine boy before, but she can feel it. "Hi."

"Hi," he says.

Joan takes a bite off her sausage. "Any idea what punishment Alby is gonna give me for the Med-Jack thing?"

"I told him it was their own fault. And even if it weren't, it's just a prank you did," he says.

"Oh." Not sure how to reply, she eventually smiles. "Thank you, Newt. Didn't feel like spending another night in the Slammer."

"No problem."

"So... anything you desperately need to talk about or we're just eating dinner together 'cause we can?"

He shrugs a bit. "Just wonderin' if you're alright. The Changing's not nothing, and you seem to have recovered super fast."

"I'm alright," she says. "Thanks."

"You were very upset when you woke up," he adds. "Not sure if you were in a trance and if you even remember, but—"

"I know. I was just afraid. Woke up in different clothes, tied up in a dark room, with a few awful memories."

He nods, blushing a bit. "About the clothes change... I did that. But I didn't look, I swear! It took long because of that, but I swear I—"

"I know," she assures before he goes deeper into it. "Thank you for that, Newt."

"No problem," he mutters again. "And I get that you were afraid. It was just to make sure you wouldn't escape or anything."

"Yeah." Joan takes another bite.

"You're not ready to share what you remember yet, are ya?"

"I— eh. I don't think it's very fitting to share. Not right now."

She feels the goosebumps form on her skin at the memory of watching the screen. Alby carrying a dead pale Newt out of the Maze, his leg in a weird state. The boy, Thomas, had been crying.

"If you remember anything that could help, don't be afraid to share it, though. If you won't strangle yourself because of it, at least." He lowers his voice. "Do you... do you like, remember anything about me? Did I have a nice family? Great friends?"

"I don't remember much about you," she says, almost whispering. "Sorry."

"That's okay." He perks up quickly, yet there's a faint sadness in his eyes. "I was just curious."

"Sorry," she mutters again.

It feels awful to not tell him about her knowledge of his limp. It feels wrong to be aware of it, while he's not aware that she's aware.

"I know," she blurts out.

Then she nearly hits her head against the table and wants to bury herself alive.

Yet she continues. "I know about your limp. I thought you should know."

To her surprise, he doesn't seem upset at all. In fact, he's almost... relieved.

"Thank you for not acting like I'm still the same as back then," he says. "Because I'm not."

"I didn't even say that much—"

"You didn't say 'sorry' or apologize for me, and I'm glad, because you shouldn't apologize," he states. "So thank you."

Taken aback, she nods. That took quite a turn— she didn't expect this reaction, but alright. He's glad, and so is she.