"Come on then, Greenie," Gally said as you stepped into the ring.

"3, 2, 1!" the other Gladers cheered. Gally immediately rushed at you, throwing you to the ground.

The Gladers booed in disappointment.

"Should've known you wouldn't last long," Gally said smugly. "You're just some girl."

"What?" you got to your feet, voice dangerously low. "What did you just say?"

Newt smiled to himself, knowing Gally was about to get his ass whipped. He'd angered the wrong girl.

"I said you're just some weak girl! You couldn't beat me!" Gally taunted.

"Oh yeah?" you cracked your knuckles. "Watch this, shuckface!"

Before Gally could put up a defence, you ran at him, kicking him in the groin, hard. He groaned loudly. You grabbed his shoulder and rammed your knee into his chest several times, and then backed up, performed a spinning kick and knocked him to the ground.

You pinned him with your foot. "Just some weak girl, huh."

Gally made a small whining sound, like a dog in pain. A puppy in pain, actually.

"Whoo! Yeah, Y/N!" you turned and saw Minho and Newt clapping loudly, and everyone else joined in. You got off Gally and made your way over to them.

"Y/N, that was shucking awesome," Newt patted you on the back.

"No one mess with Y/N," Minho joked. "She'll beat you into the ground!"

"Thanks, Minho," you bump his shoulder with yours, smiling friendlily at the two boys.

"Hey, come on, let's go sit back down," Newt gently took your arm and steered you and Minho onto a log. "I'll go grab us some food."

"I'll come with," Minho said instantly. "You always pick the wrong meat!"

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

You grinned to yourself as the two boys walked off, bickering like children.

"Heyyy, Y/N." you turned and saw a boy you hadn't met drunkenly staggering over to you, with blond hair and heavily lidded blue eyes. He sat down too close and you could smell Gally's brew on his breath. You inched away as far as possible.

"Oh, um, hi, nice to meet you," you stammered.

"Hey, I call dibs on the girl!" the guy yelled suddenly.

"Aw, come on man!"

"No fair!"

You were so shocked by such an outright display of revolting masculinity your mouth snapped shut and you couldn't defend yourself.

"Um look," you finally got out. "I'm not an object, okay? And who said I was dating anyone?"

"But I called dibs on you!" he snarled, and in a sudden show of strength he yanked you up and pushed you to the ground, where you landed hard in grass, damp with Gally's brew.

You screwed up your face in revulsion, scrambling to your feet again to get away, as far away as possible.

"What the blood shuck are you doing?!" you heard a familiar British voice yell out accusatorially. You turned and saw Minho and Newt, the former of which shoved the boy off you, and the latter glared at him.

"What the shuck, Ben?" Newt asked, fury in his voice.

"I called dibs and she said no," he slurred.

"He was drunk, Newt, it's okay," you said quietly, already used to this terrible reality of boys when mixed with alcohol, in a world where you were the only thing somewhat close to feminism.

"No, it's not okay," he hissed angrily. "He shouldn't treat you like that!"

He raised a fist, but you quickly placed your hand on his bicep, soothingly. "Newt, please don't. I can defend myself, and if you hurt him, then you aren't any better than him."

"Y/N's right," Minho said. "Look, let's just ignore them and try to give Y/N a good first day, okay?"

Newt slowly lowered his fist.

"Thank you," you breathed, and he turns and smiled at you gently. "Now about that food..."

"You're the best," Minho laughed.

"I know," Newt replied, staring straight into your eyes. "She is."

- - -

"Let's call it a night, okay?" Newt gasped out, the three of you in hysterics from one of Minho's tales of some other Glader tripping in the Maze. "Minho and I gotta get up early tomorrow."

"Well, what about Y/N?" Minho asked.

"What about her?" Newt frowned, looking at you.

"She doesn't have a job yet, right?" Minho confirmed. You nodded.

"She should be a Runner," Newt said. "And as a Runner and Second-in-Command, I vouch for her."

"And I think after her sprint, she should be," Minho agreed. "But Running's dangerous, Y/N." He turned to you. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

You imagined getting to run the Maze with Newt and Minho every day: your two best friends, even only after a day. "Sure, I'll do it."

"Yes!" Newt hugged you spontaneously. You hugged back, happily melting into his surprisingly strong arms. Minho cleared his throat. "Oh, uh..."

"Shuck off, Minho," you joked. "Right, when does Running start?"

"I'll come get you," Newt promised. "We start early though, so be prepared."

"Sure thing," you yawned. "Okay, I'll turn in. See you boys tomorrow."

You gave a friendly wave and let Alby show you to your room in the Homestead ("Since you're a girl, I'm to putting you with the rest of those shanks."). Newt waved awkwardly back.

"You like her, don't you?" Minho said as soon as you were out of earshot.

"What? N-no I don't!" Newt protested. "Sh- She just showed up!"

Minho rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I'm not going after her."

"Well, maybe a little," Newt admitted. Minho raised his eyebrows. "Okay, maybe a lot."

Minho laughed. "Good luck, man. Good luck."

- - -

You awoke to Newt shaking you, the movement enough to stir you from a dreamless sleep.

"Heya, Y/N/N. Is it okay if I call you Y/N/N?"

You flushed. You hadn't had a nickname before (that you could remember, duh). "Sure."

"Well, get dressed, there's forty-five minutes until the doors open," Newt said casually, making to leave the room.

"Uh, Newt?" you waited until he faced you, fidgeting awkwardly. "The Creators are shuckfaces ... they didn't send down any..."

"Any what?" Newt asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Any girls clothes..." you flushed. "Just underclothing."

"Okay." He left the room without explanation, returning momentarily with a pile of beige and brown fabric, very clean by Glade standards. "You can use my clothes - I don't mind."

"Thank, Newt," you grinned at him, ducking back into your room to change and pulling your hair back so you could run.

"Ready?" Newt called from outside. You stepped out, pretending to model the loose shirt and pants.

"Oh wow," he joked, as you almost tripped over the hem of the pants, bending with a scowl to roll them up. "You're rocking my clothes, Y/N."

You gave a little strut. "Newt, face it. I'm better than you at everything: even wearing your own clothes."

Newt glared at you, until you both dissolved into giggles. Minho stepped out towards you from the bathroom down the hall.

"Flirting again, I see?" he teased. You and Newt both flushed, but you had to get back at Minho.

"What took you so long in the bathroom?" you arched an eyebrow. "Fluffing your hair? You know I have more hair than you, and it took me thirty seconds, tops, to get it into this beautiful style."

"Ha ha," Minho laughed flatly. "Come on, we gotta head to Frypan."

All three of you wolfed down a quick breakfast - you were the only runners today, the others being exhausted after some big event (read: a surprise Griever) had pushed them beyond their limits yesterday. You packed your bag with food and water, getting ready to leave.

"Are you sure about this, Y/N/N?" Newt asked you, as the doors slowly groaned open.

You were about to retort something along the lines of 'don't be a sexist shuckface', but you closed your mouth when you saw he was generally worried for your wellbeing, not concerned about 'girly weakness' or whatever.

"Hey," you bumped his shoulder, jogging on the spot like Minho with a small smile. "I've got you. I'll be good."

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