Newt and I sit together in silence for at least an hour. His scent feels like home. I never want to move from this spot, but suddenly, Newt tenses and looks at his watch.

"The Doors should've closed by now."

I lift my head. "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Newt says, standing. "Something must be wrong."

He marches into the Glade, his limp more apparent to me know that I know where it came from. My heart twinges in sadness but I follow him out nonetheless.

It seems like Newt isn't the only one who'd noticed the late closing of the Doors. A small crowd of Gladers congregate around the Doors, muttering speculations amongst themselves. As we approach, many of the boys give me funny looks and go silent or whisper behind their hands. I glance around for someone to explain, but my only friend nearby is Newt and his brown eyes avoid mine purposefully.

"Where is she?" Alby sounds angry and I twirl around to see that his face confirming what I'd heard in his voice. "Addy! Come here! Don't fight, it's not worth it."

"W- what?" Alby grabs my arm and starts marching me away. I throw a frantic glance at Newt and he immediately jumps into action.

"Alby! Alby, stop this! This is crazy!" Newt follows closely, putting a hand on Alby's shoulder, but the other boy shrugs him off.

"No, Newt! It's not crazy! The shucking Doors didn't close because of her! Next thing you know, the whole Glade will be filled with shucking Grievers!"

I cast frantic glances between the two leaders. "Will someone please explain to me what is going on?"

Newt hides his face in his hand and drags it down over his chin, but Alby has no problem explaining. "They didn't send supplies when the Box came up today. They sent a message. If we send you back, we'll all be safe."

"Which we're not going to do!" Newt interjects. "We can't trust their word! How are we to know they won't send Grievers on all of us whether we do or not?"

"I guess we'll have to find out." Alby's words have a terrifying sense of finality dripping from them. His grip on my arm tightens and he drags me towards the Box with inhumane strength.

"Alby, stop this!" Newt grabs my other arm.

"It's ok, Newt," I whisper. "It'll be better for all of you."

"No. No!" Newt protests. Just then Thomas and Minho join the crowd, already filled in on what's occurring.

My brother steps in between Alby and the Box exclaiming, "You can't serizously be considering this! It'll be dangerous either way! We might as well keep as many helpful bodies as we can!"

"You'd seriously rather risk we all die?" Alby exclaims, clearly sick of being told off. "Last I checked, you're not in charge! I am! And I say that she goes. What evidence do you have that they won't actually harm us? Has that ever stopped them before? We're in a shucking Maze with Grievers!"

"Thomas..." I whisper. I'm terrified, but I'd rather risk one life than many. "Just let me go. It's for the best."

Alby jabs a finger in my direction. "See? Even she can see reason." Then he proceeds to shove me into the Box.

My head hits the metal bottom of the Box and I can feel a goose egg forming.

"No!" Newt, Thomas, and Minho cry in unison. Chuck stands behind them, clearly sad, but respecting my wishes. He was never talking about the maps, I realize. He was talking about this.

"Hold them back," Alby orders and a few hesitant Gladers grab the arms of my friends to restrain them from doing anything rash.

"Get through the Maze!" I tell, burying my panic. "I'll meet you in the other side."

The metal top begins to slide over my head and the Box rumbles as it prepares to move. I hear the boys calling my name but the Box is halfway closed and I can only see Newt's blond mop. Suddenly, Newt breaks free from the Gladers restraining him and falls forward into the Box. Moments after his foot slips through, the Box closes with a resounding boom.

Immediately, shouts of protest fill the air, the loudest being Alby swearing at Newt angrily, but we don't get to listen to them for long because the Box lurches into movement and not gently. I brace myself against the wall, but Newt is thrown forward. When we steady, I bolt over and help him up.

"Oh my gosh! Newt! What were you thinking?" I ask, pulling him in for a hug. The fact that he tried so hard to save me makes me smile even amidst the hard situation.

He drags his hand down his jaw, a habit I've noticed and find incredibly cute. "I don't know, honestly. I guess I thought it wouldn't go down if I got to you." Newt looks away, embarrassed, but I find it incredibly endearing.

"Thank you," I whisper, smiling softly.

Newt scoffs. "For what? I couldn't stop it. I can't even do that right."

My mind flashes back to Alby's words. Couldn't even jump of the Wall right. My heart breaks for him to think such awful things about himself. "You tried. And you didn't fail. It's much scarier doing it alone."

Newt smiles a little but it fades as quickly as it appeared. I have no words so I press my hand on his knee and scoot closer to him. "Really," I say, "Thank you."

I look into his chocolate eyes and my heart melts, throwing all reason out the window. Before I know it, my hand has shifted to the side of his face, brushing his soft skin gently. His hands move to my neck, encouraged, and before I know it, our faces have moved so close to each other that our noses are touching.

"Can I kiss you?" Newt whispers, setting off fireworks inside me.

"Yes," I mutter.

Our lips meet and time stops. I love him. Oh gosh, I love him. I love him. I love him. I love him. I repeat the mantra in my head until finally, the words escape my mouth when we break apart. "I love you, Newt."

A goofy grin spreads across his face. "I love you too."

At his words, I get a strong sense of deja vu and my mind fills my vision with a memory.

I watched as Newt hugged his sister, sobbing, and a tear trickled down my own face. This couldn't be it. It couldn't really be insertion day soon. I didn't want to believe it, but the solemnity in the room confirmed my worst fears.

"I love you Lizzy," Newt said. "I love you so much."

His sister smiles and they hug even more fiercely. Finally, they break apart and it's my turn to say goodbye. Lizzy plants a kiss on his head and slips back into the dormitory in a hurry but I know her and it's not because she's eager to get away from him, she's trying to keep her brave girl facade and the tears welling in her eyes will betray that.

Newt wipes his eyes pulls me into a hug next. "Goodbye Addy. I'll miss you a lot. Keep her safe," he says tearfully.

"I will and I'll miss you too, Newt. I-" I want to confess my crush as this could be my last chance, but I still hesitate, worried that he might not feel the same way. It won't matter if he doesn't, I reason. If not, he'll forget about me anyway. I breathe deeply and confess, "I think I love you."

Newt pushes out of the embrace. "W- what?"

I blush and wipe tears from my face. "Nothing. Nothing. I'll miss you, that's all."

He shakes his head, the incredulous expression still plastered on his face and keeping his brown eyes open wide. "No, no you said you love me, didn't you?"

My face heats more and I'm sure I'm as red as a tomato. I glue my eyes to the floor. "Er, I..."

"No, don't worry," he says pulling my face up and forcing me to look at the goofy grin on his face. "I- I love you too! I didn't think you could ever like me so I never said anything, but-" he interrupts himself. "Would it be too forward to kiss you? Er, I mean can I kiss you? Please?"

My heart threatens to burst right through my chest with the way it's pounding. I can barely breathe. This will be my first kiss. And with Newt! Excitement speeds up my heart rate again and I whisper, "Yes."

Our lips meet and time stops. I love him. I love him, I love him, I love him, I love him!