UNLIKE the fact Siren was the most introverted person in the whole Glade, everyone knew damn well her name was given to her for a reason.

Siren; A woman who is considered to be alluring or fascinating, but also dangerous in some way. One that beguiles men.

She was, as her name betrayed, a fascinating person to spend your day with. Her schedule was so perfect it was almost unbelievable she lived in a field that was surrounded by a giant, moving maze... and boys, ew.

But being the only girl wasn't as tough as Siren first expected it to be. She had learned in the few years of living in the Glade, that she just had to put on a mask to make them stay away.

And now that mask was permanent. It had became a piece of her life. Her personality.

The boys looked up at her. The Greenies looked... down. There was this weird ritual where the older Gladers would scare the Newbies into the fact that Siren was an actual siren and if they would talk to her they would die or something.

Not that the older boys dared to talk to Siren.

No, no. They were actually just as fearful. Siren wasn't someone you just chatted with after a long day, or someone who would voluntarily touch you, let alone walk over to you. For all she knew, only the ones that had been close to her for the longest dared to speak to her.

She was well known for her strength of running in the Maze, but other than that, no one really knew what other interests she has beside running. Some said she only spent time drawing maps and training herself, others said she was actually just a golden retriever.

Neither of that was true.

Siren wasn't what people considered nice. She wasn't mean, either. She was the kind of person that would only let you see everything behind the mask when she got comfortable... which in her situation took longer than two years. Alby could prove that, after his desperate tries to get something other than curse words out of her.

Easier said, she didn't share her feelings.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Her day started like usual, waking up in her small, yet comfortable bed. It was placed in a tiny hut, at the edge of the woods. A foggy morning smell hung in the air, along with a scent of the damp plants.

Siren had no problems with waking up early. By now she could even wake up without setting an alarm, because her biological clock was so used to waking up early. Yet she didn't dare to take the risk and always used the little watch they gave her.

An unwell feeling hit her once she was conscious enough to remember everything from the past days. Alby was their leader now, not Nick. Nick had died trying to go down the Box. Nick was dead, cut in half.

She blinked to get the image of his torso away. The unfocused eyes and chopped off legs. Organs hanging out— yeah, no.

Alby was the leader, Newt the Second-in-command. She had to get used to that, since Alby was way different that Nick. Alby was a dark-skinned, almost bald boy. He always looked clean, unlike the others. But the biggest change was his personality compared to Nick's.

Nick was sweet, careful, and wanted everything sorted out so well he only ended a Gathering when everyone was happy. Alby, in fact, was more of a grumpy, yelling guy. He was nice to Siren, though. He was one of the two, maybe three, people she trusted.

She got out of her bed, stretching her muscles in the early morning. The Doors opened at six, so she woke up at five. Stretch, clothes, breakfast, and getting her backpack ready.

Fashion was not really a thing in the Glade. Most boys constantly wore the same and stank from feet away. Others washed their clothes, some actually changed once a few days.

The only people Siren allowed to stink were her 'colleagues', the Runners. You couldn't blame them for sweating after a whole day of running.

Siren thought about these kind of things daily. The facts and opinions in the Glade as she walked, her legs getting wet from splashes of water jumping up from the grass with each step she took.

Her hair was up in a ponytail for two reasons. She didn't want it to get in the way, and she hated her hair. It was a mess, blonde strands sticking out everywhere. After Siren's shower she always had these waves and when she attempted to brush it, it only looked like she got struck by some electric bomb.

But the cold morning air calmed it a bit down, especially by the time she arrived in the kitchen. Picnic tables were stacked in front of the hut. She had never been inside the kitchen, but outside it was a bar, pans hanging on the roof. Frypan, their Cook, was already giving other Runners food when she joined the line.

Not many people were up. The Runners, Frypan, Newt, and Alby. Siren found this the most important people in the Glade, the others, well, she cared about them a lot, but she didn't show it in the slightest.

"Hey." Frypan gave her a warm smile as he put a sandwich, an egg, and a glass of milk on her plate.

She smiled back, liking Fry for who he was. A sweet, caring guy. No reason to hate him. "Thanks."

When she spun around, no one was staring at her like usually happened. These Runners were the boys she had known for years. They knew her, she knew them. They were well aware she wasn't some kind of strange, silent, and supernatural human. She was just the same as them... but a different gender.

No matter how introverted she was, she wasn't insecure or something. Joining Minho for breakfast was probably the most confident thing you could do in the Glade... and she did that while they were barely friends.

He was unbothered by Siren's presence and continued eating his food, giving her a glance that told her 'good morning'. They ate in silence for a while, busy in their own minds.

When you thought about it, Minho and Siren could've been siblings, comparing their personalities. Not the most talkative people when it came to emotions. Observers, Runners, and strong.

Oh, and sarcastic as hell.

"Section six today." Minho suddenly said. He glared at her from his eyes, his dark hair styled perfectly as always. "You're with me."

"Fun." While making eye contact, Siren motioned at her food. "Almost finished."

With a nod, Minho got up from the wooden bench and bounced on and off his heels, stretching his legs as he watched Siren eat the last bites of her food.

"You should pack your bag the night before." He commented. "It's easier."

"You should not tell me what to do." She murmured as the Asian received a scowl.

"I'm your Keeper. Of course I can. But, do whatever ya want, Bean. I ain't stoppin' you." He was now doing jumping jacks on the grass, the green covering his shoes already.

Siren squinted an eye. That weird nickname Minho once gave her... Bean, she hated it. There was no reason behind it and sounded stupid. Yet she never confronted him about it. Would cause too much drama.

"Can you hurry?" Minho was either showing off with his push-ups, or actually stretching, but whatever it was...

He definitely had biceps.

The muscles on his arms moved with each push he did, veins popping bigger and smaller as if they were breathing. The push-ups went smooth, quiet sounds of Minho exhaling entering Siren's ears as she tried to focus on her food, and not whatever kind of show this boy was having.

She didn't reply to his question. Instead, she traded her now empty plate with a lunch box Frypan had made her, stuffed it in the small, dark red backpack she had, then joined Minho to walk to the Doors.

Those Doors were giant, a big opening in the enormous walls of the Glade. Ivy decorated half of the walls green, the other half was gray. Outside the Glade lay the Maze, so big that it had taken Siren multiple months of running to memorize the whole thing, and to have touched every wall, desperate for an escape.

But there wasn't. For three years Siren had been a Runner. What did she find? Nothing. She was losing hope and started to feel so trapped, that she once had the thought she only got sent into the Glade to expand it. Ew.

She didn't just feel trapped in the maze. No, she felt trapped in her mind. Her life. She wasn't free. She might've felt safe walking around the Glade with nothing but boys, yet that didn't mean she was free.

Minho shook her out of her thoughts, something people often had to do with Siren. She took a deep breath in, nodded at Minho, and started their run.

Neither of them talked as they did this. They knew the route out of their head, so needed no instructions. Minho only cut some ivy off the walls to recreate the Hansel And Gretel story.

The duo didn't bother running with each other either. Minho didn't admit it fast, but he liked Siren for who she was. Brave, a little risky, and not annoying.

Yet they weren't friends. Harshly said, Siren only had one person she described as a friend, and that was Reeve, a boy who she would reunite with once she came back in the Glade.

Their footsteps echoed through the tall walls, along with loud breaths. Cracks had carved into the floor and if you didn't watch out, you could easily trip over the small stones spread everywhere.

The Maze looked old, like it had been standing for decades, but as far as Siren remember, Alby, Minho, and about twenty other boys got put into the Maze three years ago. Next was Siren herself, and each month more and more boys.

"Lunch break." Minho announced halfway through their run. The duo sat down at an open place, immediately rushing to eat... after all, you wouldn't want to spend the night in the Maze if you were too late and the Doors already closed when you came back.

"Noticed anything new?" Minho looked at her, knowing if he wanted her to talk about what she had seen he would really have to ask.

"You're finally growing facial hair." She replied with a triumphant tilt of her head.

His jaw immediately tightened. "Wow, sarcasm. Original."

"If you don't want a sarcastic answer don't ask a stupid question." She took a bite of her sandwich. "But you really are growing facial hair. I'm so proud."

He held up his middle finger, annoyed by the fact Siren had been teasing him since the moment every other boy started growing hairs above their lips, and he didn't.

"I mean the Maze, Bean." He let out a sigh. "But apparently you have not noticed anything new."

She just hummed a bit, enjoying the silence and not bothered by what kind of dangerous creatures could be close to them.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

A/n: First chapter!! I hope you enjoyed :)
What do we think? And about Siren??
x Vera