𝑾𝑨𝑳𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑫𝑬𝑨𝑫

The problem with people who need to save everyone is that they always end up missing one person. I mean, think about it. You can't rescue people who don't look like they need rescuing. The problem is, when somebody drowns, they don't flail about. They bob up and down, silently screaming as they're lungs fill with water, weighing them down till they reach the bottom of the water bed. The people who do flail, can get out of it themselves.

Hypothetically.

But most tend to want to save those who are struggling, but not yet dead. The rush of seeing the difference in behavior boosts their egos, unwarranted heroism invading they're tiny, stupid brains.

I'd love to see my behavior from a different perspective, because although my main goal is not to flail, it seems that I've been placed on multiple people's lifeguard watch lists.

Or maybe I'm super fucking delusional.

Who knows.

" I know. "

" Sorry? " I say, wiping my head to face the voice who answered my unasked question. My eyes fell on Minho, his back pressed up to the side of a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. He lets his eyes feather close as the sun soaks into his skin.

" I know. Life sucks. But you can't let this-" He waves one of his hands around, as if one word couldn't sum up the situation. " This- this shuck-hole suck the soul out of you. If you do, then you're just as dumb as the slintheads who put us here in the first place. "

When I don't answer, my lips parting slowly in confusion, he opens one of his eyes, shaking his head while an annoying smirk climbs up onto his face.

" Look, Hearts. I know you hate people caring about you, but trust me on this one. I feel like I'm watching you die. It's not great to observe, to be honest."

My gaze falls behind his shoulder, to the tree trunk he was resting on. My eyes followed the grooves in the bark, my mind clouding over.

" Why are you telling me this, Minho?" I said, smoothly turning my attention towards him again, my stare engulfing his aura. He seemed so at peace with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling at every breath.

" Cause. " He shrugged, shifting his face to face me, his eyelids still lightly shut.

" Tell me " I pestered, sliding down to sit next to his feet, his knees at my eye level.

" Do you hate me ?"

" What the fuck does that have to do with anything? "

" Just answer the question."

I sighed, picking at the grass at my feet. Did I hate him? Sure, he's a prick, but he did apologize for the whole " scared bitch " thing. Well, I've apologized a lot over the last few years, and I'm still the biggest dick I know.

" No. No, I don't hate you."

" Then I can't tell you." He said, shrugging again before opening his eyes.

" Okay, well, now I hate you." I said, hitting his left kneecap with my fist. He just chuckled, straightening his back before walking away, a quick wave the only acknowledgement of goodbyes.

I sighed, pinching my brows together as I rethought about what he had said earlier.

" I'm watching you die. "

I scoffed, shaking my head to myself. If anything, he was watching me come back to life. Sure, at one point over the last two years I felt unreal. In a bad way. As in, not physically present. Like a videogame. My movements felt planned, my days blended together. Hell, I don't remember anything from those months. Like, at all.

No, he was wrong. He was wrong, because just today, I felt butterflies for the first time in forever. No, today I felt more alive than anything. He has no idea what he's saying. How would he know, anyways? We don't talk that much anymore.

My eyes tracked the sun that was slowly hiding behind the stone Walls, the sky turning darker and darker until the only shade of light was the one that came from the fire in the center of the Glade. I saw a figure, standing near the fire, his buzzed hair glowing orange while the flames licked the sides of his cup. Gally walked over to somebody else, leaning down towards the other boy's ear to whisper something. The guy he was talking to shook his head while looking around, his gaze snagging mine as I took in the scene from a few feet away. He pointed towards me, Gally turning around to follow his finger. A crooked smile appeared on his face, and he waved me over.

I sighed, getting up. My left leg felt numb, shaking as I put pressure on it to walk towards him. As I approached him, I saw Newt and the Greenie sitting against a log, in a way where I could tell they were in deep conversation. I forced myself to look back at Gally, grabbing the drink he was offering me. My nose scrunched up as I saw the mixture of liquids and powder in the jar.

" You didn't mix it well enough " I said, frowning as I swirled it around in my hand.

" A simple thank you would have been enough. " He sniped back, turning around to face a guy who had just crashed into him. " Watch it, man. "

I just hummed in response, going to sit down next to the Runners, my feet sliding jaggedly across the sand. I landed on my knees, shifting myself around so I was sitting with my wrists resting on them, my drink balanced between my shoes. I saw Ben's head turn, acknowledging me with a nod before turning back to look at the fight match that was starting in the circle.

I let myself enjoy the festivities, even though deep down I realised we were celebrating human sacrifices. Human experiments. Human torture.

It was all hazy with the right amount of alcohol, though.

I heard Minho grumble something to the guys beside him, his voice coming from somewhere on my right. He glanced at me through the corner of his eyes, before nodding his chin towards Newt and the other kid. " Looks like the detective's on the job again." He muttered, getting up from his seat to walk further into the crowd, presumably to hide himself from the pair of peering brown eyes that were now boring into my soul. I looked up, raising my eyebrows as I immediately made eye contact with the Greenie. He maintained it, his mouth moving as he asked a question to the blond next to him. Newt shuffled around, his head looking over his shoulder to peer at me while the new kid kept talking. His chuckled, a sly smirk crossed his face before a look of disgust flashed over him. He quickly tugged the boy back to face their original direction, his head low as they spoke quickly. Pulling away, Newt stood up, beckoning the Greenie to follow him. They made their way around the fire, introductions being made while awkward smiles and waves got exchanged. Soon, everyone was crowded around them, and the kid got pushed into the fight ring, and to no one's surprise, so did Gally.

They tussled for a bit, a wave of second hand embarrassment hitting me like a tsunami wave as they both got pushed down to the ground. I almost had to leave, but suddenly the new kid stood up, shouting ; " Thomas! I remember my name!

" I'm Thomas. "

{ a/n }

thank you so so so so much for 1k reads on lab rats, that's insane to think about!

i hope you enjoyed, sorry for the wait ( i feel like i say this a lot, but i do be taking my time with this fanfiction )

stay safe,

xoxo claire !