𝘽𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚

𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙠𝙚 stood beside Minho with her arms crossed as the boys lit the torches before them. Her eyes scan the area around her to try and find the newbie.

"Light ''em up!" Alby yells, throwing his torch at the pile of wood stacked before them. Soon, the other boys follow the elder's lead, throwing theirs in as well. The flames grow in height and volume as it crackles and pops.

Drums beat as everyone chants, smiles plaster across the glader's faces as some boys start doing back flips. Blake smiles to herself; she loves her boys. They all had become her family, and she wouldn't trade them for the world.

When she first arrived, she had been terrified—being the only female in a place full of males, but she quickly learned they would do anything for her. None of the boys had ever really tried getting with her, considering she had informed them she would 'cut their dicks off' if they ever tried anything.

The small girl always had a weapon on her also, never letting her guard down completely—that enough kept them away. Nevertheless, she loved them, and they loved her. Blake built trust and respect from the boys. As long as they respected her, she would respect them.

Blake gazed around the grassy area in search of her missing best friend. Shifting her head in every direction—before her eyes landed on him, sitting in their favorite spot.

The girl smiles to herself, walking over to him, seeing the god-awful jar sitting in his hands. She nearly cringes at the sight of the liquid.

Plopping down next to the boy, she takes the jar away before he can take a sip. She grins as she brings the jar to her lips, gulping it down. Her eyes flick over to see the boy with his mouth hanging open in a mixture of shock and irritation.

"You shank! What the hell?" Minho scoffs in agitation.

After swallowing the liquid, Blake hands the jar back over to Minho, wiping her lips. Shrugging, Blake eyes the boy playfully as he quickly reaches out to steal the jar.

"What? I didn't drink it all?" She says, teasing the boy as she chuckles.

Minho rolls his eyes at her antics. "Go. Get. your own!" He scoffs as she attempts to grab the jar again, but he moves it away quicker, throwing it to the other side of him as she tries to reach for it.

Blake giggles at the boy beside her, caging his jar away from her reach.

A little while later, the crowd settles down a tad. The cool night air sends goosebumps to Blake's arms as she scans the area. Her head stops its sweep as she spots the greenie sitting next to Newt. The two boys lean their backs against a log as they converse with each other. Newt scarfs down his supper as Blake notices the greenie fiddling with his hands as he sits beside the blonde.

Gazing at the boy in front of her, Blake takes in his features again. His dark brown hair falling over his forehead, and his sharp jawline clenched as he toys with his hands...the veins in his hands protruding from his tanned skin.

𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘶𝘴.

From across the way, Newt shifts his head toward the greenie as he swallows a bite of his food.  "Hell of a first day, greenie." Newt says, cutting through the awkward silence.

"Here, put some hair on your chest." The blond says as he grabs a jar from below him, handing it over to the boy beside him.

The greenie's eyebrows furrow in confusion at the brown liquid, hesitating for a second before raising the jar to his lips.

Blake watches the scene from afar and smacks Minho on his chest, making the boy jump.  "Check it out, greenie's trying Gally's recipe." She laughs out, pointing to the two boys who sit against a log.

Newt grins at the boy, expecting an inevitable reaction. Sure enough, the greenie takes a large swig, coughing violently when the foul liquid burns down his throat. His hand raises to his chest as he tries to regain his breath.

"Oh my—oh my god, what is that?" The greenie manages to breathe out, pushing the jar back over to the laughing blonde.

"I don't even know." Newt giggles in between breaths, continuing to laugh. The greenie gags and coughs more as he tries to get the horrid taste out of his mouth.

"It's Gally's recipe. It's a trade secret.." Newt laughs as he looks over his shoulder at Gally and the other boys hollering, fighting in the circle.

The greenie mentally cringes at the taller boy's name. "Yeah, well, he's still an asshole."

"He saved your life today." Newt hummed in response before continuing, "Trust me, the maze is a dangerous place."

The greenie stays silent for a split second as his mind fits the puzzle pieces into place. "We're trapped here, aren't we?"

"For the moment."

Newt turns toward the runners as he lowers his jar.

"But..see those guys over there, by the fire?" Says as his finger points to the group. Following the blonde's line of sight and the finger-pointing—the greenie turns to see the runners conversing with each other.

"Those are the runners. And that guy in the middle there—That's Minho, he's the keeper of the runners. Now, every morning when those doors open...they run the maze, mapping it. Memorizing it, trying to find a way out."

Hope surged through the greenie's system at the idea that someone was actually doing something. His eyes land on the only female in the glade, chatting with Minho as she swallows a sip of the disgusting beverage.

"How long have they been looking?" The greenie wonders, gazing at the girl next to Minho.

"Three years." Newt responds to the greenie's question.

Minho's eyes flicker from Blake to the two boys in front of them, noticing a certain pair of brown eyes gaze at the girl beside him. Bumping Blake in the ribs with his elbow, the girl lets out a small yelp, jumping at the jab to her side. Blake's confused eyes find Minho's.

"Looks like Greenie has a staring problem." Minho nods to the two boys in front of them.

Blake's head slowly turns as her eyes land on the boy staring at her. Their eyes connect immediately as Blake feels butterflies tingling in her stomach.

"Newt must've told him about us-runners. He's probably just curious." Blake shrugs, playing it off.

"Yeah—curious about what's under your clothes." Minho says with a laugh, earning a slap from Blake.

From afar, the greenie watches as the two laugh at something—the girl hitting Minho's chest like he said something funny. The brunette boy's jaw ticks as he fiddles with his hands.

"Are they together?" The boy asks curiously, gesturing his head towards the two lead runners.

Newt's eyes flicker up to the greenie and follow his gesture—𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴.

Newt shakes his head while chuckling. "Might as well be, but I don't think they like each other like that." Newt pauses his sentence as he swallows a gulp of the moonshine, cringing at the sour taste. "Personally, I think Minho has a crush on Blake, but if he does— he hasn't acted on it. Guess he doesn't want to ruin their friendship."

"Blake won't get with anyone around here. I think it's because she doesn't want conflict between anyone. Many gladers pin over her, but she doesn't want anything to do with them."

The greenie's eyes flicker from Newt to the girl as he talks. Ever since he had seen her running out of the maze, he couldn't seem to take his eyes off her. There was something about her that pulled his eyes toward her like a magnetic force.

The greenie clears his throat as he awkwardly shifts to get comfortable, finally tearing his eyes away from the female. "How long has—Blake—been here?" He asks, testing the waters of her name rolling out of his mouth.

At first, he had heard Newt say her name, talking about her being a runner. The blonde had mentioned Blake had tried the exact thing he did, sprinting toward the maze on her first day, but the greenie had thought Newt was referring to another boy. Since 'Blake' was usually a guy's name. So he had thought nothing of it.

"Two years, she came up the box a few months after I got here. We were all surprised when a girl came up. Thought they would eventually send another up, but to this day, she's still the only one." Newt informs the boy beside him, who still fiddles with his hands.

Newt breathed out a sharp laugh, remembering Blake's first day. "Gally went to get her out of the box, but the first thing she did was sock him right in the face." He said, chuckling at the memory.

Newt had watched the girl as they opened the doors to the box; she laid on her back clutching her wrist—looking terrified. As soon as Gally jumped down and grabbed the girl—she punched him, making the rest of the boys die with laughter, including Newt.

"You should have seen it; it was awesome...but much like you, she instantly started running towards the maze and would've gotten through those doors if Minho hadn't tackled her."

The greenie's eyes finally look back at the girl, gazing at her from afar. His eyebrows knit together as his eyes trail over her face with confusion. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘳?

From across the fire, Blake's eyes rise to once again meet the greenie's.

𝘏𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘔𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵..

Something about those whiskey-colored eyes had Blake wondering where she had seen them from. But it's not like she can remember anything at the moment, given she recalls nothing before arriving at the glade.

But still, he looks somewhat familiar to the girl the more she looks at him.