I was woken from my sleep when I felt a hand gently push the hair out of my face. My eyes fluttered open to reveal my blond headed boyfriend. His bare chest was hovering over mine as he brushed the hair past my forehead, feeling the electricity run through me as his fingers touched my skin.
His hand fell to the other side of my body before he let out a pleased sigh. "Good morning, my love." We shared a simple kiss before I replied, "good morning, Newt."
He sighed again but this time it was deeper and full of worry. He pulled my head onto his chest so I could listen to his heartbeat, something that brought each of us much joy even in its simplicity.
"We're going to have to split our sections today since two of the boys are in the med-jack huts for injuries," he said weakly.
He felt heavily burdened being the keeper of runners and making almost all of the decisions associated with it. I tried as often as i could to help him decide or calm him down when he was stressed. I would rub his back or play with his hair which seemed to work wonders.
"I know," I breathed. I pushed a piece of his hair out of his face and cupped his cheek. "But we'll be fine. You're strong enough to be on your own and so am I."
He sat up straight, bringing me with him, before pulling me into his lap. He set his chin on my shoulder and wrapped his arms around my bare stomach. Something was bothering him, I could tell; he wasn't acting himself.
He would skip meals at random claiming he wasn't hungry or was too tired for eat. His runs dragged on later than they should and when in question about it, said 'I made a wrong turn' or 'I lost track of time'. All of this was unlike him and it was worrying me.
I had brought this up to Alby and he agreed whole heartedly that something was wrong with Newt. We just couldn't figure out why or how to fix it so we remained clueless, watching him turn into someone we didn't know.
"This is hopeless," he muttered behind me. "We're never getting out."
I spun around and lifted his chin so his eyes had nowhere to go but into mine. "Hey, hey, don't say that. We're gonna find a way out of here. We're gonna find the exit to the maze and we'll all get out of here. You can't give up hope."
"I already did! Months ago!" He yelled making me wince. He never yelled like this, especially in my face, but I couldn't help since he didn't ask for it. "We've been looking for a way out for over a year. You think we're gonna find it now? We're never getting out of here, ever!"
"Yes we are. I don't care if it takes another year or ten more, I'm not living my life in here. So go ahead, give up, but I'm not. I can't give up or I'll lose my mind." I whispered the last bit, unsure if he heard me or not. I climbed out of the bed and pulled him to the edge. His tear filled eyes stared directly at the floor before I lifted his chin once again.
"Look at me, baby," I said hoping he would for a moment focus on me. I wiped off the streaks of tears dripping down his rosy cheeks. "We're gonna get out of here. We're gonna run the maze everyday until we get each other out. Do you hear me? I'm gonna get you out."
He placed his hands on my arms and pulled me into his chest. He buried his face into my neck. It wasn't until the tears slid down my neck and into my bra that I held him tighter. I brushed through his shaggy hair allowing him to cry onto my skin. I didn't mind knowing he was the one in pain, not me.
We spent minutes holding each other until he felt good enough to get dressed. We shared another kiss before walking hand in hand to the kitchens to grab our food for today. I slipped my lunch into my runners strap around my right thigh as Newt asked for me to put his in his strap behind his back.
"Good luck today," Fry said as we each tossed the empty bottles into bin for the sloppers to deal with.
We walked together, like we usually did, to the doors where the other runners and Alby had gathered. I could already see the depressed and darkened face as Newt approached the doors. The maze was scary and dangerous but we knew it was what needed to be done if we wanted to get out of here.
His eyes remained covered by a black film of hatred as he peeked inside the walls. His eyebrows were scrunched together as if to scare the doors into never opening. He walked angrily towards the other runners with a clenched jaw. Something was worse about today than the other days. Maybe he was over stressed again.
Alby must have noticed each of our states- my worrying and Newt's anger- and came over to us. He smiled at Newt who couldn't seem to return it.
"Hey kids. Ready to run?" Alby asked hoping to get any response.
"I'll be right back," Newt stated monotone and walked towards the other runners. My heart thumped hard in my chest as my eyes followed my stomping boyfriend.
Alby had been just as worried as I was. We had had many conversations about Newt over the past weeks ever since he began acting weird. We could see the frustrated and sullen expression written on his face when he walked, talked, basically any second of the day.
"I'm scared Alby," I sighed looking at Newt who was busy telling each of the boys their running sections today. Us having an unequal number of runners to sections, we each would be running alone, which only made my nerves worse. "That's not Newt anymore but-but he won't tell me. He won't let me help him."
Alby put his arm on my shoulder and gently rubbed down my arm. I knew he had tried helping Newt as well. I assumed maybe he just doesn't want to talk to a girl, so who better for him to talk to than his best friend?
Alby and I shared the same fears: Newt losing himself thanks to the maze. The only issue was he wasn't telling us what was making him lose who he is. It could be the maze, or it could be something else. I just hoped it wasn't my fault.
"I know, I know." We were at a loss for options now. We had tried everything. All we could do now, was trust Newt to bring himself out of the slump alone.
"(Y/N)!" Newt called from the doors. Thanks to our watches, we knew only seconds were go by before the doors opened. "Let's go!"
Before I ran, I turned to Alby with my hand on his shoulder. "If you hear anything from in the maze, please don't risk your life." I knew today would be difficult for me and I wanted assurance that Alby wouldn't go suicidal on us.
"No promises. Now go," he said after sharing a tight hug. I ran over to the boys and stood beside Newt. I opened my mouth to speak, but was silenced by the grinding of the cement doors on the ground. The moment they stopped, I wrapped my arms around his neck.
"I love you. I'll see you later. Please be careful," I whined forcing him to look directly at me. His eyes flashed something dark, something I hadn't seen before, but he pressed his lips to mine.
"I love you too. Be safe, love." The other runners had already entered the maze when Newt and i did. I sent a quick wave back to Alby before focusing on the maze. Newt and I shared another soft kiss before splitting into our separate sections.
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Running for hours was exhausting and boring. The same walls, the same vines, the same griever goo coating the floors. Newt usually made it less boring if not fun. We would talk about random things or simply enjoy hearing the other persons heavy breaths. He made the maze less... agonizing.
