Disclaimer:

(Thomas's point of view whilst in the Maze overnight)-to the tune of She Looks So Perfect by 5 Seconds of Summer-

Minho looks so perfect standing there in his Runner apparel that he wears

And I know now that I'm so dead

You know these Grievers really are pretty gross

I've been running for so long I'm gonna collapse

And I know now that I'm so dead

(Shuck!)

Run, run

Run, run

Run, run

Run, run

-✼-

I didn't waste any time in finally reaching Minho and kneeling down beside him. Thomas was calling for Alby or Newt to come and help, then he joined me in helping the collapsed Runner.

"Hey - you okay?" Thomas asked him. Minho's head was resting on his outstretched arms as he panted, his chest heaving. He was obviously exhausted and most likely needed water.

"I'm...fine," he assured us between ragged breaths, then looked up, obviously confused when he saw Thomas. "Who the klunk are you?"

"Thomas is new, too. He came up with me," I informed him.

He nodded, whispering a small, "Oh."

"Wait a sec, you know this guy?" Thomas asked. Both he and Minho were very confused with each other and I was confused because I was sure I had told Thomas I was sharing a room with Minho. Or maybe I didn't, seeing as the look on Thomas's face told me I had said nothing about it.

"I share a room with him."

Thomas's eyes went wide and he blinked. "I'm sorry- what? Did you just say you share a room with him? With a guy?"

"If you two could pause your bickering for a second, I could really use some water right now," Minho said, annoyance in his tone. I felt bad for half forgetting about him.

But before I could do anything, (much less reply or something) Alby came running up to us. "What're you doing back, Minho? What happened?"

"Calm your wad, Alby," my friend sassed. "Make yourself useful and get me some water - I dropped my pack out somewhere."

Alby didn't move despite the orders he'd been given. Instead, he kicked Minho in the leg- hard. "What happened?"

Alby didn't like being ignored, but neither did Minho. In fact, he might've disliked it even more, because he shouted, his voice raw, "I can barely talk, shuck-face! Get me some water!"

It didn't surprise me in the least that Minho was allowed to talk to Alby like that without getting an earful about respect and possibly a punch in the face. My point was proven correct when he turned to me and Thomas, a slight smile on his face. "Minho's the only shank who can talk to me like that without getting his butt kicked off the Cliff."

Then he turned and left to get Minho some water.

Thomas was still surprised, awe lacing his tone. "He lets you boss him around?"

Minho shrugged, then wiped sweat off of his forehead with his wrist. "You scared of that pip-squeak? Man, you got a lot to learn. Freakin' Newbies."

"I'm not scared of him," I argued. "He's annoying and thinks he knows everything."

Minho tiredly lifted his arm and pointed to me. "That, I know. Heard you went off on him just before that other chick came up. Pretty sweet."

"Isn't he the leader?" Thomas asked, obviously a bit taken aback by Minho's rebuke. I had forgotten how snappy he could get and that Thomas had known him all of three minutes. He wasn't used to sass-filled remarks like I was, even though he should've been, considering he spent a lot of time with me.

"Leader?" Minho barked in disbelief. "Yeah, call him leader if you want. Maybe we should call him El Presidente. Nah, nah-"

"Commander Alby in Chief?" I suggested, laughing a bit.

"No, no, something else." Minho thought for a moment. "Admiral Alby. There you go."

We laughed even harder at that, leaving Thomas just staring at us. "You guys are weird."

"I think you mean weirdly amazing," Minho corrected him, high-fiving me.

Thomas had realized that the Runner laying beneath us was giving him answers, sassy or not. And he was just eating all the information up. "So who is the leader if he isn't?"

"Greenie, just shut it before you confuse yourself more." Minho sighed, then muttered to himself, "Why do you shanks always come in here asking stupid questions? It's really annoying."

Even I had a twinge of anger at that. Minho was a completely different person when he was around me, and just me. Maybe it was because I didn't pound on him with questions like Thomas was, but still.

"What do you expect us to do?" Thomas demanded, obviously feeling the same way as me.

"Do what you're told, keep your mouth shut," Minho replied with snark. "That's what I expect."

He looked Thomas squarely in the face for the first time since they had met, and Thomas scooted back a bit before he could realize his mistake. He had just shown Minho some weakness.

Apparently he realized this and pushed himself up onto his knees again. "Yeah, I'm sure that's exactly what you did as a Newbie."

I cringed. Thomas was just digging himself deeper and deeper. Sometimes Minho was a bit too snappy, but you never, ever, should snap back. He would crush you faster than you could call him a shank.

"I was one of the first Gladers, slinthead," Minho told him, staring straight into his eyes. "Shut your hole till you know what you're talking about."

I saw it. There was a twitch in the corner of Minho's mouth. Most would have seen it as a twitch of anger, but I knew it was something else. Minho was fighting hard not to smile. He was just playing with Thomas, but man, he was good.

Thomas started to get up, but Minho grabbed his arm and dragged him back down, confirming my suspicions. "Dude, sit down. I'm just playin' with your head. It's too much fun - you'll see when the next Newbie..." he trailed off, a perplexed look causing his eyebrows to wrinkle. "Guess there won't be another Newbie, huh?"

Thomas visibly relaxed and unclenched his jaw. He plopped down next to me. "Guess not."

Minho squinted at him slightly. "You saw the chick, right? The other one, I mean. Everybody says you know her or something."

I looked at Thomas, waiting for an answer.

"I saw her. Doesn't really look familiar at all." He rubbed the back of his neck, and that's all it took. Thomas was lying.

"She hot?"

I slapped Minho's arm playfully, rolling my eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Minho said, then backtracked. "Is she as hot as Dylan?"

I burst out laughing, hitting him again. Minho wasn't serious; I knew that much. He was a friend. I knew he didn't see me that way.

"Um." Thomas thought for a few moments. "Yeah, I guess she's hot."

Minho leaned back until he was laying flat on the ground, his eyes closed. "Yeah, you guess. If you got a thing for girls in comas, right?" He snickered, but I knew this was his way of showing he was intrigued with her, too. Minho's personality was extremely confusing.

"Right." Thomas blinked like he was unsure of what to say next. I could tell Minho was making him uncomfortable, so I decided to change the subject.

"Did you find anything out there?" I asked curiously.

Minho's eyes widened. "You know what, Dylan? That's usually the dumbest shuck-faced thing you could ask a Runner. I thought you would know better." I rolled my eyes. "But not today."

"What do you mean?" Thomas seemed to have read my mind because that was exactly what I was going to say.

"Just wait till the fancy admiral gets back. I don't like saying stuff twice. Plus, he might not want you to hear anyway."

Thomas sighed and I knew he was frustrated with the unsatisfying answer. "Well, at least tell me why you look so tired. Don't you run out there every day?"

I nodded. Minho was in incredibly great shape (and I wasn't just saying that because I almost saw him naked) because he ran for miles every day, almost all day. "Yeah, and why are you so early? You aren't supposed to be back for another couple of hours."

Minho groaned as he straightened himself up and crossed his legs under him. "Let's just say I got a little excited and ran extra fast to get my behind back here."

"Why?" Thomas and I asked in sync, both incredibly curious. The Runner wouldn't stop beating around the bush, heightening our interest even more.

Minho threw his hands up. "Guys. I told you. Patience. Wait for General Alby."

Surprisingly, Thomas didn't get offended. "Okay, I'll shut up. I can't speak for Dylan. Just make sure Alby lets us hear the news, too."

Minho studied Thomas for a second. "Okay, Greenie. You da boss."

We didn't have to wait long for Commander in Chief of Motel de Glade to show up. Moments later, he came with a plastic cup full of water and Minho downed it greedily in one huge gulp.

"Okay," Alby sighed. "Out with it. What happened?"

Minho raised his eyebrows and nodded at me and Thomas, silently asking if it was all right if we stayed.

"They're fine," Alby responded dismissively. "I don't care what these shanks hear. Just talk!"

I thought Minho was going to joke at him to get his boxers out of a knot or something, but he stayed silent as he struggled to stand. I had half a mind to help him until I realized he would just snap at me that he was fine, despite the fact that he was obviously more than exhausted. Soon he was balancing against the wall. He somehow managed to give the three of us a cold look all at once. "I found a dead one."

"Huh?" Alby asked, puzzled. "A dead what?"

MInho smiled, obviously quite proud of his discovery. "A dead Griever."

gif is dylan talking to minho

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hello! thominho finally occurred- yay! this calls for a celebration.

dedicated to @thewayhehugsme bc their comments were awesome!

also, HAPPY ALMOST NEW YEAR!!! 2014 has flown by and i'm still not any more productive than i was in 2013. in fact, i think i've gotten lazier. oh well.

ps- i dedicate chapters to people who comment a lot! *hint hint*

-kristyn