Disclaimer:

I do not own The Maze Runner. If I did, I would force Wes to put the "Great. We're all bloody inspired" quote in the movie bc hE DIDN'T AND THAT MAKES ME VERY ANGRY.

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Newt wasn't the first person I saw when I woke up, unfortunately. It was Jeff. As soon as I opened my eyes and sat up, the first words out of my dry, cracked lips were, "Newt."

But Jeff shook his head and removed some of the blankets, forcing me to drink a glass of water to soothe my raw throat. He spoon-fed me some soup that was tasteless in my mouth. He checked up on me to make sure I was all set to go. Then he threw a bundle of clothes at me and left the room so I could change. He had even given me a hairbrush and mouthwash.

When I finished freshening up as much as I could and brushed my tangled hair, I sat on the bed with my back against the headboard, waiting. As I did so, I noticed my skin had gone back to normal for the most part. I was still pale, but at least my veins weren't so prominent. I downed another glass of water and wondered what was taking so long, but soon figured Jeff must've gotten Newt for me.

Sure enough, soon the door burst open and was slammed shut after Newt barged in. Then, as soon as he saw I was awake, he rushed over to me, sitting on the edge of my bed. He looked even worse than when I had seen him in the Changing. His eyes had even deeper, darker bags underneath them. His skin was pale and his hair a horrible mess. The first thing that came out of his cracked lips was, "Do you remember?"

I was confused by his question because yes, I did remember. Wasn't that what the Changing was all about— remembering things about our pasts?

It all happened so fast. Newt noticed my confusion and that triggered some sort of severe panic inside of him. He grabbed my shoulders, shaking me a little, then harder. I was very alarmed and perplexed. Tears were forming in his eyes and suddenly Newt was crying and begging me to remember, just remember, and, please you have to remember. Dylan, I didn't wait two whole years for you just so you won't remember, and, oh my God just please rem-

"Newt!" I interrupted him, my voice cracking and strained from screaming while being unconscious. He stopped rambling and searched my eyes, an extremely worried expression on his face. I put my hand on the back of his neck in a comforting manner. "It's okay. I do remember."

Because I had realized what he meant. He meant us. He wanted so desperately for me to remember what was between us before the Glade, which didn't make much sense because as far as I was concerned, Newt never got stung. How did he remember?

Apparently that would be a question for another, because then he was hugging me, squeezing me tightly and melting into my arms. He smelled of the outdoors and freshly cut grass and I just breathed in the scent of Newt, which was by far the best smell on earth.

"Oh my God," Newt's face was so relieved and happy as he released me. He glanced at my lips. "Um, can I.."

I smiled shyly, feeling my heart skip a beat. "Do you even have to ask?"

And that was all Newt needed. Faster than I could blink, he had already leaned in and kissed me. My heart was beating so fast and my mind was racing, and all I could think about was how natural everything seemed. It wasn't awkward at all. It was just two lovers reunited after thinking they'd never find each other again.

After I had closed my eyes, I was met with the flashes. I saw glimpses of images for split seconds before they disappeared. I barely caught a peek of Newt laughing, then one with me and him together somewhere. Was it more pieces of my memory returning?

As I felt Newt's hand cup my cheek, I was pulled back in time to some random point where this happened sometime in our past, before our memories were stolen from us. His touch felt so familiar, so light as he brushed his fingers against my face.

"You have to explain everything," I managed to whisper between kisses.

Newt pulled away with a sigh and nodded, a grin on his face. "I will, don't worry. But for now, let's tell everyone you're awake."

The instant I walked out of the Homestead, I was bombarded with people. Half of them I didn't even know. They said various things to me I couldn't understand since there were so many of them, but I do remember one saying that Newt was glowing and he'd never seen the kid so happy in the two years he knew Newt. And that made me happy.

I saw Clint standing by himself, and he came over when he saw me. With a smile on his face, he said, "When I asked you if you were going to get stung by a Griever next, I didn't mean it literally."

"Well, you know me," I joked. "I always need to one-up someone."

I had no idea what I was even saying.

The entire time we just walked around, Newt was always within a foot's distance away from me. He never strayed too far and was constantly by my side. Now that I remembered (for the most part) our past, it made me relieved to have him there again. I was always smiling and he was always smiling and God, we were just so giddy it would've made Minho sick, but he was nowhere to be seen.

And then Gally had to come and ruin it.

"Newt," he said, not even paying any attention to me. It was like I wasn't even there. "The Gathering."

"Now?" Newt asked, pinching his eyebrows together. "She just woke up. Can't you give her some time?"

Gally rolled his eyes with an aggravated huff. "Fine. Tomorrow. No more rain checks, got it?"

Newt nodded and sighed when Gally stomped off. I nudged him.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be the one calling all the shots around here?" I asked.

Newt and I took a seat by the Deadheads, our backs resting against a tree. "What do you mean?"

I toyed with my fingers, sitting with my knees tucked to my chest. "Like, didn't Alby leave you in charge? Aren't you the second-in-command?"

Newt studied my face carefully. Then, he asked slowly, "How did you know that?"

"Know what?"

"That I'm in charge."

I froze for half a second. What was I supposed to say? "I was in a weird state where I was unconscious but could see and hear everything going on around me"? "I'm psychic"?

I decided to shrug and lie instead. "I don't know. You and Alby are close, and like I said, you're his second-in-command. You must be in charge now."

Newt huffed, puffing out his cheeks as he squinted at me. "Well, the thing is, Gally's so...demanding. Now that Alby's out — not literally, I mean he survived and is going through the Changing, too — he's been more out of line than usual. Taking charge when I'm supposed to, ordering everyone around. It's like a dictatorship with Gally as the leader."

"And you don't stand up for yourself?" I wondered.

Newt ran a hand through his hair and took a second before replying. "Well, I've been so stressed these past four days. With you in the Changing, Alby, the whole going-into-the-Maze ordeal, and about ten other things, I've had too much on my mind. I kind of just let it slide for the time being. I probably shouldn't have, but what was I supposed to do? Everyone was expecting so much of me. Almost...too much. 'Newt, do this,' 'Newt, check that.' I hate it."

"You could've gotten Minho to help," I suggested.

"He's been resting," Newt replied. "He's still exhausted from that night. Same with Thomas. I'd ask him to help me out, but he'd ask too many questions. But hey" — he used his knee to nudge me — "now that you're awake, you could help me out."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes at his ridiculous request. "I still don't know klunk about the Maze. I can't run it."

Newt's head whipped around to face me, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. His lips were slightly parted and his eyes searched mine like he was trying to figure something out. "What do you mean?"

I was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Everyone that goes through the Changing sees stuff," Newt replied. "Stuff like...well they don't really go into detail, but it sounds like they see the history of the Maze and all the things about it— except how to get out. I thought that since..." He shook his head, breaking our gaze as he shifted his eyes to the ground. "Never mind."

"No," I protested. He couldn't leave me hanging like that. "Continue. Now you have me curious."

Newt shook his head once again and sighed heavily. "Forget it. That's what the Gathering is for. Tomorrow."

"Yeah, Gally said something about that, didn't he?" I mused. "What does it mean?"

As if I'd summoned him, Gally came marching over. And that time, instead of completely ignoring me, he did the exact opposite. Grabbing my arm, he pulled me roughly to my feet and said to Newt, "I need to borrow her," before he started to drag me off.

Newt had already jumped up, but Gally was too quick for the poor boy with the limp. Ignoring his shouting, Gally led me behind the Homestead before I finally ripped my arm away.

"What is going on?" I demanded, putting a fair amount of space between us. 

"You got Stung, yeah?" Gally raised an eyebrow.

I was taken aback by his question. "No. I just decided that because Mars aligned with Jupiter last night, it would be the perfect time to go through the Changing. Yes, I was Stung."

Gally rolled his eyes. "Now's no time for jokes, Shortcake." His voice was quiet, but he spat the words harshly. "You saw things, right?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, getting frustrated. What was the point of this interrogation? "Define 'things'."

Gally took a threatening step forward. I instinctively moved back as he shouted, "Don't play games with me! You saw Thomas, didn't you?"

I stopped moving, my heart seemingly ceasing to beat. Slowly, I looked up at him, meeting his cold eyes. "How did you know?"

"Because I saw him too," he replied, voice quieter and a lot calmer. I could hear Newt coming closer, much to my relief. "Finally, someone else can see how bad he is. Why he's not to be trusted."

Every single word was confusing me further and further. What was he talking about?

"Finally, someone who can hate him as much as I do." Gally seemed relieved, but nothing was making sense. Two and two were not coming together. I saw nothing in my time unconscious that would make me dislike Thomas.

And then, as I was able to say the words, there was no doubt in my mind that they were true. This is what those memories and scenes were trying to tell me.

"Thomas...what? Why would I hate my own brother?"

gif is dylan in her memory

__________

RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SAW IT COMING

now do you see why dylan was unable to find him attractive?? hmmmmmm?????? it all makes sense now doesnt it

see you were hating me for nothing

dedicated to Hemmings-af bc oh my god your comments

PS THANKS FOR 50K READS!!!!!!!!! ILY ALL SO MUCH

~kristyn