/////

With the speed of the day, Zelia did not notice that today is the day that the Creators will send another person; it means Chuck has been with them for a month. As time went on, Zelia's heart grew closer to the youngest in the Glade. Every night, the girl is no longer surprised when someone knocks on her bedroom door.

She could see that Chuck was always pulling Minho by his arm. He was tired of complaining, so he just let him drag. They are like brothers in Zelia's eyes; no matter what one does, she knows that the younger one will not stop him. They only talk about random topics whenever they go to the girl's room. Sometimes, Chuck asked about what Minho sees and does in the Maze. He also wanted to hear again a few more times how Zelia and Minho met.

The Gladers, especially Newt, tease them as if they were family. Before Minho entered the Maze, Zelia and Chuck were already next to him. When Minho returned, he was used to looking for Zelia and Chuck first before going to the Map Room. Even if they don't admit it to each other, they're doing their best to spend more time with the youngest in the Glade. He doesn't even remember who his families are; at least they themselves will make him feel what it really feels like to have a family.

"Someone is happy." Zelia almost jumped in shock when she heard a voice interrupt her thoughts. She looked at who it was.

"Slim it, Drix." Her friend just laughed softly and sat down on the grass, next to the girl. They are now here at Reign. Kendrix has a day off while Zelia waits for the Gladers to finish eating so she can start teaching again.

"It's like it's really hard to believe that there's something going on between you and Minho. It's like you both don't want to be next to each other, but now you can't be separated anymore." She just rolled her eyes because of what he said.

"It turns out, he's really not the bad guy. It's just that his brain is really messed up; that's why so many things happened just to confess," Zelia said, and she let out a soft chuckle.

Kendrix smiled for his friend because she was obviously happy to be with Minho. "That's why our Keeper really set you free and just accepted being a friend zone because you obviously like the former Keeper."

Zelia rolled her eyes, and she gently punched his arm. "You and Frypan? How are you? You were the first lovebirds here in the Glade." The girl saw how her friend smiled.

"Well, I'm happy. He's still a sweet guy. It really helped me that I sneaked to the kitchen just to steal food that night. It's a good thing when Fry caught me; he didn't report me to Alby and just let me go. But when I'm hungry again at night, I just tell him, and he's willing to give me food," Kendrix said while recalling the past about how his story with Frypan started.

"You secretly meet in the kitchen every night," Zelia said while laughing so that the young man rolled his eyes.

"It's worth it. I can't believe he also likes me too."

"Proud of you, actually. You still really chose to be happy." Kendrix smiled at what the girl said, and they both looked at the alarm, a sign that the Box had come up to them.

They both went to where the Box was to see who had arrived. They saw that it was Gally who volunteered to open the door.

"Day one, Greenie. Rise and shine." Gally said when he saw who the Creators had sent. He immediately helped a man to get out.

Zelia saw how he stood up and turned around, probably looking for a way out of this place. The girl also noticed that he was obviously feeling scared, not knowing what to do. He looks really terrified; she can see the sweat forming on his forehead.

Before Newt could speak, he suddenly ran towards the Maze. The girl heard how the Gladers were making noise, and they just let the new boy run.

"We got a Runner!"

Zelia did not know who shouted. He wasn't even halfway across the Glade when the man suddenly fell to the grass, making the men's noise even louder. The girl just shook her head and walked out of the Box. She didn't realize that Maggie followed her.

"I really thought he had a potential to be a Runner, not until he rolled on the grass." Zelia laughed weakly because of what her friend said.

"We can't blame him, though. We all do our own thing when we can't remember anything."

"You have a point."

That was the last thing Maggie said before they parted ways and went where they were going.

-----

"Finally! I'm not a Greenie anymore," Chuck said as he approached Minho and Zelia's place.

The Gladers are all outside to do their tradition to welcome the new arrival. They are here right now on the long bench, quietly talking about whatever topic they can think of.

"So proud of you, kiddo. Don't take easy on him if he's a Slopper," Minho said while smiling at Chuck.

"How's the new guy out there? I saw you earlier; you're with him," Zelia said.

"He's fine, I think since he's really curious about the Maze. He maybe thinks he wants to be a Runner."

"I'd say, let him do whatever he wants. Who knows if he's compatible to be part of us." Because of what the young man said, the girl couldn't help but hit his thigh. He just laughed at her instead of getting angry.

"He doesn't know what he's doing. We can't let that happen, especially since he's new inside the Glade. We're still the ones to blame if we just let him," Zelia said.

They all know that every time the night comes, the path of the Maze changes, so until now, within 3 years, the Runners are still searching for how to get out.

"Why not? If he's really want to be part of us, I can talk to Alby and Newt about this." The girl just rolled her eyes at Minho.

Zelia was about to speak when they suddenly heard a noise where there were other Gladers surrounding where Gally was. The three of them looked at each other and went together to where the noise was coming from.

"The rules are simple, Greenie. I try to push you out of the circle. Try to last more than five seconds," Gally said as he looked at the man.

Zelia saw that he just nodded before Gally rushed at him. He kicked him, causing him to fall to the ground. The girl heard different reactions. There is cheering for the Greenie; there is also support for the Keeper of the Builders.

"Stop calling me Greenie," the young man said when he finally recovered and stood up.

"What do you want to be called? Shank?" Gally said, clearly teasing the man. He did say something, causing the other Gladers to laugh, and Chuck laughed too. Zelia and Minho just watched, waiting to see what would happen next.

"That Greenie looks like he's strong," Minho said, so Zelia looked at him.

"What do you mean?" The young woman asked. The young man took a deep breath before he crossed his arms and looked at her.

"I think he's not strong in a physical way, but mentally, he really looks smart," Zelia thought about what Minho told her. His thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly heard the Greenie scream.

"Thomas! I remember my name. I'm Thomas!" He screamed. The Gladers stared before cheering because he remembered his name.

The Glade started to get excited again, and most of them approached Thomas to pat him on the shoulder or shake his hand. Everyone stopped what they were doing when they heard a noise from inside the Maze.

"What the hell was that?" Thomas asked, looking straight at Maze, who now had the door closed while frowning.

"That, my friend, was a Griever. Don't worry, you're safe here with us," Gally said and patted Thomas on the shoulder.

"Let's tuck it in for the night. Come on. It was a good night," Alby said, and the Gladers slowly left to go to their respective beds.

Minho volunteered to take Zelia to her own room, and the girl agreed. They just walked in silence, not knowing what to say to each other. The night is silence after the Gladers went to their beds to have a good sleep.

When they reached her room, Zelia faced the young man. "Here's my room; thanks for walking me here."

"Anytime. Go inside before I go to the hammock," Minho said, and the girl just nodded. She turned her back on him and opened the door, but suddenly she faced the young man again.

"Are you sleepy right now?" Zelia asked, which the young man did not expect. Even though he was surprised, he still answered her anyway.

"Not yet, why?" He saw that the girl smiled at him.

"You can stay in my room until you get sleepy if you want," Zelia said as if she were still ashamed to tell Minho. Before he could refuse, he was overtaken by himself.

"Sure, why not? I mean, I don't really mind. I hope you're not sleepy yet, and I will not disturb you if I stay. I won't stay long either since I'll be sleepy when I start walking to my hammock." Only now did Minho realize that his explanation would have been too long if he hadn't heard Zelia laugh softly.

"You don't need to explain yourself. I trust you." The girl winked at him before she went inside her room. Little by little, he felt how hot his cheeks were right now. Minho simply took a deep breath to calm himself down before going inside.

"Feel free to sit or lay down on my bed," Zelia said as the young man closed the door.

He saw that her red jacket had been taken off—hanging on the wooden wall, not far from her bed—that she always wore even when the sun was so hot because the jacket is not that thick. The only thing left on her was a black sleeveless shirt and dark brown pants—not too fit on her. Just now he saw the necklace she was wearing, so Minho simply smiled. She's now removing her black boots, obviously durable when running on them.

Just now he noticed that her body was just right—not so thin and not so fat. Zelia is not very white either. Her hair is also down to her shoulders. Sometimes, Minho sees her in different hairstyles; maybe Maggie did it because the girl's hair was always loose when she was the only girl in the Glade. Sometimes the hair is in a full braid, a crown braid, two pigtails, and many more that he doesn't know what they are called.

"Done checking me?" Minho came back to his senses when he heard Zelia speak, who now had her arms crossed. The young man realized that he still didn't leave his place when he entered her room, so he cleared his throat.

"In your dreams," the young man said and took off his shoes before laying on his back down on the girl's bed. He heard her laugh before laying next to him.

"Why are you staring at me?" Zelia asked as she faced Minho and turned his arm into a pillow. She was not surprised when she felt the young man's muscles. From afar, his biceps are already visible because the blue shirt he's always wearing is perfectly fit for him.

"Just admiring the work of art." Zelia definitely did not expect what Minho told her—that he was just looking straight at her. The girl felt that her cheeks were already warm, so she saw how the young man smiled.

"You're crazy." Minho laughed at what Zelia said. She felt a hand on her waist—which she didn't mind—to pull her closer from him.

"Just telling the truth." The girl rolled her eyes at him.

They were silent for a few minutes while still looking at each other, not intending to look away. Zelia raised one hand to caress Minho's cheek.

"What were you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we really need to get out of this place and start our new life. We can build our own family, and we can bring Chuck if you want. He's really happy when he's with us. He can be the older brother of our child." The girl smiled at what the young man said. He didn't hesitate to answer her question.

"I hope you're not stressing yourself too much to get us out here. You can take your time; I know you can still do your job if you don't rush yourself," Zelia said while smiling. Minho didn't answer her for a few minutes; it was as if the girl saw something sad in the young man's eyes that disappeared immediately when he blinked.

"I'm not, Firecracker." Because of what Minho said, Zelia rolled her eyes, and she turned her back on the young man.

The girl heard him laugh softly, and she could feel that he pulled her on her waist again. Zelia can now feel Minho's chest on her back. She just let the two of them be in this position. She can feel his breath at the back of his neck.

"Just go to sleep, you Minnie." Minho smiled when he heard what she said to him. This is the first time she called him like that.

"I'm still not sleepy yet."

"Maybe you're forgetting that you're early tomorrow."

Minho groaned. Ever since he and Zelia became close, there was a time when he thought of just staying by her side all day. He really wants to take a break from all their problems, even just for one day. But at the end, he is still aware of where they are right now. All their friends depend on them just to get out of this place. So they can't really be selfish in their current situation.

The young man let go of the girl and was about to stand up when Zelia suddenly spoke, and she stared at Minho with a mixture of surprise.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep in my hammock."

The girl averted her eyes from the young man. "You can sleep here if you want."

Minho couldn't believe what he heard. There's a part of him that wants to leave because he knows this is not right, even though they have feelings for each other. He didn't want to take advantage of this. He still respects her.

Zelia was about to take back what she said when she noticed that the young man didn't speak, and suddenly she felt a kiss on her forehead, and Minho went back to laying on her back, and he hugged her from the back.

"Good night, Lia."

What just happened? What did I hear? Are the decisions I'm making still right? I don't know. I don't know anymore.