v. if you need to be mean, be mean to me

That morning, Cassie woke up in Newt's embrace, the dried tears on her cheeks, a reminder of what happened the night before. She quietly moved her body from his embrace, getting up. As her feet touched the ground, she swayed slightly on her feet. Her eyes were puffy, and she knew she probably looked like shuck, but she didn't care.

Quickly grabbing everything she needed, she made her way to the showers. It was early, and the maze doors were about to open, which meant that no one else was awake besides the runners.

Cassie locked the door behind her as she got into the shower, beginning to wash the dirt and grime from the previous day off her body. She stood there for a few moments, numbly letting the warm water run over her body. She hated having panic attacks, and she hated them even more when they were bad like the previous night.

She didn't know what she would do without Newt. She was eternally grateful for him, and she hoped he knew that she appreciated everything he'd done for her.

Deciding that she couldn't hide inside the showers forever, she dried her body, pulling fresh clothes on. Even though she hated the Creators, she was grateful they sent clothes up in the box. She didn't think she'd be able to wear the same clothes every day.

She walked out of the showers with her wet hair stuck to the base of her neck, smelling faintly of the men's soap they always sent up in the box each week. She was halfway back to the Homestead when she almost clambered into someone. She jumped in surprise at Thomas' figure before her.

He was out of breath, eyes wide as they looked around frantically. Cassie frowned in concern at his jittery demeanor. "Hey, you okay?"

Thomas snapped out of his daze, eyes landing on Cassie as if he'd only just noticed she was there. "Yes. No. I need to speak with Newt."

Cassie frowned, tilting her head a little to the right, "Why? What's wrong?"

Thomas bounced on the balls of his feet. "It's about Alby and Minho."

Cassie scrunched her nose, glancing around. The sun had come up, and the maze doors were finally open. She knew that meant that the runners had left already, but she wanted to know what had Thomas in such a rush.

"Did something happen to them?" She asked in concern.

He slowly shook his head, "No... but I need to ask Newt something."

Cassie sighed lightly. She knew that Thomas was a curious person, but New had been up all night, and he hadn't slept a few days prior to that, and she didn't want to wake him up if it wasn't really necessary. He needed all the sleep he could get.

Scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, Cassie felt slightly bad for what she was about to do. " Look, Thomas... I know that you have lots of questions, but Newt hasn't been feeling the best lately, and he needs all the sleep he can get. If it's not that important, you could try asking him later when he wakes up."

Thomas nodded wordlessly, although a flash of hurt went through him at Cassie's dismissal, but he understood where she was coming from.

Letting out a breath of relief, she nodded. "Okay, if that's all, I'll be off then."

Thomas was about to let her go, but before she left, he called out to her. "Wait! Cassie, I actually sort of have a question for you, too."

She turned around, exhaustion evident in the way her eyes drooped, but the spark of curiosity was there. "What is it?"

Thomas awkwardly cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair. "I, well, the other day, Alby took me to get my name carved onto the wall. It was next to yours- another girl."

At his words, Cassie physically recoiled, her body feeling like it was on fire at his oncoming question. "Well, Newt said you were the only girl here, and I was just wondering who An-"

Thomas didn't even get to finish his sentence because Cassie spun on her heel, heading back to the homestead.

Thomas frowned in confusion, not quite getting why she left. Some part of his mind told him to let her go, but there was another voice overpowering it, telling him to follow her. No matter how stupid it was.

"Cassie! Wait, I just-"

Cassie whirled around, a mixture of emotions that Thomas couldn't read present on her face, although the most prominent stood out. Rage.

"God! Can't you just take no for an answer? It's like you have to know everything. Not everything is a mystery you need to shucking solve!" Cassie snapped, making Thomas stumble backward slightly.

He'd never seen her angry, and it was terrifying, but he couldn't think about that. All he could think about was the aching in his heart at her words. They lingered in the morning air, like something sour.

Thomas looked towards the ground like a wounded puppy. "You're right. I'm sorry. I just- never mind. I shouldn't have asked so many questions. I'm sorry."

Cassie felt slightly guilty as she watched him spin on his heel, shoulders hunched as he walked away. She felt her anger ebb away, sighing as she turned back on her way to the homestead.

Thomas hadn't seen Cassie all day. He guessed that she was probably with Clint and Jeff, taking care of people in the Homestead. He'd spent most of his time around Newt and Chuck. He watched the blonde boy try chopping up a tree trunk, sitting on a log beside Chuck.

His thoughts went back to Cassie's words, and he wondered if he really asked too many questions. Maybe he was too curious, as Alby had said. But that wasn't the problem. He wondered if he was too much, too overwhelming, and the doubt creeped into his mind slowly as he sat there.

Newt noticed that the teenage brunette was silent. He was never quiet, and he most certainly never went without asking any questions that long. It actually bothered the blonde Glader. "Hey, Greenie. What's got ya' so quiet?"

Thomas looked up at the sound of his question, contemplating telling him what happened that morning with Cassie, but he remembered why exactly all of that happened between them in the first place. So, he posed a different question. "I saw Alby going into the maze with Minho this morning."

Newt paused his task for a second, but Thomas noticed. The blonde regained his composure, getting back to the task at hand.

Thomas continued, "But why would Alby go into the maze? I mean, he's not a runner."

Newt cast his glance towards the boy, Zart working in silence by his side to uproot the tree. "Things are different now. Alby went to retrace Ben's footsteps before sundown. Are ya' gonna help?" The last part was posed in slight agitation.

"So he's gonna go back to where Ben was just stung..." Thomas asked in confusion. He thought the idea to be slightly unwise, especially when it meant that Alby could get stung by a Griever, or worse, killed by one.

Newt interrupted him before he could ask any further questions, "Alby knows what he's doing... all right? He knows better than any of us."

Thomas was becoming irritated with the fact that every time he asked a question, the answer he got only raised more questions. Newt's was no different.

Taking the long machete within his grasp, stabbing it into the grass beneath his feet, holding onto the handle as his impatience grew, Thomas asked yet another question. "What do you mean?"

Newt let out a sigh as he paused his task again, scratching the back of his head before meeting Thomas' eyes. The blonde pointed the long blade at him, answering the question. Although he knew that if Cassie were there, she would have scolded him for the action.

"Well, it's like ya' heard, yeah? Every month, the box sends up a new arrival. But someone had to be first, right? Someone had to have spent a whole month in the Glade, alone. That was Alby."

Newt turned away from Thomas, whose eyes never strayed from his face, getting back to work. "I mean, it can't have been easy. But when those other boys started coming up, one after the other... he saw the truth. And he learned that the most important thing... is that we all have each other. Because we're all in this together."

Newt's words had struck a chord inside Thomas, the realization hitting him like a truck. He'd been so focused on how unfair it was that he was locked in the Glade and the anger he felt anytime he thought about it. He hadn't thought about how every boy that came up in that box felt the same way he was feeling right then.

They'd developed bonds with one another, away from all civilization, with nothing but food and clothes coming up in a strange box. They'd learned to live together, to survive, and to build a home for themselves, no matter how terrible it looked. They'd lived on their own with nothing but each other, and it brought all of them closer, that comforting thought that they weren't alone, and that the other boys had gone through the exact same thing they had.

Thomas exchanged a look with Chuck, pondering the thought a moment before getting up and walking towards Newt.

As he neared the stump to help the fellow teenager, a rumbling sound was heard. It was much different from the sound heard when the doors of the maze closed at night. Thomas found his eyes drawn towards the sky, only to find it covered with clouds. He watched them roll in, the thunder rumbling, and a huge gust of wind blew over him.

The anxiety in his stomach didn't cease for the rest of the day, and he found himself worrying about Minho and Alby the entire time. His thoughts would betray him, and his mind would wander back to Cassie's words, but he willed himself to forget them, although it didn't do him any good.

Cassie heard the rumbling of thunder outside the Homestead as she patched up one of the builders who'd dislocated his shoulder after falling from one of the new buildings they'd been working on. Luckily, it hadn't been too high up, or there wouldn't even have been anyone for Cassie to patch up.

"Try to let it heal for a few days, alright, Reese? The salve should help with all the pain, and the injection I gave should keep it at bay for a few hours. You can come back here if you need anything else," Cassie recommended, smiling softly at the boy.

Just as he took his leave, Newt came bursting into the Homestead, soaked to the bone. His hair was flattened in his wet state, and his clothes clung to his body like a second skin. As soon as he spotted her, he made a beeline for her.

Cassie watched him with a look of confusion. As soon as Newt spotted her, he immediately rushed to her side. "Alby went into the maze with Minho this morning."

At his words, Cassie's eyes widened. She wondered if that was what Thomas wanted to talk to Newt about before she'd cut him off.

"What? Why would Alby go into the maze?" Cassie asked him in confusion.

Newt ran a hand through his blonde hair, messing it up more than it already was. "We talked about it last night, and he told us he wanted to go into the maze to check out where the Griever is that stung Ben."

Cassie's brows furrowed at the news, and a flash of concern ran through her. "What if he gets stung? Or hurt?" Or killed. She didn't dare speak the last part out loud in fear of upsetting Newt further.

It was obvious that the second in command was freaking out, and she didn't want to worsen the situation. She watched him pace up and down, thankful that she'd finished helping all the Gladers she needed to. It meant that they wouldn't be interrupted.

"What happens if they don't make it back? What if Alby gets stung and we have to banish him? How am I going to be the leader of all these shanks?" Newt stressful asked, his pacing not slowing down.

Cassie held a hand out, stopping him from walking up and down. It made her slightly dizzy, having to watch him the entire time. "Whoa, calm down, Newt. He's not going to get hurt, alright? They'll get back safely."

She sent him a reassuring smile that had him nodding, claming down slightly. Cassie almost let out a sigh of relief, glad she'd managed to calm him. "Come on, I'll wait for them with you and the others.

"They should be back by now," Thomas commented anxiously as he tapped his hands on a tree, leaning onto it.

The Gladers were all huddled beneath the protection of the rooftop, standing in huddles. It was the area where they had their meals, right next to the kitchen where Frypan served the food.

All of their eyes were set on the entrance of the maze, waiting for the arrival of their leader and the Keeper of the Runners anxiously. The rain had gotten worse, touching everything within sight. The entire Glade held a gloomy atmosphere, matching the mood of all it's inhabitants.

After Newt had gone to inform Cassie about Minho and Alby, she'd joined them in waiting for the pair. The air between herself and Thomas was thick with tension, and even Newt sensed the awkwardness in the atmosphere between them.

He'd been forced to stand between them, watching them as they awkwardly exchanged eyes contact and looked away blushing every so often.

"What happens if they don't make it?" Thomas asked, the tapping motion of his fingers quickening. He looked at Newt for any sign of reassurance.

The blonde, who was leaning against his own tree, answered. "They're gonna make it."

Thomas took his leave from his position against the tree, walking towards Newt, his anxiety clear. "What happens if they don't?"

Cassie could tell whether Newt was trying to convince himself or Thomas "They're gonna make it."

Cassie anxiously wrung her hands, anxiety setting in. It had been hours since she'd joined everyone under the rooftop, and there still wasn't any sign of Alby or Minho. She hoped they'd make it back, saying silent prayers.

Cassie didn't have many memories, but she remembered how she'd pray every night. She didn't know why, or how, but she did. She'd go on her knees, whispering words into the dark night, begging anyone to listen. The fear was apparent as her hands began shaking.

"They have to make it." Cassie whispered, adding into Thomas and Newt's conversation.

Thomas' eyes moved towards her, sensing her fear and anxiety. There was a part of him that wanted to comfort her, but he stopped himself. Cassie drove him crazy. One moment, she made him doubt himself and the next, he wanted to comfort her when she was sad. To him, the thought came naturally, lite breathing, and he wondered why it was so easy. Maybe he'd done it all before he'd lost his memory, maybe he'd known her before the Glade.

Thomas shook away The thought, a light blush coating his cheeks. Cassie, on the other hand, spent the rest of her day in silence, filled with worry.