˚ ༘✶₊˚. ⊹ ˚ . FIRST ACT
❪ SIX ♥︎ ₊˚༢࿐
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( two years later. )

     SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD MAE DASHED through the gardens and toward homestead with a bright grin on her face. The blonde throws open the door, startling the boys who were enjoying their silent breakfast who rolled their eyes at her presence. She bids them hello before making a mad dash upstairs, where she threw open the first door with an exciting yell.

Nick had barely any time to register before she threw herself on top of him, causing them both to crash back down on the bed.

     "It's time!" Mae announced breathlessly, "The new Greenie will be here any moment!"

     Nick chuckled, flopping back down to catch his breath. He didn't bother to push the girl off of him, because he knew she was too excited to budge.

     "Mae," He says slowly, giving her a knowing look. "Try to dial it back, alright? Remember the last time you ran up to a new Greenie?"

     The girl winced at the memory. She had gotten too excited to meet Leo, and before the boy could get his feet on the grass she was telling him all sorts of things. He overwhelmingly passed out.

Now, Mae was officially banned from giving the Greenie's any sort of information until Nick and Alby spoke first.

     Mae slowly crawls off of Nick, holding out her hand and pulling him to his feet with a smile. As she dusted him off, she couldn't help but examine him.

Nick had grown taller in the last two years, and during that time his hair had grown out over his ears and his voice had dropped some octaves. He looked different physically, but mentally he had changed more.

     Eighteen. That was how many boys they had lost after George, and just last week they lost another to the Grievers in the Maze. The boy had ran straight in, it was a suicide.

More young boys lost, more graves that needed to be dug. It was a lot of pressure on Nick, and it showed in his eyes.

     "You're doing great," She reminds suddenly, giving her award winning smile as she fixed the collar of his shirt.

     He smiled, and for a second his eyes dart up and down her attire. It was only a second, and she didn't notice, but Nick can see that she hadn't changed.

Mae, as always, looked absolutely optimistic. Her smile was just as bright, maybe even brighter. She had grown only an inch or two but it was noticeable. She was more slim, and fitted, but her blue dress remained the same. She was beautiful.

     Of course, denial of surroundings did that to her.

     "Wake up the others," He lightly pushed her out the door. "Except Minho, it's his day off we might as well let him sleep in."

     With an excited giggle, Mae ran out of his room. The boy sighed softly at her antics, as the boys around her grow mentally mature it became harder to be patient with Mae's forceful obliviousness. The amount of times Alby had argued with him over it.

     Mae needs to grow up. He'd say. She needs to snap back into reality.

     Nick didn't have the heart to force that on her.

     Mae didn't knock when she barged into Newt's room, only to find him already up and tying his shoes. He looked up when she entered, sending her a comforting smile as he did. The girl leaned against his doorframe, watching him with an amused smirk.

     "Got something to say, Shank?" Newt questioned playfully.

     She hummed, looking at her hands in an efforts to look nonchalant. "Zart told me, that Jeff told him, that Clint saw you and Minho late last night up in the treehouse, alone." She sang, "You'd be lucky it didn't reach Nick's ears because he'd have a field day!"

     His face reddened slightly, "You klunk-heads don't know how to keep quiet."

     "Apparently, neither do you."

     With a cuss, Newt throws his other shoe at Mae, but she quickly dodged out of the way, escaping down the hall with a loud laugh.

     She had made her way to the last door, making sure to skip Minho's when she heard his loud snoring and knocked softly on Gally's door, like she always did. In that simple announcement, Mae pushes the door open lightly, tip-toeing into the room.

     Gally was in a dead asleep, a thin blanket pulled up to his chin as he softly snored. Mae lightly sat down, her eyes studying his carefully. His eyelashes were thick and a dark blonde, and the freckles dotted around his nose and cheeks were out because of the sun.

The girl found herself mesmerized for a second, not sure if she should wake him up at all.

     He looks so calm.

     "You done staring?"

     Mae screamed, jumping back and crashing onto the floor as Gally gave a hoarse chuckle. His eyes pop open, and an amused smile grew on his face as Mae held onto her heart in shock.

     "You scared me!" She huffed, scrambling to her feet and dusting her dress.

     He rolled his eyes, throwing the blanket away from his feet and standing up, moving past her to get clothes from his dresser.

     "It's what you get for staring, flower." He said simply, his voice had also dropped a few octaves.

     "I wasn't staring," She weakly defends. "I was admiring." She admits, "Who fakes sleep anyway?!"

     "Me," He responds. "To avoid conversation." He twirled his finger in her direction, "Now turn around."

     Mae huffs, turning around as he took of his pants and covering her hands over her eyes for good measure. Admittedly, Mae couldn't help herself as she parted her fingers and stared at Gally through the reflection of a silver vase. She watched as he peeled off his shirt, tilting her head with a hum.

    Being a builder had perks.

     "I sense your eyes!" He bellowed out. Mae snaps her eyes closed again.

     Mae and Gally had an odd relationship. In the last two years that had grown closer, obnoxiously close. In fact, you could never see one without knowing the other was close behind. The death of more friends had drawn them closer, but at the same time it seemed to draw them apart.

The worse things got, the more Mae seemed to depend on him— but it was the more Gally distanced himself.

     It was a reminder to Gally, that Mae could die any second, and it made him retreat back into himself. But Mae continued to pull him into the light. Maybe it was only a matter of which pull was stronger.

     Love or fear.

     "Alright, come on," He says finally, grabbing her hand and stalking out the door. Mae hopped after him like an excited child.

     Within the hour, most of the Gladers had gathered around the hole to welcome the newest addition, and the second the siren blared Mae found herself leaning forward in anticipation.

Gally huffed, and grabbed both sides of her waist to keep her steady so she wouldn't fall in.

     When the box had come up, and the boys had opened the doors above, Mae was supposed to see a boy no older than thirteen in the box. Easily making him the youngest.

Her stomach twisted, wondering why they'd send someone so young, but her worry quickly washed away and was replaced with optimism. A few friend.

     "Where am I?" The little boy cried out, looking as horrified as ever as he scanned the sea of faces for something familiar. But he couldn't, and that made him even more scared, "What's going on?!" He tears up.

     Alby sighed, staring it slow, "Kid—"

     "Welcome to the Glade!" Mae blurted out, waving down at the boy, "It's the center of a big Maze, and my name is Mae!"

     Chuck passes out.

     "Good going, Loony!" Zart pulled her hair teasingly.

     Mae deflates, looking to Nick sadly, "I thought I dialed it back this time."

     He pats her shoulder, "You're doing great."

—————

His name was Chuck.

The young boy had gained his name back durning the bonfire, after Newt dared him to run into the Deadheads where he convinced the boy ghost roamed. In hopes to prove he wasn't scared, Chuck ran in.

     Only to run out seconds later when he snapped on a twig and scared the name out of him.

In triumph, Mae handed him a knife and helped him carve his name into the wall.

"He's gonna fit in just fine," She says softly to Nick.

They stood side-by-side against the big tree, shoulders brushing against each other as they watched over the bonfire. The boys were having fun, drinking a combination of Mae and Gally's drinks as they danced and laugh around the fire.

     Chuck was talking away with Newt, who seemed to calm the young boy down—— just like he did once with Mae.

"Good that," He nods. "I should let you know ahead of time that I'm going into the Maze tomorrow."

     Mae shifts unnoticeably, "Why?"

     "I think it's time to retrace George's steps," He says calmly, watching her reaction. "If he was attacked in that area, there must be a reason why. Maybe there's something there that can help is escape."

     Her eyes began to water, "Nick, you can't."

     "I have to," He said firmly, "It's one of the only places Minho and the others haven't really checked. Section seven—"

     "I won't let you go," She pushed off the wall, "You can't go! You know what happened to George, what happened to the others—"

     "Keep your voice down." Nick orders, grabbing her arm and pushing her back up against the tree. His body was pressed against hers in attempts to keep her still, "I'm first in command," He said lowly, "The boys are getting restless and there's only a matter of time until. . ."

     "Until someone tires to take your place?" She asked softly, "Nick, who would ever—"

     "I don't know, Gally seems to love playing Captain," He muttered bitterly, "But it's not just about that. We owe it to George to find a way out of this place, we have to."

     Her lips began to tremble, "We're safe here," She insists, "Behind the walls, with the rules—"

     "You're starting to sound like Gally too," He sighed, moving away from Mae with a simple head shake. "Mae, why can't you see that we have to do this? We can't live behind these walls forever, we deserve to know what's outside this place. Somewhere like behind the moon," He emphasized, knowing he struck a nerve there.

     Mae shook her head, "This is home." She repeats.

     "No, Mae," He says softly, holding the side of her cheek, "It's not. A golden cage is still a cage. We aren't free, we won't ever been unless we get out."

     She slowly moves his hand away, and took a long step back. "If you go, take one of the boys with you. Take Theo, he idolizes you I'm sure he'd love to go."

      Nick nods, giving her a smile. "I'm gonna get us out of here, Mae. Somewhere we can call home."

     She simply smiled, "I know."

     When the bonfire had come to an end, and everyone was either too tired or too drunk to continue, Mae hadn't gone back to her hut. She was too paranoid to be alone, and the more she sat in her hut alone the louder the Grievers became. Almost mocking her about the dangers outside.

     So, she had gone to the one place where the loudness can be drowned out.

     "Gally?"

     She knocked on the door, and called his name again. This time, Gally had poked his head out of the door, his eyes landing on Mae quickly before opening the door wider. He grabbed her waist and pulled her inside, slamming the door.

"What happened? What's wrong?" He asked quickly, grabbing both sides of her face. "You hurt?"

It was then Mae realized she was crying.

"I just. ." She hiccuped. "I'm just—"

     Mae, was overwhelmed. She had allowed herself to pretend. To ignore the dangers that followed her like shadows.

     Mae could've smiled away an inconvenience if it meant others would be okay, but she had forgotten along the way that she wasn't.

     And now, Nick, her friend— someone she had grown close to. Someone she was attached to, was about to run into the Maze on a wild goose chase. And some part of her knew that he would never come back.

     She felt it deep in her bones that something was about to change, and there was nothing she could do about it.

     "It's okay," Gally's voice broke through her pounding thoughts, "I feel it too." He admits, "Something doesn't feel right, and. . ." He trailed off for a moment, hating that apart of him wanted to be vulnerable around her, "And it scared me too."

     In a mist of of a cry, Mae had locked eyes with him and before she could stop herself, her lips smashed into his own. Her hands wrapped around his neck and pushed him close.

     But Gally didn't kiss her back.

     Mae panicked, pulling back and taking two steps more. Her hands drop to her sides, and her heart clenched at his conflicted face. "I-I'm sorry Gally I–"

     In seconds, the confusion faded away and he strides forward, wrapping on arm around her back and tugging her into his chest. He kisses her, more passionately and more fiercely than before.

Neither of them had kissed someone, at least they didn't remember if they had, but that didn't matter. There was something in the kiss that set their hearts of fire.

     There was nothing else that happened between them. Just a kiss filled with comfort before Gally had pulled away first, and in a flash of panic he had done what he did best and ran away, leaving Mae confused and dazed. 

     She didn't know where he was going, or if she should follow, so she didn't.

     Mae simply sat on the floor and pulled her knees up to her chest, stunned.

—————

     The next day Mae had woken up in Gally's room, alone and with a blanket pulled up to her chin. Sometime in the night, she had fallen asleep, and Gally had come back to pick her up from the floor and place her down on his bed. He had slept on the floor, and long before she could wake up he was gone.

She knew it was for the best.

     "Are you okay?"

     Mae jumped at Chuck's presence, letting out a little laugh, "Yes, I'm quite alright. Why do you ask?" She dismissed quickly.

     The short boy shrugged. "I dunno, because you're bitting your fingers off?"

     She slowly removed her thumb between her teeth, and cleared her throat, looking back at the open doors of the Maze. Nick had left this morning, Gally had told Frypan that he saw him run into the Maze alone. Then Frypan mentioned it to Minho, and Minho never kept his mouth shut.

     When Mae found out she freaked, and when she asked Theo why he didn't go with him, the boy had claimed that Nick never even asked him to go.

     Nick didn't want anyone to die with him, just in case.

     "He'll be here any second!" Chuck says optimistically, awkwardly patting her back.

     She sends him an adoring smile, "Thank you, Chuck. I'm glad someone can remind me of my optimism. Have any of the Keepers taken you?" 

     He sighed. "No. I leaned over Gally's new hut and it flopped over so now I'm a Slopper."

     "It's okay," She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, and pulled him into a side hug, "You've been here for merely two days and you're already fitting in, that's all the matters!"

     "Thanks, Mae."

     Alby had walked up to the pair, sending Chuck a smile before shooing him off to talk to Mae alone. The girl sent the young boy a smile, before dropping it the second he was away, turning to Alby in worry.

     "It's almost sundown," Her voice wavered, fiddling with her backpack strap. "It's almost sundown and he's not here."

     "He'll make it." Alby said firmly, "He has to." He adds more to himself. He placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort, "Don't panic."

     "You saying not to panic, makes me panic more."

     His eyes fleet behind her, "Well, here comes your distraction."

He was gone just as she turned around, where her eyes landed on Gally who was walking up to her at a fast pace. He looked paranoid, but determined. Both things Mae weren't fond off put together.

She sends him a comforting smile, "Gally, I'm glad we can have time to talk—"

"Nothing can happen between us," He cuts off, his void of emotion as he looked her right in the eyes. He didn't waver, even when she faltered at his tone, "It's one of Nick's rules. Gladers aren't supposed to date you, if him and Alby found out about last night we'll both get in trouble. Besides," He takes a step back, "I need to put myself first, and survive. I can't have someone like you dragging me down."

"Someone like me?" She repeats, her eyes watering, "What's that supposed to mean—"

He shifts in discomfort, "It means. . .It means we just aren't the same kind of people. It means I don't want to spend the rest of my life standing up for you because you can't do it yourself, and I don't want to be the one to cross your name off the wall because of how clumsy and unskillful you are! You were always too soft to be a Glader, Mae, and I can't afford getting attached to you when you're a. . ."

"A liability?" She finished, swallowing her emotions but they just kept rising, "A burden?" She continued.

He looks away from her, forcing himself not to reach out and comfort her. "It's just how it is," He says simply, "Just cause you don't know how to survive on your own doesn't mean we have to cater to you, hand and foot. This is survival. You gotta grow up, Mae." He mumbled. "Or it'll kill you."

     It was always a matter of which pull was stronger. And for Gally, fear always won.

Before she could say anything else, the sound of the gears on the doors began to turn, and without looking at each other both Gally and Mae rushed to the entrance.

     As the doors began to pull closed, Mae pushes her way through the crowd, crashing to her knees in the front. There, she is able to see a clear view of Nick. Her heart shatters when she sees him running.

     He's stumbling over his own feet, holding his side which was clearly seeping red even from where they were.

     "Run! Nick, Run!"

     The Gladers screams began to mix together, and all Mae could hear was the thumping of her chest in her ears as Nick stopped.

     "What are you doing?! Nick!" Alby screamed.

     "Nick! Come on, man! Move!" Minho bellowed.

     "I'm sorry," He shook his head, accepting defeat as the doors began to close, "I'm sorry. . ."

     But, Mae hadn't accepted defeat.

    She pushes herself up from the front. Newt turns to her, almost sensing what she was about to do, but Mae was only looking at Nick— and he was only looking at her.

     "Mae!" Newt warned, his eyes watering in panic, "Mae, no!"

     Without thinking, without realizing, Mae was running. Ready to break the promise she had made to Nick the first time she entered the Maze.

     Newt had only been seconds from grabbing ahold of her, but the fabric of her dressed slipped out of his hands.

     Gally felt himself stop cold, "MAE!"

     The others had never looked so panicked as Mae ran straight into the Maze.

     The doors slamming behind her.

↳ ❛ NOTES ❜
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