𝑊𝐻𝐸𝑁𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅 𝐼'𝑀 𝐴𝐿𝑂𝑁𝐸 𝑊𝐼𝑇𝐻 𝑌𝑂𝑈

𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝑀𝐴𝐾𝐸 𝑀𝐸 𝐹𝐸𝐸𝐿 

𝐿𝐼𝐾𝐸 𝐼 𝐴𝑀 𝐻𝑂𝑀𝐸 𝐴𝐺𝐴𝐼𝑁

𝑊𝐻𝐸𝑁𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅 𝐼'𝑀 𝐴𝐿𝑂𝑁𝐸 𝑊𝐼𝑇𝐻 𝑌𝑂𝑈

𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝑀𝐴𝐾𝐸 𝑀𝐸 𝐹𝐸𝐸𝐿 

𝐿𝐼𝐾𝐸 𝐼 𝐴𝑀 𝑊𝐻𝑂𝐿𝐸 𝐴𝐺𝐴𝐼𝑁

- 𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑒, 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑔

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

THERE was no clarification or conversation between the two in the weeks that followed. But Melanie was still dealing with it, lying awake in her hammock, racking her brain about whether these emerging feelings of guilt were justified. Until she could actually see Newt walking towards her.

Although it was incredibly dark and she thought the others had already fallen asleep two hours ago, the bonfire was still burning and she could still see his figure anywhere. The blonde boy stopped in front of her hammock, held out his hand and because she wasn't sure, she remained silent and simply took it.

He gently pulled her towards him and Melanie saw that he was grinning slightly as they walked side by side for a short distance and he finally stopped by the fire.

All that could be seen were the blazing flames of the campfire, which made it smell like coal and made the girl feel cozy and warm. She couldn't determine whether Newt's hand in hers was also involved. There was just too much happening for that.

Despite the tension between them, there was a dreamy smile on her lips that hadn't been there for a long time. He returned it with his grin and all she could think about was that she liked it when he looked at her like that. To even be looked at by him.

That he liked her so much and the unusual touches they exchanged with each other, so much so that she literally thanked the creators for being stuck in a maze with the blonde. "I'm asking you to do dance with me, love," he said, taking a step toward her, his hand still clasped in hers as if it could be taken away from him.

Melanie bit the inside of her cheek slightly because she always felt so special when he called her by that pet name. Something she got from him all alone and it was a gift in the form of memories. That she would probably always think of him if this pet name were used anywhere else. But it was only beautiful for as long as it lasted.

With a short nod she agreed to a short dance performance. "Because it's you."

He tenderly placed his left hand on her hip so that she could bridge the last few centimeters. He stubbornly kept the other in hers, and she blinked slightly at how blatantly he looked down at her.

Melanie's free hand found its place on his chest and the sooner he breathed, the sooner she could feel his heartbeat. Far from being uncontrolled, it was so targeted and steady that she believed he could let himself go. Hers, on the other hand, was positively excited not to stop and even though it bothered her that they hadn't talked about what was on her mind, all she could do was just surrender to the situation.

Newt's touches were new to her because they were much gentler and more loving than usual. And the wind carried a pleasant breeze her way, making her hair tickle her own skin. It was like she had forgiven him in the blink of an eye just so she could enjoy this.

And when Melanie looked into his eyes, there were whole worlds there. So many possibilities that she longed to become reality.

I want to tell him so much
that it almost makes me
choke in agony.

So she swallowed a little, moved her hand from his chest to his cheek, and a serious expression spread across her narrow face. "When I look into your eyes, it's like I'm walking in dreams that are too good to miss, which is why I can't look away," she tried to put the inevitable into words, trying hard to get in not to lose his brown. "You make me happy, even though your answer at the bonfire the other night hurt me."

Newt didn't back away, there was a very thoughtful look that he directed at her. So that Melanie had to be patient before she got an answer, without already hating herself for saying anything at all.

"I'm sorry," he said simply, "I didn't know I was hurting you, Mel." But then he lifted her chin a little more and his trademark smile appeared, radiating a gentleness, that filled everyone with joy. It's hard to believe that it's always the people who suffer the most.

"What's it like?" he asked, "To be happy."

Melanie looked to the side, took his question very seriously and because she didn't know if she ever was happy before the labyrinth, she had to think about it carefully for a moment. "Hard," she admitted, taking a little breath because it felt so surreal to think about the last few months and how different her thoughts and opinions now were.

"Because it took me far too long to realize how little it takes." She stroked his cheek with her thumb and his hands slid to her hips, where he held her, listening intently. "I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, Newt. Without you I wouldn't have found out so many things. Never knew what it felt like."

Newt moved a little closer to her, licking his lips slightly and his heart stopped as he himself waited so hopefully to see what she would say next. "What does what feel like?" he asked her, putting some hair behind her ear so that she could better see her fire-flaming skin, which was always so flawless that he wanted to touch it constantly.

"To be in love."

The blonde's face didn't change at all. Suddenly there was so much hope in his eyes that his efforts had definitely paid off. But with what certainty could she mean him?

Melanie was beaming from ear to ear because she seemed to have finally found a space in which she could let out all the colorful butterflies in the form of feelings that were fluttering around inside her. "All of this feels so indescribable. Whenever you touch me, the area tingles fiery, like the sun's rays burning so pleasantly on your skin. When I get up in the morning, I always think of you first. You are the one I would like to have around me all the time. Only you, Newt."

But as beautiful as Melanie's words were, her face suddenly looked sad, as if there was a memory in her mind that maneuvered her back into pain.

Newt's expression shrank a little because he couldn't bear to see her like that. Far too often, he was overcome by an ice-cold fear that he would lose her again.

Would she lose to this sadness that seems to be inevitable in the Glade when she deserved so much more.

When all he wanted was to see her happy and some days it seemed like the hardest thing in the world.

“What are you thinking about, love?” he asked worriedly, his hands moving from her hips to her face, which rested between them. Melanie swallowed suddenly, as if it forbade her to speak. “That it might just be one-sided - My feelings for you, Newt. Don't you understand? We're friends, then it stops. You don't feel the same way, it's nothing special."

The latter caused him to let out an audible breath and a palpable sense of remorse that he had probably caused more damage than he had feared. So it hurt him a little at that moment that she actually assumed that he didn't feel the same way.

That he hadn't been thinking about her all day, knowing her voice by heart like a song played too often and her face, a picture he had hung up in his room so he could look at it every morning and every evening could, until his fatigue drew him into an unexplored world. That by now everyone knew about Melanie and Newt, except Melanie and Newt themselves.

Still, she was right. He had never said that he liked her to the extent that he liked the runner. “Then tell me, love: is that how ‘just friends’ look at each other? And do friends do that too?” Then he leaned down and connected the remaining centimeters by kissing her.

If Melanie were holding something in her hands, she would have dropped it in surprise and surrendered to the wave that it revealed to her. His lips played with hers so blatantly that she thought the best kiss ever shared was for her pleasure alone. That she didn't even want to know if she had ever had one before. Because this was her first, unimportant whether general or not.

Mostly it was her first with Newt and she hoped there would be many more to come. Because it turned out that being able to exchange such a sensitive touch in the form of a kiss was incredibly beautiful and all the crazy feelings that came with being in love.

Melanie had become even warmer, almost hot, but as abruptly as it came, it was over again. Fearing it would be over too quickly and just another trick of her memory, she returned the kiss with a passion that contained all her happiness.

Then his hands slipped from her cheeks and Newt pulled away so he could read her eyes to see what she was thinking.

“I feel the same way,” he breathed, his breathing labored, “and for longer than you think. Maybe now you understand why it is always so important to me that you are safe and that I can be with you. Why it means so much to me when you're happy and that I couldn't give up on you, Mel. I couldn't give up on you, you know?"

Melanie looked at him with a look so speechless it touched her heart It took a long time to make sure she was still alive.

Newt had said so much that she had to process and she could just feel how much the kiss had changed.

Melanie now became even more aware of one thing: what an extremely important meaning Newt had for her.