Florence woke the next day in the same position she had fallen asleep in - except Minho was not there. Her face was buried instead into his empty pillow, and her arm looped around a bunched up part of the covers.

She had no idea how, but the boy had gotten through his hangover and was out in the Maze as usual. There was a feeling of emptiness in her stomach at the thought of Minho gone rather than still cuddled up in bed with her.

I'm probably just hungry. Minho leaves early every day, it's no different.

She would be taking Chuck on the Greenie tour, knowing that he would've already had the 'Griever Show' from Newt early this morning.

Slipping out of bed, the girl tugged a jumper over her head and shuffled out of the door. As she reached the Homestead, her eyes drew along the room, scouring for a particular person.

Gally.

She didn't know what happened to him last night after the whole 'incident', but she knew that Alby would want to address it in a Council meeting presumably.

Florence approached Frypan, her distraction evident as she bumped into the boy queuing for breakfast just in front of her.

"Sorry." She muttered, not bothering to look up. When she got to Frypan, the cheerful boy greeted her with a two smiles; one on his face and one of bacon and eggs on her plate.

"Thank you." 

Glancing behind her to see only a few boys, she took the moment to turn back to Frypan to ask him what had been praying on her mind. "Have you seen Gally around?"

His expression darkened, and he looked over the girl's shoulder to where Alby and Newt were sat together. They were away from the other Gladers, both with troubled looks painted on their faces.

"Not since last night. Reckon you should go talk to Alby about it." He gave her another smile and went to serve the boy behind her, forcing her to move on.

Weaving through the Gladers, Florence settled into a space beside Newt. Her presence briefly distracted him and Alby, and then they exchanged a glance.

"How are you doing Florence?" Alby asked her genuinely, and she gave him a soft smile. She was grateful for his caring tone, rather than his usual impatience.

"I'm fine. I know that nothing'll happen to me. Gally was just too drunk, and he was being stupid." She paused to begin eating her food, and then looked back up to their leader.

"Where is Gally actually?"

Neither of the boys said anything. They looked at one another, before looking back to the girl. They were hiding something. She just waited with an expectant glance for one of them to explain.

"We put him in the Slammer last night." Newt told her. Florence's eyes widened in surprise, in disbelief that they thought he would try anything more than what he tried last night.

"What? Why?"

"We warned people about touching you or doing anything to you on that first night Florence. Gally didn't listen." Alby continued, his harsh tone ringing in her ears and settling in her mind.

"So what? What are you gonna do? Just leave him in there?"

They shared yet another private look and Florence felt her fists clenching. Her heart began to pick up in speed at her own impatience. The pair were discussing her, and keeping her out of the whole conversation.

Then she remembered Alby's exact words from that first night - the exact threat he had sent all of the boys.

They want to banish Gally.

She unclenched her fists, a wave of nausea passing over her. She couldn't really believe they were considering this. 

"You- you can't." Her words came out almost in a whisper. She could feel her breath trapping in her throat and her cheeks grew hot. 

"Listen Florence. We're going to have a Gathering later. We'll talk it out then, okay?" Newt's voice was soothing, eyeing up the way Florence was struggling to take in steady breaths. He was worried for her.

She nodded, wanting her panic to go away. But she already had many feelings about this; and none of them were positive.

"You good to give the Greenie the Tour, or shall I?" Alby asked, and Florence let herself laugh, her breathing evening out. This would be the first time Alby hadn't given the Tour of course, and it was obvious he wasn't exactly thrilled about it.

"I'm good, don't you worry Alby. You're welcome to tag along if you'd like." She offered the boy with an amused knowing smile, and the boy forced a scowl.

"Fine. I'll come to supervise."

He'll come to see if I'm doing it 'right' basically.

Newt laughed fondly at the pair, and looked about the room for their Greenie. He spotted Chuck stumbling in. He looked way in over his head. His eyes were red - from crying clearly - and he looked as though he might break down again any moment.

"The poor kid's so young." Florence mumbled, and Newt realised the three of them were all watching him.

"I know. The Creators are shucking evil. How could they do that to a kid?" Newt's tone was low, barely audible, as if he didn't realise he was saying his thoughts out loud.

"How could they do this to anyone?"

After finishing her breakfast, she had taken Chuck by the arm and marched him outside for the Tour. As promised, Alby also attended. But unlike Florence expected, the boy remained quiet and just watched as she guided the boy around the Glade.

He hung on to her every word as she chatted away animatedly, and Alby was in awe of her ease in introducing him to the Glade. He hid this well of course, but it was undeniable, she certainly made a good leader.

"Right. That's the end of the Tour. Any questions?" Florence rushed her words as she began to run out of breath. Chuck nodded his head multiple times making his curly hair bounce. 

"If Gally's the Keeper of the Builders, where is he?" 

Seriously Chuck? That's your first question?

"Well- He's uh..." Florence faltered and looked to Alby for guidance. He simply gave her a small nod, and she took this as permission to tell him.

"He's in the Slammer right now." Chuck's brow furrowed, and then he nodded.

"It's because he went to kiss you right?"

Florence's lips formed a firm line and she inhaled sharply at the reminder. Briefly nodding, her eyes drew to the ground and thought herself to a happier place; lying in her bed last night with Minho.

"Is Minho your boyfriend?" Chuck's next question came flying out, and the girl picked up on his teasing tone. Her head instantly flew up to meet his eyes, and her jaw slacked. She was lost for words.

Alby however, burst into laughter. He could barely hold himself together and turned instead to a tree to hold himself up as tears rolled down his cheeks from his excessive laughter. An annoyed expression settled on Florence's face as Alby went crazy with laughter, and Chuck giggled slightly, but then quietened as soon as he saw her face.

"No. He's not."

Alby raised his eyebrows questioning, seeming to disagree with her firm statement. His laughter died out just enough for him to choke out, "Are you sure about that?"

Nodding her head tiredly, she strolled away a few feet before stopping. She wasn't quite done on this topic. 

Everyone in the Glade seemed to have their own opinion of Minho and I, and it's time to set it straight.

"Why does anyone even think that there's any time to have a boyfriend here? We're stuck in the middle of a giant shucking Maze with creatures that wanna kill us, and all any of you can focus on is me and shucking Minho. It makes no sense!" 

Her anger spilled out all at once. Neither of the boys took it very seriously, continuing to laugh and adding more fuel to the fire. She exhaled heavily in frustration and just chose to leave instead of going any further.

I am so sick of this place.

Florence knew the only place she could go right now was to her best friend, since she couldn't exactly go to Minho about himself. Newt was helping Clint and Jeff in the Med room due her absence.

A sense of exasperation still laid in her eyes as she came into the room, and Newt knew instantly that she needed him. Newt simply just gave Clint a knowing sorry smile, and left the room with the girl. 

Florence was set on entering the Deadheads. She didn't stop until she had passed dozens of trees, branches brushing against her elbows and scratching her skin. She didn't stop until she had angry tears blur her vision, and then she wiped them away before Newt could notice.

She let herself flop down on the grass, under the shade of a particularly tall tree, and Newt sat down beside her, wrinkles creasing his forehead.

"I'm so sick of everything." Her voice wobbled with emotion, but the girl was stubborn. She was determined to not let herself break down. She felt stupid for crying about something so small.

"Flo, I-" As comforting as she knew Newt was, she just needed an ear to listen. She needed to vent and pour her heart out, and then she could listen to the advice the boy would inevitably have.

"-I like Minho. You know that, right?" She didn't pause for his answer. She knew he knew.

"I know it's pretty shucking obvious. I wish things were different, more than anyone. But they're not. They're, difficult. We need to focus on getting out, a-and I can't have a boyfriend right now. Even if he did like me back. This whole place is just driving me insane and I don't get why everyone's so obsessed with me and Minho! How have you lived here for two shucking years?"

She finally finished, and looked to Newt expectantly. She thought he would come out with a string of advice and positive words for her as usual.

That didn't happen.

What did happen, was something completely unexpected.

Newt's face crumpled up and before he could stop it, tears were rolling down his cheeks. He let in a shaky breath but was unable to stop himself from sobbing, so he gave in.

"Oh shuck." Florence muttered under her breath. She moved immediately and wrapped her arms around the boy. He didn't respond, but just let the girl squeeze him tightly as he cried.

"I'm so sorry Newt. I would never want to upset you." He managed to choke out an 'it's okay' in response, and the girl just rubbed comforting circles on his back as she hugged him.

But why on earth are you crying?

That was the question she really wanted to ask. She just had to trust that he would tell her. And considering the boy thought of her as his best friend, like she did him, he would.

She pulled back from the boy and studied his eyes carefully. He gave nothing away, and instead seemed rather ashamed of himself for crying.

He wiped his eyes sheepishly, and kept his gaze firmly on the floor. When he finally did speak, his voice came out shakily and uncertain.

"I never told you how I hurt my leg." He looked to her for confirmation but he knew he hadn't. He hadn't told anyone.

"It was just after I had come up in the Box. Maybe a month or so of being here. I didn't know who I was, or where I was. I just know that even though I couldn't remember a thing, something was missing. There was something almost empty about me."

Florence's heart felt like it was on the verge of breaking. She knew almost immediately where he was going with this. But she couldn't cry. This was his story, and she couldn't allow herself to get upset when she needed to be strong for him.

"I couldn't handle it. I was a Runner, so one day I went out in the Maze, and found the tallest wall to... to-" Newt tried and failed to finish his sentence. The girl's hand reached for his own and squeezed it gently.

"It's okay Newt. I-I know what you mean. I'm so, so, sorry you felt you had to do that." Newt nodded, giving her the smallest smile. It felt like a weight lifted from him to let someone know what happened.

"You can stop, uh, talking about it? If you want to." 

Her tone was understanding, but it encouraged Newt to continue to open up to her. She already knew now, and so saying it out loud would make it easier for him. Since it happened, he had never really accepted it.

"I want to tell you. If that's okay."

"Of course it is."

"When I- I jumped, I got tangled up in the ivy. It broke my fall. I broke my leg in three different places and then I landed on the floor, and I really thought that was it. That that was the end for me. It would've been, but then Minho found me. He picked me up and took me back to the Glade. I didn't want to tell anyone, obviously. And he understood me, he never told anyone the truth about it."

Her heart was broken now, she knew it. Newt was only a boy, but the trauma of everything he had been through was much worse than any boy should have to fare.

"I have to say, Newt; I am so glad you're alive. You are the kindest, most compassionate person in this place. You are the best person here. I have no idea what I would do without you, and I'm certain that all these boys - Minho, Alby, even Gally - would have no idea what they'd do without you."

Newt chuckled softly. He knew that already in the very very back of his mind, but he didn't know that he needed someone to say it to him; that he needed someone to say they were glad he was alive.

"I'm glad I'm alive too."

When Minho had returned from the Maze, Alby called for a Gathering. Florence was the last to arrive, and when she did, every single pair of eyes in the room fell on her. A quiet fell over the room and Florence flashed a forced, uncomfortable smile as she flopped down in her seat. 

"So... Shall we talk about this mess?"

Minho let the smallest laugh pass his lips at Florence's casual tone. She seemed so unbothered by the whole situation, as if she knew it was going to go exactly her way.

Unknown to all the boys in the room, she had been to see Gally earlier that day. She had managed to slip away from the clutches of their Greenie Chuck, and snuck off to where Gally was being kept captive in the Slammer.

Their conversation was brief, but highly important. The first thing said when she arrived was Gally's messy apology. He repeated it over and over, his voice shaking, on the verge of tears. She tried her best to not show her shock of the boy's vulnerable state, but it was certainly difficult.

Then she told him about the boys' plan; that they wanted to banish him. This caused the tears to fall. Not wanting to attract attention to them, Florence hushed his sobs and drew closer to the bars of the Slammer to speak to him in a low voice.

Her exact words?

"There's no way I'm letting them Banish you Gally."

So when Florence got to the Gathering, she was confident. She should be. What ever was to be decided would most likely be what she wanted. It was cocky, yes, but it was also true.

This girl had the boys of the Glade eating out of the palm of her hand. Well, almost. There were a number of things they would most likely never change or allow her, but Florence certainly had an advantage on getting her opinion heard as the only girl on the Glade.

It probably helped that she was incredible stubborn too.

Newt cleared his throat and stood up from his seat. "When Florence got here, Alby made it very clear that if anyone attempted any 'funny business' with Florence, they would be Banished. As long as Gally has been here, that doesn't take away from the fact he ignored that instruction."

He cleared his throat, and his eyes shifted to Florence. She watched him in curiosity, and her inquisitive eyes analysed him, causing him to look away out of discomfort.

She loved Newt, she really did. He was her best friend on the Glade. But Florence found this whole scenario way too amusing.

"So I'm just gonna ask you all for your recommendations and that's that."

Florence's mouth curved down in a frown. Minho noticed her upset and nudging the girl's foot with his own, caught her attention.

"What do ya make of this?" He muttered to the girl, so no one would hear them talking over Zart, who was offering his opinion.

"Honestly? No one's opinion should matter but mine. He tried to kiss me, why should anyone else have anything to do with it?" She hissed it rather quietly, and despite her best efforts to not attract any unwanted eyes, Alby's focus was on the pair now.

Minho agreed with her. He was also incredibly stubborn, and as one of the first Gladers, his opinion was also highly valued. So when he cleared his throat loudly, Zart trailed off mid-sentence, and Minho had everyone's attention.

"I think, that no one really matters except princess right now. I don't recall Gally trying to kiss any of you shanks."

This caused a few chuckles in the group. Florence hid the smirk that threatened to show. Newt's eyes widened at this, but he said nothing to protest.

"Well, does anyone actually disagree with that?" She asked, and there was a clumsy chorus of 'no's' spoken.

She then turned to the leader, who had not said a thing. She watched Alby expectantly, and he leaned back in his seat, locking his fingers together behind his head as he tilted back his chair.

"Tell us what you wanna do then Florence."

Satisfied - and not surprised - Florence leapt up from her seat and stood herself in the centre of the semi circle of chairs, to face the Council members. There was one empty chair, Gally's of course. And that's where she decided to focus her vision.

"Gally was being a shuckface, to be blunt. He made me uncomfortable, yes, but he's also apologised. There's no way I'm letting you Banish him. I know he's not gonna try it again."

She looked over the boys all seated, who seemed to be thinking over her short statement. Her eyes landed lastly on Minho, who had a smirk playing on his lips. He sent her a wink, and mouthed 'you're doing great princess', causing her to roll her eyes. But she couldn't stop a smile from appearing on her lips afterwards.

She forced it away again as she waited for either Alby or Newt to speak again. They shared a glance that she could not decipher the meaning of, and then Newt let out a sigh,

"As much as I bloody hate that shank sometimes, I don't wanna Banish him."

"Exactly." She stated triumphantly, not making it too loud to avoid seeming smug. She sat back in her seat as Newt paused to choose his next words.

"So what do you think then? What should we do with him?"

"Keep him in the Slammer as long as you want, but I think he's learnt his lesson."

Florence thought back to the conversation she had with the boy. Just before she told him that she wouldn't let him be Banished, she had her fun with him;

"You know I can make it happen for what you tried to pull? I have complete control over all this, so you need to think twice before trying to put your lips anywhere near me again you shank."

Looking back, maybe she was a little harsh. 

"And so what? We just release him?" Newt sounded a little exasperated. He expected the girl to want the boy to be locked up in the Slammer, not to release him immediately. He felt a little stupid for locking him up in the first place now.

"Tomorrow. He can spend the night." And with that, the girl decided she was done with the meeting. She flashed a real smile this time and got up from her seat, her hair swinging as she flounced from the room, leaving all the boys there speechless.

Minho broke the pause that the boys had descended into by leaping up from his seat and following the girl. He jogged to catch up as he bit back a smile of pride at the girl's ability to hold her own and air her thoughts so confidently.

It had only made him fall for her more.

"Hey, princess!"

"You know I'm starting to think you have actually forgotten my name." She replied, almost singing the words as she teased the boy.

"I have no idea what you mean, your name is princess." He threw back, his tone worryingly serious, but then Florence wanted to hit herself for her silliness as it was obvious Minho was joking.

"Well done though, in there." He said seriously this time, falling into step with her.

"For what?"

"For getting the boys to do exactly what you want. It's pretty impressive." She bit her lip to stop her smirk for what felt like the hundredth time.

"No idea what you mean."

The pair had reached the walls of the Maze now, and stopped right outside, facing one another. There was complete silence in that area of Glade, as everyone had turned to the Homestead for dinner, leaving the pair of them completely alone.

Florence felt a flurry of butterflies in her stomach as she noticed something different in the air between them. It had always been ridiculously flirtatious, but this moment was almost too perfect. 

Darkness was setting in, and moonlight was cast over the pair. It was like a romantic movie, but it wasn't like Florence could remember any specifically.

Their minds had both turned to where they had found themselves only last night, and they seemed to know that they were both thinking it. But instead of the embarrassment, the thought floated between them naturally and freely, as if they didn't care any longer about hiding their feelings.

They were alone after all.

Minho stepped closer to Florence so their shoes were touching. She glanced down to the floor to see it, and then back up to his face. It was much closer than she initially thought, not that she was complaining. 

He is shucking attractive.

She could count each and every one of his dark eyelashes if she wanted to, but her gaze couldn't help but fall to his lips, which looked ridiculously soft and kissable. Florence shivered slightly, the cold air finally hitting her, and Minho laughed softly managing to use it as an excuse to brush his hand with hers.

"Are you cold?"

"No, I chose to shiver." She replied snappily, earning his laughter. He mock-pouted, only making Florence feel more inclined to want to kiss him.

"Let me warm you up then shank." Without warning, Minho leant towards her and Florence was certain he was going to kiss her. 

At the last second, he veered off course and instead his arms had snaked around her waist and rested on her back, enveloping her in warmth.

She felt a little disappointed, but instinctively wrapped her own arms around him, her face pressing into his chest. Despite running all day in the Maze, he didn't stink of sweat, and she only felt herself melting against him as she caught the scent of peppermint.

How does he smell good?

"You're the shank." She mumbled back into his chest, but her words weren't audible. They hugged for a lot longer than just a hug to 'warm Florence up', but neither minded or pointed it out.

"Uh, are you guys coming for dinner? Frypan's nearly finished up." A nervous high-pitched voice interrupted the pair, causing them to break away. Minho huffed in exasperation, and his arm remained on the girl's waist as she kept herself glued to his side. She was still cold, obviously.

She smiled at Chuck quickly and turned to Minho. "Shall we head in for some food then?" He only grumbled in response, to which she began walking to the Homestead and dragging him along with her.

Only one thought laid on both of their minds,

what if Chuck had interrupted us kissing instead?