The Beginning of the End // The Maze Runner // Newt

// Chapter 11 //

When Athena finally reached her room, she collapsed onto it, asleep almost in a second.

Almost.

The door opened carefully and Athena opened one eye to see who had interrupted her when she was so close to falling asleep. Shaggy, blond hair came into view followed by the familiar brown eyes she would recognise a million miles away.

"Hey, Newt." She said, sitting up and brushing her hair from her face.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were sleeping," He said sheepishly, moving slowly to leave.

"No, no, no, it's okay. Come in. Make yourself at home." She said, standing up and opening the door wide before closing the door behind him.

"Thanks." He sat on the bed, his back against the headboard.

"What are you plotting?" Athena asked. Newt's eyes flicked towards the door then he shuffled up and gestured for her to move over to sit next to him. Sitting next to each other on the small bed, they were both comfortable.

"Minho and I were talking earlier and we figured we need to make a plan to get out of here. Since Thomas and Teresa are supposed to be banished, we need to find a way to get out of here for good that would let us take them with us but they're gonna be watched around the clock by one of Gally's guys." Newt whispered, knowing the walls in the top floor of the Homestead were messily built and extremely thin meaning conversations could be heard easily.

"How long do we have to figure it out?" Athena asked.

"So you're in?" Newt asked, turning his head to look at her.

"Yeah, of course." Her answer made a smile break out on his tired face. "When did you last sleep?"

"Um..." He quickly looked away and Athena knew the answer would be more than a couple of days.

"You have to get some rest, Newt." She spoke, her voice soft, "You know what? It's only 6 am so you're going to get some rest right now." Athena fluffed up the pillow behind him and he raised his eyebrow.

"Seriously? There's so much to do!"

"Well, you won't be able to do anything if you're too tired to even think."

"Fine." Athena smiled and gave him a small nod before moving to leave him to rest but as she did, the boy gently caught her wrist, "But stay. You need to rest just as much as I do."

The girl could feel a warm tingling from the contact of Newt's skin on her arm and though she opened her mouth to speak, not a sound came out so she simply nodded, letting the small smile on her face show. She lay down next to the boy, savouring the feeling of his warm arms wrapping around her. Her head rested on his chest, rising and falling with each breath he took, her arm slung loosely around his waist.

I could get used to this. Athena thought as she lay there, letting her eyes flutter closed, the darkness taking her easily despite the ever-brighter light streaming through the window above the bed.

***

She had only been asleep for a couple of hours before she woke up, but she already felt much better than before. It was as though her body had savoured every second of rest, even in the short time she had the chance. As she opened her eyes, she realised that she was still in her bed, lying next to Newt in the same position they fell asleep in.

Newt looked peaceful as he slept. His eyes were closed and the worries were melted from his features, a whisper of a smile lingering on his lips, perhaps from a good dream. His blond hair fell onto his face, shining in the sunlight, and without thinking, Athena reached up to move the stands from his face, freezing as he stirred, tightening his grip around her waist and pulling her closer to him, if that was even possible. The girl froze, not wanting to wake the sleeping boy.

Another ten minutes Athena lay there, savouring the warm, safe feeling of Newt's arm around her, holding her tightly to his chest, his soft breaths the only sound to be heard as she fiddled absent-mindedly with the hem of his jumper around his wrist. Despite the chaos the night before, she felt... content. She didn't know fully how that was possible, but she assumed it had something to do with the boy sleeping beside her. No, she knew it.

Could this be love? She thought to herself. She had no idea what love was or why it was the first thing she thought of, but the more she pondered, the less ridiculous it sounded.

As soon as she had come up in the Box, she had felt some sort of connection with Newt and she had no idea why. He was the nicest person one could ever meet, always attentive and caring. His smile could light up the room - the Glade, even - and his presence always summoned a kaleidoscope of butterflies in her stomach, giving her a nauseatingly wonderful feeling of giddiness and bliss, something she had tried to suppress for so long.

She was in love.

Would she tell him? She didn't know how. She was still trying to wrap her head around the emotion.

Later. I'll tell him as soon as he wakes up. She thought. She wasn't going to disturb his rest but, deep down, she knew it was just one of many excuses to come that would simply delay what had to be done. Sure, from her memories she was a warrior, strong and true, but this boy was enough to weaken her to the core with a mere thought.

Checking the time once again, Athena figured it was time to get up. If they really were going to escape then it would take time and planning, and rolling around in bed wouldn't get that done.

She carefully loosened Newt's grip around her waist and lifted his arm, slipping carefully out of the bed, walking lightly on her toes so she wouldn't make a sound, taking her shoes from beside the bed to put them on in the corridor before she headed out for the day.

###

Newt's POV

The bright light of the window woke Newt for a moment and he opened his eyes, letting them adjust carefully. He was unfamiliar with his surroundings which caused him to frown as he looked around, but it took only a moment before he noticed Athena lying half on top of him, snuggled into his chest. The sight put a smile on his face and he almost laughed at the joy it gave him that she was beside him. In all honesty, he thought she would have left ages ago.

Just then, she shifted slightly and Newt could tell she had woken up so, like anybody would, he pretended to be asleep. He hoped he was putting on a convincing performance despite the mild hint of a smile that refused to be wiped off his face. He hoped she didn't notice.

Instead, he felt her gaze on his 'sleeping' face before her hand reached up to move some hair from his eyes. The feeling sent shivers down his spine, shivers he hoped she didn't notice.

She pulled back quickly and Newt realised she had in fact noticed his movement. So, taking the opportunity, he moved, disguising the small smile that grew in his face by shifting into his side, pulling her slightly closer to him and resting his head comfortably on hers where he could smile freely without her knowing.

He liked her. That was for sure. He was even pretty sure he loved her. He had known for a while, but he just never found the right time to tell her for they always seemed to be interrupted, usually by Minho, and when he did get the chance, more pressing matters were always lingering over their heads, creating a damp mood.

Not yet. He thought to himself, deciding to savour the moment between them even though he knew he would need to tell her soon. That day, in fact, since they had no idea how the escape would go.

He thought about it for a moment longer before he fell back into his deep sleep.