the maze runner; one shots

lowering the mask (minho)

"Please!" Her shrill screams tore through the silence like a wave on a calm ocean.

"Don't do this to me, please," She cried. She was on her hands and knees, her veins darkened and eyes reddened. The Gladers all stood with their usual banishing tools, ignoring her pleads for her life. The Maze doors were beginning to close, the mossy stone moaning slightly as it creaked.

"They're going to kill me, they're going to kill me... I don't want to die," She choked. It was more than sobbing, it was the kind of desolate weeping that can only come from a person so desperate for hope. Her breathing ragged, choppy, as if it could cut off at any moment.

Minho stood above her, a stone cold expression plastered on his face. Almost like a mask. He was hiding so much barred up emotion behind it, afraid that if he showed any of it, he wouldn't be able to stop all of it from spilling out.

"Minho?" She croaked, settling her wary gaze on his face as he towered over her. In her eyes, he could see all of the things they'd been through together. When she arrived in the maze, and he helped her through her anxieties. When he'd refused to be treated medically by anyone other than her, disrupting the Med-jack's schedule with his stubbornness. When she'd sneak him food in the Slammer after everyone had gone to bed since he couldn't help but make some snotty remark at Gally during a gathering.

But he had to pretend that he didn't feel that way, that he didn't care. Because if he showed that he did, it would be a lot harder to do what he was about to do.

He wanted to tell her was sorry, that he didn't want to do this. He wanted to tell her that he would miss her, and her bright smile that lit up the Glade. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. But he couldn't.

He threw a pack with some supplies into the maze, and backed away from her, through the barricade of boys, watching as they closed in on her, forcing her closer to the doors. 

(y/n) continued to scream for help, trying to pry herself between the boys who created a firm barrier so she couldn't escape. Slowly but surely, she finally backed up all the way until she was in the maze, staring out at the people who she called her friends with a damaged expression. Minho wouldn't let himself look away, staring right at her until the doors closed shut firmly, leaving the Gladers in uncomfortable silence.

Minho turned away from the doors swiftly, ignoring Newt who had made his way over to him. He kept walking until he reached the Map room, and he shut the door with so much force it could nearly topple the small hut.

__

Minho ran the maze every single day as he always did after (y/n) was banished.

They had never found any of her remains, not even a piece of her clothing. She was a sore subject around the Glade, and most of the boys knew never to mention her name in front of Minho, considering the amount of emotional trauma that came along with it.

Minho would never admit it, but every time he ran the maze, there was a part of him that was secretly looking for her. Every corner he turned, every note he jotted down and every vine he cut off, he thought might take him closer to seeing her again.

One particular day, he was jogging through Section 7, where he found a nice corner to sit and have his lunch. He lowered himself to lean against one of the many stone walls, and reached into his pack for his food.

As he was eating, he felt like he was sitting on something uncomfortable.

"What the shuck?..." He muttered as he turned around to find out what it was he had been sitting on. When he saw it, his heart almost stopped beating.

There lied a small bracelet, made up of braided leather. It looked old and worn out, like it had been to hell and back. He reached out and picked it up, admiring the detail.

This was the bracelet (y/n) had worn every single day. She had been wearing it since she came up in the Box, and she never really thought to take it off. But Minho still knew exactly who it belonged to.

Without thinking, he slipped it onto his wrist. It was pretty tight, but he was able to make it fit if he pulled the strings around to make it looser. An overwhelming rush of emotion over came him, and he wasn't able to stop the tears from spilling from his eyes.

He sat in that corner for a while, thinking and crying, finally acknowledging his feelings for once. Minho was often the type to shield his real emotions with sarcasm and sassiness. It wasn't common to see him cry, or even smile ever since (y/n) was banished.

But he cried a lot that day.

__

"Get down!" Bullets whizzed at the group as they darted behind their cars. Minho and Newt ducked down, shielding themselves from the firearms that were targeting them.

Three figures with masks covering their faces and guns in hand approached them and their friends, one of them pointed directly at Jorge and Thomas.

"Drop it," She said. The other girl, a blonde, backed her friend up. "She said drop it!" Jorge finally dropped whatever device he had been holding, raising his hands up so they could see them. They forced Jorge, Thomas and the rest of their friends to stand up and move together.

The third and final girl came forward as the group lined up in front of them, her expression softening. She quickly put her hand out in front of the other two, lowering her weapon.

"Minho? Newt?" She said, her eyes widened. Her gaze darted to Frypan. "Fry?"

As she spoke, it began to come clear to Minho exactly who it was. She lowered her mask, revealing herself once and for all, causing the Gladers to marvel in shock.

Without a second thought, Minho walked over to her and threw his arms around her, engulfing her in a bear hug. She laughed gently, which sounded like an angel from heaven to Minho. When he finally stepped away from her, she caught his wrist, inspecting it.

"You found my bracelet," (y/n) breathed, a small smile creeping onto her lips. He nodded quickly, fumbling his fingers in an attempt to remove it, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment.

"No-" She lowered his hand from his wrist. "Keep it," By the time this moment had passed, Newt and Frypan had gotten their turn for a reunion with their old friend.

"Who are these people?" The first girl, who (y/n) had introduced as Harriet, asked skeptically.

"Well these three were my best friends in my maze. However, when I got stung, they switched up and banished me. Shuckfaces," She teased. Minho's gaze darted to his shoes, obviously still feeling guilty for that whole incident.

"But I trust them. We can take them back to Vince," (y/n) announced.

And with that began their new journey.

From the day he got her back, Minho never shut his feelings out. She was always there to guide him through it. When Teresa betrayed them, when they were taken by WICKED, and even when their best friend succumbed to the Flare. He never wore that mask again.

I wish we could stop wearing masks. Love COVID <3