[the ocean's breeze] NEWTMAS SHORT STORY

[ 08 ]

i soon realize my hate for parties isn't just because i have a maze to crawl out of or a facility to break into. there is no real excuse for my loathing, i simply don't enjoy them. maybe it's how overwhelmed i feel with the crowd that keeps swarming to thank me for "saving us all" (whatever that means, gally had to usher away a small group of gawking teenage girls who kept saying i was hot).

it very well could be the fact that staying up dancing or talking to intoxicated people are both unnecessary (and both at the party). newt being one of those intoxicated people also might be a factor.

i can see newt laughing with a group of strangers in the distance from my place on the log by the fire. the lazy way the corners of his lips turn up and how his head flies backwards in a chuckle gives me the indication he's had a few too many drinks. i almost get up from my spot and go over to the blond to make sure he won't do anything he'll regret, but minho shows up behind newt first and holds a firm grip on his shoulder.

newt almost trips over his own feet when he turns to our friend, leaning on him heavily and pulling almost all of his weight onto his good leg. minho says something to him cheerfully, i'm too far to be within earshot of them, and offers a cup of whatever to newt.

the blond drops his own cup without thinking and ignores its crash into the ground. he yanks the other drink from minho's hands and peeks at it before downing the entire thing. his face forms a pout and i feel my heart soften at the cute frown. he whines to minho, who just laughs and slaps his bony friends back.

i look down from the duo when minho's eyes meet mine. the brown liquid swirls in my own cup, barely untouched by my lips. i've tried to drink the substance over the course of the entire party, but this drink is so much more strong than gally's brew from the glade. his brew had a foul, disgusting taste but i saw newt have three of those and be fine on my first night (unless i didn't notice if he was drunk or not; it's hard to pay attention to small details like that when you're about to run of your life). this one burns hot in my throat instead and clearly has a different impact on newt.

"tommy," i hear behind me, so i turn to the source of the word. my breath gets caught in my throat and i suck in a deep breath through my nose.

he's back. that damned hallucination is back and he looks closer to death than anytime i've blinked him into existence. the bonfire doesn't glow on him, as if he's immune to it's warmth. instead, his peeling skin is a rotting pale color and torn up over his face. his hair isn't the sunny fluff i run my hands through when he and i take naps together- no, it's damped against his skull and looks more white than yellow. the dark veins running down his neck lead to his chest like a pathway and bury themselves in the knife securely struck there.

i try to blink the swaying picture out of existence, but his dead eyes are still glaring like pins an needles when i open them. so, i look the opposite way to try and find the real newt, to make sure he's still okay and maybe push this crank-newt away. my chest constricts as soon as i can't find the mop of blond and lanky limbs anywhere. hot tears begin to fill my eyes and i turn back to crank-newt.

"go away," i try to say but i can't even hear myself through the water thats filled my head. the bonfire feels like its burned out behind me, everything is so damn cold. it's cold and i'm drowning and i'm going to die alone. "go- go away!"

the corners of crank-newt's mouth turn up just slightly into an unsettling smirk, he limps over to the log i'm sitting on and plops next to me. i can hear his bones crack at every move, causing my breathing to quicken.

"you and i both know you need to pay for what you did," he croaks out through blackened lips, turning to me with empty eyes. i feel so small under the intense stare, as if he's trying to kill me with just his eyes. my feet pick me up and i scramble off the log to put distance between the monster and i. it's not real, it's not real, it's not real-