Stay With Me

27

You had visited Thomas while he was in the slammer. Just once, for no more than thirty minutes. He had broken the rules when he went into the maze that night to try and help Minho and Alby, but you wanted to thank him for saving them. Theresa was huddled up next to the slammer door when you arrived. She smiled slightly when she saw you before saying goodbye to the brunette boy and walking away. Thomas had told her. She wanted to help.

"Thomas." The boy smiled when he saw you. A small smile, but still genuine.

"Y/N," he greeted you. You sat in silence for a while before either of you spoke.

"We need to fix this." You pressed your back against the wall of the slammer and slid down, hugging your knees to your chest and taking Theresa's seat.

"I know."

"You're the only person who can do it, Thomas. You have to save us. You can't run into the maze and die before we get out," your voice shook a little as you spoke, your emotions betraying you.

"Sorry."

"Sorry?" You had snapped the words angrily at him, standing up and turning to face him. He looked up at you from the floor of the slammer with wide eyes. You were glaring at him with fire in your eyes, if looks could kill he would've dropped dead right then. You continued, "Sorry?! Holy shit, Thomas," you saw his brow crease at your use of the unfamiliar curse word, "You need to save us, that's what I know. I can't tell you how. I was never told. But I know it has to be you, and it has to be soon. So stop apologizing, get off your ass, and save us you shank."

You walked away, even though he called after you. You felt your face burning bright red and your eyes stung with tears. You weren't paying attention to where you were walking and ran straight into a tall Glader.

"Sorry, sorry," you apologized frantically. Looking up to see who you'd bumped into, your heart sunk a little bit.

Gally.

"Watch where you're walking, slinthead." You just stared at him. He raised his eyebrow, "You got something to say, little girl?"

You pulled yourself out of your thoughts and fought to find words, "I um..."

"Spit it out." You took a deep breath, steadying yourself and gathering your thoughts.

"I- I'm sorry, Gally. For everything that's happened to you, and for everything I've done that's upset you. I know you have some personal vendetta against me but-" He moved to cross his arms across his chest and you flinched, "But I want you to know, I forgive you. I forgive you. I don't blame you for what you did, I don't accuse you of anything. You're good, Gally, you're a good guy, a good person. And... you're my friend, so, I forgive you. I forgive you." You stood still, waiting for him to say something, walk away, yell at you, anything.

"Thanks," He muttered before turning and leaving, "I think." You smiled to yourself and began heading towards the gardens. You could fix this. You could save them. Everything was going to be okay.

____________________________________Later that afternoon you were sitting in the dirt of the gardens with Newt and Chuck, helping the boys pick strawberries. Chuck was a slopper, not a trackhoe, but you felt bad that he was cleaning up blood and other gross klunk all day and never got to do anything fun.

Almost everyone in the glade was still a kid, but Chuck was the youngest, probably twelve or thirteen... everyone's ages were fuzzy in your memory, it had only been a month or so since you'd had the swipe activated and rode up to the Glade, but even if you could remember now... there were still a few facts you couldn't quite recall.

A berry hit you in your cheek, bringing you out of your thoughts and back to the real world.

"Y/N did you hear us?"

"No, sorry."

"We asked what you were gonna make with all the strawberries." You looked at the two huge baskets that sat between you and your friends.

"It's a surprise." You couldn't help but grin. Something poked at the back of your mind, something that said smiling and surprises and happiness weren't meant for this place. You pushed it further back in your brain, trying not to think about it.

The boys helped you clean and cut the sweet fruit before you kicked them out of the kitchen. Cooking with Frypan was easy because he knew how to stay out of the way and do his own jobs while you did yours. Your friends were not so conscious of your personal space.

Besides, you didn't want them to ruin the surprise. You measured and mixed and whipped and and whisked and sprinkled and baked until the kitchen smelled magical and your confectionary creations looked magical.

Cake. You had missed cake. You were tempted to eat them all by yourself, but you'd made the cakes for your friends, so you settled for licking the frosting out of the bowl with your finger. You placed the cakes on and empty shelf in the huge, slightly rusty, industrial refrigerator that had been stuck up in the Glade for who knows how long. Before the Gladers got there, you knew that for sure.

You stuck a sign on the fridge door that read three words you knew would upset Frypan.
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"DO NOT OPEN!" You cringed at the sound of your friends shout from the kitchen, "Y/N!" He never used your real name. You were in big trouble.

"Yeah?" You called from where you were laying in the grass whatching clouds with Chuck.

"Do not open," he questioned you while waving your note in the air, "do not open? How am I supposed to cook? It's my refrige- ya know what I'm gonna open!" You stood and rushed ahead of him, putting yourself between the chef and the big metal doors.

"No! You're not cooking tonight."

"Oh yes I am!"

"Oh no you're not!" The two of you stared each other down. Finally, Frypan chuckled and held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright, Limabean," he said with a smug grin on his face, "you win. I'll kick back and let you do all the work. But you're jacked if you think cooking for forty hungry teenage boys is an easy task."

"I like a good challenge," you grinned back.

That night you served everyone a big pasta dinner. It was nothing special so none of the Gladers expected anything new. You had made Minho promise to keep his mouth shut so he could help you carry the two huge desserts out to the bonfire. When everyone saw you they cheered.

"What's this for?"

"It's so pretty, what is it?"

"Beanie, you sneaky kid! You made cake!"

"Cake?"

"Looks good."

"Tastes even better," you replied to the last speaker, a glader named Dave that you hadn't talked to much. You smiled at him. Everyone ate and laughed and cheered. The sun was going down and everyone was happy. This is how things should be forever. You snuggled closer to Minho as you watched the flames flicker back and forth in the pit. Even Gally had sent a small, sheepish, smile your way that night. You felt warm and fuzzy inside. Things were going to be okay. Things were going to get better. You were going to save everyone.

"Hey," someone shouted over the noise the other gladers were making, "why aren't the doors closed yet?"
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Hi friendsss

I know this chapter was kind of all over the place, but I like the way it turned out, hope you enjoy!

More updates coming this weekend, love you all, have a good day ❤️❤️❤️