They Left Me Once (Gally X Reader)

Don't Sleep In

The day was long, hot and impossibly boring for Gally. Y/N had been missing for two weeks, and yet she was once again being dragged back into her normal duties as a runner. Luckily, no one was running the maze today, but all of the runners were locked away in the map room discussing possibilities, something Gally wasn't allowed in on when he had to do his normal run of work. Especially now, after Zart had developed the habit of falling asleep on the job and taking out garden infrastructure every time he toppled over.

During lunch, Gally tried to catch her for just a minute but Thomas and Minho swarmed her, clinging to every word which left her mouth about her time in the maze. If he thought the morning was long? The afternoon went on forever into an endless void of time.

Gally was getting restless as the day came to a close. His hands were sore, back ached and feet throbbed from being stood on all day. When a cool hand pressed down onto his shoulder, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Woah, sorry," Y/N laughed at his sudden, rather extreme reaction to her touch, her face flushing ever so slightly. That was a familiar sight he had grown to miss.

"Uhm...dinner is ready. You missed the first bell."

"Oh?" Gally grumbled, wiping his dirty hands on his pants. He did all he could to quickly clean up his appearance but knew it was virtually useless. He needed a shower. "Have you eaten yet?"

Y/N shook her head. "No, I was waiting for you."

"When did you become so nice?" Gally felt his heart warming a little. She always surprised him in little ways. It didn't mean he was going to drop teasing her, though.

She smirked. "Now hurry up!"

Sitting down, Gally was shocked by just how loud his stomach growled. That was until he realized it wasn't his stomach. It was the sky, thunder rumbling in the distance. In no way was he letting his food be diluted by rain, so he grabbed Y/N by the arm and dragged her into the homestead where many of the boys had already gathered. In a sweltering hot place like the Glade, one might think that a rain storm would be the greatest thing ever and everyone would be running around in it. But, that wasn't the case. No one dared get their clothes wet because not only would they stink horribly afterwards, but because finding spare clothes was a struggle in itself. So, unless someone wanted to be sleeping in damp clothes, it was best they stay inside.

Gally cleared his throat. "What do you say to sharing a room again?"

"Sounds horrible." Y/N smiled softly and scanned the room for someone to talk to. Her efforts were pretty useless though since Minho started yelling at everyone to quiet down.

Gally chuckled to himself. It was nice seeing the Y/N he knew best slowly coming back to life.

"Alright, gather round shuckfaces!" The runners voice rattled everyones skulls, immediately catching their attention. "We've got a plan to get out of this place. So, if you want out, come listen. If you're a numbskull and wanna stay here forever, help yourself to Fry's leftovers."

Of course, most of the boys crowded around Minho and Thomas who sat hunched over the table with papers laying in a jumbled mess. However, a few hung back, avoiding the group. Gally was one of the few huddled around but radiated a nervous, uncertain energy.

"Long story short, shebean here found a secret tunnel of sorts. In theory, it leads somewhere, but she hasn't been able to find an exit. But, we know there has to be one somewhere." Minho looked around to his friends with hopeful eyes. "So, tomorrow, we're all heading out there and finding a way out, no matter what."

Streaks of lightning flooded the homestead with light and the rumbling of thunder caused many of the boys to shiver. But, Minho sat unwavering. He was determined to get out. "We're leaving as soon as the sun comes up. So, if you want in...don't sleep in, yeah?"

All of the boys that stood around the table nodded and grumbled, hating the idea of waking up early. But, if it meant getting out of the Glade, maybe it would be worth it.

"Minho, are you sure there's a way out? I mean I ran it everyday for two weeks and I didn't find—" Y/N rushed her words, afraid going into this plan was a bad idea.

"Chill out," Minho rolled his eyes and lifted Y/N's chin with his index finger. The comment and action made Gally's body tense. "We've got this."

Y/N raised a brow of suspicion. "I sure as hell hope so."

"Lets go," Gally nudged Y/N, moving towards the stairwell. In the distance, he could hear Minho snickering and whispering something to Thomas but he didn't care. He'd had enough of the others for one day and wanted time alone with Y/N.

The storm persisted on longer than Gally thought it would. They'd sat there on the bed for what seemed like hours to Gally, just watching the lightning. Regardless of how interesting it was to watch, he was tired and eyes were heavy. Yet, his uneasiness about this plan to leave tomorrow kept him awake. He was afraid to talk to Y/N about it. All he knew was that he was going where she was going.

"C'mere," Gally ever so boldly hugged the girl and dragged her under the covers with him. "This storm isn't ending anytime soon and we've got an early morning."

Y/N rolled over to face the sandy haired boy, letting out a deep breath. "Yeah."

Gally just stared at her blankly before he reached an arm over her frame and pulled her into his chest. Within moments, her legs were intertwined with his own, and as he looked down her face was buried in the covers.

She was here and this was real. To Gally, that still seemed too good to be true. Ever since she arrived, he'd been waiting to wake up and find out this had all just been a dream, nothing more. But it was very real.

The girl wasn't fighting him to let go or move away. She just lay there, eyes shut and breathing steadily. He couldn't refrain from sliding his arm under hers and hugging the body tightly. His nose was nuzzled into the crook of her neck and all of his worry seemed to slip away.

"Gally...?" Her words came muffled and soft.

"Hmm?" He questioned.

She didn't even move. "Thanks for not hating me for leaving."

Gally scoffed. "I can be upset that you left, but I can't hate you. I understand why you did what you did."

"...We're safe because of you, and we might have a way out because of you." The boy ran a thumb over the girls cheek.

"I hope so." And with that, the pair found themselves at war with sleep, a battle they would never win.