This Conspiracy

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

In Which Newt Threatens The Girlie With Beetle Blades

As much as she hated to admit it, the boys were right.

Gally readily agreed to help in any way that he could in getting them a medicinal garden. Were they planning on putting it closer to the actual Gardens or closer to the Med-hut? Who would be taking care of it? What did they plan on planting in it? And over a ton of other questions he thought the other Keepers might ask.

"We're still working out all the details," she told him. "I haven't even talked to Zart about it, and we don't know if he'll go with it. Not to mention Nick and the others. This all has to bypass all of the Keepers."

"Well, if it's you and Zart keeping an eye on it, I don't know why anyone would disagree. You two are our best Track-hoes."

"Thanks, Gally." She gave him a small smile.

"So, um," Gally said, "how are things? With, uh, with Newt?"

"With Newt? What do you mean?"

"You two seem... attached at the hip when he's not in the Maze."

"Well, yeah, I mean, he's kind of the only one I can talk to about... certain things."

"Certain things?" he said, eyeing her over.

"Just... certain things. Why?"

"It's just, I... Look, you two seem close, really close. Almost like you're, um, together-together."

She sputtered at that.

"To..." she said. "Newt and I definitely aren't like that. That's weird. And gross. Newt's like... He's like a really good friend or cousin or something. Who I can talk to about some stuff."

"Certain stuff."

"Yeah, certain stuff. That only he can understand because just happens to know a lot about it." She looked away from him with a heavy sigh, drawing her legs close to her chest. "Newt really... needs someone to talk to, you know? And I'm willing to listen. And he's there to listen to me. We have a sort of... We have this deal, you see? I can't really talk with other people about some stuff, no one else would understand. He gets it, I get it. He's my weird friend who needs help."

"Why can't you talk to me about these things?"

She looked up at him through her lashes, feeling herself start to blush again. God, why did he do this to her?

He looked away from her rather sharply to the whittling tools in his lap. He'd let one of the knives slip, and he'd knicked his thumb. He gave a hiss.

"I'm going to find Clint and Jeff," he said.

"Over this way. We were talking earlier." She led him back the way they'd come. They found the pair easily, still sitting with Archie and Ben. While she was still a little miffed about them purposefully pointing her in the wrong direction, she knew that she'd forgive them eventually. Eventually being practically seconds after rejoining them.

Besides, there were more important things to worry about. Like Gally accidentally cutting himself.

"What did you do to him?" Jeff said, eyeing the cut. "Threaten to cut off his fingers if he didn't agree?"

"Yes," Gally said flatly, "that is exactly what she did."

Ben and Clint snorted in amusement.

"Alright, you shank, come on. Let's get you patched up so you can boss around your Builders after this rain stops. If it decides to stop today."