Finding Hope - Newt x Reader | Book 1

Chapter 9

Hours earlier...

After organizing the plan and preparing, we all part ways. We have a long time before Gally initiates the banishment, as it won't happen until around 5pm and it was only noon. 

Chuck stays by the Pit with Thomas and Teresa, hiding the supplies in a nearby bush. Minho goes off somewhere, mumbling "I'm gonna go take a breather" before walking away. Fry goes back to the kitchen, claiming that he's going to say his last goodbyes to the place and salvage whatever he can from it.

As everyone leaves, Newt and I walk to the lookout tower. The two of us sit down side by side at the top, leaning our backs against the wooden pole in the center. I rest my head on his shoulder as we sit in a comfortable silence, looking out over the Glade.

"Clem," Newt says softly. I hum, acknowledging him. "I never told you about my limp, did I?"

My head perks up from his shoulder as I look at him, his deep chocolate eyes looking into mine. "No," I mumble.

A breeze flows through the air, blowing through his hair as he looks back to the Glade and taking a deep breath. "I used to be a Runner," the boy starts, my eyebrows raising at the statement. "I spent everyday, out in that bloody maze just trying to find a way to escape. I was so desperate to find one." He glances at me before returning his gaze back to the Glade. "A little over a year after I got here, I began to feel hopeless--like there was no point. Minho and I had found absolutely nothing, and with the walls moving every night, it just got more confusing. More and more of the Gladers kept dying to the bloody Grievers, and for some reason it felt like it was my fault. I lost all the hope I had before, it felt like I was being overwhelmed with the darkness of the situation. So, one day I ran out into that buggin' Maze, climbed halfway up one of the walls, and I jumped."

I feel my heart drop as he says it. He was dealing with so much? Why didn't he tell anyone? The thought of not having met Newt enters my mind. If he did actually kill himself, I would've never met him. I realize that if I never met Newt, I probably would be feeling the same way. Of course, Minho would be there too, but it wouldn't be the same. Minho and Newt helped me get through these past two years, but it felt like Newt was there even more--like he understands me on a different level.

"One of those bloody vines ended up getting ahold of my right ankle, catching me before I could fall all the way down. It hurt like a mother. I ended up dangling there for hours before Minho found me. He got me down and my leg hasn't been the same ever since. Cursed me with a limp, I guess as a reminder of what not to do."

There's a brief silence between us before I speak up, my voice quiet and hesitant, "Do you wish that vine never caught you?"

"I used to," he blatantly says, before looking over and locking eyes with me and looking at me in awe, "but then I met you."

It feels like fireworks just exploded in my stomach and my heart starts racing 1000 beats per minute. I become a stuttering mess, "W-what do you mean?"

"You gave me hope, Clementine," the boy answers, a smile starting to form on his lips, "you helped me find the hope I lost. And had that vine not caught me, I would've never met your lovely face and your beautiful personality. I would have missed out on the star that lit up my world of darkness."

Just then, my heart explodes and my stomach feels fuzzy. "You're my star, Newt," our faces now just a nose apart.

"And you are mine," he whispers, before pressing his lips into mine. It was a soft, genuine kiss shared between the two of us. We pull away, looking into each other's eyes before a sheepish smile crosses both of our faces.

I turn my head, facing the Glade as I return my head to its former position--resting on Newt's shoulder. I snuggle up against the boy, his hand left hand reaching over to grab mine, interlocking our fingers.

We sit there for the rest of the time in a peaceful silence, as we watch the sun travel across the sky and shine light onto our Glade for the last time.