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WHEN ATLAS BID MO GOODNIGHT and made his way back to the infirmary, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. No longer feeling like he was suffering. He fell back down onto the bed, exhausted, and his abdomen aching, but still fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning he woke to the doors opening, and a small groan sounded next to him. He turned over slightly to see Newt opening his eyes and he smiled.
"Good morning." He says softly, and Newt immediately seemed more awake.
"Hey, you're awake—how are you feeling?" He says, and Atlas waves him off.
"I'm fine, everything's fine. Thomas told me the things you guys talked about in the meeting. He's a runner now? And the girl—she's the last person to come up in that box?" He asks, and Newt nods grimly.
"The others are worried they mean the box won't send up anymore supplies at all. It hasn't gone down since she came up—and Gally, well, he's convinced Thomas is the spawn of satan." He says, and Atlas has to hold back a 'I don't blame him.' Atlas nodded before scorching over and patting the seat next or him. Newt gave him a look to which he just smiled. Then, Newt gingerly crawled into the bed.
"This is much too small for the both of us." He says, despite wrapping his arms around Atlas. He laughs softly, before burying his head into Newts shoulder.
It's moments like these Atlas likes the most. When the soft syrupy touches makes the whole world melt away and at the center of it is just him and the people he loves. It's moments like that he wouldn't trade for the world.
He lays there, enjoying the warmth Newt gives him—well, up until there's all the commotion outside. Him and Newt look at each other flunky, before Newt swings his legs around the beg, and offers a hand to Atlas.
"Ah, such a gentleman, Newt." He says, and Newt lovingly rolls his eyes. They walk outside to see the girl at the top of their tower—throwing rocks at the boys below.
there's unintelligible shouting, coming from both the boys and the girl with the projectiles above them. Suddenly Thomas comes into view.
"Hey! Your little girlfriend is going crazy up there, might as well try to calm her down." Newt says, giving Thomas a look. He sighs and trudges forward.
"Hey, would you cut it out?" He yells up, and the girl just sends another rock down his way.
"No, you perverts!" She says.
"Hey, it's Thomas! It's thomas..." He says, and the girl suddenly goes silent. No more rocks being thrown down.
"I'm....Im gonna come up, okay?" He says, before looking at the large group and beginning to ascend the ladder.
A few minutes pass before Gally shouts up "what's going on up there?" and Thomas peeks over the edge, looking out over them.
"Is she comin' down?" Atlas asks. Thomas looks back at the girl before saying
"Hey, just give us a minute, okay?" He asks, pleads, and they all look at each other before dispersing.
As their walking away, Newt looks down at their hands brushing together, and he gently pushes his pinky finger up against Atlas's, he looks at him, to their hands, then back to his face, and Atlas, gingerly interlocks their fingers, walking farther and farther away from the tower.
-
Once Thomas finally convinces the girl to come down, they produce two blue liquids in vials to Newt, who just looks at him.
"You're saying you want us to give this to him?" He asks, slowly.
Thomas nods.
"And what if this kills him?" Atlas says lowly.
"Cant you see? He's already dying. Look at him...how could this possible make it any worse?" He asks, gesturing to the boy shivering on the bed.
Newt regards him for a moment, looking at Alby, to Atlas, and then back to Thomas.
"Alright, fine. Do it." He says, and gives Thomas back the vial. He nods skittishly, and rushes next to Alby. He peers over him, getting closer as he's ready to inject the vial. Then, Alby reaches up and grabs him, growling unintelligible sounds, Atlas just barely being able to make out the phrase 'you shouldn't be here.' Repeating, over and over, like a broken record on a record player. Atlas shivers at that.
"Grab him, cmon!" Teresa (that girl) says, as Newt and Atlas rush over, gripping his wrists in an attempt to calm him down.
"Get the syringe!" Thomas says, voice raw and scattered, as Teresa grabs it and sticks it on Alby's arm. Atlas watches as he almost immediately settles down, chest heaving and eyes fluttering closed. Tensions seem to snap and flutter around them as Newt steps back.
"Okay, from now on, I want someone watching Alby around the clock." He says, voice gruff.
As they walk out of the infirmary, breathing in the night air, Newt walks him to his hammock in the bunks.
"Tomorrow, Thomas starts up as a runner." He says, and Atlas looks down.
"That's..cool, I think."
"Yeah..." Newt says. It's a little awkward, but eventually Atlas builds up the courage to ask Newt—
"Lay with me?" Newt looks up in surprise, before nodding as they laid down in the hammock together. It's slightly more comfortable than the infirmary bed as they look up at the glistening stars high in the sky.
It brings him back to one of the first nights he sat with Nick and then too, did he look up into the bright stars of the sky. He settles down closer to Newt as the cool air wafts around them.
He thinks for a moment, he hopes—something like this will last forever.
so i realized halfway through this chapter i screwed up the timeline in which Thomas gets thrown in jail but it's okay u guys are just gonna have to deal w it lol
