Smoke and Mirrors | Newt x Male OC

Chapter 5

It had been a month since that first, terrifying day that Wire had woken up in the dark, loud box. A bit of an anniversary you could say. Not much had happened in those thirty days, there was mourning for George, but no more discoveries. Wire had begun to settle into the routine of things around the Glade. Along with the rest of the Gladers, he had helped create some structure to the way of life. Alby was officially the groups leader, with Newt as his unofficial second in command.

Newt had made sure Wire was as busy as possible, putting him to work in the gardens. He found he had an eye for seeing how things worked. For mechanics, one might say. The second in command must have noticed this, and had sent Wire to work on making some working gates for the animal pens.

Over the month Wire had barley had time to just sit and think, let alone ensnare a beetle blade. The gates were close to being finished, and he was proud of his hard work. It was nice to get his hands dirty, it felt right. Newt was right, keeping busy and distracted really helped keeping one's mind off the hopeless situation.

Speaking of Newt, Wire had grown very close with the blonde haired boy very fast. He was friends with the other Gladers, for sure, but none as close as him and Newt. It was nice to have a close friend in their...situation. Someone he could rely on and talk to. Wire found comfort in just being in Newt's presence.

Minho was another good friend, Wire had already made plenty of memories with the sarcastic teen. They had spent a few hours bonding over their newly discovered love for peanut butter, Wire wasn't sure how they manages to spend so long talking about the one subject, but they did.

Earlier that day, the box had come up with another Greenbean, and the other boys had started to realise that a newbie a month would become a regular thing. Wire had only briefly seen the kid, who was the palest boy he had seen, but he seemed nice enough.

Currently, Wire was leant over a patch of tomato's, pulling out some particularly stubborn weeds. Newt was crouched in the garden bed across from him, tying the bean plants to a metal grid which had just come up in the box. The tall boy was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and Wire couldn't help noticing how his arms flexed whilst tying a knot. Or how the sunlight outlined his thick blonde hair.

Wire coughed, this really was not the time. The boy let out a grunt as he repositioned himself in the bushes, this really wasn't the most comfortable position ever.

"All good over there?" Newt called, and Wire glanced up. Newt's blonde hair was messy, half covering his face. Wire couldn't help but stare for a moment, before swallowing and shaking his head. Now was not the time.

"Never been better mate." He replied, and heard his voice crack higher than usual. Newt let out a laugh, and Wire scowled in his direction. The taller boy poked his tongue out, so Wire took the high road and threw a handful of dirt in his direction. It hit him squarely in the middle of his face.

Newt spluttered and wiped his face. "Oi!" Wire just poked his tongue out in return. "Oh your on." All Newt got was a second handful of dirt coming his way. Wire grinned wickedly, and started to say something, when a clump of dirt hit him right in the mouth.

The teen coughed and spat, that dirt did not taste any good. A few more shots were thrown, before it came to a stop. Newt and Wire stared at each other for a moment once he had recovered. They looked ridiculous, with mud and dirt plastered all over their faces. The two were silent for a moment, until they both burst out laughing. It was so stupid, but fun was sometimes hard to come by nowadays.

In between coughing fits, the two laughed until they were almost crying. Wire couldn't stop himself, he wasn't sure what was so funny, but he was enjoying it anyway. He finally took a deep breath and sat up, his throat scratchy from the dirt that managed to find its way into his mouth.

Newt mirrored him and the two stood up, wiping their eyes. "Good one mate." Newt held his hand out and Wire shook it firmly.

"I definitely won that on." He grinned and winked at the taller boy.

"Oh I dunno. But keep telling yourself that, whatever helps you sleep at night." Newt patted him on the shoulder, and Wire rolled his eyes.

"Well ain't you two a pretty picture." Wire frowned and turned around, spitting the source of the voice almost instantly. It was Gally. He wasn't really sure what to think of the builder. He hadn't ever done anything specifically bad, but he had never really come off as 'a nice guy'.

Wire ran a hand through his messy hair, and spat the last bits of dirt onto the ground.

"What do you want Gally?" Newt asked, folding his arms. Newt definitely wasn't his number one fan.

Gally just held his hands up, raising his eyebrows. "I just wanted to introduce the Greenie to you two shanks. Plus I've got work to do, so as you obviously aren't doin much, maybe you could take him." It was more of a statement then a question.

Despite Jack's previous allegations that the word 'shank' wasn't gonna catch on, it most definitely did. It had become almost a staple for when you needed somming to say but had no clue what. Klunk was another popular piece of slang, basically in meant shit.

Only then did Wire notice the shorter boy standing next to Gally. He was a thin, pale kid, with a mop of oily dark hair. The new Greenie, and he couldnt be older than 12. This was gonna be interesting.

"G'day Greenie, the names Wire, and the shank over there is Newt." He jabbed a thumb in the direction of 'the shank' then held his hand out to the smaller boy.

He mumbled something that Wire didn't quite catch, and when he shook his hand, his grip was weak and shook with nerves. Wire exchanged a look with Newt, then crouched down infront of the boy.

"Hey. Your ok, and your gonna be fine, aight? Cuz you got us two, and the rest of the Gladers in this damn place. Ok? We're gonna look out for you, everyone will, and I get it's scary. Terrifying even, but it gets better, I promise." At this Wire glanced up at Newt, and got a small smile in return. "It ain't all bad, and we're all going through this together, you ain't alone. Now give me your brave face, ok? Plenty of time to cry later."

He put what he hoped was a comforting hand on the kids shoulder, and smiled softly. The pale boy took a deep, shuddering breath, and smiled back.

"My...my names Billy." The pale boy, Billy, said, with more confidence than before.

"Attaboy Billy." Wire grinned and stood up. Newt grinned at him.

"Who knew you had in in ya." The blonde boy smirked.

"Shut ya pie hole, I did it, didn't I?" Wire retorted, then the two turned back to Billy.

"Now," Newt took over the talking. "Did Gally show you everything, or is the tour unfinished?"

Billy shook his head and pointed to the garden. "Haven't seen that yet..." Wire nodded and started heading back over to the patches of dirt and greens. It was strange being on the other side of the story, giving the tour instead of being given it. Having all the information, not wanting it so badly it would feel like you would burst.

And Billy, he was still only a kid, not even a teenager yet. Who in their right mind thought it was a good idea to send a twelve year old up with no memory? It was bloody stupid, and Wire felt a fire burning deep in his core, a hatred for everyone and anyone who had any part in sticking them in this godforsaken place. He would find a way to get back at them, if it was the last thing he did.

A/N - Aaaaaaaaa I'm so sorry how long it took to update, a whole lotta shit happened. 😅😅 But I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry it's quite short...