𝕄𝕒𝕫𝕖 ℝ𝕦𝕟𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝕀𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤

Wounded

"Gally! Wanna go?" One of the Gladers from within the ring called to the burly boy sitting at my side.

"Pass," he hollered in return, lifting his jug as an excuse. "I've had too much to drink."

I turn my head to look at him. Gally turning down a fight? Gally had too much to drink and admits it? I must be dreaming. Besides, I'd been next to the boy the whole Bonfire and he'd only had one jug. He had wrestled after plenty more than that.

"Are you alright?" I ask, chuckling a little.

Gally's buzzed head snaps to face me. "I'm fine. What are you talking about?" He asks a little too quickly. Maybe he has had too much to drink after all.

"S- sorry, I just thought it was strange that you would decline a fight, that's all." I shrug, a little unsettled by the way he snapped. Sure, he snaps at the other Gladers all the time, but never me.

Gally sighs and opens his mouth to apologize, but changes his mind and simply turns away.

What the heck?

Shrugging and murmuring to myself, I stand and sit down next to a boy that I know won't snap at me: Newt. Gally's eyes follow me as I go, glimmering in a strange expression. Disappointment? No. Why would he be disappointed if he clearly didn't want my company?

"Y'lright?" Newt ask, his words slurring together.

I roll my eyes. "Gally's just being a slinthead."

The blond takes a big swig out of his jug and promptly vomits it all over the ground in front of him. I take that as my cue to leave.

---

Guilt bites into my stomach hungrily, arousing my consciousness from the blanket of sleep. I push myself out of bed, heading toward Gally's hut. Not many of the boys have their own hut, but, being Keeper of the Builder's, Gally took it upon himself to make his own.

I wrap my fist on the door and push it open before waiting for an answer. "Hey Gal, I just wanted to-"

I walk in, my gaze on the floor, and lift my head just in time for it to be slammed in my face.

"Leave me alone!" Gally roars as I trip backwards and land on my butt in surprise.

"Excuse me?" Shock and anger grasp the strings and puppeteer my actions. I push myself to my feet and march right back to his door. "You do not get to treat me like a piece of klunk! What has gotten into you?"

My nostrils are flaring and I can practically feel the smoke protruding from my ears as I storm back into his hut. The building itself is just like any other; brown wood planks making up the walls, a simple cot, and a small dresser. What's unusual is the boy inside.

Gally's shirt is lifted halfway up and he's turned to face the dresser. Scraps of an old shirt are wrapped around his exposed side and a pile of similar cloth is stacked at the floor. A catch a glimpse of crimson seeping from his torso before Gally whips around to face me, promptly lowering his shirt.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone!" He exclaims, stretching his hands to push me outside again. I duck beneath his arms and lift his shirt, completely disregarding my past anger and consumed by the matronly concern.

I gasp, "What happened?" My hands press against his warm skin as I begin to peel the cloth to see what it covers.

Gally winces and grabs my wrists, forcing me to look into his green eyes. His lips pull taught in steely determination. "It's fine. Forget about it."

I cross my arms. "I asked what happened, not if you were alright."

He huff, knowing he's not going to get away with this, but reluctantly chooses the easy way rather than the hard. "Dropped a board," Gally says, staring at his feet in shame. "Scraped my side."

"Why didn't you come to the Medjacks?" I ask, a little hurt that he avoided me.

"I took care of it." He shrugs and I know that means he was embarrassed and too prideful to get proper help.

I wet my lips. "I'll take care of it," I promise and before he can protest, I add, "and no one else will know. Stay here."

Without waiting for him to reply, I walk out of his hut and head to the Med-Jacks. Clint and Jeff sit on the floor together playing checkers on the board they bribed one of the Builders to make behind Alby's back. Ignoring them, I head straight to the cupboard and start gathering bandages, rubbing alcohol, and gauze.

"What are you doing, Y/N?" The boys ask, glancing up from their game.

I roll my eyes and nod to the wooden crate that I usually fill with feminine hygiene products to keep in my hut for emergencies. "What does it look like? I'm restocking."

They blush and go back to their game, leaving me in peace. I rush back to Gally's hut and find him sitting on his cot, once again inspecting the wound.

"Ok, take off your shirt," I order. Gally cracks a sly grin that I promptly ignore, but complies. My eyes linger on his chiseled abs for a moment longer than would be professional. Blushing, I busy myself with removing the makeshift bandage.

The scrape goes from the bottom of his ribcage all the way to his hip and every inch of skin surrounding it is bruised and discolored. Blood trickles between knotty scabs causing my to wince in sympathy.

"Oh Gal, it really got you good."

He grunts at my stating the obvious.

"Ok, this is going to hurt," I warn as I apply the disinfectant. Gally grimaces as the cold liquid seeps into his skin, burning out the germs. "Sorry!"

When the bubbling stops, I press the gauze over the bloodied area and wrap bandages over that. Satisfied with my work, I step back to admire him- er the job well done.

"How does that feel?"

Gally clenches his jaw. "Hurts like a Griever sting, but thank you." I can see that the kindness pains him, but he looks genuine.

"Next time, don't hide it. You could've gotten seriously hurt if that got infected- what are you grinning for?" I ask in annoyance.

He shrugs and continues smirking. "I didn't realize you cared so much."

I open my mouth to protest but realize he's right and close it again. "Well, I just-"

He holds up a hand to stop me and lets it glide down to the small of my back, pulling my body into his. Then, to further quiet me, he smashes his mouth onto mine.

When we break apart, his lips trail over my jaw and up to my ear where he whispers, "Thanks."

I'm slightly breathless but gasp, "No problem... feel free to pay me back for it anytime. That was... nice."

Understatement of the century.

Gally smiles widely. "I will."

And he does.