Aris Jones X Reader One Shots

The Right Thing (Part 7)

Three weeks. In three weeks Thomas had shown up followed by Teresa, the walls stopped closing, the Glade had been destroyed, we had lost most of the Gladers, and we escaped the Maze. Now that we were free there was time to think about what to do. Like what would happen next, what our lives would be like, and maybe even what Aris and I would do. If we would resolve what happened.

Gally getting stung was not supposed to be part of that future. Him getting his hands on some knife wasn't supposed to happen. Him getting ready to kill Aris wasn't supposed to happen. Me jumping in front of him wasn't supposed to happen.

It was though. This very second I was on the floor with a knife in my chest.

"No! Wake up!"Aris screamed, kneeling beside me. I didn't have the energy to respond as I stared blankly into his eyes. All I could do was clutch onto the photograph in my hands.

"Did you hear me?! Wake up! Wake up!"He yelled, trying to shake me back to life. "Don't leave,"He whimpered, holding me close. "Please don't die,"He whispered, cradling me in his arms.

There wasn't anything I could do about that though. This was out of our hands. Our lives always are.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry. I'm sorry, and I didn't mean the things I said, and I love you, and you mean everything to me, and don't die,"He begged, his voice seeming further and further away each second.

"Please?"He asked, keeping his forehead against mine. By now the only thing I could even feel was his tears falling onto my cheeks as the ache in my chest dulled.

"Aris, we need to-"
"No. No,"He interrupted, refusing to let me go.

"We can't stay-"
"No, no, no, no, no. I can't-I can't leave her. She just-she can't-no,"He sputtered out.

"Aris-"
"No,"He repeated, holding me closer. By now my eyes had shut as sounds around me became muffled.

"I love you,"He whispered, sobbing into my shoulder. All I did was make sure that photograph of us stayed in my hand. The one that was taken six years, five months, and three weeks ago. The very first one that told the story of us.

I'm sure neither of us thought that story would end like this. I don't need my memories to know that.

"No! Get your hands off of me! Let me go! Let me go!"He shrieked as his grip loosened. He seemed to be screaming his throat raw as he kept grabbing at my clothes only to be pulled back. After what felt like hours, days, weeks, years, and no time at all he must have lost whatever fight that was because there was nothing but more screaming that grew fainter and fainter before stopping altogether.

Laying on the cold ground, and clutching our story, there was something I never thought I could have again. One by one they all came back to me.

~ ~ ~

"Hi,"I greeted.

"Hi,"the boy mumbled, keeping his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the floor. He was just a little shorter than me with tan skin and dark hair that slightly fell over his forehead.

"So I guess we're partners?"He asked

"That's what they said so we must be."

"Well I'm Y/N."

"Aris."

"You're short for a boy."

"What's that supposed to mean?"He asked, snapping his head up to look at me.

"I don't know. Aren't guys supposed to be taller or something?"

"I bet you when I get older I'll be way taller than you."