How I survived in an all boys glade

Chapter Forty-seven

- an almost kiss? -

(About a week after the Greenie, whose name is Duke, came up the box)

I groggily hear Leo's voice through the door, calling me from outside. "SHE-BEAN!" he yells, and I bury my face in my pillow, groaning. "No," I mumble, hoping to drift back into sleep, but Leo's not having it.

"Come on, Y/n! You already missed breakfast!" he calls louder, making me wince. Slowly, I open my eyes, letting out another groan as the door to my hut creaks open. "I'm up, I'm up..." I grumble, my voice muffled by the pillow. "Just let me get dressed and I'll be out," I add, pushing myself out of bed.

Leo chuckles on the other side of the door and leaves, closing it behind him. I make my way to the dresser, grabbing a pair of baggy cargo pants and a light gray tank top. I add a round-neck long-sleeve shirt in a darker shade of gray before pulling on my tan combat boots. I make my way out of the hut, my thoughts on the animals awaiting me at the stables. Since Alby made me keeper, and I'm the one who doesn't mind the work and smells.

I make my way to the stables, a smile forming on my face when I see the pigs waddling up to me. "Hi, guys," I say, filling their barrel with food and giving one of them a gentle rub behind its ears.

"Hey, love," I hear a familiar voice call from outside the pig's enclosure. I turn to see Newt approaching, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Hi, Newt," I respond, walking over to him. "What are you doing here?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him.

"I just wanted to see what you were up to since you missed breakfast," he explains with a smile. I start climbing over the tree fence to get out of the pig pen, but as soon as my foot hits the ground, a sharp pain shoots through my ankle. I hiss, biting back a wince. Even though it's been almost a year since that night in the Maze, when I tried to save the greenie, my ankle still acts up sometimes.

"You alright?" Newt asks, his voice full of concern.

"Oh, yeah..." I start, brushing it off as I grab a broom to sweep the pig pen. "It's just my ankle," I explain. "But I'm fine," I add with a smile, continuing my task.

I walk to the chicken coop next to gather eggs for Fry, but as I turn around, I hear a loud squeal 

To my amusement, I see Newt frantically trying to get past a few chickens, clearly scared of them.

"Wait, what?" I ask, walking back over to him, unable to stop a laugh from escaping. "You scared of a couple small chickens?" I tease, kneeling to shoo them away so Newt can get to the eggs.

"It's not funny, Y/n," Newt mutters, but I can see the lightheartedness in his eyes. He tries to push the chickens away, but as soon as he picks up the eggs, one of them jumps up and pecks him right on the cheek.

"Ow!" Newt yells, quickly putting the eggs back down on the ground and rubbing his cheek. I can't help but laugh harder at the sight.

"It's not funny," he repeats, his voice strained from the sting. But I'm still laughing, clutching my stomach as I try to catch my breath.

"I'm sorry, Newt," I say, wiping my tears of laughter away, though I can't suppress my giggles.

"You better be," he says with a small smile, and I get up, walking over to him. I gently push his hand away and look at the spot on his cheek where the chicken pecked him. It's a little red, but nothing serious.

"I think you'll survive," I say, my voice soft and reassuring as I meet his gaze. Our faces are so close now, and for a second, it feels like time slows down.

"I think I will too," he responds with a smile, his eyes flickering down to my lips, then back up to meet mine. My heart skips a beat at the look on his face, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks from how close we are.

Just as the moment seems to stretch out, I hear a voice from behind us. "Hey, uh, Y/n?" It's Oliver, one of the slicers, and I jump back from Newt, feeling my cheeks flush even more.

"Yeah, what's up?" I ask, trying to sound casual as I turn around to face him. Oliver looks between Newt and me with a raised eyebrow, clearly confused.

"Winston said to get some more cow meat. Where do you keep that?" Oliver asks, his voice breaking the moment.

"Oh, uh, it's in the slaughtering room," I explain quickly. "And where is that?" Oliver asks, looking even more confused.

I chuckle, understanding his confusion. "I'll just show you," I offer, grabbing the basket of eggs I've collected and heading out of the chicken coop.

Before I leave, I turn back to Newt. "I'll see you later," I say with a small smile, and Newt gives me a nod and a small wave.

As I show Oliver where the slaughtering room is, he smirks at me. "So, what was going on in there?" he asks with a teasing glint in his eyes.

"Nothing, we were just getting some eggs for Fry," I reply, trying to act casual, but my heart is still racing from the earlier moment with Newt.

"Yeah, sure," Oliver says with a chuckle, clearly not buying it. I roll my eyes at him, trying to ignore the heat in my face, and help him grab the right cuts of meat before getting back to work.