How I survived in an all boys glade

Chapter Fifty

- The younger Greenie -

(A couple weeks after Newt and Y/n's 'almost kiss')

"Oh, for crying out loud," I mutter, walking up to the box where the kid is still struggling, surrounded by the guys who are failing miserably at calming him down. The kid's already had three panic attacks, and I can see that he's on the edge of another. "Have to do everything around here," I grumble as I jump down into the box, pushing my way through the others to kneel in front of the boy.

"Hey, it's okay," I say softly, my voice gentle as I sit in front of him. "It's okay," I repeat, seeing the fear in his eyes as he tries to inch away from me. "I'm here to help," I continue, keeping my tone soothing. "Other than these four slintheads," I add, turning my head to glare at Gally, Justin, Andrew, and Zart. I can't help but hear a small chuckle from the boy at the comment, and I turn back to him with a small smile.

"I'm Y/n," I introduce myself, keeping my voice calm. "And you?" I ask, noticing that he's looking down, avoiding eye contact.

"I—I don't remember..." he mutters, his voice small and uncertain.

"That's okay," I reply, nodding in understanding. "We've all been through this." I gently reassure him. His eyes flick up to meet mine, and I see the curiosity in his big brown eyes.

"You have?" he asks, his voice full of wonder.

"Yeah," I nod, glancing at the boys who have gone quiet now, watching us. "We all came up in this shucking box with no memory of anything but our names," I explain. "But we figure it out, one step at a time."

The boy seems comforted by my words, and I can see the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. "Now, let's get you out of this box and into some clean clothes, huh?" I offer him my hand. He hesitates for a moment, then takes it, allowing me to help him up.

Once he's out of the box, I guide him toward the showers. I hand him some clean clothes and introduce him to Adam, the last greenie to come up from the box before him. Adam gives him a quick tour of the Glade, and I leave them to get settled in. I make my way to the gardens, hoping to clear my head for a moment.

"Hey!" I call out as I approach Newt and Theo, both standing by the garden. "Hey," Newt responds with a smile, and Theo gives a quick nod before his face lights up with a smirk.

I feel my heart skip a beat, and I quickly start searching for an excuse to leave before anything awkward happens. But before I can come up with anything, Theo speaks up. "Hey, Y/n, didn't you have something you wanted to ask Newt?"

I freeze, my eyes shooting a glare at Theo. Newt looks at me, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"I, uh... I don't think so?" I stammer, feeling my cheeks warm up. "Well, I better get going, though," I quickly add, "The animals can't feed themselves, right?" I throw out the excuse, hoping it'll be enough to get me out of there.

"Uh... I guess so," Newt says, looking slightly confused, while Theo just shoots me a knowing look.

"I'll come help you," Theo says, as if he's not going to let me get away that easily.

"Sure, thanks," I reply, my relief almost palpable as I quickly make my escape. "I'll see you later, Newt!" I call over my shoulder, walking briskly away with Theo.

Once we're far enough away, I give him a playful smack on the arm. "What was that for?" I ask, frowning at him.

"I was trying to help!" Theo laughs, his voice lighthearted.

"Yeah, right. Like pushing me to ask him is going to help," I say, rolling my eyes. "I'll probably just embarrass myself even more."

"Just trust me," Theo says, his grin wide. "You'll thank me later."

"Yeah, right." I let out a sigh, shaking my head as we walk into the stables to feed the animals. 

Despite my protests, part of me knows he's probably right. I just hope I don't mess things up too badly when I finally do talk to Newt about how I feel.