𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐃 ➤ Maze Runner AU

𝟢𝟩𝟫，𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬

The ball is in the cafeteria. They've made it unrecognizable by removing all the tables and spreading different kinds of decoration.

Overall, it does look really good. They went for a silver and blue theme with the balloons. There's disco balls on the ceiling and flashing lights.

Surprisingly enough, even though there's kids from a lot of ages, it's very similar to prom. Some people are sitting down, mostly the younger kids, and plenty kids are dancing. I'm sweating everywhere because of the whole crowd around me, at least. Minho has already taken his jacket off.

Oh, forgot to mention Jennifer got him a purple tie last minute. It was really sweet.

And now we're already halfway through the ball and quite a lot has happened.

Lyndon indeed was anxious and probably not as excited as everyone else, which I understand coming from him. Newt insisted they would just go watch people dance as they spoke to some friends like Fry (who's now also on the dance floor and appears to have crazy moves). While that happened, Minho pushed some drinks that contained alcohol in Lyndon's hands so he'd loosen up even more, and I think he's finally close to attending the dance floor as well.

I haven't seen Thomas in a while. At first, he was dancing in a real crazy-Thomas-way, then at a slower song, he danced with Teresa and I swear I could smell their love from multiple feet away, and it wouldn't surprise me if they're now either kissing in a bathroom or having a deep talk outside.

Minho and I have just been dancing and walking around to, as I mentioned, check up on everyone else.

"Crazy that Rat Man manages to organize this amazing thing every year, huh?" Minho says through the music, at another slow song. One of his hand is on my lower back and the other one is even lower than that. I have my arms wrapped around his torso as we slowly swing a bit. "And even crazier that Thomas finally managed to go with Teresa."

"He said he'd succeed this year and he did." I smile. "And—"

A whistle startles the shit out of me. "Minho!" Jorge warns. "If Janson sees your hand placement, I swear you won't be allowed to attend this ball ever again."

Rolling his eyes, Minho moves his hand next to the other one, and continues pulling me closer to his body. It's heated and a bit sweaty, but I guess there's one benefit in the tons of cologne he put on.

Just like Lyndon, and Thomas, and Newt. What's it with them and emptying a whole perfume bottle on themselves?

Once the slow song ends, I look up at him. "I'm going to get us a drink. What do you want?"

"I still have some left. Newt's guarding it." He motions to something in the room.

"Oh, alright. I'll go get my drink and you wait next to Newt?"

"Sounds fine." His lips connect with mine for a second. "See you."

I squeeze his hand as if it's a last goodbye. "See you."

It's hard to squish my way through the dozens of kids. I scrunch my nose at the smell of kids who clearly did not put on deodorant. It's a blessing once I'm finally standing in front of the bar.

The kind woman who stood there before has been replaced by a man. I guess because the woman was so old, she couldn't stand for very long. I can't see the man's face, hidden below his cap and a lot of shadows, but by his body language, he can't be too old.

"Uhm, one coke, please," I say, sliding some of money Dad gave me to buy drinks of toward him.

I watch the man empty a can of coke in a glass. Then he turns around, hands still moving on the glass. "There," and then he gives it to me, a straw in it and all.

I think my glare at it says enough. He could've kept it in the can and I certainly did not need a straw, but okay. I've got my coke. "Thanks," I say, then start making my way to the others as I take slow sips.

"Oh! There you are." Thomas appears in front of me. He's out of breath, his chest moving fast compared to mine. I've never seen his face this flushed. "The mix of kissing her and this clammy room is not great. Let me grab something to drink."

I follow him back to the bar. The guy stares at Thomas for a while, his eyes the only thing visible behind the cap. Thomas orders his drink before turning back to me.

"She's currently touching up or something. It's crazy, Lelia. She's so beautiful and—"

"Here." The guy puts the glass down in front of Thomas. Again, a straw.

"Thanks," he gulps. Three seconds later, half of the glass is empty. Mine's too, though. The coldness of it is just too good.

I point at Minho, Newt, and Lyndon. "The rest is over there. Let's go."

Feeling light weighted, we walk past the blurred, dancing bodies until we arrive at our group.

"Hey." I step closer to my brother. "Do you like it here?"

"Eh, it's fine. Sweaty... and has a lot of noise... and people, but fine," he says slowly.

"Just let us know if you want to leave," I reply.

"Will do."

"No, you won't."

"True, I won't."

When I start laughing, he does, too. Then Thomas appears back in front of me. He touches my arm. And even though it's supposed to be a tender touch, it feels like he's stabbing a damn dagger in my arm. Weird. "I'm going to look for Teresa," he slurs out. "Wanna come with me?"

I nod. The world shakes with me as I follow Thomas closer to the bathrooms.

"My mouth's like super dry," he tells me.

Now that he mentions it... "Mine as well."

It's so dry that when I try to breathe in, the roughness of my dry mouth refuses to let the air go to my windpipe. "We'll drink some water out of the sink," he says.

"No, no." I press a hand to my forehead. It's getting to me, fast and unexpected. I'm dizzy. "Let's go outside for a bit. It's too crowded in here. Hurts my ears and... everything."

He takes us outside by grabbing my arm. Again, the simple touch aches everywhere on my skin.

"Something is very wrong," I choke out.

"Yeah," he agrees. I try to get a good look at his face, but other than the fact that it's pale, I can no longer see very clearly. "Come on. Hurry."

Both of us gasp for fresh air once we arrive on the damp grass. It's getting colder outside by the time, as summer is coming to an end.

I take one single step down a hill, and I fall. My head feels like it's exploding. I'm unable to tell if I fell because of that, or if it started hurting because it hit the ground when I fell. It just... really hurts.

I try to look for Thomas, or for someone to help, but my vision is black. Purely black.