pretty eyes ~ newt

chapter 17: the party

"oh when you look at me like that, my darling, what did you expect?"
505, arctic monkeys
—

"Wait, what?" Newt snaps his head up, eyes locking onto Jorge. "What the hell do you mean they're not coming?"

Jorge sighs. "I'm sorry, kid. Best thing we can do now is get to Marcus, Bren will know to go find him."

If they're even still alive. I feel my breathing quickening as I process his words, but tighten my jaw in determination. We'll find them. We have to.

"Then we have to go back to get them!" Minho cuts in, eyes wild as he fumbles around with the mess of ropes on the floor. "How the shuck do these things work?"

"Look kid—we can't go back, the building fucking exploded," Jorge snaps back irritably. "We gotta get moving, WCKD could still be on our tail!"

"What—no! I'm not leaving without Thomas, we have to go find them!" Minho yells back, the panic clear in his eyes. He looks to us desperately for help. "Why aren't you shanks helping?"

The rest of us watch him helplessly, knowing that Jorge's right. We can't risk going back for them when WCKD is still hunting us down, even if we could.

"Mate...he's right," Newt speaks up, concern filling his face. But Jorge is the one to interrupt, putting his hands on Minho's shoulders.

"Look, kid—"

"Stop shucking calling me that," Minho snarls back at him, the fury evident in his tone. Jorge only rolls his eyes.

"Minho, then. Listen to me, we have to get moving. Now. I've known Bren almost her whole life, god knows I would go get her if we could, but we physically can't," he hisses impatiently. "You hear me? The best thing we can do now is to go find Marcus, and trust that they'll meet us there."

Minho considers him for a moment, eyes searching his uncertainly. "...Fine. But the second we've shaken the guards off, we're searching for them. We can't lose Thomas."

"You got yourself a deal, hermano," Jorge claps him on the back, nodding in approval. "Let's get going then!"

He runs off down the stairs, leading us into the crowded street. I'm momentarily overwhelmed at the sheer amount of people, eyes darting around warily.

I start in surprise when I feel Newt take my hand lightly. Our hands fit together perfectly, and somewhere in the back of my mind it feels right.

"Just to make sure you don't get bloody lost," he explains, grinning at me.

I smile back gratefully, letting out a quick laugh. "Thanks Newt. We gotta watch each other's backs, right?"

He chuckles at the familiar words as we weave through the heavy throngs of people. I subconsciously squeeze his hand a bit tighter, hating the thick crowds. It feels too cramped, almost like the whole world is closing in on me.

Newt's hand is the only thing grounding me, and I'm grateful for his silent but reassuring presence.

"Try to blend in," Jorge calls back at us, turning his head quickly to make sure that no one was lost in the crowd. "Look hungry!"

I shrug. Shouldn't be too hard, I'm fucking starving anyways. A few more minutes of hurried speed walking later, Jorge ducks into a sketchy-looking alleyway, beckoning us to follow him. It's almost completely empty, with no one but a single stray cat occupying it.

My heart melts immediately when I see it, smiling in amusement when Fry coos at it affectionately. He crouches down, stroking its dirty fur as it purrs happily.