pretty eyes ~ newt

chapter 25: spilled secrets

"might share a face and share a last name, but we are not the same"
family line, conan gray
—

I watch as Thomas mutters something quietly to Teresa, the two of them sitting close together in front of the fire. Teresa nods silently as she stares at the flickering flames, and I can see the uneasiness mirrored in her blue eyes. A moment later her gaze lifts to meet mine, and I hold her stare for a brief second before looking away uncomfortably.

Teresa's always been on the more silent side, but recently she seems strangely restless. I often catch her flicking her eyes around the camp uneasily, and more often than not I notice her and Thomas talking privately in hushed voices.

I've told myself that it's probably nothing important time after time, but as I watch them talking together now, my eyebrows can't help but to furrow in confusion. What the hell could they be talking so much about? And if it really was something important, surely they would share it with the rest of us?

I'm pulled out of my wandering thoughts when the pair trudges over to where the rest of us are sprawled, sitting around a small fire as usual. We look up as they get close, and Newt gives them a small wave in greeting. My eyes roam over to Teresa as they sit down close together, and I see that she's clutching something tightly in her hand.

I can't tell what it is from this angle, but I can see her guarded expression as the girl carefully hides the object with her other hand. I narrow my eyes at her in suspicion, before turning my attention back to the conversation without a word.

"Hey Tommy, how's Brenda doing?" Newt asks the boy, crossing his legs lazily and leaning back on his palms.

"She's doing a lot better," Thomas replies with a small smile, nodding at Newt. "The Bliss that Mary gave her is definitely working, it just depends on how long it'll give her before she has to take another dose."

"Good that," Newt responds, and his brow furrows in concern. "She'll be able to come with us to the Safe Haven, right?"

Thomas nods quickly, and I feel a wave of relief. "Yup. Mary says that she'll be fine, as long as she's getting enough consistent doses of the Bliss."

Newt nods back at him in understanding. "Sounds good. Thanks, Tommy."

I eye the two of them for a brief moment, tilting my head to the side curiously. "Hey, how come you call him Tommy, by the way? It's a cute nickname."

Newt laughs, and Thomas is the one to reply. "Oh yeah, he's the only one who calls me that. I don't mind though."

"Yup. I've called him that for as long as I can remember, ever since he was a scared little greenie," Newt grins, clapping his friend on the back. "Good times, eh Tommy?"

Minho snickers at that, and Thomas only huffs in response. "Nah, can't say I really miss being a Greenie. Weren't really my best moments."

Fry starts cackling all of a sudden, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "Oh my god, remember what happened that day you came up in the box?"

Thomas pauses, sending him an exasperated look. "Hell no, we're not going there. Slim it, Fry."

I cock my head to the side in amusement, a smirk twisting my lips. "Well now I wanna know. Spill, what happened?"

Minho is the one to tell me, a matching evil smirk on his lips as he happily explains what happened over Thomas' sputters of complaint.

"Okay so, Thomas was fresh outta the box as an itty bitty Greenie— Gally had just pulled him out. He fell on his ass, predictably, and then made a mad dash for the maze two seconds later," he stifles another snicker. "And apparently, before he could even make it ten feet, the stupid shank face-planted into the shuckin' dirt."