EPIPHANY ✁ newt

35 , safe heaven

Once I had made sure both Thomas and Teresa were physically alright, or at least going to be alright, in Thomas's case, I moved away from the rest of the group, gravitating towards a bed close to the one I had woken up on and sitting down beside it, unable to take my eyes off of the blonde boy who lay in it. I gently brushed one of my hands across his face, pushing aside the hair that was messily covering his face. I laughed softly, finding it almost ironic how hard I had tried to ignore what I felt for him before today, only for it to all come crashing down in an instant.

But I didn't regret anything I'd done - and I knew I would do it a hundred times over if it meant Newt survived every time. Sure, it would amount to some extremely awkward conversations between the two of us whenever he woke up, but I knew how to lie. I could easily brush off what I had done as an act of pure desperation to somehow confuse him - scared for my friends life. My friend, nothing more.

I sighed, leaning back on the chair for a moment as I closed my eyes, trying to really take in the moment. It was bittersweet. My heart hurt for some reason, while also feeling like it was ready to burst with joy at any second. I was terrified of what was next, of the future, of what next thing was on its way to ruin our lives. But at the same time I couldn't help get my hopes up at the thought of finally having a home. Having an antidote to my illness. Having found a cure to the Flare. Emotions swirled through my mind like a whirlwind as I took a deep breath, trying to make some sense out of everything we'd just gone through.

"Sephora, are you alright?" I quickly wiped a stray tear off my cheek as I felt a hand on my shoulder, looking up to see Mary standing beside me, a small smile on her face as she offered me a water flask. I took it gratefully, taking a few sips of the cold liquid before letting her take it back.

"Thanks, Mary. And... yeah, you know. I actually think I am alright." It was true, for the first time since we had escaped the WICKED facility what felt like at least a year ago, this was the first time a strange, unexplainable peace had settled over my body - and no matter how much I overthought things or started stressing about what was next, I couldn't find myself falling into the panic I'd been living in the past few days. Call it a gut feeling, but it seemed my instincts believed everything was going to be alright - and in that moment I needed to trust them.

Mary seemed to be able to tell I wasn't lying as she smiled, pulling up a seat next to me as she took hold of Newt's wrist once again, checking his pulse before moving her hand to his forehead. She nodded, "Good. He's going much better, Seph. Don't worry about Newt, really. He may be out of it for a while, but give him time and you'll have your boy back to normal."

I smiled, not taking my eyes off Newt as I tried to ignore the way Mary had referred to him. "How's Thomas's blood different?" Mary turned to look at me, confused by the sudden change in topic. "Sorry - I just mean... how is he the only one who can literally cure people? There has to be a reason, right? Or have enough immunes just not been tested - could it be something a lot more common than we thought?"

"The only thing we can think of is that Thomas's parents may have been immune as well. It's rare - and they would have had to be some of the first few people to actually develop the enzyme to fight the flare, but it is possible. The virus has been around for a while, after all." Mary paused, suddenly tilting her head to the side slightly as if she had thought of something. "Sephora, I want you to be honest with me... what's Newt to you?"

For a second I'm pretty sure I forgot to breath, hearing the woman's words. I couldn't meet her eyes as I tried coming up with a good enough answer, but nothing really felt enough, so I just went for it. "The truth is... I have no bloody clue. Really. I mean - he's incredible. One of the nicest people I've met since I woke up in the maze. I hate how much he puts others before him, but I know Newt can't help it. That's just who he is, and I think thats incredible. Also a bit infuriating at times." I added, Mary laughing at my words.