teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

1.15

    florence's butt ached, numb from the two hours she'd spent sitting. she blinked, trying to relieve her dry eyes, but even that couldn't help her anymore. what she really needed was sleep, but florence knew that wasn't likely. not when the glade seemed to need her at every waking moment.

    plus, everytime she thought about dozing off, everytime she thought about taking her eyes off of alby, her stomach twisted and nausea overcame her. she'd lost a friend once before, she would not let it happen again.

    a small creak of the door hinges resurfaced flo and her brain, bringing her out of the depths of her thoughts. she craned her neck to take a look, nerves on edge and body stiff, all until she realized exactly who it was.

    "sammy," she breathed, relieved to see the young boy walking towards her. "hi, bud."

    "you haven't seen me that much." she cringed at his words, guilt overcoming her heart as she thought about it. he was right, as sammy often was, and it was pretty lame of her, if anything.

    sure, florence had been busy doing all sorts of nonsense, whether it be saving alby, saving the girl, or being far too preoccupied with her outrageous emotions, but sammy was a kid. maybe he'd understand, just maybe, but most likely... he didn't really get it. even more so, he was a kid that desperately needed attention and care, especially in the glade.

    after all, the boys were never keen on showing each other love. florence had clocked that as soon as she first stepped foot in the glade.

    "i'm sorry," she began, a sigh overtaking her tone. "i really am, sammy. i just got... caught up."

    he nodded, considering her words slowly, weighing them carefully. finally, he settled on the simple response, "i know."

    florence blinked, eyebrows furrowing for just a moment as she tried to figure the boy out. he was a smart kid, she was well aware of that, so maybe he did understand her predicament.

    "i just wish you hadn't been caught up."

    a frown settled on the girl's face. so he understood, but it didn't fully make sense to him. that sounded right.

    florence uncrossed her arms from where she sat on the ground, untucking her knees and opening up her arm. "sit with me?" she offered, eyes softening at the young boy as she made room for him.

    once again, he weighed his options. he always seemed so... type a. very smart, but very black and white. there wasn't much more to life to him than the good and the bad, and florence always thought that so... alien. all life was to florence was colors. the good, the bad, but the undecidable.

    florence knew his awareness of the complexities of the world would only develop with age, but she also figured his grayscale view was also some sort of defensive tactic, trauma building a response to the world that kept him safe. there was only good, there was only bad, and anything else was far too much. always choose the good, never overthink it.

    luckily for her, the spot in her arms ended up being the good option, the option that glowed white compared to the dark black of the outside sky. soon enough, a small body pressed against her side, huddled in her body heat.

    at that, florence felt herself falter, just a small chasm splintering her heart. her throat bobbed, but she pressed her eyelids closed. she would not cry, not in front of sammy. she would be strong for sammy, she would be the one to hold down the fort.

    sammy needed a rock, afterall.

    she wrapped an arm closer around the boy, and she leaned her head down to rest upon the top of his own noggin. "so, what have you and chuck been up to?"