teenage wasteland ;; the maze runner

2.4

florence nearly choked on her gasp when she entered that cafeteria. one foot in, and she was shocked by the amount of not just people in here, but people that were around her age. teenagers sat at tables left, right, and center, and she had never felt so shocked.

she must have been stuck there at that entrance for a solid few seconds while silently gaping at the scene around her. she didn't even care where her friends sat, not while she was still processing the fact that there were others.

it was only when a tiny body came slamming into her legs that she finally re-engaged with reality, looking down only to recognize the small boy that wrapped his arms around her thighs.

"flo!" sammy cheered, looking up at her and resting his sharp chin on top of her thigh. he looked adorable, if she had to be honest, with clean skin and clean clothes and freshly washed hair. she nearly melted at the sight.

"sammy!" she replied with just as much energy, slowly prying him off of her so she could lean down to reach his level. she rested on one knee, taking in the kid with misty eyes. she hadn't realized how much she'd missed him, how much she'd been worried about him.

he was dressed in cargo pants, a simple beige, with a long sleeve white shirt. on top of all of that was a red and navy puffer vest. he honestly looked like a teddy bear, and florence wanted to cry.

"how are you, kiddo?" she asked, voice coming out raspier than she intended all while blinking away her tears.

sammy didn't notice, though, for he was far too focused on telling her all his stories. as soon as he opened his mouth, florence knew she was in for a ride. "i'm good! well, as good as i can be. i took a shower—the water was warm—and then this nice doctor was fixing me up, but i don't know if—"

florence cut him off, a smile prominent on her face. "that sounds like fun, samster," she started, and even though she'd cut his sentence short, a childish grin still sat on sammy's lips. "but how 'bout you tell me everything once we're sitting down and eating. how does that sound?"

the nods that came from that kid were quite exuberant. "oh, yeah," he agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. flo stifled a giggle at his stature. "i can actually show you the way. i've been sitting with them since i first got in here."

again, florence found herself wanting to cry at the proud look on his face. although sammy has never admitted it, he's always looked up to the boys, minho and newt in particular—and she was sure thomas was on the list—and the kid was radiating in joy and pride that'd been sitting with the big boys.

"that would be great," she finally said once she'd found her voice. "where are they sitting?"

sammy instantly perked up and pointed out across the cafeteria. her eyes scanned, squinted in focus, before she finally settled her gaze on the crowd of familiar faces. newt and her locked eyes first, and he smiled at her warmly. minho looked at her, too, along with thomas, and florence knew they'd seen her since the moment she stepped into this room, but they let sammy be the one to grab her.

how sweet, she couldn't help but smile back at newt.

"alright," she sighed. "show me the way, sammy."

and to his credit, he did. although it was a very tight tour in regards to the lack of space, weaving through people, and most of all, the fact that sammy refused to let go of her hand. she was bent over at a very uncomfortable angle as he dragged her by the arm.

fortunately, it didn't take too long to finally reach the boys.

florence was greeted with smiles and jokes, newt and minho each giving her a quick hug. when newt pulled away from her, he stopped with squinted eyes and a pinched face. a smirk worked its way onto his lips before he said, "your hair. it's different."