DELICATE - TMR, Gally

023: the truth

Aria was embarrassed to sit in front of everyone in the meeting hall — and the marks Gally had left didn't help.

She was a bit mad at him, but he knew she had loved it.

-"We have gathered everyone here to discuss Aria's punishment."

-"Dont forget Winston!" Someone shouted and Aria scoffed.

Alby turned towards her. -"You will not speak until I tell you to, understood?"

She nodded, understood.

Winston sat next to her in a old wooden chair that was sloppy made.

His eyes trailed over the gladers, he hid his emotions well, Aria couldn't figure out what he was feeling.

Her anxiety rose as the situation suddenly escalated.

Some builder had said something about Aria which triggered Gally, who now were held back by two other builders.

-"Gally it's fine!" She shouted and got a harsh state from Alby.

-"Aria. Do not speak." He demanded and she rolled her eyes which seemed to piss him off even more.

-"SILENCE. If you shanks can't hold this meeting I certainly will." Minho shouted and stepped forward.

-"May I?" He mumbled to Alby who nodded.

-"As you all know she broke our most important rule, running into the maze without being a runner."

-"Banish her!"

Minho side eyed the builder who couldn't keep his mouth shut.

-"You defended Gally when he ran into the maze, didn't you? And he wasn't banished, right?"

-"Actually he did it for a good-"

-"Actually no! Aria also did it for sonething good, and the question is, would you be as brave as her?"

The builder silenced at Minhos words and looked down on the ground.

Carl cleared his throat, -"But, she didn't accomplish her task. Where's the map Aria?"

-"In your ass..." Aria mumbled unbothered.

-"Aria did I tell you to speak?" Alby hissed.

-"No, but did you tell Carl too?" She responded, -"Why are you always taking the others side?"

Alby took a few steps closer to her. -"You lied to me."

-"I lied to you all. And I can assure you that there's more secrets that should come out, isn't that true Carl?"

Everyones eyes shifted to Carl who had been talking with Hank, not paying attention.

Minho tilted his head, -"Aria, do you want to tell us those secrets?"

She swallowed, -"No. But Gally might."

Gally scoffed, -"They should've came out long ago."

Like Newt.

Ben who had been silent the entire time spoke up, -"What are these secrets we're talking about really?"

It hurt her that he didn't know the true story, really no one did.

-"Am I allowed to speak?" Aria took a deep breath as Alby nodded.

Now there was no going back.

She rose from her seat, and bit her lip scared were to start.

-"When I tried out the building, Carl and Peter triggered my ed. They made harsh jokes about me; like that Newt was going to use me later, I should run into the maze and never come back, and complaining about what I ate."

Winston shook his head in disbelief. Aria knew he wasn't happy about the builders.

-"Later that day Carl pinned me against a wall and threatened me that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone about what he were doing to me."

-"When my job had been decided, working with the builders of course, Henry, Carl and Peter all joked about my weight, again."

Henry got awful stares, -"Henry I didn't think you would to that..." Someone mumbled and moved away from him.

-"When we got a day off work, I sat in the forest relaxing. Carl, Peter and Henry had searched up me, they sat down next to me and Carl started touching me. Around there I fainted."

-"The shuck is wrong with you!"
-"Disgusting..."
-"I would've done the same to be fair."

Aria ignored the comments and continued, her eyes staring into Carls.

-"When I woke up, Carl were on top of me. My pants were off."

Gally looked like he was going to flip out any second, but he controlled himself.

-"Then Carl tried to kiss me and I proudly hit him. I knocked him out with one punch, pretty impressive huh? I ran off to my hut and Gally came over later with my pants. I told him what had happened-"

-"She insure did. And before you can ask why I didn't tell anyone, was because she belived telling someone would make it worse." Gally said.

Aria sighed. -"Right. And as I already said, I got an ed because of them."

-"May you clarify who them are?" Alby asked.

-"Carl, Peter, Hank, Henry, and many of the builders always laughed at their jokes about my weight."

Alby nodded, -"We will punish them."

-"I'm not finished you know? Around this time I also told Ben, I told him what Carl had did to me and that I had an ed." Aria's eyes met Ben's who nodded.

-"That's true."

-"One morning, I heard someone call my name as I had woken up. I was laying next to Gally and I told him I were going to the toilets."

-"And why did you leave the hut?"

Aria sighed at the stupid question, -"Because someone called my name. No because a dinosaur broke my door!"

-"Hank tied my hands back and covered my eyes and led me away to the forest. On the way we met Peter and Henry was around there somewhere. Then they bun me to a tree and covered my mouth with a piece of tape. They tried to manipulate me into getting together with Carl, they said that they all would protect me better than Gally could. Then they punched me in the face and threw me in the water, attempting to drown me."

-"I vote for banishment for them all!"
-"For sure, maybe something more painful before?"

-"If Gally hadn't came when he did, I would've been dead." Aria glared at Alby who looked to stunned to speak."

The silence that filled the room was painful. But it were so reliving that the truth was finally out.

Everyone had forgotten what they really had been here for, now everything revolved around the builders.

-"And I need to apologize, I really tried to keep the builders together, but we are clearly to many at once."

Gally walked up to Aria and held her tight, -"I'm sorry baby. Will you forgive me?" He whispered in her ear.

She nodded, -"You did everything you could."

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After alot of arguing it was settled.

-"One week in the slammer for Aria, two days if she tells me where the map is. Winston isn't allowed to speak to her during that week, but he won't have to sit in the slammer."

And for Carl and the others,

-"Carl, Hank, Henry and Peter are all getting banished after thet have sat in the slammer for one week. If Aria want's them to stay, they can. But they won't have so many friends left or what so you think?" Alby scoffed and dismissed the meeting.

Aria and the four builders were all getting led to the slammers.

And Aria couldn't help but smile as she saw them getting harshily pushed in their own little room.