I Corrupt. ~ Minho (The Sequel to "For My Help")

The Unexpected Decision

River was nervous, there was no denying it. Her stomach flipped and turned at the thought of even more danger, and this time, she wasn't so sure she'd make it out alive. That wasn't the only thing making her nervous though, as she constantly felt Minho's stares on the back of her neck.

He'd been out of it lately, going to his own little world and never returning. He seemed devastated, which did make River think that maybe he was telling the truth. It's just so hard to dismiss everything you've known as a lie. It's so hard to forget everything that happened - or didn't - and replace it with something completely foreign. 

Unfortunately for her, that night seemed to fly by, and before she knew it, people were going to bed. They claimed that they 'needed sleep' to be alert for the next day. But River decided that she would be alert no matter what she did. So, she didn't sleep. She spent hours pacing back and forth across the big room just outside where everyone was sleeping, biting at her nails until she saw blood. 

"Shit." She cursed under her breath and let out a light chuckle. This whole thing was so ridiculous. Trials? A deadly disease? She couldn't believe this was all happening. She shook her head and bit back a smile, rolling her eyes. She was less nervous now, knowing that she couldn't change what was going to happen tomorrow. She just had to deal with it. Worrying about it wouldn't make it any easier on her, and would most likely put her in the wrong head space. 

She had just decided that she was going to try and get an hour or two of sleep when the door to the dorms creaked open slowly, and River found herself holding her breath in anticipation of who would be on the other side.

"River? Why are you awake?" Minho stepped out from behind the door, hair poking out in different directions. This was probably the first time River had ever seen him without his trademarked ridiculously perfect hair.

"I could ask you the same question." She let out a light laugh before throwing herself down on one of the couches in the room, looking in the opposite direction as to where Minho was standing. 

"Can I sit with you?" He asked softly, walking towards her and the couch. River nodded politely and felt the couch suddenly dip down to the right of her as Minho put all of his weight onto it. The silence became awkward to River, but it didn't seem to bother Minho. He looked content with just sitting with her. Being with her. Like her presence comforted him in a way that her words never could. That's when something snapped inside of her.

"Minho..." She began, attracting the boy's attention, "I - I think I believe you." Happiness was practically streaming out of the boy's eyes, and a smile replaced his then blank features.

"You do?" He asked.

"I think so." River looked him straight in the eyes. "It's so hard to be sure, but everyone here has the same opinion on the matter."

"That's the only reason why you remember?" His eyes grew sad.

"Not entirely. There's something inside of me, I just can't reach it. But I feel like maybe it's connected to this, and to you?" She said it as more of a question than a statement, knowing it sounded crazy and, frankly, quite odd.

"It's a start." He nodded once, his smile attempting to comfort her.

"I don't want to jump into anything though. I mean, I heard that well, you and me - we were, um -"

"In love." He finished for her, looking away from her and down at the ground as his hands were folded up in his lap. Saying it out loud must have embarrassed him.

"Yeah, that." She laughed slightly, now looking up. "I mean if we could just be friends, for now at least."

"Friends. Yeah, I can do that." He said, but eyes looked the opposite of his words. River took note of this, feeling bad immediately. But she had to do this for herself. And sure, Minho was attractive and maybe she did feel something for him, but she'd have to work at it first. And he would have to respect that. River somehow knew he'd do that easily, and she began to feel better about her decision. "Can you at least tell me what you think I did?" Minho pleaded.

"I don't know..." River didn't want to tell him. She almost wanted to forget about it now. She was almost one hundred percent sure that her and Minho did have something. But then there was the other one percent...

"It's okay, you tell me when you're ready." He gave her an understanding smile, and River felt relief. She wasn't ready to tell him. Not yet. If there was a chance that he had done it then she wouldn't want to know, at least not tonight. She would have to tell him eventually though.

River cleared her throat, "So, are you nervous about tomorrow?"

"Honestly, yes. That's why I'm out here. I couldn't sleep so I decided to just quit trying." Minho shrugged, leaning back into the sofa.

"Yeah, I didn't even try to sleep. My stomach feels like it's been tied in a million knots. How could this possibly be any more dangerous than the maze?" She questioned. 

"Maybe it's not." Minho suggested. "Maybe it's just another one of their mind games."

"God, I hope so. I'm getting really tired of this crap." River laughed.

"Yeah, me too."

The two talked for a while after that. Mostly about what was going to happen when they had to face the world again. Those few hours together were the most comfortable River had felt in a while. It was like the world had stopped spinning and it was just them. There was no Flare, no WICKED, and no Scorch Trials. For those few hours, River was safe. And then those hours ended.

The conversation was over with a couple high pitched beeps. Minho's watch had snapped the two back into dangerous reality, and suddenly River's stomach was in knots. A couple moments later, the Gladers began to stumble one after the other into the room. Some looked sleepy, others terrified. When Thomas and Newt stumbled out, they looked a mixture of the two.

"Six o'clock." That's all Thomas had to say. Nobody responded. Putting on a brave face, River began walking off to the room Rat Man was in previously, hoping the others would trail behind her. And they did.

As she entered the room, she was immediately shocked. The Flat Trans was there, and it was pretty incredible. It filled up the whole wall, turning it a shimmering grey. Thomas walked up and stood beside her.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"As I'll ever be." She smiled.

"Well I am bloody terrified." Newt joined them with Minho beside him.

"Come on, you shanks. Lets do this." Minho nodded towards the Flat Trans and  began to walk towards it before he turned around to face them once again, saying something that stirred something inside of River. A memory? 

"Hey, be careful. Don't die."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE : PLEASE PLEASE PLEAE READ!!!!

Hey! So I'm going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for my birthday this week (I'm a huuuggee Harry Potter fan), which means I'll be in Florida for seven days. I'll have one or two chapters written before I go, so I'll try and get them up while I'm there.

What I'm worried about is that I won't have wifi, so it'll be difficult for me to update. So I'm super sorry if I don't get to!! I'll try really hard though.

Thanks for reading!

Marin <3