For As Long As I Can Remember

Greenie

Fuck, he's cute.

Minho couldn't help but stare at the goods brought up by this month's elevator load, especially the new boy. His face was locked in a look of disorientation and his eyes squinted as they began to adjust to the bright sunlight. He looked frightened, but Minho couldn't blame him for that, they all had been. The others had already begun carrying supplies back to camp causing Minho to be much behind. To avoid this mishap from showing he walked up to Alby and the new boy to look as if that is what he planned to do all along.
"Ah, Minho-" Alby said to Minho catching him off guard, "Show this greenie around."

"Oh-me?" He hesitated slightly, "Yeah, I can do that."

"Have fun you two." He clapped Minho on the shoulder then turned away.

"So-uh-what's your name?" Minho asked as he started back towards camp with the new boy following behind slightly.

"I don't know." He was quiet, his voice more of a mumble than anything, "But they all call me greenie."

"I should've known. It's okay no one knows their name for the first few days."

They lapsed into an awkward silence.

Minho quickly changed the subject and they went on. The blond boy nodded his head along with whatever Minho told him about sleeping arrangements, food, work or whatever else. He did not ask many questions until the end when they stood alone in the sleeping quarters. He asked,
"Pardon me, Minho, is that right?" He worried he'd said his name wrong.
"That's right." Minho cracked a small-pursed smile at the sound of his name said shyly by the blond haired boy.

"Minho." He smiled brightly, "My question is: where do I sleep?"

"Well, in here." Minho glanced around the room until his eyes lay to rest on an empty hammock next to his. "Here exactly." He pat the hammock.

"This one is empty?" The boy glanced nervously at the hammock which had a jacket strewn on it and a pair of worn in boots lay beneath it.

"Recently empty."

"Who's is- was it?"
"A guy named Kevin. Died a couple days ago." He did not elaborate. "It's yours now."

That night the blond boy lay in the hammock that was now his but he couldn't sleep. He noticed Minho had no trouble falling into a deep sleep, even snoring slightly. He, on the other hand, could not bring himself to sleep. He couldn't help the thoughts that rushed through his mind every time he closed his eyes. He couldn't find a way to be comfortable in a dead boy's bed. Yet he squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to sleep. Maybe he was more tired than he thought, or maybe he had more will power than he remembered, because he eventually fell into a rough sleep.

He woke up half way through the night with a blazing headache, a sore throat and a throbbing elbow. Minho was leaning over him with a concerned look on his face as well as the other boys in the building peering off their bunks with varying looks of annoyance or fear. He felt the hard packed dirt beneath his back and looked up to see the underside of the hammock; he'd fallen out of it.
"What happened?" Minho's breaths exhaled hard, "You were screaming while rolling on the ground you shank!"
"My name is Newt!" He yelled as scrambled to sit up, suddenly knowing this was a sure fact, pushing Minho out of the way, "My name is Newt!"

"Oh good lord." Minho rolled onto his back, a sigh of relief leaving his lips.

That morning at breakfast Newt wouldn't stop beaming and as cute his smile was Minho was starting to get annoyed at him for constantly introducing himself. It was when he'd introduced himself to everyone when Minho jumped at him.
"My name is Newt?" He said almost to himself as if he could hardly believe it.
"Fuck! There are only 11 of us here we all know your god damn name is Newt! Shut up already!" Then he fell back into eating loudly leaving Newt's mouth open in a slight 'o' shape and his wide eyes rapidly blinking.