Runners' Romance (A SkyBop Maze Runner fanfic)

Chapter 9: I Tell Him Everything

(Beautiful art above was done by the wonderful KitKatLion : my SkyBoppin' bestie! Please go check her stories and art book out and show her some love!)

(Jan. 2 2016)

Heeeeeeeey, haven't updated since last year! XD

What's Poppin', SkyBoppers? Zellona here with another (late) update! Hope you enjoy! We get to see a lot more into Jin's character now :D

Also holy crap! 1K views?! Thank you so much!!!

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Chapter 9: I Tell Him Everything

Jin's POV:

"Jin! Jin, are you alright?"

I snap awake, breathing heavily, as my eyes snap open to see Sky shaking me with concern-filled eyes. My panic is quickly fading as I struggle to take deep breaths. I blink a few times and finally remember where I am.

In Sky's arms.

"Oh! S-sorry!" I stammer red-faced as I shoot off of him. I sit on the forest floor next to him and try not to think about how warm and safe I felt while hugging him.

Key word: try.

"It's okay, don't apologize. Are you alright?" He asks, sitting up and gazing at me with those beautiful golden eyes of his.

Yes, I think they're beautiful. Bite me.

"I... Yeah, I think so. Just a... Just a nightmare."

"Oh, okay... How're you feeling, Jin?" He asks hesitantly. 

I wipe my eyes, "I'm a little better now. Thank you." And I mean it. I feel like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

"It was nothi--"

"No, I mean it. I've never been comfortable enough to open up to someone and show my emotions like that before." I offer a watery smile, "It means a lot. Thank you, Sky."

His face flushes and he looks away bashfully, "A-anytime, Jin."

I breathe out a small laugh at his behavior, sitting next to him and leaning against the tree. It's still dark out, but I don't want to go back to sleep for fear of dreaming about the griever and Terrance again. I've cried it out; I want to start moving on now.

So I start talking instead.

"You know," I begin, looking for something to say, "I don't think I've ever seen a Greenie as outspoken as you, Sky. Greenies usually keep to themselves for quite a while before they come out of their shells," I pause. I want to keep going, to say more, but reservedness holds me back. Everyone in the Glade counts on each other, but we tend to keep our feelings to ourselves. No one wants to show vulnerability because it feels like we're letting everyone else down and being selfish. Even when Terrance and I were best friends, we kept most of our troubles to ourselves.

I don't feel like that around Sky, though. I've only known him for three days, but I already trust him. Still, habit makes me hesitate.

Sky seems to notice that I want to say more, and waits patiently for me to start talking again. I take a deep breath before starting, "You certainly handled it better than I did..."

And then I tell Sky everything. Once I start, I can't stop, and I end up venting my entire life in the Glade to Sky while he sits quietly next to me and listens. I tell him about how I came up in the elevator about four months after Barney first arrived. How I panicked so much that I ran away into the forest and hid in a tree, and how it took Barney the entire day to talk me down. I tell Sky about how I didn't remember my name for almost a week, and how I was a shy, nervous wreck until Terrance arrived a month later and I started gaining confidence.

I spend the rest of the night telling him about my life in the Glade. I tell him about all our escape attempts. I tell him about the time we tried to dig our way out and hit concrete, and how Terrance had almost gotten stuck after he forgot to leave a way out of the ditch he made, much to everyone's amusement.

I tell him about when Terrance and I became the first two runners when it became clear the only possible exit was through the Maze, and how I was voted to be in charge of runners, much to my surprise since Terrance was the more outspoken (albeit less level-headed) one out of the two of us. I tell of the times we gained and lost runners, and how I've become the go-to person for dealing with Greenies, since I was the biggest wreck as a Greenie and can relate to how every Greenie feels more as a result.

And I admit to him that, because so many people count on me, I've never been able to admit weaknesses without letting people down. I tell him how I push myself too hard to meet everyone else's needs while I neglect my own. I tell him about the time I almost got killed (about a year ago) because I didn't want to admit I was sick and collapsed when I tried running the Maze anyway; the other runners barely managed to drag me back to the Glade before the Door closed, and when I woke up a couple days later I lied and said it came on suddenly because I didn't want to admit that it was because I was too afraid of disappointing everyone.

I talk about the griever we found in the Maze. How I don't know what's going to happen next, or what to do.

I end up confessing all my worries and anxieties in him, and he just sits there quietly and attentively as he listens.

I tell him everything except the warm, tingly feeling that's starting to fill my heart whenever I talk to him.

And he just sits there, holding my hand (when did that happen?) and listens.

Sky's POV:

I listen closely, never taking my eyes off Jin as he tells me his story in a shaky voice. I'm blown away by what life in the Glade has been like for these people, as well as the fact that Jin now trusts me with things he's never said to anyone before.

I gently lay my hand on top his when he confesses to never being able to show weakness. Notch, he's been holding way too much back for way too long.

I just assumed that everyone here was content living in this cage because they were still here. Now I see it's not that easy, not by a long shot. It's just a facade: people trying to act content so others don't see how scared or hopeless they truly feel.

I just sit and listen to Jin with one thought prominent in my mind:

I want to help Jin.

I want to find a way out of here.

I want to become a runner.

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Yay, it's finally done! This took about 6 hours and is ~1,050 words. Short, I know, but I didn't want to go any longer without an update. Hope you like it! I got waaaaaaaaaaay off track and ended up writing a chapter completely different from what I was planning. I still like it though; it got really deep lol.

I tried to make Jin's past come to life a bit more; did it work? Let me know in the comments!

Until next time, SkyBoppers! Peace out! ;)