Runners' Romance (A SkyBop Maze Runner fanfic)

Chapter 12: I Was Afraid

(Jan. 25 2016)

Beautiful art by FlutterCord2 (or @Cotton_Dash on Twitter!) :)

If any of you ever want to draw fan art for this story, please send them to me and I'll feature it as a media piece in the next chapter I publish! I love love LOVE seeing what you guys do! Really. I'll fangirl over you x3

Fun Fact: I fell asleep in the middle of writing this chapter. Twice. Three times if you include right after I publish this XD

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Chapter 12: I Was Afraid

Sky's POV:

"Dang it!" I hiss in frustration under my breath as I clumsily uproot another melon plant. I've been trying to hold myself together all day to no avail. My words from this morning are still ringing torturously in my mind, and the look of hurt in Jin's eyes is still clear as day.

Another plant gets ripped from the dirt. I curse loudly and throw the mangled stem to the ground.

"Sky, that's the fifth one you've killed in less than half an hour. Is something wrong?"

I sigh. I'm not sure if I want to tell anyone about it, but Ross is probably the only one in the Glade who will speak to me now, so I'm not going to shut him out. "I tried to talk Jin into making me a Runner this morning."

"Oh... How did it go?" He asks tentatively.

"Terrible," I reply, guilt making my voice shake. "I wouldn't be surprised if Jin never talks to me again. I-I said something I shouldn't have, and..." I bury my face in my hands and turn away, taking a shaky breath as I try to keep my composure. "I-I never meant to hurt him, but we were arguing and my temper got the best of me and it just slipped out. N-Notch, the look on his face! I'm such a terrible person..."

Ross dissolves into frantic apologies, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! Forget I asked!" he timidly pats my shoulder as he tries to calm me down. "Whatever happened, it'll work out in the end."

I take a deep breath, then another, comforted by the fact that I still have at least one friend in the Glade.

"You care about him a lot, don't you, Sky?"

There's a small pause before I nod, "Y-Yeah."

Ross smiles, "Knew it!" he whispers to himself.

"What?"

"Nothing!" He replies quickly, grinning innocently. Huh, I don't think I've ever seen him smile like that before. "Look, whatever you said, I know it wasn't meant to hurt him, and Jin probably knows that too, even though it upset him," he reassures me. "Just talk to him when he gets back, and he'll come around. Jin isn't the type to hold a grudge over something he knows you're sorry for, even if he wants to; he's too forgiving for that."

Hope bubbles up in my chest along with relief. I might be able to fix it, I might get a second chance! I pull Ross into a quick hug, "Thank you, Ross," I smile gratefully, "even if you're just saying that to make me feel better. You're a great friend." (A/N: Ohhh, friend-zoned!!!)

Ross sort of goes rigid when I hug him, obviously not expecting it, and freezes as if he's forgotten what hugs are and doesn't know how to react. Then a tiny, timid smile slowly spreads across his face that's more genuine than any smile I've ever seen from him. "A-Anytime, Sky," he replies shyly.