Be Mine

Chapter 17

   "Addison," I heard a voice say. "Wake up."
   I rolled over on one side, my back facing the voice.
   "Addison," the voice said again. "You need to wake up now."
   I blinked my eyes open and looked at the owner of the voice. It was Ben.
   "Finally, you're awake," Ben said. "Come on, we gotta go."
   I got out of bed and followed Ben to the kitchen where we ate. We grabbed our lunch from Frypan and headed to the Map Room. We got our backpacks and weapons and ran to the Maze doors. They weren't even open yet.
   "What was the point of rushing if the doors weren't even open in the first place?" I asked, yawning.
   "Early bird gets the worm," Ben smirked.
   "We're just running and memorizing and mapping," I said. "The only thing we can achieve from this is a way out. And it's not like it's a competition between the Runners to see who can find an exit first. It doesn't matter who finds a way out, all that matters is that we actually find a way out."
   "Wise words, Greenie," Ben chuckled. "But you're so focused on the doors not being open and the results of actually solving the Maze. Look at the bigger picture in my words. When I say 'early bird gets the worm' you are just seeing the tree. Take a step back and look at the whole forest. So, the doors aren't open yet. You're thinking that you probably could've spent another five minutes in bed. I'm thinking that the Glade looks so peaceful in the early morning. Usually the Glade is buzzing with the Gladers hard at work, trying to find a way to survive in this hell we've been put in. But looking at the Glade now, from this perspective, it looks peaceful, almost like a nice place to live."
   I looked around. The Glade did look peaceful. "Wow, Ben, you're right," I said.
   "Of course I am." The moment he said that, the loud rumble of the doors moving sounded. We turned around and watched as the doors slowly opened. "Let's go," he said as he started jogging down the corridor. I followed.
   Left, right, right, right, left, I mentally noted all the turns we made as we ran farther into the Maze.
   Ben and I didn't say much as we ran but we joked and laughed when we took breaks. Again, I saw the signs that said World in Catastrophe: Killzone Experiment Department. Ben said the same thing as Minho. They didn't know what it meant, so they ignored it.
   "We should head back now," Ben said. I nodded in agreement. I was starting to get tired and the sun was setting.
   We ran back to the Glade and into the Map Room. Ben let me map and since it was my first time, Ben helped me. Afterwards, we walked to the kitchen together and sat at a table with Newt and Chuck.
   "Hey guys," I said as I sat down next to Newt.
   "Hi Addison and Ben," Chuck said. Ben sat next to Chuck.
   Newt put his arm around me, causing Ben to look away and Chuck to pretend to vomit. Newt took his arm off me as I laughed at Chuck's disgusted looking face. "You're good at facial expressions, Chuck," I said.
   "Thanks!" Chuck beamed.
   I crossed my eyes and stuck out my tongue, causing all three boys to laugh. The rest of dinner went by quickly. We spent the whole time making silly faces and laughing.
   Newt walked me to my room. "So, how was running in the Maze, today?" He asked.
   We sat down on my bed, side by side. "Good," I said. "How was working in the gardens today?"
   He laughed. "Good."
   His laugh made me smile. I loved the way he laughed.
    "Addison," Newt said, his tone going from silly to serious. "Sorry if I was a bit unfair yesterday."
   At first, I didn't remember what he was talking about. Yesterday felt so far away now, but I nodded my head when I remembered and said, "it's okay."
   "I just couldn't stand the idea of you kissing another guy," Newt admitted.
   "Well, we didn't actually kiss," I muttered.
   "Yeah, but I guess I just went a little crazy and over exaggerated a bit," Newt said.
   "It's fine," I assured him.
   "Well, there was something else that I wanted to say," Newt said. "But I don't know if now is the time to tell you. Well, more like ask you."
   "What?"
   "Well..." Newt avoided eye contact with me, making me even more curious to know what he was going to say. "I wanted to ask you something yesterday, but I didn't get the chance to and now I don't know if I should even bother asking."
   "What?"
   "I don't know what you'll say and I'm sure you're not going to agree so why should I even bother anyway?"
   "Are you even talking to me anymore or are you just talking to yourself?" I asked.
   He finally looked at me and his expression softened. "Addison," he said. He took my hands in his and looked me in the eye. "I will ask you the question that's been on my mind for a long time now. Since the moment I saw you I felt a connection and I must've fell in love with you from the very first day we met and I want to ask you something. Will you be my girlfriend?"
   Did I hear him right? I wondered. Did Newt really just ask me to be his girlfriend? I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach. I looked at him and smiled. "Yes," I said.
   Newt smiled back at me. He kissed me and I kissed back. I wished that moment could last forever but right at that moment, I heard someone cough to get our attention. Newt and I broke away and to see Alby standing at the doorway. "Newt," he said. "I need to talk to you."
   Newt nodded and got up. "Good night, Addison," he said before leaving with Alby.
   "Good night, new boyfriend," I said, knowing he couldn't hear me. Imagine if he heard me, I thought to myself. I laughed. That would be funny. I wondered how he would react to that. I couldn't stop smiling, I was so happy. I loved Newt and now he was my boyfriend. It had been such a great day with a wonderful ending. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.