Before Her

Jane 34

Jane
The excitement of the greenie (I don't know his name yet) had died down almost as soon as the gladers had gotten back to work. I guess they were used to this already. I took one last glance at Newt and the greenie, before heading back into the section of the homestead that was the infirmary.

I honestly was a little disappointed that it hadn't been a girl in that box. I had wanted so badly to not be the only one. I mean, it's not bad with all the guys here. It just seemed a little unfair to be the only girl in the glade.

~~~

The day passed by in a blur. One after another gladers were being whisked in and out of the infirmary.

Lunch had been the best part of the day, because I got to see Newt. But only briefly since he and Alby were busy showing the greenie around who, I found out, was named Gally.

After lunch I had tended Gally's wounds. He didn't have a lot, and they weren't that severe, but he had a few bruises from punching the box and his voice was also hoarse from shouting (Newt told me it was normal for greenies). I had tried to get him to talk while I had been tending his wounds. He didn't seem like the dumb kind to me, frightened and scared klunkless? Yes. He seemed as scared of me as he was with the other gladers, perhaps even more, probably because I was the only girl, one tends to wonder why. Newt had thought it would help him open up a bit since I was different, maybe more calming and steady, Alby had agreed, Gally didn't seem to though. He wouldn't let me touch him at first, and was still stiff every time I touched him. He didn't answer any of my questions. Didn't say anything to me, I had a feeling he wasn't even breathing when I was close to him.

By the time dinner time rolled by, I had been so worn out I didn't even bother to go get dinner. I just walked up to my room and fell face first onto the bed.

When I woke up, Newt was sitting on the edge of the bed, eating a plate of food. My stomach growled and he turned to face me.
'I'm sorry,' was the first thing he said.
'What?'
'I brought you a plate of food to eat, but you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you. But the food looked so warm and I was so hungry, you know I didn't get to eat because of the new greenie today, so I missed out on lunch and you know how runners get with food, and you probably wouldn't have eaten the whole plate anyways so—'
Oh, oh I get it.
'So is that meant to be mine?' I ask, grinning like a maniac as I pointed to the plate that he was holding and sure enough almost half the plate was gone. He nodded.
I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. His face was just too priceless. I rolled onto my stomach as I continued laughing because you know, once you started, you couldn't stop and when I did, all I had to do was look over at him and all the laughter came rushing back.
'I'm sorry... you just look... really funny!' I manage to say to him between deep breaths.
Unstoppable laughter continued before stopping briefly when Newt swung a leg over my waist so that he was now straddling me.
'You think that's funny do you?' I nodded, trying to control the giggles that were still coming. 'I'll give you something to laugh about.' Before I could ask him what that was, his fingers tackled me below my ribs and all over my stomach, tickling me.
I'd like to say I wasn't ticklish like some people, and that it had no affect on me or that even though it did, I didn't laugh and that I gave no reaction to it, but that is not what happened.

If I thought the laughter from before was unstoppable, then there was nothing to describe what came next. I desperately tried to stop him from tickling me but that was impossible since he was making me whole body weak from the laughter. I tried swatting his hands away several times but failed miserably and even when I did manage to do it, his fingers found my stomach again.

'Newt... STOP!' I manage to gasp in between huge gulps of air.
Finally he did. His fingers left me stomach and he got off me while I lay there trying to calm my giggles and steady my breathing.
'You... had no right... to do that.'
'What do you mean?' He asks with an amused expression.
'Tickling me!'
'Why you don't like being tickled?'
'Of course not, it makes me laugh. I sound like a hiccuping walrus.' He lets out a chuckle at my comment. Leaning down so that he was right in front of me, brushing our noses together.
'No you don't.'
'Yes, I do.' He shakes his head. 'What do I sound like then?'
He seemed thrown off by this question, before scrunching up his face to think hard. 'I don't think you sound like anything. You sound like yourself, in your own unique special way. But your laughter does remind me of some things.'
'Really? Like what?'
'Like soft rain in the mornings, when everyone's still sleeping, and it's calming and peaceful, and you know that later on when you wake up the grass will be greener than yesterday and the flowers will look pretty because the raindrops sparkle in the sun.'
I let out a laugh, ' I don't think anyone's laugh can sound like that.'
'It does, your's does, to me.' I smile at him.
'Well what does mine sound like to you?'
'Hmm?'
'What does my laughter remind you of?' He asks. Somehow, he had pulled me up, and we were in the same position as we were last night, but this time, he had his arms wrapped around me.
'Well, you sound like...' I thought hard, trying to remember his laughter, or maybe his chuckles. 'Bells.'
'What?'
'Jingle bells, at Christmas time.'
He scrunches up his face again. 'What's Christmas?'
What's Christmas? What was Christmas? I didn't know. 'I, I don't know,' I say, frowning.
'It's okay, stuff happens like that sometimes. It's like one little tiny price of a really gigantic jigsaw puzzle. Some gladers are like that too, they remember something but they can't explain it.'
'Oh.'
'Well, what do you remember about your, jingle bells then?'
'Well, I don't really remember, but they're like bells, but really small. Tiny bells, thousands of them. They're sewn onto something. I can't remember, clothes maybe? Something red, I think. And they make the most wonderful sound when they're all moved at the same time. It's like...' I couldn't think of a word, what was it like? And then out of nowhere, a word pops into my head, a word that didn't make sense, but seemed right to describe it, 'Magic.'
'What's magic?'
'Don't know, just sounds right.' Once again Newt gives me an amused smile. I smile back at him. He reaches out and tucks a strand of blonde hair behind my ear, before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss on my forehead.

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