Be Mine

Chapter 26

So much for an epic plan, I thought angrily. I kicked the ground and cried. What had I done?
   Ben was gone and it was all my fault. I should have been the one who got stung, not Ben. I curled up in a ball in the corner of the Slammer and cried myself to sleep.

Newt's POV
   It was the next morning and I decided to go talk to Addison. She scared the crap out of me when she tried to run into the Maze. What the bloody hell was she thinking? I get that Ben was her best friend and that it must've been very hard for her to see him like that, but still. What was going on in that crazy mind of hers? She almost got herself killed.
   I'm in love with a suicidal girl...
   That didn't sound so good. I thought about it and I guess I couldn't complain, I myself was slightly suicidal.
   I walked to the Slammer and looked at her. She was curled up in the corner, sleeping. She looked so peaceful I almost didn't want to wake her up.
   "ADDISON WAKE UP!"
   "AHHHHHH!!!!!"
   What? I said "almost".
   "Calm down, Addi, it's me."
   She glared at me. "You don't do that to someone who's sleeping!"
   I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry."
   She slightly tilted her head to the side. "What's up with you?"
   "What?"
   "You don't seem like yourself," she said.
    I laughed. "I don't seem like myself?"
   She frowned at me. "I know what you're going to say...but I don't regret what I did. Anyway, why are you so out of character today?"
   "How am I out of character?" I asked, slightly confused.
   "Well first of all, you yelled at me to wake up," Addison said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
   "So? What if I was in a yelling-at-people-to-wake-up mood?"
   She smirked at me. "But the Newt I know is almost never in that mood."
   "Well what if Newt wants to be in that mood sometimes?" I asked.
   "Ew don't talk about yourself in third person. It's weird."
   I laughed.
   Addison cleared her throat.
   "What?"
   She looked at the keys in my hand. "Are you going to let me out or what?"
    "Do you promise to not go into the Maze?"
   She looked at me with an annoyed expression on her face. "Dude, I am a Runner. My job is to literally go in the Maze."
   Well I'm dumb, I thought to myself. "Okay, fine. Do you promise to not go in the Maze unless you are working?"
   She nodded her head.
   "And do you promise to make it back in time before the doors close?"
   She hesitated a bit before nodding her head. That was pretty suspicious. I was going to have to make sure she didn't try anything. There was only one thing for me to do.

   "Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to run in the Maze with Addison?" Minho asked.
   "Yes, Minho," I rolled my eyes. "I've told you that five times in the past ten minutes."
   "You mean you're not going to kill me?"
   "Why would I- ugh never mind. Just please be Addison's partner in the Maze. I don't trust her to run alone."
   "Alright."
   "And Minho, please make sure you both make it back on time."
   "You can count on me," Minho said.
   "Good that."

Addison's POV
   "You're going to be running with me?" I asked Minho.
   "Yup," Minho said. "We're going to be running buddies!"
   "Yay," I said, trying to disguise the sarcasm in my voice.
   "Stop being sarcastic," Minho said.
   "How can you tell?" I asked.
   "You don't out sass the Sass Queen," Minho said. "You just don't."
   "What wise words," I rolled my eyes.
   "Seriously, stop," Minho sighed. "You're not being very nice and you're getting annoying."
   "I'm getting annoying?!"
   "Yes, you are."
   "Ugh, I am so done." I said. "I'll see you later, Minho."
   I stormed off to my room and shut the door.
   I didn't want to be runner buddies with Minho. I didn't need a partner. I could only ever have one partner and that was Ben.
   There was a knock on the door and I answered it.
   Newt stood there, looking slightly nervous.
   "What do you want?" I asked rudely.
   "So uh, I heard you don't seem to want to be partners with Minho, or as he would say 'Running Buddies'."
   "Oh come on, Newt. I know you're the one who came up with the idea in the first place."
   "Who told you?- I mean, what are you talking about?"
   "Really? You're really going to lie to me?"
   "No...I'm sorry, Addison. It was my idea. But really, how'd you know?"
   "I didn't think Minho would come up with that idea out of the blue and Alby is way to busy to worry about me. Who else would've done that?"
   "Okay, so I guess that was a bit obvious," Newt admitted. "But why don't you want to be partners with Minho? It'll be fun to run with someone again, right?"
   "No, Newt. It won't," I said angrily. "You know why? Because I don't want just anyone as my partner. I want my best friend! I want Ben to be my partner! Why can't Ben be my partner? Oh yeah, because he's dead! It's my fault. I should've been stung. I should've been Banished. I should be with Ben right now. Either that or Ben should be here and I should be wherever he is! I just want my friend back." Tears started falling down my face and Newt looked shocked at all the words that had come out of my mouth.
   "Stop thinking like that," he pleaded. "Just please stop. It's not going to do you any good. I know you're sad but please don't think like that. You are alive right now for a reason."
   I covered my face with my hands and cried. "I-I'm sorry, Newt," I sobbed.
   "It's okay, love," he said as he pulled me into a hug.
   We stayed like that for a long time. I just cried in Newt's arms, but I really needed it.