See You Soon: A Maze Runner Story

Part 2

Glade: Present Day
The shifting weight of the person next to me in bed woke me up. I opened my eyes just enough to see through my eyelashes, taking in the bit of dawn light that seeped through the cracks of our hut. I watched his outline move about the room as he was getting ready. Stretching out my arms, I yawned and finally opened my eyes completely.
"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?" I asked in a hushed morning voice. He looked up, slightly startled, as he was tying his boots.
"Of course not. I just woke up a little late is all" he replied. He smirked as he walked over to the side of the bed and leaned over on his elbows, bringing his face closer to mine.
"Good morning beautiful" he whispered, his dimples prominent.
"Good morning handsome" I replied, combing my fingers through his jet black hair. I started to get up when he put he threw an arm over my waist, bringing me back down to the bed.
"Not gonna have time for our morning routine. Can I just get my morning good luck kisses and I'll make up for it tonight?" he asked, giving me a cheese smile. I sighed.
"Fine," I said, cupping his face in my hands and placing a gentle kiss to his lips, "good luck. Come back to me".
"I promise. See you soon" he replied, returning the kiss. I smiled, staring into his eyes.
"I love you" I whispered. He pressed his lips together and nodded.
"Mhmm" he replied, kissing my forehead. That familiar feeling in my gut arose once again with his response. After all this time together, he still couldn't say those three little words. He got up and walked out of our hut. I followed and watched from the door as he ran into the Maze.
My Minho.
Three years had passed since I arrived in the Glade. We had established order, and made the Glade our home. More and more boys arrived over the years, each with the same story- none. No one remembered their lives before being sent up in the Box. But we all came together and created a functioning little society.
As for me and Minho, we became a couple about six Greenies after I arrived. I somehow became the group's nurse and was constantly bandaging him up, forcing me to see parts of him that I normally wasn't used to seeing. Our friendship made it even more impossible to not be together; he was extremely protective of me and I of him. We were each other's diary, we told each other everything.
I was the first to say "I love you". It was about a year ago, maybe a little less. I had gotten tired of waiting on the possibility of him not making it back in time and worrying about never getting the chance to tell him. So I did. He was startled, to say the least. He didn't say it back. I was upset at first, but realized I couldn't push him to say it. He proved that he loved me, and that was good enough. Although I'd still like to hear him say it...
"Lia, got another Slicer coming in" my fellow Med-Jack, Jeff, said, bringing me out of my daze. It got boring being in the med hut all day, and daydreaming killed time. I nodded and pulled out some fresh bandages from a nearby box. Sure enough, Winston walked through the door gripping his hand.
"Winston, again?" I whined. It was the third time this month he'd cut himself. You'd think as Keeper of the Slicers he'd keep his injuries to a minimum.
"Not my fault this time," he explained, "I took the hit for the new guy. He almost cut off his hand!".
"Hasn't he been here two months already?" I asked, starting to clean up the wound.
"Exactly" Winston groaned. I chuckled and started wrapping his hand. Within a matter of minutes I was done.
"Good as new... Sort of" I said when I finished. He snorted and waved his hand around.
"Thanks Lia" he said. A loud horn sounded outside, alerting us that the Box was coming up, which meant a new Greenie. We both grinned at each other and jogged outside to where everyone was crowded around.
Gally was the one to jump down into the Box, and a lanky pale boy with dark hair was thrown out. Of course, everyone made their remarks about him, saying they could need help with their jobs. Something was different about this kid, though. Most others are scared when they arrive. He just looked... confused. And frustrated. Suddenly he bolted away from the group into the open field.
"We got a Runner!" I heard Zart yell. I watched as the boy ran closer and closer to the Walls, and then faceplant into the ground, rolling to a stop. Some boys ran over to him and helped him up, leading him to the Pit. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Winston.
"That's the first time I've ever seen any of them do that" I said perplexed. He shrugged his shoulders.
"There's a first time for everything I guess"
That night we had a bonfire in honor of the Greenie. I held on to Minho's plate in the kitchen and waited for him to come back from the Map Room to eat. He jogged over to me soon and wrapped his arms around me from behind, burying his face in my neck and giving me little pecks.
"I missed you" he said. I chuckled.
"I missed you too" I replied, turning around and handing him his plate. He smiled and took it, taking my hand with his free one, and leading me to the bonfire. He sat down on a log, pulling me into his lap, and dug in to his food.
"So what did I miss?" he asked, mouth full of food.
"We got a new Greenie. That one, over there" I said, pointing across the bonfire. He was sitting next to Newt, having a deep conversation, it seemed.
"Hmm" he replied, taking a spoonful of food.
"Yeah, you had to see him when he came out though. He ran away from everyone faster than, well, you actually. It was so weird, the first time I'd ever seen anything like it" I said, staring at the kid.
"Do I have to fight somebody?" Minho asked. I laughed and lightly smacked his shoulder.
"No, you know your the only one for me" I replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He finished his food and set his plate on the ground. At the same time Gally, being the annoying shank that he was, started to pick a fight with the Greenie. A circle had formed and everyone was chanting for the Greenie to accept the challenge. I sighed and joined the circle, holding onto Minho's side.
The two began, Gally pushing the Greenie around like nothing. Then, something extraordinary happened. The Greenie tripped Gally, making him fall flat on his face. I heard Minho make a "hmm" noise while everyone else cheered. It was the first time a Greenie ever beat him.
"Not bad for a Greenie, huh?" he said confidently. Sadly, his moment was squashed when Gally swung a leg under him, tripping him too, making him bang his head on the ground. Dammit, a possible concussion. And I was ready to go to sleep soon...
"Thomas" the boy said lowly. Everyone made a confused face. He got up quickly and looked around.
"Thomas... My name... It's Thomas!" he yelled. Everyone was quietly grinning; we all remembered the moment we remembered our names. Mine was with Minho, during dinner, with a mouth full of food which flew all over him. And that's how our friendship began...
"Thomas!" everyone cheered at once, holding up their moonshine. I grinned and squeezed Minho a little harder. Just then a loud roar came from the Maze. Grievers. A shiver shot up my spine thinking about Minho encountering one. He wrapped his arm around me tighter, sensing my fear.
"Alright everyone, pack it in, lights out" Alby called. The fire was put out and everyone retired to their bunks, me and Minho to our little hut. I threw myself on the bed, hearing a slight chuckle escape Minho. I felt the bed sink as he climbed in next to me, laying an arm across me.
"Another day in the Glade" I sighed, taking Minho's hand. We thumb wrestled for a bit in silence.
"Do you think there's really a way out Minho?" I asked in a whisper. He sighed and pulled me to his chest.
"I think we should go to sleep" he replied, shutting out the lantern next to us. I sighed and curled into his side and closed my eyes, falling asleep to the sound of his heartbeat.