Memories (Newt X Reader)

Chapter 10

A/N: Sorry for the slow(er) updates recently... my life has been a whirlwind of studying and midterm projects, which will thankfully be over by the end of next week. Also, last update before I see The Death Cure tomorrow! Forever psyching myself up for the inevitable Newt scene, *sigh,* anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 10

229.05.27 / 8:48 p.m.

It's wasn't terribly difficult to avoid Newt, especially since everyone had started working extra hours, but even when you did he'd find ways to pull you aside at lunch and kiss you until you were weak at the knees, and the stupid thing was, you couldn't say a damn thing about it.

You'd make plans to talk to him, to finally tell him about your meeting with Paige, the armed guards and the manipulation, but then you'd look at him and your mind would go blank, and when he pulled you into him your body would turn to jelly.

You hated yourself for it. Hated the plummet your stomach would do when you saw him, a rush of adrenaline like you were leaping off a cliff. Hated how you couldn't bring yourself to suck it up and break it off. You were sick of being WICKED's little guinea pigs, and you knew Newt was too.

On one particular night, he caught up to you late after dinner, which you'd left early in the hopes you could make it back to your room unperturbed. He grabbed your arm lightly and tugged you down a separate hallway until you were out of sight. You couldn't help but imagine how there were probably cameras hidden all along the corridor with techs or psychs watching you in that exact moment, and fear prickled down your spine as Newt turned to you and brushed a strand of hair behind your ear, grinning.

"Hey, Newt," you said, glancing around.

"Bloody hell, (Y/N), it's been a week," he said. "I've missed you."

You tried to smile. "Me too."

But as he leaned down to kiss you, you took a breath and pulled away. He looked down at you, worry darkening his face.

"You okay?" he asked, stepping back. "Is something wrong?"

"Uh, what? N-no, nothing's wrong," you sputtered. An image of Paige watching the scene unfold behind her computer screen hovered in the back of your mind, furiously scribbling down notes on that stupid list.

Newt didn't look convinced, and pulled you deeper down the hall, glancing back the way you had come. "(Y/N), if something's bloody well wrong, tell me, okay?" he whispered loudly. "You look scared out of your mind."

Breathe. "Something happened," you said slowly, leaning in closer. "With Paige, Doctor Paige. She called me to her office for a- a meeting."

"A meeting?"

You glanced down at the ground, nervously shifting your weight. "I wish there was somewhere more private we could talk," you mumbled to your feet.

Newt looked confused. "More private than a dark, empty hallway? It's not the bloody surface of the sun, but..."

"Newt, you don't understand," you sighed. "They're watching us. Our every move. Paige knows everything, everything we've been doing, everything we've been saying. To them, privacy is an empty word."

Newt stared at you, processing this information. "But if they've been watching us, why have they been letting us sneak out for months?" he asked, leaning back against the wall as if his legs wouldn't support him.

"It's just another test, Newt." -- Newt seemed to sense the guilt that surrounded his name as you said it -- "She told me, because of us, they're getting new patterns -- patterns they're really excited about. They're mapping our brains, our hormones, with those stupid metal chips in our heads, the possibilities are endless."