Ineffable | Newt

10.

Katie lay on her back, her arms folded over her stomach, and her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Minhos' steady breathing could be heard on the floor to her left. She told him he could share the bed with her, but he said he moved too much and didn't want to push her off, so he always stayed on the floor. Katie lifted her hand up in front of her and looked at it.

She had short fingers, but that wasn't a surprise; everything about her was short. Suddenly, it occurred to her that she didn't know what she looked like. What colour were her eyes? Was her hair all the same colour? What did her nose look like?

There was no way Katie could go back to sleep now, not with this curiosity flowing through her. She turned over onto her side to look at Minho. His usually spiked-up hair covered his forehead, and he lay on his stomach with both his arms under the pillow.

"Minho?" Katie whispered. She brought out her hand, ready to poke him like she had done with Newt, but she didn't have to; his eyes flickered open.

"Yes?" His voice was groggy. "You alright?"

Katie nodded and moved a piece of hair out of her face.

Minho turned onto his side to look up at Katie. His mind was clearing from sleep as he tried to see if anything was wrong. When everything was deemed safe, he looked out the window; it was dark, but he could see the deep blue becoming lighter on the horizon. He'd have to get up soon anyway; there was no point in sleeping any longer.

"How long have you been up?" Minho sat up and ruffled his hair. Minho slept shirtless, so when he sat up, the sheets fell off of him to reveal his torso. Katie looked at how fit he was and wondered if she was also fit.

She shrugged, then grabbed her pillow and pulled it towards her to rest her chin on as she looked at Minho. "Can I ask you a question?"

Minho reached across the floor to where his shirt was.

"Shoot." He said this while slipping it on.

"What do I look like?" Katie pondered.

Minho furrowed his eyebrows; that was an odd question, but then again, she was a bit odd. Minho shifted his body to look at Katie, taking in her features before disregarding them.

"Eyes, ears, mouth, and nose." He said as he put on his shirt."What does it matter?"

Minho knew perfectly well that wasn't what Katie was asking, but he was never good at descriptions, which is why they had the map in the map room. He knew that Katie was pretty, though, but he couldn't bring himself to think of her any differently than the other boys. It was a shame; she was the only girl Minho has ever known, and he feels like she's like a sister to him. He's protective and wants the best for her.

Katie frowned and looked nowhere in particular. She wanted to imagine what she looked like; it sounded interesting. Minho noticed her lack of satisfaction with his answer and laid back down.

"You can always look at yourself in the pond."

~*~

"Newt?" Katie approached the vine walls. She noticed a pair of feet and stepped over a loose tool in their direction.She thought it was Newt, and she was going to tell him how she spoke a word to Ben all on her own, but once she crossed the wall, she stopped.

"Hey, Katie." Sean shook his head and smiled slightly. "Whatcha need?"

Katie pointed towards the lettuce, clamping her mouth shut as her heart beat heavy. She remembered the day he smelled rancid, and she didn't like that day. However, she hasn't interacted with him since then. Right now he didn't smell, and he was pretty calm. Sean walked along the rows to where the lettuce was, and Katie followed hesitantly.

"How are you liking the Glade?" He casually asked and bent down to pick the lettuce.

Katie cocked her head to one side. Last time she encountered Sean, he gave her a bad impression and made her scared, but now he was being polite. Perhaps he is usually like this?

Katie decided to stick to what made her comfortable for this. She could tell Newt that she spoke to Ben, but another person was too much for her right now. She managed to greet Ben pretty well when she went down with Minho to get his lunch and Ben was there. Alby and the council decided he would be a good runner, which everyone knew considering the day he arrived. Katie managed to speak to him; if she could do that, she could learn to speak to Sean in due time.

"I don't think I'd like it either."He said this despite the fact that she didn't say or sign anything and stood up with a basket of lettuce."All the boys are trying to get to you."

Katie furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Hadn't Sean tried to do that? It seemed as though Sean had completely erased that day from his memory as he walked naturally towards the tomatoes. Katie stayed back for a second, then followed.

She shook her head to show that he was wrong; after the first couple of days, the boys stopped trying to "get at her," and she hoped she didn't provoke him into making a move on her by accident. But instead of doing anything, Sean just nodded his head in understanding and continued with the tomatoes.

"What do you think of the new Slinthead, Ben?" Sean turned his head for a second to look up at Katie.

Katie made the motion of running.

Sean laughed at this, which Katie supposed was a good thing. He stood up and wiped the dirt from his hands onto his pants before handing her the basket. Katie's arms dropped from the weight of the basket, but she managed to stabilize herself before Sean had to help.

"Well, I'll see you at dinner." He smiled at her, and Katie simply nodded her head.

She walked away from him.

Katie evaluated something during her walk back to the kitchen; first impressions are not always true. For example, when she first met Newt, he was crabby, but afterward he was nice and caring. Maybe it was the same with Sean; Katie guessed she just needed to give people a chance to see what they were really like.