Minho was just about the best a person could be at faking their character. Deep down, he was the same scared kid who had been thrown into the maze with absolutely no memory of his former life. He was in a persistent state of defeat, enraged at himself for not having found a way out of the maze yet.
Yet, despite all of the self-loathing, he strut around freely like the most confident, narcissistic boy in the Glade. Boys from the blood house and gardens watched in slight confusion as Minho walked across the Glade towards the homestead. They understood why he wasn't wearing a shirt once he passed and they could see the cut on his back, the fading sun making it look worse than it really was.
"Put a shirt on, shank." Alby ordered as the runner entered the rickety building.
Minho grumbled. "Don't call me out. It was Y/N's orders."
"Y/N, huh?" Alby smirked. He'd known, better than the rest of the Gladers, of Minho's very obvious fondness of the girl. Of course he'd never admit to it, but Alby didn't need Minho to confess. Those tiny glances he always sent her way, how he was ridiculously invested in every little thing she did, and his constant visits to the Medjack hut, even when unnecessary, were enough proof.
"What?" Minho raised a brow and looked to Alby. The giddy look the first-in-command always had on his face whenever he mentioned Y/N made Minho's stomach churn.
"Nothin'," Alby shrugged. "Go wash up. You stink. Don't wanna be smellin' like that around shebean, do you?"
At the base of the stairs, Minho didn't turn to look back at Alby, but his face scrunched in irritation. Shebean was what he'd always called her. He came up with it. Everyone knew that. For some reason, whenever someone else called her by the nickname, his skin crawled in a weird way.
Minho rushed upstairs before he could let loose a wave of witty remarks which should not be directed toward his leader. Shoved into the corner of his room was a small wooden box where Minho found a clean t-shirt and pair of pants. On his way to the showers, he noticed how much the air had cooled, causing a shiver to run down his spine. He thought the showers might be great after a long day, like they usually were, but today they were awful. No matter which way he stood, the water always found its way to the cut and made his entire back cease in pain. For such small wound, it was agonizing.
The minute the runner stepped out of the showers, the Glade was afire with life. The bonfire was lit, boys had already begun roughhousing in Gally's ring, and Frypan happily dished out food to his friends. He scolded himself for not keeping track of time as Y/N was likely to already be busy with the others.
As he approached the commotion, Minho's gaze flickered over the crowd in search of the one face he wanted to see. But, he couldn't locate her. All until whoops and hollers louder than he had ever heard before came from the fighting ring. As he came closer, he realized just how many of the boys were circled around the ring, all struggling for a glimpse of the fight. Luckily, being the keeper of the runners, he had no trouble pushing though the crowd to witness the commotion.
There was Y/N, hair dishevelled and lip bleeding. And there was Gally, laying on the ground, coughing.
"Y/N!!" Minho exploded, making all of the boys fall silent.
It wasn't uncommon for Y/N to get involved in small scraps with the boys around the Glade. She had a reputation to uphold, being the only girl, after all. Well, maybe it wasn't so much of a reputation or that the boys of the Glade ever doubt her. She felt more so just enjoyed the involvement. But, sometimes, she took it a little too seriously.
"He had it coming." She asserted, wiping the blood from her mouth.
"It's true," Jeff agreed. "Gally said she'd never be able to look after herself without us."
"He was wrong." Clint laughed.
Minho crossed his arms and shook his head, sending a poor attempt of a glare at Y/N. On the inside, and now apparent on the outside, he was smiling. He was worried she'd gotten herself hurt, but he couldn't be prouder to see her standing over Gally's defeated frame.
"C'mon shebean." He stepped into the ring and grabbed her arm, dragging her out as the rest of the boys cheered. Y/N stumbled behind him, trying to keep up with his quick pace. Minho guided the girl over to the homestead and let her down in one of the chairs.
"Stay there." He pleaded. Y/N laughed at his excessive concern.
Just as Minho gathered a cloth and pail of warm water, two bodies came trampling into the room. Minho watched as Y/N lit up immediately.
It was Newt and the Greenie, Thomas.
"You sure dented Gally's pride, love." Newt went to take the vacant chair beside Y/N but Minho slid in before he could do so. Newt was slightly taken aback by the forewarning glare the keeper of the runners sent his way.
"Like I said, he had it coming." Y/N admitted. "Especially after how rough he was with you." She looked to Thomas sympathetically. Gally was always too hard on the Greenies.
"Look here ya shank." Minho asked in frustration, trying to keep her head still as he wiped away the blood from the wound which refused to stop bleeding.
The girl obliged but still kept her eyes on Newt and Thomas, trying to talk with them. "Hope everyone aside Gally has been treating you alright."
"Yeah," Thomas stifled a laugh. "Newt has been really helpful."
"Awh, Newt. Always looking out for the Greenies." Y/N laughed lightly and Newt blushed a little.
"What were you like when you first got here, Y/N?" Thomas asked.
Newt scoffed and put his hands on his hips. "She was a bloody disaster."
"Yeah," Y/N agreed. "Minho here had to follow me into the maze." She looked to the boy whose brows were now furrowed in irritation, his hand holding her face a little tighter than before.
"I also recall you breaking out of the barricaded Medjack hut." Newt added. "Along with Minho here nearly killing you a minute after you arrived."
Minho stopped wiping away the blood from the girls face for a moment and he clenched his fist.
Y/N took notice to his now tense body and even firmer grip on her face. "It was an accident. If he hadn't stopped me, who knows what would have happened." She explained.
Thomas seemed to understand, but Minho still wasn't pleased with how Newt had brought it up. The second-in-command knew about how much that memory bothered the runner. Hurting Y/N was the last thing he could ever want to do, and yet, that day he'd knocked her out cold. If there was one thing he was kept up by at night, it was that memory.
"I said look here, shuckface." Minho grumbled again, readjusting his grip on her face and pulling it closer to his.
"See you guys later!" Y/N called out as loud as she could, struggling against Minho's grip, waving off Newt and Thomas.
"For someone who looks after other people all day, you're an awful patient." Minho mocked as he wiped away the last small patch of blood.
"And you'd make an awful Medjack." Y/N retaliated. Though she tried to hold a stern glare, she couldn't retrain her smile for long. Once it broke free, so did Minho's. He ruffled her hair and left to put away the supplies.
Once he was done cleaning up, Minho head for the door. "Now, if we leave, no more pummelling your friends. Got that?"
Y/N sauntered towards the door with a look of contemplation on her face. "Sure!"
Before Minho could react, the girls fist had slammed into his arm and she was darting out into the nearly pitch black glade.
"I SAID NO PUMMELLING ANYONE!" He sputtered.
"THAT WAS BEFORE WE LEFT!" She called back, still racing forwards to the bonfire.
YOU ARE READING
Fine On My Own (Minho x Reader)
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] Minho promised himself he'd never fall for her. Yet, here he was, tripping over his own feet. The keeper of the runners had always liked Y/N. She was a medjack, and the best one at that. It seemed that just about everyday, he was in for...
