ASUNDER (I) : tmr newt

We're Not Ready

Leo

"I never got a chance to thank you." The lights are going down all around us as the camp becomes dimly lit. Alby let me out an hour ago, and thanked me. It was only now that I found Newt, sitting against the Wall, alone.

I'm just happy no one else was hurt, and I'm happy that even though it is going to take some time, Ben will be punished. And that, provided no one else finds out, Minho and Dawn are home free.

The fact that I'm not banished is barely a bonus.

"For what?" Newt sits on the ground, swishing the drink in his glass.

I'm glad Gally thought it was a good time to have a bonfire. Even though there is going to be one tomorrow, I'm happy everyone can be calm and have a good time. Michelle is talking to someone too. Winston actually, which surprises me. I didn't think she talked to anyone.

"For this," I kind of gesture around me, before sitting down.

Newt chuckles. "You know Lee, I didn't make the grass around us."

I playfully lean in to him, snatching his drink from his hands and taking a sip of it. He laughs reaching for it out of my hands. "Oh, would you quit it?"

"I meant," gasping for air as I hand him back the glass, "for making it so I could see this all. For not getting me banished, and for lifting me out of the bleach."

"Least I could do I guess, since the whole thing is my fault," he rubs the back of his neck as he empties the glass. "Honestly, if I have just shucking told Alby, Ben could actually have been banished and they could've just thrown Dawn and Minho in the Slammer for a night. Since I dragged it all out, Ben won't be punished."

I don't know that Alby would've simply slapped Dawn and Minho on the wrist, but I shrug. "They say all is well that ends well, don't they?"

"Well, this isn't the ending I hope." Newt leans back against the stone behind me.

It's weird to see him sitting off in the corner. He has friends, so I imagine he'd be the life of the party. Whenever he is with a group of people though, he tends to sit off in small groups, chatting. He isn't like Dawn and Minho, laughing with their friends. As much as I want to, I'll never be quite like her, or fit in quite like her, or be with her.

I guess it's not too bad though, since I can at least talk with Newt. He gets me, like, in ways I'd rather not admit.

"It is for the Greenie who is about to come up," I note, looking over at the box. "I've only been here a month and I don't think I'm the same person who popped up."

He nods. I glance at him out the peripherals of my vision, and realise he is staring at me. "Do I have something on my face?"

"No," he shakes his head, giggling, "I'm just pretty shucked."

He always laughs when he's had too much to drink. I find myself laughing too, a bit. I couldn't have giggled with him at the beginning of this. The Leo who first got here wouldn't have calmly waited for her banishment in a room soaked with blood. This time was my time to change, and I'm glad it was early on.

"No kidding," I smile, looking back at the ground.

"Lee," Newt stops laughing, and I turn to look at him again. Moving my head like this back and forth is going to give me whiplash. Newt looks serious though, so I wait for him to speak. "Please don't leave me."