centre | newtmas au

7

newt:
It's been two weeks since the night Thomas left for WCKD. The room they shared now feels empty, and is in constant silence. Newt also feels his heart sink a little more as more time passes by. He is eager to see Thomas, and talk to him again, he cant bear sleeping alone, in the dark. He has gone back to his sleep deprived state from months before, as much as he regrets it. He hoped he had got over it, he was enjoying finally having a semi functioning mind for school everyday.

Newt sits up, and is pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door.
"Newt?" It's Frypan.
"Yeah?" Newt replies, staying, sitting at the end of his bed.
"Principal Paige needs to talk to the group, urgently. We need you."
Newt stands, suddenly more awake, holding onto a small spark of hope that he might see Thomas again.
He pushes open the door, and smiles at Frypan. He hasn't spoken with him in a pretty long time. He didn't really feel like talking for a while.
"How've you been?" Newt asks, with another lopsided smirk.
"Alright. On edge, its been weird, never knowing when we could be whisked away to WCKD." Frypan replies, with what appears to Newt as a slight shudder.
He nods. He understands completely, but he doubts he feels scared like Frypan. He will be more relieved when he can see Thomas. He's worried Thomas is unhappy there.
'Stop being bloody stupid, Newt' He shouts to himself in his brain. 'This stuff never bothered you before, why Thomas and why now? It. Doesn't. Matter.'
He shakes it off, and pushes back his shoulders.
"Shall we go?" Newt says.
Frypan nods. They make their way down to the office, walking beside each other.
"How do you think he's doing?" Frypan says, his voice lowered.
"Good, I hope. I bloody hope they're treating him well." Newt says, the emotion behind his voice surprises him.
"Me too." Frypan adds with a quick nod. Newt see's this as a signal to talk about something else.
"Sorry I've been hiding in my room for these past two weeks. I didn't really feel like doing anything. I dont feel myself right now."
"It's okay. I get it. We all have days like that."
Newt nods, awkwardly. "Uh. Thanks."

They reach the door, and Fry knocks.
"Come in." Ms Paige replies, her voice ringing in Newt's ears. He is suddenly drawn to the fact that he feels anxious.
They push open the door and sit in the two remaining chairs at the back of the group, beside Chuck and Winston. Chuck looks frightened, but no more than usual, Newt leans back in his seat and allows himself to relax a little.

"Hello boys. I apologise for the lack of notice, but I assume you were all expecting a few surprise meetings. This is very sincere though, so I would like to get to the point straight away." Ms Paige says, with a nervous smile.
"WCKD need you. Tonight. We need everyone for tests, and research and help right now. The outbreaks are out of control, we can't count. The outside world is in turmoil."
Newt's heart begins to pick up the pace, and he glances at Chuck who's eyes are teary.
Bloody hell, poor kid.
"You will all be awoken at precisely 4:45am. We are trying to avoid disturbing your fellow students as much as possible. A berg will arrive to transport you, and you will be escorted by a number of WCKD guards. You will be showed to your rooms, which for the most part, you will be sharing." She looks at her hands.
"I'm deeply sorry to take you away from school, and your somewhat normal lives. A student came to talk to me the other day and I realised how this will change your lives, for the worse or for the better, that depends on how you look at it. But I promise you, it's for the greater good."
She looks at him, directly in the eyes and nods. He nods in reply. He feels this gesture has created peace between them, and he is glad.
"You may go. I will see you into the berg."
She runs her hands through her hair and every boy stands up, and turns for the door.
They all file out, and stand in the hallway, in silence.
"Looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other for a while." Jeff says, with a grin.
"I hope not, you're all a pain in the ass." Frypan says, punching Jeff's arm.
Newt laughs along with them, accepting what's to come. He'll be okay.

4:40am

He lies in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling, focusing on his breathing and his surroundings. He checks the clock. 5 minutes. He closes his eyes. He almost wants to not leave the bed he's lying in. This was the closest thing to home he's ever had, and he doubts WCKD will be remotely safe and comfortable to him.
'I'll miss you, you massive pile of bloody shit.' He whispers into the dark.
4:43.
He sits up and pulls back his covers from his body and grabs his navy hoodie from the back of his chair. He presses it to his face and breathes in. It reminds him of his sister, she often stole if from his wardrobe and wore it. They'd argue about it afterwards, but he'd always feel bad and let her wear it anyway. God, he misses her.
4:44
He turns on his light and sits on the end of his bed, glancing around his room. He wont be seeing it for a while, which is bittersweet to him. On the one side, leaving means Thomas, and that outweighs the sadness of leaving a bleak dorm room, so he decides not to care.
4:45
He feels unprepared, but he clings to the fact that he'll be near Thomas in 24 hours. He can't wait to actually be himself again. 'Bloody hell. I really care about him don't I?' He whispers to himself.
The door is pushed open, it's a teacher Newt doesn't know the name of.
'Make your way to the front of the building, by the doors. Put on some trainers, and something warm. We'll have your clothes sent over later. Good luck, Newton.' The teacher says, with a smile. Newt almost feels bad not knowing their name, but it's not like he'll see them again.
"Thank you." He replies, pulling his hoodie over his shoulders and zipping it up.
The teacher exits his room, and shuts his door. He pulls on his shoes, which sit exactly where he likes them by his bed. He laughs to himself as he remembers the moment Newt realised Thomas wasn't an all round dick. He pulls them onto his feet and exhales, before walking up to his door and pushing it open, ready to begin the next chapter in his life.

He walks hurriedly down corridors, heading for the front doors. He hears muffled footsteps through the walls. His friends.
He makes it to the front doors, and notices Ms Paige standing in her uniform, tensed directly in front of the doors. He approaches her and she nods to him, yet again.
"Good. You're here." She says, before turning to the guard to her right, "We're awaiting three more boys, then we're all set." The guard nods, but says nothing.
Newt walks towards Frypan and Jeff who stand, talking to each other. They both have their hands covered by their jumpers, and they wrap their arms around themselves, a form of comfort. Newt speaks.
"Nervous?"
The boys nod, mustering a brave a face as they can. They stand together in silence, for around 3 minutes Newt guesses, until the other boys arrive and are checked from the guards list. Newt is ready now, he's ready to go. A nervous excitement has built up in his chest.

"Are we ready?" One of the guards say, stepping in front of them.
Everyone nods. Chuck, unsurprisingly is crying. Newt shakes his head. This kid doesn't deserve it, he really bloody doesn't.
"Good luck boys, I'll see you in a few weeks when I come over." Ms Paige says, patting Chuck on the shoulder.
The guard beckons for them to follow, before pushing open the large front doors. Newt is immediately taken-aback by the bright headlights of the berg in front of him, and the scale of it. He gives Ms Paige a last smile, and steps out onto the front steps, the wind whipping through his hair. He scans his friends that surround him, they squint back at him, some of them grinning like young children, filled with intense joy.
The hatch drops and Janson stands, with his bloody smug look. Newt rolls his eyes.
They all follow the guard up towards the hatch and take a step onto the berg. Newt feels suddenly elated. He's on a berg.

When all the boys are seated, in some place on the berg, it takes off into the night, its lights beaming out ahead of them, lighting up the ground. Newt walks up to his nearest window and stares out, at what seems like just sand for a very long time.
"This is what the majority of the world is like now, destroyed. We call it the scorch. You'll never last a day out there, so don't get any ideas." Janson says. Newt can't see him but he can feel the mans smug expression behind his words.
They fly further over and Newt notices crumbling buildings and with a more focused look, he notices a few corpses lying half buried in the sand. His stomach turns. This is what the world is like now? Just like Thomas imagined, what feels like years ago. His eyes sting but he doesn't allow himself to feel remorse just yet. He can save people like them, he hopes. Then, and only then, will all this be worth it.

hi love u hope u well and happy.
enjoy this chapter x