A5 // The Scorch Trials

Chapter 3

"(Y/N)?"

The girl count faintly hear that someone was calling her name but she could neither reply nor fully acknowledge that someone was actually there. She was too enveloped in her scared and panicked state to even know who's voice it was that was calling her.

The doctor in the room knew exactly what was happening to the poor girl but she knew well enough that she was a total stranger to (Y/N) and it would only scare her more. That's why she was very relieved when a blond boy ran into the room calling her name.

Newt had only seen (Y/N) like this a handful of times but each one was just as terrifying and unpredictable as the next. He could see by her darting eyes and her white knuckled fists that whatever the doctor said to her had struck her hard.

Newt was also aware the only way he could help her was if she could calm down. The other times that this happened, he was able to coax her out of it but right now wasn't like those other times. He made a split second decision that he hoped wasn't counterintuitive. He placed both of his hands on her cheeks so she had nowhere else to look but at him and crashed their lips together.

Instantly, there was a difference in her breathing, the rapid hiccups were frozen in place as his pair of lips blocked any air from reaching her mouth. She was forced to focus her attention on the smaller amount of air entering her nose which drastically brought down her heartrate.

Once Newt felt she was calmer than before, he pulled back from the kiss and pressed their foreheads together where (Y/N) could spend more time controlling her breathing. It took a few minutes but she was able to return her breathing back to its normal pace and glance up at Newt with watery eyes.

"Love, you're alright. I've got you," Newt whispered to her, knowing that what works best for (Y/N) was soothing words that reminded her that she wasn't alone. Her hands had subconsciously uncoiled themselves and the only thing left behind as a sign of her anxiety attack was the crescent shaped cuts running along her palms. Newt made a mental note to clean those up as soon as she was better.

"I—I didn't... I didn't mean..." (Y/N) was struggling to form words and Newt stopped her from speaking anymore with his finger running over her lips.

"Shhh," he gently shushed her, "it's okay. You can talk later." 

(Y/N) nodded and used her little bit of strength to wrap her arms around his torso and rest her cheek on his chest, allowing the melody of his heartbeat to soothe her. Newt let her calm herself down while he turned to the doctor and asked what had happened.

After hearing the entire story, starting from the idea of (Y/N) needing surgery to the exact moment she heard (Y/N) call out his name, he came up with a solution he hoped his love would agree upon. He gently lifted her head off his chest so that their eyes could meet and she would have no choice but to hear what he had to say.

"So the doctor told me about what happened," Newt began, wanting her to understand that he was about to talk about the exact thing that triggered her anxiety attack. It was his way of warning her. "And I think you should have the surgery."

Her face contorted into one of disbelief as she replayed what he said in her head. She was shocked that Newt was agreeing with this doctor to have surgery performed on her foot. "You what?"

Newt could see it that she felt betrayed slightly by his choice of the options so he continued. "(Y/N), you're ankle is really bad. You have a terrible limp that hurts you every time you walk. This surgery can fix that and you won't even have to spend that long recovering because they are excellent doctors." Newt's eyes glanced up at the doctor behind him, wanting some reassurance that he was putting his faith in the right people, or more specifically putting his love's wellbeing in their hands. "I think this would only benefit you, love. It would be good for you."

"But—but what about your limp? You'll still have it," (Y/N) argued, always thinking of Newt above herself.

"I can see what his doctor thinks about performing the same surgery on him as I would be performing on you. That way, there is a possibility you both can overcome your disabilities."

(Y/N) swallowed at the word disability, feeling like it was used incorrectly for the circumstances. It didn't disable her from many things which was why she wasn't in any hurry to get rid of it.

"Please love," Newt begged, his forehead pressing against hers again. "I just want you to be free from that reminder."

(Y/N) thought hard about it, taking into account everything she had to do differently because of the limp and everything that Newt had just said. Even with all that thinking, she wasn't completely on board when her mouth spoke aloud, "okay."