Ineffable | Newt

18.

The sun seemingly blazed down on the glade that afternoon as Katie made her way to the gardens. Newt had business with Alby that he needed to take care of, so she hadn't seen him for a while, but as her legs carried her over the grass, she felt a little lighter with just the hope that he'd be there.

A sense of déjà vu washed over Katie as Newt made his way around the vines to greet her.

Something about him was different. The way he held himself, despite his limp, was like he could take on the world, and the look he gave Katie was like she was the most captivating piece of artwork in the world. It made her smile a little.

Hello, Love, Newt signed, and Katie felt her hands clasp behind her back on instinct.

"Hi." She managed to breathe out.

Newt bent down in front of the girl and started gathering the vegetables; meanwhile, Katie was practising a sentence in her head. She intended to say one.

Her mouth could form the words closed, and she felt it on the tip of her tongue, but every time she tried to open her mouth, nothing would happen. She replayed herself saying the words and imagining how he would react, but her mouth betrayed her head.She thought it was too late by the time Newt handed her the full basket, until —

"You alright?" Newt raised an eyebrow.

Katie nodded, but just stared at him, trying to muster courage.As his back began to reveal itself to her, she exclaimed:

"You wanna date?"

That caught Newt's attention, and he turned back to her, an amused smile growing on his face.

"Date?" He confirmed it, and she nodded. "Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Katie let a grin overtake her face.

She nodded her head in confirmation.

Newt looked at her for a moment, a smile still on his face, before taking a quick glance from side to side. Katie frowned a bit, wondering what he was looking for, when Newt bent down and placed a quick kiss on her lips. He then put the basket of freshly picked vegetables in her arms.

"See you at dinner, love." He grinned before disappearing behind the vegetables.

Katie was stunned. The weight of the basket held her down so much that she almost dropped them. It was such a brief kiss that she couldn't recall it, but she could feel her heartbeat in her burning ears.

"Katie!" Frypan's voice cut through her tense atmosphere.

His voice snapped her back to reality. Lifting the basket higher to carry, Katie scurried off back to the kitchen, waiting for dinner when she would see her boyfriend. She couldn't help but smile the rest of the day.

~*~

A cool contrast to the sun, the moon sent a soft glow throughout the plain to compete with the setting light. Because it was so hot during the day, the night felt colder, and some of the boys who worked outside all day shivered a bit.

The kitchen served pork today, with Katie and Frypan's famous bacon as the centre of attention, and they even made dessert. The boys of the Glade, although happy, were skeptical of the joy that came from these dishes. They couldn't think of anything to celebrate because no greenies had arrived yet, and wouldn't for another week.There was no party until the girl's uncontrollable smile spread to the rest of the boys, and soon enough everyone was in a good mood, dancing and playing music like it was a Greenie party.

Katie ran quickly to clean up everything after dinner, in such a rush that she forgot to eat. But it didn't matter because she didn't notice; her mind was preoccupied by her boyfriend.

Boyfriend.

The thought of Newt as her boyfriend was such a foreign, unfamiliar thought, but strangely, it gave her a sense of normality. It felt like a relief in this artificial world they were thrust into to have some sort of feeling she could've had before coming to the Glade; it was nostalgia for a feeling she could never remember having.

By the time she was done, there was no more sun, and the moon paled in comparison to the fire, where Katie's glee danced around in the form of boys with a slight sugar high.

She wanted to run out, but drawing any more attention to herself wasn't something she particularly craved, so instead she walked as briskly as she could. Maneuvering through the bodies of boys to the hammock, Newt gently swung with the use of his good foot on the ground, a jar of Gallie's drink in his hand, as he watched Minho and Ben dancing in a funny way.

He chuckled before taking a sip, his focus then redirecting to the girl approaching him. He sent a smile to her, and she couldn't help but grin.

"I thought you'd never be done in the kitchen." He greeted her.

Katie frowned.

She signed that she was as quick as she could be, and Newt stood up as best he could from the hammock to tower over her, drink still in his hand.

"Maybe I just missed my girlfriend too much." He said that before grabbing her waist and pulling her into the hammock.

She squealed as they swung violently, the weight of them both dropping them to the middle.Newt laughed, spilling some of his drink carelessly over the two of them.

"Newt!" Katie cried out as Gallie's drink drenched her shirt.

Newt slowed his laugh, loving the way his name sounded when she said it. He gave her a soft smile as the hammock rocked them gently; they didn't say anything.

Katie liked this—like when she and Newt shared a bed, the silence between the two was so comforting, she didn't need to talk to feel alright. The banging and screaming around them seemed to stop for a moment as if they were in their own world.

But the moment was ruined when Minho, who had too much to drink, stumbled over to the hammock.

"Ay, slintheads, move over!"

They rocked, and Katie stiffened as Minho's body jumped on top of the two of them. Newts' drinks flew out of his hands as he shouted at Minho.

"Mate, you weigh a million pounds!" He laughed.

Katie was crushed up against her boyfriend's side, Minho's legs on top of her torso, as the three of them laughed, swinging frantically back and forth. It was fun until they heard the rope scraping against the tree, and within a couple seconds, the hammock dropped. Katie hurt her hip as the three friends collided on the ground, but they were all still laughing.

"You guys are too heavy." Minho shook his head and stood up to resume dancing.