control ⇢ the maze runner / thomas [1] ✓

Chapter Twenty-Six

"I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in.
I'll never leave the ground. Crash through
the surface, swear they can't reach us. We're
far from the shallow now."
—Shallow

CONTROL,
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

RUBY WASTED NO time in running after Thomas. He was pretty fast, but so was she. However, when he disappeared into the Maze, she skid to a stop. Except, with the momentum she'd picked up, she only ended up sliding and falling onto her butt.

"Ouch", she squeaked. Ruby pushed herself up, rubbing her backside. "Well, I'm gonna feel that one tomorrow", she whispered.

"Total wipeout", Leo teased as he walked over to her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded once, as if trying to reassure herself. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, you can ask me. The real question is if I'll do it or not", he smirked. Ruby rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to flick his forehead.

"I was wondering if you could get Minho to lend me some paper and pencils? Well, let me have it I guess." She cast a worried glance back towards the Maze. "I need to occupy my mind."

Leo gave her a thumbs up as he began backing away. "You got it, dude."

He returned not long after, an arm full of the requested supplies. She quickly scooped them up, organizing the stack of papers. "Thanks a lot, babe", she smiled.

"No problem. What did you need all this stuff for anyway?", Leo asked curiously. He took a seat next to her.

Ruby grinned once more. "I have suddenly remembered a talent of mine, and I would like to put it to good use. Since we don't have a camera around here, I think this is the next best think I can do, you know?"

"You're losin me", Leo admitted sheepishly. "What are we doing?"

Ruby chuckled. "I think I can sketch really well. And I wanna remember all your cute little faces, obviously."

"Oooh", Leo said. He then perched on his own legs, leaning back. "Do me first!", he cheered, placing on a giant grin.

Ruby couldn't help but to smile back. She'd noticed that Leo's smile was infectious — at least in her opinion. He had the kind of smile that made you wanna smile too. He was just one of those kinds of people. Such a sweetheart. "Why, of course I'll draw you first. Who else but my favorite person?"

"Speaking of favorite people, any word on Gally?"

Ruby scrunched her nose. "No." Sadly, she shook her head. "I'm worried about him."

"I'm sure he'll turn up." Leo was trying to be reassuring, but even he himself hardly believed what he was saying. Still, at least he was trying.

Ruby gave him a sad smile before getting to work. That night, she worked hard on drawing every face that passed. She was pretty good at forcing the boys to sit down for a little while, just long enough for her to get a general outline going. A lot of that time was spent nervously watching the West Door, hoping to see Thomas come sprinting out of them.