WCKD Love | A Newt Fan-Fiction

Chapter 4 - Conversation Starters

"My name's Katya." I pay attention to the plains of his face. I remember all the times that I would just stare at him. Memorising his eyes and how they creased when he smiled.

"I like your name, Katya." Newt smiles shyly while looking into my eyes. I blush and look away. "So, how did you know me before the Maze?" I look back at him for a moment, my eyes never leaving his.

"We were good friends," I state. My heart aches at more thoughts of the two of us in the past. "The type that sneak out to see each other in the middle of the night. Like ninjas. Um... Do you have any other questions?" Newt just stands there, staring at me.

"Yes, actually, I do." He limps over to the other side of the table and sits opposite me. I lower my gaze to my hands, trying to suppress the shaking that is starting, and back up at Newt.

"Alright, ask away." He looks at me with a small smile but then averts his eyes. He seems a little nervous and embarrassed.

"Were we, um, dating before the Maze?" He's completely avoiding eye contact now.

"Ha, what do you want me to say? Because it might ruin what you have with Teresa." He looks back at me, perplexed, but quickly disregards the comment.

"The truth, please."

'Damnit, I don't want to lie to him.' This time, I'm averting my eyes away like a child who doesn't want to admit they ate all the candy. The cook comes out of a door behind Newt and prepares the cutlery and plates for the herd of hungry kids arriving in a couple of minutes.

"Hey, Joanne," I call, giving a small wave.

"Well, hello, Katya. This one of the newbies?" She asks. I nod my head even though she knows exactly who he is. Joanne has been the cook since WCKD was formed. Newt and I always used to sit together. I turn my eyes back to Newt.

"Well, yes. We were dating." Newt's eyebrows raise straight towards the moon.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I wish I could remember."

A pain stabs at my heart when he says that. I know he doesn't remember, I've known that since before he lost his memories, but it hurts more when he says it. It becomes more real. I don't have time to silently willow in my sadness before Newt asks his next question.

"What did you mean I have something with Teresa?" Newt's brow is creased, clearly oblivious to how Teresa feels about him.

I grab a clean napkin from the dispenser on the table and start tearing at the corners. I shouldn't have said anything to begin with. This isn't good. But deep down, I know I want him to tell him. I want him to know. "Well...I had to watch computer screens with footage of the Glade. You and Teresa seemed pretty close. I just assumed the two of you were a thing."

Newt leans back, eyes wide, and looks over at the door towards the subject dorms. "...I have never looked at Teresa like that. I just thought of us as friends." He turns back to me, and I see he means it. He's just a teenage boy oblivious to a girl's advances.

I lean forward and smile. "Between me and you, I think Teresa wishes the two of you were something more than just friends." I feel a tug on my heart again, but I push it aside. Those feelings are not important right now.

Newt nods slightly. "Alright, I want to move on from that. I have three more questions for you, Miss Katya. Why did you run off when we arrived? Why were you sitting in the dining hall alone when I found you? How are you here if I knew you from WCKD? And if you guys saved us from WCKD, how did you have cameras in the Glade?" He raises a finger for each question, counting, before quickly realising he counted wrong. "Four questions," he corrects.

"Nice catch," I laugh. "Well, I ran off because I saw someone that brought emotions out of me that I wasn't prepared for. I was sitting by myself because I had nothing else to do. I was in my room for a while and then came here for dinner. I...didn't want to work with WCKD anymore, and joined this organisation. And the last one...I watched the cameras when I was still with WCKD." I mimic Newt and lift a finger for each question I answer. "My turn. If you found me here, does that mean you were looking for me?" I raise an eyebrow at him, smiling. 

Newt's face grows hot, but before he can respond, his attention is taken to the Mess Hall doors, where teenagers are starting to pile in for food. He watches his friends walk over to a table and sit down. One boy I remember, Minho, pauses as he starts to sit, and looks over at us. He squints, looking between me and Newt, and then his eyes grow wide. "Oh my God!" He stands up again and races over, knocking into other kids. He tries to keep walking, but a particularly large kid clutches onto his shoulder, not prepared to let him go.

Newt stands up from his seat, hoping to redirect his friend before he reaches us. "I'm never going to hear the bloody end of this," he mutters to himself. He looks back at me, and his face relaxes. "I should get going and join them, and save you from Minho. Will I see you later?"

"I'm sure you will. It was nice talking to you, Newt," I say, smiling up at him. He smiles back at me before walking away. He reaches Minho, grabs his shoulders, and turns him back to their table. He apologises to the large boy that Minho was with, and keeps walking.

Minho struggles in Newt's grip, trying to break free. "No! I have to meet your girlfriend! Let me free, you Shank." Newt shoves Minho at his seat, and points. Minho scowls at him but sits down. Newt sits beside him. Through the chaos, he takes a second to look over at me and smile. I smile back.

I can hear Minho yelling, trying to get Newt to tell him what was going on, but Newt laughs, keeping his mouth shut. I shake my head slightly. He was right, I don't believe he will hear the end of it.

"Hello, Katya." I look up to see Aris taking a seat on the bench across from me, where Newt was previously seated.

"Hey, Air. What have you been up to?"

He looks at me and smiles. "Not much. I was talking to some people from one of the other Mazes. Their Maze was a mix of males and females." I nod and look over at Newt, who appears to be having a ball of a time with his friends.

"What have you been up to?" I return my attention to Aris and think about what I had spent my time doing.

"Well, I went to my room, fed Fluffles and cried for a while. After that, I made my way here and cried some more. You know how it is. Then, Newt came in, and we were talking until everyone else arrived." He looks at me for a few seconds until he shakes his head and comes back to reality.

"So, you had a conversation with him?" He looks at me in disbelief.

"Yes, I did."

He blinks a few times, the shock never leaving his face. "Like, actually talking to him? Not just staring at him and him getting uncomfortable?"

I can't help but roll my eyes. "No. We had a real conversation."

"So, you didn't cry from his mere presence again?"

I snicker and shake my head. I look back at Newt and see that he and the other boys are all looking over at me. I wave at them, but only Newt and Minho wave back. Minho seemed a bit too enthusiastic in his wave. "No. Luckily, I didn't."

Aris scratches the back of his head, still looking shocked. He gawks at where Newt is sitting and slowly turns his head back around to face me. His eyebrows are probably going to be raised towards the ceiling permanently. "Oh, God. Did you say something to Newt about you two dating?"

"Yes, I did, but it's okay. I only told him because he asked, and I didn't want to lie. So everything is fine and dandy in this here building."

"Yeah, fine and dandy," Aris says, his voice laced thickly with sarcasm. "Did he ask why you're here if you were with him at WCKD?" He furrows his eyebrows, concern in his eyes.

I stop smiling for a second, thinking of something to say. "Yes, he did. I told him the truth. I didn't like what WCKD was doing and decided to change sides." I hate lying to Aris, but I can't tell him the truth. They're all still with WCKD.