Maze Runner Imagines and Preferences

Before the Maze part III - Newt

I crawl through the air vents, careful not to make a sound. My breathing sounds ridiculously loud in the enclosed space, and my heart hammers frantically against my rib cage.

I turn a corner, listening for any voice coming through the grate in the floor/ceiling. I can hear something, I'm just not sure what. I press my ear against the cold metal, trying to get a look through the bars into the room below me.

Yes, this is definitely it. I can see Alby's close-cut dark hair where he's sitting on a bed, and I now realise that what I could hear before was breathing. About twenty boys trying to sound calm as they wait to be sent into the Maze.

I ease the grate up into the cramped space of the air vents, then look around the room to check if anyone else is in the room. It's all clear, so I poke my head fully down from the ceiling and snap my fingers.

"Alby," I hiss, and the older guy looks around, surprised.

"Who said that?" he asks, but nobody answers.

"It's me," I say, "I'm above you."

"(Y/N)?" he looks up, his eyes widening when he sees my head dangling from the grate. "Shit, what are you doing here?"

"Is Newt in there?" I ask, cutting to the point straight away.

"(Y/N)?" a familiar British accent, then the scuff of shoes on the floor and there he is. His blond hair falls into his eyes as he looks up at me, squinting against the fluorescent lights. He raises one hand to shield his eyes, brushing his hair off his face as he does so.

"Hey, Newt," I smile, "is it safe for me to come down?"

"Yeah," he says after looking around, "it's just us."

I scramble backwards in the vent, then turn around so my legs are hanging down. I swing down, catching myself on the edge then dropping the last half metre. I thank the vigorous physical training WICKED put me through, as well as the low ceilings.

"(Y/N), what are you doing here?" Newt asks as soon as I get my balance.

"Came to see you," I smile, "all of you. Well," I add, "mainly you, but everyone else as well."

"Oh my God," he shakes his head, but quickly hugs me anyway.

We don't talk about tomorrow, we all just sit around and pretend that this isn't the last time we'll see each other, that they're not about to have their memories erased, that there isn't a very real chance they could die in the Maze.

"You should probably go," Alby says eventually, looking at the clock on the wall. 5.15 am.

"Yeah." I slide off the side of Newt's bed, slipping out of his arms and straightening my shirt. He stands up too, taking my hands in his. His eyes scan my face carefully, studying every detail. I feel a lump of emotion building in my throat, making it hard to breathe. I look down, biting my lip.

"I don't want to forget you," Newt says softly, his hands leaving mine and going around my waist.

"I don't want to lose you," I choke. He pulls me close to him, holding me so tight I almost can't breathe. I hug him back, clinging on to him like it's the last time. I suppose it is.

"I love you, (Y/N)." He says, laying a hand against my cheek and wiping a tear from my skin. I didn't even realise I was crying.

"I know," I reply, "I love you too." He leans down, closing the gap between us. I wrap my arms around his shoulders, making sure I pay attention to every single detail of this moment. How soft his lips are against mine, his hair tickling my skin, his hand against my face.

"What the..." We spring apart, turning to see a WICKED doctor standing there, staring at me and Newt.

"Fuck," I mutter under my breath. "I just came to say goodbye," I tell the doctor.

"How did you get in here?" he asks, looking around as if some doorway is going to appear in the wall. I don't say anything, just point at the hole in the ceiling where I removed the grate. The doctor looks around again, then speaks into his com device quietly.

"I'm going to have to ask you to stay, A1," he says after a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"My superiors have decided that you'll be sent into the Maze."

"What?" I look from him to the others, then back again. I can't decide if this is better or worse than before. I'll be with Newt and all my friends, but I won't remember them and we'll all be in the Maze.

"I'm sorry," he says, sounding genuinely regretful. "If you'll all follow me, please."

I don't see any other choice, so I do as he says. Newt takes my hand, and though he doesn't say anything I can he's just as shocked as I am.

We're asked to line up outside a doorway, then taken one by one inside the room. I'm still holding Newt's hand, and when he's called I give it a squeeze, then reach up and kiss his cheek.

"See you soon, love," he says, then disappears behind the door.

I'm next. Inside the room is a chair with a weird looking wire deice hanging over it. It's like a helmet with different piece of wire hanging down, giving it a creepy feeling. I sit down, my hands knotted in my shirt and my heart beating so fast and hard I'm sure that everyone can hear it.

The wire helmet is lowered down around my face, then there's a sharp prick in my arm and the room fades, leaving me in my head. Sights and sounds and smells rush all around me, people's faces blurring past. A boy with dark skin and a chronic frown, a little kid with curly brown hair, a girl with black hair and a worried expression, a tall Asian kid rolling his eyes. Names and places, all of them disappearing the second I see them. A whispered "I love you" and someone with blond hair and dark brown eyes kissing my forehead, strong arms around me and a British accent. Then it's all gone, everything is gone.

I wake somewhere dark and loud. Machinery clanks all around me, and I can feel that I'm moving up.

"Hello?" I call out, reaching my hand up to feel a wire roof. "Is anyone there?"

"I'm here," someone answers from beside me, and I turn towards the voice. My eyes adjust to the dark quickly, and I take in shiny blond hair falling over the boy's forehead, dark brown eyes and a frown.

"Who are you?" I pant, looking wildly around. There are about twenty other people in her with me – all boys, and all teenagers by the look of it.

"I'm..." the boy stops, his frown becoming deeper. He has an accent, I notice idly, and the kind of voice that makes me think everything will be ok. "My name's Newt."

"I'm (Y/N)," I say, "it's nice to meet you." 

*cringeeeeeee* I'm so sorry about the quality - or lack thereof - of this one, but I had this idea in my head for so long and I couldn't really work out how to do it. This is actually the best out of five tries, so I guess you're stuck with it. Again, my apologies.