The Reason

Daisy

Gally sat at a table with Newt and Chuck, the latest greenie. Chuck had been following Nikola like a second shadow which meant he'd been around Gally plenty as well and had kind of idolized him, making the builder quite uneasy. Nikola had been working in the kitchen that day and finally came out with her own dish when they were practically finished eating already. She untied her hair from the top knot she put it in to keep hair out of the food, her long locks unwinding and falling down her back in soft waves as she sat down. And words were suddenly spilling out of Newt's mouth.

"You know, you're so beautiful, Nikola," Newt said with a hint of reverence in his voice.

She looked at him in shock as a blush crept up her neck.

"Oh, come on," She waved him off after an awkward pause. "I'm just the only girl you've ever seen." She chuckled nervously, her shoulders starting to hunch up. "One day we'll either have more girls here, or we'll get out and you'll find a whole world full of them and realize I'm not that great."

"No, there's no chance of that happening," Newt assured her with a small smile, his gaze on her was intense and she found herself struggling to look him in the eye for the first time.

Gally was so confused at what was going on, his eyes flicking between Newt and Nikola. Was Nikola blushing because she liked Newt, or was she just embarrassed? Since when did Newt say stuff like that? He glanced at Chuck to gauge his reaction to this strange exchange but the kid was blissfully ignorant to the awkwardness around him.

"Come on Newt," Zart called after him. "Back to work."

"See ya," Newt sighed before getting up and leaving.

Gally watched Nikola bite her lips, a worried look crossing her face before she ran her hands over it. He felt like asking what the heck that was or asking if she was ok, but the whole thing had struck him dumb and he didn't know what to say.

"You are very pretty," Chuck agreed nonchalantly as if he just caught up with the conversation. "Just like I bet my mom is."

Gally was so lost in thought later as he was working; he nearly smashed his thumb with a hammer. As much as Newt's sudden confession had bothered him, there was something Nikola had said that didn't sit right with him either. It took him a good portion of the afternoon and a few near misses for him to finally figure it out.

Nikola sat on the counter of the kitchen, something Frypan frowned heavily upon but he wasn't around to scold her, as she dried dishes from lunch. There was a thud behind her and a hand came into her field of vison, reaching from behind her and holding a single daisy. She recognized the hand, finger nails bitten to the quick and couldn't help the small smile that tugged at her lips. She turned to see Gally sitting on the counter behind her, his ears bright red as he looked out at the glade instead of at her. Gently she took the small flower from him, her fingertips brushing his.

"Do you think it's pretty?" he asked, still looking at anything but her.

"Yes?" She answered with a hint of confusion as she twirled the stem between her finger and thumb.

Finally, he looked her dead in the eyes, not wavering a bit. "Did you have to see every other flower to decide that one is pretty?"

Her jaw dropped slightly, surprised by how well he illustrated that. She didn't know what to say to it, but somehow she liked it a lot better than what Newt had told her in the first place. She figured most of the boys liked her simply because she was all they had and all they knew. She didn't think any of them would pick her if they had more options. After a moment or two of her stunned silence Gally gave a slight smile before he slid off the counter and got back to work. She stared after him, wondering what he meant by that. Was he trying to help Newt? Or was he trying to tell her that he thought she was pretty?

She put the flower in her hair and wore it there the rest of the day, noticing when it would catch Gally's eye and he would almost smile.