I walked out of my room in a new tank top with a sweater and a new pair of pants. My damp hair was placed on the top of my head in a bun, and my combat boots were left undone on my feet. I was too lazy and far too hungry to care if my feet fell out of my shoes. I knew I had dark circles under my eyes, exhausted from all of the shoveling I did today.

My arms ached, and my legs weighed a million pounds as I walked down the stairs and into the bustling Homestead. The boys were conversing with each other and eating their dinner. Some waved to me, and I waved back. I told one boy to put his napkin in his lap, and I only saw one pair of dirty hands, which made me very happy. At least people were listening to me. Even though they should've been doing that from the start, it felt a little good to know that I've somewhat cleaned this place up.

"Hey, Fry." I sighed, leaning against the window.

"Hi, Mae. How was your day?" He asked politely, pulling a bowl from a cabinet and tilting the large pit to get the last of the stew out.

I widened my eyes, reminiscing on the eventful day. "Long. Tiring. At least I know I hate pigs. How was yours?"

The cook frowned and handed me the bowl of steaming food. "The same. Chopped carrots, made sandwiches, it's always the same."

"Yeah." I pursed my lips and grabbed a spoon. "It'll get better though. Now that I'm here, I'll make sure that we have some fun."

His lips twitched into a smile as he shook his head. "Thanks, Mae. You're not so bad after all..."

I laughed at this, deciding to ignore Frypan's hint of an insult that was wrapped in a nice statement. I thanked him and turned back around, scanning the crowd of boys for my friends. Once I spotted them I made my way over, having to pick up my feet a little more because of my stupid shoes.

Newt, Minho, Alby and Chuck were all sitting at a table, talking about something. Chuck sat off to the side, but still stayed next to Newt. When I approached them, I sat in between the two.

"Hey." I breathed and smiled at all of them. Minho glared at me, I guessed it was because of the events that happened earlier today, all involving one stupid pig. If the pig hadn't been such a pain then he would be smiling at me right now. But I knew he would get over it soon. He was just mad that I messed up his face. Alby sent me a small nod before throwing a spoonful of stew down his throat and scrunching his face up, complaining that it was hot.

"Hey Greenie." Chuck smiled, scooting closer. "Got cleaned up?"

I nodded and blew on my steaming soup to cool it down. "Yeah, thanks for cleaning my clothes, Chuck."

"My pleasure. I'm not looking forward to cleaning his though." He pointed at Minho with his spoon. "They stink."

"It's natural deodorant." Minho rolled his eyes and moved a carrot to the side. "Stop complaining. I smell wonderful."

Newt and I chuckled at his comment. But as quickly as my smile appeared, it disappeared, and I shifted in my seat. "Alby," I quietly asked him. "Do you have showers here?"

He nodded and blew out air through his mouth. "Yeah. Hardly use them though..."

"Um...why?" I asked, scrunching my face up. No wonder why everyone here smelled so badly. Who would put a shower to waste? I can't remember ever taking one, I just stuck my head under the sink earlier today to wash the dirt and oil out of my hair.

But the leader just shrugged. "Dunno. We got better things to do, Greenie."

"Like what?" I asked. "It's basic hygiene. Everyone could take one or two minute showers everyday, and then the horrible death smell wouldn't have to be a problem anymore."

All of the boys glanced at me as though I had three heads. I looked right back at them, mentally refusing to take no for an answer. I could see Alby going over the option in his head, and Newt was just waiting for his call. I know that he would maybe agree with me, and Minho would definitely agree. I don't know so much about Chuck...it just gives him another thing to clean.

"Okay." Alby finally muttered. "Everyone'll take a shower in the morning. Two minute showers, but someone will have to time them."

"I'll do it." Chuck finally piped up with a smile. I patted his back like a proud mom and smiled back at Alby, proud of my slight change to the way the boys lived. I nodded thankfully at him as he hummed and went back to blowing on his stew.

"You know, Greenie," Minho spoke from across the table. "You're a fast little shuck face. Had me beat from the start. I'm surprised you didn't die.."

"What's he talkin' about?" Alby rolled his eyes and placed his hand over his eyes.

I clenched my teeth and pushed my lips to the side, looking at Newt who suddenly went silent. He was shoveling the steaming stew into his mouth, and I was surprised that he didn't burn his tongue or the back of his throat.

"Um..." I muttered, scratching the back of my neck. I didn't want to upset Newt or Alby any more than they probably would be. I wasn't even supposed to be running anyways. "It's nothing. Really, it's—"

"Nothing my butt." Minho interrupted, turning to Alby. "This morning she was asking me a whole bunch of shucking questions about being a Runner, and I wanted her to shut up. So, I asked her if she wanted to race, and she said yeah. So we did, and I didn't get ahead of her once. She was doin' all of these crazy flip things, and she leaped over a giant rock... it was all pretty cool. Also, she didn't die at the end."

I could feel the heat build up in my cheeks as Minho praised me for beating him in the short race. I slouched in my seat and covered my face with my hand, casually stirring my stew with the other. I looked up at Newt and saw that he was glaring at Minho, looking like he was about to start yelling. Without thinking, I dropped my spoon and reached my hand down underneath the table, gently gripping his in mine. His face immediately dropped, and he looked down at our intertwined fingers, shocked.

"I thought I told you that you couldn't be a Runner." Alby sighed, he looked so exhausted.

"I know." I murmured, keeping Newt's hand in mine. "I'm sorry."

Minho suddenly furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to protest, he was probably going to tell me that I shouldn't be sorry, and that Alby needed to be smarter. He was probably going to say that I needed to be a Runner, and list all of the reasons why I should join him in the Maze. But I stopped him.

"Alby." I spoke up again, softly. "Why don't you go get some sleep. You look exhausted. I'll take your bowl, you go up to bed."

All of the boys at the table stared at me, silence filling the air around us.

"What?" I asked them. Chuck blinked and went back to eating his stew, Minho, Alby, and Newt just kept looking at me as if I had three heads. "Has nobody ever told you to go to bed before?" I nervously asked, letting a small chuckle escape from my lips.

The three of them shook their heads at the same time.

"Um...no." Minho responded, still looking at me with furrowed eyebrows. "We usually just drag each other to bed or yell."

My eyes widened. "Why? That doesn't help."

Alby sighed and stood up from his seat, pushing his bowl towards me. "She's right. I do have to get some sleep." He started to walk away, but then he turned back. "Greenie?"

I lifted my head up and looked at him in the eyes. He nodded once at me and pursed his lips into a smile. "Thanks."

He began walking up the stairs, leaving all four of us to gawk at him as he left. When his body disappeared behind the wood, and his steps were no longer heard, I snapped out of it and shrugged, grabbing Alby's bowl and letting go of Newt's hand from underneath the table. His head turned to look at me as I lifted my leg over the bench.

"Where ya goin'?" He asked, almost sounding sad.

I shrugged. "I'm cleaning his plate. 'M not just gonna leave it there..."

Turning back around, I furrowed my eyebrows at the three. My hand was still slightly tingling for a reason I didn't quite know. Maybe it was because Newt's hand started to sweat as soon as I touched it, or maybe it was because this bowl was still insanely hot.

I wandered why they all looked at me when I told Alby to go to sleep. They probably couldn't remember the last time someone asked to enforce showers or a bedtime. That's why it was so surprising. Someone hadn't taken care of these boys in two years. Alby was the leader, but he enforced things like rules and discipline. He had a strict way that things were run around here, and that wasn't a problem, but sometimes these boys needed to chill out. They're only teenagers after all. They needed someone to care for them, and if Alby or Newt wasn't willing to do that, then I sure as hell was.

I placed Alby's half full bowl of stew on the counter of Frypans kitchen and looked around. For some reason, the heavy feeling had returned to my chest, and something that I couldn't quite describe ate at my mind. Maybe it was the fact that these boys had to care for themselves, or maybe it was just the fact that I was tired. Exhausted actually.

"Hey." A soothing voice suddenly spoke from beside me. I turned my head to be met with Newt, who was placing his bowl on the counter as well. "You alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, just tired."

He walked up to me with a soft expression on his face as he placed both of his hands on my shoulders. "Maybe you should get some rest too... Abide by your own rules, ya know what I mean?"

"Well," I shrugged and sent him a lazy smile. "Someone's gotta take care of these boys around here."

"And someone's also gotta take care of you." He mumbled just loud enough for me to hear. I looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling slightly guilty for disobeying Newt's rules this morning. He only had one for me, and that was to not engage in any physical activity. Maybe I was just stubborn and didn't care about my health, or I just let the overwhelming feeling that I needed to run, impact my decisions. Either way, I shouldn't have done it. He was right, I could have been sent into one of my weird attack things and scare the living shit out of everyone.

"I'm sorry." I told him honestly. I didn't elaborate, I think he got the gist of what I was apologizing for.

Newt just nodded and removed his hands from my shoulders, making them suddenly feel cold. "I know. Now go get some sleep."

I nodded once more and walked around his lean body to go upstairs. I weaved my way through the tables of the Gladers who were all starting to finish their food and get to sleep. Some of them bid me goodnight, and some others just gave me a sleepy nod. I softly told some of them to get to bed, and they obliged with a smile, immediately standing up and bringing their empty bowl back to the kitchen. Even Gally gave me a small smile and a pat on the back. I could tell that he wasn't really as scary as he seemed. Even if he did have eyebrows that looked like they could fly off his face.

My heavy legs carried me all the way up the stairs of the Homestead once more and to the second room on the left. I liked having my own room. It was nice. Peaceful. I didn't have to worry about anyone's snoring, although I occasionally could hear Minho mumble in his sleep in the room to my right. Newt was a quiet sleeper, but last night, he had some sort of a nightmare that almost made me go and check on him. But then I saw him sitting outside, and I thought that I should do something to make him feel a bit better. He deserved to be happy.

Last night, I had a hint of a bad dream as well. It wasn't nearly as bad as Newt's, and by that, I meant that I wasn't mumbling and occasionally yelling. But the whole time, I just felt...off. Like I had no emotions, and nobody could make me feel anything. I couldn't remember much, but I did remember a boy being taken away. And I remembered how I felt after. It was a lot like how I felt now. Empty.

I walked over to my bed and sat down, taking my undone boots off my sore feet. I pulled the sweater off, leaving me in just my army green tank top, and I released the hair tie from my hair, letting it cascade down my shoulders once again. With a sigh, I started to gently brush my fingers through the knots, closing my eyes and reminiscing the feeling in my chest. It was all still so surreal to me, but I was adapting. Adapting to living a life where I was trapped behind four concrete walls with fifty boys. Even if I didn't want to, I knew that there was going to come a time where I had to suck it up and just be alive. It didn't mean that I had to live, I just had to exist. And that was enough. I knew there was a way out. Even if I couldn't go out into the Maze, there was going to be someone who saved us all.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on my door that almost made me yelp in surprise. My eyes shot open, and my breath hitched in my throat as I saw none other than the person who's caused most of my abnormal thinking appear behind the closed door.

"Can I come in?" He said in his soothing accent.

I nodded and removed my hand from my hair, turning towards him as he shut the wooden door. He looked around my room, almost inspecting it to see if I had something I wasn't supposed to have.

"Nice room." He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thanks." I breathed, looking down at the floor below me. The muffled murmurs of the boys downstairs started to die down, and the white shadow from the moon behind me started to cascade through my room, causing it to glow.

Newt looked at me and dropped his hand, sighing. "Look, Mae... I'm sorry I sorta blew up at you earlier today. It just sort of—"

"Newt." I interrupted. "I get it. I probably shouldn't have run with Minho. It was dangerous. If you came in here to tell me that, then you don't have to. I already know. Sorry I made you mad."

He didn't respond, and I didn't look up into his eyes in fear of what I might see. Would I see anger? Guilt? Sadness? Because I knew that's what was hidden behind mine. Somehow, even though I wasn't looking at him, I could tell that he knew what I was hiding. The emotions I was holding back. It felt like a tsunami, just waiting to be let go or to break down the walls that I had built so high in only two days.

"Mae." He started in almost a whisper. "I-I'm not mad. Just worried. I didn't want you to bloody get hurt because I..."

He trailed off and let out a flustered huff, making my finally look up at him. He met my eyes and started to walk over to my bed, sitting himself down next to me. Newt grabbed both of my hands in his and set them on his lap. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant the world to me.

"I don't want you to get hurt because I..." He stopped once again, scrunching his face up like he had to force the words out of his mouth. "Because I care about you."

I raised my eyebrows at this. Now that he had gotten those five words out, it was like he had opened the bottle of his emotions.

"Ever since you came up in that bloody Box, I feel the need to watch over you all the time and make sure nobody bloody touches you." He shook his head like what he was saying was making him go crazy. "And I know you can take care of yourself. You're so...you're just so cool, and funny... You always have these witty comments that make me laugh, and you could probably kick the klunk out of anyone who deserved it." I let out a breathy laugh as he continued confessing.

"And the way that you care about all of us, even if you don't know everyone's name..." He licked his lips and looked back into my eyes with a newfound vulnerability. "When you got me a napkin the other day, I was so surprised because—because nobody's ever really cared about me like that. Here, it's always, get up, get food, go to work, get food, more work, and then go to sleep. It's the bloody same every day, and then you showed up and somehow you made everything a little more...bearable, I guess."

I swallowed at the compliment, feeling my chest flutter and my heart beat. "I don't really know what the shuck I'm sayin' right now... Maybe I'm just tired, and you're gonna tell me to go to bed." He chuckled, letting his eyes waver for a second before locking them back on mine. He sucked in a sharp breath and held my gaze, letting his features relax.

He pursed his lips and looked down at our hands. I watched as he started to gently draw circles on my palms. "Even though you're taking care of all of us, you can't just leave nothing for yourself. And—I don't know why—but I get an uneasy feeling at the thought of anyone else taking care of you besides me, so... I-If you're okay with it, I wanna take care of you."

My lips parted at the words, and I sucked in a long deep breath through my nose, not believing what he was saying. Nobody had ever said that to me before. Well, of course they hadn't. I've only known what it was like to live for about two days. But the words that Newt spoke sparked a fire in me that I didn't know I was able to have. My heart felt like it was burning in my chest, and as hard as I tried to contain my lips from twitching up, they did anyways.

Someone cares about me, I thought. I'd known that Newt was special ever since he calmed me down in the Box. He didn't treat me like some fragile toy, even if that's what I thought he was doing in the beginning. He just cared about me. More than probably anyone I knew here.

"Newt." I whispered, trying to catch his wandering eyes with mine. But he wouldn't have it. It was like he was too embarrassed to even look at me. Like he wanted to run out of my room and into the Maze. "Newt." I repeated, still trying to get his attention.

Finally, he hummed in response and looked up. I smirked at how red his skin had turned. "That was very sweet."

He shrugged. "W-Well...I th-I thought that you-you needed to hear it."

"How 'bout we make a deal, okay?" I asked him in a soft voice. He looked up at me through his eyelashes, and I took that at a sign to continue. "You take care of me and I take care of you. Sound good?"

He nodded vigorously, and I think I could just make out the tiniest bit of tears welling up in his eyes. He inhaled a shaky breath and sniffled, confirming my thoughts. Just as he let go of my hands and made his way to stand up, I grabbed Newts hands in mine again, making him turn his head towards me. I clenched my jaw and before I could overthink my decision, I gently gripped the side of his head and pressed my lips to his forehead, giving him a soft and comforting kiss.

Newt stayed still for a few seconds while I preformed the kind gesture. The world stopped moving around us, and it was like everything just stopped. My heart stopped beating, and the feeling in my chest was no longer empty. It was now filled with the happiness that was knowing someone cared about me. That was all I needed. Before I pulled away, I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on his, sliding my hands back down to where his still rested on his lap. Immediately, he grabbed them again as if they were oxygen and he was slowly dying. He began drawing circles in my palms again, calming me down as I felt my eyes start to water as well.