A flash of sunlight stubbornly shining right into my eyes woke me up. I'd tried to find a solution for the problem at hand, from blocking the sunlight with my arm to rolling into different positions, but it somehow managed to keep blinding me through closed eyes, forcing me to finally open them.

When I did, my annoyance disappeared immediately. Instead, I was rather grateful the sun had woken me up before Newt, granting me the pleasure of seeing his peaceful sleeping face first thing in the morning.

I couldn't fight back the genuine smile that crept onto my face at the sight, and I didn't want to fight it either.

I studied him for a while, watching how his chest rose with every slow breath. His mouth was slightly parted as he slept, and I couldn't quite fathom I'd finally allowed myself to kiss those lips without any regret lurking in the back of my mind.

He hadn't held me as we slept, we had tried to keep it a bit decent for our first night- although that did prove to be difficult considering I'd already gotten quite riled up by his kiss alone.

But I was glad we didn't go there yet, it gave the both of us some time to enjoy the innocence of our relationship for as long as it lasted.

I watched how his nose curled up, signaling he was waking up as well.

He slowly opened one eye, his eyebrows coming together in annoyance at the bright sunlight before managing to open the other eye.

I waited patiently for him to catch me staring, and he instantly broke into one of his cute little smiles when he did. I copied his smile, watching him as he buried his face into his pillow from embarrassment.

'I hope I didn't drool…' he mumbles, and I fail miserably at stifling a laugh at the comment.

I shuffle a little closer and try to make him look up so I can check out his pillow.

'Let me see..' I say teasingly as I try to pull his pillow from under him, but he holds it tightly with both arms as he shakes his head into the pillow.

'No way I'm letting you see that, love' he says, his voice muffled. I swoon a bit on the inside as he calls me 'love', my cheeks involuntarily turning a puffy pink. Although it isn't the first time he's called me that, it sure sounds different after I've spend the night next to him in bed.

That, and the accent of course. The ever-present, incredible turn-on of a classy British accent.

I chuckle as I come even closer, our bodies touching as I rest my head next to his on his pillow.

'Ah come on, why not?' I beg, making it a point to fan my breath over his bare neck ever-so-slightly.

I feel his body shudder against mine, and he finally takes his head out of his pillow and lies it to the side, facing me. I have to stop myself from not drowning in those hazel eyes of his, as we lay so close we're basically recycling each other's breaths at this point.

He recovers after we study each other's faces for a tad too long.

'Because we've been together for approximately 9 hours now' he states with a chuckle, 'and I still want you to find me attractive'

He sighs contently as his eyes wander over my face, as if he's taking a mental picture of me.

'I'll give you the embarrassing stuff later' he finishes, finally meeting my eyes.

A mischievous grin creeps on my face, and I can't help but tease him a bit.

''Still find you attractive?'', I say, as if I'm disagreeing with it, 'who says I find you attractive now?'

His eyes widen in playful shock, but he can't hide the hint of red that appears on his cheeks regardless.

'Oh, so you're claiming you don't think I'm like- so handsome?' he says in a mocking tone, and my chuckle sounds like that of a naughty toddler.

'I beg to differ.' With a huge grin on his face he climbs on top of me, not breaking eye contact as he does so.

He hovers over me, his face dangerously close to mine as I feel his breath tingling on my face. I stare back at him daringly as the hint of danger in his eyes in reflected in mine.

He leans in even lower, and the idea of being stuck beneath him seems to push some of my buttons, as I can feel my entire body filling itself with warmth. He carelessly drags his lower lip over mine, not quite kissing me but leaving me very eager for him to do so. I can barely catch the naughty look in his eyes through my hazed vision before he-

Fucking tickles me.

I burst into a laughing fit as his fingers tease my stomach, and I squirm and kick and do basically everything in my power to get him to stop as the feeling quite literally drives me insane.

'No- Stop!' I try to scream through my hysteric laughing but he has no mercy for the girl who doubted his attractiveness.

His boyish grin doesn't disappear as he tries to keep me in place with his legs, not quite done with my punishment yet.

But tickling brings out the worst in me, and in an attempt to get him to stop I kick the single-sized bed so hard I almost tumble off.

'Oh, careful-' he says as he catches me before I fall off, pulling me back onto the bed with him. I fall on his chest, still trying to catch my breath from the absolute torture I had to withstand just seconds before.

I can feel his chest quickly rising and falling, obviously still laughing at my pain.

I slap his chest with an angry face, but that just makes him laugh harder. Seeing his happy face is a bit too much for me, and finally I give in and laugh with him.

After it dies down, I look at him as I lay on top of him. His head leans against the headboard and his hand rests on my back, holding me in place so I don't slide off, although our legs are so entangled that's practically impossible anyway.

'Don't do that ever again' I demand, earning me a chuckle in response.

'…Maybe' he responds, a glint of tease in his eyes. Making no promises.

I narrow my eyes at him, not satisfied with the answer. I'll guess I'll have to bribe him then.

I press my lips to his in a simple kiss, taking just a bit too long to pull away. He sighs in contentment, and I can feel his body relaxing underneath me. I stare at his lips for a moment before slowly looking up to meet his eyes.

He seems to be in a daze as he takes my features in, and I silently wonder what he's thinking in that moment.

'Don't do it again?' I ask, fluttering my eyelashes just once as I smile sweetly.

He releases a low chuckle before giving in, 'alright' he sighs.

I grin at him, very happy with the outcome as he draws circles on my arm.

'This is not good' he mumbles, but his eyes betray how amused he is with my effect on him.

'Oh no, darling, I think it's very good' I respond, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

'Now let's go get some breakfast' I say as I get off, and he follows swift behind me as we head out, both with a stupid grin playing on our faces.

Newt POV

I watched her as I followed behind her, carefully taking in how her long brown hair bounced with every step.

I had always been weak for her hair, it was wavy and reckless but also so incredibly feminine it never failed to make me feel some type of way. The circumstances of the Glade didn't exactly allow a lot of room for her to feel feminine, but her hair was one of the very few things she could maintain. And I loved it to bits.

I couldn't believe that was all mine now. I couldn't believe this incredibly beautiful girl was finally mine to love, mine to caress and care for.

I'd been quietly admiring her for all this time now, thinking that she wasn't into me and that I was reading too much into it so it felt almost surreal that she'd now allowed me to be with her.

She was literally the only girl surrounded by numerous boys, so if she put her mind to it she could pick and choose whoever she wanted.

But she chose me.

And I needed everyone to know that.

So I ran up to her, grabbing her hand as we went to get breakfast. I matched my pace with hers, slowly intertwining my fingers with hers.

I almost melted when she smiled at me in response, realizing there was absolutely no going back from this. She completely had me wrapped around her finger.

With a little squeeze, she lets go of my hand. I search her face, silently asking her what for.

A faint blush rushes to her cheeks, and she looks to the side before answering in a mumble, 'Minho would not shut up for the rest of my life if he sees'

I chuckle at that, knowing she was absolutely right. If there's anyone that knows this was bound to happen, it would be Minho. He would be utterly ruthless in teasing us about it every chance he gets for at least a couple of weeks.

So I nodded, 'yeah, you're right', although my hand felt very empty not holding hers.

It felt strange. We'd only been together since last night and I was already getting used to having her close. I wanted to hold her hand, hold her waist and just let it be known that she was mine. I'd kissed her last night and even just this morning but I was already craving more.

It was so bad it even scared me a bit. I felt like I'd lost all ability to think straight. My mind was filled with her, leaving no room for anything else.

I managed to get out of my daze when we got to the cafeteria. For some odd reason, Minho wasn't there.

Alex and I sat at a table with Dennis and Thomas.

'You guys seen Minho?' I ask as I sit down next to Thomas, Alex taking the spot next to Dennis on the other side of the table.

They both shrug, before Thomas pauses as if he's trying to remember something. It takes him a moment before he speaks.

'Oh- I think I saw the small guy, the runner? Ricky I think-'

'Rio' Alex corrects him, taking a bite of her toast.

'Yea, Rio- anyway I think I heard him talking to Alby about a meeting with all runners this morning? I'm guessing it's about what happened in the Maze yesterday with that kid' Thomas explains.

Oh, right.

That made me snap back to reality.

My night with Alex had completely taken over my thoughts, and I'd momentarily forgotten all about the kid who passed yesterday.

That's actually quite terrible, now that I think about it.

'You should probably join them' Dennis chips in, and I know he's right. As much as I'd rather spend my morning with Alex, I knew there were more important things I needed to do.

Things that involved our chance at survival.

So I sigh, taking a few quick bites before standing up in a hurry. I'd never regretted being second-in-command as much as I did that morning.

For once, I hoped things would just take care of themselves. That I wouldn't have to worry about our friends possibly dying. That I could actually afford for once to just loose myself in my feelings for a girl without having death lurking right around the corner at all times.

But that was just our reality. There was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

So all I can do is do is give Alex a small smile as I say 'duty's calling', before turning on my heel and heading to the gathering.

'Newt- Finally' Alby announces when I enter the meeting. I don't respond as I take my place next to our first-in-command.

'Alright, now we can start the meeting' he says, standing tall in front of the other runners.

'As you all know- we lost Sam yesterday'

Everyone stays quiet, a few runners clearly more emotionally involved than others.

'Things are changing in the Maze' he continues, 'we figured something was up back when we lost Ben, but it's becoming worse. First Ben is stung in clear daylight, then this greenie arrives way too soon and now we've got another one crushed by a Griever'

Anxious murmuring arises as Alby mentions the irregularities, but Minho shuts them up with one angry look.

'This cannot be a coincidence. Never in the 2 years I've been here have the Creators ever strayed from the schedule, but now we have all these things happening in the span of a few weeks. We need to come up with a plan, or at least try to figure out what's triggering these events'

'I bet it has something to do with the greenie' someone yells, followed by shouts of both agreement and disagreement.

'Yea, banish him!'

'Ben died before he even arrived, you klunkhead'

'Shut up!' Minho yells, getting everyone to calm down. After they do, he questions the one who'd spoken first.

'Why do you think that?'

'It's just strange that they send him up like that. There must be something they want him to do in here, and quick. At the very least we know something's up with him'

Everyone falls quiet for a moment.

He was right.

Of course, we knew it was strange since the moment he arrived. But only now that it was pointed out this directly did everyone fully grasp the situation.

It probably wasn't just an irrelevant mistake.

We might actually have to take some action.

Great. Right when I'd finally stopped being suspicious of him.

'Then what do you suggest we do?' Alby asks the runner.

He shrugs, as if it's not an actual matter of life and death, 'He could be a danger to us. I suggest we get rid of him'

That drew a lot of response, with some runners wholeheartedly agreeing whereas others exclaimed how ridiculous the idea was. Some just kept quiet.

'I don't think he's dangerous' I say, my first words since the start of the meeting. I wait a few seconds for everyone to calm down from the previous controversial statement so they listen to what I have to say.

'Think about it. Why would they create the Maze in the first place?' I start, gaining the other runner's attention. 'It's because they want us to find a way out. If they wanted us to be stuck here until we grow old and die, they wouldn't even have given us an opportunity to escape, we would just be stuck between 4 walls and that would be it'

Everyone listens attentively to what I have to say, barely even moving as they try to catch my every word.

'I think Thomas might have been send down here to help us get out. Who knows, they might be running out of time. Maybe they send him up here because they are getting tired of seeing us get absolutely nowhere for the past couple of years'

Silence.

Before everyone can start shouting, Alby speaks.

'I agree'

Everyone who'd opened their mouth to either agree or disagree earlier closes it.

'So what do you suggest then?' a brave individual asks loudly, and everyone keeps their eyes on us, waiting for an answer from their leaders.

Alby beats me to my answer, 'I suggest we have him run.'