▬I woke up early the next morning and felt my heart skip a beat when I realized I had fallen asleep with Newt, my head nestled comfortably in the crook of his neck.

I got out of his bed, trying not to wake him up, and exited the room as quietly as possible. I leaned against the door and tried to calm my quick heartbeat and breathing; memories of his lips on mine, on my jaw, on my neck - it all came crashing back and I had to stop myself from blushing deeply.

A small smile on my face, I went to the storage room with plans of tidying and organizing the supplies. Jeff and Clint were already there, and as soon as I stepped into the room, the two of them threw smirks at me.

"What?" I said, staring at them.

Jeff chuckled. "Nothing," he said innocently, though the twinkle in his eyes suggested otherwise.

"Hope you had a good night's sleep," Clint grinned at me.

My eyes widened in horrifying realization as I realized what they were referring to.

"Oh, God, this is embarrassing-" I stammered, hiding my face in my hands, but Jeff cut me off.

"Hey, hey, calm down, Rosa," he said. "We're not gonna tell anyone."

"Not unless you want us to," Clint laughed.

"No, no, please don't tell anyone!" I said quickly. "Also, for the last time don't call me Rosa!"

Jeff shrugged nonchalantly. "If you say so, Rosa. Now come on, we've got work to do."

When Newt woke up, I told Clint and Jeff I would take care of him and they shuffled away, leaving me alone in Newt's room. I heard them snickering and laughing outside and I had to resist the urge to march out there and slap them.

"Morning," I greeted Newt, handing him his painkillers and a glass of water.

"Mornin'," he replied, his voice croaky. "What are they laughin' about outside?"

"Nothing," I said quickly - a little too quickly, for Newt raised his eyebrows at me. "They're just being slintheads. Anyway, take your medicine now."

I sat on the edge of his bed as he swallowed his painkillers. Then I handed him his crutch and helped him walk to the door and out the Homestead. We headed to Frypan's kitchen, where Alby was already sitting at the table. He nodded to us in greeting and continued sipping his cup of coffee, his eyes trailing to my hand in Newt's.

"How's the leg?" He asked when we sat down.

"Better," Newt said. "It's a hell lot less painful than it was yesterday."

"Clint, Jeff and I have been discussing," I said, smiling at him. "You might be able to walk properly again without crutches in about a few months or so."

Newt's face brighten, hope igniting in his eyes. "Really? You're serious?"

I snorted. "No, I'm Rose. Wrong person."

Alby snickered while Newt rolled his eyes at me.

"I think you've been hanging around Minho too much," he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Did someone call me?"

Minho slid onto the bench beside me, striking a dramatic pose. Alby and Newt groaned at the same time while I laughed.

"What a queen," I smirked.

"You bet I am," Minho said, right before snatching up Alby's cup of coffee and stealing sips from it.

"Oi!" Alby barked, glaring at him.

"So how's the two lovebirds?" Minho asked casually, handing Alby back his cup.

"Can you not be so loud?" I hissed, trying to clamp a hand over his mouth to shut him up. "It's supposed to be a secret!"

"Hey, come on, let's face it-" Minho scooted away from me and sat next to Alby, "-you're not gonna be able to keep it a secret for long. Not when you two keep giving each other the goggly eyes."

"Oh, bloody hell, Minho," Newt said, gritting his teeth. "The least you can do is keep it quiet for as long as possible."

"But that's no fun," he whined.

Newt and I gave each other looks of 'Why are we friends with this guy?', and burst out laughing at the same time, earning us strange looks from the other Gladers.

-

That night, Gally and his friends decided to host a celebratory bonfire to lighten up everyone's spirits. He and the Builders carried wooden planks that they no longer needed and piled them up in the centre of the Glade, litting it up with torches. Flames rose into the sky, a bright orange and red glow emanating from it, casting everything in a strange fiery colour. Gally went around and passed out drinks - he claimed it was a new recipe he had been brewing and wanted everyone to try it.

I accepted one of the glasses and sat down at the edge of the bonfire, watching the others joke and play around with each other. I took a sip of the orange-brown drink and my face twisted in slight disgust as the strangely sweet and bitter taste churned around my mouth.

Someone sat down next to me and I glanced up - it was Newt. He smiled at me and held out my ukulele.

"You owe me a song," he said. The light from the fire cast dancing silhouettes in his eyes. I placed my drink on the ground, took the tiny instrument from him and strummed a few chords, making sure the pitch and tone were right.

"Just a disclaimer, my voice is absolutely terrible," I warned.

"Aw, no, I'm sure it isn't," Newt assured me. He leaned against the tree trunk behind us, looking the most at ease I'd ever seen him. He glanced at me expectantly. "Come on, Rose. Don't get shy around me now."

I punched him lightly in the arm and shook my head slightly, smiling. Then I played the first few chords of the song I had been practising for weeks; the notes sounded clear and natural in the crackling of the fire and faint grinding of the Maze changing.

"If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea,
I'll sail the world to find you.
If you ever find yourself lost in the dark and you can't see,
I'll be the light to guide you.

Find out what we're made of
When we are called to help our friends in need.

You can count on me like one two three
I'll be there.
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two
You'll be there.
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah."

By this time, the other Gladers had taken notice of my singing and came round to watch me. They shuffled closer, some of them sitting down and observing my accidental performance. I wasn't comfortable with so many eyes on me, and I almost stopped singing at one point, until my gaze trailed over to Newt's and he gave me a reassuring nod.

"You'll always have my shoulder when you cry.
I'll never let go
Never say goodbye
You know you can

Count on me like one two three
I'll be there.
And I know when I need it I can count on you like four three two
And you'll be there.
'Cause that's what friends are supposed to do, oh yeah

You can count on me 'cause I can count on you."

As soon as I strummed the last chord, applause broke out among the audience. I bit my lips and looked down, trying not to feel too embarrassed as the sound of their claps filled my ears.

I glanced at Newt, who was smiling at me widely, an elated twinkle in his eyes I hadn't seen before in all the months I had been with him.

"Was that good?" I asked him.

"No. It was brilliant."

And before I could even blink, he leaned in and planted a swift kiss on my cheek - the other Gladers went wild then, screaming and hollering as sudden excitement flooded through everyone. A laugh escaped Newt as I grinned, our faces completely red with embarrassment. I spotted Minho, Jeff and Clint high-fiving each other at the edge of the crowd; Alby was shaking his head at them and facepalming, though he too, was smiling.

-

A few months passed by like a blur. Newt and I were still a little shy around each other, and it didn't help that our friends kept teasing us about it. If our hands so much as graze each other's, someone was bound to notice and yell at us enthusiastically like some crazed kid.

Clint, Jeff and I were in one of the medic rooms in the Homestead, tending to Newt's injured leg. It had been around seven or eight weeks now, and he was getting more and more impatient by the day; he hated feeling so useless and crappy while using the crutch and wanted to start walking normally again.

"How's the leg?" He asked anxiously, twisting his fingers together in what looked like a nervous habit.

"Slim it, blondie," Jeff said, rolling his eyes. "We're checking."

After several minutes of Newt fidgeting and us discussing with each other in low voices, we finally came to a conclusion.

"So, good news," Clint announced, "you don't necessarily need the crutch anymore."

"Really?" Newt sat up, staring at us with wide eyes full of excitement.

"But," I said, raising an eyebrow at him, "you can't put any weight at all on your injured foot and you'll need someone to supervise you at all times just in case."

"Aw, come on," Newt whined. "I'll be fine, damnit!"

Jeff shook his head. "Nuh-uh. We're not risking it. Your foot still hasn't healed fully, you know that right? The most you can do is rest and walk for a few moments. That's it."

"This is not an improvement at all," Newt groaned, burying his face into his hands.

"Come on, stop being so darn pessimistic," I grinned, trying to pull his hands away from his face. "You wanted to get rid of the crutch, didn't you?"

"Whatever." He glanced up us expectantly. "Can I try walkin' now?"

Very slowly and gently, we helped Newt stand up, careful not to put any sort of pressure on his injured leg. He winced a few times but seemed fine otherwise. I slung an arm around his back and steadied him as we limped forward to the door, Newt leaning against me for support.

"You know what, I think Rose would be a perfect supervisor for Newt," I heard Clint mutter behind me.

"I heard that!" I called out angrily, and he and Jeff burst out into laughters.

"It's been nearly a whole buggin' year and you two are still teasing us?" Newt glanced back at them in disbelief. "C'mon, you two. Shuck off."

Though Jeff and Clint managed to stifle their laughters, a sneaky smirk still tugged at their lips. Newt and I rolled our eyes at them and continued limping out the Homestead and into the Glade, where the sun beat down on us heavily. Alby was chatting with Nick near the farms and when he spotted us, he excused himself and jogged over, sweat glistening off his head and skin.

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked. "Where's your crutch, Newt?"

"I don't need 'em anymore," he said simply.

Alby frowned. "You sure?"

"Doctor's orders," Newt said, and gave me a playful grin.

"So does that mean you can walk normally again?"

"I bloody hope so. I can't stand one more moment using that crutch."

Alby managed a smile. "Well, come on, then. Just because you haven't fully recovered yet doesn't mean I'm lettin' you off that easy. You're still my second-in-command."

I shifted Newt's weight onto Alby, who supported him like he weighed no more than a sack of feathers, and they hobbled off together like conjoined twins, smiling and laughing about.

[ END OF CHAPTER TWELVE ]

(y'all my tuition teacher recognized thomas brodie sangster as my wallpaper im cryinggg)