Eyes fluttering open, I stare up at the ceiling of the cabin. I yawn, arching my back slightly as I stretch out my arms. "Newt...?" I mumble tiredly, slowly propping myself up on my left elbow as I rub the sleep out of my eyes with my right hand. In the golden illumination of the sunlight seeping in through the small circular window on the cabin door, I see the chair pushed back against the desk. Empty.
My heart immediately stops. "Newt?" I ask, darting my eyes back and forth amidst the small room, no sign of him.
What if that was only a dream? What if Newt isn't alive? What if his cold body is somewhere else on the ship, waiting for burial?
The panic immediately bursts from within me, and I jolt completely upright. "Newt?! Newt?!"
"I'm awake!" A slurred, thickly accented shouts in response, Newt's head suddenly popping up from beside the bed, his hair disarrayed, eyes squinting tiredly, but he quickly scrambles up onto the cot beside me, pulling me into his arms. The light veins that were branching off his left jaw have darkened, spreading a little further into his cheek.
Heart pounding frantically against my chest, I fail to steady my rapid breaths. "I'm sorry- I'm sorry- I just- I thought-"
"Shh, it's alright." He says reassuringly, yawning as he holds me tighter. "I understand..." He whispers, resting his head against mine as he closes his eyes.
Catching my breath as his embrace slowly calms me down, I ask, "What were you doing?"
"I fell asleep on the floor..." he mumbles.
I rest my hands over his whilst his arms are wrapped around me. "Why didn't you wake me? I could've gone to my cabin."
"You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to wake you," he admits, "nor was I going to leave you alone when you could get night terrors."
Frowning, I look down at his hands. I can see the darkening veins beginning to bulge from his skin. "You need more Serum."
"Alright, just give me five more minutes..." he whispers tiredly, nestling his head atop of mine and exhaling deeply through his nose.
Sighing softly, I let Newt continue to cling to me, leaning against me, half asleep. I close my eyes, soaking up his warmth as my heart finally steadies, relieved that I was merely overreacting.
I feel his heart beating with a gentle rhythm, his soft, tired breaths steadily trailing behind them, as if following the tender beat.
A quiet squeaking sound interrupts the music of Newt's life, and I open my eyes just as the cabin door opens, Vince muttering to himself before freezing in the doorway when his blue eyes fall on us like a deer in headlights.
Newt, lifting his head to meet eyes with the man, smiles. "Good morning, Vince."
"How long have you been up?" He asks, slowly closing the door behind him.
Inhaling deeply, Newt slowly releases me and rises to his feet, asking, "The first time or the second?"
"Both." The man replies, folding his arms as he furrows his brows together.
Newt ponders for a moment as he attempts to brush out his bedhead with his fingers. "I first woke up at about four, and then I fell asleep around five. I woke up just now."
"Four?" Vince asks, leaning against the desk. "And you didn't attempt to wake someone up?"
"I had no need to. (y/n) was just outside."
"You were still up that late?" Vince's eyes shift to me.
I nod slightly, turning and kicking my feet over the side of the cot.
"That's why I let her rest in here." Newt adds.
His eyes still locked on me, Vince's face morphs into a paradoxical expression of concern and relief. He huffs a sigh and shifts his eyes back to Newt, eyeing the boy for a few moments. "Is this the best he's gotten?" He asks me, lowering his eyes to Newt's veiny hands that are exposed from the ends of his sleeves.
Frowning as I rise to my feet, I shake my head. "The veins were much lighter at four, but the pale moonlight could have been playing tricks on my eyes." I explain, looking to Newt, who stares ahead at Vince, clenching his jaw.
"Please talk about me like I'm here." He tells the man, a flicker of frustration in his voice. "I feel like those bloody scientists are examining me when you talk like that."

I feel slight unease rise inside of my chest, and I gently reach for Newt's upper arm, grasping onto his right jacket sleeve and brushing my thumb along it comfortingly.
Vince stares at the boy's narrow eyes for a long while, searing into Newt's soul. He, just like myself, can sense the virus already making the boy irritable. "You need more of that Serum." He concludes in a straightforward tone, turning around and sliding open the top drawer of the desk, taking out one of the small blue vials he had placed inside when he and Jorge had laid Newt in this cabin. "Roll up your sleeve." He orders Newt, unscrewing the lid to reveal the small needle.
The fact that the vials are just like the ones that came up in the Cage with Aris makes me feel a little discomfort. A lack of trust.
My face falls slightly as I watch Newt roll up his right sleeve. "Vince, what time is it?"
"It's ten thirty." He mutters. "Why?"
I gulp. "This is the third dose of Bliss in a matter of ten hours..." I mumble, shifting my eyes to Newt, who watches the needle inch towards his forearm.
Vince, pausing before he can inject the Serum, lifts his blue eyes to me.
"We hardly have enough vials to last Newt two weeks, maybe three- four, if we're lucky- at this rate." I mutter.
The bearded man's eyes shift slightly, thinking for a moment before looking down at Newt's arm with a heavy sigh, slowly injecting the sharp needle into Newt's skin. "I guess we'll have to use it scarcely."
Newt, wincing for a moment, lifts his brown eyes to Vince. "How bad will I have to get before the next dosage?"
Slowly removing the empty, small syringe vial from Newt's arm, Vince creases his forehead. "That call is up to you, kid." He says simply.
Newt slowly averts his worried eyes to me, not letting them falter as he asks Vince, "What if I get violent? I don't normally notice that I'm lashing out until I've already done so." He subtly shifts his doe eyes to the bandaging on the left crook of my neck that is exposed beneath my maroon sweater. "I could hurt someone..."
Frowning, I cover my shoulder with my right hand, not wanting him to loathe himself for something he couldn't control.
"If you can make the call beforehand, do so, but, if you can't, I guarantee that you won't hurt anyone. We've got lots of people that can stop you." The man says reassuringly.
Sighing softly, Newt nods, breaking his concerned daze with my shoulder.
Pressing my lips tightly together, I return my hand to Newt's arm as he rolls his sleeve back down. "Don't worry..." I whisper faintly, stomach turning slightly.
Newt shifts his eyes to mine, opening his mouth to speak, but he's cut off by a sudden shout from outside.
"LAND HO!" A voice exclaims, causing all three of us to turn our heads towards the cabin door. Hoots and hollers begin to rise in the air, muffled by the door but slowly increasing in volume.
"Land ho?" Newt distorts his face in slight puzzlement. "But doesn't that mean...?" His voice trails off as he looks to me.
"The Safe Haven..." Vince whispers in somewhat disbelief, quickly turning on his heels and rushing out the door.
Giving Newt a look that rises with anticipation, the two of us follow after Vince, stumbling out onto the outer dock, blinded by the bright sun that dances and glimmers along the blue ocean waves, the sky above the horizon a bright, vibrant blue, white fluffy clouds resembling snow-white cotton sailing along the sky. The salty ocean air sweeps through my hair beneath my bandaging, running in cool waves through the yarn of my sweater and brushing along my skin so gently that it almost tickles.
Turning to the right, I squint as I peer down the stretch of dock, looking towards the front end of the ship where people begin to crowd around to get a good view of the island.
I turn back to Newt, watching him as he stares towards the front of the ship, his face displaying true longing and excitement to see the Safe Haven.
And to think that he could have never seen Paradise.
Smiling warmly, I slowly grasp his hand, breaking him out of his daze as I intertwine my fingers with his.
He shifts his brown eyes to our hands before lifting them to my eyes.
"Come on," I grin, turning on my heels and pulling him behind as I stride along the deck.
I feel my heart rate begin to incline with pure excitement, and, as we approach the front of the ship, I carefully squeeze into the large group of people huddling closer together, squeezing Newt's hand tightly so that he doesn't break away from me, just as he had done when we were making our way through the chaotic scene of Marcus's Crank party.
However, as we move towards the front, slipping our way through the crowd, Newt suddenly halts in his tracks, which nearly yanks me back by my arm in the process.
Drawing my brows together, I look back at Newt. "What? What's wrong?"
Newt stares ahead, his widening eyes locked onto something in the very front of the crowd. His mouth falls open slightly, unable to conjure up words.
Frowning in concern, I turn forward, leaning left to right in attempt to get a glimpse of whatever he is staring at.
In perfect timing, as if reading my mind, the people in front of me step apart just enough for me to get a glimpse of the group at the very front of the ship. Our group.
Minho stands on the railing just where the front of the ship meets to make a point at the very tip, and, with one hand grasping onto the top rail, he leans forward over the edge of the ship, shouting as he points towards the island that seems to subtly grow in size as we slowly approach it.
I can hear Harriet snap at the boy, grabbing the back of Minho's shirt as soon as he releases his grip on the bar and stands completely upright on the railing, swinging his arms as if waving to get the island's attention.
Brenda, laughing at the sight, reaches over to pat Frypan's back as he pulls her into a side hug, squeezing her tightly by her shoulders. I can hear his loud, wholehearted chuckles from here.
Latching onto Aris with a big hug, Sonya squeezes the boy tightly, shouting in joy as she jumps up and down in excitement.
Gally leans back against the railing, staring at the Safe Haven over his right shoulder.
"You're going to fall!" Harriet exclaims as Minho slaps her hand off the back of his light blue long-sleeved shirt.
"I never shucking fall because I'm too good for that." I can hear Minho retort in a snark tone, grasping onto the top railing and climbing over the bars, stepping onto the outer side of the railing and standing upright, facing the crowd on the ship and extending his arms outward victoriously. "See? Too good!" He smirks proudly, his brown eyes shifting slightly to get a look at the crowd. He glances at Newt for a moment before looking down at the group again and doing a double take, darting his eyes back to the blonde boy in the crowd, his face falling.
"What?" Fry asks as he witnesses his wild friend suddenly calm down. "What are you looking at?"
The others, watching Minho, morph their faces in confusion due to his sudden change of stature, and they trail their eyes along Minho's line of sight, each eventually spotting Newt, their expressions dropping in pure shock.
"N-Newt?!" Minho calls.
Speechless, Newt simply stares at his good friend in return with a dumbfounded look.
Minho, staring at Newt with a whirlwind of emotions, such as joy and shock and relief, slowly steps back over the safety rails of the ship, jumping onto the wooden deck of the boat and quickly striding through the crowd, squeezing past the cluster of thrilled individuals. He pushes past people impatiently, his eyes remaining on Newt the entire way, and, beginning to rush through the crowd as quickly as he can, Minho basically charges at his friend as soon as the crowd clears up enough to do so, wrapping Newt up in a massive hug.
Eyes wide as his brain takes a moment to register the situation, Newt shakily wraps his arms around his friend, hugging him tightly in return.
Minho squeezes his eyes shut as if he uses all of the strength he has to hold onto Newt, burying his face from his nose down into Newt's shoulder. "You're okay." He whispers in disbelief, muffled as the two slightly sway from side to side in the consoling embrace.
"Yeah..." Newt manages to laugh weakly as tears swell in his eyes. "Yeah, I am..."
Fry jogs to the three of us, slowing to a stop with his jaw to the floor, a grin pulling upward on the ends of his lips. The others follow quickly behind.
"Shuck, man..." Minho laughs as he pulls away, fighting back tears as he smiles at Newt. "For a minute there, I thought I had failed you." He admits. "I thought all of the progress over three years was gone, and that- and that shucking WICKED won..."
Newt, pressing his lips tightly together as a smile tugs on the left corner of his mouth, pats Minho's shoulder. "You didn't fail me, nor would you have if I weren't here." He says comfortingly before averting his big brown eyes to Frypan. Newt chokes out with a smile, "Fry," before giving the kindhearted boy a hug.
Frypan squeezes the blonde boy tightly, patting his back. He chuckles softly under his breath, happy to have his friend back and alive. "I can't believe you look the way you do after what we last saw." Fry smiles as he steps back, looking Newt up and down.
Newt, laughing lightly, nods. "Me neither."
Sonya is the next one to step up to the blonde boy. "Vince had told us what happened..." She mumbles with a somber expression before suddenly hugging him tightly. "We're glad you're better."
Taken aback, Newt slowly returns the embrace, a warm smile stretching across his face.
I don't know why, but seeing those two hugging triggers a minuscule itch in my brain. I wonder why?
As Newt pulls away, smiling at the blonde girl, Aris rests a comforting hand on Newt's shoulder from behind. He smiles warmly at Newt as the boy with renewed health turns to face him, and Aris is suddenly pulled into a tight embrace by Newt before he can get a single word out.
Harriet grins widely, stepping up to Newt as Aris pulls away. "Glad to have you back." She says, hugging him kindly.
"Glad to be back." Newt nods, chuckling as he steps back from Harriet.
Patting Newt's back, Brenda grins up at Newt as he turns around to face her, and she pulls him into a tight hug, not saying a word for a few moments. "You gave us all a scare last night." She manages to laugh weakly.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry." The blonde boy chuckles, squeezing Brenda tightly.
Gally's the last one to wait for an exchange with Newt, and, as the blonde boy pulls away from Brenda, Gally clears his throat, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his grey hoodie. "I, uh... It's good to see that you're well." He tells Newt.
Staring at the buff boy with an unreadable expression, Newt draws his brows together slightly.
"We're all glad that the Bliss is helping, and I'm sorry we almost failed you." He pauses, as if expecting a response from Newt, but nothing comes. He sighs heavily, looking down at his feet as he continues, "If you still want to get that punch in like Thomas, I am one hundred percent okay with-"
Before Gally can even finish the sentence, Newt limps to the boy and wraps him up in a big hug.
Gally's eyes widen in complete shock, and he freezes in place, hands remaining in his pocket, unsure of what to do.
Snickering softly, I clear my throat to get Gally's attention, but, before I can gesture for him to hug Newt, Minho says in a sassy voice, "Don't just stand there, you dumb shank."
"Hey, be nice." I turn to Minho, nudging him in the arm. "He doesn't understand 'affection and stuff', remember?" I tease, averting my attention back to Gally with a warm smile.
For the first time, I see a small, genuine, wholehearted smile tug on the left corner of Gally's lips, and slowly, and a little awkwardly, Gally lifts his arms to Newt's back and returns the embrace.
Brenda, grinning widely at the sight, puts an arm over my shoulders, the other on her hip.
"Now, that is something I would have never thought to see again in my entire life." Fry chuckles.
"Oh, shut up..." Gally grumbles, almost bashful, as he steps away from Newt.
The entirety of the group cannot help but stare at the blonde boy in awe, though I see Minho's eyes trail to the veins in Newt's cheek. He stands a little taller, taking in a deep breath. "Well, we were getting the best shucking view of the island." He smirks, grabbing Newt's arm. "Come take a look." With that, Minho suddenly turns on his heels, yanking Newt behind him through the crowd, which then causes Newt to grip onto my arm by instinct, and I get pulled along the train of individuals, squeezing past the people huddled around the front tip of the ship.
"Sorry, sorry- Sorry," I whisper quickly to each person I accidentally bump into on the way, snickering softly under my breath as I'm basically dragged behind, the others quickly rushing after us.
Once Minho pulls Newt, who then pulls me, to the very front of the ship, Minho already begins climbing onto the rails, pointing to the island. "Look! It's the Safe Haven, shuck-faces!" He exclaims to the rest of our group over his shoulder.
Looking out into the glistening ocean, I slowly step up to the safety rails. I rest my hands along the slick bars, staring out over the blue sea. The white shores along the edge of the flourishing green island call for our ship as the waves pull us towards it, as if the world knows that we are destined to be in Paradise. Vast, rocky mountains rise up from the ground in the heart of the island, embodying power and magnificence.
Minho, letting go of the top rail, stands upright on the bars, extending his arms out. "This is our home now."
The word 'home' causes Newt and I to look at each other in perfect sync, and, slowly averting his eyes to my bandaged left hand, he gently takes it with his right, intertwining our fingers before lifting his eyes to mine, a warm smile stretching across his face.
Smiling in return, I step closer to Newt, resting my head on his shoulder as he gently kisses the top of my head before resting his atop of mine, staring at the island ahead.
I'm already home.
• • •
"Minho, Vince said to wait!" Harriet snaps as the cocky boy takes one of the ropes hanging over the side of the ship and disobediently slides down it, hopping onto the sandy shore with his boots far below within a matter of seconds.
With a sassy smirk, Minho looks up at us as we peer down at him from over the railings. "Forget the one small step for a man, I'm taking the shucking giant leap for mankind!" He exclaims, throwing victorious fists in the air.
I can't help but laugh at him. Oh, how I've missed Minho!
Harriet, with a lifted brow, looks to the rest of us. I can see her fighting the urge to laugh, doing her best to keep a straight, frustrated expression. "You guys seriously risked your lives to save this guy?"
Chuckling, Fry nods. "Yeah, that's about right."
"He can be a bloody pain in the neck, but he's our pain in the neck." Newt chimes in, grinning.
Vince, staring down at Minho with an exasperated look, averts his attention to the rest of our group, sighing. "You kids go." He says in a somewhat defeated manner, gesturing to the rope.
I give him a puzzled look. "But didn't you say to-"
"Just go." He says, shaking his head as he chuckles softly. "But don't think this excuses you kids from helping set up the camp." He adds.
Face lighting up, Brenda grasps