dangerous levels in the room, making my stomach turn.
Struggling to conjure up the proper response, Thomas mumbles, "Newt, I-"
"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Newt suddenly explodes, grasping Thomas by the collar of his jacket and slamming him against the wall with enraged power, causing me to jump, eyes widening. "DON'T. LIE. TO ME!" He vehemently screams, the veins bulging out his neck as he breathes heavily through his nose.
I quickly rush behind Newt, reaching a hand out to his back. "Newt-" my voice cracks as I struggle to remain calm, "Newt, calm down."
Panting from the adrenaline pumping through his veins, Newt's eyes clear as he stares into Thomas's fearful eyes, releasing the collar of his coat with trembling hands. "I- I'm sorry, Tommy..." He whispers, scanning his friend with panicked eyes before slowly turning around to face the rest of us. "I'm sorry." He repeats, shifting his glance from Jorge to Brenda to Fry before looking down at me. "I'm sorry..." He says once more before turning away, the expression on his face appearing as if he's struggling to contain his rising panic, silently rubbing his right arm and swiftly limping out of the room.
Trying to steady his breathing, Thomas looks to us before rushing out after Newt.
Shakily bringing my hand to my mouth before resting it over my heart as it races, I look back at the others, worried.
"Now, I'm noticing that Newt's acting strange..." Fry mumbles worriedly to me before looking to Jorge.
Brenda's hand remains clasped over her mouth, genuinely concerned for the blonde boy.
Gally, frowning with folded arms, nods. "That is a side of Newt I have never, ever seen in the three years I've known him."
Without any further hesitation, I turn on my heels and stride to the door.
"I wouldn't follow after if I were you, hermana." Jorge warns.
Looking back at him over my shoulder, I clench my jaw. "Someone needs to make sure they don't take the fight outside." And, with that, I rush out, closing the door behind me.
As I step out into the main room, the pale sunlight beams down onto the floor from the roof door. The boys must've gone up there, given that it has been closed since last night.
Walking to the sunlight and standing directly beneath the door, I jump up with a grunt, reaching for the edge of the opening and missing by less than a foot. Sighing heavily, I crouch down slightly before springing into the air and, once again, missing the ledge. I huff angrily, staring up at the sky above and placing my hands on my hips as I try to think of a way to get onto the roof.
"Need a boost?" I familiar voice asks, and I turn to see Fry entering from the mapping room, closing the door behind him.
Forcing a weak laugh, I nod, scratching the back of my head. "If you wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not." Fry chuckles, walking to me and stepping into the sunlight, crouching down. "Get on my shoulders."
Nodding, I carefully swing my right leg over Fry's right shoulder, adjusting my left leg over his left, positioning myself cautiously.
"Ready?" He asks.
"Ready."
"Alright, keep balanced." He says before slowly rising to his feet with me sitting on his shoulders.
Reaching up to the ledge of the opening, I grasp onto the concrete, pulling myself up with all of my upper body strength as Frypan grasps my feet with his hands and carefully pushes me up. I quietly scramble onto the roof, sitting on the edge, my feet dangling inside the hole as I look at Newt sitting at the front end of the building, his legs hanging over the ledge. Thomas is couched down at the edge beside him.
"Psst!" Fry whispers from below.
I look down at him, questioningly lifting a brow.
"Want me to stay here so you can sneak back inside without getting caught?"
I nod, giving him a thumbs up.
Chuckling, he returns the gesture.
Sitting comfortably in front of the opened roof door, I pull my knees to my chest, listening to Newt and Thomas intently.
"That's why I haven't been feeling myself recently, and that's why I said all those terrible things..." Newt mumbles, frowning.
What's why?
"It's just... It's hard for me because it's Minho being tortured in there, you know?"
Nodding, Thomas whispers, "Yeah, I hear you."
Newt stares at the city ahead in silence, huffing a sigh. "I know you care about Teresa. I knew from the second she recognized you back in the Glade that she was something else to you, and you specifically, and, when she betrayed us, a part of me knew you would be bloody conflicted about it." He looks down at his hands as he fidgets, pausing for a few moments, debating if he should say the next part. "I understand, you know?" He says, looking at Thomas with a soft, somewhat disbelieving laugh to himself.
Tilting his head to the side, Thomas asks, "What do you mean?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He asks as he looks back out at the towers in front of him. "If (y/n) did what Teresa did, if she betrayed us, I would be crazy enough to want to get her back, too." He mumbles, inhaling deeply. "In fact, I'd be storming into WICKED's bloody facility right now, chip and all, if she was in there, working with the people that are out to kill us."
Nodding slightly as he listens, Thomas looks down at the concrete below him.
A few seconds of silence pass.
"But that's just the thing, isn't it?" Newt mumbles, causing Thomas to lift his head to look at him, once again. "Teresa did betrayed us." He says, turning his head to meet with his brunette friend's eyes. "And (y/n)? She didn't." He says flatly. "In fact, (y/n) would never do that."
I feel pride swelling up inside me from hearing Newt say that.
Pursing his lips together and hanging his head in shame, Thomas nods. "I guess you're right..." He sighs heavily.
The two of them sit in silence.
A minute passes.
Two.
Newt breaks it. "Did I ever tell you...how I broke my leg?" He asks in a weak voice.
Knowing full well how sensitive this subject is, and not wanting to intrude any further on their heart-to-heart, I look down into the opening in the ground, dangling my legs back over the ledge and waving down at Fry.
Looking up at me, he gives me a thumbs up. "Just slide down onto my shoulders again."
Nodding, I roll onto my stomach on the roof before carefully sliding down from the ledge, Frypan guiding my legs to his shoulders as I carefully sit on them.
Once I let go of the edge, Frypan carefully crouches down to the ground, and I step off onto the floor safely.
"Thanks, Fry."
Standing upright and dusting off his hands with a warm smile, he nods. "Don't mention it."