I walked out of our bedroom, feeling like I was on a high. I've never done what I just did with Mae before, and I couldn't help but replay the moments in my head as I walked down the hall, letting my hand glide against the wall as I smiled softly to myself.

It may have just been an intense make out session, and we may have been interrupted before things got too heated, but the fact that we even did that was enough to push me off the invisible cliff of sanity. We were both vulnerable, making the experience so much more intimate. I don't know what it was about that girl, but she could make me feel things I've only ever imagined. Physically and emotionally.

I made my way to the kitchen, turning my head to see the rays of sun as they seeped through the openings in the hallway that acted as windows. The birds chirped, adding a sense of tranquility as I lost myself in my thoughts like so many times before. Waves crashed against the sand to my right, making me look out to see everyone doing their part to get the giant boat ready for when we escaped to the Safe Haven. I was excited, yet I found a glimmer of sorrow within my chest when I thought about Minho. We were still gonna have to come up with a way to get him out of there. And if the Right Arm and Vince leaves without us...

Then so be it, I guess.

As I turned the corner, walking into the room where Mae and I had shared our feelings around this time yesterday, I saw everyone already there, speaking quietly amongst themselves. Thomas bent down at Aris' knee, looking up at him softly as Harriet handed Sonya some type of cloth. Everyone glanced at me as I walked through the door, moving towards an empty seat next to Mae.

She handed me the first aid kit as I sat down, and I opened it, scooting myself closer. Grabbing the stitches, I prepared to sew her wound up while we all engaged in a conversation with Aris and Sonya. Harriet walked towards them with two glasses, handing one to each of them.

"Here, drink this." She commanded softly, and they both obliged, taking a long sip from the metal cup before closing their eyes and relishing in whatever she gave them. I glanced up at the two before returning my attention to the doctoral work I was doing—I felt like a Med-Jack.

"Took you guys long enough to rescue us." Aris let out a breathy laugh, looking at Thomas with appreciation.

I smirked to myself before looking back up at Mae, meeting her gaze with a cautious one. She nodded, looking away and telling me that she was ready for the stitches. I leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to her bare shoulder before pushing the needle in at a ninety degree angle. She clenched her fist tightly at the action, causing me to pause and place my own hand over it gently. Looking back up at me with an unreadable expression, she relaxed her hand and placed it on her kneecap, allowing me to go back to my work.

Thomas chuckled at Aris' words. "It's good to see you too, bud." I listened as I kept my eyes on her arm as I weaved the needle in and out of her skin slowly, preforming the actions I observed Clint and Jeff do so many times. "So what happened?" Thomas continued to speak.

"I fought back." He mumbled regarding the discolored skin around his eye, and the bruise on his cheekbone. "Tried to anyways..."

"You're lucky you found us at all." Sonya spoke up, her voice weak as she sat close to Aris. We looked at her as she talked, listening intently for any information that could help us find Minho. "They had us on the move a lot. It felt like something big was happening."

I paused from patching up Mae, looking down at my lap before glancing at Sonya. "Do you have any idea where they were headed?"

Tommy looked at me before returning his gaze towards the others, eager. Aris shook his head and furrowed his eyebrows, almost like he was remembering on the spot. "They kept talking about a city."

At the words, we all fell silent. Tommy looked at me, and I looked at him before clenching my jaw in confusion and shaking my head. Mae had her eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought.

"I didn't think there were any cities left..." Harriet mumbled from my right.

"That's because there aren't." Brenda said, folding her arms over her chest. "Not still standing anyway."

I licked my lips in confusion as Mae turned towards Aris. "Okay, wait. What about Minho? Why wasn't he on the train?" Her voice cracked at the end, almost as though she were about to start crying again at the mention of her best friend's name leaving her lips.

Aris' face dropped as he lowered his head in what seemed like either disappointment or remorse. When he lifted it back up again, he stared straight into her eyes, swallowing with uncertainty before speaking. "I'm sorry, Mae." I leaned back slightly, chest falling with every second of silence that passed. "He was."

My eyes fell closed as I sighed, the blissful feeling I was experiencing before this was now shattered. It never lasted long anyway. Turning my head towards Mae, she looked away from everyone, eyes focusing on the sun that was shining through the dirty window. I grabbed her arm once again, pushing all the feelings down as I concentrated on her stitches.

Thomas cleared his throat before standing up, "Um...how bout you two get some rest, okay?" He pat their shoulders and motioned towards Harriet before Aris and Sonya stood up, "She'll get you guys your hammocks. I'm glad you're safe."

He walked out of the room without another word, off to do who knows what. The others followed after him, leaving in different directions. Aris, Harriet, and Sonya left together, probably to go get some sleep like Tommy had told them to. I could still feel Brenda's presence as I patched up my girlfriend, hearing her hiss through her teeth occasionally at the pain.

"You alright?" Bren asked Mae, moving in front of her.

The two had become quite close throughout these past few months. I was glad—Mae needed a friend who was of the same gender. Since Teresa disappointed all of us, I could tell it took a lot to trust to warm up to Brenda. But the two basically had the same personality. Ever since they met that one night in the warehouse, they clicked. I don't exactly know what happened when they disappeared after that with Thomas, but they'd been pretty close ever since. Occasionally, I found them sitting on the beach, talking and laughing until the early hours of the morning. They cared for each other, and I was happy they both had that. They were like sisters.

Mae chuckled lightly, something I thought wouldn't be possible for her at the moment. "I'm fine. If Newt would stop putting that stupid shucking needle through my skin, I would probably be a tad bit better."

"If you would hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much." I retorted, causing her to make a face at my statement. I lifted my gaze to look at Brenda, who's lips were pursed into a small smile. We both knew that wasn't what she was talking about.

"I meant about Minho." She clarified.

Mae's face dropped as she lowered her head, obviously not wanting to talk about the subject. I looked up at Brenda, shaking my head and hoping that she got the message that Mae wasn't going to respond. Luckily, she gave me a slight nod, rubbing her hands together before placing one of them on Mae's shoulder.

"If you need to talk about...about anything, Mae, I'm all ears." The girl lifted her head to look at her friend, who was speaking with only sincerity. "We'll find him."

She nodded, agreeing with Brenda's words. The girl walked away after giving me a small smile, leaving Mae and I to be alone once again.

The sun was starting to really set now, leaving an orange color around the room. We sat in silence as I continued to fix her arm. The heavy weight was back, tension enveloping both of us as we felt all of it instead of feeling nothing. We drifted into our own thoughts while being together—the days events finally clashing together at once. I wanted nothing more than to fall into a deep slumber, hoping that when I woke up, we would have a plan, and we would be on our way to save Minho.

Everything was such a mess. Although our plan went smoothly, and we rescued Aris and Sonya, nothing went as we hoped it would. If our plan really worked out, then we would have Minho with us right now, possibly laughing and making jokes. We would be feasting and we would all be happy. But of course, that's not what happened. It just wasn't fair.

"Newt?"

Mae's voice brought me out of my thoughts as I hummed in response, an action that I seemed to do whenever I felt lost.

"What are we gonna do?" She asked in a whisper, making me pause my work once again as I gently tugged on the stitches, getting ready to cut the thread. I took a deep breath, wondering the same thing.

But I already knew. Thomas was probably somewhere right now, looking at a map and coming up with another plan from the top of his head. Something that would involve leaving the camp and delaying our trip to the Safe Haven. As I let her words swim around in my head, I knew she couldn't come with us. She needed to get to safety.

If you love someone, you have to let them go. I realized that right then, Mae. I love you. And I can't hold you back from getting to the place you've always wanted. You deserve peace.

"Probably go to the Safe Haven. Where everything will be okay." I told her the nicest lie I could. But deep down, I knew she knew it was bullshit.

She turned around to face me, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "So we're just gonna leave Minho with WICKED?"

No, I thought to myself. Sighing, I gripped her shoulders gently and turned her back to where she was before, continuing my work. "I don't know, Maisy. We'll figure something out."

"I'm not leaving for the Safe Haven until he's with us. He's my best friend, Newt...I can't just leave him."

"Mae." I stopped again, using my fingers to turn her head toward me. I softly scoffed, wondering how she just said that. "You're not going on a rescue mission alone, babe. Doesn't matter how determined you are. He's my best friend too. And you're..." I clenched my jaw. "You're Mae."

My eyes examined every part of her face, almost studying it as she continued to look at me. Her eyes glowed in the dim sunlight, the rays bouncing off of her perfect skin. The dark hair was smooth on top of her head, flowing down her shoulders and looking so effortlessly beautiful. Her lips were still a bit pink from earlier, as was her cheeks, which were still flushed from the previous tears she cried. She looked like she had just fallen from the sky right now. An angel.

"You're..." I tried to find the right words. "I can't let you go alone. Like you said...if something happened to you, I would blame myself for not being there. I care about you too much."

"Even if you might get hurt?" She murmured, slightly bringing back the topic of our argument earlier. I inhaled a breath through my nose, huffing. Doing the only thing I could think to do in the moment, I leaned in, pressing a soft, innocent kiss to her lips. She didn't hesitate to return the favor, the lightning igniting in the pit of my stomach once again.

When we parted, I grabbed both of her cheeks in the palm of my hands, pressing my forehead to hers. "If you go down, I go down with you."

The corners of her mouth tugged upward in a quick smile as she let my words sink in, finally accepting that I wasn't going to let her go on a suicide mission by myself. But I was lying to her. I was going to let myself go down. Without her. She deserved peace. I pulled the fakest grin I could on my face, hoping that it looked genuine enough that she wouldn't notice that by saying those words, I broke my own heart. I seemed to be doing that a whole bloody lot lately.

I finally finished stitching her up, wrapping the bandage around her arm a bit gentler now. I told her that someone was going to have to replace the stitches soon with new ones, I didn't use my name because there was a high chance that I wouldn't be here in the morning. If Tommy was doing what I thought he was, then this was going to be my last evening with Mae until who knows when. Trying to make the most of it, the two of us had dinner together. I made her Mac and Cheese, remembering that was the meal we never got to have before we went to save Minho. We engaged in small talk, trying to keep the weight of the world off of our shoulders. It was just me and her for about two hours. And I loved it.

We ended up going back outside with a small lantern, sitting on the beach as we let the gentle wind calm both of us. We were quiet now—I was writing in my journal, and she was back to trying to make music from the hollow instrument.

On a windswept day, you sat on the beach. Sand blew through your hair, salt from the sea finding your face. From the look in your eyes, I knew your heart felt as heavy as the rocks facing the horizon. But I knew that when I was gone, you would continue to carry your heart in your own hand.

"Wait, Newt." She breathed, making me lift my head from the words I was writing. She had a small smile pulled on her face. "I think I just figured out part of a song."

I closed my journal and set it on the sand next to me, focusing on her as she adjusted the guitar in her hands. "Let's hear it."

"Okay," She responded, nervous. "But...I just figured it out. So don't judge."

"I would never."

"Yeah, right." She chuckled as I smirked.

The lantern highlighted her features as she furrowed her eyebrows and immersed herself in the state of concentration again. She began to pluck at the strings, the pads of her fingers pressing on the frets on the neck of the guitar. The sound was beautiful as she began to strum, humming underneath her breath as though she knew the words. Her ability to pick up something so difficult in one day amazed me. She was so much smarter than she led on.

I leaned forward, my elbow resting on my knee as I held my head in my hand, staring at her. I found myself reminiscing on the first time I met her. She was so scared—I remembered having to calm her down from an asthma attack. Her sass put me in a different mood that I didn't even know I had in me. Something between contentment and being so completely mesmerized. I don't even remember the moment I fell for her. I think it has been coming on so gradually that it just all created a ball in the middle of my chest. It's labeled Mae. And I don't think that ball will ever stop growing.

Fingers picking the guitar, the sound put me in a state of placidity that made me flutter my eyes shut. I still saw her. She was sitting on the very beach we were on right now. I remembered this day. It was a few weeks ago. She had woken up from a nightmare, crying and screaming like usual. I managed to calm her down, but she still woke up half the camp. I had to answer questions if she was okay all day long—an answer I didn't know then. She spent most of the day just sitting on the beach, her arms wrapped around her knees, facing the water as though she wanted to escape.

She didn't talk much that day, and neither did I. It hurt to know that she was in pain. Always has. From the night where I heard her crying through the thin wooden wall, and I knocked to let her know I was there, I've cared for this girl in a different way than I have for anyone else. I've said it before, and I could say it a million times without becoming tired of the words. She cheered me up when I thought I would never smile again, and she constantly pushed me to better myself. I couldn't even remember the Newt I was before she came up in the Box. I've become a different person because of this girl. And even as I sat there, listening and dreading having to leave this angel, I knew that she would always be with me.

The sound faded, and I finally opened my eyes to see her looking down, a proud grin upon her face, as she didn't mess up. Her delight passed onto me, making me bite my lip in an attempt to contain the idiotic beam on my face.

This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.

"Did you like it?" She asked, insecurity laced in her voice.

Laughing slightly, I placed my hands flat on my knees. "Did I like it? Maisy how did you figure out how to do that so quickly?"

She shrugged, "I dunno. I kinda think I learned it before the Maze, and I guess I just got my muscle memory back."

"You're amazing." I shook my head at her, watching as the red glow started to form on her cheeks. "You know that?"

"Stop it," She breathed. "You're making me blush."

"Good." I laughed, scooting forward and removing the guitar from her lap, wanting to be closer. She smiled, lifting her good arm up and wrapping it around my neck, placing a kiss to my temple.

We sat like that for a few minutes, tangled together and staring out at the ocean. The only thing that broke us apart was the distant footsteps coming from behind. Mae and I turned our heads at the same time, seeing Thomas standing behind us, looking shy.

"Tommy." Mae greeted, her voice calm as she looked up at the boy.

He pursed his lips, cocking his thumb to the building behind us. "I...I think I have a plan. I called everyone in to run it by Vince. I think we can save Minho."

At this, Mae shot up to her feet. "Damn right we can save him. We have to at least try."

She began walking past the boy to the room he had pointed at, leaving Thomas and I to stand alone. I shook my head and rubbed my temples, sensing his confusion.

"Are you guys okay?"

I nodded and sighed. "Yeah. I just...If we decide to go and save Minho, then I would rather not have her come with us."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "How come?"

"With our luck, something could go terribly wrong. If that's the case then I could rather not have her there. She needs to go to the Safe Haven with Vince."

"You know she's not gonna agree with that one bit." Tommy reminded me, making me roll my eyes and sigh, beginning to walk towards the building.

"Yeah, I know."

As I entered the room, my eyes immediately started to look for Mae, who had her back turned from everyone else, filling up a blue mug with coffee. I kept my eyes on her as I moved towards the table, immersing myself in the small group of people who were talking amongst themselves. She put cream into the drink, making me wonder who she was making it for. She hated coffee.

When the cup was full, she walked back towards us. I quickly averted my gaze, feeling the heat start to rise in my cheeks. She made her way around the table, handing the cup to me with a small smile. My heart burst at the small action, taking the mug from her hands and bringing it to my lips, letting the liquid coat my throat as I swallowed.

"Thanks."

Nodding in response, Mae turned towards everyone else, smiling across the table at Frypan, who waved.

Vince stood next to her, placing a hand on her back to gain her attention. She lifted her head toward the man, who spoke. "What's this all about?"