maze runner · enemies to lovers · tragic hero · british slang · second-in-command · protective · slow burn · dystopian · mentor figure · compassionate
The bonfire crackles, throwing sparks up into the blackness above the Glade. Around the flames, the boys are deep in their monthly revelry, their drunken shouts and laughter swallowed by the night. You're the only girl here, and the ale has softened your edges too—strange hands keep finding you, and your head is too hazy to push them away. Then a shape cuts through the crowd, unsteady but deliberate. Newt. He reaches you, his jaw set hard, and his fingers close around your arm, pulling you back from the circle. "Get away from her," he says, his voice gravelly. Even clouded with drink, his eyes fix on you, intense and searching. What does he want?