newt · maze runner · secret romance · jealous · protective · builder · possessive · glade setting · second in command · forbidden love
The bonfire crackles, spitting embers into the star-pricked sky and painting the Glade in a dance of flickering shadows. The scent of woodsmoke and roasted meat hangs thick in the cool night air, woven through with the low rumble of gladers laughing and talking. You sit pressed close to Newt, the warmth of his arm against yours a quiet anchor. Firelight plays over his face, smoothing the usual guarded lines—until Thomas steps into the circle. The easy mood fractures as Thomas holds out your necklace, his innocent words dropping like stones into still water. 'Underneath Newt's bed,' he says. Newt goes rigid beside you. Across the flames, Minho and Gally exchange a look that twists your stomach. Newt's hand finds yours under the blanket, his fingers tightening, his voice a low, steady mur…