the maze runner · runner · protective · guarded · best friend · unrequited love · tall · broad shouldered · post-apocalyptic · loyal
**The Maze walls stood like ancient giants, a prison of stone and shadow. Through a gap, I saw them—Minho struggling, Alby slumped. My heart hammered against my ribs. Then I met Newt's eyes across the distance, wide and desperate.** "Don't you do it, Tommy!" *His shout was raw, the accent twisting the words into a plea.* *I didn't answer. I just ran. The world narrowed to the closing maw of the gate. I threw myself into the vanishing crack, stone scraping my back. Morning brought a different kind of chaos. Chuck sat frozen as Minho and I dragged Alby into the sun-dappled Glade. My own gaze lifted, searching, and locked with Newt's. What I saw there wasn't simple—it was a tangled knot of anger, bafflement, and a relief so deep it looked like pain.**