FOURTEEN. 

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I didn't know why, but Minho started avoiding me.

At first it was subtle. He'd run into the Maze with Alex (who was almost done with training) and then draw in the Map Room, but he would never visit me like he usually did. It sparked worry in me that almost sucked me back into a part of my old self- the part that questioned every little thing I had done. Did I critique him too much on his shading? What did I do?

That question came to the front of my mind every time I would see him. He'd talk with Ben, Newt, Nick, Theo, Garret, and literally everyone except me. Heck, even Gally saw him more often than I did. He still sat with me at meals, but he'd be stiff and try his best not to touch me. He'd freeze every time my arm so much as brushed against his.

It terrified me. The one stable, close friendship I had with someone was going up in smoke already. Sure, I had Newt, but he was never as close to me as Minho was, even in the short two months I'd been his friend. I often felt sick to my stomach. Even drawing didn't help. The pencil would move where I wouldn't want it to; nothing would seem satisfactory to me. My notebook was quickly filling with unfinished pictures.

Three days passed like that. They were long, insufferable, and tiresome. Newt had decided to join the Track-Hoes and Raisers since they didn't do much that required moving his legs. The Greenie, Jeff, was a fairly good Builder but Gally claimed he had the careful hands of a Med-jack. Clint seemed relieved that another person might join him in taking care of everyone.

I felt useless. I couldn't be a Track-hoe because I could barely bend my leg. Slicing was a no-go from the start. Being a Raiser sounded fun until I realized how muddy it was and my brace would be ruined within a week. Building required too much movement. All that was left was helping the Cooks or Clint.

The Cooks it was. Frypan managed to teach me the basics in a fairly short period of time. My job was easy - all I did was wash and cut vegetables or fruit - but it was enough to keep me busy. The atmosphere was calm and friendly because everyone was kind to one another. Nobody made me feel like an outsider; they welcomed me with open arms.

Rumor had it that Minho told everyone that he'd pound someone's face in if they made any sexist jokes about it, but I wasn't sure how true that was. It wouldn't surprise me if he had actually said it.

"Nadia, I am having an existential crisis."

I looked up from the strawberries I was cutting to see Clark barging in the kitchen. His red hair was mussed everywhere and his cheeks were tinted pink. It was a shock to see him willingly come to me because he was having an existential crisis- whatever that was. Clark and I barely spoke because of how our personalities clashed.

"What is it?" I questioned carefully. Clark was known to be very temperamental, and if he was going through something that turned his cheeks the same color as his hair, I had to tread lightly.

"Outside." He jerked his head toward the door. I glanced back at Frypan to make sure I could go. He merely nodded and waved me off, sending Alfie to finish the strawberries.

I followed Clark to the back of the kitchen and watched as he buried his face in his hands and ran them down his freckled cheeks. He directed his green eyes toward the sky for a second as if willing himself to continue.

"I..." He trailed off and shook his head as if mentally scrapping that sentence. He figeted before continuing. "Okay, I came to you because you're the only girl and you'll know how I feel."

"About what?" I asked.

"About boys." Clark huffed in relief as if saying it had taken a huge weight off of his shoulders. His eyebrows scrunched together. "I...I like boys. And I am a boy. That terrifies me. But since you're a girl whom I assume likes boys I figured you could help me because I am so shucking scared I might explode."

My eyes widened at his last sentence, which he had spoken so fast it was hard to decipher his words. A second ticked by. Clark looked like he was going to pass out or throw up if I didn't speak.

"Clark, there isn't anything wrong with liking boys," I told him honestly as I took a step toward the shaking boy. "That's okay. It's just...why did you tell me now?"

The redhead sighed. "I like Luke. And it sucks because Alex is always around him so I want to punch him because they're so close but they're just friends and we're not even dating Luke doesn't even like me that way and I'm so close to going off on Alex."

I held up my hand to stop Clark, who took in a deep breath to calm himself. His thin hands were curled into fists at his sides. A muscle in his jaw ticked as he released his breath.

I recalled the moment I had seen Luke catch a glimpse at Nick's abs when he had his shirt off at the Gathering. If Luke also liked boys, that meant Clark could have a shot.

"Clark, I think you have more of a chance to get with Luke than you think," I told him with a gentle smile. "Trust me. If you just talked to him--"

"That's the thing!" Clark exclaimed, eyes going wide and arms opening in exasperation. He paced back and forth as he tugged on his ears. "I can't. I think Alex knows. I try to look at Luke but he's somehow always around him. He catches me every. Damn. Time. And it's so awkward. He never lets me talk to him, the little shuck-face." He stared at the grass around his sneaker-clad feet while the flush crept to his ears. "Plus, I think if I did try to talk to Luke, I'd stutter like an idiot. But then again, he makes me feel like I'll combust if I don't tell him, which sucks and doesn't make sense. Stupid feelings. I hate feelings. I could set the cattle loose on myself and feel the same way having a crush on Luke does."

I gave Clark and gentle grin and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at me with eyes so empty of hope that it made my heart clench. He truly didn't believe he had a chance with the boy he liked, and it was mostly because of Alex.

"I'll tell you what," I compromised. "It'll be easier to do that once we get rid of Alex."

A spark of realization set off in his eyes as a mischievous grin spread his lips wide. "I'm in."

-:-

Now that I knew about Clark's crush, it was so obvious that I wondered how I hadn't noticed it before. The poor boy looked at Luke with so much adoration that it sent a jolt through me- especially when I realized that was how I looked at Minho.

That moment of realization led to a troublesome rest of my day. It made me wonder how deep my feelings for my Seond in Command really were, and if they were so adamant, I was shucked. It sucked that he was never around me anymore. It carved more and more worry into me until I felt like a hollow shell.

But then Minho got hurt.

"I told you, shuck-face!" His voice rang throughout the Glade and echoed through the high walls. "I'm fine. Get away from me. Go away!"

It was two hours too early for any of the Runners to be back, according to my wristwatch. I dropped the dishes I was cleaning back into the sink and hobbled as fast as I could toward the East Door. The pain in my leg reduced itself to background noise; my heart plummeted into my stomach.

Alex was hovering around Minho like a fly. Minho. He had a long, ugly cut down his left biceps that was bleeding profusely. He grit his teeth in pain as he held his shirt against it. His bare chest was gleaming with sweat.

I nearly hit myself in the face for feeling my face warm at that realization. Sure, I had seen Minho shirtless before on days it was stuffy, but it was different that time. Every nerve was on high alert while they buzzed in my veins as if they had been electrocuted. The feeling only intensified as I got closer.

"Someone get a Med-jack!" Alex yelled to the gawkers around them. A boy named Drew dropped what he was doing and raced as fast as he could toward the Homestead.

"What happened?" I asked the instant I was in hearing range. This time, I wasn't taking an offhanded response for an answer.

"Nadia, I'm fine," Minho assured me through shallow breaths. His face looked sweaty and more pale than usual, signaling that he was not fine.

"What happened?" My voice was strong and stern to my ears as my jaw clenched in determination. There would be no more of him blowing off my questions- I was getting answers whether he liked it or not.

Minho glowered at Alex so hard I envisioned lasers coming out of his eyes. His voice was quiet and lethal as he replied, "Tell you later."

Clint came racing over faster than I'd seen him run in a while. He pushed his dirty-blond hair out of his eyes as he slowed to a jog until he reached us. Without asking any questions, he ripped the shirt away from Minho and said, "Hope you aren't attached to this," before ripping a long strip of it with his bare hands. That he tied to the spot just above the cut to stop the bleeding.

"This is so dumb. I'm fine," Minho insisted breathlessly as Clint began guiding him back to the Homestead.

The Med-jack shook his head. "No you aren't. Just one glance at that tells me you're going to need stitches, and a lot of them."

Minho muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "Shuck me."

The next hour and a half were painful to experience, and I wasn't even the one getting the stitches. Clint had no antiseptic to give Minho, so he was forced to thread through his skin with no reliever of pain. I had offered my hand for him to squeeze when it hurt, expecting him to refuse. He took it and squeezed like his life depended on it.

Minho was pale from the loss of blood. He laid on the sheets of his bed in my old room with ragged pants escaping his lips. His topless chest moved deeply in time with his breathing, hair sticking up in all directions like he had just been electrocuted. The ugly criss-cross of black stitches stood out clearly against his arm.

I sat with him for a long time. Not once did I say a word, only waiting for him to calm down and possibly tell me what happened because we were alone. But he didn't, so I snapped.

"You've been ignoring me and I can't take it anymore," I said to him, not bothering to hide the hurt in my voice.

Minho blinked and stood up from the bed. His eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "Nadia--"

"No." I held up a hand, cutting him off. "Wait. I'm not done. We had a good, stable friendship and now it's been dumped down the drain. I don't know why, and it's killing me. So, tell me. Did I do something wrong? Have I misinterpreted everything and you've only been staying by me because you have to? Because that's how it feels right now."

His eyes softened until they looked at me with palpable concern. My heart quickened its pace in spite of myself. I hated how I felt around him. Clark had said it best- I felt like I was going to combust if I held it in any longer.

"This is hard for me to say," Minho began, which caught me off guard. "Yesterday, when you slipped and I caught you, I wanted to do something I shouldn't have wanted to do. I've felt that way ever since the stupid Gathering with Luke- or, at least, that's when I realized my feelings. I tried spending time apart from you to see if it would pass. It scares me that I'm going to screw up our friendship by wanting you all to myself." A sheepish smile spread across his lips. "After all, everyone knows I'm selfish."

I stared in shock for what seemed like forever. And then my feet were marching toward him on their own accord until I was right in front of him, my hands raising. He must have thought I was going to slap him from how he scrunched his face up, but instead I pulled his head down and pressed my lips firmly to his.

He responded instantly. For a second, we didn't know who was in control of the situation, so I took charge in setting the pace. It was an awkward first kiss to say the least - slow to the point where it was almost agonizing - but I didn't know what I was ready for yet and was therefore too hesitant to change the pace on my own.

When Minho pulled back and chuckled so his breath fanned my face, I felt my heart skip a beat. He was back. My Minho was back.

"Always so careful," he whispered, then brought me in again.

That time, it was a real kiss. My head finally found the right angle to tilt at so our lips fit together more easily. He kissed me with more ardor than before now that he knew he could, making my nerves feel like they were on fire beneath my skin. His warm hands slid to the small of my back while one of mine transfered to the back of his neck. The difference between our touches was almost laughable. His were feverent and confident, while my fingers ghosted over his skin gently and unsurely. The fact he still had no shirt on was making my nerves worse.

I pulled back slowly, not really wanting to, and opened my eyes to meet his. "I was so worried about you. What happened?"

Minho closed his eyes and groaned. "I was hoping to stay here longer, but since you asked that, I have to call a Gathering."

"Why?"

His eyes opened again, this time burning with anger. "Because I finally have proof that Alex is a fraud."

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brb i think i might explode!! the first ninho kiss!! (and nadia had no idea what she was doing lmao poor bean)

anyways, dun dun dun. what did alex do?

-kristyn