Gally clenched his fists as jealousy coursed through him. Of course it had to be him. He had to be the guy to fall for the shuck girl in the whole shucking Glade. Now, seeing you talking with Thomas, Gally hated himself for letting his feelings get in the way of his better judgment. Still, when you turned those gorgeous eyes of yours on him, Gally couldn't fight the fluttering in his stomach.

"Hey, Gally," you greeted as you walked by. You were one of the few people that actually got along with Gally. Granted, you got along with everyone. Another point that had the Keeper of the Builders jealous. With so many boys in one place and only one girl, Gally felt he had no chance with you. "Hey, Y/N. Do us a favor and try not to get lost in there today? We can't risk losing a Runner because you're too much of a slinthead to figure out your way back." You glared at Gally.

You liked Gally, really you did, but sometimes he said things to irk your nerves. You were a good Runner and you'd only gotten lost once. And it wasn't like you'd been very lost. Minho found you with plenty of time to get back to the Glade. "I assure you that you don't have to worry about this slinthead. But, while I'm out there, why don't you try to find some personality that isn't so full of klunk. Bye, Gally." You waved sweetly at him and ran off to grab your pack.

Gally sat there mentally kicking himself. Why couldn't he just say what was on his mind? What did he have to say such mean things to you? Gally felt someone put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, I don't remember much about girls, but I do know one thing. If you want to get the girl, you don't treat her like klunk."Minho's voice grated Gally's nerves, but he knew Minho was right. "Yeah. Yeah. Don't you have a job to do?" Minho chuckled and took off after you.

That evening, you were nearly late getting back. The doors closed not thirty seconds after you entered the Glade. Most of the other Gladers cheered for you, just grateful you'd made it back but Gally wasn't happy. He'd been so worried about you. Unfortunately, when Gally worried, he became even more brusque and mean than usual. "Why are you cheering for her? She almost got her shucking butt killed, again! I told you all it was a bad idea to make her a Runner. She's not fast enough or smart enough! She doesn't belong in there."

The boys all stopped cheering and looked at you to see your reaction. Your hands were at your sides and your shoulders were slumped in defeat. Your eyes were filling with tears and Gally immediately felt bad. He didn't get much time to think on it, however, when you closed the distance between you and punched him in the jaw. Hard. "Don't you ever say anything like that about me again! Who are you to say I'm stupid? That I don't belong anywhere?!"

Instead of listening, Gally saw red. You'd hit him. He acted on his first instinct, which was to fight back. His fist connected with your cheek and you stumbled back. It hurt, but you refused to let him see that. You aimed to kick him, but someone's hand caught your leg, stopping you. Alby's hard glare was directed at you and then at Gally.

"Who threw the first punch?" Your eyes narrowed. "I did." Alby let go of your leg and sighed. "You know what I have to do, Y/N." You nodded and started walking toward the Slammer. "Now, Alby! It wasn't her fault!" The other guys were arguing for you but you turned and held your hands up. "Guys, it's okay. I threw the punch, I deserve my punishment." You turned your attention to Gally. "Hope you're happy, Gally." With that, you turned on your heel and walked to the Slammer.

"Way to go, Slinthead," Newt said, making Gally look at him. "You could have just told her how you feel but instead you had to bloody insult her and then you hit her!" Minho sighed. "I thought I told you this morning that the way to get the girl is NOT to treat her like klunk." The two Gladers walked left Gally standing there alone, lost in thought.

Alby let you out of the Slammer a few days later, but your punishment wasn't over. You weren't allowed to go running again for a few more days. You were forced to work with Frypan instead and you hated it. Nothing against Frypan, but you wanted to run. "Don't look now, Y/N, but here comes your favorite slinthead." You glanced up to see Gally walking toward you.

His hands were in his pockets and you could see the purplish bruise on his jaw from where you'd hit him. When he was close enough, he asked in a soft voice, "Can I talk to you, Y/N?" You crossed your arms over your chest and retorted, "I don't know. Do you think you can talk to me without insulting me?" Gally merely nodded and you looked to Frypan. Fry shrugged and motioned for you to go with Gally.

Wiping your hands on your pants, you followed Gally to the Deadheads. Once you were out of earshot of everyone in the Glade, you spoke. "What do you want, Gally? Did you want to finish what we started? Because honestly, I don't want to fight anymore." Gally shook his head and ran his hand over his face. "I'm sorry." You blinked in surprise. Did Gally just apologize?

"I...don't express myself well. When you run, I get worried. When you hang out with Minho or Newt or Thomas, I get jealous and I say things I don't mean. I like you, Y/N. A lot." You couldn't reply. You'd never heard Gally reveal so much about himself at one time and it was a shock. "I'm just gonna go now. See ya around, Y/N."

As he moved to go passed you, you stopped him with a touch to his arm. He looked at you and winced. You realized that you must have a bruise to match his. "I shouldn't have hit you, Gally." He shook his head. "No. I deserved that. You're a girl. I shouldn't have hit back." You shrugged. Gally was waiting for you to say something, so you asked, "Can we start over? Try and be friends? Then maybe we can see where it goes?" Gally smiled and nodded. He offered his hand, which you took, and lead the way from the Deadheads. He hoped that, maybe, this would be the start of something good for him. For you both.