Thomas crossed his arms over his chest. "No, Y/N." You mimicked his movement before asking, "And why not?" The two of you standing near his hammock away from the bonfire for the new Greenie. "Because I'm your brother and I said no. It's too dangerous." You let out a huff. "But Tommy! I want to be a Runner like you!" Normally when you called him by his nickname, your brother would give in, but not this time. He was determined to keep you out of that Maze. "Y/N, I said no and that's final!" Without a another word, he turned from you and got in his hammock. As a girl, you got a room in the Homestead, which you then retreated to.

Later that night, Thomas lay awake in his hammock. He was worried about you. He knew how stubborn you could be when it came to getting your way. It didn't help that you were the only girl in the Glade and all you ever had to do was bat your eyelashes and the guys fell all over themselves to do things for you. Not that you didn't do your job, you did but you wanted to be a Runner so badly that Thomas wasn't sure what lengths you'd go to.

Thomas' ears perked up at the sound of small footsteps that could only be yours or Chuck's. Thomas looked at the hammocks around him and Chuck was fast asleep. Thomas picked his head up and saw your figure retreating into the Deadheads. He quietly got up and followed you. He wasn't too far behind you when he heard you talking to someone. "Oh, hey. John, right? I'm still learning a lot of names," Thomas heard you say. His heart rate spiked at the name. John was supposed to be in the Medjack's hut. He'd been stung by a Griever a couple of days before.

Thomas heard John muttering something before a screech that sounded like a wounded animal came from the Glader. Thomas willed his Runner legs to go faster as your scream pierced through the silence of the Glade. Thomas came bursting through the trees and tackled John just as he lunged for you. "Run, Y/N! Get Alby!" You didn't have to be told twice as you turned and dashed toward the Homestead where Alby should have been.

"ALBY!" you cried as loudly as you could. You knew he'd come running, but Newt got to you first. "What's shucking going on, love?" he asked. All you could do was point toward the Deadheads as your brother came running out, John hot on his trail. Gally, along with three other Builders and Alby were instantly running to tackle John as you ran to your brother's side. "Thomas? Are you alright?"

He looked at you wide-eyed. He checked you for any visible injuries. "I'm fine, Tommy. Are you?" He nodded. "Is that why you don't want me to be a Runner? Are you worried about a Griever sting?" As he caught his breathe, you threw your arms around him. "Okay, Tommy. Maybe it is too dangerous for me to be out there. I definitely don't want to go through that," you agreed. Thomas smiled. "Great! Looking out for you here in the Glade is enough of a chore."

You rolled your eyes and turned to walk away. "What? It's true! I've got two jobs since you came up. Running and looking after you. "You turned back to him and hugged him. You sat down and began plucking the grass from the ground."I'm sorry, Tommy," you said, looking up at him with the puppy-dog eyes you knew he couldn't resist. He plopped down next to you and sighed."It's alright. Just promise me you'll keep working in the Gardens where Newt can keep an eye on you?" You gave him a smile and then threw grass in his face. "Sorry, shank, I won't make that promise!" you cried as you got up. "Catch me if you can!" You took off. Thomas rolled his eyes and ran after you.