“ What's happening?”

My voice was hoarse from crying.

Thomas responded

“ Teresa thinks we should bring Newt with us, even if he slows us down.”

He said Teresa with emphasis. Teresa, seeing she shouldn't get in the middle of this, walked back to the main camp.

“ So what if I think she’s right?”

Thomas’s face had a sort of calm rage portrayed on it.

“ Then I think you're the dumbest shank that ever lived.”

I was growing angry. Very angry.

“ Then I guess I am the dumbest shank that ever lived, because I think Teresa is right.”

Thomas took a step towards me.

I took a step back.

Thomas’s face turned into a sneer.

“ We all know the real reason why you wanna take Newt with us.”

“ Oh, Yeah? What then?”

Thomas took another step forward.

I took another step back.

“ I think you know, why don't you admit it?”

He took another step forward.

I tried to take another step back, but I ran into a tree.

I was cornered.

“ Oh, yeah Thomas? You seem pretty sure, why don't you tell me?”

He looked coldly at me.

“ If you insist. You love Newt.”

Yeah! Yeah I do Thomas! You got a problem with that?

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That's what I thought. What actually came out was,

“ Yeah, Thomas, I do. So what?”

He pushed my back to the tree bark.

“ That it’s so pathetic you think that he loves you.”

Oh, so that's what it was about?

“ Oh yeah? Are you jealous?”

That got him flustered.

“ I-I am not, because I don't love Newt”

Uh huh. That's what I thought.

“ Well, duh! Why else would you want to leave him behind!”

“ I recall we were talking about you, not me.”

Oh, he got his snark back.

“ Well, the reason I want to take Newt is because he is my friend, and a human being!”

He laughed.

At me.

“ Really, it isn't because you want to snuggle up to him?”

“ I-I what?”

“ You really think I didn't see you cuddled up to Newt last night?”

“ I think you're jealous.”

“ Jealous of what? That ugly, stupid, clumsy excuse of a shank? ”

Each of those words punched me in the chest. I pushed Thomas over, and ran out of the clearing just as I saw Teresa enter again, with Alby.

Ugly

Supid

clumsy

That's not Newt he’s talking about.

It's you.

Your ugly, stupid ,and clumsy

Newt is . . .

Adorable

Smart

Agile

Maybe Thomas was right, maybe Newt doesn't love me.

I had run back to Newt. He looked like he was still asleep, but alive. I ran to a tree, and curled up under it. Maybe I could steal flare medicine from WICKED. That would probably work. A couple hours later, I felt Gally tap me on the shoulder. I looked up from the twig I was fiddling with.

“ Minho, where the shuck is thomas?”

Thomas?

Then It all flooded back to me.

Thomas,

Thomas.

Thomas!

“ How the shuck would I know where that . . . shuckface is?”

I know I sounded like a little kid, but I was too blinded by fury to reply any better.

Alby came into my eyesight.

“ Because he’s gone, and you were the one who had beef with him.”

I had still been sitting on the ground, and stood up.

“ What the shuck do you think I did with him?”

Alby started yelling at me.

“ I think you got rid of him!”

“ And just how would I do that?”

My face was growing hot.

See,

they all hate you

Every last one of them

Even

Newt.

Chuck ran to us, and screamed

“ Stop fighting please! Newt is awake!”