Chapter 11: This Is Halloween

After a few weeks, things were finally going good for everyone.

Thomas' leg healed completely as he had been walking with a slight limp ever since he hurt himself while training. But he was happy because he was with Teresa, and they made a great couple.

Minho was his usual goofy self and, along with Thomas and Newt, he was my best friend. I loved those three boys almost as much as I loved my kid brother Chuck. And Minho had started talking to that girl of the party, Brenda. He might even like her a little. Truth is they looked good together.

We hung out from time to time with the rest of the Gladers as well. They were really fun to be with and I was getting along with them great!

And Newt and I were really happy together. During those last weeks we had gone out both alone and with the rest of the gang.

We were closer than ever. We went to a photo booth to have some photos together –mine was in my wallet –and we were influencing each other in many aspects.

Once, Newt had gone up to my room again. When my mom saw him she thought that her evil plan had worked and that we had liked each other during that awkward dinner and I was happy to let her believe that.

Anyway, when he looked around my room and noticed I had a few Coldplay CD's, I offered to lend one to him so he could listen to my favorite band. He hadn't listened to Coldplay before he met me!

And so, with time Newt lent me one CD of The Beatles because that was his favorite band. Hence, watching John Lennon and The Beatles' movie 'Nowhere Boy' the other time and laughing at the actor who was his doppelganger.

In fact, ever since then I've been having 'Hey Jude' stuck in my head because I loved that song. And I went everywhere singing or humming it. Thanks, Newt.

And so when I woke up that Saturday, I was reminded of the day it was by my so dear brother Chuck.

I was happily lying down on the bed, awake but with my eyes closed as I embraced the coziness of being lazy.

And then, suddenly, I opened my eyes to meet face to face with the biggest and scariest Halloween mask ever, worn by my little brother.

I squeaked and fell off the bed as my heart struggled to calm its beating pace.

Chuck was laughing out loud, holding his stomach and wiping tears of laughter from the corner of his eyes.

"Chuck, I'm gonna kill you, you shank!" I yelled, standing up and chasing him around the house.

Still laughing, Chuck screamt as he ran away from me.

"Kids, don't fight!" Dad tiredly said, not really paying attention to us.

Mom and dad knew we loved each other and that our 'fights' were always playful and never serious. That one time I really fought with Chuck was around a month ago because of Newt. And since he got to like him –because honestly, everybody loves Newt –there were no more arguments about it or about anything else ever.

When I finally caught him, I locked my arm around his head and ruffled his hair wildly, laughing as he wriggled in my grip until he eventually got rid of it.

"Y/N, your phone's ringing!" Mom yelled from somewhere in the house.

"We're even now" I told Chuck, and he stuck his tongue out at me as he combed his curly hair.

I ran upstairs and looked at the phone as it rang and it showed 'Sarcastic Asshole' as the caller.

"Hey, Min" I happily answered, plopping down on the bed.

"This is Halloween, this is Halloween" Of course I wouldn't get a normal reply. Instead I got a trio of voices singing.

"Pumpkins scream in the dead of night"

"This is Halloween, everybody make a scene"

"Trick or treat 'till the neighbors gonna die of fright"

They kept singing, the three different voices, so I stopped them.

"Alright, enough!" I cut them, imagining them pouting at the phone. "I got Chuck's reminder, thank you"

The three of them laughed and Thomas' voice spoke.

"Chuck got you this year too, huh?"

"Yeah..." It was true, I fell for it every year. That rascal...

"You should lock your door, stupid" Minho simply said.

"Stop picking on my girlfriend, you lugs" Newt's voice intervened.

"Ugh, don't use the g word, please" Minho pleaded tiredly, his voice sounded like the one of a little kid.

"Which one, girlfriend?" Newt mocked them.

I heard Minho and Thomas both groan in annoyance as Newt laughed.

I chuckled, still feeling grateful for those three silly boys.

"You goofballs!" I exclaimed, trying to get their attention back. "Is this a random call because you were bored or did you want something?"

"Oh, when it's the three of us we never get bored, princess" Minho joked, and I could picture him wriggling his eyebrows, just as if he was in front of me at that very moment.

"Slim it" Newt told him, probably rolling his eyes as he did so.

"I was just gonna say that we keep playing videogames"

Minho must have felt really proud of that silly thing, because he made Thomas laugh. Quite the achievement.

"Anyway, love" Newt continued. "Since today is bloody Halloween we thought we could come see a movie at my place and we wanted you to come"

"Yeah, and you can meet Minho's g!" Thomas teased him, making me laugh out loud.

"Don't say the g word, Tommy!" Newt laughed, mocking Minho's words.

"You didn't!" Minho's voice grew further as I pictured Thomas running away and Minho going after him. "Shuck face!"

"They're going to sleep so well tonight" Newt joked, and I chuckled. "So you're coming?"

"Yeah, what time?"

"You can come by whenever you want, really" Newt laughed for a moment unexpectedly, and I was sure that those two 'lugs' had something to do with his amusement. "Everyone will arrive eventually"

"Everyone? Did you invite a lot of people?"

"The usual. Alby, Gally, Zart, Winston, Fry and pretty much the people from the party"

As I thought about it, feeling intimidated by the huge group of people, I heard Newt telling Minho off and something about stop touching his hair.

"Okay, I'll see you later" I finally gave in, excited to hang out with more people despite the slight anxiety.

"Brilliant! (Just bloody shuck off, Minho) Bring a disguise!"

And Newt hung up after Minho yelled something at me that I didn't catch. Probably something stupid.

Definitely something stupid.

*

I stayed home for a few more hours, having lunch, chatting with my family, picking a little on Chuck, answering annoying questions about Newt... but eventually I got ready to go to Newt's place.

I decided to walk there, even if it was a bit far. But I took my time until I eventually arrived.

I was about to knock when someone called me. I turned around and saw Alby a few feet from me, waving at me and calmly approaching me.

"Hi" I smiled at him, as he did the same once he was close enough.

"Came here to see Newtie?"

I laughed at the nickname, knowing Alby would never let his friend forget about it.

"Yeah, he told me about the movie night" I simply said as Alby got out his keys and opened the door.

He nodded, still showing me a friendly smile, and motioned for me to come in.

"Newt, I found a lost puppy and brought her home!" Alby yelled as he came in and held the door open for me.

I grinned at him and thanked him for the gallantry.

"Another one?!" Newt's voice came from the living room as we went through the hall. "Bloody hell, Alby! We can't have another one!"

"What do you mean 'another one'?" I asked loudly enough for Newt to hear me.

But then, my question was answered by the most adorable sound in the world. A tiny and cute high-pitched little bark that nearly melted my heart.

"Aaaaaw" I crouched down to pet the puppy that came to greet me. He was so tiny and enthusiastic.

Determined, I picked up the doggy and walked to the living room.

Newt was lazily lying on the couch, sprawled with one leg and an arm out.

"Y/N!" He happily said, sitting up a bit.

His face immediately lit up when he saw me. I tried to pretend that the change from boredom to excitement in his expression didn't make me happy and I forced the smile that wanted to show up in my face into a scowl.

"This is the puppy from yesterday!"

"His name is Bark" Newt simply said with a cute shrug.

Alby petted the little creature in my arms with a smile. He seemed to have grown fond of him too.

"The shank wouldn't let me take him to the animal shelter and begged me to take Bark home" He mumbled as he took off his jacket and walked to his room.

"It's adorable" I gave the puppy a kiss in its little head and held him close.

"That's why I brought him" The British said as I sat next to him on the couch.

"Great name, by the way" I chuckled, petting the puppy. "Bark. Very original"

Newt briefly grinned at me in response.

He looked and sounded sleepy, his eyes squinting and his hair all messy.

"Did you take a nap, you lazy lug?" I joked, leaving Bark on my lap.

The dog made me laugh when he wiggled his tail as he looked at Newt. It was the most adorable thing ever.

"Yeah" Newt absently scratched his head as he spoke to me. "Alby called me like five minutes ago to wake me up"

"Oh, that's right, the movie" I glared at Newt, who was yawning big like a lion. "We should prepare some snacks and stuff, right?"

Bark was stretching out to lick Newt's face as the boy softly pushed him away. That adorable sight made me grin.

I was about to stand up when Newt firmly placed his hands on my hips to stop me and bring me down with him again.

"We have time, stay here with me for a while" He positioned himself against me and let out a sleepy grunt as he nuzzled his nose against my neck.

"What are you doing?" I laughed, actually surprised that he was all cuddly and snuggly, while he laid a sleepy and warm kiss on my neck.

"When Newt is sleepy he gets really affectionate!" Alby yelled from the other room.

"How do you know that, Alby?" I joked, making Newt chuckle in my neck as he wrapped his arms around my torso.

Bark was there, licking Newt's arm and shoving me with his nose so I would give him cuddles too.

"Stop listening to us!!" The blond groaned feebly, annoyed by his friend.

Alby just laughed, and I knew he would not obey him.

I petted Bark's fur as he happily shut his eyes like a cat, satisfied with the attention.

"Right now I see no difference between you and Bark, you know?" I told Newt with a smile.

He finally held his head up to look at me and gave me a peck on the lips. I had been craving that kiss since I knew I was going to see Newt.

But as the blond kept wanting more, I averted my gaze from him and coyly pulled away. I had just realized we weren't alone as I seem to forget it.

"Newt..." I complained sheepishly, absently focusing on scratching Bark's head.

"What?"

"Alby's right there..."

"So?"

"So she's too 'bloody' shy!" Alby indeed was listening from the other room and had to take part in our conversation.

It was one thing kissing Newt in front of Minho and Thomas. We were much closer friends, and the both of us partly did it to annoy them a little as their reactions were so funny. But even though I got along really well with Alby, it just felt so much more embarrassing knowing Alby was there, registering every move we made.

"You really need to stop being shy, love" Newt flashed me a sweet smile.

Simply, I shrugged.

My boyfriend smirked, and I knew that could be no good.

I watched him as he got close to me. His lips were dangerously near from mine.

I blushed at the thought, even though Alby couldn't see us.

Just as I closed my eyes, expecting that sweet kiss as my heart raced for him, he pulled away.

Dumbfounded, I looked up from his mouth to his eyes.

"Newt, why did you...?" The mischievous twinkle on his eyes was answer enough.

He was more than aware that if he did that I would crave him and he was trying to 'help me not to be so shy' and actually make me go and get it myself. For him, because for me it was just hardcore teasing.

He succeeded, though, because I reached out to kiss him.

"Why are you all so quiet?" Alby mockingly shouted from the room just as I was smashing my lips on Newt's.

I broke the kiss to laugh and instead wrapped my arms around his neck and left a tiny little sweet peck on Newt's jaw, then hiding my face on his shoulder.

"We're kissing, got any bloody problem with that?!" Newt exclaimed, his voice being slightly drowned by Bark's... bark.

"Many!" Alby words were barely understandable as he was laughing so hard.

"That shank" Newt shook his head but giggled a little.

"Well" I sighed, taking Bark off my lap and into Newt's to stand up. "Let's get working"

"Not yet" Newt intercepted me again.

He tackled me so I laid on the couch and comfortable placed his head on my chest, wrapping his arms behind my torso again and closing his eyes.

"You're worse than Bark, actually" I caressed his soft fluffy hair, looking down to him fondly.

He was such a dork.

"Because I'm still sleepyyyy" He mumbled against my collarbone, making me feel a chill.

"You're adorable, Newt" I pinched his cheek jokingly but he quickly swatted me away, not bothering to even open his eyes.

"Slim it, love"

I just laughed and happily sighed, my stomach filling with butterflies one more time while Newt rested over me.

*

The both of us ended falling asleep on his couch. I didn't know what it was with that couch, but it lulled us to sleep every time. At least one of us.

Alby woke us up –with the widest smirk on his face as he observed how adorable and cheesy we were –because the gang was about to arrive to watch the movie.

"What time is it?" I groggily mumbled, rubbing my eyes as Newt got me rid of his weight on top of me.

"They'll be back in ten minutes, if they're not late that is" The boy simply replied, watching the 'cutest sleepy couple' as he had called us when he woke us up.

Newt walked up to the kitchen like a zombie, missing the wall by just a few centimeters. It would have been funny to see him face palming the wall. But even sleepy, Newt was too cool for that.

I followed after him, hoping to sober up while we served the things for the guests when they came.

"I have to get my costume" Newt had suddenly just remembered it, judging by the look on his face.

"Me too, but it takes like one minute to get it done. So I'll do it later" Since I didn't really have a proper Halloween costume –the costumes I had were of a medieval mistress and one or two cosplays -I improvised a tiny cat costume.

It was Halloween after all, I wanted a scary costume if I was to actually dress up. I was still wearing my jeans and sweatshirt and all, so it wasn't technically a costume.

"I'll help you guys" Alby offered himself, accompanying me to the kitchen and opening cabinets to get glasses and bowls out. I looked through the remaining cupboards until I found bags of chips and candy.

"Are you watching the movie with us, Alby?" I asked him as I carried a few bags to the living room and headed back to the kitchen.

Alby was still there, getting a few bottles of soda out of the fridge.

"Nope" He replied, his head still stuck in the fridge as he found them all.

"He doesn't like horror movies" Newt appeared again from his room.

His only disguise had been placing a bloody –no pun intended –fake knife over his head. That was all he bothered to do.

I was about to laugh at Newt's very elaborated costume when I realized what he had just said.

Picking up more stuff and pacing again to the table, I put a bowl of Doritos and a bottle of Fanta on it and turned to Newt as he arrived behind me carrying all kinds of foods in his arms.

"What movie are we watching?" I shifted the weight of my body from one leg to another and rested my hand on my hip.

"The Ring" He replied simply, straightening up after leaving all the stuff next to the Fanta.

He looked at me, a repressed smile on his mouth as he analyzed my reaction.

"I-I didn't know we were going to watch a horror movie" I nervously said, suddenly wanting to go back home and forget about the shuck movie.

"On Halloween?" Newt chuckled, booping my nose and making me wrinkle it.

"Well, I was hoping we wouldn't see a horror movie" I admitted, and Alby got out of the kitchen carrying the last of the things.

"See? Y/N gets my point"

"Are you scared, Alby?" Newt mocked him, crossing his arms over his chest.

Alby shoved him and Newt struggled to regain his balance back without flailing his arms around. He had to keep his arms crossed to maintain his cool and collected aura. Because it was Newt who we were talking about.

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human" Our friend just answered to Newt's provocation.

Then they knocked on the door. The boys were here.

I quickly put on my headband with the cats ears and painted cat whiskers on my cheeks and nose. Done.

Then I went to greet them while Alby and Newt went to set up the movie.

"Hi, guys!" Everyone stopped to give me a hug and say hi before they came in.

I grinned as I watched everyone's disguises, laughing at some costumes and admiring others.

Zart had been boring enough not to dress up, but someone had painted a fake moustache on him and he looked hilarious even with his usual bored face.

Gally's costume was awesome. He was Jack Sparrow, and I loved it. He got every single detail of the costume right. The golden teeth, the black eyeliner, the rastas, the beard...

Thomas was disguised as a vampire. Pale face, a dripple of blood falling from the corner of his mouth to his chin. Some short of cape over his shoulders. Classic.

He walked in holding Teresa's hand. And her costume was awesome as well. She was Black Widow, which suited her a lot, I must say.

Ben was Captain America, and I laughed happily and high-fived him because it was just perfect. He pretty much was like Steve Rogers, to be honest.

"You guys like Marvel a lot, huh?"

Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff shrugged as they came in and began to sit down in the sofa and floor.

Minho was Frankenstein. He had painted his whole face green with scars and stuff –for some reason I pictured Brenda painting him –and his quiff was on point as usual. He wore tattered clothes and it was all very funny even if it was supposed to be scary.

"You look especially handsome today, Min" I joked, pinching the thick bolt that stuck out of his temple.

"I know" He beamed, smiling. But that grin soon faded away at my next comment.

"You really suit Hulk" I teased him, and he sent me one of those fed up glares that amused me so much.

"Minho angry" He wrinkled his nose and pursed his lips together, making me laugh.

Then Brenda came in and slightly ruffled Minho's hair as she passed by, smiling at me and then going directly for the food. Minho grunted angrily and carefully passed his fingers through his hair to comb it.

"I never imagined Hulk and Lara Croft together, but you make a cute couple" I teased Minho, watching the heroine of Tomb Raider wolfing down some snacks.

They were made for each other.

"Shut up, kitty" Minho pinched my cheeks and went to join the rest.

"Meow" I playfully smiled at him.

"Okay, everyone shut your bloody mouths!" Newt's voice exclaimed over the racket that had created.

Everyone was already in their place, Minho and Brenda taking the couch while the rest accommodated in chairs or even in the floor.

"Call me when the movie ends" Alby said, already on the door. "I'm going out with Jeff and Clint and the other guys who don't want to waste their time in here either"

"Yeah, right" Newt rolled his eyes, not believing Alby's excuse.

He just didn't want to admit in front of everyone that he was afraid of scary movies.

He then exited the house to go join the wise people that didn't want to see the movie. Maybe I could go with them, maybe it wasn't too late.

But Newt sat in the couch next to Minho and I sat at the blond's right when he patted the spot with his hand.

The movie was starting, and I saw the Dreamworks logo and thought that maybe we wouldn't be watching a horror movie after all. Maybe they were pranking me. Or so I thought, until the moon became a ring and it twitched in an ominous way.

Newt hadn't lied to me. We were indeed watching The Ring.

Nope. Just nope.

"Shuck my life..." I sighed, heavily laying my head on Newt's shoulder.

He smiled and placed a hand on my upper leg as he glanced at the movie.

I loved that he had always to keep physical contact with me.

The electric spark his touch sent through me made me feel slightly better about the restlessness that the movie caused me.

"Hey, check this out, guys" Minho said while the beginning credits appeared on the screen.

Everyone focused their attention on him for a moment.

"Gally, I like your Jack Sparrow costume" Minho patted Gally's shoulder as the boy sat in the ground in front of him.

"Captain Jack Sparrow" He corrected annoyed.

"Sorry, Captain Gally" Minho mocked him. "I mean, Captain Jack Sparrow"

"Shut up and watch the movie" Gally scowled at him and we all laughed.

"I'm a Captain too" Ben mumbled happily, making me laugh again. He was so lovable.

Hopefully, that movie wouldn't be too scary having these guys constantly joking around.

*

As the movie advanced, I was getting more and more spooked. I knew there were worse movies than the Ring, but I hated those movies anyway.

I was wrong when I thought my friends would joke around. They all got so into it, absently eating the snacks as they observed the events of the movie in fascination.

In fact, the sound of people munching the food was the only one audible. Everything was quiet to get immersed in the movie.

I had spent the whole movie looking down or to my friend's faces to see their reactions. And also chatting with Teresa until the boys told me to stop talking so they could enjoy the movie.

Then, since I was getting paranoid and kept glancing at the door to make sure no one came in, I decided to distract myself.

I had stayed as close as Newt as I could. So I grabbed the make-up pencil I had used to draw my whiskers and painted in his arm. I scribbled anything that came to mind: our names, little hearts, flowers, everyone else's names, song lyrics –Fix You included -, and just random shapes and things like smiley faces or treble clefs.

Newt didn't seem to mind me doing so. In fact, he let an amused chuckle while he observed me turning his arm into a hand-made collage.

I looked up to the screen for a moment and it was just the moment where the girl was coming out from the well. And it was so disturbing.

I yelped and the hand that I was using to paint of Newt's arm twitched and I drew an undesired black line over his arm.

Disgusted grunts and surprised yelps could be heard all over the room. I distinguished Teresa's squeak, but surprisingly not Brenda's.

Restless, I shut my eyes tight as I held Newt's arm and covered my face on his shirt.

"Are you scared?" The blond sniggered.

I just cuddled over myself and sought the safety in Newt's body as I snuggled closer to him. When I whined on him, he hugged me to make me feel safer.

After a few minutes, when I felt more relaxed again, I continued doodling on his arm as I felt his stare –accompanied by a grin –burning the back of my head.

I couldn't wait until that stupid movie was over.

At least it wasn't one with everything jump scares.

*

After the movie, Alby and the rest of the guys that didn't want to watch the movie joined us. Together, we took a walk and enjoyed the Halloween environment, everyone dressed up. There were some interesting disguises out there, that was for sure.

Some were really typical: Mummies, ghosts, zombies, witches... But others were awesome, like one Joker we saw. Or Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas.

As I was fascinated by a Beetlejuice that passed by, Minho came from behind me and scared me for the twentieth time that day.

I yelped and hid my face in Newt's chest, my heart beating like crazy.

"Tell them something" I whined to Newt as I held him tight, shaking a little from the scare.

He chuckled and rubbed my back in shooting circles.

"I can't really complain if you keep hugging me like this, love" He sweetly said, kissing the top of my head tenderly.

"Come on, guys, leave poor Y/N alone" At least Teresa was good to me.

Despite Minho and Thomas being complete slintheads, I was having a great time. The gang was so much fun!

"Hey" Frypan mumbled happily. "We could do something to hang out, spend the weekend outside. All of us!"

"Yeah! Party and booze!" Minho laughed, shoving Thomas by the shoulder and earning an annoyed glance from him.

"Maybe we could rent a cottage or something"

"Everyone agrees?" Winston asked us, and we nodded.

"I do" I mumbled, pouting. "But if there are any more horror movies you can count me out"

They laughed at my comment, but I meant it. I hated horror movies.

"Seven days" Minho whispered in my ear with a raspy and scary voice, making me jump in fear.

Newt had almost to catch me in his arms as I jumped so high.

"I swear, Minho, you-" I quickly turned around to face him. But what I saw shut me up.

Like a phantom, haunting me. And not only because his face was painted white and black like a skeleton.

Yeah, it was Dave.

I recognized him even under all that paint. His rough blue eyes would stick in my memory for a long time until I could forget them.

"What's wrong?" Thomas asked me with a worried voice.

I briefly looked at him when he held my arm and tugged at it urgently.

"Did we really scare you that bad?" Minho wondered, placing an arm on my shoulder as well.

"Is Y/N okay?" Frypan asked watching how everyone focused in me.

Getting out of my trance, I forced a smile. Still my eyes involuntarily moved to him again. He hadn't seen me yet.

"Yeah, I'm fine" I kept smiling reluctantly in order to reassure them. "Keep walking, you shanks"

I felt a hand holding my own, and I didn't have to look to know it was Newt.

"What is it, love?"

Minho, Thomas and him, along with Frypan, stood with me while the rest took my word for it.

"Wait, isn't that...?" Thomas didn't even finish his sentence.

Frypan didn't know, but the rest of them did. They didn't have to ask to know the person who was making me feel so uneasy was Dave.

I felt Newt getting stiff next to me and his eyes acquiring a hard and disgusted glance. My friends pretty much doing the same, so I urged them to go away from there.

I didn't want to make a scene. Even if he deserved it and anything they could do to him.

All the memories rushed to my brain and they hit me hard. It felt like a kick in the gut and I actually felt out of breath.

"Are you sure you're okay, honey?" Frypan kindly asked me, squeezing my hand fondly.

"Yeah" I averted everyone's gaze and tried to focus on the joy of the moment. On how perfect everything was before I saw him. "Don't worry guys, I'm okay"

But deep down I wasn't okay, and I knew it. All because one person.

It's unbelievable how much a single someone can affect you. For right or wrong.

"We should leave these bloody lugs to do silly stuff and do their childish trick or treat and go" Newt suddenly pipped up, obviously making an effort to get my mind off it.

Minho went to hug me tight, making me drop the blond's hand.

"You can't take her away from me, Newt!" Minho joked, holding me close to him.

I hugged him too, managing a tiny smile as I embraced my friend's soothing touch.

I didn't need him. And I didn't need to torment myself because of him and his memory and the pain he caused me.

Because I had them now. That was all I needed.

"Don't you bloody dare hug my girlfriend like that" Newt sternly pulled me away from Minho, but I caught a glimpse of an amused grin on my boy's mouth.

Thomas, serious and grave as always went to hug me.

"Deep down I still don't trust him too much, you know?" He whispered in my ear, obviously joking.

"Slim it, Tommy, I can bloody hear you" Newt bitterly said, still grinning.

Thomas distanced himself from me and smiled sweetly as Minho patted him in the back.

"Bye, guys!" They said as they left me with the British.

Everyone was going off to pull out some Halloween night shenanigans, but Newt said he had planned something –it was really simple and hopefully the plan wouldn't go to klunk like on our first date –and we walked away once we had said goodbye to everyone.

I still thought it was just something to take my mind off it. To cheer me up because all my cheeriness had evaporated in just one second. When I saw his stupid painted face.

We began walking and Newt told me where he was taking me. We were going to the highest place of the town, a very high hill from where you could see the whole city. That would be amazing.

*

"When will it end?" I grunted as Newt pulled me up the hill.

Even if in the back of my mind I still went back to him in spite of myself, my mood had improved a lot thanks to a certain blondie.

He looked over his shoulder, squeezing my hand slightly, and showed me the smile. That smile made me feel like everything would be perfectly okay.

"We're almost there, love"

Just a bit more of space separated us from the top of the hill, but I was so tired that if it wasn't for Newt helping me up, I would have quit a long time ago.

"You had the worst idea ever" Truth was I had never climbed the hill before and I was a little excited to arrive. But the closer I got, the more exhausted I was and the less excited I felt.

"Trust me, Y/N" Newt smirked, only lifting the right corner of his lips. "You're gonna love it"

"What do you give me if I don't?" I teased him, heavily breathing.

"Anything you want, but hurry up or we'll miss the bloody sunset" Then he held my hand next to his lips and briefly kissed my knuckles to encourage me. It worked.

I still huffed, feeling sore and cursing Newt. I wasn't as athletic as he or Thomas or Minho were. I was definitely out of shape.

Pushing myself and allowing him to pull at me more urgently, I walked up the last of it and followed him.

"Here we are" I observed Newt as he turned to me, smiling tenderly.

The lights of the sunset lit his face with orangish and rose tones, making his brown eyes shine and appear lighter than usual as the sun directly shone on them. The last of the sunlight also fell over his sandy hair too, making it seem so soft and fluffy.

I reached out to push a tuft of hair away from his eyes as he grinned at me.

That image only, of Newt smiling at me under the light of the sunset, was enough to make me think that I didn't climb up for nothing.

The blond let go of my hand and I walked a few more steps, heavily panting and trying to hide it from him as I watched the sunset with dreamy eyes. It was beautiful, really beautiful.

Suddenly two arms sneaked around me from behind and tightly wrapped me.

"Heads up!" I literally could hear the smirk in his voice when he spoke.

"What does that-?"

And before I could finish talking, Newt had pulled me down with him as he plonked down on the grass.

I landed on his lap. He laughed light-heartedly because it had surprised me so much that I squeaked with a high-pitched girly voice that echoed around the hill.

"Do you like it?" Newt asked, watching in amusement how I was still panting from the tiring climb.

"No?" I said, actually adoring the view. It sure was worth it, but it wasn't like I was going to tell him.

As I still sat on his lap, his arms around my stomach and his chin on my shoulder, he chuckled in my ear.

"What do you want then?"

I let my head fall back onto his shoulder and let out a huge breath.

"For now, let me die here" I closed my eyes and waited until my elaborated breaths regained a normal and more regular pace.

Newt giggled and gave me a kiss on the cheek, something that I had noticed he loved doing.

"But look at the bloody sunset, dummy" Newt shrugged his shoulder, making my head bounce on it, to get my attention.

I reluctantly opened my eyes and enjoyed the sight, feeling peaceful and happy despite the tiredness.

That moment was too perfect to ruin it with any sad thoughts. So I focused on the moment and on Newt.

"It's beautiful" I whispered, still amazed by it even though I had seen it so many times.

"Marvelous"

"Delightful"

"Lovely"

"Heart-warming"

"You're out" Newt laughed, stirring under me to sit more comfortably.

"What? Out from what?"

"You were supposed to keep on saying one word adjectives"

"No, I... Even if I was" I decided to play along with him because I knew he would tease me if I didn't. "Heart-warming is one word"

"No, it's bloody not"

"It has a hyphen!"

Newt used two fingers to turn my head towards his and kissed me in the lips. I immediately forgot about that stupid one word game.

"That's cheating, mischievous little shank" I bit my bottom lip as my eyes kept looking at his mouth.

He just smiled and averted his gaze from mine, admiring the horizon instead. That little smile on his mouth was so perfect.

We observed the sunset in complete silence, still not moving from our previous position.

Then, once the sun had hidden under the line of the horizon and it got darker and colder, we waited there to see the stars appear on the night sky.

Newt had got his phone out and put some music while we waited. I smiled in satisfaction when I heard some Coldplay on it. But mostly there was The Beatles and Queen.

"You know why my parents called me Newt?" He finally broke the silence, pushing me a little until I sat on the grass instead of on his lap.

"Because you're a Salamander Boy" I grinned, softly pressing my back to his front as he leaned his hands on the ground behind him to keep the two of us in place.

"No, silly. Because my dad loved Isaac Newton, big fan" He half-jokingly said.

"Did you discover gravity?" I teased him, turning my whole body around to face him completely.

"I bloody might. Once an apple fell on my head"

I laughed and hugged him just because I felt like it. Because everything he did made me want to hug him as I found him so endearing and lovable.

I was in love with him after all.

"I have something for you" Newt shoved a hand on the inner pocket of his blue jacket and got out a little yellow bag.

"What's this?" I took the bag when he offered it to me and picked up what was inside it.

A book. The cover was black and yellow and the title read 'Paper Towns' with black letters and 'John Green' with white ones.

"Newt..." I whispered, moved by that little but sweet gesture.

"I told you I'd lend it to you if I had it. And since I don't and you really wanted to read it I bought it for you" He carefully observed my reaction.

By the tiny smile on his face, I must have had the biggest and happiest grin in my face ever.

Not managing to hold my hype back, I opened the book and started reading it right away.

"The way I figure it, everyone gets a miracle" I began reading out loud, and I noticed a tiny little note up in the margin.

The note was scribbled in Newt's thin and messy handwriting, and it read 'I could comment something really bloody obvious and cheesy about miracles, but you're a smart lass and you probably read my mind anyway'

I grinned and looked at him. Newt just shrugged cutely, didn't say anything.

"Did you leave notes all over the book?" Before he could answer, I asked him something else. "Wait, when did you buy the book?"

"The day after we saw it" He replied with a cute expression.

"Is that why it took so long for you to give it to me? You've been going through the whole book and commenting it for me?"

"Maybe" The blond tried to act nonchalantly, but he couldn't keep a straight face and just chuckled.

I smiled and playfully pushed him a little.

Watching how the stars were too lazy to appear yet, I lied on my side and embraced that moment, feeling the fresh grass beneath me. It reminded me of the Glade and the times I was there with Newt.

Newt's warmth engulfed me when he lied down next to me and kissed me in the forehead.

*

Around an hour later the stars had begun to appear.

I was laying my head on Newt's stomach as he told me the stars had finally made a stellar appearance. I had been reading the whole time.

But then I closed the book and stared at the sky, almost falling asleep while Newt played with my hair.

As we craned our necks up to watch the stars, Newt pointing up a constellation for me every once in a while, Yellow sounded. I don't have to say the band it is from, am I right?

It was a perfect way to end the day. And it felt perfect being there with Newt.

His hand was laying in the grass next to me so I picked it up, laughing as I saw his arm. He had rolled up his sleeves and the doodles I made in his skin before were visible now.

Newt intertwined his fingers with mine and I held his hand with both of mine, clutching it to my chest.

Not even caring about the stars anymore, I closed my eyes. I got drowsy as Newt's free hand kept caressing my hair and Coldplay sounded in the background.

In that moment, I felt a strange but strong happiness engulf me. And it was just perfect.

Look at the stars, look how the shine for you. And everything you do.

And it was all yellow...

You know I love you so.