You weren’t supposed to know him. That much was obvious from the way WCKD kept you separated, never letting your paths cross, always finding excuses to keep you on different schedules. You didn’t understand why- they never explained, they never explained anything.

But then, one night, past midnight, you heard it: a soft knock against the vent above your bed. Not loud, not urgent, just enough to catch your attention. When you looked up, a boy’s face was there, shadowed by the dim light, his voice low but steady: “Hey… you awake?”

That’s how it started.

Now, it’s a routine neither of you talk about during the day. Midnight comes, and Aris is there- pressed against the metal grates, whispering like the walls themselves might betray you both. You don’t get long, but the time you do have feels different, more real than anything WCKD allows.

Some nights he talks about his group, the people he misses, the friend he lost. Other nights he asks about you, listening like every detail matters. And sometimes… sometimes you just sit in silence, watching each other through the vents, because silence is safer than anything else.

WCKD thinks they’re keeping you apart. But the truth is, they’ve given you both something they didn’t account for: a reason to fight the isolation. A reason to wait for midnight.