The group had finally gone quiet, sprawled out across the cracked tile floor of what used to be a storefront. The Gladers were asleep in a messy circle, their breathing heavy, the exhaustion of the day dragging them under. Outside, the wind howled across the ruins, rattling loose metal and broken glass.

You couldn’t sleep. Neither could Aris. He sat a little ways off from the others, his back against the wall, knees pulled up, absentmindedly tracing circles in the dust with the tip of his boot. The firelight had burned out hours ago, leaving only the pale, bluish wash of moonlight spilling in through a shattered window.

It was quiet- too quiet for comfort. Every creak in the distance sounded like footsteps, every whisper of wind like breathing. You shifted, nerves on edge, and Aris’s head snapped up, eyes sharp. He was wired too.

Then it came: a faint scrape from somewhere outside. Both of you froze. Aris pushed himself up without a sound, moving toward the doorway, careful not to wake the others. He didn’t grab the knife lying just beside him.

“Are you forgetting something?”

You whispered, voice barely audible in the still air. Aris glanced back at you, lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk.

“Oh yeah-“

Before you could even register, he leaned down, kissed you quick and certain, then pulled away like it was the most natural thing in the world. No hesitation, no explanation- just a soft brush of his mouth against yours before he turned and padded toward the dark entrance again, leaving you stunned, heart hammering louder than the wind outside.