#real talk - i was at gally one last weekend | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

holidaywishes · 3 years

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the best is yet to come...

part thirteen: the best is yet to come...

Summary: “As excited as I am that we’re now Stanley Cup Champions, I have to listen to my body and say my goodbyes to the team and to the league.”

Warning: fluff and I think that’s it! It definitely got a little gushy at the end <3

Author’s Note: Welcome to the Finale! We’re jumping ahead five years ahead to when Freddie has decided to retire after the team wins the Stanley Cup and he feels like he’s done all he can for now. It’s a little bittersweet but in all honesty, I think it’s a good way to end this little series, so I hope you enjoy it! Also, for those of you reading my Gally fic, or like Gally in general and are interested in Gally content, I was going to finish off the last three chapters of that series once this one was done but with 9-1-1 coming back on Monday, I wanted to finish that series because I’m only making that series 15 parts because that seems like enough. So, once those two chapters are done, I will move onto finishing my Gally series. So, that’s all the explaining I’ll do for now! Hope you like this Finale chapter! Stay golden, loves!

masterlist

the other masterlist

Five Years Later

Vita had grown up so fast and you were trying your best to relish every moment -- taking too many pictures, buying matching outfits that included Freddie, filming all her birthdays and taking her to all of Freddie’s games -- but that meant that a lot of your friends were getting tired of seeing it all

“So...” your best friend, Miranda, sighed as she was forced to leave a voicemail for you when you missed her call, “I think we need to get together. But, here’s the caveat, you have to leave Vita with Freddie or a babysitter.” You furrowed your brow at her request and looked at your daughter who was watching an interview that Freddie had done this morning, earning a smile from you, “I love Vita, you know that, but I feel like I haven’t seen you without her since the day she was born. And I miss you, I miss us being able to hang out without talking about kids or looking at family photos. So, call me back and let’s set something up!” You understood where she was coming from, you were in different places in your lives and often it made it difficult to connect with the friends you had before you got pregnant, but you appreciated her being honest with you and making an effort to see you. So, you called Freddie and asked what day he would be free because you really didn’t want to find a babysitter, and luckily he had some free time this weekend, so you quickly called Miranda back. When you finally met up with Miranda, you sat in silence for a while before either of you knew what to say

“So--” you both said, laughing at the awkward interaction

“Can I get you two anything to drink while you look through the menu?” the server asked when he came over to the table

“I’ll have a sweet tea” Miranda said

“Can I get a Coke?” you smiled before thanking the server and turning back to Miranda, “so how have you been?”

“Good!” she smiled, “I went back to school to get my Master’s”

“No way! That’s awesome, what in? Sticking with something in Nursing?” you asked

“Sort of,” she smiled, “with everything that happened during the Pandemic, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, that I didn’t know enough, so I decided to get my Masters in Public Health, specializing in epidemiology.”

“Miranda! That’s incredible!” you exclaimed, both of you thanking the server as they set down your drinks, “you have always been so smart and motivated, I know you’ll kick ass in that Masters program!”

“Thank you,” she smiled, “yeah I’m excited!”

“That’s really wonderful, I’m so proud of you.”

“So what about you? How have you been?” she asked and you hesitated, trying to figure out how to talk to her without talking about Vita

“I’ve been good! Work’s going well, Freddie’s excited to be getting a shot at the Cup again”

“Yeah, I’ve been watching, the team looks really good this season”

“Right? They definitely look more cohesive,” you laughed, “Fred’s thinking this year might be his last though”

“No way! How come?”

“This reason or that reason,” you chuckled, “he says that he’s getting too old and that any injury he gets could impact him more than it used to. He wants to be around for us and to be able to still play Hockey once he retires. He wants to retire on his own terms”

“That makes sense”

“I feel bad for him though,” you admitted, “I feel like he doesn’t know who he is without Hockey but he knows that he’s on the older side than the majority of goalies now. I mean I still think he’s amazing at everything he does but I don’t want him to get hurt or do it if he doesn’t love it anymore...“

“I’m sure he knows what he’s doing”

“Definitely”

“Alright alright, how’s the baby?“ she sighed

“Vita’s good, but we don’t have to talk about her” you smiled

“No no, I didn’t mean that you couldn’t talk about her. I just would rather see you alone, without her. I know that sounds awful”

“I get it,” you confessed, “kids are not always the best company. They’re loud and can burst out into tantrums without any real cause and even if they’re the most adorable things ever, they just irritate you.” The two of you laughed together for a minute before you told her about Vita and how everything was going -- her first days of Kindergarten, the friends she was making, how obsessed she was with Hockey and how much Freddie had become wrapped about her finger.

“They’re adorable together. He’s such a giant next to her, it’s so cute to see.”

“He loves her so much,” you smiled, “and I’ve never been happier.”

“I’m so happy for you. And I’m happy that you haven’t lost yourself in them,” she said and you furrowed your brow, “you’re still you. You still have a job that you love, you still have your own interests and your own friends and you still love your husband. You’re not just... a mom or a wife for the sake of it. I really admire that about you. You’ve always been such an incredible person and I was worried that being a mom would somehow take that away from you.” You tilted your head in response before putting your hand on hers

“Thank you,” you smiled, “it’s not like it’s easy. There was a minute like five years ago, just after my grandparents died, that I thought I was losing myself and I told Freddie. So, we worked together and became a team. Which is how it’s supposed to be and it seems to be working for us. A little give and take.” The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty quickly and you were sad to say goodbye but Miranda told you she’d call you to make this a weekly thing to which you eagerly agreed, “god yes! I need more adults in my life,” you laughed and Miranda smiled in return, “look. You totally don’t have to, but we’re having a birthday party for Vita and it would be great if you could be there. It’s next Saturday at noon, it won’t be too big but a lot of the team will be there because they’ve all fallen in love with Vita too”

“I’d love to” she replied, hugging you goodbye before she got into her car and drove off. It felt good to have your friend back in your life even if you had gone in different directions. When you got home, you found Freddie and Vita playing peek-a-boo, earning a laugh from you before you rushed to them

“How was lunch?” he asked

“It was good! Great actually,” you smiled, “how was everything here?”

“It was great! We played games, we watched T.V., we went skating...”

“Skating?” you asked, shocked

“Yeah, I thought it was time to teach her” he laughed

“How’d she do?”

“She was a champ,” he smiled, “obviously.”

“She didn’t fall or break any bones?” you joked

“No way!” he smiled, looking at Vita before looking back at you, “she had so much fun. I think she’s gonna be a great athlete some day”

“If she wants to be” you insisted

“Of course,” he added, standing up and walking to the kitchen to get a glass of water while you followed him in, “but I think she might want to...”

“Let’s ask her,” you smirked, stopping when he started to run back to Vita, “not now!” you laughed, “later, let’s just let her have a bit of a childhood first okay?”

“Okay okay” he smirked, kissing your cheek and sitting on the couch away from his daughter, watching the two of you play and laugh with each other. Moments like this were often few and far between so you cherished them when you could and you couldn’t help but feel so incredibly lucky.

Freddie’s P.O.V

“We want you to be careful,” the team doctors demanded as they examined an injury that had crept up on you within the last few games, “don’t put too much stress on your leg. Sit out of a few games and you’ll be back in no time”

“I can’t sit out of a few games...” you argued, “we’ve finally made it into the playoffs”

“That’s what back up goalies are for” they replied

“I’m fine,” you insisted, “I will listen to my body, I promised (Y/N), but I need to play”

“Freddie,” Sheldon sighed, “you are an integral part of our team. We don’t want you to feel like you have to play through an injury just because of where we are in the series.”

“I want to play”

“You’re injured”

“I’m fine”

“Fred, don’t make us forbid you from playing”

“I’m fine. I want to play, I need to play.” Sheldon and the doctors looked back and forth between each other for a moment before reluctantly agreeing to your request

“Fine,” Sheldon said, “but we’ll be watching you closely. Making sure you’re not in any pain or pushing yourself too hard.” You nodded to let them know that you heard them before heading out of the office and to your car. Once you got home, you called to (Y/N) and she hopped down the stairs to meet you

“Hey!” she greeted you with a kiss, “we have about an hour until Vita comes home; you smirked before picking her up but were forced to stop when she saw you wince, “what’s wrong?”

“I just.. I have a small fracture in my knee. Nothing to get too worked up about but it’s a little sensitive” you admitted, though not completely honestly

“A small fracture? And you’ve been playing on it even though we agreed--”

“I promise,” you started, “I’m not putting any strain on it”

“Freddie!” she exclaimed, pushing you away, “we talked about this. You told me that you were going to listen to your body. This doesn’t sound like you’re listening to your body...”

“I am,” you assured, “I know it seems like I’m not but I am. Everyone is keeping an eye on me and the injury. I’ll be fine, I am fine.”

“Freddie...” she sighed, turning her body away from yours, “I don’t know about this... If you get hurt because of this you might not be able to play again”

“I know”

“So why risk it?”

“My career is almost over”

“You might not ever be the same”

“I know” you repeated

“So, again, I ask,” she huffed, “why risk it?”

“Because I need to do this. I want to play. We’re in the playoffs, we’re so close to the cup, I can taste it.” You explained, hoping she understood your point, “I believe in our team, they’re playing well and we’re all supporting each other. I believe that our chances of winning are better than they’ve ever been.”

“Please don’t hurt yourself” she pleaded

“I won’t” you said softly, taking her hands in yours and grazing your thumb across her skin as you spoke, “I want to come home to you and Vita. I want us to be able to celebrate together and enjoy everything so, I can guarantee, I won’t hurt myself.” She laughed at your insistence but leaned in to kiss you once more as her hands found their way around your neck. Two weeks later, the Leafs were in the final game of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Avalanche. Win or lose, the series would end tonight and you’d either be holding that cup over your head or you wouldn’t. You took a deep breath before heading out of the dressing room and making your way onto the ice, completing your pre-game ritual as per usual before taking your place in net. The game was heated and intense the whole way through, neck in neck with barely any reprieve or rest; You were beginning to feel the strain on your knee, looking into the crowd to see (Y/N) and Vita standing in front of the glass, waiting for you to find them, leading you to call a timeout so you could head back to the bench for a minute

“Everything okay?” the medical staff asked and you nodded before wincing, “I think we need to get you out the net”

“There’s only three minutes left and we’re only up by 1 -- let me finish this game,” you pleaded, “I just needed a second but I’m fine now.” And you were. Mitch scored the game winning goal and you were officially a Stanley Cup champion, after all this time. Everyone was running and jumping and celebrating, this was all you’d all be waiting for and you were so happy, happier still when you saw your baby girl cheering you on and the love of your life smiling brightly in your direction. This moment was perfect and you knew it was time to say goodbye. You spent the next few months celebrating with the team and having your fun with the Cup, taking the obligatory photo of Vita sitting in the bowl and mocking (Y/N) by having her stand beside it to showcase just how short she was in comparison. It wasn’t long before your time with the Cup was up and your end with the Leafs nearing closer and closer; it was time to make your announcement but first you had to talk to the team.

When Freddie told you that he was going in to talk to Sheldon and tell him that this would be his last season, you were surprised but you knew it was right for him. You were going to support him because you knew that this was what he wanted

“Are you ready?” you asked Freddie as you stood with Vita beside you, her little hand holding yours

“I think so” he sighed, straightening his suit jacket

“I’m so proud of you,” you cooed, “for everything. We love you so much and we’re always here for you. You know that right?”

“I know” he smiled, guiding you out to the car so you could be on your way. Freddie bit his lip as he waited for Sheldon to invite him in and you had to put your hand on his knee to calm him down

“It’s okay, baby” you assured him

“I’m just nervous about what he’s going to say...” he confessed

“He’s going to say he understands,” you replied, “he’s going to say he’s sad to see you go but he gets it.”

“Fred?” Sheldon finally called Freddie in and you nodded to him, knowing that it was probably better if you stayed outside. It was your turn to be nervous now, feeling like you and Vita had been waiting for hours for Freddie to come out of Sheldon’s office but once the two of them finally did, they were all smiles. You stood up quickly and rushed to Freddie’s side

“Thank you, Coach,” Freddie smiled, “I’ll miss all of this but I think it’s time... I’ve got my family now and I want to share my best days with them. You know?”

“I get it” Sheldon replied and you smiled up at your husband as if to say ‘I told you so,’ “we’ll set up a press conference so you can tell the media but you’ll tell the team first. They’ll be sad to see you go but hopefully they’ll understand

“I’m sure they will” Freddie said, shaking Sheldon’s hand once more before the three of you went home. His announcement to the team was more emotional than he expected, he told you, and a lot of the guys were tearing up as you said goodbye

“But it’s not goodbye,” you said, “you just won’t be playing anymore”

“I didn’t think I’d be so upset to retire,” he admitted, “even if it was on my own terms.”

“I know,” you whispered as you rubbed his shoulder, “but I am so proud of you. Of everything you’ve accomplished. Of everything you are. I love you, we love you.”

“I love you, too.” He replied, kissing your forehead as you snuggled into him. When the day came for Freddie to finally announce his retirement to the media, he asked for you and Vita to be by his side to which you eagerly agreed.

“Hello, everyone,” Freddie greeted nervously, clearing his throat so his voice could reach the end of the room, “I want to first thank you all for being here and for holding your questions to the end of the announcement. I’m sure we’re all well aware of the rumours that have been spreading since the end of the season and, as I’m sure you’ve realized, those rumours are true.” A stillness ran through the room as the reporters remained quiet, the only sound coming from the shutters of the cameras, “As excited as I am that we’re now Stanley Cup Champions,” the group cheered and Freddie had to bring them back to his announcement, “I have to listen to my body and say my goodbyes to the team and to the league. I’ve been so fortunate to be part of this incredible organization and it saddens me to be making this announcement but my family and I, along with the Maple Leafs Staff, agree that the time has come for me to walk away.” he took a second to look at you and Vita before taking a breath to finish his speech, “I mean, we all know that I’m lucky to have made it this far in the league without any broken bones in my old age. That being said, getting out now, ensures that I don’t injure myself to a point where I cannot repair those injuries. So, with that, I say thank you all and I wish the team and the staff the very best going forward.” As soon as his announcement was finished, the room erupted in questions, each reporter yelling over the other to get theirs answered first.

“What will you do?” A reporter asked from the Toronto Sun

“Golf,” he laughed at first before giving a bit more of a serious answer, “maybe take a few vacations with the girls. Swim in the Sea, I’ve always wanted to spend a summer in Greece and now I can.”

“Do you think you’ll stay in Toronto or go back to Denmark?” another asked

“We’re not sure yet. Both (Y/N) and I have friends here but our families are in both Canada and Europe.” He admitted, smiling at you when he looked back once more

“What about the future? Will you stay connected to the League? Perhaps take a coaching position?”

“If it comes up, I’d consider it” he said simply. The questions got a little repetitive after a while but Freddie was keeping the answers light while still being clear. When a reporter asked you a question, you were taken aback and Freddie had to encourage you to step forward

“How do you feel about his retirement?” the reporter asked

“I’ll be happy to have him home, safe and sound. Though I can imagine if he doesn’t find a hobby, he’ll drive us all crazy,” you laughed nervously, “but in all honesty, I’m proud of him for choosing to take care of himself, especially when I know how much he loves this game and the people he has been able to work with over the years.”

“Do you expect Vita will take in her father’s footsteps?” another asked

“It does seem to run in the Andersen blood,” you chuckled, “but we’re gonna let her decide and see what happens.” Freddie thanked everyone once more before guiding you and Vita off the stage, heading back to the car to prepare for the party that you had set up for Freddie to say goodbye.

Freddie’s P.O.V

When everyone started showing up, you made sure you were socializing with as many people as you could before you stood up to make your speech. You hated speeches, you hated being the centre of attention, but because this party was about you, you knew that you had to. You fielded questions about why you were retiring, whether or not you actually wanted to retire, if this was your choice or (Y/N)’s and too many more of the same type; gladly letting (Y/N) take over when she saw that you were getting overwhelmed

“How are you feeling about all of this?” Stephanie asked

“I’m good,” she replied, wrapping her arm around your waist to pull you close to her, “I think that we’re both on the same page with all of this. At the end of the day, if he’s happy, I’m happy.”

“She’s happy because she’ll have an extra babysitter” you joked

“It’s not babysitting when it’s your own kid” you chuckled

“I know,” he laughed, kissing your forehead, “speaking of, I should go get her before I make this speech”

“Okay,” she smiled as you kissed her cheek, “thanks, babe.” When you came back with Vita, you had to take a deep breath and prepare yourself for what was to come

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” your little girl asked sweetly

“Nothing’s wrong, sweet girl,” you replied, kissing her cheek, “daddy just has to make a speech and I’m not very good at it...”

“I think you’ll do AMAZING!” she exclaimed, earning a laugh from you

“Well thank you, love,” you laughed, “but just in case, I’ll take you and mommy up with me, okay?”

“Okay” she smiled before tucking herself into your neck

“You two are so cute!” (Y/N) cooed as she met up with you near the front of the group where you were going to speak, “You ready?” You nodded before letting out a nervous sigh and grabbing a glass of Champagne

“Everyone!” you called to get everyone’s attention, “Can I get your attention?”

“HEY BIG RED!” Willy and Mitch called out, forcing you to laugh to yourself and take a sip of your drink as (Y/N) wrapped her arm around your waist again

“Hey,” you finally replied, “thank you all for coming out today. We really appreciate you coming to hang out with us for a bit. I just wanted to say a few words to leave you all with; I know that I’m not dying or anything but I’m not going to see you all everyday so it feels like we need a way to say goodbye. First off, I want to say thank you for bringing the cup home to Toronto while I was here and letting me enjoy that feeling if only for a little while. Next, I want everyone to know that this wasn’t a snap decision. I have been thinking about this for a while, both on my own and with (Y/N), and this year just seemed to be the right time to take the hint that my body has been trying to give for a while now; that I’m just too old.” You joked, letting the group now that this wasn’t a somber occasion, “I just want to wrap up this already-too-long speech by saying I have been incredibly lucky to know all of you as players and as people and to see how far everyone has come -- knowing that you’re all going to just keep getting better. I look forward to seeing this team continue to grow and build and bring home another cup but I also look forward to seeing each of you grow individually. I truly believe that the sky is the limit for all of you and your talent and, as for me and mine, I can only say that the best is yet to come... So, yeah,” he chuckled, “thank you all. Skål!”

“SKÅL!” The group repeated as you leaned down to kiss (Y/N)

“Good job, daddy!” Vita exclaimed, wrapping her little arms around your neck, making you and (Y/N) laugh

“Thanks, sweetheart,” you cooed, lettng her down finally, “why don’t you go play?” She nodded and ran to play with Jake’s daughter in the yard while you hugged your wife close, kissing the top of her head in pure bliss

“Can you believe we’re here? After everything?” she asked

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we got pregnant unexpectedly and now have a beautiful daughter who seems to love us very much. We got married during a Pandemic!” she laughed, “we had our ups and downs but it was all worth it, right? For this.”

“My retirement?” you joked

“No, you dork,” she scoffed, “to be here with everyone and to see how much everyone cares about you; how much of an impact you had on this team. It’s very heartwarming”

“Yeah, I think so too.” You smiled, looking out at your friends and teammates, “I’m proud of what we have. I’m proud of us. I’m proud of you”

“Aww,” she cooed jokingly, “I’m proud of us, too. Of all of this. I’m so incredibly proud of you”

“Yeah, it’s been a good run,” you smirked, “but this was the right time.”

“I agree” she smiled as she looked up to you, wrapping both her arms around you

“Good job, mommy” you said as you kissed the tip of her nose, garnering a cute little laugh from her

“Good job, daddy” she reciprocated before leaning up to kiss your cheek.

#Frederik Andersen #NHL #Freddie Andersen #Frederik Andersen Imagine #Frederik Andersen fic #Freddie Andersen fic #Frederik Andersen series #TML #Toronto Maple Leafs #Freddie Andersen imagine #Freddie Andersen series #masterlist #the other masterlist #Finale #Frederik Andersen finale

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kait-deanne · 4 years

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hockey roasts part 2!! i wrote these while drunk when i was camping this weekend and they’re definitely not as good as last time but let’s fucking go (i tried to proofread for spelling but i have dyslexia so i’m sorry if things are spelled wrong) i’m also gonna write more in the near future but this weekend drained me

someone asked me to roast the canes and i’m trying but the only thing that pisses me off about them in any way is that video set to mr sandman is what plays in my head all day and i have a social work degree and i know one day when a client is discussing their trauma i’m gonna have that playing in my head

i hope jamie benn knows that his wife is perfect and he doesn’t deserve her

@kravistonecny said carter hart looks like a youth pastor and i can’t one up that

male hockey fans that tell female fans that they’re not real fans should be executed

jason dickinson and connor mcdavid look as dead inside as i feel

something about how the staal brothers look and their energy is so unsettling to me. same with the hughes brothers.

i can’t look at players who have lost teeth for too long because imagining the pain makes my legs tingle (idk why that happens every time i think of certain injuries)

this isn’t a roast but i wish i could punch someone or body check them into the boards and only have to go in timeout for a few minutes

you could easily convince me that mat barzal played an older brother on a disney show

if you asked tyler seguin, tk, or mitch marner, after getting enough alcohol in them, to commit arson with you they would

i hate pierre luc dubois despite knowing nothing about him because i’m older than him and he looks about 30 and i get confused for being a high schooler on a weekly basis

**these aren’t exactly roasts but they’re oddly specific classifications of guys i met/hooked up with/dated/got free weed from in college:

jack hughes looks like he’s got a snap score of 5 mil and sends u up texts but is usually pretty nice so it’s not too bad.

while nico hischier looks like the nice d3 lax player/business major in your pre req math class who gave you notes once and were talking to for a while until he transferred.

nolan patrick looks like the guy who runs the party house on campus and also deals weed/ecstasy and

travis konecny looks like the guy on tinder that is holding a fish or a gun in every picture and for some reason you’re attracted to him but never go to hangout w him because he has the personality of a piece of driftwood

carter hart looks like the guy who, when i accidentally drank everclear at a party and my boyfriend was nowhere in sight, took me to his dorm room and slept on the floor to make sure i was ok

brendan gallagher looks just like this dude i used to hookup with who was so fucking bizarre and talked a lot about shrooms and his “higher self” and i stopped talking to him and forgot i had him on snap and he sent me like 20 snaps and said “oh shit i forgot i had you on here” when i called him out. the kids name is also brendan so i kind of hate gally

i’m gonna start a petition to bring back hockey players read mean tweets

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thatshankcallednewt · 5 years

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Gally: Farewell - Part Two

In case you missed Part One...

WARNING: Themes of suicide/death

You were up before anyone else, thanks to the haunting you witnessed last night – that, or you’ve completely lost your mind. You tried your hardest to shake away those events, but the thoughts of them were out of your control.

Even in the shower, you felt a lingering sensation that something was watching you. But you knew that it was probably because you were freaked out last night and the shower was the most common place to feel like you were being watched since you were at your most vulnerable.

Once you were done with the shower, the others were up and moseying around the kitchen, sleepily. You were the first to reach the coffee pot and fill it up. You leaned against the bench and stared as it heated up and filtered through, filling up the pot.

Newt came walking into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes sleepily, “Hey, did anyone hear a noise last night?”

You blinked but didn’t turn to look at him and instead waited for other people to respond first.

“I heard someone shouting,” Brenda said, “but that was Gally. He told me this morning.”

Newt shook his head, “No, no… it wasn’t someone shouting. It was like footsteps and… whispering or talking.”

“Didn’t you sleepwalk last night, Y/N?” Brenda said, finding your eyes. You looked up from the pot of coffee to see everyone staring back at you. You didn’t say anything, just stared at her, and she continued, “Gally told me…”

“You were sleepwalking up and down in front of my bedroom?” Newt questioned, amused, who’s room was still on the second floor but down a different corridor, with Minho and Teresa’s room.

You frowned, “No… I…” you spoke quietly, “I was on the first floor, not the second,” dead silence ensued the room for a single moment that seemed to stretch an eternity. You could feel the silence deep in your bones.

“Minho,” Thomas started, his voice amused but also nervous, “you didn’t tell me your house was haunted.”

Minho looked between you and Newt for a moment and shook his head, “You guys are dreaming. I’ve been to this house plenty of times and never heard any ghosts lurking in the halls,” he kept his cool in his voice, but his hands fidgeted with the sliced bread, “Besides, Y/N probably slept walk all over the house.”

You only shook your head, in time for Gally to make an appearance. He looked at everyone questioningly but no one else spoke, everyone suddenly felt too spooked to speak. You poured Gally a cup of coffee and passed it to him before pouring yourself one. You didn’t look him in the eye, the events of last night surfacing again. You took your coffee and left the kitchen, deciding it was too crowded and that you weren’t so hungry anymore. You sat out on the patio again and watched the birds in the trees as you sipped at your drink. Newt’s probable ghost story sat in the back of your mind as you finished your cup, what did it mean? Were you really being haunted, or were you all just “dreaming”? Imagining things? Or was Alby’s ghost angry that you all had forgotten about him.

You couldn’t seem to shake that last thought from your head.

“What’s this about a ghost?” Gally asked, standing barefoot beside you on the decking.

You had barely heard the backdoor creak open or Gally’s footsteps, so much so that his voice gave you a fright. You tried to steady yourself, “Newt heard someone pacing in front of his door last night. Minho’s blamed me for it even though I didn’t go down their hallway.”

“Oh… sorry.”

You raised an eyebrow up at him.

“For telling Brenda, she asked if I had heard anything last night too. She said it sounded like a shout and I told her it was me. Then I kinda got to talking about having to drag you back to bed…”

“It’s fine,” you sighed, “but I know I didn’t go near Newt’s room.”

Gally went silent and you thought he might just stand there in his silence, but he sat down beside you, and finally said, “I know. There’s no way you could have, I would’ve heard you walking past the bathroom,” he took a moment again, probably to think, but he was usually a quiet person so you thought that maybe he wouldn’t reply with anything more. But he opened his mouth and said, “You weren’t sleepwalking last night, were you,” he stated it, it was nowhere near a question.

You clenched your hands into fists anxiously, “I saw something, Gally. I thought it was you, so I followed, but it wasn’t you.”

“It was Alby.”

You turned to look at him and you could see in his eyes that he really did believe it too. But you weren’t sure how.

He nodded to reconfirm what he said, “It was him… I… I saw him too, only for a split second, but Y/N, I saw him too. I just didn’t want to believe it.”

You breathed in sharply, “What do you think it means? Are we crazy?”

“I-I don’t know…” he shifted his position nervously, “but if we both saw the same thing, how could we be crazy? Crazy isn’t viral.”

“But… a ghost, Gally?” you know what you saw but accepting that it was really true, really real, was a lot harder than you thought. “Maybe we both just thought—”

“Y/N,” he started, firmly, and you stopped mid-panic. He held your eyes, they were soft and reassuring but brutally honest, “We saw what we saw.” He glanced over the woods, now a lot more ominous than before, “Sometimes things just can’t be explained. Besides… we’ve both been thinking hard about him, haven’t we?”

You nodded.

“Maybe… maybe there is something he’s trying to tell us.”

“You can’t be serious?”

He hushed you quickly and looked to the patio door, when he saw that no one was listening in, he said, “Look, I don’t know much about ghosts or… spirits, or whatever. But I do know that Alby killed himself in that bathtub and it was a horrible death. Maybe… maybe a part of him is still here, maybe there was something he wanted us to know.”

You swallowed, suddenly feeling too overwhelmed and upset for this conversation. You knew what Gally was getting at. He knew you felt guilty and horrible, and so did he, and that you shared the same experience of finding Alby’s body. But the only difference was that he thought Alby was trying to reconcile, when you thought he was back for revenge. You stood up abruptly and said, “Then maybe he should have just written it down on a damn suicide note!” and with those harsh words, instantly regrettable, you angrily stormed back inside, passing the others in the process.

You were sure they heard what you said, but you ignored them completely.

The third day stretched out much longer than the first two and you were sure it was because of the awkwardness you created in the morning. You didn’t know how to fix it or if you should even try, so you left it to stew through the whole group all afternoon.

The truth was, you weren’t the only one upset about the Alby situation. Everyone knew him and were friends with him too. But no one else was there when he died.

You’d gotten a text from him, he said he wasn’t feeling well and that he needed some company. He’d been going through a lot, he was battling a secret drug addiction and was freshly kicked out of college, which meant he couldn’t play football anymore with the college team: the Gladers. He’d been losing friends fast and things weren’t the same with him. Basically, there were signs, which you all ignored, and you felt horrible.

You told him you were in class all day and that if it were possible, you would swing by afterwards. If only you ditched class and visited him, things might have been different. He texted Gally too, but Gally was stuck in construction work all day, neither of you made it on time.

Since Alby’s death, the group was a little disjointed. You didn’t meet up as much as you used to, and this summer break holiday was the first real time all of you caught up. Minho’s idea of moving on from the past, you figured, but no one could move on just yet. Not really.

But once the evening came, things had sat quietly between everyone for far too long and the atmosphere of the house changed: eyes flickered nervously and hands fidgeted, sentences were left unfinished and a heavy feeling of dread fell over each room, each person. Gally, usually making quiet jokes about you to your face became much quieter, and Newt stopped teasing Thomas so much.

Minho and Brenda were attempting to prepare dinner in the kitchen while everyone sat lazily over the lounges, the TV turned on but the volume quiet. Newt had already started on the beer, his second one sat in his hand. You were sitting on the floor, a cushion underneath you, your back propped up by the leather couch behind you, between Gally’s legs, his jeans touching your arms.

“What a good weekend, huh?” Newt stated, his voice only a little higher than usual. His brown eyes blinking lazily and unfocused.

Thomas frowned at Newt, “I can’t tell if you’re…” but he didn’t bother finishing his sentence.

Teresa glanced between the two boys who looked away from each other. Thomas visibly confused by Newt’s behaviour and Newt only irritated, you could tell by his slumped shoulders and occasional glare.

You felt Gally touch your shoulder, but you ignored him, even though you were annoyed by the conversation earlier, you couldn’t just plain act like Gally didn’t exist but that didn’t mean you’d have to talk to him. You shook him off, but he persisted by tapping your shoulder. You sighed and tilted your head upward so that his face was upside-down in your vision, “Can I help you?”

He raised an eyebrow at your attitude but decided against commenting on it, “You’re sitting on my foot.”

You fought the urge to roll your eyes at him and instead shuffled slightly so that he could readjust the position of his foot. He thanked you in a mumble and you couldn’t help but smile about it, although you hid it as best as you could. Even when Gally was grumpy or annoyed at you, he could still cheer you up. You’re not surprised by it since you’ve been friends since forever.

“Aw, how sweet,” Newt commented, framing the two of you with his hands, “the picture-perfect couple.”

You frowned at Newt who was obviously bordering on drunk, he was always a bit of a light-weight but it was worse because none of you had eaten any dinner yet. You felt Gally tense up behind you, so you responded first, “Funny joke, Newt.”

He looked at you and shook his head as he laughed, “But I’m not joking! When are you two going to wake up and smell the roses –wait, that’s not right, what’s the saying—”

“Newt,” Thomas said with a warning look, his voice even but stern.

Newt went to open his mouth, probably to argue with Thomas which you anticipated but thankfully, a loud noise came from the kitchen which resembled something along the lines of a curse. Minho’s voice echoed and then he appeared in the doorway, “Guys,” he started, “there’s an issue with dinner.”

“Yeah,” Newt replied carelessly, “you’re really slow at cooking it.”

Minho ignored Newt’s aggressive intoxication and said, “The food… it’s been spoiled, I don’t know how…” he sighed, shutting his eyes briefly before opening them again, “I checked the date before I bought it but apparently that doesn’t matter, I opened it up and it’s… definitely not edible.”

“So,” you started, calmly, “we go to the store and buy more food?” Everyone looked up at Minho expectedly, but his shoulders tensed.

“Except all the stores nearby closed an hour ago. We’re out in the countryside now, there’s no late-night shopping.”

“Well, Newt will need some food soon or he’s gonna piss somebody off,” Gally cut in, his voice agitated. You bit the inside of your lip knowing that Gally was already pissed off at Newt and only wanted to get him back for it.

Minho shook off Gally’s comment, but Newt didn’t as he sat glaring at him over your head. You pinched Gally’s leg, but he only nudged your back with his foot, he wasn’t going to hold off on giving Newt crap for his behaviour. You could already see how the night would go and you weren’t exactly ecstatic about it.

Minho sighed, “There’s not much left,” he eyed Thomas and Gally as they were the two who ate the most, “but we can probably scrape up some peanut-butter sandwiches or something…”

Gally nodded, “As long as it soaks up the alcohol—”

“Gally,” you warned, not even bothering to look up at him.

Newt smiled, “Yeah, Gally,” he mimicked the tone of your voice as he said his name.

You felt Gally move as he swung his leg over you to one side so that he could stand up, but you predicted his decision and stood up too. You stood in front of him and watched as he continued to glare at Newt, “Just let it be.”

Gally eyed you momentarily, his stare hard and his lips pressed firmly together, nostrils flared, before he brushed both you and Newt off by walking out of the living room, his feet climbing the stairs evident by the loud thumping that escalated to the second floor. You turned to look at Newt, “You didn’t have to push him, you know.”

Newt swallowed the last mouthful of his third beer and didn’t say anything at first. You wanted him to say something back, something stupid so you could tell him off, then maybe he would quit with the alcohol and stop being an ass. But instead of saying something stupid about you, or about Gally, he said, “If Alby were here, I wouldn’t be drinking alone,” and then he stood up from his spot and mumbled something about needing to pee while all you could do was feel your blood boil.

You didn’t bother to eat anything afterwards. But you did bring Gally a sandwich after a little while, letting him cool off before seeing him. You opened the door to his room, and he was lying on top of the covers of the bed, his arms folded underneath his head. He glanced over at you when he noticed your presence and eyed the sandwich you held. You passed it to him without a word and he ate it as you sat down on the edge of his bed.

He ate in silence until he was fed up with the silence, and after he finished his sandwich he said, “What?”

“Nothing.”

He rolled his eyes, “I know I was a prick but so was he.”

“Even if he was, he was drinking.”

“Not an excuse.”

“I didn’t mean to say that it was, it’s just… you should have ignored him.”

He didn’t say anything else.

“Are you gonna come back downstairs?” you asked as you stood up from his bed.

He contemplated a moment, “Are you gonna be annoyed with me still?”

You pouted and then sighed, “No, no… I guess not.”

He followed you downstairs where everyone had finished with making sandwiches, hopefully no longer “hangry”. You eyed Newt who seemed to be a little less pink-faced but would probably still be in a bad mood, you weren’t sure how to fix it or if you even could, but you just wanted everyone to get along since it was the last night here. But it seemed that with every day passing together, you were all distancing further and further away from each other.

It was only a little later in the evening, but it was already growing dark outside. You looked for a spot to sit down but your stomach grumbled and Gally raised an eyebrow at you. You ignored his stare, but he then said, “You haven’t eaten have you.”

You just looked up at him and he shook his head at you before heading to the kitchen. The others were busy talking about their afternoon and Minho cracked open a bottle of whiskey which you were sure wouldn’t be such a good idea after what happened earlier in the evening. You sat cross-legged next to Teresa on the floor who had a glass of wine, which she offered to you, but you decided against any alcohol until you’d eaten.

Gally sat down on the couch nearest to you after shoving a plate with your favourite kind of sandwich into your lap. You mouthed a thank you to him and he only shook his head at you, probably thinking why on earth you just didn’t make yourself one before making him one.

As you ate, Minho rambled on about a story from three summers ago. Something about finding Newt curled up outside his tent after getting drunk around the bonfire. Newt nodded along with the story and commented when he thought appropriate and Minho could only barely refrain from laughing out loud as he spoke. Apparently, Minho had successfully scared a drunk Newt by pretending to be some kind of animal, Newt admitted to thinking it was a bear, and for some reason unknown to either of them, he thought it would be a good idea to crawl to Gally’s tent because “Gally could totally fight off a bear if he wanted to” except as he crawled, he noticed that it was completely dark out, of course, and the fire had died down to tiny embers. He couldn’t see a thing. And because he was drunk, he couldn’t figure out how to find his way back as “it felt like a bloody boat on the sea, rocking from side-to-side” he couldn’t move a muscle. He thought about shouting for help, but he couldn’t hear the “bear” anymore and his drunk brain told him to just go to sleep, in which he did. And woke up, hungover and squinting from the early sun as a laughing Minho and Thomas stared down at him.

And then Newt added, “Yeah and if Gally refused to help me fight the bear, Alby might have tried.”

Minho laughed, shaking his head, “Alby would have been absolutely furious with you if you had woken him up for nothing.”

“So would Gally,” you added, and gained an endearing scowl from him.

Thomas laughed loudly, “And then you would have much worse than a bear to deal with, nothing compares to an extremely pissed off Alby and Gally!”

Everyone laughed at what Thomas said about the pair of them, even Gally cracked a smile, but the lingering knowledge that Alby was no longer with you all cut it short. It had been a while since you laughed or smiled about him, it was a long time for everyone, you rarely talked about what happened or what happened before, anymore.

“You guys remember how Alby always used to get us to play Mario Kart altogether?” Thomas started, smiling at the memory, “and he’d always whoop our asses, too.”

You smiled, “He was so bossy, especially when we played teams.”

“He had to be bossy, or you’d slow us down,” Gally said, honestly.

You turned to him with your mouth open, “Are you kidding? I was better than you!”

Newt laughed, “Even if Y/N did slow you down, which I’m pretty sure she didn’t, your team always beat us anyway.”

“I miss him,” Minho stated. His voice was noticeably different but only just and you realised that alcohol was the only way your friends would share how they felt. Ever since the death, everyone closed up, it became something that no one should talk about and you never understood why.

“So do I,” you said, quietly. You glanced over at Gally who looked deep in thought.

Newt opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when the light died down all of a sudden. You looked around you, but your eyesight was not adjusted yet and all you could see was black, all over the house, the lights were all turned off.

“Minho?” you asked as your heart beat fast in your chest.

You heard Minho scramble up from the chair. He fumbled with his phone before switching on its flashlight, “I… I’ll go look at the power-box, Thomas?” There was a nervous edge to his voice when he asked for Thomas’ help.

You heard Thomas move from his chair and finally saw his face beside Minho from the dim light that came from the phone, “Where is it?” Thomas questioned.

“Basement,” Minho breathed as he began to tread carefully toward the cellar stairs. He flicked on a few light-switches as he walked, just to make sure, but no light would come back on. They left the rest of you in darkness as their voices disappeared down into the basement.

You began to wonder if this happened often, you guessed being out in the countryside could mean frequent power-outages. You tried to tell yourself that, anyway, instead of dwelling on other reasons why it might occur.

Suddenly though, just as you thought you convinced yourself that everything was okay, a loud crashing sound came from the back of the house. You stood up from the ground in a fright and heard rain on the roof.

“What was that?” Brenda said as she stood up too, her face was illuminated for a second as a flash of lightning lit up the room.

“Thunder?” Teresa said, unsure.

You shook your head, even though nobody could see you in this darkness, and Gally spoke up and said, “No, it was closer than that. I think it came from the backyard,” you heard him also stand up before he walked down the dark hallway toward the kitchen where the backdoor was situated near. Seconds went by of silence and you felt strangely vulnerable in the dark but if you moved, even just the tiniest bit, you felt as though something bad might happen.

“It was the patio door!” Gally shouted, “it must have flung open…” his voice died down, but you heard his footsteps coming closer and closer.

“Someone… someone just must have forgotten to lock it, right?” Brenda said nervously, her eyes flashed in the dark and she looked terrified.

Newt sloppily stood up from the one-seater couch, “Or Alby wanted to come inside,” he tried to walk, you didn’t know where to, but he looked as though he might trip over air. You stepped closer to him just as he fumbled over his limp and caught him, but he shook you off immediately, “Let go of me.”

You let him go and he proceeded toward the basement, you guessed, and when you looked back to the others you saw them staring after him. You didn’t really take notice of what he had said because he was drunk but now that you thought about it…

“Newt,” Teresa started, “where are you going?”

A crash of thunder ensued and engulfed the house as the rain fell down harder. You shuddered at the loudness of the thunder, as if it were too sudden for the gradual storms you were used to. You felt Gally touch your elbow as he whispered, “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” you muttered, but then the patio door crashed loudly against the frame as it swung open and then closed, and then opened, and the house was opened up to the rain again. The volume of it grew and you felt the wind even from where you stood.

“I locked the damn door…” Gally said in disbelief.

Gally’s words sent shivers down your spine but before you could think logically about the situation, three pairs of footsteps clambered up out of the basement as you heard three voices yelling and screaming. You turned to face them as they ran into the living room, all horrified, Minho’s phone’s flashlight bouncing crazily over the house.

Thomas huffed, out of breath, and said, “What was that?”

Minho shook his head, “I…” but he couldn’t continue his sentence.

“What the hell happened?” Gally asked, as everyone hurriedly grouped together near Minho’s light source.

“We were…” Thomas tried to steady his breathing, “we were hunched around the damn fuse box trying to figure out how to fix the thing and…”

“And?” You questioned, hurriedly and anxiously, your mind spinning with awful and worried thoughts.

“And something… something pushed the storage cabinet over!”

“Someone,” Newt mumbled, and everyone went silent, it was just the rain that poured outside.

“Look, this house isn’t haunted, Newt, what—” Minho growled, but couldn’t complete his sentence as Newt cut him off.

“I bloody heard Gally and Y/N talking this morning!” Newt piped up, “And what the hell did I hear last night, huh? Because it sure wasn’t Y/N sleepwalking, especially since she wasn’t even sleepwalking!” his voice was strained with desperation and emotion, but he couldn’t control himself anymore; he was frightened and so was everybody else.

Everyone turned to you and in the faint light, you could see their concern, feel it almost. You sighed, “I… Newt’s right, I wasn’t sleepwalking.”

“She saw Alby.”

You breathed in harshly at his directness about it all but weren’t surprised when you saw Minho roll his eyes at Newt and say, “Stop with this Alby business, you’re just freaked out because all of this is happening after talking about him—”

“No, I’m not—”

“Guys!” you interrupted, almost breathless from fear, “Just… just stop,” you decided to just bite the bullet, “Newt’s… I did. At least, I thought I did, you know, see Alby.”

Gally, who was next to you, confirmed his support of you, “I saw him too.”

“See?” Newt said, “I’m not just freaked out.”

Teresa spoke up softly, “Maybe… maybe we’re all just… just confused. I mean, he’s on all our minds…”

“Look, I don’t know, okay, I don’t know how to explain it. But it was what I saw, what Gally saw… I thought maybe I was just, I don’t know, confused, I guess,” you paused as you thought quickly but carefully, “but… not now. Not anymore, something is wrong.”

“Alby would never be this mean,” Brenda whispered quietly, being the friend who knew him for a lot less time than anyone else, she always seemed to disappear when the conversation turned to Alby, but not this time. Her eyes were wide, but she looked sure of what she said, like she truly meant it.

“He would if he was angry,” you stated it clearly and firmly, you didn’t care what Gally would say, how the others might argue, because it was what you believed.

“What’s he got to be angry about?” Teresa asked genuinely but quietly, her blue eyes wide in the darkness.

You licked your lips nervously as all eyes were on you. It was there, the words, they had been stewing inside you for such a long time that if you didn’t try to let them out, they would bubble and boil right over and come out as a hot mess. You felt your voice shake but you said it angrily, hurt, confused, all these emotions strung through the words, you couldn’t help but shake with fear, “At me, for not coming sooner, for not helping him or visiting him, for not being there when I fucking should have, for—”

“For being like the rest of us?” Gally demanded; he was shaken by your sudden explosion of emotion, after being so closed off all weekend. Even though it was black as could be in the house, even though Minho’s light cascaded oddly over the walls, distorting everyone’s faces with strange, sharp shadows, even though the lightning flickered and the rain poured heavily, you could see the warmth: you could see the kindness and care for you in Gally’s green eyes.

You could barely bring yourself to say anything more, it was like he had completely turned your world upside down with one sentence, one question, “I…”

“It wasn’t just you,” Newt said bitterly, his hand in his mess of hair and his eyes watery, reflecting the white light from Minho’s phone, “it wasn’t just you.”

You stared at Newt from across the huddle of people and heard the thunder in the distance break the silence. You didn’t know what to say. You thought Gally only meant that everyone was neglectful to Alby, that everyone could have been better, but what Newt was saying meant something more. You knew that Gally was the only other person contacted that day because you both showed up at the exact same time, to witness the same tragic event.

You breathed in deeply, but you were confused and uncertain, what would this all mean, had everyone been sharing the same turmoil since Alby’s passing? “What… what are you saying, Newt…?”

“I’m saying that you… you and Gally actually showed up,” he shook his head, and in the darkness, you could see his hair fall slightly over his face, “you fucking showed up when we all could have because we all got his texts and calls! A-and none of us ever did, not any of us except you two.”

“You…” you frowned, not out of anger but disbelief.

Gally swallowed and blinked, evident that he’d just found out this information too.

“We could’ve been better, all of us, but at least you fucking tried,” Newt was close to sobbing so he stopped talking before one could escape, and he turned around and collapsed onto one of the couches: the freak weather and darkness, the strange things happening, all a lost memory.

It was still pouring when Thomas spoke up, “He didn’t…” he continued, firmer than before, “he didn’t kill himself because of us.”

Newt looked up from his hands and watched Thomas as he nodded to reconfirm what he had said.

“Yeah, maybe in another life or another universe, we could have stopped him on that day, but… it wasn’t because of us that he did it. He was in a bad place—”

“Thomas…” Minho started, his voice a warning tone.

“No,” Thomas continued, “no, he was, and we could have done more, we could have done more,” he kept nodding as he spoke, his voice barely nervous, he was so sure of himself, but there was honesty in his blue eyes and some kind of all-knowing tone in his words, “but we don’t know if that would have changed anything.”

No one else could speak, everyone just tried to process and understand that maybe Thomas was right.

“You can’t just put blame on yourself,” he said, directed at you as he held your stare for one moment, “or anyone,” he eyed Newt, Minho, the others, “it happened, and it was terrible. It was terrible and I fucking miss him every single day,” he swallowed back the watery tears that sprung into the corners of his eyes, “but how could you know? If you’d only just done that or been there at that time or said this to him, no, none of that, none of that—you don’t know for certain that any of those things would have changed a thing.”

“You can’t dwell on those things, you just can’t. Alby… he’s gone now, but we can’t live the rest of our lives wondering what we could have done to change things because what happened, happened, and Alby… Alby was good, he was a fucking saviour in the dark times, a light when—when nothing else was. He was the best friend he could be and it’s sad that he’s gone, but we had a fucking good time when he was here and that’s what I want to dwell on.”

The rain slowed to a stop, as if it were never there in the first place, and the wind no longer echoed through the halls of the house. There was darkness and silence. And something else, an energy, it pulsated through the walls and it made your chest tighten up.

The thunder completely stopped along with the rain and after seconds of heavy, stressed breathing from all of you, the lights turned on. You glanced around at each face, everyone was in shock and unsure of what could happen next. You moved away from the huddled group and walked toward the window that looked out into the front yard of the house, “The storm’s passed…” you said it quietly, like an afterthought. And the tension in your chest and in your shoulders rolled off and a sense of peace overwhelmed you.

“Y/N?” Teresa asked from the living room, the huddle of faces all staring at you.

You turned from the window and said, “The storm, it’s gone.”

The next morning, everyone awoke with a different kind of energy. After last night, after contemplating ditching the house in the middle of the night to drive anywhere else, everyone had settled in the living room and slept on the couches, the floor, anywhere, as long as you were altogether, it didn’t matter.

You were surprised that you had even fallen asleep. But after talking to the others, after sharing about what had happened that day, the day Alby died, something changed. You felt lighter, you felt different. Everyone’s story was similar to yours. Everyone felt their guilt and dealt with it in their own ways, and everyone agreed that sharing what had happened to them on that day helped, even if it was just a little bit. It was all out in the open, it was all there for everyone to know and feel too, and that just made the support stronger.

You had curled up on the couch after everyone had fallen asleep, everyone except Gally. You two were the first to see Alby, and the last, because that night, after everyone fell asleep, that night you saw him one last time.

You were sitting on the couch, waiting for Gally to come back out of the bathroom. You wanted to double check with him if sleeping on the couch was okay because you hated being an inconvenience to anyone. It was then that you saw a shadow pass over the entrance to the living room. You stood up without thinking, your heart climbing in your chest, maybe it was just Gally, but when you stepped out of the living room and into the hallway, you saw the same shadow you did last night.

You watched Alby walk into the front entry. He stopped there for a moment. You didn’t understand what he was doing there, what you should do, should you wake the others? But it was too late because he turned to you as you stepped into the front entry.

Gally was there, too, at the other hallway near the stairs.

Alby didn’t say anything. He just stood there for a short while even though it felt like hours before he moved again. But he was there. And when the shadow, Alby, when he moved from his spot and you sucked in a breath, when he walked out of the front door, closing it behind him, when you leapt forward to open the door again and see where he was going he was gone. Just like that, he was gone, and it was only the cool, night breeze that met your skin.

“Was that…?”

You nodded your head and didn’t say anything else.

“He’s gone.”

You swallowed and let out your breath of air, “He’s gone,” you repeated Gally’s words and closed the front door quietly so it wouldn’t wake anyone else.

When you got back into the living room, you collapsed onto the couch. You were exhausted. And when Gally squatted down to lie on the floor beside you with a bundle of blankets that Teresa had found, you grabbed his arm. He stopped, paused more like it, and stared at you for a moment.

You curled up on the couch so that Gally could squeeze in beside you. After everything that had happened, you just wanted to be comforted, and so did he.

“Y/N?”

“Mm?”

He spoke quietly, a gentle whisper so none of the others would wake, “Why do you think it was us? That saw him? Why did he choose us?”

You thought about it for a moment, you thought about what Thomas said. His green eyes contrasted with the dark room, you held them with your own eyes, “Maybe he didn’t choose us. Maybe that was just the way it was supposed to be.”

“You really think that?”

You nodded. A thought came to mind and you opened your mouth, but you hesitated, and Gally saw. You closed your eyes briefly, “Gally?”

“Yeah?” his voice was quiet and uncertain.

You felt your eyelids grow heavy as the exhaustion filled you, you curled up against him, your head rested under his chin as you lay facing each other. When you didn’t say anything more, Gally didn’t push you and instead you both fell asleep together, his arm wrapped lazily over your waist. You both slept soundlessly through the night, like everyone else.

Come morning, everyone was busy packing their bags. They left you both on the couch without a word because everyone knew what it meant, and after last night, no one felt like giving each other a hard time.

When you woke up, you felt both of Gally’s arms around you, his face tucked in close to your shoulder. His breathing was soft and quiet, and the feeling of his arms around you stirred something within you and you felt… happy.

You walked into the kitchen sleepily, you decided to leave Gally asleep for a little longer since he was probably just as tired if not more. You poured yourself a cup of coffee and stood at the bench where the coffee pot sat and sipped at your drink.

“You’re up!” Minho said as he walked into the kitchen from being out on the patio. He poured himself another cup of coffee, “It’s still a little wet outside but because it stopped raining last night, we were thinking of one last hike,” he turned from the bench, “Gally up yet?”

You laughed a little, loving the subtleness of Minho’s words, “No, he’s not, but I’m sure he’ll be thrilled.”

“Sarcastic already? You only just woke up.”

You smiled, “I’ll get him up and encourage him to go,” you paused, “for the record, I would love one last hike.”

Minho smiled, “Good that.”

#thatshankcallednewtimagine #tmr imagine #tmr #tmr gally #gally x reader #gally/reader #tst #tdc #tfc #tmr one shot #tmr fanfic

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thatshankcallednewt · 7 years

Text

The Maze Runner: Gally - High School AU: Together - Part Three

If you missed Part One//Part Two

You told Gally to just drop you off at the school and at first he looked very confused as to why you would want to go back to ‘that prison’, as he put it, but you explained to him that your plans were seeing the lacrosse game tonight. He only looked out to the field where it was going to be held with curiosity… and then you left.

You trudge over to the stands beside the field, your black boots slowly getting caked with mud from the sloshy puddle of grass you have to walk on, on your way over. You spot Teresa and she waves you over; you take a seat next to her and Newt; with Minho and Brenda sitting alongside him. “Where were you all afternoon?”

You place your bag down by your feet, “Oh… just school stuff.”

Newt raises an eyebrow, “Oh yeah? What kind?”

You open your mouth but whatever you were going to say is drowned out by the sudden cheers and screams from students and family all over the crowd as your team of lacrosse players come jogging out into the field. You spot Thomas, his brown head bobbing up and down slightly as he runs with his teammates. You stand up alongside your friends and cheer with the crowd, shouting his name. He notices and looks over to you all, smiling. You smile back.

Minutes later, the lacrosse game begins. You talk with your friends, watch Thomas intently as he swiftly moves around the field, and eat food. You take out your phone from your bag and snap a few selfies with Teresa and Brenda, Newt and Minho, and a few other friends who decided to watch tonight like Alby and Chuck. You take a few action shots of Thomas as he leads the team, and then you sit your phone onto your lap as you pass over more fries down the aisle.

Your phone buzzes, and Teresa’s eyes glance down at the screen. She blushes when you catch her looking but… She wasn’t the only one. Newt’s eyes widen, eyebrows raised, “You were doing school stuff, huh?” You can hear the sarcasm in his voice.

Tomorrow, same time??

“Shove it,” You say, unlocking your phone to reply to Gally. “It is just school stuff.”

Newt crosses his arms over his chest and Teresa looks doubtfully down at her feet, “I know a booty-call-text when I see one, Y/N.”

You glare over at Newt, even though his tone of voice is in a quite noticeably jokingly manner, “It is not a booty-call-text, Newton.”

Now it is his turn to glare back.

“And,” You go on, ignoring the annoyance that comes when you use the name Newton, “It is just school stuff, like I said before. A group assignment so we have to meet outside of school.”

“Sure it is.” Newt replies, still obviously irritated.

You shrug and don’t reply; instead you stare out towards the field after texting Gally back saying that tomorrow would be all good to do another tutoring session. You think over all that’s happened today and almost laugh out loud at the fact that you had rode alongside Gally in his car, and even went to his house. It’s strange, really, Gally was never someone you pictured spending any time even talking to let alone going into his house and his bedroom. Sitting on his bed. You shake your head, and then cheer along when Thomas’ team wins the game.

“And then, towards the end of your game, Y/N got a text that was very suggestive, wasn’t it Teresa?” Newt says excitedly to everyone as you sit in a booth waiting for your burgers. You ordered one, as you only ate a few snacks at the game, however, the boys ate hotdogs and fries and who knows what else; you are finding it hard to believe that they could still possibly be hungry.

Thomas looks over at you, a straw in between his lips as Newt tells the short story of your “private” life. He lets the straw go and says, “I thought you said you weren’t going on a date this afternoon?”

You blink.

The others look at each other and then Teresa says, “You knew?”

Thomas nods, “Well, I knew that there would be a slight chance that she would miss tonight’s game, but when I asked she said it was just ‘school stuff’.”

“Uh,” You start, looking at them questioningly, “I am right here.”

“School stuff!” Newt yells back, laughing almost hysterically, and then looking back at you with wild brown eyes, “That’s exactly what you told us!”

“And?” You ask, before taking a sip from your drink.

“Who even says that?” Newt asks in general, “And you keep saying it, like you’re hiding something.”

Your eyes widen and your hands clench into fists, “I am not! It was school stuff!”

Brenda smirks from the corner she sits quietly in, like usual, and Minho only waggles his eyebrows suggestively –none of them believe you. You consider just spilling the beans on the whole tutoring thing but… it’s really not up to you to make that decision. It’s not like people knowing that you tutor would hurt your “reputation” in some way, you’ve done it before. But Gally is on the football team so he has expectations to be “manly”, which apparently requires needing absolutely no help on anything. Plus, you’re a Junior and he is a Senior. You can see how it would be embarrassing because you’d definitely be embarrassed by something like that; which was why you never told them in the first place.

“Look, if you don’t believe me then that’s your fault because I’m telling the truth.” You sit back in your seat as the waitress places your burger down in front of you. The others grow silent because of what you said, and because everyone is too busy eating anyway.

Once you’re all finished, you say your goodbyes. Even though there was still a bit of tension from the last conversation, you know that they’ll get over it and so will you. Tomorrow will be a new day and no one will even think twice about the mysterious outing you had and the text.

You start down the road towards your street, the pavement glossy from recent rain. Thomas offered to give you a ride home but you politely declined, after being inside there with them implying all sorts of things; you just had to be on your own. And what better than to be outside, on a nice walk, breathing in the cool night-air?

You turn down your street, but as you do, someone slams into your side and almost sends you to the ground. You groan on impact but manage to hold your balance, the other person grunts as well; obviously irritated. They speak out in a gruff tone, “Watch where you’re going, alright?”

You frown when you realise you definitely know that voice. You look at the person again, their face kind of obscured by their beanie and their hood over that, but the leather jacket and smell of wood and musk immediately causes you to realise who this person is. “Gally?”

Gally frowns and seems to sink further into his jacket, but the light from the streetlamp illuminates his face and reveals a scarred, bloody and bruised face. “Y/N?”

You come closer to him, your eyes wandering over his face and your tone of voice exceeding the normal tone of a concerned person, “Gally! What happened to your face!?” You reach a hand out towards him, on instinct.

He immediately pulls at his hood to fit it tighter around his face, and then takes a step back, “Nothing. What are you even doing out here? All by yourself?”

Your hand falls back to your side, “Walking home,” you say simply, looking at the only thing he’ll let you: his green eyes. “What about you? And don’t tell me you’re doing the same thing, you live on the other side of town almost, and you’ve certainly done more than walking.”

He looks taken aback almost, like he did not expect this kind of sentence mixed with this kind of worry in this kind of situation to ever occur to him. “I… was just doing stuff.”

You grab onto his arm and pull him with you as you continue your walk down your street. He protests by wiggling free from your hold, but you grab his arm in an instant again. “You’re coming with me.”

He finally lets you lead him onwards, with a grunt or a sigh; sometimes you can never tell the difference when he does either one. “Where are you taking me?”

“My house.”

He stops walking, and of course, so do you because of your obvious attachment to him now. “I can’t go to your house.”

“Why not?”

“Because of your parents. One look at my face and your Dad will want to shoot me or call the police. Mind you, both have happened in the past.”

You roll your eyes and force him along again, “Probably because you did something to provoke that.” You two walk in silence for a moment or so until you reach your house, no windows lit or TV sounds coming from within. “My parents won’t be back until morning because they went away on the weekend.”

You walk up onto the porch and then open the front door, and a few seconds later you are both inside. Warmer and cosier. You turn on a few lights and open the fridge, “Have you eaten?”

Gally nods.

“Thirsty?”

He shakes his head. “Why am I here again?”

You walk over to him and push down his hood, his whole face no longer shadowed and kept mysteriously out of proper sight. Now that there is real lighting, you can see way more bruises and cuts on his face. You glance down at his lips, scathed and bleeding almost. “Because, your face. I’ll patch it up and then you can go home, alright?”

“Okay, Mom.”

“I’m your tutor, not your Mom.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves it off and follows you into your bathroom. Once he is seated on the edge of the bathtub, you take his face gingerly into your hands and look through in much more detail what you must clean out. You swab the cuts that are open with an antiseptic wipe, and watch as his eyes squint and his mouth twists in grimace.

“Sorry,” you say quietly, just as you finish cleaning the last wound.

“Don’t need to be, I’m fine.”

You take a step back and look at his face one final time; your eyes travel over the rest of his body on accident, and you feel the urge to quickly turn your head away and walk out of the room. Suddenly though, your eyes stop at the torn and bleeding skin of his knuckles. “So there was another guy, huh.”

He also looks down at his hands, cautiously moving the fingers; stretching them out carefully. “They’re… fine.”

You take a chair into your hands and slide it over, opposite to Gally. “No, they’re not.” Once you’re seated, you grab his hand and place in onto the part of your leg just above your knee, your left hand still touching his hand to keep it steady. You clean the blood off and then wrap it with some bandaging you found in your house’s first aid kit. You do the same with his other hand but you don’t place a bandage over the knuckles as they aren’t as damaged.

He looks up at you as you pack the first aid kit away and throw the bloody wipes into the bin, “I don’t really know why you did this for me… but thanks.”

You close the cupboard door, and nod, “That’s alright.” He follows you outside of the bathroom and then outside onto the front porch again. You hug your arms tighter to your chest when you step out as the cool breeze before becomes absolutely still; drawing even more coldness into the air. “Bloody hell.”

Gally chuckles at your reaction, “My car is parked just around the corner so I’ll be walking on over there,” he stops on the second porch-step and turns back again to look at you, “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

You nod and watch as he slips on his hood and walks down the street; disappearing into the night.

You lie on the couch surrounded by papers and textbooks as you do your own study. As the night draws on, you find your eyes drooping with exhaustion. But as you start to nod off, the blood and torn skin from Gally flashes through your mind sending you into a two second panic moment. Your eyes wander over to the time, “What a day,” you mumble when you realise it’s probably best to get some sleep. Even if Gally disturbs your dreams.

#thatshankcallednewtimagine #tmr imagine #tmr gally #tmr #tst #tdc #tfc #will poulter #gally series #gally x reader #high school au #tmr au

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