TROUBLE || Gally x Reader

13 || Nighttime Reassurance

I felt a pang of guilt when Gally stiffened in anticipation. Maybe I could have stopped him from punching Zart. Maybe I should have gone to Alby about how Zart was acting, and all of this could've been avoided. Either way, it was far too late to fix things.

"Gally punched Zart twice last night at the bonfire. Normally, if one Glader hurts another Glader, it's just banishment. However, this is weird circumstances, considerin' that Zart was being a sexist shuckin' pig, so I don't think banishment's fitting. Winston?"

"Do you not see Zart's black eye?" Winston scoffed. "Rules are rules. Why is this an exception?"

"He was standing up for (Y/N). No one else was. Not that I agree with his methods, but honestly, it was just a couple punches." Minho argued out of turn.

"Look, we all knew that Gally would really hit somebody one of these days and we've just been waiting until we could fairly banish him. Now that he has, you're just going to wave it off because of a girl?" One of Zart's friends from the bonfire said.

Gally looked very shocked at that, his eyebrows raising and his lips curling into a frown. That couldn't have been easy to hear. I wanted to comfort him, but then remembered the situation.

"Whoa, whoa. Gally isn't gettin' banished, I've decided that already. If you're outright opposin' me, feel free to leave now." Alby stated, a scary strict edge in his voice.

No one opposed him further. At least, no one got the chance to because Ben came crashing in through the door. His hair was soaked. I had been so absorbed in the Gathering that I only now noticed that another storm was rolling in.

"Alby! Come quick! A tree crashed into the look out tower!" Ben spoke urgently. Everyone stood up, looking to Alby for instruction.

"We'll finish this tomorrow. Right now, get everyone inside. It's far worse out there than it was last night. Newt, you sort out where everyone's sleeping, I'll go survey the damage with Ben." Alby instructed. Everyone gave nods of understanding, starting off in all different directions. I rose to my feet, leaving out the secret exit door while everyone was distracted.

"(Y/N)!" Newt called to me over the rain. I began jogging over to him. I was far enough from the door that I didn't think he'd seen me leave. If he did, he didn't say anything. "What's up, Newt?"

"Everyone's gonna be in the Homestead tonight because the rain's so heavy." He explained. I nodded along, though I already knew that. So he hadn't seen me leave.

"Alby put me in charge of rooms. I'm putting Chuck, Thomas, Ben, you and I in my room. I trust them, so just so you know, you're a hundred percent safe tonight." He assured. I smiled gratefully and thanked him.

Newt was quickly off again, telling Gladers which room to head to as they each approached the Homestead. I ducked inside and out of the rain, pushing past the masses of boys to get to Newt's room.

Thomas and Chuck were already there, sprawling their sleeping bags across the floor. I straightened out the one Newt had slept in last night between the door and Thomas. My clothes were wet, and the bathroom lineup was too long, so I changed into my borrowed pajamas in my sleeping bag.

My chest was almost exposed for a second but I managed to cover it. Chuck looked away politely, whereas Thomas' eyes just went wide. I blushed, mainly embarrassed by my clumsiness.

Once I'd changed, I went downstairs to see if I could find Newt. When I couldn't, I settled on stealing an abandoned towel from a table to dry my hair a bit.

Alby found his way back inside after a while and arranged for Frypan, Minho, Chuck and himself to hand out plates of food to everyone. The Homestead was oddly quiet while everyone ate.

Newt found me eventually, sitting next to me and eating silently. There wasn't much chitchat as everyone got ready for bed.

There were two things on my mind: Gally's fate and the storm outside. I was dreading the time when the thunder would start.

When we returned to the room, Ben was asleep in a sleeping bag between Chuck and Newt's bed. Thomas, Chuck, Newt and I were all too tired for goodnights, sliding into our sleeping bags without saying a word to each other.

Thankfully, everyone else in the room was asleep when the thunder started. By three or four lightning strikes, I was already shaking in my sleeping bag. I kept getting startled whenever Thomas rolled towards me, which he did often. I just kept pushing him back towards Chuck.

I was so focused on trying to calm myself and keeping Thomas in his own spot that I hadn't noticed someone approach the door until it started to creak open. I practically jumped out of my skin.

"Hello?" I hissed, fumbling around in the dark as I tried to scramble away from the doorway. I was already on edge from the storm.

"(Y/N)?" Relief flooded my entire being as I realized who it was: Gally. Any anger or frustration I'd had for him melted away. Before I could stop myself, I'd slipped out of my sleeping bag and had gotten to my feet. Before I realized it, I was hugging him. After a second's hesitation, he returned it. Once it set in what I was doing, I quickly and awkwardly dropped my arms.

"Gally? What are you doing here?" I questioned quietly. I was shocked at my own enthusiasm to see him.

"Okay, I know you're mad at me for punching Zart--really, I know--and I'm sorry about that, I just got so mad and out of control. I'm here because--well, I saw you the other night with the thunder-- you know, how you were scared and all-- so I just wanted to, uh, check on you?"

It came out as a stumbling, awkward, run-on-sentence type question. I smiled, practically able to sense the blush on his face. Very conveniently timed lightning struck just then, followed almost immediately by crackling thunder.

I jumped a foot in the air, and Gally put a steadying hand on my arm. I dropped down to my knees and covered my ears. I hated myself for being so scared. Gally's warm body surrounded my scared form. I instinctually leaned into his comfortable chest.

"It's okay, it's just some lightning and thunder. It won't get anywhere near you." Gally reassured me quietly as to not wake the others, hugging me tightly. I just nodded, not trusting my voice anymore.

"Hey, Gally?" I asked once I was sure I could speak again. He hummed for me to continue. "Thank you. For standing up for me and being nice to me. I'm sorry I didn't stand by you the same way. Whatever they decide at the Gathering tomorrow, I'm sorry for that, too."

He hesitated, going stiff as he processed what I'd said. I knew how different my words were in comparison to the earlier words of Zart's friend. "Thank you." He eventually spoke, his voice gentle. "You know, that's probably the nicest thing any Glader has ever said to me."

More lightning and thunder filled the room, but I was far less scared with Gally by me.

"Gally? Will you stay, at least for a while? I just don't want to be alone." He held me tighter.

"Of course, Shebean."