The invitation that morning that came in the post brought a downer on his day. It had been 5 years since Newt had graduated from Glader High School, and now they all wanted to meet back up again. Why would they want to do that? Most of them couldn't wait to leave.
It's not that he had a horrible experience at school. He had quite a few friends, and got good grades in his subjects. What Newt didn't like about seeing everyone again was the fact that he had nothing to show for those good grades.
When he finished school, he went to university. However, that didn't work out too well for him, and he dropped out after a year. He got an apprenticeship at a newspaper company, but he was only a runner for them all. He didn't mind the whole 'start from the bottom and work your way to the top' thing, but he didn't want everyone from school to know that he hadn't been as successful as he hoped he would be by now.
He'd lost contact with most people, but he still spoke to some of his friends from high school, like Alby and Frypan. And that was a problem for him right now.
"Come on, man. It'll be fun." Frypan told him as he bit into his sandwich.
Both Frypan and Alby had gotten an invitation that morning as well, and so Frypan had arranged for them all to meet up for lunch to talk about it. Sometimes Newt thought he still acted like a high-schooler. The three of them were sitting in a café down the road from where Newt worked.
"In what way will it be fun?" Newt asked Frypan.
"How will it not? You get to see everyone from school again, and drink, and just have fun." Frypan told him.
"Yeah, something you don't know how to do these days." Alby threw in. Newt glared at him.
"There's a reason those people aren't in my life anymore. Because I don't want them there."
"No, it's because you just couldn't be bothered to keep in contact. The only reason you still talk to us willingly is because we live close enough to you that we can just barge into your life whenever we want." Frypan smirked at him. Newt rolled his eyes at him. "Come on. It just one evening, for a few hours. You don't even have to stay the whole time.
"Plus, I was talking to Teresa the earlier and she told me that Thomas was going." Alby told him. Newt's head snapped up to look at him at that comment.
Thomas was one of the boys in his year. He was quite popular, being the class clown. Everyone knew who he was, and most people liked him. There were a few that didn't, but they just didn't have a sense of humour.
Newt had met him in 10th grade. They were both in the same maths class and were sat a table apart. Newt wouldn't have paid attention to him if it weren't for the fact that one lesson, Thomas decided to move next to Newt to avoid being sent to the head teacher's office for being disruptive. He had tried talking to Newt, who was only trying to learn, but he was persistent, and in the end, Newt never finished his work, and they both ended up in detention.
After that, Thomas was always around. He, as well as his other friends, soon joined Newt's friendship group. His group expanded from himself, Alby, Frypan, and Winston; to those four, plus Thomas, Minho, Teresa, Gally, and Chuck. All of them were in the same year, except chuck. He was a kid who tagged along with Thomas.
Over the course of the next few years, they all became pretty close, and Newt had, at some point, developed a massive crush on Thomas. It was that that made Newt distance himself from Thomas in their last year of high school. He would never be alone with him, and if he could help it, he wouldn't sit next to him either. He would never start a conversation with him, Thomas had to do that, and even then, Newt would give the shortest answers possible. Newt never did anything about his crush, and after leaving high school and going to university, he realised how much he regretted it. But he had too much pride to admit it to anyone, even though Alby and Frypan could tell.
"Why would that persuade me to go?" Newt asked defensively.
"Oh please, everyone knew you had a crush on him. And we can see that you never got over it." Frypan told him. Newt went to protest, but Frypan held a hand up. "Don't try and deny it. Your eyes lit up at the mention of his name, and you lifted your head so fast, I thought your neck was going to break." Newt glared at him.
"Look, this could finally be your chance to ask him out. He's single, you know." Alby told him.
"Why do you know that?" Newt asked.
"Some of us still keep in contact with friends." He said.
It had taken a lot more convincing, but eventually Newt agreed to go on the condition that he was allowed to leave after 2 hours.
By the time the reunion rolled around, Newt wasn't prepared.
"I haven't got anything to wear." Newt said down the phone to Alby. He'd called Newt to make sure he was getting ready as he was picking him up in half an hour.
"Just wear anything. It doesn't have to be formal. Just wear jeans and a smart shirt." Alby told him.
"Fine." Newt said, walking to his wardrobe and pulling out a black pair of jeans. "What kind of shirt?" He asked.
"A button-down one." He told him.
"I only have white ones."
"That's a lie, but wear one of them then. You aren't getting out of this." Alby told him. Newt sighed, but picked out a black button-down shirt. It was one of the only coloured ones he actually owned.
"Don't wear the black shirt." Alby instructed.
"What? Why not?" He asked, getting a little frustrated.
"Then change the jeans you picked out."
"What's wrong with those?" He asked.
"You are not turning up in all black. It's a reunion, not a funeral." He told him.
"It may as well be." Newt mumbled.
"I heard that." Alby said.
"What colour shirt do you suggest then? Grey?" Newt asked.
"No, that's still too dark." Alby told him.
"Still to dark." Newt repeated, getting more frustrated.
"Go with blue."
"How do you know I even own a blue shirt?"
"Stop making this difficult. I'll be there in 20 minutes and you are going dressed however you are at that moment, alright?" Newt rolled his eyes but agreed.
"Fine, see you then." He said.
"Bye." He hung up the phone, then pulled a dark blue shirt out of his wardrobe.
By the time Alby arrived, Newt was ready to go.
"Dude, that's too dark!" Alby said, sounding just as frustrated as he did on the phone.
"You said blue. You didn't say which blue." Newt smirked.
"I am going to murder you before the night is over." Alby said, pushing Newt out the door.
When they arrived at the reunion it was already on full swing. There were people on the dance floor, people over by the food, and people by the bar.
"I wonder if Thomas is here yet." Frypan said in Newt's ear.
"Will you shut up?" Newt asked, turning towards him. Frypan said nothing, but smirked at him. As Newt turned back towards the party, he saw a guy walking over.
"Hey man! Long time no see." He said.
"Hey Winston." Newt greeted.
"Wassup man!" Frypan said, hugging him.
"Alright." Alby said, giving him a nod.
"Let's get some shots!" Winston nearly shouted, walking over to the bar, Frypan following behind him.
"I'm gonna go sit over there." Newt said, pointing to an empty table in the corner of the room.
"I'll bring you a drink." Alby said, then followed the other two.
Newt made his way to the table and sat in the seat right in the corner, hidden from most people, hoping the night would be over soon. Alby came over about 5 minutes later with a drink in his hand for Newt.
"What is it?" He asked as Alby handed it to him.
"Vodka and coke." He told him. Newt nodded and took a large mouthful of it.
"You might wanna slow down." A female voice said, making both of them turn their heads quickly.
"Teresa!" Alby said, greeting the girl with a hug.
"Hey Newt." She smiled. He gave her a small wave.
"So, are the others here with you then?" Alby asked.
"Yeah, Minho and Gally are at the bar getting us all drinks, and Thomas is by the food." She told them, taking a seat at the table. Newt rolled his eyes discreetly and took another large mouthful of his drink.
"It'll be good to catch up with everyone." Alby said.
"Yeah. Where are Frypan and Winston?" She asked.
"At the bar." Alby said, pointing to where the two men in question were talking to Minho and Gally.
It took another 10 minutes for most of the group to join the table, excluding Thomas, who was still at the food, piling three different plates p with food.
"Why is he getting so much?" Gally asked.
"I told him to just bring a load over so we don't have to keep getting up." Teresa told him.
"Oh joy." Newt mumbled into his nearly empty glass. The only person who heard this was Alby, who gave him a look. "What?" He asked, looking at the man.
"Can you at least try to look like you're enjoying yourself?" He asked.
"As opposed to looking like I was forced to come out and be bored for the night?" He countered. Alby rolled his eyes and turned back to the rest of the group. Newt got up and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Alby asked.
"To get another drink." He said, then walked off.
After waiting 5 minutes to get his drink, he started walking back to the table. As he was walking, he nearly crashed into someone.
"Whoa! Oh shit!" The person said, trying not to drop what they were holding. Newt grabbed one of the plates in his hands to stop it from falling. Once the person had steadied themself, Newt looked up to see who it was, and nearly dropped the plate and drink he was holding.
"Newt! Good to see you, buddy!" Thomas said, grinning.
"Oh, hey Thomas." Newt said, felling his face go red.
"What, no Tommy anymore?" Thomas said. Newt took a moment to properly look at him. He was wearing black skinny jeans, a white t-shirt with some sort of black design on it that was cover by a black blazer. He looked slightly older than the last time he had seen him, but he was still as good looking as he remembered.
"I, uh, I forgot about that." He lied. He stopped calling him that at the beginning of their last year of high school. It was the start of the process of distancing himself.
"Oh well, mind helping me back to the table?" He asked.
"Sure." Newt said, not really having much of a choice.
"Thomas!" Many of the men shouted when they made it back to the table.
"Hey guys. This enough food?" He asked as he put the two plates he was holding on the table. Newt put the other one down and sat back in his seat.
"Come sit over here man." Frypan told him, indicating the chair between himself and Newt. Newt glared over at him, but Frypan didn't look at him, only smirked, knowing Newt was glaring. Thomas made his way over and sat between them.
Everyone soon broke off into their own conversations. Everyone except Newt. He sat there drink his drink, waiting for the night to be over so he could leave.
"Seriously, talk to someone. You look like you're about to kill someone." Alby said to him quietly.
"Who knows, maybe I am." Newt said, turning to look at him. Alby sighed.
"Can you please have some fun?" He nearly begged.
"This isn't fun. I'm going out for some fresh air." He said, standing up and walking out with his drink.
He walked out into the cool night air and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He walked over to the side of the road and took a seat, taking a sip of his drink. He was only sat there for a minute when the door opened and someone else walked out.
"Hey." The person said, and Newt sighed. 'Just my luck', he thought. Newt didn't answer, instead taking another sip of his drink. "What's up? You look annoyed." Thomas said as he sat down next to him.
"Nothing." He told him, turning his head away slightly.
"That's a lie. Something's wrong. Do you not want to be here?" He asked.
"Not particularly." Newt told him.
"Why not? This is fun, meeting up with everyone again." He said.
"This isn't my idea of fun." He informed him.
"No, your idea of fun is watching a film with a cup of hot chocolate." Thomas told him. Newt turned his head towards him and immediately regretted it. He nearly lost himself in Thomas's eyes, but quickly composed himself.
"What?" Newt asked.
"I remember that still. Watching loads of different films until stupid o'clock with a cup of hot chocolate." Thomas smiled, reminiscing. Newt let a small smile creep on to his face. "See! There you go. You look better when you smile." Thomas told him. Newt looked away, feeling his cheek heat up.
They both sat there in silence, staring out across the road. Newt took another sip of his drink, finishing and then putting the glass on the floor next to him.
"So what's really up?" Thomas asked him.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"I know you Newt. It's not just this reunion that's bothering you. There's something else." Thomas told him.
"It's nothing. It doesn't matter. Just drop it." Newt said, making it sound harsher than he intended.
"Alright then. How's life been since high school then? I haven't seen you much, if at all." Thomas tried again. Newt let out a sigh. "Have I said something wrong again?" He asked. Newt shook his head, then ran a hand through his hair.
"Rubbish." Was all Newt said.
"Why do you say that?" Thomas asked.
"Because I've done nothing with my life." He said.
"That can't be true. You went to uni, didn't you?" He asked.
"Yeah, and then I dropped out after a year."
"What, why? I thought you wanted to go?" Thomas said as more of a question.
"I did, but I didn't like it there. I wasn't ready." Newt told him.
"Well, didn't you try again." Newt laughed humourlessly and shook his head.
"I got an apprenticeship." He told him.
"Well that's good then." Thomas said.
"Not really. I'm just a runner for a bunch of people at a newspaper. It's a shit job." Newt told him.
"Work your way up. Loads of great people started out with a shit job." Thomas told him.
"Yeah? Like who?"
"I don't know of the top of my head." Newt didn't say anything. They were both silent again for a moment until Newt broke it.
"So how has your life been then?" Newt asked.
"Not terrible. Went to uni, and now I'm stuck working at a book shop to try and pay back my debts." He told him.
"You should try finding a proper job then." Newt told him.
"That's easier said than done." He said, chuckling slightly. A silence fell over them again, neither of them knowing what to say.
"Why did you start hating me in the last year of high school?" Thomas asked, finally breaking the silence.
"What?" Newt asked, shocked at what he'd said.
"Why did you start hating me? I didn't do anything, did I?" Thomas asked again.
"Why do you think I started hating you?" Newt asked, knowing exactly why.
"Because, you stopped talking to me, you wouldn't sit near me, you wouldn't go anywhere with me. You were just avoiding me." Thomas said, looking down at the floor.
"I didn't hate you." Newt said in a quiet voice, so quiet, Thomas almost missed it.
"Then why wouldn't you talk to me?" He asked. Newt didn't answer, only looked down at the floor. "I really liked to as well." Thomas mumbled.
"What?" Newt asked, his head turning sharply to look at the man.
"I mean, you know, as a, uh, a friend." He stuttered, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Newt just stared at him. "Or maybe more." Thomas said even quieter than before.
"You liked me?" Newt asked.
"Like." Thomas said.
"What?" He asked confused.
"I like you." Thomas corrected for him.
"You still do?" He asked, shocked. Thomas avoided eye contact. "I'm so stupid." Newt said, dropping his head into his hands.
"Why?" Thomas asked.
"That was the reason why I wouldn't talk to you." Newt told him.
"Because I liked you?" Thomas asked confused.
"No, because I thought you didn't like me." Newt said, shaking his head at his own stupidity.
"Of course I did. Why do you think I made the effort to sit with you all the time in class and at lunch?" Thomas asked him.
"Hold on. You liked me back in 10th grade as well?" He asked. Thomas nodded his head. "And you still like me now?" Newt asked. Thomas nodded his head again, slower this time, not knowing what Newt was getting at. "But that's like, 7 years." He told him.
"Well don't I feel ridiculous now?" Thomas asked rhetorically, and Newt saw a blush creep onto his face.
"It's okay. I like you too." Newt admitted, a blush creeping on to his face as well.
"Really?" He asked.
"Ridiculous, right?" Newt chuckled.
They both stared at each other. Newt's eyes flicked down to Thomas's lips, wetting his own as he did. They both slowly leaned in. Their foreheads rested against each other, before Thomas slowly closed the distance.
Thomas's lips were soft, and he tasted like alcohol, but net didn't care, because he probably tasted the same. Their lips moved slowly against each other, letting out all the emotion from the last few years that they hadn't been able to. Thomas's hand came up to rest on Newt's cheek, pulling him as close as he could.
When they broke apart, they rested their foreheads together again, their breaths mixing together. They both slowly opened their eyes that had closed at some point. A grin crept on to Thomas's face.
"You have no idea how long I've waited to do that." He said.
"7 years, I think you said it was." Newt said, a smile on his face.
"Shut up." Thomas said, kissing him again.
"We should probably go back inside. Everyone will be wondering where we are." Newt said. Thomas kissed him again, then pulled away, standing up.
"Come on then." He said, holding his hand out for Newt to take. He did, using it to pull himself of the ground. He picked up his glass and they both walked back inside. They separated as they got in, Newt walking over to the bar and putting his glass on it, Thomas walking back over to the table and sitting back in his seat.
"Are you two sorted then?" Alby asked Newt as he sat back down.
"Yeah." He said, blushing as he did. "Thanks for making me come tonight." He thanked.
"No problem." Alby smiled.
If nobody else noticed that night that the two were a lot happier, and were sitting a lot closer, then they did by the next day, because everyone crashed at Alby's house, and Minho has a big mouth, and he certainly did notice.
Thanks for reading :) This was something that I saw on Tumblr, and decided to write it for these two, because I'm obsessed with them and The Maze Runner at the moment :)
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