Study Hall had undoubtedly become Thomas's least favorite part of the day. It was probably his own fault, he had no trouble admitting that, but somewhere along the line he'd sent thing horribly array with someone he spent that dreaded time with. Brenda was her name, and Thomas swore the ominous title would forever be scorched into his brain after all the grief this women had caused him. See, the problem was, for whatever reason, Brenda had somehow gotten the idea that Thomas was into her, a thought that made the boy shudder to even think about. He had tried time and time again to politely blow her off but the girl just couldn't seem to take a hint, constantly sending him flirtatious glances from across the room, no matter how many times Thomas chose to ignore them. It wasn't just the unceasing looks either, after the male ignored her for so long Brenda would always approach him and begin talking no matter how busy he strived to appear or how short his replies always were. Such things were accompanied by subtle touches to arm and intrusive invasion of personal space, even when Thomas would deliberately scoot out of arm's reach. Everyday, for 45 long minutes, the brunette suffered through Brenda's advances before coming up with some lame excuse as to why he definitely needed to leave as quickly as possible when the bell rang, signifying the end of his imprisonment and release to the dorms. Finally, one day Thomas decided it needed to stop. He couldn't keep living in fear of last period for the entirety of his high school life. When the last bell rang and he gathered his books hurriedly into his bag, Thomas turned to Brenda and gave her an excuse he was sure would end her advancements for good.
"Sorry I can't stay and chat, my boyfriends waiting on me." The mole-speckled teen announced as he started walking purposefully towards the door with the rest of the exiting crowed.
"You have a boyfriend?" Brenda questioned, disbelief evident in her voice and a startled look coming over her as she wove through the other students in an attempt to reach Thomas's retreating form. "Who?" The male nearly tripped at the question, not having anticipated the need for any sort of explanation and thus, not having one handy. His brain seemed to quit functioning as he began to panic and scoured his thoughts for any sort of believable response.
"Uhm. Minho!" Thomas's stuttered out unthinkingly, answering with the first thing that popped into his mind as he tried desperately to pass quickly through the throng of people dispersing throughout the hall.
"Your roommate? When did you guys get together?" Brenda asked, a note of disappointment replacing her earlier astonishment as she moved expertly through the crowed and came to walk beside the frantic boy.
"Erm. Well, uhh. We've been together for awhile but we just kept it kinda quiet. It's not a secret or anything, we just didn't wanna make a big deal out of it." Thomas lied nervously, wishing harder and harder with each passing second that he's never had this 'ingenious' idea.
"Yeah, I guess with him being captain of the track team and you being a runner, people might think he was favoring you or something." Brenda responded carefully, looking thoughtful. Thomas nodded eagerly at her assumption, grateful for any excuse that might help solidify his story and convince the girl of its truth.
"Yeah. Exactly. Well, I can't keep him waiting, so I guess I'll see you later." Thomas excused himself awkwardly, turning to head down the hallway that would lead him to his locker and away from this worsening situation. Brenda, as opposed to her usual exuberant parting, merely gave the boy a small wave, which he counted as a win, and he practically ran down the hall as soon as she turned her head, cursing his lack of forethought as he went.
By the time Thomas had dropped off any unnecessary books in his locker and began retrieving the ones he would need, he was already beginning to plan what was sure to be the most awkward conversation of his life. How does one even begin such a discussion? 'Hey, I accidentally told someone you're my boyfriend. How was your day?' or maybe, 'Good to see you. The entire school thinks were dating, by the way.' There was nothing he could possibly say to make the situation seem any better and even if he could get his friend to understand, there was no way Minho was ever going to let him live this down.
Unfortunately, by the time Thomas reached the familiar dorms referred to as, "The Glade" he had thought of nothing helpful and had spent the majority of the walk trying in vain to keep his thoughts from drifting to the matter of just why exactly he'd said Minho was his boyfriend. Telling himself stubbornly the the Asian boy was simply his closest friend and that's why his mind so readily jumped to him. It had absolutely nothing to do with his perfect hair or the way it stuck up in every direction when he first woke up and hadn't styled it yet. It had nothing to do with his muscular arms or how Thomas had no idea running shorts could be so distracting until he'd met the track star. Nor did it have anything to do with the boy's smirky grin or the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled, bright and beautiful...They were best friends. Totally platonic.
Dismay shadowed his heart as he entered the building and climbed slowly up the stairs to waste time, avoiding the speedy elevator that would surely cut his time in half. Despite his stalling, Thomas reached the room he and Minho shared seemingly all to quickly and let our a reluctant sigh before hesitantly puling his Student I.D. Card from his back pocket and holding it against the sensor above the lock. After a brief moment, the senor light turned green and the lock opened with a metallic click, allowing Thomas to push the thick door in on itself and enter the dorm, hoping against hope that maybe Minho wasn't back yet. His hopes were were in vain however, for when he opened the door his eyes fell immediately on the familiar form of his friend and he had to stop himself from turning heel and retreating, definitely not ready to have this conversation.
Minho was sprawled across his bed on his stomach, limbs tangled haphazardly among the clean white sheets and head propped up on every pillow in the room. He was facing the T.V. and held the remote in one hand, flipping listlessly through the channels, never settling on one for more than a few seconds before indecisively switching to the next. He clicked the T.V. off however, when the sound the door opening marked Thomas's arrival and he tossed the remote carelessly away, rolling on his side to give the boy one of his signature smirks.
"Hey, Shuckface." The Asian male greeted warmly, using the 'Gladerslang' invented by the boy's of the dorm to avoid being punished for cursing.
"You're going to kill me." Thomas deadpanned immediately, shrugging off his book bag and letting it drop haphazardly to the floor.
"Oh? What'd you do this time?" Minho asked, his tone playfully as he raised an eyebrow in response to the obscure decoration, though his smirk remained set firmly in place as he waited for his roommate to elaborate. Thomas fell quiet for a moment, thinking of the best way to phrase such an confession but coming up blank as Minho waited, toying absentmindedly with the sheets he lay tangled in.
"You remember Brenda, right?" The mole-speckled boy began hesitantly, choosing to dance around the actual problem for the time being. Minho's cocky smirk instantly fell way to a disgruntled scowl as the name passed his friend's lips and he nodded slowly, clearly displeased that Thomas even wanted to talk about the girl. The younger male was constantly complaining to the raven haired boy about Brenda's unwanted advancements and Minho had made no secrete of his dislike of the women for it. But being protective of one's best friend is perfectly normal. Minho was not - contrary to what Newt had claimed when he told him of the situation - jealous.
"Well, I thought I was going to be clever and get her to stop flirting with me." Thomas continued, looking around the room - at anything other than the boy on the bed - feeling his face flush as he tried to word the rest of the tale in his head. If he had been looking tough, he would have seen his friend grin triumphantly and push himself up onto his elbows to listen more attentively.
"So, I told her I had a boyfriend." The nervous boy continued, rocking back and forth on his heels and staring fixedly at the ceiling. At this, Minho felt a rush of surprise, he knew Thomas was bi but he also knew that after a few events of the teen's childhood - stories of which made Minho's blood boil to even think about – he tended to keep it quiet. Trying to keep his focus on the story and not on his friend's past, Minho shifted into a sitting position and swung his legs off the bed, staring expectantly at the younger boy; silently vowing to himself that, if that bitch had said anything to upset his friend, they'd find her body in the lake.
"And when she asked who, I said you." Thomas finished in one quick breath, his stomach in knots and his face ablaze as he shifted his anxious gaze to the floor and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. Minho froze up at confession and he found himself staring disbelievingly at his roommate as shock rolled over him in waves, his heart preforming a series of aerobatics and his lungs refusing to function. He sat, motionless and blushing for a few long moments before his brain and body seemed to recalibrate themselves and he could fully process his friends words. The Asian struggled to form a coherent thought and turn in into some sort of response as he strived to keep his gaze steady, the sight of a fiercely blushing Thomas, chewing his lower lip nervously, doing nothing to help his cause.
"Are you asking me out, shank?" Minho finally asked, trying to keep the tremor from his voice as his eyes caught those of his friend and he stared questioningly at the boy. Whatever Thomas had been about to say next dissipated from his mind like fog under a desert sun as his head snapped up and he starred back into the dark eyes of his companion, searching them for any sense of humor and finding none. The brunette tried to say something, anything, but his voice seemed to fail him and he merely stammered unintelligibly at the older male. Minho suddenly rose from his seat as Thomas stared at him, and crossed the room to where the younger still stood by the door, keeping steady eye contact as he moved. He halted directly in front of the mole-speckled boy and leaned impossibly close, putting only a few inches between them as he drooped his voice to a whisper.
"'Cause if you are, then I'm saying yes." Minho spoke quietly, his warm breath ghosting over Thomas's lips as the younger boy felt his own breath catch and his begin to heart pound against his chest loudly enough he was sure the Asian could here it. The older male broke his gaze to glance down at his roommate's quivering lips, distractedly running his tongue over his own, before bring his eyes back up to meet the honey ones of the other boy, asking for permission without words.
"Then I'm definitely asking you out." Thomas responded softly, surprised he'd managed to get the words out without stuttering, completely enraptured by the sight of his roommate at such close proximity. He watched, fascinated, as Minho closed his eyes and leaned forward, before letting his own eyes slip shut at he felt the the other boy's mouth cover his own.
Romance, in more ways than one, had never been Thomas's specialty – but maybe you didn't need to be an expert to get it right on your first try.