It was times like these when Newt hated he chose a class at 8 in the morning. He had to make sure he was up at least 6 to take a shower, eat some of whatever he or his roommate had cooked for dinner the previous night for breakfast, walked across the street to his favorite cafe before he began his long, tiresome walk to school.
But what he loved most about the early mornings, was that people were too tired and too cranky to attempt at making small talk with him. He absolutely hated when people talked too much because he would have to nod and pretend like he was listening to what they were saying when, in reality, he had no idea what they were talking about.
Newt walked quickly across the street to the local coffee shop. It was a small building, not super popular, but that's what made it his favorite cafe. He liked being able to study inside, quietly, without being interrupted. He discovered this place when his roommate and best friend, Minho, got a job there. Newt ordered his usual latte and started heading towards his school.
As usual, it took him 30 minutes to reach his class. It used to take him only 10 minutes to get to school but that was before he got into his accident and wrecked his car he worked so hard for. He grimaced and absentmindedly rubbed at his knee. Newt's injured knee was a constant reminder of that horrible day. Before it, he was a star athlete in track. He even graduated with a track scholarship from high school. His dream was to once day race in the olympics and compete with the greats. But that ended a year ago.
It was a few weeks into summer vacation. Newt had just graduated from high school, alongside with his best friend, Minho, and was more than excited to take advantage of his track scholarship he had received and earned with pride.
Even though he was no longer in school, he liked to visit the track and run. It cleared his head and when he ran, it felt like there wasn't anything he couldn't do.
Newt had probably ran almost 6 miles around the track when he noticed the sun was starting to set. He glanced down at his watch and jogged back to his car. As he slid into the seat, his phone started to ring and Minho's name appeared onto the screen.
Newt buckled his seatbelt and started the car. He picked up his phone and pressed it to his ear. "Hey, Minho," he drawled, driving away from his old school.
"Hey, shuckface." Newt rolled his eyes. Typical Minho answer. "Teresa and I were thinking about going to see a movie but she bailed last minute, something about work or whatever." There was a hint of feigned disgust in Minho's voice. He always thought summer break meant a break from school and work. "Anyways, the movie looked pretty good, it has zombies and shit, and I was looking forward to seeing it. Wanna go? I mean, I'd rather see it with my girlfriend but you're okay, I guess," he joked.
Newt laughed as he stopped at a red light. "Thanks, Min," he replied sarcastically, "but I can't. Mum and Dad have something important to tell me and I said I'll be home tonight."
That caught Minho's undivided attention. "What do they wanna tell you?"
"I have no idea, but Mum sounded serious. I'm sure it's nothing though." He drummed his fingers on the armrest of his seat, impatiently waiting for the light to turn green.
"You're probably right. Teresa once told me we needed to talk. She was dead serious and I'm pretty sure I klunked my pants but she just wanted sex."
"How profound," Newt rolled his eyes. "Something tells me that's not what they're going to tell me but thanks."
"Anytime, man." He could tell Minho was grinning.
The light turned green and Newt thought, finally. He pressed gently on the gas pedal and started to drive across the intersection. "Hey, maybe they'll say-."
He never got to finish the sentence because he had barely reached the middle of the road when he heard a blaring horn followed by the screeching of tires as someone frantically hit their brakes. Newt turned his head slowly and lights blinded his vision. Then he felt the worst pain of his life before blissfully passing out.
"Good morning, class," his professor greeted loudly, and quite obnoxiously, pulling Newt out of his reverie. He glanced around the room, wondering how he couldn't have heard the students pile in. He shook his head and started to concentrate on what the professor was saying. The teacher flicked off the lights and began to drone on and on about the history of English. Newt scribbled down almost everything he was saying while others dozed off.
"Excuse me?" a voice whispered, a bit too loud.
Newt glanced up, already irritated he was missing what the professor was talking about. He was met with a pair of deep brown, almost like the color of chocolate, eyes. He had extremely messy brown hair and, to Newt, had a very large nose. Newt stared at him, impatiently, waiting for him to talk.
The boy in front of him looked sheepish. He asked, "Do you have a pen I could borrow? My alarm woke me up late and then I almost missed my bus. I don't think it's my fault though," he continued earnestly. "My best friend messed with my phone and changed almost all of the settings. I'm not mad at him though. It's okay. We mess with each other like that." The boy frowned a bit, as if thinking to himself, before launching in another story. "Wait, that's not all that happened. We were actually...". He kept talking but Newt was barely paying attention. He was searching through his backpack, hoping if he gave the boy a pen, he would stop talking. He sighed in relief when his fingers clasped around a pen.
Newt straightened up and held out the pen, not caring if he interrupted his story or not. "Here," he said briskly, almost shoving the pen at him.
The boy didn't look annoyed at all for being interrupted. His eyes brightened as he grinned. "Thanks!" he exclaimed and gratefully took the pen and turned around to face the professor.
Newt let out another sigh of relief. Finally some peace and quiet. He resumed scribbling on his notebook, ticked off that he missed a lot of what his professor had said.
"Um, excuse me?"
It was the same boy. Newt clenched his fist, narrowed his eyes, and said,"What?"
He looked unfazed by Newt's reaction and asked,"Do you want this pen back? I have a class after this and if I give this back, I'll have to re-enact this entire conversation which doesn't bother me, but it'd be nice if I could avoid it altogether. Unless this is your lucky pen or whatever and you have an attachment to it. Then I'd give it back to you. But I don't know. It's up to you," he finished, smiling brightly.
Newt stared back at him, wondering what the bloody hell was wrong with him. Never in his life has he eve encountered someone who talked as much as he does. He answered irritably,"You can keep it. I don't care."
"Really? Thanks! You're the best. I owe you big time!" He turned back around again for the second time.
"Please don't," Newt muttered to himself, returning his attention to his poor notes. He sighed, annoyed, when he discovered he had missed more information than the last time.
"Sorry but I need to ask you something else."
Bloody hell. Newt ignored him and continued writing down, flipping his notebook over to begin a new page of notes. He hoped the boy would get the message and stop talking.
"Can I ask you something?" Apparently his message didn't send.
"What?" Newt finally answered through gritted teeth, his eyes still on his notebook.
The boy smiled triumphantly and said, "My name's Thomas," was all he said.
Confused, Newt glanced up and asked him, "What's your question?"
Just when Thomas opened his mouth, the clock struck 9:30 and the professor excused them. There was a brief flurry of excitement as students stood up and exited the room. Next sent out a silent prayer and quickly followed everyone out the door. He hurried out the building, towards the cafeteria where he usually meets Minho. He paused and looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see Thomas pop out of nowhere and bombard him with annoying questions. But there was no one.
Newt took a long look around him, just to make sure, before shouldering his backpack once more and continued walking.
"Newt!" waved Minho, motioning him towards the table he was sitting at.
Newt smiled in relief and walked towards him, gripping his tray of food. As he got closer, he noticed his other friends were sitting with him. Minho's girlfriend, Teresa, was sitting beside him with her best friend, Brenda, on her other side. Newt's and Minho's other friends, Aris, Gally, Winston, Alby, and Frypan, were sitting there side by side. Newt himself slid in between Minho and Aris and started munching on an apple, listening to the conversations around him.
"So," started Minho, taking a bite out of Newt's pizza, "how was class?"
"Really? I'm bloody starving and you eat my food? Get your own." Newt rolled his eyes. He did that a lot around Minho.
"I did. Now answer my question."
He shrugged and took a bite himself before answering, "It was alright. Although I could hardly pay attention to my professor."
"Why? Distracted by a hot girl?" Minho wiggled his eyebrows mischievously.
Newt threw a piece of crust at his face and laughed,"Never do that again. And no, just an annoying shuckface who wouldn't stop talking."
"Doesn't sound too bad," shrugged Minho.
"That's because you always talk and never know when to stop."
He winked, "True."
Newt couldn't help but laugh again and returned his attention to his food.
Teresa leaned across Minho to speak to Newt. "I met someone this morning, Newt, and he seemed like he could use a friend so I invited him to sit with us. I just thought you should know. I hope you don't mind, and if you do, I don't care," she laughed and winked.
Newt smiled and said, "I don't mind. What's he like?"
She replied, "I don't know him too well. We just bumped into each other. He's really nice, though. Oh, here he comes." Standing up, she frantically waved to someone behind Newt. "Thomas!", she exclaimed. "Over here!"
Newt almost choked on his pizza he was chewing. Just my bloody luck, he thought, hopefully it's another Thomas.
But, because the world happens to be against Newt today, the familiar, and very annoying, voice of Thomas, said, "Hey, Teresa!"
Teresa smiled widely at him, "Okay, everyone, this is Thomas. Thomas, this is everyone."
Newt didn't join in his friends when they greeted Thomas with their various hello's and hi's. He saw Thomas look at each one, smiling his hello, before his eyes settled on Newt himself.
Recognition flooded them and his smile got, if possible, bigger. "Hey!"
Newt tried not to roll his eyes and answered, as politely as he could muster, "Hi, Thomas."
Teresa looked back and forth between the two. "You know each other?" she asked, confused.
The blonde opened his mouth to tell her he didn't know him, but Thomas beat him and said, "We have English together. We sit next to each other. But we just met today." Newt expected him to tell everyone every little detail of their morning but was pleasantly surprised when that was all Thomas said.
She nodded and said, "I see. Well, Tom, sit down, we don't bite. Unless you're into that," she giggled wickedly. Minho grinned at her.
Before Newt could move and pretend there was no room next to him, Thomas sat neatly in between him and Aris. Newt tried not to pay attention to the fact that Thomas was pressed up against his side. He turned his head and talked with Minho.
"Hey," whispered Thomas, poking his side softly.
He ignored him, carefully listening to Teresa chat about her morning.
Again, he felt a poke and heard a quiet, "Hey."
Silence.
"Newt."
Newt finally turned his head and frowned deeply, "How do you know my name?"
Thomas' face lit up when his calls were answered. "I have my ways," he said smugly, trying to sound mysterious. Newt just glared at him and he sighed, "Fine, I heard one of your friends call you that when I was standing in line for food. He's very loud, by the way."
"So are you."
He laughed. Even his laugh was loud, Newt thought to himself. But it was a tinkling sound, like wind chimes. "I know. I get that a lot. I come from a loud family. You'll get used to it."
"Somehow, I don't believe you."
Thomas disagreed, "Everyone who says that, have failed. You will too."
Newt raised an eyebrow, "Everyone?", he repeated.
He shrugged nonchalantly, "Everyone." He took a big bite of his burger and chewed thoughtfully, taking a swig of his water at the same time. Newt wrinkled his nose in disgust and faced Minho again, finishing his pizza. He could hear Thomas strike up and conversation with the others and let out an inward sigh of relief.
Newt swallowed his last bit of crust and glanced at his watch. It was almost 10:15, which means he had 45 minutes to get to work. He gathered his trash and belongings and bid his friends goodbye, leading the cafeteria.
40 minutes later, Newt found himself sweeping the floor and wiping tables. He worked at a bakery no less than 5 minutes from his apartment. The bakery was small but it was very popular. Newt's friends always stopped by to chat and get some free pastries.
The door tinkled and a group of high school kids came in, talking and laughing loudly. Newt placed his broom against the window and stood behind the counter, greeted them in a monotone voice and took their order. Luckily, what they ordered didn't take too long to prepare so within 10 minutes, they left the store.
Newt heard the familiar ring of the door again and said, without glancing up from wiping the counter, "Hello. Welcome to the Corner Bakery, may I take your order?"
"Newt!"
Bloody hell. Newt reluctantly lifted his head and stared at Thomas, who, unsurprisingly, had a wide grin on his face.
"I didn't know you worked here!", he continued eagerly. "I love this bakery! It's one of my favorite places to study at."
Newt ignored what he had just said and asked, "What would you like?"
Thomas' brow furrowed as he stared at all the delicious looking desserts behind the panel of glass. "I'm not sure yet. Everything sounds so good. What would you suggest?"
"Customers seem to like our famous chocolate chip cake. The vanilla cupcakes over here," he tapped the glass, "are also really popular. I prefer our lemon tart, although it's very-."
Thomas interrupted him and excitedly said, "Lemon tart is my favorite dessert!"
Newt frowned a little and said slowly, as if he could've believe they had something in common, "Mine too."
The brunette broke out into a smile and seemed to read his mind. "We have something in common! I don't know anyone else who likes lemon tarts. My family says it's too sour but that's why I love it."
Newt found himself nodded and agreed, "Me too." He even cracked a tentative smile causing Thomas' own smile to widen.
Over the next couple of months, Newt found himself gaining more similarities with Thomas. They both listened to the same kind of music, disliked the same movies, and they were both in car accidents.
"What happened?", asked Newt, placing a chocolate sprinkled donut in front of Thomas, who nodded his thanks gratefully. The blonde sat in front of him, awaiting his answer. The bakery was slow today, only a handful of customers coming in.
Thomas took a bite of his donut before answering, "I was little when it happened but I remember it clearly. I was coming home from a football game and -."
Newt interrupted, raising an eyebrow half in amusement, half in disbelief, "You played football?".
The dark haired boy pretended to be offended. "Excuse me, but I happened to play all 4 years of high school and middle school." He paused and admitted, chagrined, "I mean, I was mostly on the bench but still...stop!", he whined when Newt burst out into laughter.
Thomas feigned a look of hurt, even jutted out his lower lip. Newt calmed down, a few chuckles escaping him, and apologized. "I'm sorry, please continue."
He rolled his eyes but he was grinning. "Anyways," he said, putting emphasis on the word, "on the way home, my parents and I wanted to stop for ice cream. It was the last game of the season and we wanted to celebrate. The car wasn't even moving when, out of nowhere, another car slammed into ours. We spun a few times. Our car was on the other side of the street but luckily not one else had it us. My dad's back was severely damaged but my mom and I only had a few cuts," he finished. "We later found out the guy who hit us was so drunk, he blacked out and lost control of his car."
Newt breathed out, shocked, "I'm so sorry. Is your dad alright now?"
Thomas nodded, "He's fine. He had to get a couple of surgeries to fix his back but he had to quit his job because he couldn't do the things he once did. That was when I swore I would never drink. I don't want what happened my dad to happen to someone else."
"Thomas-," Newt started to say before a loud bang on the window interrupted him. They looked up to see Minho waving at them, holding Teresa's hand in his other. Alby and Brenda were with them.
Thomas stood up and brushed the crumbs from his pants. He smiled at Newt, "Thanks for the donut and thanks for listening. I should be getting home. I'll see you in class tomorrow." He waved at Newt's friends and left the bakery.
Teresa looked concerned. She asked, jabbing a finger in the direction Thomas left, "Is he okay?"
Newt nodded and wiped the tabletop they were sitting at. "He's fine," was all he said.
Newt was in the library, working on an essay for English, when his phone buzzed. It was a message from Minho.
from Minho- hey, dude. party 2morrow at Teresa's. you up for it?
from Newt- good to me. who's coming?
from Minho- the usual...u wanna bring Thomas?
from Newt- I don't care...why do I have to bring him?
from Minho- you're friends with him
from Newt- we're all friends with him
from Minho- ur closer to him...just bring him, shuckface
from Newt- fine
from Minho- good boy ;)
Newt and Thomas were talking once again in the bakery. This time it was over a plate of chocolate chunk cookies.
Thomas took a giant bite out of one and said, his voice a bit muffled, "These are amazing! Seriously the best cookie I've ever had." He finished the cookie in 3 large bites and even licked his fingers.
Newt chuckled and rolled his eyes, "Listen, you remember Teresa, right?"
He looked momentarily puzzled before his face cleared up and he nodded. "Why?"
"She's have a party at her place tomorrow night, and Minho asked me to invite you. So do you want to go?"
Thomas shrugged awkwardly, "I don't know. I mean, I don't usually go to parties because there's always alcohol and I don't really want to be near any of that."
Newt would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit disappointed. "That's alright," he said, forcing a smile on his face. "I'll just tell Minho that." He pulled out his cell phone from his pocket, ready to let Minho down.
"Wait!", Thomas said, holding out his hand. The blonde looked at him, confused. He amended, clearing his throat slightly, before hesitantly asking, "Are you going to be there?"
"Yeah. I mean, I always go."
"Then I will go too," he said, more confidently.
Newt smiled for real this time.
"So," started Minho apprehensively, "you and Thomas have been hanging out a lot." He and Newt were in their apartment, listening to music and playing video games.
Newt replied distractedly, "Uh-huh."
"I thought you didn't like him," the Asian boy pointed out, taking his eyes off the screen for a second to glance sideways at his best friend.
"I don't know, mate. He's alright, I guess."
He questioned, "You guess?"
Newt laughed, "Yes, I guess. What's with the bloody questions."
"I don't know, man, you seem different. Happy."
"Am I not supposed to be happy?"
Minho rolled his eyes in frustration, "You know that's not what I meant. The others have noticed it too."
"Noticed what?" laughed Newt again. He pressed paused on his game control and turned his body so he was facing his friend. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?", his British accent was laced with confusion.
"See!", he pointed out, getting irritated. "You're laughing!"
"I seriously have no idea what you're talking about!"
Minho rolled his eyes and muttered, "Never mind."
They resumed playing.
Newt turned the keys of the bakery into the door, securely locking it for the night. He had completely forgotten he had to close the night of Teresa's party. He looked down at his watch. 10:20pm. He sighed and began walking in the direction of her apartment. Hopefully she doesn't kill me, he thought to himself, wrapping his arms around himself in a weak attempt to keep himself warm.
He opened the door to her apartment and the first thing he noticed was that there were a lot of people. He had to squeeze through the door because of the people who were in his way. The air was warm and damp and the music blared loudly in his ears. Newt quickly made his way through the crowd, which was easier said than done. It took him at least 5 minutes for him to each the kitchen.
"Aris!", he explained, relief washing over his face when he stopped his friend.
Aris smiled, "Hey, Newt! Great party, huh?" They were almost yelling at each other to be heard over the music.
"I didn't know Teresa knew this many people!" The blonde took a big swig of beer.
He laughed and agreed, "I know! Neither did I! Listen, I think I see my friend, Rachel! I'll talk to you later, okay?"
Newt nodded and took another sip. "Okay!", he yelled. "Aris, wait! Have you seen Thomas?"
Aris shook his head, "No but I haven't seen Teresa either so don't trust what I say!" With that, he disappeared in the crowd and Newt found himself alone again.
Newt was sitting on a bench on Teresa's patio. He was on his third, maybe fourth he couldn't remember, bottle of beer. He was surprised that no one came over or called for a noise complaint. His ears were still ringing. He still hadn't found Thomas or anyone else for that matter, although he thought he spotted Minho and Teresa drunkenly walking down the hall and into her bedroom but he wasn't entirely sure.
"Newt!", someone called out his name, completely wasted.
Newt turned his head and frowned. "Thomas?", he asked in disbelief.
Thomas cackled loudly and stumbled onto the bench beside him. "Great party!", he yelled.
He quickly shushed him. "We're outside. Be quiet."
His brown eyes widened comically and he stage whispered, "Sorry." He burped and laughed again.
Newt was thoroughly confused. "Thomas, I thought you didn't drink."
Thomas shrugged and drank the rest of the contents in his plastic cup. "I didn't either but someone gave me this and it was so good!" He went to drink from it again, only to find it empty. "Oh...it's empty," he said sadly. Then he burst out in uncontrollable laughter. He stood up, swayed a little on the spot and announced, still very loudly, "I'm going to get another drink!" He started to walk but took one step and fell face down.
Newt ran a hand over his face, sighing. He drank the rest of his beer and tossed it away before standing up. "C'mon, Thomas, let's get you home." It was a process, trying to get Thomas back on his feet. His long limbs were what made things very difficult. It took Newt awhile, but he finally managed to lift him up. He securely wrapped an arm around Thomas' waist and started to half carry, half drag him away.
They were on the sidewalk, when Thomas drawled, "I don't want to go home, Newt Newt! I want another drink!"
Newt gritted his teeth at the awful nickname. "I'll get you a drink at home," he lied. "Where do you live?"
Thomas cheered loudly and laughed. "You're the best, Newt Newt!" He suddenly yelled, "Everybody! Newt's the bestest person in the world!" He let out a whoop of delight and ended up in a fit of giggles.
"Shut your bloody mouth! Where do you live?", he repeated.
"I don't know! I don't know! I don't know! I-."
"Shut up!"
"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry! Sor-."
Newt wanted to kill himself. He mentally decided to bring Thomas back to his apartment. He knew Minho would most likely crash at Teresa's so his bed would be free for the drunk boy.
Getting Thomas up the stairs was the hardest task of Newt's life. He and Minho lived in an old building where there weren't any elevators. Luckily they only had to go up a few flight of stairs. He fumbled with his keys, cursing when he dropped them on the ground. It took a few tries but he managed to get them safely in the apartment.
Thomas was on the verge of passing out. His words were slurring slightly and his eyes kept closing. Newt quickly dragged him in Minho's room before the brunette decided to pass out completely.
He ungraciously dropped the drunken boy on Minho's bed. He thought about just leaving him there but decided to make him more comfortable. Newt yanked Thomas' shoes off his feet and tossed them to the side, shoving his legs underneath the comforter. He left the room to get a glass of water and a couple of aspirins for the morning. Newt also left a bucket on the ground just as a precaution.
Newt sighed heavily. He thought Thomas was finally asleep and turned around to head to his own room when Thomas groaned softly, "Newt?"
The blonde turned his head to see the other boy staring at him through half closed eyes.
Thomas yawned blearily and whispered, "Thanks for taking care of me, Newt Newt."
Newt rolled his eyes at the horrid nickname but replied quietly, "You're welcome. Goodnight, Tommy." He frowned when the shortened name slip past his lips. Where did that come from, he thought.
Thomas let out a giggle and repeated it before rolling over and finally passing out. Newt flicked off the lights and went to bed.
Newt felt himself being roughly shaken awake and heard someone whisper, "Newt! Wake up, you dumb shank. Newt!" The blonde groaned loudly and rolled over, burrowing his face in his pillows.
"Go away, Minho," he muttered. "I'm sleeping."
"Not anymore. Why the hell is Thomas in my bed? I had to sleep on the couch last night."
Newt cracked open his eyes to see an irritable Minho in front of him. He yawned and sat up, "I thought you spent the night at Teresa's."
"I decided not to. Now answer my question: why is Thomas in my bed?"
He ran his fingers through his hair, "He was drunk so I took him home. He couldn't tell me where he lived so I took him here." He yawned again and shook his head slightly, "Bloody hell, what time is it?"
"Almost noon. I had to sleep on the couch, shuckface!", he repeated.
Newt opened his mouth to apologize when he heard a low moan from
Minho's bedroom. He flung his covers away and headed down the hall. He tapped gently on the door before opening it.
Thomas was sitting up in bed, rubbing his head and drinking the glass of water Newt set out for him. He looked up when the door opened and smiled, "Thanks for the aspirin. I really needed them."
Newt carefully walked inside the room, noting with surprise that the bucket was empty. "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged, "Like shit. But not too bad."
"What happened last night? I thought you said you would never drink."
Thomas replied sheepishly, "I don't know, honestly. I was trying to find you when someone handed me a drink. I was gonna toss it but a part of me didn't want to." He sighed and waved his hand, "And you know the rest."
"Do you remember any of last night?"
He frowned, trying to concentrate. "Sort of. I remember drinking cup after cup after cup. I remember dancing with people I've never met. I kind of remember you taking me here." He stopped and then grinned wickedly at Newt.
Newt asked nervously, "What?"
Thomas said smugly in a sing-song voice, "You called me Tommy!" He even clapped, as if it was a huge achievement that he have Newt call him that.
The blonde's cheeks turned a deep shade of red. "Shut up," was all he could say.
Newt surprisingly got home early from work one day. The bakery had hired a young boy, Chuck, to start working, giving Newt a little more free time. He entered the apartment and locked the door behind him. He stopped in his tracks, confused.
Minho, Frypan, Alby, Teresa, Brenda, Aris, Winston, and Gally were scattered in the living room. They were talking in low voices and stopped when Newt entered the room.
Newt asked suspiciously, placing his belongings on the ground, "What's going on?"
Teresa smiled kindly at him, "We need to talk to you, Newt. Have a seat," she patted an empty chair next to her.
The blonde wearily slid into it, wondering what the hell was going on.
Minho took a deep breath and began, "Before we start, we just wanna say that we would never judge you. Ever."
"We would never hate you," chimed in Winston.
Newt frowned, "Why would I think you would hate or judge me?"
Gally spoke up, "You can tell us anything, Newt. You know that, right?"
"We're you're friends. We're here for you," added Brenda.
Newt finally stood up, folding his arms. "What the bloody hell is going on?", he demanded. "Why are you all being cryptic? Just tell me."
His friends glanced at each other nervously. Minho sighed said, "I'm going to ask to something and I want you to answer honestly." Newt just stared at him and he continued, "Here goes...do you...," he paused, "do you like Thomas?"
Newt nodded slowly, "Yeah, I mean, he's my friend. He's our friend."
Teresa rolled her eyes impatiently, "What he's trying, and failing, to ask is, are you in love with Thomas?"
Newt opened his mouth to immediately tell her no, but then he paused and thought carefully. He and Thomas had a lot in common. They hung out at his work. They laughed and worked together during English. They talked in and out of class often. He took case of the brunette when he was drunk. He called him Tommy. Did he love him? He mind swirled with these endless thoughts and he could hardly speak.
His friends were looking at him expectantly, their faces showing nothing but concern and love and understanding. It was all too much for him to handle so he did what he thought was best.
He turned around and left.
Over the next few days, Newt started to pay closer attention to Thomas. While he chatted his ear off, the blonde boy would stare at him, trying to figure out if he actually did like him more than a friend.
Newt wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh over his situation. At the beginning, he could barely stand Thomas and his incessant, annoying talking and now he was trying to see if he was gay or not. Sure, Thomas has pretty eyes and he wasn't too bad to look at and Newt liked it when he laughed, but that doesn't mean he's gay, does it?
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Thomas waved a hand in front of him. He slugged when he finally got his attention. "Why are you staring at me? Do I have something on my face?"
Newt quickly shook his head and smiled. "Sorry, I was thinking about school," he lied.
"No worries...but did you hear my question?"
He blinked blankly, "What question?"
Thomas laughed again, "I asked if you wanted to see that movie we were talking about tonight?"
Like a date, Newt wanted to ask. Instead he said, "Sure. Sounds like fun."
Thomas' answering smile was blinding and Newt thought the sun had nothing on him when it came to his smile.
Newt was careful choosing what to wear for the movie tonight when he heard the front door open and close. He froze when he heard Minho's and Teresa's soft chatter. It had been a week since he last spoke to his friends. He was still angry at them for making him see his and Thomas' friendship in a different light.
There was a quiet knock on his door and a nervous,'"Newt?". It was Minho.
A part of Newt wanted to ignore him but the other part of him missed his best friend. He sighed and said, "Come in."
Minho awkwardly shuffled in, closing the door behind him. He wrung his hands a few times before saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for pressuring you and asking you a personal question in front of everyone. If you wanted to tell me, you would've told me yourself. I just wanted to help. You've been really happy lately, the happiest I've ever seen you since..". He paused and shook his head, "Anyways, I'm sorry. Really."
Next could tell that Minho meant every word of what he said. He smiled gratefully, "Thanks, Min. I appreciate that. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't run out like that, I was just caught off guard."
Minho relaxed and grinned, "Best friends?"
He nodded and laughed, "Best friends." His best friend turned around to leave the room when Newt suddenly blurted, "I think I'm in love with him."
Minho froze by the door, his hand lightly touching the doorknob. He slowly turned around and asked dumbly, "What?"
He let out a breath, "I said, I think I love him."
"Is that-are you okay?"
Newt shrugged helplessly, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I don't know,"'he mumbled. "I've been trying to see why I would think I love him and then I would try to convince myself I wasn't, but I can't help it. He's just so..." He groaned and scrubbed his face, "It doesn't matter."
Minho frowned as they sat on his bed. "Why does it not matter?"
"What if he doesn't feel the same way? What if he likes girls?"
"He asked you to the movies tonight, didn't he? Not some random chick."
"I know but...wait," he said suspiciously, "how do you know that?"
Minho grinned and held up his hands, "Sorry, dude, Teresa found out from Thomas and she told me."
"I don't know what to do."
"Don't worry, Newt, we'll figure out something."
Newt and Thomas had agreed to meet each other at the theater. Newt got there 10 minutes early and stood outside in the cold wind. He blew on his hands to keep warm, wishing he had been smart enough to wear a thicker coat.
"Newt, there you are!" Thomas' loud voice startled him, causing him to jump. The brunette laughed a little, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."
Newt replied, a but defensive, "I wasn't scared."
"Sure you weren't." He laughed again.
"Let's just go in."
Much to Newt's surprise, Thomas offered to pay for both of their tickets. He even bought popcorn and candy for them to share. Newt tried to hand the cashier his credit card but Thomas just plucked it from his hands and gave it back.
"I'm paying for everything," he said firmly. "I asked you to come so that means I pay."
The cashier heard their entire exchange and smiled sweetly at them. "Here's your receipt," she said, "have fun on your date."
Newt flushed bright red and stammered, "We aren't-this isn't a-"
Thomas interrupted and smiled back at the woman, "Thank you. We will." He grabbed their food and Newt's arm and dragged him down the hall. Newt bit his lip, trying to contain his smile. He felt like a bloody schoolgirl but he couldn't help it. Butterflies fluttered happily in his chest as he sat down.
It was hard for Newt to concentrate on the movie, especially when Thomas' arm was pressed right up against his. He touch sent tingles down his body and he tried his hardest not to break out into a smile.
They managed to bump hands a few times when they both reached for popcorn at the same time. Newt would apologize profusely while Thomas just grinned at him.
Overall, it was a good night for Newt.
It was almost 11pm when they finally excited the theater. It was even colder outside and Newt couldn't help the chatter of his teeth a bit.
He was surprised when he felt a warmer, thicker coat drape across his shoulders. He gave Thomas a questioning look and the boy said, "Your teeth were chattering. It was loud."
Next blushed a faint pink and mumbled, "Sorry."
Thomas laughed again, "'Newt, stop apologizing. You kept apologizing all throughout the movie. It's fine. Seriously."
"Sorry-I mean, sorry-I mean-." He decided to shut his mouth.
Thomas turned around, facing Newt and forcing him to stop walking. He stared at the British boy, and asked, "Are you okay? You seem jumpy, almost nervous. You're acting really weird. And coming from me, that's saying something. Is everything alright?"
Newt nodded and lied, "Everything's fine, Thomas. I'm okay."
"Newt. We've know each other for a long time now. I know when you're lying. Why are you lying?" He didn't say it in an accusing way. His voice was gentle and soft and sweet.
He swallowed and looked down. "I'm fine," he said softly.
Thomas took a step closer to him, softly grasping Newt's chin and forcing him to meet his eye. "I know you, Newt. You're tough. You always tell me the truth, even if it hurts my feelings. You're not fine."
Newt stared into Thomas' deep brown eyes, wondering whether or not he should tell him the truth. He took a deep breath and slowly let him out. Then he started, "There's something I want to tell you."
Thomas broke out into a smile, letting his chin go and nodded encouragingly.
"I like you."
"I like you too, Newt."
Newt shook his head fiercely, "No, I mean, not in a friendly way. I-I love you. I'm in love with you and I think I've been in love with you for awhile now. I didn't want to admit it to myself because you're you and I'm me but I love you. I probably shouldn't but I don't care. I can't lie to you or myself anymore. I just...I love you," he finished lamely, a small smile on his face. It felt good to say the words aloud. He felt as though a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He waited nervously for Thomas's reply.
Thomas just stared at him, shock and confusion written all over his face. His mouth kept opening and closing but no words came out. His hands were clenched in fists. He took a few steps backwards and that's all Newt needed to know.
He flushed a bright, embarrassing shade of red. Tears sprung to his eyes and it felt as though his heart was going to explode out of his chest. He hastily stuttered a goodbye and raced back to his apartment as fast as he could with his limp. People gave him weird stares and whispered to each other but he didn't care. He just wanted to go home.
And when he got home, he cried.
He wasn't sure how long he sobbed for but it must've been awhile and it must've been loud because Minho opened his door and sat on the floor with him. He didn't say anything, he just wrapped a comforting arm around Newt's shoulders as he cried his heart out.
After awhile, Newt calmed down and the tears stopped running down his cheeks. His sleeves were damp but he didn't care. Minho wordlessly handed him a glass of water and he drank the entire thing gratefully.
Minho then asked cautiously, "What happened?" His arm was still around his best friend's shoulder and he didn't give any indication of removing it.
Newt wiped his eyes and shrugged, "He wanted the truth and I told him." He choked on a sob, "And then he just stood there." He burrowed his face in his hands, "I'm the world's stupidest idiot."
Minho's grip tightened on his shoulders. "Hey," he said. "Don't say that, Newt. You're not stupid. He's the dumb shuckface for not doing anything. You were brave. You put yourself out there. You're not stupid," he repeated. "Okay?"
He let out a watery chuckle and nodded. "Okay," he responded softly.
The next day, Newt was purposely late for class so he didn't have to take his usual place behind Thomas. He could feel his eyes on him, though, but didn't say or do anything. He sat a few desks to the right of him and kept his head bent down the entire class.
As usual, he met his friends in the cafeteria after English. Normally, he walked with Thomas and they grabbed food together before sitting down. This time it was just him which confused the other. Only Minho knew what had happened between him and Thomas. Newt wasn't quite ready to let everyone else know.
Newt was sitting next to Minho and was laughing at something Teresa said. Minho was waving his arms comically and Newt and Teresa were cracking up. Suddenly, Minho got serious and nudged Newt ever so slightly, his eyes flickering to something behind the blonde boy.
"Hey, guys," he heard Thomas greet his friends. His fingers clenched tightly around his fork. Minho was trying to distract him and Newt was grateful, but it didn't work. His heart sped up and he felt as though he would burst with anger.
Newt muttered quietly, "I can't be here." He abruptly stood up and left the table. He heard his name being called but he didn't turn around. He kept walking until he was out of the cafeteria.
"Newt! C'mon! Please talk to me!" It was Thomas. Newt kept walking. He could hear the other boy jogging towards him and he felt him tug at his arm.
Newt yanked his arm free and spat, "Don't touch me!"
Thomas held up his hands. "Sorry! But I needed to talk to you."
He laughed sarcastically, "Perfect. And when you're done, I'll stand here looking like a bloody shuckface and not say anything. How about that?"
"I'm sorry for that but you caught me by surprise! How was I supposed to know you were gonna say something like that?"
"You wanted me to tell you the truth and I did!", yelled Newt. "I told you but you stood there and didn't say anything!"
Thomas was getting angry too. "What was I supposed to say, huh, Newt? What?"
"Anything!", he cried. "You could've said anything. But you were a bloody coward, Thomas! If you didn't feel the same way about me, just say so! I could handle it!"
"Fine!" Thomas screamed back, walking closer and closer to him. "You want me to say something, then I'll say something! I love you, Newt! I love you so damn much. Ever since I first met you on my first day! You couldn't care less about me back then but I was stupid, crazy obsessed with you! That's why I kept asking you questions! I had to know you! I've never felt like this before! I love you! I love when you laugh! I love when you're sarcastic! I love when you say those weird words to me that I have no idea what they mean! I love talking to you and getting to know you! I meant what I said. When you told me you loved me, I was honestly speechless. I never thought you would fall for me. I know I'm annoying and I talk a lot and I laugh too loud but I love you, Newt!" They were mere inches from each other. He stopped talking, take large gulps of air to calm himself down. When he spoke again, his voice was soft and tender, "I love you, Newt. You and only you. I only want you. And I want-."
He was interrupted by Newt who closed the gap between them, grabbing him by the collar and pulling his head down, capturing Thomas' lips in his. Thomas let out a noise a surprise but eagerly kissed him back, his fingers getting lost in Newt's soft, thick blonde hair.
Newt pulled back reluctantly for air. His cheeks were pink and he was a bit breathless. "You talk too much, Tommy," he teased, laughing. "And you're loud," he added cheekily.
Thomas grinned back at him, "You'll get used to it."