Note: Aggie is Newt's younger sister in this chapter – I named her after mystery novelist Agatha Christie.
Thomas closed his eyes, counted down to zero in his head, and let out a breath he had been holding in. He turned and looked back at Newt who was running a hand through his hair, which caught the attention of a few girls who stopped to stare at him. Newt smiled politely at them before catching up with Thomas.
"You swear you don't have it?" Thomas asked, trying to keep his voice low.
Newt shook his head and moved his bag strap to the other shoulder. "I dunno what 'it' is that I was supposed to have gotten."
Thomas groaned as he dragged a hand across his face. "It uh…um…yeah uhh…it was from Brenda."
Newt looked over at Thomas and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Yeah, she made me do it too a while back. Ya didn't put your name on it though, right?"
Thomas shook his head no and Newt squeezed his shoulder. "Well, try to relax shank. Not like anyone's gonna realize you wrote it or anything."
As soon as Study Hall let out, Minho made his way to the locker room. He made a beeline for one of the stalls and locked the door behind him, hanging his backpack off the hook. He put the lid down on the toilet and fished out the folded rectangle he found. He smoothed the paper out as he sat on the edge of the lid, eyes darting back and forth as he read what was on it. He recognized the slanted, fluid letters in purple ink as Brenda's handwriting and he shook his head, chuckling quietly as he read through the questions. She always seemed to give this out to everyone he knew.
Even though he had seen Thomas drop the note, he could already tell from looking at the replies that this was his handwriting. Sure, he never had the shank in anything else except Study Hall, but he would sometimes sneak a look over at Thomas's desk and look over at the shank writing something, whether it was homework or passing notes to Newt. Sometimes Thomas would drop the notes on the floor like today but Newt would usually be awake to grab them off the floor. Sometimes the shank didn't fold the messages and Newt often fumbled with the thin sheets of lined paper, trying to get them to stop clinging to the floor. It was during these struggles that Minho was able to see most of what Thomas wrote. If the message had any words with a 'y' in it, consisting of a wide curve and a long straight tail, or a 'd' that didn't connect at the lower right corner, or an 'a' with a slightly pointed curve at the center, he knew it was Thomas who wrote it. Not that he eagerly read the shank's dropped notes, hoping to see something about him or about some shuck girlfriend he should hate or anything…
He blinked when he turned the paper over and his eyes widened when he read the sixth question. He re-read the answer a few times to make sure he wasn't going crazy thanks to the overpowering stench of sweaty guys and too much Old Spice/Axe/etc. No, it was really on that page in his handwriting: Minho Park. He was the guy that the Greenie wanted.
A smile crept across his face and he stuffed the paper into a concealed pocket in his backpack. He then flushed the toilet and grabbed his backpack, kicking the door open and washing his hands while checking his hair in the mirror.
Shuck, outta all the shanks in this school, he wants…me, Minho thought as he dried his hands on a paper towel.
"Ya know that mirror ain't gonna tell you that you're the fairest of them all or something," Gally said as he nudged Minho in the arm.
Minho rolled his eyes and began to head to his locker, pulling his jacket off so he could change clothes for Weight Training.
"Hey," Minho began as he pulled himself up on one of the bars. "You know Thomas Murphy?"
Gally pulled himself up on the bar next to him as Minho went down to rest after a few reps. "Not really. Think Newt knows him. Why?"
Minho pretended to look disinterested as he retrieved a set of dumbbells. "Oh he's in my Study Hall class," Minho said with a shrug. "Thought I saw him looking at me."
Gally rolled his eyes and continued to do pull-ups. "Well maybe the shank's jacked."
Minho shook his head and focused on doing the required number of reps that coach wanted him to do. He bit his lip as he lifted the dumbbells up to his chest before bringing them down to his sides. He thought the Greenie was kinda cute when he ran into him with the cookies. It didn't hurt that the cookie was delicious and that made his mind wander to Thomas's lips. Shuck, I'd kiss those lips, he thought as he did the reps at a steady pace.
Gally let go of the bar and caught his breath for a minute. "So…" he huffed, "how'd it go with Sonya?"
Minho rolled his eyes and put back the dumbbells with a little more force than he should have. Gally blinked and murmured that he wasn't going to ask. Good, 'cause he didn't want to talk about it.
Whoever said it was a genius idea to put him with that girl was a jacked up slinthead – she spent most of the time on her phone, texting Harriet about the date and about her food. When it came time to pay the bill, Minho began to offer to cover the whole bill and be the gentleman when Sonya shot him a death glare and threw down exactly half of the bill in cash with a little extra for the tip. Aside from texting and throwing him looks that made him feel inferior, she wasn't very interesting – mostly talked about her friends and the fact that she was, without a doubt, going to be in the Olympics for swimming and become one of the most decorated athletes. She never even tried to offer him a chance to say more than, "Huh" or "Cool", which also earned these looks from her, followed up with the comment, "We might need to get you a thesaurus so you can find more words to use." Yup, that was enough to make him want to just get her home quickly and leave before she put a fork in his back.
Minho passed Gally his water bottle and he took a long swig from his. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to his workout partner. "You said Newt knows this guy?"
Gally nodded as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel. "Yeah I think so. Why do you care?"
Minho shrugged before checking his watch and leaving to hit the showers.
"You haven't seen Chuck have you?" Thomas asked Newt when they met up at their lockers.
Newt shrugged and began grabbing books for tonight's assignments. Thomas added his copy of the play from English to his backpack and put back his Math book. Then he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and he fished it out, entering the lock code to access the message.
Chuck
hey! Gonna sleep over at friend's house tonight.
Sent 3:02 PM
Thomas
Okay. Does Mom know?
Sent 3:04 PM
Chuck
Course she does. Said to have fun and be safe. So you got the place all to urself.
Sent 3:06 PM
"Guess that means I'll get to go home, order noodles, and drown my misery in Star Wars…alone," Thomas grumbled as he put his phone away.
"Or throw a wild party," Newt joked as he nudged Thomas in the arm. "Hey, I'll hang with ya for a while. We can get our bugging homework done then do something fun for your birthday. Good that?"
Thomas allowed a small smile to come across his face and he closed his locker door. "Thanks Newt."
They headed down the hallway to catch the bus, picking a row towards the front. Some girls in another row watched as they sat down in front of them and started giggling, whispering excitedly to each other.
"Freshmen," both muttered in unison.
"Can't wait to get my own ride," Thomas sighed as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Good that Tommy," Newt replied as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He entered his password and the message system came up.
Unknown Number
hey, this is Minho Park – Gally gave me your number.
Sent 3:14 PM
Newt looked up from his phone and saw that Thomas was looking out the window. He looked back at his phone and quickly added the number to his address book before replying.
Newt
Oh yeah, Gally said something about you being his partner in Weight Training. Yeah nice to meet ya shank.
So why ya texting me?
Sent 3:18 PM
Minho
You hang with a shank named Thomas Murphy, right?
Sent 3:19 PM
Newt
Yeah I do. Guess ya could call him a close friend. What about him?
Sent 3:21 PM
Minho
is he going steady with someone? Just wonderin.
Sent 3:22 PM
Newt
Nah he's not.
Sent 3:23 PM
Newt bit his lip as he typed the next message. Tommy was going to kill him if he saw this one, but it was for the shank's own good.
Newt
Matter of fact, he's into you. Except the buggin' shank thinks you don't know that he exists.
Sent 3:24 PM
Minho
Course I know he exists. Hey, you know if he's busy tonight?
Sent 3:25 PM
Newt
After homework, probably trying to forget the worst birthday ever. I offered to try to make it less shucked up but shank still seems blue. He's Teresa's younger brother, which means he's stuck following in her shadow – you probably know her, right?
Sent 3:26 PM
Minho
Yeah one of the queen bees in this shucking school – you'd have to be shucking stupid or a complete Greenbean to not know who she is. That's shucked up – the sibling shadow thing.
Sent 3:27 PM
Just reread your message – it's the shank's birthday?
Sent 3:28 PM
Newt
Yeah it is. Everyone's so busy with Teresa and her bloody reign of perfection that they forgot about Tommy. Rest of the day went sort of badly too. Shank needs to have something good happen on his birthday.
Sent 3:30 PM
"Who are you texting?" Thomas asked as he looked away from the window. He had noticed his friend texting someone rapidly in the window's reflection and curiosity had gotten the better of him.
Newt looked up from his phone and put it down, the screen facing his lap. "Sorry Tommy, Gally's asking me questions about some assignment."
Thomas rolled his eyes and went back to looking out the window. Newt picked his phone up and read the latest message from Minho.
Minho
Shucking promise I'm not trying to be a creep but you know his address?
Sent 3:33 PM
"What'd you get for number 8?" Newt asked as he checked his work. "I thought the answer was fried rice."
"Nope its paella," Thomas corrected him as he put down his pencil. "The question asks what Spanish dish contains rice, sausage, and typically a type of seafood."
"Bloody…" Newt muttered as he reached for his correction tape. "Yeah…I think we're good now, right?"
"That was the last assignment," Thomas confirmed as he closed his book and stacked it on top of his Science and English books. "So now what?"
Newt re-wrote the answer in the blank and filed the assignment away in a folder before answering. "It's your birthday shank," he said. He made a face as his stomach growled and Thomas laughed as he stood up from the kitchen table, making a beeline for the fridge. He removed the $40 from the magnet clip on the fridge and tossed Newt two menus.
"I know it is, but I'm cool with either pizza or take-out," Thomas said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "What sounds good to you?"
Newt started to say something when his phone went off. He muttered an apology and answered it, standing up from his chair. "Hello? No I'm at Tommy's…thought she was gett–oh bloody hell, fine then. I'll be home as soon as I can." He hung up and made a face before packing up his stuff. "Right, so Aggie's sitter is sick with the flu and Mum's making me watch her. So sorry Tommy."
"It's fine – better than Aggie getting the flu from her sitter and making you sick," Thomas said, trying not to look bummed.
"Oh I'd kill the bloody sitter if she did try to come over sick," Newt said as he shook his head. He slung his bag over his shoulder and murmured that they'd reschedule another day. Thomas walked Newt to the door and Newt paused as he remembered something. "I just remembered that we have tomorrow off, 'cause it's some president's birthday, right?"
"Uh yeah, we do," Thomas said as he nodded. "Maybe we can try something tomorrow."
Newt smiled and nudged him before leaving. "See? Guess it wasn't as bloody terrible as you thought – three day weekend and it's your birthday today. Try not to be too bummed – you can sort of treat it like a mini vacation from your parents and siblings – house to yourself and no one is judging you if you do something stupid."
"True," Thomas said as he bid Newt goodbye. He closed the door behind him and sighed, bummed that his shot at having a somewhat decent ending to his birthday was gone. Guess I can finally have a Star Wars marathon without people making me turn it off or change to some shucking program they have to see that minute, he thought as he began to head back to the kitchen. Just as he picked up the phone to call the take-out place, he heard the doorbell ring and he frowned as he put the phone back in its stand before going back to the front door.
Probably Newt saying he forgot something, Thomas thought as he unlocked the door and opened it.
Instead of the tall blonde shank he considered his best friend, his eyes widened when he saw it was Minho. Minho had a few grocery bags in his hands and he put one down to wave at Thomas.
"Hey shank," Minho said. "Listen, I know we don't talk in Study Hall, well 'cause we're technically not supposed to, but I heard you were friends with Newt. …He said something about it being your birthday today – it's today, right?"
"Um, um yeah! Yeah it is," Thomas replied as he opened the door wider. "But uh, what are, what are you doing here?"
Minho rolled his eyes and held up the bags. "What does it look like shuckface? I'm here to celebrate your birthday with you."
"Wha-really?! Oh man, I mean, that's cool but you seriously don't have to," Thomas said. He wanted to kick himself for stammering – why couldn't he just keep it together and be cool?
Minho shot him a small smile and stepped closer to him. "I know that shank but I want to," Minho said. "You like spicy food?"
Thomas nodded as he stepped to the side to let Minho in. Minho carried the bags inside and started pulling containers and bags of ingredients out of the grocery bags once he got into the kitchen. Thomas closed the door behind him and watched as Minho started pulling ingredients together, while looking around the kitchen.
"So uh, where do you keep measuring spoons, cups – that klunk?" Minho asked as he washed his hands in the sink.
Thomas pointed to the drawers where all the measuring utensils were kept and he watched Minho grab a knife to cut open a package of chicken. He started adding spices to it and Thomas watched in amazement. Was he dreaming? Was the hottest guy in school really standing in his kitchen cooking for him?
"Get ready to have the best chicken to ever enter your mouth," Minho said as he put the pan on the stove.
"How was it?" Minho asked as he watched Thomas put down his fork.
Thomas wiped his mouth with his napkin and grinned. "Shucking good. Probably some of the best I've ever had," he said. "Thanks Min."
Minho picked up Thomas's plate with a smile and carried it over to the sink. "It's not over yet shank," Minho said as he washed their plates and dried them with a towel. "I brought a small cake – my friend Frypan made it though – he's better at baking than I'll ever be."
"Frypan?"
"Well his parents called him Sigmund legally but his mom calls him Siggy for short," Minho explained. "Me and the other shanks call him Frypan because he uses one all the time to cook with."
"Got it," Thomas said as he started to get up from his seat.
Minho looked over his shoulder and held out a hand to stop him. "Whoa slim it shank! It's your birthday – let me handle it."
"Are you sure?"
"Course I am," Minho said as he put the plates back. He dried his hands and retrieved the cake from the second bag, removing the lid off of the top.
"What kind is it?" Thomas asked as he craned his neck.
"Lemon with vanilla icing," Minho said as he carried the cake over to the table. He pulled out a box of candles from the bag and began sticking them in the cake. He retrieved a box of matches from the bag and began lighting the candles. Once he finished, he blew out the match and shook the stick to diffuse the smoke.
"Happy Birthday Thomas," Minho said as he sat down across from him. "You got a wish in mind?"
Thomas leaned closer and smiled at Minho, hoping that he wasn't blushing too much. "It…already came true," Thomas said as he looked Minho in the eye.
A twinkle appeared in Minho's eyes and he allowed his trademark smirk to cross his lips. He waited until Thomas closed his eyes and blew out the candles before leaning over the cake and planting a kiss on his lips. Thomas's eyes flew open in shock when he felt the other pair of lips on his. Eventually his eyes closed and he cupped Minho's face in his hands as they kissed.
Minho slowly broke off the kiss for air and he smiled. "So, how was your birthday shank?"
"Amazing," Thomas sighed as he stared into Minho's eyes.
Minho grinned and raised his brows suggestively. "Well it's not over yet."