;-; tears for the end.

As always, this chapter is unedited. I will return again to fix all my errors!

Part XVIII

They were ready for their exams. Despite the sickness still lingering in his veins, and the medicine that kept him from keeling over a second time – even if it made him drowsy and listless for a good few hours – Thomas felt he, Newt and Minho were ready to finally take down Janson's stupid English Final. And once they were done, regardless if they still had left over exams, they were celebrating with the gang through movies, food, video games and probably – definitely – booze.

It was the only thing that kept the three of them going the last few days.

Janson had them separated during their examination, not that it surprised them. He kept Thomas in the front row, blue eyes peering down at the boy as he worked. Minho sat in the far back with Gally while Newt had been positioned somewhere in the middle, away from them all but still within Janson's line of sight. Thomas made sure he didn't glance back during the examination. He didn't want to risk getting them into trouble just because he was curious about their well-being.

(How difficult it was to keep himself from checking. His leg bounced like a mad man during the silence, the only thing running through his head were worst case scenarios in which Janson could do whatever he pleased just to toss his boyfriends out of the room.)

Forty-five minutes later, Thomas was out the door. He ignored making eye contact with either of his boyfriends on his way out. Though, he did find the time to give Gally a smug smirk before dodging the boy's attempt in tripping him. (A part of him hoped Janson had seen, if only to get Gally into trouble, but another part hoped he hadn't. He wanted to embarrass the guy, not kick him out.)

He didn't breathe a sigh of relief until he was far enough away from the classroom and even then, his mind thought back to Newt and Minho.

"Thank god that's all over," Teresa sighed. She sunk into the lobby couch, her backpack slung lazily around her shoulder. Aris maneuvered their books around, making space for the rest of the gang that poured into the quiet lounge.

Minho collapsed next to Thomas, having finally escaped the last of his finals and proceeded to nuzzle his nose into the brunet's neck like a neglected puppy.

Newt stole the armchair from Gally with a cheeky grin, making the other blond roll his eyes.

"It could've been worse." Alby commented. He too stole another chair from Gally. (Said boy threw his hands up in the air, frustrated with their games.) "Pretty sure I bombed some of my finals."

"I'm sure you did okay." Harriet replied with a grin. "So who's ready for the after party tonight? After a stressful semester, I say we deserve a little relaxation."

"Only if you keep the booze to a minimum." Gally snorted.

Harriet rolled her eyes. "Booze is for those who can handle it. Personally, I don't mind getting a little drunk myself."

"I for one am definitely looking forward to it." Minho grinned, throwing an arm around Thomas. "I'm feeling really damn good about that shucking English Final."

"You better, I worked really hard tutoring yu two."

"Oh, speaking of which," Gally turned to Newt, brows raised. "Did you decide on that transfer yet?"

Thomas felt Minho freeze just as he registered Gally's words. They both turned to Newt, eyes wide in surprise.

"Transfer?" They echoed dumbly.

Gally's brows disappeared into his hairline.

Newt shifted, suddenly uncomfortable. He shrugged. "Yeah, I'm thinkin' of transferring." He muttered nonchalantly.

"To where?"

"Some place else. Haven't really decided yet."

"But…" Thomas began, wrapping his mind around the revelation. "WCKD U. is your dream school!"

"Yeah Newt, you busted your balls to get into this place."

"I did, but if people like Janson are going to make the people I care about miserable then it's not worth it." He frowned. "I'll find better places. WCKD University isn't the only school in the world, ya know."

"Very true," Alby interrupted. He rose to his feet with a hefty stretch. "So, about this after party…"

"You could have said something," Thomas said once they were out in the cold.

Newt leaned against the ramp railing, his breath misting beneath the neon lights of the club the gang had dragged them to. Thomas glanced back to Minho, the athlete sweaty from the humidity in the club, his cheeks flustered from a few drinks. He gave Thomas a curious stare, the older male not following Thomas' line of thought.

The music of the club thumped dully behind them, layers of concrete stifling most of the sound and leaving them in a deafening silence. Thomas licked his dry lips, exhausted from the day and parched from drinking.

He opened his mouth to continue when Newt's dark chuckle stopped him cold.

"Why should I have told you when you and Minho didn't tell me about dropping out?"

They both froze, Thomas' heart hammering.

"I – I planned on telling you –"

"When? When next semester started?" Newt shook his head, though Thomas could see the blond's features smooth out in resignation. "It's okay Tommy, honestly. I'm not really upset about it." He quickly frowned. "I am, however, annoyed you both decided to keep it from me."

"Newt -"

"Well it's not like you didn't see it coming." Minho interjected, rolling his eyes. "We literally had that conversation before Thomas got sick."

"There's a difference with talking about it than actually going out and doing it." Newt snapped, eyes sharp. "I didn't think you were serious."

Minho clicked his tongue. "You know me better than that Newt. I always keep my promises."

"What about your scholarships?" He questioned, eying them both with a mixture of concern and disappointment. "Do you both realize you've thrown your scholarships away?"

"It was only going to be temporary." Thomas confessed with a sigh. "My scholarship is renewable. I thought… if I just took a semester off that maybe… I could keep Janson away. I was going to come back." He wilted underneath their gaze, as though Newt's penetrating stare dropped heavy weights onto his shoulders. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

Newt sighed. "I know you didn't, Tommy. Please stop thinking it's your fault." He pulled him into a hug, burying the boy's face into his chest as he peered over at Minho, who glared at the ground with obstinacy. "Since neither of you were coming back next semester, I decided to transfer. Somewhere far away from Janson but close enough to keep an eye on you two bloody knuckleheads."

Thomas held him tight, tipsy and emotional. He was so exhausted. All he wanted to do was go home, cuddle with his boyfriends and go to sleep.

Newt rubbed small circles into his back, the touch faint against his coat. "You know Tommy, I should be thanking you. When we were in high school, I had these crazy fantasies about how great going to WCKD University would be like. For some reason, I thought everything would be better if we just… went there together, y'know?" Minho snorted, though he didn't say a word. Newt chuckled. "There's a lot of shitty arses in WCKD U. huh?"

"Plenty," Minho muttered. "And Janson's the cream of the crop." He glanced at the duo still tight in their embrace with a small pout. "I'm over here freezing my shuck behind and you two are over there having a hugfest. Let me in on this action." He bolted from his place by the door and threw his arms around them, squeezing Thomas into the middle. "Oh yeah, this is way warmer."

"You're suffocating me." Thomas mumbled, his voice muffled by Newt's scarf. "Oh god, I can't breathe."

Minho and Newt hugged him tighter.

"You know, I'm getting tired of the club scene." Minho suddenly grinned. "What do you shanks say we leave the rest of the dorks behind and have fun just the three of us?"

"Sounds good to me." Newt snickered. "Although, I'd like to see the look on Harriet's face when she finds out you called her a "dork", Min."

"She's not going to find out if no one tells her. Come on!" He plucked Thomas away from Newt's warmth, ignoring the boy's yelp. "To the hotel room!" He threw an arm around Thomas' shoulder before planting an affectionate kiss on his temple. "You're such a worrywart."

Thomas grumbled, his cheeks rosy, though Minho couldn't tell if it was from the cold, the alcohol or in embarrassment.

Newt joined them on Minho's other side, an amused yet affectionate smile gracing his lips.

So Trials and Tribulations has finally concluded. There's still a few things I was asked to address during the story's run and I'll do them, but later. If there are any loose ends I didn't address, please let me know!

As always, thank you for reading!