Chapter Text
“I don’t wanna do this,” Thomas whined.
Brenda and Minho both glared at him, shaking their heads. They had been planning this camping trip for a month now and they just knew that Thomas would try to back out at the last minute. Ignoring him, they continued checking items off of their list and making sure that everything was packed tightly into the trunk of Minho’s car.
Thomas flailed his arms in the air dramatically, “Guys come on, I’ll get carsick.”
“We’ve been over this, Thomas. You can sit in the front, and you’ll have plenty of water. It’s only a two hour drive,” Brenda assured him.
Thomas looked around, desperately trying to find some other excuse. He hated camping, but his roommates had been pushing him to do this with them for months now, and he only agreed so that they would stop giving him crap about it. But now that the day had finally come, he wished that he had just taken all that crap instead of being forced to sleep in the woods for two nights. Regret seeped through his veins and filled him with inescapable discomfort.
“What if Teresa’s friends are mean?” Thomas pleaded.
“Thomas! Stop it, we all know how sweet Teresa is and that she would only bring along equally sweet people. You’re not getting out of this, okay? And that’s that,” Minho finally chimed in. He was tired of Thomas’ complaining.
Thomas sighed, defeated, and trudged into the house where his bag was waiting. He grabbed it, along with the box of bottled waters that his friends had purchased solely for him, and made his way back out to the car. After throwing his bag into the trunk, earning some more annoyed looks from Brenda and Minho, he crawled into the passenger seat and melted into it. This was going to be a long and dreadful car ride. Thomas hadn’t been lying about getting carsick. It happened on every single car trip he went on with his parents, and it was his sole excuse for getting out of all the other road trips his roommates had been on. He breathed deeply, shutting his eyes, and prepared himself for the miserable two hours that were to come.
“Minho, did you get gas yet?” Brenda asked from the back seat.
“Yep, Thomas and I stopped by the gas station yesterday. We also got snacks,” Minho tossed a plastic bag filled with chips, crackers, and candy back to Brenda.
“Sweet.”
Minho started the engine and they were off. It was a decent day for a long car ride, Thomas had to admit. He was worried that due to it being the middle of summer it would be too hot and the sun would only worsen the ride. But there were scattered clouds here and there, and with the window rolled down and the sun just peeking through, the temperature felt perfect. Minho had the radio on the classic rock station. He and Brenda were belting any lyrics that they knew and it felt like a movie scene. Thomas had downed two bottles of water already and he was feeling okay. Maybe this time he would make it.
“Thomas, buddy, how you feeling?” Brenda reached forward and patted his shoulder. They had been on the freeway for about thirty minutes now with barely any traffic.
“I’m okay, I think,” He responded, opening another bottle of water and leaning out the window a bit, letting the wind tousle his hair. Brenda smiled at him and he could hear her open a bag of chips. She handed him some and he ate them cautiously, worried they might make his stomach hurt.
“Only about ninety miles to go,” Minho slapped Thomas’ thigh and laughed. They were annoying, but they were good friends all in all.
An hour and a half in and Thomas had lost all hope of making it through. His head felt woozy and his entire body ached with nausea. He kept his face in the wind, hoping it would all blow away. He wrapped his arms tightly around his middle, taking slow, deep breaths. He barely heard them when Minho and Brenda would tell him that it was just a little bit further, hang in there. He tried his best. His eyes had been closed and he didn’t even notice when the car stopped and the doors slammed shut behind his friends who had already gotten out.
“We’re here! You made it, man,” Minho had opened Thomas’ door and was pressing the button of his seat belt. He heard voices coming from another car that was parked next to theirs, but he didn’t have time to process who they were before he felt all of the snacks and water rise in his throat.
He pushed Minho out of his way and raced towards the bushes. He retched behind a tree, his whole body shaking after being in the car for so long. He didn’t hear the footsteps behind him, and a sudden voice startled him amidst his puking.
“Hey, you okay?” The voice was laced with a light accent that confused Thomas. He turned around to see a tall, slim boy with dirty blonde hair that fell just above his ears. His skin was pale and he was adorned in a number of beige articles of clothing. With brown hiking boots to top it all off, he looked as if he went camping every day.
“Um, yeah, just… carsick,” Thomas crossed his arms tightly. This situation was not ideal. He didn’t even know this kid, who Thomas assumed to be one of Teresa’s friends, and their first meeting took place in the woods where Thomas has just puked his guts out.
The other boy chuckled and held out a water bottle to him. “I know how that goes, here.”
Thomas took it, nodding, and took a small sip. “Are you one of Teresa’s friends?”
“What? Oh, no, Alby is. I’m Alby’s roommate. Teresa invited him and let me come along because I love camping and asked if I could go. Name’s Newt, by the way.”
“Thomas.”
Newt smiled at him as he handed the water bottle back. “Feel better?”
“Much better, thanks.”
The two boys made their way out to the campsite, where everyone else was unloading the cars and setting up tents. Thomas noticed that each tent was a two person tent, and there were only two of them.
“Guys, where am I sleeping?” Thomas asked as he watched Brenda and Minho struggle with the poles.
Teresa spoke, she was standing by her car and a dark skinned boy who had to be Alby was unpacking their tent. “You’re with Newt. Lucky for you he has his own set of camping supplies, so you’ll get all the fancy stuff.”
Thomas scowled at Brenda and Minho. He wondered if they knew about this and had kept it from him on purpose. It was bad enough that he had been pressured into going on this trip in the first place. Now he had to share a tent with a complete stranger. This was going to be the worst weekend of his life. He huffed and grabbed his bag from the car, watching as Newt did the same with his. Newt pulled out a large duffle bag and an equally large bag that held the tent.
“Don’t worry mate, I don’t bite,” He teased Thomas and gestured for him to follow him to their tent spot. Thomas rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that there was a sort of calm and comforting vibe about him. He figured that if he had to share a tent with any stranger, Newt would be his best bet.
Newt had the tent up within five minutes, like an expert. Thomas figured that he probably was one, considering his love for the outdoors. Compared to the other two tents, it did seem luxurious. It stood at least a foot taller than the others, and it didn’t seem as old and raggedy. There was plenty of space on the inside for two sleeping bags and room to breathe. He could tell that Newt took very good care of it. Unlike Brenda and Minho’s rented tent, Newt’s was free of any dirt or shoe prints on the floor.
While they had been setting up the tents, the sun had fallen towards the evening. Brenda and Minho brought hot dogs and salad for the first night. They all gathered around the campfire that Newt, of course, had made and held their hot dogs over it while Brenda, Minho, and Teresa caught up with each other. Alby chimed in every once and a while, and Newt and Thomas were left silently eating and pretending to listen.
“Tommy,” Newt said suddenly, surprising Thomas with the nickname, “Wanna go on a walk with me?”
Newt set his stick that he was using for his hot dog down and looked at Thomas. They were sitting on a log together, the evening sun shining through the cracks in the leaves. For some reason Thomas didn’t feel the need to lie. He kind of wanted to get to know Newt, which was weird for him because he didn’t really like socializing much.
“Sure.” Newt smiled contentedly at his answer.
The two boys got up and walked towards the little path between the trees, the others too engrossed in their conversation to notice. Thomas stared, entranced, at how Newt gracefully stepped through the poorly made path and never tripped. Thomas, on the other hand, fell a few times and had to grab onto the back of Newt’s jacket to regain balance. Newt would chuckle each time and Thomas found himself blushing profusely. Why was he blushing? He couldn’t figure it out and didn’t have time to before Newt began making conversation with him.
“So, Tommy, you’re not much of a camper are you?” Newt looked back at Thomas, brushing some hair out of his eyes as he carefully stepped over a log. Thomas laughed nervously.
“Nah, I prefer couches and heating.”
“I suppose that’s understandable,” Newt grabbed Thomas’ arm before he could fall down a slope, “I wouldn’t like going to the woods much either if I got sick during the ride every time,” he smiled.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, honestly, it really does happen every time,” he confirmed Newt’s assumption.
“Ginger helps. My sister, Sonya, had the same problem. We discovered ginger and she brings it on all our road trips, hasn’t gotten sick since.”
“Really?” Thomas looked up at Newt, admiring the way the dots of setting sun freckled his fair skin. “You wouldn’t happen to have any with you, would you? For the ride home?”
“Sorry, lad. I didn’t think to bring any, nobody in the car is prone to it like you,” Newt laughed and gave Thomas an apologetic look.
"That’s alright, I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
They reached a certain point where the path wasn’t walkable anymore and turned around to head back. During this time Thomas learned that Newt had moved to Washington from London five years ago for college, wanting a change in scenery. He worked as a waiter at a fancy restaurant (Thomas couldn’t remember the hard to pronounce name) and shared a decently sized apartment with Alby, as he had mentioned before. Thomas told Newt about never finishing community college and his low-wage job at the local grocer. He also informed him of his noisy living situation. Sharing the rent in a small house with Minho and Brenda was a handful.
After their little walk Thomas decided that he liked Newt, and that maybe sharing a tent with him would be a good opportunity to start a friendship. They had already set up their sleeping bags within the tent earlier, so all they needed to do now was change and get ready for sleeping. Thomas sat on his side of the tent, his pajamas clutched in his hands, and bit his lip as he watched Newt strip down completely in front of him. All the way to his boxers. Newt’s body glowed in the pale light of the tent. His muscles outlined by the shadows of the evening turning to night and his skin appearing softer than ever. Thomas was captivated by his beauty, unable to remove his eyes as Newt pulled on some sweatpants and a white t-shirt that clung to his torso perfectly. He was snapped back to reality when Newt laughed at him and covered his eyes with his hands.
“I won’t look.”
Thomas gulped, embarrassed but not embarrassed, and changed as quickly as he could. When he was finally wrapped snugly in his sleeping bag, he told Newt that he could look now. Newt uncovered his eyes and did the same, the zipper of his sleeping bag deafening in the silence of the campsite.
“Newt?”
“Hm?”
Thomas didn’t know what to say, he just wanted to hear Newt’s soothing voice. Once again, he couldn’t seem to figure out why, but he did know that camping always gave him an extreme feeling of discomfort. Being away from things you’re familiar with and having almost nothing that made you feel at home. He felt out of place and disconnected. Maybe Newt’s voice reminded him of the comfort that came with being indoors. Thomas shifted in his sleeping bag to look at him. He gasped a little bit; Newt looked adorable, all tucked in and his hair sticking out in a puff around his forehead.
“What is it, Tommy?”
“Night,” Thomas mentally slapped himself for not saying more, but knew that they should get to sleep anyway. Newt was probably tired from their walk and the car ride. Thomas felt tired too, but he was used to staying up too late most nights doing who knows what. He would settle with staring at the fabric of the ceiling of the tent for a few hours and just thinking.
“Night Tommy.”
-
Thomas awoke to the sound of quiet chatter and sizzling bacon. He rubbed his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that was peeking through the tent. He looked over to see that Newt was still sleeping. He was surprised at this, for he had assumed that Newt was an early bird. He slowly got dressed, knowing that his massive amount of shuffling around was bound to wake Newt, and unzipped the door of the tent. That did it. Newt bolted upright, scaring Thomas, and they both jumped and screeched at the same time.
“Geez, Newt! How can you sleep in so late when you’re so easy to wake?” Thomas was half laughing, half panting due to his heart rate soaring through the trees.
Newt blew out a breath of air, “I dunno, to be honest. Thanks for waking me, though. I hate oversleeping,” he ran his fingers through his hair, causing Thomas’ face to heat the slightest bit.
“Smells like breakfast is ready,” Newt said, scooching out of his sleeping bag and making to get dressed.
“Yep, I’ll get some for us,” Thomas rushed out of the tent before he could witness another round of Newt’s body, not trusting himself to keep his thoughts clean while watching. What was wrong with him? He had only known Newt for a day now. Why was he-
“Thomas! We’re swimming at the river today!” Brenda shouted from across the campsite. She was waving her towel at him, her yellow one-piece swimsuit already tucked under her jean shorts.
“Great,” he muttered to himself, shoving the image of Newt in swim trunks deep down in his mind. This was going to be a long day.
-
“I’m gonna kill you, Brenda!” Minho roared, creating a wave and sending it straight into Brenda’s face. She squealed and swam backwards away from him.
Thomas was sitting on the shore, a towel around his shoulders. He had spent a total of five seconds in the water, screamed at the deathly cold temperature, and proceeded to sit on a log for the next twenty minutes. He hated the outdoors. What he didn’t hate, though, was the way that Newt looked in his swim trunks. His belly peeking out from the red waistband, his abs flexing when he jumped around in the water, his long legs protruding from the blue body of the trunks, and of course, his appropriately sized- no. No, Thomas wasn’t looking there. Of course he wasn’t. He wouldn’t. No.
“Come on, Tommy, come back!” Newt pleaded, pretending to splash water at him.
“No thanks, I’m good here, not getting frostbite!”
Newt pouted at him, but respected his wishes and turned back to everyone else and resumed his splashing. Thomas smiled, taking joy in watching everyone have fun in the river. They did this for a couple hours before returning to the campsite for lunch. They all talked and laughed together this time, Newt and Thomas included. They still sat together on the same log as before. Thomas’ heart pounded just a little bit harder every time Newt would pat his knee or nudge him with his elbow. Really, Thomas? Two days. Two days and he was developing a crush. On a guy. Not the first time, but Thomas didn’t usually fall this fast.
It proved to be a problem for the rest of the trip. They all went on a hike later that day, and Thomas couldn’t keep his mouth shut around Newt. He would blabber on and on about his boring life and then listen, eyes fixed on Newt, as Newt would share back. Dinner wasn’t any better, either. When Newt got changed again that night he tried to keep his eyes shut, but looked anyways and noticed Newt’s pleasant- no! But it was so good, and Thomas almost punched himself when he felt his own boxers tighten the tiniest bit at the sight of it. On their last day, they spent it chattering away at the river, throwing stones and making fun of Thomas’ inability to skip any. Thomas helped Newt pack everything up, feeling a small sadness in his chest when he realized that the short trip was over.
“Good luck on your ride home, Tommy. Hope ya don’t lose your lunch.” Newt smiled as he waved goodbye to Thomas, got into the back seat of Teresa’s car, and Thomas watched them drive away.
“Why didn’t you ask for his number, you idiot?” Minho put a hand on Thomas’ shoulder as they sat in Minho’s car, getting ready to leave. Thomas looked at Minho, concerned, and Minho just laughed.
“You couldn’t be any more obvious about your crush, dummy,” Brenda said from the back.
“W-what? What are you guys talking about?” Thomas’ words were weak, knowing that he wouldn’t be convincing.
“Don’t worry, Tommy , we’ll make sure you two see each other again,” Minho mocked Newt’s nickname. Thomas’ face turned five shades of red deeper than usual.
They pulled out of the campsite and began the long journey home, Thomas’ stomach feeling queasy for more reasons than one.