Chapter Text
Thomas’s first class: meditation. According to Ms. Paige, a clear mind can help bring one’s ability forward, allowing the person to solely focus on finding their gift. Teresa seemed to have no problem, following the instructors orders to take in deep breaths and let them out. Thomas, on the other hand, was never good at this. He tried it once a couple of years ago, but just couldn’t reach the same state of clarity as everyone else could. And after being unable to remain in a certain position for that long, he collapsed into Teresa sending both of them to the floor.
Later, he had a meeting with Ms. Paige once again, discussing possible powers that he could possess. Her conclusion was an airbender. Out of all four elements, they were the hardest to achieve. Once found, however, it wasn’t too difficult to master. Fire and earth were the harder elements to master, but easily discovered. Thomas was glad. He rather discovered he created wind than an earthquake or a wildfire.
“Does airbending have to do with my medallion?” Thomas asked.
Ava looked over at the necklace Thomas presented her, studying the small stone in the center. “Who gave that to you? If I may ask.”
“My parents. Apparently, it has something to do with my ability.”
“Interesting,” Ava said. There was something in her voice that Thomas didn’t like, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “I will definitely do some research. There are so many powers that haven’t been around in decades, so I have not seen them all. Perhaps there will be something in our archives.”
Learning about the history of gifted individuals would be super cool actually. “Ms. Paige, would it be possible for me to learn about our history? I don’t really know much about it.”
“Of course, but for the next few weeks, let’s work on discovering your power,” Ava said. “That is the main reason why you are here. Think of nothing but your gift. Once we discover what it is, we will evaluate you and start teaching you how to control it. At that stage, I can allow you to do whatever research into our archives you would like.”
“Okay,” Thomas said, somewhat disappointedly since he had to wait. “Thank you Ms. Paige.”
Thomas left the woman’s office and decided to talk a walk around the school. There was supposed to be a large beautiful garden near the west side of the grounds. Maybe that would allow Thomas to focus a bit more.
He passed a few people knew along the way, like Brenda, Aris, and Harriet, each of them heading off to training or classes. Then he found himself thinking of Newt, maybe the one he liked most of all of them. Thomas was kind of hoping he would run into him, but he had no clue where to look for the blonde.
Thomas finally reached the gardens and was stunned at what he saw. It was probably just under an acre of land, covered in all kinds of flowers and trees. Blues, purples, pinks, reds, every color imaginable. He found an empty patch of grass and lied down, glancing up at the sky. He could hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing around him.
Wind. Air.
Maybe he could try to channel his gift out here?
Thomas closed his eyes and tried to focus as best as he could. But what was he supposed to focus on? Air? He remembers Aris saying that he needed to focus on the flow of water in order for him to bend it, but how does Thomas focus on the flow of air?
“Fancy seeing you here, greenie.”
Thomas flinched and opened his eyes to see someone standing above him. Not just someone.
“Oh, hey Newt,” Thomas smiled, moving to sit up. “What are you doing over here?”
“I like to come here and read or draw. It’s so quiet,” Newt said, moving to sit down next to Thomas. “How about you?”
“Trying to focus on my power.”
“Oh, am I interrupting? Because I can leave-”
“No!” Thomas said, probably a bit louder than he should have. “It’s fine. I’d rather talk to you.”
Newt smiled. “Good that.”
God, if Thomas thought Newt looked gorgeous indoors, he didn’t have words to describe how the sunlight made him look. It was as if there was a halo over his blonde hair. His dark brown eyes were sparkling. He was an angel.
Okay, Thomas will admit it. He’s got a small crush on Newt. But that still didn’t explain the bond he felt.
“So what is your power anyway?” Newt asked, breaking Thomas out of his trance.
“Um, Ms. Paige thinks it’s airbending, but she said she will still look into it.”
“She’s always right about these things,” Newt said. “One of her powers is knowing other people’s powers.”
“What’s your power?” Thomas asked.
“It’s hard to explain really,” Newt said. “You know Exemplars?”
Exemplars. Those were the awesomest gifted individuals ever. They could master water, earth, air and fire bending, while also possibly having an additional power or two as well. Other than that, Thomas didn’t really know anything about them. “I’m kind of similar to that, not with elements, but almost the same amount of power. Ms. Paige says I can harness Chaos Magic. It’s the rarest gift of all, besides Exemplars of course.”
Thomas thinks he has heard of chaos magic before. The name of it makes it sound horrible.
“I can manipulate things and move things and bunch of weird stuff. Minho called me a witch once and splashed water on me,” Newt chuckled. Then he looked down and gestured to the braces on his arms. “I’m supposed to wear these whenever I’m not in my room. It suppresses my abilities. I’ve pretty much got my powers under control, but they never really stop growing.”
“There’s a good side and dark side to every single ability,” the blonde continued. “Firebenders can create light and warmth, or set a city on fire. People who have premonitions can try to prevent someone from getting hurt, or use them to their advantage and personal gain. I can essentially destroy the world and alter reality if I wanted to,” Newt mused. “But I just want to learn how to control it and not hurt anyone. That’s why I’m still here.”
“How long have you been here?” Thomas asked.
“Three years.”
Three years? And Newt is still here? “Ava says we can stay as long as we want and leave whenever we want. Me, Alby, Minho, all of us. We stay because we want to fully master our abilities so we don’t hurt anyone. Minho’s accidentally scorched me once or twice, and I’ve made Alby levitate on multiple occasions.”
“At least you guys have cool powers,” Thomas mumbled. “I have nothing.”
“I’d say that pretty face of yours is an awesome power,” Newt teased.
…
Newt just called him pretty. Okay, stay calm. Don’t blush. Except he was. He was blushing hard. Okay, play it cool. “Not as pretty as yours,” Thomas retorted, earning a laugh from the blonde. It was like music to his ears.
“I like you, Tommy.”
Tommy. Tommy. Oh my God, he gets a nickname. From Newt. From the cute blonde British boy. “I like you too Newt.” And boy, did Thomas like him. He felt a tug towards him. Some sort of hidden connection. Or maybe he was just imagining it. He decided to just ignore the feeling and focus on Newt instead.
They spent another hour in the gardens, laughing and sharing stories, talking about each other’s pasts. They may have only just met yesterday, but Thomas feels like he’s known Newt forever.
The sun was starting to set over the campus. Teresa was coming back from her one on one session with her instructor. She had felt good about her first day, and hoped Thomas did as well. By this time next year, they could have their gifts almost fully mastered. “Hey, Teresa!” a voice called.
Teresa looked to her right and saw Aris walking over to her. “How was your first day?”
“It was good, thanks. I’m actually on my way back to the house for dinner. Are you gonna be there?”
“Yeah, I’m heading there too. M-mind if I walk you?”
Teresa was inwardly chuckling at Aris. She didn’t have to be a mind reader to know that he was nervous. “Of course, and calm down Aris. I’m not gonna bite,” she teased.
Aris seemed like a nice guy. Definitely shy and nervous, but also kind and gentle. The walk back was filled with some small talk, about their gifts and families and such. When they entered their home, Teresa was somewhat shocked at the commotion in the house. Minho and Harriet were arguing in the kitchen, while Newt and Sonya were fighting in the dining room over how to set the table. “What’s going on?”
“Celebratory dinner for your first day!” Brenda said, coming in from the living room. “We’re trying to make it as best as we can.”
“Yeah, if Minho only knew how to cook!”
“And if Sonya would set the table properly as if people will be eating at it!”
“Thank goodness you're here,” Thomas said, coming from the living room as well. “It’s been crazy.”
“I can tell.”
Surprisingly, the dinner went smoothly. Minho and Harriet cooked an excellent meal, and afterwards everyone gathered in the living room to talk and hang out.
“Okay, greenie tradition. We do a little truth or dare,” Minho said. “Which one of you is first?”
“Tom!” Teresa yelled, instantly saving herself. “And I’ll know if any of you lie by the way.”
Thomas cursed under his breath at his friend and answered all the embarrassing truths that were asked. Meanwhile, Teresa decided to channel her powers and try reading Newt’s mind again. No matter what, she could always get some kind of thought from a person, even if it was just that they were feeling happy or hungry. But with Newt, there was nothing.
Said blonde glanced in her direction with a small smirk and a raised eyebrow, getting up from his spot on the sofa and moving to sit beside her on the floor. “I can feel you, ya know,” Newt whispered.
“Huh?”
“I can sense you trying to get in my head,” he chuckled. “You can’t.”
“No, I can’t,” Teresa admitted. “How come?”
“I can block you,” Newt said with a smug smile.
“How?”
“Just one of my abilities I guess. I may not be able to harness the rest of my powers with my braces on, but that one I can still use.”
Interesting. The ability to keep Teresa out of his head. She only wished Thomas had that. The amount of times she has heard something inappropriate or gross in his head has scarred her for life.
“What are you two girls whispering about over there?” Alby asked.
“How you’re so ugly,” Newt remarked.
After cleaning up and everyone declaring they were tired, Thomas was still slightly wired. It was a great day, and he was glad he had bonded with everyone so quickly. Alby, although wary of newcomers, warmed up to him and Teresa quickly. Minho already felt like a brother to him. Brenda was feisty, Harriet was sweet, Sonya was awesome, and Aris was funny. And Newt was all of the above.
He was walking Newt to the front door to gather every last moment he could with the blonde. It’s stupid to already feel so attached after just meeting, but Thomas can’t help himself. It’s like a part of him is calling out to Newt and vice versa. He hopes he isn’t wrong about their connection.
“Well, Tommy. This has been fun. How do you like it here?”
“It’s pretty great actually. I was skeptical at first, but now I’m glad I came.” A certain blonde may or may not have something to do with that decision.
“I’m glad you came too,” Newt said.
That smile, the closeness - how did they end up so close? Thomas was just walking him to the front door! - just Newt’s presence was intoxicating. Thomas was staring deep into Newt’s eyes, not blinking as every second looking at Newt was not to be missed. Seconds passed, maybe minutes, possibly hours. Who knows? If Newt was going to make a move to leave, neither was Thomas.
At last, Newt finally blinked out of their staring contest and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll uh, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Newt said walking out of the door.
“Uh, yeah. Bye.”
Just as he was about to close the door, Thomas called out to him, making the blonde turn around. “What is it, Tommy?”
“That. How come you call me Tommy?”
“Oh, sorry. It just came out. Why, do you not like it?” Newt asked, his smile turning into a frown thinking that Thomas was upset with him.
“No, I do! It’s just...I was just curious is all. I like when you call me Tommy.”
Newt smiled again. “Well. In that case then, goodnight Tommy .”
And then Newt turned around and left. Thomas shut the door, took a shower, called his family to tell them about his first day, and went to bed. Not before Minho making a remark to him of course. “What’s gotten you all smiley?”
“Oh nothing.”
He lied. It was everything.