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Today was a lovely day. Spring had just begun. The warmth that spring had started to offer was prompting the flowers and grass to blossom beautifully from the ground. Birds were chirping happily, and animals were waking up from their hibernation. It was a lovely day indeed. Well, except for Thomas' apartment.
“Guys, will you please shut up about it now?” Thomas groaned as he dropped his head into his hands.
Minho and Teresa were both in his bedroom, which was getting a little bit cramped up. Minho was sitting in his blue beanbag whilst Teresa was pacing around the room. He almost regretted inviting them over.
Minho snorted. “Tell her that,” he said as he jerked a thumb at Teresa's direction. Teresa who was previously pacing, snapped her head to Minho's direction. She immediately approached Minho and slapped his arm. “Hey, ow!” Minho exclaimed as he pulled back his arm as soon as Teresa's hand came in contact with his skin. It stung.
“How can you be joking now, Minho? This is big! Like big big!” Teresa shrieked. “Thomas likes Newt. Newt!”
Minho let out a descending whistle. “Well, actually, uh, he– ” Thomas stuttered as Teresa gave him a murderous look.
Teresa crossed her arms and showed no sign of amusement. “Okay, hold on, hold on. Are you telling me you knew?” She questioned Minho.
Minho shrugged. “Oh, come on Teresa. Don't tell me you didn't already know. It was obvious.”
Thomas made a face. “No, it wasn't,” he said in a slightly offended tone.
Minho rolled his eyes. “Oh, sure. I mean if you don't count the idiotic glances you make at Newt. Or when you skipped a whole day of school to make sure you baked the perfect birthday cake. Let's not forget when you went kayaking with him even though you're scared shitless of water,” He pointed out. “Only an idiot wouldn't see it.”
Within a second, Teresa was back in her shrieking fiasco. “You knew and you didn't tell me?!” She started hitting Minho again, harder. “You little pest. We're Thomas' closest friends and you had no intention on telling me, you fuc– ”
Before Teresa could finish her sentence, Thomas immediately slapped a hand on her mouth, hoping it would stop her from making too much noise. She tried to wiggle under Thomas' grip as Minho laughed at the scene unfolding before him.
After a moment of struggling, Teresa finally stopped and calmed down, breathing heavily. Thomas thought he had achieved peace once and for all. Well, that was until he felt his hand become wet. “Oh my God, Teresa. Did you just lick me?” Thomas exclaimed, wiping the back of his hand on his pants.
Minho was howling from laughter. He looked like he was about to pass out from laughing. “You're my idol, Teresa.” He managed to choke out in-between his laughing fit.
Teresa closed her eyes and massaged her temples. “Look, that doesn't matter right now. Does Newt know how you feel?” She asked Thomas, who flopped down on his bed, face down.
He grunted in reply. Thomas flipped over the moment he couldn't hold in his breath anymore. He was now facing the ceiling. “Not really. I don't think he got the message when I asked him out,” Thomas said desperately.
“You asked him out?” said two voices simultaneously in shock. Minho and Teresa snapped to each other's direction. Thomas was sort of amused at how they both said it at the same time.
“Uh, yeah. Two days ago,” Thomas let out a tired huff. “I invited him to see a movie with me and I guess he thought we were going as friends because he asked me if it was cool to invite Gally.” He grabbed a pillow and covered his face with it.
“He didn't,” gasped two voices again.
Thomas sat up straight and deadpanned Minho and Teresa. “Look, I'm only going to continue if you two stop acting like conjoined twins.
Teresa waved Thomas off. “What happened after that?”
Thomas shrugged. “Not much. I haven't talked to him since and– ”
“What the fuck is that?” Minho asked slowly, interrupting the previous conversation. A furry animal with four paws meowed its way in to Thomas' room.
Thomas' face lightened up heaps. He picked it up and cradled it in his arms. “Oh, this is my new cat. I got him just right after Newt rejected...” Thomas trailed off towards the end. “Wait, that didn't sound as pathetic as it did when I bought him.”
Minho stared at him in disbelief, unable to process the information he had just gotten. On the other hand, Teresa tried to understand his motives. “What's his name?” Teresa asked.
“Cleopatrick.”
“You're kidding me,” Minho said monotonously with a blank face.
Thomas shook his head. “Was actually supposed to name him Newt but I figured it'd be too ridiculous. Even for a person like me.”
Minho continued to gape at Thomas, who as subconsciously petting Cleopatrick. After a solid minute of being in a state of disbelief, Minho turned to Teresa. “This is getting depressing to watch. We need to do something.”
Teresa started shaking her head. “Yes, yes we do.” She breathed out.
* * *
Later that day, Thomas was clearing his throat to calm his nerves. He was standing right at the door of Newt's house. He tried to recite the plan.
One: Go to Newt's house.
Two: Give Newt the cookies basket and red rose he prepared.
Three: Ask Newt out on a date.
That was the plan. It was quite simple. Although that being that, it took Minho and Teresa more than absolutely necessary to come up with it. They were coming up with ideas that someone would do for a grand proposal.
“Maybe you could decorate a garden with fairy lights!” Teresa exclaimed.
“Guys,” Thomas tried to interrupt. However, his voice was drowning in Minho and Teresa's own.
Minho tsked. “Nah, that would be too much effort. What if Thomas serenaded him? That would be interesting to watch.”
Teresa shook her head in disagreement. “Have you even heard his voice? Horrible.”
Thomas looked between them in disbelief. “Hello? I'm right here, you asshats.”
But, the two continued as if he wasn't in the room with them. Even given the fact that they were in his room. Thomas looked between Minho and Teresa like an audience watching a tennis match as they both threw in their ideas.
Teresa lit up in excitement. “What if Thomas reenacted Romeo and Juliet right out of his window?” She brought her hands over her chest. “That would be so romantic,” she said dreamily
“Woah, woah. No way I'm doing that. You guys are out of your minds,” Thomas said, stopping what was going on.
Teresa crossed her arms. “Then what do you propose you do?”
And that was how he ended up outside Newt's house with a basket full of cookies in one hand and fresh red rose in the other. He took in a deep breath. You can do this, Thomas. You can do this. He told himself before reaching out to press the doorbell.
The sound rang through the house. His heart started racing. A few moments later, the door opened. Thomas' face fell. It wasn't Newt. It was Gally.
“Thomas? What are you doing here?” Gally asked.
“I was just, uh, around the neighbour you see and I thought I'd stop by,” Thomas lied easily.
Gally nodded. “Well, do you need anything?”
Thomas was lost for words. “I... uh... could you please give these to Newt?” He said as he struggled handing the basket of cookies to Gally. He kept his other hand with the rose behind his back.
Gally was a bit taken back. “Oh, yeah, sure.” He replied as he accepted the cookie basket from Thomas.
Thomas started to retreat from the house and tripped slightly. “So, right, yeah... Uh, thanks,” he stuttered. Gally returned it with a small smile. Thomas swore there was a hint of uneasiness in there but he didn't blame him. Once Gally completely shut the door, Thomas' fake smile was wiped away from his face. He was upset. What was Gally doing there?
What if the reason Newt asked him if Gally could come along was because Newt and Gally were already dating? What if Thomas humiliated himself?
Thomas sighed in defeat. He turned away from Newt's house and started walking to his own. He kept his gaze fixed on the ground. He still had the red rose in his hand. He had never felt so crest-fallen before. After a couple of minutes. Thomas decided it was time to update Teresa and Minho. He dug his hand into his pocket and fished for his phone.
( Friday, 4:27 PM ) To: Teresa and Minho
Didn't go well. Don't bother asking why and let me mourn in chicken nuggets on my own.
Not even seconds later, his phone was bombarded with text messages and phone calls from Minho and Teresa. He wasn't in the mood to be interrogated so he turned it off and put it back in his pocket.
It wasn't long before he was unlocking the door to his apartment. It wasn't that far from Newt's place. He threw aside the red rose he had been holding the whole journey. Cleopatrick walked towards him and started meowing.
“At least I still have you, huh?” Thomas murmured as he pet his pet carefully.
Cleopatrick purred.
Thomas sighed. “I know, I know. I like Newt too, buddy. But not everybody can have what they want,” he said a little bit sadly.
Not that he thought it was possible, but Cleopatrick looked a bit down after what Thomas said. Maybe sadness was contagious.
Thomas groaned and he rubbed his temples. “I look stupid talking to a cat right now, don't I?”
“Yeah, you do,” said a voice from behind.
Thomas jumped up, startled. He was a bit mortified once he saw who was standing there. “Newt,” he said, almost breathlessly.
“Thomas,” Newt smiled.
Thomas was speechless for a second. Ah yes, a specialty of his. Once he realized, Thomas' eyes instantly grew wide. “How long have you been here?”
Newt scratched the back of his neck as his cheeks turned into a light shade of pink. “Enough to hear things.” Newt took a step closer to Thomas. "Gally told me you dropped by and I thought I should come over to see what was up. And when I arrived here, the door was left open and you were talking to your... cat."
Thomas' eyes darted to Cleopatrick as he remembered all the things he had said. “That was nothing... I don't like you... Wait, no... I do but like not in that way...” Newt thought it was cute that Thomas was fumbling with his words. “...I mean if you you're dating Gally then that's totally fine but...”
“Wait, what? Gally? Why would I be dating him?”
Thomas blinked slowly. “Well, I don't know. You asked if he could come along to our date and he's funny and cool and popular– ”
“Oh, you idiot.”
Before Thomas could process what was happening, Newt grabbed Thomas by his shirt and leaned in for a kiss. Thomas was surprised but a few seconds but went along with it. It was sweet. It was exactly how Thomas had imagined it. A few seconds later, they pulled apart.
“Did that just... Did we just...” Thomas stuttered, still in a state of awe and confusion.
Newt grinned. “Yes, we did you doofus,” he said as he intertwined their fingers. “Are you still up for that movie?”
Before Thomas could reply, Minho and Teresa barged in the apartment. “We come bearing with us the desired chicken nuggets!” Minho yelled as his voice echoed around the apartment. Minho and Teresa halted once they saw Newt and Thomas' intertwined fingers.
Both Minho and Teresa dropped the bags of McDonald's they were carrying. Thomas was a bit concerned until Minho and Teresa started jumping in victory as they shouted phrases along 'We did it!'.
The corner of Thomas' lips twitched upwards. He was happy with his current situation. Newt was holding his hand and his two best friends were both really happ–
“Right, yeah. I forgot to ask. When did you get the cat?” Newt asked in pure curiousity.
Minho and Teresa both stopped what they were doing and snapped to Thomas' direction. Minho and Teresa exchanged secret glances. Thomas knew that too well. Minho turned to Newt with a mischievous glint in his eye. He was going to tell Newt. “NOOOOOOO,” yelled Thomas as his battle cry, letting go of Newt's hand as he ran to Minho to tackle him to the floor.
You could say it was an eventful day.