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“I think Alby suspects something” Newt murmured.
“Hmm? About what?” Thomas replied confused - he had clearly been caught up in a daydream.
They lay in Newt’s bed, legs entangled and Newt’s head at Thomas’ shoulder blade. It was bright in the room and they were just enjoying their afternoon together.
“Us” Newt said. “And I mean, of course he would notice something had changed. I’m barely hanging out with him anymore, I seem happier in his opinion and you spend almost every day here.”
“So?” Thomas said, not really catching on what Newt meant.
“I meant”, Newt sighed in defeat, “maybe we should tell him and the others before they draw their own conclusions.” He tensed, waiting for Thomas to answer.
“Yeah, sure” he felt Thomas shrug. “I mean, Teresa and Chuck already knows. Just tell ‘em when they come home.”
Newt lived in an apartment with Minho, Gally and Alby while Thomas lived a few block away with his twin sister Teresa and younger brother Chuck. Thomas preferred being at Newt’s apartment because Teresa would never leave them alone - she was always there to embarass Thomas. While Newt loved Thomas’ small house due to his own curious and not-so-subtle flatmates.
“That’s the problem!” Newt groaned and sat up in the bed. He looked down at Thomas who now moved his arms behind his head to support himself, brown eyes shining unconcernedly.
“I can’t just waltz up to them and say ‘hey, I think you should now I’m dating your best friend and I have done so for a few weeks but I didn’t want to tell you since you didn’t even know I was into guys. Great, that was it. What’s for dinner?’ Either they’re going to laugh their asses off or hate me.”
Thomas scoffed at that.
“They’ve been your best friends for years, Newt. Longer than I have known them. I swear, they’re not going to treat you any differently. Well, except for an embarassing remark and wink here and there.”
Newt groaned again and shook his head.
“How did you tell your parents and siblings?” he asked, desperately fishing for some advices.
Thomas shrugged again. “I told them at dinner. I just said ‘hey, you know Newt right, that guy who was here yesterday? We’re together now’ and nothing more.”
Newt frowned. “What did they say?”
“Teresa squealed like a pig - she’s been shipping us for months. Mom and Dad had already guessed it, and Chuck just said: ‘But Thomas, isn’t Newt a guy?’ And I said; ‘yes he is’ and Chuck said ‘oh, okay’ and nothing more.” Sometimes Newt forgot that Chuck only was seven years old. While Thomas and Teresa were fifteen, Newt was sixteen and so were Minho and Gally. Alby, though, was in his twenties.
“I can’t sound so nonchalant when I tell them!” Newt complained, running a hand through his hair. “I need to make them understand I’m serious, but neither so they can laugh at it.”
“Give me your phone” the brunet said.
Newt cut off his own ranting and lost himself completely. “What? Why?”
“Just hand it over.”
Hesitantly, Newt reached for his jacket and pulled out his phone. Thomas sat up and eagerly snatched it, his nails tapping the screen. He held the phone so Newt couldn’t see, and only scurried away when Newt tried to peek.
“Okay” Thomas cleared his throat, “let’s practise. Read this.” He handed the phone over and Newt took it and read.
“Seriously, Tommy?” He gave the boy a really?-look and rolled his eyes when Thomas nodded.
“Now pretend I’m Minho. The pillow is Alby and this old pice of candy trash is Gally”. Thomas placed Newt’s pillow in his lap and held up an empty paper with the text Salty Bears on.
“Uh, okay.” Thomas didn’t look a single bit like Minho and the pillow was white - not clashing very well with Alby’s dark skin. But the old trash actually looked like Gally a little.
“Okay. Hm. I have something to tell you. Now before I tell you this, I want you to know I am the same person as I was before. This does not change anything between us. I -” he paused to glance at Thomas and found the other boy shaking silently with laughter.
“It’s not funny!” He threw his phone at Thomas, who caught it and shut it off.
“Relax” he laughed. “We’ll figure something out. Do you have to tell them today?"
"Yes, because tomorrow's the prom and they'll find out when we're going but I'd rather tell them myself."
They were silent for a few minutes; Thomas whistled carelessly and Newt pondered frantically about later. Eventually he gave up and with a desperate sigh, he threw himself down next to Thomas. The brunet rolled his eyes.
“You worry too much” he commented. “Relax a little. Seriously, after all these tests and essays, you deserve a break.” Newt had indeed studied like a maniac to the tests while Thomas took it as it came. While Thomas started humming a song, Newt closed his eyes and thought about what he should tell the others.
When Newt suddenly became heavy and limp, Thomas realized he had asleep on his shoulder, still frowning in his sleep. Really, what was he so worried about? Thomas knew that Minho and Alby would understand. Gally, he wasn't so sure about but that stupid guy would only dare to say something bad about Newt with Thomas close enough to comprehend it. Nuzzling into Newt’s fluffy hair, Thomas closed his eyes.
They were rudely woken when the front door slammed open, hitting the wall with a bang.
“Home!” they heard Minho scream. Another thump was heard - probably Minho throwing his school bag on the floor with books sliding freely over the floor.
“Newt?” they heard Alby call.
Newt bolted up from the bed in a sitting position, forcing Thomas to wake up.
“Shit!” he hissed. “Shit, shit shit, they’re here!”
Thomas yawned and rubbed his eyes. Newt had to pause a moment form his panic attack and just smile at how cute and childish the brunet looked. But the fondness was soon replaced by anxiety.
“What should I say? Bloody hell, they’re going to walk in on us any minute now!”
Thomas promptly ignored Newt; instead he stood up, stretched and walked towards the door, motioning for Newt to follow. When Newt slowly stood up, Thomas rolled his eyes, grabbed his hand and dragged him out in the hall.
“There ya are, Newt” Alby said, eyebrows lifting when he saw their intertwined hands. Newt blushed at this, but Thomas didn’t seem to notice.
“Hey Al” Thomas greeted, grinning.
“Hey Thomas” Alby nodded, and finally stopped looking at their hands.
“What time is it?” Newt managed, his heart pounding in his ears.
“Half past six, something like that” Alby replied before he turned and walked into the kitchen.
“Don’t worry, I have a plan” Thomas whispered to Newt. “Just stay silent and I’ll fix this.” Newt really didn’t want to entrust Thomas with this but he got no chance to protest when Thomas tugged in his arm and dragged him to the kitchen.
“Mean Hoe!” Thomas exclaimed, smirking evilly when he saw the Asian boy, leaning towards a cupboard.
“Hey Tom-boy” Minho replied, scowling at the nickname. When he saw their hands, a big grin spread on his face. Just as he was about to throw the first remark, Thomas let go and said:
“Well, I should head home before Teresa gets mad at me for not cooking anything.” He rolled his eyes at that and went to retrieve his bag. While he was gone, Minho mouthed:
“What was that with holding hands?” but Newt pretended not to notice. He pulled out a chair and sat down, pointedly ignoring Minho’s inquisitive look. Alby gave them a weird look and jumped up to sit on the counter.
“So” Newt said, trying to steer things into safer subjects, “where’s Gally?”
Minho shrugged and flipped his phone open. “Dunno, He’s late.”
They heard the door open and Thomas said;
“Why, Gally, how pleasant to meet you! I love it when people slam their doors in my face.”
“This is my house, shank” Gally grunted before he stepped into the kitchen, followed by Thomas, now with his bag over his shoulder.
“Actually it’s Alby’s house” Thomas pointed out. Gally just rolled his eyes and started pouring a cup of tea.
“Well” Thomas said, “see ya tomorrow, y’all.” But the plan? You said you had a plan, Tommy! I ain’t telling them myself! Newt thought, wide eyed.
“See ya” Minho replied and Alby waved.
Then Thomas stepped up to Newt, leaned in and kissed him full on the mouth. Newt’s eyes were about to pop out of his head. What the bloody hell is he doing?! Not that he minded the kiss; it was very nice, to describe it with simple words. In the corner of his eye, he saw Minho and Gally gape open-mouthed at them. Alby’s face was unable to read. It was a very chaste kiss - only for a few seconds, but it was enough to make Newt sort of swoon. Then Thomas pulled away and smirked, clearly satisfied with himself.
“Uhhhh” was all Newt managed to stutter, before Thomas turned on his heels and walked away.
"See ya shanks in school!" Thomas called out before they heard the door slam shut.
Thomas seemed to bring the air with him, because suddenly it felt like Newt couldn't breathe. He felt the others stare at him, while he sat frozen, refusing to look them in the eye.
Then Gally drew a breath, and Newt inwardly braced himself. Here it comes.
"That must've been the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. Kissing in my kitchen!" He pretended to choke on his own tongue, before he promptly turned and left the kitchen.
"Your kitchen?" Alby arched one eyebrow and jumped off the counter, following Gally into the living room. "I think I must agree with Thomas here. It is my house. You're just crying babies that can't afford an own house." They continued to bicker in the living room, while Newt sat on his chair and stared after them.
"You should close your mouth" Minho pointed out. "People might think you're trying to catch flies, or something."
Newt closed him mouth and glared at Minho. "Sorry then! But how the bloody hell would you react if your secret boyfriend steps up and kisses you before your friends?" Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back, feeling both confused and relieved.
Minho rolled his eyes. "I" he emphasized, "wouldn't react like that, because I would have enough faith in my friends to know that they at least guessed something was going on."
Newt's stern expression went to pure shock. "You knew?" his arms fell to his side in suprise.
"Naaah" Minho said, straightened and walked over to the fridge. "We didn't exactly know, but we guessed" he said into the fridge, scanning over it for a potential snack before dinner. "Like, you were always with each other, and you weren't exactly discreete. You would always gaze longingly at Thomas every time he had his back against you."
Newt huffed. "I did not. Shut up." Minho grinned at him. "Whatever you say."
Later that day, after dinner, Newt got a text message from Thomas.
Thomas: So what did they say?
Newt: About the kiss?
Thomas: No the new Spongebob episode. OF COURSE I MEANT THE KISS RLY WHAT DID U THINK
Newt: Shut up, I wanted to make sure. Well, Gally and Alby just left. Gally threw a comment about how gross it was with kissing in the kitchen. And Minho said that they already had guessed it, so he didn't care.
Thomas: See? I told you so!
Newt: hmmpf
Thomas: I always have the best solutions.
Newt: Pah, best solutions? Do u know how much u scared me? Kissing me out of nowhere?
Thomas: It was the only way. Or did you have a better plan?
Newt: Maybe tell them together?
Thomas: But that's not fun.
Newt: Not everything in the world can be fun.
Newt: I hate you.
Thomas: Awww, you don't! You loooovee meee, and you looovee my 'bambi eyes' and my brown hair, and I KNOW you like my lips ...
Newt: Stupid idiot, so full of yourself.
Thomas: It's true, though.
Newt: ... It is.
Thomas: I knew it!
Newt: Shut up before I regret myself.
Thomas: Love you too.