Chapter Text
Thomas was confused.
No, he wasn’t a dumbass—he knew that Newt kissed him solely to piss off the teacher. That didn’t mean that he understood. Why him? Why hadn’t he kissed Gally or something? Maybe it was just because the teacher had called him a faggot for talking to Thomas, that would make sense; but, nonetheless, whatever the reason, it sparked tingles under his skin.
He stood there, mouth agape in front of the teacher, completely unmoving. His neck was on fire. “Uh…”
“Get to class,” The teacher growled. Thomas turned to him, giving him a completely blank look. The teacher’s hands were squeezed into fists. “ Now. ”
Thomas didn’t hesitate to leave, the teacher sort of scaring him. He didn’t want to get written up for PDA, his mother would kill him.
He strolled down the hall, his jaw clenching and unclenching in confusion. He felt like his brain was broken. Newt had kissed him. Newt had kissed him, on the lips. What kind of world was he living in? Was this heaven?
He shook his head at himself. If anything, this was hell. Newt had kissed him, and he loved it—but that didn’t mean anything. He kissed him for a reason, and it wasn’t because he had wanted to. It was an impulsive decision that Newt had made, and it meant absolutely nothing. Thomas fumed. Not at Newt, obviously, but at himself for going along with it. Now he was never going to get over the boy.
He thought that this crush would pass. After all, high school relationships never lasted, and neither did crushes; Newt was just some random attractive guy in his Spanish class. It’s not like they were going to get married or something just because they kissed. After all, Thomas had a girlfriend.
He abruptly stopped in his walking. Girlfriend? Could Teresa even be called that? The girl had an obvious crush on Thomas, and she’s made out with him before; he’d kissed back, he’d held her, he’d touched her—so then why was he thinking of Newt? It must’ve been some sort of comphet or something. He was tired of being confused.
The longer that he walked to his next class, the more he turned the events of today over in his head. Newt kissed him. His brain sounded like a broken record. How much more of this could he take until he exploded?
One glance ahead told him that it wasn’t much. Newt was waiting in front of the double doors for him.
“Tommy!” He motioned for him to come closer, but Thomas’s throat had almost swelled closed. He didn’t know if he could face the boy without trying to kiss him again. Newt’s eyebrows furrowed as a weird smile crossed his lips. “What’re you waiting for? Get over here.”
Thomas shook it off, walking towards him as his cheeks heated up. What was he meant to say to him? You’re a good kisser? That’s way too embarrassing. He could always flirt with him, that was something that he was good at. But what if Newt got uncomfortable? He didn’t want to risk it.
“Uh, I’m coming.” Thomas mumbled, shuffling over to him while avoiding eye contact. Newt lit up.
“Wasn’t that awesome? His face was bloody priceless!” He laughed, pushing Thomas’s shoulder. He only responded with a hum, his mood lightening up when he saw how happy Newt was; it sort of made his gut spin.
“Yeah, it was,” Thomas let a small smile take over his lips. “You’re a really good kisser, by the way.” His brain stopped in its tracks. Why the hell did he say that? He must be looking for a death wish or something. Newt smiled, a small chuckle leaving him.
“I’m well aware. I’ve had plenty of experience, after all.” He winked at Thomas. “Kissed plenty of men in my days.”
“Really?” Thomas’s lips parted. “You were the first boy I've kissed.” Newt shrugged, motioning for him to walk together.
“Yeah, I’m gay, after all.” Thomas gave him a questioning look as he followed him throughout the hallway, walking down a set of stairs side by side with him. Newt responded with a smile. “I thought you knew, I’ve been out all year.”
“I didn’t know. Guess word never came around.” Thomas shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. He tried not to feel hopeful; just because Newt was gay doesn’t mean that he would be with him. Thomas was… merely an option. “Good for you, I guess?”
Newt laughed, rolling his eyes. “You’re really bad at this, you know that?”
“Don’t worry, I know.” Thomas let a side smile quirk at his lips. They walked down the stairs in silence, the one-sided tension making Thomas a little uncomfortable—he never knew how to act during moments like these. Newt looked unbothered by it.
“What class do you have?” Newt mumbled, pulling the strap of his backpack back into place. Thomas tried to ignore how long the boy’s fingers were.
He gave Newt a look. “We’ve shared History together the whole year, you dumbass.” Newt paused, tilting his head in confusion as he thought about it.
“Huh. I guess you’re right.” Thomas laughed, pushing open the door to the classroom as he motioned for the boy to follow.
———
Newt was tapping his pen during the lecture, the quiet clicking sounds against the hard, wooden desks drawing Thomas’s attention. He was sitting next to Newt on the right this time, their seating schedules somehow always pairing them together; he considered it a stroke of good luck or something. Not so much for his grades, but at least this meant that he could stare at Newt’s side profile as much as he wanted to.
They shared a long desk together, their chairs pushed closer than normal—the teacher had set this up on purpose to create groups. Thomas had silently thanked him for pairing him with Newt. The middle-aged man was talking about the Great Depression, and something about how it started due to underconsumption; Thomas wasn’t paying much attention to him, instead taking quick peeks in his peripheral vision at Newt. The boy looked bored.
He didn’t understand how Newt managed to be so carefree, not caring in the slightest about school or grades or friends. Thomas couldn’t think of a single friend that Newt had—then again, he didn’t know who Newt hung out with. Clearly it wasn’t Gally, based on how prude he was being with him in Spanish.
Suddenly a thought sparked in his mind. Alby . Surely he was Newt’s friend, right? Thomas had seen them talk in the halls a few times, though it wasn’t very often. Alby was one of the better students, in the Honour Roll and, if Thomas was remembering correctly, part of the Student Body. Not to say that Newt couldn’t have friends who were better in an academic sense, but it still seemed like an interesting pairing. Maybe Alby was tutoring the boy or something.
Thomas snapped out of his thoughts when a loud clap sounded out. “Alright, you guys work in your own groups, and I’ll check back in a few minutes. Sounds good?” A meager amount of affirmative noises came from the class, followed by sounds of shuffling and people turning in their seats towards their partners. Thomas’s heart fluttered when he realised that he would have to talk to Newt.
“What do you look so anxious for?” A quiet, breathy laugh came from next to him, and when Thomas turned towards Newt it felt like his heart stopped for a second. The boy was laughing at him, his nose scrunched up as a half grin quirked at his lips. “Am I that scary?” Thomas stuttered, his cheeks already beginning to heat up. God, he hated his life.
“No, I just… uh,” He mumbled, scrambling for an excuse before finally meeting Newt’s eyes with a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know what we’re doing. Wasn’t paying attention.”
Newt’s grin grew a little in size, narrowing his eyes playfully before propping a leg up on his chair to lean on with a light chuckle. “Something’s telling me you’re lying, but I won’t question it.” He sighed, turning his gaze toward the board. Thomas watched as the boy chewed on his bottom lip. “I think we have’ta scan the QR code on the board. Not sure, though. Should I ask the people behind us?”
Thomas shook his head, opening his phone as he went to the camera app. “Nah. I trust you.” Thomas clicked the link that popped up, opening a document with questions on it. He pulled out his notebook, ripping out two pieces of blank paper and handing one of them to Newt, who accepted it with a grateful smile. “Okay, so… I don’t have a clue what the answer for number one is.” He admitted. Newt laughed.
“I think I know. It might be overproduction, because of the amount of people buying on credit.” He furrowed his eyebrows as he scrolled his finger against Thomas’s phone screen. The reflection of the fluorescents onto the boy’s face seemed almost unearthly, his dirty blonde eyelashes glinting with every slight flick of his eyes. Thomas’s gut wrenched. “No, yeah, it is. The factories made way too many products.” Thomas nodded slowly as he started to jot the boy’s words down on his paper, numbering it as he went and trying to ignore the feelings swirling through him.
After what felt like forever, they finally managed to complete the assignment. Thomas’s brain felt fried. “Alright, don’t forget to turn it in. It doesn’t matter if you both put your names on the same paper, or if you turn in two separate ones; both of you will be marked wrong for every question that’s incorrect, since this is a group assignment.” Thomas sighed, giving Newt a tired smile over his shoulder. 30 questions. 30 whole questions. Was the teacher trying to kill them?
Newt responded with his own smile, a twinge of amusement behind it for Thomas’s actions. “Are you really that tired, Tommy?”
“Yes,” He groaned, resting his head against his desk. “I hate history. I was planning on just sleeping in this class, but noo. The stupid teacher had to make us do something.”
“That ‘stupid teacher’ wants us to learn,” Newt chuckled. “But I can’t really blame you. I was planning on sleeping as well.”
“Alright, get out of my face.” The teacher said with a shoo of his hands towards the door. Teachers had a crazy way of telling time, because not even a moment later the bell rang, almost as if it were summoned. Thomas was ecstatic.
“Get up, lazy sod.” He felt a light whack to the back of his head, which he responded with a groan as he slowly got up. To his surprise, Thomas’s backpack was already packed. He gave Newt a questioning look. The boy only responded with a weird smile. “What, can't you do nice things for others?” He grinned, rolling his eyes as he pushed Thomas’s shoulder. “Hurry up already, or might just choose to leave you behind.”
Thomas quickly complied, pulling his backpack onto his shoulders with a huff of embarrassment. Newt definitely had a strange way of showing friendship. “Thanks, Newt.”
“Shaddup. Let’s go.”
———
Thomas couldn’t sleep.
He couldn’t get Newt out of his head, from the placement of his hands against Thomas’s waist down to how his fingers curled around the boy’s neck, it was in his mind on a never-ending loop. Every inch of the tall, lanky boy swirled his thoughts, almost like a parasite. Thomas sighed, shifting in the bed.
Newt had given him his Instagram account yesterday, accompanied with a wink and a chuckle. Thomas fumed at himself for blushing when it happened. When he had gotten home that day, he had stalked the everloving shit out of it—scouring every single tagged post and picture of the boy as his eyes greedily sucked up every single detail. He was in deep. And not in a good way.
He pulled up the time, sighing as he blinked his dry eyes closed. 2:45. Fucking hell. Thomas never had this problem before, not even with his… well, really interesting kinda-relationship with Teresa; she was just fun to be around in the moment. He’s not even sure if he loved her. He knew for a fact that she loved him, she kissed him and did things with him that proved it. It wasn’t unrequited, per se, it was just… not the same. Thomas himself was confused by it.
He hoped that he wasn’t going insane. Newt wouldn’t like him if he was a stalker, after all—he didn’t want to be creepy. It was just a crush, that was it. It’s not even that big of a fucking deal, people in high school get crushes all the goddamn time. Thomas just didn’t know why his was so strong.
Five hours passed, filled with absolutely zero sleep. When Thomas’s alarm clock rang, he was already awake; all he did was sigh and sit up. His head hurt, and the room was spinning a little; the lack of sleep must’ve gotten to him throughout the long night. With another deep sigh and a blink of his bloodshot eyes, he got up to get ready for school. Fuck Wednesdays.
First period rolled around fairly quickly, leaving no breathing room for Thomas’s partially-asleep brain to wake up; he had gotten dressed in a sluggish frenzy and hadn’t even eaten breakfast. Not that he usually did, per se, but it was still something.
The only good thing about going to school was Newt. He was free to stare at the back of the boy’s head for as long as he wanted, he didn’t even have to pay attention due to his good grades in Spanish; plus, he got to hear the frustrated groans and annoyed words whispered under the boy’s breath up close and personal. Maybe even dream about a different kind of groan if he really felt like it. Which, of course, being the teenage boy he was, he obviously did feel like it.
Thomas didn’t bother to stop himself as he began to doze off, every helpful supply of Newt’s whispered voice every few minutes being used to further fuel the fire that lit inside of his brain. He liked to picture the kiss they shared, maybe in a different setting; maybe in a lone stairwell, or Thomas’s room, or Thomas’s bed —
He shook his head, his cheeks beginning to heat up. He needed to stop that.
Thomas settled for things that were solely PG. Or, maybe PG-13. If he was feeling a little saucy, TV-14.
He sighed to himself when the boy let out another frustrated groan, letting his gut twist in angry want as he succumbed to his very obvious and a little bit unhealthy crush on Newt. Maybe he would talk to him today. They had the same seven classes every day, four of them being shared with the older boy, and one of those four being sat a little too far to talk; if Thomas could work up the courage, maybe he would ask the boy out on a date.
He seriously doubted it, though, and was sure that this looming self-destructive confidence only came from sleep deprivation. Not that he really cared at the moment. Thomas just really, really wanted to kiss him again. He laid his head down on the desk with a tired sigh.
A tap to his shoulder shook him awake from his slumber — not that it was actually sleep, as much as he wished it was — and Thomas raised his head with a low, questioning hum.
It was Newt. His eyebrows raised slightly in mild shock.
The boy had a weird look on his face, something mixed with a tentative smile and a mischievous smirk. “Tommy? You alive back there?”
“Mmm. No.” He answered, blinking his eyes slowly as he tried to readjust his gaze on Newt’s face. He was only slightly blurry around the edges. “Did’ja need something?”
“Yeah. C’mere.” Thomas paused before reluctantly giving in, leaning forward as Newt pressed his lips to his ear. The boy’s hot breath sent shivers down his neck, and he already knew what his dreams would be about for the next week and a half. “I really wanna kiss you again. Can we do it in front of the Spanish teacher?”
Thomas’s heart might as well have stopped right in his chest.
“You wanna… what?” His mouth gaped open as he stared right into Newt’s eyes. Were his ears deceiving him or something?
Newt only chuckled, rolling his eyes with a smile. “You’re a good kisser. Why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?” He motioned with his head towards the old Spanish teacher. He was going on about adjectives or something that Thomas didn’t really care about. “Plus, I still wanna make every class with him a horrid one. I like seeing the look on his ugly rat bastard face.”
Thomas’s gut twisted in red hot flames, his throat suddenly very dry. Was this Newt’s way of flirting with him? Did the boy actually want to kiss him because he was a good kisser, or because he wanted to give the old man a hard time? His mind spun, and honestly, if he weren’t in the middle of a class right now, he might’ve pushed Newt against the desk and kissed him right then and there. He licked his lips.
“Okay,” He whispered. “That’s a pretty good reason.” He willed himself to calm down. Newt only gave him a curious, yet mischievous smile. Thomas might as well have died inside.
“I’ve gotta say, I’m looking forward to it.” Newt shrugged, throwing the boy one last look over his shoulder. “Also, I’m gonna hold your hand, too. Just a heads up.” And, with that, he turned back to the front of the class. Thomas’s eyes fluttered shut as he rested his head against the desk.
He needed to calm down. His heart was beating so fast he had no idea where to begin, what to think, what to do. Newt was going to kiss him. And hold his hand. God, could the boy be any more flirty?
The worst part was how unsure he was as to Newt’s affections. He couldn’t tell whether this whole ‘kissing’ thing was entirely platonic or romantic, whether the boy wanted to kiss him just to get a kiss, or if he actually wanted to kiss him. Thomas was worried of being led on. Not that he would mind it that much; he would do just about anything to get a few kisses from Newt. Even if that meant playing a twisted little game on his very own heartstrings.
The rest of the class period passed on without him, as he was trying to catch up on 7 missing hours of sleep in only a single hour of class time; but as the bell rang, Thomas’s heart might as well have leaped right into his throat in anxiety. It was time to kiss Newt.
He turned to the boy, pushing his unused things back into his bag with a nervous side glance. He swallowed thickly when he made eye contact. The boy looked almost ecstatic.
“Are you ready, Tommy?” The grin that spread its way onto Newt’s face might as well have shot a bullet straight through Thomas’s heart.
“I suppose so, yeah.” He managed his own shaky, dialled-down smile, trying to hide his own excitement in the very back of his expression. He hoped Newt couldn’t see just how ready he actually was.
Newt grabbed hold of Thomas’s hand as soon as he finished setting his backpack on his shoulders, stroking the boy’s knuckles with a light, almost ghost-like touch. He shivered from the inside out.
The older boy leaned in once again, his lips directly on Thomas’s ear. “Here’s what’s gonna happen,” He started, taking a breath before sighing. The hot gas clouded Thomas’s senses. “We’re gonna hold hands and kiss in the hallway after everyone’s gone but the teacher. Then, we’re gonna go into the boy’s bathroom down the hall, so we can convince him that we’re gonna do something more.” A small, quiet laugh echoed through Thomas’s ear, and, if he didn’t have as much self control as he did, he might’ve acted on the lingering thoughts brewing inside of him. “Sounds good?”
Before Thomas’s sudden burst of confidence died down, he lifted his hand up to Newt’s jaw, grabbing it and slowly turning the boy’s ear to him. He leaned in, letting his own hot breath trail over his neck before speaking in a hushed, soft whisper. “Sounds more than good, lovely.” The boy seemed to stop at the pet name, giving Thomas a surprised look; he only countered it with a lazy shrug of his shoulders and a smile. He relished the slight tint to the older boy’s cheeks.
Newt’s grin stretched as the rest of the class filed out, looping his hand in Thomas’s once again as he pulled him out of the door. He swung their hands together, giving him the most lovesick expression that he could muster once they passed the teacher; it was then that Newt decided to lean in.
Thomas barely had time to close his eyes before their lips touched, slightly off beat due to their continuing steps down the hallway; but it was completely worth it when the teacher, once again, let out a sharp and offended gasp. He felt Newt smile into the kiss as he pulled away, tugging on Thomas’s hand and leading him to the boy’s bathroom door.
It was then that Thomas decided to change the plan just the slightest bit, twist it into something that he could profit off of in the slightest. As Newt tugged on the door handle, he stepped closer, looping his hand around the nape of the boy’s neck and pulling him into another, more softer kiss. Newt hummed in surprise as he finally managed to stumble through the bathroom, wrapping his arm around Thomas’s waist as he pulled him in with him.
Thomas didn’t stop there, even though he knew he probably should’ve. Maybe it was his sleep deprived brain telling him that it was okay, or it was just pure teenage hormones; but once Newt hit the far wall and the door shut behind them, Thomas only broke apart for a second before kissing him once again. It was a much harder, rougher kiss, and it took everything in him not to moan on the spot.
For some reason, Newt didn’t push him away; instead he closed his eyes and tilted his head just the slightest for a better angle, opening his mouth as he swiped his tongue along Thomas’s lip for entrance. The boy happily obliged, letting him in with his own mirth pooling in his stomach. He was kissing Newt. He was tongue-kissing Newt. Oh my god, he was making out with Newt.
He heard the slightest moan escape the older boy’s lips, but he didn’t stop; Thomas ran his tongue along the boy’s gums and teeth, curling his hand into his hair as he trapped him against himself and the wall. He hummed into the kiss, licking into his mouth with the smallest groan leaving him.
They only broke apart for air, though it was awfully short; the lightheadedness that Thomas was beginning to feel only spun the revolver in his brain into a more pleasant, weird high. Newt groaned something from the back of his throat.
“Ah, Tommy—” He was interrupted with his own kiss, pushing himself onto Thomas as he wrapped his arms over the boy’s shoulders.
“Hmm?” Thomas hummed in question, but he had no intent of stopping. Unless Newt wanted him to, that is. He continued to lick into his mouth with an unbothered, inward shrug.
At this point, Thomas’s lips were swollen and very red, slightly covered in their saliva as he panted into the boy’s mouth. Newt wasn’t much better, his voice a shaky and groaning mess with every second they broke apart for air.
The bell is what finally separated them, Thomas pulling off with a dazed look as Newt gasped for air. He studied the boy in front of him, his messed up blonde hair down to his very red lips; slowly, Thomas brought a hand up to Newt’s cheek and swiped his thumb along his swollen mouth. The boy barely noticed as he finally managed to catch his breath.
“Fuck,” He breathed. “We’re late.”
“I don’t think I care.” Thomas shrugged, rubbing his thumb along Newt’s lips with the smallest smile.
“Tommy,” He allowed another swallow of air before finally deciding to speak. “That was— I–I don’t even know, actually. I can barely think right now.”
“I tend to have that effect on people.” He shrugged, a slow and lazy smile spreading along his lips. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever felt this happy in his entire life.
Newt finally managed to fully catch his breath, resting his head against the wall as he peered at Thomas through his eyelashes. Something in his chest fluttered at the look.
“Can we do that every day?” Newt mumbled. Thomas’s heart might have just stopped for the second time that day.
“Yeah,” He breathed, carefully avoiding Newt’s gaze as he inwardly screamed at himself. “Yeah, sure.” His heart flipped, his brain swirling with overwhelming thoughts about his decisions and Newt and kissing Newt and making out with Newt and—
“Why’d you do that, Tommy?” Newt sighed, though it wasn’t out of regret; it was more due to overexertion, or maybe even something pleasant. Thomas’s grin stretched a little.
“Because, you’re a good kisser,” He muttered, leaning closer with a short breath. He stopped once his lips ghosted against Newt’s. “Why wouldn’t I take advantage of that?”
“Using my own words against me, huh?” Newt moved just the slightest bit closer, mouthing himself onto Thomas’s lips before pulling away. Thomas took this chance to push him into a tentative kiss, licking the boy’s lips as he pressed against him harder. Newt only complied for the slightest moment before pulling away, his eyes half-lidded and the smallest pant escaping him. “We need to go.”
“Okay,” Thomas mumbled, running a hand through the boy’s hair before slowly stepping away. He caught his breath, swiping his fingers along his lips as he wiped off any extra residue. Newt sighed, cracking his neck before pushing himself off of the wall.
Together they fixed each other, Thomas stepping towards the older boy as he wiped the extra saliva off of his mouth. Newt responded with a hum, pressing his lips against Thomas’s hand for a quiet moment.
Finally, once they seemed presentable enough, Newt offered his hand out for Thomas to take, a small smile quirking at his lips. Even after their whole… session, Thomas still felt a burning in the bottom of his gut. All he wanted to do was kiss him again. Instead of acting on those thoughts, all he did was take his hand, looping them together as he pushed the door open with his own little smile.
Of course, Thomas and Newt couldn’t have anything to themselves. This was made clear when they opened the door to see the Spanish teacher standing right outside of the bathroom, two late slips in his hands and a very angry look in his eyes.
“You’re both late.” He deadpanned, flicking his fingers and revealing two more slips. These ones had the word ‘PDA’ written on them. Thomas had to resist the urge to laugh in his face.
It seemed that Newt couldn’t hold back his own laughter, the slightest chuckle escaping him as he snatched all four of them out of the old man’s hands. “Very sorry, sir.” He sneered in his face, tightening his grip on Thomas’s hand as he swung their arms. The smallest smile made its way onto his face at the sheer boldness that Newt conveyed.
“I would suggest exploring different interests, Mr. Isaac.” The teacher growled, stepping out of their way and lifting his hand to signal their leave.
“I’m actually pretty happy with my decisions, sir,” Newt took the two slips that read ‘PDA’ into his hand, letting go of Thomas’s hand for only a moment as he tore them in two. The teacher’s gaze darkened. Newt smiled thickly. “I know my boyfriend is hot, but you really don’t have to convey your jealousy by stalking us. Good that, teach.’”
With that, he threw the ripped up slips on the floor behind him, looping his hand into Thomas’s as he pulled him through the hallway. Thomas couldn’t stop the bright red flush that spread its way throughout his cheeks.
“Big mistake, Mr. Isaac!” The teacher yelled from across the hallway, but all Newt did was snicker as he passed a look at Thomas. The boy, however, was barely even paying attention; he couldn’t stop staring at Newt, thinking about what he said to the teacher: I know my boyfriend is hot. My boyfriend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. What the hell was happening? Is he dead?
“Boyfriend,” Thomas mumbled to himself, his face flushing deeper as his lips formed a tight line. He had to force himself to keep a bashful smile from spreading across his lips. Newt turned to him with a questioning, playful look.
“Yes, Tommy?” He grinned, swinging their intertwined hands with a little too much vigor. At that, Thomas exploded. He groaned, his flushed cheeks getting somehow even darker as he rubbed his free hand against his face. Newt couldn’t help but laugh at him.
“That was…” Thomas didn’t even know how to describe it. Exhilarating? Exactly what he wanted? Exactly something he didn’t want? He knew the teacher was most likely going to call his mom, tell her that he was participating in PDA at school. Even though the thought of that future conversation irked him, a small, rebellious part of him didn’t even care. He was kissing Newt, and Newt was, albeit with a different thought in mind, kissing him back; Thomas couldn’t have been happier than he was now.
“Bloody magnificent?” Newt laughed, his eyes crinkling around the edges. “God, that felt so good. He deserved every bit of that. I bet he’s a bloody faggot too and he’s just jealous of us.” Thomas couldn’t help the short laugh that he let out, rolling his eyes when Newt glanced at him with a smile on his face. “I’ve gotta say though, you are one fantastic kisser, Tommy. Never expected that from someone as shy as you.”
He couldn’t stop the blush that flooded into his cheeks from the compliment, his lips curving into a line as he tried to hide it in embarrassment. “You… you too, Newt.” God, he was in too deep. He didn’t even know how to take a compliment anymore. Thomas tried to play it off with a nonchalant shrug. “You’ve got really soft lips.”
“It’s the chapstick.” Newt grinned, pulling something out of his pocket as they strolled through the hallway. He produced a small tube of chapstick, flavoured something that Thomas couldn’t read. “You can have this one, if ya want. I’ve got a million more of them at home.” Thomas hesitated before he took it from Newt, inspecting the label with a tentative blush spreading across his cheeks. Newt’s chapstick. The flavour read ‘mint pepper.’ Now that he thought about it, Newt did taste like some type of mint.
“It tastes good.” Thomas helpfully supplied, pocketing it with a nervous smile. He felt far too awkward for Newt’s calm and joyful demeanour. “Thanks.”
“No problem, Tommy.” They finally made it to their next class, Newt dropping his hand to pull the door open. He gave Thomas a wink before motioning with his hand. “After you.”
He tried to ignore the pooling deep within his gut as he lowered his gaze, a small smile making its way onto his face as he stepped past Newt and into the classroom.
———