Dreams // Newtmas

15. Time

The next few weeks passed in relative quiet. Track practices continued almost constantly and Thomas often found himself wondering why he did both track and cross country running, for obvious reasons. Just because running in itself was easy for him, it did not mean that he could do it without being absolutely exhausted after some time. He was human after all.

Newt fell in with the rest of the Gladers so fast it was hard to think that he had just moved from a different state a number of weeks ago. And with that, Newt's personality began to shine through more and more, especially his sarcasm. For someone that was so reserved he had a sharp tongue and some killer comebacks. Of course, that made it much harder to tease him but Thomas was willing to sacrifice a little of his dignity if it meant Newt could get some praise and a smile on his face. He really did have an adorable smile after all.

Another good thing, was that it looked like Thomas's dreams had subsided for the moment. At least, the ones about Newt had. Sure he still sometimes woke up in a cold sweat and thought the chair in the corner of his room was going to turn into a griever and rip him limb from limb, but it was better than watching his new friend die. 

Besides, despite them being his dreams, Thomas felt like it was an invasion of Newt's privacy whenever he dreamt of him. It didn't matter that he had literally zero control over them, there was still boundaries that he wanted to respect. And every time something like that with Newt popped up it felt a little too personal.

Minho on the other hand, couldn't care less about boundaries and instead wanted to know every single detail of what had happened and what Thomas knew about 'Dream Newt' as he called him. Which was strange, considering he barely ever asked about 'Dream Minho', someone who Thomas thought would be of more importance to him. 

But no, Minho just had to care about the guy that Thomas had magically known the name of after having a stupid nightmare in which neither of them made it out alive. At this point Thomas had recounted the details of it so many times he was starting to forget what parts had actually happened and what parts his brain had figured that needed to be added in for dramatic effect. 

Still, it was nice to have someone to talk to, even if it got severely out of hand at times. Well, most of the time. He was beginning to think that Minho really had nothing better to do than pester him and see how long it took for Thomas to answer, threaten or, on the rare occasion that it did happen, hit him so hard he couldn't feel his arm for the next half hour.

The violence was another thing that Minho had magically developed an interest over the past few weeks. Something Thomas was not happy about.

"So, any drama today?" Minho asked, sidling up alongside Thomas in the hallway.

Thomas rolled his eyes in response and stayed quiet.

"Oh come on, it's been what?" Minho checked his watch for no reason apart from comedic effect. "a month since school started and you haven't gotten into a single fight. I didn't even know that was possible."

"You're acting like fighting is all I've done for the past three years of high school. Which I'll have you remember it is not."

"Well, ever since Newt showed up you've acted like a shucking angel. Which I'll  have you remember, you're not." Minho retorted.

"I'm an impulsive teenager that knows how to throw a punch, I know I'm not an angel but it doesn't make me the devil either." Thomas said. Truth was, he knew he was acting differently because of Newt. But it was a good different. The kind of different that kept him threatening any kid that looked at him or his friends the wrong way.  He wasn't sure why he was acting like it exactly, but that wasn't the point.

"No, it makes you Thomas. The one that will knock your front teeth out if he ever sees you try to hurt another kid. The one that's been fighting slintheads like Jared since he was a freshman even if they were double his height. You know, that Thomas."

"I'd still do that." Thomas reassured him. Minho had had his back since day one, he couldn't let him start doubting him now.

"I know you would," Minho said, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "I wouldn't have followed you through so much if I thought you'd back out because you didn't want to scare someone. If I had, then I would be even dumber than you think I am."

"What? Minho-" Thomas turned to his best friend for an instant before he was being pushed away down the opposite hallway.

"Enjoy AP Calculus, you overachieving shuckface." Minho called as he walked off, grinning. "I, on the other hand, will be living the life in pass Maths, thank you very much."

Thomas shook his head, a smile creeping up onto his face. Leave it to Minho to always have the last word. He turned on his heel, and headed towards the place Newt would be waiting for him.

//

As Thomas took his usual place beside Newt, he couldn't help but think of what Minho had said. He couldn't not stand up for everyone else if it meant he might scare Newt away, it wasn't fair to the rest of them. Sure, being less violent was always thought of as a good thing but Thomas wasn't all that bad. He never hit anyone that didn't deserve it in the first place. And if he did feel the urge, it was nothing that a good run or work out couldn't fix. Like he had said, he was just an impulsive teenager that could throw a punch, there was nothing more to it.

But still, now that Minho had mentioned it, Thomas couldn't shake the feeling that he was hiding something. And hiding was never the way to go. It only ever led to getting more lost in the dark and being unable to figure out how to get back out without something making a grab for you. No, he was not going to do that.

Just as he was about to open his mouth though, Jansen arrived in with surprising speed for once. He smiled as he held up a bundle of papers like they were the greatest invention ever. Which, of course, to sadistic teachers who liked to torture their students, they were. Thomas's head fell into his heads as Rat Man's voice sounded through the room.

"Pop Quiz."