ᵒⁿᵉ 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ ᵃᵘ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

closer

The next day as they walk, there's a silence between them. Not a painful silence, not a bad one, just a quiet one. The kind where the air around them buzzes with thoughts. Thomas wishes desperately he could know what Newt is thinking. But then again, he wishes so many things. 

"Hey, Tommy?" Newt says, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Thomas reponds. 

"Why did you..." Newt sighs. "Why did you come with me? And I know you said you don't know, but try to know. For me."

"That's the thing," Thomas says. "I'd do anything for you and I can't figure out why."

"Anything?" Newt says, smiling softly. 

"Yeah," Thomas says. "Anything."

Newt smiles. "You're really something, Tommy, you know that?"

Thomas chuckles. "Yeah. You too."

Newt leans over and places a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks, Tommy."

Thomas's face turns red. Then, they hear a noise. Sirens. Newt stiffens. 

"Shit." Newt mutters. "Okay, we have to hide."

"What?" Thomas says. "We don't even know if they're looking for us!"

"Well, they might be." Newt says. "And we're kind of running away from them."

He grabs Thomas's hand and pulls him off the side of the road into a convenience store. They duck behind a shelf and sit. 

"Shit, shit, shit!" Newt whispers, looking out the window and Thomas realizes they're still holding hands.

Two police officers walk in front of the store. The stores bell jingles and they walk inside. 

"Tommy," Newt says, turning to him. "Get out of the store."

"What?" Thomas says. "Why?"

"They aren't looking for you." Newt says. "Get out. Trust me."

Thomas shakes his head. "No. I won't just walk out of here because it's dangerous. I told you I'm in this now."

Newt smiles and squeezes his hand. "Okay, Tommy. But, uh, well, just trust me. And, just a preface, I'm not insane."

"O...kay." Thomas says. 

"Okay, and you can't let go of my hand." Newt says. "Unless you want to die."

"I'm good." Thomas says. 

Newt nods. He shifts his hand so their fingers are laced together. He stands up and pulls Thomas along behind him. The police officers turn to face the boys. One of them, the woman, points a gun straight at Newt's head. 

"Hello." Newt says. "How are you?"

The woman cocks the gun. "You need to come with us."

"Well, that's not very friendly, is it?" Newt says to Thomas. Thomas holds back a laugh. "I'm afraid I can't do that at the moment. You see, we're rather tied up with something else."

The man entertains him for a moment. "And what might that be?"

"Just running away from the law, you know, the usual." Newt says.

"Okay, Newt, I think you're making this worse." Thomas whispers in his ear.

Newt doesn't respond, he just squeezes his hand. 

"Come with us or I'll shoot." The woman says.

Newt chuckles. "You think you're the one with the ultimatum, don't you? I've got a surprise for you."

Newt holds Thomas's hand tighter and pulls him towards the door. 

"One last chance!" The woman shouts.

"Sorry, we're leaving now." Newt says, smiling. Then, he presses his palm to the wall.

Thomas isn't exactly sure what happened in the next five minutes. All he knows is about a minute later, he lays on the grass, Newt looks over him. He's laughing. 

Thomas pushes himself up and looks over. The convenience store is rubble. Thomas turns back to Newt, who's doubled over, laughing so hard he's crying.

"I'm starting to think you may be insane." Thomas says.

"Sorry!" Newt says, straightening up and wiping his eyes. "Sorry, it's just it's always so funny the first time."

"What?" Thomas says. "What are you talking about? What just happened? Did you kill them?"

"Oh, this is your first murder, isn't it?" Newt says. "How cute." Thomas looks at him, mouth open. Newt holds out his hand. "Come on, Tommy, get up, we gotta go."

Thomas grabs his hand and lets him pull him up. "So...what just happened?"

"You're so cute!" Newt says. He intertwines their fingers and pulls him down the road. "You're so innocent. God, I can't remember the last time I've been with someone who hasn't killed somebody before."

Thomas looks at him, eyes wide. "Who are you friends with!?"

"Oh, relax." Newt says. "It's not that big a deal. You should try it sometime. It's kinda fun."

Thomas nods slowly. "Right...well, you're insane."

Newt shrugs. "Think what you like, but you can't judge me until you try it."

"No, thanks." Thomas says. "I'm good."

Newt laughs. "Whatever you say, Tommy."

A/N: Well, it's one o'clock and I haven't done anything but write and watch Friends. Anygay, love you guys! Thanks for reading!