ᵒⁿᵉ 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 ⁿᵉʷᵗᵐᵃˢ ᵃᵘ (ᶜᵒᵐᵖˡᵉᵗᵉᵈ)

nearly

A/N: I just have a teeny warning. This is going to make you cry. Well, it will if you're anything like me. I cried while I wrote it. But don't kill me. Just trust me. Love you guys. <3. 

"Are you ever going to tell me?" Thomas asks Newt as they walk. Newt shoots him a look. "Geez."

Newt rolls his eyes, chuckling. "Tommy, you gotta stop this. We're only like two miles from Canada. Focus on that."

"But I want to know." Thomas says. 

Newt looks at him. "Shush."

"Minho," Thomas says. "Where are you going once we get to Canada? If you can't stay with us."

"I can't." Minho says. "Sorry. It's technically illegal for me to be this close, but I'm choosing to let that slide. But once we get there, I'm just going to leave."

"Where, though?" Thomas asks. 

"Tommy, stop asking questions." Newt says.

"You know I can't do that!" Thomas says, throwing his hands in the air. "You know how many questions I ask daily!"

Minho laughs. "It's fine. I guess I don't know where I'm going."

"Then stay with us!" Thomas says. 

"I can't." Minho says. "Sorry."

Thomas sighs. Newt takes his hand and they walk in silence for a bit.

That night, the three of them risk staying in a hotel right on the border. They get two rooms that are connected. Newt and Thomas lay in bed, arms around each other. 

"It's weird that this is almost over." Thomas says, his head resting on Newt's chest. 

Newt plays with his hair. "It isn't. It never really will be."

Thomas nods. "I guess you're right."

Newt kisses him softly. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

Then, they hear a gunshot. It sounded like it came from a couple floors below. Newt and Thomas sit up. Minho barges into their room.

"Did you hear that?" He says, sitting on the edge of the bed. 

"Yeah." Newt says. "I heard it."

They hear footsteps running up the stairs. Newt grabs Thomas hand and pulls him up, heart beating against his chest. He reaches for the handle and turns it. Then, the world goes black. 

Thomas's vision clears and he's laying on the floor, fire dancing around him. He sits up. Newt kneels next to him.

"Tommy, I didn't mean to!" Newt says. "Damn it, I did it again! I can't believe this!"

Thomas coughs and stands up, pulling Newt up too. "It's okay." He assures him. "Come on. We have to get out of here. Where's Minho?"

"He left." Newt says, tears falling down his face. "I don't know why."

Thomas nods. "Alright."

They walk out of the room and walk to the stairs but a couple seconds later it's engulfed in flames, a mini explosion knocking him back. He scrambles to his feet. 

"What do we do?" Newt asks. 

"I don't know." Thomas murmurs. "I really don't know."

Newt nods. "Okay. Maybe they have a fire escape on the roof. Now would be the perfect time for that."

He laces their fingers together and they run up the stairs to the roof. They throw the metal door open and look around. Newt lets go of Thomas's hand and runs to the edge, bracing his hands against it and looking down. Cars race below, some stopping in front of the burning building. Newt turns back to Thomas, eyes full of tears.

"You asked what the worst thing I ever did was." Newt says. "This. This is the worst thing I've ever done. I've done this exact thing before, only it was so much worse. I was fourteen. I was with my sister in a hotel and we had a fight. I touched the wall and it blew up. She died. I almost died. I jumped off the roof because I couldn't live with the fact that I'd killed her. That's how I hurt my leg. And now I've done it again."

Thomas looks at him. "It's okay. We'll live. We will. I promise."

"How?" Newt whispers. "How the hell are we going to live?"

"I don't know." Thomas says quietly. "I really don't know."

"I'm so sorry, Tommy." Newt says. "I'm so fucking sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have let you come in the first place and now I've killed you. I have to stop dragging people into this."

Thomas shakes his head. "It'll be okay. You haven't killed me. We'll both be just fine."

Newt runs over to him and throws his arms around him. "I love you. Whether we live or not, I need you to know that I love you. I love you so much, Tommy."

"I love you too." Thomas says, hugging him back. 

They hear sirens below and they see the flashing colors. They break apart.

"We need to find a way out of this." Thomas says.

"But Tommy, what if there isn't one?" Newt asks. 

"No." Thomas says. "There has to be. We won't die. We won't." Thomas turns and sees a fire escape. "There. See?"

They run over to it. 

"It's stuck!" Newt cries, banging his fist against the metal. "Tommy, I don't think-"

Then, the door opens and three police officers run through. 

"There he is!" One of them shouts. 

Newt's eyes widen. "Well, shit."

"Get it free." Thomas says. "Get the fire escape free. I'll hold them off, okay?"

Their eyes meet, Newt's full of fear and Thomas's full of purpose. 

"Do you need an I love you?" Thomas says. "I love you. Now get it free. I'll keep them away."

Newt nods and Thomas runs over to them. Newt pulls on the rusted metal until it comes loose. He slams the palm of his hand against it, releasing the metal. He hears gunshots firing behind him. 

"TOMMY!" He shouts. "I DID IT! COME HERE!"

He doesn't get a response. Fear fills his gut. He turns around. One of the police officers walks over to him.

"Your friend is dead." He says. "There's no hope for you anymore."

Newt is filled with a strange numbness. Thomas can't be dead. He promised. Newt blinks slowly and looks past the police officer. But it's true. Thomas's body lies on the roof, blood pooling below him. A single tear falls down his face but he know he can't cry. Not yet. 

"I'm sorry." Newt says. "But you're wrong."

He throws himself over the fire escape and races down to the street and takes off.

A/N: Okay, there will be one more chapter and I just need you to trust me. Don't kill me. Not yet. Or ever, depending. Thanks for reading. Please keep reading. Trust me. I love you guys even though you probably hate me right now. <3.