textbooks // newtmas au

Fresh Starts and Big Dreams

    It's just college... how bad can it really be? Newt wondered to himself as he waved good-bye to his mum. With a somewhat heavy heart, he watched her drive away, tears sparkling in her eyes. Newt was officially on his own.
    Newt took a second look at the campus of Southern New York Glade University. It honestly was a beautiful campus. The trees were colored bright oranges and reds which made the gray color of the buildings look warm and welcoming. The stone paths were paved in twists instead of the generic straight patterns of city sidewalks. This was where he was going to spend the next four years of his life.
    Newt took a deep breath and stared at his worn converse sneakers as he walked, trying to disguise his limp. He kept a tight grip on his suitcase, as if he was afraid it would be taken from him. He couldn't deny the nerves that were twisting his stomach and clouding his brain. After he was satisfied with his steps, he looked up as he walked, trying to locate the dorms. He probably should have looked at a map; all the buildings looked the same from his point on the sidewalk.
    Suddenly, a buff Asian kid walked past Newt at a very brisk pace.
    Newt saw the opportunity and went for it. "Hey excuse me!"
    The kid turned around, looking a little confused. "Whatever you think I did I promise I didn't." He put his hands up in mock surrender.
     Newt smiled. "I just wanted to know if you knew where to find my dorm building. I'm lost."
    "Yeah sure! The names Minho by the way." He took Newt's paper and looked at it, smiling a bit. "Hey! I'm in this dorm house too! I'm actually on my way now, follow me." He grinned and took off walking fast again. Newt tried to keep up but Minho was practically running.
    "I'm Newt by the way," he piped up which made Minho turn around and realize how far ahead he was.
    "You could have told me to slow down." Minho laughed as he waited for Newt to catch up. Minho scrunched his eyebrows in confusion as he noticed Newt's limp before grabbing his suitcase."I'm carrying this for you."
    Newt opened his mouth to protest but Minho clamped a hand over his mouth.
    "There is no room for arguing, I'm carrying it. Don't worry I can handle it, can't you see I work out." Minho flexed his free arm then grinned and walked the rest of the way making small talk with his new friend.
    When they got to the dorm, Minho helped Newt find his room number, then waited for him to unlock it. Newt assumed his roommate was in there already because the first thing he saw when he opened the door was an unzipped suitcase on the ground with clothes flowing out of it. To confirm his belief, when he looked at the beds, Newt's roommate was occupying one of them. He seemed to be doing something on his phone with the way his fingers rapidly tapped on the screen.
    "Hi. I'm Newt." He spoke up as Minho stood behind him. The kid looked up and Newt could make out that he short cut light brown hair, which was styled into a messy point, and some very unique eyebrows. Newt thought they made him look kinda cool though.
    "Gally." He gave the two boys a half smile then turned back to his phone.
    "I'm gonna throw this on the bed, that alright?" Minho asked. Newt nodded then moved out of the way so Minho could put it down.
    "Hey thanks, really. If you ever need a favor, I owe you." Newt smiled up at him.    
    "Don't worry about it, just don't be a stranger." Minho patted Newt's shoulder and left. "I'll see you around!"
    Newt shoved the suitcase under his bed, deciding to deal with it later.
    "So what's your major?" Gally suddenly asked.
    "Me?" Newt looked a little shocked.
    "No my other roommate." Gally laughed and shook his head.
    "Oh, health and medicine." Newt flushed of course he'd make a good of himself on the first day. "You?"
    "Political Science." He nodded and sat up on the bed.
    "Wanna get something to eat, I got a friend from high school, Alby. He's in the next room over. We were gonna go get something. He wouldn't mind if you tagged along." Gally got up and stretched.
    "Sure, thank you," Newt's face lit up as he grabbed his wallet and followed Gally out the door.
    So far so good...

    Thomas placed his new sneakers in his closet and smiled at how neatly he unpacked his room. He couldn't kid himself and say it was going to stay like that for long, but it'd be nice while it lasted.
    Thomas's grabbed his beanie off his bed and decided to explore campus a bit. His roommate had already unpacked before Thomas had even gotten there, but now he was nowhere in sight. He exited the room with nothing but his wallet and keys and started walking the halls of the dorm.
    He passed a few people who he waved to and smiled at. Eventually he found himself at one of the small coffee shops with a growling stomach. The little cafe was small but cute, decorated in brown walls and white tables with matching chairs. He approached the register after glancing over the menu.
    "Hello, what can I get you," a pretty girl with long dark hair smiled at him.
    "I'll take a medium black coffee and a muffin, please." He smiled back. Everyone here seemed so nice so far.
    "And your name?" she asked pulling out a coffee cup and a marker.
    "Thomas." she scribbled it down as he spoke.
    "Well I'm Teresa if you need anything." She handed him a bagged muffin and started filling up the cup.
    He counted out the correct amount of change and paid the girl. She handed him the warm cup and put the money in the register.
    "Have a nice day, and welcome to The Glade greenie." She laughed when Thomas gave her a strange look.
    Thomas was a little confused but just sat down and started eating. He inhaled the muffin which was surprisingly amazing. Before he took a sip of his coffee he saw the girl had written "Tom :)" on the cup. He just smiled and got up to throw out his bag. Taking the coffee with him he continued wandering around campus.
    He saw the library, the gym, the track, some of his classes and a pizza shop that a lot of kids seemed to be hanging out at. Eventually he made it back to his dorm. To his surprise, when he opened the door his roommate was there too.
     He was sharing a room with a very buff Asian boy.
    "Oh hi. I'm Thomas," Thomas stuck out his hand for the kid to shake.
    "I'm Minho, sorry I was late I was helping this kid find his dorm. I planned on meeting you sooner!" He smiled and took Thomas's hand.
    "So what's your major?" Thomas asked, taking off his beanie and unbuttoning his plaid shirt to reveal a plain t-shirt.
    "Sport sciences, I'm big on athletics, especially track." The the kid pulled off his shirt showing a chiseled 6 pack.
    "I'm on the track team too!" Thomas explained excitedly.
    "Oh! I think I remember seeing you at the summer practice." Minho pulled a sweatshirt over his head and smoothed out the front.
    "Oh yeah! We ran hills together" Thomas smiled, feeling more comfortable that he already met his roommate. "It's cool we got put together."
    "True that, you're alright." Minho lightly pushed Thomas's shoulder.
    "Not too bad yourself there." Thomas pushed him back.
    "Watch yourself." Minho laughed before lightly shoving Thomas again. "I could easily take you."
    Thomas rolled his eyes but he knew Minho was right. Minho had muscles on his muscles while Thomas was still in shape, just much thinner.
    Thomas ended up laughing and flopping onto his bed. "Ya know, maybe this won't be so bad."