eighteenth - newtmas au

3 - Back in Broken Words

Newt took a shaky breath and stared in the mirror. He'd combed his hair and brushed his teeth, two things he didn't often do on the same day. He wore a honey coloured jumper and some black, tight-fitting jeans. It was probably the most dressed up he could remember being. The jumper was too big for him, but when Teagan had taken him and a few others shopping, he purposely chose it to be like that. He didn't want the outsiders to know about what happened, considering only a handful of people he considered to be his family knew. He pulled the sleeves down for the millionth time to make sure that you couldn't see his hands. He had a bandage on his leg that was covered by the jeans, and he wore high socks to cover the cuts from the glass on his feet. He still had a bruise under his eye. Newt couldn't even remember how he got half his injuries and preferred to keep it that way.

He was worried about the bruise underneath his eye. It stood out against the clear, pale skin that the rest of his face still wore. He wanted to start over with the Outsiders. He overreacted. He hated himself for it, and he was determined to redeem himself. He was going to pull Thomas aside at the start and apologise. He didn't really know what to say yet, but he was normally good at coming up with things on the spot.

He pushed a rogue piece of hair back into place, but it fell out again almost instantly. He gave up worrying about how he looked and walked outside the bathroom, through his dorm and downstairs to wait with the others, pulling his sleeves down one last time before sinking into his armchair. Billy was there this time. Billy was a 9-year-old who really hadn't let go of his parents yet, and it broke Newt's heart. Billy ran up and hugged him. Newt seemed to be the favourite with the younger kids. Newt told himself that it was because of the Harry Potter thing, but the kids loved him because he was...

He was just so loveable.

He was nice, fun and caring. Newt was almost like a parent to a lot of the littlies of the school.

Billy crawled onto Newt's lap and then curled up like a cat. Within a matter of minutes, he was asleep, and Newt was gently stroking his hair. Newt thought that Billy was like a puppy.

'He asleep again?' Alby asked light-heartedly, glancing at Billy.

'Yeah, but I'm not going to wake him.'

'Even when the outsiders arrive?' Alby raised an eyebrow at him. Newt had told him about his plan to apologise to Thomas. Not that Newt still really liked Thomas. He still found him kind of annoying.

'I guess my apology can wait.'

Alby walked off after Newt said that, someone calling him to make his bed. Alby was definitely the messiest of everyone there. With Alby gone, Newt looked down at the boy sleeping in his lap. It made Newt really tired, and before he knew it, he was drifting off to sleep, a faint smile playing on his lips.

***

This time when Thomas and Teresa arrived at the portrait of the Fat Lady, Alby was waiting for them. He leant back against the wall and tapped on his leg a tune that Thomas didn't recognise. He blew some hair away that was brushing his forehead, and then turned and noticed Thomas and Teresa.

'Just you two today?' Alby questioned. Thomas and Teresa nodded. All the kids who volunteered went to the same school, and there was a school fundraiser going on that day. They were told they didn't have to go to the Hobo's School that day, but Thomas and Teresa weren't too keen on going to the fundraiser so they said they would still come.

'Yeah. The other's have a school thing today.'

'Oh okay. That's probably for the best.' Alby wrung his hands together.

'Why's that?' Teresa asked curiously.

'It's just that Newt fell asleep downstairs on his chair, and he's had a rough week, so we didn't want to wake him. That's why I'm out here, to tell you all to keep it quiet when we go inside.' Alby replied.