"MINHO HANG LEFT!" Thomas screamed as he keyboard smashed.

"TRYING!" Minho shouted back as he bit his lip so hard blood drew.

They were so close- so fucking close to beating the final boss of the pack.

Teresa refused to say a word, she was so focused her face was pressed mere inches from her screen.

Newt's heart was racing as he watched the boss' health drop. Everytime it dropped his heart skipped a beat.

20%...15%..11%...

"FUCK THIS!" Thomas cussed as he flipped his laptop.

"Oben's out," Teresa said robotically, switching back to his game name.

"Seven goddamn percent," Minho grunted as he clicked furiously on his mouse.

"Shit! Guys he got me!" Teresa exclaimed as she sat back in her chair.

"Fuck if T's gone we're fucked," Minho stated.

"Four percent Minho we got it!" Newt said breathlessly as he spammed his most damaging move.

"Nope I'm out," Minho groaned as he dropped his head into his hands.

"You got it Newt, he's on two!" Thomas said from behind him.

Newt had never put more effort into anything else into his entire life. His fingers were aching as he pressed on his keys hard enough to break.

The tension in the room was so thick, everyone was watching Newt's tiny laptop screen.

Newt's hands were sweating and his chest felt like it was squeezing his heart.

Suddenly he heard the despawn sound and Minho gasped loudly.

"Fuck he did it! Twinky boy did it!"

"Well yeah he's good what did you expect!" Teresa grinned as she watched the screen.

Thomas wrapped his arms around him from behind and rested his chin on his shoulder. "Don't doubt my gamer boy."

Minho fake vomited as Newt just intently watched the screen.

He looted the boss and leaned back a little more into Thomas.

Thomas tightened his grip a bit. "You okay?" He asked softly.

Newt nodded. Before he could even take a breath his screen glitched out, sending an ear piercing noise through his computer.

"What the fuck?!" Teresa leaned forward to look at it.

Thomas squeezed Newt tighter as if he knew that's exactly what Newt needed right now.

The screen went black and silent for a second. No one said anything.

Then words slowly appeared across the screen.
Newt's breath caught in his throat as he read them.

Issac would you risk your friends safety to find out who killed your sister?

Newt felt his heart race as he turned to Minho who was now staring at his screen. "Guys check your computers, I got words too."

Thomas let go of him and Newt almost whimpered. He felt his hands shaking as he read the question over and over again.

"What the fuck?!" Teresa gasped. "No!" She shouted at her computer as she slammed it shut. "I don't know what kind of sick game this is playing but the answer is no!"

"What did yours say?" Minho asked softly.

Teresa looked between them nervously. "S-something stupid."

"You guys all saw mine," Newt said quietly. "What did yours say?"

"Mine asked if I'd choose her over you," Thomas said. His eyes were dark and he was staring at the screen with a snarl that was slightly terrifying.

"Who's her Thomas?" Minho asked.

Thomas swallowed hard and ran his hands over his face. "I-I'm guessing Rachel but how the fuck would they know about her?!"

"Who's Rachel?"

"My ex, I-I well she's my best friend at home b-but how did they-"

"Mine asked if my grandparents were truly the most important people in the world to me. O-of course they are, why wouldn't they be?"

"What did yours say Teresa?" Newt asked as he took in a breath and pulled his knees up to his chest.

Teresa let out a breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "It asked if I'd be okay with losing everything."

"Shit T," Minho breathed out. "That's dark."

"I wouldn't," Newt whispered. "I wouldn't risk your guys' safety. I want to know what happened to Lizzy, but not if you guys aren't okay. I mean I miss her, I miss her so much, but Lizzy isn't here anymore and you guys are. I can't lose you like I lost Lizzy."

Thomas reached out for him and Newt flinched away. Thomas looked like Newt just punched him and even Newt felt a little shocked with himself. He wanted nothing more than to crawl into Thomas' arms and hold him til his heart stopped racing but the only thing swirling around in his head was Rachel Rachel Rachel.

Minho noticed it and made eye contact with Teresa.
"This is about to get really fucked up isn't it?"

"I'm gonna go get some water," Newt said as he quickly stood up. "I-I'll be right back."

Minho and Teresa exchanged looks, but Newt paid it no attention. His eyes were stinging as he pushed his way out of the room and down the stairs. His throat felt tight and he kinda wanted to cry. Maybe it was an obvious question, like how Newt's was. He'd never sacrifice his friends for answers. Maybe Thomas wouldn't abandon him either.

Newt let out a breath as he grabbed a cup and roughly turned on the sink. He filled it up and took a careful sip. He let out a breath and ran his hands over his face. His defenses were shooting back up again and he wanted to kick Thomas out, tell him to sleep on the floor or far away from him because everytime Thomas so much as looked at him Newt's heart fluttered.

"Hey," a voice sounded behind him, making him jump. Newt spilled a little water on himself and frowned.

"Hey Tommy," Newt whispered as he dabbed his shirt with a paper towel.

"What's this about?" Thomas asked as he crossed his arms.

"What do you mean?"

"I tried to touch you and you acted like I hit you Newt."

Newt let out a breath and closed his eyes. "I just needed a minute."

"Are you mad?" Thomas asked as he shifted his weight between his feet.

"No."

"Well are you okay?" Thomas pressed again.

"It's a lot," Newt said softly as he finally really looked at Thomas.

"I know and I want to help-"

"I bet Rachel could use your help too," Newt spat, quite childishly if he may add.

Thomas' face fell. "So you are mad?"

"Should I be? Is there something to be mad about?"

Thomas' face scrunched up. "Are you accusing me of something?"

"I'm asking you if you still like her."

Thomas scoffed. "Newt what the fuck-"

"Look at it from where I'm coming from!" Newt snapped, slamming his water down on the counter. "T-this game digs up our deepest rooted secrets and yours just happens to bring up her. How did you expect me to react?!"

"She's my best friend Newt!"

"That you've fucked!" Newt was shouting at this point.

"She was my ex girlfriend! I don't like her like that."

"Anymore."

"Correct. Anymore."

"So you did at one point?"

"Maybe! I don't know! Does it even matter?"

"It does to me," Newt said as he clenched his fists by his side.

"Why? If I haven't made it obvious by now I'm quite into you. Why do you care about my ex-girlfriend?"

Suddenly Newt felt sick to his stomach. "Do you see her a lot when you go home? She comes over? Hangs out at your house? Talks to your mum?"

"Newt you're sounding insane right now-"

"When you kissed me for the first time, at Minho's house. Why did you do it?"

"You want to talk about that right now?"

"Please, why did you kiss me?"

Thomas let out a breath. "I don't know! I was drunk and I wanted to. Of course I liked you Newt, I've known you for so long and the way you'd always pull me into those private servers to talk me down when I was upset. I really liked having you as a friend, but then when I met you at the train station for the first time I was so into you. You're like the embodiment of my type Newt, I don't know what answer you're looking for here. When I said I'd kiss you your eyes got all wide and your cheeks were red and I never wanted to do anything that badly more in my life. I don't even know why you're asking me this right now."

"Do I remind you of her?" Newt asked softly.

"Where are you getting this from?!" Thomas shouted. "I don't even fucking know what you're talking about?!"

"When you held me, you said she used to hold you that way. Did you kiss me because I'm like her."

Newt could tell Thomas was getting frustrated, his face was getting red and he was frowning hard. "You sound insane right now you know that? I don't even remember saying that Newt. Probably said that because I wasn't supposed to enjoy cuddling with my best friend as much as I did. You think I'm replacing her with you? Newt I dumped her!"

Newt felt his eyes filling up with tears. Was he irrationally upset? Maybe. Did he care? Not really. "I'm asking you this because I want to know if you hooked up with her since you kissed me."

Thomas let out a deep breath and tugged at his hair. "We're fighting right now huh? We barely get to see each other and we're wasting the time screaming at each other."

Newt's eyes widened. "You did, didn't you?"

"I was confused!" Thomas yelled. "I was confused because I liked you and I knew that I shouldn't and I couldn't stop thinking about you after Minho's house and I needed something and she was there-"

"So the whole friends with benefits thing was because you wanted us both?"

"What?! No! Newt no! Newt I promise that's not why, I swear on everything that's not what happened."

"When did you do it?"

"It was once, one time Newt! After Minho's house. Once, I promise once."

"You weren't gonna tell me about it?"

"Newt she helped me figure out how I felt about you, I promise it's not what you think it is!"

"How do you expect me to take this?!" Newt shouted back, he wiped his eyes hard feeling stupid that he was crying. "I'm such an idiot!"

"Newt please stop. I-I don't want to fight."

"And I don't want you to fuck her!"

"I haven't! Not since-"

"Not since when Tommy huh? Since you figured out she doesn't love you anymore so I'm here as your second choice."

"No, since I figured out I want you to be my boyfriend, you absolute moron."

Newt didn't know what to say so he just looked at him, his stomach feeling ill and his chest squeezing. This was everything that Newt didn't want to be dealing with right now.

"Why do you think I asked you on a date Newt? Not because I still think about Rachel. It's because all I think about is you. Do you know how much I miss you when I'm home? How much I have to resist myself from facetiming you all the time because I just want to hear you voice off voice mod? Cause I wanna see that stupid way you smile when I tell you how fucking hot I think you are? You're the insane one here if you can't tell how much I like you Newt because I'm crazy about you and I don't think you fully understand what you do to me. If you're jealous of Rachel, fine, there's nothing I can do about that, I can't change the past but don't ever accuse me of doing something like that because I wouldn't. You wanna call her? I can give you her fucking number, but I'm done arguing about Rachel." With that Thomas opened the basement door and slammed it hard behind him.

Newt felt gutted as he watched him walk down the stairs.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. He had a couple texts from Teresa. Newt unlocked his phone, sighing as he opened up their conversation.

Teresa: yo you okay? we can hear yelling from up here.
Teresa: whatever you guys are fighting about it's probably stupid :( don't let this stupid game get to you newt pls.
Teresa: newt ????
Teresa: ????

Newt sighed and went upstairs, he'd check on Thomas later. Minho and Teresa were on the floor, crowded around one of the laptops.

Teresa's head shot up when Newt walked in. "Hey, are you okay?"

Newt shrugged. "Fine."

"Where's Thomas?"

"Basement. He's chilling out."

"You guys okay?" Minho asked.

"I guess." Newt sat next to them. "What are you guys up to?"

"Well Minho was doing some digging and we beat the pack. That's the end of it virtually but I think there's more. There has to be. I mean, if you look at it, we got the loot so we won but there's no way that's everything."

"I guess we just have to wait for Brenda to message us huh?" Newt asked as he swallowed hard. His mouth felt dry and his head hurt.

Teresa let out a breath. "Okay seriously what the hell were you two fighting about?"

"Teresa maybe we shouldn't-"

Newt cut him off. "It's fine. He hooked up with Rachel again, which I guess is fine because we're not dating, but I love him and it fucking sucks that he did that because I can't look at him without thinking of him touching her."

"Holy shit dude you love him?" Minho asked.

Newt realized what he said and his eyes widened. "Bloody hell I didn't mean-"

"You did," Teresa pointed out. "You love him."

Newt let out all the breath he was holding in, practically deflating like a balloon. "Yeah, I love him."

"Take a look at what Minho found then go after him okay?"

Newt nodded and scooted closer to them. "Okay what did you find?"

Minho turned his screen a little and pointed to something. "Look at this, when our screens glitched, it wasn't intentional. The sound that came out when you killed the boss, it was because someone was trying to hack into it."

"You think it could be Janson?"

"That was my guess," Teresa said.

"I think there's someone else working with Jorge and probably Brenda," Minho said.

"A third?"

Minho nodded. "Jorge isn't dead, so I think there's someone else besides Brenda. I mean someone had to help him cover this all up right?"

"Okay so we have someone else to worry about?" Newt asked as he fidgeted in his spot on the floor.
Minho shrugged. "Maybe. I mean obviously they have a lot of people working for them, but I think there's another mastermind. I don't think Jorge has a son or anything, but someone along those lines."

"Maybe Brenda has a boyfriend?"

Newt let out a breath. "I don't know. I think we need to get in contact with Janson again after we see Brenda's next move. Everyone okay with that?"

"Yeah sounds reasonable."

"Just go talk to him Newt," Teresa said. "You're fidgeting like crazy and he really cares about you."

"Agreed, Thomas is a SIMP!" Minho yelped which made Teresa punch him in the leg.

"Read the room bitch."

"Thanks guys," Newt said as he got up and wiped his hands on his jeans.

"We might go to sleep," Teresa said.

"If it goes well I'll sleep downstairs with him."

"Good luck boy-o." Minho gave him a thumbs up.

Thomas was on his phone, scrolling through probably twitter when Newt got down there.

"Hey Tommy," Newt said softly as he clasped his hands together. "Listen, I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Thomas let out a breath and put his phone down. "I get that you're stressed, but I'm stressed too Newt and fighting with you doesn't help."

"I know." Newt carefully sat on the couch next to him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her, I know that was a dick move."

Newt nodded. "Kinda was."

Thomas huffed out a laugh. "I promise sweetheart, I haven't even so much as hugged her since the second time we met in person okay? Swear it on my life."

"I know," Newt admitted softly. "I got insecure."

Thomas gently cupped his face. "Jesus Newt you don't have a damn thing to be insecure about. I'm fucking crazy about you."

"I'm scared of losing you," Newt said as he leaned into Thomas' touch.

"I know, I'm sorry. I should have told you, we could have avoided this. It was a shitty thing to do in general but I'm not good at processing my feelings."

"We weren't dating though."

"Yeah but you wanted to be."

"It was that obvious?"

Thomas shook his head. "No, but I know that now...Newt I swear as soon as this is all over I'll take you on the best date of your entire life."

"Don't care about that," Newt mumbled. "Just wanna be with you."

"You gonna sleep down here with me? We're okay enough for that?"

Newt nodded. "Yes please."

"Minho and Teresa are upstairs?"

Newt nodded. "Sleeping."

Thomas opened his arms. "Come here."

Newt smiled and crawled over to him, throwing his arms around his shoulders. "I'm sorry."

Thomas rubbed his back and nuzzled his face into his neck. "I'm sorry too, I really am Newt. I won't fuck this up, I swear."

Newt let out a breath and let his eyes close, it was now or never. "Tommy I gotta tell you something."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Thomas pulled back and looked at him with the most shocked expression that almost made Newt laugh. "You do? No shit?"

Newt nodded, feeling his face heat up. "Just wanted you to know before everything probably goes to shit and we all die and mph-"

Thomas kissed him so hard it nearly knocked the wind out of him. Not after long Thomas was laughing against his lips and kissing all over his face.

Newt squirmed and tried to push Thomas off of him. "Ew stop it you weirdo."

"I love you too you little shit." Thomas grinned as he softly kissed Newt's cheek. "So so much."

Newt smiled so hard it hurt.

"You're mine now, no taking it back, I'm sorry I don't make the rules," Thomas said as he wrapped Newt in the tightest hug he could manage.

Newt kissed him again just because he could.

"If kids weren't being murdered right now Newt I could make you so happy," Thomas whispered against his lips.

"Yeah? Tell me about it."

"So many dates sweetheart, I'd hold your hand everywhere, you could meet my mom- you'd love her. She'd love you too. I'd turn my instagram into a Newt fanpage. We could hangout without having to save humanity." Thomas smiled softly and tugged him closer by his hip. "Fuck I'm a simp."

"You are," Newt laughed softly. "Now be quiet and go to sleep."

"As you wish," Thomas pressed a lazy kiss to his neck and hooked his leg around Newt's. "Holy fuck I love you."

"I know Tommy," Newt's chest tightened. "I love you too."

Newt's chest felt light as he drifted off to sleep. If only Lizzy could see him now.