The next day, when Thomas woke up he was very excited. He had received Newt's phone number after tutoring yesterday and they had been up practically all night texting each other. Shielding his eyes from the burning sunlight, he scrolled through their recent texts, smiling as he did so.

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 After an uneventful, boring day at school, Thomas finally arrived back home to find that both his parents were still at work. Smirking, he raided the pantry and found multiple bags of chips, which he emptied into a large bowl. He decided that since it was Friday and he was home alone, he should be allowed to do whatever he wanted. Before he had the chance to set up Netflix and watch one his favorite shows, Arrow, there was a repetitive pinging noise at the front door.

 "Can't he just use his shuckin' house key for once?" Thomas mumbled as he unwillingly got up and opened the door. Sure enough, it was his brother Chuck, who for some odd reason, was grinning mischievously.

 "Hey Thomas, I heard that you're bringing someone over later today. What's his name again?"

 "Chuck I swear, if you tease me again about Newt, I will tell Mom about your girlfriend."

 "Ugh fine, as long as you give me some of those," said Chuck as he pointed to the bowl of chips laying abandoned on the couch. "Ooh are you planning to watch Arrow? Can I watch?"

 Thomas chuckled and said, "Sure why not, Chucky."

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 A few hours later, it was about time for Newt to come over and Thomas was very excited, not to mention a little nervous. Every few seconds, he glanced through his bedroom window, hoping to see his blonde friend, and jumping up in excitement every time a car drove by or a door opened. He sighed in exasperation whenever it turned out to be somebody else, and mentally laughed at himself for being so impatient. As he was making sure that his hair and outfit looked reasonable, (a black and red checkered shirt with black skinny jeans, that his mom picked out) he heard a British accent talking to someone outside. The brunette felt his heart beat pick up speed and he rushed to the window.

 Newt was next to a grey minivan, talking to a pretty woman who looked a lot like a female Newt, and was probably his mother. However, Thomas wasn't the only one who noticed their arrival.

 "He's here, honey!" shouted the brunette's mom from downstairs.

 There was no need for her to yell, Thomas was already rushing to the door, almost falling over his brother, who was happily re-reading The Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling.

 Smiling nervously, Thomas opened up the door, trying to calm his beating heart. Newt looked very startled when the door opened, since he was just about to ring the doorbell, but he beamed when he saw the brunette.

 "Oh hey, Tommy. My mum is really excited to meet your family. She's still in the car, but she'll be out soon," said the blonde. He was wearing a white shirt with a grey button-up over it, and it looked rather adorable on him.

 Before Thomas could respond, his over-enthusiastic mother spoke, "I can't wait to meet her, sweetie. Thomas here hasn't stopped talking about you all week, isn't that right Thomas?"

 The brunette glared at her, but decided not to respond to the embarrassing question. He hoped that his mom wouldn't be like this the rest of the day because it was unnerving as shuck.

 Luckily, the awkward silence was interrupted by a female British accent, who turned out to be Newt's mother, "Hello you must be Thomas," she said.

 "Yes, that's me," replied the brunette.

 Newt's mother smiled and shook Thomas's hand, then turned to the brunette's birth giver, "Hey I'm Lisa, what's your name?" she asked.

 "I'm Eliza, it's very nice to finally meet you."

 "Likewise. I'm really glad that Newt finally has another friend to hang out with. Is there any particular time I need to be back?" asked Lisa.

 "Any time you wish is fine, but before 11 would be preferred," Eliza said.

 "Ok I'll be sure to be back before then. Anyway, goodbye Newt, I hope you have a great time," Lisa said as she hugged her son, who looked rather embarrassed. As soon as she was back in her car, Thomas's mom shooed the boys inside the house.

 As soon as they entered the house, Thomas's mother spoke, "You boys can go hang out until dinner is ready, does that sound ok Newt?"

 "Yeah, that should be fine," said Newt shyly.

 "We could go hang out in my room if you'd like," said Thomas after a few moments. "It's really awkward if we stay out in the open, since my mom would be keeping an eye on us. Not to mention my nosy brother."

 Newt nodded in acknowledgement and followed the brunette up the steep stairs. Once they had reached the landing, Thomas led him into the room to the far right.

 "Sorry if it's kinda lame, but uh, it's basically just my bedroom." Thomas mentally eye rolled at his poor choice of words, but his guest didn't seem to notice. Newt was busy observing the many posters surrounded on the walls, some from fantasy movies like The Lord of the Rings and others from TV shows like Sherlock and Arrow. There were also a handful of pictures with Thomas and Minho, some taken with the rest of the track team.

 "Bloody hell, Tommy. Your room is epic, you don't seem like the kind of guy who would like this kind of stuff. I'm quite a fan of most of this stuff too," Newt said in awe.

 "Wow, really? I mean I've always loved fantasy and adventure, and of course superheroes. I guess it was just part of my childhood, you know."

 Newt smiled and continued looking around the brunette's room. His eyes lingered on a picture of Thomas and Chuck, smiling next to each other at a theme park. "Is that your brother?" he asked.

 "Yeah, his name is Chuck. He can be kinda annoying sometimes, but he's very lovable as well."

 "He sounds just like you," said Newt, teasingly.

 Thomas blushed crimson. "Yeah well, we are related after all."

 "I was only kidding, you aren't annoying, well not to me at least," said the blonde.

 "Am I lovable though?" asked Thomas, curiously.

 Now it was Newt's turn to blush. "Well, yes you are actually...you have a very sweet personality..."

 "Thank you, I think you are, uh, lovable too."

 All of a sudden there was a knock on the bedroom door. Annoyed at someone interrupting his hang out time with Newt, Thomas almost ripped the door off its hinges in his exasperation. Chuck was there, holding onto his book and a Wii game controller.

 "Uh hey, I was just wondering if you guys wanted to play Mario Kart with me?" he asked, hopefully.

 Before Thomas could protest, Newt spoke up, still blushing a little bit, "Sure, that sounds fun."

 Newt and Chuck looked at the brunette expectantly, Chuck using his puppy dog face. "Oh alright, fine," was Thomas's reply.

 Despite Thomas's doubts, it was actually quite enjoyable to play Mario Kart with Newt and his brother. Him and Chuck were both surprised to see that the blonde was a remarkable player. He had never gotten a worse score than second place, even on 150cc, which was difficult for the brothers.

 "Newt! How the shuck do you do that?! You play just as awesome as Minho, which is a rare gift," Thomas exclaimed in awe.

 Newt smirked. "I used to always play it with my friend Alby after school, I guess practicing it pretty much every day made me improve a bit."

 "Well you're still damn good," said Thomas.

 "Thanks, Tommy." Newt blushed a little bit and then said, "It's not like I'm this good at everything..."

 "Oh Newt, there's no need to be so modest. I know that you are really knowledgeable, I mean I understand math much better already."

 "Thomas, go take your lovey-dovey-ness somewhere else, I think it's affecting me," teased Chuck. Newt giggled and Thomas glared at his little brother.

 "Chuck, do you remember what we agreed on earlier?" he asked.

 "No Thomas! I'll do anything! I just forgot!" the boy exclaimed.

 "Mom, Chuck is dati-"

 "No, Thomas! I'll give you the last soda if you don't tell her! Please?!"

 "And?"

 "I promise I won't do it again."

 "Ok, good," said Thomas.

 "What the bloody hell was that all about?" Newt asked, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

 "Nothing, just a typical sibling fight," replied Thomas, suspiciously.

 "Boys! It's time for dinner," yelled Thomas's mom from the kitchen.

 "Ok, coming!" they yelled in sync.

 "Smells great Mrs.Edison," said Newt as Thomas's mother set a steaming bowl of hot vegetable soup on the dining table. The grilled cheeses were already on the table, their smell making Thomas's mouth water.

 "Is Dad home yet?" Chuck asked his mom.

 "Unfortunately no, he told me he would be working an extra shift tonight."

 "So Newt, what do you like doing in your spare time?" she asked, conversationally.

 Newt seemed startled to be asked this kind of question but he answered, "Well I like to draw, read, and sometimes I write or watch movies."

 "That's nice, what do you like to draw?"

 "Umm, well it's kind of private...I'd rather not say, if that's ok," said Newt a little anxiously.

 "Oh I'm sorry sweetie, I understand that there are some things we'd rather not talk about."

 There was an awkward silence for a couple minutes and then she spoke again, "Do you have any siblings, Newt?"

 "Umm, I..." Suddenly, Newt's eyes started to water and he quickly ran upstairs, sobbing.

 Thomas had no idea what just happened, but he blamed his mother. "I told you not to ask so many questions! He'll talk when he wants to!"

 "I'm so sorry, Thomas. Do you think he may have lost a sibling or something? Perhaps that could be why he was so sensitive to that question?" she looked genuinely concerned, but Thomas was still mad at her.

 "I'm going to go comfort him," said Thomas as he hurried to where his blonde friend had disappeared.

 It was not that difficult to find him, there was crying coming from the brunette's room.

 "Newt? I'm so sorry, I didn't know that my mom would be so nosy..." Thomas stopped and felt his heart feel heavier as he saw his kind friend in distress, and he felt like he would cry with him at any second.

 They sat there next to each other, much like the day that Gally had bullied Newt. When Newt was ready, he spoke, "I'm sorry Tommy...I didn't mean to be such a nuisance..."

 "Newt don't say that, you are not a nuisance! It's ok, we all have outburst sometimes, it's not your fault, it's my mom's." Thomas was about to ask Newt why that question had made him so unhappy, but figured that was just the kind of thing that should be avoided in this situation.

 The older boy took a deep breath and shakily spoke again, "It's just...My dad left me and my mom many years ago, but they also had a little girl, named Sonya a couple years after I was born... Anyway, he abused me and Sonya and when my mom found out she divorced him, as long as she got to keep both of us... But he-he took her away and I haven't seen her since...I just really miss her..." The blonde started crying again and Thomas felt his eyes watering in pity.

 "Oh Newt, I'm terribly sorry," he said as he put both his arms around Newt's body.

 Before Thomas could think about what he was doing, he found himself pulling his friend closer and smashing their lips together.