Disclaimer: The Maze Runner [trilogy] belongs to James Dashner

Title: Trials and Tribulations
Author: Janriel
Rating: M for Mature
Genre: Romance, Drama, Friendship, Humor
Pairings: Thominewt (Thomas/Minho/Newt)
Warnings: Sexual Content in later chapters, College AU

-x-X-x-

This story is also posted (and further along) in AO3.

-x-X-x

The story is out of order on Archive because I posted the side stories before I posted this one. Excuse the shitty summary and any mistakes found in this chapter.

Part I

Thomas was a smart boy, he had to be in order to get into WCKD U, and smarter still to maintain his GPA for that full scholarship. He wouldn't have done it if it weren't for his best friends Minho and Newt. He'd planned to keep things simple after Glader High; take a year off from studying and busting his butt on term papers; do a little soul searching, find his purpose in life. Figure out what if college was something he wanted to do next. (Maybe bum around his house for the summer. He deserved it after busting ass for four years after all.)

But then, Newt had to go and get accepted into WCKED U, an Ivy League university paving way for the future thanks to their prestigious science department.

Thomas was fine with it. Happy even. Newt had done nothing but bust his ass to get into the renowned school; the acceptance letter had just been a sweet victory.

When Minho had gotten accepted—thanks to his athletic prowess –Thomas was floored. He had wanted to take a break from the stresses of school, but with his two best friends moving to college in the fall, Thomas realized being left alone for a year was no longer an option. Not unless he wanted to be alone, bored out of his freaking mind, while his buddies have fun without him.

So he did the next best thing—he studied until his brain turned to goo, begged a few high school teachers for glowing letters of recommendations and churned out a heart wrenching, award winning, most bullshit worthy entrance essay with outstanding exam scores and hoped to whatever God that watched him it was enough to get in.

Luckily for him, it was.

Now, two semesters and one summer later, Thomas stood in the dormitory that will become their living space for the course of the year.

It was comfortably large—bigger than the two person dorms that was common place for the campus and certainly much more spacious than the single bed dorm Thomas had been stuck into the last two semesters. They had a kitchenette off to the right with cabinets for storage and a working sink. A small refrigerator stood to the side, positioned underneath counters with a black casing that showed their reflection and the words WCKD U painted in yellow.

The small hallway led Thomas down to the main room—their only room honestly—where a single twin bed stood off to the left, pressed against a barren wall and a bunk bed stood to the right. A computer desk sat in between the beds, barren of junk and a chair tucked underneath. A dresser stood to Thomas's right. To his left, by the single bed, was a wall length mirror attached to the closet door. Another empty dark wooden stand stood behind him—the perfect place for their TV and gaming systems.

The walls were a dull perfect white; the carpet, a standard brown, clean of filth and hair. But not for long.

Thomas grinned.

"This is great! We finally get to be roommates after all this time."

"Yeah, bloody great that is," Newt grunted. He dropped a pile of bags onto the single bed and released a sigh of relief. He whirled on Thomas, expression set in a glare. "Are you gonna gawk there all day or are you going to help me move everything in?"

"I'll help," He murmured sheepishly, though he eyed the empty beds again. He wondered where they would sleep.

Newt's brows furrowed again. "Minho's going to need help bringing the TV in."

"You think that shuck face's gonna try to get cable again?"

"Who you calling a shuck face, shuck face?"

Thomas and Newt turned toward the door in surprise. Minho popped in with a grin, wheeling their flat screen TV into the room by trolley. He nudged Thomas playfully on the arm and gave Newt a wink. The blond rolled his eyes, but smiled in good humor.

"The TV's not for cable Thomas, it's for whooping you shanks in video games."

"You really think we're going to have time for games this semester?"

"We better!" Minho snorted. "Otherwise, I'm a have to kill myself. No way in hell they're gonna keep me from relaxing this time around."

"Did you bring the rest of the stuff in?" Newt asked, changing the subject.

Minho shook his head. "Nah, it's still out in the hall."

"I hope they didn't break the bloody microwave again." Newt grumbled, heading for the door. "Can't keep replacing that damn thing." He disappeared beyond the door, leaving Minho and Thomas behind. They exchanged partially amused glances.

"He's moody today."

"Not surprised." Minho shrugged. Thomas noted the way his dark eyes shifted into concern. "Last semester was rough on him, getting sick like that."

Thomas absently worried his lip. He remembered what that was like. Earlier on in the year, when the harsh winter months shifted into a reluctant spring, Newt came down with a nasty virus that rendered him immobile for nearly two months. That'd been hard on all of them.

"We should make it up to him. Let him know he's not alone this year."

Minho nodded. A smug grin wormed its way across his lips. "I'm thinking we should break in the dorm with a nice three-way. It's been a while since either of us let a load off anyway. Newt's already stressing, might as well make him feel good." The track star suddenly halted, a thought popping into mind. "Oh klunk, that's right. You haven't done it with us yet, have you?"

"Done what?" Newt asked, reappearing into the room.

He gingerly set down the microwave on the counter then leaned against it as he eyed the boys with an inquisitive look.

Thomas felt his face flare up in heat.

He still wasn't used to the idea of dating his best friends, it'd only been a few months since they made it official after all, and he most certainly wasn't used to the idea of their relationship being polyamorous either. He really wasn't sure how it was going to work.

Minho and Newt had been dating for over a year, but they were friends with benefits three months before that. Thomas was roped into the relationship fairly recently—start of the summer recent in fact. Before that, Thomas had only been in the usual monogamous relationships, and even then, they were rare and too far in-between. Since his addition, their dynamic barely changed. They went out together regardless if it was considered a date or not, and played games like they always did when it was just the three of them.

Minho was still short-tempered; Newt still scolded them and Thomas still got them in trouble at the most inappropriate times.

Signs of affection like kissing and caresses, the occasional heated gropes and lust filled eyes—those were new additions, and sometimes, Thomas was taken off guard. Yet he didn't mind. He quite liked their subtle addition. Sex on the other hand, that was a different matter entirely.

Minho laughed, the sound throaty and melodious in Thomas's ears.

"Sex, Newt! We haven't had sex with Thomas yet."

Newt's brows rose in a fine arch. "That's right, we haven't. How did we manage that?"

"Good question," The athlete grinned. "I was just telling him we should celebrate our new domestic life with a threesome. Classes don't start until Monday, so who's up for an all-nighter?"

"You won't last the whole night, Minho."

"Maybe not, but the idea's still nice."

"Good that," Newt nodded. He smirked a little impishly. "I'm in."

Thomas balked. "Are you serious? Ju-just like that?"

Their glance was subtle, he would've missed it had he not been looking directly at them. Nerves blossomed in his chest.

"Something wrong Tommy?"

"It just seems…" He struggled to find the word.

"Strange?" Newt supplied, one brow raised again.

Thomas shrugged. Strange didn't seem like the right word for it. Minho rested a hand on his shoulder, grabbing the younger boy's attention.

"Think about it Thomas. You've got until tonight to decide, otherwise you can watch us." He gave Newt a playful smile. "Anyway, I've gotta run. I have to meet up with the track coach. If I get out early, I'll help you shanks with whatever still needs to be unpacked."

With a tender squeeze and one last concealed look to Newt, Minho left the boys alone in the dorm.

Thomas stole a glance at the blond, surprised to find the older boy look straight back at him.

"What?"

Newt shook his head. "Come on. Help me get the dorm ready."

Thomas watched him for a moment, his brain still scrambled and his chest heavy with anxiety, but he followed the blond into the hall for the rest of their things.