His head was swirling as he lay on his bed, staring up at the lump that was Minho in the bunk above him, complete with his loud snoring. He heard Frypan mumbling about recipes in his sleep and other Gladers trying to discuss the escape plan for the morning. He should have known it was too good to be true – they had escaped the Maze, only to be thrust into a new test to find a cure to the illness called the Flare. Teresa was gone and just earlier he had tried to speak to her telepathically, only to receive an angry voice screaming at him to get out of her head.

The sudden appearance of Aris didn't make it any better, as the boy tried to find any opportunity to speak to Thomas telepathically. But Thomas didn't feel ready to talk to him – the telepathy link was something that belonged to him and Teresa.

Thomas closed his eyes and let out a breath of air he had been holding in. He felt the bed shift and he opened his eyes as a hand clapped around his mouth. He glanced to his left and saw it was Newt, who had a finger up to his lips.

"Shh, Tommy," Newt whispered. "Can we talk?"

Thomas nodded and sat up, moving over so Newt could sit next to him. Newt had other ideas and nodded over at the bathroom in their dormitory, saying that he needed to talk in private. Thomas creased his brows as he got up from his bed and followed Newt into the bathroom as quietly as he could without making too much noise.

"You've gotten better at sneaking around," Newt said once they reached the bathroom. "Remember the second day?"

Thomas winced as he recalled his first morning in the Glade when Newt had woken him up early to show him what one of the Grievers looked like through a looking pane in the Maze wall. He had to step over several Gladers and accidentally crushed someone's hand, receiving a sharp punch to the calf and Newt's dirty look.

"I didn't know what I was doing," Thomas said as he followed Newt to where the shower area in the far back corner of the bathroom. "That time you also woke me up with your hand on my mouth – what's with that?"

Newt ignored the question and crossed his arms over his chest before talking. "Listen Tommy, I know it's been a bloody mess since we got out. Losing Chuck, now Teresa's gone, and this WICKED shank saying we're all infected."

Thomas felt a lump in his throat at the mention of Chuck and he could feel tears pooling at his eyelids. But he forced himself to hold them back as he replied, "You could say that."

Newt stepped closer to Thomas and gave him a small smile. "But I wanted to tell ya that I'm glad we're out, thanks to you. Bloody sure that Alby was too."

"Thanks Newt," Thomas whispered. He scratched the back of his head and glanced over at the dormitory area. "Just not so sure what's gonna happen out there."

Newt clapped a hand on Thomas's shoulder and squeezed it. For some reason, it felt…right to Thomas.

"Hey," Newt said, "we're gonna figure it out. If you're worried about that tattoo, well then I'll make bloody sure that we fight like hell if we come across those Group B girls."

"But Newt, there's a reason why we have them," Thomas protested. "You saw Minho's – he's gotta be the leader. And you're the glue and well, Aris is the partner, whatever that means."

Newt's eyes flashed at the mention of Aris and he scowled. "Still don't trust that buggin' shank," he growled. "And him tryin' to talk in your head? Don't like it at all."

Thomas held his hands up defensively and took a step back, surprised at Newt's sudden reaction at the mention of the mysterious Group B trigger that had appeared a few days ago in Teresa's room. He expected this kind of anger from Minho, who was prone to being hotheaded and mouthy, but not from Newt.

"Newt, relax," Thomas said, trying to sound calm. "I'm not talking to Aris or anything, although sometimes he looks at me like he wants to –"

Before he could finish, Newt grabbed Thomas's face and pulled him into a strong kiss. Thomas's eyes flew open in shock but they eventually closed as he rested his hands on Newt's shoulders. Never had he dreamed of kissing Newt – maybe Minho when he first met the sarcastic, yet fiercely loyal shank that wanted to make him Keeper of the Runners, but Newt was one of his first friends in the Glade. Levelheaded, peaceful, and approachable and this kiss was the opposite: powerful, dominating, and strangely, hot.

Thomas pulled away from the kiss for air and he gasped, "Ne-Newt. What the shuck was that?"

Newt looked him in the eye and asked, "Me or Aris?"

Thomas tried to back up but found that he had hit the back wall of the showers. Newt closed the gap, leaving a few inches of space in between them.

"Tommy," Newt prompted. "Who would you rather have? Me or Aris?"

"Newt I don't know Aris!" Thomas hissed. "And honestly, it's kinda weird to have him trying to talk to me like I use–"

Newt leaned in and kissed Thomas again, sucking his bottom lip hard. Thomas moaned and Newt smirked as he slid his hand up Thomas's pajama top.

"Newt," Thomas gasped, "but I, I thought that–"

"Alby couldn't love me," Newt cut him off. "I always knew that, even when I first came up in the bloody Box. Always thought I was gonna die alone, ya know? Then you showed up in The Box. You were a wee bit curious Tommy but I had a feeling that we were gonna get along just fine. Good that?"

"Ye-yeah good that," Thomas echoed, his head swimming. "But, but why now?"

Newt laughed and rested his other hand on Thomas's shoulder. "Always asking questions, aren't ya Tommy? Can't ya try to go without asking 'em and just go with it?"

Thomas leaned his head against the shower wall and studied Newt thoughtfully. He hadn't thought about Newt in a romantic light but he did consider Newt to be a loyal friend that he wanted by his side through these trials. Honestly, it was kind of hot to have the older boy dominating over him, talking to him with that accent. "Is it because you're jealous of Aris?" he asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

Jealousy flared in Newt's eyes and Newt latched his mouth on Thomas's neck, first as a hard kiss then he sucked on the skin, leaving a mark. Thomas whimpered and felt something stir in his pajama bottoms, hardening with every minute.

"You're. Mine. Tommy." Newt said as he moved to Thomas's shoulder and left another mark.

"Oh ssssshuck!" Thomas hissed as his member bulged in his bottoms. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt his runner undies become wet. "Ne-Newt please, oh shuck!"

Newt moved away from Thomas's neck and tugged up Thomas's pajama top, which made the other boy pull it up over his head while Newt yanked down Thomas's pajama bottoms in one swift motion. Newt shed his own top and Thomas gripped Newt through his pajama pants, taking this moment to press the older boy against the wall.

"Bloody," Newt panted as Thomas gripped him. Newt gripped Thomas's waistband of his runner undies and pulled him closer until their bodies were flush with each other. He glanced down at Thomas's briefs and smirked when he saw the wet patch on the front. "Bloody hell Tommy, you're leaking already?"

Before Thomas could reply, Newt pulled Thomas's briefs down and lowered himself so he was at eye level with Thomas's hard member. Newt whistled in amazement and Thomas felt himself blush.

"Impressive Tommy," Newt murmured. "Guess you ain't a Greenbean like I thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Thomas croaked.

Newt smirked as he gripped Thomas's hips and pushed him against the adjacent wall of the showers, underneath a showerhead. "We'll see how much you like Aris after this."

Thomas opened his mouth to speak but instead found himself sputtering and gasping for air as Newt took Thomas's length into his mouth, his hand gripping the base firmly. Newt sucked hard on Thomas's head and Thomas pressed his back against the shower wall, his eyes rolling into the back of his head. His hands found their way into Newt's longish hair and they gripped tufts of it, tugging the boy's head closer to his throbbing member.

Newt pulled Thomas's member out of his mouth with a loud pop and Thomas whimpered.

"Who do you like better Tommy?" Newt asked with a smirk.

"Y-you Newt," Thomas panted.

Newt flicked his tongue out and licked head of Thomas's shaft, teasing him while his eyes stayed on Thomas's.

"You Newt," Thomas repeated as he thrust his hips forward. "Oh shuck please Newt!"

At those words, Newt took Thomas's member into his mouth and sucked hard, taking as much of it as he could in his mouth without choking. Thomas moaned as he thrust his hips wildly with every sucking motion. His hands clawed at Newt's head as he felt his climax build and his thrusts started to get sloppier as he came closer.

"Ohhhh…sssshuck," Thomas moaned. "Newt, I'm, I'm oh, ssshuck!"

Newt swiped his tongue under Thomas's shaft and Thomas moaned as he came undone, spilling his cum into his Newt's mouth. Newt nearly choked as the hot fluid hit his throat but he took as much of the salty cum as he could, licking and sucking until he got every drop. His tongue came to rest on Thomas's head and he gave it a few more licks before Thomas pushed him off.

"Newt please," Thomas panted as he rested against the wall. "Too…sensitive."

Newt smiled, pleased with his work, and stood up, licking his lips. Thomas caught his breath and pressed his lips against Newt's. He moaned, as he tasted himself on Newt's lips while Newt slid his tongue into Thomas's mouth. Thomas forced himself to focus as he moved a hand between the two and pulled Newt's pajama pants down, gripping Newt's impressive length in his hand, and pulling it out of his underwear roughly.

Newt thrust into Thomas's hand and the latter took both of their lengths in both hands, using one hand to grip the bases and the other to tug on them.

"Tommy," Newt panted in between kisses. "Bl-bloody, oh Tommy please!"

Thomas pulled hard on their lengths and Newt hissed as he came, hot cum shooting out on the shower floor and on Thomas's lower abdomen. Thomas pulled himself two more times before he had his second release. Breathless, both stepped away from each other and leaned against the shower walls for support.

Newt ran a hand through his hair before getting dressed again. Thomas picked up his runner undies and wiped Newt's cum off before getting dressed. He let out a deep breath and met Newt's eyes when he finished getting dressed.

"So uh, who the klunk is this Aris guy again?" Thomas asked.

Newt laughed and kissed Thomas on the cheek. "Dunno Tommy, but it doesn't bloody matter. Like I said before, we're gonna make it through this. Won't let anything happen to you. Good that?"

"Yeah, good that."

"Hey Thomas, what's that on your neck?" Minho asked as the next morning as they packed up their supplies. He studied it closely and frowned. "Is that?"

"Shucking Beetle Blade," Thomas muttered quickly. "Swear I saw one last night." He saw Newt looking at them from the corner of his eye. Newt smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest and admired his handiwork from afar.

Minho blinked and shook his head, muttering under his breath that Thomas was one weird shank.

Thomas waited until Minho had moved to the front of the group and he found himself next to Aris. Aris stared at him, his eyes resting on the hickey left by Newt.

"So uh Thomas," Aris began.

"I can't talk now Aris," Thomas said as he turned his gaze to the front as Minho began to organize the Gladers for the arrival of the Trans-Flat.

Aris's shoulders sagged and he tried to hide his hurt expression as he moved to stand next to another Glader while Minho called the group to attention. Thomas turned his head to see Newt standing to his right and he nudged him.

"Ready Tommy?" Newt asked as he glanced in the direction of the Trans-Flat in front of them.

Thomas nodded and slipped his hand into Newt's. "Ready."