Thomas sipped his hot chocolate as he looked at his sister who was sitting across from him. He'd been home for two weeks. Newt hadn't texted him, he hadn't heard from Minho or Teresa either. It kinda sucked. He missed that whole part of his life. He missed waking up to Newt's lazy kisses, he missed Minho's mac and cheese and he missed talking to Teresa.

    "I think you got him pretty fucked up too," Rose said as she put her mug on the table.

    "What do you mean?"

    "You hear the new cover song they came out with?"

    Thomas shook his head. "I've been avoiding everything Newt related."

    "It's definitely for you," Rose said as she adjusted herself on the armchair.

    "What do you mean?"

    "Listen to it later okay?"

    Thomas nodded. "I will."

    "How are you doing?" Rose asked as she watched him carefully.

    Thomas shrugged. "Alright I guess."

    Rose snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, okay, that's a lie."

    Thomas let out a breath. "It's not. I miss him, I miss all of them, but I guess in a way I'm glad it happened. The video getting leaked I mean."

  "Yeah?" Rose cocked her head slightly. "How come?"

    "It would have went on like that for...I don't know...for a long time. I guess it's better that something happened now before later. I would have started hating him."

    "You don't hate him now?"

    Thomas shook his head. "No, I don't. I still love him, of course."

    "You confuse me," Rose said as she shook her head.

   Thomas shrugged slightly. "It makes sense to me. He's living his dream, I just wasn't a part of it."

    Rose frowned at that. "I don't know how true that is."

    Thomas rolled his eyes. "Shut up, it's how I cope."

    "By dismissing how much Newt was into you?"

    Thomas nodded. "I don't need you judging me okay?"

    Rose put her hands up in surrender. "I'm just saying that it's okay to miss him."

    Thomas frowned slightly. "Of course I miss him."

    "His tour ends next week, he'll be back," Rose added in.

    Thomas gave her a look. "Okay? And? I'm not gonna see him, we broke up Rosie."

    She suddenly look ashamed. "I was just letting you know."

    Thomas looked at the clock. "I gotta get you home, you ready to go?"

    Rose nodded as she picked up her bag.

    The car ride was oddly silent. The radio was playing softly but neither of them talked. Thomas pulled into the driveway, smiling softly at his sister.

    She returned the look before grabbing the door handle and stopping. "I have to tell you something," she suddenly blurted out.

    "Okay. What's up?" Thomas looked at her, feeling slightly confused.

   Rose had tears in her eyes as her lower lip trembled. "I did it."

   "What?"

  "I leaked the video."

   Thomas felt like he was slapped in the face. "I'm sorry you what?"

   "I-I didn't know it would break you up!" Rose was almost hysterical at that point. "I-I thought it would help Thomas! You were so unhappy! Both of you! I hated posting the pictures of you and Teresa on the band instagram because it wasn't real." She wiped her face hard. "Then you were saying all that stuff about still loving him and I felt so guilty. I-I thought he'd come back here and you two could talk and it would be okay again but I did a bad thing, such a bad thing and I'm so so sorry Thomas."

    Thomas was so angry he didn't even know how to feel. "How?" He muttered through gritted teeth. "How did you even get it?"

    "Addison was there. She sent me the video asking if that was you. I've had it ever since."

    Thomas gripped the steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles turned white. "Well good job I guess. You got us together and broke us up."

    Rose was still crying, but she had her hand over her mouth to stifle the noises. "Do you hate me?"

    Thomas closed his eyes and sighed. "No, but I'd really really like it if you got out of my car."

    Rose got out without another word. Thomas felt the tears in his eyes again. He pulled out of the driveway quickly, driving until he got to a quiet side street. He pulled over there, putting the car into park and just staring blankly at the street.

    Deciding to make himself feel worse than he already did he pulled out his phone and plugged it into his aux cord. He typed WICKED into spotify and saw they did in fact post a new cover song. It was The Way It Was by The Killers.

    Thomas tapped on it and turned up the radio, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the seat.

    The guitar started playing through the speakers, the fact that he knew it was Newt playing it made it hurt more. The lyrics started next, it was Teresa singing it no doubt.

    "I drove throught the desert that night, I carried the weight of our last fight, Elvis singing 'don't be cruel' and I wonder if you feel it too, it's like we're going under. Somewhere outside the lonely Esmeralda county line, the question of my heart came to my mind..."

    Thomas was crying at this point. He did a lot of that these days, he guessed heartbreak did that to you.

    "...if I go on with you, by my side, can it be the way it was when we met, did you forget all about those golden nights?"

    Thomas covered his eyes with his hands. He knew exactly why Newt covered this song. It was definitely his idea. The lyrics hit too close to home for it not to be. I didn't forget Thomas thought, I didn't forget about the way it used to be Newt.

    "...maybe a thief stole your heart or maybe we just drifted apart I remember driving in my daddy's car to the airfield blanket on the hood backs against the windshield back then this thing was running on momentum love and trust that paradise is buried in the dust..."

    Thomas itched to text Newt as the chorus played through again. Fuck did he miss him. Newt would have known what to do about Rosie, Newt would hug him and tell him it was okay. Thomas punched the steering wheel hard, making the horn go off.

    "...and all of our plans have fallen through, sometimes a dream, it don't come true."

    Thomas wiped the hot tears from his cheeks. It was too much all of it. Newt, then his sister. At least the song proved that Newt was going through the same thing. Maybe they weren't talking, but it gave him comfort in the sense that he knew that he wasn't the only one feeling this way.

    "...darlin, darlin, if we go on can it (can it be) the way it was when we met, did you forget all about them golden nights? If i go home with you by my side can it be the way it was my heart is true, boy it's just you I'm thinkin of, can it be the way it was?"

    Thomas rubbed his eyes hard as the song ended. His chest ached. He turned off the radio and drove the rest of the way home in silence.

___

    The social media attack started a little later, a few days after the release of the cover song. The fans went crazy on Thomas. They realized he was off the tour and pieced two and two together and by two or two meaning that Thomas was a cheater. It got so bad that Thomas had to deactivate his instagram. Teresa and Newt posted a video of them explaining that it was just a stupid kiss cam and Newt and Thomas just did it because they were playing along. Teresa said her and Thomas weren't even officially dating at that point so it wasn't a big deal, she said she knew about it beforehand. Teresa said they broke up due to other reasons which somehow made it worse. Newt said it was just a stupid kiss and that hurt Thomas more than Newt screaming at him had.

    He got a text from Teresa that day too. She said sorry that social media was getting so bad. Thomas just sent her a ":)". He felt bad about that and then added "sorry I yelled at you." He bit his lip and sent another text saying "also sorry I didn't say goodbye."

    It was a few hours before Teresa texted him back. Her message said, "It's okay, I understand. Breakups suck. It was a real pleasure meeting you Thomas Edison, I love you my boyfriend :), here if you need anything." 

    That almost sent Thomas into tears again so he put his phone down and went for a run. He was running a lot then, usually in the mornings. He felt that it helped him with the sadness, when he was running he wasn't thinking of Newt, he wasn't thinking of the boy he so desperately didn't want to be on his mind but at the same time wanted to be in his arms.

    Thomas didn't talk to Rose for a while either. He just needed some space, he needed to process the whirlwind of events that was happening to him. He wanted it all to stop, but it didn't, it wouldn't.

    Minho started snapping him again. At first it was just stupid streaks pictures. Then randomly the drummer sent a picture of Newt sitting on the couch, looking at something on his phone. The caption said "he's being emo about you again."

    Thomas chatted him back saying "please don't". Minho didn't snap him again.

    WICKED came back from tour on a Tuesday. Thomas knew that because he saw Teresa's snapchat story. Newt was back in town, Newt was close to him, he could go to his house, he could see him, talk to him. Thomas almost laughed at himself. Like he'd go talk to a boy in person that he hadn't even texted in weeks.

    It'd almost been a month, a month without any contact from Newt. Thomas still had all the pictures on his phone, he couldn't bring himself to delete them. Maybe he was holding onto to hope that they'd be okay. Maybe he really really wanted them to be okay but with each passing day that seemed less and less likely.

    Thomas scrunched his face in confusion when a text from Lizzy came up on his screen. It said "wanna meet for coffee in 5? My treat, you could probably use it."

    Thomas texted back, "not if you're going to yell at me."

    The response was almost immediate, it said "hug you maybe, but no yelling...please :( all because my brother's an idiot doesn't mean that I am."

   Thomas finally reluctantly agreed before grabbing his keys to head to the cafe. When he got there Lizzy was sitting at a table, she'd already ordered him something.

    When Thomas sat down the girl smiled. Her hair was done in a messy bun, she had on a black choker and a big flannel shirt. She looked good, pretty as always.

    "This isn't one of those stupid surprises where I come and then Newt pops out and then I cry right because I don't think I can handle that right now."

    Lizzy shook her head. "No, I'm not that cruel. Honestly I just wanted to see how you're doing. Newt's pretty messed up so I wanted to make sure you're okay."

    "You're his sister, you should be with him."

    Lizzy shrugged. "He's got Minho and Teresa, they're good with him. Who's checking up on you?"

    Rosie, Thomas wanted to say but she wasn't, not anymore. Not since he refused to speak to her.

    "You know it was my sister who leaked the video?" Thomas asked Lizzy softly.

    He didn't miss how her eyes widened slightly, she turned it into a shrug as she sipped her coffee. "Does it really matter anymore?"

    Thomas let out a breath. "I guess not."

    "I'm sorry it turned out this way."

    Thomas shook his head. "Lizzy, please don't. I know it sucks, trust me I know it does, I've been living with it for the past three weeks and it sucks, but don't feel sorry for me. I guess it was a long time coming. You can't date someone in secret for that long."

    Lizzy nodded, biting the inside of her cheek. "You know, I hate what you did to my brother, but I think you're right."

    Thomas swallowed hard before looking at the blonde girl. "Is he okay?"

   She nodded again. "He'll be alright."

    "Does he know you're here?"

    "Yeah, he does."

    "With me."

    Lizzy nodded. "I wasn't going to hide it from him. He'd be more upset if he found out about it later on."

    "That's fair." Thomas let out a breath. "Does Minho hate me?"

    "What? No. Why would you ask that?"

    Thomas shrugged. "He barely talked to me after, he only sent me pictures of Newt and I got kinda upset."

    "None of them hate you Thomas," Lizzy said as she reached over and squeezed his hands. "Not even Newt. I mean hell, he's the most important person in the world to me and I'm still here talking to you."

    Thomas shrugged. "I guess so."

    Lizzy let out a breath. "Listen, you were both right and you were both wrong okay? It wasn't all on you and it wasn't all on him. You had good reasons for breaking up with him and he had good reasons for not giving up the tour. It was a fucked up situation but maybe you were right to get out of it."

   Thomas felt the tears well up in his eyes again. "D-do you know how much I loved him?"

    Lizzy nodded. "That's why no one hates you Thomas. It was obvious how much you cared about him, but it's also okay to put yourself first every once and awhile okay?"

    Thomas blinked away his tears.

    Lizzy hesitated a moment before speaking again. "There's actually a reason I asked you to come here."

    "Yeah?"

    "I wanted to ask you something, but I know you'd say no if it was over text and I thought I'd have a better chance of convincing you if it was in person."

    "Okay," Thomas said skeptically.

    "You know the arena that Newt took you too? The hockey arena? They're playing a show their. After the Blink tour, Janson booked them something there. It's gonna be huge, Newt is freaking out about it..."

    "You want me to come?" Thomas cut in.

    Lizzy nodded. "I think it would mean so much to him."

    "That's not fair!" Thomas snapped, his voice cracking.

    Lizzy cringed slightly at that "Look, I wouldn't be asking you, but I know how much this means to Newt and I know he wants you there. That arena, that's been his dream since we were six years old, since mum and dad..." Lizzy's voice wavered and she took a second to calm herself down. "...since mum and dad used to take us to the hockey games. If you still care about him, even just a little bit, you'll go."

   "He hurt me too," Thomas said feebly.

    "I know he did." Lizzy leaned her head on her hand. "I'm not saying you have to get down on one knee and propose to him, but I just think it'd be nice if you came. And if you don't want to do it for Newt fine, do it for Minho or Teresa because it's their first real show. They're the main act, it's huge, they even sold out."

    Thomas felt a teasing smile spread across his face. "You just don't want to go alone."

    Lizzy smiled then, breaking the tension of the conversation. "Okay, maybe, but I'm serious. Just think about it and let me know?"

    Thomas nodded, feeling his chest lighten at the way Lizzy's entire face lit up.

   She checked her phone, rolling her eyes at the screen. "I gotta go, I promised Newt I'd pick up cat food and drop it off on my way back, he's getting impatient."

    The blonde girl stood up before tugging Thomas to his feet and into a hug. "It was good to see you," she said as she let him go. "Think about it!" She called over her shoulder as she picked up her wallet and took off. Thomas sat back down and stared into his still steaming cup of coffee. Part of him was begging him to go to the show, begging him to go see Newt but the other part, the more rational part, was begging him to stay away from the blonde guitarist. Thomas stared at that mug for a good long while before sighing and picking up his phone. His fingers shook as he typed in the numbers on his screen.

    "Thomas?" the voice sounded from the other end of the receiver.

    "Hey Rosie."

    "Are you okay?" She sounded hesitant which Thomas hated, she was his sister for fucks sake they shouldn't still be fighting.

    "Yeah I'm okay...listen, how would you like to go with me to the WICKED concert?"