The next few weeks were insane. WICKED's song went viral. It was playing on almost every station, the band's instagram page gained several thousand more followers and they even got to do an interview on the alternative station that first played them. Thomas went with them to the interview, he had to sit outside which was extremely boring but when Newt came out he was smiling so hard that Thomas couldn't even be mad. He also learned that when Newt was happy he got horny. Everytime his obscenes hickies faded, Newt left new ones, not that Thomas minded. Newt was busy with practice so he didn't get to spend as much time with him as he wished but when he did it was nice. Once they went to a movie and actually watched it, then made out after in the car parking lot. Thomas asked Newt to come to his favorite bookstore with him, they walked downtown for a bit and drank overpriced coffee and Newt took a lot of pictures which Thomas fake protested against. They went to breakfast another time and Newt flicked straw wrappers at him and laughed until Thomas threw a whole biscuit at him and the waitress glared at them. They spent Friday nights binge watching more Game of Thrones, Newt had his arm around him and told him that he liked spending time with him which made Thomas' heart feel like it was going to explode. They made love sometimes, it was slow and Newt held his hands as they did it. He kissed him softly which was so unlike the way Newt usually kissed. It was nice.

     Thomas realized that he loved him when they were washing dishes and Newt kept throwing soapy bubbles at him. Newt lifted him onto the counter at one point and kissed him, his soap covered hands running through his hair. They took a nap together after, Newt fell asleep first and when Thomas was looking at his sleepy face and the reminiscents of soap in his hair it hit him that he loved this boy.

     Newt got better with the smoking, he went through barely half a pack a week. They came up with a system, when Newt was really craving a stick, Thomas busied his mouth by kissing of course and gave Newt pieces of the gum he carried on him until the craving passed. It worked a lot of the time. It was hard on him but he was trying and Thomas loved him for it, yeah he loved him.

     A month and a half after their song was on the radio Newt got the invitation from a radio station for their band to open for an annual music festival downtown. The three were so excited and of course they accepted. Newt dragged him to a bar that night to celebrate.

    "I'm getting drunk tonight Tommy," Newt said as he poured himself another drink.

    "Okay," Thomas laughed as he sipped water through his little black straw. Thomas was driving that night so he swore off any alcohol.

    "Our first real live show Tommy, like yeah the bars are whatever they're real but like we were asked to play. We're getting paid to play." Newt was smiling as he threw back the contents in his cup.

    "I'm proud of you," Thomas said honestly. He was, he was proud of him. He knew how hard they practiced, Thomas wasn't even allowed in the house during the practices because he was "too distracting" and they needed Newt at his "full focus" or something along those lines.

   "You're the greatest." Newt grinned as he downed the rest of his drink.

    "And you're gonna die if you keep drinking at this rate." Thomas laughed as he gently lured the cup from Newt's hand. "Take a break okay?"

    Newt pouted and it was almost enough for Thomas to give in.

    "You're a lightweight remember that okay?"

    Newt rolled his eyes. "But I'm taller than you."

    Thomas huffed out a laugh. "That has nothing to do with the amount of alcohol you can consume without being absolutely plastered drunk."

    "I've never been drunk around you before," Newt pouted as he made grabby hands towards his glass. If Thomas didn't know him he'd think Newt was fine but since he did he could tell he was definitely tipsy.

    Thomas handed it back to him. "Just be safe okay?"

   Newt huffed out a laugh. "You worry about me too much, if I didn't like you so much it'd be annoying but since I do I find it kinda hot."

    Thomas just shook his head and sipped at his water.

    "Annd Newt's drunk." Minho grinned as he clasped the blonde boy on the shoulder.

   "Am not!" Newt protested but when he tried to shove Minho off he missed and tipped in his seat a bit.

   Teresa sat down on the other side of Thomas, smiling as she handed him more water. "Being the driver is so fun right?"

   Thomas shrugged. "I wanna make sure he gets back safe."

    Teresa smiled as she sipped whatever fancy drink she ordered, it had fruit in it and everything. "That's cute...you really like him?"

   Thomas nodded as he watched Newt scowl at Minho who was ruffling his hair like he was his pet dog or something. "Yeah."

   "Teresa stop harassing him." Newt frowned as he looked at the two.

    Teresa faked gasped and put her hand over her heart. "I would never harass him! How dare you accuse me of such things?"

    Newt rested his head on Thomas shoulder. "I'm sorry my friends harass you."

    Thomas laughed softly at the drunk boy and gently patted his face. "It's alright."

    "Bloody hell," Newt said as he let out a breath. "I'm wasted."

    "I'm aware."

    Newt lifted his head and glared at him. "Hey."

   "I'm sorry." Thomas fake pouted at him. "But you're not fooling anyone."

   "Is it eleven yet?"

   "It will be in ten minutes," Teresa piped up.

    "What's at eleven?" Thomas asked as he looked between the three.

   "Open mic," they all said at the same time which was honestly pretty creepy.

  "You guys come here a lot?" Thomas asked as he looked between the three. 

    Teresa shrugged. "Not a lot, but sometimes. Open mic is fun when you're good at singing."

    Newt pointed his finger at Teresa. "You're not singing by yourself."

    The girl cocked her head in confusion at him. "I'm not?"

   Newt shook his head. "I'm gonna do it with you."

    The shock that appeared on Teresa's face was almost priceless. "You're gonna sing? Like in public?"

    Newt nodded. "I have to serenade Tommy so he'll let me fuck him later."

    Thomas almost spit out his water which of course sent Minho into a crazy fit of laughter. Teresa could barely contain herself behind her hand that she had clamped over her mouth.

    Thomas knew his face was bright red but Minho confirmed it when he just laughed harder.

    "What are we singing then?" Teresa asked as Minho got up saying something about getting Newt's guitar because he was too drunk to carry it back from the car.

    "New Politics." Newt pursed his lips as he thought for a moment. "Pretend We're in a Movie."

    "You know that's not really a duet right?"

    Newt put his finger to his lips. "Shh, it'll be good."

    Teresa just shrugged and ate the strawberry in her drink off the little sword. "I'm down."

    Minho came back a second later with Newt's case. Newt's eyes lit up when he saw his instrument and he pulled it onto his lap, practically hugging the thing.

   Minho snorted out another laugh as he sat back down. "We need to get him drunk more."

    Newt pouted. "You just make fun of me when I'm drunk Minho."

    Minho smiled. "Baby I make fun of you when you're sober too."

    Newt scowled at him and scooted his chair closer to Thomas'. "This is why I'm datin Tommy, he's nice to me."

    Thomas smiled at the blonde boy, about to say something when Teresa sprung out of her chair. "It's eleven!"

    "Wait what are we playing?" Minho asked as he got up too.

   "Pretend We're in a Movie."

    Minho nodded his head in approval as he helped Newt up.

   Newt winked at Thomas before stumbling up to the basic drum set that was probably provided by the place.

    The place wasn't very full but there were a few couples scattered between the tables.

   It looked like the owner was helping them set up which was much harder than it needed to be with Newt stumbling everywhere. Minho finally convinced him to just sit in the chair and play there.

   When they were finally ready Newt smiled at him before he nodded his head to Teresa who got the cue to start.

    "I wanna kiss you on an island..."

   Newt started strumming on his guitar which shockingly sounded really good for how drunk he was.

     "...I wanna fly you out to Paris, I wanna meet you in the alley, I want to lay you down right now..."

    Teresa took in a breath as Minho started on the drums. Newt pulled his mic stand a little closer with his foot and held it with one of his hands, singing the next part with Teresa.

    "...my nuclear world, full of cars and girls, crashing out on a wave I'm waving goodbye to the Kerosene skies, snapping on your gum spitting fire at the sun I hear you laughin out loud like a break in the clouds I wanna grab you and run...and when I shut my eyes there's no way you can resist me..."

    They sounded good together. Minho looked like he was having the time of his life on his drum set. Newt did a chord of guitar solo which again sounded really good despite the amount of alcohol that was in his system. Teresa smiled at him before the next verse started and the happy look Newt gave her back hit Thomas straight in the heart.

    "...I wanna kiss you on an island, I wanna fly you out to Paris, I wanna meet you in the alley, I wanna lay you down right now, in the kitchen I wanna live with you in hollywood and we'll pretend we're in a movie, so let me lay you down right now..."

     Newt winked at him as he pulled the microphone off the stand and put down his guitar. The song was mostly carried by Minho's drums which is why the lack of Newt's guitar didn't make it sound bad.

     "...when the glaciers melt and it all goes south I'm gonna sail through a dream of crushed velveteen thighs starin into space with a smile on my face I hear you laughin out loud like a break in the clouds all I need is a taste, when I shut my eyes, there's no way you can resist me..."

     Newt put the mic back to do his guitar part again but grabbed it again when Teresa ran through the chorus. Thomas knew that they weren't even seriously playing, but even half drunk, well in Newt's case fully drunk, they sounded good. The way the three smiled and laughed at each other as they sang made Thomas realize that they weren't just a band, they were a family. As much as Minho and Newt bickered they were like siblings and as much as they called Teresa names they loved her. The thing that hit Thomas so hard was that now he was apart of that family too, he got to hold that blonde boy and kiss him when he wanted to and shower with him and wash dishes with him and take naps with him. Thomas snapped out of his thoughts when the three came practically rushing to the table.

    "Did you hear how good he sounds?!" Teresa gushed as she threw herself back into the chair. "Newt never sings, but we sounded good together!"

    Newt just shamelessly sat down on Thomas' lap, smiling at him as he put one of his arms around him. "I sang for Tommy before. Sang him Wonderwall."

    Minho shook his head. "Maybe I should have fucked you Newt, then you would have actually told us how good you are at that."

    "We could have been doing epic duets!" Teresa exclaimed as she grabbed Newt's arm. "You're a bastard you know that right?"

    Newt shrugged as he cuddled into Thomas more. "I don't like singing in public, or in front of people."

    "Thomas is a person," Teresa pointed out.

    "Yeah but he's my person."

     "Is it just me or does Newt get gayer when he's drunk?" Minho asked as Newt glared at him.

    Thomas gently ran his hand up and down the blonde boy's back. Newt was never this touchy, especially in public, so Thomas was enjoying every minute of it.

    "I got recognized on the street the other day," Teresa said, dropping the whole Newt singing topic for now.

    "Really?" Minho asked, seeming happy about it.

   Teresa nodded. "It was cool, they asked for a picture and everything."

   "Our lives are gonna change," Newt mumbled as he let his eyes close. "We're gonna be famous and it's gonna be crazy."

    "We're gettin there," Minho agreed as he patted Newt's knee.

   "I'm so tired," Newt piped up.

   "Do you want me to take you home?" Thomas asked softly as the blonde opened his eyes again.

    "I wanna sleep where you're sleeping."

    "Okay honestly that was adorable," Teresa said as Minho made fake gagging sounds.

   "You can come back to my apartment." 

    Newt seemed to like that idea so Thomas stood up carefully, making sure Newt didn't fall. "I'm gonna take him home."

    "Where can I find myself a Thomas?" Teresa asked as she pursed her lips.

    "Not this one," Newt said as he put his arms around his boyfriend. "This one is mine."

    Minho snorted out a laugh. "I can not wait to make fun of him tomorrow for all this."

    "Don't be an asshole." Teresa rolled her eyes.

   Newt waved to them. "Bye guys."

    They waved back saying goodnight and Minho cracking some crude joke about Newt being dick whipped.

    Newt passed out in the car ride back which of course resulted in Thomas basically dragging him into the apartment which also made him come to the conclusion that Newt is a lot heavier than he looks.

    Thomas sat Newt on the couch and gave him water which he had to beg him to drink.

   "Can we have sex?" Newt asked as he swallowed a mouthful of water.

   Thomas huffed out a laugh. "How about we have sex when you're sober?"

   Newt stuck out his bottom lip in a pout. "Boo."

    Thomas took the water from his hands and put it on the table so it wouldn't spill.

    "Did you like it?" Newt asked suddenly as Thomas sat down next to him.

   "Like what?"

    "The song!" Newt frowned hard.

    "Oh! Yes I loved it," Thomas put his arm around the blonde boy who immediately leaned into him. "I don't know why you don't like singing in front of people, you're really good at it."

    Newt shook his head. "I'm not."

    Thomas frowned. "You are."

   "You're just saying that cause you like me."

    "Would you stop that, I'm saying it because it's true. Seriously Newt, you're so talented, you might not think so but you are. You're playing at a music festival for fucks sake!"

    Newt looked up at him. "Singing in front of people is terrifying, the guitar isn't because it's like...natural but singing isn't and it's easier to mess up."

    "So you have stage fright?"

    Newt shrugged lightly. "I guess so...that song was one of my Tommy songs?"

    "Tommy songs?"

    Newt nodded. "Songs that make me think of you, I have a whole bunch, in a playlist."

    Thomas' chest tightened. "Really?"

    "I wasn't gonna tell you about it because it makes me seem kinda creepy I guess but I'm drunk and my filter seems to have disappeared."

    Thomas smiled softly. "You're not creepy Newt."

   "I know we can't have sex, but can you kiss me?"

    Thomas huffed out a laugh before pressing his lips to Newt's briefly.

    Newt smiled when he pulled away. "That's some good shit right there."

   "I think you need to go to bed," Thomas said as he stood up and gently pulled Newt to his feet.

   Thomas led him to his bed room, gently guiding Newt to sit down on the edge of the bed.

    "Wanna borrow clothes again? I doubt sleeping in jeans is comfortable."

    Newt nodded as he pulled off his shirt and dropped it on the floor. "I'm gonna feel like shit in the morning."

    "Probably," Thomas agreed as he pulled pants and a shirt from his drawer. He tossed Newt the shirt and watched him put it on then helped him get off his impossibly tight skinny jeans. Once Newt had on clean pants Thomas pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

    "Hey Tommy?" Newt whispered as he looked up at the boy.

   "Yeah?"

   "I think I love you."

   Thomas felt his breath catch in his throat, yeah he was not expecting that one. "Why don't we talk about that when you're sober?"

    Newt shook his head. "I'm too scared to tell you when I'm sober and whenever I get ready to tell you I want to smoke because I'm so scared but I can't smoke because you get sad when I smoke and I don't like it when you're sad."

    "What if I told you that I feel the same way?"

    Newt thought for a moment. "Then I think maybe you should tell me that tomorrow, cause I'll say it back."

   Thomas nodded before guiding Newt to lay down. Thomas laid down next to him and smiled as Newt instinctively cuddled into him. Thomas ran his fingers through his hair and Newt was asleep within minutes. He loved him, he really did. Being with the guitarist made him happier than he'd ever been. And everything really was perfect with Newt, until suddenly it wasn't.