No Better Version of Me Than When I'm With You

Chapter 9

"I'm down." Thomas nodded.

So they did. Thomas grabbed his laptop and began searching for contractors while Newt texted Minho to ask if he was busy that weekend.

Roughly an hour later, Thomas looked up and rolled his neck which was beginning to get sore, and looked over at Newt. "Found some guys I could book for tomorrow and they can have it done by Sunday afternoon, how's that sound?"

"Sounds great." Newt agreed, looking over at the laptop screen. He cringed, "Ouch, that price."

"I know, it's the cheapest I could find." Thomas groaned. "It would be cheaper to do it ourselves, but the whole house? It would take us days - and a lot more than just this weekend."

"Yeah. . .I don't want to work that hard. It's worth it; let's just pay those guys to do it."

"What did Minho say?"

"He said he's not busy with anything important, so we can stay for the weekend."

"Awesome." Thomas smiled. It would be nice to see their best friend again - and just him. Much as it was great to spend time with everyone like they did regularly by playing video games together, sometimes it was just as great to be reminded of how they started out - just the three of them against the world.

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The next morning started in a rush, both him and Newt frantically running around attempting to tidy the place up a bit, and make sure their house was prepared for a crew to come in and lay plastic sheeting over everything before they began the removal process. The doorbell rang just as Thomas finished placing the last of the dishes from the sink into the dishwasher, and Newt answered the door.

By mid-morning, he and Newt were on their way to Minho's, confident that when they returned, their ceiling would be popcorn-free.

"Hey guys, long time no see!" Minho greeted as they walked into his apartment, each with a small bag of things for the weekend.

"Hey, Min." Newt said, and Thomas could hear the smile in his voice as he leaned in to hug him briefly. Thomas followed him, and it wasn't long before they all were comfortable on the couch in the apartment they had spent most of their time over the past couple of years. It hadn't changed much, and he was relieved to learn that it still felt as much like home as ever.

Minho wasn't a messy person, in fact, he could be aggressively organized when he needed to be, but his apartment was where they got to see the more relaxed part of him. There were shoes piled by the front door, right next to the shoe organizer, and various items strewn across his table and kitchen counters. But it didn't look messy as much as lived in.

"So, you guys are doing what with your ceilings? You were a little vague in the text last night, Newt." Minho asked with a chuckle.

"Removing the ugly popcorn ceilings and getting it repainted." Thomas replied. "It just looks dated compared to the rest of the house, and I'm tired of it."

"It was one of the first things he mentioned when we moved in," Newt added, glancing at him, "before I reminded him how much that was not at the top of our to-do list."

Minho laughed and shook his head, "Do you realize how adult you guys sound right now? I mean, it's hilarious."

"The day had to come eventually, I guess." Thomas laughed. He was right, who would've thought this was where he'd be at twenty-five. He felt lucky though, as he looked over at his best friends and grinned. Despite all of the things they'd been through, they were still as close as ever. Even as they'd grown from college kids without a clue in the world as to who they were or what they wanted to do, to adults with proper jobs and houses and marriage being a thing that happened, they were still themselves at their core and he hoped that would never change.