Part XIII

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Gally kept the knowledge of their relationship to himself, much to Thomas' surprise. His rival seemed more inclined to study for the exams than make fun of Thomas and his kinks, but even so, the brunet kept his guard up whenever Gally was around. One could never be too careful, especially now that Janson knew about his business as well.

Janson's assignments were a nightmare. It was like the man was avidly trying to punish Thomas by making the rest of his students suffer. Thomas watched achingly as Newt chewed on the end of his pen in distress. Minho's constant shuffling and sighing were a heavy distraction within the silent, tensed atmosphere. Minho fidgeted in his chair; Newt ran his fingers through his hair periodically.

Thomas tried to keep his hands from trembling in rage.

The scratch scratching of pens scraping against paper filled the room.

Thomas forced himself to focus on the exam, but his boyfriends' distress occupied his mind like a heavy weight on his shoulders. He was two questions away from finishing; two easy peasy questions about assignments he had aced with flying colors. The entirety of the exam had been nothing but cake walk, and yet... Minho and Newt's constant fidgeting and scraping told him the test wasn't easy for everyone. If they failed because of him...

Come on, focus Thomas. You can do this. Don't you dare give Rat Man the satisfaction.

A sneeze tore through the blanket silence of the classroom. Thomas jumped in his chair, his knee knocking hard against the desk painfully. A harsh black line cut through his essay paper like a knife, the indentation deep, but luckily not too damaging. (He would have hated to start all over because of it.)

All eyes turned to the culprit. Thomas felt his chest tighten in embarrassment.

Minho cleared his throat, his cheeks slightly tinged pink. He continued with his work, but Janson's blue eyes narrowed with thinly veiled disgust.

"Mr. Lee, if you dare disrupt my classroom again, I will have no choice but to fail you and expel you from the remainder of the semester."

Minho kept his eyes on the exam, though Thomas could see the rage in his eyes.

"Yes sir. Sorry sir. If I happen to sneeze again, I'll make sure to do it as quietly as possible."

Thomas tried to suppress his groan.

Newt ducked further into his chair, his blond hair shadowing his eyes, though the grip on his pen was enough indication for Thomas. The boy was just as annoyed as him.

Janson's lip twitched. "Yes Mr. Lee, please do so. And do take care of that sass. Your grade is in my hands after all."

Gally rose to his feet during the exchange and handed his packet to Janson. Thomas ducked in avoidance. He still had one more question to go.

"Ugh, that fucking shank!" Minho kicked open their dorm door and angrily tossed his bag to the side

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"Ugh, that fucking shank!" Minho kicked open their dorm door and angrily tossed his bag to the side. He collapsed onto Newt's bed with an angry exhale.

"He's being a wanker," Newt grumbled, the worry lines on his forehead prominent. "Threatening to fail you for sneezing? What kind of bloody nonsense is that? What an arse!"

"What's with him lately? It's like he's trying to get us!"

Thomas locked the door quietly, the encounter with Janson replaying in his mind. "He might be," He commented quietly.

Newt and Minho turned to him with matching frowns.

"He spoke with me a few days ago." He admitted reluctantly. "He was worried about my grades. He thinks because we're roommates, my grades are going to fall."

"That's bloody ridiculous! You have the highest score there."

"He, uh, he also knows we're dating."

Minho shot up from the bed like a rocket. "What?! How?"

Thomas bit his lower lip. "I might have admitted it..."

"Oh my shuckin' god," Minho groaned. He fell back into the mattress with a heavy plop.

Newt rubbed his temples.

"That explains why he's been really harsh." Newt sighed. He sat on Thomas' bed, leaning his forehead against the wooden frame. "We'll just have to try harder in his class then. Don't give him a reason to fail us."

Minho scoffed. "He doesn't need a reason. He can just do it, the shank."

"He'll need one if he doesn't want the Dean on him."

"I'm absolutely shit in his class Newt. What do you expect me to do?"

"I can help you."

Minho glanced up at Thomas in uncertainty. He scowled, unhappy with the idea of studying. "Fine." He relented a few seconds later. "I'll tell the coach to lay off on the practice. He won't be happy though."

"He'd be worse if you failed English." Thomas quipped.

Minho sighed in defeat. It wouldn't do for him to lose his scholarship over this. Thomas knew Minho had no other choice but to study hard to keep afloat in English.

"I'm looking forward to getting these midterms over and done with." The athlete grumbled. "I just want to relax with you guys and play games. Maybe go out to dinner." He shrugged. "I don't know. Whatever strikes my fancy."

Newt leaned further back into Thomas' bed, a lazy smile on his face. "Yeah, Min. Me too."

"We're almost there guys. Just a few more days to go."

They groaned.

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