"NO SUCH THING AS LOVE"--THE STORY OF THOMAS SANGSTER AND DYLAN O'BRIEN

BY REGINALD MILLS

THOMAS BRODIE-SANGSTER is not a believer in love. With a past riddled in meaningless sex, alcoholic encounters, and people he'd rather forget, he once said to me with a bitter smile and utter conviction, "There's no such thing as love, Reggie."

But then of course, we flash forward a few months. We see Dylan O'Brien and Thomas Brodie-Sangster splashed across the cover of every gossip magazine. Pictures of their "perfect" relationship. A relationship of true love.

You'd never even guess that it was all just a game for Thomas.

Rewind back to a special day in April of this year, and you'll now see Thomas and I having a very interesting conversation. He insisted he would never fall in love with anyone. That love doesn't exist for him. That other people would love him, but he would never love them in return.

His cockiness struck me, so I offered him a bet. So anyone could fall in love with you? Then make Dylan O'Brien, your future costar, fall in love with you.

"Of course I knew I could do it," Thomas later said. "Dylan was the perfect target. He was new to the media, he had no idea what to expect from everyone. He didn't know just how twisted and cunning everyone is."

Over a period of time less than five months, Thomas made it his mission to win our little bet. Their relationship should have started as friendly co stars, but fate has a way of twisting the unexpected.

"It wasn't always easy," Thomas said to me. "Dylan hated me at first. Seriously, he hated my guts."

But, as it turned out, the line between hate and love became blurred for the newly initiated Hollywood star. The fights between the two men melted into bickering, and the bickering became joking, and suddenly they were friends. Thomas says their relationship changed in the blink of an eye, and he was certainly pleased with the outcome.

"Before I knew it, a friend was telling me Dylan liked me. It seemed like a godsend. Of course I asked him out, and he immediately accepted. Our first date was great."

By the time the shooting of the Maze Runner had finished, Thomas was altogether extremely happy with his progress in the bet. He called me, glowing about his progress, wanting to rub it in my face most likely.

"I can't keep him off of me. If it didn't have to do with this bet, I'd honestly probably be annoyed," he had gloated with a laugh.

It wasn't long later that Dylan was confessing his love for our crowned victor. Though Thomas was gentleman enough not to include details, he claimed it happened in the privacy of Dylan's home.

"He just said it," Thomas said. "He said it and I knew I had won."

So, sorry ladies and gentlemen, but that couple you have been adoring for months now was never really real at all. I know you're wondering--did Thomas fall in love in return? I wondered this too, so I asked.

And he replied, just as sullenly as the first time, "I don't fall in love, Reggie. This was all just a bet for me. Nothing more."

An unfortunate ending to what could have been the love story of the century, but of course, if there is one thing Thomas learned from this experience, it's that you can never really expect anything when the future is involved.

And as for Dylan--

Well, welcome to the media, Dylan O'Brien. Turns out there aren't many people you can trust, even the ones you thought you loved.

//

A/N

this is not the end!! expect 4-6 more chapters!!

xoxo hope y'all dont hate me

until next time,

//sam\\