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For the last week Neil had been distant. Not particularly from Andrew, but he’d started spacing out more than often. Around him, the other foxes, and even Wymack. His performance on the court had declined and Kevin didn’t let Neil forget that. Andrew didn’t care though. Neil would talk if he wanted. In the meantime, Andrew went to the athletes' dining hall and got a pint of ice cream–they were almost out of it in their dorm and he was over other people eating his shit. Assholes.
It was November, and some midterms had already begun. As he walked, Andrew went over the dates which he’d be sitting at a desk for too long. He thought of Neil’s schedule and ruled out midterms as his stressor, since they would all be in early December. Not that Andrew cared why Neil was stressed–he couldn’t care less.
Andrew swiped his school ID into the dining hall, and the heat coming from the building felt good against his cheeks and nose, which were pink and cold from the icy wind outside. He was not excited for winter. Andrew got in line behind some football players who were too loud and too happy. Andrew paid for his ice cream–Ben and Jerry’s brownie batter. He was almost out of points and sadly he couldn’t use his meal swipes for this. He contemplates taking Aarons card, he is sure his twin has a lot of money left in there. No junk food. He decided to keep that in the back of his mind, but before he headed out, Andrews saw a chomp, orange packaging–turkey. He got it as well. He did it before thinking of why.
He hiked back to the fox tower, went up the stairs taking two steps at a time. Not that he was in a hurry. He heard noises coming from Nicky’s room–loud music and people talking. When he walked into his dorm, he expected all the others to be at Nicky’s, but Neil was there. His eyes found Andrew’s quickly, he softened and gave a faint smile. Andrew got a spoon from the kitchen, and tossed the chomp to Neil as he walked towards the couch. Neil made some space on the couch and Andrew sat, leaving a few inches between them.
“Thanks,” Neil looked at Andrew and spoke again when he got no response, “it’s orange.”
“Good observation.” Andrew decided to entertain this. He wanted to see where it went. He watched as Neil took a bite, and turned it towards Andrew–he gave it a shake, signaling that Andrew should try it. Andrew took a bite while Neil held the stick, keeping his eyes glued on Neil’s blue eyes–he saw his pupils get a bit larger.
“Good?” Andrew shrugged. “We can share it.” Andrew got his ice cream and began eating it. Neil watched with attention, and when Andrew swallowed his first bite he asked: “Good?”
“Always is,” pause, “get another spoon if you’re gonna stare.”
“I’m not.”
Andrew smirked subtly, with ice cream still in his mouth. They hadn’t interacted like that the entire weekend. They spoke, yes. Not like that though. Something in Andrew missed it, but he shot the feeling down because he doesn’t miss or want anything. He opened his mouth to say something, but the door opened and Kevin was there.
“Stop eating that shit Andrew.” Andrew turned to face Kevin, and ate his dessert while he was staring. As if to challenge him. Andrew got a little too much ice cream. He got close to getting a brain freeze–he tried not to show it though. Day turned to Neil, “Neil, you’re out of sync with everyone what the hell is going on.”
“I’m not, you just need to get that stick out of your ass Kevin.” Neil said that knowing full well he had been completely out of sync with everyone. Not that Andrew could tell. He hates stick ball.
“Wymack said no night practice on Sunday, but tomorrow we’re going an hour early for you to fix your bad habits.”
“Leave me alone Kevin.” Neil got up and looked at Andrew before walking towards the bathroom, “I’m going to shower.”
Both men watched as Neil stormed out of the living room. Kevin looked at Andrew and said, “You better fix this.”
“Not my job, Day.”
“Fix it,” Kevin walked towards his room, “figure out what the fuck is wrong with him.”
Before Kevin slammed his door Andrew yelled, “That’ll take at least 20 years.”
—
Andrew took a shower after Kevin. It was almost 12 a.m. when he walked into his and Neil’s room. He opened the door and looked at the room for a second. The room has a window at the end of the room, opposite from the door, then there’s Andrew’s nightstand and his bed, then Neil’s nightstand and his bed. Neil was not quite sleeping, not quite awake. He stared at Andrew while his body was still facing the ceiling.
“Hi,” he whispered. Andrew gave a little wave, and dropped his weight onto the bed. He laid down and turned to look at Neil’s bed. Not making eye contact with the other. “Go to sleep, junkie.”
“I was waiting for you.”
“I’m here.”
Neil turned on his side to look at Andrew. “Good night.”
“Night.”
—
The next 5 days went by quickly. Classes were boring, readings were not read, notes were not taken, salads were not consumed, ice cream was bought, cigarettes were smoked. The most active part of Andrew’s day was at night practice.
Last night’s night practice started at 7 p.m. and went a little over 10:30 p.m.. The car ride to the court was quiet, only the purr of the maserati was heard. On the court, Andrew blocked shots and watched Day drill into Neil. Neil was off. He seemed small. He was either hitting the pole of the goal or missing shots. Exy was what drove Neil, and Andrew's curiosity grew.
Neil was confident, living up to the vice-captain title. He might not know that, but he was and it was clear to anyone watching that he was a natural. However, in the last two weeks he had become reserved, his mind always elsewhere. Exy seemed to be at the back of his mind. Andrew tried to poke around, but Neil didn’t open up. He’d either change the subject or say he had to do something important–Neil hated washing the dishes, but that past week, one could always find him by the kitchen sink.
Now it was 5 p.m. on a Friday. Neil would be done with his class in 30 minutes, and back at the dorm in 15. Kevin was already drinking his sorrows away. Andrew went to his room and leaned out the window to smoke, he certainly didn’t choose that spot to watch Neil walk towards the fox tower–of course not. In a very unlikely coincidence, Andrew saw Neil from above. He watched as the wind blew Neil’s curls, and how Neil squinted his eyes and rubbed his face. Andrew felt some relief as he saw Neil. He didn’t understand his feelings most of the time. He always preached he didn’t want anything, and that nothing got under his skin.
“I’m nothing.”
He supposed it was true. He didn’t like it, but guessed there was no use in fighting back. What Neil and he had was… non-existent. It was a speck of something that wasn’t even real. It was imaginary. It didn’t matter. But when Andrew looked at Neil he felt as though nothing mattered outside of that. Dangerous, he thought.
He heard the front door, heard steps walking in his direction, and heard the door to the room open. Andrew turned and looked at Neil.
“Hey.”
“We’re going to Edens tonight, go shower and get dressed.”
“Just us?” Andrew knew that by us Neil meant Kevin, Nicky and Aaron as well, but the sound of the word did something to him.
“Whoever you want. But I’m not driving the whole zoo.” He put his cigarette out and walked towards the door, he went past Neil and got Neil’s towel from the hooks on the door. He threw the towel at Neil, and it hit his face. “Go, junkie.”
Neil walked out of the room, but before he was completely out of sight he said, “Got it.” Andrew could almost hear the grin on Neil’s face. He tightened his jaw.
Andrew sat on Neil’s bed, opened his notebook and textbook and tried to do some homework. He was being forced to take a science course to complete his requirements for PSU’s core curriculum. He had put it off his freshman and sophomore year because everytime the only classes available were dumb and a waste of his time–not that any class was something he thought was particularly useful. But this semester there was a seashore course, and he deemed it worthy of time because he could get past the idea of going on a field trip to the beach.
Andrew got through the first 3 pages of an academic paper he had to read for class the following Monday, when something caught his attention. Neil leaned against the door frame, towel around his hips, and his hair wet against his face–his once bright ginger hair looked brown as it was soaked.
“You have a bed of your own you know.”
Andrew, who was sitting with one leg on the bed and one hanging from it, put both his arms back and put his weight on them–he stared at Neil like he was a code he had to decipher. “Mm-”
“Mind if I get changed?”
“Do whatever you want, I don’t care.”
Neil opens his drawer with all his “Edens attire.” Over the last year or so Andrew had been expanding Neil’s clothing collection, he didn’t care what Neil wore most of the time, but for Edens he couldn’t wear his usual bright orange sweats. He began to put his clothes on and Andrew waited for Neil to look decent–he didn’t have specific permission, so he focused his view on his homework. Neil sat opposite of him, at the end of the twin xl, and Andrew looked up. Neil's hair was still wet, but he ran his fingers through it because it looked–messily–slicked back. He had a black long sleeve that was just tight enough against his skin to highlight his muscles, not leaving much to the imagination. He had black ripped baggy jeans on, and when he leaned down to tie his boots Andrew couldn't help but notice the white Calvin Klein boxers that peaked from under the jeans.
“I’m gonna go ask them if they want to join.” Neil looked at Andrew, waiting for a response. Andrew didn’t give anything in return, given that it wasn’t a question. “Should I ask Allison to dry my hair?”
“If you don’t want to get sick, yes.”
“I’ll be back. We leavin’ at 8:30?”
“We always do.” When Neil left, Andrew got up and dressed himself. He grabbed a black tight sleeveless shirt, and black jeans–not as baggy as Neil’s. He put on his doc martens, which gave him a few inches. Andrew walked to the living room and saw Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin all talking and pre-gaming.
“Aaron, are you sure you can’t help me fake a note? I don’t want to take my midterm next week I can’ttttt”
“Nicky, no are you dumb?”
“In this particular subject: yes!”
Andrew sat on the empty bean bag and poured himself a shot of whiskey. Kevin was hogging the bottle of vodka as always. Nicky and Aaron were both sipping on tweas.
“Where’s Neil, Andrew?” Before Andrew could begin ignoring that question Kevin responded for him, “getting his hair done by Allison or something,” he looked at Andrew, “you didn’t fix him by the way.”
Andrew shrugged and said, "he's not broken.”
“He’s so ass on the court now,” Aaron said, “he’s gonna be the reason we lose this year. I’m calling it.”
“Guys, I mean something is clearly going on with him.”
“Shut up, Nicky,” Aaron said and killed his can.
“Andrew, his performance on the court is important, you know that. Do something.” Andrew knew what Kevin was referring to–Neil’s deal with Ichiro. Neil wasn’t a totally free man; he, Kevin, and Jean were bound to the main family. They could no longer afford certain risks. Andrew knew, he never forgot. It was something that plagued him everyday. Perhaps that’s why the junkie was acting differently–who knows. Andrew gave a subtle nod, and while Nicky and Aaron argued, he decided to find out tonight.
When Neil walked into the dorm, he leaned against the frame of the main door and Andrew took in the view. Neil’s hair was now dry, his curls were defined and some streaks were lighter–almost yellow somehow. Though Andrew had seen what Neil was wearing before, he now saw the full picture. Neil looked good–annoyingly good.
“Neil, you look so hot!” Nicky said as he got up to get a closer look.
“Allison did my hair. She used some hair stuff to give me temporary highlights or something.”
Allison came out from behind Neil, “thanks Nicky, it’s my piece of art!” Allison twisted one of Neils curls, “you need to get them done for real now though, babe. This looks great.”
“YES!” Nicky yelled, and Neil wasn’t expecting it and gave the tiniest of flinches.
Kevin saw what was happening, got up and said, “finally, let’s go.” He walked past everyone alongside Aaron and they both rushed downstairs, Nicky followed soon after. Allison looked at Neil and said, “I’m going out the back, Matt has the car ready. See you guys there?”
“Yeah.”
Andrew was a flight of stairs ahead of Neil when he heard the other say from behind him, “do you like it.”
I do. He gave Neil a “hmm” instead. They both got into the car. Kevin was behind the driver's seat, Nicky was in the middle, and Aaron behind Neil. Andrew turned on the car, reversed it and put it in drive.
“Can I put music on?”
“Do whatever you want, Nicky.” Nicky turned the radio on and a cheesy Billboard Top 100 pop song started playing. Andrew turned the music down, so as to not bust his eardrum. The drive to Sweeties wasn’t bad, since it was late and rush hour was long gone.
When they entered the diner the other foxes were already sitting, but given the empty table they hadn’t ordered yet. They picked a large circle booth which thankfully had enough space for everyone to sit comfortably. Andrew sat between Neil and Kevin. Dan and Matt were all over each other; Allison and Nicky were yelling with excitement rather than talking; Aaron was on his phone texting his cheerleader; Renee was sitting in blissful peace. Usually Neil would be participating in the conversation, but not today. He was fidgeting with the seam of his shirt and shaking his leg. Up and down, up and down, up and down.
Their orders started making their way to the table–not a single cracker dust packet in sight. Renee had a simple sunday, Kevin got nothing, Nicky got three balls of ice cream, Aaron got a plain chocolate cone, Allison something pink, and the couple a banana split. Neil got one scoop of vanilla bean. Boring. Andrew got the best order: two scoops of chocolate, chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and mini marshmallows to top it all off. Every bite was a little piece of heaven, that was somehow being disturbed by Neil’s… bad mood? Sadness? Inability to be normal? Yes.
Speaking of “yes.” He leaned over to Neils, leaving the smallest space between his lips and Neil’s ear: “Yes or no?” Neil was surprised. Not because of the question, but he seemed to have been spacing out to the point where he forgot where he was. His leg still shaking.
“Yes.” Without missing a beat Andrew put his hand on Neil’s thigh to make his leg stop. It worked. He thought he felt Kevin’s eyes staring, but he chose to ignore it and keep eating his ice cream.
—
Once they got to Edens all the foxes went in, and at that point the bouncers knew not to stop the others. Neil was ahead of Andrew’s group talking to Matt and Dan, while Andrew is with a way past tipsy Kevin. They got a large table reserved for them and Andrew quirked his head towards Neil, asking if he was coming to the bar with him. Neil got up and followed behind Andrew.
“I think I’m gonna drink tonight.” Neil drank occasionally, nothing more than a shot or two of Andrew’s whiskey or a sip of a white claw.
“Okay.”
They reached the bar and Roland saw them right away. “What can I do for my favorite customers? The usual?” He said with a grin on his face, looking between the two men in front of him.
“This one is drinking tonight,” Andrew pointed at Neil. Neil looked up at Roland and asked, “what should I get?”
Roland looked a bit caught off guard, and Andrew didn’t know if it’s because Neil was drinking something other than ginger ale or if it was because Neil was speaking to him unprompted for once. “What do you like?”
“I don’t know? Maybe something not as strong as whiskey or straight vodka?” He looked at Andrew with an unsure look, in search of help. Andrew wasn’t quite speechless, but this was not something he would’ve put in his bingo card of things that would happen that year.
Roland looked between the two in a thoughtful way, “how about Pink Whit?” When Neil looked like he was going to ask something, Roland said, “frat guys made it, it’s just vodka and pink lemonade. See if you like it.” Neil nodded and Roland left to go get the drinks.
“What created the change of heart?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” Andrew left it alone. He wasn’t going to press it, so they waited for the drinks. Roland placed two trays in front of them, and Andrew reflected on a time when there was only one. The good old days.
They walked together towards the foxes, who when they saw the two men acted like it was a divine moment. The trays are almost empty instantly, with everyone picking up a glass. Neil got one of the Pink Whitney shots–Andrew was calling that Neil was going to hate it. But before Neil got the chance to down it all of the foxes stared at him.
“Neil you’re drinking?!” Matt asked in shock.
“OMG.” Dan said, “that used to be my shit in high school!”
“Girl, I know it’s so good,” Allison said with her hand on Dan’s exposed shoulder, “quickest way for me to be gone for the night!”
“Neil is getting white girl wasted tonight!” Nicky jumped in.
Neil stared at everyone, surely not expecting the tumultuous reactions. “I thought I’d try something.” He said and everyone seemed to be thinking of a response, till Renee broke the silence, “Well, bottoms up guys!” She exclaimed with a smile.
Allison sipped on a fancy drink, while everyone took a shot–and Kevin took a swing from his bottle. Andrew watched as Neil downed his in one go–curious about the other’s reaction.
“That’s so sweet.” Neil says and scrunches his nose, everyone laughs at him and he smiles faintly.
“Is it good enough to take another one?” Dan asked and Neil nodded before saying, “It’s not bad, it’s better than Kevin’s juice.” He points at Kevin and the entire table, even Aaron laughed.
Kevin grunted and looked at Neil, pretending to be offended. Andrew drank his whiskey and kept his eyes on Neil, who was talking to the foxes. He was still tense and the same Neil from the past two weeks. Andrew took this time, and used the distraction of the loud music and bright light to stare.
Neil looked good tonight, he always did, no matter what he’s wearing or doing. Tonight though, he managed to surpass his perfect streak. Andrew attributed this to the fake highlights, and thinks that he agrees with Allison–not that he’d ever admit that part–that Neil should get his hair done. He also noticed how the neon lights moved across Neil’s hair, how they moved across his chest. Andrew decided to focus on the red light, and it guided him through Neil’s body. Now blue. Now purple.
—
Neil was four shots deep. He seemed more free than he had in the last couple days, more carefree and gentle. Andrew was almost past tipsy, and though he usually didn’t stop so early, he decided this glass will be his last. Neil wasn’t quite leaning on Andrew, but he was definitely more comfortable–less stiff. When Matt announced he was going up to the bar everyone spoke over one another with their order, Neil waited for everyone to be done and said, “can i come w you?” Andrew took a mental note on how good Neil’s voice sounded when he dragged the end of each word a little longer than usual. What am I thinking?
He watched Neil get up and walk with Matt, talking and laughing. He remembers the feelings of the drugs he was non longer on, and didn’t know if he should feel relief or not that he got to remember instances of Neil. Of course he had memories, but now every moment was so clear, even drunk ones, and he thought he'd be okay with having clear memories of Neil.
“Neil is so cute drunk!” Allison said to the table. “How could you keep this side away from us Andrew?!” Dan said through her giggles, and he was not going to entertain this conversation.
“I’ve never seen him like this though! He never drank more than what-? One, two shots?” Nicky looked at Aaron in search of an answer, since he knew Andrew was a dead end.
“Why the hell would I know?” Aaron hiccuped, “But yeah, no, he doesn't get drunk like that.”
“Why do you all care?” Kevin said.
“How could we not?!” Allison asked at the same time as Dan put both her hands on the table and said, “He’s my son I- I care about everything!”
Andrew had to fight off the urge to roll his eyes. He grabbed his drink to take the last sip, and as the ice met his lips Neil showed up with a red drink. Pink, red… What next? Andrew thought, orange?
“Hi!” Neil attempted to hold back a smile by putting his tongue in front of his teeth, but he failed miserably and smiled so hard Andrew could see his teeth–which looked blue due to the harsh neon lights at the club. The foxes all started talking again, and Neil just listened. He was still thoughtful and a bit quiet, but he was relaxed around the team. Andrew felt Renee’s stare, so he looked towards her and she smiled–signaling that she had noticed Neil's behavior change as well.
Neil was putting all of his weight on the booth of the table they were sitting at, and he had the straw of his drink between his teeth. There was also a little umbrella on it, which would move everytime Neil took a sip–causing Neil to take many sips. “Whatcha got there, junkie?”
“Hmm- Vodka cranberry! You want a sip?” Andrew stared and Neil sat up straight, leaned his head a bit towards Andrew and shook his drink to offer it to him. Andrew took him up on that offer and put his lips to the straw and took a small sip. He knew that others were staring, but in moments like these he felt like there was a bubble around them. Where nothing could maim them.
“Neillll,” Nicky said in a bratty voice, “you are sooo- What’s the word?”
“Silly?” Renee offered.
“YES! So silly when you get drunk!”
Neil smiled. He opened his mouth to say something, but shook his head when he noticed all the foxes stopped talking to hear what he had to say. “Neil! What were you gonna say?!” Matt asked. Neil grabbed a random shot from the table and downed it instead, “Ughhhh,” his nose scrunched, “what the fuck was thatttt?”
“That was Smirnoff babe…”
“I-I hatedddd that sooo much. Okay?”
“What were you going to say?” Allison pushed, but Neil shrugged and giggled, as if to say “I don’t know.” The foxes all laughed and Neil did too, which was something Andrew wasn’t used to. Yes, he had heard Neil laugh before, in their room or on the roof. When Neil was around the others he would smile or give a faint laugh. Tonight though, he was laughing like he was a little kid. Andrew made sure to remember the sound.
Neil looked at Andrew as the foxes were lost in conversation–something about wanting to request a song. “Your hair is so blond.” Neil put his hand up and asked, “can I?”
“Yes.” Neil touched Andrew’s hair and played with the strands on the front that have a little bit of a wave to them. “Fun?”
“Yes ‘Drew.” Andrew stops. Neil had never said his name like that before. He knew it was a failed attempt to say “Andrew,” but his heart skipped a beat. Stop. He didn’t know who he meant that to though. Neil was drunk, so Andrew would think about it more thoughtfully tomorrow, but in the meantime he decided to make “Drew” a possible yes. Yellow light.
At once, all the foxes got up and went towards the dance floor. Renee looked at Neil and Andrew to say, “we’re all going to go request songs guys, we’ll be back soon!” Kevin was left with them, but he was so drunk he probably wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere–nevertheless dance. Once they were alone and Neil dropped his hand to grab the rest of his vodka cran from the table Andrew asked, “truth for truth?” Neil nodded and locked his blue eyes on Andrew.
“What made you drink tonight?”
“I needed something.”
“Go on. I want the full truth, junkie.”
“What if I’m not a-”, pause, “a good captain?” Neil said almost in a whisper, and if it had been any quieter Andrew would not have heard him.
“You can’t have your turn till you finish mine.”
“Noooo. I mean it. I-I’m worr-ied. They’re all,” another pause, “leaving. So soon.” Andrew stared at Neil, queuing him to go on. “Then-then you’re leavinggg ‘Drew. I-I don’t.”
Neil looked down, and then stared at the dance floor where he saw the other foxes dancing. “I don’t know how I’m gonna deal with that.” He turns his body to Andrew, puts one leg on the booth, and leans his head on it as well. “I won’t be with my fa-family.”
“You’re nothing.”
“I know.”
“I want nothing.” Neil smiled at that. Andrew wasn’t a sentimental man, but he could try his best right now he guessed–especially for a drunk Neil. “They won’t ever stop annoying me. Which means you’re never going to stop being around them.”
“I guess.”
“You have a phone don’t you?”
“Yes. Why?”
“They’ll give you a call. They’ll text you. They’ll blow up your phone, and if you don’t respond-”
“-They’ll blow up yours.” Neil grinned as he finished Andrew’s sentence.
“Stop worrying.” Neil just smiled at that.
“My turn?” When Andrew didn’t respond with words Neil asked, “What do you think about my hair?”
“Awful.”
“Heyyyyy- I thought we were being ho-honest!” He giggled. “Go onnn.” Andrew looked at Neil's hair, pretending to inspect it.
“You should make it permanent.” He said cutting eye contact, as he felt his cheek get hot from something other than the alcohol.
“I feel so weird ‘Drew”
“You calling me that now?”
“It sounds good, doesn’t it?”
Andrew looked at Neil, “You’re out of questions for tonight smartass.”
“I- I think it doesss.” Neil said dragging his “s,” ignoring Andrew’s comment.
—
Andrew parked the maserati outside of the fox tower, and right as he turned off the engine he saw Matt park his truck two parking spots down from him. The girls stumbled out of the car, Matt helping Dan and Renee helping Allison.
“Night guys!” Matt screamed as they all walked away and Andrew’s family got out of the car. Kevin was drunk–as always–but he’s a big boy and could walk back in, he stumbled but got the job done. Aaron was walking behind Kevin, slowly as if to make sure the queen got to bed safe.
“You need help with Neil?” Nicky asked as he fell out of the car onto the concrete floor, “don’t worry! I’m good!”
“Go to your dorm.” Was all Andrew gave him and he walked out of the car, and went to the passenger side.
Neil was a hassle to get into the car, since he never drank and decided to drown himself in something other than soda for once. It took Andrew at least 15 minutes. He was in and out of sleep the entire car ride, mostly in. When he saw Andrew he said, “yes or no?”
“To what?”
“Carry me?”
If Andrew was on his medication he’d laugh and point. Since he wasn’t, he nodded and hoped the foxes were all tucked in bed. He picked up Neil in a sloppy bridal style carry, and Neil laughed as Andrew instructed him to kick the car door shut. They went up the stairs, and Andrew used all the steps for once. Once they got to their dorm Neil was placed on his bed, and Andrew took off Neil's boots for him.”
“You’re gonna have a major headache tomorrow.” Andrew said as he found liquid IV packets and placed them next to Neil’s bright orange PSU water bottle. Andrew went to their closet and got clothes for him and Neil, he tossed Neil’s clothes on his alp. Neil was successful at taking off his jeans, but not so much his shirt. He gave up for a second and watched as Andrew finished changing.
Andrew was suddenly very aware of his body, and more aware that he gave himself a white and orange “Josten, 10” shirt, and gave Neil the plain gray t-shirt. He moved towards Neil’s bed, standing in front of the other. Neil was sitting on his knees on the bed, looking at Andrew, till he put his arms up.
“Words.”
Neil looked ashamed as he said quietly, “I just can’t take my shirt off. It’s too tight.”
Andrew helped him, and he couldn't stop himself before taking Neil’s body in. He grabbed his gray shirt, and put it over Neil’s head, messing up all of his once perfectly defined curls.
“‘Drew?” Andrew doesn’t respond. “Do you want to share the bed?”
They had shared a twin xl various times, be it Neil’s or Andrew’s. Andrew thought for a second before saying, “sleeping.” As he motioned with his hands for Neil to move a bit.
They both were in bed, under the same blanket. The moonlight shone through the curtain, allowing Andrew to see Neil’s eyes close as he said, “Good night ‘Drew.”
“Night, junkie.”