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It was Dan’s idea to have them play this stupid “never have I ever” game with the freshman. Neil knew this wasn’t going to work, but this was Dan’s last year as captain and she clearly didn’t intend on allowing the team to be divided, so he just went along with it.
Since Neil decided to participate, Andrew followed (even though Neil could feel the annoyance transpiring from the blonde). Nicky and Allison only tagged along because they had made bets on how long it would take for the game to end on a bad note. Matt and Renee were trying to be supportive, even though Neil was sure he heard Matt getting in on the bet. Aaron had to be bribed with time alone in the dorms with Kate. After everyone was in on the game night, Kevin saw himself with no choice but to participate too.
Somehow the freshmen were fairly easy to convince. Jack and Sheena weren’t gonna miss an opportunity to get under the upperclassman’s skin, especially under Neil’s. The others probably just really wanted to try to bond with the team, since the recent fights were making it impossible.
Only the thought of having to deal with those little brats outside the Court almost made Neil give up on participating, but he had promised Dan he would. So, even though he would rather spend his night at the dorms with Andrew, reviewing game tapes with Kevin or playing games only with the upperclassman, Neil resigned himself to having an unpleasant Saturday night.
Either way, they all ended up in the Foxes’ Tower basement, sitting on a pathetic circle on the floor, each with a cup of soda and vodka filled to the top, sans Renee who had just soda in hers, as always. Kevin had to be stopped from pouring straight vodka in his by a very annoyed Andrew, who had stated he didn’t want to have to ruin the rest of his night “taking care of Kevin’s pathetic drunken ass afterwards”. Still, even through his rough, blunt words, Neil could see Andrew’s worry in the way his jaw clenched and his eyes lingered on Kevin for a moment before turning away again.
Andrew had never bothered with Kevin’s drinking habits. It would be hypocritical of him to do so while smoking a pack of cigarettes a day. But ever since they both came back from California, Andrew started paying more mind to Kevin’s excessive drinking and to his own excessive smoking. Neil had no idea what exactly happened, but he knew it had something to do with Jean, since the only answer he had gotten when he pointed out Andrew’s change in behavior regarding smoking to the man himself was a complaint about how Moreau needed to mind his own business. Whatever it was, Neil wasn’t complaining. Unlike Kevin, who was less than thrilled about having someone fussing over his unhealthy addiction to alcohol.
Andrew sat between Kevin and Neil, a habit that started at the beginning of Neil’s freshman year and didn’t fade away, even with everything that had changed in their lives since then. After settling, he placed one of his hands on Neil’s thigh. Even though neither of them felt comfortable with showing lots of affection in public, those small touches helped ground both of them and were a source of comfort and safety. Jack looked at them with disgust, but didn’t say anything. The freshman had probably learned his lesson after he tried calling Andrew a faggot once and ended up with a knife pressed to his throat and a ultimatum.
Matt sat with Dan at Neil’s other side. Allison and Renee positioned themselves near Dan. Nicky sat next to Kevin and Aaron right after him. The freshman squeezed between Aaron and Allison.
“I don't think I need to explain the rules of Never Have I Ever to anyone here,” Dan started. Thankfully Allison had explained the rules to Neil and Kevin after practice, since she figured neither of the two would know how to play, which spared both from having to ask in front of everyone. “So I guess we can start. Just remember that we are playing this to get to know each other, not to fight more. Let’s try to bond without getting at each other’s throat for at least one night.”
“Aaah, but we are so good at fighting,” Nicky interrupted with a playful smile that quickly faded after Dan gave him a disapproving glare.
“Each person will choose who goes next at the end of their turn. In the same round each person can only be chosen once. Any doubts?” Dan explained, not giving any more attention to Nicky’s comment. She wisely didn't wait to see if anyone would ask anything and started her turn. “Ok, then I will go first: Never have I ever been on a cruise”
Allison, Matt and Neil took a sip of their cups. Nicky looked surprised at Neil, searching for an explanation. The redhead just shrugged.
“Well, me and my mom were in Greece and urgently needed a ride out of Mykonos. There was a cruise ship full of tourists boarding, so we just bribed the right guy and got in.” Neil always heard that the Greek islands were beautiful and looked like paradise, but any place was hell with his father’s man on their heels, so he couldn't really tell. “We spent like 2 days hiding on the ship and then got out in Italy. Didn’t enjoy it a lot, since we weren’t sure if we were followed, but the food was great though.”
Neil had slowly started to drop small true stories about himself and his life, instead of the easy lies he had gotten used to. He felt like the old Foxes deserved it, after they had spent his entire freshman year trying to piece together the real person behind the facade he had built. It was also kind of refreshing to be able to tell the truth after so many years lying to survive. Not to mention it helped to remind him that Neil Josten wasn’t a forgery anymore. After spending most of his life always running and scared even of his own shadow, he was finally standing on solid ground,finally safe enough that the truth wasn’t a threat anymore.
Of course, there were things Neil wouldn’t say near the freshman, others he would whisper only to Andrew in the dead of night, when neither of them could sleep. There were also a few things he didn’t know if he would ever be able to say out loud. Nonetheless, it was amazingly surprising to find that even after it all, he was still able to be honest sometimes.
“Obviously Josten couldn’t just pay for a ticket like a normal person. It is better if you do it like the criminal you are, right?” Jack said, looking as if he had just made the smartest remark of his life. Neil didn’t really bother with the comment itself, but his teammate’s stupidity was annoying. Buying two last minute tickets would have been the same as writing their location on a note and delivering it in a box with a beautiful bow to his father’s door step. Before Neil could tell Jack how dense he was, Allison intervened.
“I can’t believe most of you have never gone on a cruise.” She smiled and looked at Jack as if she could make him disappear. “It is decided, next team trip we will go to one”
Dan took the chance to change the subject before someone could make another snide comment.
“So, next one will be Matt,” She said loudly so no one could interrupt her. Then, Dan whispered something to her boyfriend that Neil wasn’t quite able to hear. Matt nodded, smiled mischievously and finally started his turn.
“Okay, never have I ever been bitten by a snake,” he said while looking at Allison with a smirk. Neil took a sip of his cup, realizing that he would have to drink a lot if the game continued for long. The real surprise came when Allison took a sip too, while almost blowing Matt and Dan up with her stare.
“Wait, how did this happen, Allison??” Nicky basically shrieked, already laughing loudly. “No offense, but you don’t look exactly like the ‘hiking and enjoying nature from up close’ type, so how the hell did you ever get close enough to a snake to be bitten??”
“ Offense none taken. I really do not enjoy nature from up close, at all,” Allison started answering. “But Dan had the incredible idea of going on a ‘girls hike’ our first year. Don’t know what I was thinking, but I agreed. Turns out that when they say to watch where you step, you really should watch it.”
“15 minutes into the hike and we were having to carry Allison back,” Renee added, laughing and looking fondly at Allison. “It was a rat snake, so it wasn’t venomous or anything, but Alli refused to touch the ground again until we were at the parking lot.
”
“She swore she was never going on a hike again,” Dan completed.
“And I fully intend on keeping this promise, absolutely never again,” Allison interjected, looking like even just remembering the event brought her pain. “Everything either bites, scratches or pinches, not to mention you will certainly end up all dirty and sweaty. Plus, I live with the Foxes, so I guess that I’m already dealing with enough wild shit for a lifetime.”
The look Renee gave the other girl as she spoke was so tender that even Neil couldn’t miss it, even if he tried. A lot of times he felt like there was something more happenning between them and he knew there were bets going on regarding the topic. Still, it wasn’t his business and he knew they would tell everyone once they were comfortable enough, so Neil didn’t say anything.
“Can’t say you are wrong,” Nicky said, in reference to Allison’s last comment.
Aaron elbowed him, making Nicky wine.“Don’t talk as if you are not part of the problem.”
Before Nicky could answer, Kevin decided to use this opportunity to make it clear how unsatisfied he was with the team performance on the Court, like he had constantly been doing since the season began.
“You all really look like wild animals, and I’m not even talking about your behavior off Court, because I have lost all hopes on that front, but most of you are playing just like a chimpanzee would if it was given a racquet and a ball.” He paused and thought about it for a second. “Forget it, the chimpanzee would be better.”
“Hey, we are trying, give us a break,” One of the freshman, Emma, protested, looking offended, even though at this point she should have already gotten used to it.
“I will give you a break when you stop giving up on fights for possession that you are perfectly capable of winning. You have enough strength and precision to snatch the ball, but you seem too afraid of your opponent to do so, this is really…”
He couldn’t finish because Allison interrupted him. “Okay, okay, that’s enough! It is Saturday night and you are gonna give me a headache if you don’t stop talking about Exy. Our Monday morning meetings are for this type of argument. Saturday nights are for getting wasted.”
Kevin seemed ready to argue, but decided to stay quiet last minute. He had been really trying to be a little less demanding on the team, at least outside of practice hours, but it was still a constant struggle. After the time Neil had spent on the Nest, he started to understand Kevin a little more. In Evermore everyone breathes and quite literally bleeds Exy, so harsh words are the bare minimum. For Kevin, what the others perceive as him being rough, is actually a very downplayed version of the treatment he had gotten used to for 10 years of his life.Even though Kevin had been working on unlearning it all, old habits die hard and sometimes the excessive perfectionism and unhealthy Exy obsession still got the best of him. Still, he had been trying. Neil would absolutely never say it out loud, but he was proud of Kevin for trying.
Meanwhile, Andrew seemed to not be paying attention at all, even though Neil knew very well he was listening to everything. The blonde had kept his hands at Neil’s thigh, which was a constant and very welcome reminder of his presence. Sometimes Neil still couldn’t believe he had survived his freshman year and was there with Andrew, the other Foxes and all the time in the world. It still felt like a dream and he had to constantly remind himself that it wasn’t.
Andrew felt him staring and his hazel eyes met Neil’s, studying him with close attention. Andrew’s expression didn’t change, but he stared like if Neil was the only thing that mattered in the world and Neil felt like he could get lost in that pool of Gold and honey.
“Staring,” Andrew deadpanned, but before Neil could answer, Matt’s voice cut through the momentary silence.
“Okay, so lets just keep going then...I choose Sheena to go next,” he said with an inviting smile that did not reach his eyes and Neil knew it was probably Dan’s idea to have Matt call on one of the most problematic freshmen. There were high chances it was supposed to be some sort of peace offering that, given the smirk on Sheena’s face, she absolutely decided to not accept. Absently, Neil thought that the face she was making made her look even uglier than she normally would, which should be impossible. His captain would be very proud to know he decided to keep that thought to himself. Neil mentally prepared to be attacked, but instead Sheena looked at Aaron.
“Never have I ever killed anyone”
The whole room went so silent that it would be possible to hear a hairpin drop. With the trial being such a recent trauma, the provocation was just overall cruel, not to mention uncalled for. Aaron was caught off guard and looked at Sheena still processing what she had just said. Neil felt that Andrew got tense and placed his hands in front of the blonde’s chest, without actually touching him. When he received an angry glare in response, Neil signaled them both and Renee with his eyes, hoping Andrew would get his idea.
The freshman only knew about Aaron’s case, but there were actually three more murderers in the room than what they were accounting for. The surprise would probably throw them off their balance, at least a bit, and maybe Sheena would think twice before acting like a little shit again.
Since this was just a stupid game, if any of them decided to get loud about it afterwards, they would only look like stupid kids who had fallen for a prank made by upperclassmen. As taking a sip from a cup wasn’t exactly enough material to justify a murder charge, Neil was fairly certain the worst that could happen was a few more rumors about them flying around the campus. And honestly, Jack and Sheena were making his temper take over, which meant he was getting to the point where he would act and think about the consequences of it later.
Andrew almost instantly got it and receded. He looked at Renee, who was already staring at him, silently asking if Andrew would drink or not. She instantly understood what they were about to do and nodded in agreement.
Even though Aaron looked taken aback at first, he stared right down at Sheena and drank at least half of the liquid in his cup with one gulp. As soon as he did that, Neil took a sip of his own and was followed by Andrew and Renee. He would really be drinking a lot if the game continued on for much longer.
Neil saw through the corner of his eyes as Sheena and Jack’s faces dropped completely while they stared at the three unexpected participants of that round. He noticed, a little too late, that he was smiling while putting his cup back down, but didn’t censor himself. Those kids had been making hell out of his life ever since they got in. Somehow both of them thought that whatever they heard on the news was enough to form a solid opinion on everything that had happened the prior year, even though Neil himself, who had been at the center of it all, could barely wrap his head around it. Sheena and Jack knew nothing, but acted like they knew everything. Giving them a snip of all they were unaware of and seeing the fear in their eyes gave Neil a savage sense of satisfaction.
Andrew had his default bored look on, except for the slight upwards curve on the corner of his mouth and the spark that crossed his eyes, making them look almost like pure gold for a moment. That was how Neil knew the other was amusing himself with Sheena’s attempt on a provocation backfiring completely. Aaron seemed to have gotten a little surprised that he wasn’t left to drink alone, but couldn’t help letting a smirk form on his face.
An awkward silence followed as Sheena tried to recompose herself and Dan realized the game was almost certainly gonna end badly
“Wait...you guys are joking, right?” Kyle, the freshman that cried on his first day because of Kevin, asked looking from one upperclassman to the other. When he didn’t receive an answer, he tried again. “Right??”
“Don’t know...it might be a joke, it might not,” Andrew answered, looking at Kyle. “You can think whatever suits you best”
Another awkward silence followed.
“Guys, that’s not cool,” Interjected Henry, another freshman. “This is very serious. The only one who stood trial was Aaron, so this would mean that there are three of you admitting to have gotten away with murder, which is a very serious crime.”
“Didn’t know taking a sip of my drink could be a very serious crime,” Neil answered, giving a shrug. “Guess the FBI is gonna have to arrest me...Really didn’t want to look at agent Browning's ugly face again so soon, but I’m sure he will be super mad I drank from my cup on a never have I ever game.”
“That’s not funny, Neil,” Henry argued, visibly distressed.
“Well, I’m finding it pretty funny actually,” Neil said with a smile that pulled on his scars.
Andrew rolled his eyes fondly at Neil’s antics, probably finding it really annoying how predictable the other was to him at this point. The shorter man still had his hands on Neil’s thigh, even though he had started rubbing his thumb up and down, which almost made Neil lose all his concentration for a second. Renee had her usual calm look, while she seemed to be analysing everyone’s reaction. Just when Henry was about to say something, Emma interjected.
“Wait...Renee took a sip too, out of everyone in this room! At least you were joking, right?”
Renee shook her head in response and before anyone could say anything else she explained.
“Well, I wasn’t joking, but I speak only for myself.” She knew neither of them were joking, but she obviously wasn’t going to say it. The rainbow haired girl took a deep breath before continuing. “I involved myself with some pretty bad people in the past. One of them would hurt me every chance he got, so I did what I had to do to survive.” A spark crossed her eyes, and for a millisecond all Neil could see was Nathalie Shields, even though the sweet Renee everyone knew was back as fast as she had been gone. “That does not represent who I am or what I believe in today, but I don’t see a point in lying about it. Plus, when Stephanie adopted me, I took a plea deal and was offered pardon for all of my previous crimes in exchange for some names, so I’m technically clean”
A heavy silence fell in the room and, for a moment, Neil really admired Renee’s honesty. He remembered asking her how she could do it so naturally right before summer break. That was when Renee had told him it wasn’t natural at all, but something she had to police herself about constantly. Neil didn’t really feel like he either wanted or could be as truthful as her, but still found it amusing.
“Ok, that’s enough on heavy subjects for today...Sheena, who do you want to go next?” Renee called, trying to get the game moving.
The freshman finally brought herself back to Earth and looked at Neil with a mist of anger and fear.
“I want Neil to go next. I want to see if there is anything he has never done before,” she said, trying to look defiant and failing miserably.
“Well he clearly never received love from his father,” Jack remarked, with a bit of fear to his usually entirely mocking tone, even though he was still unable to stop acting like a jackass.
“At least I have people who love and want me by their side. What about you?” Neil snapped, not because of what Jack had said exactly, but more because of the mere mention of his father. He honestly didn’t care that Nathan had never loved him, he wouldn’t want to be loved by a monster and doubted his father was ever actually capable of loving anything. His anger at Jack came from the simple fact Neil was not Nathaniel, anymore. Nathan was Nathaniel’s father and both were dead. Neil most definitely didn’t want to keep on hearing about a monster he had left dead and buried in Baltimore. Not here, not inside the Fox Tower, not while with the Foxes. Therefore, the redhead would make Jack regret ever opening his mouth.
“You are just a pathetic little crybaby that manages to be disliked wherever he goes,” Neil continued, uncaring for the reactions of his teammates. “And notice I said disliked, not hated. You are so pitiful and unimportant that I doubt anybody would even care enough to hate you. And that’s who you will always be: not hated, not loved, not admired, not despised, just an annoying miserable boy trying to get the attention he never had at all costs. When you are not getting on my nerves, I actually feel sorry for you.”
That last part was a lie, he did not feel sorry for Jack at any moment at all, but saying it gave a dramatic effect to his little speech.
Matt tried not to laugh and failed so he coughed in an attempt to hide it. Even Kevin had to hold back a laugh, rolling his eyes with both exasperation and fondness. On the other hand, Neil could see a vein popping on Jack’s forehead as he got ready to throw hands. Dan positioned herself in between both boys just in time to stop the angry freshman from charging towards Neil. Not really towards Neil himself, more like towards the knife already in Andrew’s hand, but those are just details.
“Thats enough the two of you,” Dan chided, looking extremely tired. “Jack, stop antagonizing Neil all the time. Neil, please, tone it down too, I need your help as vice captain.”
The reminder of his position made Neil retract a bit, so he just nodded in agreement, mostly out of respect for Dan, even though one part of him really wanted Jack to try his luck.
Jack sat back down while cursing under his breath, which was unusual behavior, since he would generally not back down from fights. When he sat back down, Neil sheathed his blade once more and sat too. Maybe Jack had gotten a little afraid after the last round, or maybe he was finally becoming a half decent person. Either way, Neil would count his victories where he could.
“Neil, it is your turn then, just please, no delicate subjects anymore,” Dan said with a sigh.
Neil had truly intended to follow Dan’s request, but then he heard Jack whisper something about how he shouldn’t be vice-captain anyways. So Neil decided to spice things up a little bit more. If he didn’t bow his head for two weeks in Evermore, it most definitely wouldn’t be Jack to make him go quiet. The redhead looked at Andrew, who immediately understood what he was about to do and just shrugged, which was all the permission he needed.
“Never have I ever regretted killing someone,” Neil said while smiling, this time on purpose.
Nicky gasped, Matt choked and Dan gave him the same exhausted look that Wymack would give the Foxes all the time. Andrew, Aaron and Renee remained still as the freshman looked at them hoping they would take a sip, but none of them did.
Sheena and Jack’s looks alternated between the four of them. Neil appreciated the silence for once and felt the same savage satisfaction he had felt a few minutes ago. At the end of the day the two problematic freshmen were just stupid kids, even though they were very annoying stupid kids, they still were just that. The fear they couldn’t hide from their eyes was proof enough. Seeing It felt good because it reminded Neil that he had survived so much that any problem those pretentious assholes could bring dimmed in comparison.
“That’s not funny guys...this is serious,” Emma, the girl Neil recruited, said in a low voice. “You shouldn’t joke with those things.”
Andrew just looked at her as if she had made the dumbest comment ever. “Who said that we were joking?”
“So you weren’t joking?” Kyle asked. “Both you and Neil have killed someone, gotten away with it and don’t regret it at all?”
“No one said we weren’t joking either,” Neil answered, faking annoyance.
“Okay, that’s enough!” Dan finally intervened. “Neil, I asked you to stay out of this type of topic. I really need you to stop…”
Jack unfortunately found his voice again at this moment and interrupted Dan.
“Wait, so the team’s pet criminal and his monster have just confessed to a capital crime and your reaction is to just tell Neil he shouldn’t talk about it? Seriously?”
The veins on his forehead were popping again as Andrew looked at Neil faking a confused expression.
“Wait...does the team have a pet? Is that the guard dog everyone kept asking Kevin to put a leash on last year?”
Kevin, who was quiet and completely lost inside his own mind, got taken aback with the sudden mention of his name and looked wide eyed at Andrew. When he finally remembered what the blonde was talking about, he just smirked.
“I wasn’t the one to put a leash on him at the end of the day,” Andrew glared at Kevin and slapped the back of his head, only making the striker snicker. Still, the blonde pointedly didn’t try arguing.
“I am more curious about the monster thing…” Neil commented, with a scornful tone. “Thought they didn’t exist.”
“Maybe we should call Scooby Doo and his gang,” Andrew supplied.
“Hey, guys I think that’s enough,” Renee stepped in, with her soft voice.“Why don’t we just go back to…”
At this point Jack apparently lost it completely, and he interrupted Renee without second thought. “This has to be a joke! Neil should have been expelled the moment everyone learned he is a creepy pathological liar with a bunch of psychos for a family. It is ridiculous those two are a part of-”
“I’m going to stop you right there, because you are currently on very thin ice,” Allison, who had been otherwise silent until then, snapped, glaring at Jack. “Neil and Andrew are not only Foxes, but they are family to us. We don’t give a flying fuck who Neil’s father was, neither we care about the things he or Andrew had to do to survive and protect those they care about,” she stopped to take a breath before continuing. “Wether they are being serious right now or not is irrelevant to us. Simple as that. If you have any problems with it, you are welcome to transfer for another team or drop out. If you don’t want to do any of those things, then just shut the fuck up because neither of them are going anywhere.”
Renee apparently started running hot after Allison’s speech, because she started using her shirt to fan herself.
At the same time, Neil could feel Andrew’s surprise, even though he himself couldn’t quite hide his own. The Foxes' unwavering love and loyalty towards him would never cease to amaze, but the thing that surprised Neil the most was how fiercely Allison had also defended Andrew. Only a year ago Allison stepping up for the goalkeeper would have been deemed impossible. Even nowadays, it still was unexpected, especially considering what had happened between the two of them last season on the day the Foxes’parking lot was trashed.
Nonetheless, there was Alllison clearly very angry in their behalf, making Jack shut up. Neil felt his chest tighten with how much love he had for his Foxes. Seeing how much they all had overcome to become what they were today, and being there to witness it all, almost made Neil tear up.
Idly he asked himself if they would be able to overcome the current division between the freshmen and upperclassmen, even though he knew he wasn’t exactly being helpful at that moment, with his short temper again getting the best of him. He really didn’t inherit not even a little bit of his mother’s patience. Neil was taken out of his own thoughts by Sheena’s voice.
“There ain’t no way you all agree with this.”
“Yes, we do.” This time it was Kevin who apparently had enough of them both. “You two should be ashamed of thinking you have any right to question who should or shouldn’t be a part of this team. You can barely pull your own weight on the court and all you ever seem to be good for is whine and cause in-fighting. Neil and Andrew have the potential to be Court one day, you two have the potential to end on a second class team at best. Learn your place once and for all .”
Neil knew this would be particularly humiliating to Jack, since he had been following Kevin around like a kicked puppy from day one, begging for his attention. If the mean look on Kevin’s face was anything to go by, the older striker knew very well the impact his words would have and had chosen them carefully.
Neil would be a liar (which he was, but even lying has limits) if he said he didn’t feel a little jealous at the beginning of the semester because of Jack, afterall Kevin had picked the newcomer just like he had picked him. With time, the fact that Neil was and would always be Kevin’s priority when it came to training was made very clear, to Jack’s utter disgust. Right now, Kevin had just put into words what he had made clear with his actions countless times before.
Sheena looked around and was only met with the same look full of confidence and certainty from all upperclassmen, confirming they all were on board with Allison’s speech. Jack had lowered his gaze and his cheeks were flaming red in anger and shame. Neil couldn’t say he felt even the slightest bit of pity.
“You know what?... Whatever,” she said while getting up. “Let's go Jack! Not gonna lose time with this shit”
Jack got to his feet and followed behind like a well trained dog. Neil rolled his eyes at it, but didn’t say anything else(which he considered as improvement on his self control).
Once the younger striker was near the door, a knife passed centimeters away from his head and landed on the door frame. Neil looked at his side and sure enough, it was Andrew who had thrown it.
“Sleep with one eye open, Jackie,” the blonde cooed in a mocking tone. “Next time, it might be your head, not the door.”
Jack and Sheena fled as fast as possible, with white pale faces. No one dared to utter a word while Andrew got up, took his blade back and sat down once more. Neil would be lying (again, even lying has limits), if he said he didn’t find the display extremely hot.
After both Jack and Sheena left, the remaining Foxes tried to continue the game, but the freshman left looked uncomfortable to say the least, which confused Neil a little. He really couldn’t understand why all those strong reactions at the simple mention of death. It was a normal part of life and it is not like any of them have killed anyone worth anything. Still the mood for the night was ruined, and one by one they all went to their dorms.
Neil honestly felt bad for ruining Dan’s attempt at unifying the team and he told her as much. Dan had only leveled him a tired look before telling Neil he couldn’t stop himself from ‘pissing off the son of a Yakuza head’ so she honestly didn’t know what she was thinking when she thought he could stop himself from picking a fight with Jack. Nonetheless, Neil apologized and decided he would really try to fix things. Jack definitely wasn’t worth the effort, but his team definitely was.
As there wasn’t much he could do about that right now, he and Andrew went to their dorm, where Neil was reminded that his smartmouth somehow was a huge turn on for the goalkeeper, even though Andrew would never admit it. When Neil taunted him, he said that somebody had to put Neil’s mouth to good use at some point. From there they could only lock the door and try to not make (too much) noise.
It took a little more than a week for all the freshmen to stop acting weirdly around the rest of the team and especially around Renee, Neil and Andrew. At some point, when they were all in a water break, Emma gathered the courage and asked the twins and Neil why they didn’t regret it. Neil thought everyone was just going to ignore her until Aaron spoke up.
“He was a piece of trash and was hurting my family, I did the only thing I could and would do it again”.
Andrew glanced up and simply said “same.”
The twins looked at each other for a moment and instead of the usual tension there was a silent understanding between them. Tilda’s death would always be a sour subject, but they were progressing in amending their relationship slowly. In moments like this, it was very noticeable how much they were evolving.
After a week or so the freshmen were already at their usual behavior again and the Foxes still had a long way to go if they wanted to make it to finals, but somehow, Neil was sure things were going to be alright one way or the other.