#ninety percent of the time the very sight of neil makes him want to commit murder

[orange-foxes]

one hundred and one, going on one hundred and two

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Fourteen

Day: Saturday, March 9th / 10th* Time: 3:48 PM EST

"So the attitude problem wasn't an act, at least," Andrew says. "I was going to tell you," Nathaniel says. "Stop lying to me." "I'm not lying. I would have told you last night, but they were in our locker room." "They who?" Browning asks. Nathaniel switches to German without missing a beat. He is pretty sure he earns a dirty look from Browning for that trick, but he won't take his eyes off Andrew to look. "Those weren't security guards that came for us. They were there for me, and they would have hurt all of you to get me out of there. I thought by keeping my mouth shut I could keep you safe." Nathaniel still has his hands up by Andrew's face, so he lightly taps a thumb against the bruise at Andrew's eye. "I didn't know they'd staged a riot." "What did I tell you about playing the martyr card?" Andrew asks. "You said no one wanted it," Nathaniel says. "You didn't tell me to stop." "It was implied." "I'm stupid, remember? I need things spelled out." "Shut up." "Am I at ninety-four yet?" "You are at one hundred," Andrew says. "What happened to your face?" Nathaniel swallows hard against a rush of nausea. "A dashboard lighter." He winces at the awful sound Nicky makes. The groan of a quickly- shifting mattress almost swallows up Aaron's ragged curse. Nathaniel looks back without thinking, needing to see who is on the move, and see's Aaron has rolled off the bed to go stand with Nicky. Turning means the others get a look at his burned cheek. Kevin recoils so hard he slams into the wall behind him. He claps a protective hand over his own tattoo and Nathaniel knows he is imagining Riko's reaction to this atrocity. This time it is Dan stopping Matt from getting up, her knuckles white against his dark shirt and her head turned away. Matt starts to fight free but settles for a hoarse, "Jesus, Neil. The fuck did they do to you?"

Art used with permission by Midgart. Thank you @midgart!

*Due to the Leap Year, I have opted to highlight the day rather than the date to keep the events in occurrence to the 2007 year. I will continue to mark both days accordingly.

[ninyard]

Andrew “Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder” Minyard and Neil “What about the other ten?” Josten

Andrew “I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way” Minyard and Neil “Haha tell me more <3” Josten

Like are you kidding me?? They’re so in love it’s SICK.

Andrew “Better Luck Next Time” Minyard and Neil “Fuck You” Josten for better or worse in sickness and in health etcetc

They’re made for each other. They just understand one another so perfectly it hurts. Andrew could tell Neil he wants to throw him off a cliff onto jagged rocks 1000 feet below and Neil just KNOWS that he means “I love you and I can’t live without you.”

[neilmfjosten]

aftg quotes that make me go absolutely feral

“You were supposed to be a side effect of the drugs.” “I’m not a hallucination,” Neil said, nonplussed. “You are a pipe dream,” Andrew said.”

Thank you," he finally said. He couldn't say he meant thanks for all of it: the keys, the trust, the honesty and the kisses. Hopefully Andrew would figure it out eventually. "You were amazing.”

“Who said 'please' that made you hate the word so much?"Andrew gazed at him in silence for a minute. "I did.”

This,” Neil flicked his finger to indicate the two of them, “isn’t worthless.” “There is no ‘this’. This is nothing.” “And I am nothing,” Neil prompted. When Andrew gestured confirmation, Neil said, “And as you’ve always said, you want nothing.”

“I didn't think I was a personal problem. You hate me, remember?" "Every inch of you," Andrew said. "That doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you." The world tilted a little bit sideways. Neil dug his shoes harder into the floor so he wouldn't fall over. "You like me." "I hate you," Andrew corrected him, but Neil barely heard him.”

“Andrew kissed him like this was a fight with their lives on the line, like his world stopped and started with Neil’s mouth.”

“You know, I get it. Being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. Always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. Kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time. I know it’s not entirely your fault that you are mentally unbalanced and infected with these delusions of grandeur, and I know you’re physically incapable of holding a decent conversation with anyone like every other normal human being can, but I don’t think any of us should have to put up with this much of your bullshit. Pity only gets you so many concessions, and you used yours up about six insults ago. So please, please, just shut the fuck up and leave us alone.”

“Yes or no?" "It's always yes with you." "Except when it's no." "If you have to keep asking because—I'll answer it as many times as you ask. But this is always going to be yes.”

“Better luck next time, Neil," he said. "I warned you once already, didn't I? I don't feel anything." “Anymore," Neil said, barely a whisper.”

“Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way." “What about the other ten?”

“If it means losing you, then no.”

“Truth is irrefutable and untainted by bias. Sunrise, Abram, death: these are truths.”

“Don't look at me like that. I am not your answer, and you sure as fuck aren’t mine.”

“Andrew flicked his pack of cigarettes at Neil. "Give me one good reason to not push you off the side." Neil shook a stick out and lit it. "I'd drag you with me. It's a long way down.”

“Let Riko be King," Kevin said, with the exaggerated enunciation of the thoroughly sloshed. "Most coveted, most protected. He'll sacrifice every piece he has to protect his throne. Whatever. Me?" Kevin gestured again, meaning to indicate himself but too drunk to get his hand higher than his waist. "I'm going to be the deadliest piece on the board."

“It's always been 'go'. It's always been 'lie' and 'hide' and 'disappear'. I've never belonged anywhere or had the right to call anything my own. But Coach gave me keys to the court, and you told me to stay. You gave me a key and called it home.”

“"No, but really," Nicky said, looking wide-eyed at Neil. "What happened?" "Neil hit Riko," Matt said. "It was beautiful.”

“Kevin was silent for an endless minute, then said, "You should be Court." It was barely a whisper, but it cut Neil to the bone. It was a resentful goodbye to the bright future Kevin had wanted for Neil. Kevin recruited Neil because he believed in Neil's potential. He brought him to the Foxes intending to make a star athlete out of him. Despite his condescending attitude and his dismissals of Neil's best efforts Kevin honestly expected Neil to make the national team after graduation. Now Kevin knew it was all for naught; Neil would be dead by May. "Will you still teach me?" Neil asked. Kevin was quiet again, but not for long this time. "Every night.”

“You never explained the change of heart." “Maybe I got tired of seeing Kevin bend. Or maybe it was the zombies. A few weeks back you and Renee argued contingency plans for a zombie apocalypse. She said she'd focus on survivors. You said you'd go back for some of us. Five of us. You weren't counting Abby or Coach. Since you trust Renee to handle the rest of the team, I'm guessing the last spot is for Dobson. I didn't say anything then because I knew I'd look out for only me when the world went to hell. I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to go back for you.”

“Is your learning curve a horizontal line?”

“I won't be like them. I won't let you let me be.”

“I will ask you only once to tone down that animosity." "I can't," Neil said. "I have a bit of an attitude problem."

“My name is Nathaniel Wesninski," he said, "and my father is dead." It wasn't at all funny, but a second later he was laughing. It sounded hysterical but he couldn't stop.”

“You couldn't at least use an Exy idiom? I hate baseball.”

“Neil sucked in a deep breath that ripped him open on its way down. "I'd ask you how it feels, but I guess you've always known what it's like to be second, you worthless piece of shit.”

“This was everything he wanted, everything he needed, and Neil was never letting go.”

[percontaion-points]

King’s Men chapter 7

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions.

Chapter 7

"I hate you," Andrew said, but it was hard to believe him when he sounded so bored by the concept. Andrew took a swig from the bottle and swiped his mouth clean with a thumb. The look he slanted Neil was both unimpressed and unconcerned. "Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way."

What a nice guy. I'm super glad that he's around! /ALL THE SARCASM

"I don't think it was the money," Andrew said, and elaborated at Neil's questioning look: "Why they chased you so long. I imagine at some point they realized it was far more important to hurt you than to recoup anything they'd lost."

After a certain point, they stopped chasing Neil for legitimate reasons and just straight-up turned into Captain Ahab.

Dorm doors weren't made to be soundproof, and the loud German finally got the Foxes' attention.

The school mascot is literally the fox, and they are in a dorm full of college athletes. THEY ARE ALL FOXES, BY THAT PURE DEFINITION.

Wymack called them early to say the campus was defaced. Black paint covered buildings and sidewalks in thick sloshes and the pond was stained bright red from dye. Rude graffiti tarnished the white outer walls of the Foxhole Court.

First they destroy random, unrelated people's cars, and now they're trashing a university? What's next? A random person's home, simply because it's by the school?

The second wave of vandalism brought the press running back, and a reporter finally got close enough to Wymack to put a microphone in his face. Wymack was too smart to go after the Ravens, so he settled for attacking the fans.

"I think it's pathetic," he said. "What good do these cowards think they're accomplishing by lashing out at us like this? All they're doing is bringing negative attention and publicity to the team they're trying to defend. It's past time the Ravens spoke out."

Agreed. The only message this is sending is that the Ravens are out of control monsters with even worse fans. Nobody likes shitty people like that.

He sounded bored, but Neil knew a warning when heard one. Neil let it slide and went back inside.

Chapter 7 summary: Later, Neil finds Andrew on the roof with a bottle of alcohol. Andrew, in his usual charming demeanor, tells Neil that he's going to kill him. Neil doesn't seem bothered by these threats, however, and only continues to taunt Andrew.

As Neil is going inside, Aaron then attacks him, and screams at him about Katelyn. Some of the other random dorm residents physically restrain Aaron when he refuses to stop hurting Neil, and the German screaming draws the rest of the exy team. Nicky is quick to call Aaron out on his shit about his toxic relationship with his brother, but Aaron storms off in a huff. Later, Dan is like “I told you to fix them, but not like that!” Renee later randomly talks about how they all knew that letting Kevin stay on the team would lead to trouble, but Andrew promised to “protect them”.

The next morning, David tells them that the campus was randomly trashed overnight. David goes on the record and calls the Ravens out for failing to control their fans. This is followed up by the president of Edgar Alan University going on record about it, which is nice, but then the exy coach then says some rude things which fucking makes the president seem like a goddamned puppet, too.

But it does the trick, and there's no more vandalism. However, this forces the foxes to think about their own problems, and they start picking fights with one another instead. David begs Neil to fix things, although I also note he says nothing about Andrew's shitty opinions and bad behavior. But then he doesn't really do anything, and a few days pass before he attempts to have a conversation with Andrew.

Except he talks about the twins and Nicky getting a replacement car, and offers to use his “escape from this life” money. Says that he was going to use it to buy a new identity, but he doesn't need to do that anymore, since he's been found out anyway. Andrew says he doesn't want Neil's “life money”, because his life is a fucking mess. Neil asks him to give up drinking, smoking, and doing “cracker”, and Andrew kind of agrees to it. He finally asks Neil why he's suddenly all up in Aaron's business. Neil tells him that their team is a fucking shitshow with everybody angry at everybody else, and it's mainly the twins at the heart of it. He also calls Andrew out on the toxic relationship with Aaron. That Andrew's shitty behavior is only going to leave him isolated in the end. Andrew refuses to listen, however.

[luci-cunt]

k so I’m rereading the Kings Men for... research purposes.... and ajksd;flkjasdf I KNOW this is obvious but alksdjf;lasjdfla Neil is such a fucking dumbass and I cannot get over it--

“Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t blow you.” [...]

“You like me?” 

LIKE, NEIL al;jskdfadskjfdjlkj

“I hate you [...] Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way.” 

“What about the other ten percent?” 

HE REALLY SAID “aha, and then what?” lakj;lsdkfj;aldskjl;

Andrew “I hate you and want to gut you alive” Minyard just cannot DEAL with Neil “and what’ll you be wearing” Josten like a;ldskjfalsdkjkjdjf THIS KID GOES FROM ZERO TO 1000000000 IN THE SPAN OF LIKE FOUR CHAPTERS

“Am I bothering you?” 

“More than telling.” 

“Interesting, last week you said nothing gets under your skin.”

LIKE HOW DID ANDREW NOT TEAR HIS HEAD OFF OR JUMP HIM???? I WOULD BE SCREAMING!!

“I’ll drag you with me.” “I want to see you loose control.” “I’m not a hallucination.” “Not if it means losing you.” LIKE WHAT THE FUCK JOSTEN ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL HIM?????

“I want to know where the lines are before I cross them.” 

NEIL JOSTEN WHAT THE FUCK

[nickireadstfc]

The King’s Men, Chapter 7 – In Case Of Zombie Apocalypse, Grab Your Racquets And Run

In which the saga of Gays On Rooftops continues, everyone is too sassy to handle, I cry at some beautiful Andrew/Renee normalcy, and Andreil are Andreil.

Sounds good? Then it’s time for Nicki to read The King’s Men.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy, I had always heard of The Rooftop Scene™ from fandom, but oh, had I been a fool to assume there was just one of them.

Lads, we’re back to being in high places we shouldn’t be, and we’re in for a fun time.

             “Give me one good reason to not push you off the side.”

             Neil shook a cigarette stick out and lit it. “I’d drag you down with me. It’s a long way down.”

Two sentences into this conversation, and Neil is already being a sassy little shit.

Now this is the content I signed up for.

             “I hate you. (…) Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way.”

             “What about the other ten?” Neil asked.

Perceptive little dude, look at you! Actually noticing stuff Andrew says, I’m so proud.

Also, I’m hoping this was a rhetorical question, because if not I may take my “perceptive” back.

             “I warned you not to put a leash on me.”

             “I didn’t,” Neil said. “You put that leash on yourself when you told me to stay no matter what. Don’t be mad at me just because I was smart enough to pick up the other end of it.”

I want it to please be known that I am resisting about 20 kinky leash jokes right now.

Thankfully, Andrew waltzes on with the conversation before I can utter any.

Good boy.

             “I don’t think it was the money (…) why they chased you so long. I imagine at some point they realized it was far more important to hurt you than to recoup anything they’d lost.”

             “So you stay, but you still won’t hit me.”

Neil has become being such a sassy shit to Andrew, I can’t even tell you how much I’m loving this.

Homeboy takes no shit from no one anymore.

             Despite Andrew’s unfriendly words, his expression and tone were calm. He said these things like they meant nothing to him. Neil didn’t know if it was a mask or the truth. Was Andrew hiding that rage from Neil or from himself? Maybe the monster was buried until Neil crossed another unforgiveable line.

And of course, Neil being Neil, he instantly searches for that line exactly.

Neil and Andrew, pretty much.

             “Good,” Neil said at length. (…) “I want to see you lose control.”

Damn right you do, honey.

             Neil feigned confusion as he got to his feet. “Am I bothering you?”

             “Beyond the telling.”

             “Interesting,” Neil said. “Last week you said nothing gets under your skin.”

OOOHHHHHHHHHH.

Neil, my boy my dude my homie, you are on FIRE today.

Neil mic-drops out of the conversation and gets off the roof – only to be immediately thrown to the ground by the angrier, more vocal version of Andrew.

After several people are needed to wrestle Aaron and Neil free from each other, we find out what exactly has our second favourite twin’s orange boxers in a twist:

             “Katelyn’s refusing to see me or talk to me until Andrew and I get counselling.”

DAMN, GIRL.

I knew Katelyn was badass, but this has just propelled her to the very top of the Takes No Shit Charts.

KATELYN YOU WONDERFUL TOUGH HEADSTRONG ORANGE SUNSHINE, LET ME LOVE YOU.

             Nicky’s jaw dropped, but it sounded more admiring than anything. “Damn, Neil.”

Same, Nicks.

             Aaron shot him a livid look. “Don’t you dare take his side.”

             “Why not?” Nicky asked. “It’s not like you ever let me take yours.”

Shots have been fired, tea has been spilled, Aaron has been thoroughly shut up.

What is up with this team and sassy remarks today, you guys. Wonderful.

Neil reunited with Dan’s crowd, who immediately begin questioning the previous violent (and also German) exchange, as any sane person would do.

             “What the hell is going on?”

             “I’m doing what you asked me to do,” Neil said. “I’m fixing them. (…) If a bone isn’t healing straight, you have no choice but to break it. They’ll be fine.”

Neil has been taking metaphor style notes from Andrew, apparently.

             Matt leaned against the doorframe and arched a brow at Neil. “That’s not exactly reassuring. From you ‘fine’ could mean anything from ‘I’m going to hitchhike across the state’ to ‘I’m beaten to a bloody pulp but I can still hold a racquet’.”

Damn, Matt.

This squad is not messing around today.

Matt, Dan and Allison play a fun goodnight game of Getting Drunk Off Their Asses, and while Neil and Renee clean up the mess afterwards, they have a lil talk about y’know, boys.

             “Thank you,” she said, “for reaching him when I couldn’t.”

This just in: I still love Renee, thank you for asking.

Renee confirms what we kind of knew already: When Andrew started watching Kevin and the monsters’ backs, Renee was tasked with watching those of the rest. She even offered to take Neil when he arrived, bless her heart. But of course, we know how quickly Andrew snatched Neil’s dramatic ass up into his crew.

             “That being said, I tried taking you off his hands at one point.” When Neil looked at her in surprise, Renee affected an innocent look that for once was not entirely convincing. “Andrew refused on the grounds he wouldn’t wish you on anyone except a mortician.”

             “Drama queen,” Neil muttered.

First off – lmao @ Andrew for being the drama queen we treasure him for, and lmao @ Neil for finally commenting on it.

But second – how am I to interpret that not-convincing innocent look? Did she just wanna protect Neil from Andrew and now feels about it, for not trusting her friend enough? Or does she know about Andrew’s, ahem, possible ulterior motives?

I’m betting on the latter. As if Andrew doesn’t talk to her about his crushes during their BFF sleepovers. As if.

In order to avoid his teammates’ bad spirit about, well, everything at the moment, when it comes to warm-up on the court the next day, Neil – surprise! – joins Renee and Andrew on their jog.

A lil wholesome conversation will go a long way, folks, even if that long way just goes around the Court walls.

And what does my favourite Brotp in this universe do on their mighty distinguished Break Walks?

They discusss hypothetical WWIII scenarios.

LOVELY.

Seriously, I love this. This is exactly the kind of wholesome normal best-friends-havin-a-chat content I signed up for, and I can’t believe my poor heart is finally getting what it deserves.

Neil is equally delighted by the Goalie BFFs’ choice of debate subject, and his thirsty ass is immediately back the next day.

And it gets better – today, it’s zombie apocalypses.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSES.

             Surviving on the run was Neil’s forte, and it was interesting to see how his priorities compared with theirs. Renee stressed the importance of collecting survivors, which Andrew shot down immediately.

Because of course she did, because of course he did.

I LOVE THIS.

Every single thing about this is gold and I want a billion fanarts.

             Neil wondered what he would do if an invasion really happened. (…) Chances were it’d be instinctive to abandon all of them if the undead put in a ravenous appearance. It wasn’t exactly an uplifting realization, but Neil could accept the ugly truths about himself.

This, this is so important to me. Neil isn’t magically over his entire upbringing now that he’s got friends, he’ll maybe always have these instincts his mother put in him, but he’s coming to accept this about himself. He’s being open and honest with himself, even if it means addressing bad emotions and bad truths and really man have I mentioned I love Neil Josten recently.

In other news: Renee is apparently texting buddies with Jean now!

And I’m p sure they allowed outside contact with the Foxy Orange Scum beneath their Holy Feathery Feet, so Jean is probably breaking a billion laws (and maybe risking a few fingers) sending memes to Renee, so props to you, my man. You have my approval to be engaging in contact with my fave sweetheart.

Neil is equally on board with this.

             “I’m hoping she can weaking his blind loyalty.” Neil thought about it a moment longer, then said, “Maybe that’s why Matt stopped betting on the two of you?”

This is either Neil being the oblivious fuck that we know and treasure, or Neil poking the bear.

Either way, good shit right there if I do say so myself.

To close this chapter off – we’re in for another Prime Andreil Deep Talk. This time featuring: Money!

             “It isn’t charity,” Neil said. “It’s revenge. It wasn’t my money in the first place, remember? I told you my father skimmed it from the Moriyamas. If you take some for your car, you’re making Riko fix what his fans destroyed.”

Can your stolen money also fix Riko’s attitude, asking for a friend.

             “Revenge is a motivator only for the weak-willed,” Andrew said.

             “If you believed that you wouldn’t be planning on how to kill Proust.”

OHHHH burn. Did I mention I’m here for Neil Take No Shit Josten lately?

Also yikes. Almost forgot about that guy.

I’m intrigued to see whether he actually appears in this book.

Andrew retaliates this comment by blowing a fuckton of smoke in Neil’s face, which Neil retaliates by breaking Andrew’s cigarette.

Actual fucking children, I tell you.

             “You bought the last car with someone’s death. You can buy this one with someone’s life – my life. That money was going to buy my next name when I ran away from here. Thanks to you I don’t need it anymore.”

Yeah, hi, if anyone needs me I’ll be subtly crying in a corner.

             “Make a new deal with me. (…) What would you give me?” Neil asked.

             “Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.”

             Neil frowned at him, lost, but Andrew didn’t waste his breath explaining.

Ah yes, and here we are back again with Neil being an oblivious idiot. Jeez, boi.

Ily, but use ya brain.

Mirculously, Neil does, but quite differently than I expected him to – he convinces Andrew to give up cracker dust.

Nice, I guess. One addiction less. Kind of anticlimactic, though.

Next!

             Andrew thought it over a minute, then flicked his cigarette at Neil. It singed the material where it bounced off his shirt. (…)

             “I’m going to take your temper tantrum as a yes,” Neil said.

The sass does not stop, you guys.

Wonderful.

If you like what I do here and you want me to continue writing fun things for you, why not buy me a coffee? Every lil bit helps, getting me through uni and all that jazz. Thanks so much!

[wesawbears]

Hi can you explain the percent thing about andriel to me? I keep reading it in fics and it's so cute but I have no idea what it means.

Hey! So in the third book, Andrew tells Neil that "ninety percent of the time the very sight of Neil makes him want to commit murder", implying that ten percent of the time he feels something else for Neil. The percentage goes up generally when Neil pushes Andrew and makes him feel something. Another key quote in understanding the percent thing is when Andrew says "nine percent of the time I don't want to kill you. I always hate you." Because Neil makes Andrew feel something, which he hates, because Andrew has been living with his apathy for so long. Its not even a shield anymore. A shield would imply that he's acting. I say this because the way the percentage is used in fic (and why i dont use it in mine) is that people have andrew up the percentage when neil does something cute, which isnt what its for. Andrew upped the percentage when neil made him angry or scared or made him care if neil was alive or dead, which means he relies on Neil, which is terrifying to him.That was a much longer answer than you wanted, but i feel very deeply about the percentages. I hope this helped!

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Seven

Day: Saturday, January 13th Time: 3:00 PM EST

"I hate you," Andrew said, but it was hard to believe him when he sounded so bored by the concept. Andrew took a swig from the bottle and swiped his mouth clean with a thumb. The look he slanted Neil was both unimpressed and unconcerned. "Ninety percent of the time the very sight of you makes me want to commit murder. I think about carving the skin from your body and hanging it out as a warning to every other fool who thinks he can stand in my way." "What about the other ten?" Neil asked. Andrew ignored that. "I warned you not to put a leash on me." "I didn't," Neil said. "You put that leash on yourself when you told me to stay no matter what. Don't be mad at me just because I was smart enough to pick up the other end of it." "If you pull it again I will kill you." "Maybe when the year is up, you will," Neil said. "Right now there's not a lot you can do about it, so don't waste our time threatening me."

Art used with permission by Emry-stars-art. Thank you @emry-stars-art!

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Seven

Day: Wednesday, January 17th Time: 8:18 PM EST

"Have you heard back from the shop?" Neil asked, dragging his attention back to Andrew. "Matt got a call this morning saying his truck would be ready for pickup tomorrow. Allison should have hers back Saturday morning. Can they fix yours?" Andrew flipped his phone open, pressed a couple buttons, and handed it over. Neil waited, mystified, until Andrew's voicemail started playing on speaker. A mechanical voice announced Tuesday's date, and a sobering message followed. The damage was even more extensive than it'd appeared; the garbage in back had hidden whatever the Raven fans did to the backseat cushions, and none of them had looked in the trunk before the car was towed. The shop wanted Andrew to call them back to talk about his options and discuss what it would take to restore the car to its former glory. Andrew hoisted himself onto the rental car's trunk and dug a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket. He lit two and traded Neil one for his phone. Neil cupped a hand around his to shield it from the breeze. He studied Andrew's face as Andrew put his phone and cigarettes away, but Andrew gave no sign he was bothered by the bad news. "You're going to have to replace it," Neil guessed. "If the insurance company won't cover a replacement for your car, take the difference from me. You know I have enough for it." Andrew slid him a cool look. "I'm uninterested in your charity." "It isn't charity," Neil said. "It's revenge. It wasn't my money in the first place, remember? I told you my father skimmed it from the Moriyamas. If you take some for your car, you're making Riko replace what his fans destroyed." "Revenge is a motivator only for the weak-willed," Andrew said. "If you believed that you wouldn't be planning how to kill Proust." The doctor's name still tasted like acid, burning Neil's tongue and throat, but it wasn't enough to put a dent in Andrew's calm expression. Andrew gazed at him in silence for what felt like an eternity, then propped his cigarette between his lips and motioned Neil closer. Neil was sure he was stepping forward into a knife for bringing Proust up again, but he obediently closed the short space between them. Andrew caught the back of Neil's neck in a bruising grip to keep him from retreating. He pulled Neil's head toward him and blew smoke in Neil's face. "This is not revenge," Andrew said. "I warned him what I would do to him if he touched me. This is me keeping my word." He waited a beat to make sure Neil understood, then let go. The next time he raised his cigarette to his mouth Neil took it from him. Neil broke it between his fingers and let it fall to the asphalt by their feet. Andrew watched the halves roll away from each other and turned an unimpressed look on Neil. "Ninety-one percent," Andrew said.

Art used with permission by Midgart. Thank you @midgart!

[otdiaftg]

The King's Men - Chapter Nine

Day: Saturday, January 20th Time: 4:55 PM EST

Neil should let it go, but he needed to understand. "Why not?" "Because you're too stupid to tell me no," Andrew said. "And you don't want me to tell you yes?" "This isn't yes. This is a nervous breakdown. I know the difference even if you don't." Andrew dug his thumb into his lower lip like he could erase the weight of Neil's mouth and fixed his stare on the horizon. "I won't be like them. I won't let you let me be." Neil opened his mouth, closed it, and tried again. "The next time one of them says you're soulless I might have to fight them." "Ninety-two percent," Andrew said, "going on ninety-three." It wasn't funny—none of this was—but that response was so obnoxious and so typically Andrew that Neil couldn't help but smile. He forced it off his face before Andrew noticed and looked out at the campus again. For the first time that day, maybe for the first time that rocky week, he could breathe without feeling like his chest was pulling too tight. As his tension seeped away, the weight of Neil's exhaustion came back, but this time it was genuine tiredness. He hadn't slept last night and had only snatched an hour's rest in the car. Sleeping now would throw the rest of his weekend off, but Neil didn't care. He scooped Andrew's key up and got to his feet. "Hey," he said, but Andrew didn't look at him. "Thank you." "Go away before I push you off the side," Andrew said. "Do it. I'd drag you with me," Neil reminded him, and left Andrew to his thoughts.

Art used with permission by Midgart. Thank you @midgart!