#their all the time. aaron too.

[luvbug724]

while i am here i stayed up til 8am rereading icebreaker by a. l. graziadei yesterday for the first time since it came out & ive been offline because theres no fandom for it but i cant stop thinking abt mickey so ive been devouring any mindless book i can get my hands on. if u want a cute little YA romance abt sports & mental health it is probably up ur alley :) you :) read it :)

[swampthingking]

can’t study for my test because i’m having brain rot about neil accidentally getting super drunk and stumbling up to aaron like “andrew???” and aaron is like “wrong one” and neil is like “andrew.” and aaron is like “???? are you stupid” and neil goes to look for andrew but he stumbles into the table, and aaron has to catch him or he will get trampled for fucks sake, and neil just collapses into him in a drunk cuddly heap. and aaron is like “neil. you need to stand up” and neil is like “i am” and aaron is like “that’s because i’m holding you up” and they get neil to stand but neil kinda just flops into aaron’s arms again. and neil is like “i don’t hate you, i don’t, but it’s okay if you hate me” and aaron is like “ugh, ew are you really an emotional drunk???” and neil, to aaron’s horror, looks at him with tears in his eyes because you know when you’re too drunk and you kind of just get a little scared and you need help???? ya. and aaron is like … ok. and kinda holds neil until andrew comes back from the bar with more drinks. and he sees neil basically asleep on aaron’s shoulder, and aaron looking uncomfortable but accepting, so he kinda raises an eyebrow, an okay? and aaron nods and is just patting neil on his back

and tomorrow they’ll wake up and neil will toddle downstairs with his hand against his temple and aaron will have advil ready for him, and he’ll say “you’re annoying and you don’t know when to shut your mouth or mind your own business, but i don’t hate you” and the thank you for helping repair my relationship with my brother and thank you for testifying and thank you for staying goes unsaid but yeah

and that’s how aaron and neil became kind of friends

edit: vomited out a one shot for y’all (this will prob become a 5+1)

Aaron swirled his drink a few times, listening to the ice clacking against the glass.

Eden’s was packed tonight, courtesy of it being the end of the school year. College students and the regular patrons flocked to the bar, the dance floor, and all of the tables, leaving Aaron to reserve a high-top table, and his legs to dangle from the stool.

“Drew?”

Aaron ignored him in favor of the twinkling sound the ice makes in his glass. He’d already taken shots, danced, had another drink, danced again, and now Aaron’s body was heavy with alcohol and exhaustion.

“Drew,” Neil said again.

Aaron looked around their table and didn’t see Andrew. He remembered Andrew getting up and walking to the bar with their empty tray. Aaron found him a few seconds later, hands in his pockets at the bar. That and Neil, staring up at him, looking uneasy.

Before Aaron could tell Neil to get out of his face, Neil was speaking.

“Are you’nt having fun?” Neil frowned, blinking sleepy, hooded eyes at him. He leaned closer to study Aaron’s face.

“What are you doing?” Aaron grumbled, pushing Neil’s face away.

Aaron hadn’t even pushed him hard, he more removed Neil from his space rather than pushed him, but Neil wobbled like his world had tilted out of orbit. Aaron realized, quickly, that Neil was going to fall backwards. He grabbed two fistfuls of Neil’s shirt and pulled him forwards. Neil’s head lulled on his shoulders with the force, his chin hitting his chest then righting itself.

Aaron’s stomach lurched, sick with the thought that someone had put something in one of Neil’s drinks, as he would for anyone, but thankfully he’s never been put in that situation. Neil’s eyes were hooded, his face flushed. Aaron snapped once at Neil’s ear, and Neil recoiled immediately.

“Does your head hurt or anything?” Aaron asked. Neil shook his head, frowning.

“Are you dizzy? Follow my finger.” Aaron pushes Neil back so he can see his face, keeping one hand on Neil’s shoulder to hold him up. Neil follows Aaron’s finger as it moves back and forth, albeit a little labored, but not as if he’d been roofied. Aaron declares that Neil’s reaction times and responses are fine, but he still pulls the front of his shirt up and checks his belt, the button of his pants.

“What—?” Neil slapped a hand on his abdomen, stopping his shirt from being lifted any higher. Aaron didn’t need to see anything but his pants, but it was reassuring that Neil still had inhibitions.

His clothes were fine. His belt was still done, zipper up. No one had tried anything. Aaron relaxed.

“Sorry,” Aaron said. “Sorry, I just needed to…”

While racking his mind back to why Neil is this drunk, Aaron remembered Neil taking shots with Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin. Four shots. He’d seen Neil sip on another drink like the idiot had the tolerance for alcohol that the rest of them had.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Aaron said and released Neil. Neil attempted to step back, his hands raised in surrender.

“No?” Neil asked warily. Even drunk as fuck, he still respected boundaries. Andrew’s boundaries specifically, as it still hadn’t registered that he wasn’t talking to the right twin.

“I’m not Andrew,” Aaron said.

“Where’s Andrew?” Neil asked, turning his head pathetically in search. Aaron only had a good view of Andrew because they were seated at a high-top. Over the throng of taller people coupled with strobing lights, Neil’s view was obstructed.

“At the bar,” Aaron nodded in that direction.

Neil turned towards the bar. Well, he attempted to. He pivoted, lost his balance, and toppled into the table. He tried to right himself and started to fall to the other side. Aaron caught Neil before he could bust his shit and get trampled.

“Jesus Christ, Josten,” Aaron spat, righting Neil with hands on his biceps. Neil slapped a hand on the table and leaned his weight on it. The table quaked under such abuse, but held.

Neil turned slowly, grappling against the table as if he was standing in one of those spinning fair rides. In his excursion to simply spin 180°, his hand slipped off the edge of the table as he faced Aaron once again. He reached for the table, missed, reached for it again, missed, said, “Motherfucker,” under his breath, and finally gripped onto the edge. His eyes locked on Aaron’s again, and Neil’s useless hand landed on Aaron’s shoulder.

“Andrew,” Neil said. Aaron didn’t know if it was more a request or if it was just not registering.

“Wrong,” Aaron said, tense under Neil’s hand, but he didn’t push him off. He’d rather hold Neil up than peel him off the floor. “Aaron.”

“‘m very drunk,” Neil said, looking up pleadingly at Aaron as if he had a magical cure to shitfacedness, and all Neil had to do for it was look a little scared. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” Aaron asked.

“I’m drunk.”

Aaron snorted. “That’s kind of the point when you’re at a bar.”

“But,” Neil said, taking a labored breath, “I’m…too drunk.”

This was beginning to feel exceedingly similar to speaking to a child. Aaron was annoyed, but not completely heartless, unlike the narrative of Aaron Neil had likely concocted. “It’s okay, Neil,” Aaron said. “You should sit down.”

Neil promptly sat as if there was a chair under him, but there was not. Aaron, still holding Neil vertical, got pulled out of his chair with the momentum. To avoid toppling to the ground—which did not get mopped as often as it should—Aaron planted his feet on the floor and hauled Neil up by his armpits.

“Help,” Neil murmured. His arms dropped to his sides as he yielded his dead weight to Aaron.

“Stand up,” Aaron grunted, readjusting to wrap an arm around Neil’s back. One of Neil’s arms flopped over Aaron’s shoulder.

“I am,” Neil complained.

“No, you are not.”

“I am.”

“Neil,” Aaron said through clenched teeth, “I am holding you up. You need to lock your knees.”

“Oh,” Neil said. He looked at his feet as if he needed to check they were on the ground.

To be fair, Neil did lock his knees, but he also leaned all of his upper body on Aaron, arms still hanging limply at his sides. He tucked his head into Aaron’s neck with, what seemed, every intention to make a home there for the night.

“Neil,” Aaron said, frozen against the hair tickling his cheek. “God dammit.”

“And…ron,” Neil spoke against his shoulder.

“Yes,” Aaron said sarcastically. “That’s me.”

“Can I j’stay here?” Neil slurred.

From what Aaron had seen of Neil’s dynamic with his brother, he knew Neil would get off if he said no. He could place Neil into a stool or pull up a chair with a back so he wouldn’t fall out and concuss himself. He could shove Neil off and make him fend for himself. He could pawn him off to Andrew.

At the moment, those other options seemed like far too much work.

That, or maybe it was the med student in him, the intrinsic urge to heal and help and nurture that smarted at the thought of pushing Neil off.

Aaron didn’t push him off when Neil readjusted and tucked an arm into his chest, the other gripping Aaron for stability. He didn’t when Neil asked again, a quiet, “Aaron.”

“Okay,” Aaron conceded. He rubbed a hand up and down Neil’s back placatingly, but also because Neil seemed like he needed it. And he came to Aaron for it. Well, he came to Andrew and got Aaron. But he didn’t push Aaron off, and Aaron hasn’t done the same.

And they just…stood like that. For what seemed like a long time, but it probably was only a few minutes before Neil spoke again.

“Aaron,” Neil said.

Aaron hummed in response.

“I don’ hate you.”

“What?” Aaron asked. “What the fuck are you talking about, Neil?”

“I don’t hate you.”

“What?” Aaron said again.

“I don’wanna fight.” Neil lets out a colossal breath.

“We haven’t fought in a long time,” Aaron says, his idea of agreement. Acceptance.

Neil was quiet, because it was true. Neil seemed content to lay in Aaron’s arms, and Aaron didn’t have another stool next to him. He sure as shit wasn’t giving his up for Neil, but Neil was genuinely so unsteady on his feet that Aaron couldn’t let him go.

He trembled a bit, and Aaron was almost amused that after everything Neil had been through, being a little too drunk is what finally did it for him.

But Aaron had felt that way before. Inebriated and scared in a crowded room of strangers. Neil, however, has people he knows. How can Aaron be upset at Neil for wanting the comfort that he also craved? How can he be upset that Neil feels safe enough with Andrew to ask for help? That his brother finally feels safe with someone too?

“Aaron,” Neil said.

“What,” Aaron said.

“It’s okay if you hate me.”

“Oh God,” Aaron groaned, “Ew. Are you really an emotional drunk?”

Neil pulled back and, to Aaron’s horror, there were actual tears in his eyes. His lip trembled as he bit it, holding the tears in. Aaron hated how much of himself he was seeing in Neil tonight. The harrowing fact that maybe they are quite similar.

“Oh God,” Aaron said again, mortified. He grabbed the back of Neil’s head and shoved it back into his shoulder, effectively hiding Neil’s teary face.

He cast a desperate look to Andrew, who was finally on his way back to the table. He patted Neil on the shoulder, like one would burp a baby when they have no idea how to do so.

“Andrew.”

Andrew didn’t need prompting to look. His eyes were trained on Neil and Aaron from the moment he turned around. By the nonchalance of his movements and his lack of alarm, Aaron guessed he had been watching their interaction.

Andrew set the tray down on the table and cast a significant look between them, settling on Neil’s intoxicated form keeled over on Aaron’s shoulder.

Andrew raises one eyebrow, a silent question, an okay?

Aaron finds himself nodding, and unsure why. All he knows right now, a few drinks in, is that he doesn’t hate this. And he doesn’t hate that Neil doesn’t hate him.

-

The smell of coffee set Neil’s feet moving like a Pavlovian response. He was half awake already with a pounding headache, like his eyeballs were beating his closed lids to death.

Neil toddles down the stairs with his eyes closed, a hand pressed hard to his temple, stabilizing his brain.

Aaron was standing at the counter already, facing the sputtering coffee pot. His arms were crossed, hair ruffled from sleep. At the sound of footsteps behind him, he turned.

The memories from last night played past Neil’s mind like a sped-up movie. He grimaced in embarrassment, and felt a little sick at how drunk he was. How stupid he was, to drink that much. He should have known his tolerance isn’t matched with the rest of them. He could have gotten hurt, could have said something—

Fuck.

“Fuck,” Neil said, covering his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Aaron said. He turned back to the coffee, though his posture was rigid.

Neil grabbed a glass of water. He noticed Aaron watching from the corner of his eye, but Neil chose to ignore him, figuring that’s best. He sat on the counter with his water, sipping it slowly while he and Aaron waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

The silence was thick, but they were both too stubborn to leave the kitchen. Usually, they preferred to wait and pretend the other wasn’t there.

That’s what Neil thought, at least. After a painful few minutes, Aaron huffed and grabbed the bottle of Advil from the drawer next to the sink. He shook two pills out and sat them next to Neil.

Neil stared at them until Aaron cast a pointed look at the pills, then physically gestured to them with raised brows. Neil took them while Aaron watched.

The coffee pot beeped. Aaron made a split second decision, grabbing two mugs and pouring coffee into them. He slid Neil’s across the counter. It sloshed over the side, but Aaron wasn’t capable of caring at the moment. His mind was busy, and he knew Neil had noticed his lack of eye contact; the analytical fuck.

“Look,” Aaron said. He did not look at Neil to say it. “You’re annoying, and you never know when to shut your mouth or mind your business. Most of the time, I’m convinced you have a death wish, and a lot of the time I find myself resenting you. You complicated our lives, put us all in danger, didn’t give a shit.”

Neil’s chest hurt. He didn’t know if it was anger or guilt. Aaron started talking again before he could figure it out.

“But I don’t hate you. I can’t, really. I can’t even fault you for the shitty things you did, because it all worked out.” Aaron glanced quickly at Neil, looked away. His cheeks were red.

The thank you for helping repair my relationship with my brother and thank you for testifying and thank you for being good to Andrew went unsaid, but Aaron hoped Neil wasn’t obtuse enough to force him to say it out loud.

Neil must have understood, because he nodded. Aaron figured that was as close to a reconciliation they were going to have, so he leaned against the counter and pretended everything was normal.

For the first time, they drank their coffee in silence without animosity orchestrating it.

Neil’s mug was half empty when Andrew joined them. He paused in the doorway, squinty eyed and mussed, looking between the two. Neil on the counter, Aaron leaning against it. Their silence, but lack of tension.

“This is weird,” Andrew finally said, his voice gravely from sleep.

“Yeah,” Neil and Aaron said simultaneously.

Neil glanced over his mug at Aaron, the corner of his mouth twitching. Aaron regarded it, but looked away, because something like contentment had made its way onto Andrew’s face.

Aaron smiled at that instead.

[ionlydrinkhotwater]

OK but I really love how unhinged Neil comes off in other people's POV cause looking back at the first three novels he was so damn weird

Take what happened in Colombia

Imagine what Andrew was thinking

Holy crap this binder WTF?!?! OK he's sus as hell I've gotta test him, I'm gonna mess with the tags when I refold his clothes but like...I doubt even he's THAT crazy

*Neil barges in and starts shouting in FRENCH*

OK so he IS that crazy (and French?!)

OK I'm gonna spike his drink and get some answers in a minute just gonna leave him with Aaron and Nicky for a sec while I satisfy my Gay panic this runaway has inspired in me with Roland and then I'll just...WTF DID HE JUST PAY A GUY TO KNOCK HIM OUT?!

OK I'm gonna pick up some breakfast and when I get back to the house I can interrogate the....OK ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME THIS DUBIOUS TWINK CRAWLED OUT OF THE BATHROOM WINDOW?!

OK so he's not around let's get back to Palmetto he probably got a ride from one of the upperclassmen

OK he didn't...did he run away? I guess that makes some sens... OK wait he HITCHHIKED?! THE FUCK?!

OK THIS ASSHOLE SPEAKS GERMAN TOO?!

OK he's on the run from the mob...there are a lot of holes in this story but at this point I'm gonna take his word for it that he's isn't a danger to my people cause I don't have the energy to continue to pursue this anymore. This fucking guy is more unhinged than what I was prepared to deal with this weekend.

[you-know-i-get-itt]

okay but putting everything else aside for a moment. i don’t think andrew ever imagined he’d outlive his abuser. but he did

[kaybzzart]

The farmer and people from Pelican Town :)

(part 2)

I love to fit the farmer into their environment and try to imagine how they interact with the rest of the village

(will probably do a part 2 at some point)

[kevindavidday]

as shifty as they were when they were younger, at the actual age that andreil are at do you think they've got the potential to be friendly strangers? like not overly friendly but the kind of people who understand what being human is

think about it, the experience of living a sheltered life and neil is standing behind someone in the grocery line, watching them unable to scour up money for ramen and water so he pays for it to help things along

andrew watching a little kid peer into his mega expensive car of the year and the kid gets scared of him and moves aside but andrew opens the door moves back, tells the kid he can have a look its fine

do you think they would interfere by force if they ever saw something bad happening in front of them? neil on his runs stopping to help someone cross the road, feeding stray cats in alleyways, yk the people who know what struggle is and don't want it for anyone else?

idk if they're the type to shrug off injustice so easily, i feel like whatever they learnt as children is buried deep inside the caution and fear of strangers and all but maybe what wymack taught them would rise to the surface too cuz if wymack hadn't chosen to help them they wouldn't be alive either

[turtletoria]

youre never gonna believe this. but i really liked the musical with the miserable middle aged man

[nyaar0n]

Hi, how much are the art requests? I'd really like Aaron in a doctor coat and a stethoscope please

doc is stressed

[crazy-fangirl2524]

Andrew’s “bottomless rage” and Jean’s “old and ugly rage” are the same in this essay I will -

[jostenian]

Genuinely need to know what it is about Aaron and Neil not liking each other that makes you guys so viscerally uncomfortable… if i had a nickel for every time i saw a post on here that went “aaron and neil are best friends actually fuck the gossip… i know this is a really unpopular take” despite it being an extremely popular opinion i would have enough money to buy AFTG from Nora Sakavic and write a sequel series about them killing each other.

[emry-stars-art]

I'm so obsessed with your aus omds I just wanna *cups jelly Neil in my palms*

Good news! It loves that 😌

Find the mer au masterpost here 💕

[mieeaahhh]

A really looonngggg list of the most useless and boring all for the game head-cannons

Characters:

Neil Josten

He has those two crooked teeth at the sides of his mouth that look like ‘fangs’ and big two front teeth (me too, me too😔)

Wears caps backwards like a freak loser weirdo

He doesn’t care much about facial piercings but he ends up getting a few more ear piercings after awhile (and then he got a tongue piercing because someone told him he wouldn’t)

Regularly walks into glass doors and poles by accident and tries to play it off and act cool when really he just looks like an absolute dumbass

Sneezes like an old man

He wakes up from nightmares sometimes thinking his legs are gone and panics before realising that he’s okay and that he’s safe

Curly mullet curly mullet curly mullet curly mullet

His mum did his ear piercings for him as another way to change his appearance

Once woke up from a nightmare and punched Andrew instead of Andrew waking up from a nightmare and punching him. Andrew had never woken up so confused in his life and Neil burst out laughing while apologising and he immediately forgot about what his nightmare was about

Andrew Minyard

Once he starts relaxing more while sleeping in the same bed as Neil he starts sleep talking and it’s always about something ridiculous or completely random

I’ve said this so many times but idc. Andrew didn’t have any piercings until he moved in with Aaron and Nicky because Aaron has piercings and Andrew thought they were cool

Is good at baking and enjoys it but if you held a gun to his head and told him to cook dinner the gun would go off

When he was a kid he was really into space and constellations and sometimes he’ll point them out while on the roof with Neil

Covers his mouth with his hand or turns his face away when he laughs

He has Arfid? I think that’s what it’s called

Hides away whenever he’s sick because as a child people have gotten angry at him for being sick as it was ‘inconvenient’.

Aaron Minyard

Has slight claustrophobia from when Andrew locked him inside the bathroom. It’s not that bad most of the time but sometimes if the door gets stuck for a second or he’s in a small room for too long then he silently freaks out (he also hates going inside lifts)

Was really big on dinosaurs as a kid. his favourite teddy was a little terradactyl (idfk how to spell it I’ve been trying for ten minutes😭) and he still keeps it under his pillow

Gives the most nastiest looks to people without even realising

Mumbles to himself a lot about the things he’s doing like a narrator

The type of person to not know where their glasses are when they are on top of their head

Whenever he does something that makes him think the person he’s with will get angry with him he either freezes or makes himself smaller

Aaron has a weird thing with being perceived and will often stop doing something (like reading or whatever) if someone sees him/walks in until they go away.

Kevin Day

He’s autistic but only got diagnosed when he was in the foxes (like a few months or so after Wymack finding out he’s his dad and stuff)

Scared if butterflies the same way people are scared of wasps and bees

Sleeps face down and snores really loudly but is in denial about it

He has a keyring that he carries around with him everywhere because he was going to give it to Jean but never got the chance and now he feels it’s a bit late to do it now

Has the most beautiful handwriting

Nicky Hemmick

Really long eyelashes

Had a really bad and embarrassing emo phase that he refuses to talk about but one time the twins found old photos of it and framed them to mess with him

Tongue and smiley piercing

He’s in a the family group chat Erik has with his family

Opening up about his personal problems is hard for him. He thinks that if he’s upset about something then people will get annoyed with him and he’s scared of being an inconvenience

Renee Walker

Dyes her hair to match the holidays

She’s transgender mtf

The first time she died her hair was after she was adopted by Stephanie. She messed it up and Stephanie had walked in on her trying to fix it and offered to help her. It was one of the first things they really did together as mother and daughter

She always stands with her hands clasped together either in-front or behind her

She always has unique/fun hair-clips in her hair

Allison Reynolds

When she’s anxious about something she kinda just rubs her hands together or rubs them across her neck or legs repetitively

She LOVESSS shopping but always enjoys it more when someone is with her (it normally ends up being Neil, Seth or Renee)

Hips + bellybutton pierced🙌

When she was a kid she refused to wear anything but princess dress costumes and tiaras for like two years

A lot of her clothes/accessories or glittery or shimmery but she actually hates glitter because of how inconveniently messy it is

Kisses peoples cheeks to greet them

Matt Boyd

He’s the type of hugger that lifts up whoever it is he’s hugging (Aaron, Dan and Neil are victims of unexpectedly being lifted of the ground and seeing their life flash before their eyes)

Will, has and still does break it down to Brittney spear’s whenever she comes on

He has a tattoo on his hand on a flower and a tattoo on his shoulder of his exy number

He wanted to get both his eyebrows pierced but chickened out after getting the first one done

His favourite animal is a crocodile and has been since he was a little boy. His childhood toy was a teddy crocodile that he still keeps on his bed

Dan Wilds

The foxes all got Wymack a Father’s Day mug with their names signed on it once. It was Dans idea and it was a moustache on the bottom of it

She LOVES maximalist gold jewellery and is covered in it most of the time

During and after her time with the foxes she keeps in touch with her old work sisters and does secret Santa with them every year

Nose freckles nose freckles nose freckles

The teams ‘bonding’ activities are normally planned by her

Seth Gordan

He has dyslexia but is in denial about it and pretends he doesn’t know what dyslexia is💀

He is absolutely COVERED in freckles

He’s wanted to be a professional Exy player since he was a kid and it’s always what he’d tell people he was going to be before he joined the foxes. He lost hope in becoming one after signing with the team (kinda canon lmao?)

He looks the most like his father out of all his siblings

David Wymack

Proper BAWLED his eyes out at Dan and Matts wedding. It was the first time any of the foxes had seen him cry and they thought it was hilarious

Doesn’t know how to work a phone and holds it far away from his face like an old lady to read messages

Has a moustache🫡🤤😍🥰😘

Had an eyebrow piercing as a teenager but took it out YEARS ago

Abby Winfield

Was like super goth as a teenager

Has a tongue piercing and is a FAKE BLONDE🫵

Her only friend growing up was Betsy

Has a raspy voice🤤🤤

Betsy Dobson

Her style is very colourful and maximalist. She wears funky jewellery, crazy accessories and patterned tights, etc

She enjoys crocheting from time to time

She had a crush on Abby when they were in school with each other

Jeremy Knox

Big front teeth like a rabbit

Cries during sad movies. Like full on heaving sobs

Was very very shy as a kid and didn’t have many friends before the Trojans

He’s never really been aloud to do do things like dying his hair, dressing how he wants, going out more than a day a week if he was lucky, getting piercings etc etc so he’s honestly kind of afraid of being himself and a part of him still doesn’t really know who he is

Frecklesssss

A haver of the OCD🫡

Really bad at hiding his facial expressions. If you’re annoying him you WILL know about it but he won’t know that you know🧍

Jean Moreau

Moles EVERYWHERE

Sometimes he has days so bad that he struggles to even drink water because it feels like he’s choking

He’s very fidgety. Never sitting still for too long and whenever he’s holding something he’s always playing around with it in his hands. He fidgets very subtlety as he can though because he doesn’t want people to notice it

His favourite films are the buddy’s films

Absolutely SUCKS at any kind of game, board games, card games, video games etc he’s ridiculously bad at them

The toaster gives him a fright every single time it pops. Even when he pops it himself with the button

Resting sad face

Katelyn Mackenzie

She’s one of the cheerleaders that get thrown up in the air (I don’t know anything about cheerleading it isn’t really a thing where I live)

Her hair is really really curly and long

She’s the oldest sibling of four and the youngest is adopted

She’s always been quite popular amongst her peers growing up because of how kind, helpful and friendly she was but she’s never really had a best friend until the vixens (I like to think her best friend is a really goth girl in the cheer team)

Her part time job as a teenager was babysitting and she LOVED it

She’s 5,11

Groups:

The Monsters

They have a group-chat but they don’t really use it

Have all just fallen asleep in the car outside of Eden’s instead of driving home by accident a lot

They don’t take photos with each other but Nicky has taken sooooo many sneaky photos of them all

When Robin joins the foxes and eventually joins the monsters they all treat her as if she’s their little sister and her parents have invited them all for tea/dinner a few times

Kevin and Aaron are the only ones that can’t drive

Had a karaoke night once and have all agreed to never ever speak of it again

Once Andrew sorts his shit out Katelyn joins them in their outings sometimes

The upperclassmen

Go out for dinner together quite a lot

Were all bridesmaids/groomsmen at each-others weddings

They’ve got a group chat that is still used years after graduation even though they are all busy with their own lives now

They do those hangout things when they all make a PowerPoints about whatever they want and present it to each other etc yk?

They all have matching tattoos of their exy numbers

On the anniversary of Seth's death, the foxes and Wymack gather at Abby's place to have dinner together. They don't really talk about him but they leave one seat empty.

The floozies

They have BBQS together a lot

All have some sort of matching thing like a bracelet or t-shirt I just can’t think of what it would be lol

Cat and Laila have a photo wall/photo album full of photos of them all

They are always helping Jean have fun experiencing things he never got the chance too. He probably won’t tell them directly but he appreciates their patience

Kevin being obsessed with them is a bit of an inside joke of theirs. “Hey guys do you think I look okay in this?” “No but u know who would!” “If you say Kevin I’m punching you in the fucking face” (???) idk how else to demonstrate that LMAO

Love love love having sleepovers at Cat and Lailas

The Vixens

They were all weary of Katelyn’s boyfriend being Aaron grumpy loser pants Minyard but they eventually warmed up to him

When Melissa/Marissa(?) first joined the vixens after being in the foxes she struggled fitting in with everyone. Katelyn was the first friend she made on the team

Most of them are probably the nicest people you will meet in Palmetto and couldn’t care less about the foxes but a lot of them absolutely despise the foxes and want nothing to do with them

Katelyn has her own little group of friends in the vixens who Aaron eventually joined and is now the main source of their gossip (he mainly bitches about Neil and Andrew)

They all absolutely ADORE Robin

Relationships/couples (cannon and not lol):

Andrew and Neil

Andrew runs cold and has to sleep like he’s hibernating for the winter while Neil runs hot and needs a fan (Andrew hates the fan. It is enemy #1)

The cats were Andrews ‘idea’. (He found them outside and took them home without saying anything)

Neil has had to carry drunk andrew a few times because Andrew likes being difficult

The team all have AT LEAST one photo of them sleeping together . On the couch, in the bus, in their bed, ON THE ROOF? They all have one

Andrew enjoys shopping and has a wardrobe full to the brim with clothes. Neil just wears Andrews clothes most of the time

Andrew sits on Neil’s lap more than Neil sits on his but Neil LOVES holding Andrew’s hand

They bake together sometimes but it usually just ends up with them throwing flour at each-other (poor Andrews completely black outfits)

They both actually get ‘flustered’ quite easily around each-other but with Neil it’s literally Impossible to tell. Andrews entire face goes red but that’s IT

Andrew paints Neil’s nails sometimes when he’s bored (it’s obviously black nail varnish too)

Andrew let’s Neil pin his hands,eventually, enjoying being safe in his hold

Aaron and Katelyn

Katelyn is the big spoon🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Katelyn enjoys baking but Aaron doesn’t so he is always just sitting on the counter and watching her bake

Aaron is a lot quieter/more insecure than Katelyn is so she’ll often be the one in control of the conversation whether it’s just them two or a group of people but Aaron is a lot more comfortable being himself when he’s with just her (Their a Sunshine and rain cloud basically🙄)

Katelyn’s parents ADORE Aaron

Aaron buys flowers for Katelyn every single time he comes over to see her. When they get a home together he buys her new flowers every week

Katelyn is a big kisser while Aaron is a big hugger

Katelyn always kisses Aaron repeatedly on the face when she’s trying out new lipstick (leaving him covered in lipstick marks how adorbs and lovely)

They are both very physically affectionate with eachother

Katelyn takes 0.5 photos of Aaron all the time trust

Dan and Matt

Matching pajamas🙏🙌🗣️

Randy absolutely loves Dan and is constantly going on about how lucky her son is and how beautiful Dan is etc etc

Matt is the type of guy to wear a t-shirt covered in pictures of dans face at the club or a “I <3 my GF” shirt

They do face masks together during movie nights

Matt absolutely WORSHIPS Dan and it’s so painfully sweet it causes tooth aches

They go on a date once a week after graduation

Wymack walked Dan down the isle at their wedding and was absolutely SOBBING while dancing was giggling at him

Matt doesn’t know how to tie a tie because he’s got hashtag daddy issues so Dan usually does it for him

Always touching somehow. Shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand etc

Seth and Allison

He liked her bossing him around👁️👁️

Sometimes when they were bored Seth would try do Alison’s makeup and she wasn’t aloud to help him and it always ended up with them cry laughing

Allison would help Seth shave his head when it got too long for him

Allison had Seth saved as “wife🏳️‍🌈” in her contacts LMFAO

After he died the foxes photo wall had a photo of him put up with his name and birth to death dates. Allison is the one who picked the photo

Allison always manhandled Seth into doing his skincare and eyebrows etc because she was NOT going to have a scruff as a boyfriend (he secretly enjoyed it)

He liked it when she scratched his back because of her long fake nails

She was the first real girlfriend Seth had (and the last)

Allison and Renee

Allison helps Renee dye her hair when Andrew isn’t around to help (sometimes they both help her at the same time)

Renee is silently a little shy around Allison and gets flustered at all the compliments and praise Allison gives her (Allison is head over heels and is very very much flustered but she can’t let people know that🙄🙄)

^They are basically just very awkwardly sweet with eachother

Allison always ricks Renee’s hair behind her ears

They go on picnic dates a lot during summer and spring

Renee fell first, Allison fell harder🫡

Stephanie is the embarrassing type of mother that’s always teasing her kid about their crush and she most definitely teased Renee about Allison

Renee makes homemade valentines gifts and Allison gets expensive valentines gifts

Allison loves Renee playing with her hair

Renee enjoys taking off Allison makeup for her at the end of the day and always kisses the tip of her nose when she’s done (taking the fake eyelashes off is her favourite part LMAO)

Allison has gone to church with Renee and Stephanie a few times during Christmas

Allison always kisses Renee’s wing tattoo

Renee reads before bed a lot and Allison falls asleep listening to her sometimes

Renee and Allison and Seth (hear me out I’m begging)

Renee and Seth are both dating Allison but they are not dating each-other 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️

They are both very playful competitive when it comes to Allison and she thinks it’s hilariously sweet

They have a groupchat named “Renee is cooler” and Seth is a dumbass who doesn’t know how to change the name

After Seth died Allison and Renee stopped dating for a while. Allison needed some time to herself and Renee was okay with that

Renee and Seth are low-key best friends (obviously! they have the same girlfriend) but pretend to be enemies in a way that’s like almost as if they are at war against each-others kingdom LMAO

They all go on dates together but they also take turns going on dates

Seth helped allison help dye Renee’s hair once and accidentally got the dye in his and Allison hair. He was never aloud to help again

Allison sleeps in the middle and they rotate the spooning lmao. One night Seth spoons Allison while Allison spoons Renee and another night it’ll be the other way around. Sometimes they are both just curled into Allison 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Stephanie loves both Allison and Seth and often invited them over for dinner

They all had matching banquet outfits

Jeremy and Jean

Jeremy kisses jeans moles/Beauty marks and Jean kisses Jeremy’s freckles

They sleep facing each-other and so close that they are basically kissing 🙄

Jeremy likes playing with jeans hands when they cuddle and kisses his finger tips

Jeremy screams and runs from bugs while Jean picks them up and puts them outside

Nicky and Eric

At their wedding Nicky was walked down the aisle by Erik’s dad

Their first date was an aquarium date and it was also Nicky’s first time going to an aquarium

They have matching build-a-bears

When Nicky first moved back to take in the twins he and Erik called almost every single night. Nicky was so tired sometimes that he’d fall asleep while Erik was speaking

Nicky only taught the twins basic greetings and manners in German so that when they meet Erik they could at least greet each other but the twins learnt it fluently in their own time without Nicky knowing

Abby and Wymack

They got legally married but instead of a wedding they had a dinner party at their house

They cook together almost every night (Abby is cooking and Wymack is TRYING to cook)

They go on a date every Friday night if they can

They are both very private about their relationship and keep to themselves instead of parading their love around for everyone to see

Abby helps Wymack shave most of the time because he #sucks

They have a daughter together sometime in the future (probably wouldn’t happen but idc😒) and Kevin is her best friend. He buys presents and spoils her whenever he comes to visit

She also absolutely adores Dan and Matt

Katelyn and Aaron and Kevin

Aaron and Katelyn are messy sleepers and move around A LOT so Kevin has woken up from being kicked in the face or something an ridiculous amount of times

Aaron kisses Kevin’s hands and Katelyn’s head/hair a lot, Kevin kisses Aaron’s forehead and katelyns shoulders a lot, then Katelyn kisses Aaron’s cheeks and Kevin’s forehead a lot

Katelyn and Aaron wear eachother and Kevin’s clothes a lot but Kevin barely wears theirs because most of it’s too small for him

Katelyn taught them both how to plait hair and sometimes when they are bored she’ll sit on the floor infront of them while they plait one side each and whoever does the best plait wins

They had a shared playlist but Kevin was banned from adding songs to it because his music taste is bad

Cat and Laila

Bicker like an old married couple

Matching outfits AND hair for banquets but Laila has really long hair and cat has short hair so they are not always FULLY matching hairstyles

Just have a lot of matching things like pajamas and jewellery etc

Sometimes when it’s just them home they play music and slow dance in the kitchen/sitting room quietly

Cat is an ‘organised mess’ kinda person while laila is just a messy person

Friendships/Family:

Katelyn and Neil

Bully Aaron every chance they get bro trust🙏 “look at him” “ikr what a nerd” “I can hear you both😐”

Katelyn is just messing around but Neil is probably actually bullying him LMFAO

Dressed up as each other for Halloween once without telling anybody and gave the twins whip lash

Neil helps her with maths and will help Aaron too if he’s there but Aaron is actually good at maths so he doesn’t need it most of the time

Katelyn was watching when Marissa was asking for Neil’s number because she was the one that told her to ‘go for it!’ And when Marissa got back Katelyn was in tears laughing

They have a secret hand shake that is unnecessarily complicated

Katelyn has bright ginger hair while Neil (cannonicly) had Auburn/dark ginger hair

Aaron and Matt

Aaron was a little awkward about their slowly forming friendship and often tried pushing Matt away but Matt was a little oblivious to it

Randy loved Aaron and always tells Matt to invite him over for the holidays

Whenever Aaron has a nightmare he doesn’t like sleeping by himself and has woken up next to Matt many times because Matt told him he can just sleep in his bed if it makes him feel better

They get really competitive with each other over video games

They play fight/tackle eachother at the most random times and Matt usually wins

Matt had a pair of Spider-Man pajama bottoms and Aaron has a pair of Batman pajama bottoms (Matt bought them)

Matt was the best man at Aaron and Katelyn’s wedding

Matt is Aaron’s first ever best friend

Neil and Matt

Matt gets Neil into playing video games with him sometimes and Neil is wayyyyy better than Matt so he regrets ever letting Neil have a go

There is a photo taped to the photo wall of Neil sitting on matts shoudlers with the biggest smile on his face because he’s laughing and doing this 💪😆💪 LMAO matts doing 💪😁 because he has to hold Neil with his other hand

Matt always holds his hand up high when giving Neil a high five so Neil has to jump to high five him back

Andrew and Neil are the designated babysitters for the team (when they aren’t working obviously) and matt and dans son is constantly copying them and the things they say

Matt insists on them having ‘bro nights’ at least once a week

Matt is Andreils biggest fan

They have a bromance so strong you’d think their actually inlove with each other sometimes, Dan thinks it’s hilarious (Andrew does too but they can’t know that🙄🙄)

Dan, Allison, Renee (+Katelyn!)

Renee, Allison and Dan have girls nights and slumber parties sometimes and after awhile they start inviting Katelyn

When Renee was re-dying her hair once Allison asked her to put pink and black underneath the blonde but she only kept it for a year (Mcbing Allison🫡)

Allison and Katelyn gossip like nobody ever could, they know everything and everyone bro

Dressed up as the powerpuff girls for Halloween once

Aaron, Andrew and Nicky

Nicky was the one that bought Andrew his armbands. Nicky took them shopping for some extra things like clothes and school supplies etc before they went home and Andrew picked them up, Nicky saw him looking at them and told him he can get them if he wants (Nicky never knew why Andrew wanted them until thanksgiving)

Nicky cut the twins hair for them up until the left collage. To begin with it was just Aaron’s hair he did but eventually Andrew trusted him enough for him to cut his too (I don’t think Andrew would like a hairdressers due to a stranger having to touch him and I just think Aaron would hate getting his hair cut)

They had movie nights together before collage every now and again but didn’t have the time for them once they joined the foxes. One night, after the books take place, Nicky asked if the wanted to have one and they ended up meeting in Aaron’s dorm to watch it. Aaron fell asleep against Nicky’s shoulder and while Andrew fell asleep last at the other side of their make shift sofa bed thing

Aaron and Nicky met once or twice when they were little but Aaron doesn’t remember

They have a groupchat and Nicky has the twins contacts saved as ‘thing 1’ and ‘thing 2’

A part of Nicky was upset Andrew never told him he was gay and at some point he asked him if it was because he felt like he couldn’t and Andrew looked him up and down and asked if he was being serious LMAO

Aarons had glasses since he was little but Andrew only got his after moving in with Nicky

Aaron and Andrew eventually just end up sharing most of their clothes either each other after awhile

andrew and aaron both have a very contagious laugh if you’re lucky enough to hear it

Allison, Renee, Neil and Andrew

DOUBLE DATES GUYS TRUST🙏🙏🙏 I think Renee and Allison are more of a dinner date kind of couple while Neil are a staying in or like going on a drive type of couple so they all agree on something that they would all like. a small café or something yk?

Andrew doesn’t gossip but will slide Allison information he’s heard, Renee doesn’t gossip and doesn’t particularly enjoy listening to it, Neil doesn’t gossip but he’ll listen if Allison is, Allison loves gossip and looses her mind when she’s with them

Renee and Andrew have a video of neil and Allison doing karaoke and dancing while drunk in the dorms but nobody else knows about them (not even Neil and Allison)

Allison and Andrew are the best gift givers on the team🫡

Allison put glam makeup on Neil once for fun and the look and Andrews face had them in stitched laughing

I think it would be cute if Allison and Renee adopted a daughter in the future and she would LOVE Andrew and Neil and always want them to ‘come over and play’

^^^Andrew always lets her get away with everything. “Do you want some..?” “My mums said I can’t have sweets before dinner😞” “well they aren’t here right now and I say you can”

Allison and Andrew eventually end up becoming somewhat friends after awhile and she paints his nails for him a lot because she claims he’s ’bad at it’

Neil and Allison

She drags him along for shopping sprees a lot and often ends up buying him clothes even though he has the money for his own

^^^when she and Andrew get closer, there will be a few times she’ll be looking, pick something up and go “you’re buying this for Andrew” and shove it into Neil’s hands

She and Neil have matching skincare headbands/hair-clips

Allison made all Neil’s social media accounts and showed him how to change things like his profile info and how to post. All he’s ever EVER posted is a selfie he has with Allison, a picture of Andrew + the cats and a group photo of the foxes

^^^something similar to this (yes I know that’s the Yellowjackets cats but just imagine it’s the foxes instead LMAO)

She used him as a model when making clothes sometimes (she used Renee as one too🤭🤭)

she made him try do her makeup once and he put the fake eyelashes on her eyebrows

[jtl-fics]

Fluent Freshman - Part 19

PREVIOUS

There’s a couple things about FF that might be good to know at this point.

1. There are few things in the world he hates doing more than asking for clarification or admitting he doesn’t understand / know something. The thought of going up to someone and admitting that he hasn’t perfectly comprehended the situation upon the first explanation is something makes his stomach twist like he’d just eaten Mango-Habanero ice cream.

He has figured out his own math theorems in the pursuit of not having to ask the math teacher to explain he doesn’t understand. He got lost in an Ikea once for over 6 grueling hours where he considered making a home there and living among the display rooms until his grandma grabbed him by the ear and dragged him to safety (the food court) and let him regain his strength (eat Swedish meatballs). He, to this day, is not sure about one of his foreign language friend’s names (how embarrassing he just keeps waiting for someone else to say it but they go by some insane nickname).

So he has become a master of piecing shit together on his own. He sometimes gets it wrong (Andrew, god how embarrassing) but for the most part 8 times out of 10 he can get to the right answer if he just has a couple pieces to work with. No one had ever actually explained to him how Exy works and he was too embarrassed to ask after the third week of practice in middle school so he just pieced together what he was and was not allowed to do through the art of trial and error. He’s even mostly pieced out the rules for the other positions.

So with the information he has gotten through people being bound and determined to talk in foreign languages in front of him he has an idea about the tenuous situation some of the older Foxes find themselves in.

He’s heard Kevin Day and Jean Moreau talk in French.

He’s heard that the anxiety in both of their voices as they talked about their futures and owing 80% of their salaries to the ‘Moriyamas’ and how nervous they were about getting on professional teams or else they’d be killed.

Captain Neil and Andrew are not always using Russian to talk dirty.

He’s heard Andrew soothe Captain Neil’s worries about playing for a professional team. He’s heard Captain Neil mention that at least ‘Ichirou’ would likely just kill him and not make a game out of it like his father did.

Organized Crime might have more to do with Exy than FF had originally thought.

(He had thought it. Plenty of times he had thought it but his Gran had warned him that he was overthinking things. That he wasn’t playing a sport invented by the Mafia. That he had caffeinated coffee instead of decaf. “It’s going to be okay sweetie. Just take a deep breath.”)

This leads into the second thing you should know at this point.

2.  Before he had signed with Wymack he had known the broad strokes of Captain Neil’s life. There had been a lot of news articles about it and Gran (bless her) loved trashy gossip magazines.

After he had signed with the Foxes he had done a bit of a deep dive on as many of their controversies as he could find. There’d been things from brawls on the court (worrying), player overdoses (concerning), a straight up MURDER (Oh god), and the very public breaking of the King of Exy’s arm resulting in his suicide (Warranted, that wacko was going to take off Captain Neil’s HEAD.)

But the thing that had made him actually a little bit, dare he admit, excited to go to Palmetto was the fact that Captain Neil was there.

For someone who froze for almost a decade, who just took it and didn’t have the balls to even react? Neil Josten is an inspiration.

This is someone who got away, who lived a life completely unlike FF’s, someone who knew how to run and more impressively someone who learned how to FIGHT. Captain Neil was being hunted but he still ripped people to shreds in interviews. Captain Neil was probably more scared of the Butcher than FF had been of anything in his entire life but Captain Neil was way braver than FF could ever hope to be.

Captain Neil was taken and tortured but he still fought. FF had seen the scars and Captain Neil is right to wear them proudly (though based on some conversations he has unfortunately overheard he is sure Andrew may have a role in Neil’s positive feelings about them).

FF had thought that he was being lead to his death down in a basement of a club (Don’t cringe. Don’t cringe. Don’t cringe. Don’t-) and he just trailed right behind the two of them without even an illusion of a fight.

Neil Abram Josten was a bit of a personal hero.

He’s proud to call him Captain Neil. He wishes Andrew hadn’t been there when Greg had mentioned wanting autographs because FF wants an autograph from Captain Neil but now Andrew has probably mentioned it to Neil.

Long story short, FF had looked into a lot of details on Captain Neil’s case.

Including two of the Butcher’s top men who were still on the loose.

Romero Malcolm and Jackson Plank.

He keeps his presence low but no matter how many times he blinks the man grumbling in Italian next to him continues to be Romero Malcolm.

Moreover Romero Malcolm continues to grumble about the fact that he is having a hard time finding ‘Nathaniel’ and that he’ll have to grab one of ‘The Wesninski brat’s friends’ to draw him out.

FF is a recently confirmed friend of Captain Neil.

FF who is standing next to this man, with his dick out, and trying to remain as invisible as possible.

After two shakes (Yes he was watching but only because he had to! He wonders briefly if he goes to the FBI if they would accept a description of Romero Malcolm’s penis for the wanted poster? Probably not but it is BURNED into his retinas.)

He watches as Romero tucks, zips, and then bypasses the sink entirely.

FF shivers at how unhygienic that is. Who RAISED him?

The door shuts and FF needs to get out of here ASAP but his hands are shaking with the sudden adrenaline of ’One of the FBI’s Most Wanted just took a piss next to me and is looking for me friend’. He pulls his phone from his pocket and ducks into one of the stalls. Even if there’s no door it’ll at least FEEL a little safer, a little more private. He needs to warn Neil, Warn Andrew, and warn-

The door to the bathroom SLAMS open and music blares in (palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy-) and his phone slips out of his hands and into the toilet. There are footsteps coming towards him and FF digs deep.

He’s in ultra stealth mode. He is the wall behind the wallpaper. Mantis shrimp can only dream of the color he becomes, the United States military have the CIA on the look out for him because he’s fallen off all conventional forms of radar and tracking.

He is a bargain fruit platter on a dessert table at a kid’s birthday party.

He is ULTRA stealth.

Romero’s gaze glides over him.

Then the man leaves (STILL DID NOT WASH HIS HANDS).

His heart is hammering in his chest but he manages to reach down and grab his phone. Well, Coach Wymack had gotten the extended warranty at least. (“Do you know what these fuckers do to phones? Josten crushed his last year in a fight with the Baseball team captain.”)

His phone’s extended dip into the toilet water had not done it any favors in working properly.

Well fuck.

He wipes his phone down the best he can. He wipes his phone down with some toilet paper before cramming it into his pocket (Sorry Nicky, he’ll wash the toilet water pants if they survive).

He sees a flyer on the wall of the bathroom and starts to think of a plan.

He rushes out of the bathroom (he still washes his hands because he will not have something in common with a man on the FBI’s most wanted list and he just dipped his hand into a CLUB TOILET) and clocks Nicky’s wild arm movements and WORSE clocks Romero just 10 clubbers away.

He sees Romero’s eyes lock onto Nicky and a smile that terrifies him.

He’s out of Ultra Stealth Mode even if every atom in his body wants to run.

He is so stressed and panicked that he has gone beyond his body’s ability to process that so all that is left is determination. He’s got a head full of a half-baked plan, a hand going to his pocket, a second hand on the only ‘weapon’ he has on him, and a stomach full of acid.

He’s pulling his phone out of his pocket before he can really let himself think about it and walking up next to where Romero is standing. He holds his toilet water phone up to his ear and does the one weird social anxiety thing that he had never done before.

He pretends to be on a phone call.

“Hey Captain Neil,” he says and in the corner of his eye he can see Romero’s gaze shift from Nicky (surrounded by an adoring public, covered in sweat and therefore difficult to grab - a difficult target) to himself (alone, shorter, and probably looking like he’s about to pass out). “Yeah I think I’m going to take a break outside after I grab quick drink and then a water at the bar.” He says because he has to be the easier target and he has to go to the bar. “Yeah, yeah, okay I’ll mention it to that bartender guy.” He says and pretends to hang up.

He turns and he walks towards the bar and feels his pulse in his throat go to the beat of the music (success is my only motherfucking option, failure’s not).

He only knows about the alley because in the car ride to Sweetie’s Nicky had mentioned that he wouldn’t let FF’s first time be out there. He had been embarrassed but it was the only way he knew to get Romero out of the club and away from where he could hurt Captain Neil or anyone else in the pursuit of that.

He spots the bartender who had gotten the drinks for their table and his mind completely blanks on the name but the bartender sees him and smiles. “Oh you’re Neil and Andrew’s new friend! What can I help you with? I thought you were-“

“Hi, yes I am Captain Neil and Andrew’s friend.” He says a little loudly because he can feel Romero behind him and he does NOT want the man to know anything about where Captain Neil was.

“Captain Neil? Oh wow that’s adorable.” The man gushes. “What can I help you with? I won’t ask for ID for one of their friends.” He winks.

“I’d like to order the uh…” he tries to remember the exact drink name from the flyer, “…the deluxe chocolate martini?” He asks and knows he got it right when the bartender’s expression shifts ever so slightly.

“Oh yeah, how do Andrew and Neil feel about that?” He asks and oh great a coded conversation. It’s nice to actually be having a real one of these for once instead of just perceiving normal conversations to have hidden meanings.

“They don’t know. They probably prefer that I order it instead of Nicky or Aaron.” He lets his eyes dart to the wide where he believes Romero is watching him.

“I don’t know if that’s true.” The bartender says, “Nicky knows how to handle a drink and Aaron’s not a lightweight either.” He adds.

FF struggles to find a coded way to say ‘It’s not that someone’s hitting on me too hard like the flyer mentioned. It’s that there’s a mafia hitman in your club.’

Finally after a moment, “It’s not the usual kind of drink they get.” He tries and the bartender looks confused by the statement, dammit. He struggles to find a different way to say it before the bartender smiles.

“Y’know you’re really cute.” He reaches under the bar top and grabs a piece of paper and a pen. “How about you write down your number for me cutie? We can meet up sometime.” He says. “I’ll get started on that chocolate martini for you.” He says.

HE COULD KISS THIS MAN.

“I’d like that.” He says.

He writes out a quick message on the small note paper.

‘Armed. After Neil. Looked at Nicky. I’m going to the back alley. Phone is dead.’

The bartender comes back and looks at his note. “We’re out of chocolate martini mix, can I get you something-“ He hopes the club lighting obscures how pale the man got, “something else?” He asks and FF can SEE his pulse.

“Can I just get some water then?” He asks.

The bartender nods and pulls up his phone and hopefully is dialing the police and hands FF a water. His hand grabs hold of FF’s “You don’t need to go out into the alley. You could hang in the backroom with me?” He offers.

There really are some kind people in the world.

“I think it’s better if I’m not in here for a bit.” He says back and honestly he needs this kindness and he has a spare bit of courage, “What’s your name by the way? Sorry I missed it.” He says.

The bartender swallows, “It’s Roland.” He says.

“Thanks Roland.” He twists the cap off of the water bottle and takes a sip.

He turns and pretends not to notice how Romero is trying to be inconspicuous pretending to be on his phone.

He makes his way over to the alley door and notices that Romero is tracking his movements but is not following him like he did to the bar.

His heart is pounding and he can’t BELIEVE he’s doing this. He wants to run, wants to hide somewhere, wants to become imperceptible but…but…

He opens the door to the alley as the bass of the remixed song finishes.

(You can do anything you set your mind to, man)

He lets the door slam behind him and he is alone in the alley.

He was not expecting a van to come to a screeching halt in front of the entrance and for a different face to appear climbing out of the car.

Jackson Plank.

FF looks at the ugly smile on the man as he walks towards him with a knife in hand.

Okay now what genius?

MASTERPOST FOR ALL PARTS OF FLUENT FRESHMAN AU

NEXT

5/26/23: EDITED. Can’t believe I forgot to put the Captain in front of Neil’s name on the meme. I’m blaming the accidental early awakening.

Per your requests:

@i-have-three-feelings​ @blep-23​ @dreamerking27​ @andreilsmyreligion​ @belodensetdust​ @rainbowpineapplebottle @yarn-ace​ @iwouldlikesometea @lily-s-world​ @obscureshipsandchips​ @booklover242​ @whataboutmyfries​ @sahturnos​ @pluto-pepsi​ @dreamerthinker​ @passinhosdetartaruga​ @leftunknownheart​ @aro-manita-muscaria @hologramsaredead​ @Chaoticgremlinswishtheycouldbeme @tntwme​ @tayspots @nick-scar​ @crazy-fangirl2524​ @blue-jos10​ @stabbyfoxandrew​ @splishsplashyouropinionistrash​ @sammichly​ @the-broken-pen​ @bitchesdoweknowu​ @very-small-flower​ @ghostlyboiii​ @its-a-paxycab​ @bisexual-genderfluid-fan​ @cheesecookie​ @theoneandonlylostsock​ @foxsoulcourt​ @blueleys @adverbialstarlight​ @elia-nna​ @can-i-just-stay-in-the-corner​ @nikodiangel​ @foxandcrow-inatrenchcoat​ @hallucinatedjosten​ @satanic-foxhole-court​ @vexingcosmos​ @chalilodimun​ @insectsgetcooked​ @angry-kid-with-no-money​ @queer-crows​ @lillyndra​ @themugglemudperson​ @readertodeath​ @apileofpillows​ @mortalsbowbeforeme​ @hellomynameismoo​ @next-level-mess @youreonlylow​ @interstellarfig​ @notprocrastinatingatalltoday​ @percyjacksonfan3​ @queenofcrazy27​ @bsmr261 @ghostlyscares​ @spencellio​ @adinthedarkroom​ @harpymoth​ @sufferingjustalilbit​ @anxietymoss​ @oddgreyhound​ @ohno-myhyperfixation-itsbroken​ @ken22789​ @atiredvampire​ @isoldescorner​ @not--a--pipedream​ @azure-wing​ @bushbees​  @roonilwazlib-main​ @crumplelush​ @foldedaces-paperbirds​ @thesenseinnonsense​ @let-tyrants-fear​ @ketchupfriesandallthingsnice​ @legowerewolf​ @deadlydodos​ @but-we-respect-his-craft​ @cariniqe​ @zanypersonapricotbiscuit​

The requests to be added to the tag list keep being spread out across a few different areas. If I missed you please just ask again in the replies I promise I just missed you.

As stated before if you’re up here and I spelled it  right but you didn’t  get a notification there might be something  switched around in  your settings that won’t let me tag you properly?

Lillyndra it worked this time!!!

[billdenbrough]

@naturecalls111 prompted me kevaaron + procrastination and was like ‘post grad’, meaning they’re not undergrads if it’s canonverse, & something abt the phrasing latched into my brain so we ended up with this vaguely professor au w/ the flimsiest excuse for a TA-adjacent situation ever instead. idk. as ever this was just for her texts & i’m coming off a 30hr migraine so pls forgive me LMAO <3

“I can see right through you,” Kevin murmurs.

“Oh, yeah?” Aaron challenges. God, he’s close.

“Mm,” Kevin says. “You just don’t want to mark the test.”

It's an accusation, but there’s no censure in his voice. He's amused, mostly; fond too, despite himself. It’s not exactly behaviour he should be encouraging, but—

Aaron huffs. “I never want to mark a test,” he points out. “Undergrads are fucking stupid. Or these ones are, anyway.”

“You were an undergrad once,” Kevin says. He very determinedly keeps his hands steady on the bench. Maybe he’s gripping the edge so he stays in place; so what? That's between him and whatever God Renee believes in enough for the both of them.

“These ones,” Aaron repeats, scoffing. “Anyway, I'd never have taken a history paper. Get real.”

Kevin can’t help the frown there. “History is fascinating,” he argues. Aaron scoffs at him again, but the way he watches Kevin runs counter to that. Like he’s listening to whatever Kevin says, regardless. “It is,” Kevin insists again, clearing his throat.

Aaron's gaze tracks the movement, eyes following the motion of his throat, and Kevin kind of wants to clench the counter edge hard enough to crack the formica. Jesus Christ.

“You like research,” Kevin says. He keeps his eyes on Aaron, watches as he steps in closer again. “History is an endless study of every mistake we’ve ever made—”

“—So we don’t repeat our forefathers’ mistakes?” Aaron asks wryly. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s a non-starter.”

“No,” Kevin says, shaking his head. “We’re bad at learning. Mostly, we don’t even see the patterns for decades, if not centuries.”

Aaron cocks his head. “Doesn’t that frustrate you?” he asks. “I've seen you watch sports. You get mad if people make the same fuck-up within, like, three minutes.”

An image floats in Kevin’s head, unbidden: the two of them at the sports bar, late one night after they finally convinced Jeremy to go the fuck home because the college wasn’t paying him enough to sleep at his desk to reply to nineteen year olds’ panicked emails at 11:17pm before a midnight deadline. Kevin had been unbelievably put-out by the Astros’ scoreline; Aaron hadn’t cared so much, but had seemed to find great entertainment in prodding at Kevin to express his opinion to a bar full of patrons who strongly disagreed with him.

Do you even care about baseball? Kevin had asked in the end, exasperated. He’d unknotted his tie and slipped off his jacket, heated by his opinions and the game and the alcohol and the way Aaron had sat there, head tilted, that clever mouth of his quirked up to the side like a smirk, like a secret.

Not really, Aaron had said, shrugging. He swished his beer a little. I played hockey at school myself. Before Kevin could get too excited about that—a sport! An actual goddamn sport! that wasn’t only worth watching European leagues for, cough cough Jeremy and Jean and fucking football—Aaron added, I like seeing how much you care about it, though, and knocked Kevin right on his ass, metaphorically-speaking.

That night had ended in a blur: Kevin’s flushed cheeks as he lectured the bar at large about heliocentrism after finishing his grumbling about the baseball, Aaron’s quiet snort and eyes that laughed more than his mouth did, alcohol-sticky wood beneath his feet as he made his way to the bathroom, the taste of Aaron’s beer on his lips, Aaron’s cool fingers a balm against his cheek, his mouth a searing heat burning all the way through Kevin.

Then when Kevin’s TA dropped out because of ‘unmanageable stress’ (which was not Kevin’s fault, no matter what Dan says, she and Matt can fuck off) and he had to scramble to figure out what to do, Abby had offered one of her tutors—but only for marking, Kevin, he has no base in history. He’s just smart enough to use a rubric and willing to help. Between this and Jean’s long-suffering offer to lead the tutorial that didn’t clash with his meetings with his advisor, and even Neil’s unlikely assistance in the form of helping restructure the syllabus, it all seemed pretty manageable. (The history department had quietly come to the conclusion that this was not, strictly speaking, acceptable by university standards, but elected to ignore this information until the conclusion of the semester. As far as Kevin’s been able to tell in his years in academia, this is how things tend to work.)

When Abby showed up at his office with Aaron, though, Kevin's cheeks had gone hot enough that she’d asked him if he was sure he wasn’t coming down with a stress fever. Aaron's face had stayed blank, but his eyes were – amused.

It was one thing when Aaron had been the regular third person in the staff room late at night alongside Jeremy and Kevin, rubbing his eyes as he scowled at whatever it was he was looking at. (Anatomy exams, Kevin found out later.) He’d been mostly quiet, but sharply funny when he’d ended up interacting with them, mostly starting with indelicate snorts at whatever madcap thing Jeremy was saying, then incredulous stares at Kevin’s rebuttal, and finally muttered jabs as he worked the coffee machine and Jeremy laughed delightedly and Kevin stared at him with disbelief and a slow-building warmth in the base of his stomach.

It was yet another thing when Aaron had been the guy he bundled up Jeremy with, the guy he got drunk with for hours in a sports bar, the guy who laughed at him and offered him buffalo wings so spicy that they made Aaron’s cheeks red and Kevin’s lips feel like they were on fire, until Aaron kissed him, tipsy outside the bar, the warmth spreading through Kevin overtaking both the chilly night air and the spice-stained echoes on Kevin’s mouth.

But it was another thing entirely for Aaron to be Aaron, meaning Abby's favourite postgrad and the guy who diligently read Kevin’s syllabus on top of his own work just to better understand the marking rubric and hater of psych majors everywhere. Aaron, with his tired eyes and quiet laugh and complete inability to answer a phone call from his brother in a normal way. (At one point, Kevin had been half-concerned he was ordering a hit—less about the morality or legality of the situation, more in a if you get arrested, I’m screwed again type way—until Neil had shown up half an hour later with lunch for Aaron and Aaron had gone, ugh and Neil had rolled his eyes, spotted Kevin, and turned to Aaron to say, you’re one to talk. Aaron had flushed a little, then scowled and flipped Neil off, and said fuck off, to which Neil said, gladly, then see you at dinner? And Aaron had waved his hand. If you eat your fucking vegetables, to which Neil had laughed, and flipped him off, and walked out. Kevin had stared at Aaron, nonplussed, but Aaron had ignored him, focusing instead on the test he was marking while he ate the sandwich Neil had brought.) Aaron, with his unbelievably rude opinions about Kevin’s lack of video game knowledge, and the genuinely unreasonable amount of sour gummies he can put away in an hour, and the unbearably soft look he gets on his face when he’s sleepy and huffy and Kevin has gently dragged away whichever test he’s marking or article he’s reading that’s made him so grumpy late at night.

Aaron, who Kevin actually knows now. And likes even more for it, which is inconvenient and inopportune and probably inevitable.

Kevin clears his throat. “People are meant to try and win in sports,” he says. “History is about things that have already happened. It’s a different ballpark.” There’s a moment, and then, “They’ve already lost the battle. I'm not rooting for anything else there.”

Something flares up in Aaron's eyes at that, and he snakes his hand forward, tugging on Kevin's tie. Kevin, hands still holding onto the bench, allows it.

“But sports are about victory?” Aaron asks. 

He’s not even subtle about procrastinating, Kevin thinks. He wants to laugh. He swallows a sigh instead, and says, a little warningly, “Aaron…”

But he doesn’t move. Doesn’t stop Aaron, doesn’t do anything to stop him. Maybe leans in a little, even.

“Yeah,” Kevin says after a long moment. “History, you live or you die. Sports, you’re the best or you’re not.”

“That's a reductive way of looking at the world,” Aaron says, but it’s that tone he gets sometimes, the one where Kevin doesn’t know if he believes it or if he just wants to poke at Kevin a little. Kevin hates that he likes it as much as he does; that he lets it stoke him up, bites at the bit every time.

“You are not subtle,” Kevin murmurs. The tests are sitting on the table behind Aaron, staring up at the ceiling. Aaron's coffee is abandoned, probably cold.

You are not subtle, Kevin says, and means it, but Aaron’s cocked his eyebrow at him, and there’s something a little taunting in his eyes, and he’s still holding onto Kevin’s tie, and something in Kevin loosens. He sighs, and lets go of the bench, tucking his fingers into Aaron's belt loops instead and pulling him forward.

“Is this a sport?” Aaron asks, because he’s a dick and facetious and he knows just how to make Kevin want to shut him up.

“You’re not as funny as you think you are,” Kevin scolds, and then leans forward to kiss the rebuttal out of Aaron's mouth.

[wordvomit555]

I wish I had Tumblr when I first started reading aftg, because I sometimes randomly remember my thoughts on the books and laugh at myself and I wish I had written all of them somewhere.

Like the fact that I thought Andrew was a dumb jock after his introduction or that I missed the fact that he is so short

Or the fact that I was screaming at Neil to ran and not sign with the Foxes, because Wymack seemed shady to me

I also thought Aaron was spelled Auron until the scene when Nicky was explaining to Neil the twins history and said that thing about Tilda taking the one who was first in alphabetical order

And there is probably so much more, but I will never remember.

[only-god-canstopme]

aaron forgiving andrew for killing tilda when he has children of his own because he thinks that if she were around he never would’ve let her meet them.

(and if he didn’t want his children near her, or any children near her, that means that he, as a child, should’ve never been near her. and he gets what andrew did bc he would kill to keep these children safe too.)