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1
The air is frigid and crisp where it slaps against Matt’s face, sharp like the edge of a pointed knife. It shouldn’t be this cold in the early October air, but Matt finds himself burrowing down deeper into his hooded sweater, nose tucked under the fabric to hide from the bite of the wind.
Dan tucks herself against Matt’s side, shimmying under his arm in a poor attempt to keep warm. He wraps his strong arms around her, smooshing her face into the fabric against his chest. She hums, the tune coming out muffled and warm on every exhale.
They don’t usually hang out on the lawn adjacent to Fox Tower, tuckered away on one of the picnic tables to hide from their overbearing team mates, but they find themselves here today, in need of a little alone time.
The wind whistles as it passes through the trees and Matt tightens his hold on Dan, attempting to shield her from the onslaught of cold.
They are content to sit in silence, arms wrapped around each other like two puzzle pieces sliding home. Matt would take all of the cold in the world just to be able to sit here with her.
He lays his head atop her curls and watches the parking lot in front of him. It’s empty except for the few scattered cars that lay hazardously around the lot. He spots Andrew’s Maserati almost immediately, sleek and black and right smack in the corner, secluded from everyone; the car a personification of its owner.
It takes Matt a long moment to notice the straggler perched against the side of the car, red hair curling around his ears and the casual hood that lays atop it. It’s white except for the glaringly obvious orange lettering on the front: Palmetto State Foxes. Matt frowns, arms going lax against his girlfriend. She tips her head up to look at him, chin digging into his chest.
“What’s wrong?” She asks, voice quaking as she shivers.
He shakes his head, eyes still far away as he looks at the stranger. “There’s a kid leaning against the side of Andrew’s car.”
Dan’s head snaps in the direction of the parking lot so fast Matt’s almost sure he hears the creak of her spine. She gawks at him for a startling moment and then snorts. “How much do you wanna bet that kids about to die?”
“I’m not taking that bet. That is almost 100% going to happen,” Matt replies, burying his face into the side of Dan’s hair, eyes peaking over the top of her head to watch the shitstorm that’s about to hit.
The kid is looking down at his phone, fingers only just peeking through the sleeves of his hoodie as he types away. His nose is pink even from here, and Matt can imagine the spattering of freckles along his nose to match the red tinged curls. He’s wearing running shorts over tights that showcase his solid thighs, calves sculpted like a statue.
“You think he’s a fan hoping for an autograph?” Dan whispers as if scared they might be heard across the lot.
“Maybe he’s an athlete.”
“No, I’ve never seen him around before,” Dan concludes.
Just as Matt is about to crack a joke, the doors to the dorm burst open and out comes their five-foot goalie. He stops short when he notices the lean form perched on the side of his car, legs crossed, relaxed.
Matt watches Andrew watch the kid, sees the flick of his wrist as he spins his phone between forefinger and thumb. He unfreezes when the redhead looks up, eyes zeroing in on the goalie like a hunter and his prey. The smile that overtakes his face is blinding, even from here. Matt startles, leaning back in his seat as Andrew takes a step towards his car.
He doesn’t seem angry, but practiced and poised. Matt can already imagine Andrew pulling one of his knives from their sheaths and gutting this poor kid in the parking lot.
He takes careful precise steps as he rounds the car, coming to stand inches in front of the stranger, hands reaching out to box him between his arms and the car. The kid leans back, relaxed.
The kid places his hands against the black paint and leans down, nose skirting alongside Andrew’s. They stare at each other for a long, startling moment. Matt and Dan hold their collective breaths, releasing a gasp so loud they startle the birds when Andrew surges forward and captures this kid’s mouth.
Their kiss is hungry and wild and eager, Andrew’s hands firm on his hips, his thighs, his ass. The kid claims Andrew’s hair in his firm grip and lets himself be devoured.
Matt and Dan cannot look away, mesmerized by the passion, the ferocity. Matt’s never seen Andrew do anything with so much emotion.
When they finally pull away, it’s just for Andrew to tuck his face against the kid’s neck, to wrap his hands around his ribs.
They can see the kid whisper something into Andrew’s hair, watches his smile spread and shimmer and shift. When Andrew finally pulls away, his face is splotched red from the cold and something else. He tucks his hands into his leather jacket and rounds the car, disappearing into the driver’s side. The kid is slower to follow, touching his fingertips gently to his lips, dazed.
When he turns to open the car door, Matt spots the MINYARD 03 across the back.
2
Allison is in the cafeteria, rolling food around on her plate as she waits for Seth’s class to finish when she spots him. He’s pretty in the conventional sense, freckles along the bridge of his nose, eyes so blue you want to swim in them, jaw so sharp you can cut a finger on it. Allison drops her fork to watch him pass, isn’t disappointed by the firmness of his backside. She doesn’t whistle but the sentiment is there.
Allison watches him cross the room, and doesn’t miss the disappointed swoop in her gut as a blonde man wraps his arm around his waist and dips him effortlessly into his lap. The redhead throws his arms carelessly around his neck and sneaks down to press his lips firmly to the spot right beneath his ear. Allison watches the smile crest his face as the blonde whispers something into his ear.
When he stands, it’s effortless and ethereal, like a dancer. His hand is grasping his man’s fingers, just kissing as he tugs him to his feet. Allison chokes on her own spit when she spots Andrew Minyard smiling.
“Holy fucking shit,” Allison whispers to herself. She’s almost convinced herself it’s Aaron when Andrew snakes an arm around the redheads’ waist and she spots the armbands.
She doesn’t look away until they’ve disappeared through the cafeteria doors. She wastes no time in opening her phone and texting the group chat.
Allison: was I just supposed to find out myself that Andrew bagged a hot piece of ass??
Matt: you saw him too???
Dan: red head with an ass for days?
Allison: the one and only
Nicky: you mean Neil??
Allison: Neil u say?
Dan: n e I l
Matt: who’s Neil????
Renee: Neil is Andrew’s boyfriend
Kevin: How do you not know Neil. He’s always here.
Allison: you know about Neil??? And didn’t tell me??? The betrayal.
Seth has left the chat.
Seth has been added to the chat.
Aaron: I need to bleach my eyeballs and go back in time before I ever read this
Dan: you didn’t know either?
Aaron: ?
Aaron: are you thick? Ofc i knew. I just don’t need to know what u think of Neil’s ass. Disgusting
Allison: you need to tell me everything
Aaron: no. Andrew would kill me.
Nicky: 👀
Aaron: Nicky if you care about ur life at all u will stfu
Nicky 😞
—
3
Seth’s in the library when it happens. He’s studying for his math test that he absolutely is going to fail when Andrew walks right by him. He can’t help himself, he follows him with his eyes, watches him disappear behind a bookshelf and never come back out.
Seth knows that bookshelf doesn’t have an exit, it travels deep into the library, curving slightly at the end to leave a reading nook. Seth wonders for a moment if Andrew is here to read. Seth shakes his head, dispelling the image.
Seth tries to go back to his numbers, but he can’t seem to drag his mind away from the Monster. He stares at the opening in the bookshelf and chews the edge of his pencil.
He doesn’t have to wait long before Andrew resurfaces, dragging another person behind him. His hand is clasped in another person’s, fingernails painted black and chipped as all hell. He’s smiling at Andrew like he hung the moon and all the stars in the sky, like his universe begins and ends with Andrew’s existence. Seth scowls in disgust.
They stop a short distance away, half hidden behind another book shelf. Under the guise of being alone, Andrew leans forward, pressing his lips gently against his companions. The kid’s hands fall lax at his sides as he lets Andrew manhandle him into the position he wants; arms crisscrossed over his shoulders, back pressed against the wall, thigh hiked up over Andrew’s hip. It’s a blatant display of PDA that Seth never imagined Andrew capable of.
When they finally pull away, the boyfriend is a mess, tipping his head into Andrew’s neck to catch his breath. Andrew runs a careful hand through his hair once before he throws one arm around his waist to drag him away.
Seth: I hate you guys. You jinxed me. I just witnessed Andrew molest his boyfriend in the library.
4
Dan’s alone the next time she sees him, arm dangling over the edge of Fox Tower and head thrown back.
She stands in the parking lot as she looks up at the roof, confused and concerned. If he’s not an athlete he shouldn’t be able to get up there without Andrew. The building is low enough to see the expanse of the roof, and from this angle he looks alone up there, perched on the edge.
Dan debates calling Wymack, then thinks she might call Andrew, warn him his boyfriend might be trying to kick the bucket. But then she sees him.
Neil sits up, back to the sky and the inevitable fall. Dan watches as his head tips back, hair falling behind him in ripples of red curls. His back arches and his hands spread across the cement, straining.
And then she sees the hands, small and firm and calloused against the small of Neil’s back, against his hips. Even from all the way down here, Dan can see the ironclad grip Andrew has on him, a grip that will surely leave him with hand shaped bruises.
His moan echoes across the dark parking lot, whispering through the trees and against the clouded sky. Dan is so shocked she can’t move, not when she sees him press his hand between his legs to the head of blonde hair that is most definitely there, and not when Andrew stands, hand gentle around Neil’s throat as he leans down and licks into his mouth.
She hurries away when she thinks she’s been caught; she has the sudden urge to take a long and thorough shower.
5
The upperclassmen usually disappear on Friday evenings. Much like the Monsters, they like to find a cute place to buckle down for dinner and then a warm place to drink and dance.
They never go to the same place twice, and it’s always a different person’s pick. This week Renee picks a quiet ramen place that’s tucked away in the secluded city just outside the borders of Palmetto State. Renee’s never been before but she’s only heard good things from Andrew.
The hostess seats them deep in the restaurant, in a corner that allows a perfect view of the whole place. It’s quiet for a Friday night, but it’s just the way they like it.
Allison is just talking about her psych class when the door to the entrance clanks open, the bells chiming away as a couple walks through. Their hands are clasped between them, just short of disappearing beneath the edge of their sleeves.
The Foxes watch collectively as the doors close behind them, as the couple is seated across the restaurant. They even watch as they bend their heads together, discussing what to eat. The Foxes all watch on in silence as Neil and Andrew clasp hands on the table between them, as they tip forward to press soft lips together gently.
It feels wrong, too raw and intimate to watch this moment between them, a moment Andrew would never feel comfortable sharing with them. None of them can look away.
The waiter takes their order and when he disappears Andrew reaches forward and tugs Neil’s chair closer, doesn’t protest as Neil places his head against his shoulder, hair tickling his chin. Andrew presses his cheek to Neil’s hair and winds a careful arm around his middle, hand splayed and possessive across his ribs.
Neil is a curious, indecipherable thing. He’s beautiful everywhere, even with the vicious slash of a scar across his face, even with the razor-sharp smile. The way he looks at Andrew is peaceful, quiet.
Matt has to look away when Andrew gently cups the side of his face, tipping it ever so gently to whisper sweet nothings in his ear. He tucks a stray curl back into place and presses his lips firmly to Neil’s forehead.
The Foxes have only known Andrew for a few months now, but they’ve only ever known him as the vicious, vindictive Monster he’s portrayed himself as. But now, he’s a mystery no one knows how to solve; hard and violent for strangers, soft and gentle for this boy with the sharp smile.
+1
Andrew’s kisses are biting, all consuming. He drives Neil into the couch cushions with his body, hips pressing into Neil’s as he litters wet, open mouthed kisses down Neil’s neck.
Neil’s back arches on its own accord, hand reaching involuntarily for the blonde tufts at the nape of Andrew’s neck.
“Andrew,” Neil whispers in between bruising kisses, letting Andrew take his hands, tangling them above his own head.
Andrew snips the sharp jut of Neil’s jaw, licks a swipe along the vein in his neck before sucking a bruise right below his ear. Neil can’t help the gasp that leaves him, the sharp shift of his hips upwards as he searches for any sort of friction.
Andrew rewards him by pressing his hips down, tucking them as close as humanly possible. Neil snags his legs around Andrew’s waist, stabbing his heels into the small of Andrew’s back, pushing him even closer.
Neil gasps when Andrew’s hands finally find their way beneath his shirt, the soft warmth of his calloused palms against Neil’s ruined flesh. Andrew thumbs a nipple and then fits his hands around Neil’s ribs, biting and licking into Neil’s mouth.
They only have a second before they hear the dangerous jingle of keys in the door. Andrew’s head flies up, hands disappearing from Neil’s bare skin as he scrambles off of the couch. Neil hears Nicky’s soft curse as he drops his keys on the other side of the door, watches frantically as Andrew throws himself onto his desk and pulls a pack of cigarettes from seemingly nowhere.
Neil only has enough time to sit up on the couch and flatten his hair before Nicky bursts through the door.
“Neil!” Nicky shouts, “I didn’t know you were here.” He shuffles in with bags in his hands, and the Foxes at his heels. Aaron shoots him a disgusted look before disappearing into their shared room.
The rest of the Foxes take their time sizing him up, a science experiment that has finally found its end.
“Hello?” Neil says after the silence has carried on into awkward territory.
“Were you just fucking in here?” Allison, Neil thinks her name is, says, hands on her hips, eyes squinted in suspicion.
“No?” Neil says and it sounds more like a question than an answer. Allison quirks a perfect eyebrow.
“Seriously you guys? We have to live in here too!” Kevin’s voice is shrill in his annoyance, an octave too high and pressed tight like he’s clenching every muscle in his body.
“No one said we were fucking,” Neil says, folding his arms over his chest.
“You kind of did,” Nicky singsongs from his place in the kitchen.
“Sooo,” Matt says, stepping forward, “You’re Neil.”
“I’m Neil.”
“So you’re fucking Andrew,” Allison asks.
“On occasion.”
“You’re dating then?”
“Obviously.”
“How long?”
“Is this twenty questions? Am I being interrogated for a crime?”
“Maybe. Dating Andrew seems like it should be some kind of offence.”
Neil frowns at this, sitting up straighter.
“Excuse me?”
“They’re just kidding, Neil!” Nicky shouts.
“Is he supposed to be your secret boyfriend, because we’ve seen you like 100 times since you started here?” Dan asks, folding herself under Matt’s arm.
Andrew doesn’t answer until he’s finished his cigarette and thrown it out the window, not until he’s walked around the couch and pressed himself against Neil’s side, arm thrown over his shoulder.
“Why the fuck would he be a secret?”
“You never mentioned him,” Dan reasons.
“Because it never came up.”
No one knows what to say to this.
“So now everyone’s met, Neil, we can finally start bringing him to night practice,” Kevin says, coming in strong.
They all spin to look at Kevin, confused.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because we’re going to sign him next year,” Kevin says, sure as shit.
“You can’t just decide to sign people because Andrew’s dating them, Kevin. Coach will never sign off on this,” Dan says, anger simmering under her voice.
“That’s too bad, because he already has,” Neil says, burrowing deeper into Andrew’s side. The Foxes all but gape at him. “Now are we done analyzing me, or are we watching movies?”