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I don’t know how I didn’t notice it before. I’m the guy’s roommate and I couldn’t see it. Now I know I just refused to see it. How could someone as nice and honest as Neil Josten fall for some sociopathic asshole? I will never know. Well, after what Andrew did to Kevin, I have some idea.
If Dan was ever kidnapped by some gangsters and the only one who could give me answers was Kevin, I don’t know if anyone would be able to pull me off him. It took Dan, me and Renee— Renee—to pull Andrew off of Kevin. And I’m pretty sure that the only reason that Andrew stopped was because he promised Kevin he would take care of him.
Even then, it didn’t hit me in the face until we saw Neil in the hotel room. I didn’t think someone as small as Andrew could body check anyone, let alone a federal agent. I thought that Neil was gay, obviously, but I didn’t think he would be with Andrew. Even the way Neil was able to calm Andrew down was surprising. As Andrew likes to say, you can’t put a leash on him. When you saw them together in the hotel room, it wasn’t even like that. Neil wasn’t tugging on a leash, he was taming a wild animal. His presence alone seemed to calm Andrew down in a way I’ve never seen him before. It was jarring to say the least.
At the cabin, it became a little clearer. Even before we went to the cabin, I started to notice the way they interacted. The fact that Andrew helped Neil shower, because he couldn’t, and from seeing them afterwards, helped Neil in other ways too. I’m so glad that I went to talk to Dan. Or the fact that Andrew convinced Kevin to go to the cabin, he didn’t care if he hurt Kevin, he just wanted to help Neil. When Kevin suddenly agreed, I didn’t understand until I noticed Nicky’s worried motions and the fact that Andrew’s table knife was missing. Once we made it to the cabin, I knew it was something more when Neil started drinking. Nicky freaked out, but, now I understand why Neil didn’t drink. He didn’t want to mess up and lose control. The fact that he trusted Andrew enough to start drinking spoke volumes.
I didn’t understand it then. I didn’t understand how much Andrew trusted Neil, even when Andrew gave Neil the keys to his car, or, as I later found out, the keys to the house in Columbia. still don’t understand it now, but at least now I have a theory.
They make eachother better. I don’t know how it works, but it’s true.
I noticed that since they started dating, Neil is a lot more grounded. He’s less afraid, his eyes no longer scan every room he walks into. He doesn’t run away from the cameras as much anymore. He can actually look in the mirror now, not for long, but he can still look. He’s a lot more open. Since we won the championship, he’s only switched languages when the freshman are around, which makes sense. With a past like his, he’s entitled to not trust easily.
Andrew talks a lot more. He no longer has the same look all the time, his eyes give away a lot more. You can tell when he’s mad now, although he only seems to get mad when people mess with Neil. When one of the new freshman tried to rattle Neil by calling him Nathaniel the whole day, I was surprised that the kid was still standing at the end of the day. I wouldn’t be surprised the only reason he was still standing was because Neil talked him down. They did go out to lunch that day, by that I mean they ate in the Maserati.
It makes sense though. Dan made me better by giving me a person to depend on. I’m to longer flighty because I know someone has my back.
Now, I can’t not see it. I can’t not see the way that Andrew relaxes when Neil walks into a room. It’s hard not to notice that next year Aaron, Nicky and Kevin will sleep in the dorm room with me. It wasn’t hard to notice the big switch last year, but now it’s impossible to ignore. It’s impossible to notice the team dinners at least twice a week. It’s impossible to notice that my dorm is packed at least once a night on a Friday night, while Neil and Andrew are off God knows where.
It’s unavoidable now, there’s no way to deny it. Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard are a couple. They are a couple that’s as adorable as it is deadly. It’s just a part of life now.
It’s nice to see them happy as I am with Dan. It reminds me that there must be some good in the world, otherwise Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard would never be a thing to begin with.