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unsaidemry · 2 months

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Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game) Characters: Neil Josten, Andrew Minyard, Allison Reynolds (All For The Game), Renee Walker (All For The Game), Kevin Day, Danielle "Dan" Wilds Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Exy (All For The Game), Art, Soft Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard, POV Neil Josten, Neil Josten & Allison Reynolds Friendship, Fashion Designer Allison Reynolds, Photographer Andrew Minyard, College, Fluff, Andrew Minyard Has Feelings, Demisexual Neil Josten, Oblivious Neil Josten, Gay Andrew Minyard, Minor Allison Reynolds/Renee Walker (All For The Game), Kevin Day If You Squint, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Happy Ending, AFTG Reverse Big Bang 2024 Summary:

“I don’t know what you- what are you talking about?” Neil asks so defensively that it’s embarrassing hearing it come from his own mouth.

“Don’t play dumb with me! I know Andrew well enough and he doesn’t hang out with people- not unless there’s a fine print.”

“He’s paying me for these sessions! We’re hanging out because it’s a mutual exchange of services!”

“Neil,” Allison says, giving him her ‘are you really this stupid?’ look. “In the freelance world, the model is usually the one who pays the photographer. Andrew is the one providing a service while you just get to sit and look pretty. Also, this is the third time you’ve gone to see him. How many photos of you does he need to take before you realize he’s obsessed?”

Andrew? Obsessed with Neil? Allison’s got it backwards, but Neil would drop everything and flee the city before admitting that to her.

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A modern au where Neil doesn't play exy and Andrew is a photographer. Neil discovers the world of fun and feminine fashion after becoming friends with Allison, and his outfits inspire Andrew to want to photograph a person for the first time- i.e. Neil.

Prompt and STUNNING artwork credit to the amazing @s-hanna-h on tumblr!

#aftgrbb2024 #aftg reverse big bang #aftg fic #aftg art #aftg fanart #aftg #aftg fanfic #aftg fandom #neil josten #andrew minyard #neil and andrew #all for the game #all for the game fic #all for the game art

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theravenkin · 3 months

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Heyyy i got a fic request or something to pass that someone else you think will take it up.

l'm this fic Andrew is already diagnosed with cptsd and depression and started therapy for it but when Aaron shows signs of a depressive episode so bad it scares Nicky they both decide to start taking antidepressants with Andrew watching Aaron so he doesn't abuse them.

However Aaron's reaction to the meds is mania, while Andrew seems to be reacting find to them.

This is where Aaron finds out he has bipolar disorder.

Or a Aaron fic where he goes undiagnosed bipolar and doesn't find out till he has the worse episode ever.

jesus this would kill me. I'm not usually one for this level of angst but I know there are some incredible angst authors out there. I also do love more realistic explorations of the characters' (especially the twins') mental health and them seeking treatment. incredible mind anon

#aftg #aftg fic #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #all for the game #all for the game fic #neil josten #kevin day #kevaaron

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merceyca · 3 months

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Chapters: 1/4 Fandom: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Aaron Minyard/Jean Moreau Characters: Aaron Minyard, Jean Moreau, Neil Josten, Andrew Minyard, Kevin Day, Jeremy Knox, Nicky Hemmick, Matt Boyd Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Kidnapped, Forced Proximity, gross depictions of being trapped in a room with someone, forced drugging, Gun Violence, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst with a Happy Ending, I'll tag as we go but that should cover it for now Summary:

‘You have a concussion,’ Jean said, blunt but not unkind. ‘I— I need to see,’ Aaron said through his rapid breaths. ‘I can’t—’ ‘You are alive,’ Jean whispered. ‘Your heart is beating. The dark cannot hurt you and the light cannot save you.’

When Aaron and Jean are abducted, they have only each other to rely on in the dark. It's only a matter of time before someone realises they're missing and tracks them down but—until then—will they be each other's saviour, or each other's destroyer?

Here’s my entry for this year’s @aftg-mixtape that I wrote for @codename-adler :D I hope you enjoy <3

#aftg #all for the game #all for the game fic #aftg fic #jean moreau #aaron minyard #jeaaron #I think that could be their ship name?#Idk #the foxhole court

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andrewminyardsleftfoot · 3 months

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You write fics, I read fics. You have super cool ideas, I wanna read them.

Soooo... link?

tysm for asking! i am not a very good writer though, mainly because english isn't my first language + i am still grasping the writing part, but i think it's passable hahaha

anyways, here they are! i hope you enjoy them <3

#aftg #all for the game #neil josten #aftg fandom #andrew minyard #all for the game fic #aftg fic

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sllhouettedreams · 1 year

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On Forehead Kisses

So, this is taken from a fic series i deleted/abandoned but idk. I wanted to just share this bit. I took out the stuff that tied it in with the plotline I had but. enjoy?

Discovering it was purely an accident. Andrew’s lips brushed his forehead and Neil went mostly boneless against him. It took a second for Neil to recover, to put the inch of distance back between them. He muttered a sleepy apology-Andrew hadn’t missed the slight flush to his cheeks.

After a few dizzying moments of analyzing the moment, Andrew came to a conclusion: Neil likes to be kissed on the forehead.

Since it had happened the first time, Andrew hadn’t tried it again. He contemplated the effect it seemed to have on Neil. Andrew thought about the number of people in his life who would have kissed his forehead. Mary didn’t seem the type. She used brute force and abusive protection over kind affections.

Did Neil even realize he likes it? He had been half asleep when it happened. Was it a need he had but didn’t know he had- like holding hands had become? Like leaning on Andrew and trusting him with the weight of his issues? Something that he craved now that he knew what it felt like?

Below him in the bottom bunk, Neil’s breathing turned uneasy. For Andrew, it was another one of those nights, where he felt wound too tight to sleep. For Neil, it seemed it was the beginning of a nightmare.

Silently, Andrew crept from his bed and into the kitchenette of their dorm room. It didn’t take long for the smell of coffee to filter through the small space. The green numbers on the clock glowed just passed 5am. A familiar time. A familiar place.

An unfamiliar resident.

Neil hadn’t been living in the same dorm as Andrew for very long. With footsteps as light as they always are, Neil padded into the kitchen.

It’s become routine that however macabre their nightmares or intrusive thoughts that plague them get, however late or early they are woken from them, they unwind with steadying breaths sat easy in the kitchen.

Neil’s eyes are bright with feral energy that Andrew recognizes. “You are not going anywhere, Neil Abram Josten.”

Until this moment, using his full, newly legal, name had always snapped Neil away from the gloom of his nightmares. Neil tensed further, lashes fluttering as his eyes twitched. Andrew took in a breath and held it for a second or two.

“You were there. In that cop car. The one they stole to take me to him.” Neil’s volume tapers off as he says the word ‘him’. As if even just the thought of him would summon the ghost of Nathan Wesninski to finish him off. “Sometimes, one of the others were there. Matt. Dan.” Neil swallowed hard, “But this time it was you.”

“And?” Andrew challenges but Andrew doesn’t really think Neil will answer. Not with how there’s even more sweat gathering on his brow, and his knees are bent slightly, braced and ready to bolt.

Andrew pours two cups of coffee, patiently waiting. His face remains emotionless, knowing the stability Andrew offered had always been a comfort for Neil. Andrew could take each and every problem Neil had and help him shoulder it. “It...” Neil, despite himself, takes the mug Andrew offers. A little swirl of tension loosens in Andrew’s gut. Neil can’t run with hot coffee.

“It was just a dream.” Andrew finishes for him, carefully neutral. “We’re both alive.” Andrew says. He watches as Neil’s nightmare starts to dissolve from his mind in little fizzles of loosened shoulders, an unclenched jaw.

“We’re alive.” Neil echos, voice only the ghost of a whisper. He’s still miles away. Andrew watches Neil for a while, long enough to finish his coffee. Neil is staring into his, cooling rapidly.

Because he know it will Help Neil, he forces out the words, but he can’t fake any enthusiasm for them. “Exy practice starts up today.”

The remaining tension flows from Neil like a loosened spigot and the smile that smooths out the crease in his brow is definitely not overwhelming. “Junkie.” Andrew scoffs, setting aside his empty mug.

“It’s the first time I’m playing without healing from any major injuries in a while.” Neil points out, as he had a couple times before when practices resuming came up, when Andrew would scorn his excitement. He knew the effect it had on Andrew.

Andrew shut up. He could concede that point. He didn’t have to like it, though. “I won’t let you score a single goal.” Andrew mutters, “Not even if you scream.”

Neil looks excited by the prospect, “promise?” He takes a few steps closer to Andrew and sets his mug beside Andrew’s, still full. Andrew’s hand curls in the front of Neil’s shirt, tugging him closer.

“Remember the game, your first year, that you had coach pick a number and that’s as many goals as you let through before you closed the other team out?” Neil had recovered from the nightmare, it seemed, if he was here getting aroused by the thought of Andrew playing Exy. And playing Exy well.

“What about it?”

“What if I picked a number?”

“No, I said zero and I mean zero.”

Neil just grins.

Because he hates when Neil gets the jump on him, he resolves to put his secret weapon to the test once more. With his grip on Neil’s shirt an anchor, he rises to his toes and presses his lips to Neil’s forehead.

The effect is immediate. Neil slumps forward, his forehead pressing heavier into Andrew’s lips. When Andrew lifts his free hand to the back of Neil’s neck, Neil shudders. His lips part with a heavy breath that Andrew feels against his chin and collarbones.

Andrew lingers, not long enough for it to be weird, but just long enough for the weight of just how intimate this action is to settle around both of them. When Andrew rocks back onto his heels, Neil’s arms are on either side of him, holding onto the counter. Oddly, Andrew doesn’t feel trapped. Maybe a little cornered under the weight of Neil’s stare, but not in a way that makes anxiety ripple in his stomach. His face remains placid, calm, even when Neil speaks again.

“Can I kiss you?” Neil asks because he never stops asking and Andrew appreciates that so much. He sounds breathless, unable or unwilling to speak above a whisper. Andrew doesn’t know which.

“Yes.” Andrew says at his normal volume. He needs to show Neil it wasn’t a big deal. Simple, doting affection shouldn’t be earth shattering. Maybe it’s a lesson they both need to learn because when Neil kisses him, it’s so tender that Andrew feels he might explode with the feelings welling up inside him.

When they first collided, it had been fast, almost angry. Rough. There was not a single ounce of gentleness to be found in their union. It had been that way for the first few months, with a rocky back and forth in the time following Spring Championships.

Nowadays it stays more casual, infinitely slower. Andrew is still trying to reconcile this brand of Neil Josten’s sensuality with the inexperienced freshman from before. They’re both inexperienced, they’re navigating it together.

Andrew pulls back just as he starts to feel overwhelmed, and Neil listens to his body language and takes a small step back. He drops his hands from the counter so Andrew doesn’t have a chance to feel trapped.

He’s not. He wasn’t.

Neil glances at the clock, then to the darkness outside the window. Andrew knows he’s thinking about taking a run. “Stay.” Andrew says.

“Okay.” Neil relents. Andrew doesn’t think it was a tough decision at all for Neil.

When the night winds down after practice that night, Andrew stops Neil before he climbs into his own bed. “Up.” He motions, pointing to his own bed.

Neil hesitates, “You sure?” It’s not because they technically have a roommate that Neil is double checking- Kevin is in one of the beanbag chairs out front, headphones on and watching old Exy matches.

“Yes.” Andrew’s tone is sure, so Neil has no other reason to question him.

Neil climbs up with his pillow just as Andrew settles with his back against the wall. It’s a good thing they’re both short and Neil is so lean. They’d never fit otherwise. Neil turns to Andrew, their faces close, but Andrew has had a good day, and there’s no anxiety in the closeness.

They’ve been together long enough for Andrew to know he can trust Neil. For the thought of Neil’s skin against his to not have it crawling.

Andrew shifts, lifting a hand and brushing Neil’s hair away from his forehead. He glances at Neil’s face briefly beofre pressing his lips right in the center of Neil’s forehead.

Neil lets out a shaky breath and Andrew lingers. When he moves, his lips skim down the length of Neil’s nose. He purses his lips against the tip of Neil’s nose, another little kiss. Neil doesn’t react as viscerally as with the forehead kiss.

Andrew digs his thumb into Neil’s pulse. He feels both their heartbeats at this single point. “You like being kissed on the forehead.” Andrew doesn’t pose it as a question.

Andrew can see Neil fighting back his reaction, but he can’t stop the pooling of blood on his cheeks. With the summer sun, Neil is perpetually sunburned, but Andrew is so familiar with Neil he still sees it. Even in the dark. Neil doesn’t try to refute Andrew’s claim, “No one’s ever done it before.”

Andrew had suspected it, but the confirmation still doesn’t settle easy. Neil’s pulse is elevated. Andrew rubs his thumb in long stroke down Neil’s neck. He wants to tell Neil it’s just a kiss, don’t be so dramatic. But that isn’t true, is it?

It’s affection, true. But it’s patience, unhurried care. It shows trust. A level of adoration neither of them are familiar with in the slightest.

“Can I...?” Neil tips his chin, indicating Andrew’s forehead. Andrew’s nostils flare, betraying his surprise. “Had anyone ever...?” Neil doesn’t finish either question, but he doesn’t have to. Andrew knows what he means.

“Cass did.”

Neil touches Andrew’s forehead tentatively, parting his hair. “No one who stayed?”

Andrew stiffens just slightly, but he doesn’t tell Neil to stop, doesn’t move away. “No one who stayed.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Neils fingers tap at Andrew’s temple in a mockery of a familiar salute. He leans in and kisses Andrew’s forehead like Andrew had done for him.

Objectively, he knows why Neil likes it. Neil is warm. His lips are slightly chapped but they’re still soft against his skin. Being on the receiving end is different. There’s a puff of breath from Neil’s nose skimming his head, not moist against against his collar. There’s the scent of Neil’s bodywash and something unnamed and undoubtably Neil.

He feels safe, astoundingly enough.

Safer than he ever had, even. Neil settle back against his pillow and looks at Andrew in that fond way of his that he has. The kind that makes Andrew feels seen. Feel known. Combined with the kiss, it’s too much.

Andrew turns Neil’s face into his pillow for him, as if he might smother the striker. Neil chuckles into the sheets and Andrew releases him. “You liked it, too, didn’t you?”

Andrew doesn’t respond to that trap, instead he just says, “Go to sleep, Junkie.”

#aftg #all for the game #all for the game fic #andreil #neil josten #andrew minyard #this is longer than i thought it was hahah #read it while you can i might get self conscious and delete it like i did with all my other stuff #sorry this is barely edited bc if i think too long about it i will never post

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juicegremlin · 2 years

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My @aftgexchange piece for this fall, for Camaraderie999 on Twitter!! I hope you like it ❤️❤️

#aftg #aftg fic #aftg fanfiction #aftg fanfic #all for the game fanfic #all for the game fanfiction #neil josten #andrew minyard x neil josten #andrew minyard #the foxhole court #all for the game #andreil #juicegremlin #tfc #all for the game fic

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the-josten-files · 2 years

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July 8

Hello,

I know it’s been radio silence for a little while. I’m not about to apologize. It is what it is.

These past couple of weeks have been… rough, to say the least. Aaron’s court date was finalized a few days ago. It’s been emails and lawyers and phone calls ever since. It’s making Kevin even more dickish than usual. Nicky won’t stop wringing his hands. Aaron is at Katelyn’s as we speak.

None of you get to ask about Andrew. This whole thing is too fucking public already, and I’m not about to make it worse by airing his shit online.

What I will say—what Betsy thinks I should, anyway—is how completely exhausted I am. I’m supposed to be vice-captain this year. Jack is yanking on every single one of my nerves. I’m trying to hold things together so Andrew doesn’t have to, but sometimes I just want to staple my fucking head to a wall.

Betsy says I should be taking time for myself. I have no idea what that means. It sounds like something from a feel-good kids’ movie.

What would she want me to do with that time, anyway? Fucking—knit? Start a stamp collection?

What absolute horseshit.

I’m at the court right now. Kevin and I just spent most of the night hurling balls at the wall, and it wasn’t practice—not really—but we didn’t talk about anything important. Not the trial, not the season. At one point, he tried to convince me a moped is more like a bike than a scooter, and I kicked him.

I’m hoping Andrew will be asleep by the time we get home. It’s five in the morning, and I know for a fact he didn’t sleep last night. I mean, I didn’t either—that’s how I know—but still.

I do think this helped—doing something mindless. Letting it all go for a few hours.

Fuck. That’s what Betsy meant, isn’t it? Taking time for myself?

I may be stupid.

Anyway.

Kevin is threatening to leave me here. If you all could wish him a severed artery, I’d appreciate it.

- N.A.J.

#The Josten Files #aftg #aftg fic #aftg fanfiction #aftg fanfic #all for the game #all for the game fanfic #all for the game fic #tfc #the foxhole court #the foxhole court fanfiction #andreil #andrew minyard #andrew minyard x neil josten #neil josten #kevin day #Palmetto State Foxes #Palmetto State University

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prettypipedream · 6 months

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hihihiiiig help finding a fic please?

so i read it a long time ago on ao3!

it was either a one shot or just very short, but basically it was about the foxes needing to get outfits tailored for an event, and neil brings them to the Wesninski tailors.

sound familiar to anyone?? please drop the name so i can bookmark it😭❤️

#all for the game #aftg #the foxhole court #all for the game fanfic #all for the game fic #aftg fanfiction #aftg fic #aftg fandom #neil josten #andrew minyard #the foxes #aaron minyard #allison reynolds #kevin day #matt boyd #renee walker #dan wilds

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exy-shmexy · 1 year

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Neil asks Andrew if he can paint his nails.

#neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #all for the game #aftg #all for the game fic

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sepulchralblues · 11 months

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I Loved in Shades of Wrong

If someone had asked fifteen-year-old Andrew, fresh out of juvie, what his dream job was, the answer wouldn’t have been an international thief specialising in arts and antiquities. Now, at twenty-five, he was of a different opinion. Still, the job came with its own problems - like dealing with annoying FBI agents who got entirely too involved in trying to stop him.

Before she’d died, Mary Hatford had given her son one vital piece of information – Nathan Wesninski had a mole high-up inside the FBI. It was how he’d been getting away with so much for so long. Neil knew that meant there was still someone with ties to the Butcher who had escaped his clutches, and he couldn’t accept that.

The common denominator between the two of them? Special Agent Riko Moriyama of the FBI.

The Art Thieves AU, with a twist

Chapter 1 is out now!!

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purpleshadow-star · 2 days

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Movie night in the girls' dorm goes wrong, and Andrew is unforgivably betrayed by the one thing that has never let him down before.

Cookies.

***

Chapter 2 of my Andrew allergies fic is out now!

This also fulfills part/month 4 of my self-assigned ‘post one work each month of the year’ challenge. I’m posting chapter 2 for April. Chapter 3 will come out sometime next month for May.

Go check out the fic!

#aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #andreil #aftg fanfic #aftg fanfiction #aftg fic #all for the game fanfic #all for the game fanfiction #all for the game fic #purpleshadow's fics

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expensivegems · 1 year

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I’m writing a fic where andrew and neil meet in middle school. my only obstacle is figuring out it i want this to be canon divergence where andrew is with the spears and neil with mary or if i want them to have proper parents ie. bee and wymack. thoughts?

#aftg #aftg fic #aftg fanfic #neil josten #andrew minyard #andreil #andreil fic #all for the game #all for the game fic #ao3 #fanfic #fanfiction

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theravenkin · 1 year

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i am sitting in bed in the dark on my phone and i wrote an angsty twinyards one shot on my phone. don't know what is wrong with me but it's something. here.

*TW: panic attack, vomiting, drugs, vague reference to abuse, general AFTG-typical bullshit*

"stop," andrew repeats. "stop it." he rubs aaron's back as he heaves again. andrew itches all over with the memories picking at the edges of his mind. he pushes them away, focusing on his brother. "you're fine. just breathe."

as aaron goes blessedly, dangerously quiet for a moment, trying to calm his gasping breaths, andrew can hear the others lingering near the doorway.

"fuck, fuck, fuck," says a soft, gravely voice. it is katelyn. andrew doesn't turn around.

"hey, i talked to abby, and--" matt isn't talking to him, but andrew cuts him off.

"i don't care," he says. he holds up the plastic solo cup beside him. "get him more water. some crackers or something, too. he's almost done."

matt, thankfully, does as he's told and gets out. andrew finally turns to look at the others. katelyn leans in the doorway, viciously chewing on her nails. neil stands beside her, watching her, standing guard to make sure she doesn't interfere with andrew's operation. neil's his second in this fight, he thinks.

aaron coughs and sits up from the toilet. he sways a little, eyes unfocused.

"i'm sorry," he croaks. andrew cuffs him lightly. "ow," he says without much conviction.

"shut up. are you done freaking out?"

"you just told me to shut up. how am i supposed to answer--"

the return of the snark means he is, in fact, done freaking out, returned to baseline. andrew punches him in the arm lightly as katelyn snorts in the background. andrew ignores her.

aaron takes a deep, shuddering breath. he deflates as the tension that'd been holding him together evaporates. he wipes his face on his sleeve and tries to stand up. andrew pulls him back down. he stays.

matt comes back with water and crackers. "hey matt," katelyn says roughly, "do you guys have any gatorade?" matt turns back around to get some. andrew swallows down a wave of irritation.

aaron drinks the water, eats the crackers, and drinks the gatorade, and only then does andrew let him stand. he leads him to the couch, but aaron shakes his head. "nah, i'm...i think i'm gonna go lay down." andrew holds a steadying hand on aaron's shoulder for a couple steps, but aaron isn't stumbling as much as he was before. andrew lets go and lets him walk on his own.

"do you want me to..." katelyn asks softly.

aaron turns around to look at her, but doesn't quite meet her eyes. "no," he chokes. he clears his throat. "um...no, i'm good. just need...some time." he continues to look at the ground before her.

she smiles and nods easily. "alright, sounds good. i'll stick around for awhile, if that's alright?"

aaron nods.

"alright. i'll just chill on the couch for a bit, then."

andrew wants to slap the pitiful look off aaron's face, but he doesnt. he just watches aaron disappear into the bedroom without another word.

the others stand there for a beat, quiet and unsure how to process among themselves what just happened. matt is the first to break the silence.

"uh," he sighs, "i'm...gonna go. to the store. yeah, i'm gonna go to the store. get some more gatorade, and stuff. i'll be back in a while."

neil catches andrew's gaze and andrew reads the minute change in his expression as inquisitive. he looks at matt, then back at neil, and nods, gesturing with his chin to the door. go. neil nods, gives him one more firm look--it's okay, you're okay, i'm okay, he's okay, be careful, don't fuck anything up, i love you-- and follows matt out of the dorm.

when he looks back, katelyn is sat on the couch. she stares ahead, silent. she doesn't seem scared of him, like she used to, or even resentful of him, like she has more recently. she doesn't show any sign that she's even aware of him. she's lost in her head, eyes blazing. andrew watches her grind her teeth; otherwise, she is still.

he casually strolls over and sits on the opposite end of the couch. still, she gives no indication that she gives a fuck.

he stares at the same wall that she does and lets the silence stew for a few moments, dreading when he inevitably has to puncture it.

"so," he begins, keeping his voice carefully neutral and breezy, "are you going to tell me what triggered that little episode?"

she remains catatonic for a moment in which andrew feels anger coming off of her in waves. he wants to throw her out the window by her hair. but he can't, unfortunately--not when she was the one who'd been keeping aaron from choking on his own panic until andrew got there. not when she'd called andrew first, the minute she knew something was wrong.

no one else. him. she called him.

she sighs through her nose. "the episode--do you mean the panic attack? or the substance binge?" he feels her turn her head to look at the side of his. though it makes his skin prickle in discomfort, he turns to meet her.

she is like andrew has not seen her before--tightly-coiled, like she is ready to fight. he didn't know she fought. maybe she doesn't. maybe the instinct is separate from the skill.

andrew doesn't reply, nor does he show surprise, so she keeps going. "he apparently thought it was a good idea to mix liquor with 25 grams on an empty stomach."

andrew gives her a bored look. "oh no, how shocking and bad." he checks his nails, performing dismissiveness. "he--"

"shut up," she says. he whips his gaze back to hers. she looks quietly, coldly furious. "i know he's done worse. i know. but, god--he'd been doing so good. and, fuck--pills, coke, weed, whatever--it doesn't matter what he chooses to hurt himself with, does it?"

andrew sucks his teeth, but she doesn't let him get a word in.

"he hasn't been doing shit like that at all, lately, it's just--" she sighs, and it snags on the way out. she works her jaw for a moment, looking at the ceiling.

"he..." she tries at last. "he mentioned something about having a dream about his mom last night. and i knew he was having a bad day, all day, i could tell. he said he was gonna take half a dose just to settle his nerves, but..." she shakes her head. "i keep thinking, you know, 'i should've known better, i shouldn't have left, i should've stayed with him all day', but i know that's not." she clenches her fists; her knuckles go white. andrew is silent.

"he's not exactly stable, but he's an adult, and he doesn't need a babysitter. i'm not his..." she purses her lips as though she's tasted something sour.

"he greened out," she says simply, short and clipped. she picks at a loose thread in the sofa. "hard. plus the alcohol, plus the general anxiety all day. that's all. he made a stupid decision."

andrew is still for a while, then finally, finally nods. "and then he spiraled," he says, matter of fact.

she nods in return, looking dejectedly at the floor. "mhm."

she worries the thread looser. "he, um..." she clears her throat. "he was babbling, while he was panicking, before he started throwing up. he...god, he was so fucked up." she shakes her head, the coil tightening. "he was just rambling, and at some point, he...he said something about 'her'. he was just like, 'fuck, when is she getting home? what time is it? what time is it?' he was terrified, kept saying 'she' was coming home early."

andrew's chest tightens. he grinds his teeth once, twice, three times, to feel the sharp pain stab through his jaw.

"cant fool a junkie into believing you're not high," he manages, but his throat is dry and the words come out cracked. he resists the urge to cough.

katelyn releases a shuddering breath. he looks up, but she's staring at the wall again, the intensity reeled back inside of her. it bubbles under the surface.

"i'm glad that you killed her," she says lightly. andrew's heart thumps hard, making his chest shake. he swallows.

"he told me," she adds. her tone is coldly nonchalant. "he told me what you did. or, what he thinks you did. i don't disbelieve it."

she finally looks at him. "either way, i'm glad she's dead." in her eyes is that intensity, simmering under the lid, about to boil over. "my only regret is that i wasn't there to do it myself."

she holds his gaze for a half-second longer before she turns back to face the wall. her legs are crossed at the knee, her manicured hands folded neatly, properly in her lap. she sits perfectly still.

andrew watches her. he watches, because when he doesn't know what to do, he steps back and observes while he figures it out. he's trying to figure katelyn out--something he hadnt bothered to do before, out of bitterness, the resentment of the rebuked. but now, he watches, watches, trying to put a name to the thing she is.

a year ago, she'd been a threat to his brother's health, a threat to his own place in his brothers life. a threat to whatever value he had to aaron.

now, all he sees is a threat, plain and simple.

for a while they sit in silence, andrew sometimes watching her, sometimes not. sometimes he thinks, sometimes he listens to the hum of electricity in the walls. sometimes he wonders if he can hear aaron breathing or snoring or weeping through the wall, but he can't.

matt and neil return soon enough, and they look at the scene the two of them make like it's a fallout. matt moves slowly and quietly, so as not to spook. neil shuffles to the perimeter of the sitting area, hovering within a safe distance. not trying to interject; just reminding them, /we are here, and this is weird, and i want to know what is going on/. andrew flicks him a glance, annoyed, but tired enough that he could fall into neil's arms. he looks away again.

after a few minutes of neil hovering and matt pretending to still be putting groceries away and the other two stewing in their own silence, the bedroom door creaks open. aaron takes half a step out, looking every bit the beaten and broken fifteen year old andrew loathed. aaron's hunched frame makes him sick.

"hey, kate," he croaks, sounding as pathetic as he looks. "um, if you wanna...come in. we could talk, or." he looks around at the others, shame resting in the bags under his eyes. "whatever."

katelyn watches him. evaluates him. he's the only person in the room to her, in this moment. andrew reads that plain on her face, as clear to see as her anger had been seconds ago. she gives aaron the shittiest, dullest half-smile. "how about you take another few minutes, and then i'll be right in. is that okay?"

aaron's shoulders sink down further, like his guilt is gravity. "yeah," he rasps. he closes the door.

the boys are frozen. katelyn is still. she sighs, runs her nails against her scalp, smooths her hair back. then she turns to andrew. she waits.

he sighs. "i tried to get rid of her," he says at last.

katelyn gives him that same shitty not-smile. "yeah," she says. "we keep trying, keep trying to get rid of her, don't we?"

andrew sniffs. she shrugs. she stands, but doesn't go anywhere for a moment; he looks up at her.

"we're doing our best, i think," she says. she leaves that between them; they hold it between them. they don't look each other in the eyes anymore, but they hold that thing between them. then, at the same time, they let go, and she walks to the bedroom door, slipping inside.

andrew slumps back against the cushions, the coiled tension that'd been holding him upright finally unfurling.

#i don't know what this is but the idea would not leave me alone #anyway go katelyn #go team mommy issues #twinyards #andrew minyard #aaron minyard #aftg #all for the game #all for the game fic #neil josten #matt boyd #katelyn aftg #aftg angst #twinyards angst

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