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When Allison first saw Neil Josten, she thought he was homeless. His clothes were two sizes too big and faded to insubstantial hues of gray and blue, and his hair was ratty and unwashed and a horrible shade of fading brown with dark roots that Allison couldn’t ascertain the true color of with all the washed out brown. The only interesting things about his appearance were the grisly scars on his face hidden mostly by the uncut mop on his head that also obscured the startling blue of his eyes. Normally Allison wouldn’t have paid any mind to a man like that except two weeks into the semester she watched him thoroughly demean a fellow classmate in their communications class, and he didn’t seem to care when the guy (who was neither small nor weak) threatened Neil with bodily harm after class.
“I know where you live,” the big man spat, and Neil, unbothered, snorted.
“Oh? Where?”
“In Redding.”
“Saw me while you were leaving your mistress, did you?” Neil tsked. “Think of what the others would say. You’re in the soccer club with your girlfriend, right? Live in Bentley Hall?” His tone was innocent, like he wasn’t threatening a classmate with information he probably shouldn’t have, but his gaze was unwavering, like he definitely was threatening a classmate with information he shouldn't have.
Allison watched, amused, as the big man blanched and then reddened, taking a step away from Neil but clenching his fists.
“Don’t sleep. I’ll kill you,” the classmate threatened, and Neil snorted again.
“Sure, Chad. See you later.”
And Allison watched as Neil, on God, walked away without a glance back.
Allison grinned.
*
Allison: I think I’ve found someone
Nicky stared down at the text in desperate hope. After two weeks of trying to find a roommate to take his place in the dorm he shared with his cousins and Kevin, Nicky was starting to lose faith that they’d ever find someone in time. If they didn’t find someone to sign the six month temporary lease within the next two days, they would lose the room entirely.
The problem wasn’t finding willing participants. The problem was keeping them. Their interview process was in four steps. Step one: text Nicky after they find his number on one of the flyers he posted around campus. If they made it past his nuanced way of texting, they moved onto step two, which was an interview in person with Nicky and Kevin. If they could stand to interact with Kevin’s condescension and single-mindedness for more than two minutes, they moved onto step three: have dinner with Nicky, Kevin, and Aaron. If they could survive that awkward dinner, they moved onto step four: a night out at Eden’s Twilight with Andrew (and Nicky and Kevin and Aaron, but that didn’t matter as much at this stage).
Though a few of the more laid back applicants survived to phase four, no one made it past Andrew. Nicky was beginning to suspect no one ever would.
If only his internship had presented itself after Nicky graduated in two semesters; then he wouldn’t have to deal with this stress at all.
Nicky returned his attention to Allison’s text. He knew she was only as invested in this as she was because of the bet the rest of their friend group had riding on how Andrew would respond to their prospective roommate. Most bet on death and dismemberment. Allison thought the next roommate would finish their term. Nicky just wanted a room and family to come back to.
Nicky: give me their number
Allison: He doesn’t have a phone
Nicky: ?????
Allison: We’ll meet you in twenty minutes at your dorm
Nicky: but the plan???? the steps????
Allison: Honestly I think you’ll be fine this time
Nicky chewed on a nail, glad that he was the only one home right now. Despite Allison’s optimism, Nicky wasn’t convinced. After all, Allison thought that Mike would make a good roommate and then he left twenty minutes into Eden’s Twilight literally calling the cops on Andrew.
*
The day that Chad threatened Neil, another one of his classmates, Allison, offered him a place to live quite out of the blue. He declined, wondering at her bemused smirk that she’d talk to him later, and put the matter from his mind.
The next day, the RA of his building said that multiple grievances swarmed in last night complaining about Neil’s unneighborly behavior, behavior that was described as “grotesque” and “terrifying” and “borderline illegal, if not outright illegal” and Redding had a zero-tolerance policy. Without even searching his room for the supposed drug-dealing complaints against him, his RA told him he’d have to move by the end of the week. Neil hadn’t thought of Chad as much of a threat in a fight, and apparently Chad agreed, having changed his tactic.
Neil, annoyed, packed his meager belongings back into his duffel in the span of an hour and set out to find Allison before he returned to check in his keys. How strange that Allison would offer him a place to stay right when he needed it. He wasn’t sure why he was considering it now. It felt too convenient, and a little shady, and kind of inappropriate, but Neil thought he’d try this route first before living on the streets again. He’d only just gotten off of them two months ago. He wanted to enjoy having a place to return to for at least a little bit.
He found Allison where he sometimes saw her curled into a ball staring at her phone between classes, and she smirked up at his approach, not surprised at his presence. He might not have anticipated Chad’s deceit, but it seemed Allison had.
“What’s the catch?” Neil greeted her, and Allison’s grin grew wider.
“A haircut,” she replied, and Neil rolled his eyes.
*
Allison knocked on the door, and Nicky jumped. He felt like a bundle of nerves and excitement, and he was once again grateful to be the only one home, since they were skipping step one of the plan. He opened the door and startled at the man, who must be Neil, before him, partially behind Allison’s shoulder and glaring at a spot on the wall.
As soon as the initial shock at the scars dissipated, Nicky took stock of Neil’s brilliant red hair and shocking blue eyes. There was a lot to process here, enough to make Nicky forget about his reservations with this whole roommates business.
“Wow,” he breathed, and then quickly rallied. “Hello! Come in, come in. I’m Nicky.” Nicky stepped aside for them. Allison, who had never been in their dorm before, looked around in vague interest before she turned to Neil. Both she and Nicky looked at Neil expectantly.
Neil looked back. After a minute, Nicky said, “So what did Allison tell you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Nicky snuck a glance at Allison, who was still acting particularly smug about the whole situation and offering no help to anyone.
Neil didn’t even glance at Allison. He asked, “How long is the lease? How much to stay here?”
“Um,” Nicky said, a little out of sorts. “It’ll be one hundred a month and just for six months, unfortunately, until I get back from my internship in Germany.”
“Do you speak German?” Neil asked, in German, and Allison cocked her head in surprise and Nicky was positively delighted.
“Yes! Wow! Cool! Um.” Nicky took a moment to collect himself. Was this how the interviewer usually reacted? He suddenly couldn’t remember. “Do you want a tour?” he asked, returning to English.
Neil didn’t answer, continuing on with his own interrogation. “How many people live here?”
“You’ll be with my two cousins and their friend, Kevin.”
“Day?”
“You know him?”
Neil shrugged.
“Oookay. Uh.”
“Who would I be sharing a room with?” Neil asked.
“One of my cousins. Andrew.”
“Andrew?” Allison asked sharply. She probably hadn’t anticipated the room change since Nicky stayed with Aaron, but Andrew didn’t want to leave a stranger alone with his brother, and he didn’t want to leave a stranger alone with Kevin, so he was leaving a stranger alone with himself.
Nicky looked at her a bit sheepishly, knowing this decision might sabotage her stake in the bet. “He doesn’t trust a stranger with anyone else.”
They both looked at Neil to see if he was frightened by the mention of Andrew, but he hardly seemed to care—then again, most didn’t care about the mention of Andrew Minyard until they actually met him.
Which, based on the rattling of the doorknob behind them, was about to happen really soon.
*
Neil turned to evaluate the newcomer, who may or may not be his new roommate in the coming future. They paused at the sight of Neil, and Neil used their hesitation as a chance to study them: it was a man a few inches shorter than him, with blonde hair and hazel eyes and black armbands. He gave Neil a cursory once over, attention lingering on the knife scars on one cheek and the burns on the other, before meeting and holding Neil’s gaze. Neil tolerated the stare for two seconds before returning the once over just to be petty, and then turned back to Allison and Nicky.
“So do I need to sign something or…?” It’s not that Neil was particularly impressed with the room or the people he’d met; he just didn’t want to spend his first semester as a college student doing homework in the park before he slept there for the night, pretending he wasn’t homeless to anyone who looked just a little too long at his unwashed clothes or hair.
Nicky seemed nice enough, and though he thought it was weird Allison was doing all this just because of a bet, it was an easy, cheap place to live, and he only had to commit for six months.
Nicky sputtered a bit. “Well, I mean, but, don’t you want to meet everyone first?”
Neil didn’t really care, but if it would speed all this up, fine. “I guess,” he said, shrugging and looking away. The man with the armbands had eventually left his position in front of the door and moved to the kitchen. He leaned against the counter by the sink and stared more at Neil, this time with a blank expression, and Neil, with nothing better to do, stared back.
*
Neil said he needed to get to class but he could come back at seven that night. “To meet the rest of them or whatever,” he said, and then he left, just left, without looking at anyone or even saying goodbye to Allison, who brought him here.
“Um,” Nicky said. “He’s not a murderer, right?”
Allison flipped a lock of hair behind her shoulder. “I don’t have to live with him. And you wanted someone not afraid of Andrew, right?” She waved her hand flippantly in Andrew’s direction. “I don’t think Neil’s afraid of anything.”
“I mean, I guess , but my god! What happened to his face?”
“I don’t know. You think he just goes around talking about it?”
Nicky closed his eyes. He was desperate for a roommate, but… “Jeez Louis. At least he’s pretty.”
Allison rolled her eyes. “No thanks to me. Anyways, I think you’ll be fine. The other day, he looked this big dude right in the face and accused him of cheating on his girlfriend and then admitted to knowing where he lives. It was baller as hell.”
Nicky balked. “And that’s supposed to make me feel better? Now he knows where I live!”
“We’re taking him to Eden’s tonight,” Andrew suddenly said, having gotten himself a snack from the kitchen. Nicky jolted, forgetting that he was there and had met Neil and had a say in all this.
“Maybe he’ll survive you,” Allison said, bemused.
“Or maybe we’ll survive him,” Nicky quipped, but he did feel a little better knowing Andrew didn’t seem to care about Neil’s strangeness.
Then again, Andrew didn’t care about much of anything.
*
When Neil came back to the apartment he might be staying in for six months, Kevin Day opened the door. His eyes widened at the sight of Neil before smoothing over with a wave of apathy.
“Neil,” Kevin greeted, stepping aside.
Neil nodded back, moving into the room.
The man with the armbands stood beside his cousin and another man who looked just like him. The twins stared at Neil in a mix of contempt and boredom. Nicky looked sort of frightened.
One of the twins, the one without the armbands, asked, “So you know Kevin?”
“I guess,” Neil said at the same time Kevin said, “Regretfully.”
“Uh,” Nicky said.
“From where?” the twin with the armbands asked.
“The Nest,” both Kevin and Neil said at the same time. Kevin followed that up with, “Can we go? I want to get this over with.” He moved to grab his jacket and Neil pursed his lips, debating on if he wanted to leave his bag here or not. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone breaking into it if everyone who was staying in the room was leaving; plus, he had finally transferred all his money to a bank in an attempt to make himself seem like a real person putting down roots so the FBI wouldn’t check up on him so much. There was nothing in his bag except clothes and toiletries.
“The Nest ?” Nicky hissed. “The creepy sports cult Kevin had to literally be saved from?”
Neil looked to the twin with the armbands. “Can I leave this here?” he asked, holding up his bag.
There was an intense look in the twin’s eyes as he studied Neil after hearing he had been a part of the “creepy sports cult” that had been trying to instate a new sport for years but failed when the authorities found out it was actually just a cover for gang related activity. Most of the members hadn’t known about the gang activity. Kevin and Neil, perhaps the most avid players besides Riko Moriyama, were disappointed to know the sport wouldn’t become real, despite being some of the few who knew it was gang related—they had just loved exy too much to care.
Neil left after the Nest disbanded to flee from his father, who had not been pleased when Neil didn’t have a way to prove his worth. Kevin had stayed with Riko, trying to defend the sport, and apparently things hadn’t gone well for him if he had to “literally be saved.”
Not that Neil cared about what happened to Kevin after Neil left. Exy wasn’t a thing, Neil was still alive, Kevin was still an ass. Where was Riko? Who cared.
Eventually, the twin gestured with his hand vaguely in the room, and Neil moved to drop his bag beside the couch. Everyone watched in silence.
“Can we go?” Neil asked, regretting that he sounded just like Kevin but not enough to do anything about it. “Wherever it is that we’re going.” Neil wanted to get this over with.
*
The twins eventually introduced themselves, and Neil wasn’t surprised that Andrew was the foreboding one with the intense gaze that he’d be sharing a room with. Though Nicky was the spokesperson for the group, filling silences and speaking for others, Neil had no doubt that it was Andrew who held the most sway over all of them.
That night, they took him to a diner and bought him ice cream and offered him packets of drugs that he refused. Mostly they talked about nothing or their classes (and by “they” he means Nicky) until it was time to close out their check and go to a nightclub. Neil didn’t understand how any of them thought this was a good way to instate a new roommate. Was this special treatment for the boy with the scars or did they do this with everyone?
By the time they entered the club and found a table, Andrew disappeared to the bar to get them drinks and Kevin, Neil, and Aaron pointedly didn’t look at each other while Nicky scrambled to get someone else to speak.
“So, Neil!” Nicky started, but Andrew had just returned with a tray full of glasses and the group converged desperately on the alcohol. Neil abstained, frowning at Kevin as he knocked back two shots and emptied the cracker dust into his mouth.
Aaron disappeared immediately, apparently uninterested in learning more about their new potential roommate. Kevin was now too intoxicated to retain information, and Nicky, for some reason dreadfully nervous, downed his own drinks and said he’d be disappearing to the bathroom for a moment, entirely too unsubtle for Neil not to realize he was being left alone with Andrew—for his final trial, he assumed.
He sighed, turning to Andrew. “Well?” he asked.
Andrew stared at Neil in the dark light, his index finger tracing the rim of a shot glass, before holding it out to Neil.
“No,” Neil said. Andrew held it closer to his face, saying nothing. “And if I don’t?” Neil asked through clenched teeth, and Andrew shrugged.
“I won’t let you stay,” he answered before suddenly leaning forward and grasping Neil’s chin. Neil was too startled to fight back, and by the time he realized that he could, Andrew was already forcing the liquid down Neil’s throat. He dropped the glass to the floor as soon as Neil swallowed, though the glass didn’t break.
Suddenly warm with rage and drink, Neil wiped his lips and glared at Andrew. “What the fuck?”
“Are you one of them?” Andrew asked, unfazed by Neil’s ire.
Neil, who hadn’t had alcohol in a long time and suspected that wasn’t all that was in his drink based off the gritty feeling on his tongue, could feel the effects of the drugs slowly taking hold of him. He felt sluggish and buzzed, and it took a minute for Andrew’s words to catch up with him. “One of who?” he asked.
Andrew gestured with his head to Kevin, and Neil frowned at the implication. “The Moriyamas?” he guessed.
Andrew didn’t say anything, just waited, and Neil glowered. “I’m not with the Moriyamas. Ew.”
“Ew?”
“Do you think I asked to be your roommate to come after Kevin? I literally haven’t seen him for seven years. And aren’t they all gone now, anyways?”
“But you apply to be our roommate just as we need one?”
Neil couldn’t believe this. “Are you fucking kidding me? Do you think I got Nicky that internship? Made Chad narc on me so I’d lose my apartment at this precise moment? Allison was the one to tell me about this place for some stupid fucking bet and I’d never spoken to her a day in my life. What makes you think I’d want to come for Kevin ? God.”
Kevin, from his drunken stupor, also snorted. Neil, a little tipsy, gestured to Kevin as if that was all the proof he needed.
Andrew, unmoved, pursed his lips, debating whether Neil was telling the truth. Neil, so very fucking annoyed, asked, “What do you want from me?”
“The truth.”
“Jesus,” Neil sighed. He considered lying, so used to deceit by now, but if he was trying to prove to himself and others that he was over that part of his life, he needed to start being honest. It helped that his tongue was loosened by drugs and alcohol, and it helped that even though Neil was furious at being subjected to this treatment, he didn’t feel afraid—if anything, he almost felt like he belonged here with these horrible people in this dark and hazy place. He couldn’t remember the name of his previous roommate in Redding, but he could probably describe the exact shade of gold in Andrew’s eyes if asked the next day.
Neil said, “I just need a place to stay so I’m not homeless anymore.”
“Anymore?” Andrew’s eyes flicked down distastefully to Neil’s attire, the washed out shirt and faded jeans and torn sneakers, and didn’t seem all that surprised. “Sounds like a personal problem,” he said lightly, seeming to grow bored with the conversation. He finally started to down his own shots at an alarming rate, no longer staring intently at Neil.
“Sure, yeah, okay,” Neil said, rolling his eyes. “Let me just hide from the people after me in broad daylight while I’m twelve fucking years old.” His mother had been with him for most of his time on the run, taking him after the collapse of the Nest, but his father had caught up to them the summer Neil was eighteen, and then two years later he found Neil.
“And are they still after you?”
Neil wanted to make a snarky reply but suddenly couldn’t remember as many words as he used to. “No,” he slurred.
“Why would you choose to run? Don’t trust the police?”
“Do you?” Neil parried.
“I don’t trust anyone.”
Neil snorted. “Great. This is gonna be a long six months.”
“I haven’t said I’d let you stay.”
“What do I have to do so I can?”
Andrew pushed the last shot toward Neil, returning to meet his gaze. “Survive the night.”
*
Neil survived the night, though he didn’t remember most of it. Flashing nights, Andrew disappearing, Kevin grumbling about the colossal waste the world saw when it didn’t accept exy, Neil begrudgingly agreeing, a drive to a house he didn’t know, being pushed onto a couch, waking up to the smell of coffee and eggs, Aaron scowling, Kevin glaring, Nicky chattering, Andrew sipping from a steaming mug and leveling Neil with a considering look before telling everyone it was time to go home.
And then the next day Neil signed some paperwork and had a key, the only one he’d ever had in his life.
*
Everyone except Neil dropped Nicky off at the airport, though he was definitely present enough with how much the rest of them talked about him.
“So he decided to stay?” Allison asked, gleeful.
“Unfortunately,” Kevin replied.
“So you know him but you don’t know what happened to his face or hands?”
“All we did was play exy a long time ago. And I swear to god I thought his name was Nathaniel.”
“God, Kevin, do you pay attention to anything ?”
“Apparently not.”
“How did he react to Andrew?”
“He didn’t.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“He slept on the couch in Columbia.”
“Wow, really? Allison might actually win this.”
“Don’t fret yet, my pretties. There’s still six months to go, and I only win as long as Neil leaves that apartment in the same state he entered it.”
*
The first week staying with his new roommates went fine. The way people reacted around Andrew made Neil think that he had a very real chance of being murdered in his sleep, but the first night, after Neil had deposited his duffel bag from the living room to the room he’d be sharing with Andrew, he went to bed and woke up only once when Andrew came in hours later, laying on top of the covers with his back to the wall and facing the room.
The second night went the same, and on the third night when even Aaron and Kevin went to bed at the same time as Neil and Andrew didn’t follow, Neil started to suspect that Andrew didn’t want to go to sleep until after Neil did. That was fine. Neil didn’t mind being the first to go to bed, and he wasn’t afraid of Andrew, no matter what anyone thought him capable of.
Neil mostly didn’t talk to his roommates and they mostly didn’t talk to him. Neil made his own meals (meager as they were) and washed his own dishes (even though he was using their utensils) and only hung around in the living room of the dorm when Andrew was napping or smoking in their room and Neil didn’t want to disturb him.
Kevin huffed around Neil, Aaron didn’t acknowledge him at all, and Andrew mostly just stared at Neil and Neil would stare back. There were no conversations of substance between any of them and Neil thought perhaps this would be the quietest six months of his life.
He was excited.
*
Neil didn’t have a real conversation with Andrew again until his second week there, when Neil had been spacing out hard on the couch and only returned to the world of the living when Andrew, sitting atop the desk by the window, started fiddling with a knife he pulled from his armband, cleaning the dirt from under his fingernails even though there wasn’t any that Neil could see.
Neil focused intently and unwillingly on the motion of the knife, rubbing absently at his arms, and Andrew said, “It’s just a knife.”
Neil, not turning his attention from the blade, said, “Yeah, and these are just marks of a happy childhood.”
“Something you want to share with the class, Neil?” Andrew’s tone was nonchalant, but his hands did pause at Neil’s confession. Neil wondered if Andrew had pulled out his knife just to see how Neil would react.
For some reason, the thought made him smile, and he relaxed, even though the knife was still out and Andrew was still twirling it.
“Maybe,” he said, just to be difficult. “Are you any good with that?” he asked.
“Are you?”
“Maybe.”
Andrew’s hands paused again and he shot Neil a brief glare. Neil’s small smile turned into a grin he couldn’t help, and Andrew slipped the knife away. He stood up and walked to the door, but Neil didn’t follow. Neil called out to him, mocking, “Don’t you want to play the knife game?”
Andrew shot back, “I don’t think you need any more scars,” and closed the door behind him.
*
For some reason, Andrew started eating with him. It only ever happened when Neil was at the dorm and no one else was around, but there came a day a few weeks into Neil’s stay where, when Andrew left their room and found Neil eating a sad bowl of cereal, he went to the cupboard and got himself a bowl and sat beside Neil at the table.
Neil didn’t say anything about it, and neither did Andrew, so they finished their breakfast in silence and then Neil left for the day and didn’t have another meal in Andrew’s presence for a few days—opting instead to eat around campus between classes—until finally Neil could eat dinner on a Saturday night where Aaron was gone and Kevin was in his room and Andrew suddenly materialized just as Neil was boiling some water.
Neil didn’t ask if Andrew wanted any and Andrew didn’t offer to help, but Neil pulled down two bowls and filled them with pasta and they both sat on the couch and ate their dinner and watched whatever had last been on the TV.
It was nice.
*
Neil was doing his homework at the campus café, scribbling out math problems and wondering what sort of person would force this hell upon him (He did. He did this.) when his pen was taken from his hand. He scowled, looking up with intent to fight and found Andrew slipping the pen up his armband, flanked by Aaron and Kevin, who both looked bored and uninspired to be here.
“I was using that,” Neil said, no longer ready for a fight but still confused on why this was happening.
“Oh,” Andrew said.
After a minute, when Neil realized he wouldn’t be getting his pen back but Andrew hadn’t left, he slowly leaned down to his backpack and pulled out another pen, maintaining eye contact with Andrew while he did it.
Andrew, in retaliation, picked up Neil’s notebook.
“I need that,” Neil said, but with a resigned lilt to his tone.
“Hm,” Andrew replied, and then started fanning himself with the notebook as he walked away. Aaron immediately followed, but Kevin seemed a little hesitant, shooting Neil a confused glance, one mirrored by Neil’s own expression.
But whatever. Neil stood up, moving after Andrew. He followed them all the way home, where Andrew unceremoniously dropped the notebook but kept the pen, and Neil heaved a sigh, setting up to do his homework at the dorm.
*
Late on a Thursday night, Neil was watching Andrew watch Aaron play a scary video game. He didn’t have much interest in video games growing up, but he was kind of intrigued by whatever was happening in this one, and there was something cathartic about being jolted from suspense but knowing he was actually safe in a space he could call his own (for at least another few months). It was also fun to watch Andrew’s complete apathy toward anything happening: Aaron’s rage when he died, a particularly potent jump scare, a violently gruesome on-screen death. Andrew seemed unfazed by all of it and yet continued to watch unblinking, and Neil found this to be almost as fascinating as the game.
Andrew didn’t seem to notice Neil’s attention because he never turned his head from the game, but at one point, when the TV went dark to load and everything was still and quiet and Aaron was looking at his phone, Andrew turned to Neil sitting beside him on the couch, and Neil smiled at him.
Andrew turned back around and didn’t look at him the rest of the night.
*
Neil hadn’t meant to, but one night he accidentally fell asleep on the couch at six in the evening. He woke up at eleven, blearily wondering if he’d be able to fall back asleep in his own bed when he remembered that Andrew wouldn't go to sleep unless Neil went first.
“Oh shit,” Neil said, sitting up. Strangely enough, it was just Andrew left in the room though he fell asleep with Kevin and Aaron around. He was smoking by the window in the pale moonlight and had turned to face Neil when he gasped.
“Sorry,” Neil said, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “You should have gone to bed. I’ll just sleep out here.”
Andrew stared at Neil in silence, blowing out smoke slowly. He stared for a long time before cocking his head and asking, “Why.”
Neil, searching for a blanket, eventually pulled the throw he had been sleeping on top of out from under him and draped it over himself. He snuggled into the warmth created by himself and settled down to fall back asleep. Turns out he was tired enough. He yawned, closing his eyes. “Now you can sleep without me in there.”
Neil was asleep before he could hear Andrew’s response, if there even was one, but when he woke up at five in the morning, Andrew was still sitting on the desk, arms folded over bent knees, a cigarette dangling from limp fingers, and Andrew turned to Neil as soon as he woke up.
“You’re so stupid,” Andrew greeted him.
Neil shrugged, unconcerned, considering his options for the day. He was pretty sure it was Tuesday, and he didn’t have class until noon, and he was feeling wide awake now that he had slept a solid eleven hours for no reason. “I’m gonna go on a run,” he announced. He looked to Andrew. “Do you want to go?”
“I would rather die.”
“Fine. I can bring you breakfast when I’m done.”
“Do what you want.”
Neil snorted. He stood up and stretched out his lethargic limbs, mentally preparing himself for the long day ahead, when he noticed that Andrew’s focus had fallen to Neil’s stomach. He glanced down and noticed that there was something to look at after all, his shirt having ridden up while he slept. He pulled his shirt down, not really caring what Andrew thought about his scars. Not like there wasn’t much of him not scarred, anyways.
“Who are you, Neil Josten?” Andrew mused, bringing his cigarette to his mouth.
“No one,” Neil answered, because that was the truth.
Andrew returned to looking out the window and Neil went to change into something appropriate to wear on an early morning run. No one had seen his scars in a long time. He wondered how Andrew would react if he saw all of them.
*
One day, Kevin walked up to Neil where he had been lounging outside waiting for class.
“Want to play exy?” Kevin asked.
“Where?”
“The field by the library.”
“What are we supposed to play with?”
“I have some rackets and left over gear from the Nest.”
“That’s weird.”
“Do you want to play or not?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
They played exy.
*
Neil followed Kevin home, having skipped his English class to play a rudimentary game of exy where they mainly ran drills and lamented their lack of teammates, so now he was sweaty and muddy and in need of a shower, and Kevin wasn’t much better.
“What’s up with you?” Aaron asked from the kitchen table. He had an entire medium pizza in front of him and his body language clearly projected his desire to not share any of it.
“We played exy,” Kevin answered.
“You stink,” Aaron told them.
“Thanks,” Kevin said drily, moving to shower. Neil went to his room to grab clothes and wait for his turn in the bathroom. He paused at the closed door, knowing that meant Andrew was in there, but quickly decided he didn’t care what he was about to walk in on. He opened the door and found Andrew sprawled on Neil’s bed like a starfish, his backpack by his feet on the floor as if he just collapsed onto whatever was closest to him, though Andrew’s bed was definitely closer to the door.
Whatever. Neil moved to his dresser. Andrew raised his head to look at Neil for a second before returning to staring at the ceiling. “What’s all that?” he asked.
“Me and Kevin played exy.”
“You stink,” Andrew said.
Neil laughed.
*
One night, Andrew woke from a nightmare and woke Neil up, too. Andrew hadn’t woken loud or gasping or anything; he just sat up abruptly in bed at two in the morning and Neil, a light sleeper used to reacting to sudden movements, reflexively sat up when Andrew did.
Andrew stared straight ahead and Neil stared at Andrew, both breathing heavily, before Andrew threw his blankets off and left the room. Neil considered Andrew’s reaction if he were to follow him, wondering if it would be worth Andrew’s anger if he didn’t want to see Neil, but eventually Neil left his bed and walked into the kitchen to find Andrew filling up a large mug with water and pouring a packet of hot chocolate into it. He put it in the microwave and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed.
Neil perched against the doorway between the hall and the kitchen and folded his arms, studying Andrew. Neil didn’t say anything, and neither did Andrew, the only sound between them the whir of the microwave and the buzz of the air conditioner. Eventually, the microwave beeped, and Andrew carefully pulled out his steaming mug, moving to sit on the couch. Neil stayed in the doorway until Andrew could sip his drink without burning his mouth, and then he moved to one of the beanbag chairs, twisting his hips in the crunch of the beans to make himself comfortable.
Neil sighed, content in his position, and closed his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he’d drift back to sleep, but that was okay. He was fine to listen to Andrew sip his hot chocolate in the still dark of the night until the sun rose hours later, mug empty, head empty, just him and Andrew, staring at nothing, talking about nothing.
*
Neil was in the shower when the fire alarm went off. It didn’t sound like the alarm in their room, so he assumed it was the building’s fire alarm, meaning he had to evacuate. He had been the only one in the apartment when he first got in the shower, but he heard movement through the wall as soon as he turned the water off.
Someone banged on the bathroom door.
“We’ve got to go,” Aaron called over the blaring alarm.
“I know,” Neil replied, rushing to dry his body. He hadn’t brought clothes in with him because he was planning on going to his room to change, so he wrapped the towel around his waist after hastily rubbing the towel through his hair and yanked open the door.
It wasn’t just Aaron who was home; Kevin and Andrew also stood in the living room, Kevin holding the door open with an annoyed expression and Andrew staring first at Neil’s rampant hair curling in all directions from his hasty dry job before slowly raking his gaze down the rest of him.
“Well, this is embarrassing,” Neil said, even though he wasn’t embarrassed. He thought the look on Aaron’s face was funny—trying not to look at Neil’s bare torso yet interested in studying the scars riddling almost every inch of him. Andrew just stared at Neil impassively, and Kevin had a disgusted look on his face, but Neil didn’t take it personally. He probably just wanted to leave.
“We need to go,” Kevin demanded before walking out the door, the twins and Neil following.
He hadn’t spoken with Allison much after she got him this apartment, but as soon as they all made it down and outside with the rest of the building’s residents, their group moved to stand beside Allison’s group, and Neil assumed these were the people she made her bet against. They were all staring at Neil intently.
“Nicky’s going to be upset he missed this,” one of the girls said, the only one who wasn’t blonde and pale. She grinned, her expression mirrored on the man she was standing beside who was very tall and very excited to see Neil.
“The fire alarm?” Neil guessed dubiously, because he couldn’t imagine what Nicky would miss about this. Already people were settling into the grass or the curb in front of the building, complaining about this being a drill or about someone smoking in their rooms when they shouldn’t be (with a few pointed glares at Andrew that he completely ignored).
Andrew had moved to stand partially in front of Neil by the time they had all gotten outside and settled in the spot they would be staying until all this was over. Neil appreciated his stalwart presence. It was a little chilly, and Andrew’s broad shoulders blocked some of the wind.
The girl talking to Neil chuckled. “No, you out here half naked.”
Neil looked down at himself, freckled and scarred honey skin wrapped in a large blue towel, and shrugged. Neil couldn’t blame Nicky for having bad taste. “Okay,” he said.
The girl smiled wider. “How are you liking staying with the monsters?” she asked.
The monsters? Neil frowned. “They’re fine.”
“Clearly he can handle them,” Allison said, gesturing to Neil’s chest.
Neil’s frown deepened. “What do you mean?” he asked. He knew she was referring to his scars, but he thought it strange that they all collectively thought of his roommates as monsters when he’s literally seen Aaron yelp at a scary video game, Kevin trip while playing a made-up sport, and Andrew sip hot cocoa when he had a bad dream. He wanted to make her uncomfortable.
Allison balked, and one of the other girls, the blonde with pastel tips, rushed to appease the rising tension. “I think she just means that you seemed to have won some hard-fought battles, Neil. I’m Renee, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” She smiled at him, and Neil, uncomfortable with her serenity, nodded in greeting before turning away from all of them, done with conversing.
Andrew was looking at him by the time he turned around. Neil smiled at him. Andrew, for some reason, lifted a slow hand and flicked one of Neil’s nipples. Neil, in retaliation, flicked Andrew’s nose.
*
A few days after the fire alarm, Andrew burst into their room while Neil was in the middle of changing and said, “We’re going.”
Neil had his jeans around his ankles and a pair of athletic shorts in his hand. Andrew stared at Neil’s legs. “Where?” Neil asked, stepping out of his pants. “I hope it’s somewhere that will teach you how to knock.”
“It’s somewhere that will teach you how to shut the fuck up.”
“Wow, good one.”
“Put your clothes on.”
“Stop distracting me.”
Andrew left the room and the door open. Neil rolled his eyes.
When he was dressed, he followed Andrew out of their apartment and into his very expensive car and Andrew started driving them somewhere, Neil didn’t know, Andrew still hadn’t said. They drove for a long time in silence before Andrew finally spoke.
“Who are you, Neil Josten?” he asked, not taking his attention from the road. Neil, however, twisted in his seat and sat sideways so he could stare at Andrew without a crick in his neck. He didn’t think they were going anywhere specific, and he didn’t mind.
“No one,” he answered, same as he had before.
“I’m starting to doubt that’s true.”
“You should probably doubt everything I say,” Neil said, though he hadn’t lied for a very long time.
“Why did Kevin think your name was Nathaniel?” Andrew asked, and Neil flinched, not expecting to hear that name ever again, and especially not from Andrew.
Neil’s lips felt numb, but he still answered. “Because Kevin used to be in the Nest with a boy named Nathaniel.”
“And what happened to him?”
“He died with his father.”
“And Neil?”
“He’s no one. A name I found in a phonebook.”
“And you?” Andrew asked, like this entire conversation made any sort of sense to him.
Neil shrugged. “I’m just here. Just no one. My mom used to call me Abram, my middle name, a long time ago. I don’t have anything left of her but that.” He didn’t have anything left of himself but that. He was still trying to find out who he was and could be now that he wasn’t on the run from his father anymore, but all he had to his name was clothes and two million dollars, and all he had to himself was a middle name that no one knew anymore, and all he had for a future was whatever he felt motivated enough to pursue, but as much as Neil was blindly going through the motions he was supposed to follow as a fresh college student, he still felt lost and alone.
Staying with the boys, the twins and Kevin, the “monsters,” helped Neil sometimes, but he was only there for a few more months and then he’d be listless again, and he didn’t know if he had enough motivation to find housing. Maybe he should just be homeless again. What did it matter.
“All alone,” Andrew mused, but it sounded like an observation and not an insult.
And Neil, who hadn’t lied since his father died, smiled and said, “Not at the moment.”
*
“Hello? Nicky? Why are you calling me at five in the morning?”
“Because my family won’t answer me.”
“Maybe because you’re calling at five in the morning?”
“It’s a different time zone in Germany! Can you just tell me how things are going? It’s been months and the most I’ve gotten is a text from Aaron and I’m pretty sure it was a drunk text meant for Katelyn.”
“Ew.”
“Right? Anyways, so are Neil and/or Andrew dead?”
“No. Everyone is alive.”
“But for how long?”
“Long enough for me to win five hundred dollars.”
“Okay. Keep me posted.”
“I probably won’t.”
“Ugh.”
*
Suddenly there was a routine to Neil’s life: when they both were free, Kevin and Neil would play exy. When the night was young and Andrew was bored, he would take Neil for a drive to nowhere. When he was home and eating, Andrew would eat with him, sometimes joined by Aaron and Kevin, too. Sometimes they would watch movies at night. Sometimes they went to Eden’s Twilight on Fridays.
Sometimes it wasn’t just Andrew that woke from a nightmare, and both of them would leave the room when one of them woke up in a cold sweat, and Andrew would make hot chocolate and Neil would sit in the beanbag chair and they would pass the night in silence.
Sometimes Andrew would touch Neil, threatening touches when Neil was being annoying or lingering touches when they were alone, on his neck or on his fingers or, once, on the burns across his cheek. One time Neil laughed when the pen Andrew had been fiddling with exploded without his knowledge and dark blue ink was smeared all over his fingers and lips from when he tapped them, and Andrew covered Neil’s mouth with both hands, one on top of the other.
Neil licked the palm over his lips, and Andrew hesitated for just a moment before pulling away. Neil was still smiling, could feel the ink now staining his lips, the taste of it heavy on his tongue.
Andrew didn’t wash the ink off until he showered that night, and neither did Neil.
*
Neil came into the dorm at six one afternoon and announced to anyone present: “Hey, I think there’s a comedian on campus, do you want to go?”
It was just the twins, sitting on the couch, watching a scary movie. They both said, “No,” at the same time.
Neil dropped his bag by the front door, turning to leave again. “Okay, I’ll be back tonight, then.”
Andrew sighed, standing up. After a minute, Aaron heaved the same sigh and rose.
“You’re the worst thing that’s happened to this dorm,” Aaron said as they walked down to the campus student center, where most events like these were held.
“You’re telling me Nicky never tried to make you go to these things?” Neil asked in quiet disbelief. He didn’t even know Nicky that long and still he was certain Nicky would try to drag his cousins to literally anything he could.
Aaron said, “Nicky knew he would get stabbed if he tried.”
They both looked to Andrew, who was walking leisurely and smoking a cigarette. He did not react to their stares, not until Neil fell into step beside him and started to fiddle with Andrew’s armbands and the knives underneath with light fingers and gentle touches.
“I’ll kill you,” Andrew told him, but he didn’t stop him.
Neil smiled, tracing his finger along the inside of Andrew’s forearm, where they both knew there wasn’t a knife. “Well, if this comedian isn’t very good, I imagine I might want you to.”
*
“Where are Neil and Andrew?” Kevin asked.
“I think they went to a movie,” Aaron told him.
“Which one?”
“I dunno, the creepy one with the flowers?”
“They were supposed to wait for me, those mother fuckers .”
*
“So. Neil.”
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Keep it that way.”
*
“How was sparring with Renee?”
“Fine.”
“He says, with a dark expression on his face.”
“I’ll kill you.”
“Cool. Do you want to get ice cream first?”
“Yes.”
*
“Finally you answer!”
“We’ve been busy, Nicky.”
“Doing what? You’re never busy. Are you doing things without me?”
“I guess.”
“What? All of you?”
“Yeah.”
“And everyone is still alive? No fights with Andrew and Neil?”
“They’re fine. Last I saw they were drawing on each other’s hands at the dinner table.”
“They were what? ”
“I’ve got to go.”
“No, Aaron, wait—!”
*
Neil wasn’t sure why tonight was different, why Andrew didn’t lead him to his car and instead took Neil up to the roof.
“I thought you didn’t like heights,” Neil said as soon as they were situated near the ledge. “Also, are we allowed up here?”
“You used to break into people’s cars to sleep.”
“I’m turning over a new leaf.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it. What’s that?” Andrew gestured to the long gash on Neil’s forearm that he hadn’t noticed until now but apparently it had bled and probably needed some sort of medical attention. Maybe he got it playing with Kevin? He couldn’t remember.
“Oh.”
Andrew grabbed Neil’s arm to inspect the wound closer, and Neil smiled when Andrew said, “You’re an idiot.”
“Yeah. So what are we doing up here?”
“Sitting.”
“Smoking?”
Andrew stopped picking at the scab on Neil’s arm and shook out a cigarette for him. Neil put it in his mouth and refused the lighter, instead gesturing to the lit stick in Andrew’s mouth.
“Like Pocky,” he said, and Andrew glared.
“Don’t eat it,” Andrew said, and leaned forward. Neil kissed the end of his unlit cigarette to the smoldering end of Andrew’s. Their faces were so close that Neil could count Andrew’s eyelashes if he wanted—and he sort of did want to, so he didn’t move his face away, not until Andrew realized what he was doing and shoved Neil away.
“I hate you,” Andrew said, stubbing out his cigarette and exhaling the last of his smoke.
“I know,” Neil said, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and holding it. He continued, “If I asked you to kiss me, would you?”
Andrew stole the cigarette from Neil, didn’t look at him while he thought. Eventually, he said, “I thought you didn’t like anyone like that.”
“I like you like that.”
“Hm.”
“Would you say yes?”
“Would you ask?”
“Kiss me.”
“Demanding.”
“Kiss me?”
When Andrew finally stopped avoiding him and turned, Neil reached out a hesitant hand and carded it through Andrew’s hair before lightly grasping. He leaned in, and Andrew, though not moving forward, didn’t move back, either. Neil couldn’t tell if Andrew was breathing, and he was staring intently at Neil’s lips. Neil smiled.
“I won’t touch any more than this,” Neil whispered, breath fanning between them like the smoke from their cigarettes, and Andrew finally closed his eyes and leaned forward.
It was nice, their first kiss, though Neil much preferred their second. And their third. And the one they did right before bed, standing in the middle of their room, the lights off, the room warm, their breaths hot, Andrew’s hands firm but soft as they roamed Neil’s body, under his shirt, Neil’s fingers secure in the wispy strands of Andrew’s hair.
*
“Stay over there.”
“I am.”
“This changes nothing.”
“Andrew, I’m literally in my own bed and haven’t even attempted to go on your side of the room.”
“I’m making sure it stays that way.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”
“Okay.”
“Stop looking at me like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t like it.”
“I can do what I want on my side of the room.”
“I’ll kill you.”
“Too bad. You have to stay on your side of the—no, wait, Andrew, don’t!”
*
“What the fuck were you two laughing about last night?”
“Andrew has never laughed a day in his life.”
“Okay, what were you laughing about last night?”
“Andrew was tickling me—oh, ew, gross, drink much?”
“Sorry, Andrew was what ?”
“I said Andrew was showing me tik-toks since I don’t have a phone.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
“Clean yourself up, Kevin, god, it’s embarrassing.”
“ You’re embarrassing.”
*
Suddenly Neil had new routines: exy with Kevin, watch video games with Aaron, kiss Andrew. Class, sleep between class, fall asleep with his feet in Andrew’s lap. Drag his roommates to more grueling campus functions, fight with a classmate, let Andrew push him down (on his side of the room) and kiss him until he forgot how to breathe.
Wake up, shower, shower with Andrew, dry off with Andrew, kiss Andrew until someone knocks on the door.
“Have you seen Andrew?” Aaron asking.
Neil, his lips mouthing along Andrew’s neck: “No.”
*
“Nicky is coming back in a month and y’all better be ready to pay up the minute Neil leaves that apartment.”
“Oh, fuck off, Allison.”
“Don’t hate me ‘cuz you ain’t me.”
*
Two weeks before Nicky was coming back and Neil and Andrew were in the bath together, Neil propped against Andrew’s chest, Andrew tracing the scars on Neil’s abdomen underneath the water, his knees bracketing Neil’s body.
“Is it ‘ieatbabiesforbreakfast’?” Neil asked, occasionally running the palms of his hands up and down Andrew’s thighs.
“No.”
“Okay, is it ‘ieatbabiesforbreakfast’ but the ‘for’ is the number four?”
“No.”
“Is it ‘neiljostenforlife’?”
“No.”
“Okay, is it ‘neiljostenforlife’ but the for is—”
“No.”
“C’mon, just tell me.”
“You don’t even have a phone so it doesn’t matter.”
“I just want to watch your edgy tik-toks.”
“No.”
“If I get a phone, will you tell me?”
“If you get a phone, I will owe Renee twenty dollars.”
“Why does she still bet against you about me?”
“She hasn’t learned.”
Neil hummed. When one of Andrew’s hands roamed a little lower than his abdomen, Neil flushed but didn’t stop him, though he did grab the hand Andrew kept braced on Neil’s stomach and brought it to his lips, kissing his palm. “I like your hands,” Neil said, nipping at the skin once.
“Cool,” Andrew replied, and Neil grinned into Andrew’s hand.
*
One week before Nicky returned and Kevin tried to convince Neil to move into the same building. “This far into the school year?” Neil asked, buttering a piece of bread for Andrew. “How will I find a roommate?”
“You found a roommate when you needed one the day you were kicked out of your old place.”
“Please don’t remind Andrew of that; he’s still suspicious of me.”
“What?”
“Anyways, I’ll figure something out. I hear the park benches in Freedom Park are pretty comfortable.”
“This isn’t the time for jokes, Neil.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you knew what those were. What I meant to say was I’ll figure something out, Kevin, don’t worry about it.”
“Ugh,” Kevin bemoaned, stealing the bread from Neil’s hand before he could pass it to Andrew, who in turn immediately stole the butter knife from Neil and brandished it at Kevin.
*
Two days before Nicky would return and Andrew slid up against the wall on his bed and patted the mattress.
“I’m not allowed over there,” Neil whispered.
“That’s not your side of the room anymore,” Andrew whispered back, so Neil stood up and slid under the covers of Andrew’s bed when he held them up.
*
One day before Nicky was coming back and Neil had a class so the rest of his roommates converged in the living room and discussed their options about Neil.
“I think if we do it this way,” Aaron was saying, “Then everyone wins and everyone loses. Especially Allison because fuck her.”
“Yeah,” Kevin agreed. Andrew remained silent during their proceedings, which was probably answer enough.
*
Nicky was coming back today and everyone was picking him up from the airport. One car was characteristically quiet on their drive, and the other truck, which really didn’t need to go but was going anyways, was charactersitcally boisterous.
“Maybe we can coerce Neil and Andrew to fight at the airport so that Allison doesn’t win.”
“Shouldn’t be that hard to antagonize Andrew.”
“I think you mean Neil.”
“Do I? I don’t know him that well.”
“Yeah, dude’s a short fuse.”
“I refuse to believe that.”
“Okay, Matt, but I’m just saying he doesn’t have those scars on his face for nothing.”
“Jesus Christ, Allison.”
“Are we there yet? I want my money.”
Meanwhile, in the other car:
“There is no way Neil would make it two days into the zombie apocolypse.”
“Um, excuse me, I would survive great.”
“No, because I know for a fact Andrew would kill you.”
“Why, though?”
“Because I hate you.”
“Yeah, and you’re weak.”
“I’m not weak .”
“We’ve all seen you on the court, Neil.”
“Oh, fuck off, Kevin. I’m not weak. I don’t have these scars on my face for nothing.”
“Well, they’re certainly not getting you laid.”
“Oh, really, Aaron? I’ll have you know — ”
“Oh look, we’re here.”
“We still have twenty miles, Andrew.”
“Oh, do we? Let’s have them in silence.”
“God.”
*
When Nicky stepped off the plane to his welcoming party, he felt equal parts excitement and trepidation. He was surprised to see everyone there — he didn’t think the twins or Neil would come, but maybe everyone had shown up to cash out on their bets. There was a very real possibility that Allison was going to win everything because she was the only one who bet that the next roommate would start and end their stay without being maimed by Andrew.
After Nicky accepted a hug from Renee (the only one who offered to hug him), the group started walking back to the parking lot in complete silence. Most people were shooting hopeful glances at Neil and Andrew (as if they’d devovle to fisticuffs right in the airport for no reason? They seemed amicable with each other); strangely, Aaron and Kevin looked smug despite not partaking in the bet, and Renee looked pleased though she also abstained from betting.
“So, Neil,” Dan started. “Are you...leaving today?”
“Oh,” Neil said, seeming surprised that he was being spoken to. “I don’t know. Apparently we’re talking about it today but I was kind of assuming I would be leaving today. Andrew?”
Kevin said, “He’s not moving out.”
Everyone stopped. Allison’s expression turned blank. Kevin and Aaron looked even smugger. Neil was confused. Andrew was impassive. Matt was delighted. Dan was frowning. Renee was smiling. Nicky was panicked.
Nicky said, “I’m being kicked out?”
And Andrew said, “No.”
“So where the fuck is Neil staying? The couch?” Allison hissed.
“Neil is staying with me,” Andrew said, and then kept walking. Neil looked dazedly after him.
“So I’m sleeping on the couch?” Nicky asked.
“I don’t care where you sleep,” Andrew told him before he was too far away to hear.
“So Neil isn’t moving out?” Allison asked.
“So am I getting my bed back or not?” Nicky asked. Neil began trailing after Andrew. He had a smile on his face. Everyone rushed to catch up to the pair.
“How the fuck is he going to stay with you, Andrew?” Aaron said. “I thought we were getting him a bed.”
“There’s not room for another bed.”
“So, what, he’s going to share your tiny fucking twin bed?”
Andrew walked on in silence.
“Oh my god,” Dan breathed.
“Oh my god,” Kevin groaned.
“Where is he gonna stay, Andrew?” Aaron said again, but his voice sounded strained. Neil’s smile grew bigger.
“Oh my god, ” Nicky gasped, grinning.
“Oh...my god,” Allison choked.
“Where, Andrew?” Aaron’s voice cracked.
“So who bet on Andrew sleeping with the new roommate?” Matt asked jovially.
“Doesn’t matter; it wasn’t Allison,” Dan responded, also merrily.
“This is such bullshit,” Allison said. “I didn’t introduce Neil to them for this. He was supposed to leave by the end of it, not fucking move in permanently.”
“Oh, I’d definitely say there was some fucking.”
“Nicky, shut up, you weren’t even here.”
“God, and who’s sharing a room with them? It’s not gonne be me.”
“Ew.”
“Ew.”
“Guys, we’re standing right here.”
“Shut up, Neil.”
“ You shut up.”
*
Neil had another change to his routine — more Nicky, and more mildly disgusted Aaron, but also more Andrew, and more time in bed with Andrew, and more time to figure out just who he could be now that he wasn’t so alone or in danger of being homeless.
Maybe he could be a monster, like all his roommates. Maybe he could be no one. Maybe he could be just Neil.
Whatever. He had time.