okay so andrew isn’t really a forehead kisses person or a cheek kisses person i think thats the consensus yes
but listen to me alright neil josten Loves to kiss andrew’s cheeks and forehead and the tip of his nose and his fingers
basically anywhere that isnt his lips
he picks it up from dan & matt and he just,, he falls in love with casual kisses
like for example when he wakes up and finds andrew in the kicthen making coffee, he’ll walk by and press a kiss to the top of andrew’s head with a quiet “morning”
or when andrew’s sitting on the beanbag or on the couch and neil plops down next to him, he’ll lean over and kiss andrew’s cheek – maybe the corner of his mouth
when they’re showering together, his hands in andrews hair, he’ll kiss andrew’s neck and his jaw because he likes that andrew likes it
when they’re at eden’s twilight, sometimes a lof of the time they’ll just find a private corner and maybe on occasion neil will put an arm around andrew
on really sappy occasions he might tell andrew he’s happy and properly kiss him
theres times when the foxes get together in a dorm for movie nights and ofc andrew sits next to neil and sometimes neil just links his fingers with andrew’s
and absently fiddles with them. andrew lets him do it because he likes it too
sometimes a lot of times neil makes comments about whatever they’re watching and he whispers them in andrew’s ears
thats when hes actually paying attention to what thyre watching
post games, neil is the only one to hug andrew on the court and only sometimes
in the locker room, neil tells him he was amazing and might kiss his forehead
all the while andrew is growing Tired
all he wants to do is kiss this asshole properly he just wants a good ol’ make out session sometimes
A Real Kiss
so one night hes in bed, a book in hand, and neil leans down to kiss his head and andrew says “no”
and neil stops of course
neil gets in bed on his side and doesn’t push andrew doesn’t ask why
so after a while andrew puts the book down and asks “yes or no?”
and neil is a little ?? but yes of course its a yes
so andrew grips his face with both hands finally and kisses his mouth
dear god he’s been wanting a real kiss for so long and neil can tell that fucking shitstick and he smiles so big into the kiss
when andrew pulls away for a second to breathe again neil presses a kiss just at the corner of his mouth and laughs at the unimpressed look he gets
The problem with math puns is that calculus jokes are all derivative, trigonometry jokes are too graphic, algebra jokes are usually formulaic, and arithmetic jokes are pretty basic. But I guess the occasional statistics joke is an outlier.
until neil, no one in andrew’s life has been particularly good to him. until neil, everyone that’s ever been close to him has caused him pain and has fucked up his perception of love and affection. neil is the first constant in andrew’s life that hasn’t and would never hurt him. it’s the first time someone sacrifices themselves for him, after andrew has spent years making deals to protect the ones he cares about. and that’s why andrew hates neil so much. andrew has been forced to give his whole life and suddenly neil comes around and gives andrew his back and his life and his truths and doesn’t ask for anything back. neil trusts andrew enough to stop running when he asks him to. and andrew hates him because it’s starting to feel a lot like love
allison studies best at her desk in the suite, and has to lock her phone in her drawer so she can’t be distracted by it. she takes renee out for ice cream as a treat for them (mostly allison tbh) once she’s got through what she needs to for the day
renee is the kinda girl who would have a studyblr if she had time for it. her notes are SO. GODDAMN. PRETTY. and she has little checklists and stuff for everything? that she actually uses? the whole time too, she doesn’t get halfway through the give up? fucking amazing. anyway she studies in their suite too, mostly so she’s ready at all times for allison’s study break sweets. also it means they can coordinate their makeouts for maximum study effectiveness
dan is like. the Queen of studying. she makes those notes and exercises her bitch. she goes to the library quite a bit but also quite likes hanging out in the foxhole court lounge when it’s empty (wymack sometimes sticks his head out and makes her coffee the way she likes, because they know each other pretty well after all these years). she isn’t the world’s best student but she smashes those tests into submission because no one is gonna stand in her way including a bad grade
matt is pretty chill about studying. he keeps up with his coursework really well during the term, so it’s just a matter of rereading and making study notes and answering practice questions to make sure he’ll be able to do okay. he knows that he’s going pro so he figures out exactly what he needs to do to pass and makes sure he can do exactly that and no more. dan bans him from the girl’s room beforehand, but she can’t ban him from the court so sometimes he shows up to annoy her there
aaron goes to the library and studies like the straight a student he is. he knows his shit already but he does get stressed enough over it all that he probably can’t sleep. katelyn is no help because she’s the same, but at least aaron has company while he’s awake at 3am squinting at a page of text. they crash in katelyn’s room once they’re done and sleep like the dead for hours
neil is a notoriously shitty student, so unsurprisingly he’s a disaster just before midterms or finals. he pretends to be really chill but he is Panicking. he’s terrible as asking for help, but he does so when andrew reminds him that he needs to pass or he’ll get kicked off the team (with his typical tact, ofc). that reminder also means he studies without breaks for hours, so andrew takes it on himself to distract him long enough to eat and probably kiss a little bit
andrew? study? yeah right lmfao. anything he hasn’t absorbed from the lecturers or his tutors talking he doesn’t know because he’s never done a reading in his life. his test papers are a mixture of perfectly answered questions and blank spaces. his eidetic memory isn’t common knowledge so most of the foxes assume he goes somewhere else to study. jokes on them he’s up on the roof sending neil one-to-three-word texts and smoking
kevin is such a nerd that he probably secretly likes studying. he goes over a lot of readings and delights in getting good grades. his highlighter is his best friend. he probably studies sat in the court because it’s combining his two true loves – history and exy. wymack probably makes him coffee too, but neither of them talk about it
nicky just. represses the fact that he needs to study until like a few days before, and then he spends every spare minute obsessively trying to learn everything for the course while crying. once he’s finished he sleeps for twenty-four hours. no one knows how he’s passing. no one knows how he’s still alive. not even him
Nothing but My Aching Soul 