Chapter Text
THUNK.
The noise resounded around the court as Matt collided with Neil. Unstoppable force; meet immovable object.
All across the court you could hear the sound of Neil's body crumbling to the floor, along with the quieter thump of Matt's 6"4 bulk falling atop him. Matt tried his hardest, he really did, but he had been running full pace. His arms shot out to bracket Neil's body and keep most of the inevitable weight off of Neil as possible. But it all happened so fast.
The best he could do was lift himself off the second he hit Neil whilst letting out an impressive stream of curses -not that Neil noticed, he was far more interested in the flashing lights dancing about in his vision and Matt's blurry doppelgangers floating above him. He lifted his hands up to try touch one of the many Matt's heads to reassure him but swiftly got distracted by the floaty feeling moving brought, as if he would just drift away. He started giggling and the motion whilst the Matt's stared down at him in concern.
"Shit, shit, shit. I'm so sorry Neil!"
Matts voice brought very little clarity to his fuzzy face however did draw Neil's attention back to the multiple Matts above him wobbling back and forth precariously. It only made Neil giggle further; he so rarely heard Matt swear so much.
"I'm fine Matts!"
Neil directed this reassurance at Matt number 5.
"Er, Neil? I'm over here, are you okay bud?"
Neil laughed again as the colours flared and dimmed in waves.
"It's so pretty!!!"
"Neil? What are you talking about?"
Neil frowned slightly, obviously he was talking about all the lights. He tried to glare at Matt.
It was Matt right? His face was all smudged for some reason. The bright lights had started dimming too much, Neil could no longer make anything out.
"Neil???"
Neil waved his arms at the noise trying to make it stop. A ringing sound had begun piercing his ears and he couldn't tell who was speaking. It must have been his mother, right? His mother always told him what to do. He let his arms fall limp to his sides, they felt so heavy. Any moment now his mother was going to start hassling him to get moving and he wasn't sure how much he could move. He clenched his eyes shut tight to try gain lucidity in the moment reprieve his mother was allowing him.
"NEIL..eyes…open…"
His mothers voice was cutting in and out of his hearing but he knew how to listen to commands by now. He opened his eyes wide as fast as he could, staring at the mixture of black and white entering his field of vision, his mother just a black silhouette above him.
His eyelids felt so heavy and he could feel them drooping back again. Suddenly, an arm began reaching for him and he shrank back. If he made himself as small as possible maybe it wouldn't hurt as much. However moving brought pain, harsh and pulsing, through his body. Neil couldn't help but cry out in pain before biting his lips shut to stop any more sound from leaving. Swallowing deep trying to accept the pain, he carefully constructed the words that were least likely to bring his mother down on him.
"I'm sorry mum…don't- I-I just need a minute, and then, then I'll be… fine again. Just don't. Just not again…p-please."
Neil winced at his word choice. Fuck he hadn't meant to plead, she hated it when he did that. He tried again.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'ms orry, I'msorr y, I'msorry, imsorry…"
His words started to blur together and he could feel his face getting wet. Pushing his palms harshly into his eyes he kept repeating it like a mantra. Tears would fix nothing, the only thing to do was apologise for the weakness and hope she wouldn't come down too hard on him. Apologies usually worked. It meant he understood what a burden he was to her.
His mother kept getting closer and he could feel his lungs contracting, the claustrophobia setting in, his breaths coming faster and faster.
"imsorryimsorryimsorryimsorry…"
Words were becoming harder to get out in between wheezes.
She was coming for him.
And she was going to make him hurt.
Like she always did.
Then without warning, her looming presence was ripped away from above him.
Shit.
Despite his bone deep fear of his mother, she also represented safety and protection. If she was gone whatever would follow was bound to be worse. Another wave of nausea hit and he could vividly feel the scar indented into his shoulder tighten, reminding himself why he should always love his mother.
No matter what she did, it would always be better than what his father could do.
…
"Neil."
Even with his spiral into panic he could hear his anchor above him.
"Neil. What is happening?"
Andrew.
Andrew was here.
That meant he was safe. No one could get near him if Andrew was here.
Peering up he could make out Andrew short blond hair and hazel eyes - but not much else.Neil decided in that moment to trust the hazel eyed boy above him with everything.
Despite his crying bones that weighed thousands of pounds each in that moment he somehow found the herculean strength to reach up towards the boy who could hold him together.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
"Protect me"
Neil's words came out so earnest and pained to Andrew's ears. It clearly cost him deeply to speak the words and must have hurt him even more to raise his arms like that.
In an instant Andrew leaned forward to that Neil's arms caught around his neck and he could hold the boy as he fell apart.
"Always Neil."
As if Andrew had a choice in the matter. So far his body had been acting on instinct. Since Neil had started acting odd when they left the house earlier that morning to the moment he was running. His legs had begun moving the second Neil's had stopped earlier. It shook something in his core. Neil never stopped running. It was the thing Andrew despised about him the most. He had even been dragged out of the house far too early in the mornings on some occasions.
To see him just crumple to the floor upon first contact with Matt concerned him so deeply that he surprised himself. He thought he had long ago lost most feelings. Neil had been bringing them back slowly, one by one, but he hadn't felt that.. scared, since Baltimore.
Neil had begun closing up and begging his mum to not.. hurt him.
That he was fine.
Because he was sick. Clearly now.
He clearly was not fine.
Andrew hated the words.
Hated the way Neil had kept up the stream of apologies so vehemently, even though he was losing his breath. That he felt the need to apologise. He hated Mary.
Andrew drew Neil closer to his chest, letting Neil rest his head in the crook of his neck. It was feverishly hot. Clutching onto the back of Neils neck, he carefully began rubbing nonsensical patterns into his back to soothe him, at least enough that he could get coherent words out of him.
He wanted to take Neil away from the stupid court and all of these stupid busybodies that kept trying to surround them and crowd Neil.
But he couldn't without a yes.
He could see Abby closing in on them quickly and scowled. He understood that she was useful and why she would be concerned but he had been watching so closely he knew exactly what it had happened. He knew that nothing was broken..well nothing externally.
He knew that Neil may have a concussion when he gained further consciousness from the way he had conked his head upon the court floor, and a couple odd bruises from being a general idiot on the court and Matts careful collision. But other than that he was fairly certain that Neil was just generally sick.
Maybe Abby could get some pills for him.
"Andrew! You shouldn't have moved him, he might have broken something!"
A snarl tore from Andrews lips in Abby's general direction. He refused to take his eyes off of Neil right now and the thought that Andrew would've done anything to harm Neil in anyway was laughable.
"He is ill Abby. I am going to wait until he can recognise where we are or at least be able to respond to me before removing him from the court and taking him home. He may have a concussion but i know concussion protocol. There is nothing to do but observe him and see if it gets worse. If it does i'll take him to hospital"
Andrew had already formed this plan the second Neil had gone down. He really wished the Junkie would give himself some slack.
"Andrew I can help him, I can-"
"You can give me some pills to relieve him of his pain and fever and tell the foxes to back off. They are making this all worse and take longer."
Andrews response had been curt and decisive. He was sure Abby had probably nodded before ushering the rest of the foxes away and going to Coach but Andrew didn't bother to look. His focus was trained on the pale boy in his arms who wouldn't stop the occasional twitching.
All of a sudden Neils arms trembled with static breathes as he tried to push of the helmet and neck guard he had on in one motion. Andrew reached out to stop the trembling hands with his own. He undid the straps on both bits of armour with a disgusting amount of gentleness.
Strap undone, Neil was able to push off the helmet and let it clatter to the floor. The neck guard simply fell from his neck like a dead weight.
Whilst Neil's breathing had certainly improved with disposal of the equipment, it was still coming far too fast for Andrew.
"Abram, follow my breathing and try to copy it."
Using the leverage he had on Neils neck, he positioned the boy's ear over his heartbeat. Taking slow breathes he tried his hardest to maintain a steady heartbeat, knowing it had soothed Neil in the past.
Beside him he could feel Neil's breathes evening out against his chest and could see a more stable rise and fall of his chest. Neil began curling more into Andrew now that he had developed more agency over his movements. Andrew could have swore he heard something akin to whimpering coming from Neil's chest.
The kind of sound you're never meant to hear.
One of someone seeking a reprieve from despair.
"Neil?"
The boy in question looked up at Andrew imploringly, eyes huge and mouth twitching in a fight for neutrality.
"Neil I would like to carry you back to the dorms. Yes or no."
Auburn locks greeted Andrew's vision as Neil buried his face in Andrews chest. Neils head bobbed up and down once on Andrews chest in a sharp nod.
"Neil, I'm going to need a verbal answer. Can i carry you home and look after you?"
A fist appeared in Andrews shirt, balling up tight with tension. The hand on the back of Neil's neck tightened in a symphony of reassurance.
"Yes."
Neil's voice came hoarsely and his face refused to move from Andrews chest. But a yes meant Andrew could start to fix this.
Andrew carefully considered the way Neil was already positioned and what way of carrying him would jostle the boy the least. With both of Neils hands around his neck and his face in his chest he decided to use one arm behind Neil's back and the other under his knees in a bridal carry. He didn't waste any breathe on telling Neil to hold on; Neil's grip on Andrew was unwavering.
Besides, it was Neil.
Andrew wasn't going to let him fall.