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Chapter Text

Katelyn squared her shoulders as she looked up at her new high school. It wasn't the first new high school she'd attended, hell it wasn't even the fifth. Her father's military career led her family to moving so often that she was used to being the perpetual new kid. Not again, though. Her dad had promised this time. Even if he got transferred he would let her finish out the year at the same school. She had one chance to make friends in order to have the best senior year possible.

She found the administrative office easily and she was pleased to find that another student had been assigned to show her around. This was common practice, and it was generally an outgoing overachiever who volunteered to help her. Based on the biceps of the girl waiting to show her around, Katelyn guessed that she was involved in sports.

"Hi, I'm Dan Wilds," said her guide.

Katelyn introduced herself, and Dan led her out of the office making small talk. Dan walked her to her first period class, gave her directions on how to find her other morning classes, and promised to pick her up right before lunch.

Her morning passed easily: she was stared at a normal amount due to her new kid status and she even chatted with a few friendly people. In chemistry, they did a mini first day experiment. They were assigned partners alphabetically and she was paired with a short blond guy.

"Do you know why chemists enjoy working with ammonia?" she asked her lab partner, unable to stop from embarrassing herself in front of the cute boy.

He frowned at her, confused. "No," he said suspiciously.

"Because it's pretty basic stuff."

He stared as if he were worried for her mental state, before he cracked a smile. She had a feeling that it was a rare sight. "What do you do with a sick chemist?" he asked in return.

She smiled, wanting to dance in happiness that he was countering her nerdy joke with one of his own. "What?"

"If you can't helium, and you can't curium, then you might as well barium."

Her laughter caught the attention of the teacher, who instructed them to get back to work.

"That was your fault," her partner grumbled, without irritation.

"Not just mine," she said. "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate." He gifted her with another sunshine smile.

By lunchtime, Katelyn's stomach was growling and she was happy to see Dan. Dan led her over to a lunch table that already had several occupants.

"This is my boyfriend, Matt," introduced Dan. "And our friends, Allison and Kevin. Guys, this is Katelyn."

After Katelyn fielded the usual questions about where she was from and whether she was liking South Carolina, Allison leaned forward expectantly. "So, seen any cute guys yet? Or girls? Anyone you're crushing on?"

"Well," said Katelyn, feeling her cheeks heat. "There was a guy in my chemistry class. Short, blond, named Aaron?"

"Aaron Minyard?" asked Allison. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no."

"Why not?"

"Hey Nicky!" Matt called out to a boy sitting at a nearby table. "Come join us for a sec."

The boy looked up and nodded, making his way over to their table and sitting across from Katelyn.

"The new girl's got a thing for your cousin," explained Matt.

"The saner one," added Allison.

"Oh, honey, no," said Nicky sadly. "You'll never get anywhere with that."

"Why not?"

"My cousin is a twin," said Nicky. "And about a year ago his mother died."

"Oh no, I'm so sorry," said Katelyn with genuine sympathy.

Nicky waved her comment away. "Not the point of the story. Anyway, he and his brother promised to stick together after that. So now Aaron's not allowed to date unless Andrew does too."

"Guys," said Katelyn, looking around the table. "This really doesn't seem like an insurmountable problem."

Matt gestured over Katelyn's left shoulder. She turned, and saw a boy who must be Aaron's twin. He was a little more muscular than Aaron, and dressed in all black. A student passed close by the table where Andrew was sitting with a white-haired girl, and leaned over to say something. Andrew responded by brandishing a knife.

Katelyn gasped. "That must be against the rules," she said. "And the law."

"Andrew hates everyone," said Nicky. "He's never going to date. We thought that he and Renee-" he indicated the girl sitting with Andrew "-would start going out, but they both came out as gay last June. Now there's no hope. Aaron's going to die alone."

"No, this can still be fixed," said Katelyn, her stubborn nature showing itself. "I'm sure that Andrew's a good guy deep down." She glanced back and found Andrew's dead-eyed stare focused on her. "Er, very deep down."

"The only way that someone will date Andrew Minyard is if you paid them," said Allison flippantly.

There was a brief pause. "That's not a… bad idea," said Nicky.

"You'd have to find someone who isn't scared of him," said Dan.

"Everyone's scared of him," said Kevin, speaking up for the first time. "And for good reason. You remember how he reacted when I asked him to join the exy team."

"Well, you were slightly… over persistent," said Matt diplomatically.

"Anyway, it's not like I have money to bribe anyone," said Katelyn.

"Don't worry about that," said Allison. "I would pay just for the fun of it."

"That still doesn't solve the problem of who would agree to go out with him," said Matt.

Katelyn had gotten distracted, watching as Andrew said something to a boy passing his lunch table. The boy turned to regard Andrew and Andrew again slid a knife out from somewhere. The boy just rolled his eyes, gave Andrew a salute, and walked away nonchalantly.

"What about him?" she asked.

"Who?" asked Matt craning his head to see. His jaw dropped in incredulity. "Neil Josten?"

"He started going here at the end of last year," explained Dan. "We tried to make friends with him, but he blew us off."

"I heard that he killed his own father," said Kevin.

"I heard that he's in the mafia," added Nicky.

"He's at least half-cryptid," said Allison.

Katelyn shrugged. "But he didn't seem afraid of Andrew," she said.

"He was apparently raised by stabby psychopaths," said Dan. "Maybe Andrew just reminds him of home."

"Neil is very pretty," said Matt hesitantly.

"True," agreed Nicky. "If Andrew hasn't noticed then he was lying about being into dudes."

"And his clothes definitely indicate that he needs the money," mused Allison.

"And he and Andrew are perfect for each other, in that they're both terrifying assholes," said Dan.

"Great!" said Katelyn happily. "It's settled. We’ll bribe Neil to date Andrew so that I can date Aaron." She was certain that everything would work out in her favour: she'd made up her mind that she was going to have a perfect senior year and she was very good at getting what she wanted.

After classes ended for the day, Allison tracked Katelyn down and led her out to the school's football field. The field hockey team was practising and several students, including Neil Josten, were running around the surrounding track. Allison kept her attention on her phone as they waited, but Katelyn watched Neil run. He was faster than he should be, based on his height.

They approached him when he was finished, stretching out his leg against a bench and gulping down sports drink.

"What do you want?" he asked, wiping the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his t-shirt.

"I have a business proposition for you," said Allison.

Neil snorted. "Pass."

"I will pay you $100 to take Andrew Minyard out on a date," continued Allison, ignoring Neil's input.

He straightened and eyed them in consideration. "Why?"

"I want to go out with Aaron," said Katelyn, making herself as earnest as possible. Maybe if he sympathized with her, he'd help her out. "And he's not allowed to date until Andrew does."

"That doesn't really take what Andrew wants into account," said Neil.

"Oh, don't put yourself down, Josten," said Allison. "You're a catch. He should be grateful to get a date with a specimen like yourself."

Neil gave her a flat look. "And what's in it for me?"

"One hundred dollars," said Allison slowly. She turned to Katelyn. "I already said that, right? I'm not imagining things, am I?"

"I have my own money," replied Neil.

Allison gave him a very judgmental once-over. "Do you?" she asked, sounding generally curious. "Then why do you look like… that?" She waved her hand, indicating Neil's entire body.

"Besides, I know you're aware that I'm not interested in dating," continued Neil. "I told you during your interrogation last year."

"That was a friendly getting-to-know-you chat, you giant drama queen," huffed Allison. "And it's just a date; we're not even asking you to get to first base. Just take him out somewhere nice, on me."

"I don't need your money," Neil reminded her. "But," he said, raising his voice to cut off Allison's reply, "you probably can get me something that I do want."

"And what's that?"

"I want on the exy team," he announced. "I missed the tryouts last spring."

"You can't be on the team just because you want to be," said Allison, rolling her eyes.

"You're friends with Kevin Day. Get him to agree to give me a fair chance at a tryout and I'll ask Andrew Minyard out on a date," bargained Neil.

Allison's eyes narrowed. "It's a deal," she said, and stuck out her hand to shake his.

"Why are you doing this?" Katelyn asked Allison as they took their leave. "You seem very invested in this."

Allison blushed slightly and averted her eyes. "Andrew spends all his time with Renee Walker. I was hoping that if he had someone else then she would be looking for some companionship."

"Ah," said Katelyn, sagely. "So you're also just a giant loser with a crush."

"Shut up," said Allison. "I'm not a loser, I'm a queen."

The rooftop access door slammed open and Andrew automatically lit a second cigarette, passing it over as Neil took a seat beside him.

"I received some interesting information," said Neil, clearly trying to get Andrew to ask him for his news. Andrew remained quiet, just to be contrary. Neil huffed, but continued anyway, "The new girl has a crush on your brother."

"It doesn't matter," said Andrew. "It doesn't affect me." Aaron wasn't going to break his promise and start dating, not until Andrew decided that he could.

"And that's where you're wrong," said Neil. "Somehow she's enlisted the help of Allison Reynolds and the two of them are bribing me to take you out on a date."

"They're bribing you?" repeated Andrew.

"Yup," said Neil. "Allison's going to get Kevin to agree to let me tryout for the exy team."

Andrew shook his head with mock severity. "I should have known better than to trust a junkie like you. All it takes is a single offer of your drug of choice and you're selling me out."

Neil knocked his shoulder into Andrew's. They'd met during Neil's first week at school, when he'd been searching for somewhere to sneak a cigarette. Since then they'd been meeting here regularly, slowly becoming almost-friends. Andrew was surprised by how much he liked the casual contact.

"Wanna go on a date with me?" asked Neil.

"I hate you," said Andrew.

"We just started sonnets in English," said Neil. "You could write me one: 'How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.'"

"We don't have enough time for me to make a detailed list."

"Maybe just a Cliff's Notes version, then? Ten things you hate about me?"

The ten things Andrew hated most about Neil were also the things that Andrew found most attractive about him, so he didn't respond.

"The deal I made is that I have to ask you on a date, not that you have to accept," Neil said. "So technically I've already done what I said I would. After all, I can't take you out if you say no."

Andrew smoked and considered his options. Agreeing to date Neil, even as a ruse, appealed to him. Maybe he could take advantage of the situation and somehow convince Neil to date him for real. However, if Andrew suddenly started dating then Aaron would follow. Was this something for which he was willing to loosen his hold on Aaron?

"Where would you take me on the date?"

Neil blinked once, obviously not expecting the question. "I was thinking of doing something like paintball," he said casually.

"Why paintball?"

"What, you don't want to attack people without them threatening to call the cops?" said Neil. "I know you prefer knives to guns, but I'll teach you how to handle a gun: I'm a crack shot."

The fact that Neil had obviously put thought into where he would take Andrew, specifically, on a date made up Andrew's mind. "What will you give me if I say yes?" he asked.

"What do you want?" Neil volleyed back.

What he wanted was for Neil to not ask stupid questions. "A bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue," he said instead.

"Deal," said Neil, his eyes shining. "I'll see if I can get Allison to pay for it."

Andrew was aware that this was a stupid plan that was going to end in pain, probably his own. He was giving up his hold on Aaron for what would surely turn out to be a pipe dream. He should know better by now, but Neil hadn't let him down yet. Perhaps, if he played his cards right, this was something that he could have.

Chapter Text

Allison was waiting for Katelyn at her locker the next morning.

"There you are," she said. "Finally. I forgot to ask where you live - Matt, Kevin, and I all have cars; one of us should be able to give you a ride."

"Oh, that's so nice of you!" said Katelyn, spinning her combination into her locker.

"It was Dan's idea," said Allison flippantly.

"Well I'll be sure to thank her, then," said Katelyn. She studied her schedule. "Where's room B-35?"

Allison grimaced. "What are you taking down there?"

"Advanced physics."

"Nerd," snorted Allison. "All the high level science courses are down in the dungeon."

"The dungeon?"

"It's what we call the west basement corridor," said Allison, she pointed at the stairwell at the end of the hall. "You can only get down there from the northwest stairwell."

"I need something," said Neil, appearing from nowhere.

Katelyn jumped, clutching her chest. "Where did you come from?"

"Haven't you heard the rumours? I midnight as a cat burglar," said Neil.

"I heard it was that you were a ninja, trained by the League of Assassins," said Allison.

"Yeah," said Neil, drawing out the word. "I'm Batman."

Katelyn laughed. "People will believe anything. I've been the new kid enough times that I've been the subject of quite a few strange rumours myself."

Neil appeared relaxed but his eyes were constantly moving, watching the people who surrounded them. It was familiar behaviour to Katelyn. Every time her father returned from deployment he was twitchy and watchful. She wondered about Neil's past and the rumours surrounding it.

"I did what you asked," said Neil.

"Already?" said Allison, clearly impressed. "That was fast."

"Speed impresses you? No wonder you dated Seth Gordon," said Neil.

Allison was nonplussed, clearly not expecting sass from Neil.

"Because he seems like the type of guy who thinks he's good in bed but in reality only lasts twenty seconds?" said Neil when Allison failed to respond.

Allison just blinked. "Well, you're not wrong," she said.

"I knew it. Anyway, I need a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue," Neil continued as if he hadn't momentarily struck Allison dumb.

Allison recovered instantly. "You need a bottle of expensive whisky?" she asked, suspiciously. "Why?"

"As a bribe," said Neil. "Andrew was less impressed with my negligible charms than you thought he would be."

"You had to bribe him to go on a date with you?" asked Katelyn, slightly taken aback. Based on the one interaction she had seen she'd expected Andrew to accept. This seemed somehow more… mercenary.

"Why does that surprise you?" said Neil, perplexed. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well, yes," admitted Katelyn.

Allison snapped in Neil's direction to get his attention. "You said you didn't need money," she accused.

Neil gave her a disdainful look. "Maybe I don't have a fake ID to buy alcohol," he said.

"Rumour says that you sell the most convincing fake IDs at school," said Allison.

"Rumour says that you're sixteen tubes of lipstick wrapped in a minidress masquerading as a girl," retorted Neil. "Can you get me the whisky or not?"

"Fine," snapped Allison. "But you'd better come through."

"I already have," replied Neil. "Have you gotten me my exy tryout yet?"

"I'll talk to Kevin at lunch."

Neil cocked his head. "What's in this for you? I thought it was Katelyn here that wanted to date Aaron."

Allison coloured a little. "Renee Walker," she muttered.

"Andrew's friend?"

"She's... she's pretty and interesting, okay?" said Allison irritably. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

"From what I know about her, she's interested in people with... substance." He gave Allison a slow once over.

Allison laughed meanly. "Oh, honey," she sighed. "Nice try. You're never going to be a bigger catty bitch than I am."

"Besides, I thought that your taste ran more towards asshole meatheads," said Neil, his entire countenance amused. "Again, you did date Seth."

"I did," said Allison, her face darkening. "But he didn't take the news of my bisexuality very well."

Neil looked considering. "Then good riddance to him. Anyway, let me know about the whisky and the exy tryout," he said, preparing to depart.

"Wait!" said Katelyn. "We need a team name or a team cheer or something."

Neil squinted in confusion. "The exy team?"

"No, stupid," said Katelyn. "Team Us."

"Why."

"Because we're friends now, obviously," replied Katelyn impatiently.

"Is that what we are?" asked Neil.

"How about Minyard-seducers?" suggested Allison. "No, wait, I know! Team KAN. With a K. Because those are our initials and because we can get what we want!"

"Riiiight," said Neil, before turning on his heel and leaving.

"Wow," drawled Katelyn, eyeing Allison. "You're a much bigger dork than I'd initially realized."

Katelyn tuned out Allison's attempts to convince Kevin to let Neil have a fair tryout. She felt mildly guilty, as this was what Neil wanted to date Andrew which he was doing so that she'd have a chance with Aaron, but Allison had assured her that she wouldn't be helpful. Allison had been very adamant that Kevin would do exactly what she wanted but that he'd put up a fight first.

By the third time they'd gone through the same arguments ("We don't need any new players," said Kevin.

"You've been complaining that you need more striker support and the little fucker is fast," countered Allison.

"He's never played the sport before."

"You can teach him; he seems eager," supplied Matt.

"He should have tried out in the spring."

"It's not like he was being lazy," sighed Dan. "He didn't go here yet.") Katelyn had stopped paying attention altogether. Instead she was sneaking glances over to where Aaron was eating lunch alone. She hadn't shared any classes with him that morning, much to her disappointment.

She saw an opportunity and rose with her tray. She winked at Allison, who rolled her eyes in response as Kevin launched into another argument, and weaved her way through the tables until she was across from Aaron. She plonked her tray on the table and dropped onto the bench.

"Hi," she said with a smile. "I haven't seen you since yesterday morning."

He blinked at her a couple times, taken aback. "You want to?" he asked.

"Of course!" she said enthusiastically. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh," he said, his eyes still confused. "I thought you made friends." He looked over to where Allison, Dan, and Matt were still arguing with Kevin.

"I did," she said. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want to spend time with you."

"Oh," he said again, seemingly at a loss. "We could... study?"

"Have you done the chemistry problems yet? Maybe we could do them together?"

"I... okay," he said with uncertainty. "After school? In the library?"

"Perfect," she said, smiling. "Do we share any classes this afternoon?"

He pulled his schedule out of his backpack. "I have double history, advanced calculus, and German."

"Oooh, German," said Katelyn, impressed. "That's cool. I'm taking Spanish for my language credit."

"My cousin's boyfriend is from Germany," Aaron replied. "He helps with my assignments."

"Smart."

He smiled faintly as the first warning bell rang.

"I'll meet you in the library at four?" she checked. At his nod, she shoved the remainder of her sandwich in her mouth and got to her feet to rush to her locker before class.

Katelyn's biology class let out early so she was the first one to arrive at her Spanish classroom. She chose her preferred desk - directly in the middle of the classroom - and took out her workbook, flipping through it idly to see how easy this class would be. The teacher was the next person to arrive and she started writing on the board - apparently today they would be learning how to introduce themselves.

To Katelyn's surprise, Neil showed up just before the bell. He surveyed the room and slumped into the seat next to her.

"Did you need something?" she asked.

"No," he said. "Why?"

"You're sitting next to me."

"Am I not allowed?" he asked. "It's not like I know anyone else here. You're the one who said we were friends."

"You didn't seem to agree with me."

"I was surprised. It's not like I've ever had friends before."

Her eyes widened and she softened her demeanor.

Neil cleared his throat awkwardly. "So," he said. "Your last name is Ramirez. Are you taking this class to reconnect with your roots or are you looking for an easy credit?"

"Hello, my name is Katelyn," she said in perfect Spanish, "and I speak Spanish flawlessly." It was the language she spoke at home with her parents after all.

"Hello, my name is Neil," he replied, also in Spanish, "and so do I."

"Nice," she said, offering her hand for a high five. "Team KAN is getting top marks in Spanish!" she said as he reluctantly slapped her hand.

"Yes we can," said Neil dryly.

Aaron was already in the library when Katelyn arrived, his books spread across one of the tables.

"You came," he said, sounding vaguely surprised as she strode up to the table, pulled up a chair, and started unpacking her backpack.

"We made plans," she said, keeping her voice low. Getting kicked out of the library was not a part of her plans. "Of course I came."

"I'm glad," he said shyly. He cleared his throat, "Did you want to start with the chemical equation calculations or with the short answer questions?"

They worked together quietly, efficiently getting through all their homework. They chatted a little but both of them were more interested in focussing on their work. Katelyn liked how seriously Aaron took his schoolwork. She, too, had always taken pride in excelling in school and she worked hard to keep her grades high.

"We should do this again," said Aaron, once they were finished and packing up for the day.

"It's a date!" she agreed.

He stilled. "I don't... I can't do that," he stuttered.

"Because of your brother?" she said, deciding that she wasn't going to pretend not to know about his deal with Andrew.

"I promised him," he said. "You don't understand."

"I do," she replied earnestly. "Or, I don't, actually, but that's okay. I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want to. We can be friends, if you prefer, or even just studymates. No pressure."

Aaron stared at her. "Why?" he asked.

"I don't want to try to get between you and your brother," she said.

"No, why me?" he demanded. "You're smart, and funny, and beautiful, and you could probably have anyone you wanted."

"Thank you," she said. She ordered her thoughts; she wasn't actually one hundred percent sure why she was so set on this guy she'd met the day before; all she knew was that she wanted to have the best senior year ever and that included dating someone she liked and Aaron was the only person in school who had caught her eye. "Has it occurred to you that I'm trying?"

"You're trying what?"

"To have who I want?"

"But, why me?" he repeated. "I'm nothing special."

"I disagree," she said. "I don't know exactly what it is about you. Maybe it's that when you were naming my virtues you said smart and funny before talking about my looks." She gestured helplessly. "Maybe it's as simple as when we met you responded to my nerdy science joke with one of your own."

He was quiet for a short time. "Don't trust atoms," he finally said.

She shook her head in confusion.

"They make up everything."

She let his words sink in and then burst out laughing.

Aaron was late getting home. Any hope of Andrew not noticing was quashed as soon as he arrived - his twin was smoking on the porch.

"Filthy habit," said Aaron.

"Mmm," said Andrew.

Aaron rolled his eyes and pushed past him. He'd given up on getting his brother to actually talk to him a while ago. He felt as if he were still being punished for not being immediately supportive of his sexuality. It wasn't fair. He'd eventually accepted it; he didn't even grimace anymore when Nicky was talking about his boyfriend.

"Oh," said Andrew, as if it were an afterthought and not the reason he was clearly waiting for Aaron to return. "I just wanted to let you know that I have a date this weekend."

Aaron froze. He turned slowly. "You have a what?"

"A date," said Andrew precisely. "I thought you'd want to know. You could use the opportunity take someone out - maybe the pretty new girl who was making cow eyes at you during lunch, hmmm?"

"I... it's not like that," said Aaron weakly.

"You want it to be," replied Andrew. "Don't forget that you made me a promise."

"I haven't broken it," said Aaron, annoyed at the insinuation. "But - a date? This weekend?"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up," said Andrew idly. "It's probably a one-time thing. I highly doubt he can keep my interest for long."

"He who?" asked Aaron. His brother had never really showed any desire for romance or dating. He wondered who had managed to catch his eye.

"Neil Josten."

"Neil Josten?" repeated Aaron, dumbfounded. "The same Neil Josten who murdered his parents and spent the last three years in prison?"

"In prison? I heard that he spent the last three years on the run from the mob."

"In either case he's dangerous and unstable."

Andrew stubbed out his cigarette and got up to enter the house. "According to our classmates, so am I."

Chapter Text

Katelyn slowly rotated her stool nervously, twining her feet around its support. She hadn't been particularly surprised when Aaron had asked her out - she had insider information about Andrew's dating life, after all - but she had been slightly taken aback at how quickly her scheme had come together. Just the day after their first study session in the library Aaron had approached her after chemistry to ask if she were interested in going somewhere with him that weekend.

They had settled on an old-fashioned soda shop that was popular among Palmetto high students. It had a retro fifties vibe and apparently the milkshakes were to die for.

"Hey," said Aaron, approaching. "Am I late? Have you been waiting long?"

"Hi," she said, smiling. She stopped twirling. "I have, but only because I came early so that I could get a ride from my mom."

"Yeah," said Aaron. "Andrew couldn't give me a ride so I had to get one from Nicky in his boyfriend's car. His punctuality is... not a thing that exists. Should we get a table?"

Katelyn nodded and they found a table in the back corner which afforded them some privacy.

"Only Andrew has a car?" she asked curiously. "You don't share?"

"No," said Aaron with a grimace. "He won't let me touch it. He bought it with his half of our mother's life insurance money."

"What did you do with yours?" She blanched. "Sorry, that's rude. You don't have to say."

"It's okay," he replied. "I invested it; I'm going to use it to help pay for college."

"Practical."

His face fell. "I know it's not the most exciting..."

"I wasn't criticizing!" she said quickly. "I think it's admirable that you're thinking ahead and planning for the future."

"I want to be a doctor," he said. He paused for a moment, as if he thought that she might ridicule him, then continued, "I'm hoping for a scholarship; that's why I work so hard at school."

"Me, too!" she enthused. "My dad's career military and insisted on teaching all of us first aid when we were young. I've had to use my skills a couple times and it always felt so rewarding and useful to patch people up."

"That's amazing," replied Aaron.

They continued chatting, Aaron gradually opening up more. He was a little hesitant and didn't seem to quite believe that she was interested in what he had to say. She suspected that not many people had expressed interest in his views and ideas before.

Before she knew it the alarm she'd set on her phone went off; they'd been talking for hours. She had to leave to meet her mother. When she pointed out how long they'd been there, Aaron looked bashful.

"You're easy to talk to," he said.

"You, too," she said.

"I had a really good time."

"Me, too," said Katelyn. "We should do this again?"

Aaron paused. "It depends on Andrew," he said. "The agreement was only for one date."

Katelyn raised her eyebrows. "So if we start dating regularly - provided that Andrew does too - and he dumps his boyfriend does that mean that he's going to insist that you break up with me?"

"I don't know," said Aaron, his brow creased in thought.

"Really?" she asked. "Are you only going to be allowed to date someone for the rest of your life as long as he is?"

"I thought you knew about this?"

"I assumed that you could continue to date once you'd started!"

"I know it sounds strange."

"It sounds like a weak excuse," she argued. "If you don't want to do this again you could just say so."

"I'm not trying to make excuses. I would like to go out with you again sometime."

"But only if your brother says you're allowed?"

"I promised him," he replied. "You don't understand."

"No, I don't," she agreed. "You can try to explain?"

"All our lives we've only had each other," said Aaron.

"How does that translate into him dictating your life?"

"You've known me for, what, less than a week?" said Aaron hotly. "Why do you think you're entitled to pass judgment?"

Katelyn paused. "You're right; I'm sorry," she said sincerely.

Aaron thawed slightly. "I promised him we'd stick together. Since I'm the one who wants to change things and start dating, he's the one who gets to set the rules on how that happens."

"He doesn't seem opposed to dating," Katelyn pointed out. "Maybe both of you want to change things?"

"You didn't know him before this week," said Aaron dryly. "It's a very new development. If it continues then you and I will be able to keep seeing each other..." He looked unsure. "That is, if you still want to."

"Of course I still want to," she said. "I've enjoyed all the time we've spent together."

"Even when we were fighting?" he asked ruefully.

"That?" laughed Katelyn. "That was barely a disagreement, let alone a fight. There are bound to be some hiccups as we get to know each other."

"As long as you're sure," he said.

"I am," she said. "And I'm sure that Andrew will keep dating." I'll ensure that he does, she tacked on in her thoughts.

Allison wrinkled her nose and peered into the second-hand shop before she squared her shoulders and marched through the door. She'd never been into one of these places before; all these things had been touched by strangers, owned by them. Why would she want other people's junk?

However, she was there on a mission. She knew that Renee's mother worked for the charity that owned the thrift shop and that Renee volunteered there on weekends. She'd gained her knowledge methodically, though methods that Dan referred to as stalking but Allison maintained was actually surveillance.

It was all the new girl's fault. Allison prided herself on being fearless and brash and pursuing whatever she wanted no matter what. Then Katelyn showed up and within hours of getting a crush was doggedly pursuing the object of her affections. That she was after Aaron Minyard didn't detract from Allison's admiration of her - it only proved that she had terrible taste in guys.

Meanwhile, she - Allison Fucking Reynolds! - had been pining after someone for months and had barely even said two words to her.

It had all started last spring when Renee had calmly come out in solidarity with Andrew. When Allison had heard the news she'd felt vaguely relieved and she'd thought, I would go down on her. Which was a little surprising as she'd never really been attracted to women before. Oh, sure, she could appreciate them aesthetically, and she sometimes thought about kissing her girl friends, and she had periodic sex dreams involving other women, but didn't everyone? She'd decided to test out this newfound part of herself - first by watching lesbian porn (which ended up being so much better and way less misogynistic than heterosexual porn) and then by going to a gay club and making out with several women.

Having decided that yeah, she was bisexual, she returned her attention to Renee. Where it had promptly stalled. The problem was that she wasn't quite sure how to approach Renee. Her usual method of standing near her target while looking fabulous and waiting for them to flirt with her in order to pretend at disinterest didn't seem to work. It had always worked with guys! They were always propositioning her, whether she wanted them to or not. It had even worked with the women at the club. Renee was friendly and sweet (how the hell she could hang around with a knife-wielding monster like Minyard completely baffled Allison) but it became apparent she wouldn't make the first move.

Or maybe she just wasn't interested, which had been Dan's suggestion when Allison brought up her woes. Allison was affronted because who had the nerve not to be interested in her? She'd been left feeling off-balance and unsure which were two things that she'd never been before. Then Katelyn had come up with a plan to distract Andrew and Allison had seen her chance to pursue Renee.

She stealthily moved through the store, avoiding touching anything without looking like she was avoiding touching everything. She had a sneaking suspicion that snobbery would not impress Renee. She kept surreptitiously glancing around, looking for the target of her soon-to-be advances.

"Allison?" asked a voice from behind her.

She wheeled, coming face to face with the girl she was looking for.

"Oh, hi!" she said, not having to feign her surprise. "Renee, right?"

Renee looked amused. "Right," she said. "Can I help you find anything?" She had a bland customer-service smile on her face that Allison hated.

"Yes," said Allison, glancing around frantically. "I need…" She couldn't say clothes - Renee would never believe that someone with Allison's designer wardrobe ever frequented thrift shops - but that left her slightly at a loss, since she was in the clothing section. "Dinnerware," she finally settled on.

"Dinnerware," repeated Renee.

"Yes," said Allison, berating herself in her head. She was just as likely to buy dinnerware at a second hand shop as she was to buy clothes. Other people had touched those things with their mouths. But she'd said it and she was going to maintain the lie; Allison Reynolds never backed down. "My friend, Dan? You know her?"

"Of course."

"She has a young niece that she's been setting up a playhouse for," said Allison on a wave of inspiration. The goddamn playhouse had basically been the only topic of conversation that Dan and Matt had discussed for weeks. At least she was finally benefiting from half-listening to all their dull enthusiasm. "I want to buy her some cheap dinnerware - plates, cups, cutlery - that's not plastic so it seems fancy but that she can use without worrying too much if it breaks."

"That's kind of you," said Renee, with something akin to surprise.

Allison was mildly insulted. "I am capable of being kind," she said.

"Of course you are," said Renee, backtracking. "I just wouldn't have pegged you for someone who cares about children."

"They're all snot-nosed germ factories as far as I'm concerned," said Allison. "But as long as they don't come near me I'm perfectly happy to help them have fun."

Renee's smile was more genuine this time.

"I'm having a party," Allison blurted. "In two weeks," she continued, inventing wildly. She could probably convince her parents to head to the beach house in two weekends and leave her home alone. "You should come."

Renee's forehead wrinkled. "I'm not sure…"

"It won't be a big blowout, if that's what you're worried about," said Allison. "My furniture is much too expensive to have drunken teenage assholes puking on it. It'll be quiet - less than twenty people, I promise."

Renee visibly wavered.

"You can even bring Minyard with you," Allison offered desperately.

"I'll think about it," said Renee. "Now, let me show you our supply of dinnerware."

Allison followed mutely behind her, mind spinning with plans. She had to throw the best house party ever, but it would have to be quiet and tame and probably without alcohol.

She sighed inaudibly. Why couldn't Renee be the one pursuing her? That would be way easier.

Andrew refused to admit that the squirming in his stomach was nerves as he watched the goats move about their pen. The paintball place that Neil had located was on a farm outside the city, complete with farm animals. There was also a shooting range for practice and a small cafe. Business seemed to be booming as there were a fair number of people present. Andrew was impatient for Neil to arrive so that he could shoot some of them.

Neil wasn't really late yet, although the ten minute grace period that Andrew had granted him was ending. Neil wasn't the most punctual and Andrew didn't expect him to change for their date - especially since Neil was of the opinion they weren't really dating.

Andrew was still a little stuck on how he was going to transfer from fake-dating Neil to really dating him, although he was probably getting ahead of himself. If the date ended up being terrible then he'd have no reason to continue with this farce. He somehow couldn't call up his usual pessimism. His mother had taught him that no one was reliable - he was still unsure how Aaron had missed that lesson through all the different times and ways she had failed them - but he'd still let Neil in.

The slam of a car door caught his attention. He turned, catching sight of Neil exiting his uncle's car. Neil's uncle was staring straight at Andrew, a look of utmost displeasure on his face. He pointed two fingers at his own eyes and then turned them on Andrew, the universal sign meaning, 'I'm watching you.' Andrew ignored him. He had a sneaking suspicion that if one of the two of them was getting hurt from this experiment it wasn't going to be Neil.

"Hey," said Neil, jogging up to him. His hair was still a little damp from a recent shower, curling wildly in uncontrollable cowlicks. Andrew balled his fists in his pockets to prevent himself from doing something insane like smoothing Neil's hair.

"How was your exy tryout this morning?" asked Andrew. He didn't care in the least, but he'd asked Renee for advice on how to behave on a date since out of the two of them she had more experience. She stressed that he should at least pretend to be interested in Neil's hobbies and interests.

"Good," said Neil, smiling brightly. "They said I could join the team and then Kevin spent a lot of time after we were finished talking about training schedules and strategy. It's why I'm late. He's a little obsessed."

"I could have told you that," said Andrew. Kevin had been pestering him on and off about joining the team ever since Andrew had stopped him from scoring more than once during the mandatory exy unit in PE.

"Ready for paintball?" Neil asked.

Andrew nodded, turning for one last look at the goats. One of them, a reddish-brown one, had caught his eye. In the time he'd been waiting, it had bleated loudly until one of the other goats had headbutted it to shut it up, had tried to chew its way out of its enclosure, and had climbed the fence in another escape attempt. Andrew was unreasonably fond of it. "Bye, Neil," he said.

"I'm going with you," said Neil, in confusion.

Andrew just pointed to Goat Neil as it started bleating again, aggravating all the other goats. "Junior," he said.

Neil flinched. Concerned, Andrew reached out to grasp the collar of his shirt and frowned in question.

"It's fine," said Neil. Andrew didn't loosen his grip. Neil shook his head. "My father used to call me that," he said roughly.

"I won't say it again," promised Andrew. He knew very little about Neil's father, only that he had been abusive and that Neil's mother had taken Neil and left him when Neil was young.

"I know you won't," said Neil with sincerity, holding Andrew's eyes.

Goat Neil broke the moment, kicking out at one of the other goats and then running away from it.

"You see the similarity," said Andrew.

Neil looked at the goat and then at Andrew, obviously holding back laughter. "It's good to know what you think of me," he said, leading Andrew away.

They spent some time at the shooting range, Neil showing Andrew how to properly use a gun. He knew that Neil's uncle kept guns in the house and was overprotective of Neil so his knowledge and comfort with firearms came from numerous gun safety lectures and demonstrations.

When they entered the paintball course, Andrew kept close to Neil, the two of them covering each other while ruthlessly taking out their opponents. Cooperating as a team to shoot paint at annoying people probably shouldn't have given Andrew such a warm, content feeling. He liked having someone he trusted at his back.

After they completed the course, winning quite handily (although not completely paint-free), they went to the cafe for hot drinks and snacks. They sat together and discussed their success. Andrew had found it surprisingly easy to talk to Neil ever since they'd met; his words didn't stick in his throat like they often did around other people. Once they were finished eating Andrew drove Neil home; they spent the drive in companionable silence. All in all Andrew thought that it was a rather successful first date.

"I had a really good time," said Neil as Andrew pulled up in front of his uncle's house.

"We could do it again sometime," offered Andrew.

"For another bottle of whisky?" asked Neil.

Andrew shrugged, letting Neil interpret his silence as he wished. Neil's uncle stepped out on the porch of his house, tapping his wristwatch with exaggerated motions.

Neil rolled his eyes. "That's my cue," he said. "See you Monday?"

Andrew nodded and watched as Neil got out of the car and disappeared into the house, arguing good-naturedly with his uncle while he did. He let out a breath that he felt like he'd been holding since he'd left his house that afternoon. This was everything that he'd never admit he wanted. He just had to find some way to keep it.

Chapter Text

Allison picked Katelyn up on Monday morning. She pulled her pink convertible up to the curb in front of Katelyn's house and honked obnoxiously until Katelyn ran to get in the car.

"How was your da-ate?" Allison asked in a sing-song voice once Katelyn was buckled in.

"Good," said Katelyn. "I had fun."

"A Minyard actually has a personality? That's unexpected," said Allison. "Are you going to keep seeing him?"

"I don't know," said Katelyn ruefully. "Apparently he can only keep on dating as long as Andrew does."

"What's your plan?"

"Track down Neil. Get him to agree to take Andrew out again."

"Assuming those two assholes didn't get into a knife fight on their date," said Allison. She paused. "Who do you think would win?"

Katelyn thought about it. "Andrew has more muscle mass and we know he's comfortable around knives, given how often he handles them at school... but Neil is really fast and rumour says that he also knows how to handle knives..."

"According to Kevin, Neil has good reflexes," added Allison. "Would it count as winning if he just spent all his time evading Andrew?"

"I have a feeling Andrew would tire quickly. As far as I've seen he only eats junk food," said Katelyn. "I guess I'd put my money on Neil."

"They're actually pretty evenly matched," said Allison. "We're awesome matchmakers."

"I wasn't aware that successful matchmaking involved taking potential knife fights into account."

"It's not my fault you're boring," said Allison. "Speaking of matchmaking..."

"Nice segue."

"Thanks. Anyway, I also had a date this weekend! Or, rather, I serendipitously ran into Renee."

"Just by chance?" Katelyn asked, letting her absolute disbelief bleed into her tone. Dan had mentioned something about Allison's unfortunate stalker tendencies.

"Yeah, I was in the thrift store downtown completely at random-"

"Suuuuuure."

"-and I ran into her. We got to talking and I decided to throw a party the weekend after next. Which you are invited to, of course. And you can bring your tiny, blond gremlin with you."

"Did you make the same offer to Renee?" chuckled Katelyn.

"I did!" said Allison. "Although if you want it to be a date, you'll have to convince Neil to come."

"We've already given him what he wanted, though. The deal was that he'd ask Andrew out once. I'm not sure I have anything to offer him to come to the party."

"Maybe he had a really good time on his date and he's looking forward to spending more time with Andrew?" suggested Allison dubiously. Katelyn scrunched up her nose. Allison sighed, "Yeah, I didn't think so." She shrugged. "Maybe another bottle of whisky would do?"

Katelyn paused in thought. "I have an idea..." she said slowly. Neil had said that he'd never had friends before and had sat with her in class because she'd said they were. If she kept being friendly maybe he'd be willing to do her a favour.

On Monday Katelyn had chemistry before lunch which meant that she got to spend a solid chunk of time with Aaron. She'd searched for Neil before the morning bell but she was beginning to understand why Allison had once referred to him as a cryptid. He seemed to be nowhere on campus. In fact, if she thought about it, she'd only ever seen him when he sought her out (or in class). There was the possibility that he wasn't at school today - she hadn't seen Andrew, either, so maybe they had gotten into a knife fight and were dead or injured - but that didn't fit into her plans so she ignored the possibility.

She asked Aaron if he'd seen Neil that morning. Aaron just gave her a strange look.

"No, why?" he asked. "What do I care about Neil Josten?"

"We have Spanish together," she said, definitely not about to admit to bribing him to date Aaron's brother. "I had a question about homework."

"He doesn't strike me as someone who pays attention in class," sniffed Aaron. "We have calculus together and he spends the whole time doodling in his notebook."

"He's actually pretty good at Spanish," said Katelyn. "I think he's nice."

"No one knows anything about him," said Aaron. "You should stay away from him." He blinked once. "Deja vu."

"Didn't your brother go on a date with him this weekend?" she asked.

"How do you know that?"

"Neil mentioned it last week."

"He was bragging about his conquest?"

"What? No. Why do you hate him so much?"

"I don't hate him; I just don't know him. He waltzed into the school shrouded by mystery and caught my brother's attention. It's suspicious."

"Have you put any effort into getting to know him?" she asked. "From a certain point of view - Andrew's, presumably - I've done the exact same thing to you."

"That's different," Aaron argued. "You're not about to put me in danger with your mafia past."

Katelyn scoffed. "Isn't that just a rumour? I've also heard that he was homeschooled."

"I've heard a lot of different theories," said Aaron, "and I don't want him anywhere near my brother."

"But then nothing could happen between you and me," she pointed out.

Aaron looked sheepish. "Well, lucky for us, Andrew never listens to what I have to say."

It turned out that Katelyn needn't have worried about finding Neil: he was sitting at her usual lunch table, seemingly having been forced there by Kevin. Kevin was talking non-stop about what Katelyn assumed was exy - she had no experience with the sport, but he kept mentioning a racquet and throwing and outrunning backliners. Neil was nodding along, looking more engaged than Katelyn had ever seen him.

She took a seat across from him while Allison sat beside him, boxing him in.

"Hey there, teammate," said Katelyn.

Kevin stopped talking to glare at her speculatively. "You're not on the exy team," he said slowly.

"No, I'm not," agreed Katelyn.

Kevin dismissed her, turning back to Neil.

"How was your date?" Katelyn interjected before the two of them could start talking about exy again.

"It was good," said Neil.

"Really?" pressed Allison. "Good? Neither of you shot anyone?"

Amusement passed over Neil's face. "Quite a few people, actually. Nobody died, though."

Katelyn couldn't tell if he was joking. His sense of humour was a little dark.

Kevin harrumphed impatiently. "We're talking about striker plays," he said. "Go away."

"Now, Kevin, remember we had those lessons about being a decent human being?" asked Dan, showing up and placing her lunch tray on the table.

"They're interrupting me to talk about something of no importance!" huffed Kevin.

"Calm down," said Allison. "I have an announcement. The weekend after next my parents are going out of town and I'm having a party. You're all invited." She elbowed Neil. "That includes you and your stabby boyfriend, shorty."

"He's not my boyfriend," said Neil reflexively. "Wait. Why am I invited?"

"We're friends now."

"'Friends' seems like a strong word," said Neil.

"Teammates?" suggested Katelyn.

"Maybe partners in crime," said Allison.

"I'm not sure setting someone up on a date counts as crime," said Matt.

"But he is a criminal," said Allison. "Everyone knows he's robbed a bank."

"I thought it was that he was an arsonist?" said Dan.

"I'm pretty sure that Neil's only crime is being so awesome," said Matt.

Neil slid a confused glance in Matt's direction, before focusing on Katelyn again. "What will you give me for attending your party?" he asked.

"Gratitude and friendship?" suggested Katelyn.

"How about something worthwhile?" said Neil.

"Oh, ouch," said Allison. "What do you want?"

Neil looked across the cafeteria to the table where Andrew and Renee sat. "I don't know yet," he said evasively. "Probably more whisky. Maybe cigarettes."

"No," said Kevin imperiously. "You're an exy player now. No cigarettes."

"Whatever you say, Kevin," said Neil indulgently. The he got up and headed across the cafeteria as if he'd forgotten that the rest of them existed.

Katelyn showed up early at Allison's house the night of the party, having gotten a ride from Dan and Matt who were helping set up. Somehow the event had blown out of proportion from the small get-together that Allison had initially proposed. Word had spread like wildfire through the school that Allison's parents were out of town and that she was having a rager. Allison had spent the past few weeks attempting damage control and trying to dissuade people from showing up, but her efforts seemed to have the opposite effect. She'd mostly resigned herself, only throwing two epic tantrums. She was unhappy that her plan to woo Renee was in jeopardy.

Katelyn, on the other hand, was deliriously excited. Aaron hadn't been particularly enthusiastic when Katelyn had proposed that he come to Allison's party, but the promise of free alcohol had brought him around. Still, he seemed strangely grumpy about the fact that Andrew was attending with Neil. Katelyn was pretty sure that there was something she was missing about Aaron's dislike of Andrew and Neil's relationship. She had expected that he'd be happy that he was finally allowed to date, but he seemed to be getting more and more annoyed.

Katelyn was determined to have a good time that night. It wasn't her first party, but it was the first party where she'd had both good friends and a potential boyfriend. She was going to get drunk and dance her heart out.

She was already on her third drink and was dancing with one of her classmates that she didn't know when Aaron arrived.

"Hey!" she said happily, tripping over to talk to him when she noticed his presence.

His face was set, glaring over her shoulder. "You looked like you were having fun," he said.

"I was!" she replied. "You should come dance."

"You can go back to it," he said.

She took his hand and pulled, but he didn't move forward. "Let's dance!" she said, turning back to him.

"I don't dance," he said shortly.

"You just said we should!" she said in confusion.

"No, I said that you should."

"But I want to spend time with you!"

"It didn't look like it," he said, crossing his arms.

"You weren't here yet," she replied, finally understanding what his problem was. "Come on, let's get you a drink so you mellow out."

He breathed out angrily, before turning on his heel and heading to the kitchen. She followed a little hesitantly.

"I was just having fun," she said.

"You're allowed," said Aaron. "It's just..." he trailed off, and his shoulders slumped. "Nothing. Sorry. I'm being stupid."

"Yes," she agreed, drunk enough to be blunt. "After all the effort I've put into getting you to take me out why would I immediately go after someone else?"

Aaron stopped. "All the effort?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied flippantly. "Do you know how long it takes to do my hair?"

Finally, Aaron's face relaxed.

"There you are," she said. "Hi."

"Hi," he replied. "Sorry for being weird."

She shrugged. "It's over now. Try to remember that you have no reason to be jealous. Want to get drinks?"

"Yes," he said.

They got drinks - he went for beer and she decided to stick with the tequila sunrises that Allison kept making her - and headed into the slightly quieter back room. They claimed seats on one of the couches and fell into easy conversation. As they spoke, Katelyn's uneasiness from his show of jealousy decreased. She knew that his self-esteem wasn't the greatest but she didn't appreciate being treated like property.

It was several hours later that Dan found them. "There you are!" she said. "We haven't seen you all evening. Come dance!"

Katelyn considered. She'd been having a good time with Aaron, but she also wanted to spend time with her friends and she loved dancing. She smiled beseechingly at Aaron. "Please?" she asked.

He sighed deeply, but got up and let her drag him behind her. Triumphant, she surreptitiously pumped her fist. Dan caught her eye and grinned. She nodded to the dance floor.

"Check it out," she said quietly.

Katelyn forced her eyes to focus and eventually found what Dan was talking about. Allison and Renee were dancing together, laughing and happy.

"She came!" said Katelyn in excitement.

"What's that?" asked Aaron.

"Renee came!" said Katelyn.

Aaron looked confused. "Yeah, I know. She came with me and Andrew and the criminal."

"I'm so happy for Allison!" continued Katelyn, as she stumbled forward. She sent Allison two excited thumbs up before turning back to dance with Aaron only to find that he hadn't followed her into the crush of people. He was standing stiffly off to the side, not even trying to participate.

"Relax!" she called, approaching him to try to get him to dance with her.

"I said I don't dance," he said.

"Why not?"

He looked around self-consciously.

"It's only our friends," she cajoled. "Look how stupid Kevin looks. Nobody cares!"

"Your friends," he corrected.

"Only because you refuse to say anything to them!" she said loudly, the alcohol affecting her volume control. "Do you just plan to never associate with my friends, ever?"

"Why would I?"

"Because I want you to!"

"Why?"

"Because this year is supposed to be perfect!"

"I am not a prop for your perfect life."

She softened a little. "It's my last year of high school and I want it to be a good one. I don't need you to be a social butterfly but maybe you could manage to be civil?"

"Stop trying to change me."

"You're not even willing to compromise a little? I feel like I'm way more invested in this relationship than you are."

"That's not fair."

"Can't you even make a tiny effort? Why are you being so stubborn?"

"This is the way I am."

"If you can't even bend a little bit then you're going to be very lonely one day!"

Aaron clenched his jaw and looked away. "I knew you couldn't actually want me." He turned and stalked out of the room.

"Fine!" she shouted after him, on the verge of furious tears. "Run away like a coward!" She looked around wildly. "Where the fuck is Neil?"

"He and Andrew were on the roof earlier," said Renee, from where she was dancing with Allison.

"What?" snapped Allison, as she stopped dancing abruptly. "Those fuckers!" She marched out of the room, Katelyn on her heels.

Out in front of the house, Allison craned her head up. Katelyn could see a pair of legs dangling over the eavestrough.

"Get off the roof, you assholes!" Allison shouted. "If you morons fall you're sure as fuck not suing me!"

Neil leaned forward. His head appeared between his knees and he had a bottle of whisky in his hand.

"Are you insane?" demanded Allison. "You're drinking on the roof?" Her pitch was quickly approaching one that could only be heard by bats.

"Neil!" shouted Katelyn. "You're fired!"

Before he could say anything, he was unceremoniously yanked backwards by the collar of his shirt.

"What?" called Neil, clearly confused. "What are you talking about?" Then, quieter, "Andrew, let go. I'm not going to fall."

"The deal's off!" Katelyn yelled, barely holding herself together. "Team KAN is finished!"

She headed back into the house, pushing through people while she searched for somewhere quiet. Eventually she stumbled across a bedroom; she stumbled into it and slammed the door behind her. Crumpling to the ground, she leaned back against the door to prevent anyone from disturbing her and succumbed to her angry tears.

Chapter Text

Aaron glowered from his spot in the passenger seat of Andrew's car. He was annoyed that the sun was shining; everything in the world should be as gloomy as he was. He'd known that Katelyn's interest in him was too good to be true. He'd known that he would do something stupid and mess everything up. He hadn't quite thought it would all go to hell so quickly.

He never should have gone to that party. He'd been in a bad mood all day Saturday because it was one of the rare weekends that his and Andrew's father was staying with them.

Aaron hated the man and despised the fact that he had to pretend at gratitude because he'd given him and Andrew and Nicky an alternative to living with Nicky's awful parents. He'd only been dating their mother casually when she found out she was pregnant. He'd not wanted children and, although he sent regular child support payments, they'd never met him until after their mother's funeral when he became their legal guardian. He was still as uninterested in parenting as he'd been when they were conceived and his job kept him out of town the majority of the time, but Andrew had made a deal with him so they wouldn't have to live with their homophobic uncle. The twins' father agreed to act as their guardian while they kept living in their late mother’s house; he showed up to visit for a weekend every couple months, ostensibly to check on them. Nicky had moved in when he wasn't willing to stay in the closet any longer.

Aaron's already bad mood had been exacerbated when Andrew had completely ignored him when he'd attempted to dissuade him from having anything to do with Neil Josten. Aaron liked having the ability to date but he decidedly didn't like his brother's choice in partner. He seemed to be the only who who was able to see how dangerous Josten was and how Andrew would only get hurt by associating with him.

Then had come the party. He hadn’t really wanted to go but he didn’t want to disappoint Katelyn. He knew that acting like a jealous dickwad wasn't his best moment but seeing Katelyn happy and laughing while dancing with someone else had hit him like a sucker punch. It had been fine, later, when it was just the two of them, but then she'd dragged him over to her friends and he was certain that they were all judging him and finding him lacking. He'd reacted badly at her pushiness and then things had escalated. He'd angrily stormed home when he hadn't been able to find Andrew to get a ride.

It certainly didn't help Aaron's black mood that Andrew was almost chipper (for him, which meant that he'd displayed at least two non-blank expressions that morning), clearly having had a better time at the party than Aaron had.

"Where's Josten?" Aaron grumbled as they reached the school parking lot.

"Why?"

"I need to ask him a question about our calculus homework," lied Aaron. He was going to make sure that asshole stayed away from his brother.

Andrew snorted in disbelief. "He's fulfilling his junkie heart by practicing exy before class. Don't do anything stupid."

"You worried I'm going to hurt your boy-toy?" said Aaron snidely.

"No," said Andrew, turning off the car. "I'm pretty sure he can take you."

Aaron glared. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side? Wasn't that what we promised in the first place?"

"Our agreement was to stick together. If you want me on your side then stop acting like such a bitch," said Andrew.

"You guys are aware that I'm in the car, right?" piped up Nicky from the backseat.

"Fuck you," snarled Aaron and exited the car, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

Aaron wasn't quite sure how he was going to convince Neil to leave Andrew alone. He decided that it would be easiest to pretend to be Andrew and tell Neil to stay the hell away from him.

Unfortunately it transpired that Neil was one of the few that had no trouble telling the twins apart.

"What do you want, Aaron?" he asked, coming to a halt next to him as the team headed into the showers. He was gross and sweaty and Aaron wished that Andrew was here to see him. He couldn't possibly be attracted to this, could he?

"What do you want with my brother?" blurted Aaron. He stopped. That hadn't been what he'd been meaning to say, but he decided to roll with it. "He's not an easy target."

"Target?" said Neil. "What could I possibly be targeting him for?"

"That's what I'm asking you!" huffed Aaron. "You're pursuing him and… no one's ever done that before. Everyone's scared of him. What's your angle?"

"Let me get this straight. Nobody's ever seen past Andrew's exterior before and you're trying to scare off the first person who does?"

"I won't let you hurt him."

"Has anyone ever told you that you're paranoid?"

"I don't know what your plan is, but it stops now," said Aaron. "Stay away from Andrew."

"It's pretty hilarious that you think you can dictate what I do," said Neil, his amused expression making Aaron want to punch him.

"Andrew promised me not to date just as much as I promised him," said Aaron. "So far it's been him pulling on my leash to prevent me from dating, but I can pull on his just as easily. The two of you are through."

"Oh, I get it what this is about," said Neil. "You're butthurt that Katelyn came to her senses about you."

"What it's about is keeping you and your dangerous past away from my brother!"

"My dangerous…" Neil said incredulously. "Are you talking about all those rumours? They're not true, idiot. How could I even manage half of what's said about me?"

"Then where were you before last spring? Why did you transfer here so suddenly?"

"Because my mother died," snapped Neil. Aaron breathed in sharply. "In a car crash," Neil continued brutally. "Sound familiar? And before that she wasn't the most reliable because she suffered from untreated schizophrenia." He laughed, completely devoid of mirth. "So what I want from Andrew? Is someone who understands." He shook his head in disgust and stalked off towards the showers, leaving Aaron feeling wrongfooted.

Maybe Neil's past wasn't as dangerous as Aaron had suspected. That didn't mean he was about to let Andrew keep dating if he wasn't.

Monday was not a great day for Katelyn. She'd spent Sunday hungover, vacillating between anger and despair. Her perfect year had fallen apart after only three weeks.

In chemistry on Monday morning, Aaron kept sending her unsubtle glances, looking like a chastised dog. She hardened her heart. Sure, she realized that she'd overreacted and been unfair but that didn't mean that he didn't owe her an apology.

By the end of the day she was exhausted and sad.

"Mama, I feel old," she said that evening, collapsing onto the couch.

"God spare me the dramatics of youth," laughed her mother.

In Spanish the following day, Neil didn't sit next to her. She stormed over to him once the teacher told them to work in pairs.

"Why are you all the way over here?" she demanded. "We can sit here if you really want, but I like the desks in the middle better."

He blinked at her owlishly. "You said that Team KAN is finished," he said slowly. "I assumed that you didn't want to associate with me anymore."

"What is it with you guys and your fragile self-esteem?" she huffed, taking a seat.

Neil's look was sardonic. "Not everyone has loving parents who told them they were worthwhile," he replied.

She slumped. "Way to make me feel like a jerk," she complained.

He smirked faintly. "If the shoe fits…"

"Hey!" She swatted him playfully. "I can't believe you're taking his side."

"I'm not," he replied. "Hell, if you want to change our team name to the We Hate Aaron Club, I'm all for it. I'm good at math; I'll be the treasurer."

She smiled sadly.

"But," Neil continued, "that doesn't mean I'm wrong. Honestly, between his absentee father, his drug addict mother, and Andrew, I would be surprised if Aaron has ever received praise or affection from his family."

"His… what?" said Katelyn, dumbfounded.

Neil paused. "You don't know?"

"How do you?"

"Andrew and I have discussed our lives, of course. We've been together for... weeks now," he said, sounding slightly shifty likely due to his own mysterious past. "Haven't you?"

"I… no," she said. They'd discussed future plans and current interests, but other than the single time he'd said that he and Andrew had only ever had each other, he hadn't said anything about his past or his family life. Or, she realized guiltily, she'd deliberately steered him away from those topics because it made her uncomfortable to think about how his mother was dead and she hadn't wanted him to talk about it. Because she'd wanted him to be a perfect boyfriend and to have a perfect relationship for her perfect senior year and she hadn’t really thought about what he wanted and needed at all.

"He's still the most to blame for our fight," she said stubbornly.

"I don't doubt it," said Neil. "He's a real asshole."

After her talk with Neil, Katelyn knew that she and Aaron had to have a serious talk and apologize to each other. Then they'd have to agree on several compromises if anything were to ever happen between them. She considered giving up on the whole thing but everything inside her rebelled at the idea. She'd never been very good at giving up, especially when she'd made up her mind. Not until she'd given it her all, at least.

She still felt that Aaron should make the first move but waiting for him to come to her was taking longer than she'd like. By Friday afternoon he still hadn't approached her and had partnered with someone else during Thursday's chemistry lab. He had also been avoiding the library and the cafeteria which were the only other two places they reliably saw each other.

A knock on the library table that she'd claimed after class brought her out of her thoughts. Looking up, she smiled gently, happy that her thoughts had somehow brought Aaron to talk to her.

Except, she realized after a couple moments of enduring a stony stare, this wasn't Aaron. She straightened.

"Andrew?" she asked, confused. He hadn't ever acted like he knew she existed. Granted, he acted that way towards everyone except Renee, Neil, and occasionally Aaron, but as she'd only been going to this school for a month she wasn't actually sure he was aware of who she was.

"You have to talk to Aaron," he said, without preamble.

"I don't have to do anything I don't want to," she replied automatically.

He inclined his head, as if conceding her autonomy. "He'll never make the first move to apologize."

"Not being willing to apologize isn't an attractive trait."

"I’m not the one who's attracted to him," he said extremely dryly. "You clearly want to talk to him, if the look you just gave me when you mixed us up is any indication."

"Fine," she huffed. "Maybe I do. What do you care? You're the one who doesn't like him dating in the first place."

"I don't like him getting hurt," corrected Andrew, audible threat in his tone.

"Is this a shovel talk?"

"No," said Andrew. "I think you're smart enough not to hurt him on purpose." He flicked his fingers like he was grasping for a cigarette. "He's been happier lately."

Katelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Excluding this last week, of course."

All of a sudden it was as if a mist cleared and Katelyn saw him clearly. Instead of a terrifying knife-wielding psychopath she could see someone who cared for his brother and wanted him safe and happy. She realized that while she'd been treating Aaron like a puppet for her own happiness, she'd been treating Andrew like an unfeeling monster.

"I'll talk to him," she said, her words thick.

He nodded once and turned away.

"Andrew, wait," she said hurriedly. She prided herself on being a kind and thoughtful person and her conscience wouldn't let her get away without telling him the truth, even if it impacted her own happiness. "I… bribed Neil to take you on a date so that I could go out with Aaron. I know that it was wrong and selfish of me and I'm sorry."

She waited for his reaction, wincing, sure he was going to make sure she would never go near his brother again. She wasn't quite sure what to expect - anger, violence, hurt - but she definitely wasn't expecting him to glance at the ceiling as if appealing for help from a higher deity and then sigh.

"Fine," he said.

"Fine?" she repeated, her voice an octave higher. "It's not fine! That's a horrible thing to do to someone."

"Don't worry about it," he said, again turning away.

"Waaaaaait," she said in realization. "You knew! You knew and you went out with him anyway."

Andrew didn't turn to face her, but his shoulders heaved as he sighed again.

"Oh my God, you took advantage of my plan so that you could date Neil!" she crowed. "Does he know that your dates aren't fake? He doesn't does he; he's completely oblivious. Oh, you owe me one!"

At that, he turned back sharply. "I do not owe you anything."

"You do," she countered. "It's so obvious, in retrospect. He's one of the only people you openly acknowledge. I sent the one person you were crushing on directly into your path."

"I did not need your help."

"That may be true, but I still did you a favour."

Again, he looked to the ceiling. "What do you want?" he asked reluctantly.

"End your deal with Aaron," she said.

He stepped forwards menacingly and she could see why everyone claimed he was dangerous. "That is a big favour."

"It's currently hurting both of you," she said. "It's eventually going to tear you apart instead of keeping you together. Plus, I assume you want to keep dating Neil even if Aaron's and my relationship doesn't pan out."

"Aaron won't agree to end it; not unless the two of you are dating again."

"Let me worry about that," she said. "You focus on wooing Neil."

His eyes narrowed.

"Honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about," she continued thoughtfully. "He brings you up in conversation way too much to be completely uninterested."

One of his eyebrows quirked before he smoothed his face completely. "It's a deal," he said. "You will mention this conversation to no one."

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said, humming to herself as he left the library, her mind abuzz with plans.

Chapter Text

Katelyn spent all weekend writing scripts and making her mother practice arguments with her.

"Mama, you aren't being mean enough!" she complained.

"Mija, you said this boy likes you," sighed her mother. "I hardly think he's going to call you a—" she consulted the notes that Katelyn had provided for the fake argument "—fugly slut." She scrunched up her nose. "And if he does, he doesn't deserve you anyway."

"You know I burst into tears when angry," said Katelyn. "I need to be prepared if it goes badly. Now, from the top."

In chemistry, she deliberately took a seat next to Aaron. He kept sliding glances in her direction all through class: part unsure, part concerned, part hopeful.

Once class had let out, she turned to him seriously. "We should talk," she said.

All the tentative hope that had made its way across his face when she'd sat near him shuttered out completely.

"It's not bad," she assured him.

"Now?" he asked, his voice small.

She nodded. "Let's get lunch."

They made their way to the cafeteria, Aaron hunching more and more in on himself. Finally they sat at an otherwise-abandoned table.

"First things first," said Katelyn. "I'm sorry that I was treating you like an accessory instead of like a person. I'm going to do better from now on. Second, if you're sorry, then apologize; don't wait for me to track you down."

"I'm sorry," said Aaron instantly. "I wasn't sure that you'd want to hear it."

"Then I would tell you that when you tried."

"I'm sorry for being a jerk," he said sincerely. "It's not an excuse, but I wasn't actually mad at you; some shit came up at home."

"Alright," she said. "Try not to do it again."

"So…" he said, fidgeting. "What now?"

"If we're dating then you at least have to manage civility to my friends," she said. "They're nice people and, honestly, having a support system makes life easier."

"I'll try," he said. "But you have to respect my boundaries and listen when I say that I don't want to do something."

"Fair enough," she said. "As long as you actually tell me what's bothering you and you're not just taking out your anger at others on me."

He paused. "I don't always want to talk about what's going on in my life."

"I'm not asking for you to tell me things you don't want to," she said. "But I do need to know if you're in a bad mood because of something I've done or because of something else. And, in the spirit of full disclosure, Neil did let me in on a couple facts about your home life since he thought I already knew."

Aaron shook his head. "I can't believe Andrew trusts him enough to tell him those things."

"Isn't it a good thing?" she pressed. "That your brother feels comfortable enough to talk to someone?"

"I guess," he said, sounding extremely unconvinced.

"Remember when you said you were going to try to be civil to my friends?"

"What, Josten, too?" he complained. "Really?"

"Neil's my friend," she said. "And he was the one who convinced me to give you a second chance."

Aaron blinked in surprise. "If you say so," he said reluctantly.

"Good," said Katelyn, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite. "Now, that was kind of heavy. Tell me a joke?"

He thought for a couple moments. "If the Silver Surfer and Iron Man teamed up they'd be alloys."

She giggled. "Are you telling bad chemistry jokes because all the good ones Argon?"

Despite the fact that Allison's 'small, intimate gathering' had turned into hundreds of drunk teenagers trashing her house (she'd had to spend a fortune on maid service so that the house was pristine before her parents returned) somehow everything had still worked out between her and Renee.

Renee showed up and spent most of the night with Allison; they had danced until Allison had had to go yell at the psychos on the roof and then had been distracted by trying to find where Katelyn had disappeared to. After that, Allison was convinced that they'd been about to kiss before Minyard had interrupted to remind Renee it was almost her curfew. Basically, Allison was sure they were girlfriends now; however, Renee's behaviour since the party indicated that she was unaware of this. She hadn't made any special effort to track Allison down and declare her intentions or to pull her into an abandoned room to kiss her senseless.

Honestly, Renee was going to have a lot to answer for once Allison made her aware that they were dating. Allison deserved to be showered in affection, dammit.

She dropped onto the bench beside Neil, who was eating lunch with Renee and Andrew. He paused his chewing and stared at her. Andrew continued to eat without acknowledging her and Renee looked up and nodded in greeting.

Neil swallowed his food and said, "Allison. This is unexpected."

"I'm not here to see you, shorty," she said. "Renee, hello. I haven't seen you since my party."

"We've seen each other every single school day since then," said Renee.

"But we haven't spoken."

"We don't usually," said Renee slowly, clearly confused.

"I figured that would change now that we're dating," said Allison.

"Now that we're what?"

Neil stood abruptly. "I have to go… away from here," he said.

Renee and Andrew had a short nonverbal conversation and Andrew stood to follow Neil. Neil took a couple steps away from the table before turning back.

"Hey, Allison?" he said with a pained expression on his face. "You can do this."

Allison straightened, regaining some of the confidence that she'd lost in the face of Renee's reaction. "Yes I can," she declared.

Once the boys had left, Renee gave Allison a look. "You can't actually assume that people will date you just because you demand it," she said.

"Are you sure?" asked Allison. "It's always worked for me in the past." She paused. "I thought, after Saturday—"

"How was I supposed to know that you weren't just amusing yourself? Or that I wasn't just a conquest? Are you even into girls?"

"I like girls," said Allison. "I like you."

"You don't know me," said Renee.

"I know enough. I know you're pretty and kind and smart and funny and way less sweet than everyone thinks."

"Why do you say that?"

"Honey, your best friend is Andrew Minyard. Unless he's a long term pity project, your friendship would never last if you were as innocent as you pretend."

"I didn't think you noticed me."

"Of course I did," said Allison, affronted. "Date me and I'll show you exactly how much I noticed you."

"That was closer to a command than a request," said Renee, smiling.

"Date me?" said Allison, making sure to pitch her tone up at the end.

"Okay," said Renee, and returned to her lunch.

"Okay?" repeated Allison. "That's it?"

"I've been into you since freshman year, Allison," said Renee. "All you had to do was ask."

"That's enough for today," said Nicky once he and Aaron had beaten the level. "I'm going to get food. Lunch?" He tossed his Xbox controller onto the coffee table as he stood, stretching his back until it popped.

"Order something in?" suggested Aaron, swapping his own controller for his phone.

"Sandwiches?" said Nicky.

"Whatever," replied Aaron.

"Andrew? Sandwiches?" Nicky turned to where Andrew was curled up in an armchair that he'd pushed into a sunbeam. He really was incredibly cat-like sometimes.

"Mmm," said Andrew, not looking up from his book.

"Okay," said Nicky. "I'm going to call Erik, see if he wants to join us. Maybe we'll go to a movie this afternoon?"

"Can't," said Aaron. "Homework."

"Andrew?"

"What?" Andrew blinked a couple times and looked up.

"Are you doing anything this afternoon?"

Andrew nodded once and let his attention turn back to his book. "Yeah," he said absently. "Neil."

Nicky opened and closed his mouth a couple times, clearly wanting to comment or joke, before he thought better of it. He left the room as he dialed his phone.

Katelyn had sent Aaron a text earlier and he replied, feeling light. It had been almost two weeks since their reconciliation and everything was going well. He'd had to spend a couple lunch periods with her friends but they hadn't been as bad as he had been expecting; they mostly let him sit in silence without bothering him but were welcoming if he decided to participate in their conversations.

When he looked up from his phone, Andrew was watching him. Aaron raised an eyebrow in question.

"So you're back with the cheerleader," said Andrew.

"She's not a cheerleader."

Andrew shrugged one shoulder. "She's unnecessarily cheerful."

"I know," said Aaron, unable to help the fond half-smile that overtook his face every time he thought about Katelyn. He liked her cheerfulness. He liked that even though the two of them had such different personalities they still fit together like puzzle pieces.

"Your face is embarrassing right now," said Andrew.

Aaron scowled. "Your face is embarrassing," he said petulantly. "What? Are you going to tell me I can't date her anymore?" demanded Aaron after waiting for Andrew to speak for several moments.

"No," said Andrew. "I was going to suggest that we terminate our agreement."

"What?" asked Aaron. "Why?"

Again, Andrew shrugged. "It doesn't make sense anymore," he said. "Plus, I don't want you to throw a tantrum and demand I stop dating every time you get dumped."

"Nice," said Aaron sourly. "So you're going to keep seeing Josten?"

"I'm not bored of him quite yet."

"What can you possibly see in him?"

"Would you rather I be panting after the same girl you are? Just be thankful that our tastes are so radically different that we're not attracted to the same people."

Aaron shuddered at the thought.

Andrew returned to his book and Aaron stared into space, his thoughts turning. Ending the agreement did make sense. He'd found it chafing in the past so he was unsure why he felt conflicted about letting Andrew out of his promise.

He passed his phone back and forth between his hands. "Hey, Andrew," he said tentatively. Andrew gazed at him steadily. "After we end the agreement… we're still going to stick together, right?"

Andrew snorted and stood, rolling his eyes at Aaron. "Always," he said, before leaving the room.

Andrew was barely listening to what Neil was saying. It wasn't even that Neil was being boring - Andrew was actually surprised at how engaging he usually found Neil (except when he got distracted talking about exy, but that happened with decreased frequency now that Neil spent more time with Kevin) - it was that Andrew's book was so interesting.

It was something that Renee had recommended, a mystery. It was outside of his usual preferred genre of sci-fi and he had not been expecting to enjoy it. But it was well written and he was pretty sure that he'd almost solved the case, except there were still a couple clues that didn't fit.

He and Neil were up on the roof, killing time between the end of classes and Neil's exy practice. Neil was working through his calculus homework while telling Andrew a story about something or other. He didn't seem to mind that he had almost none of Andrew's attention.

Andrew wasn't quite sure what they were to each other. They were stuck in a strange limbo. There really was no reason for them to continue to fake date now that he'd ended his deal with Aaron but neither he nor Katelyn had informed Neil of that fact. For his part, Neil didn't seem to be concerned that he was no longer receiving any bribes; he just continued on, making plans with Andrew and not objecting when Andrew referred to their outings as dates.

"Oh, shit," said Neil. "I'm going to be late for practice." He jumped to his feet and started frantically packing up his belongings.

"Hmmm," replied Andrew. Where the fuck does the purple ribbon fit in? he wondered.

"I'll see you later," said Neil, still shoving his things into his bag. He distractedly leaned down towards Andrew.

Andrew automatically tilted his face upwards, not taking his eyes off his page as he accepted Neil's chaste parting kiss. It wasn't until a couple sentences later that he realized what had happened. His thought processes screeched to a halt and he looked up sharply only to see Neil hurrying away. Neil stumbled and froze, before turning slowly to stare at Andrew with wide eyes.

"I, uh," he said. "I'm… was that okay?"

Andrew nodded dumbly.

"We should talk about this?" said Neil, taking a step towards him, before halting. "Fuck, not now, I have practice and Kevin's never going to let it go if I'm late. We'll talk later?" He fidgeted, and when he next spoke he was hesitant, "And maybe kiss again? But better?"

Andrew still couldn't find his voice so he nodded again.

"Okay," said Neil, a grin washing over his face like a sunrise. "Okay, good." He didn't leave, instead staring intently at Andrew.

"Practice," Andrew rasped.

"Right," said Neil. "Shit." He shook himself once and took off running.

Andrew shakily brought his hand up to press against where Neil had kissed him. Holy shit, he thought. His half-assed plan to get Neil to fall for him by fake dating had actually worked.

Where the fuck was his phone? He had to text Renee; she owed him ice cream.

Chapter Text

"Who's going to prom?" asked Allison, from her seat beside Renee. "I need numbers for the limo. Me and Renee are in." It was June and there were only two weeks left in the school year. They were all sitting together at lunch; it was one of the rare days that Katelyn had convinced Aaron to sit with her friends at the same time that Andrew, Neil, Renee, and Nicky all joined them.

"So are we," said Dan, indicating herself and Matt.

"Me and Erik, too," said Nicky.

Katelyn turned beseeching eyes on Aaron.

"Fine," he sighed. "But I'll only dance to slow songs."

"Sooo romantic," said Allison batting her eyelashes. "Kevin, are you in?"

"Yes," said Kevin. "I have already acquired a date."

"Speaking of romantic," muttered Matt.

"Who are you bringing?" asked Renee.

"Lakes," said Kevin. "She plays backliner for Southside's exy team."

"Obviously she's an exy player," said Dan. "You're only attracted to people whose exy abilities you respect."

"And Neil's already taken," said Matt, indicating where Neil was stealing fries off of Andrew's lunch tray farther down the table and frequently getting his hand slapped away.

"What's her first name?" Nicky asked Kevin.

Kevin paused. "I'm sure she has one," he said.

"Nice," scoffed Allison. "Hey, shorties," she called down to Andrew and Neil. "You two going to prom?"

"What'll you give me if I do?" asked Neil with a shark-like smile.

"I guess it's true what they say about fags and dykes," said a snide voice from nearby. "They flock together."

"Fuck off and die, Seth," said Allison without looking up at him.

"Honestly it's not like anyone else wants to have anything to do with you freaks," continued Seth. "Like the monster over here," he said, indicating Andrew. "Did you know that literally no one wanted anything to do with you until Allison and the new girl literally bribed the juvenile delinquent beside you to date you?" He smiled meanly. "Yeah, I overheard them talking about it. That's how he ended up on the exy team after missing tryouts. Why else would such a talentless hack be recruited?"

"If he's talentless then what are you?" asked Kevin. "Considering that all your stats are literally worse than his."

Seth shrugged and watched Andrew smugly for his reaction. Everyone else at the table also turned worried eyes on Andrew. Katelyn did not. Firstly, she was aware that he already knew, and secondly, she was busy avoiding the angry glare that Aaron had turned on her at Seth's words.

"Why's everyone staring?" asked Neil, sotto voce, successfully filching a fry.

"They are waiting for me to react to the news that you were bribed to ask me out," said Andrew.

"What, like tears?" Neil snorted. "As if I didn't tell you about the bribe ten minutes after it happened."

"What?" said Allison, gaping.

Neil looked at her seriously. "Allison, asking someone out only because of a bribe is a really terrible thing to do." His eyes were very earnest. "It's like you forgot that Andrew is a human being with feelings and hopes and dreams and—"

"That's enough," said Andrew.

"But I'm enjoying my moral superiority," complained Neil.

"But… why did you go along with it, Andrew?" asked Dan.

Andrew gestured to Neil. "I got what I wanted."

"And how many bottles of expensive whisky did you end up buying for us this year?" added Neil, addressing Allison.

Allison snapped her mouth shut. "Well played," she said, with a little salute. She flicked her fingers towards Seth, whose face had darkened when he realized his attempted shit-stirring had had no effect. "Are you still here?" she said dismissively. "Alright, boys, just for that you're required to come to prom. And I'm not offering a bribe."

"You mean to tell me," said Aaron, looking at Katelyn accusingly, "that my brother is dating that… that… Neil," he spat the name like a curse word, "that me walking in on them making out twice—"

"Learn to knock," said Neil hotly, his face red.

"—is because of you?" he finished.

"You should know by now how determined I am when I want something," said Katelyn.

Aaron slumped. "You're terrifying," he said. "I love you, but you're terrifying."

"I know," said Katelyn placidly.

Maybe the year hadn't passed exactly as she'd planned and it certainly hadn't been perfect, but it turned out that real life was far preferable to fantasy. There had been arguments and hurt feelings and disappointments but also joy and laughter and love. She didn't think she could have ever imagined such a group of people and she wouldn't trade them for any reason.