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Aaron was wishing death.
It was past midnight and he was trying to pinpoint the exact moment his life had gone wrong.
There were plenty of mistakes. Not going with Katelyn for the break? That was a big one. Not going to bed when he had the chance? Another strong option. Not leaving the room the second he realized Nicky was awake and bored? Probably the most damning one of all.
Now, he was stuck here—in one of the bedrooms at Abby’s house—with four absolute idiots.
His twin was on the edge of the bed, scrolling through his phone, completely uninterested in the world around him. Neil was beside him, equally quiet, though Aaron doubted he was paying attention to anything on Andrew’s screen.
Nicky was sprawled on his stomach in front of him, legs bent at the knee, his socked feet kicking idly at the air.
And Kevin—Kevin was on a mission.
“We should watch an Exy match,” Kevin said, for the third time in five minutes.
“No,” Andrew said flatly, not even looking up.
Aaron closed his eyes and exhaled, long and slow. “Shut the fuck up, Kevin.”
Kevin, predictably, ignored him. “It’s a good way to pass time. We can analyze plays, discuss tactics—”
Aaron let his head fall back against the wall with a quiet thud.
“You’re an addict Kevin Day,” Nicky said, kicking his foot toward him without real effort. “Seek help.”
Kevin looked personally offended. “We’re literally athletes. Watching professional games is research.”
Andrew still didn't glance up. “If you put on Exy, I will break the TV.”
“You’re kidding.”
Aaron cracked open an eye. “He’s not.”
Kevin made an exasperated noise and turned to Neil, his last hope. “You agree with me, right?”
Neil blinked, clearly considering it. Aaron held his breath because he would not put it past Neil to—
“No,” Neil said simply.
Aaron exhaled, slow and relieved.
Kevin looked betrayed. “Why not?”
Neil shrugged. “I don’t want to.”
Kevin stared at him like he had personally rewritten the laws of the universe. “You don’t want to?! You once ran seven miles in the rain to the stadium!”
The redhead didn’t deny it.
Before Kevin could recover, Nicky clapped his hands, already moving on. “Okay, okay, so no Exy. That means it’s game time!”
Aaron immediately didn’t like the direction this was going. His stomach sank. “What?”
“A game,” Nicky said. “What about Uno?”
Kevin made a considering noise. “I’ll play.”
All four pairs of eyes snapped to him.
Kevin squared his shoulders. “I used to play it, back in Evermore when we were little. Me and…” He trailed off.
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course.
“I’m in,” Neil said.
Aaron turned so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. “You don’t even know what Uno is.”
Neil just shrugged. “Does it matter?”
Nicky practically vibrated. “Yes! This is happening. Andrew?”
Andrew, still leaning against Neil, didn’t even look up. “No.”
“Bitte?” Nicky tried.
“No.”
Aaron almost smirked—until Josten, completely unbothered, just blinked at Andrew.
Andrew held his gaze, expression unreadable.
A few seconds passed.
Then, with a sigh, Andrew muttered, “Fine.”
Aaron had never hated Josten more.
Somehow, ten minutes later, he still wasn’t sure how the fuck he had ended up here.
One moment, they were arguing about Exy. The next, Nicky was on the floor, expertly shuffling a deck of cards—where the hell had those even come from?
“I haven’t played this in years,” Kevin admitted.
“I’ve never played,” Neil said.
Aaron wasn’t even remotely surprised. Neil had spent eight years of his life running, not sitting around playing dumb card games.
“You’ll pick it up fast,” Nicky assured him.
Andrew, still sitting cross-legged on the bed, flicked his lighter open and closed with slow, deliberate clicks. He looked mildly amused at the situation but, predictably, wasn’t saying much.
They all settled in a loose circle on the floor, Aaron leaning against the bed, while Neil sat just close enough to Andrew—again—that it made Aaron want to roll his eyes.
Nicky passed out the cards. “Okay, official rules—”
Andrew flicked his lighter shut. “No.”
Nicky blinked. “No?”
“No need.”
Aaron sighed. “Your boyfriend here—”
Andrew leveled him with a blank stare.
Aaron decided he did not have the energy to argue.
Nicky just grinned. “Let’s start.”
Aaron exhaled. This would be over fast, and then he could go to bed.
He should’ve known better.
Kevin went first, scowling at his hand before finally slapping down the first card—a blue five—with just a little more force than necessary.
Andrew placed his card without hesitation, barely sparing the cards a glance.
Seated to his left, Neil was next. He studied his cards with the same sharp focus he had used when analyzing one of Kevin’s Raven drills. His eyes flicked over them, calculating, before he blinked—slow and deliberate.
Then, without hesitation, he placed a blue nine down.
Aaron’s eyebrows twitched. Something was off. But before he could put his finger on it, Nicky played next, smirking as he placed a Draw Two.
Aaron scowled. “Oh, come on.” He grabbed two new cards and shot Nicky a glare.
“Just play, dear cousin,” Nicky said, grinning.
Aaron sighed and put down a card, keeping his mouth shut. Fine. Whatever. At least this would be over fast.
That assumption lasted all of thirty minutes.
Neil kept winning.
Over and over.
Aaron wasn’t even sure how. The guy had never played before. He barely reacted when he placed a card.
And yet—somehow—every round ended with him throwing down his last card while the rest of them were still scrambling.
Kevin was the first to crack. “There’s no way.” He said, exasperated. “You just learned how to play.”
Neil blinked at him. “It’s not that hard.”
Aaron exhaled slowly, rubbing his temple as a headache began to settle in.
Nicky, now again sprawled on his stomach, kicked his socked feet in the air. “Luck is a skill, my dudes. And Neil here is thriving.”
“Nicky.”
“Kev, shut up and play.”
Aaron gritted his teeth as Neil casually won again.
Kevin let out a sharp breath and threw his cards down. “This is bullshit!”
Neil, ever infuriating, just blinked at him. “It’s just luck.” His voice was light, almost too light.
Aaron glanced at him, then at Kevin—who looked ready to flip the entire deck over.
Kevin jabbed a finger in Neil’s direction. “No. Nothing is just luck. You don’t even understand the rules properly.”
Neil tilted his head. “I understand enough.”
Kevin let out a frustrated noise, turning to the others as if expecting backup.
Andrew, who had been silent until now, finally spoke. "It's a game, Day. Relax.”
“How am I supposed to relax when he’s winning every round without even trying?”
Neil looked down at his empty hands. “Would you rather I try?”
Kevin gaped at him. “Are you—” He turned to Nicky. “You’re seeing this, right?”
Nicky, who had been watching the whole thing like it was the best entertainment of his life, just grinned. “Oh, absolutely.”
Kevin turned back to Neil. “One more round.”
Neil shrugged. “Okay.”
Aaron sighed, pressing his fingers to his temples. “Can we not?”
“No,” Kevin snapped. “We are doing this. Properly this time.”
Andrew set his cards down. "You assume he wasn’t playing properly before."
Kevin shot him a glare. "Stay out of this."
Andrew smirked, unbothered.
Aaron narrowed his eyes.
Nicky clapped his hands together. “Alright, alright, enough bitching. We’re playing again. Let's start.” And with that, the cards were shuffled again.
Aaron picked up his new cards, but this time, he focused on watching rather than playing.
He watched everything. Every glance. Every slight movement.
And sure enough—there it was.
Andrew played a card that shouldn’t have done him any favors. But not even a second later, Neil placed down the exact card needed to keep his streak going.
Aaron frowned.
Another round.
Again.
And again.
By the time Neil was on the verge of winning again, Aaron was practically vibrating with frustration.
Andrew, completely unfazed, placed another card down—perfectly setting Neil up.
Neil followed without hesitation, placing his final card.
Just like that, he won. Again.
And Aaron finally lost it.
“You fuckers,” he hissed. “You’re communicating.”
Neil blinked. “Are we?”
“Yes, you fucking are.” Aaron turned to Kevin. “Are you seeing this?”
Kevin was gripping his cards so tightly they might as well have been weapons. “Oh, I see it.”
“Why are you so mad?” Neil asked, looking genuinely confused.
“Because you’re cheating!” Kevin and Aaron snapped in unison.
“You’ve barely drawn any cards. I should’ve known something was off.”
Neil blinked. “I don’t see how that proves anything.”
“You don’t see— Are you serious? You’re telling me you, of all people, are just naturally good at a game you’ve never played before?”
Neil shrugged. “Maybe.”
Kevin let out a strangled noise and threw his hands up.
Aaron, however, wasn’t about to let it go. “You’re playing for him,” he accused, looking directly at his twin.
Andrew gave him an unimpressed look. “Am I?”
“Yes!” Aaron snapped. “You’ve been watching his cards more than your own!”
“Maybe he just likes looking at him.”
“Oh, fuck off, Nicky!”
“What? it's true.”
“You’re enabling them.”
“I’m observing them. There’s a difference.”
Aaron scoffed. “Yeah? And what exactly are you observing?”
Nicky grinned. “True love.”
“Shut up Nicky!” All four snapped.
“Rude.”
“He hasn’t lost a single round,” Aaron pressed, snapping the focus back to Neil. “He doesn’t even look like he knows what he’s doing half the time, and yet somehow, magically, he wins over and over?”
Kevin, fueled by rage, added, “And Andrew, somehow has just the right card to keep Neil in play every single time?”
Neil, clearly unbothered, tilted his head. “Maybe he's just better at Uno than you.”
Kevin lunged at him.
“YOU MOTHER—”
Aaron barely caught him in time.
“Sit down,” Aaron growled, forcibly shoving Kevin back into place.
Kevin seethed but begrudgingly sat. His glare could’ve melted steel.
Nicky, meanwhile, was wheezing. “Oh my God. This is the best night of my life.”
“Shut up,” Aaron snapped.
“Don’t be mad just because you suck at Uno.”
Aaron turned his glare back to Neil. “You—shut the hell up.”
Neil, insufferable as ever, just smiled.
Aaron exhaled sharply. “That’s it. We’re playing again, and this time, no cheating.”
Kevin slammed his fists on the floor. “Yes! Let’s go!”
Neil just stretched his arms lazily. “Okay.”
“Fine.”
They shuffled. They played.
Neil. Won. Again.
Kevin shot to his feet. “YOU ABSOLUTE—”
“YOU ASSHOLES!”
Nicky, now fully on the verge of tears from laughter, was wheezing into the carpet. “I can’t—I can’t breathe—”
No one acknowledged him.
Kevin was gripping his own knees like he needed them to keep from collapsing. “I—You manipulative little—”
Andrew moved. Not much. Just the barest shift of his fingers.
Kevin, mid-motion, sucked in a sharp breath.
Aaron gritted his teeth. “Of course, you’d defend him.”
“You’re delusional.”
“Delusional?” Aaron nearly laughed. “Of this? Of whatever weird, telepathic bullshit you two have going on?”
Andrew shrugged.
Aaron wanted to scream.
Kevin let out a wordless sound of frustration, practically vibrating. “We’re playing one more round—”
Andrew tilted his head. “No.”
“No?” Kevin echoed, as if he couldn’t comprehend the word.
“This is getting boring.”
Kevin looked about five seconds away from committing a felony.
Aaron pinched the bridge of his nose. He exhaled slowly, weighing his life choices. He was exhausted. He should have just gone with Katelyn, avoided this circus, and actually gotten some sleep.
God, he missed Kate.
Aaron sure as hell wouldn’t be spending Christmas here next year.
Neil, unhelpful as ever, stretched his arms lazily. “I’m tired too,” he murmured, leaning his head on Andrew’s shoulder.
“Of course, you—”
“Go the fuck to sleep!”
All five of them froze.
At the doorway stood Abby, hair mussed, arms crossed, face set in the deadliest glare Aaron had ever seen on her.
The room fell into a deathly silence. Even Nicky—who had been laughing his ass off for the past five minutes and had an unfortunate knack for digging his own grave—didn’t make a sound.
Abby narrowed her eyes, scanning all of them. “Do any of you even realize it’s two in the damn morning?”
No one dared to respond.
“You are in my house.”
Still, silence.
“You have been yelling for the past twenty minutes.”
Nicky opened his mouth—probably to defend himself—but one sharp look from Abby had him snapping it shut.
“I don’t care who started it. I don’t care who won. I don’t care if it was rigged.” Her gaze flicked to Andrew, who, for once, didn’t look completely detached from reality. “You are all going to shut up and go to sleep.”
Kevin, impressively, looked like he wanted to argue.
Aaron, sensing his imminent doom, jabbed him in the ribs before he could. “Got it. We’re done.”
“Yeah,” Nicky agreed quickly. “Totally done. No more noise. Sleep is happening.”
“Not. Another. Word.” Then, with one final warning glance, Abby turned and walked away.
No one moved for a full five seconds.
Then, under his breath, Kevin muttered, “It was rigged.”
Aaron threw a pillow at him.