Chapter Text
Neil was suffocating.
He rolled his neck as he walked back to Hellton, his joints cracking yet providing no comfort for the stiffness. He trudged sluggishly, blinking in an attempt to make the flecks of white clouding his eyes disappear. He adjusted the straps of his backpack with a sigh, shoulders aching with the weight of… well, everything.
Ever since his parents cut him off — financially, that is (they still controlled every other aspect of his life), his 2 part-time jobs were barely able to keep him afloat. He couldn’t really complain though — he was lucky enough to get jobs he liked. One as a tutor for younger kids — he made sure he never made them feel like they’re stupid or bad. (He made sure he never made them feel how his father made him feel.) Another as an intern at the hospital — he didn’t want to pursue it as a full-time career, but at least they’re paying him even though he’s an intern. (Sure, he was young, but he was good.)
Yet supporting himself meant working whenever he could, even on the Sunday morning before his final three assessments of the term.
Stumbling back to his room, Neil relished the darkness and silence of the empty room. He quickly shrugged off his work clothes and into his sweats, tossed his bag to the side, and threw himself to the floor. A while back, he had discovered laying on the floor helped regulate and ground him, so he made it a habit that whenever he got overwhelmed, he would allow himself some “floor time”.
Taking several deep breaths, he worked up the energy to crawl over to his desk, turn on the colour-changing LED light, and take his laptop and iPad out from his backpack. Still on the floor, Neil put on his headphones with his study playlist, and begrudgingly started to go through the hundreds and thousands of pages of the Google Slides his teachers have posted.
He managed to go through a decent amount of content before he was interrupted by a couple of soft knocks at the door.
“Come in,” Neil called out, tearing his gaze away from his laptop.
Todd’s grin immediately washed over Neil with a wave of comfort.
“Hi,” Todd said gently, kneeling down to meet Neil’s eyes.
“Hi,” Neil returned, gazing adoringly into his.
“We’ve just had lunch. We’re gonna grab our stuff and have a study group. You wanna join us?”
Oh. Lunch. Right.
“Not really, my love, I’m sorry. I’m still a bit overstimulated from work,” Neil whispered quietly, looking down.
“You have nothing to apologise for, my love,” Todd replied gently, running his hand through Neil’s hair and placing a tender kiss on his forehead, “text me if you want anything.”
“I will,” Neil hummed, sharing one more smile with Todd before going back to his laptop as Todd left the room.
Letting out a sigh, Neil shuffled around on the floor, getting into a comfortable position and re-directing his focus to the Google Slides.
He was trying to ignore his growing headache when his attention was stolen by the notification from his phone. Heaving out yet another sigh, he grabbed his phone and clicked into the group chat.
keating’s children (he loves us trust)
16/11/2025 13:47
what is love
hey @mr daddy issues, sorry to disturb you, but can you explain what the action potential is again?
gender? i hardly know her!
neillllllllllllll
neilly
who’s there
char you don’t even do bio
gender? i hardly know her!
neil john keating
n e i l
mom
mr daddy issues
have y’all watched amoeba sisters’ videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=7NY6XdPBhxo&ab_channel=AmoebaSisters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uty1gne6zs&ab_channel=AmoebaSisters
char wtf
gender? i hardly know her!
ok we’re stupid but we’re not that stupid
also don’t lie we all know you wish that was your name
mr daddy issues
do y’all want me to come explain it to you?
i mean wbk but you don’t gotta call me out like that
whitman jr
you don’t have to come if you don’t feel up to! it’s ok if you’re still overstimulated :)
baby don’t hurt me
pure
gender? i hardly know her!
simp
also i’m your best friend??? my entire existence revolves around calling you out
“oveRStIMulaTEd” imagine being neurodivergent lol
baby don’t hurt me
homophobia??? during pride month???
es50
First of all, it’s November.
And you’re one to talk, Charlie. How did you manage to spell “hypothalamus” 3 different ways (all incorrectly, by the way) on the same page?
gender? i hardly know her!
ok in my defense
i have a thicc ass
putting sexy in dyslexia since 2k25
WAIT
who’s there
lmaooooooooooooo
what is love
ok but going back to the topic at hand
baby don’t hurt me
ew biology
gender? i hardly know her!
mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell
mr daddy issues
sorry y’all, my head kinda hurts rn and i don’t think i can handle the big lights in the common room
but i can send a voice message here?
gender? i hardly know her!
“big lights” how autistic are you
who’s there
you’re literally sitting on the floor with your noise cancelling headphones rocking back and forth rn
gender? i hardly know her!
i never said i wasn’t autistic
what is love
a voice message would be great, neil
tysm!!! <333
also please drink some water and text us if you want painkillers ;-;
baby don’t hurt me
or if you want @whitman jr
mr daddy issues
lol yeah i will thanks
*voice message 6:07*
es50
Charlie, no.
gender? i hardly know her!
SIX SEVENNNNNNN
OH DAMN HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS GONNA SAY THAT :((((((((
what is love
ANYWAY thanks neil i think i understand enough to teach the rest of them :)
who’s there
feel free to join us anytime if you’re up for it!
mr daddy issues
thanks guys :)
Setting down his phone, Neil rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to ease the pounding in his head. He did remember to take a sip of water before turning back to the harsh brightness of his laptop.
He had barely gotten through one Google Slide when his phone chimed again.
keating’s children (he loves us trust)
16/11/2025 15:07
baby don’t hurt me
@mr daddy issues ok but like what the fuck
gender? i hardly know her!
yeah neil what the fuck
whitman jr
?
gender? i hardly know her!
idk i just like fucking neil
WAIT
NO
HOLD ON
WOAH
STOP
baby don’t hurt me
i was gonna write my question but i accidentally hit send lol
gender? i hardly know her!
acc don’t stop ;P
who’s there
what is happening
baby don’t hurt me
ok wait but /gen
what’s the difference between dependent contractor and employees
cause like
aren’t they both getting paid by the host business
what is love
rip @mr daddy issues
bio AND bs is BRUTAL
gender? i hardly know her!
+ trig lol
who’s there
you poor unfortunate soul
thoughts and prayer
gender? i hardly know her!
they’re honestly expecting neil, a dyslexic audhd kid, to sit through 3 assessments in the span of 1 school day
i smell ableism
whitman jr
at least he’ll be done with all his assessments after tmr! :D
gender? i hardly know her!
todd you are so pure so baby so precious must be protected at all costs
neil if you don’t marry him i will
or marry both of us
actually all 7 of us should just marry each other
what is love
*in hades’ voice, radiating sass and zest* and hhhhhhhWHY hhhhhhhhyWOULD i HHHHHHHHHWANT to do that?????????
who’s there
pjo musical reference??? in this economy???
gender? i hardly know her!
<<<<<<<TRUE LOVE3333333333333
es50
Tax benefits.
baby don’t hurt me
LMAO CAM
who’s there
REAL
mr daddy issues
@baby don’t hurt me depends on the contract signed
dependent contractors have a different contract to employees
they’re basically employees just not legally
baby don’t hurt me
ahhhhhh okok thanks neil <3
mr daddy issues
npnp <3
gender? i hardly know her!
NEIL POOKIE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH :DDDDDDD <3333333333333333
mr daddy issues
i love you too :)
gender? i hardly know her!
*GASP*
ZE BETRAYAL
FROM MY OWN MOTHER
baby don’t hurt me
???
gender? i hardly know her!
NO HEARTS FOR ME?????
I’M HEARTBROKEN
what is love
neil’s the mom friend who takes care of everyone bUT HIMSELF
gender? i hardly know her!
BUT WAIT
I DON’T EVEN HAVE A HEART TO BE BROKEN
BECAUSE YOU NEVER GAVE ME ONE
who’s there
*gently shoves todd in front of neil*
whitman jr
lol you guys take care of him just as much as i do!
don’t devalue your efforts :)))
es50
Again: pure.
mr daddy issues
i love you too, char :) <3
also i’m staying in my room instead of forcing myself to go to the common room because i’m overstimulated
that’s taking care of myself :P
Neil put his phone away before the others could send another message. Yawning, he rubbed the back of his neck, frowning at how stiff it felt. Letting out yet another sigh, he once again focused his attention to the blinding laptop, shrugging off the white spots clouding his eyes as just exhaustion. Neil must have yawned a thousand times while reading the Google Slides, but at least he was able to lock in, despite his throbbing head.
Until another message caught his attention. Again.
keating’s children (he loves us trust)
16/11/2025 17:24
gender? i hardly know her!
@mr daddy issues SOH CAH TOA SOH CAH TOA SOH CAH TOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIWJo5uK3Fo&ab_channel=JonathanMann
baby don’t hurt me
dude leave him be he’s alr overstimulated
es50
@what is love and I can try and help you before we ask Neil?
gender? i hardly know her!
OMG CAMMIE OFFERING TO HELP ME HAVE I DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN
es50
Oh.
“Cammie” is Not GoodTM.
what is love
char c’mon put away your phone and let us help
gender? i hardly know her!
HOLY SHIT THE GINGERS ARE GANGING UP ON ME HELPPPPPP
wait shit i’m so sorry @es50
not good like /j or /gen?
es50
“Cammie” is Not GoodTM. /j
gender? i hardly know her!
oh slay i love you cammieeeeeeee
es50
…I love you too, Charlie.
gender? i hardly know her!
:D
es50
Trig, Charlie.
gender? i hardly know her!
:(
es50
… :)
gender? i hardly know her!
:DDDDDDDDD
ok but like /gen i don’t really understand the way you teach?
like y’all are words and numbers
but i need
like
triangles?
if that makes sense
who’s there
?????
whitman jr
i think they need neil’s help bc they learn differently from meeks and cam
like you know which length/angles to pluck into the formulas
but they don’t understand it like that
they need to actually draw it out and see which sides/angles are doing what
rather than just blindly shoving numbers into the formulas
gender? i hardly know her!
YES THAT
todd have i mentioned how much i love you <33333
whitman jr
lol i love you too char <3
maybe i can try to explain it to you that way?
neil talks out loud enough that i kinda know his thought process lol
mr daddy issues
i’m sorry todd, i didn’t mean to disturb you :(
gender? i hardly know her!
oh so NOW you’re online
whitman jr
nonono it’s fine my love, i like listening to your voice <3
mr daddy issues
<3
gender? i hardly know her!
can y’all stop being gay on main and acc help me with trig
who’s there
you’re literally still on the floor
whitman jr
that’s ok! do you wanna work on the floor?
gender? i hardly know her!
…is that ok?
whitman jr
ofc that’s ok!
gender? i hardly know her!
…then yes please :)
whitman jr
:D
gender? i hardly know her!
:D
what is love
pure
baby don’t hurt me
angel
mr daddy issues
thanks todd :)
@gender? i hardly know her! i can help you after dinner if you still don’t understand!
gender? i hardly know her!
fine. just cause i like todd. your best friend title is on the line tho. be warned.
Despite his exhaustion, Neil couldn’t stop the small, amused grin from spreading on his face. With his spirits lifted just a tiny bit, briefly masking the pounding in his head, Neil once again turned his focus to his Google Slides.