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As soon as Neil is off the bus he is sprinting to his apartment so he can catch the rest of Andrew’s game. He had started watching as soon as he got on the bus after his own game had finished. It was both their first games of the season but for Neil this was his first game in the pros. He had been recruited by the RedSock Lions after his last game with the foxes. They had come to watch Neil in-particular after hearing and seeing how the striker from Millport was now thriving as the captain of the once looked down upon foxes. And they weren’t disappointed. Neil got his second championship win as captain, this along with all the videos they received off Coach Wymack of Neil leading practices, pushed them to go for Neil. Like Wymack, they wouldn't take no for an answer. So that night Neil put pen to paper and signed a two year contract with the RedSock Lions. He left with the promise that at the end of those two years, he would more than likely be recruited again by them but that time it could be a long tern contract.
When Neil reached his apartment door he quickly unlocked it, dropped all his stuff in the hallway before slamming the door shut and racing towards the couch to find the remote. Flicking through the channels until he finally found the one that was broadcasting Andrews game wasn't a struggle, as Neil didn’t have many channels on his tv. Upon finding the right one, he was able to see the winning goal which put Andrews team just a point in front of the other team. Neil watched as the other team mates on Andrew’s team ran at each other celebrating their win. He could tell through the tv how ecstatic the team was, as well as their fans as the camera panned to the stands as they were jumping up and down cheering in congratulations. Neil also watched as Andrew took his helmet off and went to put his racket and helmet on the bench before meeting the rest of the team in the centre of the court to shake hands with the opposite team.
Once the teams had shaken hands the screen changed to two men and a woman sat around a table who then began commenting on the ins and outs of the game before it showed the interviews with both teams. Neil didn’t pay attention to what they were saying, instead he got up and padded towards the kitchen whilst texting Andrew, even though he knew that Andrew wouldn't see it until he got to his car.
{8:48pm}
Neil: Looks like you actually tried tonight, are you sure you don't have a fever?
Neil huffed a laugh at his text as he got a glass of water. When he got back to the tv Andrew and one of his team mates were already half way through their interview. Again Neil didn’t really pay attention as he messaged back the older foxes who had messaged him, congratulating him on his own win tonight. Also ignoring all the notifications that popped up from his multiple social media accounts. That was one of the cons of the contract. They told Neil he must be more active on the internet so he could interact with fans whilst also promoting different brands that were linked with his team. He rarely went on them anyway.
His attention peeked towards the interview on the tv when he heard his own name.
“Andrew as you may know one of your former team mates from the foxes, Neil Josten, played his first game tonight in the pros winning 12-5. I was wondering, now he's pro and on another team are you excited to play against him for once?” The interviewer asks. Neil is probably the only one who sees how Andrew’s face twitches at the question as if he is trying to conceal a smirk, yet his cold demeanour does not change as he replies with, “Not really.”
You can hear in the interviewer’s voice that he wasn't expecting that answer as he says, “Oh and why is that?”
Andrew doesn't even need to think about his answer, “because I hate him.” At that Neil can't help but roll his eyes before a small smile tugs at the corner of his lips. His response causes his team mate stood at the side of him to look at Andrew puzzled, but he doesn't bother to look at her.
“You hate Neil Josten? Since when Mr. Minyard because it didn’t seem that way when watching you play together on the court when you were foxes?” Now the interviewer is intrigued by what Andrew has revealed and intends to get all the answers possible. However, that becomes seemingly impossible as Andrew tips his head back slightly and says, “ I’ve always hated him.” As soon as the words leave his mouth he is turning around and heading towards the changing rooms leaving the interviewer stood there dumbfounded along with his team mates who then tries to wrap up the interview quickly.
======
Andrew despised that he was now required to take part in more interviews since he went pro. When signing the contract with the Houston Hornets it was something they wouldn't budge on. He did however make them more flexible when it came to him needing to take part in photoshoots. He only had to do them once a year, but even that was more than he had wished.
Andrew didn’t mean to follow Kevin, but he joined what seemed to be the only team that would be able to be persuaded into changing the contents of their contracts. The only thing worse than being on the same team as Kevin was the distance that separated him and Neil. Though he continuously said it never bothered him, but in reality he wished to be close to Neil again. The fact that Andrew actually missed someone for once rang alarm bells in his head because he never cared still doesn't care about anyone before. So when he sits on FaceTime to Neil late at night, he convinces himself he can wait to run his fingers through Neil’s hair a couple weeks months longer, that he means nothing still- even though he means everything to Andrew.
Now as he stands in front of these cameras and a man who threatens to pry further into his life, where it is not his place or right, Andrew waves his questions off by simply stating what he always has “I’ve always hated him.” With that he decides he's just about done with the interview and heads to have a shower and change letting the interview and everyone else watching to spin that in their own way because at the end of the day he doesn't care.
Upon leaving the stadium Andrew swiftly pulls out his cigarettes and then proceeds to light one as he makes his way to his car. Leaning against the hood of his car he takes his phone out from his jumper pocket to see a certain junkie had messaged him. Andrew knew Neil would most probably seen the end of his game and the interview. He blows out a puff of smoke as he opens Neils message which is a snarky comment on his win but nothing on the interview but he doubted Neil would let it slide. Before he jumps into his car he throws his cigarette on the floor and then starts to write his response back to Neil.
{9:52}
Andrew: I've always hated you.
When the message has sent Andrew heads to the drivers side and climbs in, discarding his phone on the passenger seat not bothering to wait for Neils reply, starts the car and sets off to his apartment.
He doesn’t like his apartment because of how empty it is. It’s not exactly empty of furniture because Nicky basically decorated and furnished it for him. Andrew really didn’t have the effort or patience for it so he let Nicky do it- it was empty because it was only occupied by himself. For the past few years he always shared a room with someone being in the dorms. He only started to get comfortable with that when Neil came along but now he stands in his kitchen and the quite is severely drowning.
Luckily for him his phone rings and when he picks it up the screen is lit up with a picture of Neil (in the picture he is looking away from camera and has a tiny grin on his face). Andrew takes a second to look at the photo before answering.
“Hey.” Neil says when he answers.
“Hi.” Andrew replies.
“You up for video calling tonight?” Neil asks.
“Sure.” Since there isn’t else to say Andrew ends the phone and walks to his bedroom where his laptop lies on the end of his bed. After turning it on he gets changed into a pair of grey sweatpants but forgoes putting on a top feeling comfortable enough to just wear his armbands. As he settles against the headboard of his bed he video calls Neil. He doesn’t have to wait long before Neil appears on his computer screen. Seemingly in the same attire as Andrew, this makes his stomach flip because they are both comfortable with this and each time something like this happens it reminds Andrew just how real Neil is.
They end up staying awake longer than Andrew anticipated as time seemed to fly by when talking to Neil, however neither of them intended to fall asleep whilst still on facetime. When Andrew woke up and saw Neil lay fast asleep on the screen in front of him, he couldn’t help but stay and simply watch the rise and fall of his chest for a couple of minutes before ending the call before Neil woke up and noticed.
The evidence would lie in his recent calls.
======
Neils plans for the day consisted of going for his daily run and then training later on in the afternoon. So once he wakes up, he takes his time getting ready into his normal running outfit and then goes to the kitchen to grab a granola bar. As he’s sat at the breakfast bar he decided to take out his phone to message Andrew to see when they could next see each other. But when he looks at his phone he sees he has multiple notification from messages to twitter mentions blowing up his phone. Neil chooses to answer all, or at least most, of his messages first as they are from the older foxes and some off his current team mates. He opens the foxes group chat first as it seems that has been active since early this morning.
The foxey family
queenofgays: GUYSS!!!!
queenofgays: EVERYONE THINKS ANDREW AND NEIL HATE EACH OTHER!!
daddymatt: why???
queenofgays: because Andrew said he hated Neil in an interview
queenofgays: it's all over the exy gossip websites
captaindan: they’ve obviously spun it the wrong way
queenofgays sent an attachment: www.exyworld.org/AndrewMinyardvNeilJosten
queenofgays: most of the titles are about their potential “rivalry”
sassybitch: you can’t blame them when Andrew says it with a fucking monotone voice and scares the interviewer half to death
queenofexy: they just want to start drama, that’s what they are basically paid to do
minyard: but I do hate him
sassybitch: of fucking course you do
captaindan: well it’s all they’re gonna ask you about now until they know the full story
queenofexy: you both need to focus on exy rather than creating drama
god4ever: Kevin it’s harmless
queenofexy: I’m just saying, don’t come complaining to me when you can hardly play anymore because you would rather stir things in the media than focus on exy
aminyard: sincerely sorry that we don’t all fuck our stickball rackets like you dear Kevin.
dr.minyard: why do you all make me go through this torture
sassybitch: oh my dear little delicate flower, nobody cares
dr.minyard left the group
god4ever added dr.minyard to the group
dr.minyard: just let me LEAVE
minyard: if I have to go through this shit you do too
queenofgays: ….okaayyyyy
He hadn’t realised that such a simple comment, to him and Andrew anyway, could possibly cause this much of a reaction from people. So after reading the foxes group chat he decided to leave his phone at home whilst he went for his morning run. Which turned out to be a rather stupid idea because when he returned he had multiple missed calls varying from his coach and PR manager to Andrew.
How could one comment cause all this?
======
Turns out it could cause a lot of drama as it was still the top talked about topic in the exy world, even after a week. As Neil was stood in the middle of some derelict building getting his photo taken again and again for Nikes new shoes and line of tracksuits (which was bound to end up blown up on some billboard or on the cover of some magazine). He knew the interview that came next wouldn’t go without them asking about the most talked about sentence this week.
‘I’ve always hated him.’
Soon enough the photoshoot was over and Neil was being ushered towards a rather petite woman who was sat on lime green couches in the corner of the room. When he approached the woman slowly rose to her feet to greet him, when Neil looked at her he knew she was the type of peppy cheerleader type which would make this interview 10 times worse.
“Hello, nice to meet you Neil, I’m Pepper Knowles.” She said in her oh-so cheery voice.
How ironic, Neil thought as he shook her hand before sitting down.
She started with the boring questions about his team and how was it transitioning to playing at college to finally being at the pros? She continued to ask Neil questions about his current team and how they think the rest of the season will go after starting off on a high until she finally cut to the question she was so desperate to ask.
“Soooo…Neil,” She said as a smile slowly crept onto her face “ What everyone is dying to know is, what is your response to what Andrew Minyard said last week after his game?”
Before she had even finished her question Neil had already scoffed at what she was about to say or ask. He knew it would come up, especially since this was the first interview with either of them since this all started. He knew he should really take Kevin’s advice, which he had been happy to shove down Neil’s throat every chance he got.
‘Just brush it off. Tell them how they’re wrong. You don’t need this Neil, neither of you do, you’ve only just joined the pros. Be more mature…” Neil had stopped listening after the fifteenth message and fourth phone call.
“Ah, well there’s nothing really to say. Andrew has always hated me.” it wasn’t hard to mask his voice with such sincerity to make it believable.
For some reason it looked like Pepper had got the answer she was looking for within Neils words.
“Another question for you Neil. Why exactly does Andrew hate you?” She says with a raised eyebrow.
“You see, I’m not quite sure. It might just be because I like to run my mouth a lot, guess it got on his nerves, not like I care.” He says shrugging his shoulders.
Her whole face brightens at his response, as if she’d found a goldmine.
“One last question for you Neil Josten, has this hatred that Andrew Minyard has towards you turned into an all out rivalry between you and your ex team mate?” She looks at Neil like he holds the answers to the universe on the tip off his tongue.
He considers how he should answer for a minute before he finally settle on, “ Call it what you like, because at the end of the day I’m the one that’s going to be thrashing him when we come face to face on the court.” Neil knows how smug he sounds but he can’t find himself caring, as the ball was now in Andrew’s court and Neil was practically buzzing with excitement to see how Andrew would play his serve.
======
Andrew knew in the back of his mind that Neil wouldn’t let this go. He knew he would open his stupid mouth and say something to try and get the upper hand on him. What he didn’t know was that it would be in a magazine three weeks after his little comment. As his eyes skimmed the article until he got to the actual interview between Pepper Knowles and the one and only, Neil Josten. He read it and then re read it, and then read it a third time. Each time, he could hear Neil’s voice in his head, ‘not like I care.’ Oh he was gonna make Neil care.
After dissecting the article he decides he isn’t going to wait for his next interview. He is going to take it into his own hands and bring Neil down from his high horse sooner rather than later.
Andrew pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and swiftly opened twitter where he began to form his own response. He didn’t need to plan it, or draft it, the words just seem to flow straight out of him.
Andrew minyard
@aminyard
Goalie for Houston Hornets. The better twin
following 80 followers 3.4 million
Andrew minyard @aminyard 12 minutes ago
@neiljosten10 you’re kidding yourself if you think you’ll be able to beat me on the court smart mouth, so shut it before you make an even bigger fuckery of yourself.
11k comments 9.1k retweets 20k likes
Andrew didn’t mention it to Neil, he wanted to revel in what he had said and because he wanted Neil to see it for himself. Now it was just a matter of time until he replied.
======
When Andrew had decided to make comment on twitter of all places, Neil was in the middle of exy pratice so he didn’t see it until he was walking to his car. As he looked at his phone he saw he had multiple missed calls, thousands of notifications as well as countless messages from numerous people. Neil chose to forgo the calls and messages so he could go straight to the cause. Twitter. Neil hated twitter with a passion. He didn’t understand it so he rarely used it unless he had help from someone.
“Right, now that we've made your account I will follow all of us for you and then your new teams players as well as your actual teams twitter page. You don't really need to follow anyone else, unless you want to?” Matt said whilst he went through twitter and found all the foxes.
“Um, I-I guess Jean and Jeremy as well. Don’t forget Robin.” Neil said.
“Okay, well that’s that done, and look at that you've already got 5k followers.” Matt said enthusiastically.
5,000 people were following him. They knew who he was. This spiked a momentary feeling of anxiousness within Neil. It still overwhelmed Neil at how many people knew his name, had seen his face. He was used to always lurking in the shadows trying to avoid people from seeing him. But now his face was everywhere, on the front page of magazines, on tv and even on humungous billboard and posters on the side of buildings. Neil would never get used to it, but he was more than happy to remind himself that his father was dead and no one was currently out to kill him. Well apart from Andrew sometimes.
“Now I’m gonna show you how to write and share a tweet.”
Neil really didn’t pay attention, even though he should, the most he knew was that he needed to press the little feather thing in the top corner of the screen. Neil really wasn't prepared for the world of social media.
When Neil opened twitter he saw that multiple people had tagged him in comments under someones post. Pulling up the original post, that had presumably started this mad frenzy, he saw Andrew’s name and couldn't help but snicker.
Of course, Neil thought, of course he would go on to twitter to make his reply. Inconsiderate arsehole.
Neil read the tweet smiling, if Andrew wanted to play dirty then he would too. And everyone knew Neil could run his mouth forever so it was easy to see who would win in the end.
Neil Josten
@neiljosten10
Striker for RedSock Lions.
Following 30 Followers 5.1 million
Neil Josten @neiljosten10 8 minutes ago
@aminyard I think the only person who is kidding ourselves here is you, you emo fuck. I can guarantee you I will drag your arse across the court once I beat you and your team.
6k comments 8.7 retweets 16k likes
From here on out things basically spiralled out of control, neither Neil or Andrews coach or PR managers could stop them from the back and forth on-slaughter that went down both on social media and in interviews.
======
Andrew Minyard @aminyard 11/06/16
@neiljosten10 you’re clearly fucking delusional if you think you can beat me, so how about you shut you arrogant mouth and jog on since I know how much a rabbit like you loves to run.
10.4k comments 65k retweets 101k likes
======
Neil Josten @neiljosten10 11/06/16
@aminyard newsflash, you're the only one that’s gonna be shutting their mouth when I show your arse up mate.
14.8k comments 125.9k retweets 197k likes
======
Andrew Minyard @aminyard 25/06/16
I thoroughly enjoy watching people make a fucking imbecile of themselves. The day will come when you'll be eating your words.
30k comments 200.4k retweets 247k likes
======
Neil Josten @neiljosten10 7/07/16
@aminyard why don't you just tag me next time? Oh and well done on using words out of your normal vocabulary, gold star for you!
114k comments 300k retweets 1.5m likes
======
Andrew Minyard @aminyard 15/07/16
@neiljosten10 it’s rather amusing to me that you think you have any sense of humour but I've got to say, what tops that is the fact you need to be told step by step how to write a tweet. Fucking moron.
321k comments 2.3m retweets 3.8m likes
======
Everyone in the exy world knew of this new born rivalry between ex team mates Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard. It had gotten that much attention that it was broadcasted on the normal evening news and the hashtag #JostenvMinyard had been trending on and off for the past 3 months as they both carried on this fake rivalry. There had already been countless articles which had been released. Most claiming they had confirmation from old team mates that they did indeed hate each other and apparently “never saw eye to eye” about anything.
When Kevin was asked about it in an interview he brushed it off but not before he made a comment saying they had always been like this. His comment added fuel to the fire as people saw it as a confirmation that Neil and Andrew had hated each other through college as well.
Once Kevin had finished his interview he was quick to message both Andrew and Neil
Group message: Kevin, Andrew and Neil
{1:38pm}
Kevin: you two really need to put an end to this, it has gotten out of control
{2:14pm}
Neil: I’m not the one that started it, I just simply responded to his comment
{2:29pm}
Kevin: Well stop carrying it on. You don't need this in your first year at pros Neil.
{2:35pm}
Andrew: Kevin, Kevin, Kevin. You need to unwind, take the stick out of your arse and just ignore it, it has nothing to do with you.
{2:42pm}
Kevin: Andrew this will only end badly for both of you. I’m trying to look out for you.
{2:56PM}
Andrew: Ah well, I’ll guess we shall wait and see.
Kevin was just about done with the both of them so he decided he wouldn't bother anymore.
======
After 6 months of back and forth comments it was finally the day everyone had been waiting for, the RedSock Lions verses the Houston Hornets. Every exy fan there was, whether they were fans of either team or not, had been waiting for this game. Everyone wanted to know who would finally prove the other wrong.
Pros of this games.
1. Andrew.
2. Seeing Andrew after 1 month and 2 weeks apart.
3. kissing.
4. touching.
5. hugging after Andrew would tear him apart.
6. Spending a week with Andrew.
7. Andrew.
Cons of this game
1. Neil’s team may lose which Andrew would never let him live down
2. If Andrew won it would grow his already huge ego.
3. Leaving Andrew again.
After a tiring flight to Houston, Neil was happy to finally get some sleep. They had gotten a flight late Thursday night so they would have all of Friday to go over strategies and practice some more. This meant that Neil wouldn't get to see Andrew until they were face to face on the court. He had already told his coach that he would only need them to book him a hotel room for the Thursday night as he would be staying with a “friend”. Neither Neil or Andrew thought it was crucial to inform their teams of their relationship as they had agreed that it didn't concern them.
Neil messaged Andrew when he landed and also when they arrived to the hotel, straight after sending the message Neil fell into a deep sleep. Tonight he went to sleep with Andrew clouding all his other logical thoughts, which helped keep the nightmares at bay until sunrise. Always his savour.
======
The foxey family
captaindan: good luck today guys.
sassybitch: can’t wait to watch Kevin have a mental breakdown on the court because of Andrew and Neil, well done guys
queenofgays: I still can't believe they've let it go on for this long, you guys are the most talked about exy players.
sassybitch: I bet Kevin’s been crying because he isn't the centre of attention.
queenofgays: aww poor baby
queenofexy: shut the fuck up Allison, at least people know me for the way I play and not because I create a fucking drama every two god damn minutes
aminyard: all right Kevin, why don't you unbunch your knickers and take a deep breath
queenofexy: oh fuck right off Andrew.
daddymatt: okayyyy then, well good luck guys
god4ever: best of luck
queenofgays: good luck guys. (Are the bets still going on who's gonna win?)
sassybitch: yeh so far its $500 for Andrew and Kevin to win and $300 for Neil.
queenofgays: ill join in for Andrew and Kevin winning, sorry Neil
preciousone thanks for your votes of confidence guys
daddymatt: me and dan said you'd win Neil
preciousone: thank you
aminyard: Neil just face the facts you're gunna fucking lose
preciousone: fuck off you emo dick head
aminyard: junkie.
aminyard: i hate you
preciousone: yeh whatever I fucking hate you too
queenofgays: uhhhh, what the fuck just happened?!?!?
sassybitch: we just witness Andrew and Neil flirt in their own fucked up way, congrats kids
queenofgays: I’m actually speechless
======
Andrew watched as Neils team mates exited the away locker rooms, he was leant against the wall with a long overside jumper that covered his teams colours and most importantly his face. After the last team member left he slipped inside to find Neil facing away from the door the door getting his things from his bag. Andrew wasn't able to sneak in with out Neil noticing, as soon as he began walking to him Neil sharply turned his body round. Andrew saw the breath Neil let out as he noticed it was just in fact Andrew.
Still padding towards Neil, Andrew says “yes or no?” into the space that’s still between them.
Neil waits a second before replying, a rather breathless, “yes.”
As Andrew comes to stand merely a millimetre away from Neils face, he slowly brings his hands to Neil’s cheeks which Neil responses by pushing his face into Andrew’s hands.
“I’ve missed you ‘drew.” Neil says rather quietly. Andrew can now tell how much his absence has really taken its toll and Neil this time around. Instead of saying anything Andrew moves his right hand to the back of Neil’s neck, where he proceeds to give it a gentle squeeze to reassure him that he is actually here- that they are no longer apart for now. His left hand slides down Neil’s cheek and then grasps his chin so Andrew can pull his face down. When their lips are perfectly aligned Andrew gently presses his lips to Neil’s and the sigh of relief that comes from Neil sends a shiver up Andrew’s spine. The soft and carefully placed kisses last less than a minute. Andrew swipes his tongue along Neil’s bottom lip, asking for permission. Neil slowly opens his mouth for Andrew and from that point on its a blur of their tongues dancing wildly, teeth scraping and lip biting.
After two or so minutes Andrew slowly pulls away but as he does Neil whines in protest for the loss of his lips so he tries to chase Andrew’s lips. To this Andrew presses a hard kiss to Neil once more before he moves his attention to Neil’s jaw and neck. Somehow Andrew had been able to push Neil against the lockers which resulted in Andrew stood between Neils legs.
“‘Drew, w-where can I touch you.” Neil says whilst regaining his breath.
“Shoulders and up.” Andrew replies between his peppered kisses on Neils throat.
Neil brings one of his hands to push Andrews hood down so he can then run his fingers through Andrew’s hair, said hand then finds its place on the back of Andrews head, fingers intertwined with his short blonde hair. Neil’s other hand finds itself snaking around Andrews neck in an effort to pull him closer but before he can, Andrew placed a hand on Neil chest to separate themselves, also because Andrew wants to look in Neil’s blue blue eyes.
“Missed you too junkie.” Andrew says quietly. He observes how Neil bites his bottom lip to try and stop the inevitable smile coming.
Neil leans himself forward again but instead of giving Andrew a proper kiss, he decides to drape both arms over Andrews shoulders to help, not only engulf him in between his arms, but to also bring him close enough for Neil to press a tender kiss on Andrews forehead, Andrew hums his approval.
They were so tangled in each others presence they didn’t hear the persons entrance until they finally spoke.
“U-uh, we need to um, we need to get on the court.” he said choking on every other word.
As soon as he began talking Andrew had detached himself from Neil and impulsively removed one of his knifes from his armbands to raise it to whoever had entered. When Neil’s team mate saw the knife he was quick to leave, nearly tripping over his own feet as he left. Andrew placed his knife back and then turned back around to face Neil.
“See you on court smart mouth. Be ready to get your scrawny arse dragged across the floor.” Andrew said before heading out the locker room.
“Fuck off, you love my arse.” Neil threw back. Andrew just huffed. He really did love Neils arse.
======
Walking on to the court Neil could feel the tension in the air radiating through the plexy glass. Everyones eyes were constantly flicking from Neil to Andrew. Whilst doing laps on the outside of the court he could see Andrew following the team mate who had walked in on them, his deathly stare looked like it was burning a hole into the guys soul. It was a clear warning, keep your fucking mouth shut.
As Neil slowed down and began to stretch his gaze landed on Andrew again who was, by no surprise, staring right back at Neil. Both of their faces remained neutral whilst staring at each other, after a minute Andrew raised an eyebrow I ain’t looking away. This was now a staring contest, they were both so stubborn that this could of gone on forever but luckily it was time for both teams to go to the benches to collect their helmets and rackets. Even though they were walking opposite ways they managed to keep eye contact all the way to the doors (being that they both walked backwards).
Whilst collecting his helmet and racket, Neil’s coach approached him. “Do you think you'll be okay out there with Minyard?” His voice wavered on borderline concerned.
“Coach, I’ll be fine.” Neil reassured him.
By the time Neil went on to court most of Andrew’s team was on but he was not. When walking to his position him and Andrew managed to pass each other. This was the moment everyone held their breath for. Andrew came up to Neil so their helmets clanked together. They did nothing but look into each others eyes for a mere second until Andrew said “you're gonna regret running your mouth.” loud enough that the surrounding players could hear. At his words team mates from both sides started walking towards them in hopes of avoiding a fight.
What they didn’t know was that neither of them would ever dream of hurting the other. They were different. They would never cause each other intentional pain. They aren't like that.
======
The game was aggressive, both teams gave everything they had, luckily for Neil he was able to get 2 balls past Andrew in the first half which brought the game to a tie.
The second half wasn't in the RedSock Lion’s favour, 5 minutes into it Neil got body checked into the plexy glass by a much bigger player than himself. When his head hit the glass stars spotted his vision temporarily whilst the air around him seemed to vanish. Once the guy’s arm removed itself from Neil’s abdomen it took a lot of strength to keep himself standing. He needed to wait a minute whilst he grasped for air, in his side view he could see Andrew struggling to stay in the goal. He knew he really wanted to come over, but staying true to their facade Andrew kept his feet glued to the floor.
The game finished with a 14-11 win to the Houston Hornets. Neil’s heart dropped. They had actually lost and he knew Andrew would remind him as much as he could, whenever he could. He took off his helmet and looked around at his own team who were a mixed of pure exhaustion, despair and anger. When his eyes met Andrew he could see the slight smirk he had on his face. Smug bastard.
After both teams were discarded of their helmets and rackets they walked back onto the court to shake hands. Funny how they are both last of their lines.
Neil walked down shaking everyones hand and then he was face to face with Andrew. Neither of them brought their hands up to shake. Once again everyone held their breath in anticipation. They continued to look at each other until Neil finally walked away, he could feel Andrew staring at him as he walked away but he didn’t bother turning back around.
======
After another 6 months the rivalry was still going strong. All the foxes had said they should stop (well apart from Allison and Nicky) but on the other hand they always ended up carrying on the story by saying how they never really got on when asked in interviews about their ex team mates.
However, today- today their rivalry was challenge. There had been an article released on the most popular exy website there was.
The picture was of Andrew and Neil leaning against Andrew’s Maserati, fairly close together. Both Andrew and Neil knew the photo would of been taken when they were last together.
The title read: Rivals Andrew Minyard and Neil Josten spotted looking rather cozy.
The article was shared over 7 million times. Everyone was talking about but Neil nor Andrew worried because they knew people will believe anything, all they had to do was spin the story another way. Well that’s what Andrew said but Neil thought that maybe- maybe it would be better to just stop the whole rivalry thing.
But then they both commented how they just ended up bumping in to each other, nothing exciting. Because of this ‘incident’ they both decided to tell their coaches that they were indeed together, their PR managers weren't impressed, neither of them really cared what they had to say.
======
Andrews contract with the Houston Hornets was up for renewal and without telling Neil he decided to switch teams so he would now be on Neils
Pros of switching teams
1. he could move in with Neil
2. he would finally be with Neil again
3. Neil his junkie
4. kissing
5. touching
6. hugging after he tares Neil apart
7. Neil.
There weren't any cons.
Once all the paperwork was done he went back to his apartment and began packing all the essentials which he would take on the plane with him and all his furniture would go into storage until he figured out what he was going to do with it all.
Near enough a week later Andrew was stepping on a plane to go to Neil. He hadn't told him he had moved teams or that he planned to move in.
======
As he stood waiting in the airport his palms became increasingly clammy, his mouth began to dry and his foot started tapping on its own because of how nervous he was. Neil hadn't seen Andrew in over 2 months and now he would finally be with him for a long period of time, they were going to spend every moment before the season started again with each other.
When he finally saw the small blonde strutting his way towards Neil, he couldn't stop his legs from moving.
Andrew dropped his bags, way too many bags, and didn’t bother to ask ‘yes or no’ (because he could see Neils answer written all over his face) as he brought Neil in to a tight hug. Neil waited a minute and then Andrew said “anywhere” as if he could read Neil’s mind. He quickly wrapped his arms around Andrew’s middle, not too tight, but enough that their bodies were flushed against each other.
Neil breathed in Andrew’s scent before saying “God ‘drew, I've missed you.”
Andrew hummed in agreement.
After being stood in the middle of the airport hugging for roughly 3 minutes they let go of each other which caused Neil to smile. Andrew was in front of him. He wasn't pixelated on his computer screen. He was finally breathing the same air as him, finally holding hands with him. He really wanted to get home.
Andrew interrupted Neil’s thoughts as he suggested they get to the car so they could finally get home.
What Andrew didn’t know was that he was now in fact Neil’s home.
Neil enjoyed every second of the ride home being able to look over at Andrew in the passenger seat. He felt at peace when Andrew was by his side.
======
Once Andrew and Neil had brought his bags in, he pulled Neil to his their bedroom where he then sat against the headboard before pulling Neil onto his lap. This wasn't anything new, Andrew was the one to initiate it the first time when he found it was something he wanted needed and since then they've done it whenever they've felt comfortable.
As soon as the word “yes” had passed both their hands were everywhere: intertwined in auburn curls; caressing broad shoulders; swiping across scarred cheeks; running down toned abs and on the back of necks.
Kisses were everywhere: gently on the forehead; teeth scraping throats; hard and desperate against each others lips; hazardly placed along jawlines and teasingly on the base of necks. Somehow Andrew was able to push Neil away from him, yet remaining settled on his lap, as he knows what comes next was going to need at least a good sized portion of both their attention.
“I’ve switched teams.” He says casually.
It takes Neil a second to catch up. “Y-you’ve what?”
“My contract was up so instead of staying with the them I've switched,” he pauses “to your team. I finalised the papers last week.”
He watches as Neil tries to process what he's just said. “Can you- is that even possible? We already have two goalies.”
“Well turns out Murphys contract was up for renewal so we've just simply switched.”
“So, does that mean you're moving in? Is that why you brought so many bags?” His eyes glimmer with excitement.
“Gold star for you.” Andrew replies.
Neil shines like the night sky. He throws himself at Andrew wrapping his arms tightly around his neck whilst smothering his neck with kisses.
Neil comes away so their noses are touching and whispers, “ I can’t fucking believe you Andrew Minyard.”
“Marry me.” He says.
He feels Neil’s body go stiff, and then he slowly leans back so he can look at Andrew’s face to see if he's being serious.
“What?”
“I know you’re not fucking deaf Josten,” pause, he looks into Neil’s blue blue eyes “I said, marry me.” Andrew’s voice doesn't waver.
“Andrew, are you being serious? “ There’s still so much disbelieve in his tone.
“Yes of fucking course I am. I ain’t doing it because I like you, because I hate you, by getting married we will be on each others emergency family list, so the next time you go and break your stupid fucking head they will have to let me see you.” He said tucking Neils hair behind his ear “This way we avoid having another incident like the last couple of times.”
They hadn't been allowed to see each other if one of them (Neil) had been rushed to hospital as they weren't on each other immediate family list. It always ended with threats being hurled at nurses about what would happen if they weren’t allowed to see the other.
Andrew had convinced himself this was the only reason they were getting married.
“Yes Andrew, of course I’ll marry you.” Neil said with the widest smile he had ever seen.
======
A few hours later they were both glistening with sweat as they lay naked on their bed, Neils head resting on one of Andrew shoulders but other than that they weren't touching.
“567% junkie.” Andrew spoke into Neils hair.
Neil couldn't help the smile that grew on his face.
======
The RedSock Lions released the changes in goalies two weeks before the first games, as did the Houston Hornets. A lot of people didn’t like the switch because they believed Andrew and Kevin worked perfectly together on the same team. On the other hand, a lot more people were thrown back by Andrew switching to Neil’s team as they were meant to hate each other. Fans couldn’t see how they could possibly work together after everything that happened in the last year.
======
They managed to keep any rumours of a rivalry between them at a minimal as they had no use to it anymore. They also didn’t care because they were finally together, so to them, nothing else mattered.
Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t the buzz of their rivalry they needed worry about.
Two months after the switch between teams and become public knowledge (1 month and 2 weeks of games) there was another article that was released that showed a whole other side of Andrew and Neil which no one expected.
The title read: Has the rivalry between Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard now turn into a true love story?
The article starts from the beginning of Neil and Andrews story- college. It talks about the ups (beating the ravens) and the downs (the court case) they had been through. Next is Andrew signing with the Houston Hornets “following Kevin day” and Neil’s last year with the Palmetto foxes, being captain a third year. After that it was the story of how Neil got recruited by the RedSock Lions which was followed by the beginning, middle and supposed end of the NeilJostenvAndrewMinyard rivalry. It included tweets and sections of multiple interviews both with them and the other foxes.
The part that had the biggest section was the last one. The true love story of Neil Josten and Andrew Minyard.
What made this section so big was the fact it had 15 or so pictures attached to it. The authors describes how he thinks the rivalry was never real in the first place, that they had really been together since college. The most damning thing about the photographs was that they had been taken between the span of a little over a year. This meant that the person that both wrote this article and had taken all these pictures knew all this time that the were indeed faking the whole rivalry. (Well all the things that were said were 99.9% true).
Some of the photos attached included:
• Andrew and Neil sat in the Maserati rather close, Andrews hand on Neil’s cheek
• Them sat together outside a coffee shop, were their intertwined hands that lay under the table were visible in the photo
• The moment they shared in the airport (that had multiple shots)
• Them kissing in the stadium parking lot
There was one photo in particular that stood out from the rest.
======
The foxey family
queenofgays sent an attachment: www.exyworld.org/MvJ.enemies-lovers
queenofgays: guys I think everyone knows now.
captaindan: I’ll read it once I get back from coaching but what are you guys gonna say in return.
sassybitch: EXCUSE ME
sassybitch: CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN THE LAST PICTURE TO ME
queenofgays: what are you talking about?
sassybitch: look through all the photos that are attached and look closely at the last photo
daddymatt: what’s happening? Im confused
dr.minyard: why are you all up so early!
queenofgays: it isn’t early where I am so quit whining
queenofexy: people are bound to pry into their lives if they are meant to be having a rivalry, it’s your own faults
aminyard: once again Kevin, fuck off
queenofgays: ARE THOSE WEDDING RINGS
queenofgays: YOU CAN’T BE FUCKING SERIOUS
queenofgays: ANDREW
queenofgays: NEILLLL
sassybitch: i fucking knew I weren’t seeing shit
daddymatt: wait, Andrew and Neil got married? When!!!!
queenofexy: last month
queenofgays: HOW THE FUCK DID YOU KNOW
sassybitch: why didn’t any of you say anything! Fucking rude if you ask me
queenofexy: they made me be there for it
queenofgays: WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU THERE AND I WASN’T. I’M FAMILY FOR FUCKS SAKE
daddymatt: so you’re telling me Andrew and Neil got married, didn’t tell anyone but Kevin was there and didn’t feel the need to tell anyone either?
god4ever: I knew
sassybitch: RENEE WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME
god4ever: Andrew told me when he asked Neil to marry him and then told me when they had actually got married, he didn’t want me to tell anyone so I respected that.
queenofgays: but Renee I’m his cousin!!!! And I didn’t know
captaindan: THEY’RE MARRIED!!! WHAT
captaindan: congratulations though
dr.minyard: what the fuck, are you serious
aminyard: yup
preciousone: we didn’t see it as a big deal
queenofgays: YOU DIDN’T SEE IT AS A BIG DEAL!! ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!!! YOU ARE MARRIED
aminyard: it’s only a fucking piece of paper Nicky calm down
queenofgays: CALM DOWN!
queenofgays: you know what, fuck it. CONGRADU-FUCKING-LATIONS
daddymatt: I can’t believe we weren’t invited
======
The last photo:
⁃ Close up of Andrew and Neil, seemingly stood outside a courthouse
⁃ Their faces cupped in each others hands
⁃ Foreheads touching (Neil slightly bent down to mirror Andrews height)
⁃ Noses side by side
⁃ Both of them with their eyes closed
⁃ Wedding ring visible on Andrew’s hand
======
Before Neil and Andrew talked with their coach and PR manager about the newest article, Neil decided to respond on his own.
Neil Josten @neiljosten10 20 minutes ago
Yes, me and @aminyard are married. Get over it.
200k comments 2.3m retweets 4m likes
Their coach and PR manager weren’t too happy that Neil had already commented on the matter before talking to them.
======
A few days after the article was released Neil and Andrew held a press conference with multiple reporters and news channels to address what had been released. When they sat down, both with unreadable expressions, the bombard of questions began.
The first question came from a woman working for a well known exy news channel, “So Andrew, Neil how long have you been together?”
Silence.
Andrew cleared his throat and then leaned forward to speak into the mic in front of him, “Too long.” then slouched back into his chair. The woman waited a minute, expecting to get more of answer but when it was clear neither of them were going to say anything else she slowly sat down.
A man shot up out of his seat to ask the next question “Mr. Minyard, can you please tell me why you said you hated Mr. Josten?”
Andrew didn’t waste a second before answering, “ Because I do.”
Silence.
Everyone looked confused, it was clearly not the answer anyone was expecting. The questions came one after the other. They asked every question ranging from “why did you let the whole ‘rivalry’ thing carry on if you were indeed together?” To “when did you get married?” Each question was valid and should of have a good answer but with Andrew being Andrew and Neil being Neil they gave the smallest and most brief answers they could.
When it was time for the last question a small man stood up and said “do you think it’s important for the younger generations to see there are people of the LGBTQ+ community in popular sports such as exy?”
Neil decided to answer this question, he took a minute to think about his response until he finally said, “I think it’s like most people don’t expect celebrities to be apart of that community. Which makes it harder for them to come out to everyone due to the amount of people watching. Andrew and I didn’t think it was necessary to explicitly say we were together because it shouldn’t fucking matter who you’re with. I think it's important for the younger generation, or any generation of that matter, to see that there are people in any type of job, athlete or not, that are proud to be apart of LGTBQ+ community. Because it may give them courage to come out, which I think is fucking great but at the end of the day, who someone decides to fuck shouldn’t be made out as such a big deal.” He pauses for a second before finishing with, “and to all those homophobic arseholes, fuck you.” He says with raised middle fingers. Him and Andrew then briskly pushed their chairs back and stood to leave.
======
Now everyone knew about them, they felt a bit more at ease to post pictures of each other on social media because they were no longer keeping up with their facade. However they didn’t go out their way to continuously post about one another.
The latest picture Neil had uploaded was of Andrew sleep in bed with their two cats, Sir Fat Cat McCatterson and King Fluffkins. Sir was happily sat curled into Andrews abdomen and King was lay at the end of the bed.
The caption read: “Andrew looking cozy with Sir Fat Cat McCatterson and King Fluffkins.”
When Andrew woke up and saw the post, he started planning his revenge.
Everyone freaked out because:
a) They had cats
b) The cats had stupid names.