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Beyond the walls of their hideously painted home, the leaves had begun to match. All faded orange and burnt umber – much more complimentary on the foliage than on the peeling paint of their aging Victorian abode. The first dregs of autumn brought with it cool, frosty mornings and comfortably breezy afternoons. Afternoons which they took turns raking and sweeping the fallen foliage until one of the less responsible members of the household usually decided it would be fun to jump into, scattering them once more.
The Foxhole, it was called. Three stories and six bedrooms that housed the Palmetto State Foxes Exy team. Or most of it, anyways. The freshman still had the unfortunate rite of passage of being crammed into the small dorms on campus. But if they survived their inaugural year on the team, they were permitted to move into the team house procured by their coach, David Wymack
Many school teams, along with various Greek houses, could be found along Fox Row, on the southeast curve of Perimeter Road. For most it was a reward for hard work, a timeless mark of status and place of honor. For the Foxes, it was less about status and more about....public safety. It was no secret that Wymack recruited his players from broken homes and less than optimal backgrounds, giving second, third, or fiftieth chances if he could. Keeping them off the main campus as much as possible tended to be in everyone’s best interest. So far, there hadn’t been any complaints about their living situation, least of all from the Foxes who seemed to prefer having their own space. It was especially nice on the weekends they didn’t have games and could relax. But not today.
It was a Sunday, September the 19th to be exact, and Aaron simply couldn’t take it anymore. His mind had been on the verge of collapse for weeks now with an effort to keep his thoughts inside. He hadn’t even told his girlfriend, Katelyn, from whom he had no secrets – not anymore. Not after she’d spent the last eight months of their relationship dragging out every dark thought from the depths of his fractured soul.
But this wasn’t a secret....just a theory, really. One that he felt more compelled to prove with every passing day. And it was getting in the way of his studies. Just last week he’d been five minutes late to a quiz while he’d been following the object of his current intrigue. It was ridiculous and it had to stop. He didn’t have time for this. He had Katelyn and his classes and Exy to keep up with if he wanted to be able to afford the classes.
It would certainly speed the process up and let him move the fuck on with his life if he recruited a few people to help him prove his....theory. He could almost hear Kate’s patient voice telling him to ask for help. ‘There’s no shame in it, you know, ’ she’d said to him once. And he knew that. But it didn’t mean he had to like it.
Nevertheless, that’s how he found himself tapping his foot and studying the clock on the far wall, his teammates staring at him, expressions a mixture of boredom and worry. He’d never called a house meeting before – that was usually Dan or Matt’s thing when they wanted to plan group ‘bonding’ activities. Or Kevin’s when he wanted to rant about how poorly they’d done at a game. Or even Allison’s when something of hers went missing in the refrigerator and she vowed to cut a finger off the thief when she identified them.
Katelyn walked through the door and Aaron deflated a little, growing more impatient. He wanted to see her...well, he always wanted to see her, but it wasn’t who he was waiting for.
“Um....what’s going on?” asked Katelyn, bobbing around between the team until she found a seat on the armchair next to where Aaron was standing.
“House meeting,” he offered, without further explanation.
“...about?” she asked.
“He won’t tell us,” said Nicky with an exasperated sigh. He was sitting on the floor across the room with his back against the couch and only paused texting long enough to speak. “He’s being super dramatic about it.”
“I am not...”
The door opened a second time, and finally Neil Josten decided to grace them with his presence. He was sweaty and windswept, his skin pink and slick from his cheeks down to his exposed legs, covered only in tiny running shorts. Aaron wrinkled his nose.
“Um...hey...guys?” Neil yanked the bandana from his head and ruffled his own damp hair, eyeing his team dubiously.
“Fucking finally...” Aaron breathed. “We were waiting for you.”
Blue eyes stared on in suspicion, narrowing at the blond. “....why?”
He ignored Neil, instead surveying the rest of them. Then turned to the free-standing, combination whiteboard/chalkboard. A complicated play was drawn on the whiteboard so he flipped it rather than deal with Kevin spontaneously combusting all over the place. The chalkboard side was mostly empty but there were a few notes and cheerful looking penis doodles that he erased while his teammates booed and complained about him ruining their ‘art.’
“I called this meeting because something serious has happened.”
“...who died?” Matt asked immediately.
“Did someone spill my protein powder again?” “How is that serious?” “It is imported...”
“Wymack actually signed us up for a marathon....”
“...did the FBI call?”
The last one was Neil, because of course it was. Aaron huffed and ignored them.
“It’s about Andrew.”
The room went silent.
“....Did he kill someone?” Nicky asked quietly.
“No, actually” Aaron said, unsurprised by the question. “But that’s my point.”
Several pairs of eyebrows dug together and glances were exchanged.
“When is the last time Andrew has threatened any of you?” he asked.
More glances, and surprisingly, more silence. Except...
“Like six hours ago...” Neil offered.
Aaron pointed at him, “You don’t count.”
“Then why am I here?” Neil asked, annoyed. Though he wasn’t making any move to leave, so Aaron knew his interest was piqued at least.
“Because it’s a team meeting...the team needs to be here,” Aaron said huffily.
“Renee isn’t here,” Allison pointed out.
“That’s because she’s with Andrew and it’s the only time I knew he’d be out,” answered Aaron.
“So....this is meant to be a secret meeting?” Dan asked, sounding both curious and concerned.
“No....yes...sort of,” Aaron shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. My point is....something is going on with Andrew.”
Katlyn tipped her head to the side. “...Because he hasn’t threatened anyone recently?”
“Think about it,” Aaron said, picking up the chalk and making bullet points on the chalkboard. “No threats...except Josten....he’s out all the time and no one seems to know where he goes. He’s been texting constantly. He hasn’t been rebounding shots on anyone except the freshman. AND....he hasn’t mentioned that ridiculous dating pact we made in high school since we came back to campus this summer.”
Nodding several times, Aaron reviewed his scribbled writing and momentarily wondered if anyone else could even read it. Whatever, they didn’t need to. He made his point.
“....so, what’s your point?” asked Allison.
“Yea...not sure what you’re getting at. Are you saying there’s something wrong with your brother because he’s like.....less homicidal than usual?” Dan scratched her head, her nose wrinkling a little in thought.
“I’m saying,” Aaron made another bullet point. “That Andrew is seeing someone.”
More silence. More confusion. Aaron scowled.
“....You mean like, hooking up with someone?” Matt offered. “That sounds...plausible...”
“No. I mean dating.”
Aaron crossed his arms, looking out over them with a triumphant expression.
Nicky’s eyes grew the size of saucers at the idea.
“How do you figure?” Neil asked.
He gestures broadly to the chalkboard. “I just presented you with evidence.”
“You just wrote some words and made a baseless accusation,” Neil supplied. “That’s not actually evidence. Aren’t you pre-med? Don’t they teach you the scientific method or whatever...”
“I really should have just done this without you...” Aaron said, glaring at the striker.
“Probably,” Neil grinned, taking a huge bite of an apple he’d materialized from who knows where. Certainly not his tiny fucking shorts.
“Ooo....what if it’s that hot girl from the coffee cart over at Redding?” Allison wiggled her eyebrows.
“That’s right!” added Nicky, “She always does know Andrew’s order....”
“...That’s because Andrew orders coffee with two pounds of sugar in it and would likely gut her if he got it wrong...” Dan said.
As soon as the speculation, and therefore arguing began, Kevin stood and crossed the room, heading for the stairs.
“Where are you going?” asked Aaron.
“Away,” he said, not bothering to elaborate.
Neil decided to follow him, shrugging at Aaron as he passed, who didn’t bother to stop him.
Fine. It didn’t matter if no one believed him. But he will get proof. He...
A soft hand in his own stopped his thought process. Katelyn tugged on his fingers, bright green eyes staring upwards. “Babe...if he is dating someone, why does it matter?”
She knew why, but this was just another instance of Katelyn being Katelyn. Rising above, not holding grudges. But Aaron had been subjected to far too many years of his brother’s control issues to let it go so easily. Especially when Andrew seemed to be sneaking around behind their backs.
“It doesn’t....not really,” he answered, ignoring the fact that most of the Foxes were dispersing, probably forgetting everything he’d just said. “But he threatened you, Kate. I know he’s getting better but he made me hide you. Tried to make me give you up. He doesn’t get to sneak around and act like none of that happened....”
Katelyn sighed, hopping off the chair. When she stood, she was a few inches taller, but leaned into him so their eyes were level. She took his other hand and kissed his nose. He huffed, barely able to suppress the corner of his mouth from ticking up.
“I know you have to know or it will drive you crazy,” she said. “But once you do know, let it go, okay? For all of us.”
Another sigh, another kiss to his nose, his cheek, and finally his lips.
“Deal?” Katelyn asked, a soft smile on her face when she pulled back.
“Deal.”
🍁🍁🍁
Three weeks and nothing to show for it. He’d followed Andrew to the coffee cart, the gym, two of his classes, glued himself to Andrew’s side when they’d gone to Eden’s one weekend, and even to the library. The library . Andrew hated the library.
Typically, having found no proof would indicate that his theory was wrong. However, each time he followed Andrew, he always managed to lose him for some period of time. Most of the time he’d manage to disappear entirely in the second or two Aaron looked at his phone or went to the bathroom. Which only made him grow more suspicious. And every Saturday after practice, Andrew somehow managed to leave before everyone else and would be gone for hours. Where was he going and what was he doing for all that unaccounted for time? And who was he doing it with?
So far, the only people he’d seen his brother with were Kevin, Renee and Josten. He doubted Kevin would notice anything as long as Andrew showed up to practice and games. Renee wouldn’t tell him even if she did know, loyal to a fault. And Josten would just fuck with him so there was no point in asking.
At times he hated Andrew’s friendship with the striker...if that’s what it could be called. When Neil had joined the team, a skittish runaway with a mountain of secrets and even more scars, Andrew had nearly driven him off. He’d threatened him, broken into his dorm and rifled through his things, drugged him, even. But somewhere along the way they’d reached some weird truce that Aaron would never understand.
Well, he understood it a little. Neil and Andrew were similar in many ways and Andrew had a tendency to guard anyone he let into his flock with fierce loyalty. After Neil’s past had been revealed at the end of the prior year, something settled between the two of them and they had were pretty much attached at the hip these days - Kevin trailing behind them like their overly critical Exy conscience. Sure, there were still the threats and they spent more time passing cigarettes back and forth in silence than they did talking, but Josten was unlikely to cooperate with him when it came to butting into Andrew’s alleged love-life. Even though he was an asshole, he seemed to care about them and definitely wouldn’t betray Andrew’s trust.
Which is why he stood there, his mouth gaping in shock, staring at the redhead.
“What?” Aaron asked, sure he had misunderstood.
“I said....” Neil leaned against the doorframe. “I bet I can figure out where Andrew is going before you do.”
Aaron tossed his hoodie onto his bed and crossed his arms. A few minutes ago, he’d been bitching about his lack of progress in the kitchen to anyone who would listen. Dan suggested he just ask Andrew. Because that would go over so well. Allison offered to hire a private detective. He left, frustrated and annoyed. Maybe having considered Allison’s offer for a split second. And Neil had followed him. He was up to something.
“Probably because you already know,” Aaron accused.
“I don’t, actually,” Neil said evenly, convincingly. “But I bet I can figure it out before you. A month, tops.”
“.....What’s your angle?” Aaron asked suspiciously.
Neil huffed a laugh. “No angle. I’ve just had a lot of experience becoming other people. Shouldn’t be difficult to get inside his head and figure out where he’s going.....”
Neil trailed off and something clicked in the blond's head.
“...and you want something,” Aaron finished.
“And I want something,” Neil admitted.
Hesitating, Aaron drummed his fingers on his bicep. “What’s the deal?”
Neil reached up to tap a finger on his mouth, eyes flicking upwards like he had to think about it. Aaron knew he didn’t.
“If I figure it out before you, you do my house chores for the rest of the semester,” said Neil.
Right for the throat, then.
When Aaron moved into the house his Sophomore year with Andrew and Nicky, Dan informed them that they would be put on a schedule to help with the household duties. It sucked, but it was also the only thing that kept thing from falling into chaos. It didn’t help that Andrew refused to participate so Aaron and Nicky often found themselves picking up the slack. It was easier than trying to force him to do his share. Andrew still cleaned and picked up after himself, he just refused to take part in any ‘group activity ’ that wasn’t absolutely required (like attending practice and games...and even then, he sometimes slacked off as much as he could get away with). Neil probably just didn’t want to do his chores so he could spend more time running around on the stupid court like the Exy fanatic he was.
Aaron was already busy enough, but there were only a couple months left until the end of the semester and he doubted Neil was as clever as he seemed to think.
“Fine,” Aaron agreed. “But if I figure it out, or you don’t, you have to tutor me once a week next semester. I’m taking an advanced physics class and as useless as you are at everything else, you’re decent at math and I need an A to get into med-school.”
The corner of Neil’s mouth twitched, like he was worn between smiling and arguing or giving Aaron shit for admitting he could use Neil’s help with something. He settled for a smirk and held out his hand. “Deal.”
Aaron ignored the hand, rolling his eyes. “Get out of my room, you have work to do.”
Laughing quietly, Neil turned, giving Aaron an all too familiar two fingered salute. The asshole.
🍁🍁🍁
The next few weeks were hectic. Between school and their Exy schedule, Aaron barely had time to breathe. He managed to tail Andrew a few times, still with the same fruitless results. Neil, on the other hand, seemed to have more luck. At least, he claimed he did. He fed Aaron vague information about when and where he’d seen Andrew that was out of the norm, but that he didn’t have anything solid yet.
Time was running out.
It wasn’t until the last Saturday in October, the day before Halloween, that Aaron received a phone call from Neil. Which seemed strange since they’d just seen each other at practice a couple hours ago. His cryptic message had just been to give Aaron an address and tell him to meet him there in twenty minutes. He almost told the younger man to ‘fuck off ,’ but then he remembered - it was Saturday, after practice. Practice which Andrew had disappeared from by the time they were out of the showers, leaving them to once again cram into cars with upperclassman to get back to the house.
Pulling up the address on his phone, it looked like a park, just a few miles away.
Aaron ran downstairs, tugging on his trainers. A few of the others were in the kitchen milling around, probably trying to figure out dinner since they usually didn’t go to the dining hall on weekends. He was just about to text Kate to pick him up when he noticed Matt’s keys on the counter.
“Boyd, I need to borrow your truck for a few minutes,” he said.
Matt extracted himself from where he was bent in half peering into the fridge to look at him. Dan and Renee turned to look as well; expressions curious. He didn’t blame them. They were friendly but weren’t exactly friends. The last few years had been....well. They survived...most of them, anyways. And things were getting better. But he’d never asked any of them for anything or given anything in return.
The taller man recovered first, smiling genuinely as he snatched his keys and tossed them to Aaron, ever trusting. “Sure thing man....you uh....you sure you can reach the pedals?”
Dan held a hand up to her mouth to keep from laughing and Renee punched Matt in the arm hard enough that he winced, though she was trying not to smile. Aaron just stared at them, flipped the keys around his finger, and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door Matt called ‘Hey, bring us Mr. Wu’s when you come back! ’
🍁🍁🍁
He could, in fact, reach the pedals. After some adjustments. God this truck was fucking obnoxious. Who needed something this big and this loud for regular commuting?
It took less than ten minutes to reach the park, even after hitting every single light on the way. He texted Josten, who told him to come to the end of the parking lot. He was easy to spot. Messy auburn hair, ill-fitting jeans and a bright orange PSU hoodie. For a moment he wondered why Neil had actually called him here since it seemed unlikely he’d been tailing Andrew while looking like an obnoxious traffic cone.
But as he approached, Neil raised a hand to his lips to shush him. He turned and waved Aaron along, indicating that they would, in fact, be sneaking around. Why did he make a deal with this idiot?
They walked for a few minutes and Neil led them to a row of tall bushes. Carefully, the striker stuck his hand into the leaves and pushed the foliage aside. And...well. Damn. The idiot wasn’t completely useless after all.
About fifty feet away was Andrew, dressed in all black joggers, a fitted tank top, and his armbands. He was stretching his arms above his head next to what looked to be a jogging path. And beside him, was Betsy Dobson, the teams former shrink. She too was dressed in running attire – sweatpants and t-shirt, stretching as if to mimic Andrew’s movements.
Aaron drew back and stared at Neil, waiting for an explanation because his mind was completely blank. He knew his brother wasn’t dating their ex-therapist. He also knew that the woman had taken a leave of absence at the end of the last school year after suffering a minor heart attack and she had yet to return to practice. Was Andrew just seeing her outside of school? Why would he keep that a secret? It wasn’t a secret that Andrew had benefited from Dobson’s treatment. Not to mention she had been the one to advocate for him to get off the medication that tortured him for years.
“They’re training for a marathon,” Neil explained quietly. “Dr. Dobson started jogging a few months ago as part of her PT and Andrew offered to help when she said she wanted to try running a 5k. They’ve been meeting here to go train.”
His mouth opened and closed several times. When he looked back through the bushes, Betsy and Andrew were walking down the path, the sun beginning to sink in the distance.
“He’s not dating anyone...” Aaron said, mostly to himself. So surprised that he didn’t bother to ask how Neil had figured it out. “But he’s been so different...”
“Maybe he’s in a better mood because he’s exercising,” Neil offered. “Endorphins and all that.”
“We exercise all the time,” Aaron deadpanned. “We are literally college athletes. Not to mention you run constantly and you’re still as infuriating as ever.”
Neil shrugged, ignoring him. “So are you done following him now, because it’s kind of gross.”
“The deal doesn’t include you giving me your opinion,” Aaron said, hazel eyes narrowing.
Smiling, Neil shoved his hands in the pocket of his hoodie.
“Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’. “Just you doing my chores for the next seven weeks.”
Aaron turned, heading back to the parking lot, not bothering to offer Neil a ride.
“Pleasure doing business with you!” Neil called out as he left.
Aaron gave him the finger without turning.
🍁🍁🍁
The music was loud enough that the walls were vibrating and they’d already had two noise complaints made by their neighbors – but you know, fuck the wrestling team. They were douchebags anyways.
Aaron took another sip of whatever poorly mixed concoction Katelyn had brought him, wincing around the solo cup. It was way too strong. They might as well have just done shots. Or maybe it was the earlier shots that could be blamed for how disgusting the drinks were getting as the night progressed.
It was Wednesday, November 10th, but since the following day was a federal holiday they didn’t have classes. Katelyn decided it would be the perfect night to celebrate the twin’s 21st birthdays. Their actual birthdays had fallen on a weeknight, and the weekend had them driving nine hours to an away game in Florida, too exhausted to celebrate anything by the time they arrived back on campus. Aaron didn’t care about celebrating but Kate had latched onto the idea of throwing them a party, and once she mentioned it to Nicky there was no avoiding it.
It wasn’t bad, actually. The Foxes would use any excuse to celebrate and get wasted. So, the day had been filled with finger foods, a handful of presents, and a lot of liquor. Even the freshman and the handful of Kate’s cheerleader friends were more tolerable than usual. His hand spent most of the evening in the back pocket of Katelyn’s corduroy skirt while her fingers played with the short hairs at the base of his neck. He was so contented, it wasn’t until Renee produced a large, frosted cake that he realized he hadn’t seen Andrew in hours. Which wasn’t surprising. His brother wasn’t a fan of birthdays, or people, and had likely fucked off once he’d stolen enough booze. But now there was cake, and Aaron was feeling both brave enough and tipsy enough, to seek out his twin, knowing that he would at least want a piece. Kissing Katelyn on the cheek, he excused himself from the kitchen.
A quick glance through the bay window showed him that the Maserati was still there. So, either Andrew had walked somewhere, or he was still around. The living room was quiet, only occupied by two of the freshmen and a cheerleader whose name he couldn’t remember.
He checked the basement next. They had a small gym – complete with a punching bag that his twin was partial to. It was empty. So was the porch, the small backyard, and bedroom Andrew shared with Kevin. He’d almost gone back downstairs before flicking his eyes towards Matt and Neil’s room. The door was closed but he knew Andrew went in sometimes to smoke on their balcony.
The floorboards creaked and the moment he got his hand on the doorknob he heard movement behind the door. Bingo. Aaron pushed it open.
He froze with his hand still curled around the metal, his pupils flaring at the sight before him. Andrew was there alright, crammed into Josten’s small, single bed with the striker underneath him, their lips locked together furiously. He was tucked against Neil’s side, one of his hands on the man's hip where his shirt had ridden up and Neil’s hands were in his hair, holding him in place. They were so absorbed in each other that they didn’t even notice the small sound of shock that escaped Aaron’s throat.
A range of thoughts bombarded him. Surprise, confusion, fury, betrayal. But even in his inebriated state he realized how badly he was played by Neil fucking Josten . And probably Andrew as well, because by the looks of it, there was no way Neil hadn’t told Andrew what he was up to.
“I fucking knew it!” he shouted, even though he definitely had not known.
That got their attention. Andrew pushed himself to the side and Neil let one of his hands drop from Andrew’s hair so he had an unobscured view of the door. The fell dropped limply towards the floor and almost knocked over the bottle of whisky next to the bed.
For several moments, the three of them stared at each other. Andrew – pink-cheeked and in disarray but his face blank and Neil blinking out of a haze. Aaron scowled and finally gathered himself enough to throw his hands in the air and slam the door. He could hear Josten laughing through the thin wall as he stomped back down the stairs.
In no time, he’d kicked out Katelyn's friends and the freshman, waiting only long enough for them to grab cake leave before recounting what he’d just seen to his teammates and girlfriend. He was still trying to figure out what annoyed him the most. The fact that his brother WAS dating someone, that it was NEIL, or that Neil had clearly been fucking with him the entire time and he’d been doing the man’s chores for over a week now. The little liar.
When he finished ranting, the Foxes burst into motion, groaning, laughing, expressing delight and disbelief. His brain was getting fuzzy and slow, but between the shock, elation and other various emotions expressed by the rest of the team, he noticed money changing hands. Because of course they’d bet on something like this even though most of them had feigned disinterest when he brought it up the first time. Only Allison, it seemed, had suspicions about the two of them, and now slapped several twenties against her palm with a cat-like grin.
Still trying to process everything, he noticed Renee. While smiling knowingly, she didn’t seem to have taken a side – she rarely did. Kevin, however, could usually be talked into their ridiculousness with enough prodding, but now seemed to be trying to ignore Aaron as best he could, his concentration on the blender in front of him.
Aaron pointed at him. “You....you knew.”
Shrugging one shoulder, Kevin slapped the top on the blender. He sighed. “Of course I did. I share a room with Andrew.”
“So why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Aaron asked, gesturing expansively. Katelyn grabbed his arms and pushed them to his sides before he knocked anything off the counter.
The blender roared to life loudly, pulsing and pulverizing ice and fruit. “It is not my business,” said Kevin, lifting his finger from the device long enough to speak in short increments. “And because I do not care. Also, because I don’t want to die.”
Kevin’s gaze shifted towards the entrance to the kitchen long enough that Aaron turned to look. Neil and Andrew made their way towards the rest of the Foxes, both looking rumpled but unbothered by the obvious attention. Andrew seemed as placid as usual and Neil was clearly trying to hold back a smile. Aaron could feel the shift in tension so before the Foxes could bombard them with questions, he glared at Neil.
“You’re a goddamn cheat!” he said.
“Am I?” Neil asked, unable to stop the smile this time. “Because I’m pretty sure I just said I could figure out what was going on before you...which, I did.”
“I hate you,” said Aaron, wondering if Renee would be mad if he threw a piece of cake at the man.
“That is my line...” Andrew said, looking from his brother to Neil.
Andrew reached up and tucked the tag on the back of Neil’s shirt inside his collar, his hand lingering and knuckles grazing the man’s neck as he pulled away. Neil shivered when he did and when Andrew stepped towards the counter, Aaron noticed several red marks just above the collar on his brother's own shirt.
Aaron felt another wave of rage. Not only had Andrew tortured him with that ridiculous dating pact they made in high school, but he was with the most irritating person on the planet.
Andrew made a beeline for the confection, picking up a plastic fork and stabbing into the cake without bothering to cut himself a piece. The Foxes still looked like they wanted to explode and Matt casually removed the knife they’d used to cut the cake and tucked it into the dishwasher – not that it would have made a difference. But Andrew’s current mood seemed far from murderous.
Kevin started the blender again and when it stopped, Aaron could audibly hear the collective intake of breath, the shift in pressure, knowing the questions were coming. Before they got a chance Katelyn yanked on his arm several times, jumping on her toes so exuberantly that he had to take a step to the side from being jostled around.
“Oh oh oh!” she said excitedly, slapping his arm. “Oh my god...we can go on double dates!”
Despite the large mouthful of cake, Andrew still managed to respond in tandem with Aaron’s offended ‘No ’.
At least they agreed on something .