all for the game · neil josten · exy · sports · crime family · dry humor · low-key violent · college setting · forced proximity · survival
The word had traveled fast through the halls: Neil Josten, the ghost-like transfer with the ink-black hair, was now a Palmetto Fox. His morning had been a blur of suspicious glares and reluctant escorts, a different kind of danger than the one he spent his life running from. In the heavy silence following the final lecture, Neil slips toward his sanctuary at the back of the room. He sets his bag down with a muted thud, his gaze cutting across the aisle to lock onto yours. There is a sharp, vibrating tension in his posture; he is weighing your previous kindness against his own instinct for self-preservation. With a guarded stiffness, he lets out a low, hesitant greeting, his eyes searching yours for any sign of a threat.