DO THEY KNOW THAT YOU WERE BORN OF THE IMPLOSION OF A DYINGGALAXY, WITH MOONLIGHT IN YOUR EYES, A COMET TAIL FOR A TONGUE, RINGS AROUND YOUR CHEST? DO THEY SEE THE WAY THE LIGHT IS FADING?
Andrew didn’t budge beneath his weight. He was something solid to lean against, something violent and fierce and unmoving. Neil couldn’t remember what it felt like to have someone hold him up. It was terrifying and liberating all at once. His life was out of his control now; he was giving it to Andrew and hoping Andrew would keep it safe.
The short carpet was rough against Neil’s knuckles where Andrew had pinned his hand over his head. Neil couldn’t complain when Andrew was an unyielding weight on top of him…
when someone says andrew minyard the foxes don’t think “friend”
they think “monster”, “dangerous”, “disaster”
they think about the bruises on kevin’s neck.
they think about hands on allison, trying to break her.
they think about knives hidden under black arm bands and pressed to their guts.
they think “danger”
blast zone.
explosion imminent.
renee thinks “bent but not broken”. she thinks of nights in the gym spent sparring, nights on the roof spent in silence.
matt thinks about a night in columbia and is both thankful and full of hate.
dan thinks about exy balls being batted at her team’s ankles.
allison thinks of hands around her neck, suffocating under more than just the weight of expectation.
aaron thinks of his mother’s hands on him and attending her funeral.
kevin thinks of a promise of protection. he thinks of bruises on his throat and struggling for breath.
nicky thinks of a knife pressed to his sternum. he thinks of a kid who’s been through so much that he doesn’t trust anyone. (he’s trying to protect something with claws and venom, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, even when he’s being bitten and scratched at. nicky loves his family.)
