The Foxhole Court

Chapter 14

The dormitory was uncharacteristically busy when Neil made it back at nine. The football game had ended about the same time he'd run away, and now some of the after-party crowds were slowly drifting back. People yelled to each other up and down the hall, and loud music blasted through open doors here and there. Neil wound his way through the chaos toward the Foxes' rooms. They were the only three closed doors this side of the stairwell.

He stopped in front of Andrew's door but couldn't make himself knock. His hand was shaking when he looked at it, so he balled it into a fist. He'd almost gotten up the nerve to move when the door opened without warning.

"Oh, he made it," Andrew said. "That's interesting."

He pressed two fingers to Neil's throat, checking his pulse. When Neil tried to bat him away, Andrew caught his wrist with his free hand. His smile was small and fierce as he leaned forward into Neil's space.

"Remember this feeling. This is the moment you stop being the rabbit."

Neil was too startled to answer, but Andrew didn't wait. He slid past Neil, using the weight of his body and his grip on Neil's wrist to pull Neil with him out of the way of the door. He let go in the middle of the hallway and slipped his hands in his pockets to wait.

Nicky was the next out of the room. When he saw Neil his grin lit up his entire face. Aaron looked skeptical when he followed, but he glanced at Andrew and said nothing. Kevin's expression was the hardest to read as he stepped out and closed the door behind him. Neil looked from Kevin to Andrew, who was still watching him like he was waiting for something.

Movement two doors down gave Neil a reason to look away from Andrew again. Five strangers were knocking on his suite door. Seth stepped out to greet them, slapping backs and high-fiving as he moved into their ranks. Allison wasn't far behind them. She pressed against Seth's back and slid her hands down his sides to his pants. Neil watched as she systematically dug through all of his pockets. She came back with just a lighter and a crumpled stick of gum.

Seth sent her an annoyed look over his shoulder. "I'm not stupid."

She kissed him to shut him up and put his lighter back where she'd found it. The gum she tossed behind her as worthless. She almost hit Matt with it as Matt and Dan stepped into the suite doorway. When Matt turned to avoid it, he spotted Neil. The relief on his face was unexpected.

"Neil, you made it," he said, loud enough even Allison and Seth turned to see. Neil looked from one face to the other, wondering what he'd missed. "Seth and Allison are going bar-hopping downtown, so the rest of us are prepping a movie marathon. Any requests or recommendations?"

"You're leaving campus?" Nicky asked Allison. "Are you serious?"

Allison scowled at him and wound her arms tighter around Seth. "It's none of your business."

Matt glanced at Allison, expression tight, but kept talking to Neil. "Renee should be back with drinks any second. She said she'd get something nonalcoholic for the two of you."

"Oh, what a waste," Andrew said. "I'm buying Neil's drinks tonight."

It took them a couple seconds to catch on. When they did, Dan lurched out of the doorway with a hard, "You're joking."

Andrew laughed at her outrage. "You wish I was."

"The last time he went out with you he hitchhiked his way back," Dan said. Seth's friends looked from her to Andrew with blatant interest, but Dan didn't seem to notice the attention. She stabbed a finger at Andrew and said, "He is not going out with you again. He'll probably wind up dead this time."