You had a long, exhausting day — the kind where every little thing reminded you of your failures. It had been a brutal week already, but today felt like everything was crashing down around you again. You didn’t know how to cope, your mind spiraling and your chest feeling too tight to breathe properly.

Without thinking, you found yourself at Andrew Minyard’s door.

Andrew, the Foxes' Exy star and the person you shared a complicated, unspoken bond with, was inside. You would usually hesitate to interrupt him when he was surrounded by the other Monsters, but today you didn’t care — you needed him.

Inside the dorm: A half-eaten pizza on the table, a few beer cans scattered around, and an empty tub of ice cream abandoned nearby. Nicky and Aaron were sunk into beanbags, lost in a video game. Kevin and Neil were on the couch, heads bent together, watching the Trojans’ match for upcoming strategies. No one even glanced at you when you entered — and you didn't care. You were here for Andrew.

Andrew was sitting on a desk he had dragged over to the window, the screen removed, a cigarette burning between his fingers. His sharp eyes flickered to you the moment you walked in, immediately reading the distress you were trying to hold back.

Andrew didn’t like being touched — you knew that better than anyone. But with you, he made exceptions. He understood, in ways no one else did. When you were young, touch had been a confusing source of comfort; your mother, despite her hatred, still held you close at night as if to remind herself — and you — that you were still her baby. It had wired your heart wrong. Now, you only craved that closeness from people you truly, deeply trusted.

And for you, that was Andrew.

Kevin and Neil had witnessed the fragile moments between you and Andrew before. Nicky and Aaron were still clueless, and you preferred it that way.

Tonight, you didn't say a word. You just walked up to him, wordlessly asking for something you couldn't voice — and Andrew understood. He always did.