#trying to remember what they observe while jean is in palmetto

[disastersappho]

andrew: so jeremy is gay for jean

renee: too bad jean is gayer for kevin

kevin: *is in the other room raving about jeremy knox*

renee: i think we have a solution

thus andrew and renee become kevjerejean shippers

[sleepwalkersregime]

Day 2- Neil’s frienship with Renee

Here’s my second (late) fic for Neil’s birthday week. Read it on Ao3 or under the cut.

 https://archiveofourown.org/works/17502065

     None of the foxes had ever heard Renee swear before. It simply wasn’t in her vocabulary. Neil had yet to understand Renee as a person, and he still had his observation skills ingrained into his brain from years of needing them to stay alive. From watching during games, parties, and the school semester, Neil noted that Renee had the most self control of anyone he had ever seen before. His mind changed during one scrimmage. 

It was finals week before Christmas break, and everyone was tired from the double practices that Kevin insisted on to make up for how much he knew they would slack off during break. They had been at it for an hour, and everyone was getting testy and tired. The scrimmage progressively got faster and more violent. 

Neil made a particularly tricky pass back and forth with Kevin, relishing in the fact that he didn’t mess it up, before shooting at Renee. She tried to block the ball, but she wasn’t fast enough, and the goal behind her lit up red for the sixth time. If Neil hadn’t been so close, he would have missed the strained “Fuck!” come from beneath her helmet. He glanced around, but no one else was surprised, so he must have been the only one to hear. He raised his eyebrows at Renee. She exhaled. “Sorry. Long week.” Neil nodded before returning to half court. As usual, Andrew and Neil were the last to leave the locker room. They got back to the dorms and Andrew packed his things. He, Aaron, and Nicky were already going up to Columbia for the break, but Neil had one more final on Monday he needed to stay for, and Andrew was going to drive back down to get Neil afterward. Neil and Andrew said goodbye inside the dorm so that they wouldn’t have to do so in front of Nicky and Aaron. “I’ll miss you,” Neil said against Andrew’s mouth. “It’s just two days, idiot.” Andrew let out a hiss of air as Neil responded by trailing a line of kisses down his jaw. Neil pulled back and smiled. “Don’t fail your test,” Andrew said before turning to leave out the door. Neil accompanied them to the car and waved as the Maserati pulled out of the parking lot before heading back inside fox tower, going up the stairs to the roof. He nearly slammed into Renee when she opened the door from their floor. “Sorry Neil!” she quickly said as she continued around him without making eye contact. Normally, Neil didn’t like to get into any business he didn’t have to, but this was extremely out of character for Renee. “Is everything okay?” he called out. She stopped and turned to face Neil. Her face was red and her eyes were brimming with unshed tears. She took a deep breath before speaking, her voice coming out surprisingly steady. “I’ll be okay. Thank you.” Neil caught her arm before she spun off again. “Do you want- I’m going to the roof if you want some fresh air.” He felt awkward- he was rarely alone with Renee. She looked at Neil for a moment before nodding slightly. They went to the roof in silence. Renee followed suit as Neil sat down on the edge (on the opposite side of where he usually sat with Andrew). He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up, taking a single drag before letting it burn on its own.

Unsure of how to comfort a distraught Renee, Neil settled on keeping quiet until she decided to speak up. After a few minutes, she did.

“Allison’s parents want her to visit for Christmas. She said she wouldn’t go if she can’t bring me, and they aren’t happy about that.”

Neil remembered the time he found out that Renee and Allison were dating- he had been oblivious to the whole thing, and when his eyes lit up with surprise when he was told, Matt had slid Dan a twenty dollar bill.

“I told her we can always go to Stephanie’s. She’d love to have us. But Allison’s settled on bringing me home just to spite her parents.”

Neil looked at Renee and noticed her fiddling with the cross around her neck. “I left before it got too heated. I don’t want to start a fight right before Christmas.”

“That sounds tough.” Neil had never been good at knowing what to say to comfort others. “Allison seems to always choose the most dramatic option.”

Renee chuckled at that. “Yes, she does. I think she hopes that her parents will forgive her, but she won’t say it out loud. It’s great that they even invited her home, but it will take more time for them to accept us dating.”

Neil thought about his shopping trips with Allison, and how the very first time they went to the mall, she bought him a sequined crop top and impossibly tight leggings. “From what I know, Allison likes to throw everything out there at once, not wait for people to adjust slowly. Her parents know her, and if they’re willing to take her back  for leaving to pursue exy, I think they’ll get over the initial shock of this soon enough.”

Renee eyed Neil. “You’re not as apathetic as you want people to think.”

Neil shrugged.

“Thank you, Neil. I think you’re right.” She squeezed his hand once and stood to leave. “Do you have plans for tomorrow?”

Neil shook his head.

“Would you be interested in coming to church with me?”

Neil’s mouth fell open. He had only been to a church once in his life, and it was used by him and his mother to hide. Organized religion was never something he had taken in interest in. The only thing that stopped him from saying no immediately was the fact that Andrew was gone. While they would normally spend Sundays together in their room and on the roof, he would have free time this week. It couldn’t hurt. “Sure.”

She smiled. “We’ll leave at 9:00. Dress nice.” And she left.

On Sunday morning, after his usual early run, Neil stood before his closet and realized he had nothing church-appropriate. His nicest shirt was a black turtleneck that Andrew had bought him for going to Eden’s. Figuring God wouldn’t mind, he paired that with his newest pair of jeans and put on a pair of black vans that Andrew had left behind. A knock on his door signaled Renee was waiting for him, and he met her outside. Neil looked at Renee’s bright shirt-skirt combo and down at his own outfit. “Sorry, it was the best I had…”

Renee shrugged it off. “It’s perfect.”

They walked about fifteen minutes to a small chapel nearby, filling the time with Neil asking Renee about her religious background and trying to understand why something so abstract brought her peace.

Walking in, almost everyone greeted Renee with a smile as she introduced Neil. The service was an hour and a half. A lot of it was singing hymns, which Neil opted to sit out on and just read the words instead. A priest gave a sermon about God’s love and sharing that love with others, no matter the differences between people. It began and ended with a prayer by someone from the congregation, and Neil was impressed by how everything was attributed to God. The prayers thanked God for everything they had, and asked for things like comfort and understanding.

“So what did you think?” Renee asked Neil as they walked home.

“It was… different. I’ve never believed in God because I never had a reason to. My life was always in someone else’s hands, and I never had any divine intervention that saved me.”

Renee nodded. “That’s how I felt too. Why would God just let these horrible people go around killing others? But, from how I connect with Him, it’s not about that. He gives us the tools we need to be good people, and it’s up to us to take it. When I was in a gang, God didn’t stop me because it has to be our own choice.”

Neil mulled that over for a minute. They were back on campus now, with fox tower in sight. “I can see why believing in a higher being is… reassuring. Like all the shit that happens here isn’t just it. God, or buddha, or mother nature, or whatever it is… there’s an outside force that can give us a second chance. And it’s worth it to try.”

They were back on their floor now, and Renee stopped with Neil outside his dorm door. “That’s exactly it.” She leaned in to hug Neil. “Thank you for coming with me. I hope you can understand why I’ve made the choices I have.”

Neil nodded. “Thanks for taking me. I… I’m not sure if Christianity is for me, but i’m glad to know more about it. And about you.”

She gave him a warm smile. “I’m always open to talk if you have questions. Good luck with your final.”

“Good luck with Allison. I hope Christmas goes well.”

Neil thought about church for the rest of the day. He really was happy that he got to understand Renee a little better- she had been a mystery to him every since he came to Palmetto. He wasn’t sure if he would ever believe in a god of some sort, but now that his life didn’t have an expiration date, he found comfort in the fact that he could explore this again whenever he wanted.