#i can't beleive i did it all ON MY OHONR

[kickfoxing]

tbh i’m always thinking about neil and matts friendship but here i am at 12:30 getting too emotional

☆ matt is a year younger than the girls but a year older than the monsters ☆this means there is a year where the girls are gone but matt is still playing ☆ and it’s his last year with the foxes so he really wants to make it count ☆ not only is he going to be done playing with his family, he still has to be working hard to get scouted by a pro team ☆ but the foxes aren’t great, they aren’t the fantastic winners they used to be ☆ (thanks to the newbies that don’t have the murder and kidnapping as a shared life experience with the rest of the team) ☆ it’s safe to say matts stressed ☆ he wants to win to secure a good team but more so that he wants to win because it’s his last year ☆ all the stress he’s felt is built up into their games and explodes on the court ☆ he’s being reckless and jittery but managing to channel his energy and be and amazing player ☆ (it’s one of the only times kevin will admit to his face that he is deserving of court) ☆ but it isn’t enough ☆ the foxes lose and matt is devastated ☆ they didn’t even make it to the final showdown ☆ and no one seems to notice the spiral he goes into ☆ he doesn’t turn back to drugs but he stops reaching out to dan for small things ☆ he stops trying to see if nicky wants to take a break from studying and play some mario kart ☆ he stops asking neil to meet up for lunch ☆ in a move reminiscent of andrew minyard, matt find himself on the roof ☆ he doesn’t have a mob boss looming over his head demanding he play exy like kevin or neil ☆ he doesn’t need to play to make his livelihood, dans salary will eventually provide for the both of them ☆ so he sits on the roof and looks out over the smallish campus he’s know for the past 5 years ☆ and wonders how things could have gone differently ☆ he sneaks away when he knows no one will follow him ☆ when he knows he won’t be a bother to anyone ☆ but neil isn’t harry potter, he’s actually perceptive and uses his observations to help ☆ he noticed matt withdrawing himself from his friends ☆ initially, neil was too caught up in his on worry from losing to notice what was happening ☆ it was his first year as full captain, and he wasn’t taking care of his team ☆ he wasn’t sure how he knew where matt would be, but he felt drawn to the roof ☆ when he showed up, matt was immodestly shutting down ☆"ah, hey neil! how are you doing?“ ☆"just checking in. seeing what you’re up to.” ☆"just enjoying the weather, hah. didn’t mean to pull you away" ☆"what’s going on, matt?“ ☆ he tried to keep it in, he really did ☆ but there was something about neil that just made matt spill everything that had been going on ☆ all of his nerves and stress was laid out onto the table for neil to see ☆ he didn’t want to burden neil with his problems but once he started he couldn’t stop ☆ he talked in circles until he felt there was not more that could be said ☆"so that’s where i’m at.” ☆ neil didn’t laugh at him ☆ or tell him his problems were inconsequential ☆ he wrapped his arms around matt and pulled him back down to matt’s suite ☆ he rounded up the remaining original foxes ☆ (including aaron to everyone’s surprise) ☆ together they watched exy highlights (for kevin), some movies (for andrew), played some video games (for nicky), and spent a couple hours in each other’s company ☆ in the morning matt called dan and talked to her about all the things he was going through ☆ as they headed back to practice the next week, matt stopped neil with a hand on his shoulder ☆ neil motioned andrew to head out without him ☆"neil, i just want to say thank you for everything you did. for listening to my problems and not laughing at me.“ ☆"of course, matt. you’re my best friend, i’ll always be here for you.” ☆"same goes for you man.“ ☆they were silent for a moment that was slightly awkward as they shared small smiles ☆ matt clasped his hand on neil’s shoulder ☆"lets go play some exy”