Neil Josten

Neil sometimes smokes, but more often he lights a cigarette and lets it burn down on its own. The smell of smoke reminds him of his mother, which is both comforting and painful. Before Neil moves to Palmetto, all his belongings fit into a bag, including the folder, so Neil either locks it in a safe with a key or takes it with him. While Neil was on the run, he kept a meticulously organized folder filled with newspaper clippings about Kevin and Rico's careers, disguising important information as fan obsession. The folder also contained money, emergency contact information, addresses of hidden money caches, a fake note from an ophthalmologist for contact lenses (along with a box of brown contact lenses), and his uncle Stuart's phone number. The amount of money totaled approximately $250,000, a quarter of what his mother originally stole from his father. To protect his folder in his dorm room, Neil buys a small safe on his first day at Fox Tower. He wears old and inconspicuous clothes to blend in with the crowd and not be noticed. They are pale and faded, with frayed hems, and because of this he used to be compared to street scum. When he starts attending Palmetto, he has exactly 8 outfits. Because of the extensive scars on his torso, Neil does not change clothes or shower in the presence of other people. To put on his gear, he goes into a toilet stall and changes there. Every morning, upon waking, Neil gives himself 2 minutes to relearn how to breathe, calculate his next step, and "talk" to his fear. During summer training, Neil rides in Matt's car to training with the others. Afterwards, he runs back to Fox Tower. The others accept this and don't wait for him. When the semester starts, Neil rides in Matt's truck to save time. Neil and Kevin train every weekday except Friday, from ten o'clock until whatever time Kevin deems necessary (most often until midnight or later).

Neil has the key to the Foxes' stadium. Sometimes he goes to the library to use the computer. Neil loves to run and is the fastest player in the Class 1 Exie, running a mile in four minutes. Because he enrolled so late, Neil missed the early registration period for athletes and had to register with other freshmen in August. Neil initially decided to study Spanish, as languages ​​are useful on the run, and he had no intention of staying in Palmetto, planning to go to Mexico if he deemed his situation too risky to continue there. Later, in his sophomore year, Neil changed his major to mathematical sciences. Although Neil keeps Stuart's emergency phone number in a folder, he hopes he never has to use it because then he'll just turn to another crime family, which means escaping from one into the clutches of another. He's good at picking locks, a skill he inherited from his mother. Neil speaks French and German. To explain why he speaks French, he lies to Nicky that his mother is French, and he doesn't mention German at all. Neil doesn't take drugs or drink alcohol, fearing that he might reveal something about himself while intoxicated. As a result, he has a very low tolerance for them. He knows Matt's cell phone number by heart. Neil was once hitchhiking from New Mexico to Phoenix with various truckers. He pretended to be a sociologist conducting a survey. Neil doesn't like sweets and prefers fruits to vegetables. Neil's favorite color is gray. Due to his life on the run, Neil had never been to Exie Stadium on a game night until he joined the Foxes. After Andrew's car was damaged, Neil used much of the blood money his mother stole to buy a Maserati. Neil doesn't like baseball - he told the agent at the hospital in King's Suite.

Neil is perceptive, which is necessary for life on the run. When Andrew picks him up from the airport posing as Aaron, he quickly realizes that it is not really Aaron and that he is not taking his prescribed medication. Neil distrusts middle-aged men because they remind him of his father, whom he fears. So Coach Wymack initially scares him, although he promises Neil that he will never harm him. Neil does not trust other people. He does not accept their offers of help and tries to solve every problem on his own, which makes him withdrawn and secretive. Neil also tries to constantly control the situation. Neil is almost as obsessed with Exy as Kevin, despite having to stay away from it for most of his life. This obsession drives him to risk everything to play for the Foxes. He doesn't avoid a fight, although in the form of "Neil Josten" he wouldn't start one. Neil has a fiery temperament, which he inherited from his father.

Neil is described as a short, athletic young man. In the first two books, Neil dyes his hair black and wears brown contact lenses to disguise his identity and blend in. His hair is red[1] and his true eye color is a cool shade of blue. It is noted several times that he greatly resembles his father, to the point that he cannot even look at his reflection without feeling sick.

Neil is heavily scarred from abuse and injuries inflicted on him by his father, as well as from his life on the run. By the end of the trilogy, he has additional scars, as well as burn marks on his left cheekbone and arms.

His wardrobe consists mostly of worn-out, basic clothing items such as t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. He has no particular sense of style, valuing practicality above all else, and chooses his clothes based on their ability to hide his scars and make him blend in with the crowd, becoming a "gray shadow."

After the second book, Rico forces Neil to stop hiding his natural hair and eye color. He also forces Neil to get a tattoo of the number 4 on his left cheekbone to match the numbers (1 - Rico, 2 - Kevin, and 3 - Jean), and to show that he is still Rico's property, part of his entourage. This tattoo is later burned off by Lola Malcolm.