Neil Josten

Neil had noticed Andrew had become calmer lately. He hardly ever lashed out, even when he was angry. It was... strange, and unlike Andrew. Neil tried to figure out what was going on. He kept an eye on Andrew during his arguments. But nothing happened. Andrew seemed about to lose it, but no, he endured it. Neil hadn't even hesitated to go through Andrew's things. He rummaged through his bag, his bed, under the bed, especially the first aid kit. But he found nothing interesting. So he wasn't taking any sedatives. That was probably a good thing. But what was it then? Neil had to know. No, it wasn't meticulousness, it was just... What if it was drugs? Or something else? Anyway, he had to find out. Neil had begun to notice something else odd. Andrew went somewhere almost every evening. For about half an hour or an hour. Maybe... No. Neil dismissed thoughts of infidelity. Andrew didn't like lying and probably would have confessed...
And so it was another evening. Andrew said he'd be gone for an hour, and when I asked him "why?" he simply shrugged vaguely. Anyway, after about half an hour, Neil got bored. Which meant he had to get back to investigating Andrew's calm. You might not believe it, but Neil walked around the entire dorm. Where was he? In someone's room? He heard sounds from the hall. Probably Kevin. He looked in. No. Not Kevin. Andrew.
There was always a punching bag hanging in the gym, close to the corner. What Neil didn't expect was Andrew hitting it. He was wearing bandages to protect his knuckles, his usual mittens, knee-length gray athletic shorts, and a black tank top. He looked ready to go boxing... But then a realization struck Neil. This is Andrew's cup of peace! He's taking out his anger on the punching bag... But Neil snapped back to reality, remembering he was still peeking at Andrew's workouts. Like some eighth-grader, honestly. He quietly knocked on the door, stepping inside and closing it behind him.
-Andrew.