Chapter Text
Neil ducked away from the newcomers, keeping his distance as he studied Jeremy Knox and his friends. Catalina Alvarez and Laila Dermott seemed normal enough, good riders and smart when it came to horses. Jeremy kept the other man, Jean Moreau, close to his side as they chattered away.
Neil found the blonde suspicious.
He’d met Jean once, while eventing when he was much younger. The black haired boy he had known was quiet, but seemed to have only been at the event to take care of Kevin and Riko’s horses. Neil never saw him ride.
Neil sat on the cold metal stands, looking out at the empty arena. It was impossible for anybody to sneak up on him, so when the first footstep of the newcomer made the entire structure creak he was forced to watch them join him.
Jean looked worried.
“You lost?” Neil asked, his voice coming out more annoyed than he’d intended.
“I could ask you the same thing,” Jean said. “You’re a long way from Baltimore.”
Neil felt his body go cold.
“I told Kevin I was coming to town, I’m surprised he did not mention you,” Jean continued, sitting down on the same bench as Neil, just out of arm's reach.
“He hasn’t quite connected the dots,” Neil frowned.
Jean hummed. “I was sorry to hear about your mother,” He said, and Neil knew that he was pushing just to see if he would snap.
“I’m surprised to see you got out from being Riko’s pet dog.”
Neither of them spoke again for a long time.
“Do they treat you well?” Neil asked, glancing back towards Jeremy and the girls. When he looked back at Jean, there was a soft smile.
“They do,” he answered.
Neil nodded. Companionable silence settled the air between them. Neither one asked more of the other, but Neil imagined they both knew it all. Jean offered Neil a drink from his beer, Neil took it.
“Jean!” Knox’s voice disrupted them.
Neil’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the intruder. Jean stood, offering Neil a small smile. Neil returned it until Knox further intruded his vision.
Knox grinned at him. “Hey, man,” He chuckled. “Didn’t have the chance to properly introduce myself earlier, I’m Jeremy Knox.” He held out his hand.
Neil glanced down at it. “I know.”
He swore the blonde’s smile faltered when his eye twitched, but Jean reached up and rested his hand on Knox’s. “You were looking for me?”
He tore his gaze away from Neil, and Neil saw it shift into something warmer and more genuine. “Yeah, wanted to let you know that me and the girls are calling it a night.”
Jean stood, nodding to Neil. “Okay,”
Knox glanced between the two. “Well, you can stay chatting with your new friend if you want. I didn’t mean to push,”
“Old friend,” Neil corrected at the same time Jean answered “We had just finished up.”
The blonde looked between them, before his eyes settled on Jean’s. “Alright,” he shrugged. “See you around,” he gave Neil a halfhearted wave as he led Jean away.
Neil didn’t bother to answer.
Friday was busy. Dozens of trailers arrived and Neil was sent away when Dan realized his lack of people skills would not change any time soon. He took care of their horses, and helped Kevin and Wymack once they arrived. That night, when Jeremy Knox and his clan joined the others around a campfire Neil watched from a distance. Mainly, he observed Kevin and Jean.
There was a stalemate between them. Neither would get closer than an arm's length, but both stared when the other wasn’t looking. Neil found it less interesting when he realized this would not change any time soon.
Neil found himself a new hiding spot. He absentmindedly spun around in the office chair kept in the announcer’s box. The door was propped open, letting a cool breeze blow into the small room that overlooked the arena.
It took several hours for someone to come fetch him, and this time Allison only rolled her eyes at his explanation as to why he was building that had been locked.
He slept surprisingly well in the hammock that Renee had strung up in the empty stable stall, but was up with the dawn because of the way his body was wired. He fed the horses and took each of them out for a walk around the grounds while most of everybody still slept. Then Neil tied them outside for a few minutes so he had time to clean and refresh their bedding and water. He handled the morning feedings with practiced ease, leaving Queenie’s to the side for Kevin.
Neil wandered around the rodeo grounds without anything much to do. Part of him was tempted to sneak in and add his name to the list of bronc riders, but he repeatedly talked himself out of it.
Dan caught him before he had the chance to change his mind for the fifth time. “Here,” she handed him a stack of number tags. “Go around and give everybody their number, it’s written down next to their name. If somebody is a no show, I need to know soon.”
And so he did. Though, Neil put off talking to Knox until he and his partner were the only two remaining on his list. Even then, he sought out Catalina for ten minutes before surrendering to fate.
Knox smiled when he spotted Neil making his way over. Neil fought the urge to roll his eyes.
“Hey,” he lifted his hand in greeting. “I was just gonna ask Dan where you had gone, I need to grab me and Cat’s numbers.”
Neil forced a smile onto his face, though he suspected it looked more like a grimace. “Yeah.” He dipped his chin and pulled the two number tags from the envelope Dan had provided.
Knox took them with a genuine smile, as Neil verified the numbers beside their names. “Can I get Cat’s solo number too? For the breakaway roping?”
Neil nodded, sifting through the color coded bags that Dan had organized. He offered Knox his steer wrestling and Catalina’s breakaway numbers.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” Knox chuckled.
“Don’t see why I need to,” Neil answered, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Knox shrugged. “Yeah, suppose you’re right.” He hesitated. “Hey, Dan mentioned you ride broncs, that true?”
Neil silently cursed the woman as he answered. “I gave it a shot, didn't stick with it.”
Knox nodded, smiling. “That’s sick, dude,” His grin seemed to widen. “Want to meet our horses, if you’re not up to anything else? The others insist your damn near as good as Wymack when it comes to gentling, Matt was going on about a project gelding of yours last night and Emma mentioned that you’re working with her new gelding.”
A little bit of pride buzzer in his chest, but Neil hesitated. He sighed. “Sure, Jeremy.”
The blonde clapped him on the shoulder and Neil attempted to mask his disgust as discomfort. Neil played nice for a few minutes as Jeremy introduced him to his horses. It was harder to dislike the man when he so clearly loved his animals as much as they liked him. His roping horse rested his head in Jeremy’s arms as he chatted to Neil about training and rodeos across the country.
He was saved by Jean, who caught sight of the two of them as he made his way past with Renee.
“Jeremy,” Jean said, and the blonde immediately looked at him with a soft smile. One that was genuine in a way Neil hadn’t gotten from the man himself. “Neil has to help the others out, and you should be getting ready,” he held up his phone to display the time, and while Jeremy studied it Jean looked over to Neil with a knowing look.
“Yes, I gotta run,” He said quickly, waving to them both before he departed.
The next few hours flew by. Neil found himself prepping Hercules and Eve, giving directions to the slowly growing crowd, and selling wristbands by the front gate. Nicky arrived just as the crowd began to settle to let Neil escape.
He climbed onto the fence near the head gates and stood for a moment while the national anthem rang out over the arena. He settled himself down onto the top rung as the announcer began his usual announcements.
The sponsor's flags were carried around the arena and the opening events began. Neil paid little attention to the riders, caring more about the horses performance. His respect for Allison did grow as he watched her and Rocky race around the barrels. They scored well, though Neil didn’t completely understand how it worked. Laila beat her score after the few girls between them, and Neil wondered how much of it was because she had luck on her side. Regardless, Allison looked elated when she joined him a half hour later.
“Good run,” He offered.
“It was, wasn’t it?” She smiled. “Rocky’s doing real well.”
She explained to him the following events, and Neil paid attention as best he could. Team roping seemed a difficult feat, but Cat and Jeremy apparently broke their personal record that night. Allison cheered Cat on when she had breakaway, and they both quietly watched Jeremy when he went out for steer wrestling.
“That’s why Kevin is such a fanboy,” Allison gestured with a manicured nail as Jeremy took on the last steer of the evening. He handled it better than any of the men before him, and Neil gritted his teeth rather than admit he was impressed.
Not a single man managed to sit the full eight for broncs. Neil grew bored of watching them all tumble to the ground, studying the animals as they bucked.
“Hard to believe you’re any better than them,” A voice said from behind Neil. He sat up straighter and realized Allison had disappeared. Andrew had his arms crossed as he leaned to rest his elbows on the fence.
Neil blinked.
“You don’t do rodeos,” he said, in lieu of taking the bait.
Andrew shrugged. “I made an exception.”
The last event was bull riding, the crowd's favorite. Neil climbed down from his perch, standing beside Andrew as he watched the others. Neil followed his gaze, which appeared to be bouncing between Renee and Kevin as they handled collecting the fallen riders.
At one point, Andrew’s knuckles went white as he held the fence. One of the bulls charged at Eve’s end as Renee pulled the fallen man onto her haunches. The horse pivoted in time, but Andrew’s shoulders didn’t relax until she’d ridden several yards away and let the others deal with it.
The families and most of the crowd dispersed from the stands shortly thereafter. The raffle winner was announced as the thrum of music from the barn carried out over the voices of the crowd. Neil walked away and helped Kevin untack, and Andrew followed but left to find and check on Renee.
Dan found Neil and treated him as if he’d been hiding. “Come with me,” she demanded, and when he looked to Kevin for support all he received was a bored shrug.
“No, Dan,” Neil tried as she hauled him towards Matt and the band.
“Neil,” she deadpanned. “You’ve been helping for days, now come have some fun,” she urged.
He looked for an escape, but instead found Allison coming up behind him to twine her arm through his own as she hauled him into the building.
Near the stage bodies were pressed together tightly and he had to be led through them towards the bar. Allison forced a cup into his hand, and when Neil eyed it warily she rolled her eyes. “It’s just coke,” she said into his ear, but he barely heard it over the noise.
She pulled him further from the band, where a small group had formed around a makeshift counter. Aaron had his hand around a red haired woman’s waist, and they both appeared to be deep in conversation with Jeremy. Dan and Matt chatted with Nicky, Cat, and Laila but Neil couldn’t make out any of what was being said. Allison delivered him to Kevin, who leaned against the wall with a bottle in his hand. Neither said a word to each other, and Neil resumed people-watching.
Marissa, who Neil had long forgotten about, was pressed up against Katelyn’s side. Aaron’s girlfriend had her arm slung around the other girl’s shoulder, and all Neil could do was brace for the confrontation of it all as he realized who she was and how he knew her.
He watched the girl do a double take, as Nicky weaved through the crowd closer to him. Her eyes widened a fraction, and she leaned up to whisper something to Katelyn. Her eyes were still on Neil.
“Hey, stranger,” Marissa grinned, making her way over as soon as Nicky settled where she had previously been standing. Neil shot Kevin a pleading look, but he just blinked as Neil squirmed.
“You two know each other?” Aaron narrowed his eyes, confused.
“Oh, yeah,” Marissa laughed, resting her hand on Neil’s chest. “He came into the diner a few times.” She nodded eagerly.
The others took her word for it and went back to their chatter. Only one seemed to question the woman draping herself over Neil, but Aaron didn’t comment again. Neil could smell the alcohol on her breath.
As their small crowd began to disperse, Neil was left with Marissa chattering away at a volume he couldn’t hear over the band playing. He kept himself from touching her, his hand resting in his own back pocket.
“Dance with me,” He felt Marissa tug at his arm. She batted her eyelashes, watching him eager as a cat on milk.
Neil opened his mouth to answer, but startled as he felt someone come up behind him. The band of a hat pressed against his forehead, and Neil turned sharply to look at the newcomer.
Andrew was nearly pressed flush against his back. The blonde’s eyes were on Marissa. She didn’t realize at first. Her mind was addled by the alcohol. When she finally blinked and registered Andrew’s presence, and his hat on Neil’s head, her smile faltered.
“Oh,” She unwrapped herself from Neil slowly.
Neil watched as she wished him a quick goodbye, and scampered off to find her friends. He studied Andrew out of the corner of his eye.
The blonde didn’t say a word, just glowered in the direction Marissa had disappeared. Just as quickly as he arrived, Andrew disappeared back into the crowd. Neil suspected he’d gone back to where Kevin now was lingering with Jeremy and his crew.
Neil sighed, looking around and scoping out the quickest exit. He slipped past Allison, who had a small crowd formed around her near the door.
Neil wandered to where Dan, Nicky, Renee, and Matt were standing outside the barn. He received several smiles and Matt welcomed him into their conversation happily. He was asked about the events, and teased about his own experience on broncs. The air was colder without the crowd, a little easier to breathe.
“Dude, who gave you their hat?” Nicky asked after a few minutes. As if he’d just realized the change in his appearance. “We can’t take you anywhere.” The others all laughed, but Neil’s brows furrowed.
“What’s so funny?” Neil glanced between all of them.
Renee cocked her head to the side. All four exchanged looks of their own. Renee had a raised brow, Nicky a guilty smile, and Dan the expression of someone trying to swallow their laughter.
“It’s kind of like,” Matt hesitated, tugging his hat off and resting it on Dan’s curls. “Staking your claim on somebody? You’re telling others that they’re yours.”
Dan rolled her eyes, but couldn’t fight back her smile. “Older folks like to joke that if you take the hat, you ride the cowboy.” She smirked, and Neil glanced away as she gave Matt a knowing look.
“Oh, well,” Neil shrugged his shoulders. “The hat is Andrew’s.” He sipped from his glass, watching all four heads snap to look at him.
Nicky’s eyes widened, and Dan coughed in surprise. The only one who didn’t seem to care was Renee, her pleasant smile was there as always.
“No shit,” Matt said with utter sincerity. “Maybe that bet held some weight after all,” he said with a glance at Renee.
“What bet?” Neil questioned, but they waved him off.
Hours later, the band finished and the traffic from the general public caused them to linger. Dan and Matt slipped away and nobody commented. When Kevin finally found the rest of them they were rounded up and told to get a good night's sleep before tearing down the following morning.
Neil walked slowly, studying the stars that were bright above them now that the buzzing arena lights had been shut off.
“Here,” Neil held out the hat to Andrew. The others were a ways ahead of them, but Neil didn’t offer it up until he was certain they were out of earshot.
Andrew eyed it before he plucked the hat out of Neil’s head and placed it back where it had been. Neil blinked, confused. Neil reached up to remove it once again and Andrew’s eyes narrowed.
“I think it’s sending a message that you wouldn’t want it to,” Neil said. “Dan and Matt were talking about it, and-“
“Do I care what they say?” Andrew raised a brow.
“No,” Neil hesitated. “But you hate me, you don’t want me in the way this means.” He gestured to the hat.
“You’re right,” Andrew said.
Neil squinted.
“Sometimes I think I’d like to kiss you senseless, though.” Andrew added onto the end.
Neil’s neck could’ve snapped with how quickly he turned to stare at the other, but Andrew took off walking faster away from him. Neil wouldn’t dare call after him. It was none of the others’ business what had been said, but now his breath was caught in his throat as he spluttered.