Hi - was just wondering what would happen if Andrew got drugged at Edens one night??? Like maybe Roland gives them the clean drinks then goes away and Neil is busy clearing the crowd and Andrew is completely distracted by him for a miniscule second and someone drugs his drink either on purpose or by accident meaning it for someone else???? Not sure how it'd happen but... What would happen to the poor baby??? Would he go manic again???? PLEASE MY HEART I'M SORRY
So, obviously, the monsters go to Roland for their drinks. And, obviously, Roland doesn’t roofie Andrew. But while Andrew is pushing through the crowd and distracted by Neil or when Roland is turned around getting another drink and Andrew is watching him and not the tray someone slips something into one of the drinks. And Andrew is the unlucky one that drinks it, but also Andrew would probably want it that way over one of the others getting roofied.
Andrew doesn’t realize what is wrong at first. His head hurts, but the music is loud and Kevin hasn’t stopped talking since Aaron and Nicky left. Andrew is getting so tired, but it’s late and Kevin’s talking is tiring him out and they did have that stupid game that Neil made him work his ass off in last night and he did drive them here instead of napping in the back of the car. Andrew kind of feels like he’s going to throw up. He’s not even drunk. He shouldn’t be worrying about throwing up. He’s felt fine all day and he hasn’t drunk any more than usual. He stands up because oh shit if he’s going to throw up he’s not going to do it on the floor. But he’s dizzy and tired and something is off with his vision and he sits back down. He’s drunk. Except he knows his tolerance and he didn’t drink past it. He knows what drunk feels like and this is wrong. This isn’t it. Andrew is panicked and confused and tired and his head fucking hurts so much he might puke yet, but he looks at Kevin and Neil. Kevin stopped talking now. They’re both staring at him. He can’t tell if they’re okay or if there was something in their drinks too because his brain isn’t working right and fuck how is he supposed to look after them?
Neil asks Andrew “Are you okay?” And Andrew’s voice sounds weird to his own ears as he asks “Where’s Aaron? …Where’s Nicky?” Neil is worried about Andrew because there is definitely something wrong with Andrew right now and Neil knows Andrew knows his limits and Neil knows Andrew doesn’t cross them and he saw that Andrew didn’t have more drinks than usual but something is wrong and just like at Luthor’s he’s more worried about Aaron than about himself which is a sign that whatever it is is bad. There’s no way Neil is leaving Andrew like this so, without taking his eyes off of Andrew to look at Kevin, Neil tells him “Go get them.”
Andrew tells Neil “Go with him.” Because Andrew doesn’t want Kevin on his own in here when someone already put something in his drink. He can’t protect Kevin, so he needs Neil to take his place. He needs them to find Aaron and Nicky and he needs Neil to keep Kevin safe. Except Neil and Kevin ignore that and Kevin didn’t have anything extra in his drink and he takes off without Neil when Neil tells him “Go.” Andrew is annoyed, but can’t even argue because he doesn’t have the energy and because where the fuck is Aaron? He needs to know if someone put something in his and Nicky’s drinks too.
Neil tries to ask Andrew “What’s wrong?” Andrew sets his arms on his table and his head on his arms. How can he be this tired with the music this loud and while he is this alarmed? He says something Neil can’t hear over the music and Neil doesn’t understand because why does it seem like someone put something in his drink and why was it just Andrew’s and they went to Roland, this should not have happened. And Neil feels stupid for paying too much attention to Andrew and not watching their drinks while they were at the bar. Neil doesn’t know what to do and he doesn’t want to touch Andrew without permission because that would be bad on a good day and even worse now and he really hopes Kevin gets back with Nicky and Aaron soon.
It feels like it takes Kevin forever to find them and bring them back to the table and Andrew’s face is still in his arms when they get there. Aaron looks at Neil like this is his fault and asks “What the fuck happened to him?” Neil doesn’t know though. Aaron and Nicky left and Andrew and Kevin kept drinking and then Andrew wasn’t okay. Nicky goes to touch Andrew to try to wake him up or see if he’s okay or awake and Neil tells him “Don’t.” Nicky freezes with his hand halfway to Andrew because Neil tends to know best about these kinds of things. Neil isn’t sure Andrew is still conscious, but he leans closer to him and loudly tells him “Andrew, Aaron’s here.” Aaron looks at Neil confused because why the fuck would that matter that he specifically is here? But Andrew’s head lolls to the side and his eyes don’t look totally focused but he looks up at Aaron and says something that they can’t make out, but Neil knows Andrew well enough to know that Andrew is worried about Aaron even though the thing happened to him. So Neil keeps his eyes on Andrew and tells him “Aaron’s fine. There wasn’t anything in his drinks.”
Nicky wants to leave and get Andrew home, but actually getting Andrew from the table to the car is a whole other thing and they can’t leave now anyways because Aaron stormed off and the absolute last thing Neil wants to do right now is leave Andrew while he’s in this state and go follow Aaron to figure out what the fuck he is doing just taking off like the asshole he is while Andrew is drugged and needs him, but Neil knows Aaron is Andrew’s top concern so Neil looks between Kevin and Nicky and tells them “Stay with him. Don’t touch him and don’t let anyone else.” Andrew is dimly aware Neil is leaving and he is worried about it but his limbs feel too heavy to move to try to stop him.
Neil heads off after Aaron and finds him at the bar yelling at Roland, accusing him of drugging Andrew because he’s jealous Andrew’s fucking Neil instead now and yelling at Roland because Roland insists it wasn’t him and “Well then who the fuck was it? Show me so I can punch the fucker.” And Roland doesn’t know who it was and he didn’t see anything and he’s trying to ask if Andrew’s okay, but Aaron just keeps yelling and taking all his anger out on Roland because Andrew is drugged and Roland should have seen it and stopped it and now Roland can’t even tell him who in this club’s ass he has to kick for drugging his brother.
Neil wanted to yell at Aaron for taking off when Andrew needs him. His speech was coming together on the way over here, but Aaron is pissed off and shaken up and willing to fight anyone over what happened and there are tears in his eyes while he’s yelling and Neil’s pretty sure he shouldn’t be staring like this, but he is because Aaron is furious and crying over Andrew getting drugged and it is hard to hate him even if he is being stupid and useless right now because Neil is pissed the fuck off at whoever put Andrew through this too. Roland sees Neil and looks to him and Neil can’t tell if he’s looking to Neil for help or just waiting for Neil to yell at him too. Aaron doesn’t even acknowledge Neil. Neil grabs his arm and Aaron rips it back out of his grip so aggressively that Neil’s a little surprised Aaron’s shoulder stayed in its socket. Aaron growls out “Get the fuck off of me.” Neil tells him “It wasn’t Roland.” And he really is amazed by how sure he is of this when Roland helped drug him his first night in Columbia. But Neil does trust Roland, especially with Andrew. Andrew trusts Roland and if Roland was the kind of guy who would roofie him, Andrew wouldn’t still be friendly with him after their old hookup arrangement. Aaron still doesn’t budge, so Neil adds “He doesn’t know who it was. This isn’t helping anything.” Aaron knows that it isn’t helping anything and he’s pissed because he wants to beat the fucker up. He wants something physical to hit and blame for this. He wants something to do to help and that is less terrifying than trying to figure out how to help Andrew, especially when Neil always seems to know best. Aaron growls out “Why aren’t you with him?” Neil says “Because I’m stuck here making sure you don’t do anything stupid while Andrew can’t stop you himself. Nicky and Kevin are with him, but I want to go back. Which means you have to get your head out of your ass and actually help him for once.”
Aaron growls out “Fuck you” because he does plenty to help Andrew all the time without any explanation, but Neil doesn’t really give a fuck if Aaron is mad at him. He’s trying to bait him into being pissed at him and trying to prove him wrong instead of keeping them all here while he tries to track down someone he knows nothing about. Aaron seems to take the bait because after turning to give Roland a parting “Do your fucking job next time” he stalks off back in the direction of the table and Neil is too busy following him so he can get back to Andrew to say anything to Roland or even look at him again before leaving.
Back at the table, Nicky is arguing with Andrew. Which is really more Nicky nervously trying to talk Andrew into letting them carry him and insisting he has to leave somehow and he can’t walk like that and Andrew is just making groaning noises that Nicky is pretty sure mean that Andrew doesn’t want that and he doesn’t want to make Andrew uncomfortable or get himself stabbed at a later date for it. Nicky visibly is relieved when Aaron and Neil come back to the table and he looks right at Neil and says “Great. You carry him.”
Neil still doesn’t want to help Andrew without Andrew’s permission, but they’ve got to get him out of the bar somehow. Neil crouches down and sets his chin on the edge of the table so he can look at Andrew at eye level and says “Andrew, we have to carry you.” Andrew doesn’t react and Neil’s brain is screaming at him that this is not okay and this is not permission, but they’re all looking at Neil and waiting for him to talk Andrew into this while Andrew is in no condition to be deciding what he is okay with. Neil ignores the way the others are watching them and tells Andrew “We’re going to carry you out of here so we can get you home. Me and Aaron.” Aaron doesn’t know why him but doesn’t argue. Neil is confident Andrew would be least alarmed with Aaron the other one carrying him and also Neil and Aaron’s heights are more compatible for it. Neil keeps going and tells Andrew “We’re only going to touch you over your clothes and we’re just going to put your arms over our shoulders. Okay?” Andrew just stares at Neil, but he doesn’t try to argue, so Neil figures this is the best they’re going to get at this point. He stands up straight again and looks at Aaron and says “Stand on his other side.”
Andrew doesn’t resist them and Aaron and Neil carefully position Andrew’s arms over their shoulders. Neil grabs onto Andrew’s wrist through his armband instead of his hand and Neil said they were only going to touch Andrew over his clothes, so Aaron copies Neil and holds Andrew in place by the wrist through his armband. Kevin and Nicky clear a path for them and it isn’t an overly quick process but they get Andrew outside. Neil keeps one hand on Andrew’s wrist and pulls his keys out with the other. He tosses them at Nicky and tells Kevin to go with him to get the car because Andrew wouldn’t want Nicky taking off alone right now. So then it’s just Aaron and Neil holding up semi-conscious Andrew. Aaron says “If he remembers us carrying him tomorrow and is pissed, I’m blaming you.” Neil is not surprised and says “I don’t care. I’d rather he be pissed at me and safe.” Aaron doesn’t say anything, but he gives Neil a look that makes Neil uncomfortable and makes Neil have to look away because he doesn’t know how to handle anything but indifference and hatred and anger out of Aaron.
Nicky brings the car around and Aaron and Neil help Andrew into the passenger seat. Neil goes to get in the back with Kevin and Aaron, but Nicky gets out and points out Andrew would want him to drive and so Neil gets into the front instead. They drive back in a silence even Nicky doesn’t break and Andrew falls asleep against his window. When they get back to Columbia, Aaron is ready to help without being told this time. He opens the door and Neil catches Andrew’s shoulder through his shirt so Andrew doesn’t half fall out of the car and he feels guilty putting his hand on Andrew like this without permission while he is asleep. Neil unbuckles Andrew and Nicky unlocks the door while Neil and Aaron carry him into the house. They put him in Nicky’s bed instead of his own so they don’t have to drag him upstairs and Nicky takes Andrew’s for the night. Kevin follows them and stands there for a second and then leaves when Andrew is in bed. Nicky stands there worrying about Andrew and frowning for a few minutes before he reluctantly goes upstairs to take Andrew’s bed and to let Andrew rest and let Neil watch over him. And then it’s just Aaron and Neil waits for Aaron to make the ‘you better not rape him while he’s drugged up and easy prey’ comment, but Aaron doesn’t. He just stands there looking at Andrew without saying anything and then eventually leaves without a word to go to his own bed and leaves Neil to look after Andrew if he needs anything and Neil realizes that at some point Aaron started trusting him with Andrew. Neil sits up in Nicky’s room for a long time but, eventually, he falls asleep too.
In the morning, Nicky plays the concerned parent role and makes sure Andrew is okay and keeps getting him water to drink and makes sure he eats something, even if Andrew just picks at it. Andrew doesn’t say anything about Neil or Aaron carrying him and he doesn’t ask about or comment on how he got back from the bar.
