Re-listening to MAG 34 after @dykekarkat mentioned Stranger!Neil and now I really need to write a fic where he shows up in Aaron’s anatomy class and spends the entire semester exhibiting increasingly unsettling behavior that no one else will acknowledge.
Aaron complains about the sound of bones cracking directly behind him, but neither of the students on either side of him will admit to having heard it. Aaron insists to Katelyn that Neil is shorter than he was at the start of the semester, and she asks gently if he’s been sleeping alright.
Finally, Aaron snaps and accuses Neil of only breathing when he thinks someone is paying attention. Of course, Neil’s response is to patronizingly suggests that Aaron only being aware of Neil’s breathing when he’s paying attention may be better attributed to basic psychology than anything supernatural.
The absolute worst comes towards the end of the semester, the first time he sees Neil outside of class. Aaron nearly misses him, tucked away in an alcove behind the science building with Andrew, of all people. Andrew, who has two fingers pressed to the side of Neil’s neck.
“Not like that,” he says, shaking his head. He takes Neil’s hand, guiding it to his own chest. Neil stands perfectly still for several seconds, head cocked to the side in consideration, zero expression on his face. Then he brightens. “Oh! That’s much faster than I was thinking.” Andrew’s ears flush red, and Aaron tries to convince himself that the entire semester has been some sort of fucked up hallucination.