Oh, and if I could take it all back/Take me back to the night we met

Neil - You're Somebody Else

Ever since he'd gone back in time that morning, Neil's confusion had refused to disappear. First, there had been the obvious issue of being back in time after dying. Now, his friends were acting weird. For one, Cameron hadn't insulted Todd like last time, which was strange - it wasn't like him to abstain from a joke on someone else's behalf. Knox had been practically glued to Charlie's side all day, more so than usual, and he'd stared at him sometimes before he caught himself and looked away. Meeks and Pitts on the other hand had seemed less attached at the hip than usual though, sometimes eyeing each other like they were trying desperately to figure something out. Charlie had hugged him - that happened maybe once a year, if Neil was lucky - and he'd been weirdly quiet throughout the day. Quiet and jumpy. And he'd stared at people, too, mostly the Poets and Neil's father. 

Then there was whatever the heck was up with Todd. 

Todd was so different from the shy boy Neil had met at the beginning of the other timeline he could barely believe he really was back in time. When he had first seen him, Todd had looked nervous and shy. Then it got weird. Todd shook his hand like there was nothing to it, as if it didn't give him severe anxiety because of the overvalued societal importance of a firm handshake. As if that wasn't enough weirdness, he had handled meeting Charlie - Charlie, of all people -, Knox and Meeks with surprising confidence. Neil hadn't even had to introduce him. He had stared at Mr Perry with enough hatred to fell a fully-grown rhinocerus and in the evening he had called Jeffrey. Why had he called the brother he wasn't close to on his first day in a new school? Was it because Neil hadn't mentioned him this time? Was Todd really that insecure about his "Mr Perfect" older brother? 

Well crap, now Neil felt bad for bringing him up the first time around. He sighed and turned his head, staring at Todd on the other bed. 

Neil did a double take. Then he frowned. The light of the moon revealed enough of Todd's corner that he could see the other boy was wide awake. Indeed, Todd appeared lost in thoughts as well - he was staring at the ceiling, a frown on his face. It was an unfairly adorable frown, and Neil lost track of his thoughts for a moment before he realised how out of character this was. 

Todd always, always went to sleep immediately. He was an early riser and a deep sleeper, and Neil had had to lug his half-asleep roommate back from a meeting more than once. Plus, Todd didn't frown at the ceiling like that, ever. It was too calm, too exposed. When Todd got upset, he always tried to hide it by turning his face away or hiding behind his bangs.Sometimes he cried. Once, he had even had a mental breakdown over a flunked test in advance (and then proceeded to do all right even by Welton standards, better than Neil). 

Had Jeffrey said something that had upset Todd? If so, Neil was going to find the guy and punch his lights out. If Neil had a little brother as sweet as Todd, he would make sure to never hurt his feelings. 

Neil had also been staring at Todd for a while now, and the guy hadn't even noticed. Even though Todd usually had a sixth sense that told him immediately whenever someone was looking at him. Neil would know. 

Todd made a little frustrated huff and propped up one knee, effectively drawing Neil's attention back to him. He stayed like that for a moment before rolling onto his side, facing Neil who quickly closed his eyes in a bad imitation of sleep. Longing to fidget, he laid still as Todd's eyes roamed his face. Add that to the list of weird things Todd has done today, Neil thought. Finally, he felt Todd's stare lift. After a few moments, Neil dared to crack open one eye. Todd had finally gone to sleep, curled up with his face pressed into his pillow. The frown hadn't gone away. Neil mirrored it, not sure if he would be able to sleep at all that night. 

💤

Neil awoke to the sound of a short scream. He flailed, getting tangled in his bedsheets, and tipped out of bed. 
"Ow!", he cried as he hit the floor with a painful thud. Trying to detangle himself from his graceless heap, he caught a glimpse of Todd.