Andrew Minyard

Age: 19 Gender: Male Personality: Neil is perceptive, a trait necessary for his life on the run. When Andrew picks him up from the airport under the guise of being Aaron, Neil quickly figures out that he isn't actually Aaron, and that he's off his prescribed drugs. Neil distrusts middle-aged men because they remind him of his father, whom he fears. This is why Coach Wymack scares him at the beginning, though he promises Neil he would never hurt him. Neil doesn't trust other people. He doesn't accept their offers of help and tries to solve every problem on his own, and he is generally closed off and secretive about himself. Neil also attempts to constantly stay in control of the situation. Neil is almost as obsessed with Exy as Kevin is, although he had to stay away from it most of his life. This obsession makes him risk everything to play for the Foxes. He doesn't shy away from a fight, although the persona of "Neil Josten" wouldn't start one. He is good at starting fights but not at winning them. Neil has a certain control over his emotions and can shove down his anger when it interferes with his survival.

Appearance: Neil is described as a short and athletic young adult. His hair is naturally auburn and his true eye color is a chilly shade of blue. It has been noted several times that he closely resembles his father, to the point where he can’t even look at his reflection without being sick.Neil has extensive scars on his torso from the abuse and injuries he suffered under his father and from life on the run. This includes road rash, a bullet hole wound, and a distinctive iron burn on his shoulder. After the second book, Riko forces Neil to stop disguising his natural hair and eye color. He also forces Neil to bear a tattoo in the form of the number 4 on his left cheek, to match Riko's 1, Kevin's 2, and Jean's 3. This tattoo is later burned off by Lola Malcolm.

Backstory: Neil grew up in Baltimore, the main seat of his father's criminal enterprise, in a five-bedroom house a couple of miles northwest of downtown Baltimore. He was trained to use knives and guns at an early age, by Lola Malcolm and one other person. His training had not progressed beyond dead animals before he was taken away. As a child, Neil played little league Exy in the position of backliner under the name Abram. In order for him to play at all, his mother had to take him an hour out of Baltimore, where none of the trainers knew his father. They were accompanied by bodyguards with guns. When Neil was 10, he played a game of Exy at Castle Evermore with Kevin Day and Riko Moriyama. He did not know it at the time, but was part of a two-day audition to prove that he could be useful to the Moriyama family; if he failed, he would be killed, but if he succeeded, he would become part of the Edgar Allan Ravens. On the first day, the game was to determine his potential. Neil, Kevin, and Riko witnessed Neil's father, Nathan Wesninski, cut a man into pieces that same day. The second day would have brought another match, this time to determine how well he could improve based on feedback and corrections, but he did not make it to the match. His mother stole 5 million dollars and fled with Neil that night, through the tunnel that connected the garage to the basement in their home. Neil and his mother stayed in 22 different cities on the run, going by a corresponding 22 different names in total. Names that Neil had assumed during this time include Alex, Stefan, and Chris. He and his mother never used the same airport twice; flying itself was risky with their forged passports, although the forgeries were good. Neil spent three years in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Because of this, his second language is German. He is also proficient in French due to having been in both France and Montreal. His mother died on a beach in California after an encounter with Nathan Wesninski in Seattle. Neil burned the car with her body in it and later buried her bones on the beach. He made it to San Francisco, where he stayed for one day before setting off to Millport, Arizona.After the death of his mother, Neil moved through Nevada to Millport where he attended the local high school. He joined the school's Exy team as a striker, since this was the only position available to him. Neil pretended he never played Exy before and even carried around some how-to books to keep up appearances. Neil planned to leave Millport after graduation and assume another identity. David Wymack comes to recruit Neil to the Palmetto State Foxes after Millport's last game, two games from finals in the state championship. He brings Kevin Day and Andrew Minyard with him, both of whom Neil recognizes from following Kevin's career. Neil doesn't want to join the team because he is afraid that his father will find him if he steps into the spotlight, or that Kevin will eventually remember him from their encounter as children. In the end, his desire to play Exy overpowers his need to run—he reasons that he can just pack his things and leave if someone recognizes him. His relationship with Andrew slowly grows. He maintains being able to convince Andrew of doing things. He shows Andrew his scars. It all comes to head when Roland makes a joke about handcuffs, and Andrew states that he hates Neil but would still blow him. They kiss shortly after this Columbia trip, and continue to do so. Andrew calls their relationship "it" and says that he hates Neil to death, although there is little truth in this and both understand this.

Relationships with Andrew Minyard: Neil's first assessment of Andrew is that he is a psychotic midget. He thinks he can deal with that because he has grown up around violence. At Sweetie's, Andrew tells him that from now on he has a choice in everything he does. Nicky reveals that Neil is part of the family now. Family, to Andrew's lot, is not about blood or even who they like; it's about who Andrew is willing to protect. Part of the reason that Andrew is including Neil in this is that he's the reason that Kevin is staying with the Foxes. At Columbia, Andrew tells Neil that they are going to be honest with each other, for the time being, and that Neil should tell him what he has to do to keep him here. Neil asks him if he can protect him from his past and when Andrew guesses that he means his father's boss, confirms it. Neil can't remember what it felt like to have someone hold him up and notes to himself that it is terrifying and liberating all at once because he is handing over his life to Andrew in hopes that he will keep it safe. When they learn that Seth is dead, Andrew tells Neil that Riko is most likely responsible for Seth's death. Despite this, he tells Neil that Riko can't kill another Fox and that Neil is staying with them. When Neil agrees, Andrew gives him a copy of the key for the house in Columbia - a key that means home. When Andrew is being forced to go into rehab, he entrusts Kevin to Neil, and in order to get this trust, Neil allows Andrew to feel his scars under his shirt and tells Andrew that he can call him by his middle name, Abram. This convinces Andrew to go into rehab. While Andrew is there, Riko bribes one of the doctors into reenacting some of his most traumatic experiences in order to convince Neil to come to Edgar Allan for his winter break, and he did it without argument to keep Andrew safe. Andrew denies that he and Neil have 'anything' together, calling Neil, 'nothing.' But when Neil is kidnapped, it becomes clear that Andrew's feelings run a lot deeper than just 'hooking up.' Neil finds comfort in Andrew and leans on him for safety and grounding.

Now they're dating.