WRITER IN THE DARK , neil perry

22

DECEMBER 1959

it was the night of the sadie's, and every girl in aurela was beyond excited. anticipation filled the air. it was lightly snowing, the courtyard crisp and cool for the schools that were set to arrive. marianne applied the last bit of her lipstick, rubbing her lips together. amélie stood a few inches away, watching herself in the mirror, her dress fit perfectly. her blonde hair was curled. marianne was going to help her with her makeup. her nails were painted. she felt beautiful.

"amé, i'll do you now." marianne turned, holding up her makeup bag and motioning for amélie to come sit in front of the vanity.

"okay, okay." amé nodded, an excited smile on her face. she sat on the plush pink seat and tucked her hair away from her face.

"okay, close your eyes." marianne pulled out a soft pink shimmery eyeshadow, and began slowly brushing it against amélie's eyelid.  "are you excited for the dance?" she asked in an attempt to share her excitement.

"god, i'm more than excited." amé nodded, marianne moving onto the other eyelid. the eyeshadow was subtle, it didn't show up much against her skin.

"gosh, me too. pucker your lips." marianne instructed, grabbing her pink lip gloss and brushing it against amélie's puckered lips.

"this isn't your first, is it?" she asked, closing her eyes again so marianne could do her mascara.

"of course not." marianne snorted with laughter, brushing the mascara on amé's eyelashes.

"i hope neil loves my dress." she anxiously said, smoothing out her dress for the 100th time.

"he's so in love, he'll love anything you wear. open your eyes." marianne finished, stuffing the makeup she used back into her bag.

she watched amélie look at herself. "wow."

"you're smoking." marianne laughed, ruffling amé's curls.

"thank you." she blushed, running her fingers through her hair. she wore small pearl earrings her dad had gifted her.

"we should go let the boys in." marianne sighed, pulling on her black coat. since they had helped set up the gym and were on events committee, they got in free to the dance. the poets had basically forced the girls to get them in for free.

of course they reluctantly agreed to do it. "you go ahead, i have to finish something."

once marianne left, amélie dug around in her drawer and picked up a gold necklace with an angel charm. her mother's. she pulled it on, and clipped it.

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marianne quickly stepped down the stairs, and saw the boys waiting outside in the cold through the glass. "hi guys." she grinned, opening the door.

"we nearly froze out there." todd chattered his teeth, immediately walking towards the heaters that were blaring on the sides of the wall.

"seriously, i think i have frost bite." cameron agreed, following todd.

"oh, man up cameron!" charlie snickered, pulling marianne into a kiss and twirling her around.

"where's amélie?" neil quickly asked, getting a laugh from marianne. "finishing up something."

"so, no one's going to thank me for letting you guys in for free?" she sarcastically said, crossing her arms.

"thank you." meeks nodded. him and pitts were in almost identical suits.

"where are your dates?" marianne asked, trying to hide her laugh.

"they're a work in progress." pitts shrugged. 

"good luck with that."

amélie cautiously stepped down the stairs. "hey guys."

"amélie..." neil trailed off, trying to find the right words to say to her.

"you're gorgeous." he managed, making amélie blush. "absolutely gorgeous, my love."

"neil..." amé hid her face with embarrassment.

"you're just so beautiful." neil grinned, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek. he held out a hand in front of her, angling for her to take it.

"let's go." she softly smiled, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers together. the group headed down the hallway, towards the gym.

they all walked into the packed gym, music blaring. it was surreal. they slipped by the ticket booth, and joined everyone else. everyone lingered around the room, some dancing, some giggling and chatting.

"let's sit." neil asked, drifting away from their initial group into the big swarm of people, squeezing amélie's hand.

"how do you feel?" she asked once they found a spot on the bleachers.

"about what?" neil furrowed his eyebrows. he was curious on what the topic was.

"neil, your play tomorrow night!" amélie grinned, grabbing his hands and shaking them with excitement.

"oh, that.." he trailed off, making amé's grin drop into a frown.

"you don't sound excited." she sighed, waiting for neil to confess on what he really meant.

he hesitated before speaking. "my father's angry i auditioned and joined without telling him."

"i'm sorry." amélie softly spoke. a wave of guilt flushed over her. the look on neil's face made her want to start crying.

"it's ok, he's still allowing me to do it. i'm just.. nervous, is all." he continued, his lips quivering.

"why?" amé asked, squeezing his hand.

"he's coming to see it. i know he'll be disappointed in me, but i'm just scared of how angry he'll get after." neil quietly said. his parents had been having some problems at home.

"i'll be here for you, don't worry." amélie hugged him as tight as she could. she planted a kiss on his cheek that made him blush.

"thank you." he nodded, pulling away. his eyes were glossy, but he wiped them before tears started to stream down his face.

"of course." amé smiled and nodded reassuringly. "do you want to dance?"

"sure." neil put on a grin and followed amélie into the group of people dancing. as the music loudly played, everyone looked like they were in their own world.

"i'm horrible." amélie grumbled, beginning to dance. neil laughed at her.

"what do you mean, you're great!" he chuckled, taking her hand and spinning her.

"you have to say that." she rolled her eyes. neil continued to smile at how beautiful his girlfriend was.

"you're right. you're a horrible dancer." he sarcastically said, making amélie giggle.

"thank you so much!" she replied, a fake grin on her face.

"you're welcome darling." neil breathlessly said, spinning amé one more time before the song changed. a slower song began and the couples around them started to slow dance.

they both stared at each other, not daring to say a word. "shall we?" neil finally spoke.

"of course." amélie nervously said. she wrapped her arms around neil's neck, slowly swaying with him.

"thank you." he whispered to her. his hands were comfortably around her waist.

"for what?" she whispered back, closing her eyes. she wanted to live in this moment forever.

"being here for me." neil responded. he wasn't sure why, but the glossy eyes came back. he wasn't upset. he was the happiest he'd been in a bit. he wasn't sure why he felt so upset.

"always and forever, neil."

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this story is coming to an end!! a few more chapters i think. sorry for making you guys wait for this , school honestly sucks so much. i have published a new harry potter fic, it's marauders era james potter so if you like that type of stuff please check it out !!! tysm for 2k reads i love you all 😭🫶