"Keep that door open, please," Keating said, not bothering to look up from his marking as a blur of colour and giggles zoomed past him in the common area of his and Maria's quarters.
"Of course, Uncle John," he heard Maria say before she and Charlie Dalton, her boyfriend - ha, he grinned to himself at that.
Keating paused momentarily and peeked around the corner to watch the two young love birds disappear down the hall and into Maria's room. He listened for a moment, before smiling to himself when he didn't hear the click of the door closing.
It wasn't that he didn't trust his precious niece, but he knew how easy it was for young people to get swept away in the heat of the moment. He had been young once too, and he knew what it was like to feel infatuated with someone. At times, particularly when he caught the two of them passing discrete touches here and there, Keating couldn't help but worry that Maria might get in over her head with Charlie Dalton, even if he did seem like a decent enough lad.
He shook his head and grinned. Keating was not a particularly religious man, but he had been brought up with certain expectations and traditions. And moreover, he couldn't help but think about how Joseph, his younger brother and Maria's father, would react if he found out that Keating had allowed Maria to be alone in a closed-door room with a boy when she was only sixteen.
The thought of his brother possibly haunting him in his sleep was enough to make Keating chuckle out loud.
But at the end of the day, Keating trusted Maria with all his heart. He knew she was a smart and capable young lady who could make her own decisions. And besides, it wasn't like he was going to barge in on them and ruin the moment.
Keating would let them have their fun, as long as they kept the door open.
••●••
"Any chance I can persuade you to close the door?" Charlie asked, lifting a teasing brow at her when they got to the front of her room. He slipped his hand from her and rested it on her hip, wiggling his brows.
Maria rolled her eyes, more than used to Charlie's suggestive ideas, but knowing that he didn't really have any heat behind his words. At the end of the day, her boyfriend was a gentleman - well, in most things, that was.
"Not on your life," Maria said with a grin but met his flirtatious attempt with something equally salacious - because it was fun to be a little scandalous here and there. She kicked open her bedroom with the back of her foot and pulled Charlie in by the end of his tie. "I'm a good Catholic girl, Charlie Dalton. It'll take a lot more than your pretty lips to convert me."
"Convert you?" Charlie repeated, smirking as they entered her bedroom. He bent his head so that his mouth was by her ear. "I have no intentions of converting a good Catholic girl," he whispered. "Just teach her some other things she can do on her knees than pray."
Maria's eyes grew wide with that and she froze. Her heart raced and her grip on the end of Charlie's tie fell slack. She gulped, letting her gaze fall from Charlie's heated one.
A part of her knew that where this could all be heading wasn't entirely appropriate, but another part of her thought the thrill of it all was just too much to resist.
"What do you say, my sweet Maria?" Charlie whispered in her ear and Maria's cheeks grew hotter by the second.
She was definitely attracted to him, but when he was talking about things like this, the things that she wasn't familiar with, she felt herself panicking a little.
Charlie quickly picked up on her unease and pulled away, placing his hands on her shoulder and searching her face. "Okay, okay," he whispered more to himself than to her and winced slightly. "Was that too fast? That was too fast, wasn't it? I'm sorry, doll. I shouldn't have -"
"It's all right, Charlie," Maria said, her cheeks still pink. She met his eyes and smiled at him when he still looked at her with concern. "Really, my sweet, I am."
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry," he said, placing his hands on her cheek to cup her face. "I know it's not an excuse, but I just get so excited when it comes to you."
Maria smiled at that and Charlie squeezed her cheeks. "I'll slow down, yeah?"
Maria took one of his hands off of her face and placed a light kiss in the palm of his hand. "Just by a little," she said, and Charlie thought that she looked so adorable that he had to kiss her then and there.
"Anything you want," Charlie said, kissing her lightly. "Anything you say - my bible now, remember?"
She smiled into another kiss. Gosh - kissing Charlie Dalton was quickly becoming her favourite thing in the whole wide world.
"Thank you," she said and then looked away shyly. "You know, I've never actually had a boyfriend before."
How that sentence should've made Charlie feel, he wasn't so sure, but he did know that it stroked a more traditional - primal even - part of him and he had this need to take care of Maria, to cherish her and treasure her to his utmost ability. Heat flushed up his neck and he moved to pop the top few buttons on his shirt.
"Really?" He asked, eyes widening in surprise. "I don't believe it. A girl like you?"
Maria shrugged her shoulders, still looking a little embarrassed.
"Idiots," Charlie said, kissing her right cheek, and then her left. "All idiots in London, I tell you. If I were there, I would've scooped you right up, doll."
"Well," Maria gave him a look. "You have."
Charlie arched a brow and tapped the tip of her nose with a finger as he clicked his tongue. "Exactly."
Maria laughed and Charlie's heart swelled with affection for Maria. He leaned in and pressed another gentle kiss to her forehead because goddamn it was getting hard not to kiss her. "I promise to take things slow and make sure you're comfortable with everything we do together," he said seriously. "You're worth it to me, you know."
Maria smiled up at him, her eyes shining. "Thank you, Charlie."
He smiled before looking around the room. "Do you remember when I said I was always curious about what a girl's room looked like?" He said, moving to intertwine their fingers together. He peered around, taking in all the little details that seemingly made up his Maria with curious eyes.
He noted that her room was cozy and while he had half-expected soft pinks and delicate florals everywhere, what he found was something that was much more Maria. Books sat on every surface available in her room. Classic novels, including Austen, Bronte, and Dickens, among many others, he didn't quite recognize.
Charlie quirked his head when he spotted a stuffed animal sitting on her bed and moved to pick it up. "What's this? My sweet girl's teddy bear?" He asked teasingly.
Maria rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile. "His name is Mr. Snuggles," he said and plucked it from his hand to fix the white bow around its neck. "He's been with me since I was born."
Charlie chuckled and moved to tuck a strand of loose hair behind Maria's ear. "Do I have to win its approval?" He asked for fun. "Mr. Snuggles, do you approve of me?"
Maria laughed, turning the teddy bear to face Charlie and miming with its stuffed paw. "I don't know Mister Charlie Dalton," she made a voice. "I believe you still need to pass a probation period."
"Probation?"
Maria shrugged. "Mr. Snuggles' words, not mine."
"What happens after probation?"
Maria's cheeks turned pink and she dropped Mr. Snuggles back onto her bed. "Perhaps we don't go as slow," she said softly.
Charlie squeezed her hand. "You'll let me know when I pass?"
"Mr. Snuggles will let you know," Maria said and revelled in Charlie's chuckle.
"Okay."
Charlie's attention was soon drawn to the record player in the corner of her room and he let go of her hand to step over there. A few records she had brought from home were stacked neatly beside it. He picked one up, examining it with interest. "You have good taste in music, doll," he remarked, looking back at Maria. "I heard you know how to sing."
Maria's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "How did you know that?" She asked, surprised. She had only ever told Todd about that.
Charlie shrugged. "I have my ways," he teased, winking at her and refusing to elaborate on how he had lost a pair of Buddy Holly-style sunglasses and a pretty penny to Todd for that information. "Come on, sing something for me. I bet you have a beautiful voice."
Maria shook her head quickly, feeling her cheeks flush with embarrassment. "I don't know," she said, feeling suddenly very shy. "I'm not very good."
"I doubt that," Charlie said, moving closer to her, taking her hand in his and pulling her towards him. "You're good at everything. You're my genius girl."
Maria nibbled on her bottom lip.
"Come on," Charlie pleaded, his voice low and persuasive. "Just a little something. I promise I won't judge."
Maria hesitated for a moment before relenting, giving in to Charlie's charm. She nodded to the record player. "Put something on," she said and Charlie moved quickly to do as she asked. Maria cleared her throat as the first notes rang from the player. Her voice trembled slightly but she began to sing along to the soft, sweet melody.
Charlie listened in awe, captivated by the sound of her voice.
After a few moments, she stopped singing and the two of them stood there for a moment, the silence between them filled with a newfound intimacy as the lyrics of the slow love song continued.
Charlie shifted his hands and smiled when Maria caught onto what he was doing and they began to dance softly to the music, swaying together as the room began to dim into the early evening. It felt like Charlie and Maria were the only two people in the world, lost in the moment, and lost in each other.
••●••
The dinner bell rang and students began rushing down the hall.
"What's for dinner?"
"I heard it's spaghetti and meatballs!"
Neil came up the stairs as everyone else swarmed down to the cafeteria. "Save some for me," he called out before beginning to recite a line from his practice. "But, room, Fairy! Here comes Oberon."
He opened the door to his room and jumped when he found his father sitting at his desk.
"Father."
"Neil."
"Wait a minute," Neil breathed, sensing the tense air immediately. "Before you say anything, please let me ex-"
His father rose from the desk. "Don't you dare talk back to me!" He bellowed. "It's bad enough that you wasted your time with this, this absurd acting business. But you deliberately deceived me! How, how, how did you expect to get away with this? Answer me. Who put you up to it? Was it this new man? This, uh, Mr. Keating?"
"No!" Neil shook his head furiously. "Nobody - I thought I'd surprise you. I've gotten all A's in every class."
Neil could feel an uncomfortable lump beginning to form at the base of his throat, squeezing it tight.
"Did you think I wasn't going to find out? 'Oh, my niece is in a play with your say,' says Mrs. Marks. 'No, no, no' I say, 'you must be mistaken. My son's not in a play.' You made me a liar, Neil! Now, tomorrow you go to them and you tell them that you're quitting."
"No, I can't!" Neil shook his head, his voice trembling despite his wanting nothing more than to sound strong. "I have the main part. The performance is tomorrow night."
"I don't care if the world comes to an end tomorrow night," Mr. Perry seethed. "You are through with that play. Is that clear? Is that clear?"
Neil swallowed, tears pricking his eyes. "Yes, sir."
Mr. Perry nodded once and turned to leave. "I made a great many sacrifices to get you here, Neil, and you will not let me down."
Neil once again, swallowed his words and shook his head once. "No, sir."
••●••
In the cafeteria, the group save for Neil, laughed amongst themselves at the absurdity and difficulty of the task they had invented amongst themselves.
"East of Eden is by far the best James Dean movie," Knox said, continuing the banter the group had started on their way down to the cafeteria.
"Nah," Charlie shook his head. "Rebel Without a Cause is better."
"Why am I unsurprised that you like Rebel Without a Cause more," Maria gave Charlie an amused expression.
"Because you know me well, precious," Charlie said without missing a beat. "Just like how I know your favourite is Roman Holiday."
Maria looked at him, wide-eyed. "How did you - I've never told you that. How did you know?"
Charlie grinned and reached over to tug on one of her curls. "Told you I know you," he said and leaned toward her, about to press a kiss to her cheek.
Just then, Hager walked up to the table and Maria and Charlie sprang apart quickly.
"Mr. Dalton," Hager said, eyeing the group, and Charlie straightened up quickly.
"Sir?" He asked.
Hager looked around the table. "Are you gentlemen - and lady - normally all left-handed?" He asked.
The boys looked at one another. "No sir," one of them said quickly.
"Then why, praytell, are you eating with your left hands?" Hager asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We thought it would be good to break old habits, Sir," Knox said.
Hager looked unimpressed. "And what's wrong with old habits, Mr. Overstreet?"
"Well, they perpetuate mechanical living, Sir," Knox said in a matter-of-fact tone. "They limit your mind."
Hager gave Knox a stern look. "I suggest you worry less about breaking old habits and more about developing good study habits," he said. "Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir," Knox said, looking chagrined as his friends around him held in snickers.
"That goes for all of you," Hager said, grabbing one of them by the left hand. "Now, eat with your correct hands."
Everyone quickly swapped their utensils into their right hand and began to eat, but Charlie couldn't resist. As soon as Hager had turned his back, he shoved an enormous meatball into his mouth with his left hand.
Maria giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "You're going to get into trouble," she said, flicking his nose.
Charlie grinned. "It's worth it," he said.
The boys laughed, and Maria felt a warm sense of belonging wash over her. These boys were her friends and she was oh-so-grateful to have them all in her life, every last one of them.
She wasn't sure what the future held - for who could be sure - but she knew that she would always cherish these moments with her friends. They were all so different, but somehow, they all fit together perfectly. Maria felt lucky to be a part of their group, and she couldn't imagine her life without them - without any one of them.
She smiled to herself and took a deep breath, trying to hold on to this feeling of belonging and happiness as long as she could.