song of the chapter: kilby girl by the backseat lovers
the boy's pov...
As previously discussed, each of the Poets retired to their respective dorm rooms before curfew, to avoid suspicion. Dr. Hager always had seemed more merciless during the beginning of the year, so they had to tread lightly. Neil walked past the group, saying goodnight to (y/n) offhandedly. Behind him, he closed the door and grabbed his coat along with a flashlight, pausing to examine an old textbook on his desk. He hadn't seen it before, but had a good feeling about it's contents, as it was titled, 'Five Centuries of Verse'. On the inside cover, drawn by hand in black ink, was an opening statement for the Dead Poets Society and the name, J. Keating. The brunette boy couldn't help but smile to himself at the irony; a faculty at Welton, encouraging this sort of behavior.
The rest of the boys retired in quick succession, Todd sneaking in very quietly to avoid waking up Neil, who was already in bed. Looking at the way the moonlight hit his roommates sharp cheekbones and casting shadows of his eyelashes onto his cheeks, Todd couldn't avoid the butterflies that stirred in his stomach.
"Todd?" Neil mumbled as the boy's bed creaked under his weight as he settled in for the night.
"Yeah?" the blonde boy asked, facing the wall to hide his flushed face. Neil yawned before replying,
"We'll wake up at 1 and grab the others, alright?"
"Okay." Neil's tired voice was like music to Todd's ears.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
(y/n)'s pov...
After only a few hours of sleep, (y/n) was awoken by her dorm's heavy oak door creaking open the slightest and a hushed whisper calling her name into the inky darkness. Slowly, she cracked her tired eyes open to reveal quiet, darling Todd standing in her doorway.
"It's 1 o' clock, everyone else is waiting." She nodded sleepily and got to her feet before sliding on a pair of comfortable tennis shoes. She quickly threw on her cloak overtop of her burgundy sweater and comfortable pajama pants before grabbing her leather bookbag. She nodded at the blue-eyed boy, who had been waiting patiently.
"Let's go then, yeah?" and with that, they tiptoed into the hallway, turning right and meeting the group at the landing by the stairs.
"About time!" Cameron whisper-shouted to (y/n).
"Oh, sorry, I had to curl my hair and put on a dash of powder to my cheeks!" she hissed back.
"Hey! Save it, let's go." Knox commands before the group slips almost silently down the wooden staircase. Behind them, the golden boy of Welton snacks on a few treats, graciously donated by Charlie.
(y/n) looked around in awe, admiring how the school looked when all was dark and empty, hauntingly beautiful, much like a cemetery. The lack of bodies and light in the great hall helped her to pay more attention to its gorgeous, vaulted stone ceilings - so much so that (y/n) stopped to crane her neck back and stare. From in front of her, Meeks comes to a halt.
"(y/n), c'mon!" he calls quietly before grabbing her hand and pulling her along. She could barely contain her giddy laughter, intoxicated off the simple idea of running around at dark with her friends. The prospect of expulsion scared her, certainly, but the joy she felt in that exact moment overflowed from her, spilling into Meeks, Cameron, and all the rest. They were the Dead Poets Society, free as birds and appreciative as romantics all the same.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Once they exited the large building, they truly took off into the night, feet flying over the dew-covered grass and lungs sucking in the fresh night air. The farther they got from their educational prison, the louder and more riotous they became, all of them high off the drug that is life, excited beyond their means.
Laughter was carried away on the cool night breeze as they wove deeper into the forest, being guided by Neil. The scene was like that of a Victorian Gothic novel, complete with eerie shadows cast onto the ground by the group's torchlight. (y/n) was knocked from her wonderous revelry by Charlie, who jumped out from behind a tree yelling,
"Yarr! I'm a Dead Poet!" and therefore scaring poor Meeks nearly out of his glasses.
"Jesus, Charlie!" he swore loudly. (y/n) had been walking behind Meeks, next to Knox when she heard him scream and burst out cackling. She
"Awh, Charlie you've gone and given our poor Meeks a heart attack!" she chastised playfully.
"You're funny. Real funny. " he mumbled, obviously still recovering. As always, (y/n) found wandering around the woods aimlessly quite a nice way to spend her time, but it was interrupted much too early when they finally came across the cave.
"Guys! Over here!" the antagonist yelled, having found the entrance.
"There it is" Pitts breathed as the group stood around, looking down into the crevice.
"Alright, I'm definitely not going first!" Cameron stated.
"Hey, don't look at me!" Knox tried to escape when each pair of eyes turned their attention to him. (y/n) sighed.
"Ugh, move over and let the girl go first, since apparently you're all ninnies." With ease, (y/n) knelt down, getting dirt all over her pants, and shimmied into the space. When she had made it though, she turned and called back to them. "What are you waiting for? It's incredible." Neil was next, then Charlie, Knox, Meeks, Cameron, and Todd. Pitts, who was unfortunately the largest, took a few minutes to maneuver his limbs inside. While they waited, Neil read the opening statement in his head for good measure and (y/n) oversaw the supposed "Ivy League Bound" scholars struggle to start a fire.
"What, are you trying to smoke us out of here" Charlie coughed as the "fire" sputtered pitifully and billowed its fumes.
"No, the smoke's going right out this opening." Meeks pointed out, forever showcasing his common sense, of which Charlie appeared to be lacking. (y/n) smirked as she watched them struggle, but refused to step in and intervene because, well, it was entertaining.
Suddenly, Pitts yelled out as his head hit the roof of the natural structure when he came sliding in. Laughter echoed in the small space, amplified by the stone walls.
"You okay?" Neil inquired after his giant friend, who simply groaned in response.
"Oh, God." Knox complained while the smoke seemed to target him and him alone.
"All right, all right, forget the fire!" The brunette leader called, clearly impatient to get started.
"Yeah, forget the fire!" Meeks seconded Neil's judgment call before (y/n) through in her two cents.
"You've failed the cavemen test, gentlemen! Now, let's get our poetry party started, shall we?" Even the sound of her own voice seemed almost ethereal in the space to her own ears.
"It's like trying to light a swamp!" the auburn-haired boy took his spot next to (y/n), trying to cover up his dreadful fire-starting skills. She grinned and nudged his shoulder. The group huddled around, sitting on the damp earth while Neil stood above the rest, looking more in-his-element than (y/n) had ever seen him. It was as if his dharma was to lead the Dead Poets back into fruition, and he did so beautifully.
"I hereby reconvene the Dead Poets Society." he said loudly and with an emotion (y/n) couldn't quite place.
"Yay!" the boys called out, even stick-up-his-ass Cameron. The only lady wolf-whistled at Neil, earning a round of similar hollers.
"Welton Chapter. The meetings will be conducted by myself and the other new initiates now present." he shone a light in each of their faces in turn. "Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to read, will keep minutes of the meetings." Todd stared up at Neil, awestruck and anxious.
"I'll now read the opening statement written by society member, Henry David Thoreau." he cleared his throat and began to recite the contents of the first page.
"I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life."
"I'll second that!" Charlie interrupted, with a wink in (y/n)'s direction. Smoke filled the space from the boy's cigarettes and mingled with the scent of Meeks' expensive cologne, she didn't find the atmospheric smell in the least disruptive. Comforting, more like.
"To put to rout all that was not life, and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived." he paused for a moment, letting the powerful words soak in. "And Keating's marked a bunch of other pages," he trailed off, letting Charlie's charisma fill the silence.
"All right, intermission!" he called "Dig deep, right here. Right here, lay it down." he commanded.
"On the mud?" Knox asked, horrified "We're gonna put our food on the mud?" (y/n) chuckled at his disgusted-looking face.
"Meeks, put your coat down. Picnic blanket!"
"Use Meeks' coat!" Pitts yelled out at his best friend, who had stood up and left (y/n)'s right side feeling colder than before.
"'Use Meeks' coat'" he mocked while Charlie continued to regulate.
"Don't keep anything back, either! You guys are always bumming my smokes." One by one, the group deposited their snacks onto the black material of Meeks' coat. When (y/n)'s turn came, she feigned surpise.
"What, was I supposed to bring something? Oh, blast. I must've forgot." Each of the boy's faces fell slightly. After a heartbeat of disappointment, she smiled. "You're all so gullible! I was simply saving the best for last." With dramatic flourish, she rummaged in her leather bookbag for a moment before placing her jar of sweets in the midst of the odds and ends picnic, resulting in a round of cheers.
"That's our girl!" Charlie whooped before handing her a lit cigarette.
"Nice, (y/n), where did you swing those?" Meeks asked, turning to face her. Their proximity was startling to her, so she cleared her throat and faced the front again.
"Ah, well, I'm a woman with candy smuggling secrets. It's my second most passion, besides reading and poetry, of course."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
After many long minutes spent snacking and jesting around, the boys decided it was finally time to perhaps begin reciting poetry, or in Neil's case, stories meant to spook the group. (y/n) stood up.
"Alright, hang on a hot minute!" she begins, grabbing the heavy copy of Dickinson's collected works. "before we descend into our lovely chaos this evening, I've got a poem." All chatter ceased, and every set of eyes were on her. She made eye contact with Meeks, whose mouth was slightly opening. Clearing her throat and opening the book, she averted her gaze to Todd, for comfort.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ah, Necromancy Sweet!
Ah, Wizard erudite!
Teach me the skill,
That I instil the pain
Surgeons assuage in vain,
Nor Herb of all the plain
Can heal!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charlie was the first of the boys to recover, holding his cigarette between his lips and clapping loudly. Neil followed suit, and the domino effect took over. Soon, each boy was standing(minus Pitts, the poor dear) and clapping for their girl.
"So, what does it mean?" Knox asks, completely oblivious. (y/n)'s accented laughter filled the space before she replied.
"It's, erm, suffering." she began slowly "suffering the heart of which no medicine can heal, eternal pain. She's asking for help, perhaps she was heartbroken when Susan married her brother - I'm not sure."
"Ohh," Charlie sighed. "That's deep." Neil clapped his hands.
"Alright, my turn. It was a dark and rainy night. And this old lady, who had a passion for jigsaw puzzles, sat by herself at her house to complete a new jigsaw puzzle." His narration was immaculate and feeling; he glanced around the room periodically to gauge their reactions. They huddled together, quite unnerved by Neil's story. (y/n) was sat between Meeks and Pitts now, hugging her knees to her chest.
"As she pieced the puzzle together, she realized to her astonishment that the image formed was her very own room. And the figure, in the center of the puzzle as she completed it, was herself. And with trembling hands, she placed the last four pieces and stared in horror at the face of a demented madman in the window." (y/n) noticed Todd staring at Neil with more than fear in his eyes, and she smiled to herself.
"The last thing that this old lady heard," Neil continued "was the sound of breaking glass."
"Oh shit!" one of the boys exclaimed, while the rest made 'Oooooh' sounds.
"I've got one that's even better than that!" Cameron boasted "I do. There's a married young couple, and they're driving through the forest after a long trip at night. They run out of gas and there's a madman-" the boys begin an uproar at apparently having heard the story before.
"I love that story!" Cameron plays his puppy-dog eyes, feeling insecure.
"I told you that one!" Charlie insists. Next up, Pitts read out a short and horrific story, (y/n) covering her eyes and leaning towards Meeks. He laughed and pretended not to notice, despite the red dusting the tops of his freckled cheeks.
Charlie was up next, pulling a long photograph of a nude woman, making (y/n) cringe in disgust.
"Oi, I thought I said no disrespect or I'd drown you in the lake! Honestly." she scoffed, although somewhat humored at Charlie's stupid charm. The rest of the boys found it entertaining, even Meeks - which pissed (y/n) off for reasons unclear to her in the moment. Charlie spoke up.
"Hey, this is art so listen up!"
"The God of love,
If such a thing there be,
May learn to love from me."
"Wow," Neil said in awe. "Did you write that?" The girl rolled her eyes
"Crowley! You're such a twat, Char." she joked.
"Who's next?" The "poet" asked, then Neil stepped up to read Tennyson from a large book of what seemed like assorted poetical works from varied authors and authoresses. It was beautiful, in (y/n)'s eyes. The way Neil looked with true, raw love in his eyes for each of them, forever caring too much for the people he had grown close to. Even Todd was given a piece of Neil's treatment, which made (y/n)'s heart soar.
"And not to yield." Neil finished, to which (y/n) hooted and clapped. Soon after Neil, Meeks decided to read from the same large book.
"Then I had religion,
Then I had a vision, I
Could not turn from their revel in derision." (y/n) noticed the way his face lit up at the attention, as if he wasn't appreciated nearly enough as he so dearly deserved. He was reciting the poetry in a unique manner, like fast music. Someone began clapping in the background, creating a dance-worthy tune.
"Then I saw the Congo,
Creeping through the black,
Cutting through the forest on the golden track.
Then I saw the Congo,
Creeping through the black,
Cutting through the forest on the golden track."
By this point, each pupil was dancing and making noise, creating a lively atmosphere of laughter and freedom. (y/n) began quietly chanting 'Meeks' as he read on, before grabbing Charlie's hand. The blue-eyed boy swung her in a circle by the hand, dancing to the poetry. Knox procured a dusty old barrel from God-knows -where and began drumming to the beat of The Dead Poets, and soon each of them was singing.
"Then I saw the Congo,
Creeping through the black,
Cutting through the forest on the golden track.
Then I saw the Congo,
Creeping through the black,
Cutting through the forest on the golden track." The words were intertwined with hoots and chants of 'Meeks', until they'd begun dancing in a circle like deranged lost boys from Neverland. Their musical number continued out of the cave, through the woods, growing quieter as they came closer to the school. The inky darkness seemed not as ethereal to (y/n) as it felt before, for she had experienced more in the few hours spent in the cave with the Dead Poets than she had after years of exploring nature.
Her eyes began to droop, and she wrapped an arm around Knox, who graciously led her along the way towards the ancient, treacherous building of unimaginable horror. Her head lolled onto his shoulder, and the gentleman stooped down so she could rest and stumble alongside him.
When they finally made it back to the dorms, (y/n) bade them all a good night, and, after receiving a kiss on the cheek from Charlie, collapsed onto her bed fully clothed, relishing in the feeling Keating had talked to her about earlier that day by the lake.
The poetry had certainly dripped off their tongues like honey, filling them up to the brim on the beautiful ecstasy that is life.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
a/n: brooo the feelings in my heart i got while writing this i swear- honestly my favorite chapter so far. how are y'all liking (y/n)? I don't want her to get too "pick me" type :3
love u all! stay safe + happy!
p.s this chapter was 2.8k words i hope that makes up for my 3 week hiatus <3