Mr. Keating, as all the other Welton faculty were given, had a small studio-esque apartment on the second floor of the faculty building. That being said, it was not very much to look at. Thankfully, Keating had a knack for homemaking and had thus born a beautiful, sacred space in which (y/n) felt wholly accepted and loved.
Of this, she was reminded often by the older, blue-eyed and mostly smiling man.
"Sweetheart," he chided gently as she stared without preamble into her now-cold tea, analyzing it's lovely and delicate painting. "I can see that stunning mind of yours at work. Penny for your thoughts?" she sighed before looking up at him, right into that gentle, fatherly aura.
"Well, erm," she ran an ink-stained hand through her wind-disheveled hair. "You know, Steven Meeks? I uh," she scoffed "I've grown to care for him. Very much, in all his goofy, know-it-all glory." Her eyes by that point, were squinted shut to shield against his reaction, which was not at all what she had originally expected.
Instead, he laughed. A loud and hearty laugh, one of the pure embodiments of joy. "I knew it. It's in his eyes, my dear, and yours as well." (y/n) blushed slightly into her tea.
"And, what do you think?" the question felt almost wrong to be asking. Now, it was his turn to be silent, looking out the window with a pensive face. Slowly, he turned back to her, solemnity transforming into a bright grin.
"That young boy is one of the most promising I've ever seen in any Academy. And not only in his studies, oh no - he is a genuine, all-around, wonderful young person." The older man gushed passionately, "One that I think would be wonderful to you should you choose to pursue dramatic and romantic entanglement, my dear." (y/n) could have cried with relief. Keating, after all, was her closest companion in this odd, new country she found herself a resident of, and his opinion was held very highly to her.
"Oh, that's brilliant!" she cried, happy beyond words "Steven and I... well, it's complicated to say the least." the girl shrugged, trying to play it off. Keating, still sitting opposite her, only watched patiently, waiting for her to open up to him further.
"Don't mistake me for a fool, (y/n)," he chided gently "The two of you were looking like a pair of lovesick puppies instead of learning Iambic Pentameter-" He was interrupted by a quiet, accented murmur.
"I could write in Iambic Pentameter in my sleep." she chuckled lightly at his surprised face.
"Trust me, I know." he nodded to her, swirling the cold tea in her teacup before reaching for a small pastry on the table between them. Before she could grab one, however, he stopped her hand with his, gazing at his little beloved. "I want you to understand that if you have found someone who cares for you as you deserve, I could not possibly be happier for you."
"Bene facis," she choked out, tears brimming in her almond-shaped eyes, feeling even more gratitude towards the man who stepped in her mother's place - whom was still living in London, although there was a photograph in the room upon an antique dresser - to help her live a beautiful life.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The remainder of her visit with Mr. Keating had consisted primarily of eating pastries and companionable silence between the duo as they both worked on schoolwork or annotated novels. Around six o' clock, the man took a look at the clock and piped up.
"You should call your mother, my dear," he pointed at the time "before it gets too late for her." (y/n) closed her leather-bound book with a snap and her eyes widened.
"Ack - right, then, I best get onto that so she's getting enough sleep." she said thoughtfully, gathering her assorted writing tools and notebooks into her little leather satchel and sliding on her Mary janes.
"Indeed you should, you know how grouchy she can get." he commented with a light chuckle, expression fond and full of love.
She grabbed her sweater and started heading for the door, while speaking.
"Only when she hasn't any coffee to consume!" Turning quickly on her heel, she kissed Mr. Keating on the cheek affectionately before leaving the room for good.
One thing that would remain forever unchanged in (y/n)'s mind was the absolute stunning beauty of the Welton campus. The first time she stepped foot onto its grounds, it felt like the air had been punched out of her lungs, the natural landscape contrasting significantly in comparison to smoggy and crowded London.
She hummed quietly as she walked across the campus, dressed in her uniform still, with a burnt orange fluffy cardigan to keep the evening chill from biting to harshly.
"Linger a little longer," her singing was not ready for Broadway by any means, but it helped her feel at home within herself.
"in the twilight," leaves crunched under her feet as she twirled and frolicked as if she were a fae across the green lawn over which the sun set quickly,
"with me!" she carried the tune inside her head and through the front foyer, quite empty since everyone was at dinner. As she walked the halls, she ran over and over what she would tell her mother without giving her a heart attack.
"Hey, mum," she remarked quietly in the oak halls "It's your daughter, (y/n). I know I missed calling last week, I was - tired. Anyways, I've went and bloody fallen for an American boy, even though you told me they're dreadful. They are, but he's different?" the girl shook her head. "No, no, I sound like a complete fool. Ugh." Suddenly, Neil popped around a corner, arm in arm with Todd.
(y/n) let out a shriek as the lovesick pair nearly crashed into her.
"There's our girl!" Neil called ruffling her hair "Who were you talking to?"
"Myself, like a psycho. Best to stay away, Neil darling," she laughed at his face "and hi, Toddie, hope this oaf isn't annoying you to death." The blonde boy flushed and shook his head.
"Not to death," he smiled "all the way into the afterlife." Neil's jaw dropped as if he'd been betrayed in the theatre.
"O, how thou rejects thine love!" he made puppy eyes at his companion who shoved him, grinning.
"Alright, well, I'll leave you to it! Later, guys." she called over her shoulder.
"Where ya running off to?" they asked, loudly. Some small part of her was worried Hager might come barreling through, giving her demerits for missing dinner. It wasn't exactly improbable.
"To call my mum!" (y/n) answered, switching her bag to the other shoulder to fish in her pocket for change. Not surprisingly, her two best friends followed her.
"You have a mom?" Neil asked, eyes wide. Todd rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, no shit, Neil." he commented, walking on (y/n)'s left.
"Hey! Language!" the other boy whined, before maturely sticking his tongue out at his not-exactly-lover but not-not-a-lover. The entire situation still confused (y/n), but she loved them both so she simply relished in their shared happiness.
"She's off in London, actually, her and Keating met when I was pretty young, so he's become a father figure of sorts, although not really of sorts - he is." she breathed deeply after speaking, having rambled something completely foreign to two boys who had grown up with parents in 'perfect' marriages and didn't have to deal with never having a father around to care for them.
"Well, you've met my father." Neil's face puckered like he'd eaten something rotten. Todd put a hand on his shoulder, comforting him without words as he tended to do.
"I have, lovely man." she drawled sarcastically, earning a wan smile from his kind face.
"Anyway, we'll leave you alone. See you," the blue-eyed boy gave a wave.
"Hmm, not sure if I should be leaving the two of you alone." she pondered jokingly, not failing to notice the red stains appear faintly on Neil's face, and more prominently on Todd's. They turned down the hall, whispering to one another and laughing.
Smiling, (y/n) turned and inserted her coins before dialling her mother's phone number. On the third ring, her mother picked up and the voice (y/n) had missed so dearly flooded her right ear.
"Yes?" her mum asked tentatively into the telephone, obviously not expecting her daughter's call.
"Mum, it's (y/n)! Sorry, I know I missed last week I -" her mother cut her off quickly.
"Oh, my little sunshine! Not to worry, not to worry - John called me to apologize for you. How is everything with you, love?" (y/n) had always been told her accent was extremely similar to her mother's, but she only ever really noticed on the telephone.
Memories of brown eyes, crinkled with amusement and auburn hair flapping in the wind flashed in (y/n)'s mind, and for a split second she felt as if she were back on the rooftop, waltzing clumsily with Steven Meeks as if she lived within the pages of a fairy tale.
"Really great, mum." she beamed, the smile changing the sound of her voice to contain more happiness. "Honestly, I don't think I've ever felt happier."
And those were the words that she spoke to her mother for the first time in two weeks, and even separated by hundreds of miles of sea, a mother and daughter felt at-home just by hearing the other's voice.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
a/n: OKAY first, I'm so sorry for taking so long to update - my family is in the process of moving so it's quite chaotic. this chapter has been sitting - unpublished - for a few days, just felt lazy and didn't want to edit and fix everything. Anyways, enjoy loves and I will catch you soon! <3