"Wait!" Not much more than a wheeze, a waving arm.
People had often told the boy that instead of spending his days pursuing academic studies, he should try out sports - his own father had suggested rugby.
Steven Meeks, however, had chosen to continue burying his face in scholarly texts, earning the highest grade possible, dedicating his entire life to the pursuit of education.
Now, as he chased after the automobile that carried his love away from him, he'd realized he would have traded every grade he'd ever gotten just to see her again. She'd been expelled, the boy's own heart shattering at the idea that she'd leave Welton, America in general, and the fact that they might never see each other again.
At this thought, his body spurred into more action, legs pumping and heart beating wildly as he tried to get their attention as they drove away.
When she'd told the Dead Poets Society the news, it was safe to say that he had not taken it well. In fact, he barely said goodbye. But, then again, he figured that the girl didn't bid him farewell for the same reason he avoided her before her departure - it felt too painful to bear.
Until very recently, Steven Meeks failed to see anything else in life besides his education. Acing that Latin test and being top of the class were his goals, constantly. However, this girl came out of nowhere and swept him off his feet - everything he thought he knew about life out the window.
She had showed him that there was more to life than education - that love and making memories with his friends was infinitely more precious.
He was so incredibly thankful for her, that even when his lungs burned, he continued running.
The car and its precious cargo had nearly made it to the end of the drive, and Meeks recognized dimly that his friends were calling his name.
But he wouldn't stop. Not until he said a proper goodbye.
Finally - blessedly - the car's brake lights flashed and it stopped moving farther from him altogether.
"(y/n)!" he wheezed, bending over at the waist to catch his breath as the girl stepped out of the vehicle. As he caught his breath, he gazed at her - so that this picture of his girl might live prominently in his memory, to keep him from forgetting her.
But every hug, loving banter, stolen kisses between classes, and poems written for her eyes only; those memories would latch onto his very soul and not let him ever forget her.
"Meeks?" she exclaimed rushing over to his side and brushing his auburn waves away from his sweaty brow "Are you insane?" The boy huffed a tired laugh, throat burning.
"Yes, and it's all your fault," he spoke between deep gulping breaths. The girl tipped her head back and laughed. What little sunlight made it through the dense clouds glinted off her hair, giving her a sunny aura.
He imagined - quite accurately - it was like seeing a goddess stand out in a crowd.
"Well, I wouldn't want to take all the credit," she shrugged, helping him stand properly. By now, he'd mostly recovered from his mini-marathon. Never again, he vowed.
...Unless he was being a stupid teenager in love. If that was the case, he'd chase her forever.
"I wanted to, um, say goodbye, " His words felt awkward, which hardly ever happened when he talked to her.
"I'm listening," she said gently, tracing shapes onto his palms, sending tickles all the way up his arm.
"I'll call you. All the time, and send you letters too!" he promised, smile faltering "not having you here is going to be agony." He could tell by the way her face softened even further at what he admitted that she loved him - truly and deeply.
"I'm only one person out of almost 3 billion," she attempted a smile "there is going to be others." Meeks shook his head.
"No," he corrected the girl he'd come to think of as his soulmate. "I only love you. I would rather spend the rest of my life alone than without you." She wiped at a little tear escaping his earthy, brown eyes.
"You are forever my muse," she told him, cheeks growing red from the winter wind that swirled around them "I'll carry you in my heart through the streets of London, okay?" He nodded, giving her his adorable little smile - dimples and all. He held out his pinkie.
"Swear?"
"Omnino."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The rest of that year seemed to pass in a blur. Exams before winter break were a ceaseless storm of studying, barely eating, barely sleeping.
Steven Meeks had begun to notice the kinds of things he sacrificed for education, and he loathed himself for it. He would go days without seeing the sun, without leaving his room. With (y/n) and Nuwanda gone, Cameron leaving the club, Neil and Todd being so in love - he felt more alone than he had in a long time.
Thankfully, Pitts was always there. They'd kept each other from totally losing touch with the acts of caring for their physical bodies as well as their minds, holding each other up until that fateful day where the dismissal bell rang - letting them free for two whole months.
That summer was bliss, time spent travelling with his parents - seeing Yale and Harvard, Brown, trying to decide where he wanted to attend in order to secure his future.
That, of course, was not the only reason that summer was arguably the best of his life. (y/n), Mr. Keating, and (y/n)'s mother purchased a round trip of about a week, staying with the Perry's. And Meeks, whose family didn't live in Vermont, was permitted to also stay with them.
Ironically, Mr. Perry had arranged for Todd to spend the summer with them as well, so for one week, the four of them gathered together and swapped stories, as well as host semi-formal Dead Poets Society nights.
It was almost as if no time had passed at all.
But, naturally, it had.
(y/n) was beginning to look older, and somehow wiser after spending so many months out of his eyesight. Sometime during his absence, she'd taken to wearing her hair - which had previously been long - much shorter. Without the added weight of length, he took notice of darling little curls, making her even more stunning.
The boy began to notice that while Todd and Neil grew even more close, he and (y/n) didn't fall into natural banter like they used to. She even felt different when they snuggled on stormy days that they spent in the parlor reading, or playing chess.
And so, the young lovers continued to navigate the semi-awkward waters of seeing each other after so many months away for those lovely seven days, before an airplane carried them apart once again.
Slowly, as the next school year dragged on, their weekly calls grew shorter - with less laughter and teasing, replaced by more silence or stutters. An ocean apart, indeed.
Eventually, they stopped completely. And as the first of snow fell in the November of 1960, Steven Meeks was alone in the library, reminiscing of the girl he was certain was his soulmate, so long ago.
Before he even knew what was happening, graduation had passed him by - what remained of the gang were so happy to finally be leaving Welton's halls - and he was facing his last summer before university.
The Yale pendant freshly hung up in his room was a constant reminder, that he'd be leaving this version of himself and becoming someone else entirely. Someone he wasn't sure even (y/n) would recognize after nearly two years of distance.
The question remained, what would become of them?
Surely, he thought, this couldn't be the end. And, like always, Steven Meeks had estimated correctly. Everything would change, but not for the worse. Perhaps what future lay before was meant to be... this entire time.
But that's a whole other story for another day.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
a/n: okay, y'all know i love playing with your heartstrings because i'm evil. However, a touch of context for you.
1. Meeks and (y/n), despite promises of a fairy tale long-distance relationship, are having a tough time keeping true to that. Originally I wanted to have them still be sickly in love, but I thought this plot was more realist and just cuter for the end of the actual story. As you can tell, Meeks still loves her dearly - it's just distance and time that makes their love a little less obvious. But it's there. I promise.
2. The time jumps are crazy!!! I'm sorry, I know there is not a lot of substance about daily life but since this is an x reader fanfic, I thought it was pretty pointless to write about Meeks on his own, pining after (y/n). I chose to include what bits I thought would benefit the story itself!!