"Carpe Diem... that's seize the day." DEAD POETS SOCIETY PREFERENCES/IMAGINES

"I haven't done that before..." :NEIL PERRY REQUEST:

Author's Note: For the lovely @NeilBf Sorry it took so long!!! But I hope you enjoy your request <3

Gerald (Yes, the person who requested this has the same name as Pitts, so he's better than all of us) sat in his bedroom. He was sitting at his desk, sniffing all of his body sprays, not sure which one he should wear. Whether he wanted to smell like honey and vanilla on a cold winters evening, or a dark teakwood in the middle of the woods. He went through all of them, giving each a sniff, then placing them back down. He kept his eyes on the clock as he did so. He had plenty of time. Either he was nervous or just buying that time he had sniffing each body spray. He had to meet Neil for a picnic in seventeen minutes. It was a picnic behind the soccer fields of Welton... it was a date, actually.

This was Gerald's first date with a boy. He had been on a date before this though. With a girl. Her name was Ferora. She was a short girl with dark black hair that tickled the bottom of her ears. She had asked him out on a date because they were in the same drama club and she had though he was terribly talented. Turns out, he didn't like her like that. She didn't like him like that either. Ferora's only flaw was that she was a woman... otherwise, Gerald would've been head over heels for her. Gerald's only flaw in Ferora's eyes was that he was a man... Ferora liked women.

Gerald wasn't nervous about this date. He was more excited. Every time he saw Neil, a song would play through his brain. Hey Lover, of course, was the song. The song would play louder as Neil's smile grew bigger, walking closer to Gerald. The two had an obvious connection that wasn't just platonic. It was real romance, real love, real understanding.

He thought about that one time Neil held his hand in biology as he smelt another body spray. They had been rubbing or 'accidentally touching' the back of each other's hands together for five minutes. Finally, Neil just interlocked his pinkie with Gerald's. Gerald then moved his hand into Neil's. Neil interlocked their fingers and rubbed his thumb against Gerald's hand. They looked at one another, blushing and giggling, then returned to their work.

Gerald saw that seven minutes and went by. He gasped and ran to his brown dress shoes, stomping them on his feet, and tying the lashes super tight. He pulled up his dress pant leg and adjusted his high plaid socks, making sure they were perfect. He then put his pant leg back down to his ankle and repeated the same routine with his other foot. He bolted back to his desk and grabbed his honey spray, deciding he liked that scent better that evening. He ruffled his hair in his mirro, fixed his collar shirt that was under Neil's green sweater. He sighed and stared at himself for a second. "You got this... it's just Neil." As the name left his mouth, he smiled. Neil had this hold on him. It was like a spell, a love spell. He snapped out of his daze and grabbed the bottle of sparkling apple cider he was bringing to the picnic. He pulled open his dorm room door and began to skip to the date.

He saw Neil standing and pacing around the blue picnic blanket. Gerald saw the beautiful spread on the blanket. Sandwiches, a cheese plater, cookies, fruit, chocolate covered strawberries, chips and salsa. All the snacks and food were placed in white bowls lined with pink swirly shapes. Everything matched the blanket and the evening was pointing in the right direction. Gerald jogged to the blanket and noticed how nervous Neil seemed. The pacing, biting his lip, drumming on his pockets, repetitive adjusting of the food spread. Gerald found his nervous habits terribly bashful and adorable. Especially the one where Neil would close his eyes, sigh heavily, roll
his eyes, and blow his bangs out of his hazel eyes. It was obvious Neil was in deep thought and freaking himself out. Little did he know, he didn't have to worry about anything. The night would be beautiful.

"Neil! Hi!" Gerald shouted. Neil was pulled from those crippling thoughts and his pale face was replaced and bombarded with a large genuine smile.
"I'm so happy to see you!" Neil said back. Gerald put the cider on the blanket and hugged Neil. Neil hugged him back and buried his head on his shoulder. Before they pulled away, Neil kissed Gerald's hair. Gerald tried to conceal his blush but ended up failing. Neil took pride in the fact he made Gerald blush. He hadn't ever made anyone feel like that before.