𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚎? {𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚘𝚗}

'ɢᴏᴛᴛᴀ ᴅᴏ ᴍᴏʀᴇ,

"Todd, that was amazing!"

"I don't know..." I cut him off with a tight cuddle. "Th– Thank you, Della."

"You should recite another piece tonight," I jumped at the thought. "At the Dead Poets gathering."

He shook his head no. I tugged his arm, "You know Neil's going to ask you the same thing, right?"

"You are si– siblings, after all."

I nodded, walking up the stairs. Neil and the others had overwhelmed the poor lad after Mr Keating forced him to recite an impromptu piece of poetry. It was beautiful as it was scary. I waited a beat longer after class ended, knowing Todd would do the same after that bombardment.

He was more than willing to indulge my interruption; taking the chance to apologise for the fight Neil and I were in. After repeated reassurance that he was in no way responsible for the situation we were in, he allowed me to compliment him, which was my main motive for approaching him.

"I'm glad you won't show your work tonight," I spoke, slowing my pace. "I would hate to miss it."

"You're not coming?"

Now I was the one to shake my head in response.

"But – You're one of us," He paused trying to find the right words, "You're as much a part of the society as– as Neil is."

"Hm." I smiled and hugged him again, almost making him fall backwards. "You'll be a great brother-in-law."

His face turned a dark shade of red, and I felt his pulse increase. I pulled back to read his reaction, my anxiety assuring me I had said something out of the boundary. He just blushed and nodded slightly in agreement.

༺ ★ ༻

"Lee put me down!"

"Not until you agree to come to the cave tonight."

I hit my aggressor's back, to which he just laughed. We were at the lake when I dismissively told him I was not attending the dead poets' meeting tonight – leading to an absurd outcome, where I was now being threatened with an unwelcome swim in the cold evening.

"You don't understand, if I go, it'll just make things more uncomfortable– Ah!"

My valid argument was unheard, or rather, it was drowned. I gasped up at him, pushing my now wet hair out of my face. I was so hot with rage that it took a long moment for me to realise how icy the lake water was.

"I- I hate y-you." The words were meant to be sharp but came out as a weak whine instead. Charlie, as if reacting to the abrupt change in my voice, jumped in after me.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," His frenzied yell came, "I had no idea it'd be so cold."

I made a scoffing sound, which turned into a loud shiver instead. It was enough to bring his attention back to me. He swam closer, reaching me in two long strokes, then hooked his arms under mine. I was heaved up, floating in the air with heavy, dripping clothes. He swam us back, sitting me up first.

Before he could join me, I gathered enough strength to land a hard kick right at his chest, driving him straight back into the freezing water.

When his head came back up again, he replied, "Alright, I deserved that."

"You can't avoid him forever, he's your brother."

"Please." I fingered through my hair, trying to untangle the knots. "You of all people should be on my side. That poetry was a clear proclamation of our relationship if I've ever heard one."

"And you coming onto me in front of the entire class was completely normal, hm?"

I groaned in defeat, leaning into him. He rubbed my hands with his, then breathed out warm puffs of air to subdue my shudders.

"You're too cute, I blame you."

He laughed and kissed me, our hands still finding much-needed heat against each other. Instead of a typical kiss, he planted quick, hasty pecks on my lips. I knew he attempted to tease me out.

"I'm only cute because I lo–" He spoke against my lips, stopping short. He took in a sharp breath, then continued. "Because I like you so much."

I smiled against him, pulling him into a deeper kiss that we both needed. Instantly, I felt the blood coursing through me and warming up my shivering body. I took my hand from his and rested it beneath his neck, caressing slowly until I felt his skin rise with goosebumps.

"I like you so much, too."

♡ -

I coughed into my hand, wiping it away on my trouser. Charlie thought it would be a good idea to bring pipe smoke into an already suffocating cave. Maybe the reason I was finding it particularly harder to breathe this evening was that Neil hadn't even looked in my direction. During the introduction, he kept his eyes on the book and then made a line to sit next to Todd when it was over.

Charlie fished out another one, handing the pipe to me. I heard a sharp protest from my left, but it quieted soon when he remembered he was still angry at me. I glanced at Neil who was pretending to be interested in the stray stones at his feet.

"No, thank you," I settled the pipe beside me while the others lit it up.

"Really? You don't feel left out?" Charlie spoke. When I looked at him I realised he was playfully teasing me, I suppressed a grin.

"I don't share your need to fit in to feel good about myself," I smiled sweetly, trying my best not to sound like I was flirting.

He didn't reply, Neil took this halt to his advantage – pushing forward a broken lampshade and revealing a petite, painted statue from inside. When he saw our questioning looks, he only said, "It's the God of the cave."

He proceeded to light a candle on the stake that was placed atop the statue. Todd playfully took the discarded shade from his fingers and decorated it above his head. To this, my brother pinched his lover's cheek fondly, it was a gesture so pure that I turned away.

Charlie loudly cleared his throat, clearly calling all eyes on him. "Gentlemen and the beautiful lady," He started, "'Poetrusic' by Charlie Dalton."

He blew a stream of seemingly random notes on his saxophone, I watched him, amused. The others just groaned at his antics, when suddenly he stopped.

"Laughing, crying, tumbling, mumbling, gotta do more. Gotta be more..."

I glanced at Todd, this sudden outburst could only be inspired by the madman Todd brought to life in the English classroom. Charlie started playing again, slowly this time as if feeling each note in his bones.

He continued, "Chaos screaming, chaos dreaming, crying, flying, gotta be more! Gotta be more!"

A silence followed, everyone held in a bated breath, transfixed by this man who did not even flinch under the scrutiny of so many eyes. Then, he brought the instrument back to his lips. He licked his lips in preparation, a subtle movement that would slip past everyone. I felt a shiver run through my body at how easy it was for me to gauge his actions now, it was an instinct, something I didn't realise I had learned until I started applying it effortlessly.

It was an uncomplicated tune, simple enough to pass off as background noise but Charlie played it straight from his soul. At that moment, I realised that no matter the consequences... I was utterly and probably, stupidly in love with Charlie Dalton.