𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 | 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢

I was called to Nolan's office right after Charlie. I saw Charlie walking out of the room, his head down, and his parents going in and on about how he was a disappointment. His mother must've had a radar attached to her because she looked directly to me—sending me a glare. "Charlie, you need to stay away from that girl. She's responsible for how you're acting."

I stopped in my tracks, looking at his mom in shock. "Come again?" I almost wanted to laugh, but I knew that would just upset her more and probably take it out on Charlie. Speaking of Charlie, he looked to me and shook his head.

"You know exactly what I said, dear." His mother replied to me, practically sticking her nose up in the air as she pushed her boy out of the school. Maybe that was the last time I would ever see Charlie.

"Ms. L/n, were ready for you." Mr. Nolan cut the tension, leading me into his office. I sat down, ignoring my parents. Mr. Nolan placed a pen and paper in front of me. I looked at it, not knowing what to say. "Do you admit to being a part of this... Dead Poets Society?" Nolan asked as I stared at my hands.

"Answer the question." My father prompted me. When I didn't, he started to get frustrated. "Answer the damn question. It's a yes or no."

"Yes." I said quickly, my eyes stinging with tears. "But I didn't go much so -"

"Did Mr. Keating, or English instructor, encouraged you to be in this club?" Nolan continued on.

"No, he didn't." I shook my head, telling the truth. I could tell that frustrated Nolan. He probably assumed I was lying.

"Honey..." My mom thought I was lying as well.

"No! He didn't! What do you want? Jesus fucking christ?!" I burst out, quickly regretting it. I laid my head on the desk, crying. Neil wouldn't have wanted this.

My father gasped, alarmed by my behavior. He was about to say something, but my mother shushed him. I guess she understood that I was just full of emotion and it had reached a boiling point. "Dear, sign the paper and we can leave."

I sat up, wiping my tears. "I'm not signing anything. Keating didn't do anything. Neil wanted this! Neil started all the meetings. It wasn't Keating at all he just happened to-"

"Sign the paper!" Ny father yelled, scooting the paper closer to me. I folded my arms. "Y/n."

"No. I don't agree with it." I responded, sticking up for Keating and the other boys. "It's all a fucking lie."

"I don't care what you think it is." Clearly my father sided with Nolan. I suppose teenagers weren't allowed to know truths. We weren't allowed to be correct. "Sign the paper."

I then looked to Nolan. "Did you expell Charlie?" I asked, my voice becoming weaker.

"I can not tell you what happened in the meeting. That is between the school and the Dalton family." Nolan answered, confirming my beliefs. He did.

I looked to the paper and saw Cameron's signature in neat handwriting. Right below that was Charlie's. I wondered if he put up a fight like I did? "Sign the paper." My dad repeated like that was the only sentence he knew.

I signed the paper and pushed it hard across the desk, making it fall in Nolan's lap. "You just lost your best teacher, I hope you know. You fucking murderer." I stood up, blaming the school and Mr. Perry for the death of Neil. I left the room, but my parents stayed back to consider the punishments I would receive.

I saw Meeks waiting for me. No Charlie. "You're a fighter." He said, motioning the office with his head. He smiled, pulling me into a hug. "Thank you."

"Did they expell -" I began to ask, starting to cry.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Yeah, they expelled him. I'm sorry..." He looked and sounded hurt. I wasn't surprised. "I miss Neil." He sighed. "He would make this all into some joke, and everyone would be happy."

I giggled, pulling out of the hug. "That's sweet." I pushed up Meeks' glasses because they were falling far down his nose. I thought about Charlie again, my smile fading. "What are Charlie's parents gonna make him do?"

"I assume military and then straight to college." Meeks replied, shrugging. "Or maybe they've given up on him."

"Man, I hope so. He should be able to go wherever he wants and do whatever he wants."

"Yeah, but..." He paused, blinking away tears. "Our parents love to live through us. I mean, they paid for everything, so they expect collateral."

"Will you be okay, Meeks?" I asked, knowing the answer to my question. Meeks was a resilient person. He nodded. "Take care of Pittsie."

"I will, I will." He laughed "what about Carla? She can take care of him too. Its not like your leaving us!" His face dropped when I didn't respond. "Right?"

"I hope not." I replied, looking to the ground. "My parents are still talking to Nolan... if he contacts my school then... I don't know what's gonna happen." Meeks frowned at my thoughts. "I wanna see Charlie again."

"I do too."

I heard the office doors open and out stepped my parents. My dad was fuming, but my mother seemed to understand my feelings. At least I had that. It seemed like Charlie was stuck with both of his parents being complete pricks. 

"Steven Meeks?" My mom walked over to me. Meeks nodded, his face turning a bit red. "I haven't seen you since you were -"

"Eleven, yeah." He nodded. "I still look the same, I know."

My mom laughed. "Taller and more of a man." She said to him, shaking his hand. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Mrs. L/n." He nodded awkwardly.

My dad coughed loudly, indicating he wanted to leave. He even started to open the front door. "See you later, Meeks. Tell Pittsie, Knox, and Todd I say bye, okay?" Meeks nodded. "Especially Todd."

"Especially Todd." Meeks repeated, making me feel confident in him.