I WANT TO BE WANTED | 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍

𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓

Blair stabbed at the food on her tray with a plastic fork as diana rambled about something unimportant from beside her. the girls ate on the left side of the dining hall while the boys had the right, it was a stupid rule nonetheless— but one that had to be followed. blair couldn't help but think about what mr. keating had been talking about earlier in the day. she was completely zoned out, the phrases all linking together in her mind to form inspiration.

   "blair! aren't you listening?" the brunette sighed in frustration. "huh? oh.. yeah. i am" she nodded, sticking a forkful of vegetables into her mouth as diana continued her story. suddenly, neil appeared from behind alison may– the red headed girl that sat opposite blair. "hey, come over to our table for a sec" he muttered in a hushed tone. blair scrunched her face up in confusion, but obliged nonetheless. "i'll be right back" the girl urged diana, who's eyes were still fixed on neil as she watched him walk back across the dining hall.

   the blonde's eyes scanned the room, none of the adults were paying any attention– giving her the go ahead. she walked over quickly, taking a seat in between neil and charlie as the boys shot her a smile. "i found his senior annual in the library, i wanted you guys to see" neil opened the book he had been holding, giving it to blair. there on the page was a small black and white picture of their beloved english teacher. john charles keating, read the name beside it.

   "captain of the soccer team, editor of the school annual, cambridge bound.. thigh man, the dead poets society and most likely to do anything!" the girl read aloud to the table, passing around the picture for the others to see. "thigh man? mr. k was a hell raiser" charlie stated, scrunching up his nose with delight. blair looked up at him with a smile, "much like someone else i know"

   "maybe that's why i like him so much" charlie snickered, causing some of the boys to laugh. "but hey, what's the dead poets society?" knox chimed in, asking the question that everyone else had been wondering. "i don't know" neil answered, now even he had begun pondering it.

   she flipped through the pages quickly, shaking her head. "nothing. no other mention of it" she shrugged. suddenly the sound of mr. nolan's voice scared the soul out of her as he hovered right above her right shoulder. "shouldn't you be at the girls table, miss cagney?" he muttered.

   "yes, sir" she stood up without a second thought, making her way back across the dining hall. the boys huddled in, closer than before. "alright, charlie. now seriously. what's going on with you and blair?" meeks asked with a smirk. the boys loved to pester charlie about their friendship. but more than anything, they waited for either one of them to make a move. "i still have no clue what you're talking about" charlie smiled to himself. of course he did, but he didn't like to feed into his friend's teasing.

   "whenever you two say anything to each other, the rest of us might as well take a hike. it's like we're not even here" gerard joked. charlie thought about the statement for a minute, when blair was around– it did seem to feel like everyone else faded away. he liked the feeling. "yeah, and why don't you?" charlie laughed, throwing a piece of bread across the table at the boy.

  LATER IN THE AFTERNOON

   "mr. keating? mr. keating! sir?" neil called after their teacher as the group walked on the grounds of the school, out towards the lake. mr. keating had been walking alone, whistling to himself as he completely ignored neil's calls for him.  "oh captain, my captain?" the brunette tried. this, got mr. keating's attention as he halted– spinning around with a grin. "gentlemen. and lady" he nodded towards blair.