If We Ever Meet Again.

Chapter 1

{{Todd's POV}}

I had followed in the footsteps of the captain himself. I found myself coming straight from Welton to a school in Colorado, teaching English. Honestly, it wasn't the job for me, but what else could I do? I still struggled to choke out the words in front of my class sometimes, but the only work I could do without making contact with other human beings was sitting in an office all day, every day, signing, scribbling out forms and licking stamps. Honestly, I'd much rather stand at the front of a class every day and embarrass myself that way. Sure it was the more embarrassing job for me, but at least it didn't bore me stiff. It was in fact the least boring job I could imagine, especially since I travelled so much from state to state. However, when it had been ten years since I had been forced to say goodbye to Neil, I moved straight to Boston to be near to Harvard. I figured he'd probably be stuck working near there for a while, so I stayed in the area too, hopefully. But I doubted at this point that my hope was enough. I'd been teaching at a renowned high school there, it was very similar to Welton - A boarding school, strict teaching, strict policies, a boys school... Almost too similar. The boys were just like we were. There was one who reminded me completely of Neil, except he looked a lot different - he was smaller than a majority of the other boys and his hair was a fiery red blob on his head, and yet his eyes shadowed underneath, squinty and a monotone grey colour. He was odd looking to say the least, but at least he was passionate about something. This something wasn't acting, like Neil, it was actually physics which was a little disheartening, since I wanted to be like Mr Keating and inspire everyone to love English, but obviously it wasn't to everyone's liking and I accepted that. I just thought it was so like Neil to be so enthralled by something, to incorporate a little bit of the something to make everything seem a tad brighter in your world.

I stop to think sometimes, "What's my something?". Is it teaching? No, I didn't think so. I loved seeing people progress and grow, but sometimes I just struggled so much to talk to a class. I could put the words together, but they rarely came out as I intended them to, which means that in most of my classes I get far too many strange looks.

Is my something my home, my life? Possibly. I did take great pride in my home, even though I only lived in a moderately sized townhouse, I tried my hardest to make it look nice. My style of interior design was very particular, some would say I'm far too fussy, some would even go to the extent to say that when it comes to my home that I'm quite feminine. Admittedly, I spend a lot of time decorating, and I do have lots of knick-knacks. Also, a liking for curtains, I have a new pair every week.

Still, I wouldn't class that as my something... Well, there's only one thing it could really be. That's Neil. It has been since the day I met him, which sounds really sappy, but it's true. I may have been a little skeptical at the idea of having a roommate at all, but since it was him, it was quite comforting. That's the first thing I noticed when I left Welton, that the nights were awfully lonely. It wasn't the best few years of my life, since after Neil left and Charlie was expelled, I was shoved into a room with his roommate - Richard Cameron. He wrecked our friendship group, once and for all, so it was always quiet in our room, but there was always someone there. How I longed for that someone to be Neil... Sometimes I wondered if he'd forgotten me. We were only with each other for a few months, so of course it was a possibility. It was sad... Around nine years after the night he left, I even started to forget what he looked like, how he smelled, the shape of his hands... Of course I couldn't forget the basics of his face. His brown hair and eyes and of course his chiseled cheekbones and jawline, they were unforgettable. But the little details grew hazy, and I know he could've changed in a million ways since I last saw him and I knew that he almost definitely would have done. I couldn't imagine him being at all unfortunate looking, I doubt that such a handsome young man could be badly changed over time. I imagined him to be taller... perhaps more muscular, with the same sharp features with his floppy mop of hair on top to soften them...

"Uh... Mr Anderson, hello?"

Hm? Oh, I was in class. I'd fallen into a little daydream about Neil like a teenage schoolgirl, how embarrassing. I was getting a lot of strange looks, until the red headed student who reminded me of Neil, Jeremy Mire, decided it would be good to pipe up.

"Oh, sorry boys. Are you all done with your essays?" I replied, a little flustered and glancing at my watch.

"No, Sir, it was the end of class five minutes ago." Jeremy said quietly, talking to me a little patronisingly as I was in such a babble.

"Oh, well finish your essays over winter break." I stopped, and thought for a moment. "And prepare another essay on..." I take a moment to flick through the copy I had of multiple Shakespeare plays, picking out one for my students to write about. "Uh... Write an essay on A Midsummer Nights Dream. It's my favourite Shakespeare play, so don't complain. Write about the importance of conflict in a story and also how Shakespeare uses comedy to bring his plays to life. I want you to do this because..." I think for a moment, about my newly spawned idea, which could go horribly. "Because you're getting a new teacher next term, and I need you to write this to make a good impression. I'm handing in my notice. So, farewell, lads."

I stood and flapped my things into my briefcase, walking out of the class followed by several awed expressions. Honestly, my internal self was screaming, "No, what the hell are you doing, Anderson?", but I was doing it. I walked out of my class and up all of the flights of stairs to the principles office... That office always made me nervous, even still... And I gave the door a few strong taps, before entering. Mr Barrett was sat there in his vast chair to fit his gargantuan body, an eyebrow realised until he saw me enter the room, when a cheesy smile grew on his rosy face.

"Todd, my boy! Sit down, sit down." Mr Barretts chubby fingers grappled around an open box with fat rolls of tobacco in. "Cigar?"

"No, no thank you." I sat in the squishy chair in front of his desk, quite rigidly, not folding my legs or crossing my arms, just sitting stiffly with my palms on my knees. "Actually, I came here for a very specific reason."

"Hm, well, go ahead."

"I'm handing in my notice." I hesitated when I saw his expression drop, before opening my mouth to speak again. "I feel like I've done all I can at this school and that I must move forwards." I stood once again, left the chair and walked out of the office, leaving Mr Barrett dumbstruck.

I left the school feeling honestly quite proud of myself, until I got in my car, sat down and spoke aloud.

"What am I doing?"

I sighed, burying my face in my hands. I had a moment with my thoughts before I started the car and headed off towards my home, drumming my fingers anxiously on the steering wheel. However, I didn't find myself going home. I found myself driving and driving, not sure where to but my path was set. On the way there, I skipped through several radio stations and stopped at one or two cafes for a coffee. It was only after a few hours that when I realised where I was going since signs started to line the road: Vermont - 10 miles. There was only one reason to be in Vermont, to visit Welton Academy. Or something close to.

In short, I was going back to the cave. The moment I drew my car into the forest, nostalgic feelings of my teenage years flooded me, almost unbearably. Each tree that curled over the thin path seemed like the twisting letters in a novel that I had memorised word for word, the crunch of the ground was like the ring of a church bell, identical each time it was played but simply amplified under wheels rather than a froth of footsteps. The familiar surroundings weren't any different to the last time I went, and it made me shudder. I pulled over on some grass to the right of the path, the cave only just in my sight at this point and I sat, staring at it. Should I go to it? Well, I had driven for three and a half hours to get here... I had to.

I gulped to build up some courage before getting out of the car, closing the door and locking it. I made my way towards the cave, almost feeling like I was walking backwards in time. It all seemed to hang still as I stepped in through the mouth of the cave... The bottle was still smashed on the floor, collecting dirt, and the floor was littered with cigarette butts. It was clear that this cave was untouched since I was last in it, almost exactly twelve years ago...

I sighed. Sat down. Stayed there. I wasn't sure what to think, wether to be happy that I was so far down memory lane or sickened at the last thing that happened here. Should I perhaps be bitter, since I was promised right here twelve years ago, that I'd be told I was loved by the only person I wanted to love me every day?... No. I don't know.