Beautiful ➳ Neil Perry.

quatre

The next day came. Alice had never wanted the day to end so quickly before. Chris, as questioning as usual, could not leave her friend to think to herself without any answers. Without a choice, Alice decided to tell Chris everything. Even about how she thinks she may be falling for Neil Perry.

"Really? That's great, Alice!" Chris exclaimed, "By the end of this month, I bet you'll be completely in love with him."

Alice hushed Chris, who was talking way too loud in the hallways. Alice felt the sudden urge to turn around and run when her eyes met with Adrienne and Jessica, who were walking towards her with grins plastered on their faces. It was too late to run now. Alice greeted the twins with a friendly smile, hoping they wouldn't make further comments about last night.

"I can't believe you and Neil spent the whole night talking to each other," Adrienne laughed, "What the hell were you even talking about?"

Jessica added in, "God, Chris. You should've seen them. It was like they came straight out of a romance movie."

Alice stared at them, as if telling them to stop talking. At the same time, she did want to hear what they had to say. Jessica and Adrienne both knew how hard it was for Alice to find a boy she actually liked the way she liked Neil.

"So, are you going to tell us or not?" Adrienne playfully nudged Alice's side, "Come on! We're friends, after all."

Alice hesitated; taking a breath before replying, "We were only talking about what we wanted to do after high school..."

"Awwww!" Jessica was jumping up and down, "Did the two of you already make plans to move in together?"

Alice was shocked at her friend's crude comment, "What?! No! Nothing like that at all!"

"But what I did see that night, Alice," Adrienne said in a more gentle voice, "Is the way he placed his jacket around your shoulders."

Chris stopped walking, grabbing to Alice's two arms. "Oh, Alice! Why didn't you tell me about this?"

Alice smiled at the mention of the incident. It was such a sweet gesture, the whole scene continued to replay itself in her mind the entire day.

* * *

Finally, it was the hour of the Dead Poets Society. Alice felt a little out of place now that Adrienne and Jessica were no longer attending the meetings, but Neil liked to make her feel differently. It was as if he could read her mind, and understand every single thought popping into her head.

"Did Neil tell you yet, Alice?" Charlie asked, "He's made it into the Henley play as the leading role."

"Really?" Alice turned to Neil, wondering why he hadn't told her a thing about it, "What play?"

"A Midsummer Nights Dream." Pitts answered from the other side of the cave.

"So, is this what you meant by 'sucking the marrow out of life?'" Alice asked, with a slightly playful tone. She was actually quite surprised Neil had wanted to become an actor after graduating from high school.

Last night, Neil had told Alice that his father didn't approve of his dream to become an actor. Although it sounded cruel at first, Alice did believe that his father was somehow right at the same time. An actor would not receive a good amount of money if they were to fail. If Neil was to pursue his dreams to become an actor and fail later on, he had no career or education to fall back on.

Although Alice saw herself different from Neil, she wasn't as different as she thought. She, like Neil, did have a passion for an art. And like Neil, her stepmother hated when she'd spend any of her time painting. The difference between Neil and Alice, however, is that Alice never let Elsbeth's lectures stop her from what she loved to do. Neil had dropped many extra-curricular activities immediately after his father had asked him to do so.

"Will you come and see me perform?" Neil asked, interrupting Alice's thoughts.

"Of course, I will. I'd love to see you perform on stage, Neil."

His smile widened at her response. Neil was delighted to know that Alice had the intention of seeing him perform. Listening to her mention it excitedly made him feel even more treasured. Someone wanted to see what he loves to do, and wants to support him. That's all Neil ever wanted.

"When I was nine, my father took me to watch A Midsummer Nights Dream play. Honestly, it was the best play ever," she remarked, "So I'm even more excited to see what you've got to show, Neil."

Alice's smile was far from fading. Neil looked at her in absolute adoration. He liked her, a lot. And she knew.

Soon, the members of the club began heading back to their dormitories one by one. Soon, only Charlie, Neil, Todd and Alice were remaining. Before Alice could leave, Todd surprised her by grabbing onto her wrist. He held her wrist firmly, but gently at the same time. He didn't say a word, but Alice tried to read his eyes without asking. His eyes had looked to secretive and desperate.

"We're going to go ahead..." Charlie offered, patting Knox and Neil on the back, "See you back at Hell-ton, Todd."

Todd nodded his head, remaining silent as he usually was.

"Goodbye, Neil." Alice said, assuming the boys were going to leave her and Todd alone to talk.

"See you tomorrow."

Todd waited for all the boys to leave completely before he started a conversation with Alice. Neil forced himself not to look back at the pair, persuading himself that he'd look like a nosy idiot for looking back at them. What in the world did Todd need to say to Alice? He never really ever spoke to a girl before. Where did he suddenly get the burst of confidence?

Neil let out a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling a tight knot in his chest. He had no right to tell Todd not to talk to Alice without him present. He felt Charlie's gaze fixed on him, causing him to frown in slight annoyance and discomfort.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're jealous?" Charlie was smirking, not even making an attempt on hiding his expression.

"What are you talking about?" Neil scoffed, although he felt that Charlie was, in every way possible, very correct.