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"alfred lord tennyson. 'come my friends, 'tis not too late to seek a newer world for my purpose holds to sail beyond the sunset. and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven; that which we are one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will.to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yeild." neil read.
scarlett sat in amazement. neil read with such passion that it made her stomach fill with butterflies. her father always said that poetry made a woman swoon. that bastard was right. she thought. to her, neil was perfect. she was infatuated with him. he was so lovely that she couldn't help but swoon. much to her dismay, she could feel herself falling for the boy. that terrified the young keating. love was foreign to her. yes, she had read about it and listened to plenty of love songs, but she never felt it herself. scarlett never felt so much adoration that it made her want to throw up. she never felt herself longing to be closer to someone, not until neil.
before scarlett could be completely absorbed by her thoughts, meeks stood in the center of the circle and began to read a poem, more perform then read.
"then i had religion, then i had a vision. i could not turn from their revel in derision. then i saw the congo creeping through the black, cutting through the forest with a golden track-"
as meeks began to repeat the last line, charlie chanted meeks' name in a hushed tone.
"...cutting through the forest with a golden track. then i saw the congo creeping through the black, cutting through the forest with a golden track."
knox found a metal lid that had once belonged to a garage can on the ground and began to use it as a drum. the group all stood and began going in a circle, making music with random objects they could find. they continued to chant the chorus as they emerge from the cave.
scarlett giggled from the back of the group as she watched her friends. parker was at the front of the group, dancing around with knox and charlie, while rory was striking up a conversation with a silent todd.
"i would say that was a successful first meeting, don't you think?" a sudden voice said from behind scarlett. scarlett turned to see neil, his mouth in a form of a grin.
"oh yeah charlie's poem was really something." scarlett laughed. "you're an amazing performer, neil." scarlett's face grew red at her words. "i- i mean you read the poetry beautifully. "
neil blushed. "thanks. i always found something about performing interesting. i've always wanted to try my hand at acting, but my father would never allow it."
neil found it easy to open up to scarlett. he felt like all of his deepest thoughts and hidden secrets were safest with her.
"i think you should give it a try."
"but my father--"
"to hell with your father, neil!" scarlett blurted. "if it will make you happy, then do it. that man shouldn't be holding you back--" scarlett's words were cut short as neil hugged her tightly.
"i don't deserve to have you in my life, scarlett keating."
scarlett smiled. "and i don't deserve you, neil perry."
neil pulled back slightly as he looked down at scarlett.
he studied her eyes, a beautiful chocolate brown. her nose and cheeks, red from the cold. her lips, a soft pink. neil slowly began to lean down, his lips aching to meet scarlett's. scarlett's eyes fluttered shut, ready for a sweet kiss.
sadly, that sweet kiss never came.
"neil! scarlett! come on!" cameron shouted. parker quickly hit cameron in the head, which made cameron whimper in pain.
neil and scarlett quickly separated from their short lived embrace, both of their cheeks bright red.
✰
after the group had gotten back from the meeting, they had all departed and went to their dorms. rory was about to go in hers before she was pulled into scarlett and parker's room.
"ladies, i think we all have something to discuss." parker smirked.
"discuss what?" rory asked. parker rolled her eyes as she laid down on her bed.
"it looks like you two have something going on with two devilishly handsome boys."
rory and scarlett's cheeks grew red as the two sat on scarlett's bed.
"what? no!"
"oh shut up, scar. we all saw you and neil. you've got nothing to hide." parker teased. "and you, rory, have dalton following you around like a lovesick puppy." rory nervously bit her lip as she played with her fingers.
"what about knox?" scarlett asked. "you and him seem close."
parker sat up quickly. "there is nothing going on between me and knox. besides, i just ended things with everett."
"there is something there, parker." rory spoke up.
parker sighed.
scarlett stayed quiet. parker was right. she couldn't deny that she did have some sort of feelings for neil, but she didn't want to face them. scarlett didn't want to see anyone get hurt.
feelings sure were a bitch.
✰
authors note:
i apologize for this being a little on the shorter side but the next chapter will focus heavily on charlie and rory! the relationships are coming!!
