Pink Camelia - Neil Perry x Reader/OC

'~ Chapter 7 - nervous? ~'

~~~

That night, the boys, now initiates of the re-founded Dead Poets Society, went out to the cave. They ran wild through the scrub and trees of the forest, giggling and shouting, pushing and shoving, they made it to the cave, where the night was spent reading poetry, started by Neil, who read the opening message.

"I hereby reconvene the Dead Poets Society, Welton chapter." he then explained the roles of each of the initiates present, including Todd, who he stated would be keeping the minutes of the meeting.

"I will now read the traditional opening message from society member Henry David Thoreau." Neil opened a book that had been left on his dormitory desk, obviously by Keating, and began to read- "I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life." 

"I'll second that!" Charlie interrupted. 

"To put to rout all that was not life," Neil continued- "And not, when I came to die, discover that i had not lived." 

A moment of silence. 

"Keating's marked a bunch of other pages..." Neil trailed off.

"Alright intermission!" Charlie interrupted, avoiding a rather awkward silence- "Dig deep- right here."

"What on the mud?" Knox said appalled. 

"Use Meeks's coat- picnic blanket!" Charlie offered.

"Oh yeah use Meeks's coat." Meeks said dryly, unamused. 

"Yeah don't hold back either- wait a minute! who gave us half a role?" Charlie whined.

"I'm eating the other half!" Pitts called amidst the kerfuffle.

"Come onnn."

"Oh what- you want me to put it back?" Pitts challenged.

eventually the group settled, and began telling scary stories, trying to freak each other out as much as they could, which came to an end when Cameron tried to freak them out but ended up telling a story that they had heard about a million times. after the boys had berated Cameron enough, Neil stood before them, reading out a poem he'd discovered.

"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, we are;- one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but string in will- to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

The boys sat and reveled in the depth of the poem. 

Eventually the meeting devolved into a sort of chant, loosely based of off a poem that they had found in the book. 

"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, cuttin' through the forest with the golden track." Meeks started the chant, from there the boys began to repeat his words, Knox taking out a trash can lid and hitting it like a drum.

"Take it Meeks! Take it away!" Neil cried as the boys danced off into the night, chanting and whooping and carrying on, as if tomorrow didn't exist. 

'~'

Unfortunately, tomorrow did exist. 

The boys sat at their desks the next morning practically falling asleep, not even trying to listen to the latest rant Mr. Keating had entered. 

"A man is not 'very tired', he is EXHAUSTED! And don't use 'very sad' use- come on Mr. Overstreet you twerp!" Mr. Keating pointed dramatically, trying to wake the class up a bit.