#jemi-dps

✎ The summer holidays had always been a time for the poets’ relief.

✎ Their academic year was constantly filled with difficulties for the poets, but it was harder for some when they were home for the summer.

✎ Neil felt as though he couldn’t be himself-- he loved reading and writing even more so than he did with accomplishing any of his parents’ wishes, like heading into medical school. He especially loved to act, and it was rough to keep that concealed around his dictatorial father.

✎ Todd’s older brother would be at home as well, and it was worse enough being in his shadow; but it had gotten worse with every one of his parents’ daily proclamations.

“We were quite disappointed with your grades from last semester, son,” His father reprimanded, looking down on him with stern eyes. “I just don’t understand what’s gotten into you. Your mother and I raised you quite well and you have your brother to guide you along. You know that he’s remarkably intelligent and well accomplished. Why can’t you be more like your brother?”

✎ Charlie and Knox had been just like Neil. The constant pressure that their parents put on them about becoming a banker and a lawyer was daunting; and all they wanted was to simply live as regular teenagers without concern for their future.

✎ Fortunately, Meeks’ grandmother was a woman who had a colossal and motherly love for the poets with a sizable residence in which her grandson’s friends could inhabit during their vacation.

✎ Thus, the poets resided in the Meeks household in the summer before their senior year so as to escape the stress and troubles brought to them in their own homes.

✎ Even though the summer was fleeting and their time was short, the poets found their time to be everlasting when they met the student boarder of the house.

✎ She went by the name of Y/N, which was a name that sounded just as sweet as the lady to whom it was attached.

“Hello, everybody! I’m Y/N!” The girl said, reaching out her hand to shake one of the poets’. Truth be told, it had been quite some time since any one of the boys had been in close contact with a woman; so they found themselves to be quite the martians in the situation. It took a few moments before one of the poets-- Neil Perry-- could offer his hand and shake hers. “I’m Neil! We’re friends of Meeks and his classmates from Welton.” The boy swore that he felt a spark as their fingertips touched, but he tossed the feeling aside; along with the apparition that he saw of a faint glimmer in Y/N’s eyes.

✎ The boys instantly took her in to their little group, and they all fell in love with her personality-- which was a platonic statement of course; but Neil Perry found this to be otherwise as he actually began falling into love with the new girl.

✎ He loved the way she cared for her new friends, the way she projected her personality through the clothes she wore, and all of the little smiles she gave him.

✎ With every beam and twinkle that she delivered, Y/N found herself to be falling for Neil as well.

✎ He provided a feeling for her that made the blacks of her eyes expand and butterflies to quiver inside-- which was the very same one Neil had felt when he first laid his eyes on her.

✎ She had been a fantastic addition to the band of poets, and the boys could not have had it any other way.

Despite the summer coming into fruition, the poets did not fail to meet up in their little cave every once in a while to read poetry, discuss girls, and laugh. The first meeting of that summer was simply like any other. “Guys, what do we think of Y/N?” Meeks questioned. A clamor of answers that ranged between “I think she’s great,” and “Do you think Mrs. Meeks has any more people in her house like Y/N?” echoed in the dark cave. Clearly, the boys had favored Y/N; but certainly not to the point where they’d be infatuated with her. “Yeah, I think she’s nice. She’s really pretty too,” Knox added. “Woah there Knoxious,” Charlie replied, expelling out a chortle. “I don’t think Chris would like to hear that. And besides, she looks more like she’s Neil’s type than yours.” Charlie’s words weren’t incorrect, but it was needless to say that Neil had strongly agreed with that statement.

✎ Over the summer, they would all begin to get to know each other better.

✎ The poets eventually introduced Y/N to the intricate realm of poetry, and she wholeheartedly fell in love with every line that was recited.

✎ They enjoyed every moment of their fleeting time together. Of course, there would be times where the boys would get into small fights and bickers.

✎ Pitts would always be yelling at Charlie for taking an ungodly amount of time in the shower, while Charlie would be yelling back about how Pitts always seemed to inhale the food that Mrs. Meeks provided for them before he himself could even take one bite.

✎ Cameron did his best to do some summer reading at night, but he found it quite hard as his room was beside Knox’s room, and Knox would spend hours on end talking to Chris over the phone.

“Oh, Chris. How do I love thee?” Knox sighed, lacing the telephone cords in between his fingers. “That’s the title of a poem we learned in Mr. Keating’s class. It reminds me of how lovely you are. Of course, she’s not as pretty as you are,” Knox’s giggles not only erupted through the phone; but it travelled through the walls as well, disrupting Cameron from the climax of his novel. “We get it, Knox! You’re a romantic poet! Now why don’t you go tell Chris about how you finished with a D minus in English!”

✎ While all of the little squabbles took place, they hadn’t even noticed the slight change in Neil and Y/N’s behavior.

✎ Y/N seemed to be keeping to herself more often, while Neil appeared to have possessed an undying smile on his face around the poets; particularly in the mornings when everyone gets up early except for him and Y/N.

✎ Little did they know, Y/N’s room had been vacant for the past few days since the arguments began-- which was approximately three weeks after the boys had arrived to the Meeks’ residence; and Neil seemed to be giggling in his room every night when the rest were asleep.

✎ In the duration of those three weeks, Neil had become more familiar with Y/N than any of the other poets had been.

✎ They’d walk along the nearby river every morning, discuss poetry in the late afternoons, and eventually fall asleep in each other’s arms at night.

“How long have you been living here?” Neil inquired, peering into Y/N’s eyes. His vision didn’t have to stretch too far as his face had only been a breath away from Y/N’s. The pair laid together under the warm covers of Neil’s bed with their legs entangled in one another’s and their hands interlocked, talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. “It’s been two years since Mrs. Meeks took me in,” She replied, gazing over Neil’s chiseled face. “In the whole time I’ve been here, I think you’re the most interesting thing that’s happened to me,” Y/N added, beaming up at Neil. Hearing her words, Neil slowly leaned his lips onto Y/N’s forehead, giving her an endearing kiss. She too had been the most interesting thing to happen to Neil in a long time.

✎ For each and every day that they were together, Neil wrote love poems.

✎ His poems revolved around his time with Y/N and included detail of all sorts; such as how colors appeared to be more bright and more vivid when he was with her and how lovelier the birds had sounded in the morning during their walks.

"My love,

The luminosity of the golden sun

does not compare to the radiance

of your glowing skin.

In this air full of morning dew,

the most beautiful scent in the air

is still you.

The sounds we hear of the melodious

birds are all because of your presence,

and they sing only for your beauty.

I look into your eyes and I see nature

reflected back at me; but it is much more

pleasant to perceive than if I were to do so

through my own set of eyes.

Though the morning lasts for a mere set of hours,

My fascination for you can go for as long as

this smooth river flows.

✎ Neil felt embarrassed about being so infatuated with Y/N, so he kept his poems hidden for the time being.

✎ Somehow, the boys had failed to notice Neil and Y/N’s constant disappearance.

✎ Although, they’d make little remarks from time to time that ran along the lines of “Ooh, Neil found a muse!” and “Y/N definitely likes somebody here. It’s probably me.”

✎ The last comment came from Charlie, which later earned him a smack on the head from Neil.

✎ So, Neil and Y/N did their best to keep their relationship hidden throughout the summer.

✎ The two were rather domestic in their relationship; they did all of the typical-couple activities that everyone else had done.

✎ To anyone else it would have been rather common to witness, but to them it was simply extraordinary being with one another.

It had been a scenic day at the river that morning. The beauty of the nature surrounding it had been ordinarily pleasing to Y/N; but all of its best qualities were magnified for Neil as his hand was in hers and the only thing he could smell was her fragrance. He had been quite nervous for the entire morning as he promised himself the night before that he would finally gather the courage to say those three magic words he’d been imagining to say for quite some time. Unbeknownst to him, Y/N had been thinking the same and had been visualizing how she would say it at that moment for the past few hours since. Just when the cascading waters began to relax and the chirping of the birds started to quiet down, the pair stopped on their trail and those three words were finally professed by Neil in a sudden manner while Y/N had spoken the same in a clear and gentle tone. They looked into each other’s eyes, recognizing the same look of love and eventually realizing what was said. As it was acknowledged, the two lovers simply smiled at each other and kept walking along; their hearts now beating on the same rhythm and their minds thinking of nothing but one another.

✎ Time to time, they would go up to the attic and listen to the music from Mrs. Meeks’ old gramophone, caressing one another as they slowly dance along to the lyrics of Ella Fitzgerald’s songs.

✎ Neil would always sneak a flower out of Mrs. Meeks’ rose garden and leave it on Y/N’s bedside table for her to wake up to.

✎ One of Y/N’s ways of communicating her love would be recommending books to Neil that she thinks is encompassed with his personality. Since then, Neil’s library had enlarged to a great extent.

✎ There would also be some occasions where one of them-- mostly Neil-- would get a little cheeky and try to express their love for the other out in the open.

“Eat up, boys! You know there’s plenty more of where that came from, so don’t be afraid to dig in!” Mrs. Meeks endorsed, setting down a bowl of mashed potatoes. With a jubilant ‘thank you’, everyone at the table promptly began to tuck into the mouthwatering cuisine. The boys soon found themselves distracted with the heavenly taste of Mrs. Meeks’ cooking; and Neil took this opportunity to covertly sneak his right hand onto Y/N’s thigh under the table. A scarlet blush crept its way up to Y/N’s cheek as she sent Neil a glare. Though her eyes expressed the message of “Not here!”, every other signal in her body sent the message of ‘Yes, Please’ to a very triumphant Neil.

✎ The summer inevitably came to an end and the boys were forced to return to Welton, much to their dismay.

✎ They couldn’t stand ending their summer; and they especially couldn’t stand leaving their new friend behind while the rest of them stayed together.

“Oh God, How are we supposed to leave this beautiful girl all alone in this big house?!” Charlie pleaded, theatrically dropping down to his knees and shouting out loud to the heavens. “It’s all just too emotional for us,” Pitts added as he went along with his friend’s act, his head bowing down to the ground in grief as he placed a comforting hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Just take me with her, God! Let me be with Y/N at her all-girls school!”

✎ Despite all of the inconveniences they put upon Y/N, the poets really did leave a mark on her. These boys showed her a new way of life-- she knows what ‘Carpe Diem’ means, and she knows how to seize her days because of them.

✎ Of course, Neil had a harder time coming into terms with their departure more than anyone else.

✎ Leaving the Meeks’ residence meant that he was leaving Y/N, which was something that he hadn’t prepared himself for.

“I’m not ready to leave you,” Neil confessed. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes, but he quickly blinked them away. After the individual hugs and goodbyes Y/N had given to the rest of the poets, the ill-fated time had come when she had to bid her own farewell to her lover. Neil believed that though their time was short and fleeting, it truly had been something special and something that he’ll never forget. Y/N was his first love, his first muse, his first everything; and no amount of riches could ever sum up to the prominence of that. Y/N placed her hand on Neil’s face, stroking away his tears with her thumb as she felt her eyes begin to swell up as well. “I’ll write to you every day, Neil.” Naturally, Y/N was on the brink of tears as well. She couldn’t bear to leave Neil after everything he’s shown her. It feels like she’s known him forever, yet everything felt so new and exciting with him. She loved him too much, and she knows she’ll continue to love him long after.

✎ Neil was afraid that she would forget about what they had soon after she had left, so he decided to give her all of the poems he had written about her.

✎ As her hands clasped the thick set of parchment, the tears she had been trying so hard to conceal had all poured out, staining the paper and her hands.

“Neil… these are beautiful,” She croaked. Her eyes skimmed over every title and date, realizing that there had been a poem for each and every splendid day that they had been together. “You’re beautiful, Y/N. That’s why I wrote these,” Neil corrected. “Everything I love about you is in these poems, and all of the love I have for you is written in each letter. I just don’t want you to forget about me while we’re apart.” The absurdity of Neil’s words made Y/N chuckle softly before she stepped forward and linked her hands around Neil’s neck, reducing the space between their lips. “I love you, Neil. You’re always going to be in my mind and you’ll always have my heart in the little pocket of your Welton blazer.”

✎ Y/N felt truly fortunate to have met Neil. This summer had come as quite a surprise for her-- she did not expect to fall in love so soon and with such an extraordinary person like Neil Perry. He was everything she’d ever looked for and he gave everything she deserved.

✎ Even though the bright days of the summer had ended and the early falling leaves of the autumn was yet to arrive, the change was of no concern as the only thing that mattered was what had been consistent-- and for Y/N and Neil, the thing that stood still for the two of them despite all odds was each other.

With days like this where Todd and his girlfriend-- though they may attend different academies-- endure the same hellish day, the rainbow after the rain is only found in the comfort of each other’s warmth. So, just as it had been the usual routine, Todd Anderson had snuck his lover into his dormitory once again for the mere opportunity of basking in her presence as they fell asleep in the comfort of one another.

He laid on his bed with his legs entangled with hers and his arms keeping her close to his chest; almost as if she was but a fleeting bird that was bound to escape from his arms at any moment. She could hear the faint rhythm of his heart-- the one that beats only for her. Aside from the synchronized cadence of the lover’s hearts, the sweet melody of the gramophone’s record could be heard from the background as well as it accompanied the loving atmosphere created in the young lovers’ presence. ‘Eddie, My Love’ by The Chordettes had been playing, and Todd thought of no other song to perfectly describe the unconditional devotion that he feels for his lover.

A beautiful day dawned upon the two; the skies presented a clear blue tint and a shining luminescence which had been an ambience that was ideal for their reading sessions to be taken outside. So the scene had been like so; the pair had perched on the grass beside one another in a portrait where Neil was reading his novel aloud in an impassioned manner while the lady listened in eagerly over his shoulder. This was quite usual for this duo; Neil would either recite poems from the Five Centuries of Verse or read a book from his personal library as she listened and occasionally made subtle gazes at his chiseled face. Today he read The Secret History, which was a rather lengthy read.

Though she was naturally captivated by his words, her lack of sleep and caffeine had began to take its toll as she found her eyes becoming heavier and her vision darkening. As she drifted off into a serene doze, her head slowly bowed down onto Neil’s shoulder; enabling him to become somewhat of a pillow to her. Of course, the boy did not mind at all-- but he was rather alarmed at her bluntness.

“Hey, sleepyhead. You doing all right?” He asked, slightly nudging his left shoulder to rouse out an answer. She persisted her stance and instead nuzzled in closer to the poet-- her head now buried farther into his neck and her lips only a breath away from his delicate skin.

Neil’s heart was absolutely racing and its beat had sounded as though it was about to implode. Obviously, the boy had no choice but to let it all happen; so he simply set his book down and basked in the presence of the adorably wearied figure beside him. He then carefully took her hand in his and intertwined their fingers together as he began to trace idle circles onto her petal-like skin.

Despite the pounding of his heart and the euphoric adrenaline surging through his veins, Neil Perry had realized that no other experience could beat the genuine tranquility of that moment. He perceived this to be an exceptional gift-- he was extremely lucky to have been presented with the opportunity to admire her beauty in peace and to be able to fall in love with her all over again.

Despite Y/N being homeschooled and Pitts attending an all-boys academy, the two would take it upon themselves to visit each other often. Usually, they would spend time together at the local coffee shop, drinking out of hot mugs and talking about topics that they wouldn’t have been able to in the company of their regular groups. The two of them would always take the corner table engulfed by the large bay window, as it was the only spot in the entire café where the light of the sun would beam through. Y/N would sit in front of the window so as to shield her sight from the sun’s rays, while Pitts would be seated directly across in a manner of welcoming the sun.

“Why do you like it here so much, Pitts?” Y/N questioned as she took a long sip from her coffee. She noticed that once again, his vision was pointed towards the golden ball of light. “I just like the sun,” He shrugged. He finally took his eyes away and placed it on Y/N’s figure instead. “Anyway, how are you and that guy doing? Dan, was it? What is that short for, ‘danger’?” Pitts surmised, wiggling his eyebrows. He had a gut feeling that Y/N’s new boyfriend wasn’t good for her, but he had nothing else to do but to simply let his intuitions pass through jokes and banters. “You know his name’s short for Daniel.” Y/N responded with a roll of her eyes. “He’s good; we’re good.”

Little did she know, she had been wrong and Pitts had been right. It took approximately six weeks and five days for her to discover about old Daniel’s deceiving ways. Everything had been all right from her perspective, but she hadn’t known about all of the cheating and the fabrication from Dan’s mouth. With her grief came the lack of energy, and with the lack of energy came the misfortune of not being able to see any of her friends-- especially Gerard Pitts. Y/N knew that things wouldn’t have worked out with Daniel anyways, regardless of his cheating ways. She had just felt so used and so betrayed; but she knew that something much better had been waiting for her-- only if she had the courtesy to get out of her misery and into the real world.

He wouldn’t have had any time to go and see her either. In those six weeks and five days, Pitts found himself feeling more and more distressed with every drop of his academic grade. Whatever lecture or teachings he heard in his ear simply went out the other. The quicksand he had fallen into had trapped him entirely; and there had been no other way of escaping. Thus, all of his free time was beginning to be dedicated to nights of relentless studying and futile reading.

While Y/N laid on her bed and waited for all of her tears to dry out, Pitts would be at his desk, continuingly grinding his brain and working to raise his grade into something more decent. They both knew they had to take a break-- to be able to think about something other than their respective troubles. So, the coffee shop dates began to return to its usual schedule.

On one particularly cloudy day, the meeting had followed through but their troubles remained. Not even the sun could brighten Pitts’ day, for there had been no sun at all; nor could the same be done to Y/N with hearing the humorous comments of her friend, since the friend in question hadn’t been in a humorous mood at all.

The two cups of coffee on the table had gone cold and the atmosphere was overcome with misery. Both Pitts and Y/N had been too taken in their despair for things to be the same as before. Only small talks and miniscule smiles had been exchanged-- but nothing else had seemed to help them get out. Y/N then tried again for what she thought should have been the last time. “Pitts… I’m sorry I made us go out on such a cloudy day, I know how much you like the sun…”

Pitts then turned to look at her. There it was, he thought. The light of the sun was nowhere to be found in the skies, for it was in those captivating eyes of hers. It’s not like he had been unaware of that glimmer in her eyes that whole time. Perhaps the one true reason why he had favored the sun so much was due to the fact that he had seen it in her eyes countless times before.

For the first time in weeks, Gerard Pitts finally had a reason to take his mind off of his troubles; and after all those years, he finally found a way for his heart to be mended. The reason why he had favored that coffee shop so much was not because of the sun; but it was all because of her. The sun hadn’t been his favorite thing either; it was the way it illuminated her face and presented each tiny detail for Pitts to see.

As they felt it before, things would never be the same again after that one day. It wasn’t because of any previous sorrows or burdens. It was due to the fact that despite all of the cloudy days and the lack of warmth, the two sunflowers finally found the sun-- and it was all because of how they found it in each other.

She had been special to the brown-haired boy for all sorts of reasons-- her face radiated genuine sunshine, her hair was framed with absolute perfection, her character expressed true benevolence and her mind exuded brilliance that no other person had possessed. Despite all of the aforementioned traits being accurate, only Gerard Pitts had the dramatic flare of describing his infatuation for his friend in such a way.

With her intellect came the opportunity to be able to assist Pitts with his schoolwork, which was a chance Pitts found to be a gift from the heavens. They began the first of their lessons on a grassy knoll located just a few steps away from Welton on a day where the golden rays of the sun stretched all throughout the Vermont sky and shined upon its citizens. Of course, in true Gerard Pitts fashion, the tall and lanky boy had ‘forgotten’ his bag which contained all of his books and papers-- instead, he had managed to bring some chocolates, a single rose, and a green woolly blanket for them to share.

“Wow, Pitts, our first study date and you’re already slacking off?” The girl teased. Pitts cocked a single eyebrow at her mention of a ‘date’ and felt his face gradually getting warmer. He cleared his throat as he flashed her a smirk, trying to be more daunting and replied, “A date? I mean, we’re already here anyways.” A wide grin subsequently broke out against her face as she looked up into the olive green eyes of her friend with fascination.

She took the blanket from his hands and set it along the grass, laying her body down on the fleece. She then stretched out her hand to Pitts so as to take his hand in hers and lay him down as well. It then happened like so-- the two friends had laid down beside one another, staring up at the languorous swaying of the clouds above as they felt the warm hold of each other’s hands.

Their moment of serenity was soon interrupted when the girl finally spoke up in a hushed manner as she propped herself up using her other hand and peered into the boy’s soft eyes. “The color of this blanket really brings out your eyes,” She whispered, her vision flickering between his eyes and his lips. Pitts’ eyes had done the same; and he knew what was about to happen-- which explained the sudden palpitations of his heart and the goosebumps that have crept onto his skin. As the girl leaned down closer, Pitts began to steadily lift himself up as well. Their lips had only been a breath away from one another as the boy whispered a gentle inquiry of “Can I kiss you, Y/N?”.

The girl didn’t bother answering as she crashed her lips onto his, bringing themselves together in an impassioned kiss. The hand that had propped her head had now been clinging onto Pitts’ face as her other hand squeezed against his own. It took them a while before they could pull apart to breathe, but as they slowly broke apart, Pitts took the time to look into her eyes; wondering if he could be any more in love with his best friend as Y/N did the same.