"inspiration". | neil perry, dps.
in which a summer is spent with the poets, with a significant feature of neil perry.
â§ title: "inspiration".
â§ pairing: neil perry x fem!reader.
â§ genre: fluff, with slight mentions of angst.
â§ word count: 2,733.
â§ warnings: written in headcanon format, home life mentions, the reader lives in meeks' grandma's house, knox being a simp for chris.
⌠authorâs note: requested by @mybabysweetascanbe! it's kinda funky how i wrote this as a headcanon but it still ended up being my longest fic lmao. also i wrote the poem that neil made for the reader myself so i'm sorry if it's kinda cheesy đż but i hope you all enjoy this one !! don't forget to take care of yourselves guys <3
â The summer holidays had always been a time for the poetsâ relief.
â Their academic year was constantly filled with difficulties for the poets, but it was harder for some when they were home for the summer.
â Neil felt as though he couldnât be himself-- he loved reading and writing even more so than he did with accomplishing any of his parentsâ wishes, like heading into medical school. He especially loved to act, and it was rough to keep that concealed around his dictatorial father.
â Toddâs 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 parentsâ daily proclamations.
âWe were quite disappointed with your grades from last semester, son,â His father reprimanded, looking down on him with stern eyes. âI just donât understand whatâs gotten into you. Your mother and I raised you quite well and you have your brother to guide you along. You know that heâs remarkably intelligent and well accomplished. Why canât you be more like your brother?â
â 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.
â Fortunately, Meeksâ grandmother was a woman who had a colossal and motherly love for the poets with a sizable residence in which her grandsonâs friends could inhabit during their vacation.
â 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.
â 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.
â 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.
âHello, everybody! Iâm Y/N!â The girl said, reaching out her hand to shake one of the poetsâ. 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. âIâm Neil! Weâre friends of Meeks and his classmates from Welton.â 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/Nâs eyes.
â 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.
â 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.
â With every beam and twinkle that she delivered, Y/N found herself to be falling for Neil as well.
â 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.
â 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. âGuys, what do we think of Y/N?â Meeks questioned. A clamor of answers that ranged between âI think sheâs great,â and âDo you think Mrs. Meeks has any more people in her house like Y/N?â echoed in the dark cave. Clearly, the boys had favored Y/N; but certainly not to the point where theyâd be infatuated with her. âYeah, I think sheâs nice. Sheâs really pretty too,â Knox added. âWoah there Knoxious,â Charlie replied, expelling out a chortle. âI donât think Chris would like to hear that. And besides, she looks more like sheâs Neilâs type than yours.â Charlieâs words werenât incorrect, but it was needless to say that Neil had strongly agreed with that statement.
â Over the summer, they would all begin to get to know each other better.
â The poets eventually introduced Y/N to the intricate realm of poetry, and she wholeheartedly fell in love with every line that was recited.
â 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.
â 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.
â Cameron did his best to do some summer reading at night, but he found it quite hard as his room was beside Knoxâs room, and Knox would spend hours on end talking to Chris over the phone.
âOh, Chris. How do I love thee?â Knox sighed, lacing the telephone cords in between his fingers. âThatâs the title of a poem we learned in Mr. Keatingâs class. It reminds me of how lovely you are. Of course, sheâs not as pretty as you are,â Knoxâs giggles not only erupted through the phone; but it travelled through the walls as well, disrupting Cameron from the climax of his novel. âWe get it, Knox! Youâre a romantic poet! Now why donât you go tell Chris about how you finished with a D minus in English!â
â While all of the little squabbles took place, they hadnât even noticed the slight change in Neil and Y/Nâs behavior.
â 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.
â Little did they know, Y/Nâs 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 Meeksâ residence; and Neil seemed to be giggling in his room every night when the rest were asleep.
â In the duration of those three weeks, Neil had become more familiar with Y/N than any of the other poets had been.
â Theyâd walk along the nearby river every morning, discuss poetry in the late afternoons, and eventually fall asleep in each otherâs arms at night.
âHow long have you been living here?â Neil inquired, peering into Y/Nâs eyes. His vision didnât have to stretch too far as his face had only been a breath away from Y/Nâs. The pair laid together under the warm covers of Neilâs bed with their legs entangled in one anotherâs and their hands interlocked, talking about anything and everything that came to their minds. âItâs been two years since Mrs. Meeks took me in,â She replied, gazing over Neilâs chiseled face. âIn the whole time Iâve been here, I think youâre the most interesting thing thatâs happened to me,â Y/N added, beaming up at Neil. Hearing her words, Neil slowly leaned his lips onto Y/Nâs forehead, giving her an endearing kiss. She too had been the most interesting thing to happen to Neil in a long time.
â For each and every day that they were together, Neil wrote love poems.
â 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.
â Neil felt embarrassed about being so infatuated with Y/N, so he kept his poems hidden for the time being.
â Somehow, the boys had failed to notice Neil and Y/Nâs constant disappearance.
â Although, theyâd make little remarks from time to time that ran along the lines of âOoh, Neil found a muse!â and âY/N definitely likes somebody here. Itâs probably me.â
â The last comment came from Charlie, which later earned him a smack on the head from Neil.
â So, Neil and Y/N did their best to keep their relationship hidden throughout the summer.
â The two were rather domestic in their relationship; they did all of the typical-couple activities that everyone else had done.
â 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 heâd 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 otherâs 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.
â Time to time, they would go up to the attic and listen to the music from Mrs. Meeksâ old gramophone, caressing one another as they slowly dance along to the lyrics of Ella Fitzgeraldâs songs.
â Neil would always sneak a flower out of Mrs. Meeksâ rose garden and leave it on Y/Nâs bedside table for her to wake up to.
â One of Y/Nâs ways of communicating her love would be recommending books to Neil that she thinks is encompassed with his personality. Since then, Neilâs library had enlarged to a great extent.
â 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.
âEat up, boys! You know thereâs plenty more of where that came from, so donât be afraid to dig in!â Mrs. Meeks endorsed, setting down a bowl of mashed potatoes. With a jubilant âthank youâ, everyone at the table promptly began to tuck into the mouthwatering cuisine. The boys soon found themselves distracted with the heavenly taste of Mrs. Meeksâ cooking; and Neil took this opportunity to covertly sneak his right hand onto Y/Nâs thigh under the table. A scarlet blush crept its way up to Y/Nâs cheek as she sent Neil a glare. Though her eyes expressed the message of âNot here!â, every other signal in her body sent the message of âYes, Pleaseâ to a very triumphant Neil.
â The summer inevitably came to an end and the boys were forced to return to Welton, much to their dismay.
â They couldnât stand ending their summer; and they especially couldnât stand leaving their new friend behind while the rest of them stayed together.
âOh God, How are we supposed to leave this beautiful girl all alone in this big house?!â Charlie pleaded, theatrically dropping down to his knees and shouting out loud to the heavens. âItâs all just too emotional for us,â Pitts added as he went along with his friendâs act, his head bowing down to the ground in grief as he placed a comforting hand on Charlieâs shoulder. âJust take me with her, God! Let me be with Y/N at her all-girls school!â
â 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 âCarpe Diemâ means, and she knows how to seize her days because of them.
â Of course, Neil had a harder time coming into terms with their departure more than anyone else.
â Leaving the Meeksâ residence meant that he was leaving Y/N, which was something that he hadnât prepared himself for.
âIâm not ready to leave you,â 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 heâll 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 Neilâs face, stroking away his tears with her thumb as she felt her eyes begin to swell up as well. âIâll write to you every day, Neil.â Naturally, Y/N was on the brink of tears as well. She couldnât bear to leave Neil after everything heâs shown her. It feels like sheâs known him forever, yet everything felt so new and exciting with him. She loved him too much, and she knows sheâll continue to love him long after.
â 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.
â 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.
âNeil⌠these are beautiful,â 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. âYouâre beautiful, Y/N. Thatâs why I wrote these,â Neil corrected. âEverything I love about you is in these poems, and all of the love I have for you is written in each letter. I just donât want you to forget about me while weâre apart.â The absurdity of Neilâs words made Y/N chuckle softly before she stepped forward and linked her hands around Neilâs neck, reducing the space between their lips. âI love you, Neil. Youâre always going to be in my mind and youâll always have my heart in the little pocket of your Welton blazer.â
â 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 sheâd ever looked for and he gave everything she deserved.
â 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.
dedicated to these lovely people!! @mybabysweetascanbe @disagreeingpoets @catflowerbean @galaxyrhytm @nananostalgic @ughgclden @towriteabetterlife @neilsemeraldsweater @yourpal @willowestelle











