❛ When I want you in my arms. When I want you and all your charms. All I have to do is dream. ❜

DEAD POETS SOCIETY
chapter twenty-one

"BEAUTIFUL, BABY," PITTS said, smiling into the mirror as he took his comb and pushed his hair back for the thousandth time, just like the other boys crowding the restroom had done for the past half hour.

⠀⠀⠀"Beautiful, baby," Meeks agreed, looking at himself in the mirror beside Pitts and combing back his gelled hair. "Henley Hall, here I come," he clicked with a wink.

⠀⠀⠀"Excuse me, just a moment," Cameron called, pushing past Meeks and sending himself finger guns the moment he appeared in the mirror. "Yes, you're so cute," he claimed, combing back his hair too, but Todd quickly moved to mess it up. "Come on, Todd! I'm trying to fix this!"

⠀⠀⠀"Come on, Nuwanda," Todd called to Charlie in the stall between soft chuckles. "You're gonna miss Neil's entrance."

⠀⠀⠀"He said something about getting red before we left," Pitts explained, still combing back his buzz cut.

⠀⠀⠀"Getting red?" Cameron asked. "What does that mean?"

⠀⠀⠀"I, uh," Pitts began, but faltered at having a straight answer. "Well, you know Charlie," he shrugged.

⠀⠀⠀The stall opened with Charlie inside, his hair slicked back like the other boys, and a nice blue shirt on with the tie thrown around. He held a small bottle of paint with a brush alongside it as he stared out at the boys with an eyebrow raised.

⠀⠀⠀"So, Charlie, what's this 'getting red' bit?" Cameron asked, turning back to him.

⠀⠀⠀Charlie smiled smugly at Cameron, glad he asked. He deliberately unbuttoned his shirt slowly and snapped the fabric open dramatically. A bright red lightning bolt was painted down his chest.

⠀⠀⠀The boys all stood in shock for a minute, staring at the symbol before Todd broke the silence. "W-What is that?"

⠀⠀⠀"It's an Indian warrior symbol for virility. Makes me feel potent, like it can drive girls crazy," he explained, winking to them as he buttoned his shirt back up.

⠀⠀⠀"You mean drive Eliza crazy," Knox corrected him with a laugh.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, come on, Charlie. Eliza's waiting," Todd laughed, and the boys strolled out of the bathroom in a hoard rushing to the main lobby where Eliza had said she'd wait for them.

⠀⠀⠀Although, before they could get too far, they spotted Eliza at the end of the hall with Chris of all people who had just walked in. Chris had a nice green coat on and snowflakes, keeping her cold as she whispered with Eliza as they waited for the boys.

⠀⠀⠀"Chris," Knox called, dumbstruck, as he saw her at the end of the hall. "What are you doing here?"

⠀⠀⠀"Gentlemen!" Keating called from the other end of the hall, spotting them stalled in the middle of the hallway. "Let's go!"

⠀⠀⠀"Go ahead, guys," Knox assured them. "I'll catch up."

⠀⠀⠀Eliza said goodbye to Chris before jogging over to the boys. As she passed Knox, she smirked and whispered a small 'good luck' before making her way to Charlie. He had pushed the boys towards Keating as they stood dumbstruck, staring at Chris and how beautiful she truly was. Meeks was the last one in the hall, unmoving as he continued to stare until Eliza took his side and pushed him along.

⠀⠀⠀The group made it to Keating's car, where he smiled at the boys cramming into his vehicle. He held the car door open for his niece in the front seat, her long dress making up most of the floor space in front of her.

⠀⠀⠀"We're missing someone," he concluded after he had taken his seat at the steering wheel and looked over the faces of the boys.

⠀⠀⠀"It's Knox," Eliza stated, catching Keating's attention so that he could look at her and turn to where she pointed at Knox in the snow with a blonde-haired girl.

⠀⠀⠀"Will you be joining us, Mr. Overstreet?" Keating called, rolling his window down.

⠀⠀⠀"Go ahead, Captain!" Knox shouted from where he stood. "I'll walk," he assured them before returning to his conversation with Chris.

⠀⠀⠀Keating took off without Knox after waiting a few more minutes to see if he would change his mind. The heater was warming the teens to their bones. The radio played underneath the excited chattering of the boys.

⠀⠀⠀"You all look very handsome tonight," Eliza stated, turning in her seat to look at the boys. She looked at Charlie and gave him a sweet smile and a wink that didn't go past the other boys.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, yeah! Especially Charlie, right? Because he pained a re— A li—" Cameron tried to say but was quickly attacked on all fronts before he could say too much.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Eliza asked through her laughs at their antics.

⠀⠀⠀"Nothing, Birdie," Charlie assured her, noting the small stain of lipstick and mascara on her features.

⠀⠀⠀The car came to a stop at the theater. The boys clambering out of the vehicle while Eliza and John smoothly exited, waiting for the boys on the sidewalk. They made their way inside and took their seats. John sat at one end of the chairs while Eliza and Charlie moved towards the middle, with the other boys swarming their sides.

⠀⠀⠀The theater was almost bursting at the seams with people, the play just about to start. Eliza could feel the heat of the room start to bother her, standing to take her coat off. The boys seemed to turn just at that moment to see the long baby blue dress she wore. The fabric looked silky smooth and left her arms bare. Something she had never worn before and seemed too good for a simple theater such as Henley Hall.

⠀⠀⠀The boys wolf-whistled at the sight of her in the dress that caressed her curves gently and left Charlie's mouth dry. Eliza smiled kindly, rolling her eyes, and curtsied to them.

⠀⠀⠀"El, you look really good!" Meeks exclaimed as she sat beside him.

⠀⠀⠀Charlie's arm wrapped around her shoulders like another coat pulling her in close.

⠀⠀⠀"Thank you, Meeks," she smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"Where did you get it?" Todd asked curiously.

⠀⠀⠀"It was my mothers," she explained, her hand thumbing the fabric like an old memory.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, you look gorgeous," Charlie told her with a soft smile. "You're just... so beautiful," he continued, quickly pecking her lips.

⠀⠀⠀"You too," she laughed, placing her hand on his chest to keep him back.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm gorgeous?"

⠀⠀⠀"Well, of course."

⠀⠀⠀Eliza grinned, warming up close to Charlie as he wrapped his arm around her. The moment they sat in as they watched the closed curtains in anticipation to open, to watch their friend do what he loved and be with one another. It was something Eliza felt like grown-ups would do.

⠀⠀⠀At Welton, they were stuck with stiff, traditional people who did the right and good thing. But here, in Henley Hall, they could be exactly who they wanted to be.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

I made a trailer for this book! It is now in the graphics gallery but I'll put it here too! I really love how it turned out although it's more like one of this video edits than a trailer lmao.

https://youtu.be/xfA5ByEn7Us

SONG: All I Have To Do Is Dream by The Everly Brothers

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.