❛ Your lips and mine, two sips of wine, memories are made of this. ❜

DEAD POETS SOCIETY
chapter twenty-six

━━━━━━━━ FEBRUARY 6, 1966.

THE ROOM WAS warm and inviting, but all Eliza could feel was a despairing sense of nostalgia as she glanced around the dimly lit reception hall. Her green eyes fluttered past the couples dancing near the stage and the friends that stood off talking by the punch. She was waiting for something familiar, but it seemed to never appear. Her fingers nervously fiddled with the cream-colored table cloth until she caught a pair of warm, brown eyes. He assured her that everything was going to be alright in that one look.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza smiled awkwardly as her fiancé approached with a glass of wine for her and a beer for himself. He sat close, their thighs touching, and his hand slipped into her own. Eliza smiled, squeezing his hand, and returned her sights to the hall.

⠀⠀⠀"What is it?" Richard asked, taking a sip from his beer, watching his girlfriend worriedly.

⠀⠀⠀"Nothing, um," she sighed, returning herself to him. "Just looking for my uncle."

⠀⠀⠀"Ah," Richard nodded knowingly. "He said he'd get here when he could."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I know," Eliza muttered. "It's just been so long since I've seen him."

⠀⠀⠀Richard took the hand that he held and raised it to his lips, kissing the back of her hand tenderly. He smiled against her skin before resting her hand on his lap. Eliza laughed at his sweetness and set her wineglass back down on the table. She stood from the table, laying her lavender pashmina on her chair, and held out her other hand for Richard, who watched in amusement.

⠀⠀⠀"Would you like this dance, my dear Englishman?" Eliza asked with a wide grin.

⠀⠀⠀Richard grinned back. He slowly set his beer back down and stood to hold both her hands in his, and pulled her close.

⠀⠀⠀"Only if you lead," Richard teased, leaning down to peck her lips. "You know how utterly shite I am at dancing."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I do," she agreed, mocking his accent before pulling him to the dance floor so they could slow dance.

━━━━━━━━ FALL 1961.

RICHARD HAD MET Eliza at the University of Oxford during their second year. They were both in Professor Anderson's lecture on British literature, and quickly, Richard had known the name Eliza Keating.

⠀⠀⠀In class, Eliza was very open about her opinions on the topics they discussed. She had read most of the books in the course more than three times already and seemed to have insider information on the books' characters, themes, and symbolism. Unlike most students who spoke up in class to enact their opinion. Eliza actually knew what she was talking about, and soon Richard realized he could listen to her talk forever.

⠀⠀⠀After Eliza and one of the other students had gotten into an argument over Shakespeare's well-known comedy A Midsummer's Night Dream, Richard had decided to take his chance.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Eliza," he called as the class flushed out of the room and spun into the hallways.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza turned on her heel at the call of her name, students still fluttering by her as she landed her green eyes on him and raised a dark eyebrow at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes?" she asked quietly, holding her books close to her chest.

⠀⠀⠀"I was wondering..." he began quietly, trying to hold her gaze for as long as he could before crumbling. "Would you like to go out for coffee sometime?"

⠀⠀⠀Richard waited nervously for her answer, his hands thumbing at the insides of his pockets as he waited for her response. Her face had slackened as she processed his offer and opened her mouth a few times, unable to respond.

⠀⠀⠀"Like a date," he continued bluntly.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm sorry," Eliza began sweetly, leaning forward so that she could quietly ask, "Do I know you?"

⠀⠀⠀And thus, Richard physically deflated, hanging his head as she watched him with concern, holding her hands out.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sound rude!" she tried to assure him, her thin hands gripping his bicep tightly. "I just... I don't know you," she whispered even quieter, her voice hesitant as he chuckled lightly.

⠀⠀⠀"That's alright," he assured her, his nerves shooting back into his body as he realized she was touching him. Then, slowly, he slipped out of her hold and walked backwards down the hall, running into a student as he tried to escape. "I'm just... gotta. Go," he replied, shooting off down the hall and out of her sight.

⠀⠀⠀The next class they had together, Eliza was determined to mend things with Richard. He was cute and kind and non-threatening, as she could tell, and wanted to try to get to know him better.

⠀⠀⠀He sat a little farther back than she usually liked, but she didn't mind if she got to talk to him. As she approached, his face physically brightened while a sheen of anxiety fell over him. She set her books down on the desk beside him and asked kindly if she could sit next to him. He agreed barely above a whisper and sat stiffly throughout the class. Professor Anderson continued their discussion of A Midsummer's Night Dream, and Richard couldn't help but enter a trance anytime Eliza spoke about the play.

⠀⠀⠀"You know this play really well," Richard said after the class had finished.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, I have fond memories of this play. It keeps me close to someone I miss dearly, so I end up reading it a lot," she explained, a small secret smile on her lips as she turned to him.

⠀⠀⠀"That's, um," Richard gulped. "That's nice."

⠀⠀⠀"It is."

⠀⠀⠀Eliza made her way out of the class, and Richard followed behind.

⠀⠀⠀"If you're, um, if you're not, uh, busy... I'm headed to the library if you'd like to join me," Richard asked her quickly, dispersing the silence consuming them.

⠀⠀⠀"I would like that," Eliza said, smiling up at him, that made his heart stutter a beat out in excitement. "I have to let my lunch date know, though."

⠀⠀⠀Richard felt like his heart had fallen into the pit of his stomach at her statement and brokenly stated, "If you already have plans—"

⠀⠀⠀"Don't worry," she assured him, flapping her hand. "He won't mind."

⠀⠀⠀Eliza led Richard down the hall not too far from their British literature class to a familiar classroom. Richard remembered taking a class the semester before.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza smiled back at Richard. It made his stomach grow butterflies before entering the room to find a Professor alone in the middle of the room. Richard held back as he thought the young, handsome boyfriend Eliza seemed to have wasn't currently in the room.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, Uncle," Eliza greeted, making Richard's ears turn red in embarrassment. "I'm gonna go eat my lunch with Richard in the library. Is that alright?"

⠀⠀⠀Professor Keating's eyes moved from Eliza to Richard, who still stood near the door.

⠀⠀⠀"Ah," Keating nodded his head. "Mr. Beesly. I remember you from my American poetry class last semester," he said with a small smile. "My first class here, in fact. Lovely to see you again."

⠀⠀⠀"You, too, Professor," Richard agreed, suddenly remembering the strange class he had taken.

⠀⠀⠀"Of course, Eliza," Keating continued his conversation with Eliza. "I'll see you after your biology class. Have a nice lunch."

⠀⠀⠀"You too," Eliza whispered, kissing his cheek and practically leaping out of the classroom.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza and Richard ended up having lunch together in the library after their classes for months until Richard finally gained the courage to ask her out again to a local coffee shop. It was ten at night, and they had been dreading the paper they needed to turn in the following morning. They had finally come to a stop, scribbling out their last sentences when he asked.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza grinned and agreed, and soon they found themselves at a small coffee shop barely two blocks from the University. They sat close late into the night, telling stories and pouring their hearts out to each other. Eliza felt relieved that she could allow herself the comfort of an outsider, the intimate details of Welton. Not all at once, but in small doses for him to understand.

⠀⠀⠀Richard knew that there was more buried deep down and tried to keep things light and a smile on her face. He told her the story of when he asked a girl to the dance. They had made it all the way to the front doors before she decided he wasn't fit enough to be her date and left him alone at the doors.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza appreciated how Richard could make her feel at ease, allowing herself to become enraptured by him as they soon grew tired despite the caffeine. Richard proposed they go to his dorm to sleep, and soon they were dozing off in his bed.

━━━━━━━━ FEBRUARY 6, 1966.

"MAY I CUT in?" Knox Overstreet asked, standing beside the couple with a grin.

⠀⠀⠀"Please, my feet are about to become non existent," Eliza whispered to Knox as Richard had stepped on her toes six times now.

⠀⠀⠀"I can hear you," Richard told her blandly, but stepped away to allow Knox the dance.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza smiled at her fiancé and pat his cheek. "No, you can't."

⠀⠀⠀Richard rolled his eyes and walked back to their table with Chris Overstreet as she smiled widely at the two dancing. She sat comfortably in her chair, her feet kicked up and out of her high heels that had dug into her skin.

⠀⠀⠀"You should be with your bride, Mr. Overstreet," Eliza told Knox with a small smile as they danced much smoother than she and Richard.

⠀⠀⠀"I think my best friend deserves one dance at my wedding," Knox argued, furrowing his brows together teasingly. "You couldn't be my best man since my mother would have gone on and on about tradition—"

⠀⠀⠀"And we all know how much she loves tradition."

⠀⠀⠀Knox nodded, "So, this is the least I could do."

⠀⠀⠀"I was Chris' maid of honor," Eliza reminded him. "I think that's enough."

⠀⠀⠀Knox laughed, smiling down at Eliza.

⠀⠀⠀He had been happy since he graduated from Welton. He and Chris spent a year and a half dating in Vermont until he got accepted into the University of Oxford in England. They went for long-distance, and in that, he kept his heart intact, but Eliza knew there was a part of him missing. As it had been for her.

⠀⠀⠀They missed being in each other's presence, even though they made it back to each other once before. They missed going to the Old Indian Cave to talk nonsense and read poetry. But what they missed, overall, was their friends.

━━━━━━━━ FALL 1961.

ELIZA HAD FALLEN asleep with Richard in his bed. If anyone were to see them, they'd most likely tease them, and that's exactly what Richard's roommates did.

⠀⠀⠀"Richard," a voice whispered close to their ears as they lay facing the wall and curled into one another. Richard's arm was wrapped tightly around Eliza's chest as her hair fell dangerously over her face. "Richard, you and your girlfriend are going to be late for class."

⠀⠀⠀Someone whistled sharply, startling the two.

⠀⠀⠀"Damn, man!" the whistler exclaimed while scooping their breakfast into their mouth. "I can't believe you had the balls to hook up when we were in here."

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't," Richard muttered, stretching away from Eliza to turn to his roommates. "I didn't hook up. We just fell asleep."

⠀⠀⠀"Well, are you going to introduce us?" another asked.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll introduce you when you prove your 'girlfriend' isn't just a figment of your imagination," Ralph retorted, sitting up in his bed.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey! Chris is totally real!" the boy responded, storming out of the bathroom.

⠀⠀⠀"Discipline?" Eliza groaned, rolling away from the wall with bleary eyes to look around the bright room.

⠀⠀⠀The boy closest to the laughed loudly, "Shit, man. Got her whipped into submission already?"

⠀⠀⠀"Eliza?" Knox asked before Richard could respond, startling the boys.

⠀⠀⠀"What? You know her?" the blonde-haired boy in their barely there kitchen asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, we, uh..." Knox began, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "We went to Welton together."

⠀⠀⠀The boys all became startlingly quiet, and Eliza knew in that silence that they knew more than she had let on to Richard that night on the matter.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza stood slowly from Richard's bed, disturbing the silence, as she stared at Knox in surprise and confusion before dismissing the feelings and jumping across the room to hold him close. The two stood wrapped in each other's arms before one of the boys coughed awkwardly behind them.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, um, sorry," Knox muttered, setting Eliza down and turning his head back to his roommates. "The blonde eating cereal is Alec, the mop of hair is Harold, and... well, you know Richard already," he said with a small laugh.

⠀⠀⠀"Nice to meet you guys," she greeted, raising an awkward hand as all eyes were on her.

⠀⠀⠀"Guys, this is Eliza, one of my closest friends," he explained before his eyes widened and his whole body seemed to shake. "She can convince you guys!" he shouted, pointing to Eliza. "Tell them! Tell them about Chris!"

⠀⠀⠀"Chris?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the sudden conversation change.

⠀⠀⠀"See?" Alex laughed, rolling his eyes. "She doesn't know her."

⠀⠀⠀"No, I know her," Eliza assured him, turning back to the boys. "I went with this idiot to her school where he confessed his undying love for her when they barely had one conversation."

⠀⠀⠀Knox turned red.

⠀⠀⠀"No shit," Richard hummed, his eyes wide as he hadn't believed the American like his roommates. But, Knox, being from another country, allowed him to make a life for himself that was more than it really was. Money, a hot girlfriend, and cool friends were all things he'd makeup as well.

⠀⠀⠀"God, Knox Overstreet actually has a girlfriend..." Alex sighed, setting his bowl down in the sink and tugging off his shirt to put on a clean one. "I need to tell Alyssa Miller that the date is off."

⠀⠀⠀"You told Alyssa Miller I'd go on a date with her?" Knox shouted, growing worried that somehow Chris would find out.

⠀⠀⠀"I thought it was gettin' bloody pathetic that you were goin' on and on and on about your fake girlfriend in America," Alex shrugged.

⠀⠀⠀As the boys continued to argue, Richard stood and led Eliza out of the room so they could talk alone for a second.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," he said with a small smile.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," she replied, leaning against the wall.

⠀⠀⠀"So," Richard began, laughing as he looked back at the door. "I can't believe you know my roommate."

⠀⠀⠀"I can't either," Eliza replied, running a hand down her face. "God, I can't believe it."

⠀⠀⠀"You guys aren't," Richard began, fumbling with his hands. "You're not like... into him?"

⠀⠀⠀"Um," Eliza muttered, looking away from Richard and then back at him. "Knox has a girlfriend."

⠀⠀⠀"I know," Richard sighed. "You guys just seemed close."

⠀⠀⠀"That's because we are," Eliza stated thoughtfully, reaching her hand out to grip tightly to his bicep before running her hand down. "But that doesn't mean he'll interrupt what's happening between us."

⠀⠀⠀Richard smirked lightly as he leaned down just an inch to be closer to her.

⠀⠀⠀"And what's happening between us?" he asked.

⠀⠀⠀"I guess you'll just have to wait to find out," Eliza muttered, pushing herself up on the tips of her toes before the door opened and Harold screamed at the sight of them.

⠀⠀⠀"Jesus, Harry," Richard muttered, turning to Harold, but he had already hidden within the dorm and away from his wrath.

⠀⠀⠀"I have to get going," Eliza told the boys. "But we'll have to see each other again sometime," she assured them, grabbing her bag from inside the door. "Dead Poets Honor," she concluded, winking at Knox before she left.

━━━━━━━━ FEBRUARY 6, 1966.

"CHRIS AND I have something we want to show you," Knox told Eliza as their song finished. He let go of one of her hands and led her back to the table, where Chris and Richard spoke quietly to one another. Most of their guests had left, and soon the two would be off on their honeymoon to Venice, but first, they had to get a few things in order.

⠀⠀⠀"What is it?" Eliza asked, trotting after him.

⠀⠀⠀Richard stood, wrapping his arm around Eliza as Knox went to his newlywed bride and helped her stand while taking her heels to slip back onto her feet. Knox didn't continue the conversation as he led them out of the reception hall and into the parking lot. They walked around the building and towards the back, where a small path led into the woods. Knox continued to lead them into the woods. The trip was a little more difficult as they wore stiff formal wear, the women in heels and just a little alcohol in their system to make them tipsy.

⠀⠀⠀In the middle of the forest, a cave similar to one back in Vermont that was very close to their hearts. Eliza smiled warmly at the sight. Finally, they came to the mouth of the cave. Chris and Richard were the first to slip in with flashlights, while Knox and Eliza stayed out for a moment.

⠀⠀⠀"If it weren't for you, I would not be standing here today with my beautiful wife and a career I can tolerate," Knox told her seriously. The lack of amusement on his soft face told Eliza that he meant every word.

⠀⠀⠀Eliza could feel the tears stinging in her eyes but wouldn't let him get to her in that way, as she said, "What are you talking about, Knoxious? You would've found yourself here on your own."

⠀⠀⠀"No," Knox disagreed quickly. "I would've given up on long distance. I almost did before we met again. Chris and I were growing tired of trying to find ways to communicate, but you encouraged me to keep it going, and it worked."

⠀⠀⠀Eliza turned away from the mouth of the cave to look back at the forest, imagining herself back in Vermont, still seventeen, with dreams filling her heart and soul. Now, she was comfortable and steady and felt bland in her ambitions.

⠀⠀⠀"I only did that because I was guilty," Eliza whispered, keeping her voice from drifting inside the cave to prying ears.

⠀⠀⠀Knox furrowed his brows.

⠀⠀⠀"Guilty of what?"

⠀⠀⠀"Of turning down Charlie. Of telling him we couldn't make it work. It could've."

⠀⠀⠀Knox sighed, "But if you hadn't, you wouldn't have Richard."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes," she agreed, warmth filling her chest at the mention of Richard. "I wouldn't have Richard, and I wouldn't be here with him today if it weren't for you."

⠀⠀⠀Knox smiled, turning her back around to the cave.

⠀⠀⠀"Are you ready for your surprise?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Hello, it's one in the morning and I'm dying. I've been having the worst writer's block on how to end this story and have finally found it.

I want to dedicate this chapter to @carhart- which wattpad doesn't want to work and mention at least here lol. But their kind words really helped me push myself to write the end of this book.

I tend to find ending's bland and don't even read them half the time because I get bored. So, I understand if some people don't read this but I am trying to put into these last two chapters how I feel Eliza, Knox, and Charlie have evolved as people.

Now, Charlie wasn't in this chapter but don't worry! He'll be in the next. This is going to be very bittersweet and I hate to see it go this way but the writing gods are forcing me to do it. So, blame them, not me.

I love all of you guys, I love you so much and this story has been such a blessing. I love Eliza and Charlie so much and am very happy to have evolved their story from a piece of crap from my old account.

Oh! Also, if you realized that Eliza's boyfriend's name is Richard which is also Cameron's first name note that I did not do that on purpose (although that might work for a funny scene next chapter) so don't bother me on it please... I'm just too tired to change his name.

SONG: Memories Are Made of This by Dean Martin

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.