"Aha, behold the butter cookie thief."

Maria froze, eyes wide and fingers fluttering against the metal tin of cookies. She spun around as her uncle entered his study and looked at her with a curious and amused expression.

"Uncle John," she said quickly, mind whirring to come up with a clever excuse. "I-I..." She chewed on her bottom lip. "I admit it, I'm the butter cookie thief."

Keating laughed at Maria's defeated expression- a loud belly laugh - as he crossed the room and pulled Maria into a side hug. "You are the most precious, my dearest," he said, placing a kiss on top of her head. "The absolute most precious thing in my life."

Maria smiled into the hug, swinging her arms around to give her uncle a solid embrace. "I love you very much, Uncle John," she said, pressing her face against his sweater. He smelled of ink, paper, and books and she found that she felt comforted by the familiar scent.

She realized then that she'd been missing her uncle quite a bit. She'd been so caught up with schoolwork and the Dead Poets Society and the boys that she hadn't had the time to sit down with her uncle for a cup of tea for quite some time.

He didn't seem to mind it, but still, she felt a little bad.

"I love you as well, my meadow mouse," Keating said, pulling back slightly to take a good look at Maria. "But you know what? I don't think 'meadow mouse' suits you much anymore." He smiled and tweaked her nose, eliciting a childlike giggle from her. "You've finally shed your mousy fur."

Maria looked up at him adoringly. "Thank you, Uncle John," she said, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Keating smiled at her and ruffled her hair affectionately. "It's time for a new nickname then, don't you agree? How about 'Maria the Magnificent'? Or 'Chesire cat' since you'd shed the mouse fur and now proudly don that Chesire smile."

Maria couldn't help but laugh at her uncle's suggestions, feeling a sense of triumph though at the idea of a new nickname and the shedding of a past self. She was certainly not a meadow mouse any longer - take that, Mr. Foster.

"I don't know about those, Uncle John," she said, shaking her head with a smile.

Keating shrugged. "We shall work on it," he said and then his eyes twinkled. "In the meantime, how about you tell me more about Mr. Charlie Dalton?"

Maria's eyes widened in surprise, feeling a sudden rush of embarrassment through her and she weaselled herself out of her uncle's hug. "I- I, uh," she struggled. "What about Charlie? There's nothing about Charlie to talk about?" She rambled, trying to feign innocence and failing very, very miserably.

Keating chuckled at her reaction. "Oh, come now, Maria," he said, rolling his eyes. "I'm your uncle, not blind."

Maria felt warm as her uncle nailed her with a paternal-like look. She squirmed under his gaze, feeling a little caught in the act and absolutely dreading wherever this conversation was going. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, attempting to deflect.

Keating raised an eyebrow. "No?" He said, casting a sardonic sort of smile. "Ah, so you don't have a bit of a crush on Charlie Dalton? Must be another Maria that likes him then. Ah, I know, it must be Mr. Richard Cameron that likes Charlie Dalton. Yes, that's it."

Maria looked down at her feet, tapping her Mary Janes together tentatively. "You'd start a riot with that sort of rumour, Uncle John," she chuckled softly.

Keating laughed at that. "You're terrible at hiding things, my dear," he said. "Just like Margie, your mother. Terrible liars, the both of you." He laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "It's natural to have a crush on someone. Particularly at your age. I think it's important that we have discussions like this one where we -"

"Uncle John," Maria squirmed uncomfortably, interrupting him. "Please don't have this conversation with me right now. Aunt Alyssa already did, I swear to you. I know all about it."

Keating revelled in his niece's uncomfortableness for a moment. It was sort of fun. "All right, all right," he chuckled. "Though I must tell you, your father swore the day you were born that he'd make any boy who vies for you jump through hoops, through leaps and bounds before they were allowed to date his precious daughter."

Maria smiled at the thought, feeling a pang of sadness. It was a shame he was no longer around to see her grow up and experience these sorts of awkward - but also very sweet - moments with her.

Keating seemed to sense her change in mood and gave her shoulder another comforting squeeze. "I do feel it necessary to live up to your father's promises or fear that he'll haunt me in my sleep," he paused and made a face, happy when it drew a giggle from Maria, "but, if it counts for anything, I do approve of Mr. Dalton. He's a little reckless, a little impulsive, but I do think he's a good sort of boy."

Maria looked up in surprise at that. "Thank you, Uncle John," she said, giving him a small smile, but then remembered she was supposed to be acting like she didn't like Charlie. "Not that it means anything because I definitely do not like Charlie Dalton."

Keating rolled his eyes at that and pulled her back into a tight hug. "Of course, my dear," he said, holding her close. "I just want to see you happy and thriving just as you are - always. And if it means having a 'not-crush' on Charlie Dalton, then so be it."

Keating pulled back from the hug and turned around to grab the tin of butter cookies Maria had been attempting to swipe before he entered the room. He opened it and grabbed a few, munching on them thoughtfully. "You know, these cookies were always your father's favourite too," he said, looking down at the tin. "He used to hide them in his sock drawer, thinking your mother wouldn't find them there."

Maria laughed, feeling a warm glow in her chest. She loved hearing stories about her parents, especially from her uncle, who always seemed to have a new anecdote to share.

"Did she find them?" She asked, grinning.

"Oh, she found them all right," Keating said, chucking fondly. "Your mother - Margie - had a nose for sweets. But your father was always a bit of a rebel. He never gave up on his butter cookies, no matter how many times he got caught."

Maria smiled, feeling a little more at ease, a little lighter now. She grabbed one of the cookies from the tin and took a bite, relishing in the buttery flavour.

Keating noticed and gave her a sly look. "Now, off you go, you butter cookie thief," he said, handing her the entire tin. "Take them with you and hide them well."

Maria grinned and tucked the tin under her arm. "Thanks, Uncle John," she said, giving him a quick hug before heading towards the door. "I'll see you later."

"Take care, my dear," Keating called after her, watching as she disappeared down the hall. He sighed, feeling a little wistful. It seemed like only yesterday that Maria had been a little girl, playing with her dolls and giggling at his silly jokes. Now she was growing up. Keating knew he couldn't protect her from everything, but he hoped that he could be there for her, guiding her through the ups and downs of life. And maybe sharing a few butter cookies along the way.

••●••

"'To live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all the was not life'." The group stopped when they heard the sound of female laughter outside.

"Oh, my God!" Cameron whisper-shouted, looking at the entrance of the cave with wide eyes.

"Is this it?" A female voice sounded.

"Yeah, this is it. Go ahead, go on in. It's my cave. Watch your step."

"We're not gonna slip, are we?"

Maria fidgeted uncomfortably when two girls hopped down into the cave and Charlie followed behind them, grinning ear to ear.

"Hi," one of the girls smiled, fluttering her fingers in a way.

"Hello," Meeks said, gulping, standing and slamming his head into the low ceiling of the cave.

"Hi, you guys. Meet uh, Gloria and -" Charlie stared blankly at the other girl he had brought along.

"Tina."

"Tina, right," Charlie smiled boldly. "This is the pledge class of the Dead Poets Society."

Maria felt her stomach churn, something like jealousy flooding into her as she took in the girls in the dim light of the cave. They were obvious beauties, undeniably hot, and Maria bit down on her bottom lip, trying to keep her emotions in check. She couldn't help but wonder why Charlie had brought them to their Dead Poets' secret meeting spot.

"Hello. How do you do?"

"Hello."

"Hi. Hi."

"Guys, move. Move. Come on, folks," Charlie said, motioning for everyone to move down. "It's Friday night. Let's get on with the meeting."

The boys moved aside to let the girls in and Maria found herself next to Todd who had seemed to pick up on her unease right away and placed a hand on her shoulder in silent support.

"Hey -" he started softly against Maria's ear, but she shook her head, lifting a hand.

Todd's eyes flicked over to Neil's nervously who only shrugged in response. Meeks was still rubbing his head, trying to hide his embarrassment at hitting it on the cave ceiling, but was eyeing Maria with uncertainty as well.

"Guys, I have an announcement to make," Charlie started, oblivious to everyone else's discomfort. "In keeping with the spirit of experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda."

"Nuwanda?" Pitts said, laughing.

"Nuwanda?" Neil repeated, amused, but still definitely a little uncomfortable.

Maria said nothing, wringing her fingers uncomfortably in her lap.

Tina took a tube of red lipstick from out of her pocket, holding it out to Charlie who took it from her and drew red marks on each of his cheeks. "Nuwanda," he stated satisfied. "Now, we gonna have a meeting or what?"

"Yeah," the one called Gloria said. "If you guys don't have a meeting, how do we know if we wanna join?"

"Join?" Maria repeated, a little louder and more forceful than she had anticipated. She tasted something sour in her mouth when she watched Charlie lean over to Tina.

"'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate,'" he flirted openly.

"That's so sweet," Tina gushed.

"I made that up just for you," Charlie said with a wink.

"You did?"

The other boys laughed awkwardly, Cameron shaking his head, but Todd looked at Maria again. She had visibly stiffened, eyes trained on the interactions between Charlie and the two other girls.

Maria tried to push down the rising feeling of jealousy and discomfort gnawing at her chest, but it was hard to ignore the obvious flirtation that Charlie now directed toward the other girls - towards someone who wasn't her. Maria couldn't help but think that he was rubbing it in her face, almost like he was trying to make her jealous.

She watched as he moved to sit down next to Gloria.

"I'll write one for you too, Gloria," he recited:

"'She walks in beauty like the night.

She walks in beauty like the night.

Of cloudless climes and starry skies.

All that's best, dark and bright,

Meet in her aspect and her eyes."

No. Maria felt visibly sick. Charlie had just quoted Lord Byron - the same Lord Byron that Maria's father had once used to muse her mother - and the same Lord Byron that she had inwardly, hopelessly, prayed that he'd one day use to muse her so that she could feel exactly what her parents had felt when they were young and helplessly in love.

She was feeling entirely helpless now, but not the good "in love" sort.

"That's beautiful," Gloria sighed, batting her eyes.

"There's plenty more where that came from," Charlie smirked.

Maria could feel tears pricking at the corner of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall, turning away from the uncomfortable sight. She had been foolish - utterly and completely foolish - to think that there was something special between her and Charlie, something that went beyond words and actions. But now, seeing him so easily flirt with other girls, it was as if those unspoken moments between them had never existed at all.

How could she have been so stupid?

How could she have fallen for such a playboy?

She tried to keep her expression neutral, but the ache in her chest was growing unbearable. She couldn't bear to watch Charlie charm his way into the hearts of these other girls, not when she had been foolish enough to believe that she was the only one that he had eyes for.

Todd was the only one who heard Maria's soft sniff and he swallowed nervously, reaching blindly for her hand in the dark and squeezing gently. "We can go," he leaned close to her, whispering by her ear, "if you want."

Maria shook her head, holding her chin high. She'd have to see this through. She looked toward Charlie who was still flirting with the two girls and thought: "Break it, Charlie Dalton, break my heart all the way so I'll stop caring about you."

••●••

At the Danburrys', Knox entered the party and looked around anxiously. He stopped, combing his hair in the hallway mirror just as Chris came running out of one of the rooms.

"Knox!"

"Hi," Knox greeted her, feeling his heart flutter just a little.

"You made it. Great! Bring anybody?" Chris asked, looking around him.

"No."

Chris smiled, grabbing Knox by his jacket and pulling him forward as she walked toward the stairs. "Ginny Danburry's here too. Wait," she paused, "I have to go find Chet. Why don't you go downstairs where everybody is?"

She ran up the stairs before Knox could say anything and he stared after her helplessly.

"Make yourself at home!" Chris called over her shoulder.

"But I-"

Knox hesitated, feeling a little lost and unsure of what to do next. He looked around the hallway, seeing high school kids mill about, chatting, passionately making out. He felt a knot in his stomach, wondering why he had even come to this party in the first place.

As he made his way down the stairs, he saw Chet and Chris dancing together across the room. He felt a pang of jealousy and turned away, walking aimlessly through the crowded living room. He felt entirely out of place, like an outsider, like he didn't belong.

He eventually found himself in the kitchen, where several football players were drinking beer from out of a keg. They looked up at him as he entered, sizing him up. Knox felt a wave of discomfort wash over him as he stood there, unsure of what to say or do.

"Hey, you Mutt Sanders' brother? Bubha, this guy look like Mutt Sanders to you or what?"

"You're his brother?" The one - Bubba - looked him over.

"No relation," Knox said. "Never heard of him. Sorry, guys."

Bubba, who was very obviously drunk ignored him. "Where's your manners, Steve?" He nudged the one who had spoken to Knox first. "Mutt Sanders' brother, we don't even offer him a drink. Here. Go have some whiskey, pal.

He handed Knox a glass, filled up to the brim with beer.

"Who, I, uh, I don't really drink -" Knox started.

"To Mutt."

"To Mutt."

The two raised their glasses in a toast and Knox reluctantly joined them. "To Mutt."

They each took a big drink. Knox rolled his eyes and gasped at the burning taste of alcohol down his throat and into his stomach. He let out a sputtering breath, loosening his tie to try and breathe.

"Now, how the hell is old Mutt, anyway?"

"Yeah. What's ol' Mutter been up to, huh?"

"I don't really know Mutt," Knox tried again.

The guys ignored him, raising their glasses and mumbling "To Mighty Mutt" before downing their drinks and walking off, leaving Knox alone in the kitchen next to the beer keg.

••●••

The room whirled and spun as Knox belched and staggered across the room. He passed Chet and several of his friends, stepping over several couples kissing on the floor and slumped down on the couch, only to be crowded in by another couple who seemed oblivious to him.

He was about to get up again when he noticed Chris sleeping next to him on the couch. "God help me," he mumbled to himself, pressing his fingers against his eyes to try and clear his head. He looked about and then looked back down at Chris again. "Carpe diem."

Knox took a last swig of his drink, drunkenly moving towards Chris and letting his fingers fall gently against Chris' hair.

Across the room, Bubba looked over and saw what was going on. "Chet! Chet! Look!"

"What?"

"It's Mutt Sanders' brother."

"Huh?"

What happened next, happened in a blur. One moment, Knox was sitting next to Chris, ready to "carpe diem" and make his move on Chris. The next, Chet Danburry had thrown himself at Knox, hurling them both to the floor, straddling Knox and beginning to punch him as Knox held his arms up to protect himself.

"Chet, no! You'll hurt him! No! No! Stop it! Leave him alone!"

"Goddamn!"

"Chet, stop it!" Chris managed to haul Chet away from Knox.

"Bastard!" Chet seethed.

Knox took his hands away from his face and felt his bloody nose.

Chris hurried to help up him. "Knox, are you all right?"

"Chris, get the hell away from him!" Chet roared.

"Chet, you hurt him!"

"Good!" Chet fired back.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Knox said, feeling exceedingly sober now. What had he been thinking? What had he been bloody thinking?

"It's okay," Chris said, shaking her head. "It-It's okay."

Chet moved quickly, pulling Chris away from Knox and then pointing at him with a wagging finger. "Next time I see you, you die."

••●••

Tina passed a bottle of alcohol to Neil.

"Go ahead, pass it around."

Cameron motioned for Neil not to take it, but Neil took a swig anyway, praying that the light buzz might help everyone in the cave ease off a little, but he took a peek at Maria who was looking on disapprovingly and decided he had probably made the wrong choice. The alcohol wouldn't help one bit, no siree.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

"Me and Pitts are working on a hi-fi system," Meeks said, attempting to break the tension. "It shouldn't be that hard to, uh, to put together."

"Yeah," Pitts said. "Uh, I might be going to Yale. Uh, uh, but, I, I might not."

"Don't you guys miss having girls around here?" Gloria asked, twirling her hair between her fingers.

The boys looked over at Maria unsurely before they all nodded slowly.

"That's part of what this club is all about," Charlie said. "In fact, I'd like to announce I published an article in the school paper, in the name of the Dead Poets."

"What?" Cameron bolted up, eyes wide, nearly hitting his head against the cave ceiling.

"Demanding girls be admitted to Welton," Charlie finished off proudly.

"You didn't," Pitts breathed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How did you do that?" Neil asked quickly.

"I'm one of the proofers. I slipped the article in," Charlie explained.

"Look, uh, it's, it's over now," Meeks said, shaking his head dejectedly.

"Why? Nobody knows who we are," Charlie said.

"Well, don't you think they're gonna figure out who wrote it?" They're gonna come to you and ask to know what the Dead Poets Society is. Charlie, you had no right to do something like that," Cameron said and even Maria couldn't deny that he made perfect sense at that moment.

"It's Nuwanda, Cameron," Charlie said with a glare.

"That's right," Gloria sniffed. "It's Nuwanda."

Maria's eyes flashed. "Charlie, you can't be serious," she finally spoke up and she physically felt all the boys around her suck in a breath of anticipation. "That was a reckless and stupid move that puts the entire group at risk. We could all get into trouble for this. I could get into serious trouble with Nolan for this."

Charlie, looked over at her, startled at her obvious anger. "What are you talking about?" He said in disbelief. "You were the one who inspired me, Maria. You said it yourself, that you wished you could have all the opportunities that we guys do. Having girls admitted to Welton would allow you to have that, would allow plenty of other girls just like you to have it."

"That doesn't mean you should have done something so reckless," Maria shot back. "I'm the only girl here, Charlie. Who's Nolan going to think wrote the paper? Or worse, he's going to think I did something - seduced one of the boys in the school - to publish it for me. I could be kicked out of here, Charlie. I could be asked to leave. This is serious."

"Serious is exactly what I want," Charlie said, his voice raising. "Are we just playing around out here, or do we mean what we say? If all we do is come together and read a bunch of poems to each other. What the hell are we doing? I want to make a statement."

Angry tears pricked Maria's eyes. "Well, you made a statement all right," Maria said, her voice shaking with emotion. "I hear you loud and clear now, Charlie Dalton."

Intense energy crackled in the air.

"All right, all right," Neil said, looking between the two of them. He looked to Charlie. "You still shouldn't have done it, Charlie. This could mean trouble - especially for Maria. You don't speak for the club."

"Hey, would you not worry about your precious little neck? If they catch me, I'll tell them I made it up," Charlie said, waving his hand dismissively.

"You all should lay off," Gloria or Tina - whoever it was, Maria didn't care anymore - said. "Charlie is brilliant and it's just a harmless article anyway. What's the worst that could happen?"

Neil turned to her, his eyes flashing with annoyance. "The worst that could happen is that Maria is forced to leave Welton. Is that what you want?"

Gloria opened her mouth to respond, but Neil cut her off. "I didn't think so."

Maria stood up from her seat quickly, unable to hold back her tears any longer. She felt so stupid - so incredibly stupid. "I can't believe you did this, Charlie. You never think about the consequences."

Charlie looked at her, seeing her watery eyes and pained expression and the reality of what he had done hit him in the chest like a ton of bricks. His face fell as he realized the weight of his actions. "Maria, I'm sorry, I just thought -"

"You didn't think, Charlie," Maria interrupted and the first tear fell from her eyes. She looked at him for a moment, shaking her head. "I can't do this anymore. I can't believe I ever liked someone like you."

With that confession hanging in the air like a deadweight, Maria stormed out of the cave, the dam that had been holding back her tears breaking.

"Maria, Maria -" Charlie called after her, suddenly feeling hot and uncomfortable and incredibly stupid. What had he done? Lord, what had he just done?

Todd was the first to follow after Maria, running after her quickly to try and catch up and soothe her, and the rest of the boys quickly followed suit, indirectly choosing her side over Charlie's.

Neil was the last to leave - his loyalty to his best friend and his newer friend straining - but before he did, he looked over at Charlie who sat there stiff and frozen, shaking his head. "You messed up, Charlie."