Title: A Very Good Day
Author: Brooke (neverwhere00@yahoo.com)
Fandom: Dead Poets Society
Pairing: Todd/Neil
Rating: PG-13
Notes: This one was a quickie. What can I say? I was inspired. If I'm missing any crucial plot detail, just ignore it and assume that I was incredibly tired. My DPS muse is an active one, so there's more of this sap in the works; be prepared! BTW, this is Knox POV, before he and Chris get together.A Very Good Day by Brooke
I walked steadily through the well-worn path that lead to the caves we call our home away from home during the long boring weekends of Hellton. The leaves crunched and crackled as I stepped, and I took note of the changing seasons. Fall was here again. Spring may be the time for love, but fall was definitely the season of romance around the halls of Welton Academy. After completing my required extracurricular activities, I had been allowed two hours of free time, and I had chosen to spend it meandering through the woods, thinking about Chris and how exactly I would get her to go out with me. Almost instinctively, I found myself heading towards the Dead Poet's Society cave; just the spot for a little thinking and brooding. As I was nearing the mouth of the cave, I took extra care to pick my way through the overgrowth and boulders, concentrating on making it inside before the first of the late-day raindrops fell. I didn't quite make it to the shelter of the cave fast enough, and as I stumbled through the entrance, the last thing on my mind was whether anyone else was in there with me. Therefore, it took me incredibly by surprise when I lifted my head to see my two of my best friends engaged in a one hell of a serious lip-lock.
"What the hell?"
As the words came out of my mouth, Neil and Todd jumped up as if scalded, Neil not quite getting his hand untangled from the lining of Todd's jacket. They looked like deer caught in the headlights; like I was going to beat them, or worse yet, run back out into the rain proclaiming what I had just seen. Nobody made a move, so I just stared in shock, dripping. I did not need this one bit. First I think that MY love life is screwed, but now my two VERY male friends are involved in some sort of...SOMETHING, and I am just too wet and cold and confused to process any of this information at the moment. Seconds go by before they relax enough to breathe, and I've stopped shivering. Not wanting to risk asking what I had just witnessed, I glance at Neil expectantly, relying on him to provide the answers.
Neil looks me up and down before speaking. "Uh, Knox...Todd and I were just...Todd and I..." Neil looks over at Todd as if he could supply an explanation, but instead, he sits back down onto the cold floor, head in his hands. Deciding to seize the day, I help them out a little. "You two were kissing, right?"
"Uh, yeah..."
Neil looks at me as if daring me to make something out of it. Ignoring it, and determined to get an answer out of one or both of them, I press on. "So what exactly does that mean?"
"It MEANS, Knox..." A muffled voice from the floor cuts him off. "It means that we're in serious trouble, Neil! I TOLD you we shouldn't have come here!" I need to get an answer from them, and I am about to shout out a snide remark, when I glance down to see that, God help me, the kid is actually CRYING. Neil breaks eye contact with me, and kneels down to soothe Todd. Normally if I encountered an awkward situation, I would tease, but it was just so damn sweet the way Neil ran his hand down Todd's back, calming his sobs. Not wanting to spoil the moment, and thinking that they just may start going at it again, I turn the other way and take off my jacket, draping it over a rock to dry. I face the wall and listen to Neil whisper that it'll be all right, that they'll be fine, and I take a moment to sift through my feelings.
Neil was always different. More alive than the rest of us, and I never really quite understood it, although sometimes I had the feeling that he was also the loneliest. When Todd arrived though, I got the vague impression that they fit together somehow...Todd seemed to capture Neil's attention, intriguing him with his quiet depth. Although I never thought that it would go this far...
The concept of two guys together wasn't all that terrifying when confined to the imagination, but actually thinking of the dynamics...That was an entirely different story. After all, you couldn't just go against everything the Church taught, and what society said about it. It was just...wrong. I made the mistake of glancing over my shoulder at the both of them. Yeah, they were kissing again. Tenderly this time; lovingly.
I ponder a few minute more, then come to a decision. If they want to be together, who am I to stand in their way? The both of them look happier, and besides, I have more important things to worry about...Like how to woo Chris. I turn back around, intent on making sure that they both know how I feel about this.
Todd sees me first, and they break apart again, Todd looking scared, Neil looking defiant. "It's OK, you guys...You don't need to explain anything to me. I'm OK with it, and I won't tell." Neil gives me a disbelieving glance, then a slow smile. Todd still studies me as if he should be getting ready to take a beating, but soon gives a half-hearted smile when Neil squeezes his shoulder. In that tiny moment it takes to smile grin back at them, I realize something. It should be Love before wooing and going steady. It's ALL about Love. I turn back to grab my coat, and head back towards the mouth of the cave. I peek outside and see that the rain has passed and everything looks greener than it did before. I take a step outside, but not before Neil stops me. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seize the day. What else would I be doing?" Neil looks relieved, content that I will not betray their secret. Neil walks to the entrance to see me off, Todd directly behind him. I grin again at the both of them, an idiot in love.
"Thanks", I say as I walk outside.
"For what?"
"For proving to me how you feel about each other."
I begin the journey back to Hellton, my heart full of hope, and I think, Now if I can only prove to the world how I feel about Chris. A romantic plan leaps into my mind, unbidden. Yes, tomorrow is going to be a very good day.