Dead Poets Society Imagines/Preferences

Six - Problems

Neil: It had been nearly three weeks since your first and only date with Neil, and you hadn't heard from him since. He hadn't called, he hadn't shown up at your house, he hadn't even written you some kind of note or letter. You were too afraid to call his school because your parents would probably find out you made the call and then they'd question you. You also couldn't go to his school on your own because you'd been busy, and you didn't exactly have a good way of getting there. You lived on the other side of town, too far to walk, and you didn't have your own car to drive, or a bike to use. The entire time he ignored you, you got in your head, thinking he hated your date and didn't want anything to do with you anymore. The more you thought about it, the easier things got to handle. You really liked Neil, but maybe it was for the best that things died out like they did. Neither of your sets of parents seemed to be too keen on the idea of either of you dating, anyway. Just as you'd finally accepted that you'd most likely never see him again, you saw him again. You'd just stepped off the bus in front of your house, clutching your backpack over your shoulder, and there he was, sitting on your front steps, his bike propped to the side. You walked up to him as your bus drove off, Neil standing to meet your level. "Y/N," he started, stepping towards you with an unreadable expression on his face. Was he upset? Worried? "I'm so sorry about everything, I didn't mean to ignore you." You didn't know what to feel. You'd almost moved on, believing the lie you told yourself that the two of you were better off if you weren't in each other's lives. You shrugged at him. "No, I get it." He took another step towards you, saying, "My father has been extra strict with me ever since the play. He's been having the Dean at my school keep an extra close eye on me. I finally just had to sneak away, today. And it wasn't easy... But I had to see you again. I haven't stopped thinking about you since our date." He reached for your hand, and you reluctantly let him take it. "You could've called," you told him, indifferent about what was happening. "No, Mr. Nolan was watching me like a hawk. If he saw me make a phone call, he'd ask me who I called. And he'd know it wasn't my father that I called because they keep in touch pretty much every day." You don't say anything after that, so he steps even closer to you and grabs your cheek gently with his other hand. "God, I've just missed your face. And your voice... and I feel like I'm losing you, now." You couldn't meet his eyes, still a little confused yourself, though you knew what you needed to say to him. "Neil, listen," you started, and he dropped his hand from your face so that he could grab both of your hands in his. "You're a sweet guy, really. I enjoyed working on the play with you and getting to know you. And I loved the picnic you set up for us... but just listen to yourself. How are we going to continue this? I can't go three weeks, or even longer, without seeing or hearing from you. That's ridiculous. Maybe if we'd already been together for a few years, then the distance would work. But we barely know each other. It's crazy trying to make this work, and you know it." He shook his head at you quickly yet firmly, dedication in his eyes. "No." "Neil—" you started, but he cut you off quickly. "I'm not hearing this," he told you, shaking his head some more. "We'll figure something out. I'll figure something out. Just give me more time." He let go of your hands, grabbing his bike and peddling it over to the sidewalk. Before you had the chance to say anything else, he had taken off, leaving you wondering if you'd ever see him again. Maybe he would succeed in figuring something out, but if he didn't, at least you knew you weren't too bothered by it anymore.

Todd: After Gerard saw you and Todd together on your date, and after he hashed out his anger at the two of you, he'd ignored pretty much everyone, even the rest of his friends, because he was so angry everyone else knew about it except for him. "I just don't understand!" He told you when you tried to approach him that day of the date. "Why one of my friends? You're not supposed to be dating, anyway. You know Mom and Dad won't approve. I'm not even allowed to date, and I'm a boy, and a year older than you. I should go and tell them right now." Meeks grabbed onto Gerard who looked like he was about to approach Todd in anger. "And you! I can't believe you had the guts to do this. I don't care about carpe diem, this is my sister we're talking about here! Oh god, did you defile her?" Gerard looked down like he was going to be sick as Todd exclaimed, "No! What? Of course not!" He had a voice when he needed to, and you felt your heart warming as he stood up for you to your brother. It was just another thing about him you found attractive. Your brother turned back around, still fuming. "I don't believe you." He said, and Neil finally spoke up, "Pitts, this is Todd we're talking about here. Not like Charlie, or something. It's really not that big of a deal—" "Then why did all of you keep it from me? Huh?" He shot back around at Neil. "If it's not a big deal, why didn't Todd just man up and ask me if he could take Y/N on a date?" You strode up to your brother and grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at you for a few seconds as you spoke to him. "Don't blame Todd for this. Be mad at me, I was the one who knew you wouldn't like it." "Oh, trust me Y/N, I'm mad at you too. Furious, actually, if you couldn't tell!" He pulled his arm away from you, looking at Todd again. "End this, whatever it is. Or I'll end it for you." With that, he took off up to the building, leaving the rest of you in complete silence for a few moments. Todd looked as if he was about to cry, his face as red as a tomato. You walked up to him and gave him a tight hug, but his arms wouldn't wrap around you. "Todd," you started, grabbing his shoulders and pulling away to meet his eyes, "He'll come around, it's okay." "Yeah, I know you haven't known Pitts very long," Meeks spoke up, talking of his best friend, "but he really wouldn't hurt a fly. He talks tough if he's mad, but he's not going to act on anything. He'll calm down in a few days." You nodded at Todd, trying to help him soak in those words. Instead, he pulled away from you, refusing to speak to anyone now. Neil went up to him, pulling him away from you so he could talk to him in a hushed whisper. You backed up closer to Meeks while they discussed things. "I've never seen him so angry before," you admitted to Meeks. He laughed at you, pushing up his spectacles. "Neither have I. But it's just cause he cares about you. I'm sure he doesn't like that you're dating before he is when he's the older sibling." "Well, maybe we need to get him a girlfriend, too." Meeks laughed, saying, "Yeah, here at Hell-ton? Unlikely." "Well, maybe I can find him someone at my school. Or, I don't know. Maybe he'd prefer a boyfriend? You know him better than me." Meeks's face grew red at that, growing quiet, though you didn't think anything of it. Neil and Todd had finished talking now, and Neil came up to you and Meeks, a hopeless look on his face as he glanced at you. You saw Todd walking back up to the school without saying anything else to you. "Todd! Wait!" You called, taking off running towards him. He'd fallen back into his nervous shell, refusing to meet your eyes. You spoke to him, "What are you doing?" He stuttered, grasping for words before finally finding his voice. "I'm not getting you in any sort of trouble." Your heart dropped when you heard that. "What do you mean?" You asked him. He fiddled with his hands, speaking up again, "I-I don't think it's a good idea to keep s-seeing each other." He turned and kept walking, reaching up to wipe at his face. "Todd!" You called, a few times, trying to get him to turn back around and change his mind. By that time, you felt tears form in your own eyes, and all because of your brother. Neil and Meeks came up to you, Neil giving you a tight hug and whispering, "I'll figure something out, don't worry. And Meeks will talk some sense into your brother." You nodded, knowing it was out of your hands now.