EVERMORE | DEAD POETS SOCIETY

TWENTY-TWO!

NEIL PERRY DECIDED TO CARPOOL TO VERMONT WITH REBETTA AND TODD. It just all made sense since they would all go together for Meeks funeral. Todd drove the majority of the way. Rebetta had asked him multiple times if he wanted her to drive, but he told her no. She wasn't the best driver.

Todd swears she almost killed him one time.

Neil was fast asleep in the backseat for the majority of the trip. He was mentally preparing himself to go back to a place he hadn't been too in so many years. He didn't know what to expect. Was Vermont going to bring back certain memories for him? How were the guys going to react to seeing him? Were they going to be mad at him? Neil was worried about that. But he had Todd and Rebetta to calm his nerves. Doesn't mean it quite worked though.

Charlie had invited Rebetta and Todd to spend the time in Vermont in his nice lake house he had. It was one of his parent's property. However, after he graduated from New York University, he decided to move back home and move into a luxurious home. He had a well paying job, a really nice house, now all he needed was someone to spend all his time with.

Rebetta and Todd hadn't told Charlie about Neil yet, hopefully they were going to be surprised by him. She probably knew how Knox and Pitts would react but not Charlie... Charlie was complicated. He loved Neil, due to them being long time pals but after everything that has happened... who knew what was yet to come.

Rebetta was in charge of the map while Todd was driving. They were very close to reaching the end of Charlie's house. Neil was still very much asleep in the backseat. "How much longer?" Todd asked Rebetta.

Rebetta looked at the map. "Probably another ten minutes or so, that's my guess."

The soft sounds of the radio were played as Rebetta moved her map so she could look outside the window in front of her. The last time she had been in Vermont was when she had to bury her grandmother. That was also the last time she had seen her family. It wasn't a very pleasant memory. Majority of Vermont was an unpleasant memory. "Are you nervous?"

"About seeing Charlie?"

"No," Todd said. "How will they react? Not just Charlie."

Oh. "Oh, yeah... just a little bit," She told Todd. "It's probably going to be a very overwhelming experience. They all haven't seen him in a while... A very long time. Plus Meeks funeral is very soon."

She heard Neil wake up in the backseat and rub his eyes. "Hi Neil," Rebetta turned back to smile at him. "Did you sleep alright?" He just nodded.

"Are we almost there?"

"Probably in about a few minutes." Todd spoke quietly, looking in his mirror. Neil smiled at Rebetta and she did the same, but turned back towards her seat. Neil brushed this off though, maybe she was just overwhelmed by everything that was happening too.

    Finally Todd pulled into the long driveway. "Charlie lives here?" Neil asked them both and Rebetta nodded. "You know Charlie's family. Plus, he has a really good paying job." Rebetta told him. Todd put the car in park and took the keys out of the ignition. He stepped outside and Neil was in the backseat, he looked overwhelmed.

    "Hey." Rebetta turned back and Neil faced her. "Are you okay?"

    He nodded. "Yeah, just overwhelmed."

    She understood. Neil was back in a territory that he hadn't been in for a very long time. These were people he hadn't seen in over a decade. He wondered if they hated him for leaving, or if they were mad that he never contacted anyone. He also wondered if they forgot about them. "Do you think they forgot about me?"
    "Forgot about you?"