Pink Camelia - Neil Perry x Reader/OC

'~ Chapter 8 - introductions ~'

~~~

The grounds of Welton swirled with the sound of music, courtesy of Pitts and Meeks- the radio had finally been completed. While all of the students were taking part in their various extracurriculars, Todd was curled up in his and Neil's dormitory.

Scratching out and crumpling up yet another of his attempts at a poem, Todd looked up to see Neil entering the dorm, looking cheerful, beaming from ear to ear. 

"Ha ha!" Neil exclaimed as he rushed over to Todd, slamming the poster on his lap.

"I found it!"

"Found what?" Todd inquired. 

"What I wanna do- right now- what's really, really inside of me."

"A Midsummer Night's Dream?"

"This is it." Neil said, still out of breath after running straight from his phone call with Dione to the dorm, which was on the opposite side of the building.

"What is that?" Todd asked, still confused.

"It's a play dummy." Neil chuckled. 

"Well I know that! What does it have to do with you?"

"Dione gave it to me- they're putting it on at Henley hall- open tryouts. Open. Tryouts."

"Yeah, so?"

"So..." Neil jumped up. "I'm gonna act. AHAA! YES! yes, I'm gonna be an actor! Ever since I can remember I've wanted to try this! I even tried to go to summer stock auditions last year, but of course my father wouldn't let me!" Neil then wrapped himself in a blanket and began pacing around the room. 

"For the first time in my whole life, I know what I wanna do. And for the first time, I'm gonna do it! Whether my father wants me to or not! CARPE DIEMM!!!" The boy exclaimed, jumping on Todd's bed. 

"Neil, Neil, hold on. How are you gonna be in a play if your father won't let you?" Todd put a bit of a damper on the situation. 

"First I gotta get the part, then I can worry about that." Neil strode around the room confidently. 

"Yeah but won't he kill you if he finds out you went to an audition and didn't even tell him?"

"No, no no no, as far as I'm concerned he won't have to know about any of this." 

"W- that's impossible." Todd said, again being awfully pessimistic. 

"Bullshit, nothing's impossible!" Neil exclaimed.

"W- why don't you just go call him and ask him? And m-maybe he'll say yes?" 

"Huh that's a laugh." Neil huffed, throwing the blanket from his shoulders to the bed- "If I don't ask him at least I won't be disobeying him." 

"Yeah but if he said no-"

"Jesus Todd whose side are you on!?" Neil cut him off abruptly. 

Todd froze, shaken by his friend's sudden shift in attitude. Neil immediately realized how he had affected the boy, and shifted his demeanor, still taking the poster back from him and making his way to his favorite spot by the window. 

"I mean I haven't even gotten the part yet." he said, breaking a stagnant pause- "Can I even enjoy the idea for a little while?" his voice cracking with emotion. 

The boys settled back into their positions, letting the silence speak for a while. 

"You're coming to the meeting this afternoon?" Neil asked, trying to diffuse the tension.