Beautiful ➳ Neil Perry.

dix-neuf

"Shut up, Chris. I'm telling you, that's all we did."

Chris continued to laugh uncontrollably at the other end of the line. The thought of Chris and the other girls teasing her about it all day just crossed her mind, giving her immediate regret about telling anyone in the first place. Perhaps it was better kept to herself, but she'd never felt this way about anyone before. The story just needed to be shared with Chris, at least.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm sure that's all you did," she teased, "But whatever, this whole thing is insane!"

Before Alice could utter another word, she slammed the phone receiver down into place when she heard Elsbeth's voice echoing through the hallway outside. Her father left the house earlier than usual for work, so Alice decided making a quick phone call to Chris would be worth the risk.

Elsbeth was only half as terrifying as her father at this point in time, so had she been caught on the phone, she would've found it easier to come up with a lie to cover it all up. These days, Alice had found herself using Charlie's name to cover up the truth. For instance, the time she came home half an hour late because she'd been held back by Chris who so badly wanted to see Knox after school— Alice explained that Charlie had paid her a surprise visit after school to grab some food with him. She'd always feel even the slightest amount of guilt, but it wasn't like Charlie minded at all. He would've used the same tactic in his favour.

Opening her bedroom door to uncover Elsbeth's muffled voice, Alice found herself in a much more elevated mood than yesterday. It must've been because of him.

"You'll be late for school if you don't leave now!"

"I'm coming," Alice called back before grabbing her bag from her chair. The same chair Neil had been sitting on just the night before. She was flustered at the thought of last night's events— she'd never felt so close to someone before.

It was just after midnight when he held her until she fell asleep. She didn't think this moment would've happened any time soon— but she always imagined her mind would've been wide awake with a thousand thoughts, with her heart running wild. But it was nothing like that. She felt so comfortable, so at home with him. Her heart and mind settled; like everything was finally falling into place.

Neil didn't try anything on Alice that night, either. And she wasn't complaining. It was clear that the both of them were happy with where they were, and that's all that mattered. But clearly, Chris, Adrienne and Jessica must've believed otherwise.

"You're not telling me something and I know it," Jessica said as they walked down the school hallway together, "You don't just sleep on the same bed without some kind of . . . you know. Tell us everything!"

Alice shrugged it off, "Believe what you want, Jess, but you know Neil better than that."

And it had been true. Neil was nothing like the other boys Alice had known before, and that's exactly what drew her to him. He was always so patient with her; he never rushed into anything and gave her the time to get to know him. Neil always tried to keep Alice comfortable in every situation, though it couldn't be helped the first time he told her how he felt.

He was always so aware of everything, too— he'd pull Alice away from the crowd if she needed a breath, give her some space when she needed it. But most of all, he'd listen to the words that once always fell on deaf ears. It wasn't until Neil when she felt that every part of her had been healed.

Neil left in such a rush early in the morning, careful not to alert anyone else in the house. The last thing anyone wanted was an angry Stephen or Elsbeth barging in through the door at this hour. As much as he wanted to stay longer, it just wasn't to be. If Nolan were to find out he was missing from his room, he'd be expelled. And he had an idea of how his father would feel if that were to happen.

Alice was lying on her side, her vision still slightly blurry from her sleep. When her eyes came to focus, she smiled up at Neil who was tidying himself up in front of Alice's bedroom mirror. He was still wearing his uniform, his long-sleeved shirt now crumpled and in disarray.

"Well, I better hope no one sees me," he said with a chuckle, "Thank god the sky's still dark."

Even with the comforter still covered over her, Alice felt the cold with Neil's absence.

"You better go before the sun rises, then," she said, meaning to sound concerned rather than blunt. But her half-awake state of mind didn't help with that.

He suddenly laughed softly, walking over to Alice, tousling her hair playfully. She ran her hand through her hair in the attempt of a quick fix, jaw slightly agape from his sudden attack.

"Look, just say you want me gone already," he stifled his laughter, helping Alice fix her messed hair.

Alice jumped out of bed, gently nudging him in the direction of the balcony. She made her way in front of her mirror, using her hairbrush to tidy up her hair.

"Glad that woke you up."

"Shut up," she murmured, setting down the hairbrush on her table, "Now quickly go before I push you off the balcony for real this time."

As hard as she tried to force away her smile, it found its way back, forming on her lips as Neil grabbed his blazer from the chair. He sent his signature smile her way, wishing her another 'good night' before he disappeared into the dark horizon almost as quickly as he'd come.

"So your father and Elsbeth are letting you go tonight?" Chris asked, catching up to the girls, "What ever happened to the ban from going out anywhere?"

"My father won't think too much of it 'cause I'll be going with Charlie. You know how he makes those strange special exceptions when it comes to him."

"With Charlie?" the girls exchanged a look before Adrienne continued, "And what does Neil think about that? Like, wouldn't he feel strange about you coming with another guy?"

"Oh, he won't be worried at all," Alice assured them, "And he has no reason to be. He's said it himself before— he knows who I'd choose."