Nobody Knows This Little Rose - Dead Poets Society x Reader

15

It was midnight. The time was fast approaching.

Y/n stood in the corner of her room, fighting to stay awake. She knew that if she so much as sat on her bed, she'd be instantly asleep. She needed to stay awake.

The boys had it so much easier, it must be a simple task to stay awake while having a roommate. For her, it was nearly impossible. She had almost caved several times now.

Her coat was hanging on the back of the chair pushed into the desk, a flashlight placed in front of it. It seemed to be waiting for her, calling her towards the coming adventure like a magnet.

The minutes still dragged.

Finally, she heard the tower bells chime once. She sucked in her breath, pulling on her coat and grabbing the flashlight and the bag of sweets she had backed for the boys. She paused, waiting for the knock.

A thought entered her mind. Or rather, a hope. She knew who she wanted to come to the door to bring her to the others. She hoped he would offer her his arm, whisper in her ear that they needed to be quiet, and give her that characteristic side smiles that she so adored.

Just as she realized that's what she wanted, three knocks sounded softly through the door. Bursting with the excitement fueled by the previous thoughts she dashed over and pulled it open.

"Oh. Hi Knox." She said glumly, her shoulders slumping and the exstatic smile slightly falling from her face.

"Hey y/n, ready to go?" He whispered, beckoning her out.

"Yep" She nodded once and they started silently down the hall and the stairs, meeting the rest of the group right in front of the door. No whispered giggling. No holding hands. No Meeks.

This was why she had tried to make sure she didn't develop feelings. Because it always ended in disappointment. She sighed and made a conscious effort to put all feelings of attraction out of her mind for the rest of the night. 

As they joined the rest of the group, the others looked around. Charlie gave y/n a thumbs up as if to ask, "you good?", and she returned it with a smile. Neil nodded, and the group took off at a brisk walk through the dining hall and the foyer and out into the grassy grounds.

The moonlight sparkled over everything, the night clear and cloudless. A layer of fog clung to the grass and the trees, giving an ethereal dazzle to everything. Y/n let out a sigh of delight, it would be worth it just to come out here for this sight, let alone reading poetry in an enchanted cave.

Charlie broke into a jog and the rest soon followed. The frigid night air stung y/n's ears, so she pulled up her hood, jogging alongside the group. They trekked silently, accompanied only by their own shadows and the sound of labored breathing.

Once they were in the shelter of the woods they could risk being a bit louder, whooping and scampering between trees and fallen logs. Y/n couldn't wipe the grin off of her face. 

"Over here!" Neil shouted, he and Todd had run somewhat ahead of the others and y/n scurried to catch up. Neil stood proudly, framed against an old cave entrance, Todd standing slightly below him, looking up admiringly. "Welcome," Neil said in a mystical voice, before letting out a cackle and scampering inside. Pitts whooped in a low tone, and Charlie whistled.

Meeks seemed to start forwards, cross behind, and approaching y/n directly, but Charlie cut in front of him. "Need a hand darling?" He cooed, offering his arm.

For a millisecond, y/n glanced back at Meeks, whose face was obscured in the darkness. But then she remembered her resolve not to think about that.

"Why thank you kind sir" She responded, tucking her hand into the nape of his elbow and leaning on him to crawl inside the cave.

The inside was quite small, and she was forced to let go of his arm in order to find a place to sit. She didn't want her first time to be so awkward, so she let everyone else sit first so she didn't risk taking someone's usual seat by accident. She ended between Knox and Cameron, her back towards the door. 

"Alright, I'm famished so we're doing food first tonight" Ordered Charlie. Without even needing to be asked, Meeks was already laying his coat down on top of the leaves. 

"What a gentlemen" y/n tutted to the chuckles of the others. One thing she had realized about her seat was that it was directly across from him and Pitts. Not that it mattered.

Everyone tossed their food down onto the jacket, mainly just crackers, some cookies, and things. She waited for dramatic effect before standing up with a flourish and upending her back of sweets onto the coat.

Mountains upon mountains of chocolates and nougats and toffees and gummies spilled onto it. She had never eaten much candy and had saved years worth of Halloween stock for an occasion like this.

They were speechless for a moment, before everyone dived at once, jostling and bickering for the good stuff. 

"Hey hey hey" y/n ordered authoritatively, "calm down teenagers there's enough of everything for you all"

"You're my new favorite person," Pitts said, although it was very muffled as his mouth was stuffed to the brim

"She's an angel" Meeks added, nibbling on a peanut butter wafer. Y/n blushed.

"Where did you get all this?" Neil asked curiously as he bit off a Snickers.

"Well, I've never been keen on candy, and I never really had too many friends at Ridgeway to share this with" She admitted with a shrug.

"Thank god for that!" Charlie said loudly. He was chewing as well and simultaneously lighting a cigarette. Y/n scoffed when she saw his action.

"Chocolate and cigs? That can't be a good combination" She said.

"You'd be surprised," He told her wisely, blowing a puff into her face. She laughed, waving it away and snatching the lit cigarette from his hand and taking a drag.

"Can't complain" He said with a shrug, leaning back against the wall and stretching out. "Not after this haul", he gestured lazily to the pile. "Start the meeting already will you, Neil?"

Y/n smiled and looked over to Neil, handing him the cigarette. He took a puff and passed it back. 

"Alrighty. I call to order a meeting of the Dead Poets Society..."