poeta nascitur, non fit ~ steven meeks x fem!reader

the accident~

Meanwhile...  *the boy's pov*

"... I heard you got the new kid. Looks like a stiff!" Richard Cameron leans in the doorway, watching Neil as the brunette boy sets down his two suitcases. They had established a study group for later that evening, and Cameron had taken notice of Neil Perry's roommate, Todd Anderson,  coming pushing past him into the room as if summoned by Cameron's ignorant words. Todd was certainly no 'stiff', unless 'stiff' was another word for socially anxious and shy, which is most definitely is not. "Oops!" Cameron says not-so-innocently before going back to his dorm to round up his other friends. 

"Listen, don't mind Cameron," Neil begins, trying to console the nauseous-looking boy "he was born with his foot in his mouth. You know what I mean?" To create an atmosphere of friendship in the room, Neil thwacks Todd on the shoulder with a stack of papers, to which the other boys responding by giving a weak smile while trying to calm his beating heart. Not very long after the first boy left, three more appear in the doorway and begin chatting with Neil. 

'Great,' he thinks to himself 'my roommate is the popular guy.'

"Rumor has it, you did summer school!" Charlie Dalton leans smugly against the door, point at Neil playfully as Steven Meeks and Knox Overstreet stand behind him. 

"Yep," Neil responds "Chemistry. My father thought I should get ahead. How was your summer, Slick?"  The three boys take their queue and enter the room. 

"Keen. Meeks, door - closed." Charlie commands the boy, who chuckles and responds with a 

"Yes, sir." before closing the door as he had been told to do. The boys make themselves at home, all the while making Todd more and more uncomfortable. They chat for a few minutes, further organizing their 'study group' before the introductions. 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Steven Meeks." the fair boy holds his hand out for Todd to shake, which he does - reluctantly.

"Knox Overstreet." Knox simply nods at Todd to introduce himself, with none of the formality with which Meeks had. 

Upon hearing a knock on the door, Charlie immediately puts out his cigarette and kicks it under the bed, while the other boys scramble to appear like academic scholars. Mr. Perry, Neil's father, enters the room, bringing with him an aura of authority and mild toxicity. Father and son exchange a few words - Mr. Perry insisted on removing Neil from an extracurricular without Neil's consent - while the other boys looked at one another awkwardly. The pair decide to go out into the hallway to discuss the matter in relative privacy. Neil's heart sinks into his stomach at the feeling of being oppressed by his father's authority and incessant commanding of the young man's life. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

One could only stare at the ceiling for so many minutes before becoming extremely bored, as (y/n) found herself trying to perfectly organize her room just to make time go by quicker. Her closet was already color-coordinated, her jewelry on a small metal stand next to her collection of leather-bounds volumes on a nearby shelf, and her plants were on the windowsill, to bring more life into the otherwise dreary space. Eventually, when her room was in perfect order which would certainly become chaotic again within the next two days, she thought she might go visit Mr. Keating or take a walk about campus - to calmly enjoy her last few hours of freedom before the start of classes tomorrow. 

She grabbed a novel - Emma, by Jane Austen - and opened the solid oak door, which creaked loudly. (y/n) could hear voices arguing quietly in the hallway; it sounded like a father and son. She looked over and saw the older man glaring at her while the victim of his harshness, a tall boy with dark hair and brown, kind eyes looked at her apologetically. 

"Excuse me," she says quietly "didn't mean to intrude." she smiles quickly at the pair. 

"No harm done," the father says to her, straightening out his coat lapels "We're done here anyways. Now, listen, you need anything, you let us know, eh?" he smacks his son affectionately on the shoulder before walking down the oak floored hallway, leaving Neil to stand helplessly staring after him, yearning for the freedom his other friends had. 

(y/n) cleared her throat, drawing boy brunette's attention. "So, erm," she began somewhat awkwardly "I think it's only fair that since I just witnessed a private and slightly embarrassing moment for you, that we exchange acquaintances?" Neil smiled weakly at the girl before him. The hallways had all but emptied, leaving the two young pupils alone - save for a few students milling about the stairs. They shook hands and chuckled, although neither felt truly uncomfortable. 

"Neil Perry, also I'd like to apologize, that was-" the girl cut him off

"(y/n) (y/l/n), pleased to meet you! And please, don't feel bad. My parents and I are the same." she smiled kindly, happy to be finally meeting another young person after being on campus with only faculty for two weeks. 

"Oh, right!" Neil says, remembering the welcoming service "they really put you on the spot, huh? I mean, you are the first girl here but-" he was rudely interrupted by the entrance of the three boys who were abandoned when Neil's father dragged him from the room. 

"Why doesn't he let you - oh wow," Charlie Dalton, classy as ever, takes a minute to examine the girl before continuing. She juts her chin out and narrows her eyes, trying her best to be intimidating.. for a girl who was only 5' 5". "Charlie Dalton, at your service madame." He bowed to the girl mockingly, before gently kissing her hand. She laughed, a sound which echoed through the halls, her accent very out of place for Vermont, USA.

"It's a pleasure, I suppose," she sighed before smiling sweetly"(y/n) (y/l/n), fully prepared to order you around, Mr. Dalton" The boys laughed, all of them feeling that (y/n) was like a breath of fresh air for Welton Academy.

"I-I'm Knox Overstreet," the blue-eyed boy said quietly. From behind Knox, Meeks peeked his face out of the doorframe, craning his head for a better look at the girl. 

"Meeks," he says, pushing Knox out of the way to stand face-to-face with the girl "Steven, Meeks that is." (y/n) immediately recognized him from the boy she made eye contact with earlier that day, when Mr. Nolan put her on the spot to show her off to the entire academy. As if the girl needed more to deal with. 

"Hi," she drawled, quite unsure what to say next "I like your glasses." Meeks laughed nervously, while the other boys looked back and forth between the two as if they were watching a tennis match. 

"Oh, well..thanks!" He beamed at her. (y/n) waved her goodbyes, before spinning on her Mary Jane's heel and walking briskly down the hallway, desperate to be in the comforts of nature to help calm her erratically beating heart.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

a/n: what do y'all think so far? i wanna make it a semi-slowburn with chapters that aren't agonizingly long btw. oh AND i want to let you know that Neil does, in fact, live in this book! Also, Anderperry is going to THRIVE because YES. anyways byeee!