It was Friday afternoon and in less than 6 hours I would finally be able to see Chris again. Knox was just as excited, perhaps a little more than me. We were sat in the common room finishing off our homework for Trig when Neil came in wearing his coat and carrying his script in hand.

"About to head off then?" Charlie asked

Neil nodded. His eyes landed on me, "Elizabeth could I speak to you quickly?"

I looked at the work I had to do. Anything to get me a break, "Sure" I climbed out of my seat and followed him out into the hall, "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my rehearsal today…obviously if you don't want to you don't have to. I was only asking because—"

"I would love to come" I smiled, "Just give me five minutes to get my coat."

I scooped up my work from the common room and hurried upstairs to grab my things. I thrust my arms into my coat, swapped out my shoes for slightly more durable ones and grabbed a pair of gloves from the side. The weather was particularly unforgiving today and it was bound to be worse come night time.

I met Neil at the bottom of my stairs and we proceeded on to the front doors. Admittedly I had to be a little bit careful. I didn't want Nolan finding out that I had snuck out without permission, let alone with a boy…then again, I was about to do the exact same thing with Knox later on.

It wasn't too long a walk into the village, especially when I wasn't fumbling through the woods to get there. It was particularly nice being able to talk and joke around with Neil on the way. It felt like we'd barely stepped a foot outside of the gates before getting to the theatre. The theatre itself was a beautiful building, with a green and gold arch outlining the stage and cherry red rows of seat laid out before us. The place had to be able to hold at least 500 people.

"If you just sit here for now" Neil gestured to one of the seats in the back row.

I settled myself down and gave him a thumbs up as he went to join the rest of the cast.

It was safe to say that the rehearsal had taken my breath away. I stared on in complete amazement as the cast wrapped up. Neil was incredible; I just couldn't tear my eyes away from him and the guy who played Lysander? A master of the art. My eyes recognised one face. Ginny Danbury—she was Hermia. It was nice to see she was doing alright for herself.

"What d'you think?" Neil asked, running over after he was done.

"Amazing!" I grinned, "Absolutely stand out and that's just the rehearsal! I can't wait till opening night"

"You're not just saying that?"

"Of course I'm not. Hand on heart, you were incredible"

"Hey Elizabeth" Ginny waved on her way out.

I waved back.

"You two know each other?" Neil stared between the two of us.

"Ginny's Chet's little sister." I replied

"Ahhh. That makes sense. Anyway, shall we?" Neil gestured toward the exit.

"We shall"

Night was slowing starting to fall around us as we strolled back in the direction of the school. There was a moment of silence between us.

"Tonight's so beautiful" I finally sighed

"It sure is" Neil nodded, "Elizabeth…about what Charlie said the other day…"

"He says a lot of things" I laughed, "You might need to be a little more specific"

Neil let out a short, nervous laugh, "Er…lovebirds. I know it's silly to ask about, but I was thinking about it yesterday and earlier today…"

"And wondering what he meant by it?"

"Exactly" Neil cleared his voice, "Not that it should mean anything. You know Charlie, right?"

"Right"

There was more silence, "Thank you" I said steering the conversation far out of awkward, "For tonight, it really took my mind off of yesterday."

"I'm glad. I sort of hoped it might have that kind of effect."

We'd been wondering without much attention to where we were going and the second we took a moment to break away from each other and the conversation, we realised we were less than 200m from the school gate.

"Wow" I said, "Have we been talking that long?"

"I guess so... Warning, Hager or Nolan might be prowling the entrance" Neil replied

"Oh I'll just use the Kitchen entrance" I sighed, "They won't question it"

"Let's hope so"

When we reached the final 10 metres from the gate, my head couldn't help but jump back to the previous conversation. It was so close. On the tip of our tongues. We both knew it was there and yet we were holding ourselves back.

"It's probably easier to wish goodbyes and thank-you's now" I said, turning to look at him

"You're probably right. Thanks for coming along and I'll probably see you later at dinner"

"You probably will" I smiled. We stared at each other, confused what to do next. Shake hands? Hug? Just walk away? , "I feel like this is a hugging moment" I finally said, "Am I the only one? Yes? No? Maybe?"

"Oh, sorry" Neil chuckled with a positively adorable smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He opened his arms and wrapped me up in a goodbye hug. It felt strange but perfect at the same time. I'd never hugged Neil by himself before. At first it seemed okay. We were just two friends, who happened to have a mutual crush on one another, hugging. Except when the 3rd second passed we both kind of knew this wasn't a simple friendship. We both liked hugging the other. We sighed and held tight, resting our head on one another.

"Neil" I whispered

"Yes?" He asked

"I really, really like you"

Neil pulled away from me hesitantly and stared at me, "I like you too" He smiled.

I smiled back.

We stared in silence until finally Neil said the words that brought music to my ears, "Can I kiss you?" He asked

I nodded, my smile growing wider, "Yes you may"

The two of us leant forward carefully until our faces were mere inches apart. I was scared I might hit his forehead or something—it had happened during my first kiss. God that was embarrassing - Our faces soon fitted together like jigsaw pieces and our lips connected.

It was an intense moment. Months of desire fulfilled with a single kiss. We pulled apart and stared at each other with feverish smiles. We had no words—our emotions were indescribable and with only a shared glance to guide us, we decided to try it again. I quickly found my hands tangled up in his hair and his tightly wrapped around my waist. I don't think either of us really knew what we were doing, but it didn't seem to matter.

"I think we should get back" I whispered when we took a moment for air.

He sighed and nodded. We began a slow walk back to the school, hands twitching, debating whether to take the other's.

"I've wanted to do that for a really long time" Neil admittedly sheepishly

"So have I" I replied.

The two of us had smiles as wide as the Grand Canyon and they weren't fading any time soon. As we neared the school I ushered for Neil to follow me into the dark shadows of the trees. It was easier to hide from the prying eyes of any teachers that way.

"I'll see you later" I said before stealing a kiss from his lips. I left in the direction of the Kitchen entrance and he headed for the front doors, giving me a small wave before disappearing out of sight.

I almost felt like bursting into song and dancing as I entered the kitchen. I probably could have become the female Gene Kelly at that moment except I wasn't much of a singer and it wasn't raining - A minor technical detail.

"Someone looks happy" Oliver, the cook, said as he stirred a large pot of something utterly delicious. I might have said otherwise about the smell a couple of months back, but I'd since adapted.

"I went for a walk. The sky was very beautiful" I replied innocently

"Uh-huh" He eyed me up, unconvinced, "Let's just hope Mr Nolan doesn't find out about your little boyfriend"

"What boyfriend?"

"Uh-huh, right. Your secret is safe with me"

I sighed. There was no point in arguing. I headed for the stairs and into the main hallway. There weren't as many people around as I had expected, so I made it to my room without too much hassle. I dumped my coat on the bed and checked to see that my hair was okay. In the time leading up to dinner I began to plan out my outfit for the party. I opted for a baby blue skirt and a white collar shirt with a simple pair of black and white lace ups. I laid it out neatly on my bed so I was ready to change the second I got back.

I met up with the others in the dining hall and Neil and I couldn't help but share smiles. Naturally Charlie chose to sit between us and it was pretty clear he'd caught on. Of course he wasn't going to tell everyone outright. He preferred to treat it like it was some inside joke that only the 'cool' kids understood. I noticed Knox was a little tense. He was constantly tugging at his collar and fiddling with his tie. His eyes fell on the clock that stated it was 7 o'clock.

"Knox we agreed we'd go later" I sighed in hopes of calming him down.

"But what if she thinks I bailed" He whispered

"She won't. Anyway it's fashionable to be a late"

When dinner was over, Knox rushed to get changed and I strolled after. I slipped into my planned outfit and donned my coat. Our next act was admittedly a rather risky one. We were going to dash to the cave at a time when the entire school was awake and it was too dark to justify a 'group stroll'. The afternoon trip to the cave had been an absolute breeze compared to what we were about to face. The guys had convinced Hager with various excuses for why they were heading for an early night—upset stomachs, all their homework finished etc. They all had something and Hager bought it. Hager himself wasn't actually all that great a 'watch-dog' as it were. He just gave one or two reminders and then he shut himself in his room for the rest of the evening. The most difficult part of our great escape was probably making it out without Nolan seeing and that was where I came into the equation—though there was an entire stair case and section of hallway involved before then. I knew from my previous experiences of eating in the kitchen that all the staff went to a room off to the side to eat their food after the rest of the school ate, leaving the kitchen deserted, and, sure enough it was. We all slipped out into the cold night and the adrenaline we felt was incredible. After that we hurried along in the darkness, doing our best to avoid being caught by any watchful eyes.

We made it to the woods without problem and once 10 minutes into our walk we had no issue with screaming and cheering at our greatest success to date.

"Guys! GUYS!" Neil cried over us. We settled down and listened, "I just wanted to inform you that today is Todd's birthday"

"What?" Charlie exclaimed at the blond, "You didn't tell us?"

We all shared a knowing look and took a gulp of air, "Guys please, don't—" Todd began sheepishly, but nothing he could say or do was going to stop us

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear TOOOODDDDDDD!( Pitts loved to exaggerate that bit)

Happy Birthday to you!

We were all taken a back when Charlie began harmonising the final note.

"What?" Charlie asked aloud. No one bothered to question him after that.

We cheered and hooted as Todd stared at his shoes with a bashful smile. Pitts then went into a full rendition of 'For he's a jolly good fellow' which we all happily joined in with. Pitts with the help of Neil helped to hoist Todd in the air as we sang.

When the music subsided, we decided to carry on to our destination.

Not long after the birthday celebrations, Charlie decided he was going to walk ahead of us – "Some errand" He cried when we asked. He didn't return by the time we reached the cave, but no one was worried that something might have happened. It was Charlie after all.

As the others began crawling through the cave's opening, Neil and I decided to share a goodbye only seen by Knox who was waiting impatiently to be reunited with his one true love. Neil's lips withdrew from mine and he left to join the others.

"You guys…" Knox began as we began walking in the direction of the village.

"Yes" I replied

"Finally!" He breathed, "The sexual tension was becoming too much to bear."

"Sexual tension? Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well okay maybe you weren't about to rip each other's clothes off, but there has been tons of tension"

I rolled my eyes and laughed, "Come on lover boy. We need to get you to Chris"

It was around 8 when we arrived at the Danbury's house. I stopped Knox at the beginning of the path, "Now Knox you're going to enter that house by yourself and I'll follow a few moments after."

"Why?" He furrowed his eyebrows

"Well if Chris sees you with me she might get the wrong idea. And having your friend around can be really awkward. Now go"

He walked towards the door, casting a nervous glance at me. I simply flashed my best smile and gave him a thumbs-up. He slipped through the entrance and then I waited for my turn to walk in.

I quickly noticed that the party was still in its early stages as I entered. There had to be tons more dancing and making out for it to be in full swing. My eyes briefly spotted a note on the side next to the phone saying: "call in case of emergencies—Mum and Dad x" followed by the necessary contact info. My eyes then fell on Knox. He was staring around in a state of complete confusion. I walked over to him

"Where's Chris?" I asked

"She went upstairs to see Chet" He replied, a little crestfallen

"Give it time. Why don't you socialise for a bit, meet new people."

"Can't I just hang around with you?" He stared at me like a lost puppy

"I have some people to catch up with" I sighed, "I'll be around. Just ask someone and you'll probably find me" I sauntered off in the direction of the dining room and it wasn't long before I crossed paths with Anna and Rachel, my old cheer friends.

"Elizabeth!" Anna cried. She quickly embraced me in a hug, "How are you?"

"I'm good" I smiled as I finished hugging Rachel, "I see someone's hair is shorter" Anna used to have beautifully long dark hair all the way down to her waist but it now struggled to brush her shoulders. She tossed it for good measure.

"Thanks for noticing, I had it done just a week back. I felt like some change would do me good"

"You only cut it because some kid got gum in it" Rachel sighed

"Well maybe I did, but it was a sign. It was time to let the old Anna go" Anna ran a protective hand over her hair

"Since when were you all about signs and fate?" Rachel quirked an eyebrow

"Ladies" I interjected with a friendly smile, "perhaps we should talk about something else"

"I agree" Rachel nodded

"Sure" Anna sighed as she began to inspect her nails

"So Elizabeth how's the new school?" Rachel inquired, "Are there any cute boys?"

"There may be one or two" I teased

"I bet they're squares" Anna mumbled.

"Anna!" Rachel cried

"What?" Anna began in her defence, "Boys locked up at some stuffy boarding school—no offence to you Elizabeth—but they're surely gonna be out of touch with the world."

"It's ok" I sighed with a forced smile. I might have said the same 6 months ago—whether I personally believed that or not-, but things were different now. Those 'squares' were my friends, "So how has everyone been?"

"Well Lydia Morris broke her arm, again. Jeez, I don't how her parents cope with the hospital bills. And Rachel says she saw Gloria Watkins and Tina Morris go off with some guy in a beret! Oh and Jenny Patters had her bike stolen…" Anna began listing of all sorts of random news. None of which held any importance, "Oh, I know! Jack was asking about you"

"He was?" That certainly caught my attention. Of course Chris had teased about him earlier in the week, but asking about me? It had been some time.

"Yeah" Rachel continued, "He's been asking Chris all sorts about you recently. He was upstairs last I saw. We can take you if you want"

"Uh…sure" I mentally cursed myself the second the agreement escaped my lips. Did I honestly want to see Jack? I didn't want to learn anything along the lines of rekindling the 'old flame'.

"Well come on Lizzie-darling" Anna gestured towards the general direction of the stairs and I reluctantly followed. My old friends led me to the upstairs study where a number of the footballers were gathered. The second they laid their eyes on me they started cheering and hooting. Out of the crowd came Jack, pushed out by his comrades.

"Elizabeth, hey" Jack said, scratching the back of his neck.

I'd almost forgotten how handsome he was – the light shaggy brown hair, piercing grey eyes, dark eyebrows and his muscular form.

"Jack" I replied, "It's good to see you again."

"Same here. Look I'm sorry for not keeping in touch—I missed you"

"I heard" I was trying to play it cool. He wasn't my problem anymore. You like Neil I told myself.

"Do you maybe want to go somewhere more private?" He asked me quietly

I stared between him and his friends for a few moments before nodding. They hooted even louder as we left. Jack and I slipped into Mr and Mrs Danbury's room, admittedly somewhere I didn't really want to be, but it was quiet and that made everything a lot easier.

"How's Welton?" He asked

"Good" I replied softly, "Really good"

"That's good"

"Good"

I sighed—'Good' had certainly reached its limit.

"You look really pretty tonight" Jack said in an attempt to drive forward the dying conversation

"Thank you… You don't look too bad yourself" I pressed my hands against the wall and leant back. It was nice to have some kind of support

"Must be a lot of guys at Welton…Is there anyone…?"

"Yes there is" I sighed with relief. It felt nice to get it off my chest.

"Not surprising. You are gorgeous and smart—that's not me flirting by the way. I don't want you're new boyfriend getting any ideas"

I laughed, "It's fine. I know you're not and don't worry, he's not that kind of person"

"Well that's good. I was just checking because I actually have someone new too…"

"You do?"

He nodded, "Polly"

"Graves?" I asked in surprised

He nodded again. Polly Graves wasn't what I would have considered as Jack's type. She wasn't a cheerleader and hardly ever was a footballer's girlfriend not a cheerleader. She was, in Anna's words, a square, but I remembered her being friendly regardless of what Anna had to say about her.

"You sound a little…put-off. Are you ok?" He looked almost hurt, as though any reaction beyond a smile and thumbs-up meant he was dead meat. Clearly she meant a lot to him.

"Why would there be anything wrong?" I said

"I don't know, you just seem a little surprised"

"I am. I mean Polly Graves—obviously there's no problem with that—it's just not someone I expected you to be with and—and the others made it sound like you still had some kind of thing for me. They said you were asking all sorts of questions."

"They exaggerate a lot" He sighed, "I just asked Chris if you were seeing someone, because we never really clarified our relationship—was it over, was it no over? You know what I mean—and I thought that if there was someone in your life it would mean that you didn't expect anything from our relationship and I would be okay to see Polly…anyway my friends and your friends caught wind of it and assumed I was still interested."

"Jack you are free to see who ever you want" I reassured him, "and I hope you and Polly are very happy together."

"Thanks…It's not official though" He added, "So I'd prefer if you didn't go saying anything"

"My lips are sealed" I replied, miming the locking of my lips and throwing away of the key.

In the moment of silence that followed, I felt the vibrations of music through the floor and I hurried over to open the door in an attempt to find out what was playing. A smile met my face. They were playing some Bill Haley.

"Do you feel like dancing?" I asked

"Huh?" Jack furrowed his eyebrows. He clearly hadn't heard me over his thoughts.

"Dancing- As friends of course"

"Yeah sure why not?"

A lot of my classmates assumed the Ridgeway footballers weren't that great at dancing. They were wrong. Jack had been the best possible dance partner at junior prom last year: Enthusiastic and with a lot of energy. We happily joined the dance floor formed out of Chet's living room, spinning and jumping with the biggest smiles on our faces. It was a ton of fun and the feel good songs just kept on going, so we kept on dancing. Whether we looked masterful or not, we didn't care. The energy did run out in the end though and we had to sit down. Not before getting a round of applause and a couple hoots. I sought out the punch bowl, but when I brought the cup to my nose the smell of alcohol was obvious. I put my cup to one side and opted for a cup of tap water instead. Not much of an upgrade, but it was better than being tipsy on the way back to Welton. I went back to join the party in the living room and noticed Bubba, one of Chet's idiot friends, drunkenly running around the place. He began chanting and shouting in a way similar to that of a gorilla. He picked up a vase I vaguely remembered Chris telling me about when she first had dinner at Chet's house. If that was the vase I thought it was, Bubba was making a serious mistake. And sure enough, less than 3 seconds later, the vase was shattered.

The evening dragged on and I spent much of it laughing about old memories with friends. The moments felt stale however. I'd been so isolated from the others that soon enough I couldn't understand what they were talking about, but I laughed anyway because there wasn't much else I could do. I was beginning to wonder when I might reunite with Knox when I heard a cry. I was sat in the dining room at the time. I clambered out of my chair and ran to the living room to see what was going on. I could just see Chet's hulking form and Chris shouting for him to stop. He was attacking someone and I had a sickening feeling as to who it was. I ran forward and dove in to save Knox. Chris meanwhile did her best to tear her boyfriend away.

"Knox are you alright?" Chris ran over to cradle him. His nose was bleeding but nothing seemed to be seriously damaged- well perhaps his pride.

"Chris get the hell away from him!" Chet spat

"Chet you hurt him!" Chris cried back

"Good!"

"I'm so sorry" Knox mumbled to Chris.

"It's okay" she insisted as Chet had his little cronies pull her away

"Next time I see you, you die" Chet declared.

Knox stared at him with a dazed and heartbroken expression.

"Stop being an ass Chet!" I finally said

"And why do you care? Is he your friend?"

"Yes he is as a matter of fact" I replied sternly

"Well I guess I'll have to add a second name to the hit list"

"Chet stopped" Chris cried tugging at his arm. He shook her off.

"Get out and don't come back" Chet ordered

"With pleasure" I replied icily

"Me-ow" I heard someone say to a round of snickers

I hooked one of Knox's arms around my neck and guided him through the sea of gathered classmates. I was halfway to the door when my ears picked up one final comment on Chet's behalf: "posh bitch". My Jaw stiffened. He was not about to have the last word. I left Knox by the door and walked calmly over to the phone on the side, the phone number to call in case of emergencies still in place. I placed the receiver to my ear and dialled. A man quickly answered, but it certainly wasn't Mr Danbury. I quietly asked if they could pass me on to either parent and they happily did just that. Chet hadn't noticed me just yet so I took the pleasure of speaking extra loudly.

"Hello Mrs Danbury" That certainly caught his attention, "Yes I'm just calling to tell you that your son—yes Chet—is throwing an extremely rowdy party. Yes, I know—"

"Hang up!" Chet stormed over.

"Not right now Chet I'm informing your mother of how you and all your friends have been drinking under age, you've trashed the living room rug, and how you've just beat up poor Knox Overstreet—yes I know Mrs Danbury. Terribly uncivilised behaviour—Chet I can't seem to see your mother's favorite vase anyway. I'm sure it was on the end table just about…oh wait, I remember now. Your friends broke it—Mrs Danbury? You'd like to speak to Chet? Of course he's just here—Chet, it's for you" my fake smile turned to a wicked and deadly grin as I handed him the phone. He gritted his teeth and glared.

"Mom?" He suddenly winced.

As I strutted back over to Knox, I noticed the deathly silence of the party goers and then finally one of the boys at the front started to slowly applauding. It didn't turn into some magical scene where everyone started applauding at my brilliance—it was just him, just a few seconds of applause before he gave up entirely.

"Come on" I said to Knox, "You need to start standing on your own two feet"

He unwillingly pulled himself together and sloppily dragged his hand across his nose in an attempt to clear the blood. It wasn't very effective. I sighed and grabbed a nearby box of tissues much to Chet's protests, before leaving.

"I'm such an idiot" Knox mumbled as we walked down the pathway to the pavement.

"No you're not" I replied, "…okay maybe a little bit"

"Thanks" he grumbled

"Well you weren't seriously fishing for compliments?—Knox you are not an idiot for liking Chris, just stroking her hair in a loving fashion when Chet and all his footballer friends were in the same room maybe wasn't the best idea. Just a thought."

Knox tried to wipe at the blood again and it was still pointless. I shoved the tissue box in his direction but still: hopeless.

"Sit down" I said as we began approaching a bench. Knox did as he was told. I held out a tissue to him, "Spit"

"What?"

"Just spit" And so he did as he was told into the tissue, "Now tilt your head back"

I wiped away the worst of it and gave him some extra tissues to block his nostrils. It was the best way to prevent further bleeding.

"What was I thinking?" He continued to moan

"You were seizing the day" I replied knowingly

"But it didn't work" He said getting back onto his feet

"Well of course it doesn't work every time. If it did it wouldn't feel so fulfilling... You know if we hurry we might be able to catch the end of the meeting."

That thought certainly seemed to cheer Knox up and so we ran towards the woodland and on to the cave.

We decided, given the fact that none of them were expecting us, to crawl up the cave side and up to the opening. We were going to scare the absolute wits out of everyone but we got a whole lot more than we bargained for. We were about to pounce when we heard something, something not quite right: moaning. We both furrowed our eyebrows and silently agreed that we'd both peep in but the second we did, we both wished we hadn't.

I gasped. I quickly clamped one hand over my mouth and the other over my eyes.

Down in the cave below us was Charlie having sex with a girl that I had the pleasure of knowing: Gloria Watkins. So Anna and Rachel weren't kidding. I thought to myself

I slowly retracted my hand from my gaping mouth and slipped my other hand from my eyes. I stared at Knox and the two of us burst into fits of hysterical, yet horrified laughter.

"What was that?" We heard Gloria ask Charlie

We took that as our cue to leave. We scrambled down the rocks and dashed away. We were too busy dying of laughter to hear Charlie angrily crying after us.

This was probably my favourite chapter to write- partly because of the Chet/Elizabeth showdown and of course the kiss (FINALLY!), but also Charlie and Gloria. I actually got the idea of the sex in the cave from the film's commentary in which Peter Weir says there is supposed to be an implication that Charlie slept with her afterwards. Now I personally didn't see that scene in that light when I first saw it, maybe it was just me...I don't know. I would like to also thank everyone who's been reviewing, favouriting and following this story. It is so nice to see any form of response and sometimes I see them when I'm feeling down and they really cheer me up. Now I have the joy of tackling the more depressing sides of the Dead Poets tale...FUN!