This chapter is a little more fractured than I would like, but it takes us where we need to be. That is much more important than my raging perfectionism. I can't believe the support for 'Young Gods' is continuing to grow. It seems only a short time ago I was worrying my little OC tale would be a disappointment. Now my idea of a girl in the welcome assembly has become a wild fire. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I was capable of writing something this long!

'But when a soul, by choice and conscience, doth

Throw out her full force on another soul,

The conscience and the concentration both make

mere life, Love. For Life in perfect whole...'

~ Love, Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1850)

Chapter thirty-eight - Dawn of hope

Sunshine beamed down through the wispy, cotton clouds, dousing the grey, stone structure in light. Its rays penetrated the cracks in the frosted exterior like a promise of summer amongst the winter gloom.

A harsh knock ricocheted through the tranquil air.

"What the-" the lanky brunette tumbled down from the large window seat, managing to grab hold of the ledge with one hand to slow her descent until she landed. The side off her left knee hit the hard floor. Her legs were stuck, curled beneath her and twisted in a blanket she had no memory of falling asleep under. Blinking awake she scrambled to her feet - the blanket still wrapped around her like a mermaid's tail - and half hopped over to the door.

"Do you have to knock so loudly?" She sighed, opening the thin slab of varnished wood to reveal two flushed forms bundled up in jumpers and duvets. Neil waved, and Todd peaked out from beneath the layers of their mobile fortress with a sheepish smile.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"Inviting you to our place for the day," sniffled Neil, " Meeks was up and about last night and although it's only six in the morning, no one else from the group is sick yet. I thought it would be nice for you to have some company."

Kathleen beckoned them in, propping the door open as she retreated into her room to gather her things. "I guess someone told you I caught the bug then," she finished folding her bedding before balancing her pillows on the top of the pile, and led them out, leaving the boys the close the door behind them.

"Yeah. Charlie and Knox stopped by to see how I was," Neil elbowed Todd lightly, "and found my sick nurse was also sick."

"Wow, Todd," she grinned, "you really held out for him."

"I wouldn't be suffering if he could learn to keep his germs to himself," Todd retorted with a small smile of his own. "I've never known such a clingy patient."

Kat couldn't hold in her giggles at the blush rising in Neil's cheeks. Although, she was sure that neither boy had minded Neil's increased affection. She would go as far as calling it progress; not that she would articulate that particular thought. The pair seemed to be taking new steps in their relationship every day. Sometimes she observed lingering touches, other times it was an unbroken stare or reciprocated loving tones in conversation. Part of her ached for the courage to do the same.

She shook away the thought as they approached the boy's dorm. Inside, the beds had been pushed together and the bedside tables moved accordingly. Warmth was created in the cold air by the glow of lamps instead of the chilling, bright light held back by the curtains which had been drawn across the window. Neil immediately collapsed on the bed, pulling the duvet over his head as he rolled over to one side. Todd nudged Kat forward as he shut the door, gesturing for her to get in next. She shot him an amused look but said nothing. Cocooned in her duvet, she shuffled over to the middle and placed her pillows behind her. Todd followed.

"This is cosy," she muttered, poking Neil's shoulder until he lifted the weight pinning down her hair. Dismissing his yawned apologies, she took the hair tie from her wrist and braided the wild strands in hope of keeping it intact and away from the restless boy beside her. As Neil drifted back to sleep once more she turned to Todd whose serene demeanour soothed her. It didn't matter if Neil's wheezing was loud enough to wake the dead, or that the fog in her brain and ache in her limbs had not yet subsided. When Todd allowed his anxiety to slip away he became like the monks she had read about. He radiated contentment at a level that even Cameron had to admit was akin to the holy. Currently, the boy in question was lost in a river of ink as the words flowed from his fountain pen, spilling across the pages of his notebook in a stream of creativity that birthed his poems before mortal her eyes. Tracing the ripple of his pen gliding across the pages was hypnotising. Before she knew it, she had slipped into a peaceful slumber.

XXXX

"Neil! I know I lent you my geometry set but I need it ba-" the words dried up in Knox's mouth as he took in the sight before him. His three friends were snuggled up in their blankets like caterpillars in cocoons. Their shoulders were touching, and their cheeks flushed with fever, but they seemed comfortable in their rest. Todd's notebook had slipped onto the ground and his pen was clutched tightly in his fist, the leaking ink rapidly staining his fingers. Knox crept over, gently wiggling the pen from his grasp and set it down neatly upon the notebook. With a tender gaze, he closed the door behind him and headed to breakfast, resolving to pinch someone else's geometry set instead.

XXXX

"I see our Sleeping Beauties have awoken at last," Knox swung himself up onto the foot of bed.

"No kisses needed," Neil deadpanned, pulling his legs up so that the others could squeeze onto the bed. Charlie took the space he had freed next to Knox while Meeks climbed onto the window ledge, Pitts occupied the desk and Cameron sat himself in the corner; far away from any risk of germs.

"What a shame," Cameron unpacked his sandwiches. "The pathogens would have thrived."

Ignoring the comment, Knox lifted a satchel into the centre of the bed and began to unpack their various water bottles, wrapped sandwiches and fruit cake which he divided amongst the rest the group. "Luckily our favourite chef was in the kitchen at break," he explained, "he was more than happy to rustle up something once I explained the situation."

"Knox this is amazing!" Kat grinned, skipping her sandwich and taking a bite out of the cake. "I'd forgotten how good food is" she moaned bringing a hand over her mouth to stop any stray crumbs flying out.

"Usually I would laugh," Neil's voice fought to slice through the boys' laughter, "but I must agree. This is heavenly, perhaps you could seduce Chris with fruitcake."

"Or not," Charlie kicked his ankle lightly. "Are you sure you haven't got a fever anymore? That was one of the worst ideas you have ever come up with, and that is saying something."

"What's wrong with my ideas?"

Cameron coughed, "maybe asking what isn't wrong with them would be simpler." He caught sight of Neil's expression, "what? No one else has forged as many parental letters of permission as you, let alone forming a forbidden midnight club in a cave."

"That comes with the territory of strict parents who don't support you," he retorted. "Anyway, on the subject of the meeting, I think it best that we hold it here tonight. That way we can still have one, without risk of worsening our symptoms or falling asleep in the cold. " He raised his hand, "all in favour?"

Every member in the room rose a hand.

"Alright then, gather here at midnight," he clapped, "and bring more of this fruitcake if you can."

"I don't think I can look at another fruitcake," Todd whispered, handing his third slice to Kat who subtly gave it to Pitts while Neil was distracted. "I've never seen him eat so much."

Kat studied Neil as he tucked into what she counted as his fourth slice of cake, "I would say he's a growing boy but he's already over six feet."

"Maybe I should be eating more. I feel short next to him."

"If we ate like he does we'd get fat," she observed, "maybe there is a lot of exercise in theatre?"

"Or he won the genetic lottery."

"If you say so," she winked, causing Todd's cheeks to flush scarlet.

He shrugged, playing with the hem of his jumper, "and if I do?"

"Hmmm," she thought for a moment, "then you should tell him. I guarantee he thinks the same about you."

Todd shook his head, "no. I'm not like that."

"I hate to shock you in your fragile state of illness, but if things were different," she whispered with a grin, "I would date you."

He nudged her arm, struggling to hide his pleasure. "And I'd date you."

"You'd date who?" Interrupted Pitts, crumbs spraying out his mouth.

Meeks rolled his eyes. "What he means to ask is do you have more cake."

"Yeah, but this suddenly got interesting!" Pitts batted Meeks' warning hand away as he grumbled about social cues. "I'm always last to hear the gossip."

"Because there is no gossip," she deadpanned, looking pointedly at Meeks. Much to his delight the bell sounded, forcing the picnickers to scramble and hunt for various belongings as they tried to clean up with enough time left to get to Latin without a late mark by their names.

"See you tonight!" Yelled Knox as he pulled Charlie out the door with him, ignoring the latter's complaints about wanting more cake. The resounding silence left in their wake was deafening.

After several beats Neil broke, "what do we do now?"

The three students sat pondering their rare freedom. At Welton there was always more work to be done, an extra-curricular to attend or teachers to avoid in moments of unstructured and unsupervised time. Suddenly, the trio had been left to their own devices with no obligations and all teachers busy with classes.

"Um...I don't know," Kat trailed off, struggling for ideas. "We could play a game?"

Neil shook his head. "No offence, but I've played enough card games in the last two days to last me a lifetime."

"We could go over some scenes with you?" Suggested Todd.

Neil lit up instantly, which is how the boys found the trio once classes were over. Kat was draped in various blankets with a crown of paperclips resting on her head and a fountain pen in her right hand to serve as Queen Titania's wand while she fawned over Todd, knelt at her feet as Bottom, with a pillow serving as the donkey head. Neil leapt around the room as Puck, talking to seemingly nobody until Charlie stepped in and took the script from the ground, muttering about knowing Oberon's lines in his sleep since he'd heard Neil recite them so many times rehearsing. Eventually the entire group was adorned in make-shift costume to aid Neil's high-spirited practice. Meeks pulled a camera out and snapped candids, unseen amongst the chaos that reigned until Hager put a loud stop to the 'debauchery.'

When the dead poets returned to the dormitory under the cover of darkness the poems were performed with a new fervour. A renewed sense of purpose filled the lines they chanted in whispers.

By the time the meeting had drawn to a close Todd had fallen asleep on Neil's shoulder much to tall boy's delight. Not wanting to wake him, the rest of the group had been dismissed with a whisper and plea for quiet.

"Come on," Knox whispered extending his hand to Kat and pulling her up. "We'll walk you back, can't have you fainting or anything."

Kat shot him a playful glare as she dropped her pillows into his arms, "then you can make yourself useful because I'm fine."

"Fine is a relative term in your case," Charlie hissed, waving away Neil's glare and draping her blanket around her shoulders, moving it back into place when she shrugged it off in protest. "Almost predictably false."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I would never."

"Stop it, children." Knox hushed the pair as he stepped into the dim corridor. "I don't want a detention with Hager because of you two, and more importantly I don't want to incur Neil's wrath when you wake Todd and he gets embarrassed."

"This feels like deja vu, " she muttered, pulling her blanket tighter.

"Like I said yesterday, I'm a walking ambulance," Charlie grinned. "Oh, what a burden superior health can be."

"Your choice to walk me back," She replied, "I could always ask someone else."

"You didn't ask us to," pointed out Knox, amused by his sudden invisibility to the pair walking behind him.

"I like my goodnight hug. I'm willing to give that up."

Her heart stopped, "what?"

"Didn't Knox tell you?" He teased, "your heroes were showered in affection. I'll feel cheated if the damsel sends me away cold." Contradictory to his words he paused at the threshold to her dorm, watching Knox drop her pillows and instruct her not to go to class if she still felt sick in the morning. As soon as he stepped out of the room, Charlie turned on his heel with no more than a wave in her direction. Knox followed.

"I'm not a damsel!" She called after them, as loud as she dared in the silent halls.

He continued walking, "I know."

The brunette gripped her doorframe. The decision she wanted to make was exceedingly stupid but passing up on the opportunity felt like sacrilege. Maybe last night's full moon had induced madness, or perhaps she was just tired, but the choice was made as the words tumbled from her lips before she had time to grasp the reality of her daring tone, "do you want that hug or not?"

He paused, his shoulders falling as if all the breath had left his body. The space between them shrank as they stepped closer, her arms resting lightly around his neck and his around her waist, fingertips barely brushing her clothed back. As if acting on pure instinct, she tilted her head up to press a soft kiss to his cheek and slipped out of the embrace as quickly as she had initiated it, closing the door between them.

Stunned, she collapsed against the solid wood like one of the girls in Nancy's cliché teen romance novels, breathless and touching her lips in shock. Unbeknownst to her, she was mirrored by the frozen boy on the other side. His usual brashness replaced by astonishment and the seed of a joyous smile on his lips.

Knox stood smugly in the shadows, watching the dawn of hope rise in his friend's expression. If only the girl of his own dreams could give a hint that she liked him back. With a sigh, Knox gave his friend a few moments to compose himself before clearing his throat.

Startled by the sound, Charlie spun to see Knox in the shadows. "I-err-I didn't realise you were still here," he rubbed the back of his neck.

"So, it would seem," he smiled wickedly, nodding towards the door. "Just wait until Neil hears about this."