A/N: Hellooo, my friends :D New chapter is up, yayyy, and I really hope you'll like it :) It shows how our four friends have fun dancing and a much more carefree Pittsie. This chapter is specially dedicated to Nushka, who's been awaiting it for quite a long time. Oh, I also bought the book a few weeks ago and now I am even more stuck with the Dead Poets Society than before, hihi. Anyway, enjoy and forgive me for its length.

dontchasethesheep- Don't worry, on my Dead Poets honor, this story will never be abandoned :) Yeah, I wanted Pitts to show a small sign of rebellion...you'll find out in later chapters whether that will be taken lightly or not ;) And don't apologize about your review, it's perfectly fine!

Eldri- Oh my God, thank you so much for your lovely review :D Yeah, Meeks is a nice guy (although my favorite one will remain Pittsie, hehe) and I agree that he quite has a thing for music :) Hope you'll enjoy the chapter :D

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead Poets Society, only the characters I create

"The world is shaped by two things-stories told and the memories they leave behind"

(Vera Nazarian, "Dreams of the Compass Rose")

Nellie's POV

My dear Nellie,

I was so happy when I received your letter. It travelled me back to your first weeks in boarding school, when you used to write to me every week. Of course, then you were only a little girl with pigtails, while now you are an adult, a grown-up woman, who is making her own choices-and I am so proud of you for that.

I am sure you enjoy your Law School and I always knew you would do well, since it was your dream. You won't like this, but it seems that Law is the family business, started from your grandfather and continuing with your father, you and your brother, since I do not doubt that he will be forced to run your father's law office one day. But I have faith in you that you will succeed in your life and fulfill your wishes.

You told me a few things about the university, but I can't wait to learn more. How is your life as a student? I imagine it being more independent than your school life...You are having fun, I hope? Or do you have to study all the time due to the difficult lessons? Thank God, you comforted me about this, writing to me about your dorm mate, Virginia, who seems to be a really nice girl. I am happy that she is trying to encourage you to be more carefree, because this is why you need. After all, both of us known that this is one of the reasons you decided to go to college, is it not?

Your brother wrote us a few days ago. He is very well and studies hard for school. I know that he has to, but sometimes I am afraid that he is exhausting himself. Of course, your father doesn't want to hear a word of it, believing that this is his duty. Alexander greets you, by the way, and says he hopes you have a good time in Yale. You will find him changed when you will come for Christmas vacation and, unlike the past, he seems to miss you a lot.

I have to go now, to help Julia with the housework. Be careful and I can't wait to hear from you again.

Love, Mom

I smiled reading my mother's letter, remembering how kind she was, always trying to keep the (unexisting) balances in our small family. Of course, my father used this for his own advances, making her giving him right although he was unfair, despite her many efforts to lessen the arguments between him and me. She was truly like a scale, with my father on the one side, me at the other, and she was in the middle. I knew, though, that deep down she was on my side, because I still had in my mind how sad she looked when my father announced me that I would marry his colleague, at only 14. She had tried to calm me down, convince me to come out of my room when I had locked myself in, promising me that we would find a solution. I admired her for that, but sometimes I wished that she would have the courage to openly express her opinions.

My brother Alexander, three years younger than me, was a total different story. He never got involved in the family arguments, obeying silently and always agreeing with our father. How many times I had attempted to make him more combative, more demanding, less passive, but with no success. He would wear a bored expression, as if the last thing he cared about was to force our father to give him more freedom.

'Nellie, please, leave me alone. I have to study'

Actually, I think that this was what prevented our brother-and-sister bond to exist. He always followed and never was there to tell me how he felt about something. Even when he was sad, he wouldn't come to me to get rid of his burdens and allow me to help him as an elder sister. That hurt me and, when I left my hometown to come to Yale and study, this was something I carried with me. So I was quite surprised when my mother mentioned him greeting me and that he missed me a lot. Maybe, now that I had started an independent life, he also started to realize that we were family, not strangers. For some odd reason, I had a very good feeling about this and couldn't wait for Christmas break to come, so that I would see him again.

My thoughts were interrupted by my dorm mate, who rushed in the room with a big and somewhat sly smile on her face, a sign that she was clearly up to something. I put my mom's letter on the top of my huge pile of Law books before looking at her suspiciously, because you always have to be careful when Virginia Meadows is up to something.

'Enjoying the day?' I asked her, smiling towards her and resting my back on my pillow.

'Pretty much' she answered and her smile became even wider and slier. 'And you?'

'Oh, nothing specific, you know. I was just relaxing, reading my mother's letter...I wasn't much in the mood to go outside'

'You're like a house cat' Virginia teased me and I couldn't help but laugh. 'Well, thank God that I was in the mood. You're relaxing and your luck is working for you'

'What? What on earth does that mean? Come on, Virginia, play with open cards!'

She shook her head and didn't speak, only looked at me like some school girl who knows some really juicy gossip about her friend. I hated that, how she was able to drive someone literally crazy with little to no effort, and, at the same time, I envied her for that ability. At that moment, though, my curiosity defeated me and I stared back at her with my deadliest glare, although I doubted I managed to trick her.

'Virginia, just how long do you plan to go on like that? Something happened that made you happy and even a six-year old can say that you can't wait to tell me, so why don't you just slow down the process?'

'I can see that patience isn't a trait you have on very high amounts' she commented and chuckled. 'Well, let's see what we can do about that...Three guesses'

'You found a boyfriend' I said and smirked, already predicting her reaction.

'Of course not!' Virginia exclaimed with such a disgusted expression, as if I had said that her boyfriend was some hideous monster or something like that. 'Come on, Nel, just think'

'Hmm….You found some book you were searching for a long time?'

'Nellie, are you listening to what you are actually saying? I'm not like you, reading literally a book per day! One more guess' she pressured me and folded her arms in front of her chest, still smiling.

'My God, you never give up, do you?' I sighed loudly. 'Okay, well…The class you hate most will be cancelled for a month'

'No, no and no, although I wouldn't mind that' Virginia chuckled. 'So, should I reveal the great news?'

'Yeah, just say it already!'

'We're going dancing!' Virginia told me and jumped up and down, clapping her hands, obviously overjoyed because of this. 'Tonight! Finally!'

Dancing sounded great. It would be a nice change between classes, studying and hanging out in the library or in the courtyard. The weather was quite nice that day, chilly, but nothing more, and it was about time for us to dress up and enjoy night life like the two carefree girls we were. Even if it was still early, I couldn't wait for night to come, to hear the music in my ears and realize that now I was independent, without my father yelling over my head that I was not "a proper girl, as it was my duty to be".

'Now, that's wonderful news indeed' I nodded. 'Ladies' night, huh?'

'Now, wait a minute, who said anything about "ladies' night", Nellie?' Virginia rolled her eyes and stared at me as if I was an idiot. 'Don't tell me you have forgotten the boys. Pity if they would lose that chance to be with us outside college, wouldn't it?'

'What? They will come too?' I jumped on my feet and, unwillingly, I blushed like a tomato. 'But…but…'

'But what? For goodness' sake, Nellie, it's our buddies we're talking about, not some strangers! What has gotten into you?' now Virginia sounded really impatient and, if looks could kill, I would be dead twenty times by now.

'Well, they...they...they are boys...and it will be the first time we're going out all together to dance...and they...well...it will be awkward' I stuttered and I was sure that my whole face was red now. True, I was overreacting, but I had never done this before and I couldn't share the way Virginia was seeing things.

'Nonsense and rubbish!' she commented and shook her head in despair. 'Come on, Nellie, don't act like that. You'll see, we'll have a lot of fun'

'From your lips to God's ears' I mumbled and picked up a book.

'What are you reading?' Virginia asked me while sitting on her bed and mixed up her cards.

'Oh, my favorite book. "Wuthering Heights", by Emily Bronte' I replied and caressed the cover tenderly. I was literally in love with this story and, although I had read it ten times already, it still had the exact same influence on me. The forbidden love between the two main characters, the decisions they made and their consequences, the people around them, everything seemed to come alive in front of my eyes.

'"Wuthering Heights"? Oh my, you like this book? It's so dramatic!' Virginia said rising her head.

'Yes, I know, but I can't stop reading it. The way the author writes is simply marvelous'

'You and your tendency for romance' she sighed and returned back to her cards. Therefore, she missed my smile as I continued reading. Virginia was like a lone wolf, uninterested in relationships and hating romantic stories and poems, although I had a feeling that this was a form of defense by her side. Influenced by the fact that her father had abandoned her mother, she was afraid of getting hurt in a relationship. But I was sure that she would be very happy if she met someone who would like her because she was who she was, the bubbly, determined and stubborn Virginia.

'I prefer to be alone. I can live my own life that way' she continued, as if she had read my thoughts.

Alright, then maybe not a form of defense. But who could tell for sure except herself?

The rest of the evening passed by quickly and quietly, until it was time for us to start getting ourselves ready for the "big night", as Virginia said. After bathing and wearing a dark blue dress that reached my knees, I unbraided my hair, brushed it and started braiding it again, but was interrupted by my friend.

'Nellie, just what do you think you are doing?' she wanted to know, placing her hands on her waist.

'I'm braiding my hair, why?'

'Because you are wearing your hair in a braid or ponytail twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week!' she answered and quickly took the hairclip I was holding away. 'And now we're going out. Leave it loose, it suits you much better'

'You think so?' I frowned as I looked into a small mirror I had. When loose, my hair was falling on my shoulders in waves, with a lock I could never handle falling on my face. I never had a problem with my appearance, although I preferred it when it was tied up, because it prevented me less. On the other hand, of course, I was having it like that too often. 'Okay, Ginny, I will do you the favor to leave it for tonight'

'Great!' she smirked and inspected me. 'This dress suits you and the color is making a nice combination with your hair color. You'll leave the poor guys speechless'

'Well, I will disappoint you, Virginia, but this is not my purpose' I ruffled her hair and pushed her out of our room. 'And now let's go before they start wondering where we are. After all, it was you who invited them'

'As if you had a problem with that' Virginia whispered, but I choose to ignore her.

Pitts' POV

When Virginia suggested us to go dancing with her and Nellie, I wanted to refuse. Not that I thought I would not have fun, but I knew I would feel awkward and shy with the girls in a place that was not the university. I was still trying to integrate in the new environment, forget the tragedy I had lived in school and become more self-confident (a wish doomed to fail). Never before did I have female friends and sometimes it was still a bit...strange, especially after that evening, when Nellie found me in a state of anger because of my father.

But, of course, my dear best friend didn't give me any alternative. The second Virginia said her plan, Meeks answered that we would be more than happy to go with them. Seriously, I wanted to strangle him at that moment. Meeks doesn't have a problem, he is easy-going and likes meeting new people, unlike me. But, since he decided for the two of us, there was nothing I could do.

'Pittsie, will you stop acting as if you are interrogated by the Inquisition?' Meeks teased me while we were waiting for Nellie and Virginia at the entrance of the university. 'We are supposed to go and have fun and you have an expression as if you've seen Cameron himself'

'And if you mention that brat again, my expression will become even worse' I hissed. 'Or have you forgotten what he did to us?'

Pretending to like the Dead Poets Society...Betraying us to save himself...Continuing his life as if nothing had happened...No, I couldn't forgive him. Charlie had expelled himself when he had punched him, but I had to admit that, when he did it, I was inwardly cheering, although this inward cheering had become inward crying soon afterwards. I had to be strong to help my friends, but I was broken myself and I had felt as if all my dreams were shattered.

'What are you thinking about, mate?'

'Oh...Nothing important, Meeks, it is alright'

He stared doubtfully at me, but he didn't have time to say anything, because the two girls chose exactly this moment to show up, rescuing me from Meeks's I-know-you-are-not-alright-and-stop-pretending-to-me quote. My eyes met Nellie's and she quickly lowered her head, as if she was ashamed because of something. She was naturally quite pretty, but tonight she had a mysterious beauty on her. Maybe it was the dress she wore or the way her eyes sparkled or her hair, that was not tied as usual, but covered her shoulders. Whatever the reason was, she was changed and I would lie to myself if I said that this look didn't suit her.

'There you are, ladies' Meeks greeted them and smiled. 'Well, it seems that you just can not live without us, right?'

Seriously, Meeksie? I still remembered that time in Hellton, when we were in our Indian cave for another Dead Poets Society meeting and Charlie had brought two girls with him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Meeks was very nervous, just like me (I still remember how much it hurt when I hit my head on the roof of the cave because of my surprise), but right now he was so relaxed...and why shouldn't he? As I saw him and Virginia teasing each other, I couldn't prevent the wide grin on my face, honestly happy that my good buddy was so carefree and knew how to have fun.

'So, then...let's go, shall we?' Nellie interrupted them now, winking at me. 'Otherwise you two will never stop and we'll go dancing at four in the morning'

'We could do that as well!' exclaimed Virginia, clapping in her hands. 'Life needs madness, Nellie'

'Yes, and you do anything you can to confirm that, but save the madness for another day, if you please'

'Fine, fine, now let's get going'

The place we chose seemed quite comfortable and warm from outside, with music echoing. Apparently, its owner, together with the entire universe, had conspired against me; it was named "Carpe Noctem". Totally fitting, right? "Seize the night", well, an advice I had followed more than once when I was sneaking with the others out of the school to go to our shelter, our secret cave, and be ourselves. But, still, this motto would be imprinted in me in the way I had learned it, when Mr. Keating first mentioned it during his first English lesson.

'I prefer "Carpe Diem", to tell you the truth' I heard myself saying and I wanted to slap myself.

Oh, universe, why? What sins have I done to pay for them now? Why on earth did I just say that? To sound like a nagging kid, to boast or, maybe, because I enjoyed recalling everything? Meeks stared at me as if he had never seen me before, Nellie with worry and Virginia with the usual, mocking way; the way I clearly preferred right now.

'You don't like nightlife much, do you?' she commented now with a smirk. 'Don't worry, we're about to enter a nightclub with other students, not a graveyard in the middle of nowhere at midnight'

'I would deal much easier with the latter' I mumbled as I followed her inside and Nellie burst into fits of spontaneous, hysterical laughter. I should probably feel embarrassed, but the only thing I felt was happiness because I made her laugh, meaning that she didn't consider me some boring guy.

"Carpe Noctem" was indeed pretty nice, only half-lit for better atmosphere and some Rock-N'-Roll song in such a high volume, that we needed to shout in another's ear to be heard. We sat down at a table and ordered our drinks. Meeksie and Virginia were as if they were home, Meeks trying to figure out if he knew the song (after all, he had learn plenty, thanks to our radio back in Welton) and Virginia was moving her head from side to side, obviously liking the song; Nellie was humming the tune softly, smiling; and I tried to be myself; kind and calm, again without speaking, enjoying the time with my friends and blocking everything else out. A few minutes and lots of jokes later, Meeks and Virginia got on their feet to go and dance. Virginia tried to convince Nellie and me to follow them, but both of us said we would dance a bit later; after all, the night was still young. Virginia already headed to the dance floor, but Meeks delayed for a few seconds.

'Be a gentleman, stop acting like a shy schoolboy and ask her to dance. Come on, Pitts, do I have to tell you everything?' he hissed, half-amused, half-angrily.

'Okay, okay, now stop sounding like Charlie and go to dance'

My best friend rolled his eyes and went after Virginia. I stayed with Nellie behind; we drank, laughed or simply watched silently the dancing crowd. Even the silence did not bother me, because I knew that Nellie would never pressure me to say anything; that she accepted the fact that I did not speak much because that was her character. I could feel myself in her presence and I was more than grateful to her for that, because I didn't need to proof anything. I didn't have to be the obedient boy I had to be for my father or the excellent student for my teachers, I could simply be me. I wanted to thank her for that, but then the song ended and soon another began, a song I knew too well. It was the first song Meeks and I had listened to when our radio was finally complete when we were in school and I still remembered how we danced as if we were drunk on the roof. Suddenly, I was more energetic than I was in a very long time.

Forget what I thought before, universe, I love your conspiracies!

'Nellie, would you like to dance?' I asked her and thanked the absence of much light, because it would hide my slight blush.

'Of course, but…'

'Let's go, then!' I took her by the hand and practically dragged the poor girl to the others. She didn't complain, she only laughed loudly, transferring her mood to me.

That was the start I needed and from then I had the best night of my life since Neil's suicide. We danced and talked all night long and, when it was time for us to leave, I almost was disappointed. It was the first time in a long time when I had felt truly alive and not just staying alive. Being with friends and having fun had helped me a lot and everything else, the dramas, my father, was forgotten for now.

'Do you know what, Pittsie?' Meeks started when we had bid the girls "good night" and were in our dorm. 'I think that, if the Dead Poets could see you now, they would be very proud of you, just like I am. You literally got out of your shell today!'

'Thanks, Meeksie' I answered and cracked a small, honest smile.

'Well, actually, it is Nellie the both of us thank' he laughed. 'She made you comfortable in one night, something I have been trying for years. I am really glad you met her, mate'

At that point, I just mumbled a "good night" and laid down without saying anything else, causing Meeks's chuckle and avoiding to say how glad I was I had met her as well. But I was also glad I had agreed to go out tonight; somehow I had the impression that this memory would help me to move on.

A/N: Okay, guys, that was it for now :) Hope you liked it...a carefree moment between the four protagonists, because they deserve it, don't they? Can not wait for your reviews :D