A/N: Happy Easter, guys! Another chapter's here...and things are warming up, tehehe. Nushka, my friend, your idea for Nellie's birthday present was amazing, fantastic, genius and a real fun to write, hope you will like it ;)

The title is inspired from a verse in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet: "Prodigious birth of love it is to me".

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dead Poets Society

"Stories are the only enchantment possible, for when we begin to see our suffering as a story, we are saved."

(Anaïs Nin)

Nellie's POV

Waking up the day of my birthday was quite different from all the other days of the year. It wasn't just the fact that I was now one year older or that I would spend it away from my family—after all that was the case all the previous years in boarding school. No, no, no, it was everything else that caused a weird feeling in my stomach: the various thoughts creating a wild dance in my mind, thoughts about myself, my life, my future, my dreams and, of course, my past and everything I had lived and said until now. Nineteen was an extraordinary age; on the one side I truly realized that you was an adult now with my independent decisions and yet, on the other side, I still didn't feel exactly like a grown-up, like I'd probably feel if I was twenty-two or something like that; a part of me still felt like a seventeen-year-old, although I was the eldest of our group: Meeks was next, his birthday being in March, then came Gerard end of May and Virginia's birthday was in June. Even Olivia, who would come today as promised for wedding shopping, would be nineteen in July.

Of course, when you lose yourself in such thoughts on your birthday, the memories don't miss. I recalled my fourteenth birthday and what had happened that day: I was at school, my parents had come to visit; they had given me their wishes, a necklace as a present and my father had told me that when I'd go home for Easter vacation I would receive an even better present.

And what a 'present' that was.

I couldn't stop thinking about it, it was way beyond my strength. Not only about the event itself and its consequences, but also about the way my father thought. In order to secure a cooperation with a large law firm, he didn't hesitate to promise his fourteen-year-old daughter to a man who was so much elder than her; and he expected that I would be grateful and simply obey to him like always.

And then he wonders why I constantly defy him?

A part of me feared that I would hear the same news today, especially now that I was older, but I knew that my mind was playing tricks on me. My father considered me a lost case, someone who would ridicule him whenever she had the chance…although I doubted that he had completely given up now that my best friend's wedding was approaching. And I also knew that in order to get rid of this fear completely, in order to see my traumatic experience as nothing more than a story of the past that had reached its end, I needed to talk to someone, to share this burden. Just like I wanted Gerard to open up to me about whatever had made him sullen and serious, it also was the other way round; I had to open up myself to move on because there was no way my new friends hadn't realized that something had happened to me.

But I couldn't, at least not yet. It wasn't that I didn't trust them, quite the contrary, I was certain they would listen to my story, my suffering, and stand by my side. But I couldn't complain to them about something that had occurred five years ago like a little girl; I couldn't burden them like that, I had to deal with this on my own…unless I would reach a breaking point or something like that but I still had endurances left.

"Happy birthday, happy birthday, happy birthday toooo youuuuu," Virginia's sleepy yet sing-song voice brought me back to reality and I burst into fits of laughter as she jumped out of her bed and hugged me tightly. "Happy nineteenth birthday, Nellie, may you always be smiling, following your dreams and staying away from bad influences!"

"Thanks, Ginny," I laughed again at her wish; that was Virginia, she would always add a caring warning to her wishes. "You're up early, I expected I had to dag you out of bed."

"And delay you for our meeting with your friend who's coming from Medford? No, no, no, I will not let you down! Now, where's your present, where's your present—"

As she rummaged through her things to find my gift—if she would ever find it in the ever-present chaos in her closet and drawers—I smiled at the thought of spending the day shopping for Olivia's wedding with the two girls. Even though the word 'wedding' triggered certain unpleasant memories, I wouldn't let it ruin my mood today; I would enjoy my friends' company.

"When is Olivia arriving, by the way?" Virginia wanted to know as she opened a bag and searched through its contents.

"Oh, around eleven, she would take the morning train since her fiancé is working."

"And he let her travel all alone to visit her independent childhood friend who wants to be a lawyer? Very relaxed, that fiancé of hers."

"Ginny!" I exclaimed, but couldn't help chuckling; no matter what, she would never let anything fall down, she would perceive and comment literally everything.

"Aha! Here it is."

She handed me a small box, which contained a bracelet decorated with small, dark red stones that fitting on my wrist just like it should: not very loose, but not squeezing me either. "I know you don't wear a lot of jewels, but I saw it and thought it'd be nice to have for, you know, when we go out or something," she stated, as if wondering whether she had made the right choice.

"Don't worry, Virginia, it's great!" I eased her worry and hugged her; indeed, I was not a big fan of jewels, but it was nice and the thought mattered. "Now, will you go back to sleep or will you get up for good? I spoke with Meeks yesterday and he suggested we go to have breakfast together."

"Great, but I think I'm going to get another hour of sleep before I get ready, this damn studying for the exams has exhausted me!"

"Tell me about it; don't worry, Meeks will understand." I chuckled and ruffled Virginia's curly hair as I wore my jacket. "Get some rest, we have a busy day today and don't forget that tonight I'm buying you all drinks at our favorite spot."

Because seizing the day is important, but seizing the night doesn't hurt either…and what better place to do so than the 'Carpe Noctem' bar?

Pitts's POV

Meeks was a genius, a great friend, a huge support in our little science experiments at school, but from time to time he could be so sly that I swore Charlie had some bad influence on him. Despite the fact that he knew too well what agony tormented me about today—the usual agony about a birthday present, will the receiver like it, will the receiver not like it—he had chosen to revise the most crucial notes for one of his courses today of all days instead of coming with me. He had told me to go ahead and save him a seat with the birthday girl, his only advice being "You'll find the right way to give it to her, you always seem to find the right words when she's around."

Thanks a lot, Meeks!

'You always seem to find the right words,' he had said. Then why was I a mess of nervousness and anxiety as I approached the mess hall?

The aforementioned birthday girl was already waiting, calm and composed as if this was a day like all the others and not at all proud and announcing her birthday to the whole world like some of the guys in Hellton did as if they were rulers of the world. She smiled happily towards me as I approached her, her hair looking as if it was on fire in the morning sun and toning her freckles. I hugged her tightly and rubbed her back; it was the first time I took the initiative, surprising even myself, but it came out naturally, especially on this specific day, as if I did it constantly. Nellie didn't comment it, she didn't joke about how it was the first time for me to make an opening movement towards her: she simply hugged me back and left a small laughter.

"Happy birthday, Nellie. Be happy in your life, I wish you to fulfill all your dreams." I whispered and couldn't help but smile too; the joyous atmosphere was contagious. "Here you are, this is for you."

The agony increased tenfold when she thanked me and unwrapped her gift, revealing the simple leather cover I had chosen. Already realizing what it was, she smiled cheerfully and I took a breath of relief.

Okay, it's a good start, Pitts; she hasn't gotten tired of having books as presents, she likes the general idea.

"'I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately…I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life'," she read the first sentence of the traditional Dead Poets Society prologue and my mind filled with images and memories…the first time Neil had read it, back in the Indian cave and how we had agreed with what it said…and now Nellie was reading it for the first time and I could see the same excitement on her we had felt…because Nellie would be a perfect addition to our group, I was sure of it, she had grasped the basic meaning of it without even knowing of its existence. "Well, that's an interesting start," she told me, gazing at the printed page and started flipping through the pages, her eyes falling on the verses. "A book of poems, Gerard?"

"Go back to the prologue," I said with a small smile, "and look at the top of the page."

"'To be read by the Dead Poets Society'," she read and another wave of nostalgia overwhelmed me. "Interesting name, very…poetic if I may say that. So, this was…"

"An actual book. Do you remember when we came back from vacation, when I told you I read a book that combined poetry with various periods of our history?"

"Of course."

"Five Centuries of Verse. My friends in school and I have it since we were sixteen and we would never get rid of it. It contains countless poems, not only by the most known writers, but also from others who didn't become so famous. We used to read the prologue first," I gently glided my finger over the page, "and then we would take turns reading through it."

Right now it was painful, agonizing and oddly redeeming, talking about it and I only hoped that she wouldn't ask about the Dead Poets Society right away. It seemed, though, that other thoughts were crossing her mind, because her eyes widened, as if she had started to realize what the true meaning of this present was.

"So, if this prologue I read right now came from this book…and that day when I saw you exiting the photocopier room…" she started and didn't finish her sentence, simply looking at me with wide eyes and making me panic: was it too much? I only had this idea because she loved poetry and because she too was struggling to find her own place in this world; I wanted her to have something from my adolescent days, something that had created this relationship I currently had with poetry and literature. It was her first birthday present by me, though, merely a couple of months after I met her…had I crossed some kind of line.

"Well, the book is currently in my possession, we send it to each other every six months. And so I thought…I chose my favorite poems and the ones more meaningful to me and…well, here it is." I quickly explained and now my heart was beating like crazy, something that hadn't happened with her since the day we met, when I accidentally recognized out loud the verse from Tennyson she had read. "But, if you don't like it, I can—"

"Oh my God, Gerard, thank you so much!" she exclaimed and jumped into my arms, hugging me with such a ferocity that her feet were slightly lifted in the air and I wrapped my arms around her waist so she wouldn't fall down, unable to suppress the enthusiastic smile that was spread on my face; I couldn't believed it, she actually liked it.

"Don't…Don't mention it, Nellie, it's nothing special."

"Nothing special? Nothing special? Don't be silly, Gerard, it's perfect!" Nellie laughed and, in a sudden and without warning, planted a soft kiss on my cheek before resting her chin on my shoulder. "It's truly perfect."

She stopped talking and a comfortable silence fell around us, but I didn't pay attention to it because I was trying to remember how to breathe at the moment. The sense still lingered, although it hadn't lasted more than two seconds, but I could still feel it because I was surely as red as a tomato at the moment. It was as if I could truly feel everything around us right now, how she had kissed my cheek, her chin on my shoulder, her arms around my neck, mine around her waist…her fiery hair, loose today instead of her trademark braid, tickling my face…and that feeling that was crashing me, a weird sensation, weird, uncomfortable and overly-pleasant at the same time…I truly couldn't breathe, I couldn't explain what the hell had gotten into me; I didn't pay attention to anything else.

"So…Dead Poets Society? Honestly, I love the name, it has a really nice ring to it, from another era," Nellie commented and pulled away; and it was unexplainable how disappointed I felt at the loss of her hug, something that hadn't happened in the past. "What…What is the story behind it?"

Oh, no!

These words made the magic disappear and, although that weird sense was still there, I couldn't focus on it anymore, since I once again dove in painful memories, knowing that there was no easy answer; that if I'd start talking about the Dead Poets I'd tell everything. And I couldn't, not today: I wouldn't ruin her day.

"It's…it's a very long story," I said in the end and avoided her eyes, but she didn't leave it like that; she gently took my chin in her hand, forcing me to look at her, glance full of compassion.

"Just a story?" she asked softly and the grip around the book tightened. "Or a suffering as well?"

She knows! I realized with a gasp. She's lived something that hurts her and she can't talk about it, just like me, otherwise she'd never make that statement.

"Hey, it's fine. I promise, it's fine, I told you, you can talk to me whenever you feel ready," she prevented me from saying anything and a radiant smile appeared on her face again. "Just know something, Gerard. About this not-doing-anything-special nonsense you mentioned earlier…and I'm not just talking about the gift…know that you're doing much more than you give yourself credit for."

She patted my arm in a reassuring gesture and turned away to enter the mess hall so we could wait for our friends. And I stood there, unmoving, hardly breathing…what the hell was wrong with me, what had happened all of a sudden, why couldn't I define that sensation that didn't leave me alone?

"You can define it, Pittsie," my inner voice told me, sounding oddly similar to Charlie right now, teasing and determined and encouraging me to admit what exactly was happening to me.

Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

"Just great, Pitts. Just when things are going too well and you finally feel calmer and ready to move on in your new life with your new friends…you go and complicate it."

What the hell do I do now?

Nellie's POV

I didn't want to boast, but my idea that Olivia should come here was a really good one apparently; not only for her and the list she needed to complete for the wedding, but also for Virginia, who seemed to be getting along great with our bride-to-be, giggling and laughing like a school girl. Olivia loved Yale; she was impressed by the campus and the crowded streets of the city, laughing with the stories Ginny and I told her about college and telling us what plans she had made for today.

"How about we go for the dresses and decorations for the party after the ceremony here? My mother wants to arrange the church decorations…and I have also made you a list of the guests, Nellie, so we can organize the seating arrangements via distance."

"Wonderful. By the way, my other two guests…they are two of the best man's guests too, friends from school," I revealed and winked at Virginia, who laughed loudly. "It's a very small world."

"I know, Thomas already told me, they talked with the best man for two hours about this," she chuckled as we entered a shop with wedding dresses. "So, ladies, this is our first stop..." she sighed with a tender smile and I rubbed her back, understanding how she was feeling: impatient for the wedding and nervous about everything that came with it.

"Don't worry, Olivia, that's why Ginny and I are here. Go and try whichever you want and we'll tell you our opinion about it."

"Of course…although I am hardly an expert on such matters." Virginia added and actually looked embarrassed, as if feeling like an outsider for not knowing much about the proper style of a wedding dress.

"An honest opinion is always a welcome opinion." Olivia spoke before I could say anything, smiling towards her and making me feel grateful towards her for being so open with Virginia…just like she was with me and the fact that I was not in search for a good marriage.

Ginny and I helped her pick a few dresses and sat down while she went to try them on. Only then did she turn towards me with a mischievous grin and she pointed towards the bag I had with me, since I didn't have time to leave the birthday presents from the boys in our dorm and had brought them with me.

"Sooo, may I ask what our two friends got you?"

"Oh, Meeks bought me Shakespeare's Richard II, he said I should discover Shakespeare's less known works." I told her and couldn't help blushing at my next sentence; at the best birthday present I had ever gotten. "And…a book with poems from Gerard." I concluded, trying to give a casual tone in my voice.

"Poems? Oh, that is so sweet," Olivia joined the conversation and spun around so we could see the dress she was currently wearing. "What do you think?"

"Hm, I think something sewn in a simpler way suits you more." Virginia stated and I nodded in agreement; Olivia had a specific style and I already had something in mind about what would fit her best. Olivia thanked us, but stayed and watched us with amusement, clearly interested in our current topic of conversation.

"So, Meeks and…Gerard are the two other guests, Nellie?"

"They are!" Virginia confirmed and clapped in her hands with a ringing laughter. "And poems, eh? Poems? So, what's next, him taking you out to dinner or something?"

"Ginny!" I shook my head and the other two laughed hysterically. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's not like that…this book has…a special meaning."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that it combines poetry with various periods of our history," I used Gerard's words and now it was my turn to laugh at the girls' expressions.

"Nellie, I think the writer in you is coming to surface." Olivia said and I gave her a playful push so we could return to the main subject of today's shopping trip.

In the end, it wasn't easy for Olivia to choose the ideal wedding dress: ivory, elegant, flowing, covering her ankles and the long sleeves having small flower patters on them. Choosing the bridesmaid dresses—for which Olivia had taken full responsibility—was much harder, mainly because of me and my hair. Auburn red wasn't the easiest hair color and so Olivia's initial idea for light pink was cast aside and the three of us spent a whole hour discussing possible alternatives.

"Beige?"

"Way too formal."

"Light red?"

"No, no, Olivia, Nellie's hair is reddish already, she won't be dressed like Little Red Riding Hood."

"Dark green?"

"Could be working, but one of the two other bridesmaids doesn't like the color at all."

"Black?"

"No way! Nice, classy and formal, but doesn't suit to this specific wedding."

"Light green?"

"Virginia, I'll be maid of honor, not some plant."

"White?"

"Too similar with the bride's, Nellie."

"Light blue?"

"Perfect!" Olivia and I said simultaneously and hugged Virginia, who smirked satisfied.

"I love this color!"

"Yes, blue has always suited you, Nellie."

"Phew, who would have known that it would be that hard." I laughed after we had bought the three bridesmaid dresses as well; they were all light blue, but mine, due to my role as maid of honor, was slightly different; it had very short sleeves and flowing on the floor, but not in a royal-gown-like style like Olivia's.

"And who would have known that we would finish our shopping today?" Virginia mentioned happily and looked at the hour. "And it's also time for us to go and get changed, girls, we're supposed to be meeting the boys in two hours."

Olivia's expression saddened and she apologized, saying that Thomas would pick her up since he didn't want her to go through the trouble to return to Medford by train. No matter how much Virginia and I pressured her to invite Thomas with us and to go home with him tomorrow, nothing could change her mind and in the end we stopped; Olivia was never good at dealing with pressure, always choosing to stick to the original plan than suggesting her own ideas. I could see that Virginia wanted to comment on that, but she kept her composure in front of Olivia and only burst out when we were sitting at our usual booth in Carpe Noctem with Meeks and Gerard.

"'I am sorry, girls, but Thomas was very kind to offer to bring me home and I don't want to pressure him to stay more'," she repeated Olivia's departing words before sighing frustrated. "You know what I say? I say that he's already controlling her and she hasn't even realized it."

"Come on, Virginia, calm down; I already told you, Olivia doesn't like to—"

"To say her own opinion because she's scared that there will be trouble with her loved ones?"

I left Gerard to tell her what he thought on the matter as I stood up and went to order our drinks, with Meeks following me to help. He was way too cheerful today and as we waited for our orders to be prepared, he patted me on the shoulder.

"You know, Nellie, I haven't really thanked you and Virginia enough for…for sticking with us. It's a great time, honestly, and you even helped my buddy to open up a bit," he pointed towards our booth, where Gerard shook his head laughing at something Ginny had just said; she had thrown her hands in the air and seemed very insisting on whatever she had told him. "This would never occur at Welton, where we were basically in a cage."

"Well, college means escaping from that cage, right?" I replied, heading back to the other two. "It means starting anew, discovering who you are and what you truly want to do in your life."

"Hear, hear!" Virginia agreed as we clinked our glasses together.

"Happy birthday, Nellie, and carpe diem!"

A/N: So, everyone, that was it for now :) Hope you liked it, the next chapter will be up ASAP!