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Chapter Six

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Charlie had concocted a rather brilliant plan for Angela to sneak into the boys' dorms after hours. He apparently had some experience sneaking people in, but when Neil asked about it, Charlie just said "There are a lot of things about me you don't know," with that playful smirk of his. It was so difficult to tell when he was being serious and when he was joking, and Charlie liked it that way. For some reason, Neil kind of did too.

Saturday evening finally came after what seemed like decades to Angela, who parked a little bit away from Welton Academy, so she would not be easily found. She looked at her watch-9:58. Almost time. She had snuck out of the house herself. Not that her parents were opposed to her seeing Neil-but seeing him so late... and after hours, in such a seedy situation... It was best to just sneak away. When the minute hand passed once more, she made her way toward the building as quietly as she could, with a flashlight in one hand and her purse in the other.

Being outside so late in such a rural area made Angela incredibly nervous. Every rustle in the trees made her heart pound faster and faster. She was walking as quickly as her feet could take her without bursting into a sprint, hoping and praying that some horrifying predator wouldn't jump out of the trees and slash her in half, or worse. Finally, Welton was in sight. She shone a flashlight into the third floor window, second to the left on the right side of the building. She got three flashes in return, which was her cue to go to the main entrance. There, she waited for approximately sixty seconds before the door slowly creaked open and there stood a tall, imposing figure. She nearly screamed at the sight of this shadowy, intimidating stranger. Shit, she should have been quieter! Now they all were going to get into trouble, and it was all her fault. Her heart pounded and her knees went weak-this was it. This was the end. Neil would be kicked out of Welton and it was going to be her fault, the little harlot.

"You must be Angela," the figure whispered with a grin in his voice. A gasp got caught in Angela's throat as she realized that maybe the plan had worked after all.

"Quiet, Dalton!" a whisper came from inside. There were several more figures making their way toward the front door now, and Angela noticed what must have been a guard dog chewing on something in the corner. That's when she realized that these were Neil's friends coming to greet her. Clever plan, she had to admit. Angela was relieved when Neil finally came into view, sneaking around the other figures to meet her.

"Come on," he whispered, and soon she found herself being led hand-in-hand across the lush campus of Welton. Angela realized that nearly every boy had also brought a flashlight, but she still couldn't make out any of their faces. Finally, they ended up at a small gazebo where she and Neil's friends finally sat down. Angela made it a point to begin to study each face across the circle. "Okay, well," Neil started with a smile, "this... is Angela." She waved at them awkwardly. The first boy leaned forward to shake her hand.

"Knox Overstreet," he said with a smile. Angela smiled back. She thought he looked like the kind of boy who could have been at Ridgeway.

"Nice to meet you," she replied. The next one had glasses and a firm handshake.

"Steven Meeks," he stated.

The next one introduced himself as Gerard Pitts, then Richard Cameron, Todd Anderson ("My roommate," Neil had said when it was his turn), and finally Charles Dalton (who had a suave look about him when introducing himself), who she realized had been the imposing figure at the front door.

"It's very nice to meet you all," Angela said once the almost awkward meet-and-greet ordeal was finished.

"We've heard a lot about you, Miss Angela," Charlie said tauntingly.

She laughed. "Oh, have you?" She glanced over at Neil, who shrugged in response.

"I had to tell them some things," he admitted. Angela's mind immediately went to the time she drove him up to the Lovers' Lane.

"Yeah, mainly just going on and on about how great and talented you are," Charlie added with a roll of his eyes. Angela had been told very little about Neil's friends, so she wasn't sure what to think about any of this. She had the feeling she understood Charlie's attitude, but it was still a little off-putting.

"So," Meeks started in an attempt to break the ice, "you like to act?"

She nodded. "That's how we met."

"Oh, we know," Knox interrupted jokingly.

"He's only told us the story a thousand times before," Charlie nonchalantly added, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket.

"What? It's a good story," Neil replied, scooting closer to Angela, who couldn't help but giggle and shake her head. Charlie dug a cigarette out of the pack and offered it across the gazebo to Angela.

"Oh, thank you," she answered, taking it from him.

"Huh. See boys? Manners. The rest of you should think about thanking me next time you ask me for a free smoke." He offered up a match to light it, which she agreed to as well. Angela brought it to her lips and inhaled only a little. She tried to swallow down her coughs-she didn't want them to know she had never smoked before.

"All right, a gal who can handle things," Charlie said suggestively. "Nice pick, Neil."

"Hey, back off, Charlie," Neil quipped back. Now she really had to work to swallow the coughs. But Angela kept smoking anyway. She always felt as though it made people look glamorous and attractive.

The rest of the evening was a hazy blur coated in the smell of cigarettes and the sound of crickets chirping. The evenings were beginning to change from warm to chilled, and a breeze drifted by that made Angela shiver. Neil must have noticed, because he scooted in closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder while the boys continued their conversation. Angela found herself leaning her head into his shoulder in response. The night was exhilarating to her-she spent most of her nights at home reading or listening to records when she wasn't involved in plays. Now, here she was with her handsome boyfriend's arm around her shoulder, a cigarette in between her fingers and dare-devilish boys surrounding her, telling stories about their summer break. She was studying each and every one, finding all of Neil's friends incredibly fascinating in their own right.

Knox, she decided, was a true gentleman. Neil was too, of course-well, they all must be gentlemen to be attending Welton-but Knox seemed to stick with it even when he wasn't keeping up the uppity private school aesthetic. Cameron, she thought, was a stickler who had a very hard time telling whether or not someone was telling a joke. Angela noticed many jokes being made at his expense and she wondered if he was only invited to be with them because he was Charlie's roommate. Meeks and Pitts were both almost soft-spoken but intelligent individuals with a certain zest for life who seemed to just be happy to be with friends and enjoying the moment, and Todd... well, she really couldn't figure Todd out. He was the quietest person she had ever seen, but he definitely smiled a lot, mostly when Neil talked. Angela could understand that feeling.

Charlie was a completely different story. She couldn't tell if the way he would glance at her suggestively was a serious gesture, or just a joke. He seemed to be the jokester of the group-as well as the only one with any experience with girls. Angela figured she could ask Neil about him later.

An hour or so had eventually passed-she had lost track of the time-when the boys collectively decided they should sneak back into the dorms, lest they risk getting caught. Angela found herself feeling sad about this. For some reason, she didn't want the night to end. She could've stayed in that gazebo forever.

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Angela made her way to her car with Neil's arm still around her. It was one of the best feelings she could imagine feeling, second probably only to the way they kissed at the end of their dates.

"You have really great friends, Neil," she told him as they trudged on slowly. "Really."

"Yeah, they're great. Honestly, I don't think I could survive here without them. At all."

"I know what you mean."

"I hope I didn't make you feel too weird, you know, being around a bunch of people you don't know."

"No, it was great. I had a lot of fun, Neil. I'd love to meet up with your friends some other time, even-if that's something you want to do."

"Maybe," Neil replied, as they continued to walk.

They approached the edge of the campus, and Neil tightened his grip on her shoulder as they came to a stop. "Hey look, um, I'll call you again this week, okay?"

"Okay, sounds great." She smiled. "Miss you until then."

That made him smile. They kissed, and with Neil lingering on her lips, Angela never even thought about how scary the walk back to her car was.