"!" marianne gawked, her hands on amélie's shoulders. amé blushed profusely. mari's lips curled into a giant smile as she bounced with glee. "oh my gosh!"

"marianne, marianne." amé shushed, grabbing her friend by the sleeve to avoid weird stares.

"sorry! i'm just so excited for you." marianne giggled, leaning in beside amé "it's quite adorable. can you tell the story again?" she gushed, amélie rolling her eyes and pushing marianne away lightly.

"it's nothing like that. we're just going for a walk around the neighborhood. i have to show him something, and then i'll be home. that's all that'll happen."

as the two walked in hushed giggles, amélie caught the eye of cindy, who was walking the opposite direction and chattering with her friends. she glared at amé once more, before she completely turned away to talk to her friends. amélie's classes seemed to pass quicker. she realized that when she had something to look forward to, everything seemed to revolve around that thing for a little while. everything moved a bit faster and her work seemed a bit easier, the hallways always a bit emptier between periods and their teachers a bit nicer. she felt good about today.

amélie got to her dorm quickly after school, so she could get ready without being disturbed by the other girls on her floor. thanks to marianne's 'quiet' voice, quite a lot of girls knew about this after school affair with neil.

——————-

amélie walked down a hill, towards the dock leaning over the river. it was still light out, so when she saw a figure standing on it, she knew it was neil.

"neil." she approached him, giving him a small smile. she was trying to hide the fact that she was nervous out of her mind. she'd never been with a guy alone like this.

"hi." neil grinned, turning to face the girl standing behind him. he was happy to see her.

"am i late?" amé sheepishly grinned in guilt. she could already feel herself getting comfortable with him, her nervousness fading.

"you're right on time." neil nodded, walking up the dock so he could be beside amé.

"marianne kept me, she can be so chatty sometimes. especially once she knew i was going to meet you." she sighed in relief, making neil grin even wider. she was telling her friends about him.

"where are we going?" he quickly asked, beginning to walk with amélie down a path that lead into the forest.

"follow me." she smiled, turning the opposite way. they walked for a bit in silence, both awkwardly hesitating to say anything. they arrived at a single tree, overlooking the water in a patch of green grass.

"um, i write here sometimes." amélie grinned, sitting down under the tree and looking at the river.

neil sighed, taking in the sight. "it's beautiful."

"is this the place you told me about?" he asked, amé looking up at him.

"yes, obviously." she chuckled, getting up from her spot under the tree and continuing to walk with neil.

"did you bring your notebook?" he asked, elbowing her.

"no. and i'm never going to show you anything in there that's written by me." amélie sighed, her tone sounding a bit more impatient then she'd like to give off.

neil's smile faded. "i'll stop asking."

"i don't mind, i'm just reminding you." amé shrugged, studying neil's face. "someday, perry."

"it's okay, amé. i'll be waiting for you to show me eventually." amé? she'd never actually had anyone call her that. her mother did when she was 8, but never anyone at school. not even her father did. it made her feel a sense of relief, guilt, warmth. she didn't know, but all she could think of was her mother.

"i could stay here forever. in this moment. i feel like i have nothing to worry about."

neil simply smiled at her, watching as she spun around in front of him.

"it's beautiful." he nodded.

as the two approached aurela, amélie was sad. she'd had so much fun, she never wanted their walk to end. but before she knew it, she was standing in front of the side door that led to the dormitories.

"thank you for this. there's been a lot on my mind, and this really helped."

"you know, it could become a regular thing."

amélie laughed, blushing profusely. she wasn't sure if he was trying to flirt with her or not, but she liked how he treated it her. it made her feel wanted.

"are you coming to our meeting tomorrow?" neil rocked back and forth on his heels, looking for the answer he wanted. amélie could tell. instead, she teased him a bit.

"the dead poets society?" she asked sarcastically and grinned. she wanted to go.

"yeah. classes end for us at 3, so let's say 5pm again?" neil looked eager for her response. it made her feel so tingly to think that he actually cared about her being there. even if they were just friends, she was so happy he actually cared about her in a way.

"sure. but can marianne come?" amé didn't want to go alone again. it felt too awkward last time. and, mari had been bugging her about charlie.

"why not."

"ok. bye neil." amélie awkwardly waved goodbye, walking towards the door and almost tripping.

"see you tomorrow, amélie." neil grinned and nodded, making sure she got inside safely. he bit back a chuckle watching her almost fall but made sure she was okay.

amélie went to bed with butterflies.