Eutony | Todd Anderson

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟗

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔, 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚎, 𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚠'𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚎, 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚑 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞? - 𝚎. 𝚑

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"𝐖𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐲 parents for dinner next week Thursday," Todd proclaimed while sauntering into the room, slight smirk resting on his lips as he watched Ophelia choke on her water. "Who is we, exactly?" Cameron questioned, an automatic eyeroll coming from Charlie and Knox, the latter replying, "Todd and Ophelia, obviously. How dense can you get, Cameron?" Ophelia looked up at Todd, mouth slightly agape as he stood in front of her as she sat on his bed. "How do they know about us? Did you tell them?" she asked, biting her lip at the thought of her mother's scolding when she discovers his parents knew before they did. "No, of course not. We agreed to wait before getting the families involved. Apparently, Nolan noticed how close we are and took it upon himself to inform our parents of our relationship." Noticing her distress, he gently placed his hand on her cheek, thumb caressing her soft skin as rose her chin up with his other hand. "Hey, don't worry about it. My mother can't wait to meet you. Think about it this way; at least your mother will stop trying to set you up with strangers." She snickered, remembering how upset Todd got when he read her mother's most recent letter about a 'fine young man looking for a respectable young lady'. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, silently reassuring her that everything would be alright, Ophelia leaning into his touch and sighing in relief. "No matter how cute we think you are, could you maybe kiss our girl somewhere else?" Charlie's smug voice called from his place beside Meeks, both leaning against one another as they did their homework. "With pleasure," Todd said while hoisting Ophelia up, a vibrant laugh bubbling out of her at the boys protests as they fled the room.

To say Ophelia was upset about not knowing it was Todd's birthday the day prior would be an understatement. She was, in fact, furious. To add to her anger, she had found out from Cameron. "I don't understand how you thought it was alright not to tell me. Cameron told me. Really? Even Cameron knew?" she questioned while walking down the busy hall, brushing past the rambunctious boys as they headed to their next class. "Well, I don't understand why it's such a big deal," Todd replied, desperately trying to catch up with the girl. "Of course it's a big deal, Todd," she exclaimed while stopping and turning to face him, "It was your birthday and I didn't even get you a gift!" Todd chuckled, placing his hand on her arms and gently caressed them. "You, my darling, are the greatest gift I have ever received." She bit her lip in a desperate attempt to conceal her smile, still trying to keep her stern exterior. "I'm still upset with you," she muttered, looking down at her shoes. Todd placed a soft kiss on her head with a whisper, "I'm sure I can fix that." A deep blush set on her cheeks, wondering how her shy boy had become so confident in himself around her. "Alright you two, we've got McAlister now and I don't feel like getting more homework because you were late. Let's go," Pitts commented while pulling Ophelia away from Todd with a small smile, squeezing her hand in the process. "Are we still having a meeting tonight?" she questioned, knowing Knox was going to see Chris. "Of course. We wouldn't miss it for the world. Charlie said he has a surprise for us though," Pitts answered, causing Ophelia to sigh in concern, wondering what her best friend had come up with this time. "You really love him, don't you?" Pitts questioned her, looking down at the girl with soft eyes. "I do. I've never felt this way before. I feel like everything I do without him is empty, as though he is what drives me to be who I am, to be the best version of myself. I can't remember a life before him. I can't imagine him not being in my life." He looked down at her in shock, not expecting her feelings to be so strong. "You're happy, bunny," he whispered, using the nickname he gave her when they were younger. "I am. I really am."

"What exactly are you planning to do with the whole Chris party thing?" Ophelia questioned her friend. 
"I'm not planning anything, my friend. I am going to go in there and seize the day." Ophelia shook her head lightly at Knox's antics, but moved forward to straighten his shirt despite her silent protests to his actions. 
"Just be safe, alright?" She smirked lightly before joking in a rather posh accent, "You know how those public education children can get. They're rather rambunctious."
Knox laughed at his friend, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "You really are something, you know that?" 
She grinned and waved him off, watching with alright worry as he made his way down the stairs. She said a silent prayer for him, desperately hoping he wouldn't get himself into trouble.

"To live deep and suck out all the marrow of life. To put to rout all that was not life," the poets recited while sitting in the dimly lit cave. They stopped, however, when they heard giggles from the mouth of the cave. Looking up, they were greeted by Charlie who was leading two girls into the cave. "Is this it?" the one questioned, Charlie promptly replying, "Yeah, this is it. Go ahead, go on in. It's my cave. Watch your step." Ophelia couldn't stop the slight narrowing of her eyes at Charlie in question as the boys rose to greet the girls. Todd gently grasped Ophelia's hand, interlocking their fingers as the girl beside Charlie stared at him. Charlie simply smirked at her and greeted everyone. "Hi, you guys. Meet, uh, Gloria and-"
"Tina," the girl interjected, looking incredibly offended by his inability to recall her name. "Tina," Charlie nodded, "This is the pledge class of the Dead Poets Society." The boys, along with Ophelia, greeted the girls, beside their shocked thoughts. "Guys, move. Move. Come on, folks. It's Friday night. Let's get on with the meeting." The poets looked at one another sceptically, still unsure how to deal with the situation. "Guys, I have an announcement to make. In keeping with the spirit of passionate experimentation of the Dead Poets, I'm giving up the name Charlie Dalton. From now on, call me Nuwanda." Ophelia let out a snort at the name, Pitts laughing while questioning, "Nuwanda?"
"What exactly are you up to, Charlie?" Ophelia questioned, slightly amused by her best friends antics but not fully convinced that bringing the girls was his only intention. "We gonna have a meeting or what?" Charlie questioned, completely ignoring Ophelia and looking around at the boys. "Yeah," Gloria piped up, "If you guys don't have a meeting, how do we know if we wanna join?"
"Join?" Neil immediately questioned, looking between the three as if they were insane. "'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate'," Charlie recited while staring into Tina's eyes. "That's so sweet," she commented, completely struck by his plagiarised words. "I made that up just for you," Charlie said, prompting giggles from his friends at the girl's naivety. "I'll write one for you too, Gloria. She walks in beauty like the night. Of cloudless climes and starry skies. All that's best, dark and bright, Meet in her aspect and her eyes." Todd looked at Ophelia, watching as she recited the words quietly as Charlie spoke them. He sighed in contentment as he thought about how Byron's words fit his lover so well. Todd realised, in that moment, that he couldn't imagine his life without her. Every scenario of his future included her. Every walk of life, she was beside him. Looking at him, she smiled gently at him, "You okay?" Todd grasped the back of her neck and placed his lips on hers, Ophelia's gasp allowing him to deepen the kiss. "I love you so much," he whispered as he pulled away, gently resting his forehead against hers. Placing a final kiss on her cheek, he moved her to sit on his lap and locked his arms around her waist. "What's with the romance?" she laughed, the breath still returning to her lungs. "I just realised something, is all."
"Don't you guys miss having girls around here?" Gloria questioned before Ophelia could ask Todd to elaborate. The boys were quick to nod, wishing there were girls beside their best friend. "That's part of what this club is about. In fact, I'd like to announce I published an article in the school paper, in the name of the Dead Poets," Charlie boasted, his pride radiating off his smug smile. "What?" Cameron screeched, voicing all their thoughts. "Demanding girls be admitted to Welton," Charlie continued. "You didn't," Pitts gasped, Ophelia calling out, "You know that's the entire point of me being here, Charlie. You may have just ruined their chances."
"How did you do that?" Neil asked, Charlie leaning back against the wall saying, "I'm one of the proofers. I slipped the article in." At this point, Ophelia was seething, Todd's grip tightening on her in fear of what could become of her anger. "Well, don't you think they're gonna figure out who wrote it?" Cameron questioned, "They're gonna come to you and ask to know what the Dead Poets Society is. Charlie, you had no right to do something like that."
"Let me go, Todd. I need to leave before I hit him," Ophelia said through gritted teeth while the boys argued. Racing out of the cave, Ophelia ran till she was standing at the beginning of the field. She wanted to scream, feeling utter anger and heartbreak for what would come of Charlie's actions. Arms encircled her as she grasped her hair, gently prying them away. "How can I help, sweetheart?" Todd gently whispered, watching as Ophelia moved away from him and began to pace. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe make that article disappear. Does he realise what he's done? Does he really think that they'll ever let more girls in now? Women deserve a proper education. The education you receive here, no matter how horrible their ways and morals are, is the best in the country. Woman have incredible minds. They deserve an education, the ability to make their own decisions and make their own wage without having to look to their husband first. I was their only hope. Now he's ruined it." Todd watched with tear filled eyes as she began to sob, moving quick to grab her as her knees gave out. He comforted her as she cried, whispering loving words to her as he rubbed her back. Todd knew that he would have to help her through this, because even the strongest of people need someone to lean on.