Meet Me In The Woods

Neil

No matter how happy he was, Neil was back at Todd's bedside the moment Mr Keating - who had been tasked to scout the area - announced the coast was clear. He was very glad he didn't have to attend classes at the moment. There was no way he'd be able to focus with Todd ill in the infirmary after almost drowning. Being "dead" had its perks after all. 

Todd's condition hadn't improved by a lot, but Neil didn't stray from his bedside once. When the nurse came in to check on Todd, Neil hid behind one of the curtains separating the beds. When he got bored, he read Shakespeare's All Is True (Heinrich VIII), and at lunchtime, the other poets brought him food and stayed with them as long as they could, providing a welcome distraction. 

It was early afternoon when Neil was ripped out of his boredom by a quiet groan. Flinging his book to the side, he scrambled to Todd's side. The younger boy was trying to open his eyes, his hands gripping his forehead. Neil pried them away. 

"Whoa there, Toddy. Take it slow." 

"N-Neil?" Todd's voice was little more than a whisper. 

"Yeah, it's me", Neil whispered, laughing breathlessly with relief. 

"Hurts." 

"I know, buddy. It's all right. Don't move." 

"What- what happened?" 

Neil hesitated for a moment. "Don't worry about that right now. There's still time later." 

But Todd was insistent. 

"There... there was... snow? There was a lot of snow, and I was... I was running... Why was I running?" 

He tried to struggle into a sitting position but almost fell back down. Neil had to slip his arm behind Todd's back to keep him upright. 

"Careful, Toddy." 

"Neil, why was I running?" 

"It's not important." 

Suddenly, Todd's eyes widened in terrified understanding. His eyes filled with tears as he shivered, grabbing onto Neil's arm. His voice wobbled as he finally spoke - 

"Neil - oh my God, Neil, you -" 

Neil pulled him into a crushing hug. "Shh, it's all right, Todd, it's all right - I'm right here - It's gonna be all right -" 

Todd was gasping for breath, his tears soaking Neil's shoulder. He was shaking like a leaf, his trembling hands grabbing at Neil's sweater, digging his fingers into Neil's back. "They said - they said - Charlie - he said - Neil, they said - you'd -" 

"It's okay, Todd, it's okay, I'm okay, you're okay, Toddy, I'm here, I'm not going anywhere. We're going to be okay, Toddy, it's fine - you gotta breathe, buddy -" 

Neil kept rambling a stream of calming words into Todd's ear, trying to calm both of them. He wasn't faring much better than Todd, pulling his friend as close as he could and carding his fingers through his hair. 

Slowly, Todd's ramblings slowed until he was just holding Neil, his tears slowly ebbing away. 

"They said you killed yourself", he finally whispered, his voice breaking. 

"I ran away. But - Todd - you really almost did die. Never ever do that again, okay?" 

"Okay", Todd whispered. 

"Promise me." 

"I promise. If you promise, too." 

"I promise." 

Todd laughed a teary little laugh and pulled back, studying Neil's face as if he wanted to memorise every inch of it. 

"You're okay." 

"I'm okay." 

They laughed again, together this time, and Todd pulled Neil into another hug. 

The two of them stayed that way until Todd's head grew heavy on Neil's shoulder and he slowly slumped into the other boy's arms. 

This is Anderperry and 99% happy too, so I just had to add it. 

Also, the next chapter will be Todd's point of view and will be up in like 15 minutes, so you're welcome, nonexistent readers. 

I'm also mildly embarrassed by this chapter because it feels too sappy, but it's what's supposed to happen so I'm not about to change it. This story is honest and my account is anonymous. But please do tell me if it's too bad. (It's also my favourite chapter out of the ones already up. Don't judge.) 

Moony <3