𝐉𝐎𝐈𝐄 𝐃𝐄 𝐕𝐈𝐕𝐑𝐄, c.d.

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR | PROTECT COVE OVERSTREET
"Charlie, I'm scared." The two seniors were laying in Coves bed, their legs entangled underneath the blankets.

"No need to worry. I'll make sure nothing happens to you, Cove. I promise." The brunette girl looked up at the boy in her bed, wondering what he meant.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'll tell the guys to say that I was the one that punched Cameron. It'll be five to one, six if you go along with it." Cove furrowed her brows before softly shaking her head.

"But Char, you'll be expelled. I can't let you do that for me."

"I'd do anything for you." Cove studied the boys eyes, watching the way his eyes looked into hers. She felt like nothing else mattered anymore, because she had him.

..........

The door had opened to reveal a sad looking Charles Dalton. Cove took one look at him and knew what had happened.

"Charlie." The Overstreet girl threw her hands around him, her arms around his neck as she began to tear up. Before they were the two idiots who fell in love, they were best friends. She thought of all the things that would never happen now that he was expelled. No graduation together, no end of the year party of Brett Lewis' house, no senior decision day. All of it was thrown down the drain because of some redhead who couldn't keep his mouth shut. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I did it to protect you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let you get expelled." Charlie slowly pulled away from the girl, removing his hands from around her waist and placed them on her cheeks, cupping her jaw.

"You think I can live with myself now that you're leaving? I'm going to miss you, Char." Charlie looked from the girls eyes to her lips, leaning down swiftly to capture her lips in his. It felt different than the other kisses she had shared with boys at parties, this one was full of love. The two slowly pulled away from each other, taking in their small moment, smiling to themselves. Charlie was the first to open his eyes, wiping away Cove's tears with his thumbs.

"It'll be okay, Cove. I'll call you all the time. I promise."

"Char, you keep promising me things. How do I know you're not going to forget or break your promises?" Charlie gazed into the brunettes eyes, grinning.

"Because I love you."

..........

"Cove Overstreet." The brunette girl walked out of her room, her hands laced behind her back as she kept her head down low. Charlie had left about an hour before she was called into Nolan's office, deciding that Charlie was already too far gone to be saved. The girl walked into the office, seeing both of her parents sitting in the two seats in front of Nolan's desk.

"Ms. Overstreet."

"Mr. Nolan. Mother, father." The two adults nodded their heads at their daughter as she sat down in between them.

"I think we've pretty well put together what's happened here. You do admit to being a part of this Dead Poets Society?" Cove looked at both of her parents, sighing as she nodded her head. Mr. Nolan put his glasses on and glanced at the paper before him, removing his glasses once more. "I have here a detailed description of what occurred at your meetings. It describes how your teacher, Mr. Keating, encouraged you and a group of boys to organize this club and to use it as a source of inspiration for reckless and self- indulgent behavior. It describes how Mr. Keating, both in and out of the classroom, encouraged Neil Perry to follow his obsession with acting when he knew all along it was against the explicit order of Neil's parents. It was Mr. Keating's blatant abuse of his position as teacher that led directly to Neil Perry's death."

"That's not at all what happened. Neil wanted nothing more than his father to be proud of him. So when he began acting and his father heard, he convinced himself that it was the best choice to keep going. Mr. Keating didn't encourage him in the way you're explaining to me, Mr. Nolan. He just encouraged him to make the right choices. No one is at fault for Neil's death except his father."

"Cove Margery Overstreet! Show some manners, young lady."

"Read that document carefully, Cove. Very carefully." Cove looked at the paper, which already contained the signatures of
the five boys, including Charlie. "If you've nothing else to add or amend, sign it."

"What's gonna happen to Mr. Keating?"

"I've had enough. Sign the paper, Cove."

APOLLO SPEAKS
they kissed!?