DRESS || ( charlie dalton )

xiii. of theathers and rumors

˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙

DRESS
(( — DEAD POETS SOCIETY — ))

—chapter xiii: of theaters and rumors

LORAINE SPEND THE morning of the next day, accompanying neil to his rehearsal. the theatre was bigger than she had anticipated, making her gasp.

"wow, neil" she muttered, squeezing his arm "so many people are going to come see you"

"i know" neil laughed and loraine swore she could hear a bit of nervousness in his voice.

neil and loraine watched in awe how the people on stage rehearsed their parts, excited so see what was to come.

they were still laughing and experiencing utter disbelief when they came back home. just hearing the bell declare it was time for dinner.

they had to get changed before that though.

"i have some ribbons my mother packed for you" neil said, before they were able to part ways "i'll just give them to you now"

"that's nice of her" loraine wanted to say more, but the next thing out of her mouth was a gasp, as neil opened the door and revealed his father.

"father" he muttered surprised at the unexpected visit.

mr perry noticed loraine behind his son and smiled at her. "hello, lori" he greeted, standing up and patting her shoulder.

mr perry was often unfair to his son. loraine had grown to be accustomed to it over the years. but ever since they had been born her and neil had been inseparable.

they spend nearly every day with each other and much to everyone's surprise the parents of the duo were fond of their friendship.

mr perry thought that loraine was a good influence on his boy, making her welcome every day in the perry household. he wasn't a fan of silly nicknames but he had never called loraine anything else than lori. making loraine wonder what was so different about her nickname.

mr perry had always secretly hoped that through his acceptance and support, neil and loraine would some day get married. she would be a great wife and her family came from old money, her father leading one of the best schools in the country.

"hello, mr perry" loraine tried to smile, trying to upkeep innocence and confusion, even though she could think of a few reasons why he was here

"would you mind leaving us alone for a second, sweetheart?" mr perry asked

loraine didn't particularly like mr perry, especially because of the things he would do to neil, limiting his experiences and not giving him a choice. but it was hard to hate him too, he was still nice to her, never giving her a reason for mistrust.

she found it hard to pinpoint if he was a bad father or if he just made hard decisions for neil. she knew that he cared about his son, and sometimes he chose the wrong way to make his caring known to him.

"of course" loraine nodded, leaving the room. she thought about listening in on the conversation, but she knew that whatever was being discussed was not her concern. and neil could tell her if he wanted.

she quickly got out of her clothes, changing into another dress. something for inside and a bit less formal.

luckily, she had thought of informing her father of her late coming, making up something about the bible group organizing a special meet up.

neil's knock on her door was soft, indicating that whatever neil's father had said, wasn't good.

when she opened the door, he looked a bit shaken up.