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cameronsactivities · 1 year

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Anderperry Week 2023, Day 6

(Proposal)

Romantics' Antics

“Todd, what’s your opinion on gay marriage?” Neil asked.

Todd looked up from his poetry in confusion. “I am gay?” He shut his notebook, flabbergasted. “We are a gay couple?”

“So you support it,” Neil said with no poorly-concealed smirk or other sign that he was pulling some elaborate joke.

“Yes— Neil, what do you want?” Todd sighed in exasperation.

“That’s interesting, Todd. I’ll keep that in mind.” Neil resumed reading his book and ignored all further attempts to get him to elaborate on his antics.

Todd shook his head and got up to ransack Neil’s closet for a sweater, as the autumnal chill had begun worming its way into their apartment. When he unfolded a particular green sweater, a small black box tumbled out — a ring box. Todd’s heart rate began to climb. What had he just stumbled upon? He replaced the sweater and the box, trying his best not to smile or laugh.

***

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Neil said, looking stunning with his sunglasses pushed up onto his head and his shirt ruffling in the breeze like a young sailor’s. He had booked a romantic ferry trip down the Hudson River, and they were watching the sunset on the stern of the ship.

“It is,” Todd agreed, watching the warm sun rays stain the muddy river orange.

“I’ve got really good news for you.”

“What is it?” Todd gripped the ship’s railing tighter in anticipation.

Neil smiled. “I got a role in a TV show!” he exclaimed. “It’s a medical drama loosely based on Sherlock Holmes.”

“Really?” Todd said, simultaneously relieved and slightly miffed. His disappointment did nothing to contain his excitement for Neil, though. “That’s amazing!” he said, pulling Neil into a hug.

***

Todd examined his reflection, a few shirts and jackets already tossed over the bed. Neil had, out of the blue, invited him to dinner. Although it was cliche to propose at a restaurant, he couldn’t stop thinking about the ring box he had chanced upon a few weeks ago.

“Are you ready?” Neil asked, cracking the door ajar.

“Am I overdressed?” Todd had no idea what kind of venue they were going to, and hoped his simple suit would suffice.

“I think it’s great.”

“I feel like I wear blue too much.”

“Only because it looks amazing on you.”

Todd took his eyes off the mirror and turned to Neil, giving him a chaste kiss. “Let’s go.”

During dinner, his mind was taken off the ring box when they started recounting their Welton memories and favorite poems. It was only later that night, when Todd was lying next to Neil in bed, that he thought of it again, wondering if he should buy a ring and do it himself.

***

“I love you, Todd.”

“Mm-hm,” Todd responded without looking up from his book, as the phrase had become no less common than the sound of the coffee grinder in the Perry-Anderson household.

“Would you spend the rest of your life with me?”

“Yes, Neil. We established that a long time ago.”

“Okay.”

Todd felt something hit his shoulder, and found the black ring box in his lap. “What is this?” he said with a chuckle.

“A proposal.”

“I know, but now?” They were both in sweatshirts and jeans, in the middle of their living room, reading by sunlight as they often did.

“When else?”

“I don’t know, someplace more romantic,” Todd complained, or at least he pretended to. “You’re sitting on the couch.”

“Was it Oscar Wilde who wrote ‘romance is in the uncertainty?’” Neil said ambiguously.

Todd shrugged. “The poets are going to be so upset when I tell them you proposed on some random Saturday, especially Charlie.”

“Is it some random Saturday though?”

Todd tried to recall any important dates in September. “Is today the anniversary of when we started junior year at Welton?”

Neil grinned. “It is.”

“I knew it!” Todd exclaimed, casting his book aside. “I knew it! I knew you there was some sentimental logic behind this. Keating taught us too well; you’re still a romantic!”

Neil laughed at Todd’s agitation. “I think you’ll be disappointed when you open the ring box, then.”

Todd had been so worked up about the mundaneness of the proposal he had forgotten to open the box. When he did, he found no ring — only a scrap of paper that said, “Marry me?”

“Neil.” Todd stared into Neil’s eyes, which were filled to the brim with unsounded hysterical laughter. “Did you even plan this out?”

“Yes, of course. Why do you think I put the box next to your favorite green sweater?”

Todd’s jaw dropped, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. “You conspired with Charlie, didn’t you? I honestly cannot believe you did this to me. Neil!” Todd got up and chased Neil around the room, just like they did when they were younger, laughter in both of their mouths like lollipops.

They stopped each other with a kiss. “Wait. You didn’t say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ yet,” Neil said.

Todd laughed. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“I want to hear you say it.”

Todd cleared his throat. “Neil. Thank you for ruining the one and only proposal I will ever experience. Even if you don’t think it’s romantic, romance tends to find its way to you anyway. And I gladly accept it.”

#anderperry week 2023 #anderperry #todd anderson #neil perry #dead poets society #dps #proposal #really rushed tbh i could have expanded it more #but i am tired and i have not started tomorrow's post yet #curse myself for trying to subvert the genre #me and my silly rhyming titles

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justarandompjofan · 1 year

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Anderperry Week 2023

Day 7 - AU/Freeday

This is my dps Importance of Being Earnest AU! I wrote out the first act in detail, but left the other two acts as a summary.

Cast:

Jack: Neil

Gwendolyn: Todd

Algy: Charlie

Cecily: Cameron

Chasuble: Pitts

Prism: Meeks

Bracknell: Mrs. Anderson

Lane: Knox

Merriman: Stick

Mr. Charles Dalton lived in a well furnished and rather outlandish flat on Half Moon Street, one of the nicer in the state of Vermont. He was a carefree man, of the age of 23. He lived frivolously and for pleasure. It was a bright May morning when he discovered the most incredible news of his life. He walked out into the parlor where his butler, Knox, had laid out tea and cucumber sandwiches for Mrs. Anderson.

He cleared his throat, “Did you hear what I was playing, Knox?”

“I didn’t think it polite to listen, sir.”

“I pity you, then. I don’t play accurately, anyone can play accurately, but I play with expression. That is where the true passion of music is.”

“Yes sir.” There was a knock at the door, startling the both of them. Charles waved his hand for Knox to get the door, and when he returned, his dearest friend Ernest Perry was standing beside him.

“Charlie! My fellow, how have you been?”

“As usual, my good friend. I have hardly seen you since our dinner, where have you been?”

“The country.”

Charles grimaced, “What on earth do you do there?”

“When one is in town, one entertains oneself, when one is in the country, one entertains others. It is horribly boring.”

“Who do you entertain?”

“Oh, just neighbors.”

“Have you nice neighbors in Shropshire?”

“Perfectly horrid, I never speak to one of them.” Charles frowned, but didn't have time to question before Ernest continued, “Well, who is coming to tea.?”

“Simply Mrs. Anderson and Todd.”

Ernest grinned, “How splendid.”

“But you know that she will not approve of your being here?”

“And why ever not?”

“Ernest, the way you flirt with Todd is perfectly horrid. It is almost as bad as how he flirts with you.”

“I have come up to see Todd. In fact, I am here to propose.”

Charles shook his head, “Proposing is such a waste. Besides, I do not think you will ever marry Todd.”

“And why is that?”

“For starters, men never marry those they flirt with. Second, I do not give my consent.”

“Your consent?” Neil laughed, “Why have I got to have your consent?”

“My dear fellow, his family is practically mine. And third, you must first clear up the question of Richard.”

Neil froze, “Richard? I’m afraid I do not know anyone of that name. Richard, was it?” As Charles produced Neil’s cigarette case, the gears in Neil’s brain began to turn. “Do you mean to tell me you have that this whole time? I wish to goodness you had let me know.”

“Well, yes, but I suppose it couldn’t be yours.”

“Well, of course it is.”

“This cigarette case is a gift from someone named Richard, but you said you didn’t know anyone of that name.”

“If you must know…Richard is my uncle.”

“But why does your uncle call himself ‘little Richard'?”

“My dear, Charlie, some uncles are tall, some are small. Surely that is something an uncle can decide for himself.”

“Then why does your small uncle call you his uncle? ‘From little Ricahrd, with love, to Uncle Neil.’ Besides, your name isn’t Neil, it’s Ernest.”

“It isn’t Ernest, it’s Neil.”

“You are about the most Ernest person I have ever seen,” Charles said, getting in return, a punch in the shoulder. “It is perfectly absurd saying your name isn’t Ernest.”

“In the city, my name is Ernest, but in the country it is Neil. For in the country, I am the guardian of Richard Cameron after the death of his grandfather, who took me in. He calls me uncle for motives of respect that you could not understand. And because being a guardian is taxing on the mind, I have invented a brother named Ernest who lives in the city, who gets into horrible scrapes.”

Charlie broke into a grin, “I always suspected you were a Bunburyrist!”

“A what?”

“A Bunburyist! You have made up a brother to get to the city, and I have a friend named Bunbury who I use to get out of events, like dinner with Mrs. Anderson tonight, for instance. I should like to meet this Richard.”

“And I shall make sure you never do. He is excessively handsome and only just eighteen.”

“Have you told Todd that you have a ward who is excessively handsome and only just eighteen?”

Neil rolled his eyes, “It does not matter, Todd and Richard are bound to love each other. In fact, I bet that they will call each other brothers within an hour of meeting.”

“My dear friend, people only call each other brothers when they have called each other plenty of other things first.”

There was a knock at the door, and shortly after Knox entered with Mrs. Anderson and Todd.

Charlie smiled at him, “You look rather smart, Todd.”

“I am always smart, aren’t I, Ernest?”

“You are perfect, Todd,” Neil said, walking closer to him.

“Alright!” Mrs. Anderson exclaimed. “I apologize for our lateness, Charles.”

“No worries, Mrs. Anderson.”

She shot Neil a distasteful look, “Charles, I am delighted to be dining with you tonight.”

“I am very sorry, Mrs. Anderson, my dear friend Mr. Bunbury has fallen ill and I must see him tonight.”

“He is falling ill far too often these days. Charles, please ask him to not fall ill this Saturday. I need your assistance with writing a piano piece for myself.”

“Of course, Mrs. Anderson. Can I offer to assist in the drawing room at this moment?”

“Alright. Todd, follow me.”

“Yes, mama,” he responded, but he did not go. Instead, once Charles and his mother were gone, he turned to Neil.

Neil adjusted his cuffs, “Lovely weather, isn’t it, Todd?”

“I hate when people talk about the weather when they have something else to say.”

“Well, I do have something else to say.”

“I suspected so. I am always right in such matters.”

He cleared his throat, “Todd, since the moment I met you, I knew that-”

“Ernest, I knew I was destined to love you even before we met.”

“In-in what way?”

“Well, I hope you will not laugh at me, but it was always a childhood of mine to love a man named Ernest. Ernest is the most wonderful name, it was a certain music to it. It…produces vibrations.”

“Do you mean to tell me that you could not love me if my name was something else? Neil, for instance?”

“Neil is quite a boring name. I have known many Neils and they have all been exceptionally plain. It produces absolutely no vibrations. Ernest is the only real safe name.”

Neil whispered to himself, “I must be christened immediately…”

“Hm?”

“We must be married immediately!”

“But we have not spoken of marriage yet. You have not proposed.”

“Could I propose now?” “Absolutely,” he said, sitting down on the nearest chair.

He knelt down on one knee, “Todd Anderson will you marry me?”

“Of course, my dear Mr. Perry.” And at that moment, Mrs. Anderson returned.

“Mr. Perry! Get up from that horrid position!”

Todd stood up, “I am engaged to Ernest, mama!”

She gasped, “Get in the carriage, Todd. I must speak to Mr. Perry alone.” Todd reluctantly left, casting one more look at Neil.

“Mr. Perry, what is your income?” “Between 7 and 8 a year.”

“That is satisfactory. And your home?”

“I have a country home and a flat in Belgrave Square.”

She wrinkled her nose, “We shall see about Belgrave Square. Now, are both your parents living?”

“I have lost both my parents, ma’am.”

“To lose one parent, Mr. Perry shows misfortune, to lose two looks like carelessness. Who was your father?”

“I do not know. I said I lost my parents but it would be more accurate to say that…they lost me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I was discovered my Mr. Thomas Cameron, in…in a handbag.”

“A handbag??”

“Yes, on his way to Perry. It was a black, plain handbag at the Victoria Station given in mistake for his own.”

She stood quickly, “Mr. Perry! You can hardly expect me to allow my son to marry into a parcel and join with a train station! Good day!”

A few minutes later, Neil’s somberness was interrupted by Todd running in, “Ernest! I fear we may never be together. Will you write down your country address for me? I may have to do something drastic.”

“I love you very much, Todd. I shall do what I can to win your mother’s affections.”

He grasped his hands, “And so you shall. For the moment, I shall write to you every day. I intend to marry you, Ernest, I do.”

“And so you shall.”

If you want to know what happens next, read The Importance of Being Earnest or just read my recap below.

Charlie finds Richard and woos him, pretending to be Neil’s brother, Ernest Perry, whom he has already been in love with. Charlie then proposes to Richard, and he accepts, admitting that he knew he could only ever marry an Ernest. He is smitten with Richard and arranges to be christened, as Neil had arranged for half an hour before. Charlie then proposes to Richard, and he accepts. While Mr. Pitts and Dr. Meeks are in the garden, Neil arrives, telling them of his brother, Ernest’s, sudden death in Paris. When he sees Charlie with Richard, he confronts him in private and tells him that he cannot be there. Meanwhile, Richard and Todd meet and argue, both convinced they are engaged to Ernest Perry. When they find out from Charlie and Neil that neither of them are Ernest, and that Ernest does not exist, they leave, calling each other brother. Charlie and Neil follow them and admit the truth, and that they only lied to be able to meet them and be with them. Once told that they are both being christened with the name of Ernest, the other two are consoled and they fall into each other’s arms. However, at that moment, Mrs. Anderson arrives and questions Neil about his ward. Once she has approved of the marriage between Richard and Charlie, Neil says he refuses to give his consent unless she gives her towards his marriage with Todd. Suddenly, Dr. Meeks and Mr. Pitts arrive, and it is revealed that Mr. Pitts was the man who left baby Neil in the handbag, revealing to Mrs. Anderson that Neil is actually Charlie’s elder brother. Both engagements are permitted, Dr. Meeks and Mr. Pitts admit their feelings for one another, and it is revealed that Neil’s actual name was Ernest all along. He ends it by saying that he finally understands the importance of being earnest.

#anderperry april 2023 #anderperry week 2023 #anderperry #todd anderson #Neil Perry #charlie dalton #Richard Cameron #knox overstreet #steven meeks #gerard pitts #the importance of being earnest

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