it imagines.

richie.

"you won't do it,"
i crooned,
eyeing the kid beside me who was stripped down to his boxers.
i watched his adam's apple bob while he examined the fall.
"it's not even that big of a deal,"
he spoke with a bit of a shake in his tone.
i grinned and looked down at well,
vertigo making my head spin a little.
it would be a long jump,
a risky jump for sure,
but it seemed fun.
and that was the most important thing about a decision,
right?
how fun it would be.
"you go first."
he looked over at me with wide eyes.
i never realized how warm his eyes were when those thick lenses weren't shying them away.
"you."
"no, you."
i rolled my eyes and with a deep breath,
took his hand into mine and jumped.
i pulled him along before he could argue,
listening to the sounds of his cry echo as he went down.
"what the fuck!"
we hit the water,
becoming swallowed by the icy blue lake that chilled our once sweltering skin.
i felt his hand rip from mine,
and i forced my eyes open in fear he'd gotten swept away.
when we surfaced,
i watched him trudge away and onto the bank.
i followed with a loud whoop leaving my lips,
adrenaline still washing over me.
"that was fun!"
i cheered.
"fuck off."
the words fell over me and made me frown with confusion.
"what? you're mad?"
"yeah, i'm mad! i didn't want to go down like that! holding your hand like some-some little kid!"
i hid the smile forming against my lips then inched closer to him,
laying my hands against his shoulder.
"i'm sorry. i thought it would be cute, you know? going down together. but if i embarrassed you, i apologize."
his eyes held mine for a moment,
and his angry exterior melted.
he sighed,
rolled his eyes,
then brought me closer to him by my waist.
"well, when you say it like that..."
"yeah, you had fun, didn't you?"
i teased,
giggling into our kiss.
richie sank his teeth into my bottom lip carefully before pulling back.
"it's impossible to not have fun around you."
"glad you're aware."
every nerve in my body was numb with love.
richie held me in his arms as we sunbathed,
and our laughs were loud and true.
there would be no love like the one richie and i created.
it was full of adrenaline, full of zeal that we lacked in our normal lives,
and it was ours.