The Outsiders Lyric Imagines

"Pretend" B. Merril

"...Can we pretend that you leave him and we can be more than friends?..."

[Pretend by Goody Grace]

You were helping Buck clean up after one of his parties, something you tried to do often. Buck was an old high school boyfriend but now, he was just a friend. It was sort of an explosive breakup, considering any and everyone gave you and him your two bits about the relationship. Some of your soc friends said he wasn't good enough for you, and some of his greaser friends told him you were just tricking him. Eventually, it just exploded in a nasty breakup. After several years of not seeing each other, you bumped into each other and decided to just be friends again. That was three years ago, now you two are just as close as you were before you dated and you both enjoyed it.

He looked up after putting a handful of empty bottles into a trash bag "how's Victor?" You looked up from the table you were clearing and shrugged half-heartedly "he's alright, same old same old." He nodded, tying the trash bag shut and setting it by the door before mumbling "good to hear he's in good health." You looked back down, putting more beer cans in the trash bag "I was sorry to hear about you and Riley, you two seemed great together." He gave a half-hearted shrug "it's fine, things had been on edge for a while."

The two of you kept cleaning up the seemingly endless amount of empty beer bottles, beer cans, and other miscellaneous trash.  After a few minutes, you thought you heard him mumble something under his breath but when you only heard silence afterward you ignored it. Ten or so minutes later, you were certain you heard him say something "what was that Buck?" He just looked over at you, directly into your eyes "fuck your high-class friends, they're the reason I lost you. Fuck your new boyfriend, he doesn't deserve you." After setting the bag down, you looked at him seriously "Buck, what do you mean my friends are the reason?"

Buck groaned heavily "do you know how many times they told me you could do better? How many times they tried to set you up with other socs? How many times they just generally tried to get me out of your life?" Your semi-harsh stare softened "why didn't you tell me about everything they said to you?" He gave a halfhearted shrug and sat down at his bar "it'd be my word against their's, I didn't have any proof of what they said." You strode over to where he sat and wrapped your arms around him from behind, setting your head on his shoulder "I would've believed you, Buck, you should have known that."

He looked up at you with a look that could only be described as sadness mixed with some anger, some bitterness, and slight resentment "I bet Victor doesn't know the things I know." You smiled some "of course he didn't, I've only known him for a few months, I've known you for years." Even if it was something simple, it made Buck happy knowing he knew things your own boyfriend didn't.

The two of you sat down on his couch; your head on his shoulder and his arm around you "also, I'm sorry I doubted you when you told me your parents were insane nutcases." You laughed softly "they met you one time and afterward they only talked about how you needed to act your age." He ran his fingers through his hair, his smile faltering sightly "yeah, I guess I was a little childish." You smiled reassuringly at him "I liked that about you, and I still do."

"I really missed you those years you were gone," he said simply, lightly twirling a strand of your hair around his finger. You smiled up at him "I missed you too, I think we both just needed a cooling off period after all that crap went down." He nodded some, understandingly. It may have been a really messy breakup, but there was something that pulled the two of you together again. Almost hesitantly, Buck leaned down as kissed you gently. It didn't take much for the kiss to escalate into something more heated, and that led to a whole night of events that stirred up a plethora of memories.

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Waking up the next morning with his arm wrapped around your bare waste was something you missed more than you realized. Instinctively, you snuggled into his chest and closed your eyes again. You only enjoyed the moment for a few minutes before you started to feel the overwhelming guilt on what'd you done. 

Victor might've been a somewhat crappy boyfriend, but he didn't deserve to have someone who was sleeping around behind his back, even if he'd done it once before. You started to get out of bed, only to be pulled back down "where're you goin'?" You looked back at Buck who was slightly more than half awake "I've got to get home, Buck, you know that." He groaned quietly and sat up "can't you stay here and pretend he ain't your boyfriend?" You merely shook your head "Buck, you know I can't do that." Buck groaned again but motioned over to his phone.

After dialing his home number, you leaned against the wall and waited for an answer. "Hello?" A very tired and very feminine voice answered. You furrowed your brows, knowing damn well he lived alone and didn't have any female siblings. You heard his muffled voice on the other line "dammit Madison, I told you not to answer it. Hello?" You rolled your eyes and simply said "it's over" and hung up. You got back into Buck's bed, well into his lap. The guilt you had before was gone as soon as you hung up. You grinned happily at him "how about instead of pretending I left him, we pretend he never fucking existed and we pick up where we left off?" Buck wrapped his arms around you in a lazy embrace with that bright grin you loved "sounds good to me."

Now, there was no more pretending, you were with someone who knew you like the back of their hand and made you happy. Buck Merril was the only one for you, though somehow, you always knew that. He'd always had a special place in your heart and could never be replaced.