I Think I Love You | Randy

track 01. dreams - fleetwood mac

It's only me who wants to wrap around your dreams.

***

I'd been waiting for a lifetime for this day to come. For a while it had seemed like high school would never end, but now it was here, the beginning of a new chapter. Rye was behind the wheel, sunglasses on, the wind from the open window whipping at our hair as we sped down the motorway, leaving behind our old life to start a new one. Just like we'd planned since we were kids.

My whole body was abuzz with excitement, but I knew Rye was a little disappointed that summer had come to an end. That was understandable because it had been an amazing one. Admittedly, it began on a sour note with a rather messy break up- my boyfriend of two years realising he wasn't willing to make our relationship work if it meant driving four hours up the country every weekend- and that had been shit. But I hadn't wasted too much time wallowing in self-pity, because Rye came up with the idea of a spontaneous road trip around Spain. It began with him showing me the beautiful town near Málaga where he grew up before he moved to England and met me, and after that we went on to adventure all over the country. It was too much fun; Rye speaking in broken Spanish with the locals as we traipsed our way from beach parties in Seville to crazy nights out in Barcelona. It was tapas and flamenco and way too much sangria and, ultimately, the best summer of our lives.  

I was definitely sad to see summer go as well, but I was more than ready to start university. Because Rye and I had mapped out this part of our lives long ago, the part where we would finally leave our tiny hometown behind and become our peak adult selves. Together, of course.

I stared at Rye and let myself get lost in the moment, still hardly able to believe we were finally doing this. He had a casual hand on the staring wheel, his elbow on the other side hanging loosely out of the open window as he hummed along to the blasting music. Dreams by Fleetwood Mac was playing, his lips mouthing along to the familiar lyrics almost by habit. We always listened to seventies music when we were together. Our individual music taste didn't really overlap- Rye liked chill hip-hop and I had gotten quite into show-tunes- and this was the music our mums used to make us listen to on the radio when we were kids. We hated it back then, but grew fond of the nostalgia of it as we got older until it just became our thing.

"Andy," Rye snapped me out of my thoughts, "you're staring at me, creeper."

"You're pretty," I quipped back without hesitation, not breaking my stare or my contented smile. Once upon a time I would have turned bright red from being caught staring at him, but now it didn't even phase me, the flirting simply being a natural component to our friendship. 

"Stop it, you tart," Rye scoffed. Slagging each other off was also normal. He then smirked, because he couldn't resist a compliment. "I can't blame you, though."

"Yeah, you're no Harry Styles but I'd still go there," I joked back, causing Rye to frown.

"Why do you have to bring Harry Styles into everything these days?"

I rolled my eyes. "Uh, obvious reasons, Ryan. Harry is a god. Stop pretending you're too straight to see it." Although as much as I teased him, I did think Rye could give Harry a run for his money. He was one of those annoyingly natural beauties, all tan skin and wavy chestnut hair and easy smiles. Next to him I was incredibly pale and small.

"Well sure, he's fit, but I don't get why you're obsessed with him," Rye muttered, the jealousy in his tone amusing. "I watched the video you linked me with the fish. I didn't get it."

"That's because you're a simpleton," I sighed, shaking my head. "And uncultured," I added.

Rye looked grumpy which made me chuckle. "I think he's stupid," he said childishly.