tick tock

four

billie and i walk for a few minutes, our fingers intertwined and our breathing nearly silent. we come across a small creek that looked just deep enough to go up to our ankles, maybe even to our knees in the middle, and i look over at billie.

billie's silver hair was hanging in her face, so i brush it back slowly. she leans into my touch as my fingers brush over her cheek, and a soft smile spreads across my lips. she looks down at the water in front of us before looking back at me. 

i can practically see the gears grinding in her head.

"wanna walk the creek?" she asks playfully, tugging her shoes off. "i'm pretty sure it leads to a swimming hole just down the way." she says, pointing in the opposite direction of where the water was streaming. 

"i'm down," i say softly, tugging my sneakers and socks off. i look over at her and pout softly, motioning to my jeggings. "my jeggings will get wet, though."

"i'm pretty sure i have some more at my place," she says, shrugging her shoulders as she tightened the string on her gym shorts. "mine might be too big for you, though,"

i sigh deeply, attempting to pull the material up my legs. however, the jean material burned as it rubbed against my skin, not wanting to stretch at all. i groan in frustration and crossed my arms over my chest. 

"they wont roll up like i want them to."

billie giggles at my facial expression and walks over, pressing a swift kiss to my forehead. my cheeks burn at the sensation and my neck jerks slightly. "just take 'em off then, viv - there's nothing wrong with it."

i shrug slightly, my neck and chest likely turning red with nervous rosacea. i look down at the hem of my jeggings and sigh to myself, muttering a soft "motherfucker," before sliding the jeggings down my legs and folding them neatly, setting them on a flat rock away from the water. 

billie looks over at me and grins. I look down at my bare legs and chew on my bottom lip, feeling nothing but her eyes on me.

"come on, viviana," she says softly, lacing her fingers between mine and tugging on my arm. "let's start walking."

I nod at her words and smile to myself, ignoring the jerk of my neck that threatens to come with anxiety.

"have you lived here your whole life?" I speak over the sound of the water trickling downstream.

she nods, her lip curling upward slightly. "yeah, it kinda sucks - but I have some friends, at least."

"do you live around here?" I ask, my thumb absentmindedly rubbing against her skin.

she shakes her head and stares at her bare feet as we move through the smooth rocks beneath the ankle deep water. "nah, I live over in highland park."

I nod slightly, pretending I know where that is. looking up at the cirrus cloud covered sky, a smile to myself and squeeze billies hand. "it's so pretty here."

"I know," she says with a grin, her tongue darting out to run over her bottom lip. "I come here almost every day, especially when my ticks get too intense."

"you dont have to answer," I begin, my eyes scanning over her features slowly. "but how are you so casual about your ticks?"

she let's out a soft scoff, shaking her head slightly. "i hate my ticks," she runs her free hand through her messy hair. "I feel like they make me weak - so that's why, most of the time, I dont show any emotion. I numb myself until I cant even feel anything. when I dont feel anything, I dont tick."

I nod in understanding, my eyes averting to the small cave in the distance. "look," I say softly, pointing over at it. "we made it."

she wraps her arm around my shoulder and grins, poking my cheek with her finger. "I'll race you there."

not a second after the last word left her full lips, she was lifting her legs up dramatically as she runs through the water. I follow after her quickly, the water level rising to just below my knees.

I run through the water, loud giggles leaving my lips as I fall into billie just outside of the cave. she wraps her arms around my waist as both of us fall into the now waist deep water, a laugh leaving her own lips.

my head goes under the clear water momentarily as I try to stand back up, and once i can feel the warm California air on my skin once again, I open my eyes and grin to myself.

"that was great," I say breathlessly, rubbing the creek water out of my eyes.

she nods in agreement, her hand reaching up to push my curly hair out of my face. "it may have been fun, but I won far and square."