it imagines.

richie.

"no."
"yes."
"no."
"just admit it,"
richie said with a painted grin.
"i'm the at best dance dance revolution. better than you."
y/n sat up from her spot in the bed with him and crossed her arms.
"you're bullshitting now. sure, you're decent at pac-man, but dance dance revolution? you're out of your mind to think you're better than me."
richie laughed at his girlfriend and gave her cheek a pinch,
their bickering continuing for another few minutes until he said,
"look at you all worked up...kind of hot."
y/n blushed furiously and hid her face with her hands,
her laugh echoing in them.
"you're awful,"
she joked while he pulled her back into his chest.
the pads of his fingers stroked her back soothingly,
her head following the steady rhythms of his breaths.
"just thought you should know."
"i don't think you'd ever let me forget."
"mm, you're right,"
he agreed,
placing a kiss to the top of her head.
it was moments like these that made y/n's heart soar.
richie, when alone with her, could become the most loving person she'd ever known.
he held her with a softness that she never knew existed,
kissed her with an aggression that made her stomach fill with nerves,
and never failed to do the things he promise he'd do.
it was a love that could only be defined as pure,
except things were never pure when it came to richie.
"get your hand off my ass,"
y/n whispered into his chest,
trying to stifle her giggle as she did.
he chuckled then moved it to the small of her back,
where it laid with a perfect fit.
the two laid there in a comfortable silence,
feeling overcome by the enamor settling inside of them,
and content with their life.
until a certain closing of the front door made them both sit up straight and stare at one another with worry.
"oh my god. my moms home,"
y/n mumbled into her hands.
"really? i didn't know. i thought we left the door unlocked for some home invaders in case they got bored,"
he said with a fearful sarcasm dripping from his tone.
y/n shoved him.
"shut up! this is no time for your irritating sarcasm! get in the closet!"
"oh, yeah, sure. just hide your little old boyfriend in the closet!"
"i'll throw you out of the window, richie, i swear to god i will."
y/n shoved richie into her closet then went to greet her mother before he pulled onto her hand,
bringing her into a kiss that almost made her faint.
"i'm sorry. i love you,"
he whispered against her lips,
pressing a kiss to her nose.
"it's okay. i love you, too."
she closed the closet door and right on time,
her mother entered the room with a disapproving look in her eyes.
"hey, mom,"
y/n greeted,
sitting on the edge of her bed.
"y/n...what are you up to?"
"the usual. sitting in here, rotting away in these four walls because you won't let me leave. you?"
y/n's mother rolled her eyes in exasperation.
"where is he?"
y/n straightened a little at the question,
swallowing the fear that she was caught.
"who?"
"don't play dumb. the richie boy. i know he's here."
"he's not here."
y/n's mother made a beeline for the closet door,
tearing it open with such force,
y/n feared it'd be ripped from its hinges.
richie turned around with mock surprise,
holding an old shirt of y/n's in his hands.
"hey,"
he said awkwardly,
"found my shirt!"
y/n covered her laugh with the palm of her hand.
"y/n..."
her mother began in a grave tone.
"please meet me in the hall. we have private manners to discuss."
"maybe she'll discuss the stick stuck in her private manner,"
richie whispered softly into y/n's ear as he took a seat on her bed.
y/n swallowed her giggle and thanked god that her mother was out of earshot for the comment.
when y/n went to meet her mother in the hall,
she was standing there with frustrated fingers placed to her lips.
"why must you disobey me?"
"i didn't mean to...i just feel suffocated here alone."
"why?"
y/n tilted her head in inquiry,
trying to figure out if her mother was serious about the question.
when she realized she was,
y/n was blind with disbelief.
"because you're so stuck with this idea of me that you created. i refuse to lessen myself for you. and that means changing who i hang out with, date, or spend time with. it has nothing to do with you in the end."
"you're lessening yourself by hanging out with him!"
"you're lessening me by trying to fit me in this mold! the life you want me to live is your life, mom, and i won't be made miserable."
her mother crossed her arms and stared at her daughter in bewilderment as though she'd touched earth from some foreign planet.
"i love richie, mom. please just get over it."
"love? you don't know anything abou-"
"and neither do you. please spare me the lecture."
y/n laid a gentle hand to her mother's forearm,
a nonverbal way of an apology,
then went back into her bedroom where richie laid;
eyes flipping through the journal of art she kept.
"you're pretty talented with your hands, i must admit,"
he joked,
trying to brighten her spirit that had been dampened by her mother.
y/n smiled and rolled her eyes,
climbing back into his arms to find warmth.
richie kissed the top of her head and lingered there with a sigh.
"i don't know. i think she likes me."
"oh, yeah. your biggest fan, for sure."
the two laughed in a sort of melancholy tone that ebbed away the longer they laid together.
a town full of small minds,
begging to keep them apart.
but both richie and y/n knew their hearts were to full of love to succumb to their beliefs.
and in turn,
their love triumphed.
for years on end,
it would fill them from top to bottom and give them the encouragement they needed to better themselves.
a love created in a hateful town.
richie knew he was forever set in y/n's arms,
from now until the last blink of his eyes.