𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞

dorothea

pairing: chris beck x reader

words: 3,971 words, 4,078 words with lyrics

warnings: angst, past-high school relationship, lots of fluff, post events of the martian, CHRIS BECK JUST BEING THE SOFTEST BOY EVER

summary: in which y/n reassures chris he can always come back home to her.

Hey Dorothea

Do you ever stop and think about me?

When we were younger, down in the park

Honey, making a lark of the misery

"Y/N, you're gonna get yourself killed, Jesus Christ!"

A sixteen-year-old Chris Beck followed a fifteen-year-old Y/N L/N into the lake out behind his house, carefully trying to search for anything potentially dangerous they could step on in the dark, murky liquid while the rambunctious girl swam ahead of him, giggling while trying to keep herself afloat. They'd been watching over his baby sister when she'd thrown her rubber ball a little too hard and it landed somewhere in the lake. While Chris didn't care about the eleven-year-old's crying and whining about her stupid ball, Y/N was much too kind for that and offered to hop in the lake at nine in the morning, in March, to grab it. On second thought, her kindness was probably the reason his mom hired her as a babysitter. But regardless of what she was hired to do, she was Chris' friend, his most stubborn one at that, and now he was nearly freezing his balls off in the water in fear of his friend's safety.

"Chrissy, it ain't gonna hurt you if you swim, there's no damn alligators in the waters here." Y/N treaded water in the middle of the water, staring at the trees around them as rain lightly fell on her head. Chris finally caught up to her, breathing heavily, his arms still flailing wildly in the water while his best friend laughed at him. When she'd reluctantly stopped poking fun at him, she ducked under the water, the only indication that anything was in there being the small air bubbles that rose to the surface as she swam in a circle. Y/N popped back up with a small gasp, wiping the water out of her eyes. "I've been feeling around the water and I don't think we're gonna find Amy's ball. Oh look, she's so upset!"

Sure enough, the little girl was sat at the edge of the lake, staring at the two teens with tears in her eyes. Y/N was upset that Amy was upset, but Chris... he really couldn't care less. No, he was much too transfixed on the way droplets of water trailed down the slope of her nose and the way he was studying the column of her neck was far more than just "friendly".

"Hey, Chris?" The boy looked up, blushing that he'd been caught pretty much checking out her body less than three feet away from her, but that's when he noticed the starstruck look in her eyes, and he knew right then he was a goner. "Kiss me."

His arms wrapped around her waist in the water so elegantly, nose judging hers as she grinned, her smile wide as could be. It was awkward, extremely so for the two best friends, but when Y/N's mouth reached up to find his, their cold lips pressed against each other as her hands grasped the back of his neck, it felt right. Amy screamed loudly, as all little kids did when anyone showed affection, running inside to hide from the two enamored teens. Y/N giggled into Chris' mouth, feeling like she was meant to be in his arms all along, thanking whatever supernatural being brought them together in that moment. This was the turn in their relationship: it was a kiss that promised, "I'll be here forever".

Y/N often thought about this moment when she walked to the Becks' house. Today her heeled boots hit the sidewalk in time with the Taylor Swift song she was listening to, feeling awfully melancholic, for what, she wasn't exactly sure. Well, she was sure, but she just thought she had moved on and refused to admit it.