outerbanks imagines.

seven years later-rafe

the last time i had seen y/n l/n,
i was ten years old.
y/n hadn't just randomly decided to stop being my friend one day,
she just disappeared.
i can still remember the last day we spent together.
i find that chills corrupt my body whenever i think of it,
recalling how the winter air brushed our cheeks and turned us into shivering bundles of giggles.
"your nose is so red!"
y/n exclaimed with her index finger pointed to my nose,
deep crimson and numb.
i couldn't help but laugh along with her at the sight of it;
her laughter was entirely contagious,
even then.
"come on, y/n. your hands are going to freeze off if you don't move,"
i said before reaching for her wrist.
her skin was soft and frigid under the warmth of my palm,
having been protected from the cold by my mittens until then.
y/n and i trailed to my house,
where we would find entertainment in shaking the presents under the tree, gulping down mass amounts of hot chocolate, and ignoring our homework.
i walked her home that same night and noticed the snow falling into her eyelashes.
it was a sight to see,
both the snow and her beauty.
i had always been an avid admirer of y/n;
her biggest fan.
"don't eat any yellow snow,"
y/n warned me with a gentle giggle,
ending our lively day with a hug.
the next day,
i waited for hours by her front door to walk to her to school,
like our daily routine called for,
but she never came out.
y/n and her family had upped and moved that very day.

"what are you smiling about?"
i was forced back into the present,
eyes coming back into focus.
i hadn't realized all my friends were looking at me with curious expressions now.
my cheeks began to tingle with heat.
"what? nothing. what do you want?"
i heard a small laugh from my side,
but ignored it to prevent further embarrassment on my end.
"party, tonight. you in?"
kelce offered with a mischievous grin,
which only meant drinking more than half our body weight in beer.
"yeah, i'll be there,"
i said with a shrug.
the party scene was beginning to grow repetitive.
there was no more real fun at these parties,
only the escape and comfort of alcohol.
but i had nothing better to do.

"quarters?"
i looked up to see an old friend standing before me,
a genial smile pressed against her lips.
i returned the smile and followed her to the table where a single cup was placed,
along with a quarter.
we spent longer than we intended playing,
just glad to have company in one another.
i knew the girl sought the company of her recent ex-lover,
but after their breakup,
i was glad she still found comfort in our friendship.
what i yearned for?
i really didn't know.
finally,
our game was over after she complained all our laughing was beginning to give her a headache.
and at that moment,
my phone began vibrating in my pocket.
the number was unknown,
but i felt an inclination to answer.
"hello?"
"hey? is this rafe?"
the voice,
for whatever reason may be,
made my heart crawl into my throat.
"y-yeah. who is this?"
there was a laugh there that sounded familiar.
so familiar,
that it made my body run numb.
no way..
"i'm out by the swings if you want to come see me. it's been, what? seven years?"
my hand fell to my side and i immediately made way to where i knew the swings would be.
there was a thundering in my heart that spiked my adrenaline and riled my nerves.
surely,
this was a joke.
it had to be.
but here i stood,
staring at y/n l/n.
seven years later.
it was like setting sights on a ghost after being weary of its existence for so long;
y/n's memory had never faded from my mind,
but for all i'd known,
she was gone.
"wow. are you always this silent?"
there was a grin pulling at her lips that sent a blossoming of heat inside my chest.
i exhaled a laugh and shook my head.
"i'm just...so surprised."
y/n got up from the swing,
bringing light to her true beauty.
i could feel my knees growing weak at the sight.
the y/n i remembered,
short, keeping to one hairstyle, and wore the most colorful clothing,
had become somewhat of a stranger.
but there were still traces of that harmless girl in her bright eyes.
it was her tell;
i knew it was truly my old friend, y/n l/n.
she was irresistible,
the kind of beauty people spend centuries trying to translate into their art.
i searched her for an inkling of flaw,
but i knew no matter how hard i searched,
the muse before me would forever be winsome;
ethereal perfection.
all i could do was drink her in.
i was shocked at the transformation of her.
every word i went to say suddenly didn't seem worthy enough to be spoken aloud.
it was the kind of beauty that was entirely her own.
it wasn't faux or something she had to try at,
it was natural and untaught.
i could go on for hours about y/n.
and after tonight,
i just might.
"come here, you big dork,"
y/n finally said after minutes of silence,
meeting me in the middle for a hug.
how perfect it seemed,
that our bodies felt molded to hold one another;
as though during our creation,
we had been carved and chiseled to hold each other without flaw.
there had been a part of me missing that i hadn't realized until now.
when y/n and i were together again,
the darkest part of myself was finally seeing light.
"are you-are you back for good?"
"yeah,"
y/n answered as she pulled back,
her eyes beginning to linger on every inch of me.
i felt heat make itself at home in my cheeks at this,
hoping i was cleaned up enough to meet her standards.
i chuckled at this;
hardly an hour being by her side again and i was already stressing about the trivial.
"what..what happened? how did you just...move in one night?"
"your parents never told you?"
i furrowed my eyebrows together in inquiry.
"told me what?"
"my mom left us...so my dad packed the house that same day and we went north. i figured it'd be the talk of the island for a while.."
my mouth fell agape at this,
feeling a slight depletion in the excitement thrumming inside of me.
i remembered there being a time where y/n raved about her mother,
always creating art projects for her and titling them:
"for mom: my best friend."
i realized that i never truly knew what happened to her after i dropped her off for the day.
she had been a loving girl yearning for her mother's acceptance.
"i'm so sorry, y/n."
"it's alright. i was ten. old news, you know?"
she spoke as nonchalantly as she could,
but i could see the squaring in her shoulders;
nonverbally saying she cared still.
i went to reach out for her,
not being able to stop myself now that i had her perfumed scent clouding my mind,
and threaded my fingers with hers.
the alchemy forming between us,
the air becoming thick with static,
made my heart race all over again.
"hey..let's go to the beach and look for crabs like we used to."
y/n let out a loud laugh that reverberated well inside of me.
it was still just as contagious and light as i remembered it.
the walk to the beach was short,
but y/n and i talked the whole way.
she caught me up on her life since departing the outerbanks,
showing a fiery and animated side to her that i was beginning to fall for all over again.
and when it was my turn to speak,
she listened without fail.
it felt like a burden being lifted off my shoulders when i walked beside her.
it felt freeing to talk about anything other than partying and getting inebriated to waste the summer.
y/n was lighthearted company;
exactly what i yearned for,
after all this time being blind to it.
when we reached the beach,
we began scouring for crabs that often burrowed themselves in the sand.
all we could do was laugh and relish in the salty air surrounding us.
"oh!"
i cheered jokingly,
picking up a found crab carefully.
"here's your prince charming, y/n!"
the crab inched closer to y/n's face than she was willing to accept,
making her launch back and exhale a giggled scream.
"you're awful,"
she said after we finished laughing,
our stomachs tight and eyes watering.
i tried to ignore the nerves rising in my body when she nudged me,
but they only blossomed with each step by her side.
"i'm glad to be back here with you, rafe. i thought about you everyday while i was gone."
"me too, y/n. i was sure i'd never see you again."
y/n stood still,
planting her feet into the sand to stare off into the ocean.
she closed her eyes,
inhaled deeply,
and fell content.
it gave me a moment to admire her all over again.
she was a sight i'd never grow tired of seeing.
y/n would surprise me every time my eyes laid themselves on her.
she was the epitome of divinity.
"come on. let's go for a swim."
y/n reached for my hand,
sending a wave of thrill throughout my body in response.
we waded ourselves out until our bodies were submerged,
leaving only our heads above the surface of the water.
just when i thought y/n couldn't possibly become more ravishing to look at,
she proved me wrong again.
the moon circling in her alluring eyes along with the strands of wet hair clinging to her skin made me shiver.
was it humanely possible to be this beautiful?
"rafe?"
"yeah?"
y/n pulled on my shirt sleeve that was currently wet and pinned against my skin,
bringing me closer to her.
my breath got caught in my throat at this close proximity,
though i couldn't lie:
i loved it and found a craving to be closer.
"this feels...right, doesnt it?"
"i can't think of a single thing that feels better than this, y/n,"
i said while bringing a hand to her cheek,
caressing her skin that was dotted with ocean water.
droplets remained in her eyelashes,
reminding me of that fateful winter day.
how blissful it felt to be here after so long apart.
there had been a love inside of me,
curating for years,
waiting for y/n's return.
i hadn't understood it then,
having been so young and naive,
but now...
it all made sense.
everything that ever happened to us had chipped us until our stories fit together again.
and this time,
we were bound to stay side by side.
y/n slowly inched in towards me,
making my heart rumble in anticipation.
when our lips met,
i felt the world around me close in and focus on her.
only her.
i had been blessed with the company of a girl who taught me more about life than i could have learned alone,
and i would spend forever thanking the gods above for shaping this wondrous relationship;
my best friend and lover,
all found in one.
what a lucky man i was and will always be.