-𝑓𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 - 𝑚𝑖𝑑90𝑠 -

NINE

❤︎

ruben's pov

yet another morning of picking salem up at her door to go skate at motorz after school. except today, i have different plans for us.

"hey, ruby. why's your backpack so full," salem asked as she observed it from in front of me.
"you'll see," i said as i grabbed her hand and pulled her along with me.
"follow me!"

we skated to the train station, buying tickets and quickly getting onto the right train before it left us behind.
"so, you gonna tell me where the hell you're taking me," she asked with a small giggle in her voice. i smirked.
"it's a surprise, yo! just wait, i think you'll like it," i said as i placed my stuffed backpack next to me.

i've never taken anyone to the place we're going, it used to be somewhere i would go only when i needed a bit of peace of mind. but, i feel like salem deserves to be the only exception for this. she's my closest friend, anyway. plus, this train ride is a lot more fun when i get to stare at her as she looks out the window.

it only took 20 minutes, including stops, to get to our destination. i took her hand in mine again as we got off the train, running through the terminal and out the main entrance.

we were in a small town, but i already knew the way to the actual place i wanted to go.
"follow me," i said as i began to skate down the long road.

ten minutes of slowly leaving the populated area on our boards and surprisingly salem hasn't gotten tired. it wasn't a hot day, at least.

once we'd gotten to the absolute middle of nowhere, i stopped my board and began to walk into the massive field of grass.
"ruby, where're you going," she shouted after me as she ran after me. i smiled to myself as i kept walking toward the biggest tree in the middle of the field.

"we're here, salem," i smiled to her as i dropped my backpack and board under the shade. she looked around, curiosity and confusion still written all over her face. she dropped her own backpack and board next to mine as she wandered off a bit, i took the opportunity to set everything up.

"woaah, i didn't know california had forests," she said, surprised as she looked toward the huge group of trees that surrounded the field.
"yeah, took me a while to find out as well," i said, walking towards her. she turned to look up at me and smiled.
"this is fucking beautiful," she said, i smiled.

i took her hand in mine again, leading her back to the blanket i had laid out by the tree. we sat down close to each other, our arms touching as both our hands held us up on the ground.
"i usually come here when things get too rough at home. it's quiet and stuff, makes me forget about how shitty my life is," i explained to her, she nodded as she looked at me.

"i've never brought anyone here, never even thought of bringing anyone until i met you, of course," i said, i could almost hear her heartbeat quicken.
"o-oh... why me," she asked, trying to hide the smile that was obviously on her lips.
"well, you're the closest friend i've ever had, you know? i never had anyone to talk to and be vulnerable with and shit until you came into my life."

"shit, no one's ever even seen me cry before, salem," i turned to look at her, our faces were centimeters away as we both stared into each other's eyes. i wanted to kiss her so bad, her soft lips so close to mine made me feel some type of way.

of course i resisted the urge, that was until she, herself, moved slowly into me and connected our lips. i completely froze, my stomach started feeling funny as i closed my eyes and melted into the reality of what was happening to me right now.

the kiss was short, our lips came apart slowly as we opened our eyes and looked at each other's flushed faces. we didn't speak, nor did we look away. i took in all of her features, appreciating her beauty as she seemed to be almost embarrassed.
"i-i'm sorry," she said, backing away from me and looking down at her hands. i raised an eyebrow.
"what are you sorry for," i asked, she became even more flushed.

"for... kissing you.. obviously."
i couldn't help but laugh. she's apologizing for something i've wanted to do for so fucking long. she furrowed her eyebrows, frowning as she had no idea why i was laughing so hard.

when i looked up and saw the face she was making, i started to reassure her.
"salem, you don't have to apologize if i liked it," i said, putting my hand over hers as i held it again. i scooted closer to her again, putting my hand on her cheek.
"i should be thanking you," i said softly, she started blushing as i leaned in again. our lips came in contact, both of us melting into each other as we sighed in relief.

❤︎

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