Robin Buckley imagines

Our Spot

It was a warm night out, the leftover chill from winter gone now that spring had fully settled at Hawkins. The breeze that was softly blowing kept you from getting too warm as you stared up into the starry night, nestled in a plethora of blankets and pillows.

You watched as the air rustled the leaves and smaller branches of the trees above you, creating soft sounds that brought you peace. The sky was still illuminated by the leftover sun rays, creating a purplish hue that accentuated the many stars doting it. It was entirely too perfect. It was enough to almost forget the last few months, forget the horrors you witnessed and the ever present worry pushing down on your chest.

That's what you loved about this place. This little nook of peace and quiet, once an abandoned and crumbling stake out that you assumed belonged to a hunter. High off the ground and amidst the branches of the sturdy pine tree it sat on, you could disappear from the world, become a shadow, a bystander to life itself, watching as wildlife often came out to drink from a stream not to far off on your right.

You had stumbled across it a little over three years ago, on one of your many walks through the forest, and after a few weeks you fixed it and filled it with everything to make you comfortable, warm and safe, and had since then came out almost every night to relish in the quiet, keeping the place a secret.

You heard rustling on your left, the blankets shifting the tiniest bit as a little sigh reached your ears. You couldn't stop the corners of your mouth from turning up, warmth spreading through your chest even as you felt your heart skip a beat.
A soft chuckle built in your chest, and you relished in the irony of the fact that you promised yourself to keep this place a secret, and yet, here you were, blissfully hidden away with her.

"What are you laughing at?" She asked you, humor lacing her voice as you felt a tiny smack on your shoulder.

Slowly, you turned your head to the left, facing her. She was already looking at you, laying on her side to face you. She had her arm bent, her hand propping her head up as she smiled down at you. She was so beautiful. Her light short hair falling softly around her face, a few strands sticking to her cheeks. The corner of her pink, full lips pulled up in a soft smile that made butterflies erupt in your stomach and reside in your heart. You could feel the little treacherous thing speed up again.

You smiled softly, having already forgotten what she had asked you as you got lost tracing the many freckles on her face with your eyes. You wanted to count them, convinced that each of them was a star, creating constellations on the cosmos that this woman was. The longer you stared, the pinker her cheeks were, darkening her face just a little bit and her smile dropped from amused to peaceful, her lips quirking up in just the right way to make you feel as if the air had rushed out of your lungs.

Finally, you met her eyes. Her gaze was soft and gentle, curious and patient. The dark sky darkening her light blue eyes. You had never seen blue eyes like that before. The shade.. It was light but full of life, and intensity. Not in the way the sky is on a warm spring evening, but in the way the sky looked over the ocean when a storm was looming ahead. Rich with power and promises of more to come. She booped your nose as you had already been staring at her for a few minutes, you supposed.

You chuckle again, this time louder and she responds with a bigger smile on her face. You turned your head to look at the sky again, noticing that it was definitely darker than before.

"Do you remember the first time we came here, Robin?" You softly asked her, whispering into the night as you didn't feel like disturbing the gentle atmosphere that had settled over you.

"Of course I do" She answered in the same manner, trailing off at the end "It was after we met on Mr. Houser classroom, on a free period. You had, without my knowledge, been listening to me rambling on about wanting to run away"