𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐋𝐘, 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑.
♥︎♥︎♥︎
Beverly experiences a flood of memories when she is under cryo. Every sensation from her past - touch, smell, tear, kiss, and emotion-resurfaces in exactly the same form. S...
The blanket under my legs crunches together when I move to sit cross-legged, still facing the beautiful scenery of the park. The leaves fall to the floor, creating a blanket over the grass, making the perfect picture for me to use. My paintbrush strokes against the canvas perfectly, forming the colours to make the painting look realistic. The paint mixes together, like friends holding hands in the rain. The water droplets from my paintbrush fall down the canvas, giving the illusion of deep blue water trickling down the fountain.
Bucky watches my skilled hand at work as he sits beside me, memorized by the painting slowly forming. Steve sits on the other side of the blanket, his legs stretched out and him leaning on his elbows, every now and then pulling out a piece of candy from his paper bag and shovelling it in his mouth, a wide smile on his face.
"Why are we here again?" Steve asks.
"What? You don't want to hang out with me?" I tease.
"No, actually. Being around you is a pain." He says sarcastically.
I laugh, with Bucky falling quickly behind, stealing a candy piece from Steve's bag, and making Steve glare at him. They both fall into a staring contest but quickly laugh, seeing how ridiculous they are.
"It's for a school project," I explain. "I'm supposed to paint something that makes me feel calm. Which I'm starting to regret bringing you two here for, considering I can't concentrate when you are acting like children."
"Oh, come on now, doll." Bucky wraps his arm around my shoulders. "You know you love us."
"Yeah, I do. I hate that you two have that hold over me. I'm giving you two way too much power."
They both laugh, falling back into their previous positions. I watch people walk past the fountain, living their day-to-day lives, but I quickly become bored with it. I turn my body towards the boys secretly, smiling when an idea comes into my mind. Without them noticing, I concentrate on their bodies and faces, painting them onto the canvas just as they look.
Bucky sits crossed-legged, looking at the scenery I was previously painting. His hair blows in the wind, revealing his glowing skin perfectly. A smile is painted on his face, his teeth seeping through his lips, pearly and white.
Steve is leaning on his elbows, watching the clouds pass him by in the sky. His cheeks are plump, and filled with candy. His eyes sparkle against the sun, a bright yellow reflecting against his blue orbits.
With their bodies painted on my canvas perfectly, I shove the paintbrush into the cup of water, washing away the dried paint on the ends of the bristles. At the sound, both of the boys look over at me, curiously. Instead of showing them, I shove the canvas against my chest, my smile wide and proud on my face.
"Come on, show us!" Bucky gets excited.
"No! No way." I turn my body, still not letting them see it.
With my free hand, I grab the rest of my supplies, whipping off the excess pain and putting the tubes in the container, shoving them into my bag. I wrap my canvas in bubble wrap, making sure that every spec of paint is dry before doing so. I place it on top of the box of supplies, zipping up my bag and placing it over my shoulders. I stand from my seat, grabbing the end of the blanket and looking at the boys expectedly. They also stand, grabbing their things off the blanket. I pull it off the grass, folding it up and holding it in my arms. With all of our things packed away, we all begin to walk over to our bikes.
They are chained to a metal pole, the keychain wrapped around it. Steve unlocks them, putting the chain and padlock in his bag. We all pull out our bikes, sitting on the seats and shoving our feet into the peddle.
"See you guys, soon. Bev, I'm seeing that painting." Bucky points at me.
"Sure, you can keep thinking that." I smile.
"It's a class project, I'll just go to your art class and look at it."
"Shut up."
I wave him goodbye as he travels through the glass, completely missing the path. Steve and I grab the handles, getting ready to follow Bucky out of the park. Before I can, Steve stops me, his arm in front of my chest. I look up at him and he looks nervous.
"Before you go, can I give you something?" He asks.
"Sure, what is it?"
"Uh." He reaches into his back pocket, pulling out a gold chain. "Here."
He hands it to me, placing it in my palm. Looking down at it, I can see building rust and dust on the edges. It is clearly old, but with how much care has been put into it, I can tell it means something to him. The chain is gold, long, and hard. On the end of the chain hangs a locket, heart-shaped and clean. I open it, seeing that it is empty but with every opportunity to place photos inside.
"What is this?" I question.
"It was my mother's."
"Steve, I can't-"
"No, wait. I need you to have this, Bevvy. You're the only woman I have left in my life and you mean everything to me. We're like siblings, and I love you." He explains.
He grabs it from my hands, unclipping the end. He walks behind me, pulling my hair to the side and placing it over my shoulder. The necklace comes down over my face, sitting on my chest. He clips the back, pulling my hair to fall onto my back again. He walks back to face me, looking down and a nervous smile on his face. I step off the bike, looking at him. With my pointer finger, I lift his chin, making him look at me. I pull him into a hug, wrapping my arms around his neck.
"Thank you." I smile into the hug.
"You're welcome."
I pull back from the hug, smiling up at him. His face turns to a wide smile, happy and proud. We sit back on our bikes, riding through the park. Making it to the entrance, we part ways, waving goodbye to each other. Travelling down the road, I swerve through the traffic and towards my house. The summer air is stiff, smelling of fresh-cut grass and blossoming flowers. The house comes into view, the hedges hiding the front door. I peddle my bike into the garage, placing it behind the car. With my spare key, I unlock the door, take my shoes off, and place them underneath the coat's hanger. I trek up the stairs and towards my room. Turning the knob, I throw my things onto my bed, jumping onto the mattress afterwards.
Staring at the ceiling, and an idea pops into my mind. I jump off the bed and walk towards my desk. On my wall above it, sits a pinboard, pictures and souvenirs displayed all over it. In the middle of the board is pinned a photograph of me, Bucky, and Steve. I stand in the middle, sandwiched between the two boys. They both have their arms wrapped around my shoulders, smiling at the camera. We stand on Coney Island, the amusement rides behind us. I can practically see the bright colours in the grainy photo. Taking it off the board, I grab a pair of scissors. Cutting their faces off the photo, I slip them both into the locket. They have their own designated side, Bucky on the left and Steve on the right. They smile up at me, their faces inside my locket. My heart-shaped locket. My heart.
