Beatles Imagines

20. Ringo

Is it him?

I wrapped my trench coat tighter around my body, and slowly put one foot in front of the other. My moter skills lacked as I unintentionally held my breath, whilst I was tried to get a better glimpse of the man. My heart beat furiously in my chest and it thrashed so much I wondered if I was going to faint.

I walked closer, and risked my presence being seen. I didn't care though in the moment because I needed to see him. I needed to validate that the man standing obliviously across from me was the man I had loved madly for years.

I gasped and jumped in my place when his figure started to turn around and started to face my way. I abruptly turned on my heel and began to walk away from him, and crossed my fingers that he hadn't seen me. Cold air filled my lungs as I trotted off and away from him. I literally was running from my past. I didn't necessarily know as to why I didn't want to face him, but I couldn't.

After all, we ended on good terms, and the both of us went our separate ways. He got married and had a kid, and I continued to look for someone to settle down with. So why couldn't I face him?

My breathing hitched as I heard the footsteps of someone close behind me. I didn't dare look over my shoulder and walked slightly faster. I hoped it wasn't him, I prayed that it wasn't him.

But the voice that piped up from behind me sounded a hell of a lot like him. "Y/N?"

I almost wanted to ignore him, or say something like "I'm sorry, I'm not Y/N," but I didn't. Instead, I froze in my place, and slowly turned around to face the man that I hadn't seen in years. I swallowed the lump in my throat once I saw him, and fought back the urge to cry.

He looked the same, with an exception of slightly longer hair and a mustache. His face brought back many memories I had suppressed trying to get over him, and the feelings that were tied along with them, which made me wonder if I had even gotten over him in the ten years since our departure. Surely it was just the fact that I hadn't seen my friend in so long and not the fact that I still loved him.

"Richard." His name spilled out of my mouth as I looked at him incredulously.

He didn't respond, but instead engulfed me into a tight embrace which felt like home. He was always the best at giving hugs. I reluctantly wrapped my arms around my old flame, and felt slightly awkward as pedestrians looked at us.

"Y/N." He stated in a breathy tone, like the name alone knocked all of the wind out of him. The words rolled off of his tongue like they were a new, foreign word that he was amused with.

"How are you?" Was the first thing he asked when he pulled away from our hug. "God, I haven't seen you in forever."

"I'm doing well, thanks." I gave a generic reply, leaving out the part about my current inner turmoil. "How are you?"

"I can't complain." He replied, his azure eyes not leaving mine once. "What brings you to Liverpool? I thought you moved a while back."

"I moved for a couple of years, but I had to move move back. I missed my mum and dad too much." I said, before wondering if i should ask about his family.

"Well it's good to know you're back, I've missed you."

It was the one thing I knew about him as far as the present goes. He sent me a wedding invitation a while ago, but I never ended up going. After all, who would want to attend the wedding of the person that they just broke up with. "How are things with you and Maureen? I heard that you two had a little one not too long ago."

I soon realized that the topic was a sore subject because Ringo suddenly looked down to his feet, and I could've sworn I saw his eye twitch. I immediately knew that something bad had happened between him and her, because he always used to look down at his feet when I questioned him about something that pained him. "Oh, in sorry I shouldn't have asked..."

"Oh, no, no...It's fine. It's just that me and Maureen got a divorce a couple of months back..." He spoke the bitter truth, and looked back up to me. I gave him a sympathetic look, but before I could give him my condolences, he changed the topic. "Are you married or anything?"

I found the lie of saying I was indeed with someone appealing, but I wouldn't lie about it. After all, he said the truth, and I should say the truth too. And the truth was that I hadn't been on a date in ten months, and hadn't gotten any in a year. "I'm still single."

"That's surprising," He blurted with a laugh, which made me almost think that he was being sarcastic. He looked me up and down,"I mean, you are stunning."

I felt my cheeks heat up from his comment, and quickly averted my gaze to the people around us. "Nobody wants an old maid."

"You're not even old." He tsk'ed. "I mean you're only 34."

33. I mentally corrected him, and even though the error was trivial, somewhere deep inside me I felt something sink.

I replied with an awkward smile, unable to form a sound response. It was a weird feeling too, because I always had something to reply with, whether it be a witty remark or a joke. But he left me at a loss of words, like we were two strangers unable to hold any conversation beyond small talk. I suppose we were strangers.

Dread filled within me as I realized the fact that we no longer knew each other. We were no longer the wild teenagers who loved passionately and thought that we were going to be together forever. We were different with time, and ended up on different paths. Things changed, and we forgot; just as time wanted it to be.

' "Where do you think we're going to be in the future Richy?" I asked as I picked dandelions to put in his hair.

"On Mars."

"Haha, you're so funny." I spoke sarcastically, rolling my eyes at the man who was now grinning at his own joke,

"I don't know...all I know is that we're going to be together?"

"And how do you know that?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow at the man who seemed so sure of himself.

"I just know." '

"Hello, are you there?" Ringo waved a accessorized hand near me. "Are you lost in space?"

"Yeah, I seem to do that a lot nowadays. I'm sorry." I laughed, unwilling to tell him that I was thinking about us. "Did I miss out on anything?"

"I should probably go." He gave me a sad smile before looking over across the street. I followed his gaze to see a photographer. "Uhm, it was nice seeing you again. It was nice

"Yeah," I rubbed the back of my neck, "it was nice seeing you too."

And then he started walking. After a moment, he looked back to me with sad eyes and waved as a fake smile made its way onto his lips. I almost thought he was going to turn around once again and walk over, but he didn't.

Was I really going to let us drift apart once again?

"Y/N!" He yelled, to which I immediately turned on my heel to face him. He advanced towards me, taking out an empty cigarette carton of his coat pocket. "You have a pen?"

"Uh, yeah?" I questioned, as I took my ball point  pen out of my purse. "Why do you need a pen?"

"I don't want us to drift apart again... Now write your number on this." He smiled cheekily. "I'm going to call you Saturday. We have more to catch up on than that."