gee, frankie and a seaside pier- frerard//fem

•Prologue•

I remember closing my eyes and breathing in.

I remember standing alone, relaxed, at the top of the pier. I remember the smell of pure salt in the air and smiling at the familiarity. I remember the warmth of the sun and how every sound was so discreet; the water, the seagulls, the people. I remember feeling peaceful.

I could just make out the soft sound of swirling waves and wood gently creaking beneath me if I concentrated hard enough.

I remember opening my eyes and seeing the shards of sunlight float on the ocean surface. I saw clouds being swallowed by overlapping waves as they pushed and rolled and merged into each other.

I remember my parents, Brian and Stewart, telling me 'the pier will still be there' if I do something else for an hour, which I only agreed to once money was put in front of me.

I remember walking away from them in an attempt to leave the guilt of taking money behind, allowing me to focus on winning an arcade prize instead. I beelined for a claw machine, choosing a lighter as my prize.

I remember it was matte black, with silver holographic cursive pasted onto one of its long flat surfaces. It looked more like a wallet than a lighter because it was so large, about the size of a four fluid ounce flask. I remember the lighter said
You're my right hand girl

I remember cringing but enjoyed the opportunity for future irony, finding it a generic thing on a generic prize. Although, I felt a strange magnetism toward this prize.

I reached behind me to grab the note my fathers gave me, but was injected with a sense of panic as I found nothing in my back pocket. After checking all my pockets, I bent down and turned on the spot to retrace my steps.

I regretted this decision as my head was instantly met with a hard metal casing of another arcade game. The impact left an embarrassingly loud bang resonating through the room and I remember feeling hot from the amount of eyes on me.

I doubled over and clutched my head, hissing and cursing to myself, trying to ignore the burn from everyone still staring.

I remember hearing a light chuckle that cooled the room down and cut away the heat from others. I looked up, only to feel a new heat wave take over my body.

The beauty of this girl immediately washed over me and set my body to stone. All I could do was stare at her toothy grin and bright hazel eyes and black short nails covering her smile half heartedly.

The image of her short, unruly raven black hair was burned into my memory, and her loose fitting tank top, and ripped jeans, and ankle boots, and slim arms and legs and small breasts and dark eyeliner. I noticed how she was stood on one leg more than the other with one hand in her front pocket and with her head tilted to one side just a small amount. It looked like she was curious about me, probably asking how I was such an idiot- as was I.

She caught my attention so fast. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, as if crafted by the gods, which made sense with my inexperienced mind. The sudden combination of lust and want for a relationship prompted me to talk to her.

'Hah, uh, hey... You didn't just see that did you?' I smiled awkwardly, standing up a little too fast, making me lose my balance a bit. My infamous clumsiness made me blush and the consistent clumsiness made me blush harder.

She slowly stepped towards me, alternating between glancing at my hand-covered head and looking into my eyes. She used both hands to tuck her hair behind both ears and coughed quietly before smiling. I felt as if I would melt, she was making me so hot and bothered.