Beatles Imagines

33. Ringo

I sunk to the bottom of the pool, the weight of my own mortality pressing down on my chest harder than water ever could.

Life is so hard, I thought to myself. It truly was, and there was nothing I could do about it. Even if I chose the easiest path in life, there would still be obstacles standing in my way, preventing me of true happiness. Perhaps, the easiest of paths would lead to boredom, which in turn would be a life full of misery. So which would I choose? The easy choice which would make me bored, or the complicated one which would make me stressed? Was happiness even real?

I looked up to see small waves rippling above me. The sun shone brightly and the light bounced on the water like tiny diamonds. Small bubbles escaped from my lips, which made me all the more aware of my life and the life around me. The transparent spheres further disturbed the water, interrupting the stillness of the moment.

Suddenly, I heard a splash, and felt a tight grip around my arm. I furrowed my eyebrows together and shut my eyes once again as the presence was elevating me towards the surface at a rapid pace. I almost wanted to protest this, but seeing as though we were underwater and my lungs were burning, I decided against it.

"What the hell are you doing?" Was the first thing I heard as soon as we broke the surface.

I silently gasped, allowing air to fill my lungs once again. I had no idea how long I was underwater, but I assumed it had been a while if Ringo had jumped in to retrieve me.

"Are you okay?" He questioned me with a burning gaze, holding onto me whilst holding onto the side of the pool.

"Yes I'm fine." I blinked, looking away from the burning sun. Why did everything burn so badly?

I had almost forgot that he was even here. I invited Ringo over to spend the afternoon with me, after my parents had left for a party. Instead of keeping me company, however, he had remained silent as he sat in a lawn chair in the shade. I was surprised he even noticed my absence; he seemed so immersed in the comic strip in my father's daily newspaper.

"What are you trying to do, kill yourself?" He now sounded angry, and I shied underneath his touch which seemed to burn more on my skin than the sun on my retinas.

"No."

"What the hell were you trying to do then?"

"I was just thinking."

"Thinking pretty deeply, don't you think? You could have drowned!" He sighed to himself, loosening the frantic expression on his face. I could see the frustration begin to melt off of him, and I began to relax myself. "You scared the hell out of me. One moment you're just fine, and the next you're at the bottom of the pool."

"I'm sorry." I shook my head at him, running a hand though my damp hair.

"I am fine though, I'm breathing and all. Look." I then proceeded to inhale and exhale a large breath, to which he just rolled his eyes at.

After the hectic situation between us settled, the awkwardness and tension rolled in. I suddenly realized our close proximity was; he had me pinned against the wall, and one of his arms was secured tightly around my waist. If I'd of thought any harder, I could've probably felt his heartbeat as his chest was pressed against mine. His blue eyes stared into mine and my breath hitched.

Before I could do anything, he created distance between us, and swam towards the stairs of the pool.

"Oh come on, Richie, why don't you swim with me? How are you not bored just sitting in a lawn chair all day?"

"I'm not bored, I now have a job to make sure that you don't almost drown again."

"I wasn't going to drown." I rolled my eyes at him. "Can't you just swim with me? I can't talk to you when you're all the way over there."

"And why not?" He was now turned around, facing me. His arms were folded across his chest, but that was the most stern thing about him as the rest of him seemed amused.

"Because you make yourself seem so unavailable." I leaped up and sat on the ledge. I kicked my feet about in the water below me.

"Fine, but I'm only doing it because I don't want you to drown yourself again." He grumbled, though I knew he wasn't actually disheartened that he wasn't going back to an uncomfortable, partially broken chair. "So where are your parents?"

"They went to a party after becoming cross with me."

"Have you told them you're not going to college?" He swam closer to me.

"Not yet." I shook my head and sighed to myself, feeling a dull sadness wash over me again. How could a sunny day like this be so clouded by my impending doom? "They might die if I do."

"What are you so afraid of?"

"Everything, if I'm being honest." I breathed out. "What if they're right? What if I won't be successful without a degree?"

"You will be." He placed a hand on my knee.

"And how are you so sure of that?" I sucked in a sharp breath, beginning to feel disconnected from the heavy topic as his attentiveness towards me began to overpower me.

"I don't know-because you're different. You're not like anyone I've ever met, and I mean that in the best way. There's something deep inside me that knows you'll make it."

"And if I don't?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Well you can say 'I told you so'."

"I'm not sure if an 'I told you so' would even matter if I was living in a box."

"I wouldn't let you live in a box." He shook his head as a lopsided smile appeared on his face. "Look, if you really needed a place to live, you could live with me."

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me, Ringo." I shook my head, before inching down into the water once again. His touch slipped from me and I subtly frowned.

"Why not? You're my best friend."

I subtly frowned at the word 'best friend' as well.

"Let's just not talk about it. We shouldn't waste such a good day on gloomy topics."

"They're not gloomy unless you make them to be." He tapped my nose with his index finger and I laughed. He laughed too.

"You're right..." I trailed off with a smile on my face. "You'd really let me live at your place if I needed to?"

"Of course I would, you mean too much to me."

My heart fluttered at those words.

"You're too nice to me." I gushed, feeling my whole body set ablaze when his blue eyes were on me once again. "What would I do without you?"

"You'd be dead, probably."

"I wasn't going to drown myself, Ringo!" I exclaimed.

"Were to!" He responded with a grin on his face.

"Were not!"

"Were to!"

"Were not!"

Suddenly, I felt a pair of lips crash into mine.