Waiting by the large stairwell in front of Gibson High School, scanning the sea of stumbling teens rushing into the building. I know my best friend is in that crowd somewhere, and like every morning I know he will eventually shuffle up beside me last minute making us almost late for chemistry. Mrs. Donahue gets irritated with us but we pretend not to notice and make our way to the long counter top we share since we are also lab partners.
"Ryann!" Shawn yelled, grabbing my attention, my head snaps sharply to the left. I see him standing there waving frantically at me from across the expansive lawn in front of school. He looks like he is motioning for me to come to where he is. I shake my head back a forth because I don't understand then I realize he does want me to come to him. I head down the steps and try to make my way against the heavy flow of other kids.
Shawn Mendes is my best friend. He's been the only person I shared my deepest secrets with ever in my life. I spend most of my free time with him and when he's not around I'm usually thinking about the next time I will see him. My mom teases me and says I'm in love with him but she's crazy. We just get each other, that's all.
When I finally reach him I can see the excitement on his face.
"What's up?" I ask.
"Close your eyes, I have a surprise." He smiles so big I think his mouth might break his face.
At that point he stood behind me and put both hands over my eyes and basically shoved me forward. Without having any idea what was going on I started to laugh.
"Seriously Shawn? What are you doing, kidnapping me?"
"Maybe." He says with that mysterious tone I love. It always means we are about to do something fun, and probably something we shouldn't. "Ok, open your eyes!" His hands come off my face and sitting in the school parking lot is a beat up 1975 Ford pickup truck. The sides of it are grey because the paint job needs a redo.
"Is that yours?" I ask knowing it was a stupid question since he wouldn't have brought me there if it weren't.
"Yup. All paid off and everything. See I told you all those weekends I spent loading tires at my uncles shop would pay off. So seriously, I think we should celebrate."
"What do you have in mind?"
"How about skipping school today? I already loaded the bed with a cooler and I was thinking I could take my favorite person to the river for a little R&R."
"What's R&R?"
"No clue, my dad says that but it sounds like it fits today."
We both laugh and jump in the truck, speeding off before the lot monitor comes to usher the loitering students off to class. When we arrive at the river, he pulls into one of the many empty parking spots available.
"Empty." Shawn says referring to the vacant parking lot.
"Race you there!" I scream. Instantly we both take off running towards the dock that leads to the deeper part of the river.
"Beat you." Shawn says.
"Bullshit."
In a flash, I'm in the water.
"What the hell!" I laugh as he reached his hand out to me. I smile and take it. As he tries to pull me up, I pulled all my weight down and he ended up right next to me. He surfaces from the water and we stare at each other. I lean in to kiss him, closing my eyes.
"Aren't you supposed to be in school?" We hear a deep voice ask. I shoot my head back, not knowing if Shawn was leaning in to do the same. I look up to see the security guard that travels around making sure no one messes up his river.
"Uh." We reply at the same time.
"Go home."
We swim the the shore and make our way to his car.
"Where to now?"
"I think we should make a stop at Taco Bell." I wink at him. He smiles and nods as he drives off from the river we love so much.
"Hi, what would you like to order?" The obviously annoyed lady asks when Shawn pulls up to the microphone.
"Two quesaritos please." Shawn says.
"$4.19 is your total, pay at the window." She snaps.
"Someone is on their period." Shawn says. I laugh at his remark. Shawn pays the lady and she shoves the food in his hand.
"Thanks." Shawn says and drives off. I immediately rip open the wrapper and start consuming my burrito like a black hole.
"Damn Ryann, someone is hungry."
"Hey, I'm just fat." I reply, spraying food out of my mouth. I immediately slap my hand over my mouth. Shawn laughs and turns onto the highway that leads to our neighborhood. When he pulls into his driveway I step out of the car.
"Thank you so much for such a great day." I quickly say.
"Anytime Ryann. See you later." He smiles and I walk to my house which is right next to his. I head inside, going straight into my room. I flop onto my bed, closing my eyes. The last thing that crosses my mind is 'I love him so much' and I fall into a deep sleep.
A/N Thanks to whoever is reading this. We really appreciate this. 💕 -Krissy & Dacia
