𝐕𝐔𝐋𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 ✰ v. hacker

SIXTEEN | IRL

𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒚

"You're insane." She called out as she hopped off her board, coming up behind Vinnie. He was sitting on a concrete block in the middle of the skate park. His face lit up as he turned around, wrapping her into a tight hug.

"Maybe." He pulled away smiling. "Thanks for showing up."

Riley laughed. "Why wouldn't I? Wouldn't miss getting to experience your bucket list with you for the world." She turned around, surveying the ghostly empty park, illuminated only where lights could reach. "Still, can't believe I'm here."

"I gotta do impulsive things every once and a while," Vinnie shrugged, a smile playing on his lips.

"Hey!" Riley shouted, hearing the silence swallow up her voice. She turned back to face him, smiling with approval. "This is amazing. Good choice."

"Told you I'm not crazy," he laughed and hopped on his board. "Come on, let's go."

For the next hour, they chased each other around the park, laughing and screaming at the top of their lungs. No one could hear them. It felt like they were alone in an isolated bubble, with no one to judge them or tell them what to do. Vinnie tried teaching Riley some new tricks. She'd only started skating a year and half ago, and was still getting the hang of it.

He'd show her a skill and then she'd try, but she needed him to hold her hands so she wouldn't fall. After a while of them falling all over each other, (Riley falling first and bringing him down with her) and scraped elbows and knees, Vinnie tried explaining a technique one last time.

"Here," he said, standing behind her and taking her hands. "You swivel the corner of the board with the front of your ankle," he positioned his foot directly behind hers and gently nudged the board, "Like this." She nodded, and mimicked his motion.

"Exactly."

Riley stopped for a second. She could feel the warmth of his body radiating behind her, and his hands were holding hers. Her breath caught as she felt his thumbs rub against the back of her hand steadily. He was almost holding her, but not quite. If she moved just a little bit...

"You try it again, now." Vinnie's voice broke through her thoughts and brought her back to earth.

"Mhmm."

She furrowed her brows and tried again, gently flicking the board as she swiveled it around to hop on its surface. Just as her feet landed, planted firmly on the board, it shifted underneath her. "Woah," she pitched to the side, about to fall again, but hands encircled her waist, pulling her back onto the board.

"Thanks," she barely breathed, feeling his warmth as he hugged her to his body steadily. "I finally landed it," she joked in a muted tone, not moving for fear he'd let go of her. She didn't want him to ever let go. It was like she wanted to just stay in this moment for forever.

"Yeah." His voice was low, close, right by her ear.

She swallowed, not wanting to break the spell.

It lasted for a second...then it was gone.

Vinnie cleared his throat, releasing her gently, as if he didn't want to let go. She stepped off the board, smiling at him, and then bent down to grab her board.

"Look at the stars," he said suddenly, breaking the silence.

Standing up, she looked up with him. Little sparkles of light decorated the dark sky, twinkling, and almost seeming to dance.

"I wish we could see them better," Riley remarked with regret.

"Me too," Vinnie agreed.

"Hey," lighting up with a realization, Riley turned to face him. "The beach is just that way, isn't it? It should be darker there, maybe we can see the stars better there."

"Sure." He smiled, picking up his own board.

They began heading away from the park, towards the beach in the darkness.

"I wonder what time it is," he said, pulling out his phone. The time read 4:20 AM. The two joked about the time and then laughed at how fast time had gone by.

"Let's just look at the stars for a little and then we'll go home." Riley suggested.

"Why not pull an all nighter?" asked Vinnie. "You said you wanted to see the sun rise."

A smile spread across Riley's face, but he couldn't see it because of the dark. "Oh yeah. I'm cool with that."

𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒆

They hopped over the thin chain that kept the beach closed at night and then took of their shoes, digging their feet in the cold sand. After walking for a little bit, they stopped and sat down in the sand. Riley stretched out, resting her head on her skateboard as she looked up at the stars.

"Wow." She breathed, eyes wide as she took in the sky. "I didn't know you could see the stars like this so close to LA."

"Yeah, me neither." He glanced over at her. He could just make out her figure in the darkness, head thrown back with her bright eyes shining and lips parted, gazing in wonder at the dark sky.

Feelings.

Yup, he was definitely catching those. He didn't think he'd ever forget what she looked like in that moment. Or how he felt in that moment: the two of them, alone but so connected, their souls mingling together in harmony. It was like he could feel her, even though they weren't touching. Even though they hadn't even kissed yet.

He scooted closer, so his shoulder brushed against hers. Riley relaxed as he did so, resting her head on his shoulder.

"This was the best night ever," she whispered.

"Yeah." He smiled. "Spending hours in the middle of the night at a skate park wouldn't have been as fun alone."

"I'm glad you invited me." She looked up at him. "Remember what you said during our first text encounter?"

"We're just two lonely kids stranded in LA," Vinnie repeated, recalling his words. "We're not so different after all."

"Yeah." Rileys gaze returned to the stars above. "Only, I don't feel so lonely anymore."

"Me neither, Ri." He hugged her closer to his side. "Me neither."

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