Joe Keery Imagines

Our Saving Y/N-Keys

~•~

Y/N and I were riding bikes to our little neighborhood park. Some mean older boys threw a pinecone. It hit Y/N's wheel and she ended up falling.

I jumped off my bike and ran to her side. I wrapped her in my arms and carried her back home. I was calling for help and both of our parents came running out to us.

"What happened?" My mom asked.

"Those stupid neighborhood boys threw a pinecone," I said, feeling angrier than I have ever been in my six years. "It hit Y/N's tire and she fell."

Our moms started soothing Y/N and looking at her injuries while our dads left. I wasn't sure where they were going at the time and I didn't care. I was too focused on holding Y/N's hand as she cried.

Our dads eventually came back with the dummies walking behind them with their heads bowed.

"Y/N," her father soothed, "these boys have something they would like to say to you, sweetie."

My stomach felt weird when Y/N's grip on my hand tightened. I scooted closer to her, standing protectively in front of her.

~•~

For the rest of our childhood, I often found myself thinking about that Saturday. I also wondered if my life would've been different if I had been closer friends with Y/N.

"You don't need to keep calling me ma'am," Y/N chuckled, pulling me out of my thoughts. "We're the same age."

Danny let out a sigh of relief as Y/N sent me a wink before walking into her office. Millie and I stood there, not entirely sure what to do. Luckily, Y/N stuck her head out.

"Aren't you two coming?" She asked.

"To what?" Millie asked a little harsher than I wish she had. We were both tired and frustrated, but Y/N might just be our saving grace.

"To sell me your game," Y/N clarified.

"You want to hear our pitch?" I asked.

"Of course," Y/N said walking back out to us. "Look, Antwan gets a little. . . Power hungry. You aren't the first coders I've had a meeting with that he's shut down. Did you know that he originally turned down the creators of Animal Crossing? Anyway, I want you to give me the exact pitch you gave Antwan."

Y/N laughed as Millie ran into her office. Before Y/N could follow her, I grabbed her wrist.

"You don't have to do this," I whispered. "You already got us the meeting with Antwan. I'm sure you have a busy schedule with a lot of other, bigger games. Please don't feel the need to do this because you feel you owe me."

My breath got stuck in my throat when Y/N gently grabbed my arm. I instantly felt a bolt of electricity go up my arm. The way she was looking released an entire Barnum circus in my stomach.

"I'm not doing this because I have to," she said, her voice sounding like music. "I want to listen to your pitch. Besides, I know my company better than anyone. Especially better than Antwan. I'll know if your game is a good fit for Soonami."

* * * * *

After giving Y/N the same pitch Antwan had just shut down, I could tell that Millie was excited.

"I think this is a great idea," Y/N smiled as she glanced back through our proposal that I stayed up all night working on. She sighed as she slowly put it down. "However," she said slowly, "Antwan is right. Your game and its' code doesn't match Soonami's niche."

Millie and I shared a look. I grabbed my bag, getting ready to leave.

"But," Y/N said before we could leave, "I have a friend that is trying to start a gaming company. This is exactly the kind of game he's hoping to fill his company with. I'm gonna give him a call and have him reach out to you guys."

"Wow," Millie said under her breath. "Thank you, Y/N."

"Of course," she chuckled. She stood up, straightening out her skirt. "I'll talk to him and send him your information."

"We really appreciate this," Millie chuckled as she stood up. She reached over and shook Y/N's hand. I felt like I was in a daze as I stood up. Y/N and I shared a shy smile before she started to walk us out. She opened the door and held it for us.

"Thank you," Millie laughed happily. I watched as she left Y/N's office but I couldn't move.

"Keys? Everything okay?" Y/N asked. "Was there something else about your meeting with Antwan? If he was rude, I swear I might fire him. He wasn't like this when I hired him. I've given him probably twenty-second chances. I'm done. I should have you and Millie combine your game with Free City or we could completely rewrite the code and turn it into Life Itself. Either way, he's done. I'm tired of. . ."

"You didn't have to do all of this," I finally admitted. "You didn't have to be our saving grace."

"It's no problem," she chuckled. "I just wish I could sign you guys. I know you, Keys. You're an incredible coder. Any company would be lucky to have you."

"I should've been a better friend," I blurted out.

"What?" Y/N stuttered.

"Growing up," I tried to clarify. "We were only friends inside the neighborhood. Outside. . . I'm sorry, Y/N."

"Keys," she giggled, "we were kids. Besides, I had my face buried in books and hiding behind a computer screen. Even if you did try to talk to me, I probably wouldn't talk back."

Before I could stop myself, I grabbed Y/N's hand. I stared at it, memorizing her palm.

"Thank you," I whispered again.

"It was nothing," she said slowly. I looked up at her, trying to sort out the sudden feelings overwhelming me. My stomach turned sour when I realized I was still holding her hand. I quickly let it go and shoved my hands into my back pockets.

"Well," she said, sounding not-at-all phased by the weird hand-holding. "I'm going to give my friend a call as soon as I get back in my office. We went to college together and had a lot of the same classes. He ended up marrying my roommate. He'll listen to me."

"I don't think we can say "thank you" enough," I chuckled.

"I'll give you a call as soon as he gets back to me."

"Sounds good." I started to turn around but I couldn't leave. Y/N noticed.

"Keys?" She asked. "Are you okay?"

"There's one more thing you could do for me," I said, turning around.

"Oh?"

"You could join me for dinner tonight."

I watched as her face slowly turned bright pink. She bit her bottom lip as she studied me.

"Can you pick me up here?"

"Not a problem," I said a little too quickly. "Does 7 o'clock work?"

"Seven is perfect."