𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔬𝔫 • 𝕽𝖎𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖊 𝕿𝖔𝖟𝖎𝖊𝖗 [1]

14 - 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚒𝚎 𝙱𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚛

We had all played in the water for about another hour. We had splashed water at each other, got on each other's shoulders and knocked each other over, and we even saw how long each of us could hold our breaths. Sadly, Eddie and I almost passed out under water. The two of us wanted to try as hard as we could to prove we could do it, but we were the first two who came up out of water. Ben was the third to come up out of water, but he lasted five extra seconds than Eddie and I; which we only lasted 10 seconds under water. Then it was Stan who came up, then Beverly. So, it was against Richie and Bill, but then they both came up out of water at the same time.

"Woah, woah, woah. We waited for that?", I blurted out as I looked at the others, noticing them looking confused as well. Glancing back at Richie and Bill, I spoke, "We need a tie breaker."

"Tie breaker?", Richie's eyebrows furrowed together as he struggled to catch his breath. "Why? I won."

"No, you idiot, you both came up at the same time.", I pointed to both him and Bill. "So, we need a tie breaker now."

"What kind of tie breaker?", Stanley asked, causing me to glance over at him.

"I don't know.", I shrugged my shoulders, glancing over at Beverly. "Any suggestions?"

"Best kisser!", Richie blurted out. I wasn't even fucking surprised.

"No.", I glared at him.

"It's a good idea.", Richie defensively replied.

"No, Richie. It's a shitty idea.", I sighed softly, rubbing my hands over my face. We all circled each other in the water, coming up with a tie breaker. "Oh! Easy. Staring contest."

"My eyes burn a-after that.", Bill pointed to the water, causing me to nod in understanding.

"Well, you both won.", Eddie spoke up.

"We can't just both win.", Richie declared, flailing his arms around. "I don't understand why we can't just go through with my idea."

"Richie, even if we went through with the idea, who would be the one that you two would have to kiss?", Beverly asked him seriously, causing all eyes to turn towards her.

"She's right.", Ben nodded. "I know I'm not gonna be the one."

"Neither am I.", Stan agreed.

"Yeah, I'm not either.", Eddie backed up away from the circle with Ben and Stan, leaving me and Beverly standing there. It gave me an idea.

"Whoever can kiss the longest.", I glanced over at Beverly who was smiling back at me. I turned to look at Richie, "So?"

"Hell yeah!"

"Bill?", Beverly smiled at him, causing him to gulp.

"It'll be alright, Bill.", I smiled at him, causing him to slowly nod. Richie swam towards me, causing me to realize how stupid this was, but Beverly had already made up her mind once she placed her hands on Bill's face.

"Shit.", I mumbled as Richie approached me, stopping directly in front of me.

"You're nervous.", Richie whispered for only me to hear, causing me to nod gently.

"No, shit.", I replied sourly, causing him to grin.

"Here.", He raised his hands out of the water, placing them gently on my face. "I'll make the move."

"Rich–"

"And go!", Stanley shouted.

Before I could protest, Richie leaned in and smashed his lips against mine. My eyes widened at the sudden contact, glancing at his closed eyes. As I relaxed into the kiss, I closed my eyes and placed my palms on the back of his hands which were still on my cheeks. His lips were soft and plump; they were perfect. I grabbed his face and pulled his face closer to my own, furthering the kiss as we moved our lips in sync. Fuck being romantic, this was perfect.

"Holy shit.", I heard Beverly whisper, causing Richie and I's lips to depart. We quickly glanced over at her and Bill, who were standing there staring with wide grins.

"We won.", Richie blurted out, causing Eddie to speak up.

"They didn't even kiss."

"What?", I furrowed my eyebrows together, glancing between each of them. My hands were still placed on Richie's face, causing my cheeks to warm up and I could tell they were red. I quickly took my hands away from him, backing up as I kept my eyes glued to our friends. "You set us up?"

"You would've never k-kissed Richie if we d-d-didn't.", Bill added.

I stared at them in complete shock, "You guys are assholes."

"Tell that to Richie.", Ben pointed behind me, causing me to glance over at Richie. He was staring at me with his mouth slightly open as his eyes locked with mine. He was breathing heavily, bringing his right hand up to his soft lips.

"You actually fucking kissed me.", Richie murmured. I almost didn't realize his glasses were missing. Even though I was tricked into kissing Richie, I couldn't deny the fact that I loved it.

We were now sitting on the cliff. Beverly was laid out on the ground, listening to a song while she tanned. She had sunglasses on her face, and the boys all stared at her, except Richie. He was staring at me while I drew in my sketchbook with the blue flowers on the cover. He gently laid his head on my shoulder, causing me to gently lean my head against his.

"What is that?", He whispered.

"It's kind of, well..I'm not even sure.", I placed my pencil down, staring at what I had attempted at drawing. It was a stick figure, locked in a room. "Well, I was– it's kind of like..okay, it represents me. That's me in the corner, and then all the shade is the darkness. The small hands represent my darkest fears, trying to take hold of me."

He gently nodded, humming in response before he pointed at something else, "So, what's that?"

I looked at the unshaded part where it was a hand, but it wasn't shaded in. "That's you, making everything better."

I took my head away from his, causing him to look up at me and smile. I smiled back in content before I saw Beverly move in my peripheral vision. Then I saw the rest of the boys all turn their heads away from her, causing me to giggle softly.

♡ ʀ + ᴀ ♡

Short chapter, but I finally wrote the kissing scene! I was going to wait until they entered the Neibolt house for the first time, but decided against it. Also, the next chapter will start directly when they get to Ben's house.