quiet

eighteen

"god only knows what i'd be without you"

☆

sitting on the grass in richie's backyard, richie talks to vanessa while she writes responses in her notepad. he often catches his mother peering over at them from the gazebo, he embarrassedly chuckles when vanessa spots her.

"stop spying on us, mom!" "sorry, sweetheart!" mrs. tozier apologizes before attending to her flower garden. vanessa smiles and rests her head on richie's shoulder. the spring breeze blows through their hair, richie can smell the faint scent of vanessa's coconut perfume.

"are you ready for graduation? it's next month." richie inquires as he remembers that graduation is literally right around the corner. vanessa nods, nudging him. "am i?" she nods again.

"fuck no. i feel so lost, i wanted to host my own radio show but i don't think it'll happen." richie rants, playing with his shoelaces. vanessa writes in her notepad, placing it in front of richie.

i believe in you :)

richie smiles at the handwritten words of affirmation. if anyone is more supportive of richie other than his mom, it had to be vanessa. "do you remember when we first met?" richie asks, vanessa nods.

"before you fell down, i saw that you were crying." richie looks at vanessa, her eyes not meeting his. he sighs,"why was that?"

vanessa roughly grabs her notepad once again. "you don't have to explain it if you don't feel comfortable, nessa." richie reassures her, placing his hand on her knee. she ignores him and proceeds to write.

felt like a loser trying to "talk" with a girl i wanted to befriend, i started crying because i miss having a voice

"i'm sorry." richie tells her, not sure how to comfort her. it's a rare moment when richie is struggling to say something, he can't help her gain her voice back suddenly nor can he give her one. if he can't help her, maybe he can get her to laugh.

"that girl missed out, you're like the greatest person ever. who needs a voice when you're the coolest!" richie cheers, his lame attempt at comfort succeeding when vanessa hugs him.

richie feels a pair of lips quickly pecking his cheek, it takes a moment for him to realize that vanessa kissed his cheek. "oh i'm never washing this cheek again." richie pretends to faint while vanessa gives him one more kiss on his cheek.