in the middle of june

memories can hurt sometimes

i was sitting in my room one night - may 25th, 2020 to be exact, just having finished a stream, when my mum called me from downstairs.
not wanting to annoy her, i climbed my way down the stairs and into my living room.

"yes mum?"

"empty the washing and put the dishes away."

"but mum, i have homework to do."

"tough, do it, now."

"ok..." i mumbled, reluctantly wandering into the kitchen and getting started on the tasks set.

not realising (or being told) that it was there, i stepped into a puddle of water that looked like it had come from the washing machine. i turned to pick up a towel, to dry it up and slipped - hitting my head on the corner of the cabinet countertop.

my vision went black.

~~~

i was at a water park - too hot for it to be in england. must be france or something i suppose, i know i used to go there alot when i was younger, i could see my mum's bestfriend, but no mum...or older or younger sisters to be found.

i wandered up some laddered stairs, towards the top of a waterslide, laughing and joking around with a brown-haired boy - not much older than my eldest sister . i recognise him, he's sweet, i felt safe being alone with him.

we got to the top of the slides and without hesitation, we each got on one, counted down from three and slid.

i reached the pool at the bottom and immediately started panicking and splashing around. i couldn't see anyone, or anything...i tried screaming and shouting, trying to think of something to say, but all that could escape my mouth...

"george!"

what was going on? that, i don't know.

"george! george, help! george, i can't swim! please, i need help!"

i don't understand, i've been able to swim since i was like six. plus, why would i be calling out for an imaginary friend that i had when i was really young.

next thing i know, there's an arm that appears around my waist, pulling me to the surface, the brown-haired boy from earlier was back, helping me up.

"come on y/n, come on. you're ok, you're ok, come on, it's only a little water... mum! mum! y/n needs help!" he called.

he comforted me, helped me, but how did he know my name? who was this boy?

~~~

i slowly opened my eyes, back in my kitchen, the floor cold and unwelcoming.

"what are you doing in there!? don't be slacking off!" my mum called from the living room.

"sorry! i- i- oh, nevermind."

i got onto putting away the dishes, etc. everything i was asked to do earlier. once finished, i left the kitchen, rubbing my head, and went into my bedroom. i hopped onto discord and called my bestfriend, jacob.
although, he lived in america and was a year older than me, he was always there when i needed someone to talk to.

"hey y/n, what's up? you never usually call at this time." he started with.

"i just hit my head on my kitchen counter and passed out..."

"shit, are you ok? why do you seem so distressed?"

"because...while i was passed out, i had a sort of...flashback."

"what do you mean by that? what happened?"

"well i was at this water park, it must have been years ago, and i went down this waterslide and started drowning, but i called out for my 'imaginary friend' and this brown-haired boy that went down the slide with me came and helped me. he calmed me down, comforted me, saved me...and i don't even know who he was..."

"seems like your imaginary friend wasn't so imaginary, and now you've got something that you've gotta go and ask your mom, i get that you don't like talking to her, but you can't ignore her, or this, forever."

"i guess you're right, but i really don't like talking to her."

"i know y/n, but you'll be ok, i promise."

"thanks j, i owe you one"

"tell me how it goes, i've gotta get to baseball, see you later y/n."

"see ya j."

i hang up and wander back downstairs, it's about 11pm by now, so my mum would be in the state in which she'd be drowsy enough that she's nice, but still concious enough that she would be able to understand what was going on.

"mum."

"yes, y/n."

"who is george?"

"you mean your imaginary friend from when you were younger?"

"mum, i know he was real. who is he?"

"oh, you know..."

"who is he?"

"here, take this number. call it. text it. i don't know, i don't care, just talk to him in any way possible, i guess."

"thanks mum, bye."

i went back to my bedroom and settled down at my desk. with my phone in my hand, i typed out the number and hit the green call button.

"hello?"

"umm, hi, is this george?

"i don't know who you are, but please don't call this number again."

"no, wait! my name's y/n! my mum gave me this number, i think we knew each other when we were kids..."

"y-y/n? is that really you?"

"yes! i- i had a memory of when we were younger and when i asked my mum about it, she just gave me this number and told me to call you."

"oh my- i haven't seen you in like almost 12 years! oh i miss you!"

"i- i- thanks george..."

"what's wrong?"

"it's just, i don't really remember you at all, i feel bad..."

"you were like 5 last time i saw you, i'm not surprised that you don't remember me. it really is alright." he said, trying to comfort me.

"thanks, umm, sooooo...what now?"

"well, i've got to go and stream with some of my friends in a bit, so i don't quite know."

"no way! i stream too!"

"really? do you want to join us then, i'm sure everyone will be fine with it."

"sure! that'd be amazing! what's your twitch, so that i can put you in my stream title?"

"oh, it's 'georgenotfound'." he said with a small chuckle.

"wait- "

~~~
a.n.:
please no hate for this, still not sure where i want it to go, so hope y'all like it. <3

xoxo