𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓, jeremiah fisher

seven. when the party's over

"God, grow up you guys," I tell them without really thinking.

Jeremiah rolls his eyes at me. And he's back.

The conversation switches to a more funny and light-hearted one. Before long, dinner is over and Belly wants to go to Nicole's party. I wasn't planning on going, but I still stop by Belly's room. Taylor sees me first.

"Why the fuck aren't you dressed?" she immediately questions.

I shrug and walk over to them. "I'm not going."

Taylor dramatically turns to me and widens her eyes. "Oh, you're going."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, Danielle. You are. Don't make me fucking drag you there."

"C'mon, Dani," Belly starts to beg. "Please come. It's my birthday, you know."

I release a deep half sigh half groan. "I hate you, Isabel."

She smiles and throws a pillow in my face. I laugh and then tell them I'm going to get dressed. I get to my room and just change my shirt and leave my jeans on. In the mirror, I stop and stare at the chain around my neck. I reach my hand up to touch the half butterfly wing that's hanging off of it.

I bite my lip in order to stop myself from thinking about it. Quickly, I hide the necklace underneath my shirt again. I exhale slowly and then leave my room. When I open the door and walk out, I bump into a hard chest. Two arms wrap around my waist to hold me steady. My hands land on the chest so that I can push myself away enough to look up.

Jeremiah stares down at me with an indifferent expression. The world seems to start spinning, right then. His jaw is tight and his eyes hard. There's a slight pinch between his brows, but other than that, he remains entirely stoic. I open my mouth as if to say something—although I'm not exactly sure what—but before anything comes out of my mouth, his arms leave my body and he turns around to walk away without another glance.

I stand frozen at the door and force a neutral expression once Belly and Taylor come out of Belly's room and as Taylor grabs my hand to lead me downstairs.

✧ ✦ ✧

"BELLY, YOU CAME!" Nicole exclaims as we enter through the front door.

Nicole walks up to us and embraces Belly. I watch Taylor, who seems a little jealous. I nudge her and silently ask her if she's okay. She just shrugs and looks away. When Nicole drags Belly away to show Gigi her flower crown, Taylor and Cam stay behind with me.

"You have fun over there," Cam tells her.

"I'm gonna go find a drink," Taylor mumbles before heading off.

I sigh and Cam turns to look at me. "Not a huge party person?" he asks.

I raise my shoulders. "Sometimes I am. Sometimes I'm not. Right now, not really."

"I get that," he nods in understanding.

"I do, however, want a drink. Make sure I don't do anything stupid?"

He chuckles and nods as he follows me to where Taylor disappeared. I'm halfway in the room where the drinks are when I see Jeremiah.

On the couch. Making out with someone. I think I've seen him around before. I'm pretty sure his name is Luke. My heart suddenly feels heavy as I realize that this is nothing new to him. He has probably hooked up with half of the people at this party, from what I've heard.

I must have stopped because I feel Cam's hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

I tear my eyes from Jeremiah and look at Cam. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Ignoring the way my chest tightens, I keep walking forward and pour myself a shot of some random alcohol. And then I pour another. And another.

"Woah, slow down," Cam tries to tell me, but I drown out his voice.

Jeremiah looks up and sees me, but I ignore him too and walk out of the room. Cam follows me but then Belly meets up with them, so they go somewhere else. I walk around and dance along to the music. There's this random guy that puts his hands on my hips, and I let him.

Getting bored, I push him away and go into another room where I see someone singing "Summer Nights." Two people are singing. One with golden curls and the other with jet-black hair. I can't recognize them with how fast my head is spinning. I turn around and start heading up the stairs.

My vision blurs slightly as I try to find the bathroom. I place my hand on the wall and giggle to myself slightly as I stumble in my steps. I continue walking and find myself alone in an empty hallway. Furrowing my eyebrows, I look around to try to find somewhere I can sit down.

"Did you enjoy your date?"

I turn abruptly at the familiar sound and curse myself when my head starts spinning at the sudden movement. I guess I lose my balance a bit since Jeremiah steps forward and steadies me by wrapping his hands around my upper arms. I latch onto his forearms for a second before I push him away from me.

"You know what? Yeah, I did enjoy it." I cross my arms over my chest, his eyes watching the movement before he turns his gaze back to my face. "Have fun with Luke?"

Scoffing, he shakes his head. "I had a ton of fun with him. Wanna hear about it?"

I grit my teeth and glare at him. "You're such a dick." He steps closer and I lose my footing when I try to move too.

He lets out a harsh breath. "Did you have to drink so much? God, you're so irresponsible. What I am gonna tell Laurel?"

"You don't have to worry about that. I was never your responsibility."

If looks could kill, I would have vanished off of the face of the earth with how he's glaring at me. "Yeah, well, how about you go run to your little boyfriend so he can take you home?"

"Why the fuck does it matter who I go home with? You never cared before, anyway."

His eyes narrow at me. I can tell that he's also buzzed.

"Yeah, you're right. I was the one who never cared, and it was me who pushed you away."

He's starting to get angry, and if I was sober, I would just walk away and leave the conversation where it's at before it gets more heated. But I'm not sober.

"Well, at least I don't act like a fucking asshole every time you walk into the room. I'm so sick and tired of you treating me as if I don't have feelings. Don't you care how bad it hurts when you say shit to me? Then again, why would you? I'm just the bitch you're stuck with every summer."

Before I can comprehend what's happening, my back hits the wall behind me and two hands come to rest next to my head. Jeremiah's head dips down so that our eyes are level. I can feel his breath fan over my cheek, and I wonder if he can hear my heartbeat with how close he is. His eyes close as he leans closer so that his forehead touches the side of mine. His nose brushes my cheek, his lips grazing my jaw.

One hand slowly leaves the wall to rest on the nape of my neck. His thumb strokes the skin right below my earlobe that connects my jaw and neck. I can feel his breathing grow heavier as he moves his head so that our lips are directly in front of each other.

Just barely, so that I have to focus all my attention on the moment to feel it, his lips skim mine.

Opening his eyes, he slowly looks down my face until his gaze reaches my lips. "Fuck," he mutters, his voice slightly hoarse.

And then, without a word, he leans back up and he's walking away before I have a chance to even process what the fuck just happened. My body suddenly feels extremely cold, so I wrap my arms around myself to stay warm.

But it's not the same.

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

12 freaking years. stop im not ok. to all the directioners out there, happy 12 years

if i don't update again soon, it's because i'm emotional and can't stop crying.