𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐅 𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓, jeremiah fisher

eight. our taylor swift thing

We have this inside joke about Taylor Swift and her albums. I've always been a fan, while Jeremiah always denied having anything to do with her music. One day, I caught him listening to "Treacherous" and dancing in his room while it played. I exposed him and he admitted that he liked Red, but that was the only album he liked.

After reputation came out, it was my absolute favorite album she had ever released. I made Jeremiah listen to it, and he said it could never compare to Red. He got super defensive and I found that funny, so I got him a reputation shirt for his birthday.

I hadn't expected him to still have that shirt.

When I realize I'm still standing in the same place, I quickly walk back downstairs and outside just as Jeremiah steps out after opening the door. Susannah beams when she sees us. I don't think I've ever seen her smile like that before.

Jeremiah's lips tug up as he hugs Susannah. I catch myself staring at his mouth and quickly look away.

"Great, you guys are here," Susannah exclaims excitedly, her eyes crinkling at the corners with how wide her grin is. She claps her hands together. "Aw, you guys look so cute next to each other."

Jeremiah shoves his hand in his pockets. I offer Susannah a weak smile.

"So, where do you want us?" Jeremiah asks, breaking the sudden awkward tension, although Susannah must not have noticed.

"Here, sit down together," she instructs, pointing out where we should sit down.

We follow her lead and leave a decent amount of space between us when we take a seat. Susannah sits down on her stool before she suddenly gets back up.

"Oh! I need another canvas. I'll be right back."

Gaping at her, I almost fall from where I'm sitting. Jeremiah stands up immediately.

"I can get it for you, Mom. Sit down."

She shakes her head right away. "No, no. It's fine. I need some exercise anyway. Stay put and don't move!" She says it with a tiny smirk on her face.

I glare at her retreating back. Jeremiah is still standing, and I see him clench his fist tight enough so that his knuckles turn white. After a few seconds of him probably contemplating his life choices, he sighs and sits down with his body slightly turned away from me.

We sit in silence. I stretch my legs out in front of me and look up at the clouds. Maybe he doesn't remember what happened. He was drunk too. I hope he doesn't remember. Then again, I hope he does since I want him to explain everything, but he wouldn't say anything even if he did remember.

He lets out a scoff, but it's soft and sounds like it was meant in a joking manner. I turn to look at him only to find him already staring at me. We regard each other for a moment, staying quiet. His face is peaceful right now, more so than I've seen it in ages. He isn't glaring at me or frowning or anything really. He's just staring at me. As if trying to find out where the last piece of the puzzle belongs.

"You still don't know how to tie your shoes." It's a statement, not a question.

I look down and see that my shoes are loosely tied but aren't done properly. They're already coming out. I can feel the heat creep up my neck.

"I know how to tie them. I just didn't have time."

Jeremiah raises an amused brow and crosses his arms. "Show me."

I choke on my own spit. "What?"

He leans in slightly closer so our heads are parallel. "Show me you can tie your shoes."

I scoff in disbelief and glare at him. I've never really learned how to tie my shoes. When we were younger, Jeremiah always made fun of me for not being able to tie them, but he always helped me afterward. I think I just never learned because I knew I could always count on him to tie them for me.

Wanting to prove him wrong even though he's right, I pick up one of my feet and rest it on the edge of the seat. I untie the laces and attempt to tie them again, but I mess up. I start over again and again but can't do it. I groan and Jeremiah stifles a laugh, so I turn to shoot him a death glare.

He rolls his eyes and gets up. Kneeling in front of me, he pulls on my calf so that my foot slides back down to the ground. My gaze is fixated on him, my breathing slow. His hand is warm against my skin as his palm holds my bare calf.

Slowly, his hand slides down my leg to my shoe. He carefully takes the laces in his hands and ties them tightly. Then, he does the same for my other shoe. His eyebrows pinch slightly, a focused look on his face. When he's done, his hand comes up behind my ankle and he taps it twice to signal that he's done. It's something he always did before after he had finished tying my laces.

He looks up at me, his eyes clouded. Our gazes lock, and I wish I could take this moment and hide it inside a bottle for me to look at whenever I want.

"You're too stubborn for your own good," he states with a small smile on his beautiful face.

I scoff. "Well, you're way too cocky for your own good."

"Oh, am I?" He raises his eyebrow as his grin gets wider.

I let out a light chuckle, and his smile turns soft. His hands, one of which is still around my ankle, come up only to land on either side of my thighs. He leans his head closer up to mine. My breath hitches.

"How?" he whispers, his nose lightly brushing mine.

I hum in response, not quite understanding the question. He lets out a chuckle.

"How am I cocky?"

I don't answer. I've never seen this side of Jeremiah before, and I wonder if this is how he seduces other girls and guys. The thought pulls me out of my trance, but I can't bring myself to move away from him.

He starts to move in closer. I almost tell him to stop because I know he doesn't really mean what he's doing or saying right now, but it's impossible for me to do when he's this close.

Then, his gaze drops down to my chest and his eyebrows knit together. He pulls away from me quickly after that and stands up. He hurriedly walks away, and I'm so shocked about what just happened that I just sit there frozen.

What the fuck?

𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !

i'm in love with taylor swift. that's all i have to say.