𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒¹ - steven conklin

4. the exit

"old? no, when I'm older, I'm sure there'll be like holograms or something i can watch of myself, you know?" steven was always the one that hated the most the portraits days.

willow laughed hard when jere turned on the blender and conrad got scared from the sudden noise.

"there you go" she took the glass of smoothie from jeremiah and handed it to conrad, who whispered a thank you and gulped that down in a split second. it looked awful to drink.

"hurry up everybody, we all have exciting stuff to do today" susannah entered the kitchen, wearing a colorful floral dress and a giant smile on her lips. "belly, willy, you're officially debutantes!"

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"you see her?" jeremiah pointed a girl with a yellow bikini. "hooked up with her, and with him, the lifeguard. the girl in blue, hooked up with her, and also with the boy next to her."

"dude, you're such a slut!" steven said with a vicious tone. he took a sip of the slushy he made for himself at the bar corner at the country club's pool, where he worked. technically, jeremiah was working, but only a couple of kids were swimming,

"i like to kiss and be cozy with people, where's the problem?" both of them were following with their eyes shayla, walking in a pink bikini, with a drink in one hand and a book in the other. her family was one of the richest in cousins. "never hooked up with her, though"

"better keep it that way" steven mumbled.

"okay, shayla is cute and all, but she's not like my sister" steven almost choked with his slushy.

"what...man what do you mean?" he tried to keep it together, but he was already five shades redder.

"you know what i mean" jeremiah winked and patted his shoulder, then walked away.

yes, steven knew what he was talking about.

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"bye everybody, see y'all tomorrow" willow walked outside the veranda, country's club fine dining restaurant. she was wearing a black cocktail dress and dark-red lipstick that must be mandatory because every girl working at the veranda wore that. her hair was pulled in a high ponytail and you could easily tell she was tired from her face and from the fact that she was walking barefoot with her trendy black heel in one hand.

it was her first night working there as a live singer, and it was as amazing as tiring. it was past midnight when the last clients left. a lot of them complimented her for her beautiful soul voice and she got tipped a lot more than some waiters.

"steven?" he was leaning against the car door. 

"finally, thank god! I've been waiting for ages" he got in the car, expecting the girl to do the same.

"you don't have to babysit me" she took the sidewalk and started walking home. steven sighed and followed her with the car. he wanted to talk with willow.

he rolled down the window: "are you kidding me? I've waited here for you"

"i for sure didn't ask you"

"susannah was sleeping" he explained "and i want to talk to you, willy"

"what are we doing?"

"seriously, get in the car, you seem exhausted"

she stopped, and so did steven. he wasn't wrong, willow just wanted to go to sleep. "you better have some apologies for me, conklin" she slipped in the car seat and threw her heels in the back of the car.

"i'm sorry, okay? i was surprised to see you there, at the bonfire"

"it was a disaster steven! why did you talk to me like that? you don't even use that "i know-it-all" tone with belly!" she turned and made eye contact with him in the eyes. he looked away.

"i don't know. you were there, drinking, and that guy was talking with you. i'm sorry. really, really, really sorry."

willow sighed. she could here how sorry steven was by his voice and honestly she was already tired of playing the "i'm super mad at you" role."
"steven, it's fine, i know that you only want the best for me. I'm sorry too, i saw that girl you were with" she chuckled. "and for the record, that guy looked terrified when i told him i was a fisher."

"how...strange" he looked guilty.

"what are you hiding, boo?" steven called her little monster since they were kids, so sometimes she used to call him boo, like the girl from monster & co.

"your brothers told the guys in cousins to stay away from you or...or they would get them dirty"

willow laughed. "seriously? you guys really should come with a warning label." steven admired her best friends holding her stomach while laughing. she was beautiful, lit by the moonlight. the phone in his pocket buzzed, bringing him back to reality. 

"see you at the beach in 10?" "of course" he texted back.

"shall we go?" he asked her, starting the engine. "you look like the guy in the zombie movie who's been bitten but is trying to keep it quiet."

"such a gentleman. i can't even eat your brain, you clearly don't have one"

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back home, willow realized she was starving. she made herself a fruit bowl and headed to the backyard to watch the stars.

she was contemplating the sky when she heard a girl chuckled, and steven's laugh. she got up and approached to the patch that lead to the beach, just in time to see the girl from the bonfire night kissing steven. he picked her up and they disappeared in the most private part of the beach, between the trees.

willow freezed there, her hair moved by the cool breeze, tears rolling down her cheeks.