𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗
↳ 𝖑𝖔𝖓𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖌𝖑𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖘 . . .
𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 was gathered around the table, for Belly's birthday dinner, chatting, eating and having fun together, like they did every year.
"So Cam, You mind if I call you Cam Cameron?", Jeremiah suddenly questioned the brunette boy, who was sitting on Belly's left side.
Grace's eyes immediately snapped towards the younger Fisher brother, narrowing them at him, while she glared.
But to her surprise Cameron just let out an amused chuckle, "Mhm. Yeah, man. Feel free. That's funny." Jeremiah nodded his head at him, "Cool."
Suddenly Susannah spoke up from her end of the table, "I'm glad you're here, Cameron. I know your mom, Denise, from the club. I have heard a lot about you."
Cameron gave her a bright smile, "Thank you so much for having me, Susannah. My mom says hi."
Susannah nodded at him before Laurel engaged into the conversation, "Cam, have you ever had miyeok-guk before? It's a Korean birthday tradition." The black haired woman smiled while she handed him the plate.
Cameron took it from her hands, smiling again while nodding his head, "No. Looks so good. Thank you!"
"Belly told me you're vegetarian, so I didn't put any meat in it." Cameron nodded appreciative, "Thank you, Laurel."
Jeremiah gave him a sceptical look, "Why don't you eat meat, Cam Cameron?"
"Uh, the meat industry is, like the number one contributer to global warming", Cameron exchange a look with Belly and smiled. He then shrugged before looking back at Jeremiah, "And, I just, like animals."
Taylor gave him a large smile while she chuckled, "Just don't come for my leather jacket."
"I'm pretty sure you mean pleather", Steven stated while he looked down onto his plate. Jeremiah raised his eyebrows, "Ohhh."
Taylor flicked him off and the boys chuckled amused. After a moment Jeremiah frowned, the large smirk still on his face, "You know, uh, actually, Belly eats meat. So, you let her kiss you with those lips?"
They boys started laughing and Cameron chuckled as well, but Belly gave Jeremiah a glare, "Guys! Stop!"
Cameron shook his head at the younger Fisher boy, "No, I don't judge people for eating meat. It's just, like, a personal choice. I don't care."
Jeremiah still chuckled to himself before he went on, completely ignoring Belly's warning. "So you don't mind if, uh, like, her lips touch a dead animal, and then those dead animal lips touch your lips, right?"
Suddenly Belly kicked him against his leg under the table and Jeremiah flinched before he glared at her. "Ow!"
Cameron chuckled once more, "I don't mind at all. Um, in fact- " he then turned to face the young Conklin girl and planted a sweet kiss onto her lips.
Grace could feel the tension building up in the room, Belly seemed embarrassed and Jeremiah had an expression of pure jealousy plastered on his face.
He then began gagging jokingly and Steven joined in almost immediately. Conrad on the other hand seemed disinterested.
Laurel looked at the boys, frowning, "All right, all right, Belly's allowed to kiss, but that's it!" She gave Cameron a pointed look before she broke out into a loud laugh.
Belly gave her mother a side glance, "Mom, please. No. You're so not funny. No more wine for you, okay?" A smile formed on her lips.
"I'm sorry, I just don't understand why anybody would want to kiss somebody who once fully shat in the bathtub", Steven stated loudly, before his eyes met Belly's.
Belly pointed her finger at him, dangerously, "I was like two years old."
"Two? More like six!" The two boys on her opposite immediately exclaimed, laughing their asses off.
"Shut up, Steven!"
"Oh, I remember that. God, that feels like a lifetime ago", Susannah smiled warmly before she took a sip from her wine.
Taylor smiled like an innocently before she spoke, "I remember when I visited last summer, and you and you-" She pointed at the Fisher siblings before she pointed at Steven. "-dared him to pee into the fireplace, and you stunk up the entire house for days. Do you remember that?"
Everyone broke into a loud fit of laughter and giggling. But Susannah gave him a serious look, "I blamed the neighbor's cat!"
"We were drunk. We were drunk!", Steven tried to defend himself quickly. But Belly didn't gave him a chance to recover, "On like half a white claw."
Everyone laughed once more and Steven seemed kind off annoyed. Jeremiah nudged him, "She got you there."
Belly and Taylor exchange a smile before Belly spoke up, "You know, um, I'm thinking maybe we should go to Nicole's party."
Sarah, who had just watched the conversation happening in silence, like Grace, immediately jumped up, "Yes!"
Taylor smiled widely before she gave Belly a big hug. "I love you!"
Later Sarah and Grace were in her room, getting ready for the party later. Getting into her blue shorts and white top, Grace listened to Sarah, who was standing in the bathroom, that was around the corner, getting her make-up done.
The dark haired Conklin girl then joined her best friend in the bathroom, also getting her make-up done.
Grabbing the mascara, Grace locked eyes with Sarah through the mirrrow. The dark skinned girl had a look on her face that told Grace that she was thinking about something.
Grace raised her eyes at the girl, "What?- what is it?" She leaned forward and applied the mascara onto her lashes.
Sarah began to play with the lipgloss, "Well- I just thought about the fact that Conrad couldn't keep his eyes off of you, you know- at dinner earlier." The girl wiggled her eyebrows at her friend, and smirked.
Grace shot her a wide eyed look, while she straightened up, her gaze laying on Sarah. "What-"
Sarah still smirked amused, her eyes widened in shock, "You can't tell me you didn't notice!"
Grace turned back towards the mirror, and finishing applying the mascara. "Well, I was distracted by Jeremiah's weird questions for Cameron!"
Sarah chuckled quietly, "Yeah,- just know- he was looking." She then gave Garce a suggestive look before she went back to their room.
After that the group were getting into the several cars, driving over to the party. As soon as the five had set foot into the house, someone was sliding down the stairs towards them. Suddenly everyone started cheering for him.Grace scoffed, a smile playing on her lips while she stood besides Sarah.
"Belly! Grace! You came!", Nicole exclaimed excited while she approached them from the kitchen.
Belly was the first one to greet the dark skinned girl, "Hey, Nicole! You look so pretty!" Grace smirked at Nicole while she hugged the girl, "Yeah, you're really rocking this dress."
"Me? Look at you! Oh, my goodness!", Nicole exclaimed before she took a step back and eyed Taylor and Belly. "Are those real flowers?"
"Yes." Nicole seemed like she liked them, "That's incredible. Well, we have to show the Gigi"
Belly had a large smile plastered on her face, "Yeah, totally."
"Taylor and I are gonna go find a drink", Sarah informed Grace before the two disappeared into the living room. Grace gave her a thumbs up before she followed after Belly and Nicole into the kitchen.
"Guys, look who's here?"
The girls all had excited looks on their faces while greeting Belly. "The Birthday girl!" Grace then entered the kitchen, and was greeted by them as well.
Nicole then grabbed a lighter and only now Grace motioned the gigantic cake standing on the counter infront of her.
Belly was visibly surprised, "Wow, is this for me?" Nicole gave her a questioning look, "Who else would it be for, Belly?"
"Oh my- thank you, guys." She then let her gaze wander over the other cakes, "These cakes are amazing, Nicole."
The dark skinned girl shrugged, "I never miss a chance to have a Sofia Coppola moment."
Garce nudged her sister, a smile on her lips, "Okay, well, Belly, make a wish!"
The brunette girl nodded before she leaned forward and breathed out the candle. Everyone started cheering and clapping while Belly smiled widely.
Suddenly one of the girls raised her eyebrows, "Belly, where is Jeremiah?"
Belly frowned while she let her eyes wander over the party, "Um, I think he's over by the drinks table
The blond girl gave them a questioning look, "Who's thirsty?" One of the other girls gave her an up and down look, "You, clearly."
Suddenly Grace spotted a familiar blond boy in the crowd, not far away from Jeremiah, who was currently making out with a boy.
Grace shook her head to herself, Jeremiah was such a flirt, it was really mind-blowing.
The dark haired girl let her gaze wander over the crowd, her eyes wandering towards the other room that was connected to the kitchen, her eyes immediately meeting Conrad's.
The boy's blue eyes were fixed on her while he took a sip from his beer bottle. Grace felt her heart beat quicken immediately and she held the intensive eye contact with the Fisher boy.
Grace tightened her grip on the red cup she held in her hands. Conrad couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from her, before he suddenly looked to the ground, avoiding her gaze until he disappeared into the other room.
Grace then quickly excused herself from the girls to go and find Ezra.
The dark haired girl made her way through the crowd, slowly approaching Ezra, who was surrounded by a group of friends.
The girl brought her red beer cup up to her lips while she came to a stand near the group, who were dancing funny with each other. Taking a sip of the drink she had poured herself while standing in the kitchen, she continued watching them.
The group of boys were singing loudly while Garce smiled before she walked over to the empty couch and sat down.
Suddenly Ezra's eyes met Grace's. The smile on the blond boy's face grew immediately and he whispered something into his friends ear. They nodded at him before Ezra started to approach the girl.
His blond hair was falling into his face while he settled down next to her, exhaling deeply. Grace saw from the corner of her eye, how Ezra turned his body to face her.
She then slowly turned towards him, a small smile forming on her lips. The boy raised his eyebrows at her, his blue eyes piercing into her brown ones.
"Sooo-Are you going to keep staring at me, or are you gonna say something?" He made a pause before he continued, tucking his hair behind his ear, "I mean, I know that I'm breathtaking-"
The dark haired girl let out an amused chuckle, while she pushed her hair strands behind her ear, "Oh, wow. You're funny. You're a funny guy-"
Ezra chuckled as well before he leaned forward winking at her, "I know."
Grace shook her head to herself before she smirked, "You're so drunk right now."
Ezra nodded his head, "I am." The two chuckled again before he held out his hand for her to take. "Wanna go outside and talk?"
Grace took his hand, giving him a considering look before she nodded her head, "Yeah."
The two got onto their feet and made their way onto the front porch, where they were greeted by Conrad, Steven, Jeremiah and Cameron.
Jeremiah's eyes widened in excitement when he saw the Conklin girl, "Gracie!- Look I'm beating Conrad's ass right now in beer pong!"
Grace's eyes flickered from Jeremiah over to the other boys and immediately were met with Conrads.
The boy had this look on his face, the typical Conrad look, which Garce couldn't read at all. His eyes then traveled over her body and down to her hand.
Grace noticed only now, that she was still holding onto Ezra's hand. But she quickly decided that she kept holding onto the blond, because why would she care what Conrad thought.
The girl then smiled at Jeremiah, "Congrats, Jere!"
Jeremiah then looked at the blond boy besides her, "Hey, Ezra. Looking good tonight." The blond boy salute him while he smiled at the boy thankfully. "You too, Jere."
Steven raised his eyebrows at the boy, "Wanna join in?"
Ezra gave Grace a questioning look and the girl smiled before she nodded her head. "Yeah, sure."
They continued playing the game until Belly came outside, steeling Cameron away, to drive her home.
Grace knew that something wasn't right with her sister, but she couldn't get herself to join her until she have had a bit alone time with Ezra.
The two finished their game and then quickly excused themselves from the little group, before walking down towards the garden.
Grace was too wrapped up in Ezra's blue eyes and dreamy blond hair, to notice the longing gaze Conrad casted after her.
The two teenagers made their way through the garden, while exchanging funny and embarrassing story's from their past and their phone numbers.
Grace knew that she really liked this guy and she was sure that she wanted this thing between them to become something more.
The dark haired girl bit down onto her lower lip while she listened to the boy besides her crack a joke. They had stopped and sat down by a large tree, that stood a bit hidden from the party.
"I don't know if I've already told you, but you look really beautiful tonight-" he rubbed the back of his neck before he turned a tint red in his face. "I- I mean, not that you're not always beautiful - I mean- you are- I mean- oh god-"
A large smile formed on Garce face and she slowly grabbed the boy's chin with her hand and turned him to face her. The two were now looking into each other's eyes, before Grace saw how his flickered down towards her lips for two small seconds. "Ezra- shut up and kiss me."
The blond boy let out an awkward chuckle, while a smile spread across his face. "Oh- okay." He slowly leaned down and placed his hand on her jawline while the other one was burried in her dark hair.
Grace quickly grabbed onto his hair as well while their lips connected and a warmth spread through her entired body.
She never wanted this kiss to ever end but that dream was destroyed when she heard Jeremiah's voice call out for her into the garden. "Grace-! We want to leave!"
The dark haired girl ouleld back and gave Ezra an apologetic smile while the two stubbled onto their feet. She couldn't make the smile disappear from her lips, so she winekd at him and started walking backwards towards Jeremiah, "I'll see you around."
Ezra had his hands stuffed into his pockets while he nodded at her, smiling as well, "Yeah, I'll see you."
𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐄, Sarah and Jeremiah sat in the kitchen, having breakfast in silence, fighting the headache that was about to overcome them. The older Clonking girl was deep in thoughts, thinking back to the moment where Belly had told her that Taylor had made out with Steven.
So Jeremiah was the first to notice the young Conklin girl, that had entered the kitchen, "Morning, Bell's."
The girl sat down on their opposite, "Morning." Jeremiah pointed at his drink while he raised his eyebrows, "Want one?"
Belly just gave him a blank stare before she grabbed the package of cornflakes and let them fall into her mouth.
Jeremiah chuckled amused, "Okay."
Grace took a sip from her orange juice while she eyed her younger sister, "I take it you and Taylor haven't made up yet?"
Belly shook her head, "Nope. We haven't talked since last night."
"Mhm." Jeremiah placed a bowl and the milk infront of her. "Here."
"Thank you."
Sarah was shoving a spoon full of cornflakes into her mouth before she gave Belly a questioning look, "When does she leave?"
"Uh, in a couple hours. She's upstairs packing now-", Belly nodded towards the celling before her head snapped to Jeremiah. "- Hey, do you want to go on a muffin run? I-I have to get out of the house."
Jeremiah smiled at her, like she had said the most beautiful thing he had ever heard. "I'm always down for a muffin run. Uh- I'm gonna make a to-go cup. Do you kind grabbing the keys from Conrad's room?"
Belly got onto her feet, nodding her head, "Yeah, sure. Uh- is he home?
Jeremiah shook his head at her, "No, he spent the night at Nicole's."
"Okay, do you know where he keeps the keys?" The Fisher boy made a look like he was thinking over the place wehre he had last seen them.
"Uh, th-they should be in his desk." Belly nodded before she disappeared upstairs.
Sarah's gaze suddenly fell onto the clock, making her jump onto her feet, "Uh, I have to finish packing."
The girl quickly hurried up the stairs, leaving Jeremiah and Grace alone. The black haired girl glanced at the brunette boy besides her.
Jeremiah caught her gaze and frowned, "What?"
Grace chuckled to herself while she pointed at the corned of his mouth, "You got something on your face."
Jeremiah immediately whipped it away and went back to making his to-go cup. Grace continued watching him, placing her chin onto the palm of her hand, "So, you're into Belly now, huh?"
Jeremiah looked up, his blue eyes piercing through the girl, "What-? How did-"
Grace shrugged at him, "It's obvious." She them gave him a glare, "I you hurt her- I'll kill you."
Suddenly Belly jumped down the stairs, the key's in her hand before she entered the kitchen. "Got them!"
Jeremiah immediately smiled brightly and Grace had to smile as well because of his reaction. "Have fun, kids!"
The two hurried out of the kitchen before they left the house.
For the rest of the day, there wasn't much going on for Grace. She helped Sarah and Taylor packing before it was time for them to go.
Belly and Jeremiah had just gotten back when their mother dragged Belly with them to the bus station.
The girl remained sitting in the car, her mood obviously for everyone to notice, not very great.
When they reached the bus, Grace gave Taylor a big hug and the two girls gave each other a tight squeeze before Grace spoke up, "I'm sorry she didn't came to say goodbye."
The two let go of each other before the Conklin girl stepped back and turned to Sarah, before she gave her a big hug as well.
The two held onto each other for a small moment and then faced Taylor once more.
The girl seemed devastated, but she just looked at them, a sad expression on her face. "I probably deserve it."
Grace forwned at her immediately, "No, you don't. You like Steven and that's okay. Yeah, he's my brother and I don't know how someone came be in love with that. But I'm okay with it."
Suddenly Belly's voice interrupted them from behind, "Hey."
Taylor's eyes immediately snapped towards her best friend, "Hey"
The girl smiled awkwardly, "Have a safe trip." Taylor nodded, "Thanks."
Belly was about to turn and walk away but Taylor stopped her. The girl seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Uh, and about last night, you'll be happy to know that it'll never happen again. Steven said that it was a mistake and we never should have gone there, so-you know, it's whatever."
There was a moment of silence before Belly answered,"Look, I'm not mad. I- I'm just kind of weirded out. Um- I need a minute to take it all in."
"Okay. I better get going." Taylor gave her a toothless smile before she entered the bus.
Belly waved at her, "Bye."
Grace then turned to Sarah and smiled, "Call me when you get home. And say hello to your mom from me."
The dark skinned girl entered the bus and waved at her one last time before it drive off.
The two Conklin girls wrapped their arms around each other while they approached the car. "She's your best friend, Belly. She loves you."
Belly nodded her head in silence before they climbed into the car. The two were silent while their mother glanced at them.
"You know, boys might come and go, but a best friend is once in a lifetime. We have to hold tight to our friendships. Because we never know what the future will hold." She met Grace eyes and gave her a small smile, which Grace returned.