𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮
☼☼☼
noa bid her sisters farewell before heading back down to the party to find her boyfriend
"hey there you are" conrad smiled once he saw the girl
"here i am, where did everyone go?" noa asked him
"i think jere and belly are in the kitchen. wanna check it out with me?" he responded with another question, while holding his hand out to the girl. noa smiled before taking his hand in hers.
the couple began their short walk to the kitchen, conrad swinging their intertwined hands with every step, making noa shake her head at his childish habit.
"what are you guys making?" conrad asked as they entered the room, noa smiling when she noticed clay and poppy in the kitchen with jeremiah and belly as well.
"pomegranate margartias, with a twist" belly smirked, speaking with a sway, making poppy chuckle at the girls slightly tipsy state from a few margarita sips.
"well you have to use the good blender" conrad chuckled as he let go of noa's hand to grab a larger, more professional looking blender. his actions causing jeremiah and belly to shake their heads, leaving all three james siblings confused.
"oh my god, i haven't used that thing since the great kool aid debacle of 2011" jeremiah chuckled looking at conrad who was beginning to laugh as well.
"i remember the counters were sticky for two summers" belly joined in with the laughter
"i'm sorry what are we talking about?" clay finally asked
"that is a story for another time my dearest clay" jeremiah smirked whilst winking at the younger james boy.
"oh my god jeremiah, you have to be the biggest hoe i know" poppy rolled her eyes at the boys words
"please poppy, you are just mad you couldn't hold on to this" the fisher boy responded whilst running his hands down his torso jokingly
"now why on earth would i want to 'hold on to' someone who fucked my twin brother and has had a crush on my older sister for the last three years?" poppy smiled back at him
"yikes"
"dang she's got you there"
everyones words sending jeremiah silent
"okay now that the annual poppy-jeremiah battle has happened let's make some margaritas" noa spoke up trying to refocus the conversations
the group began to make the drinks, conrad passing a small amount to everyone to try, belly smiled in approval after drinking hers quickly, jeremiah doing the same before speaking up,
"it's missing something" the fisher boy ponded
"more tequila" all three james siblings said at the same time before looking at each other awkwardly
"and they say twin telepathy isn't a thing" jeremiah chuckled
"i'm not a twin idiot" noa laughed at the boys words
"oh yeah"
"man you know what i miss?" conrad sighed, causing everyone to look at him, "watching laurel put dad in his place. you know she'd just walk in be like adam-"
"adam" laurel interrupted as she entered the room, her words causing all of the teens to turn their heads. "you came"
"happy fourth"
"dad!" jeremiah exclaimed "you came!" the excitement clear on the boys face and in his tone
"hey" adam smiled at his younger son as he gave him a hug, "hey guys, oh wow we have the whole james clan, well most of you" he smiled at the others, "hey connie"
conrad stayed still, choosing to ignore his father, which was noticed by noa who moved to stand behind her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around him, her actions causing the boy to relax, making belly roll her eyes, to which poppy glared daggers at the conklin girl on her sisters behalf.
"where'd everyone go?" susannah asked as she entered the crowded room as well
"hey" adam greeted his wife
"adam" the woman said with shock, "you managed to get off work"
"yeah, didn't want to miss the fourth with my family."
"okay, let's go kids, back to the party" laurel nodded trying to get everyone out the kitchen
noa and conrad returned their hands to their old positions as they exited the room before adam could interrupt, "hey connie, can i talking to you for a minute?"
before noa could tell her boyfriend she would meet him after he started talking, "we're gonna head to the beach."
☼☼☼
"may i present the belly special?!" belly yelled, placing the the drinks tray down
"those look awesome belly" nicole smiled
"uh belly theres space next to poppy on the unicorn" gigi smiled at the girl
"well thank you!" she laughed sitting next to the younger james sister
"hi! i'm belly!" she smiled
"trust me i know" poppy chuckled which caused her sister to kick her in the leg, "sorry, i mean i'm poppy nice to finally be introduced" she smiled correcting herself.
before noa knew it cam had joined the party, causing conrad to offer the boy a drink which made noa shake her head remembering he doesn't drink alcohol.
"oh i'm good man" cam declinded, "i don't drink"
"yes that's right" the older fisher chuckled, "more for me" he smiled before downing his third glass,
"maybe slow down love, save some for the rest of us" noa smiled before giving him a peck on the lips,
"yeah its not a race conrad" jeremiah laughed,
"okay, but what if it was a race? i mean isn't that the premise of like every drinking game ever?" belly asked
"you wanna play a drinking game?" gigi asked with confusion
"i mean it is the fourth of july right?" she asked
"fuck it. let's do it" steven laughed
an hour had passed and the group of teens were having a great time, noa deciding she had enough and was going to tap out.
"hey i'm gonna go get a water or something" she whispered in conrad's ear
"no wait, i'll come with you, i'm getting a bit bored" the boy quickly jumped up before turning around to the others, "uh guys noa and i are finished we're gonna head back up"
"yeah i think i might stop too" nicole joined them
"same" gigi and shayla decided
this leading to everyone deciding to head back up, causing belly to be annoyed, all she could wonder was why did everyone have to follow noa?