SOMEHOW, I END up at Jeremiah's house for the so-called get-together they're hosting for the 4th of July. He bribed me with an extra ticket he had to see Blink-182, and I absolutely could not refuse.
I shut the door to my car after getting out and start heading up the stairs to the front door when I hear someone call my name.
Steven rounds the corner of the back of the house and smiles at me. I smile back and start walking over to him.
"Yo, Liv," he greets. "We're all in the backyard. Follow me."
I fall into step with him as he leads me toward the back of the house.
Just as we're about to head inside the door, the back of my top catches on a branch of one of the bushes outside. My steps falter as I'm pulled back into the branch.
"Shit," I curse under my breath. Then louder, I call out, "Steven!"
He turns around, quirking a brow and looking at me in confusion.
"My top is stuck on this fucking branch. Help a girl out, dude."
Steven snorts out a laugh. I glare at him, tossing up my middle finger. He raises his hands in defense, still grinning.
He walks over and moves behind me to try to untangle the branch from me. He works for a few seconds before I get impatient.
"Don't feel pressure to move any faster. Like, literally don't. I'm fine just staying out here until the dead of fucking night. Please, take your time."
Steven chuckles, still trying to detach the branch from my top.
"Hey, just be glad Jere isn't out here. If he was, he would record you instead of helping you."
I tick my head to the side as if pondering his statement.
"True enough."
A minute passes without any luck in removing the branch.
"It's hella stuck in there. Maybe we should cut—" Steven starts.
"No!" I yell immediately. "This top cost like thirty bucks. There's no way I'm going to cut it."
Although I can't see him, I just know Steven is shaking his head. Before he can say anything, I hear footsteps approaching us. A head of blonde curls appears in my vision, and I turn my head slightly to see Jeremiah coming up to us with a frown painted across his face.
"What are you guys doing?"
Steven looks away from where he was trying to untangle the branch and waves at Jeremiah.
"Thank God you're here," Steven says. "Liv's got herself in a sticky situation."
He moves away from behind me and toward Jeremiah. The pun is so bad, I cringe. But it makes me let out a loud laugh, regardless.
My sense of humor is broken.
"Get outta here, Steve," I say, mouth still curved into a grin. "You have shit dad jokes."
He rolls his eyes but smiles. "You still laughed, Winslet." He turns around and pats Jeremiah on the shoulder. "Good luck, bro."
With that, he walks through the door to the backyard. Shaking my head, I look at Jeremiah. He's staring back at me with a weird look on his face. Raising an eyebrow, I cross my arms.
"So...are you going to help me or what?"
Without his expression changing, he moves behind me and starts working. The strings of my top tie around my neck with most of my back showing. Because of that, I feel his callused fingers brush over my bare skin. I bite my lip, trying hard not to arch into his touch.
God, I need to get a grip.
After a few seconds, Jeremiah clears his throat.
"You know Steven is seeing someone, right?"
I furrow my eyebrows. "Okay...?"
"He really likes her."
My frown deepens. "Good for him?"
He sighs, and I suddenly feel his hot breath on the back of my neck. Suppressing a shiver, I wait for him to continue and get to the point of this conversation.
"Meaning you should stop flirting with him."
I blink. Then, I let out a loud, purely mocking laugh as I turn around to face him just as my top detangles from the branch. He lets go of my top once it's free and shoves his hands in the pockets of his shorts.
"You think I was flirting with Steven?" I ask, amusement lacing my tone.
He frowns. "Weren't you?"
I scoff. "Yeah right. He is so not my type. And either way, fake relationship or not, I wouldn't flirt with someone else while we're still doing this whole charade."
His eyes widen slightly.
"Oh."
I purse my lips at him, shaking my head. Then I let out another laugh.
"You seriously thought I was into him?"
Jeremiah rolls his eyes before swinging an arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward the door.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. You seem to get along with him. That's why I thought maybe you like him."
I jab my elbow into the side of his stomach. He lets out a grunt, glaring at me and rubbing his side.
"If you thought that, you don't know me at all, Fisher." I smirk at him, flicking his forehead. "And if you thought that that's how I flirt, you absolutely don't know me at all."
He stares at me for a long moment. Then, he snorts and ruffles my hair as he leans down so our faces our level. We stop right before we enter the door.
"You're really fucking cute sometimes, you know that?"
My eyes widen. I think my heart stops beating for the smallest second. My gaze travels between his eyes as I try to figure out what the hell is going on inside his head right now. But just as quick as he leaned down, he shoots me a small grin and then leans back up. He continues walking to the door, leading me with him.
How can he just say something like that so easily and then walk away as if it is nothing?
I don't have the chance to say anything before we're in his backyard and start mingling with everyone.
We say hi to his mom and Belly's parents and then greet all the other teenagers. We talk to Shayla and the other girls for a while before talking to Conrad and Nicole. I can tell that everyone is looking at me and Jeremiah with interest and that they're honestly a little confused at the complete shift in our relationship since last summer when we couldn't be in each other's presence without arguing about one thing or the other.
It's strange and honestly a little frustrating how easily Jeremiah can slide his arm around my waist or intertwine our fingers or lean down to kiss my forehead. It's infuriating how addicted I'm getting to being close to him.
I really fucking hate him. I can't wait until this whole thing is over.
We end up sitting by the pool with Victoria, Belly's dad's girlfriend. She seems incredibly sweet and bubbly, and she's fun to talk to.
"So," she starts after we finish a conversation about how underrated Louis Tomlinson is despite him being in the world's biggest boyband. "How long have you two been together?"
Jeremiah and I glance at each other before he smirks and answers, "About two months now, but Olivia here has been in love with me since we were in middle school."
I scoff in disbelief as I shove his ribs.
"Jeremiah here has been pining after me since the second we started going to the same school," I tell Victoria. "He used to follow me around and pick flowers for me. He was so adorable. Too bad that changed."
It's Jeremiah's turn to scoff as he rolls his eyes and pinches my side.
"Not true," he mumbles.
But it is.
Well, at least half of it is.
We started going to school together in elementary school. He did used to follow me around, but it was only to play pranks on me and tease me. And he did pick flowers for me, except he always cut them up and shredded them before sprinkling them all over my desk and notebooks.
For years, I kept finding small flower petals in my room and in the notebooks I used to write in for school.
"Well," Victoria cuts in. "You two look like you really care about each other, so I'm happy for you guys. No matter who fell first."
I laugh along with her even as something lodges inside my throat.
Later, we go inside to make margaritas and Belly joins us. Victoria shows us how she makes them and tells us how she learned how to make them. When she's done, she pours in a few glasses.
"Alright," she says, smiling. "I'm gonna take this out to your dad. Do you mind taking those out to Susannah and your mom?"
"Yeah, sure," Belly replies, sitting on the opposite side as me and Jeremiah.
"Thanks, love."
Once she leaves, Belly picks up a glass and takes a sip of the margarita, making a face as she does so.
Jeremiah quirks a brow. "Well, how is it? Strong?"
"That is amazing," Belly exclaims.
She hands it to Jeremiah who takes a sip and then nods in understanding.
"Mm, no wonder you like it. It tastes just like a Slurpee."
"Yeah, exactly."
They grin at each other.
I bite my lip, trying to swallow the sudden wave of longing that washes over me. I don't have the chance to dwell on whatever it is that I'm feeling because Jeremiah turns to me and hands me the glass.
"Try it," he says, smiling.
I take it, offering him a weak smile and then taking a sip from the glass.
"What do you think?" he probes.
"It's really good," I answer, stealing another sip.
Conrad comes in just as Belly gets up to retrieve something from the cupboard.
"What are you guys making?" he asks.
"Pomegranate margaritas," Belly says excitedly. "But with a twist."
"Well, you gotta use the good blender."
Jeremiah winces. "Oh, I haven't used that thing since the great Kool-Aid debacle of 2011."
The three of them laugh and Conrad adds, "I remember the counters were sticky for...two summers?"
I let out a laugh. "Is that why you made me go into the kitchen every time my aunt and I were at your house?"
I shove Jeremiah as he cackles at me. He quickly puts his arm around me to lock my arms down to stop me from hitting him.
"It was so worth seeing you go wash your hands and feet every time you walked in here being the germaphobe you are."
I roll my eyes, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. He doesn't budge until I stop moving. Smirking, he frees my arms but keeps one arm around me.
"You know," Conrad interrupts, looking between us with a tiny, microscopic smirk on his face. "I've been wondering how you two even got together. Who confessed first? I'm betting it was Liv."
I scoff. "Of course it was me."
Jeremiah whirls his head toward me so fast I'm surprised he doesn't get whiplash.
"Stop lying, Livvie. I confessed first."
"No, you didn't."
"Yes, I did."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"I kissed you first."
He opens his mouth to say something but comes up with a blank.
Shrugging, he agrees, "Okay, fine. Can't argue with that. But kissing doesn't mean confessing. I confessed my feelings first."
I roll my eyes. "Fine, idiot. You confessed first. Happy?"
He grins. "Extremely."
His smile is so infectious that I can't help my own lips from curving upward.
Belly lets out a little chuckle. "You two are literally the cutest."
We turn away from each other and look at her. I don't know how or why, but I always seem to forget about anyone else in the room when I'm with Jeremiah.
Conrad offers nothing but a smile and nod.
The conversation shifts to the cursed blender and to Jeremiah and Conrad's dad when suddenly said person walks into the room.
Instantly, it seems as though the vibe changes.
I notice Jeremiah's clear excitement and happiness at seeing his dad while his brother starts sulking and doesn't look nearly as happy with the arrival.
"You're going to love the firework show this year," Jeremiah tells his dad. "It's going to be the best."
I feel a sudden sense of sadness at watching Jeremiah interact with his dad. It makes me miss my dad just a little more than I already do.
"Oh," Jeremiah says, jolting me out of my thoughts. He strolls up to me and laces our fingers together. "This is Olivia, my girlfriend."
I was not ready for this introduction.
I scramble for words but finally settle on, "It's nice to see you again, Mr. Fisher."
Mr. Fisher smiles wide. "Olivia, what a lovely surprise. I hope Jere is treating you well."
I nod and open my mouth to tell him no, your son is a complete dickwad, but don't get the chance to when Susannah walks in the door and freezes when she sees her husband.
It gets a little awkward after that, but eventually, we all go back out to the party.
All the teenagers head out to the beach to hang out, and one thing leads to another and soon we're all playing drinking games and laughing and just having the best time.
It's fun being out here and hanging out with everyone. I didn't realize how cool everyone was.
We all separate after a while and then it's just me and Jeremiah on the beach sipping margaritas.
He starts to say something but goes to take a sip at the same time, so some of the drink splashes onto his shirt.
I laugh in response. "I think you've got a stain."
Jeremiah chuckles. "This isn't the stain of red wine, I'm bleeding love."
I narrow my eyes at him, and he grins.
Then, he starts to sing. Oh, God.
"I live for you, I long for you, Olivia. I've been idolizing the light in your eyes, Olivia." He grabs my shoulders, peering into my eyes. "Don't let me gooooooo."
It takes everything in me not to start grinning like a maniac, but it's no use.
I've learned that it's nearly impossible not to smile when you're around someone like Jeremiah Fisher.
I shake my head as the smile blooms across my face. Jeremiah stops singing. His smile goes soft as he looks at me.
He suddenly reaches forward and tucks away a stray strand of my hair. His palm stays on my face, his thumb brushing my cheekbone. His face starts to lean closer, so close I can taste his breath on my lips. My heart starts beating faster.
And then, just as suddenly as he came closer, he leans back and stands. He holds out a hand for me, and I take it.
The alcohol messing with my brain forces me to let go of the moment, so I do.
But it only works until the alcohol wears off.
𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲 !
s2 trailer hurt so bad even though i knew what was going to happen 😭
also i decided on writing the sirius fic!! published the intro chapter with the synopsis and casting so check it out if you're interested! the first few chapters will be published after i finish this book
i'm still planning on doing the theo fic too but i'm blanking on ideas for it rn so it'll probably come after i finish the sirius one.