𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑬𝑵𝑪𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑺𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑾𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑹
✸ 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 ───
your electric touch
🍉☀️🌸 ﾟ･ׂׂૢ࿐
ANIKA Crestview was a phenomenal actress. How she paraded around a holiday party and cut up with old friends like she was perfectly happy and living her best life was beyond her daughter's comprehension.
Every question about her father was answered as if he really were away on a business trip and not just trying to get away from his wife. Nobody there knew that she'd spent the summer days drinking and the nights going out late with friends that either never told or couldn't remember. They had no idea how fucked up the Crestview home was.
To them, it was the picture perfect family they all strived to be like. It made Vivica sick.
Still, she did the same as her mom and put on the show while at Susannah's party— not for her mother's sake, but for everybody else's.
Everything was going fine until it was Jeremiah's turn to talk to her mother. She realized this would be the first time they ever met, for her mom had only ever heard about him through conversations with Vivica and Jamie.
And with JB spending the holiday weekend at home with his mom, Vivica was left to manage it on her own, nerves almost tearing her to pieces.
Hesitantly, she let Jeremiah halfway drag her across his backyard towards her own mother, weaving in and around other guests.
"I don't know what you're so worried about, parents love me." He assured her as they got closer.
Of course they did. But other parents weren't her mom, the world's harshest and most unqualified critic.
"Mom," Vivica said once she was all but forced over to her mother's side. "I want you to meet somebody."
Anika lifted her sunglasses from her face and pushed them into her dark hair. Her scrutinizing gaze fell over Jeremiah and he practically thrived underneath it.
"This is Jeremiah." Vivica introduced him, wishing to give no further explanation as to what their relationship was. "Susannah's youngest son."
"Oh! Is this the boy that Jamie keeps bringing up around the house?" Her mother asked in an excited tone after throwing the boy a rather dismissive wave. "The one you're going out with?"
Hyper-aware of the presence of both of Jeremiah's parents within hearing distance, Vivica nodded.
"Now, I've actually been meaning to ask you about this," Anika began, pointing an absentminded finger at her daughter and practically ignoring Jeremiah. "What happened with Cameron? I thought you and him had something going on?"
"Mom!" Vivica exclaimed, turning bright red as her mother's loud voice traveled across the landscape. Jeremiah looked slightly panicked, looking at Vivica with wide eyes as if asking what he needed to do.
"No! Cam's dating Belly, Laurel's daughter. And Jeremiah's trying to speak with you, you
should—"
Her voice was cut short by her mother's gleeful voice exclaiming, "Cameron! There you are, honey, we were just talking about you."
Vivica whirled around to find a smiling Cam, who'd apparently just arrived without her knowledge.
"All good things, I hope." The boy chuckled. "Hey, Viv, Jeremiah." He nodded to the two teens in greeting before his attention was snatched away.
Anika gave the boy a motherly side-hug and exchanged greetings with him, forgetting the conversation with her daughter and her supposed boyfriend.
"Now, Vivica was just telling me that you're dating someone? You know she and Jamie never keep me filled in on anything." Anika remarked, the drink in her hand swishing about.
"I am, yes ma'am. She's around here somewhere . ." Cam's view drifted around the yard in search of Belly, only to find that she— like the other teenagers— was nowhere to be seen.
"Yeah, she's already down on the beach." Vivica told him, butting her way back into the conversation. "Jere and I are heading there now, c'mon."
As much as she loved her mom, if she didn't get away now, Vivica might have a meltdown. This whole interaction had been beyond embarrassing, and it needn't continue any longer.
"Alrighty then. It was nice talking to you." Cam waved to Anika as he joined Jeremiah on his awkward walk backwards, towards the path to the beach.
Vivica waved them on as she stayed back for a moment to speak to her mother.
"Why don't you go talk with Susannah, yeah?" She suggested to her mother, easing the now empty glass out of her hands. "And please, please, don't drink any more while you're here. For me?"
She kept her voice low, for she knew her mother wouldn't want anybody else hearing such a request.
"Oh please, I know what I'm doing." Anika waved her off. That wasn't a disagreement, so her daughter took it as a win. "Go on ahead then, have fun with your friends."
Vivica offered a smile before bidding her mom goodbye and heading off to the beach, finding Jeremiah waiting for her where the grass blended into sand.
When she found his eyes on her, she hid her face in her hands as she began to walk slower.
"Dear heavens, was that embarrassing." She groaned into her palms. "I'm sorry she was so rude to you, I don't know what's up with her."
Jeremiah waved her off, insisting it was fine.
"She's just like, really good friends with Cam's mom. And she's always loved the idea of him and I together. I'm sure it's nothing against you." She assured him, rambling on.
At that statement, Jeremiah couldn't help but wonder if Vivica really liked Cam or if she just liked the fact that her mom liked him. She was no stranger to doing things just for her mother's approval, and he knew that even though he wouldn't ever remark on it.
The idea gave him a small spark of hope, even if it was foolish in reality. He didn't care, and he didn't mention it in case it was dead wrong.
When they met the group at the beach, everyone else was half a pitcher deep in drinks already, playing some stupid game whilst spread out across towels, chairs, and inflatables.
"Aye, look who finally decided to join the party!" Steven called from his spot beside Shayla, throwing his hands up in the air.
Jeremiah clapped his hangs with Steven's and took a seat in the sand beside him, pulling Vivica over with him.
She leaned comfortably against his side, the two diving into conversation with Shayla and Steven as everyone else finished up their game.
Soon enough, drinking games turned into dance parties to corn-hole games to splashing each other in the ocean.
A handful of half tipsy and half sober teenagers on the beach probably wasn't the best idea, but they were having a blast.
Grateful to have left her mother to her own friends and escape to the beach with these people, Vivica found she was enjoying herself more than she had expected.
As the boys hooped and hollered over their game of corn-hole, she sat near the ocean with Shayla, their conversation from beforehand picking right back up.
But when the boys got quiet, they should've known that something was up.
"I really think we've got a good shot in the tournament, though." Shayla remarked, referring to the club's upcoming charity event.
"I'd say. I've seen Steven play and he's got a pretty good shot. You know Gigi's participating this year?" Vivica asked.
"What?" Shayla gasped, turning her head to shoot an unseen look to Gigi, who was listening to music with Belly and Nicole.
"Right! She's teaming up with JB, which is something I never expected to see." Vivica informed her.
"Her escort isn't playing with her? Why—"
Shayla shot to her feet with a gasp, as a bucketful of salty water was splashed into her lap.
Before she could even process the giggly scream that her friend was directing towards Steven, Vivica felt her warm skin get doused in cold water just as Shayla's had.
She sprung up in reaction, the shock of the water giving her energy to retaliate to whomever it was that had splashed her, much like Shayla was doing now to Steven, who was knee-deep in the ocean.
She turned around and was to her surprise met by Cam, an empty bucket in hand that he had forged from who knew where. For some reason, Vivica found herself disappointed that it wasn't Jeremiah, who was still a ways away with Conrad.
Still, she wasn't going to let someone get away with inevitably ruining her hair, even if it was her best friend.
"Cam Cameron, you ass!" She screamed. Snatching up the bucket he'd dropped to the sand, she filled it with ocean water and took off after him.
Luckily for her, Shayla was on her side and not letting Cam get very far. She pushed the boy back towards Vivica, who then dumped the contents of the bucket on him like he'd done to her.
Cam got the worse of it, considering she hit him square in the chest, whereas half of his attack had ended up in the sand instead of actually on Vivica like he and Steven had planned.
With a slow-approaching grin, Cam opened his arms wide. "You wanna hug, Viv?" He asked.
"No. No—"
She attempted to run away, but Cam quickly wrapped both his arms around her and squeezed tight, smothering her with his wet clothes and limbs.
The girl squalled until he let her go, resulting in laughter from Cam, Steven, and Shayla.
Meanwhile, from where he stood beside Jeremiah, Conrad pushed his brother in the shoulder for the second time.
"Jere." He repeated. "Hello?"
"Hm?" Jeremiah hummed, tearing envious eyes away from the ocean and the giggling pair at its edge.
"You good?" Conrad asked, looking at Jeremiah with knowing eyes. Like he hadn't seen the looks his brother had been giving Cam and Vivica the entire afternoon.
"Yeah," Jeremiah lied, putting on a smile. "Fine."
✸ ⁺. ✿ ˖ ࣪
VIVICA was having a better time at the party than she ever would've imagined she was going to that morning. But of course, something just had to ruin it.
Belly was wasted, Conrad was in bitch mode because of his dad, and Vivica couldn't find her mom anywhere.
When she asked where the woman was, Susannah told her that Anika had been arguing on the phone before leaving in a haste, without any explanation given.
Vivica was quick to call up her mom, only to get sent to voicemail. She tried again and again, but after her fourth attempt, she gave up and decided she needed to get home. Only problem was that her ride was now gone.
Walking back outside, she found that the deb girls were on their way out as well, leaving only her and Cam as the remaining guests.
"Cam!" She called over as he was telling Belly goodbye. "Hey, sorry to bother but can you uh, give me a ride home? My mom's gone and Jere's down at the beach."
"Oh, yeah, of course." He nodded. He then turned back to Belly, who was drunk out of her mind and probably didn't know what he was saying anyways. "You're all good, right?"
"I am, I am. All good to go." She told him, patting his arm as she stretched out her words.
Cam nodded and the pair set off. What started as a great party turned into a bust for just about everybody, one way or another.
When Cam pulled out of the driveway to the Fisher's house, Vivica's phone rang. Hoping that it was her mom, the girl answered in an instant without even bothering to check the caller ID.
"Hello?"
"Hey," The voice on the other end of the phone quipped. Not her mom, Jeremiah. "My mom said you were needing a ride, but I can't find you. Is everything okay?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Cam's giving me a ride home. I couldn't get ahold of my mom and I'm just a little worried is all." Vivica answered.
"Oh." She heard from the other end, not missing the drop in his voice. "Well, if everything's a-okay, will you come back?"
She was hesitant to respond, her mouth opening and closing several times before answering. "I don't know, Jere . . ."
Blowing a curl out of her face, Vivica came to the realization that her hair was now drying and probably looked horrific with the natural texture showing. She became suddenly aware of how it'd probably looked that way for at least an hour now, embarrassed that there was nothing she could do to fix it.
"Please. I wanted you to see the fireworks, sunshine." He pleaded with her, and she couldn't help but wonder if Steven was near him on the other end of the phone and was the reason he used a nickname.
"Fine. I might be back, but don't hold your breath." She sighed.
"That's not a no." He responded, and she could practically hear the snarky grin in his voice.
Looking up at the slowing of the car, she found that Cam was pulling into her driveway.
"I've gotta go, I'm home now." She spoke into the phone, hanging up after she exchanged goodbyes with Jeremiah.
"Thanks, Cam." She told him, already pushing open her door. Usually, she would linger around and try to keep talking to him for as long as possible, but her mother's sudden disappearance from a party was something that never happened and therefore set her on edge.
Besides, did she really want to stick around aimlessly anymore?
"Oh," She stopped herself after she got out of the car and leaned her head down to look at him. "And don't worry about Belly, she's in good hands with them."
Cam offered a smile. "I know. Thanks."
Vivica gave him one last smile and they said goodbye, waving at one another. She then climbed up the steps to her house, and for the first time noticed the extra vehicle in the driveway. Her dad's.
Oh.
She wished she could've waited for Cam to leave to open the door, but she knew he wasn't going to go anywhere until he knew she'd safely made it indoors.
So, biting the bullet, she pulled the door open and quickly shut it behind her.
She could hear their voices from the entrance, and she also heard them stop abruptly when the door closed. She'd closed it loudly on purpose.
"Mom?" She called into the household.
After a moment, she could hear the sigh as her mom called back, "In the kitchen!"
Vivica walked to the room mentioned tentatively, but broke into a run when she saw her dad. Jumping into his arms like a little girl, she hugged him around the neck and asked, "Dad! When'd you get home?"
"Hey, honey." Her father responded, hugging her briefly. "Not too long ago, maybe an hour."
"Oh," Vivica muttered, taking a step back so that she could see both her parents. Her mom's cheeks and under-eyes were stained with mascara. "That's why you left, huh?"
Anika nodded silently, her tongue rolling around inside her mouth. She looked either angry or sad, her daughter couldn't tell which.
"Are you uh, going to be back for the rest of summer? Or do you have to leave again?" Vivica asked her dad.
"Yeah, go ahead and tell her, Isaac. You gonna be around for the rest of summer?" Anika remarked, leaning against the kitchen island.
Vivica watched as her father's jaw clenched, his eyes looking everywhere but at his wife.
Vivica could feel her chest tightening. Sure, they'd had a big fight before her dad's business trip and her mom had been drinking a lot more recently, but she'd never seen them act like this. Like they couldn't even stand the other's presence— like they hated each other.
But that couldn't be possible, because these were her parents. Anika and Isaac Crestview. Not only her heroes but the entire town's idols, the perfect pair.
If they were so perfect, then why were they acting this way? And what were they hiding from their daughter?
"Now's not the time for this, Anika." Her father said, voice stoic and devoid of emotions. He never called her mother by her full name. It was always Ani or some gross pet name like babe, but never Anika.
"Why not? What, you gonna try and shelter her away from it forever like you did everything else?" Anika shouted abruptly, her voice louder than her daughter had ever heard it. "And you wonder why things happened the way they did."
Vivica had seen her mom drunk enough times to know that was what this was. How she'd even made the drive from the Fisher's to the house was a blessing in itself.
"Mom, maybe you should go lay down for a little bit. It's been a long day and—"
Vivica tried the same old tactics she always did when her mother got worked up, but it didn't work this time.
"No, you little— ugh! I am a grown woman, I know how to take care of myself." She exclaimed in an outburst, slamming her hand down on the countertop.
The loud sound made her daughter flinch and take a step back. Tears welled up in Vivica's eyes, but she did her very best to blink them away.
"Fine. If we're not doing this right now, I'm leaving. I need some air or something." Anika sneered, waving her hands around before leaving the room. Her exit was followed by the sound of the back door slamming, meaning she was going to their backyard, where nobody could see her.
Sighing, Isaac rubbed a hand across his forehead. "I'm sorry, Viv. Has she been acting like this a lot?" He sighed.
"Um, it really hasn't ever been this bad before." Vivica told him, wiping away a tear that strayed down her cheek. "She has been drinking more, but I just— I thought that was because you were gone."
Maybe she was just stupid, but Vivica wouldn't make herself believe that it was because they were fighting that her mom was drinking. She wanted it to be the ideal situation where Anika just missed her husband so much when he was away on business that she had nothing else better to do. But a part of Vivica knew better.
"I should've known." Her father shook his head. He began to ask another question, or maybe to make some nasty remark about Anika, but Vivica interrupted before he could. She couldn't do this whole interrogation thing any longer. She wasn't going to be their mediator.
"I uh, actually have somewhere to be. I'll be back in a few hours." She muttered, going to grab her keys from the kitchen counter.
"Where you going?" Her father asked.
"Back to the Fisher's. For the fireworks." She answered curtly, slipping back on the shoes she'd taken off at the door.
"Okay . . Yeah, have fun." Her dad called, still in the kitchen. His mind was far away from whatever his daughter was doing, but it was routine to ask.
"Yeah." She muttered under her breathe before heading out the house, calling out a fake cheery goodbye through the door.
When she got into her car, Vivica stopped holding in her tears and allowed them to silently fall, only accompanied by the sound of her sniffling.
After having a moment, she took in a deep breath and swatted away the tears from her skin. With her vision no longer blurry from tears, she cranked up her car and pulled out her driveway, heading back towards the Fisher's.
✸ ⁺. ✿ ˖ ࣪
WHEN she made it to the part of the beach that Jeremiah was at, Vivica regretted ever getting so close to him. Because if she hadn't, he would've just been like everybody else and not known something was wrong. But he wasn't just like everybody else anymore, he could read her better than she could read herself.
"Hey," He smiled when he saw her approach, but it quickly melted away when her facial expression came into view. She wasn't frowning, but she had a look that he could just tell was off. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, why?" She answered quickly, putting a smile on her face.
"Well, you left without saying goodbye, you sounded worried on the phone, and now you're being all quiet." Jeremiah listed, rattling off every hint that something was up.
"Being quiet?" She asked through a small chuckle.
"Yeah. The Vivica I know would've marched onto this beach with her arms thrown in the air and shouting about how excited she was to see fireworks." He told her with a know-it-all look on his face.
Vivica couldn't hold back the amused eye roll she sent him.
"It's nothing, I swear. It's just been a long day." She lied, her fingers habitually running through her hair. Her hair was a mess still, thanks to Cam's attack of ocean water, and she was partially panicking on the inside at the fact.
"I don't really believe you, but I'll drop it." He said, with a tone that indicated he would be bringing it up again later. "But you know you can talk to me, right?"
"I know." She nodded with a small smile. She didn't know until now, and it felt nice to hear.
"Hey, since when did this happen?" He asked, respecting her wishes and moving swiftly on from the topic she clearly didn't want to dwell on. He stepped closer and twirled a curl of hair around his finger.
"Since when did what happen?" She chuckled, not even thinking to push his hand away. Usually she hated her curls even being acknowledged, but his gesture made her feel like they might even be something worth acknowledging.
"Your hair's curly. It's always been straight." He said. He'd drifted closer to her without meaning to, but neither of them were protesting.
"No, it's always been curly. I just straighten it because I hate the way the curls look, they're ugly." She informed him, rolling her eyes yet again at the thought.
Her entire life it was what she'd thought, and nobody had ever told her differently. She'd always seen other girls with gorgeous curls that bounced behind them as they walked and shined under the sunlight, but every time she saw them on herself it was just a frizzy, ugly mess.
"I don't think so." Jeremiah said, pushing the loose curl behind her ear. His fingertips lingered on her jaw, sending a tingle through Vivica's skin. "I think it's beautiful."
Nobody had ever said that to her before. Vivica felt the desire to lean in closer to his field of gravity, like there was this invisible force pulling them together. His words soothed her insecurities and his voice sounded like home.
"Stop," She told him, but it came out as a whisper. She didn't want him to stop, she wanted him to pull her face closer so that the only thing she could see was him instead of the beach around, but she needed him to stop. Because if he didn't, this fake relationship was going to involve her very real feelings that she'd been neglecting. "Nobody's around, you don't have to act."
"I'm not acting." He told her— whispered, just like she had. The low volume felt appropriate, because then only they could hear it, nobody else. Jeremiah didn't give two shits if anyone was around, he was tired of the act anyways.
"Then why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, mesmerized by the shimmer in his kaleidoscopic eyes.
"Like what?" He smiled in amusement, eyes taking in every last detail of her face.
"Like you actually see me as something real. Like we're real," She admitted, finding it a little harder to breathe in the small gap between them. "When we're not."
"But we could be."
His response was immediate and sure, like he'd been waiting his entire life to say it. He wanted more than anything for them to be real. He didn't care about how everything started, because in his eyes it was him and her, it always had been.
His free hand wandered its way over to her hip, and she did her best to ignore the way his skin on hers felt so right. His touch was electric, rejuvenating her with even the simplest of brushes.
His eyes flashed down to her lips the way they'd done before, but this time was different. This time she caught him, and it was all she needed.
Vivica's hand found the back of his neck and pulled him closer, feeling him reciprocate the action by holding her face closer to his own. She closed the gap between them and placed her lips on his.
That was when the fireworks began, literally.
The kiss was sweet and slow. Absolutely perfect. It was one of those kisses that could knock the breathe out of you and then make you forget that you needed oxygen in the first place.
Jeremiah hooked his finger through the belt loops of her jeans, pulling her impossibly closer as he deepened the kiss.
Her hand traveled up to his hair, winding her fingers through his curls as her other hand soon joined. Fireworks exploded in the night sky up above, but the real electricity was right there, between them.
Bathed in the explosive colors from fireworks in the sky, they separated. Vivica had a sweet smile on her face, the redness of her cheeks disguised by the reds and blue that illuminated the sky.
Jeremiah smiled too, and with one look at each other, the burst into a fit of giggles. Their first kiss was like a firework explosion, literally.
But it changed everything.
Jeremiah opened his mouth to speak, but a different voice filled the air before he could.
"I did it, man!" Steven exclaimed, running towards the couple on the beach with excitement.
Jeremiah and Vivica turned towards him, his arm subconsciously snaking around her waist after he untangled his fingers from her belt loops.
Seemingly unaware of what he'd just interrupted, Steven raised his hand for a fist bump, which Jeremiah complied to.
"Shayla is officially my girlfriend." He grinned.
"That's great, man." Jeremiah congratulated him, though his mind was far off.
Now with Steven there, he and Vivica couldn't discuss what the kiss meant— not without giving away that until that very moment, their relationship had been fake.
Even so, he was okay with that. Because in this moment, it was him and her underneath the light of the stars and fireworks on a hot summer night, and nothing could've been more perfect.
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