summary: every summer, it'd become a competition of who could win the most boardwalk games. this summer things were a bit different.
"jere! wait up!" you say, laughing as you chased him down the wooden planks of the boardwalk. the boards had made that same creeking sound every summer for as long as you could remember.
"nope!" he says, running off towards the first boardwalk game. darts. of course. it was his favorite; the one you'd never been able to beat him at.
"seriously jere? darts first?" you ask, chuckling and crossing two arms over your chest.
he turns to you and gives you a light wink. "you know me so well."
he handed the woman behind a counter a five, looking over at you and smiling before throwing the first dart. pop. the first balloon deflated into the wall.
"5 bucks you miss the last shot." you taunt over his shoulder. you breath close to his neck, watching goosebumps cover his tan skin.
you swear you felt him shake it off before he threw the second dart. miss.
"awh, tough luck." you giggle, pressing a kiss to his cheek. he tilts his head back and groans. you start walking towards the next game, but are stopped by a tug on your wrist.
"you're not getting away that easy. what do you say we ride the tower of terror?" jere asks, placing two hands on your shoulders and spinning you to face the tower. from the top, you could overlook almost all of cousins beach. that was until, you of course plummeted to your demise.
"seriously? do we have to?" you ask, anxiously looking up at the drop tower. jere shook your shoulders a bit, before giving you a light shove towards the tower.
"to be fair, you did say we, right? you are getting on this tower from hell with me?" you asked, approaching the enterance gates for the ride. he laughs and reaches down to hold your hand. "yes, we." he affirms you.
the ride manager opens the rusty silver gate to the ride. the same gate that's been here from the very first state fair almost 13 summers ago. you and jere were only 3 when the fair first opened; the two of you coming every summer since then.
the ride operator showed you two to the seats, pushing the shoulder restraints over your heads. you gave yours an extra tug, making sure it wouldn't come loose. you reached back over for jere's hand, shaky breaths escaping your lips.
heights, nor drops had ever been particularly your thing. both of them at the same time? even worse, you thought.
jere quickly picked up on your fear, reaching over and giving you his support. he knew you hetter than anyone. he had always been able to pick up on the little things like that.
"you're okay, i'm right here." jeremiah says next to you, giving your hand a gentle squeeze. the ride starts to slowly move upwards, the view of cousins only getting better and better.
the fancy beach houses, the soft sunmer sand, the gorgeous blue waters. what wasn't there to love about the beach town you'd spent every summer of your childhood at?
the ride car eventually hits the top. "i'll never get over this view of cousins." you say. "i'll never get over cousins, period." jeremiah says, giving your hand an extra squeeze. seconds later, the track clicks and the cart drops, soaring down.
you let out a shaky breath once the harness lift up, letting you off of the ride. you actually did it. you rode the tower of terror, the same fair ride you dreaded every year.
once the two of you were out of the exit gates and back onto the wooden planks of the boardwalk, you immeadiately turned to jere with a bright smile written across your face.
"we did it!" you cheer, pulling jere into a hug once the two of you were off the ride. he wraps two arms around your waist and picks you up, giving you a light spin in his arms.
"see, it wasn't so bad? i'm proud of you." he says smiling with that bright smile of his, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to your head.
"it'll never be so bad if it's with you." you mumbled, hoping he wouldn't hear you.
"everything's better if you're there, y/n." he replied, whispering in your ear as began to walk towards yet another boardwalk game.
you felt your stomach twist in a way it rarely ever did.
was this really happening? catching feelings for your childhood best friend? the same jeremiah fisher that you'd poured out every emotion to, every story, every conversation, everything you can think of every single summer in this same little beach town you all called your second home.
really? damn you, jeremiah fisher. this was going to be a rollercoaster of a summer.