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A/N Go click that little star real quick;)
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I felt someone tickle under my chin and I smiled sheepishly. I was still in my daze,thinking it was just a dream. Then those fingers moved to my waist and started tickling me. I let out a scream of amusement and then I heard my most favorite sound in the world: Conrad's laughter.
My body groaned in response and I pulled a pillow over my head. His laughter softened to chuckles and now he was tickling my foot. I cringed and jerked my foot up curling into a ball. And then there were lips on mine and I smiled sheepishly earning another kiss on the forehead.
"Merry Christmas",I smiled at Con with my eyes closed. He chuckled and said,"Merry Christmas beautiful." My heart squeezed and I smiled even wider keeping my eyes closed.
"Get up Belly",Conrad said pulling my blanket.
"Five more minutes",I groaned pulling my blanket close.
"It's Christmas morning."
"But I slept real late",I argued.
"So did I."
"You're an alien",I pouted in my sleep.
"You're not gonna listen, are you?"
I shrugged in response.
Suddenly I was being lifted, my blanket slipping away from my body and I was thrown on Con's arm with his collar bone poking my stomach.
"Put me down",I cried at Conrad's back. I kept hitting his sides softly and he kept chuckling. He walked into the bathroom with me on his torso and then placed me on the counter. Steven was there brushing his teeth.
He laughed softly at us and shook his head. I knit my eyebrows together and puffed my cheeks because of the drama queen I am. Con looked at me and raised an eyebrow playfully and I folded my arms and looked away. Conrad chuckled at my foolishness.
"You guys fighting?",Steven asked.
"What do you think?",Con asked picking up the toothpaste.
"That you're fooling around",Steven answered honestly.
Conrad chuckled and started brushing his teeth while I still sat on the counter.
"Merry Christmas by the way",Steven said looking at Con through the mirror. He winked in response.
"You too",Steven said looking at me.
I poked my tongue out in response.
Con shook his head and laughed with his mouth full of foam. Steven rolled his eyes and walked off. I hopped down and grabbed my scrunchie from the drawer and made a messy bun. I gave Con one last glare and walked out of the bathroom.
In five minutes Con was back in the room and picked me up from behind, carrying me to the bathroom. I was on the counter again with my cheeks puffed dramatically because no one wakes someone up at six in the morning, specially if that person is me: a not so morning person.
He gave me my toothbrush and said,"Brush. Now."
I obliged and brushed my teeth without looking at him. When I was done I was walking out of the bathroom when Con caught my arm, locked the door and turned me around.
"What?",I asked folding my arms and looking away.
"Whats wrong? Are you mad at me?"
"I'm not a morning person and yes",I huffed.
He chuckled and said,"Come on Belly. You know you can't stay mad at me forever."
No response.
He nudged me in the ribs and said,"Who's gonna compliment you when you dress up tonight huh?
"Taylor." Ha! Take that.
The next thing I knew I was lifted from my feet and lightly slammed against the door with Con looking at me with a smirk on his face.
Aw man, this guy can't stop trying. I finally gave up and smiled. He smiled in return and kissed me hard."My drama queen",he mumbled between kisses. I chuckled and kept kissing him. "Good morning",I said sweetly.
"Morning",he said laughing and breaking away. "So you're finally up huh",he said.
"Yup."
"Anybody in?",Taylor asked from the outside of the door.
"Us!",we both chorused.
"Ew. Cooties",Taylor said and we heard footsteps walk away.
Both of us laughed and Con put me down.
"Let's go open presents",Con said.
"Piggy back ride?",I asked.
Con groaned but carried me nonetheless.
***
Jere looked at me after opening his present and smiled widely. I had a feeling he loved the tie.
"Thankyou",he said greatfully.
"You can wear it for the wedding",Sherely said and smiled.
"Really?", I asked surprised.
"Yeah why not."
Con gave me a hug from behind and a small peck on the cheek. I smiled up at him and went to open my presents. The first one was from Jere and Sherely. A box of candles and scents. Just my vibe, I thought. I said thank you and opened the next one from my mom. A book of how to cook better was the first thing inside the box. Everyone laughed. "Hey, I can cook alright",I protested.
"Sure you can. Poor Con has to cook or order takeouts",Steven said. I stuck my tongue out at him.
"Nah, she cooks good",Con said and I gave him a grateful smile. "Her speciality is ready to cook food",Con joked. I slapped his arm and felt my cheeks get red in embarrassment.
***
Age 15
"I'm gonna go tan mom",I screamed from the porch as I held my beach towel, tanning lotion and a water bottle in my hands. I was wearing my red dotted bikini with my floppy beach hat on my head.
"Take the boys with you hon",Susannah said as she walked towards me.
"No please Susannah. As much as I would love to be buried in sand when I wake up, I'd have to deny your offer. Preety please",I cooed. "I need peace."
"And peace you shall get",Susannah chuckled and hugged me tight. She patted my hat and said,"Be back by lunch."
"Okay."
I was laying on the sand with my hat covering my eyes form the sun when I felt something crawl on me. I jerked awake to see a crab on my stomach. I shrieked loudly and jumped to my feet. And then there was laughter.....I could only imagine from whom.
I turned to see Jeremiah, Con and Steven laughing their heads off with some words escaping their mouths like 'Should've seen your face!', 'The crab was scared of you!' and blah blah blah....
"Agh",I cringed. I picked up my things and stormed off to the crowded part of the beach, the boys trailing behind me. "Stop!",I said casually. "Stop what?",Steven said. I ignored him and kept walking until they left me alone.
When they turned their backs to return home I had an idea. I dropped all my things and uncapped my water bottle. I tiptoed towards them and spilled all my water on the three of them.
"What the-",Conrad shrieked. They turned to find a self satisfied me. "Now we're even."
"Enough!",Steven shrieked. "God atleast you weren't wearing clothes!",Jere said.
"Excuse me!",I said."Do you mean I'm naked!" The response to this was my screaming and the Boys's laughter as Conrad picked me by the arms, Jeremiah my left foot and Steven my right.
"Ladies and gentlemen",Jere started as they carried me towards the shore. "We present the next version of the Belly-Flop, The Belly-Sea-Flop!"
"This so ridiculous. I don't want to get wet! I've been working on my tan!",I cried.
"You're tan enough. You don't need to change yourself Belly. You're perfect the way you are",Conrad said looking straight ahead at the sea.
Aw,my mind cooed.
They're still throwing you, I said.
I take my aw back.
And then there was water....
***
"Are you guys ready?",Jeremiah said knocking on our door. We were getting ready for our Christmas dinner which was going to be followed by a party thrown by Clay. Mr.Clay ready to save the day.
"Yup. Down in a minute",I said from my room.
"Make that two",Conrad said coming behind me and wrapping his arms around me as I picked up a small diamond necklace from its case.
I chuckled while Jere laughed before he said,"Just be there."
"Pervert",I said as I took in the smell of Conrad's cologne. "You smell nice."
"You got it for me",he chuckled and placed a kiss on my cheek. Conrad was wearing a formal navy blue suit with a white shirt and a red tie matching my dress completely. My dress was elegant with a small v-line on my chest and ended around mid thigh.
"Help me put this on",I said gesturing towards the necklace in my hand. He carefully swept my hair on my left shoulder and hooked the necklace. He then smoothed my hair in their place placing a small kiss on my neck before snuggling into me again.
"You're beautiful." I smiled in response and stared at the reflection in the mirror. I saw a twenty five year old and an almost twenty seven year old guy looking at each other with such admiration that would melt anybody's heart. I remembered Daisy's words, and I think that yes, we do seem to be deeply in love and we do produce a vibe.
"What?",he asked catching me in deep thought.
"I love you",I said softly.I saw the way his eyes shown everytime I said those three simple words. I've been saying them for what felt like my entire life and they still held the same power, the same energy and the same electricity.
"I can say that one hundred times but never find it enough",he said as he nuzzled his head in my hair. I only smiled knowing how true what he said was.
"Time to go kids",Taylor knocked on the door.
"What do we do about her?",Con asked swinging us from left to right.
"You mean about her snooping around us or her and Steven?",I asked.
He stopped swinging and stayed still but didn't unwrap me. He slowly placed his chin on my head and said,"Both."
"Well, it's not Taylor without snooping",I chuckled and continued,"Whereas for her and Steven I think we can talk after the party."
"Okay",he said."Hey,it's okay. It'll be fine. That head of yours",he tapped my head,"Thinks a lot."
I laughed and said,"I just hoped they'll come clean to me." I frown slightly.
"Belly?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you allow it?"
"You mean them together? Yeah I think I would."
He smiled and said,"They're perfect together. Snooping their heads in our relationship everywhere they go. I mean come on for god's sake we're married." He chuckled.
"Yeah. I wonder what they'll do once they really are together."
"We'll have to wait and find out."
***
The dinner was amazing. Specially the desert. Conrad kept our hands enterwined on my knee the entire time which made it difficult to eat but was still manageable.
The dinner ended around eight which gave us about an hour until the party. As much as I wanted to have a peaceful evening, I wanted to take the little weight of my shoulders. So I approached Taylor with a friendly smile and said,"Can we talk?" Those three words. Simple but powerful. Powerful enough to contradict someone's feelings but simple enough for them to oblige.
"Okay",she replied.
"Do you know what it's about?"
"I think so."
Taylor, I, Conrad and Steven were standing in the centre of my room. To me it looked like a serious movie scene when the kids break some bad news to their parents. Taylor was looking at her feet while Steven maintained more distance than necessary from her while Conrad kept rubbing circles on the back of my hand.
"So? What's up?",I asked cautiously. Conrad pinched the back of my hand lightly which I took as a sign that I was a bit too casual.
"Oh um",Taylor stuttered.
"Wait. Let's cut the beating around the bush guys",I said surprising myself and the others. Conrad looked at me with a are-you-sure-this-is-the-right-way-to-start-a-conversation look while Taylor and Steven looked confused.
I cleared my throat and said,"I think I have a fair idea of what's going on. You two like each other and you're worried that I caught you guys and you want to know how I feel about it."
I let it sink in and continued,"Well, hear is my word. I'm fine with it."
Steven and Taylor shot their heads up and looked at me with shock and excitement. I nodded my head to converse that I really meant what I said.
"Wait! For real?",Steven asked bewildered.
"Don't make me change my mind",I hissed.
"So you're not angry?",Taylor asked with her eyes gleaming with happiness.
"Angry? No. But I'm disappointed. I expected you to come forward and tell me especially when you thought I knew."
Steven raised his eyebrow in suspicion.
"We saw you making out and I think Taylor suspected it."
"I was going to tell you",Taylor murmured.
"When?",I asked a little furiously. "You were going to bribe me into happiness and then break the news like in those movies?"
"That was Steven's idea",Taylor glared at him.
"Oh my god are you guys serious?",I said frustrated.
Conrad
Everything was going smoothly. Belly had the situation under control and I was proud of her to think of her brother's happiness. Until Taylor said something unnecessary. Belly was calm but I knew she was angry.
When Taylor said she intended to tell us it was like testing Belly's patience. For what I know, I knew Taylor never meant to tell us. But they discussed it I guess because as per her that ridiculous idea that Belly was joking about was brought into consideration by her one and only joker of a brother.
"I told you we should've done that",Steven argued. And that was the moment I chose to interfere in the conversation to prevent it from being a blaming contest.
"That was the worst possible way to tell her",I said and squeezed Belly's hand that I'd refused to let go.
"Can't you see? She's really trying to make this a calm conversation and you're messing it up. She's approving you guys and all she asks is to walk her through about how this all started. Can't you approve with her for once?",I said angrily.
"It all started the day Steven broke up with Sophie",Taylor began.
"What?",I and Belly chorused.
"What?",Steven argued. He never gave straight answers."Well, I broke up with her because I realized that I didn't like her anymore. I liked someone else."
"And then I came to know about it because I was in town for the month and Sophie called me. Then I went to ask Steven why he did it and then he told me that he liked me.",Taylor said.
"I was mad at him for putting me in that position after all I was the one Sophie had asked for support. I didn't know what to do",she sobbed.
"I-I",she tried to continue but failed. Steven was rubbing her back now and I desperately wanted to hold her hand and tell her that she can tell Belly the truth and she won't feel bad but I couldn't. Because honestly I don't know how she'll take it and my instincts told me that something was wrong. I was missing a piece in this puzzle.
"She called Sophie and told her that her mom had fainted and was in the doctor's office so she had to fly back to California. She left Sophie alone",Steven told on her behalf.
"Y-you bailed on her?",Belly asked and I knew she was feeling bad for Sophie. This wasn't the Taylor she'd grown up to know. The Taylor she knew was ready on her front foot to help others.
"I'm sorry Belly",she sobbed harder.
"You shouldn't tell me that. It's Sophie who deserves it",Belly said quietly.
"Then what happened?",I asked embracing Belly by one hand.
"She stayed in my apartment. We both blocked her on our phones and completely broke contact",Steven said rubbing Taylor's back.
Belly shuddered under my arms. She was taking this badly. Steven and Taylor were complete idiots. I placed a kiss on her soft head to assure her. This day was supposed to be a happy one. This night was supposed to be a beautiful one.
"Sophie didn't tell me anything",she mumbled looking at the floor.
Steven and Taylor jerked their head up. "You talked to Sophie?",Steven asked.
"Yeah. I just talked to her yesterday. I love Sophie, she's so sweet and nice. She didn't even tell me you guys broke up",Belly said hugging me tighter.
"We need to fix this up",I said.
"How?",Steven asked.
"We need to call Sophie. If she's in Boston right now, we need to go. She deserves an explanation from you two and you will tell her about you guys",Belly said sternly.
"What about the party?",Steven asked.
"You care about the party?",I asked irritated.
"No, I mean what about Jere and everyone? Clay's party is at his house guys. Everytime it was on the beach. He'll feel bad",Steven said.
"This is our mess and we fix it up. Let the others go and as much as it is for Clay, he'll be fine without us. He was just telling me that he's doing long distance and his girlfriend's here to spend Christmas. He'll be preoccupied anyways",I said.
"Let's call Sophie",Belly said.
"Hey Sophie",Belly said nervously into the phone."
"Belly!",Sophie squealed with joy through the speaker. I guess Belly did have that effect of making everyone happy with her presence or in this case her voice. So it wasn't only me, I thought. I wished it wasn't like that though. I like to keep her to myself.
"Hey girl. Um I was just wondering... I mean I understand it's Christmas but maybe we could like meet up? Spend Christmas together or something?",Belly asked nervously.
"Yeah totally! Where are you? I'm not in New York though"
"I'm at Cousins actually so I was just wondering if you're in Boston."
"Awesome! I'm at Cousins too!"
"What?",Belly asked surprised and looked up to see our faces as surprised as her's.
"Yup",she said popping her p. "My boy friend's throwing a Christmas party here at his house. Oh my gosh you should totally come! And he's very cool with the idea of more the merrier."
I glanced at everyone's shocked and pale faces. We knew only too well who was Sophie's mystery boyfriend......
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I have so much to say! First: I am freaking out with 2K reads! I'm so so so thankful for all the people who like to read this fanfic. And a happy 20th part!
Second: I'm planning on editing the cover of this book, if that's okay! Maybe you guys could drop some suggestions or maybe give me a thumbs up to change it by myself???
Third: Don't forget to comment on the stories, it makes me happy:)
QOD: If the summer I turned pretty was to be a movie or a series, whom would you like to play Belly??? I would love to hear all the suggestions!
Thank you so much!!!!