#Or the last time she saw him with susannah

[loveinsomesacredplace]

centering the guy in a m/f ship when ideally, equal adoration and care should be lavished on both characters is weird right? It’s not just me?

[bonesandchalamet]

predictable - c.fisher

masterlist

requested: y- “Can you do a conrad fisher x reader where the readers family has a house next to theirs so they grew up going to cousins for the summers (cons age), and they are in love w each other but don’t want to admit it and everyone notices it around them/teases them. maybe a flash ward to their wedding in a couple of years and everyone’s speeches are like “yeah i won the bet they would be married by now” or smth like that?“

pairings: conrad fisher x fem!reader

warnings: fluff + jokes

a/n: I hope I did this justice anon! xx there are NO spoilers of book 2 or season 2!

you can hear his voice. it’s muffled, he sounds like he’s in your kitchen, a blessing of having the bedroom right above it, but you can hear him talking to your mother.

you don’t have time to think, you just fling your legs over your mattress and rush down the stairs at an appropriate pace. you’d just woke up, maybe not your best state to be in, but you couldn’t wait to see conrad fisher. the boy next door.

he’d gone to Princeton, smart cookie if you say so yourself, and you hadn’t seen him since last summer. in fact, you only saw him maybe once or twice outside of the neighborhood and that was getting ice cream and groceries. other than that, you live by the fence that separates your yards waiting to hear the laughter and conversations from the Conklin and fisher kids.

“just tomatoes? are you sure? I can go pick out some basil—“

“no, no laurel will kill you if you do any more yard work! I can get it.” you hear conrad protest. the fisher family was used to your parents generosity, the beautiful vegetable garden grew right on the fisher/y/l/n house line, the family was more than welcome to eat and take whatever they wanted, but it didn’t stop them from being kind enough to ask. Susannah raised those boys right.

“are you sure?”

“what’s going on?” you ask, it’s like the words floated out of you when you saw him. his brown hair a little longer than normal, his t-shirt a bit smaller on him, and he’s wearing small navy blue swim trunks. a sight to make any girl swoon for a fisher.

“oh, y/n, do you think you can help conrad get some more tomatoes from the vines? it seems to be the fisher-Conklin clan has run out.” your mother hands you Susannah’s woven basket that conrad was once holding. your mother looks at you with pleading eyes but she knows you’ll do anything that has conrad fisher involved.

“happy to.” you take the basket in your hand and gesture for conrad to follow. he thanks your mother once again and follows along out the back door. you can hear not only just your heartbeat, but the blood rushing to your ears.

being alone with Conrad was sometimes awkward. at least to you it always felt that way, because you never knew how to be around him as yourself. you were so deeply in love with him that just being in his presence was enough to make you fumble over your words.

“here I can get the tomatoes.” conrad pushes past you, his shoulder brushing against your body, you could smell his cologne, the salty ocean in his hair, and the mixture of the laundry detergent Susannah uses. it was an intoxicating smell, one to make your world spin.

“you sure? they are kind of all over the place.” you chuckle setting the basket down into the grass. you start picking the beautiful blush red ones and gently place them in the basket along side the ones conrad was picking. every so often your hands would brush or you’d about pick the same tomato. you both would blush and apologize instantly for the connection.

“would you guys just kiss already! you’re making me nauseous.” Jeremiah calls over the fence line from the pool, he’s watched about every embarrassing second of you and his brothers interactions.

“come on, con!” Steven hollers, it’s loud enough for the neighbors on the other side of their house to snicker at the boys energy for far too early in the morning.

“I don’t know what their problem is.” Conrad says and it’s only for you two to hear. he’s picked up the basket from the grass now, you’re stuck with holding a few more tomatoes that he claims would be more than enough for everyone.

“no seriously, just keep those ones.”

“we have enough inside, just take them—“

“fine,” he huffs out an annoyed sigh and watches you dump them into the basket, “can I at least make you breakfast with them?”

“sounds like a plan to me.”

that day, he made you more than breakfast. he made you feel the most indescribable feeling of love and excitement. he left you walking home as beat red as those tomatoes you picked. you could thank Steven and Jeremiah for their pressure and tease, because conrad fisher did in fact kiss you that morning.

—

FUTURE

“I’m so happy for these guys because today I became twenty dollars richer,” Jeremiah pauses, the laughter of friends and family make you both blush, “so thank you Steven for believing they would never get married. here’s to the bride and the groom!” Jeremiah holds his champagne glass up, others in the room follow.

“you really bet we would get married?” Conrad turns to his brother who passes the microphone to belly before sitting down beside him.

Jeremiah’s hands clap his brothers shoulder, “we also made a bet that you’d kiss her that summer. belly also made a bet that you’d have tomatoes on the menu, looks like you guys are the most predictable couple ever.”

[tatoda]

You v’s Me || conrad fisher x fem!reader

!!MINORS DNI!!

request

masterlist

summary: you’ve always been in a competition with conrad which grew both of you to hate each other…or maybe it’s love?

pairing: conrad fisher x fem!reader

warnings: angst, fluff, SMUT towards the end but it’s not much, fem receiving, conrad being cocky and hot duh CHARACTERS ARE 18

wc: 1.8k

susannah is not sick in this fic! hope y’all enjoy :)

Ever since you were kids, you and conrad have had competitions every summer. It’s something that was never forgotten and the person who won got bragging rights the whole year until it was summer again. The tradition started when you were 10 and conrad was 11. It started sweet when your families visited the boardwalk but soon enough conrad was the competitive side to you, and he knew he needed to beat you in any game or challenge.

You both were now 18 and 19. You were starting your first year of college and conrad was going into his second year. He bragged in your face for getting into your dream college Brown last year and now this year, you get to brag and tell him you got into pre-med early for Brown during early admissions back in november but couldn’t tell him so you had to wait to see his reaction at dinner.

Everyone saw it but you and conrad. The whole family could see the tension between the two of you guys and your competition. It was declared that conrad had a crush on you the second year you visited cousins, laurel was the first to point it out to susannah, and then the whole family knew by the end of the summer but you and conrad didn’t believe any of it. But you wouldn’t lie, you had a crush on him and were just hoping to hate him to get rid of the schoolgirl crush.

“so y/n,” susannah began “what was the big news you wanted to share with everyone?”

“oh yes.” and put your fork down “i got into Brown pre-med.” you smiled and conrad’s fork froze with his mouth open and all you did was smirk at him “actually susannah, i got in early admissions in november. i’ve just been saving the news up for this very moment.” you gave conrad a tight-lipped smile

“that’s amazing news!” she cheered “we should celebrate with a late movie tonight!”

“a-actually we were gonna head to the country club, they are playing all the avengers movies in order,” jeremiah spoke up stopping his mom from getting too excited

“of course! we can do something tomorrow night.” she gasped “oh gosh connie, that means y/n will be going to school with you!”

“yep.” he moved some food around on his plate not looking up

“don’t sound too excited connie.” you mocked and he rolled his eyes without looking up at you

“yippee, what do you want? a golden star?” he huffed and pushed out his chair before leaving the table

“y/n it’s the first night, lay low.” laurel said from her spot at the table

“you know whoever gets the first point basically wins the summer, it’s guaranteed.”

“you and you’re little competition,” she muttered

After dinner, it was time to head to the country club for the movie. It was only a few people who got invited to the place so you all fit into the movie room. You brought a blanket with you because you know it gets cold there. You all filed into the room once cam arrived and sat down. You went for the top to have some space for yourself. But before you could do that conrad plopped his body in the chair next to you.

“no, absolutely not.” you groaned

“there’s nowhere else for me to sit.” you glanced down and there was a seat next to taylor and steven

“literally right there!” you gestured to the spot

“and watch them make out all night, no thanks.” he reclined the chair back and put the middle console up so there was more room for y’all

“why would you put that up?”

“because it’s a waste of space and my elbow runs into it.” you huffed and fell back into your seat “so, Brown huh?” why was he being nice?

“yeah, so what?” you looked at him but he was looking at cam who was trying to use the remote to get the movie started

“nothing, just congrats. i know you have been wanting to get in your whole life.”

“thanks,” you whispered not used to getting compliments from him

“i’ll still beat your ass at everything there though.” and he was back

“yeah right dumbass.” he flicked your forehead “ow!”

“you’re the dumbass when i get a higher gpa than you.”

“like that’s even possible! you know i’m already ahead of you.”

“you can’t process any information in that pretty little head of yours!”

“you can’t because you’re too busy drinking all the damn time!” you yelled back

“at least i can relax-“

“guys!” jeremiah yelled throughout the whole room “shut the fuck up for once! y’all have to come help with snacks.” you both sighed and got out of your seats. you passed by steven and he winked which you flipped him off

“that was your fault,” you muttered walking past him as he held the door for you—so kind—

“oh yeah, sure drama queen.”

You both followed jere to the kitchen and he opened one of the doors for all of the snacks in a closet before waving at you both and closing the door.

“five minutes to work out whatever is happening and then i’m coming back so we can start the movie!” he yelled locking the door

“fuck you jere!” conrad let out but his brother was long gone “this is all your fault.” he walked around the room. the only light was the upper one that was slowly running out of juice

“oh yeah sure it's all my fault!” you sassed back

“if you would just shut up about always being the better one then we would never be here.”

“oh and you’re so great conrad?” stopped about 10 feet away from you on the other side of the closet

“i mean i won our little contest 5 years in a row so i should get a nice pat on the back.” he shrugged

“you’re so full of yourself.” you laughed

“thank you. i appreciate that.”

“it wasn’t a compliment asshole.” you went and tried opening the door but it was in fact locked

“do you not want to be trapped in a room with me y/n?”

“no, you should have an illness that could spread to me through the air.” you turned to look at him “why can you just let me win, for one time in my life i want to have something to be proud of conrad!” he was taken back by your statement “i never get anything! i have to watch it all get ripped from me and compared to something better! i can never win anything! and you and your rude comebacks don’t help!” you ran your fingers through your hair “belly gets volleyball captain and a new fancy boyfriend, steven get taylor, jeremiah gets into a frat and has a girlfriend! i got pre-med, which is amazing but it’s nothing compared to yo-“ you mouth was shut. no, you didn’t just stop talking. there were hands on either side of your face and lips pressed against yours that were definitely not your lips but conrad’s he kissed you hard and you let your eyes close and fall into the kiss as you kissed him back softly and when he pulled back he looked into your eyes

“shut up.” he breathed out “you are amazing, okay? i’m sorry for the fucking competitions. it was the only way i got to spend time with you.” you were starstruck maybe this was a dream “you’re too good for me, you’re too smart, too beautiful, overall i feel like i should never be seen with you because you’re too good for me.”

“kiss me.” he blinked at you “kiss me again conrad.” he smiled before kissing you again backing you up into a shelf and holding your face tight. you brought one hand to run through his hair and the second one slowly lifted his shirt so you could slip your hand under and feel his skin and he shuttered under you “sorry, are my hands cold?” you didn’t stop feeling around his stomach and chest area which made him breathe out a long breath

“no it feels nice, different.” he moved back down to your lips and your hand slowly went around his body but you two were cut off my knocking on the door

“times up shitheads!” you moved away from each other and conrad fixed his shirt and hair before stepping out of the room and you followed. you made it back into your seats and cam started the movie switching the lights off. conrad’s cheeks were flushed in the darkness as he took some of your blanket from you to cover him and you

The movie went on and everyone was in their own place. Conrad slowly moved his hand to rust on your thigh and you froze as his hand moved towards the waistband of your pants. You looked at him but he was just looking at the screen. His fingers messed with the waistband before going past your shorts and underwear. You slowly moved closer to him and his hand was extremely close to your clit. Before you could say anything he took one of his fingers to rub it softly and you gasped, but no one looked back thinking you were doing it at the movie.

“you have to be quiet,” he muttered into your ear before continuing his movements over your clit faster this time making you open your legs for him

“con,” you laid your head on his shoulder not trusting your head to stay up and he moved slowly to your entrance sliding a finger up feeling the effect he has on you

“i’ve always wanted to do this.” he then slid one finger into you and his thumb rested on your clit adding pressure to the pleasure

“fuck.” he moved his finger in and out feeling the breathing from you on his neck and he was slowly getting hard under the blanket hoping no one could see “another.” you sighed digging your fingernails into his arm and he slid a second finger in moving faster in and out rubbing your clit and he also used another finger to pinch it causing you to jump

“careful.” he moved his hand faster now wanting you to finish, just from him and him alone. “come on baby.” he kissed your head “give it to me” he rubbed your clit harder and his fingers moved faster you could definitely hear the wet sounds if the movie was not at an intense moment

“cumming.” you bit down on his neck cumming on his fingers as he slid them in and out to let you go through your high before pulling them out and slowly bringing his fingers to suck on them “my gosh.” you looked up at him

“if it isn’t clear now, i’m done playing games with you.” he leaned toward you almost enough to kiss

“me too, no more games.”

tag list:

@maybankslover @safeplaceholland @mysticalstarlightflower @stylesyourmine

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[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Conrad and reader are seeing each other in secret but everyone knows because they’re shit at hiding it

Requests: for conrad x reader, they're in a secret relationship (maybe reader stays in the summer house with everyone) and they get caught?

Could you do a sex with conrad fisher fic?

Warnings: smut, p + v,

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

You and Conrad were not as slick sneaking around as you thought you were. Three weeks into summer and everyone already knew you were hooking up. The smell of your perfume lingered in Conrad's jeep in the morning and Jeremiah swore he saw a bra in his brother's bedroom when Susannah asked to get his laundry basket for the cleaning lady. 

What confirmed that Conrad was seeing someone was that Steven’s bedroom was right next to Conrad’s and he could hear the headboard hit the wall on some nights. He even heard some girl moans, which he quickly downed by putting his headphones on. Conrad was his friend, but he didn’t want to hear him pleasure a girl. That was just too much.

You were fisting the bedsheets with your hands, biting down your bottom lip to try to stifle your moans at every snap of Conrad’s hips. It was past 11pm and everyone was asleep so you had to be quiet. Susannah was cool, but she wouldn't like her son sneaking a girl in at night to have sex. Even if he was eighteen. 

Your back arched up off the bed for him, buried so deep inside you. Sweat was sticking to his chest and his hands had found purchase on your thighs, keeping them open while he pounded into you. 

‘’Ahh, don’t stop, Connie. I’m close,’’ you whispered in the dim-lit room, feeling your orgasm hurtling toward you. It was so hard to keep quiet and control yourself when all you wanted to do was scream Conrad’s name. 

He nodded, one hand leaving your thigh and crawling where your bodies met to start rubbing against your clit while looking at you like you’re the only important thing in the world. Conrad might be portrayed as cold hearted, but with you, he was always warm and sweet — unless you didn’t want him to. 

When it all became too much, you clenched around him one last time, your toes curling and legs shaking as you came all over his cock, a series of quietest moans slipping from your mouth. Conrad climaxed shortly after you, spilling into the condom with a swallowed groan. He ran a hand through his messy hair, then pulled out and threw the used condom in the trash before coming back at your side. 

He seemed lost in his world for a few seconds, his face resting over your breasts as you scratched his back, waiting for him to come down from his high and catch your breaths. Conrad's post-sex affectionate nature was truly endearing; it was unexpected, yet incredibly sweet and vulnerable. 

As much as you cherished the moment, the reality of the outside world nudged you back to your senses, forcing you to detach yourself from Conrad. ‘’Sorry, but I really need to pee.’’ 

He groaned in protest, disappointedly letting you go. 

You put your panties back on and Conrad lifted his head from the bed, looking at you with a mix of longing and tiredness. ‘’You’re coming back, right?’’ he asked, seeking reassurance.

You nodded, offering a reassuring smile, as you slipped one of his shirts on before quietly leaving the room. 

As you emerged from the bathroom, you hadn't expected anyone else to be awake at this hour, but to your surprise, you almost walked right into a sleepy-faced Jeremiah in plaid pajama pants. 

‘’Jeremiah. Hi,’’ you greeted him, trying not to look flustered. 

A smirk drew on his mouth, confirming his assumption. ‘’Hi,’’ he responded, seemingly amused by the situation. His smirk widened as he leaned against the hallway wall, his eyes playfully glancing over your disheveled appearance. ‘’So, I guess Conrad's having a good time?’’ Jeremiah teased, raising an eyebrow mischievously.

You tried to maintain your composure, but the embarrassment was evident on your cheeks. ‘’Eh…I should probably get back to…’’ you trailed, glancing towards Conrad's room.

Jeremiah nodded again, his smile softening. ‘’Mmh. Good night, Y/N.’’

‘’Good night, Jere.’’ 

When you returned to Conrad’s room, he was still on his bed, except he had moved under his comforter and blanket, nestled like a child. The sight made you want to crawl under and fall asleep beside him. 

You shut the door and Conrad looked up when seeing you.  You shifted on your feet, a little nervous, about to tell him something you didn’t know how he would react to. ‘’I just saw your brother. He knows.’’

—

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[humblequestvinyl]

i'm not pretty

I’M NOT PRETTY, CONRAD FISHER X FEM!READER

APART OF THE ‘ANOTHER ON THE WAY’ SERIES

SUMMARY: while dating one of the hottest boys on cousin’s beach, and an accidental like on an old instagram post, singer y/n l/n realizes exactly what her relationship with the entails, and past girls she might have pissed off.

inspired by i’m not pretty by megan moroney

◀ ⏸ ▶

lowercase is intentional! wc: 0.7k

warnings: reader is blonde today (i promise this will make sense), belly being kinda a bitch!! (peace and love), use of nickname/relationship nicknames (babe)

a/n: guys this is not my best work but thats what i get for not writing since november

“UM, HEY CONRAD?”

y/n called out as she sat in the kitchen of the susannah fisher’s beach house, and the boy turned the corner, giving the girl he loved a wide smile.

“what’s up sunshine?”he questioned, resting his head on the shoulder of the blonde, and he could see instagram open on the girl’s phone, “who’s this?”

y/n pulled up a profile, with her face filled with confusion, and she heard conrad groan as soon as he saw it, “is it someone bad?”

“my ex girlfriend.”conrad told her, and the girls lips shaped into an ‘oh’, before tilting her head slightly.

“but i thought you and nicole were just a fling?”she questioned before conrad went back and tapped on the profile once more, “sunshine that isn’t nicole.”

“that’s belly.”

isabel conklin. the girl that had always loved conrad, and could never move past the breakup between the two. even now when she was interested in his brother, and conrad was dating y/n, the girl couldn’t move past the boy that should have been hers.

“yeah, that explains a bit of it.”y/n shifted back in her seat as conrad walked across the island, and raised an eyebrow at her, “what! you and i both know she wasn’t exactly nice to me the last time i was here while she was.”

y/n was right, belly wasn’t nice to her the last time the two were both at the beach house together. in the blonde’s words, the girl was a bitch. but she tried to be as nice as she could for conrad’s sake, knowing how much the conklins meant to his family.

“did she comment anything?”conrad questioned, and y/n shook her head no, “maybe she heard one of the songs you wrote and accidentally liked the post.”

the blonde gave the boy a look, knowing how wrong he was, “i love how naive you are.”

“i am not naive!”conrad argued as the blonde walked away, up towards the guest bedroom she had been staying in at the fisher’s beach house.

“keep telling yourself that babe!”y/n shouted before she climbed up the stairs, and into the room where her guitar sat, just screaming at her to write a song for her upcoming EP.

the girl had recently been signed to a record label, and while the inspiration had been there, the words wanting to be sung had disappeared from thin air. until now it was almost like a fire had been lit under her as soon as she got the instagram notification, all the words wanted to spill out of her.

it was almost hours before conrad finally peaked into the room, to see his girlfriend hovering over her song book, with her guitar playing and he could see himself in the background of her video.

“somewhere out there, my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend is scrolling through my instagram.”she sang, and a small smile crept up onto conrad’s face knowing this would make her ep.

“tearing me down, passing the phone around like there’s nothing better to talk about.”the blonde went on, playing what conrad would call a beautiful cord progression on her guitar, “zoomin out, zoomin in, overanalysing.”

“head queen of the mean girl’s committee.”

“but whatever helps, keep telling yourself i’m not that pretty.”she finished, before turning off her video, finally noticing conrad standing in the doorway.

“that’s going on the EP isn’t it?”he questioned as y/n stood up, wrapping her arms around the boy she adored.

she looked up at him with a wide smile, before nodding slightly,

“you know me so well, lover boy.”

[mvltisstuff]

could you please write ANYTHING for steven! no one writes for him and i love your writing!

would love a friends to lovers story but im working with crumbs so anything will do

you are in love - s.c

summary: request

steven conklin x reader

a/n: he looks so cute in this gif i’m crying 🩷 i hope you enjoy this, one of my fav tropes :))

the years had passed by so fast, each one leaving lost confessions in the dust. y/n would always regret it, but then new years came around and she promised herself she would say something. then year one passed, and year two.

she didn’t say anything to steven. she only gave small hints and signs, but he never really saw any of them. little did y/n know was that he was doing the same, sending her little messages with his mind and he broke every time she didn’t notice. it was pure oblivion, neither of them seeing the pure love they had for each other.

they lived as friends for too long. the runs on the beach, the bakery trips, the boardwalk dates were still friendly engagements. it was the complete opposite of what they wanted.

y/n had no idea how steven was missing it, even being valedictorian. he was the first to stand up at her sport games, or any of her activities that she did good at. he’d always have the most loving beam on his face when she showed him a good grade she got on a test. and she was the first one on her feet at his graduation.

she helped him practice his speech all the time, over the phone and even some long weekends in person. y/n was always there for steven, through the good times and the bad. when he achieved his goal, or when he lost susannah. she held him while he cried, listened to every agonizing word that left his mouth. he has no clue how to thank her for any of that, as she was the only consistent support system in his life, the constant source of love that he could never be derived of.

she drove hours to his school, sitting right in the audience with his family as he walked up to the podium. each word of his speech left with such grace, being delivered with his class in a mature way. the moment the last word in the paper left his mouth, she was on her feet, clapping her hands together and getting his attention first. his eyes wandered to her, the most alluring smile illuminating the room he was in. he was surrounded by classmates and their families, but suddenly, he and y/n became the only people there. he stepped down, accepting his diploma and making his way out after the graduation ceremony.

y/n pushed through the crowd of people in their blue gowns and caps, trying to find the only one who mattered to her. as she twisted and turned around the people, seeing no one that was remotely close to steven. he noticed her from far away, pulling away from an embrace with his mother and sister, seeing y/n trying to shuffle through the crowds.

his feet started moving toward her before he could even think straight. he just saw her gorgeous face, the one he just wants to love out of the silence. she finally landed her eyes on him, seeing the diploma being handed off to laurel. she started stepping quicker toward him, but it still felt like slow motion.

her heels clicked on the ground outside, trying to contain the wide smile she had on her lips. she was preparing to be there for steven after his graduation, but only as a friend. she so badly wanted more, but she pushed through their friendship with what seemed like ease.

when they finally reached, he pulled her into his arms, lifting her legs off the ground and her knees bent. y/n wrapped her arms around him, softly squealing in his ear about how proud she was, and that his speech was perfect. she started to blabber on about how amazing he is, moments away from spilling her whole heart out on the floor.

he giggles at her words flying out of her mouth at an insane speed, placing his hands on her shoulder and stealing her from her own mind.

“steven, you don’t even understand how good that was!” she rants in the most adorable way. “i don’t know how else to say how proud of you i am!”

“y/n, listen,” he grins, lifting her chin up to look at him, who stands tall over her.

“i’m sorry! i just needed you to know how amazing you are.”

he can only manage to smile back, tilting his head a bit at her. “can i talk now?” he asks, jokingly, as she quiets down to let him talk.

“i just wanted to say, that i’m leaving the stupid steven in high school,” he begins, leaving y/n’s brows and nose to scrunch up.

“huh?”

he places his two fingers back on the tip of her chin, lifting it closer to his face and planting his lips on hers. it felt so natural, as if they could’ve been doing it for years. y/n simply let it happen, the moment she’d been praying for finally happening.

his soft, warm lips touched against her own, the faint taste of mint gum on lips and the strength of his cologne. a weight was lifted off stevens shoulders as he deepened the kiss, the same load being swiped off y/n’s.

when they finally fell back down to earth, y/n smiled against stevens lips, the sweet grin only making him further infatuated with her.

“you’re the only one i want, y/n,” he says. “i can’t hide it anymore.”

“don’t ever hide it again,” y/n replies, reaching up on her toes to peck his lips again. the firework had finally been ignited, and burst beautifully in the brightest colors in the sky.

[ist4rgirlo]

─ 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 - 𝐜.𝐟 : 𝐕𝐈

Summary: Now that your life has turned upside down, are you still willing to put your siblings' feelings first? Or would you rather fight for your feelings and do what makes you happy regardless of the consequences that might result in the future?

Prev ; Next || Conrad Fisher x fem!reader || My blog

Warnings: S2 SPOILERS! swearing, yelling, fluff, crying (lmk if i missed anything!)

SEQUEL TO BEFORE EVERYTHING HAPPENED

───────────────────────────

Y/N's Pov

After sleeping on that hill we all decided to immediately go back to the house but it was too late. The house was sold, Skye tried to talk to their mom but nothing happened. Nothing changed Aunt Julia's decision. She took everyone's keys too, but somehow we were still here, inside the beach house.

"I'm sorry, I tried to call off the deal" we heard Skye say - walking inside the kitchen. "It's okay, it wasn't your fault" Conrad said, playing with his keys. "Yeah, no one's mad at you, Skye" Jeremiah said, side hugging them.

Steven sighed "So are we going home now?" he asked. We all looked at Conrad, it was obvious that we are relying on him at this point - we didn't know what to do too. Conrad nodded "Yeah, It's over" he said - looking at me. I reached for his hand that was in the counter and held it.

Belly hopped down from the counter "Hey no, it's not over at all. Our-our last memory can't be like this. This place deserves a better goodbye" Conrad looked at her "Well like what?" he asked, Belly looked at me smiling - I immediately knew what she was talking about.

"My mom came to the beach house with Susannah for the first time after her dad died. It was supposed to be just her and Susannah but Susannah hated how empty the house felt, so she decided to throw a huge party.. everyone was dancing, drinking, they went swimming at the end of the night" I explained - smiling, thinking about how much fun it sounded like, how much fun Susannah and Laurel had that night. I looked at all them — they were all smiling, liking the thought of having that as our last memory of the house.

Conrad hummed, smiling down at me - his hold on my hand tightening. "So we should throw a party too!" Belly suggested. I nodded "I'm a hundred percent in" I said leaning on Conrad's shoulder. Jeremiah agreed along with Taylor and Steven. Cam and Skye agreed too. "You in?" Cam asked Conrad "I think that's what exactly my mom would’ve wanted. She'd love it" he said smiling - his head leaning on top of my head. Belly clapped "Okay! everybody, shower, power nap, and then I'm putting you to work!"

TIME SKIP

"Hey, you wanna go on a supply run with me?" Conrad asked, raking his hands through my hair. I nodded and smiled, he offered a hand helping me hop out of the counter.

"Where are you guys going?" we heard Belly ask — she was walking towards ul, her hair and clothes still wet, Jeremiah beside her. "Just going on a supply run for the party." I replied, smiling. I saw her eyes look between us, looking at mine and Conrad’s hands. I immediately pulled my hand away, Conrad felt it so he looked at me confused. "We'll come!" Jeremiah said before going inside the house to clean up — Belly behind him.

"Are you okay?" Conrad asked - his eyes filled with worry. I nodded, "I'm supposed to be the one asking you that" I laughed looking at him. He shrugged "Its just.. you looked down and you just pulled away from me like that" his voice concerned. I shook my head "I'm sorry, it just felt awkward and I didn't know if us holding hands would really be the right thing to do knowing that you and Bell-" — "Hey, hey. It’s okay, don’t need to explain youself alright? Just tell me if you’re uncomfortable, just let me know. I got you yeah?." Conrad said, turning me to face him gently. I nodded — looking down, trying to put the pain, the guilt aside.

I felt guilty, doing this with Conrad, being this close with Conrad. It seemed wrong, but it just felt right. Every hug, every time we hold hands, it felt so right, it felt like we were the right fit. It was like a puzzle, he was like my missing piece.

He took my hand again, pulling me — as we walk towards his car. I sat on the passenger’s seat beside Conrad and Jeremiah & Belly were at the backseat. We decided to go get some drinks first before buying decorations and costumes for the party.

At first Conrad tried with his fake i.d but it didn’t work — he thought it would but he was well known here, then Jeremiah said he would try, telling us that he’s really good friends with the cashier but that didn’t help at all. Surprisingly, Belly got us the drinks, we don’t know why but she definitely did.

“Got this for you, Jere. This one’s for you, Y/N” Belly said, handing out slurpee’s that she got. Jeremiah took a sip “Cherry and coke?” Belly nodded smiling at him — Jeremiah smiled back “You know me so well” patting Belly’s head.

As I was sipping mine, I saw Conrad’s hand wrap around the cup of my slushee — taking a sip of it, I slapped his hand gently “I thought you didn’t like it? you said it was too sugary. Pretty sure you’d choose cocoa rather than that” Belly asked smiling. “Yeah it is sugary, but i’m thirsty so” Conrad said shrugging, before going back to putting the drinks inside the trunk.

I may be overthinking it, but there seems to be some tension there. I did not want to assume anything, but it seems like the cocoa might symbolize something else. I am confused, but am I really interested in knowing the answer? I do not think so.

I just looked at them before going inside the passenger seat. They all followed and then we drove off to party city. As we arrived, we all went to get our own carts and started to get some things that we will need later for the party.

AFTER A WHILE

"Jere, you know where Belly and Conrad went?" I asked, he shrugged shaking his head no, I nodded - walking away to look for Belly.

In the process of walking down the aisles, I heard Belly say "I just wanted to let you know that I didn't regret anything that happened that night" She was just at the aisle beside me, so I decided to go see what she was up to. The moment I arrived, I noticed Jeremiah standing at the end of the aisle - I walked up to him and saw Conrad and Belly.

Jeremiah cleared his throat, making Belly and Conrad's turn to us - seeing me beside Jeremiah. Conrad eyes locked with mine, dropping the tiara that he was holding. "Are you guys finished?" I asked, breaking the tension. After receiving a nod from Conrad and Belly, I walked toward the nearest cashier, leaving them behind.

As the car ride was awkward, we did not really talk or anything, and most of us just took naps, except for Conrad who drove. As soon as we reached the house, we decided to set up the decorations. After that, we went about our own plans and got dressed for the party.

───────────────────────────

As I was doing my makeup, I saw Steven come in my bathroom. "Hey sis" he said smiling - walking towards me. He pulled a chair and sat beside me. I turned to him, "Hey Steve" I replied - smiling.

"Something wrong? why weren't you getting ready with Belly and Tay tay?" he asked - his voice confused, his brows furrowed. I just shrugged, "It’s okay, things just got awkward earlier when we went out and I just heard something that made me overthink things" I saw Steven's mouth frown, not liking seeing me like this.

"Is it about Belly? cause you know I can talk to her if it was her. You know I got you right?" he said, leaning his head on my shoulder. I stopped what I was doing and smiled - leaning my head on top of his. "It's okay, Steve. Her and Conrad were just talking about something that probably happened last year. I'm just overthinking things, thank you though." I felt him nod, "Well what about you and Conrad, how are you?"

I looked at Steven through the mirror, "I ask myself the same question. I really don’t know exactly what is going on between us.” I shook my head “It still kind of confuses me, you know? but I totally understand like he's stressing about the house situation plus he's my sister's ex so he’s probably confused about what he’s doing right now too. I understand, there’s no need to rush thing." I smiled gently, Steven continued to frown.

He went and lifted up his head from my shoulder, pulling my chair sideways, turning me to him. "Alright but please, Y/N. Choose yourself yeah? I know that him and Belly had a past, we all know that but follow what your heart wants. Who cares? If she get’s to be happy then you get to be happy too." he said, smiling at me.

I'm pretty sure what Steven said was right. It was my time to be happy, it was my time to choose myself. I love them, I truly love my siblings but sometimes I need to do things for me too, things that I know that’ll make me happy. Maybe I'll talk to Belly tonight, just maybe.

TIME SKIP

Here we are skating with dressed in our 90's clothes. We're all probably a little drunk by now, but I am having so much fun! I saw people that I haven't seen for such a long time like Nicole and all the girls — it was honestly really good to catch up to them.

As of now, we were watching Steven and Taylor dance this routine that they have - turns out it was something Taylor came up with when she was kid that she taught Steven on a random day back then, they would always do this routine just to entertain everyone. "Let's go, Steve-o" we all yelled, cheering them on. After a while, their little dance ended.

"Taylor?" we heard, it was Milo — Taylor's boyfriend. We saw Steven walk towards Milo "You should go" Steven said, pushing Milo gently. "I don't think thats up to you" Milo said shaking his head puffing his chest out — Taylor walked beside Milo, pulling his hand gently. "Can we just go outside?" she pleaded — not wanting Milo to embarrass her infront of a lot of people.

"She doesn't even want you here" Steven yelled at Milo. I went up beside Steven, trying to pull him away but he just pushed my hand away. "Stop it, Steven" Taylor said to Steven, Milo looked at Steven up and down, scoffing "Oh trust me, she wants me. Everywhere, all. the. time" he said, pissing Steven off. "Can you not do that right now?" Taylor pleaded. Steven pushed Milo aggressively. All the people around us stopped dancing, turning their attentions to Milo and Steven.

"Stev-" I said, trying to pull Steven away but failed. "Babe this is for you" Milo said to Taylor before swinging a punch that Steven managed do dodge, Steven threw one back but it didn’t really hit Milo like how he wanted to. I just shook my head and went to the side to watch what’s going to happen.

"Kick his ass, Steve" I heard Conrad and Jeremiah say, I went up to them smacking them both lightly on the shoulder. As I was about to go the the kitchen, I saw Steven jump on Milo, which made me immediately run to him “Steven!" I said, pulling him — Belly and Taylor ran beside me to help me pull Steven off of Milo. I turned to Conrad and Jeremiah, seeing that they were just there, watching things unfold.

"Come on!" I yelled at both of them before attempting on pulling Steven again. Conrad and Jeremiah walked towards us, pulling Steven back "Get off me, get off me!" Steven yelled, pushing Conrad and Jeremiah's hand away. "Come on" Steven said to Milo, threatening him. As Milo was about to throw a kick, Taylor stopped him. "You're embarrassing me right now." she complained.

Milo scoffed "Man fuck this, come on Taylor. These people are too pedestrians for us." Milo shook his head, turning his back on Taylor. "These people are my friends. Do you even know me at all?" Taylor asked, her eyes squinting at Milo. Milo turned, facing Taylor "What are you talking about? you're my girl" Milo defended — raising his hands, Taylor scoffed "What's my middle name?" she asked, Milo couldn't say anything.

Taylor shook her head no "Yeah we're over" she said before walking away from the crowd. Steven sighed "It's Madison, her middle name is Madison" Steven said before following Taylor. I clapped, "Okay! nothing happened, go back to what y'all we're doing." I said, walking towards Jeremiah and Conrad, patting them.

───────────────────────────

Skye pulled all of us out of the party, we were now outside of the beach house "Okay so, i've been texting my mom all day and she was able to put a condition to the sale" they said smiling at us. "Since the buyers are just using this as a vacation home they agreed to let you rent the place for one week every summer." Skye explained.

"Oh my god? are you serious?" Belly said "We get to come back?" Jeremiah asked Skye, Skye nodded — smiling. I looked at Conrad, he wasn't pleased with any of this. Conrad shook his head, "You can tell your mom thanks but no" he said walking away. I sighed "Conrad just hear them out." I said, walking towards him grabbing his hand.

He shook his head no, "It's over". Jeremiah scoffed "Why are you the only one who gets to make this decision" he asked, squinting his eyes at Conrad. "Jere, we are not gonna pay another family to rent our house" Conrad said pointing at himself. Jeremiah walked towards him "This isn't our house anymore" Jeremiah said. Conrad nodded "Exactly, so let it go" he said looking at Jeremiah.

"Yeah cause you're an expert at that" Jeremiah said pointing at Conrad — gritting his teeth, I pushed him lightly "Jere, stop it", Jeremiah pushed my hand away gently "No, no. This is the shit he does, when things aren't perfect instead of trying to fix it, he just decides to throw it away." Jeremiah continued, blaming his brother more. I pushed him again "Jeremiah, you need to stop this. Just go inside" I said, he just scoffed, looking at me.

He said, "Yeah, side with him after he chose Belly instead of you" His tone was filled with anger. My eyes widened, seeing Belly's brow furrowing — confused by what Jeremiah had just said. I looked at Jeremiah, sighing "That was between us, Jeremiah. You don't get to say that here just because you're angry" — "What does he mean by that?" Belly said, her voice filled with confusion. I shook my head "Belly, please take Jere inside" I said, turning to Conrad and guiding him towards the back door.

TIME SKIP

Belly was nowhere to be found. When I asked Skye where Belly was, they simply replied that Belly went to get a drink and then went outside. Despite looking everywhere, upstairs, at the pool, I did not see her. So I decided to go to the beach, and there she was at the shore, with a beer in her hand.

"Belly" I called, I saw her shake her head "No, go away" she said. "It's cold here, let's go back inside" I said before walking towards her, pulling her hand gently, pulling her away from the shore "Let go!" she said, pushing my hand away.

I sighed, fixing her hair "Belly, you're drunk", Belly pushed my hand away before saying "What did Jeremiah mean about that? why would you do that Y/N?", I took a deep breathe, before answering her "I did it for you, Bells" I went and grabbed her gently, helping her to balance herself.

"I didn't need your help. You shouldn't have done that." Belly said, shaking her head "But I knew how much you liked him. I just had to give it to you" I explained, Belly scoffed "Don't you think that sounds unfair?" Belly squinted her eyes at me, my brows furrowed — shaking my head no "Come on you're drunk. You don't know what you are saying" I said, grabbing her again, pulling her gently.

In response to my request, Belly pulled my hand away again, "Stop treating me like a baby! Now that I know that you begged Conrad to choose me instead of you, it hurts me so much! For heavens sake, Y/N! Something has already happened between me and Conrad, okay? It was last Christmas, now how would you think I would feel now that I knew that half of him was yours at that time?" Belly exclaimed in a rage-filled voice. I shook my head no.

"Belly I-I didn't beg Conrad to choose you, I gave him the choice - the option. I gave him time! time to think about what he really wanted." I paused — biting my lip, trying to stop myself from breaking, feeling tears start to form in my eyes. "No one begged him and pushed him, Belly! He chose you because he wanted you! I-I know that, some-something beautiful happened between you and him but... I am so tired Belly, I am so tired of just letting things slip away. Just maybe, maybe this time, I can get what I want, because I truly want this. He's important to me, Belly" I explained - begged to Belly, tears falling down my face.

She just nodded, finally understanding where i’m coming from. She started to walk towards me, "I understand, I totally do and I apologize for getting angry with you last summer. Knowing that you did that to protect me and to make me happy, just makes me regret it - screaming at you and getting mad at you, but still i’m very thankful because you did that just to make me happy even if it hurts you” she walked closer to me, rubbing my shoulders “You're a great sister and I know that you know that, you just want to protect your siblings and I totally get that, but please don’t think that it’s always your responsibility to protect us, protect yourself too. No matter what happens, nothing will ruin our relationship, okay? It is important to me that you are happy as well, Y/N/N." she said, pulling me in a hug before pulling away - placing her hands on my cheeks. I nodded and smiled, pulling her again for a hug. After that we just stayed here for a while and chatted more.

───────────────────────────

Conrad’s Pov

I decided to go upstairs to my room after the encounter with Jeremiah. I know he was drunk, but what he said was outrageous, he could have just stopped right there. That was between him and Y/N, it wasn't meant to be said in that manner.

I saw Steven come in the room, I was sitting on the floor — he walked towards me, kneeling beside me sitting on the floor too. I felt Steven place a hand on my shoulder “You okay, man?” he asked. “Me and Jere got into a fight earlier. Belly and Y/N kind of got involved in it.” I said, looking down.

“What? why did you guys fight?” he asked, I shook my head “Just about the house, apparently they gave us a condition to the sale. The family who is renting here are just using this for family vacation so they allowed us to rent the place for one week every summer. Me and Jere got a misunderstanding about that and he basically just blew up complaining about me making all the decisions for our family” I explained to Steven, looking at him.

He sighed “So I’m guessing you don’t want that?” I shook my head “Hell no, I don’t want to pay another family just to rent this place. This is our house, Steve. I.. I just don’t know what to do anymore, I-I feel like I messed up big time” I said — my voice filled with panic, my chest tightened.

I felt Steven start to rub my back, trying to calm me as much as possible “Hey, it is not your fault, Connie. I understand you okay? I wouldn’t want to do the same thing, I totally get you.” I looked at him, nodding. I sighed, laying down on the floor — placing my hands at the back of my head. Steven did the same.

“I just never wanted it to come to this point. Jeremiah said something fucked up earlier, something that was supposed to stay between him and Y/N but I guess he was too mad that he just had to use Y/N to piss me off.” I explained to Steven. Steven turned to me “Is it about your decision?” of course Steven knew. He was the one who was there for Y/N during those times.

I nodded, “Look, Dude. I definitely understand you, I know it’s hard especially you had a past with Belly. I’m not saying that what you had with Belly doesn’t mean anything but do what your heart says, Connie — if Y/N makes you happy then go for it. You need to be happy too, you can always talk to Belly about it — if that’ll help you” Steven said, encouraging me.

“It just hurts, It hurts me to not be able to tell Y/N that I’m inlove with her. To not be able to tell her the truth, because everytime I touch her, everytime I see her, I always have this urge to tell her that I love her. But I’m too scared, Steve. To hurt her again, I just, I can’t let myself do that again. It’ll kill me to see her get hurt, especially if I was the reason” I said, reaching down in my pocket - fidgeting with the small box that contains the infinity ring.

───────────────────────────

taglist : @maybankslover @urmomisafinewoman @user3729107491 @melllinaa @anthgoldenhrry @arunabrak @amj2277 @whoisalexa @remuslupinwifee @gulphulp @layanderson @astrvalee @goldenmoonbeam @podiumprincess @johannelis2302nely @silcintilla @smw-96 @apollo3475 @drikawinchester @fangirl-kimora @sanjanapm @milyswrld @scysuxx @starkeylover @fallingforel @mysticalstarlightflower @ifilwtmfc @allnrsnz @yeosxxx @elvishoe69 @be4tric3s @users09 @mirrorwalls1989 @sunflowers1610 @rubes26 @junnniiieee07 @multifandomreader73

here y’all go !! still kinda sick and i just got the time of the month so i’m sorry if it seems a little rushed :))

hope you guys like it !! lmk if you want to get tagged — for those who requested, i promise i’ll do them !! just finding time to do them, thank you for the love and for understanding <;3

[elcpsstuff]

we can’t be friends // Conrad Fisher

synopsis: you and conrad broke up.. and when you see him again you know you can’t just be friends.

warnings: swearing, slight kissing

a/n: WE CANT BE FRIENDSSSS my fav song

—

—

You didn’t want to see him again.

The last time you saw Conrad Fisher, he had walked out your house like the asshole he was, while tears slid down your face. Conrad was a lot of things— complicated, messy, and aggravating— but he was also sweet.

But alas, here you were standing outside of the summer house while Belly and Jeremiah went inside to talk to Conrad. Quite frankly, you didn’t want to be here, but this was Susannah’s house. You weren’t going to let Conrad or Jeremiah deal with this alone.

When you walked into the house, memories flooded through your head in an instant. Conrad, Susannah— every single summer you and the others had spent here— it was all too much. Still, you walked forward.

Conrad’s voice was the first you heard. Then Belly’s, and then Jeremiah’s. You caught his gaze first.

Conrad’s.

He looked a little different, more sad. You wondered if he thought you looked different as well— good different? You also knew you shouldn’t be thinking that, but you couldn’t help it.

“What,” Conrad said, “is she doing here?” his voice was menacing, deadly. A small part of you had believed it would be different.

“Connie,” Jeremiah warned.

“She’s here because she cares.” Belly shook her head. “And you can deny that all you want Conrad, but we’re here to help you.”

Conrad’s eyes wandered around the room until he met mine, and then, he spoke, “Fine. Fuck it. But i’m not doing this right now.”

At least he’s okay with it?

But looking at him again, seeing him like this, all you wanted to do was console him.

You couldn’t just be his friend. You knew that.

—

The pool was always a favorite spot of yours at night. Usually, you would swim until your arms were sore and then you would retire for the night. A tradition you and Belly had shared.

But now, your legs dangled in pool while you smoked a joint. Conrad had slightly influenced you to do so last summer before you started dating, and while he may not smoke anymore, you hadn’t dropped that habit as easily as he had.

Conrad opened the door, but he stopped when he saw you. At first, he stared, as if you couldn’t have been real, but then he tore his gaze from yours.

Those pretty eyes.

“Smoking?” Conrad snorted. “That’s funny.”

You blew out a puff. “I had an asshole for a teacher.” The smirk you gave Conrad was patronizing, and his face was absolutely priceless.

“Why are you here, yn?” Conrad tone shifted to something much angrier, more serious.

“For the same reason Belly and Jeremiah are,” You said. “If you can’t handle your ex being here, maybe you need to grow up.”

“Cut the bullshit, yn.” Conrad walked closer to you. “You didn’t have to come. You—”

“Fuck you, Conrad.” You stood up, now more angered than ever. “You ruined us. Don’t act like I was the one who broke up with you. At my prom? Really?” You remember the way he broke your heart, and the way steven, your brother Tate, and Belly had consoled you.

Love is embarrassing as hell.

Conrad sighed. Such pretty features for a tortured boy. “Don’t be like that, yn.” He ran a hand through his ragged hair. “What do you want me to say? That we can be friends?”

That was laughable, because out of all the things Conrad Beck Fisher could have said, he chose to say that. You had a truth, but you decided to sit in silence.

“We can’t be friends, ever.” And you said it in a way that made sure he wouldn’t forget that. “Friends aren’t in love with each other.”

Conrad stared at you, looking like he was contemplating something. And then, he grabbed your face and smashed his lips against yours.

The kiss was desperate, feverish, and you wanted it to last forever. You ran a hand through his hair and he let out a groan. You missed that.

When he pulled away, he only said one thing.

“I’m glad, because I can’t be your friend either.”

—

a/n: GUTS TOUR ON WEDNESDAY!!! hope u enjoyed this little thing i miss tsitp sm

[taylorsv3rsion13]

we never go out of style || c.f.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

tw: skinny dipping- being naked in an unsafe situation

words: 2.8k

synopsis : things were always rocky for conrad and you. after the whole break up, will everything be the same the year later? or will it all turn to shit.

Ever since that stupid kiss everything has been complicated.

I wore the puffy dress for Susannah. The gorgeous but heavy puffy white dress.

It wasn't super hot out, but it felt like it was with this thing weighing me down. I did try my hardest to sit still for Susannah though.

"Everything okay?" Susannah asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, just warm right now." I smiled.

"Just a little longer." Susannah said before looking back at the portrait and then sighing to look at me, "Don't you just love that dress."

I sighed, "Yep, I love it."

I didn't hate it, no, I just didn't love it either.

"You excited for the volleyball tournament?"

"Yeah, I can't wait! I had a lot of time during the school year with volleyball, so I think I'll do pretty good. My only worry is Belly and Steven."

"And which charity are you representing?" Susannah asked, smiling.

"Oh um, the same one you support." I said nodding, "The homeless women's shelter."

She chuckled softly, "That's sweet of you, Y/N/N. Thank you."

I nodded before messing with my dress again.

"Now sit still, I just need to add some more of those frills." Susannah said.

I began making my water, adding in electrolytes and everything.

My shirt had a "Team Y/N" name on the back and it had purple 3/4 length sleeves. I roughly put my hair in a ponytail.

"Hey, Y/N" Conrad said as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh hey." I said, giving him a quick smile.

"What's that?" He asked.

I looked up to him. "Drugs." I said jokingly.

"Mm delicious." He responded, laughing a little. "Feeling good about the tournament?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." I said, nodding.

"You know, if you stay ready, you won't have to get ready later."

I laughed softly because of how dumb that had sounded from him. "That was, an interesting statement."

"Yeah." He said, laughing a little as well.

I continued with my water in front of me.

"Y/N" Conrad said, yet his voice dropped to seriousness.

"Mhm?" I hummed.

"I'm sorry."

"For what? Being cheesy?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I looked up at him.

He sighed, "For being a jerk the other day, and pretending like I didn't remember, when I remember everything. I've been just replaying it over and over again in my head for the last couple of days."

I shook my head, "Conrad, I just don't know what you want me to say"

"I know, Y/N. It's to late, I get it. Um..."

I looked down awkwardly, not really understanding where Conrad was trying to go with this.

"Can I take you to the ball?"

I looked up at him strangely, "What?"

"I mean, I already know all the dances. It's no problem."

The doorbell rang, "Uh, I'll-I'll think about it."

As I opened the door, Taylor stood there.

"Taylor?!" I asked in surprise.

"Y/N?!"

We both hugged each other as Belly came down.

"You guys have some catching up to do." I said as I smiled.

"Y/N, don't think I didn't hear everything!" Belly called out as I walked up the stairs.

"Wait up!" Taylor called as her and Belly followed after me into my room.

Taylor put on her shirt as she asked my multiple questions and Belly answered them how she saw it.

"He was begging." Belly said.

"He was not begging" I said.

"He should be begging." Taylor said. "And this makes things so much more exciting because you get to tell him no."

I didn't answer as I looked through my phone.

Belly turned to me. "You're going to tell him no?"

"Well, I don't know. I don't have a date for the ball-"

"Okay ask Jere. It's not like you guys didn't kiss yesterday.

"You guys kissed?!" Taylor asked.

"No! It's not like that."

"Yes, it's totally like that!" Belly laughed.

Taylor was on my team, and Cameron was on Belly's team. I was pretty happy. But Cameron and Belly were a good duo, it made me more nervous.

The games started and Taylor and I went through the process.

Also with a random hand shake we had somehow made up on the spot.

"Play sharp, play smart." We both stated as we stood in our spots.

The whistle blew and the ball was thrown. The first round we had won, luck?

The second round against this team began again as I dived to get the ball with one hand.

"Nice!" I shouted as Taylor hit it over the net neatly.

Taylor fell hard on the ground as she attempted to get the ball. I ran quickly over to her.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" I asked.

"No, it's just... ugh, my ankle."

"Here, let me help you." I said as I grabbed her arms.

"You okay, Taylor?" Jeremiah called out from the stands.

"Yeah, I just like twisted it."

Taylor turned over to Jeremiah, "Can you sub, please?" She asked, taking off her shirt and throwing it over to him.

And here, the games began again, as I stood playing next to Jeremiah.

I practiced the handshake with him and he immediately got it.

I wouldn't say he was the best at volleyball, but he wasn't the worst. Yet he was better the first couple of rounds that he did play. The more we played, the worst his game got.

I ran into his arms as he gave a good throw. "Yeah!" I shouted.

Because of that, we were able to make it to the second game.

The second game was harder. The girls took it much more seriously than the guys we played against before.

Jeremiah had missed the ball as it went under his arms.

One round, the ball didn't even go over the net and he was flung into it.

I grew a little more frustrated as each round happened. I had to win.

"Okay, don't look at me, watch the ball." I stated.

"You got it." He said as he looked at me and the ball passed right by his face.

"Jere focus!" I yelled.

The score was now 10 to 2. And I wish I could say that we were 10.

I sighed as I looked at the score board. Now 17 to 7. "Ref can we get a time out." I said as the whistle blew.

I looked over, seeing Conrad staring straight at me from the side lines.

"I'm so sorry, Jeremiah, but I have to win this, okay?"

"Yeah, I get it." he said.

"Conrad, can you sub in." I asked.

Jeremiah took off the shirt, tossing it over to Conrad.

"Where do you want me?" Conrad asked.

"The start up." I said.

"All right, let's do this." He patted a hand on my back.

I definitely made the right move. Conrad knew how important this was for me and he definitely helped. I should've picked him as my volleyball partner all along, I justt forgot how could he was.

I smiled and laughed with Conrad as the ball was just inches away from being out when he threw it over. He ran to me and hugged me, lifting me off the ground a little.

The semi finals were hard. We were going up against Cam and Belly. I did a quick handshake with Conrad before getting in the zone. It was a close match. Closer than all the rest that happened today, but Conrad and I still beat them.

It was now left to us versus Shayla and Steven.

The game went back and forth as our scores were always almost tied.

"That was it. You got it." Conrad said as we stood in the middle of the court, doing our small handshake.

I hit the ball and watched as Shayla and Steven were too far, not being able to run after it. It fell to the ground on their side.

"Oh!" Conrad exclaimed as we both started jumping up and down in excitement.

He hugged me and now fully lifted me off the floor as we celebrated our win.

Susannah had made it to the mic quicker than I anticipated as she shouted, "And the winners are Y/N L/N and Conrad Fisher!"

"Nice game." I said to Shayla and Steven as they congratulated us.

Susannah came running at us with the large trophy, giving me a hug.

"You guys were amazing." She said, "Oh, you two make such a great team. Did you ask her yet?"

"Ask me what?" I asked.

"To be your escort." Susannah said, smiling. "I told him he had to ask you, since, you know, you haven't decided yet."

"Congratulations!" Laurel said as she hugged Conrad and I.

I avoided making eye contact with Conrad. He was forced into asking me to be my escort. He didn't want to.

"Nice ankle." I said laughing as I pushed Taylor lightly into Belly.

"Hey, Y/N." I heard Nicole say from behind me.

"Oh, hi Nicole." I said.

"Um, so my dad's boat just came up from Anguilla and I was wondering if you'd like to come and have some pizza and a rosé in a few hours? It's just something fun to end the day. And you all are welcome to come." Nicole said as she motioned to Belly and Taylor besides me.

"Will Kayla be there?" Taylor asked.

"You mean Shayla, and no, she has plans with Liam and everyone." Nicole said.

"Oh yeah, we'll be there." Taylor said, giving her a smile.

"See you later, Nicole!" I said as Belly dragged me with her and Taylor.

We walked n the dock. Taylor wearing a blue cropped tank top with jean shorts and two fishtail braids, Belly wearing her hair curled, with a bright pink top and blue jean shorts, and I was wearing a black and white tube top with a pair of low waisted jean shorts.

The girls were talking about boy drama and school stuff as I walked besides them. On a large boat stood 4 girls and one in a red crew neck.

"Girls."

"What?" They both asked before their eyes lay on the large boat.

"Y/N!" Nicole yelled as she waved from on top of the boat.

"Fuck me." Taylor said as Belly said, "Oh my god."

We did many things before the sunset, but once it got dark, we started saying truths and putting a finger down each time we had done something.

Belly had most of her fingers still up, and I had most of mine as well, not budging for most of them.

"Put a finger down if you've ever made out with Jeremiah Fisher." Taylor said, smirking at me.

I rolled my eyes as I put down one of my fingers.

The girls gasped as Gigi acted as if her heart was just shot.

"Wow, I'm sorry Gigi." I laughed.

"No it's fine, take my man." She said as she laughed as well.

"It wasn't anything. I didn't even mean for it to happen, nor did I really want it."

"I always thought there was something going on with you and Conrad, I guess I had the wrong brother though." Nicole said.

I hummed a 'mhm' to her, not really knowing what to say.

"Put a finger down if you've ever gone skinny-dipping at Hopper's Cove." Nicole said.

"Is that a dare?" Taylor asked.

"Oh absolutely." Nicole responded.

Taylor, Belly, and I were the first to hop in as we all splashed each other with the cold water. Yeah, it was kind of awkward just being naked, but it also felt freeing.

"Hey! Watch out for Jellyfish, I don't want to have to pee on any of you guys." Gigi exclaimed as she ran down the dock.

"The other two girls are missing out." Taylor said as she laughed.

Nicole agreed, "Yeah I was expecting them to come as well.

"Nicole." Gigi called out.

"Yeah?" Nicole asked.

"Conrad's texting you."

"Okay, coming." Nicole said as she swam over.

"I actually like them." Taylor said from beside us, which made us laugh.

The lights of the cars shown brightly before us.

"I knew they were bitches." Taylor spat.

"What's happening." Belly asked.

"Fuck." I mumbled as I swam closer to the dock.

Taylor got to the dock before I could.

"They took everything." She said. "Except for Y/N's phone, which has a really incriminating text from Connie..."

"Wait what? What does it say?" I asked as I swam right beside Taylor.

"My mom did ask me to ask you to the ball, but that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to." Taylor read out.

"Oh my god." Belly and I both said in unison.

Belly and Taylor both began questioning what to do, trying to make the best out of the situation which only made me laugh.

"We can not walk home naked." Belly said.

"What about that?" I asked, pointing to a boat cover.

I could see Taylor tense up from beside me.

"No." She whined.

We began our walk home, draped in a boat covering. It was cold, and we smelled like a boat, which didn't make anything any better.

"I don't know what I'm going to do." I said. Taylor seemed to understand.

"Pick Jeremiah duh." She said from beside me.

"But, Susannah told me to give people second chances. We didn't know anything when we first dated. It's different now." I said.

"Y/N, I'll support you, I just don't want you to get hurt." Belly said from beside me.

"I still think about when Conrad and I were still dating. How safe he made me feel." I said.

"But Jeremiah is head over heels for you." Taylor said from beside me.

"Okay? What If I don't know if I like him." I stated, puffing out a sigh.

I don't know when, or how, but we had somehow gave up on walking home as we just prayed and sat on the curb.

Two bright car lights came and all of us sighed.

"God, they're going to lecture us." I mumbled.

"Oh my god, Y/N, are you okay?" Jeremiah asked.

"What are you doing here." Taylor said, venom lacing her voice as she looked at Conrad.

"Nicole... she had told me um..." He motioned to the covering on us.

"I hope you told her to watch her back." Taylor said.

Conrad nodded as we took the plastic bag of our clothes.

We walked to the lights of the cars as we told them to hold the covering up as we began to redress ourselves.

"Are you going with Jeremiah or Conrad?" Belly asked me.

"I don't know. I guess, Conrad." Was all I could say.

"Crazy night." Conrad said as I hopped into the passenger seat of his car.

"Yeah, it didn't have to be though." I said, staring at him, "Quit playing these stupid games with me. I don't know if you want me or not, but I want a clear answer."

He didn't say anything has he drove.

"I'm sorry, but I've made my decision, and I'm asking Jeremiah to be my escort." I said.

Conrad's emotion didn't change much, but I could see the way his hand grew tenser on the wheel and how his other hand was stiff around the gear shift.

I didn't want the drama. And if I brought Conrad as my escort, there would be more drama than I needed.

That night, I slept in Belly's room, having a sleepover with Taylor and her.

I scrolled endlessly on my phone, not being able to fall asleep.

And of course, Conrad just had to text me.

"U up?" was all he asked.

I sighed as I got up quietly from the bed, walking out of the room without waking any of the girls up.

I walked out onto the dock, seeing Conrad's figure.

"Hey." was all he said, his voice deep and raspy.

"What the hell do you want from me? You're so fucking confusing Conrad! I can't figure out what you want or what you don't want. I don't want to deal with your stupid goddamn texts either. Everything bad happens when you text me." I yelled at him.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry, I really am. I feel like I keep doing the wrong things when it's about you." He stumbled over a few of his words before digging into his pocket.

"This is yours. Uh, you don't have to keep it or anything. I just..."

I took out the moon necklace. Which wasn't even mine. It fit him. It was him. I was the sun, he was the moon. I was a hot headed girl and he knew how to calm me down.

"What?" I asked.

"I just..." He moved closer to me. "I just don't want to lose you."

Conrad's hand was touching my arm, and we were inches apart again.

"I've given you chances. I just don't know what to do anymore, Connie." I said.

He nodded.

I didn't have much to say anymore. I left him on the dock. I didn't want to deal with him.

I was the sun, and Conrad was the moon. We were two very different people.

[stargazing-imagines]

Bad Idea… Right? — Jeremiah fisher x Fem!Reader

Description: you are secretly dating your ex boyfriend, but what happens when Jeremiah meds your broken heart?

Warning: jealous Jeremiah, mentions of cheating, bad writing, if there is anything else that I’ve missed! Let me know.

Fandom: the summer I turned pretty

Requested: no

A/n: I’m finally back with a new imagine! Life has been hectic, my schedule has gotten so intense to the point where it’s difficult to find time to write with edu practicums, dance, work, and college it just hard to fit writing into the mix but I’m back with slow updates!

“You seriously aren’t going to see him tonight are you?” Exclaimed belly

You two were currently in your room as you were getting ready for you’re date with your ex boyfriend, with belly sitting on the foot of your bed talking you out of this date.

“Look, he genuinely sorry for what he did…” you said “I promise.”

“Yeah but he cheated on you with a blonde bimbo last summer!” Said belly “don’t you remember that?”

Indeed you did remember that mere memory, everyone at the summer house were trying to cheer you up with nothing working, you spent the month of July in your room as you cried in misery. After catching him making out with a blonde girl, you swore off of guys for the rest of your life, until you saw him working at the little gas station on your first day back at cousins, apologizing for what he did.

“Belly that was last summer.” You said “he changed.”

You could say you were trying to convince belly, but you were trying to convince yourself, but hey. What can go wrong?

“Y/n don’t you look lovely!” Exclaimed Susannah as she eyed you up and down “what’s the special occasion?”

“Y/n here has a date… with her ex!” Exclaimed belly

“Wait… the one that cheated on you last summer?” Asked Jeremiah as he raised his eye brows

“Yes Jere the one that cheated on me last summer…” you said “besides he apologized.”

“Y/n I don’t think this is a great idea…” said your mother “you were so heartbroken when it happened.”

“I was 16 mom…” you said “besides I’m 17!”

“I don’t know y/n.” Said laurel “what if he breaks your heart again?”

“He won’t!” You said, you were interrupted with a car honk

“The dude can’t even be fazed to come to the door!” Said Jeremiah “y/n you are not going out with him!”

“Watch me.”

With that you opened the door and shut it

“Thank you for giving me another chance.” Said Brice as he held your hand “I was so heartbroken last summer when you left me.”

You smiled as you nodded along to what he was saying, but your mind was preoccupied on something else.

Jeremiah Fisher… and how you wish he was here with you on a date instead of Brice Hamilton.

“I’m going to the restroom.” Said brice as he got up, you formed a faint smile before nodding your head. He got up and left, a few seconds later. His phone lit up

You picked up the phone as you read a text message

The whole conversation on his phone was full of explicit messages to the same girl that he cheated on you with last summer, you looked up fighting tears in your eyes, you placed your half of the pay on the table before getting up and leaving

You walked to the summer house, heels in hand as you had smeared mascara on your face. You headed towards the pool, sitting on a lounge chair.

You stared into the night sky, looking at the stars. Your thoughts were interrupted with a door slam

It was Jeremiah

“Back from your date soon?” Asked Jeremiah “I thought you would be out till 12.”

“It didn’t work out…” you said, eyes not leaving the night sky. Jeremiah sat next to the lounge chair beside you

“He’s not worth your tears.” Said Jeremiah as he stroked your cheek with the padding of his thumb

“He’s been hooking up with her all this time.” You choked out, Jeremiah pulled you close to his chest, comforting you as he stroked your hair.

“Things will get better.” Said jeremiah as he continued to hug you

“You really think so?” You asked as you wiped your cheek with your hand, letting out a smile

“I know so.” Said Jeremiah as he smiled, you face in his hand

The night ended with a kiss and let’s just say that the relationship between you and Jeremiah blossomed.

——

The summer I turned pretty masterlist

[hufflepuffimagines]

I Don’t Know Who I Am (Conrad Fisher x Reader)

Pairing: conrad fisher x reader

Genre: fluff, hurt and comfort

Warnings: depression, sadness, anxiety

(gif isn’t mine)

You were in a room in the Fisher’s house, you were Susannah goddaughter, she always knew how hard your family is on you, so since you were a little kid, she convinced your mother to let you spend the summer with her and the boys. It was your favorite time of the year, it was the time were you could be who you were and don’t be afraid of you. No doubts the older Fisher boy, Conrad, fell in love with you and his feelings were mutual to yours, last summer you started dating. It was the best, you were feeling your greatest, everything was right until it wasn’t dealing with your mother became impossible, some girls on school started bullying you, at first you didn’t believed them, you were sure that it wasn’t truth. Until anxiety kicked in and you started overthinking, maybe it was true no one really loved you, maybe you were a burden to everyone, you’re not special and with this thoughts you started to close yourself, stopped smiling and everything lost its colors.

You were standing in front of the mirror that were in the corner of the room, looking to the tired version of you, the girl with dark circles around your eyes that used to be so bright, pail as if your skin never saw the sun and a sad look in your face. You don't recognize the person in the mirror, this doesn’t feel like the version of you that you used to known. You were about to cry when your boyfriend entered the room.

“Hey, Jere wants to get some ice cream, do you…” He stopped looking at you. “What’s wrong, babe?” He asked getting closer to you.

“I don’t know who I am.” You mumbled while sitting in your bed.

“What?” Conrad set besides you.

“When I look at myself, I don’t know who it is, who I’m dealing with, what is this thing that sure as hell isn’t me.” You started tearing up and Conrad pull you closer to him and hugged you.

“Well, I know who you are.”

“You know?” You asked confused.

“Oh, yeah, I know I know that you are a generous and loving woman, who will notice before anyone else that someone is wrong and will be the first to get up to offer help, you like to read books and you love make friendship bracelets, you like old men who play rock music. You had your heart broken by people who didn't even deserve to hold it in their hands, you are a mirrorball that reflects the light to all corners even though it is broken. You have so many facets and they don't all fit together, but you're young and they don't need to fit right now. You are like that. One day, in a while, the pieces will align and you will find your people, and maybe they will also leave your life, but new ones will come, because life is an endless cycle. A puzzle never assembles quickly enough. But the time for it to be assembled will come. Your time will come, okay?” He said calmly.

“I noticed the Taylor Swift reference.” Conrad laughed cleaning your tears.

“You have a golden heart, baby, you might not know who you are, but this is a temporary feeling.”

“I love you.

“Love you too”

This was a 100% my way to vent, damn, I'd like this Conrad in my life...

[brokenjere]

details (a seventeen going under story)(j.f)(ch.1)

details (a seventeen going under story)

a/n: hello everyone!! i hope you all enjoy this new story. It's a continuation of seventeen going under, so if you haven't read that yet I encourage you to do so! I'm trying to follow the story line of book/season 2 but obviously, it's going to be different. Let me know what you all think!!

Susannah died at the beginning of June. The call came late one night as I was fast asleep, but Jeremiah’s empty breathing woke me up. I immediately knew something was wrong and ran next door without putting any shoes on. The boys were sitting on the couch in the dark not speaking. They looked like statues, I thought at that moment. Little wax figures forever frozen in time when their mom was still alive, but they were not. They were alive. 

They both turned to look at me when the front door swung shut. Jeremiah’s eyes were puffy and red. Neither of them looked like they had gotten any sleep for days, maybe. We all knew it was coming soon - her death. She was slowly getting worse and worse, it was only a matter of time. I kissed Jeremiah in the doorway as he left for the hospital to see her. Neither of us knew it would be the last time he saw her. If I had known, I’d have kissed him a little harder. 

If I had known that everything would change that night, I would have hugged him a little bit harder. I would have locked him in the house and not let him leave. I would have strapped our ankles together so that he could never leave me, but he did. He did leave me. And now, I’m sitting on the back porch watching the rain poor down flooding the grass. 

“Dinner is ready,” my mom calls from inside of the kitchen. She always likes to keep the back door open when it rains. “Come inside before you get a cold.”

“It’s too warm out for me to get a cold,” I tell her once I’m inside. She pushes a plate toward me on the counter with a sad smile. She’s been pitying me for weeks it feels like. Always giving me sad smiles and hugging me for longer than normal. Shouldn’t she be the one grieving? She lost her best friend. She watched her person die right in front of her eyes and she’s the one comforting me? I pick at the chicken with my fork but don’t eat it. “I’m not hungry.” 

“You have to eat something.” My dad comes in from the other room, kissing the top of my head once before rounding the island and kissing my mom on the cheek. She leans into him and my stomach turns. 

“I ate lunch.” I push the plate away. “I’m just going to go to sleep.” I can feel both of them watching me as I walk away with their sad eyes and wallowing stares. Being upstairs doesn’t make me feel much better. He’s all over the place up here. His clothes are in my closet, his shoes under my bed, and the notebook he gave me on the desk. I flip it open to the last page. Big, white, and empty. I’ve been meaning to pack up all his stuff for weeks now, but I can’t bring myself to do it. One minute I was packing for Cousins and the next Susannah is dead and Jeremiah is no longer my Jeremiah.

My phone starts to ring in my hand. I know who it is before I even look at the screen so I answer it, but I don’t speak. “Y/N,” he says softly. “I can hear you breathing.” I lay back on my bed and try to stop breathing. I hold my breath until my lungs start to burn. “Did you eat today?” 

“Don’t start doing that,” I whisper. 

“Doing what?” 

“Talking to my mom and checking up on me. She already talks to me like she’s walking on eggshells I don’t need you to do it now, too. You’re the one grieving.” I can picture Conrad now, rolling his eyes because all he ever does is care for other people he couldn’t imagine not doing it. Not even now. “I should be asking you if you’re eating.” 

“I ate a burger about 30 minutes ago. I can feel it traveling through my digestive tract as we speak,” he says. I can hear the smile on his face. 

“Good.” Conrad calls me every day at the same time for the last month. Sometimes we sit in silence and sometimes we don’t but he never hangs up first. It’s been exactly 32 days since I’ve seen Jeremiah. 32 days since I have heard his voice, although Conrad’s is similar. Similar but not the same. 32 days since I have felt his hands on me and exactly 30 days since his mother’s funeral and 28 days since Susannah died. My mom keeps telling me that time heals all wounds but how can I believe her when I feel like it just keeps getting worse and worse?

“When are you coming back to visit? They’re doing prospective student tours next week. Figured you could come then and tag along.” he suggests. It’s been a while since I’ve been out of the house and I think he knows that. He’s been trying to get me to visit him at school for weeks now but I keep blowing him off. I shouldn’t be, I know that but the thought of leaving the perimeter of my house feels very similar to dying. 

 “I’ll think about it,” I tell him. “Look, I should probably-” 

“Jeremiah asked about you.” We both say the same time. His words stop me in more ways then

one. I sit up and grip my phone harder. My voice stops, my breathing stops, and I’m pretty sure my heart stops. 

“What did he say?” My voice cracks and I clear my throat. “What did he want?” 

“He asked me how you were doing,” he tells me. “He asked me if you ask about him.” 

“Did you tell him that I don’t?” I don’t recognize my own voice. I keep talking about him to a minimum because when I do, it feels like my entire body is falling apart. Conrad sighs on the other side of the phone and he doesn’t reply. “What did you tell him?” 

“I told him that you were.” he hesitates. “That you were you. You were okay.” I stop myself from picturing how he was doing in that house all alone. Just him and Adam. I have to stop myself because if I’m afraid of what will happen if I don’t. “You were going to tell me that you’re hanging up, right? Before I said that.”

“Yes.” 

“Don’t hang up yet, okay?” His voice cracks so I don’t hang up. I don’t hang up for what feels like hours but we sit together all night long until eventually I fall asleep listening to him breathing. 

When Susannah got really sick, the worse I’ve ever seen her, being around the house was hard. Conrad hardly seemed to be around. It was his first year at Brown, so we all let it slide when he didn’t come home on weekends or make it to her doctor’s appointments. Jeremiah or my mom always took her. Laurel came down a lot, too but Jeremiah always got the worst of it it seemed like. One day, I came over to find him with his head in a pile of bills. 

“That’s not your responsibility,” I told him when he told me that he was sorting through the bills and trying to pay them off. 

“It’s just one less thing she has to worry about, you know? Conrad isn’t going to do it.” His voice was tense and unlike the Jeremiah that I loved. I put my hand on his shoulder and kissed the top of his head. 

“You have a dad,” I reminded him. He half smiled at me and took my hand off his shoulder. He held it tightly and kissed my knuckles. “Lets go get some food,” I suggested. “We can bring your mom home something.” 

“Normal food makes her nauseous.” There was a lot of things Susannah couldn’t do anymore. She barely could get out of bed. It was like seeing a stranger toward the end. She still smelled the same, her smile was still the same. She said all the things that Susannah said but she wasn’t Susannah. She wasn’t dancing around the house with the radio on in her apron. She wasn’t gardening in the backyard with dirt on her cheek. She was living off of saltine crackers and chicken noodle soup. 

“Then we’ll bring her back a cup of water. Come on.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the dinning room table. I felt guilty sometimes. Taking Jeremiah away from his mom like that but he didn’t deserve to sit here and grieve her before she was already gone while Conrad was off living his life. Sometimes I found him smiling. A real smile, the kind you only get when you’re really, really happy. His eyes would light up and he’d be him again. But then, everything hits him all at once and he’s sad again. 

He almost didn’t even go to prom with me. We had everything planned. Susannah even picked out the corsage but at the last minute he showed up at my door crying. “How can I go out and have fun while my mom is dying?” He said through his tears. I didn’t have an answer to that so I just let him cry but the next night, he showed up in his suit and tie with the corsage in his hand and it was perfect. It felt like nothing had changed. 

But of course, everything was changing.

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Sad Conrad request. Surprising him at the beach house and being there through the hard moments with his mom

Grab your tissues, this is a sad one

Warnings: mention of cancer/death

my taglists are here + you can send requests here at any time

—

‘’She won’t get better. It’s too late,’’ a crying Conrad said through the phone one late evening of May.

You sat up in your bed, giving him your best attention as your heart clenched.

These past few months, Susannah had been trying a new treatment for her cancer. She initially didn’t want to do it, but she would do anything for her boys. It’s been tough for her and the boys, physically and emotionally, but Susannah was a fighter. If she could beat cancer once, she could do it again, right?

Today, she had an appointment with her oncologist to see if the treatment was working. Conrad had been very stressed over it, calling you more often just to hear your reassuring words. You stayed optimistic for his sake, but you couldn’t lie to him. There were chances the treatment did not work.

‘’S-she’s gonna die.’’ His voice cracked at the last word, causing a tear to slip down your face.

That night, you almost booked a flight to Boston just to hold him in your arms.

*

When June came, you all went to Cousins’ beach for the last time. The last summer, her last summer.

On the day of the Fishers’ arrival, you sat on Conrad’s perfectly made bed and waited for him to walk through his door. It felt strange to be alone in their holiday house. Susannah had helped you plan the surprise for Conrad, mailing you a double of the keys a week before their arrival. He had been taking care of her so well during her treatment, she wanted to thank him in a special way.

You heard the door open downstairs, Conrad and Jeremiah’s voices soon filling the house. A know formed in your stomach, excited and nervous at the same time. Susannah’s voice mixed with the two, asking Conrad to take the bags upstairs.

The stairs creaked under his steps, listening as he took his mother’s bags to her room first, then his own. You held your breath as you saw the doorknob turn, soon revealing the boy you had missed so much with one bag over his shoulder and his suitcase in his other hand.

A mix of complete surprise and confusion spread on his face when he saw you sitting there on his bed.

‘’Hi.’’ You stood and a smile curled on Conrad’s lips for the first time in a while.

He dropped his bag and the suitcase’s handle and rushed over to you, wrapping his arms around you and lifting you from the ground. You wrapped your own arms around his neck as your legs did the same to his waist, finally in each other‘s hold.

‘’What are you doing here? You said you wouldn’t be here until Sunday.’’

You pulled back slightly, pushing that one piece of hair from his pretty eyes. You missed him and the soft smile he only kept for you. ‘’I drove here two days early to surprise you.’’

‘’Consider me surprised,’’ he said, closing the space between you and kissing you for the first time since spring break. Without breaking the kiss, Conrad took you to his bed, toppling on it in a mess of tangled limbs. ‘’How did you get in? Did you pick our backdoor?’’

‘’Susannah.’’

His eyebrows drew closer. ‘’My mom?’’

You nodded.

For a very short moment, Conrad was happy. And it was all because of you — with the help of Susannah.

*

As the summer went by, and Conrad was turning into a shell of his person. He was barely ever leaving the beach house or his mother’s side, wanting to spend as much time with her as possible before the end.

Since her last scan, the cancer had spread. She was getting more sick each day, becoming more tired and frail every time you saw her. Her blond hair was gone, replaced by a bandana that covered her bald head.

It was sad to watch.

‘’I hate to make this all about me, but who am I supposed to talk to? What am I supposed to do if my mom’s not there?’’ Conrad asked one night you were sitting on the back porch, his feet dipped in the pool water.

‘’You can talk to me. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.’’ You put your hand on his shoulders and he started to sob as you felt your own tears blurring your vision.

‘’She’s too young to die. She’ll never come to my college graduation or Jere’s high school graduation.’’

A few weeks later, you and Conrad were watching a movie in the living room, when Susannah came to get a glass of water. Conrad had fallen asleep against you, too tired to stay up late like he used to these days. You asked if she needed your help, but she smiled and said she was okay.

Before going back to her room, she came to the living room and put her hand on your arm. ‘’Thank you for being there for Connie. He doesn’t say, but he’s taking it the hardest. When I… He’s gonna take it the hardest.’’ She looked down at her son, a sad smile on her lips and tears welling in her eyes. ‘’Please take care of him.’’

*

When Susannah took her last breath, the weather was gloomy and dark outside, reflecting perfectly the feeling of the coming weeks.

You got the call at 3am and drove down to Boston, to the Fishers’ home. A red-eyed teary Jeremiah answered the door. You gave him a long hug, then headed to Conrad’s room. Laurel and her kids were there, all grieving the loss of a close friend — a non-blood-related family member.

As you entered Conrad's room, the somber atmosphere weighed heavily. The curtains were shut, plunging the room into semi-darkness, illuminated by the smallest crack of light coming from the top of the window. On the bed was Conrad, still in his clothes from last night, crying in silence and holding the old shark plushie his mother got him as a child. It had seen better days and was missing one eye, he hadn’t let go of it since coming home from the hospital.

His shoulders stiffened when he heard the door opening, about to rudely shoo out whoever had come to check on him, but relaxed when he saw you. Your hair was gathered in a loose ponytail, strands framing your face, and your shirt was an old one of Conrad’s, but none of that mattered to him. There was no one else he wanted to see beside his mom than you.

Lifting his head from the shark plushie, the steady flow of tears on his face. breaking your heart. His blue eyes, once vibrant, were now red and swollen from hours of crying, just like his brother’s.

You opened your mouth to speak, but words seemed inadequate in the face of such profound loss. So you said nothing.

You laid with him on the bed, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and pulling him into you like you had done these past months. The second his face met your chest, his sobs filled the room, finally allowing himself to let go now that you were there to catch him.

Rare were the times you had seen Conrad, but it was heartbreaking every time. You rubbed circles around his back and rested your cheek on his head, feeling his tears soak your shirt as he cried, silent tears falling from your own eyes.

You stayed like that for what felt like hours — just the two of you laying on his bed. Laurel didn’t bother checking on him, knowing he was well taken after with you. It was a weight off her shoulders, one less thing she needed to worry about.  

As the night was starting to fall outside, you felt Conrad's breathing even out, telling you he had fallen asleep. You didn't know how long he had been up for, but he must've been exhausted — in every way.

You carefully reached out to grab the soft blanket from behind him, trying to not wake him, but Conrad tightened his grip on you as he sensed your movement, afraid of losing the anchor that kept him grounded. 

‘’Don’t leave me too,’’ he mumbled, his voice so small and weak you didn't hear it.

You stayed still, frozen by his words. The vulnerability in his voice pierced your heart, and you realized that even in his sleep, his fear of abandonment lingered. 

Gently, you brushed your fingers through his hair, softly whispering back to him in reassurance.  ‘’I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I'll be right here when you wake up.’’

You vowed to be there for him, to support him through the darkest hours of his journey, and you planned on keeping that promise you made to Susannah, even if it meant staying up all night holding him or skipping a few days of classes at college. 

With great care, you shifted your position, sliding out from under him just enough to reach the blanket. As you draped it over both of you, he instinctively clung tighter to you, seeking the comfort of your presence.

—

All and more taglist: @spiokybirdstarfish @kenqki @liidiaaag @hawkegfs  @gillybear17  @areaderinlove @acornacreacure @black-rose-29 @fudge13 @cece05 @rosie-cameron @Caxddce @laylasbunbunny @gemofthenight @beautyb1ade  @hi-bored-as-fcuk-rn  @lovelyy-moonlight @mellabella101 @vxnity713  @marzipaanz  @bisexualgirlsblog @queenofslytherin889 @thatbxtchesblog @softb-tterfly @ethanlandrycanbreakmyheart  @xyzstar  @graceberman3  @Heartsforneteyamsully @aerangi @hallecarey1

[writingcold]

Welcome to Chapter 15.  I promise, after a few hard chapters, this one is a little bit easier to digest.  

If you’ve just joined us, here is the Master List to catch up

As always, thank you to @lvnterninthenight, @gardensgatedaisy and @whitesuitjake for your support, assistance, and friendship while this story panned out!

This is a work of fiction, and is totally mine.  Please do not take it for your own personal use.  I’ve put in hours of research, hours upon hours of writing, re-writing, screaming, yelling and vomiting over this epic of a story.  But it is mine.

Content warning:  It’s 18+, there’s adult situations.  There is no violence in this chapter.  So there’s that.

Word count: approx. 4100

Chapter Fifteen: Energy, Marriage, First Disagreement - Susannah POV

     The world had been set to right once more.  Jacob was still a hard ass, but at least he was a quieter, more level-headed hard ass.  Josh was hitting a stride now that Cora was in position at the bank, as well as aiding in the store, relieving him of some duties in both locations.  Molly and Danny were hiding away more.  Susannah was sure they would run away at any moment, despite the seemingly calm waters the business was presenting at the time.

     Sam’s arm lay heavy across her torso, his rhythmic breathing fluttering her hair.  She thought perhaps in the weeks after Cora had returned that Sam would settle back to being himself.  However, the weight of what had happened with the bank, and how he had to step up for his brothers had changed him.  He seemed distracted; more distant than ever before.  Like he was trying to put back together a puzzle so complex only he understood how it functioned.  He passed it off as his work on the Moon progressed into some fairly new territory for him, turning her into the terror he knew she could be.  

     Susannah could not help but feel her lover’s agitation as a new wound for her to pick at.  She had always been concerned that she was never enough for Samuel intellectually.  She knew he grew bored of her rambling dreams of hearth and home and what it would mean for them to share a real life together.  She saw how he started to shy away from making his assurances to her that all of what they had to do- the Lantern, the hiding of their true relationship, the way they had to keep separate - was only for the now and not always.  She could not remember the last time he promised a day away, just to pretend to be a couple in love where no one knew them.  Where no one knew who she was, what she was, what she did to pay her bills.

     Her heart stumbled at the idea.  Perhaps Sam was distancing himself to soften the blow that he no longer wished the same wishes as he once had with her.  She sat up and started to slide from the bed when his hand caught her arm.

     “Don’t go,”  he said, voice muffled and heavy with sleep.

     She turned her face away, fighting the emotions that threatened.  “Didn’t know you were awake.”

     “I don’t want to be,”  he sighed, curling up to her as she settled back down beside him.  “Come love on me instead.”

     He tugged her to move up on top of him, kissing her passionately.  Susannah felt the warmth, the love of him in the moment.  Her body unfolded over him, accepting him just as always.  She pushed away the hazy doubt, holding it at a distance to ruminate at another time.  This was her man who needed her.  Her man loved her.  It could be enough to live through another day.

     They moved together slowly.  His long fingers pressed into all her spots that made her brain pause and relish him the most.  His teeth scraped against her earlobe.  She reached up, allowing her breasts to be the landing for his chin as he sat up into her, pushing himself into her to fill her cunt so perfectly.  Her head fell back; her mouth emitting a low, long breath as rocked his cock into her, striking that spot that he knew would unravel her and unbind her stitched up bits and bites that toiled within her thoughts to unleash her to a better time.  Looking into the soft gaze of his eyes, she felt her heart spill open, giving him all she had, all she could ever have, just for her Samuel.

     Fragile gasps and tender moans filled her ears.  Susannah needed the minutes together to stretch, to encompass her, but it was over too quickly.  The softness was replaced with a stillness that mirrored the achy void that appeared within her chest.  She watched with hidden dismay as Sam bustled around, dressing and saying goodbye before she was able to lift her head once more.

     The minutes seemed to be speeding at her as she slogged through getting ready for her day.  She had hoped that Molly would stop in, but by early afternoon, it seemed that even her closest friend had forgotten her.  Dressing, she headed toward the pharmacy.  She had never noticed the dismal way people looked upon her.  She pulled the fabric of her light coat closer to her body as a chill ran up her neck.

     A sign in the window caught her eye.  A woman sat slumped in a chair with no energy.  A simple sniff later and she was running with a smile through her house chores.  The little note said to ask the pharmacist about the great new stimulant to “keep the world moving!”  She stepped inside to get laudanum,  but left with a vial of heroin.

Chapter Fifteen: Pt 2, Molly POV

     She felt like her insides were going to turn to mush and escape out the window.  Danny laughed beside her as she fiddled with the simple gold band that had suddenly taken residence on her left hand.  The ring felt like it weighed a ton.  She would swear that it held a heat about as well.  Like it was trying to burn into her flesh to keep it from sliding away.  Be it madness or true love, they were hitched and absolutely giddy about it.  

     Molly did not like the notion of explaining it all to everyone, all at once.  She worried about Susannah.  Her friend was leaning into her fragility once more.  This was news that she may not be able to digest in the group setting.  Danny proposed while they were in Norway, sitting at the cafe over sandwiches.  The justice of the peace was available and it just happened.  Impulsive, crazy, and perfect.  No one knew what Danny may have been planning.  Not even Sam.  Of course, it still meant all the obstacles were still in place.  Josh would never allow their marriage to smudge the all too important reputation in the public eye.  However, Molly did not much care.  She was not like Susannah, pining away for a time that most likely would not happen.  When they could be together without judgment for the positions they kept was not going to be anytime soon, so why bother the brain about it.  Molly wanted only to enjoy what they had in the ‘now’ and worry about such as time as being part of accepted society when it actually happened.

     They arrived back in Kingsford just as the evening fell.  They spoke not a word of logistics.  There was no way she would spend the night in the Kiszka household.  Josh would rather dip Danny in acid than to have that happen and explain to the neighbors that it was all right, they were a proper married couple after all.  

     Dressed for the Lantern, they descended through the staff entrance to find everyone at the family perch.  As it was Saturday, Cora was even with the group.  Her presence had seemed to steady the ship that seemed to be run aground in the worst possible manner ever.  Molly wondered if the woman provided a reminder of the direction that any of them once had - to finish a job that none of them actually wanted, with the exception of Joshua.  Even that notion was thin as Josh seemed his most happy when things were just starting out with the shops and dancehall were just getting established.  

     “Where the fuck have you two been?”  Sam barked with a grin as they sauntered up to the table.

     Instead of any announcement, Molly simply held her left hand up to flash the band.  Cora laughed warmly as Jacob and Sam clamored over to the groom to congratulate him.  Josh flagged the bartender calling out for champagne and cigars.  Her eyes drifted to Susannah and found a teary, surprised friend that seemed glued to her seat.  Cora was quick to rise to her feet upon noticing the struggle and wrapped her in a hug that was reassuring.  

     “Come on, honey mama,”  she said to Susannah with the biggest smile she could muster.  “Lay your worst on me.”

     The woman’s dark eyes curved and prickled with a happiness that suddenly filled the rest of her body.  Susannah stood and wrapped her arms around her, holding so tight she was sure there would be bruises on her arms and shoulders.  The twinkling laugh that she let out reinforced everything that Molly was feeling from the first moments of the morning when Danny offhandedly said that should get married.

     “Love you, baby,”  Molly whispered against her friend’s ear.

     “Alright, come on, let’s get this going!”  Joshua announced, handing out the champagne.

     Molly reached across, taking Danny’s cigar and puffed it a few times with a huge belly laugh.  The night became a blur of dancing and drinks and celebration.   Her husband beamed the entire night.  She could not believe that such a simple thing, a simply worded commitment could have such an effect on both of them - all of them.  She just hoped that perhaps they were finally heading back to black with the plan of leaving the town behind once the job was done.

     It was close to three in the morning and everyone but Susannah was dragging.  She was still twirling on the dancefloor with Sam as the others were slinking away to put an end to the night.  Cora and Jacob were first to leave with another round of love and kindness.  Josh left at two.  Sam had been trying to get her to leave ever since, but it was like watching her being pulled by a string and pushed by an engine.  Molly felt a ping in her heart that she knew Susannah was not right.  She was being driven by something beyond herself.  

     “Hey, you ready?  I feel like we could disappear for a few days,”  he whispered in her ear.

    Molly watched as Susannah was toasting them once more.  Her heart strained against the concern she suddenly felt.  Danny was wrapping his long arms around her, lifting her against him to practically drag her away.  Susannah and Sam were laughing and waving happily.  Molly tried to ham it up, but at last glimpse, she could not help the stab of doubt that her friend had left within her thoughts.

Chapter Fifteen: Pt. 3, Cora POV

     The office that held all special accounts was about ten times the size of the Tiger’s closet breadth of space.  Cora had settled herself in amongst the ledgers and set to work immediately, familiarizing herself with Joshua’s method of record keeping, taking special care to note the subtleties between the legitimate businesses and the not so legitimate ones.  She quickly worked to understand the double language as well as coding to best serve the overall health of the Kiszka/Wagner affairs.

     The ledger before her was simply marked ‘Jacob’.  She was tapping on the edge of the desk in debate.  Joshua insisted everything in the room was a part of the variety of businesses they held.  She certainly did not want to be nosing around in Jacob’s personal accounts.  She would not really know what the ledger was for until she at least looked inside.

     After one last hesitation, she flipped the cover open to find that it was a register of rents for the Shipwright's Holdings Company.  Her brow pinched.  She knew that company - they were the landowner of her home on Park street.   Each page of the book was a different property, all carefully recorded with address, property values, the weekly/monthly rent values, renter information and due dates.  The properties were located all over Kingsford, and included residences, businesses, and farmland.  As she looked closer, the boundaries did not end within the town, but spanned all over Dickinson, Menominee, and Iron counties, with a few properties dotted all the way through the UP to the furthest reaches of the eastern and western borders.  The register was well organized by county, followed by type of property.  The business itself was impressive, bringing in nearly double what the general store and mercantile shops brought in revenues combined.  

      Thumbing her way through the Dickinson County residences, she found the house on Park.  He had purchased it the year before.  She traced the names on the leases until it stopped with her own name, but there were no entries of any of her rent installments.  A hard noise escaped her as she realized that although the amount of rent that she was paying was the same as each of the prior residents, none of the money that she had paid in had been recorded.

     Cora paged through the rest of the ledger, but returned to her page - her entry.  She finally set the book to the side, open and waiting as she moved on to Joshua’s business markets and holdings.  In the few weeks since her return to Kingsford, she had been surprised to find that Joshua had replaced her in the Tiger.  To find that he wanted her in the bank, with the possibility of more management duties in the shops had her dazed.  He bumped her salary up to twenty five dollars a week.  It was so much that she was beginning to tuck dollars away for Matthew to attend college, as well as a sum to send to Junie to help.  

     Jacob and Danny had left on a run that morning, which meant that she was going to have to stew on the found information for at least four days.  She was aware that she would have had to go through a male counterpart of some kind in order to find a residence in town - no matter if it was Jacob or not.  More than likely, it would have had to have been a representative of the bank that she would have counted on to secure her just the ability to look at rentals.  The fact that Jacob helped was not what was troublesome.  It was the fact that it was his personal company that owned the home and it was obvious that he was not recording her rental payments at all.  Her mind kept returning to the open book even though she continued to work on organizing the books according to what she needed in the office bookcases.

     “How about some lunch with me, lovely?”  Joshua asked as he stopped in her doorway.

     She looked up at him, her eyes needing a moment to refocus.  “Oh…”

     “All well?”  he asked, moving towards the desk, eyes roaming across what she was working on, falling into the open rental ledger.  He nodded with a soft tug on the corner of his mouth.  “Yeah, Jake’s been at that since day one that we’ve been here.  He has an eye for property and good renters.  He acts like he doesn’t have a head for business, but truthfully, he’s a natural.”

     He smiled wide and held out his arm for her to take.  “Come on, Cora.  Come have lunch.”

     It surprised her to see Joshua in the diner versus The Boudreau.  He seemed younger sitting in the booth, eyes squarely on her, instead of knowing that being seen was more important by his business counterparts.  To hear him actually laugh, not the polite laugh, but his belly laugh over something she had said about Jacob had nearly startled her.  In the end, however, she felt more of an equal with Joshua than she had ever felt before.

      The week stretched on.  Cora remained in her routine of work and getting home to hear about the boys in their day.  Matthew had excelled beyond the teacher’s ability and spent more time aiding the older students than focusing on his own studies.  Jon was always a bit bashful, but Georgie would talk up how Jon, not Matthew, was really the smartest in that school.  Rosemary was busy at the laundry; mending and tailoring had become her niche.  

     Thursday afternoon brought her to the last few of the Lantern registers.  The office no longer looked like a frantic library that had no bookcases.  Josh strolled into her office around noon each day in what seemed to be a new routine for him to pick her up for lunch.  They were just returning to the bank when he decided to stop in at the shops.

     “I have a few new duties for you,”  he explained, walking her back to the office.

     Her eye had caught Renee who quietly smiled and waved to her.  Joshua would have her begin to close up the register and shops on those days that required him to be at the bank or longer hours.  Her hands would go a long way in aiding the family.  He told her not to worry about wages on Saturdays, but the days of the week would be her time to finish out the shops.

     Jacob was walking towards them from the alley as they headed back towards the bank.  His eyes lit with a huge smile.

     “There you are,”  he said, holding his hand out to her.

     Her heart mirrored his smile as he tucked her into him, brushing his lips against her neck in a light kiss.  

     “Looks like a successful last run of the season,”  Josh remarked with a nod and a pat to his twin’s shoulder.  

     Jacob hummed in agreement.  “All trucks accounted for.  All are southbound and headed on their way.  We are done for the season.”

     “We’ll have to celebrate Sunday,”  Josh said warmly.  “Big supper and the picture show?”

     Jacob nodded as they walked towards the bank.  “Sound good, Finch?”

     Cora grinned at him and nodded.  Films were important.  The stories were important to Jacob, while the actual pieces and functions of the film were important to Joshua.  To be able to watch the differences between the two in the movie theater was something to treasure.  The debate they would have for the week after was tiresome at times, but interesting at how every kernel and niche had to be explored just to decide whether it was a good film or not, rotted her brain.  

     Walking into the bank, she tugged Jacob along just as he was about to let her go to her office alone.  “I have a question for you,”  she said, keeping her face neutral.

     He raised an eyebrow but followed anyway.  She closed the door behind them.  Jacob turned round on her, catching her and pressing her up against the closed door.  His mouth brushed against hers before pressing in against her.  The weight of him made her brain fuzz over as her body instantly welcomed his touch.  His hands pressed against her sides, sliding down her curves, ending at the swell of her bottom and his tongue deep in her mouth.  He set every fiber of her body on fire within two seconds of his return home. 

     He paused, her breath came in fast waves as she dropped her chin and leaned against his chest.  Her purpose returned as her thoughts cleared.  Her hand pressed against his shoulder as she slid away from him.  

     “You’ve made quick work of this in here,”  he said softly as he seemed to collect himself.

     “I’ve tried to.  It’s been a challenge.  I’ll be taking all of the necessary ledgers to the house soon,”  she remarked as she reached for the ledger marked ‘Jacob’.  “I came across this.”

     She set the ledger on the desk in front of him as he moved closer.  His dark eyes landed on it and did not move.  He humphed, and was about to dismiss it until he looked back at her.  Cora raised an eyebrow.

     “Imagine my surprise that I discovered you are my landlord, Jacob,”  she said, opening the cover and getting to her page.  

      “It started out as a side business,”  he shrugged.  “I mean, Josh has his market shares in so many more shops and organizations-”

     “But this is solely yours,”  she said, pointing at her name.

     “I’m not sure where you’re leading me, Finch.”

     “I’ve made three rent payments, none of which are recorded.”

     He shrugged with a shake of his head.  “Still not sure what you want me to say.”

     Cora felt the corners of her eyes pinch.  Her emotions wanted to flare, but she fought to keep in check.  “Were you just remiss in my payments to your company?  I can page to any of your other holdings and they are all recorded.”

     “Not sure why you are upset about that-”

     “There’s very little autonomy in this world for a woman, Jacob,”  she said quietly in order to try to keep the heat out of her words.  “Making those rent payments on my own is important to me.”

      His face scrunched up.  “I understand.  But why are you upset about my books?  Those weren’t even supposed to be in here.”

     “I’m upset because you are obviously meticulous when it comes to all of your other holdings.  Why is there nothing showing for my rent payments?  Why are there no entries in here?”

      “I feel like any answer I give you is going to be wrong in this scenario.”

      “Fine - where is the money I have paid into Shipwright Holdings?  Start there.”

      “I divert the money you pay in rent to a separate account.”

      “Why would you do that?”

      “Cora, I don’t want to -”

      “I need you to understand that having that house is my way in this world.  I pay for that.  I get that it’s a pittance when it comes to the rest of your properties, but it should be going back into the business like all your other holdings.  So, where are you diverting my rent?  I certainly do not mean to be living there rent-free.  I entered a contract to pay-”

      He held his hands up.  “I divert your rent into an account that I set up for us.  I match the amount each time you make rent.  I…  It’s just something for us to get our start on.  I am investing in us.  It’s not something to be upset about.”

     She gritted her teeth.  “It’s not square.”

     “Fine.”  His eyes grew hard as he straightened his back.  When he spoke, his voice was without hardness, but it was different from his normal rasp.  It was professional and measured and without passion.  “Then how about looking at it this way, Cora.  The moment your payment is made, it is my decision to do with those monies as I see fit.  I take that payment and invest it into my personal future.  I match those funds and add a bit more of my personal allowance, so that each month one hundred dollars is deposited so that I may make a life with the woman that happens to be sitting in front of me right now.  Does that satisfy you?”

     Cora knew she had been scolded.  However, she did not look away.  Did not cry and buckle under him.  Instead, she sat back in the chair and said nothing.

     The corner of his mouth tugged as he tilted his head to the side.  “I know independence is important to you, baby.  You are so strong that way.  I’m not taking anything away.  I just thought that perhaps to have something that is just us, for us, and could be spent any way we wanted.  If you want to spend it on a home, or babies, or hell, tuition, that would be our choice.”

     “Tuition?”  Her brows pinched over that nugget.

     “Cora, if you want to go to school, I’d be more than happy to follow you there.  Or if you want to use it to send your brothers, so be it,”  he said warmly.  He laughed as it was obvious that his brain had lurched ahead of him.  “You may want to decide because all I can see is a huge house packed with our children.”

     “That many, huh?”  she asked, unable to keep the ire in her belly stoked and burning.

     “More,”  he whispered as he reached for her.

Nice to have them back, right?   I've got Chapter 15 all polished up and ready to go, so be sure to look for it tomorrow afternoon - okay?

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[mesillusionssousecstasy]

TSITP 2x05 - “Love Fool” : Jeremiah’s point of view

“- Conrad could have chosen his words better. But he’s not wrong. The truth hurts. All of it hurts.”

“- Our dad was never going to win a Father of the Year award. He was flawed, that’s for sure. But when it counted, he was there at the end. Conrad just couldn’t see it. He didn’t want to.”

“- Sometimes I hate myself for how long it took me to notice it. That invisible force between the two of them. I wanted to tell Conrad that he had no right, that he’d ignored Belly for all these years. But it wasn’t just up to Conrad. It was Belly’s choice, too. So I forced myself to let it go. There were more important things to worry about then, anyway.” 

“- Being around Belly this week has made me remember all over again. And my genius plan to stay pissed at her and keep her at arm’s length is a failure. So I just keep telling myself over and over, it’ll never be me. It’s always going to be Conrad.”

“- When she looks at me like this, I can almost let myself believe she sees me the way she used to see Conrad.” 

“- Does he know how badly I’ve wanted to take Belly’s hand like that? Would he care?”

“- I can remember the exact moment when everything changed. From the first moment I saw her last summer. She’d always been just Belly. A girl I’ve know my whole life, my friend. Except what I was feeling in that moment was so much stronger. I wanted to grab her and hold her and kiss the shit out of her. And the feeling never went away. But I wasn’t the only one. I tried to convince myself for a long time that they weren’t inevitable. That I had a chance. But it’s pretty clear to me now that I never actually did.”

“- I was annoyed with Conrad that day, with everything about him. He’d gotten to take Belly to her prom, and he’d acted like it was some big chore. If it had been me, I would have done it right. I wouldn’t have forgotten the corsage. I’d have given her the perfect night. (I was heartbroken).  - Conrad forgot Belly’s corsage? That’s shitty of him.  (...) - You always remember what makes Belly happy. You still have feelings for her.  (Susannah) - No, Mom. I got over that crush a long time ago.  - You never let anyone see you hurting. Yeah, well, sometimes I think you’re a little too good a being fine. (Susannah) - Well, isn’t that what everyone wants me to be?  - No. Not me. This is all my fault. I got so excited at the prospect of Belly being with one of my boys. It must have been so hard for you, seeing her with your brother. (Susannah) - I don’t want you have to worry about that, Mom. - Promise me. You and Conrad will never let anything come between you. You will always put each other first. (Susannah) - Mom, Con and I are fine. I promise. You don’t have to worry about that, okay? She chose him. They chose each other and I’m... - Her best friend (Shit not the thing to say). This is just the beginning of your story, Jere. And I can’t guarantee anyone’s feelings. Or promise that no one will get hurt. But the fun in life is figuring out where the rest of the story goes. Do you know what my graduation quote was? Amelia Earhart. “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” Remember that. I adore you, sunshine boy. (Susanna)  - My day always loved Conrad better. But I had my mom. She was the only person who ever really saw me. Her and Belly.”

“- My whole life, it’s always been Conrad for Belly. But maybe... maybe, for the rest of the story, it could be me.” 

[delanore-roosevelt]

I’m re-reading the books to prepare for season 2 and i’ve noticed another reason why i don’t think the Jeremiah cheating plot is stupid/pointless/thrown in randomly and it stems from something Conrad says in the third book

“And then i started to hate myself, who he’d made. Because i saw it too— how alike we were. That scared me. I didn’t want to be the kind of man who cheated on his wife. I didn’t want to be the kind of man who put work before his family,—“

Conrad started to realize how similar he was to his dad and actively tried to change that. Jeremiah in turn became more like his dad. He cheated on Belly and then instead of helping her plan their wedding he works his interning job all week(the job part i can’t really blame him for). He even starts to work for his dads company! Jeremiah is his father son. I never realized how similar Jere was to his dad until this current read through.

Conrad also says that he is more like their dad and Jeremiah is more like their mom but i think that changes over time. Conrad keeps secrets to try to protect everybody just like Susannah. She keeps the divorce and her cancer a secret so they can have one last good summer. Conrad doesn’t tell her or anybody that he and Jere already know about it, and he doesn’t tell anybody about the house being put up for sale because he doesn’t want to stress anyone else out. While he doesn’t have a job in the second book he does have college which is kind of like a job, he drops everything when he found out the house was being put up for sale. He knows how important that house is to his family, to his mother. He put his family first when he went to save it (Maybe not the most mature way of handling it but you see my point).

TLDR: The Jeremiah cheating plot is “like father like son”