#tsitp series

[princesachicana]

𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 pt.2

a/n: it's finally here!! how long has it been?! first things first i want to say thank you to everyone who's been rooting for this fic!! I honestly hit a huge writers block and had no motivation to write!! but all the sweet messages from people saying they enjoyed my work has made me so happy!!! SO ONCE AGAIN THANK U AND I HOPE U ENJOY!! I tried my EXTRA HARDEST SO I HOPE THIS GIVES U THE CLOSURE YALL WANTED I LOVE YOU SM! ALSO THIS IS NOT PROOF READ SO PLEASE EXCUSE ANY MISTAKES!! I JUST WANTED TO FINALLY POST FOR U GUYS!!

It took a lot out of you not to stay in bed the next morning. The softness of your bed wrapped around your body gives you some sort of comfort. But of course, staying in bed would only make you feel worse. At least if you got up it would be easier to fake happiness. To no surprise, your phone was flooded with missed calls and texts from both Steven and Belly. Of course, you only responded to belly telling her that you'll explain your reasoning for ditching your "date" with Steven later.

Why did Steven even bother leaving you so many texts last night? If you were such a bother to him? Annoying. That's what he thinks you are. And what if you never heard those disgusting things he said about you? and went on the date with him? Would he just continue to lead you on?

Steven: waiting for you by the pool.

Steven: ur late

Steven: u look pretty even though i can't even see you. pls im starving

Steven: is belly holding you hostage?

Steven: it's been 18 minutes cmon.

Steven: the guys are going to laugh at me for being stood up I'm getting nervous.

Steven: did something happen are you okay?

Steven: belly is worried as well lmk.

You laughed at the messages blinking back angry tears that threatened to fall. Gosh! he was so fake. You could only imagine how relieved he must have been to not hang out with you.

Belly: have funnnn

Belly: no funny business!!

Belly: wait where did you go?!

Belly: Steven keeps pacing back and forth waiting for u

Belly: what’s going on?

Belly: just let us know ur okay

Belly: y/n ??!?!??

Y/n: hey, something came up last night sorry I had you worried. can u come over?

Belly arrived 20 minutes later. You spent the time together watching reruns of your favorite Disney show. “Do you want to talk about it?” Belly asked after a while, noticing something was bothering you.

“I overheard the guys talking about me last night.” You fiddled with the throw blanket that was on your lap. “At first it was just them teasing Steven about our date or whatever.” You took a deep breath upset that you felt like crying. “But Steven only agreed to hang out with me…” You paused blinking back tears. Belly moved closer immediately pulling you into a hug. “He only agreed to hang out with me…so I could stop annoying him! I honestly don’t know what I did wrong?” You pulled away from belly’s arms wiping your tears that had fallen.

“Maybe I was too forward? but I just wanted to see if he felt the same way…it was dumb.” You shrugged. Belly shook her head “Nope my brother is a fucking idiot!” she stood up taking your hand in hers and pulling you up. “I won’t let you mope around all day because of him!” You sighed “I don’t even have a choice do I?” Belly laughed shaking her head. “What do you say we go to the boardwalk? Taylor’s coming in today too” she smirked.

“And maybe someone would be happy to see you I don’t know” she whispered with a grin. “What are you talking about?” You questioned. “Well you know Xavier..the one that works the lemonade stand?” You nodded your head yes. “Well, he totally has the hots for you.” You cringed at her word choice. “He does not!” You laughed. “Oh, he does! you were too busy ogling my brother last summer you didn’t notice him ogling you.” she poked your side teasingly.

“Now let’s go!”

~

“Stay still before I poke your eye out” Taylor groans finishing up your eyeliner. You were now at the Fisher’s beach house getting ready to go down to the boardwalk. You laugh pulling away “I think that’s enough…if you make my eyeliner any thicker I’d cry!” Taylor playfully pushes your head away. “Sorryyyyy i want to make Xavier fall to his knees when he sees you!” You frown when she brings that name up. Sure, Xavier was a nice guy…and he was cute…but he wasn’t Steven.

You’d always imagined Steven being your first everything. First kiss, first date, first time. It was something you’d dreamt of all this time.

“Yeah…im going to get a snack before we head out do y’all want anything?” You ask heading towards the door. Both girls gave you a sympathetic smile shaking their heads no.

As you reached the kitchen you stopped in your tracks. Steven turned from looking into the fridge. You made eye contact for about 5 seconds before you beelined for the cabinets. “Hey,” Steven broke the silence as you pulled out a granola bar. You felt the warmth of his stare and turned finding him now leaning against the counter. “Hey…” you whispered looking anywhere but his face. “So you gonna tell me what happened last night?” Steven crossed his arms around his chest.

“Just didn’t feel up for it anymore ..” You shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s it?” Steven scoffed. “Yeah…that’s it” you whispered about to walk away. “What’s going on? I’m like so confused right now.” Steven gently gripped your arm. “Nothing just forget it…it’s not like you wanted to go anyways.” you rolled your eyes. “And what makes you think that?” He muttered eyes scouring your face for the truth. “Um, I don’t know let’s see …you quite literally ignored me this entire week!” You responded sarcastically.

“I didn’t mean to. I had a lot of shit on my mind alright?” Steven uttered softly. It almost felt genuine. The words he spoke just last night almost became liquid. “Yeah like what?” You whispered eventually looking into his eyes. “You can tell me..” You spoke gently stepping into him closer. No matter how much he’s hurt you. Steven would always make you melt. “Nothing let’s just forget about it…he pulled away opening up the fridge once again.”

It was like a switch was flipped. How he went right back to that cold shoulder he had been giving you all week. “You're a fucking asshole” You spewed, already ready to walk out of the kitchen. “Where are you going?” He abruptly spoke again. “The boardwalk…you know? so I won’t annoy you here.” With that, you left a confused and remorseful Steven behind.

~

“Hey, look y/n why don’t you go get a lemonade?” Belly suggested with an eyebrow raise. Shit. you were hoping they forgot about that. “Guys I don’t feel up for this..” You pouted looking between both Taylor and Belly. “Noooo go talk to him! you look hot as fuck.” Taylor gently grabbed your face giving you a mini pep talk.

“What if Xavier wants to hang out..I cant just ditch you guys?!?” You were stalling and they knew it. “We’ll be here waiting for you” Belly smiled. “Just try to have fun alright? But hey if you don’t really want to do it …we’ll back off” She narrowed her eyes at Taylor. “No…I’ll go” You laughed giving both of them a hug “Thank you guys.i really appreciate this.” You’d definitely still be moping around in your room about Steven if it wasn’t for Belly and Taylor. They both wished you luck as you headed straight for the lemonade stand.

As soon as he spotted you. The biggest smile spread across his face. “y/n? damn, it’s been so long” Xavier greeted you with a hug. “It’s only been a year!” You playfully ruffled his curly hair that sat atop his head. “That’s way too long…I enjoy seeing pretty girls year-round.” He spoke smoothly, he definitely knew how to talk to girls. “Shut up” You laughed pushing him away with not that much force.

“I have an hour lunch break…you up for arcade games?”

~

“So…you seeing anyone?” Xavier asked as he ate a scoop of his mint chocolate chip ice cream. You thought about it for a moment. Technically no you weren’t seeing anyone. But you knew you were still hung up on Steven. A day at the boardwalk with Xavier wouldn’t change that. “It’s complicated…I guess” Xavier sighed “I've been there…it’s rough” You nodded you were curious as to what he meant but you didn’t want to be nosey.

“Hey, look they have street fighter..” Xavier smirked. “Want to go a couple of rounds?” You nodded immediately pulling him towards the game. “Mhhm loser buys the winner a funnel cake!” You suggested with a chuckle. “Ouuu im so down y/n” Xavier squeezed your hand that held his quickly striding towards the arcade game.

Just two more steps, Just two more steps and you’d be fine. The rowdy yelling completely threw you off. You stopped in place looking behind you where the voices were coming from. You had no time to move out of the way, no time to prevent this from happening.No time to stop the trio of boys that you knew all too well. Suddenly a body collided with Xavier, the force immediately making your intertwined hands lose. “Dude, what the fuck?” Xavier groaned. It was then that you snapped back into reality. Eyes wide when you noticed Xavier’s ice cream now all over his shirt.

“What’s up? how are we doing?” That voice full of humor made you scoff. Steven stood tall a smile on his face. You hated that it kind of made your heart flutter. “Steven, what is your problem?” You gestured towards Xavier’s now ice cream stained shirt. “He’ll be fine y/n it’ll wash out.” Steven laughed, but once he noticed you didn’t find this funny at all he frowned. “I’m sorry man, I just came over to say what’s up..” You ignored Steven’s apology not believing he meant it. “Hey want me to help you get cleaned up?” You asked Xavier voice full of concern.

“No.I got it…I’ll see y’all later.” Xavier spoke nonchalantly as he walked away. When he was out of eyesight you brushed past steven heading out the door.

“Y/n” Steven immediately followed behind you. His long legs make it easier for him to catch up with you. “You embarrassed me” You stopped outside the arcade, letting him pull you to the side. “Embarrassed? sorry to interrupt your little date” Steven scoffed. “It's not a date we were just hanging out, why do you care?” You groaned running your hands down your face. “Maybe because just yesterday you were supposed to hang out with me?” Steven spoke definitively.

“Oh my god, just earlier you agreed to forget about it,” you said with an eye roll. “It was dumb, stop acting like you care just go home Steven I did you a favor.” He shook his head “What are you talking about right now?” Steven pulled you in closer, one of his hands placed on your waist. The other coming to the side of your face, willing you to look at him.

“I heard you.i heard everything,” you spoke up voice hoarse. Steven’s heart carried pain at the tears that stood brimming in your eyes. The realization was clear when he made the connection. “And you know..who cares what Jeremiah and Conrad think! what hurt the most was you.” You shrieked. You hated that you were crying in front of him. You hated that when he hauled you against his chest you felt secure.

“I'm sorry baby... I'm sorry” Steven sounded voice vulnerable. Leaving kisses atop your head. “Why would you say that?” you sobbed breaking down in front of the boy who caused it. “I didn't mean any of it” Steven brought your face between his hands once again. “But you said it..it still fucking hurts Steven.”

You wiped your face getting prepared to pull away and walk back home.

“Wait, please let me talk to you.” Steven begged. “okay” you replied being prepared to cry all over again. “My head has been all fucked up..and that isn't an excuse I know” Steven looked down as if he couldn't construct the next words. “Please don't shut me out.” you pleaded gently. “I want you...i have all this time.” Steve confessed for the first time.

“—And I didn't want to fuck anything up we've..been so close all our lives if I ever messed that up I would never forgive myself.” It's as if you were dreaming, the boy you loved stood in front of you disclosing his feelings for you. “And what? this whole week of you acting cold towards me, were you trying to avoid your feelings?” Steven bobbed his head “Yes, if I lied to myself it would make lying to everyone else easier because the fucking truth is I want you so bad” You didn't tell him but at that moment you forgave him.

“And you called me the annoying one?” You giggled pushing on his chest gently. “Right now we could have been making out on the beach….but noo you had to be a brooding boy” Steven tickled your side, causing you to squirm in his arms. “Yeah, my fault can I kiss you now? been practically wanting to my whole life.” Steven threw his head back fake pouting setting one hand over his chest. You figured you'd throw his words right back at him. “You're so desperately desperate”

Steven smirked “Yeah for you? I am” Those words welcomed a whole lot of beautiful feelings. At that moment is when Steven bent down bringing his lips down onto your own. As your lips moved together, butterflies erupted in your belly. You smiled against his lips when you both needed a breath. “Hey, by the way, your not off the hook.. I'm still sort of pissed at you.” You declared pointing a finger into his chest.

“Yeah, I figured” He laughed wrapping his arms even tighter around you. “How about I make it up to you this whole week? I'm taking you out on dates…ill even get on my knees if I have to. I'm going to follow you around like a puppy.” Steven rambled on. You laughed out loud covering your mouth with your hands. “Oh, it's funny?” Steven raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Yeah, you're such a loser.” You joked.

Before Steven could respond you tugged him into another kiss. Perhaps everything wasn't one hundred percent fixed. But you and Steven were finally here together. You and Steven were finally in each other's arms that's all that mattered. You’d figure out the rest together.

tags 🤍: @gillybear17 @snowsharkk @tesssastle @conradsupporterr @alyssa-cabrera @eranthisphiny @xoxoloverb @lostaurorax @lanisdreams @alexzluvz @lalaland-notfound @liltimmyst @unsaidjaelineose @buckys2thicc @lilygreennn @t8lzw @medusaslilsister @1-800-stilinski @yazmi710 @j-brielmalfoy @ashcannotwrite @colbysbrocks @exonct07 @multilover19 @mimisparkle12

@littlefreaksatellite @vintagebitc @lexi-2004 @melllinaa @xcallmetaniax @brizzlessizzler @haroldpotterson @livinginaglasspalace @delicatekidpeanut @queenanababy

@drinkawinchester @sarahbutnot @salvatoremikaelson54 @furiouscopsherduniversity @marrigold-2002 @angeliquelunasstuff @mariaelizabeth21-blog1 @daphnen21 @ietss @imanaforever @itsreynasworld @she-is-a-happy-girl @joeybandthings

@kateisintrouble @stvrdustalexx @fictionisjustbetter @whezzy223

@conradssupporterr @clubmeredith13 @fatduck45 @trampstampz @fangirl-kimora

@just-let-me-fangirl-in-peace @reenfluffmarshmallow @kaz-mf-brekker

@yazmunson @bookg1rl @hockey-lover86

@just-a-pink-lady @moo-b1tch

[probably-writing-x]

Fault (Chapter Two)

“I don’t want to go back,” You whisper, your hand swirling patterns across Conrad’s chest.

He hums, his fingers trailing gently up and down your arm, “Maybe we just never go back again.”

You giggle, “Yeah we could live out of your truck, go town to town.”

“Travel the coast, then do all the states, settle down on a ranch somewhere,” Conrad continues, “They’d never find us.”

“I think that’s the only way we’re getting out of this,” You take a deep breath, “They hate us.”

“They don’t hate us,” Conrad returns, “They’re just angry.”

You lean up onto your elbows and turn your gaze to him, “Did you hear them Con? Because it sounded pretty close to hate.”

He chuckles, “How could anyone hate you?”

You narrow your eyes, “Don’t try to be cute, this is a problem Conrad.”

He wraps his arms around your waist, “We’ll deal with it, okay? We’ll figure it out.”

The two of you had left the house not long after you’d argued with Belly. He’d told you that it wasn’t good for you to stay there when you were upset and you’d agreed. The pair of you had left and got into his car, drove your way around Cousins until you returned back to the beach, wrapped in each others arms on the sand.

“I never wanted it to happen like this,” You say to Conrad, eyes flicking between each of his.

He shakes his head, fingers moving up to brush your hair away from your face, “I don’t think they’d have been happy however it happened.”

You let out a deep breath and nod, “Okay, there’s only so long we can stay on the beach.”

Conrad hums, tightening his grip around you so that you fall onto his chest, “Five more minutes.”

———

The drive back is silent, both of you anticipating the worst. You both walk into the house quietly and, by now, it’s dark like everyone is asleep. You swallow the lump in your throat.

Conrad walks a step beside you, his hand on the small of your back as if it was the slightest comfort that he could offer. You both trail upstairs and you pause as soon as you’re there.

“I can’t-“ You stop yourself, “Belly won’t want me in her room.”

Conrad nods, “I know, come on.”

The two of you walk down towards his room instead, and he closes the door behind you. His room always seems colder than the rest of the house - he hated when it got too hot. His bed is made, but there’s always creases in the comforter where he doesn’t pull it tight to the corners. There’s a photoframe on his bedside table with a picture of all of you from last summer - you’d never noticed it before but he’d never been looking at the camera, his eyes had been on you.

“Here, you can take a top,” Conrad offers, “And I can turn the heat on if you think it’s too cold, and there’s probably a-“

“Con,” You say softly, “It’s fine.”

He turns to you and scratches a hand at the back of his neck, “I’ve… I’ve just never done this before.”

You narrow your eyes, “Never done what?”

“Well, like,” He gestures at you, “Had a girl stay over.”

You let out a laugh, “Conrad Beck Fisher you can’t be serious.”

He rolls his eyes at you, “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”

“I don’t know, I just thought you would’ve had an ex girlfriend or something stay here, or like Nicole when you guys had that thing going on?”

He shakes his head, “Nope, you’re the first.”

“Well, I’m honoured,” You smile, taking the t-shirt from his hands.

You turn around and face the other side of his room as you get changed, a misplaced gesture all things considered between you and Conrad. But, you only realise once you turn back around, that he’d turned away too - that shy side still inside of him even with you. You both climb into the bed and he instantly stretches out an arm to let you rest on his chest, his fingers trailing up and down your arm.

“I-“ You croak into a whisper, “I’m scared we’re going to lose them Con.”

He holds you a little tighter, “I’m not going to let that happen.”

And, in that moment, you believe him.

———

It’s barely even morning when you wake up, darkness only just dissipating outside, still no signs of sun. Conrad is fast asleep beside you, his arms around your waist, his chest pressed against your back. You shift from under his arm and sit on the edge of the bed, running a hand through your hair. Your chest felt tight and it had felt ever since yesterday like you were constantly on the verge of tears. You didn’t know where to even begin. In one day it felt like everything had been flipped on it’s head- over carelessness? blind emotion? or simply just love?

You step out of Conrad’s room and turn down the corridor towards the bathroom, stopping in your tracks almost instantly as you close the bedroom door behind you.

Belly’s door opens at the exact same time, her frozen in the doorway just as you were.

“Hey,” You break the silence softly, quietly.

She swallows the lump in her throat and runs a hand through her hair, “I’ll use the bathroom downstairs.”

“Wait Belly please,” You step forward towards her before she gets to the stairs, “Please stop.”

She glances back at you at the top of the stairs but ignores whatever thought had crossed her mind, hurrying down before you have another chance to stop her.

You feel your bottom lip tremble and your chest tighten even more, desperate to reach out for a friendship you weren’t ready to lose.

You go into the bathroom and wipe your eyes, letting out a shaky breath against the mirror. How had all of this all happened? How had the last few days flipped things around this much? Were you selfish for admitting how you felt about Conrad? Even more selfish for acting on it? Or was this the first time in a long time you’d felt like you could be happy?

Your breath settles and the tears have stopped and you make your way back over to Conrad’s room, opening the door cautiously so as to not wake him.

When you step back over to the bed, the mattress dips and Conrad groans a little as he wakes up. You settle in beside him and he pulls you right up against his chest, his chin resting against your shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

You settle your hands over his arms on you, as if wanting to hold onto the moment, “I’m okay.”

“What’s the time?” He mumbles, pressing a lazy kiss to your shoulder.

“Um,” You let out, still a shake in your voice, “I don’t know.”

“Too early,” Conrad grumbles, pushing himself closer against you as if there was any space to remove.

You breath in deeply as he falls asleep against you, clingy and comfortable and soft. And you’re happy. You know you are. Beyond anything else, he made you happy.

———

You don’t get much sleep after that, waking up every twenty minutes and eventually settling on remaining awake. Conrad stays asleep until gone 10, groaning and tightening his hold around you as if making sure you were still there.

“Morning,” He mumbles, inhaling deeply.

“Morning,” You respond, holding him a little tighter, “Did you sleep okay?”

Conrad wiggles his arms around you until you turn in his hold, facing him. He blinks until it’s as if he’s woken up for the second time, pulling away from you enough so that he can see your face, he frowns;

“What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“No- nothing, I’m just tired.”

Conrad pauses for a second before seemingly opting to believe you, “You can stay in bed longer if you want, I can get us breakfast.”

“No, that’s okay, we should probably face the music soon anyway,” You take a deep breath, “I think… I was thinking, it might be better if we just keep our distance from each other a little. At least until everything calms down.”

Conrad raises his brows, “Keep our distance?”

“Well, nothing big, just maybe try to avoid being too couple-y in front of them, just while we’re figuring things out,” You continue, “It’ll just make things worse if they see us acting like-“

“Yeah, you’re right,” Conrad assures you, “We’ll keep it on the down low.”

“Okay.”

Both of you are silent, as if revelling in each others company for just a moment longer before you both decide to get up. He slips a hoodie on over his bare torso and you switch his top out for one of your own - better than them seeing you in his clothes. Conrad follows behind you as the two of you walk out of his room, trailing down the stairs to your waiting dread.

You stop on the bottom step when you hear it.

“I don’t get it man, I thought they were meant to be best friends,” Steven’s voice says, “How can you do that to someone?”

“Yeah well I don’t think she cared about how Belly would react,” Jeremiah this time.

“Clearly not, she knew how Belly felt. We all knew Belly was waiting for Conrad,” Steven continues.

Conrad places his hand on your back, stepping past you to walk ahead.

“Morning boys,” Conrad starts as he walks into the kitchen, you still on the stairs watching his figure retreat.

“Morning,” Steven clears his throat.

You can feel your hands shaking, your heart seemingly clenching under the pain. Your breath is shaky too, as you step forward and eventually follow into the lounge.

“Hey,” You say softly, wrapping your arms around yourself.

“I-“ Steven looks at you awkwardly, “I didn’t know you were awake.”

“Um,” You drag a hand through your hair, “Yeah, I can go if you want me to-“

“No, no,” Steven shakes his head, “It’s fine.”

Jeremiah looks between you and Conrad and rolls his eyes, walking out towards the door. You bite your lip to stop it from trembling, trying to shake even the slightest of worries from your head.

“He’s just-“ Steven stops himself, “I think we’re all just figuring it out, them two more than me.”

“You know (Y/n)‘s not to blame for this Steven,” Conrad comments, turning around from where he’d been filling the kettle at the sink, “So you can cut the whole ‘what was she thinking’ act.”

“I didn’t-“ Steven stops himself, glancing at you, “I was just surprised, okay? It seemed a little out of the blue.”

Conrad goes to cut in to defend you but you speak before he gets the chance;

“I never meant to hurt Belly,” You say, shaking your head quickly, “I love her. But ever since we were little we’ve come to Cousins and it’s been about her and Conrad - we go back home and she talks about him, and we’re here and she talks about him, and everything went back to him. And I love her, I do. But I’m allowed to be happy. And I can’t control how I feel and I can’t control how Conrad feels and you can hate me if you want but I-“

Steven stands up instantly when he sees the tears spilling over your eyes, the way your whole body seems to tremble, “Hey, hey, hey, please don’t cry, I don’t know what to do when girl’s cry.”

“I know I’m the worst and I’m so sorry Steven, I never wanted this to happen,” You let out a sob and Conrad steps over almost within the second.

He stops, however, as Steven wraps his arms around you, pulling you into him as your hands fly to your face to catch the tears spilling from you. Steven holds you tightly and glances over at you to Conrad, noticing the way his whole body seems tense at the sight of you upset. He sees it then.

“I’m sorry for what I said,” Steven says softly, pulling away from you, “I just- I didn’t know. And I know what Belly’s like and she’s my sister and I don’t like seeing her upset.”

You nod, looking down at your feet. Conrad hands over a tissue to you and you smile with as much as you can muster.

“If you like him, if he likes you, then there’s no reason why the two of you shouldn’t be able to act on that,” Steven continues, “I might see that now but it’ll take a while before my sister does. And Jere.”

Conrad clenches his jaw, “I’m sick of feeling like this is our fault. What are we supposed to do? Hold off just to keep them happy?”

You sniff, “Con…”

“(Y/n) come on!” He half-laughs, “We’re adults. We’re allowed to do this.”

“Tell that to my sister,” Steven scoffs, patting Conrad on the chest, “I think she’ll disagree.”

He walks out of the room, leaving you and Conrad in each other’s company once again. His eyes fall to you, softening almost instantly.

“We’re not doing anything wrong, darling,” He speaks so gently you almost melt into the words, your whole being seeming to relax just enough that you could believe him.

“It doesn’t feel like that,” You let out a small laugh, dragging the tissue under your eyes to clear away the remaining tears, “God, I hate this.”

Conrad nods, “But you know what you don’t hate?” He walks around to the other side of the kitchen island, tapping his hands on the countertop, “Pancakes!”

———

You still hadn’t seen Belly all morning. But the most you could convince yourself of now was that at least Steven didn’t hate you. Things could be worse. That was one of three, right?

You’d showered, got changed, and convinced yourself a thousand times that nothing could be worse than it already had been. Though, when you came downstairs again, that same sinking feeling of dread hit you.

“(Y/n)?” It’s Laurel’s voice and you instantly wince.

You step past the door to the lounge and look inside, seeing her sat there, “Hey, is everything okay?”

“Do you have a minute?” Laurel offers, shifting on the couch enough as if gesturing for you to sit beside her.

You nod silently and sit down beside her, swallowing the lump in your throat.

“So I’m guessing you know that Belly told me what’s happened,” Laurel begins, “Or, at least, what is happening.”

You let out a sigh, “I’m so sorry Laurel I never meant to-“

She lifts a finger as if to stop you, “I wasn’t expecting you to apologise.”

“Wh-“

Laurel smiles softly, reaching out and taking your hand, “A few summers ago, probably more than a few now, Conrad came inside when all of you were playing in the garden. He came in and I could just see this look on his face, he was just watching all of you. He turned around to me, so innocently, and asked how I’d known that I loved Belly and Steven’s father. I remember thinking, God this kid is too young to be talking about love. But he looked out of that window and it felt like I could really see it. For years I thought he was looking at Belly, like she was the one he would love eventually, but last summer I realised it wasn’t her; he was looking at you.”

You feel the lump form in your throat, less one of nerves and more one of overwhelming emotion.

“Belly’s your best friend and you can’t lose her. But if you look at Conrad the same way he looked at you all those years ago, you can’t lose him either,” Laurel continues, squeezing your hand gently.

You glance out of the window where Conrad is walking across the grass, running a hand through his hair. Laurel looks at you and smiles without your eyes returning to hers, too captured by the boy walking towards the house.

“Belly will understand eventually,” Laurel assured you, standing up from the couch and heading back out.

She stops at the door as Conrad is just about to open it, his hand reaching for the handle as she opens it in front of him. He looks at her almost nervously, concerned for her reaction. But she simply smiles and reaches for his hand, squeezing it in the same way she had done for yours. He steps inside, his eyes searching for you instantly.

“What was that about?” He frowns, glancing back at where Laurel had just left.

You stand up from the couch and smile, “Just talking.”

He narrows his eyes at you as if suspicious, “If you say so.”

Conrad steps the short distance over to you until his feet almost bump with yours. He smiles when you look up at him.

“I got you something at the store,” Conrad begins, his hands held behind his back.

“What did you get me?” You grin, feeling the way your cheeks seem to heat under his gaze.

“Fresh doughnuts,” He pulls a bag out from behind his back and smiles, “The ones you always say are your favourites.”

“Ugh you’re the best!” You beam, taking the bag from him, “They never normally have them anymore an-“

You’re both interrupted as Susannah comes to the door, stopping, “Oh sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt, I’ll leave you to-“

“You’re not interrupting Mom,” Conrad says softly, turning to face her as his shoulder bumps yours.

“Well, I just thought I’d tell you that we’re having a party tonight, a last minute thing really,” She explains quickly, “I want you all to dress up like the 80s.”

“Dress up?” Conrad scoffs, “Mom Im not going to-“

You hit his arm quickly.

“I’ll dress up.”

You grin at his instant change of heart and Susannah mouths a silent ‘thank you’ to you, disappearing in a hurry to go off to tell the others.

“What do you even wear for an 80s theme?” Conrad groans.

You pat him on the chest, “We’ll find you something.”

———

The whole day had gone by and you still hadn’t seen Belly. You’d been out by the pool and Conrad had gone surfing, you’d made your lunch in the kitchen and he’d been up in his room, you’d made every effort to be separate from him for the chance encounter you might have with Belly.

But nothing.

Nothing from her, nothing from Jeremiah.

You go into the room you shared with her, assuming she’d still be absent, and start to rummage through your suitcase for anything that could mildly resemble an 80s theme.

When the door creaks open, you feel your stomach drop.

Belly.

“I-“ You start as you make eye contact with her, “Sorry, I just needed to find something to wear.”

Belly shrugs, wrapping her arms over her chest, “It’s your room as much as it is mine.”

You stand up from your suitcase and clear your throat, “I don’t know why I thought I’d find something, I don’t own anything remotely 80s.”

She doesn’t respond.

“Do you-“ You pause, “Do you know what you’re going to wear?”

“Susannah let me borrow some bits,” She looks down at the clothes her arms are wrapped around.

“Oh, right yeah, that’s good,” You nod, looking around the room as if seeking anything that you could talk about next, “I’ll get out of your way if you-“

“You can wear something here if you want,” Belly interrupts, “If you’ve not got anything.”

“Um, yeah, that would be great, thanks Bells,” You smile, “I’ll just… I’ll have whatever you don’t want.”

The two of you stand in silence again as if every word has disappeared.

“God, Belly, this is so weird,” You exhale, “I hate not talking to you.”

“Yeah,” She runs a hand through her hair, looking down at her feet, “It’s weird.”

“Right?” You exclaim, “I mean, this is the longest I’ve ever gone without speaking to you. I feel like it’s been forever.”

“It feels like it,” She chews on her bottom lip.

“I’m so sorry Belly,” You sigh, “I- I never meant to hurt you, I never wanted that to happen.”

She doesn’t speak.

“I just- I got so caught up in all of it and I was just so terrified of telling you that I thought maybe I could wait it out. But I was so terrified of losing you that it just felt better to not tell you,” You shake your head, “I’m just… I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted was to hurt you but I just-“

“Why did you do it (Y/n)? I mean, why didn’t you tell me how you felt about him?” Belly shrugs, “Why didn’t you talk to me about it?”

“Belly…” You pause, taking a deep breath, “Ever since we first started coming to Cousins, I was always ‘Belly’s best friend’. We’d go and see people and I wasn’t (Y/n), I was just Belly’s friend. And I was always fine with it because that’s what I was, you know? That’s who I am, I know I’m not one of this family you’ve got here, I get that. And so that whole time I was just there to see you, to spend summer with my best friend. And when you first told me that you liked Conrad, that just felt like another part of spending summer with you. It didn’t matter what I thought or how I felt, because I was there for you. I guess… that just felt like it changed a couple of summers ago. It was little things, really. And then I got home after that summer and realised that I had to think of myself too - and it was Conrad that I liked. And it wasn’t because you liked him too or because you wanted him, it was just me. When Conrad kissed me this summer it felt exactly like that. It was me and it was him and for the first time I felt like I was here because I belonged here. You’ve been the best friend to me Belly, but in that moment I just had to think about myself, what I wanted. And when he kissed me I knew that’s what it was, it was him.”

She looks at you and her features seem to soften, the tension in her shoulders seems to relax - just a little.

“I’m sorry that I hurt you Belly, but I can’t be sorry that I fell for Conrad,” You shake your head, “I can’t be sorry for choosing myself.”

“Okay,” Belly croaks out, her voice hoarse and weak, “I understand.”

You’re the one lost for words this time, unsure of yourself.

“Thank you,” Belly says calmly, “Um, I should probably start to get ready. I’ll see you in a bit.”

She walks over to the vanity and you have no choice but to leave the room, scooping together your clothes and makeup bag and walking out. Your chest felt tight but in a more manageable sort of way, like you could live with it - slightly at ease.

When you step into the room, Conrad stands upright from the bed, a furrow of worry between his brows.

“So?” He looks at you, testing the waters for if you’d crumble in front of him.

You simply shrug your shoulders, “I don’t know, Con.”

His features soften and he reaches out for your hand, squeezing it tightly, “It’ll be okay.”

You nod just a little, “I hope so.”

“Um,” He glances around the room, “Okay, you need to help me choose what to wear.”

You sit down at his desk and bring your knees up to your chest, wrapping your arms around your legs, chin resting on your kneecaps. Conrad lifts up a few tops on clothes hangers and holds them up but he pauses as soon as he sees you. You look so innocent just like that and he wonders how anyone has it in them to be mad at you. He knew your heart, pure, and he knew your mind, honest. And he’s suddenly terrified of the thought of ever seeing you hurt like this.

“Hey,” He walks over and crouches down in front of you until his head is level with yours, “I want you to believe me, okay? We’re going to figure this out. However long it takes, however hurt they are, there’s an end to it.”

You smile just a little but your eyes close as if you’re fighting every morsel of your being to not cry there and then.

Conrad thinks of a million things he could say, the thought of eight letters, three words, comes to mind but he pushes it back for now. He could tell you it would be okay, that he could handle it, that he wasn’t leaving you, that this would all be worth it. But he suppresses every word that comes to mind, leans forward instead to press a kiss to your forehead, letting his lips linger there for a moment longer. He feels you lean into him, feels the worry just slip away from you momentarily as if he can share in it for just a second.

You had him. And he’d do everything he could to remind you of that.

———

By the time the evening rolls around, you and Conrad are somewhat ready for the party. He’s changed into the only top he owns that looks remotely on theme and you’re wearing a hot pink bodysuit and black shorts - both of you half on theme at least. You fix your curled hair in the mirror once more, double checking your appearance as Conrad comes up behind you, placing his hands on your waist.

“Come on,” He leans into you, “We can do this.”

You turn in his arms until you’re facing him, looping your hands behind his neck, “Or we run away.”

He sways with you just a little back and forth as if pondering the option, “Maybe tomorrow.”

You lean in and press a quick kiss to his lips and he moves his hand down to lace with yours, guiding both of you out of the room when it felt near impossible to move your feet. He holds your hand all the way downstairs until you reach where the party is in full swing, his grip releasing on you to instead press to the small of your back.

“Do you want a drink, darling?” He says into your ear and you nod, looking at him as he pushes through the crowd of people to get to the kitchen.

You turn towards the garden and see Steven, Belly and Jeremiah all stood outside, Steven evidently trying to make them both laugh. For a moment you’re sure that things will be fine, and you push open the door without a second thought. But you stop. There’s a sadness on Belly’s face that no smile could hide, and an anger in the clench of Jeremiah’s jaw that it was impossible to ignore.

“Hey, (Y/n)!” Steven waves to you, “Get over here, I need you to back me up on this.”

You swallow the lump in your throat and walk over, instantly relaxing a little as Steven throws an arm over your shoulder. You glance at Belly and Jeremiah and they both offer you small smiles. Your chest feels less tense.

“Alright one million dollars to go in the ring with Mike Tyson, no head guards, like 10 ounce gloves,” Steven explains, “Are you doing it?”

“Um,” You clear your throat, “No, I would absolutely die.”

“Oh come on!” Steven exclaims.

“Told you she’d agree with us,” Belly shrugs, glancing at you momentarily.

The four of you fall silent again.

“Alright guys please talk it out or something, this is fucking awkward,” Steven rolls his eyes.

“Im not mad at you, (Y/n),” Jeremiah assures you, “I just- needed to clear my head today.”

“Yeah, and I’m glad we spoke about things earlier,” Belly adds, “But-“

They glance at each other and then back at you.

“Guys…” Steven begins as if warning them about whatever would happen next.

“He’s going to break your heart, (Y/n).”

You feel your heart sink, the weight seemingly hitting your shoulders. As much as they weren’t mad at you, they couldn’t be happy for you. And something about that felt worse. Every day, every week, every summer, they’d be waiting for the moment when Conrad proved them right. When you’d come running to them and say ‘I wish I’d listened’. And you couldn’t live like that. They were waiting for some fucked up version of inevitable and you couldn’t stand under their gaze waiting for it to happen.

“He’s playing games,” Jeremiah persists, “He’s spent years knowing how Bells felt about him, like literally forever. And he knew how I felt about you. Conrad’s like this, he likes to be in control. And being with you gives him that control.”

You feel your mouth run dry, a ringing in your ears like your mind was begging you not to listen to them.

“He’s not one for relationships,” Belly chimes in and your blurry eyes turn to her, “He’s going to drop you and we just… we don’t want to see you get your heart broken.”

They’d never be happy for you.

“I-“ You croak out, eyes flooded with tears yet to fall.

“Guys seriously, cut it out,” Steven persists, “You’re upsetting her.”

“I ju-“ Your voice cracks and you shake your head, a million thoughts running through your mind.

Not a single one of those thoughts believed what they were saying. But all you could think about was going the rest of your summers with people that were waiting for you to crumble, and you couldn’t do it. Every move Conrad made, they’d be waiting. Every day you seemed slightly less than yourself, they’d be expecting it. They were so far from being happy for you, that they were waiting for you to fail.

Almost too perfectly timed, the door opens once more and it’s Conrad who steps out. You’re sure his heart must swell at the sight of the four of you from afar, as if something about the past few days had just healed. But the closer he steps, the same unbreaking tension hits him too.

“Wh- what’s going on?” He frowns, looking between all of them before his eyes settle on you, “(Y/n)?”

You glance up at him and you know for certain in that moment that he won’t break your heart. That, in fact, he’d do every single thing in his power to do the exact opposite of that. Whatever happened, whatever would change, breaking your heart was never going to be part of his plans. But this couldn’t go on. You’d lose everybody. And so would Conrad. And you couldn’t be the person waiting around watching him slip away from the people he called family.

“I can’t-“ You look into his eyes and yours seem to soften, reflecting the worry of his own, “I can’t do this.”

Before anyone has the chance to stop you, you turn around on your heel and hurry across the garden and back into the house.

“(Y/n)!” You hear Conrad call after you but it falls onto deaf ears.

He turns back to the others and frowns, glancing between them all as if waiting for an explanation.

“Wh- what did you do?” He croaks out, his entire body flooding somewhere between worry and anger.

“You’re going to hurt her, Conrad,” Jeremiah shrugs, “We can’t let you do that to her.”

“Hurt her?” Conrad scoffs, “You think I’m going to hurt her?”

“Why did you kiss her when you knew how I felt about her? When you knew how Belly felt about you?” Jeremiah persists, standing square in front of his brother.

“Because I-“ Conrad looks between him and Belly, “Because I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about (Y/n).”

“Because you’re fucking selfish and you always have been!”

“Selfish?” Conrad lets out an exasperated laugh, “Selfish for choosing myself one fucking time, for not running around worrying about you? For letting myself be fucking happy? That’s such a crime? You need to look at yourself, Jere. Grow up.”

“You’re telling me to grow up? Yo-“

“Yes I’m telling you to grow up!” Conrad raises his voice, “Stop acting like everyone needs to worry about you, or Belly, or whatever the hell else. I love (Y/n). And the crazy fucking thing is I haven’t even told her that yet. And you guys can hate us and hate me and hate everything about this but it’s not going to change anything. Okay? It’s not.”

Jeremiah doesn’t speak, his jaw tensed, Belly stood behind him like she’s blocking herself from Conrad’s words, convincing herself it isn’t true.

“So you decide - you go on convincing yourself this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to you, or you grow up and accept that we’re happy, and that maybe we could make each other happy,” Conrad shakes his head, “These past few days we shouldn’t have had to worry about you, (Y/n) shouldn’t have been crying because she’s terrified of losing you. She’s meant to be your best friend Belly,” He turns his attention to her, “It wouldn’t hurt you to act like it.”

None of them speak.

Conrad clenches his jaw and looks between them all, thinking of a million more things he could say. But he ignores every single one of them, forgetting everything to simply follow after you. He drops the drinks in his hands down, pushes through the crowds of people, barges his way upstairs, taking the steps two at a time until he gets to his room.

Empty.

[number-onekidqueen]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚃𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝙿𝚘𝚎𝚝𝚜 𝙳𝚎𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚏𝚒𝚌 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜

Upcoming....

✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

i was supposed to be sent away but they forgot...

I love you, it's ruining my life

-> (Conrad Fisher x older Conklin sister!reader)

How dare you think it's romantic, leaving me safe and stranded

-> (Luke Castellan x apollo!reader)

Is that a bad thing to say in a song?

-> (Art Donaldson x popstar!reader)

Messy top lip kiss and moonlit trysts

-> (Conrad fisher x oldest!conklin sister!reader)

I can fix him, and only I can

-> (Ethan Landry x fem!reader)

You're the loss of my life

-> (Sirius Black x reader)

I cry a lot, it's an art

-> (Luke Castellan x apollo!reader)

Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?

-> (Steven Conklin x fisher!reader)

note: all these fics will be with fem!readers, because that is what I feel comfortable writing with at the minute.

My requests are open, as always, and I'm sorry for the slow updates.

[jahayla-parker]

Her Faithful Protector: Conrad Fisher x Reader

Part 4

Descr.: Part 4, 4.3k wc, see series link below for full description. This part's theme: Conrad learns more and it and officially acts on it.

Warnings: see series link below for warnings.

Her Faithful Protector Series Navigation

Conrad made it to y/n’s house quickly, not caring to lock his car as he bolted to the front door. He looked inside through the slit in the window blinds to survey the occupants. Conrad noticed y/n’s father and brother were in the living room, talking as her mother stood beside them displaying something on her phone. He couldn’t go in through the front door then.

Conrad dashed around to the backside of y/n’s house and slid in the back door. Knowing where everyone was, he was able to rush upstairs. Just before opening y/n’s door, Conrad spoke just loud enough for her to hear through the door; announcing that it was only him.

Opening the door, Conrad sighed softly upon seeing y/n curled up in a ball on her bed. He quickly approached and knelt by her bedside, brushing her hair from her face. Conrad felt his heart break when he saw the dried tears on y/n’s cheeks. “Did he-“ Con whispered.

“No” y/n’s frail voice answered. “I just didn’t expect him to show up” she confessed.

Conrad sighed and nodded, “I’m sorry babe”.

“I’m just glad you came” y/n told him, gripping his hand.

“Of course I came,” Conrad cooed. “Do you want to get out of here? I can help you sneak out the back” he offered. “Your family is in the living room area right now” Conrad assured her.

Y/n bit her lip, “I don’t want to risk it, if he thinks I’m sneaking out…”. She stopped and shook her head, “and, mom would probably agree with him that I need to be in trouble”.

Conrad gritted his teeth but nodded. “Okay, but I’m staying with you then” he said, rising from his kneeling position.

“Are you sure?” Y/n asked, her hopeful eyes staring up at him as he stood beside her.

“Of course I’m sure” Conrad replied. “I don't feel safe letting you be here alone when you're in this shape, nor when he’s here” he said softly, rubbing her temple with his thumb.

Y/n nodded rapidly and moved over so that Conrad could get in beside her.

Conrad lifted the covers and slid in next to y/n, immediately wrapping his arms around her. “I’ve got you, sleep love” he whispered, his lips against her forehead.

Conrad paced, ignoring the party scene around him as he waited for y/n to call. When she finally did, he picked up before the first tone of the notification completed. “Babe, are you okay?” he rushed out in a panic.

“Con,” y/n’s voice cracked, similar to that first night he found out she was hurt.

Conrad clenched his phone tightly as he made his way to his car, “y/n? What’s-“.

“I need you Con” y/n sniffled. She took an audible deep breath, “I’m sorry- I- I tried- I- but- I- I-“.

“Shhh” Conrad whispered, “I’m on my way”. He gripped his steering wheel firmly, “I need to know, are you hurt?” Conrad placed his phone on speaker as he threw the car into reverse and backed out of the parking space.

Y/n didn’t give him an answer. Instead, she just asked, “you’re coming right?”.

“I’m coming y/n/n, I promise” Conrad swore, thrusting his gear shifter into gear as he sped off from the party. “Is he still there?” he questioned.

“No” y/n mumbled.

“Okay” Conrad sighed in relief. “Okay good. I’m almost there okay, just keep breathing, 5 in and 5 out, yeah?” he encouraged softly.

“I’m trying” y/n whimpered.

“I know, it’s okay” Conrad soothed. He worked with y/n, getting her to breathe steadily while he made his way to her.

“Are you in your room, or?” Conrad asked as he turned onto her street.

“No, I… I’m outside. It happened out here and I didn’t want y/b/n to see me like this” y/n explained.

Conrad panicked but kept his voice soft for y/n’s sake. “Okay I get that” he acknowledged. “You’re by the back patio then?” Conrad clarified.

“Yeah” y/n sniffled.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon. okay?” Conrad asked as he pulled into y/n’s driveway. Once y/n hung up, he threw his car into park. Conrad sprinted to the back of her house once again. His eyes immediately found y/n’s crumpled form leaning against the patio siding. Conrad dove onto the sand beside her, his eyes trialing over her to take inventory of her injuries.

“You’re here” y/n whimpered, her eyes heavy-lidded.

“I’m here, just like I promised” Conrad nodded. “Now, where are you hurt?” He guided.

Y/n turned so that the light from the next-door neighbor’s house allowed Conrad to see the back of her arm.

Conrad sucked in a gasp of air as he noticed the large gash on y/n’s arm that was still dripping blood. “Okay, hold on” he breathlessly requested.

“Where are you going?” Y/n questioned worriedly as Conrad stood.

“I’m grabbing the first-aid kit from my Jeep” Conrad explained. “I’ll be back” he assured her.

“Promise?” Y/N’s small voice asked.

“Of course I’m coming back for you babe. I just need to get you some bandages, okay? I’m not leaving you” Conrad swore, his heart in his stomach at her pleas.

Y/n nodded and watched Conrad run to his car. When Conrad came back, he noticed y/n’s eyes were distant and she seemed a bit confused when he returned to her side.

“You’re here” y/n mumbled again.

Conrad nodded slowly. “I came back for you. I promised I would, and I did” he agreed.

Y/n gave him a small smile as her blinking slowed.

“Y/n, hey, hey” Conrad said, having to move to hold y/n up as she started to slump against the wall more. “Did you hit your head? Did, did he-did your.. did your father-“ Conrad began questioning. He had been so worried about her arm that he hadn’t noticed her enlarged pupils earlier.

“I fell and scrapped my arm” y/n groaned, her eyes slowly looking around. “On, on the planter pot” she mumbled.

Conrad hesitantly nodded, “and your head?” “Babe, what happened to your head?” He asked, noting that y/n was blinking really slowly. Conrad reached back behind y/n’s head to check for any bumps or bleeding, but she flinched and groaned as her hands flew up to shield her head. His heart sank. Conrad knew y/n didn’t expect him to hit her, but her confused state made her think he might and that broke his heart.

Y/n clearly didn’t feel she could trust anyone. Which was understandable. Y/b/n may not know, but it seemed her mother did, yet neither parent cared enough to keep her safe. But, Con did. He sighed softly, “I need to check your head Y/n”.

Y/n stared at Conrad with a slight head tilt as she tried to think clearly.

Conrad moved extremely slowly as he tried to reach for her but she flinched again. He dropped his hands. "You're safe. Y/n, can you hear me? I’m here to help you, you need to let me help you” he begged.

Y/n blinked more as her wavering eyes stared into Conrad’s steady ones.

Conrad took ahold of one of y/n’s hands carefully.

Y/n grinned and leaned her head against the wall. “Connie?” She slurred.

“Yes y/n/n, it’s me. I’m going to softly touch your head okay?” Conrad explained.

Y/n mumbled incoherently.

“Okay?“ Conrad asked again.

Y/n weakly agreed, “okay”.

Conrad cautiously moved his free hand behind y/n, sliding his knuckles against the siding of the wall. He didn’t feel anything alarming, but she whimpered and shied away when his fingers trailed over the lower left side of her skull. “I’m sorry, so sorry, y/n/n,” Conrad sighed. “I’m going to help you up, okay? We need to get your head looked at” he told her.

Y/n mumbled something about trust, but it wasn’t clear.

Conrad frowned, “trust me Y/n. You can trust me to take care of you. This is what needs to happen”. He squeezed her hand, “come on. Let me take care of you”. Conrad stood up and took ahold of her other hand to help her stand.

Once she was on her feet, y/n tried to take a few steps, wanting to walk on her own. But, she knew she was swaying and felt dizzy.

“Here, let me help you” Conrad said as he quickly held y/n to his side.

Conrad ran a hand down his face. He knew y/n would likely be upset with him as he was going to tell Susannah what was going on. But, he didn’t know what else to do. Each time he saw her injuries (i.e.; when he saw her swollen wrist or the bruises), Conrad had been too late to help protect y/n.

When he first found out, it was always after the fact and y/n swore y/f/n had stopped. But, this clearly wasn’t the case and Conrad needed help to keep her safe.

His mom’s advice from the other day came to mind. She was right, doing the right thing wasn’t always easy. However, despite his worry over y/n’s reaction, Conrad actually regretted not having tried to tell his mom earlier. He understood why y/n was too scared to tell others. But, Con knew if he told his mom to not call Y/n parents yet, she’d do so; at least until she could learn what was going on and decide how to act.

Conrad squeezed y/n’s hand as she rested on the hospital bed. He couldn’t stand seeing her here. But he was glad she was finally asleep. When they’d arrived, every sound had hurt her head so they gave her medicine to help her sleep.

They were currently awaiting the results of y/n’s scans. Conrad requested -what was probably an excessive amount of- tests to be done. He wanted to ensure that her arm hadn’t been broken nor that were any other injuries she hadn’t or couldn’t tell him given her state.

“Mr. Fisher?” The nurse asked, peaking their head into the room.

It took Conrad a moment to realize they were speaking to him. “Yes?” He asked as his head snapped to them, now given his full attention.

“I understand miss y/l/n and you stated that she expected no visitors, but there’s someone here to see her” the nurse explained.

“Did they say who it was?” Conrad asked. He expected that it was his mom. But Conrad wanted to be sure. He needed to be sure.

“Yes, I presume she’s related to you” the nurse clarified, glancing down at their clipboard, “your mother, perhaps. Susannah Fisher”.

“Yes. Thank you” Conrad nodded. He looked over y/n before back to the nurse.

“She’ll be okay while you go to bring your mother back, she’s more than stable” the nurse said sympathetically.

Conrad knew he was being overprotective. Y/n was here for a mild concussion and the scrape on her arm. But, he couldn’t help his need to do whatever he could to keep her safe. Conrad wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her again. So he appreciated the nurse’s understanding and lack of judgement.

Conrad nodded and squeezed y/n’s hand before following the nurse out. He walked towards where the nurse pointed him in order to greet his mother. Conrad embraced his mom tightly as he tried to resist crying.

Susannah noticed her son’s body language and heard him trying to keep himself from sobbing. “Connie, what’s going on? What happened to Y/n?” she questioned. “And why can’t I call her mother yet?” Susannah added, reminding him of their agreement.

Conrad pulled back and frowned. “I promise I’ll tell you. Just..,in the room, okay?” He mumbled, guiding his mom down the hall.

“Connie, is she okay?” Susannah asked softly, squeezing her son’s hand supportively.

Conrad steeled his voice, “she will be. I… I just…” “I need your help mom” his voice cracked, his eyes on the floor. “Please” Conrad pleaded looking over at Susannah teary-eyed.

“Of course Connie,” Susannah soothed, pulling her son to her. “You know she’s family” she hummed.

Conrad smiled softly and nodded as he neared y/n’s hospital room. His eyes furrowed as he stepped away from his mom slightly. Conrad has noticed the curtains were laying differently than when he’d left.

“Connie?” Susanna asked noticing Conrad’s concern.

Conrad silently shook his head and ran past the last few doors until he skidded into y/n’s room. “Get away from her!” He shouted when he saw y/n’s father standing beside her bed.

“Conrad” Susannah scolded as she entered the room.

“Take your disgusting hands off of her” Conrad seethed, seeing the way her father was brushing hair from her forehead.

“Connie” Susannah mumbled again as y/n’s father looked over at Conrad with faux innocence and confusion.

Conrad shot his mom a knowing look that made Susannah’s heart sink before he crossed the room. He promptly pulled y/f/n’s hand away from y/n’s face.

“Conrad, what is your problem?” y/f/n asked glaring at Conrad.

“Stay away from her” Conrad growled as he tried to control his own anger to keep from striking y/f/n.

“Excuse me? She’s my daughter-“ her father huffed loudly.

“You don’t care about her!” Conrad shouted, stepping to the side so he was completely between y/n and y/f/n. “If you think I’m ever going to let you hurt her again-“ he threatened, moving closer to y/n’s father.

“Conrad” Susannah called out to stop Conrad upon seeing he’d balled his fist. “Y/f/n, I think you should step out of the room” she added, her voice soft as to not add to the drama.

“Excuse me? Who are you two to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do?” y/f/n argued.

Conrad inched closer until he noticed his mom shaking her head.

“Y/f/n, I will not ask you again” Susannah firmly warned. “I doubt you want y/m/n knowing what transpired tonight. Hmmm?” she pointed out.

Y/f/n glanced between the two Fishers before groaning loudly, “you don’t even know what happened”. But, he left nonetheless, clearly uncertain as to if they knew what had been going on.

Conrad let himself deflate as y/n’s father left her hospital room. He spun to y/n and grabbed her hand as he traced his other thumb across her forehead. “I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have stepped away” Conrad whispered.

“Connie” Susannah calmly spoke as she rested her hand on her son’s back. “You need to explain” she told him, “now”.

Conrad nodded and sniffled. “I should’ve acted sooner” he cried out quietly.

“Connie, you did what you thought was best” Susannah tried to assure him as she guided him to sit down.

Conrad shook his head as he dropped into the seat, his hand still holding y/n’s. “I didn’t know it was this bad” he admitted. “I knew-“ Conrad swallowed thickly, “I knew he had hit her as a form of punishment, like-“. He stopped himself from reminding his mom about his own father’s issues, that was in the past now.

“But, she, she had these bruises…” Conrad sniffled, throwing his head onto his mom’s shoulder when she tried to comfort him. “But, y/n swore that was the worst it got and she kept blaming herself. I -I knew she was lying but I-“ his voice cracked. Conrad’s chest shook as he sobbed into his mom’s shoulder. “I fucked up, mom. It’s my fault she’s here” he cried.

“No it’s not, Connie. It’s neither of your faults” Susannah whispered lovingly. “We’ll handle this, okay? Y/n is going to be fine and you did the right thing by telling me” she promised.

Conrad nodded, “I know but…”. He turned his head to look at y/N’s sleeping form. “I don’t know if she’ll trust me again now” Conrad replied.

“She doesn’t trust you because you keep her secrets. She trusts you because you care for her and keep her safe” Susannah argued. That’s what you’re doing by telling me, Connie. She’ll come around” she reassured him.

Conrad nodded and let his mom continue to comfort him until he stopped crying.

——

“Well?” Conrad asked as he looked up when his mom stepped back into the room. To Conrad’s surprise, Laurel entered the room behind Susannah. “Laur?” He asked in confusion.

“Suz called, said y/n may need a place to crash tonight” Laurel explained, giving Conrad a sympathetic smile.

“She can’t stay with us?” Conrad whined, his eyes on his mom.

“Of course she can, if she wants to. She doesn’t know that anyone else knows yet,” Susannah reminded him. “This is just in case she wants to sleep at the Conklin’s instead, okay?” She explained hesitantly.

Conrad frowned but nodded, “right, okay”.

Laurel sat down beside Conrad, “you did the right thing”.

“You too?” Conrad huffed and shook his head. “I know I did” he admitted, his eyes roaming back over to the girl he loved. “I just wish I did earlier” Conrad elaborated, sighing as he watched y/n breathe in and out.

Laurel shook her head, “you couldn’t have known Connie. She wouldn’t want you to beat you self up over this, you know”.

Conrad nodded. “I wasn’t intending on telling multiple people tonight on her behalf though” he added.

Susannah sighed, “I know, but I needed reinforcements. As I said Y/n is family and our family sticks together”. She stood behind Conrad’s chair and rubbed his shoulders, “Laurel wanted to see you first, but she’s going to head over to talk to y/m/n”.

“What?” Conrad asked, looking up at his mom.

“I am staying to watch over both of you, the other kids are safe at home” Susannah detailed. “And y/m/n needs to know what’s going on” she added, to which Laurel nodded.

“Y/n/n says she knows” Conrad huffed.

“Are you sure? That doesn’t seem like y/m/n” his mom asked, Laurel’s face sharing the same sentiment.

Conrad glared, “no one suspected y/f/n of this, hmm?”

“Conrad” Susannah sighed.

Conrad immediately softened his eyes at Susannah’s tone. He looked at Y/n sorrowfully. “Sorry” he mumbled to his mom and Laurel.

“We are worried about her too, Connie” Laurel assured him. “But if her mom doesn’t know, she deserves to find out and try to do what is necessary before we go to the next option” she pointed out.

“Which is?” Conrad asked.

“We’ll see. Obviously, we’re not letting her go home if y/m/n won’t keep her safe from y/f/n. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves okay? Give y/m/n a chance to fix it” Susannah suggested calmly.

Conrad sighed as he nodded, not looking away from Y/n even as Laurel excused herself.

——

Y/n blinked slowly as she began to open her eyes.

Conrad was watching y/n closely as she woke up, his hand holding hers.

Y/n’s position made her eyes land on her mom first and her breathing hitched.

Conrad saw the panic in y/n’s eyes, "breathe”. “Hi,” he said as she turned to him surprised. “I’ve got you, we’ve got you, just breathe for me, okay?" Conrad requested.

Y/n sniffled as tears began to fall, "I- I couldn’t stop it. He-he.. I'm sorry...”.

“It's okay, it's okay. Just breathe. You don't have to be sorry for anything. I've got you” Conrad shushed y/n softly.

Y/n shakingly held Conrad’s hand as she looked around the room, her eyes narrow due to the light.

“Can we dim the lights, please?” Conrad whispered from beside y/n.

Y/m/n got up and quickly adjusted them.

Y/n hummed softly in relief as her eyes relaxed. “Does everyone know?” She asked.

Conrad rubbed his neck and nodded. “I had to tell my mom… I didn’t know what else to do” he conceded. “I’m sorry sweetheart, but I had-“ Conrad began to ramble.

“It’s okay Con” y/n cut him off.

“It is?” Conrad wondered, eyes widened slightly.

“Yeah. I shouldn’t have asked you to keep something like that a secret. That was not fair of me and wasn’t the right action” y/n declared. “I should’ve known better” she frowned.

“Shhh it’s okay, just take it easy, okay, everything’s fine. We’re fine” Conrad promised, squeezing her hand.

“Neither of you should’ve known better. This isn’t on you guys” y/m/n said. She sighed soflty as y/n looks her way. “I didn’t know it was this bad” her mom admitted.

Y/n groaned as she tried to sit up.

“Hold on” Con stopped y/n. He fluffed the pillow behind her and pressed a button, tilting the back of her bed up to support her.

Y/n gave Conrad a thankful smile. As she looked around the room she bit her lip. “This is mostly my fault” she whispered.

“Y/n” Conrad sighed, ready to stop her from blaming herself or covering for y/f/n again.

Y/n squeaked out a tiny giggle, “no really, I mean… yeah he… he pushed me… after I argued with him but…”. She giggled lightly and shook her head before holding on to it and groaning. Y/n began squeezing her eyes shut and then blinking them back a few times until the pain stopped.

With her eyes back open again, y/n continued. “I only hit my head and scrapped my arm…” she said, looking down to check on said arm; finding it had a few bandaids on it. “Because I stumbled from surprise. I wasn’t entirely wrong about being clumsy” she said lightheartedly.

Conrad shook his head lightly, giving y/n a small smile as he squeezed her hand.

“Why don’t we let them talk?” Susannah suggested, nodding to y/m/n.

Conrad glanced at y/n questioningly.

Y/n smiled softly, “yeah it’s okay, Con”.

Conrad nodded and pressed a kiss to the her back of y/n’s hand before leaving so she and her mom could talk.

——

“What’re you doing?” Conrad asked as he passed by y/m/n on his way back into y/n’s emergency room. He’d noticed that Y/n was trying you get up from her bed, holding herself up by pressing her good arm against the hospital bed as she sat up more.

“I need to plug my phone in” y/n explained, pointing to the wall outlet that was out of reach.

"Don't get up, I’ll do it" Conrad urged, reaching for y/N’s phone.

“Okay” y/n smiled and handed over her phone. “Thank you” She whispered, moving back into a resting position.

“You don’t need to thank me” Conrad replied, bending down to plug in her cellphone.

“Yes I do. Not just for that” y/n told him. "Thank you, for everything." she whispered shyly.

Conrad sat beside her on the bed, holding her hand. "All I wanted was for you to be happy and safe” he told her.

“I know” y/n grinned.

“How do you feel today?” Conrad asked, eyeing the machine behind her that displayed her vitals.

“It still hurts, but I presume that’s because I have a concussion?” Y/n inquired.

Conrad nodded silently with a deep frown.

“Connie, I’m okay” y/n whispered as she squeezed Conrad’s hand.

Conrad sighed and shook his head.

“I am” y/n promised Conrad. “But thank you for protecting me” she hummed.

“I didn’t Y/n/n, if I did -“ Conrad argued.

“Yes you did. You waited until it was safe and necessary to tell someone” y/n reassured Con. “And my mom mentioned that Suz had to stop you from fighting him when I guess he came in last night?” she asked.

Conrad simply nodded, his eyes staring at her as if he still felt guilty for not having done more. “Connie, he’s like three hundred pounds,” y/n exclaimed. “I appreciate you protecting me, but I don’t want you getting hurt either, okay?” She tried to reason.

Conrad furrowed his brows, “I will protect you with my life Y/n”.

“Con-“ y/n sighed loudly.

“No. You don’t get a say in that. And I know it would be the same if the roles were reversed so I don’t want to hear you argue” Conrad stated, squeezing y/n’s hand.

Y/n huffed but giggled softly at Conrad’s stubborn expression. “Okay fine” she caved. “I love you” y/n smiled.

“I love you too” Conrad grinned, kissing the back of her hand. “What’s the plan?” he questioned.

“Hmmm?” Y/n mumbled in confusion.

Conrad smiled, “for your safety moving forward”.

Y/n nodded, “oh, mom isn’t going to force any more interactions. She actually kinda took my side”.

“As if there were another option” Conrad tsked.

“She technically could’ve sided with him, Con” y/n pointed out.

“She’d be wrong to do so” Conrad argued firmly.

Y/n hummed, “nonetheless, it was possible”. When Conrad sighed but nodded in agreement, she continued providing him with her answer. “Anyways, if y/b/n wants to still see him, he can. I asked mom not to tell y/b/n what happened” y/n told Conrad. “I know our father doesn’t hurt him and I don’t what to mess with their relationship” she elaborated in explanation.

Conrad shook his head in disbelief. He couldn’t believe y/n was still worried about others over herself. But Conrad went along with this one since it was not impacting her safety.

“But it won’t be at my house. He isn’t to come inside, he is to just wait in the car for y/b/n” y/n commented.

Conrad sighed in relief and nodded. “You don’t have to see him again?” he clarified.

“No” y/n smiled.

Conrad smiled back and squeezed y/n’s hand. “Good” he breathed. “Hold this,” Conrad said handing y/n his phone.

“Why?” Y/n questioned, squinting at Conrad.

Conrad stood up from the hospital bed, careful not to shake it. “Now that it can’t make it worse, I'm gonna go kick his ass” he mumbled, heading away from the bed.

“Conrad” Y/n laughed, tugging on Conrad’s hand.

“What?” Conrad sighed, turning back to y/n. “He can’t just hurt you and get away-“ he argued.

“Connie, I appreciate it handsome, I do” y/n declared. “But, all I want is to get out of this forsaken white-walled-hell, and maybe rest on your couch as we watch y/f/s?” she requested.

Conrad let out a deep breath as he released the tension in his shoulders. “Okay, I can make that happen. But if he ever-“ he muttered.

“I know,” y/n began as she smiled lovingly at her boyfriend. “My faithful protector, Mr. Conrad Fisher, will loose his shit” she smirked.

“Damn straight,” Conrad nodded, leaning over y/n and placing a kiss to her lips.

The End (of this series)

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Taglist: @wolfmoonmusic

[number-onekidqueen]

Every word in this is perfect. Also Steve is the best third party character lmao

finally — c.f. x reader

**not my gif**

Summary: Conrad really wants to kiss you... but something keeps getting in the way - AKA the three times that Conrad almost kissed you and the one time he finally did.

Warnings: alcohol, light profanity, jealous Conrad, kissing, making out

Word Count: ~4.5K

A/N: three days late but here she is!!!!! sorry guys, it took me way longer than anticipated. a lil rusty but not too mad abt it. if u have any req's, send em my way :))

____________

Conrad doesn’t remember much of that lazy summer afternoon at the Fisher household when at the exploratory age of fifteen, he had held your hands and tried his best to hold in a chuckle as he watched you attempt to waltz with him. He hadn’t told you then, but you were doing it all wrong.

Your feet moved just a little too quick, stepping over his own and your mouth spilled perpetual apologies as you cringed at the lack of rhythm in your movements. You marveled at how you had made it this far in life, having acquired absolutely no coordination at all. It was a miracle, you thought, that you could even walk straight. 

“Yeah, that’s it,” Conrad had smiled, countering your own critique, as his hands remained on your own and you were glad that they were – you would’ve fallen on your face by now if they didn’t have a steadfast grip on you. 

“Really?” You had asked as you brought your eyes up to look at him properly. You squinted a little to convey your disbelief but found nothing on his smiling, bespectacled face that would show that he was lying. “I feel like I look really stupid,” you voiced your concern again, laughing a little. 

“No, you look great,” Conrad had said with a soft shake of his head. “As always.”

The compliment had caught you off-guard, unsure of how to respond to such flattery. You laughed it off, though — albeit with a nervous lilt, and tried to focus again on the rhythmic movement of your body alongside his. 

“Yeah, okay,” you chuckled, deciding to play along. 

“What?” He had asked, amused. 

“I do look stupid, don’t I?” 

And Conrad couldn’t contain it then as he looked at the knowing smile on your face. He laughed with you as you shook your head and rubbed your face in defeat.

“You’re not that bad,” he had tried to console, taking your hands back in his, doing nothing to hide the massive grin on his face. “Just a little more practice and you’ll be as good as a deb. Seriously.” 

“You and your lies, Conrad Fisher,” you had accused lightheartedly with a growing smile on your face. You knew you were hopeless at dancing. 

Hell, even Conrad knew you were hopeless at dancing. But it gave him an excellent excuse to hold your hand … and study your face, which mysteriously always seemed to have gotten more beautiful even after the countless summers Conrad had spent admiring it. 

“You just need to slow down your movements,” he had said as he placed one hand on your waist and gently held your hand in the other. “Feel the music and all that shit.”

“Right, of course.”

“Feel the rhythm.” 

“Yes, uh huh, I totally know how to do that.” 

“Let your body do the leading.”

“God, don’t say that,” you had laughed again at his cheesy admonitions that he swore were helping you reach your unfathomable potential as an excellent dancer. Your cheeks flushed a little as you threw your head back to laugh.

“What?” he had looked up to grin at you. “It’s helping.” 

And you hadn’t noticed it yourself but his stupid advice really was helping. Your feet no longer seemed to be in a frenzy and you had started dancing with a lot more elegance than before. It was certainly progress. 

It was strange then, how quickly the ambiance in the room changed. The sunlight that danced in the Fisher living room suddenly felt a lot more momentous, the calming waltz music a lot more romantic and suddenly Conrad’s hand on your waist was emitting too much heat. The slow swaying didn’t do much to diffuse the tension either and it didn’t take long for Conrad’s eyes to soften as they looked into yours. 

“I wasn’t kidding, you know,” he had said then, almost whispering it, as if he wanted to make sure you were really hearing him. “You do look great. You always do.”

And this time, your eyes roamed his face – really roamed his face – to check if he was lying. And sure, he had rendered you speechless before, but this time felt different. This time, it didn’t just stop at a simple hand on your waist or a soft smile shared by the beach or a good morning text that contained one too many emojis. 

This time, his eyes wandered down to your lips and it seemed like they were glued there for an eternity. Like no matter how hard Conrad tried, he could not get enough of them. Your breath hitched in your throat as his thumb gently grazed the back of the hand that he had clasped, eyes flickering back to yours for a second as if to ask permission to meet your lips before you heard footsteps in the hallway.

“Conrad! Mom’s asking for you!” Jeremiah called, and you quickly let go of his hand and stepped away, trying your best to play off everything that had just happened. 

So no, Conrad doesn’t remember much from that lazy summer afternoon at all, except for every detail of you that he can possibly memorize, that he can play in his head over and over again.

__________

Conrad Fisher was many things — sailor extraordinaire, a destined D1 athlete, a gifted student — but he had never been a good communicator. This was a known fact, yet the gravity of his ineptness at communicating showed itself in more blatant ways as the years went on. 

He had certainly grown up now and if anyone had noticed, it had been you. His hair was a little longer, his muscles more defined and he had long ditched his dorky baseball hats and glasses. He talked less now than he did at the age of fifteen and his eyes had assumed a sort of glassy cover, a shield to hide what he was really thinking or feeling at any given moment. You had noticed these changes – it was hard not to: you two had always been close.

But, much to your dismay, your attempts at getting Conrad to talk to you hadn’t worked. At all. He had grown colder with each attempt and frankly, you had had enough. After spending much of your day trying to convince Conrad to go to one of Nicole’s parties with Jeremiah, Belly, Steven and you, you had finally given up. If he wanted to distance himself from you, there was nothing you could do and that was a bitter truth you had to accept. You were tired of running after him only for him to change course so fast that you got lost in the process. 

And so, here you stood by yourself in Nicole’s crowded living room as people jumped and swayed all around you, drink in hand. Jeremiah had walked off somewhere with some guy he had just met and Steven had left the party long ago with Shayla. Even Belly, who normally remained at your side, had found some company with Cam, some guy that she had met at the bonfire just a week prior. 

You swirled the drink in your hand as you looked at Cam and Belly sitting together on a couch a few feet away. You smiled as Cam extended a hesitant hand to tuck Belly’s hair behind her ears and saw Belly blush. It was bittersweet then, how quickly your loneliness seemed to catch up with you.

You’d always had a thing for Conrad. You were convinced almost everyone knew at this point. Conrad knew for sure, yet he did nothing to show that he felt the same. His cruel treatment had reached a precipice this summer, and you found yourself exhaling through your nose heavily. You were so done with Conrad.

“Hey,” you felt a tap on your shoulder, “[Y/N], right?” 

You turned around to an attractive blonde guy towering over you, shooting you a quick friendly smile. You hadn’t really talked to the guy before but you’d seen him around the country club. Standing in the dimly lit room, he didn’t look half bad. 

“Yeah,” you smiled back at him, crossing your arms over your chest nervously. “Sorry, who are you?” 

“Ben,” he said as he took a step closer. “Wanna dance?”

You looked around for a second, unsure of whether or not you should accept his offer. You were about to politely decline the blonde’s offer before you saw Conrad walk into the living room, beer bottle in hand and a blank expression on his face. His eyes caught yours as they surveyed the room and flickered quickly to the tall guy beside you. Conrad felt it then, in every part of his body: a strange, prickling sensation followed by waves of anger. With his jaw set, he was sure his eyes were about to turn green with jealousy any moment now. 

“Yeah,” you turned to Ben beside you, taking your eyes off of the scowling Conrad that stood across the room. “I’d love to.” 

It hadn’t originally been your intention to make Conrad jealous. Your acceptance of Ben’s offer was more for yourself. You needed to show yourself that you could move on, be wanted by people who aren’t distant or cold. People who aren’t jigsaw puzzles, those who don’t need to be cried over because you cannot, for the love of God, figure them out. You wanted something simple for once. You wanted someone who didn’t want you in secret, if at all.

It had only been a few minutes into the song before you found your eyes involuntarily wandering over to Conrad, leaning against a wall and taking a swig of his beer. His eyes had been burning holes in your head the entire time, and as you finally made eye contact with him, he did nothing to turn them away. He brought his bottle to his lips once again as his eyes remained on you, silently conveying his dismay. 

“Are you and him a thing or something?” Ben asked as his eyes followed to where you were looking. He wore a friendly smile, one that would show that he wasn’t mad at the prospect, just curious.

You scoffed as you shook your head. “Absolutely not. Just friends.” It hurt a little to say it out loud, but you had to face the fact that it was the truth. No matter how much you wanted him to do more, to be more, he was just a friend. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“Good,” Ben had smiled as his hands found your waist and he took a step closer. His hands slipped a little lower as you two danced to whatever pop song was playing in the background and you breathed a laugh as he whispered corny jokes in your ear. He was so simple. It was refreshing.

“[Y/N]. We need to talk,” you heard Conrad say before you felt his hand on your shoulder, forcing you to turn away from Ben and look at him. 

But he wasn’t looking at you anymore. Instead, his eyes were fixed on Ben. They carried a silent warning, a sort of menacing ferocity that could only be generated by someone like Conrad, but Ben didn’t do much to heed it.

“We’re dancing, man,” Ben had said affirmatively as he placed a firm hand on Conrad’s chest to push him away and you held your breath as your eyes flickered nervously between the two guys. 

“Yeah, I can see that,” Conrad deadpanned. “But I need to talk to her.” He flicked Ben’s hand from his chest and took a step closer. “Got a problem with that?” 

Before any punches could be thrown, you hastily took Conrad’s hand to lead him away to the kitchen. You did not want a repeat of the bonfire last week, that much you knew. Conrad’s new personality change had also warranted his sudden affinity for picking fights.

“What the hell was that?” you fumed as you dropped his hand and looked at his blank face with nothing but resentment. “Seriously, who the fuck do you think you are?”

“Who do I think I am?” he yelled back, setting his bottle down and running a hand through his hair. “Who do you think you are? Ben? Really?”

“Yeah, Ben,” you had said in disbelief. “What’s it to you? How is it any of your business? What is wrong with you? What are you even doing here?”

He scoffed as he shook his head, feigning amusement. “We both know what Ben’s like.”

“What’s he like? Please, enlighten me, Conrad. Because I’m obviously just some little girl who has no idea what she’s doing, right?” The anger you felt in this moment could not be described. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Conrad could barge into your life as he pleased, and walk out whenever you demanded more. It wasn’t fair.

“Ben’s a player,” Conrad said impatiently. “Stop yelling like a baby, [Y/N].”

You could almost laugh at the incredulity of it all. “What does that make you, then?”

“What?”

“God,” you tilted your head back in disbelief, a bitter grimace on your face. “How are you this clueless? Why do you keep stringing me along like this? You act jealous when I dance with someone else and then turn around and barely give me the time of day. I’m so done. I’m so done with waiting for you.” You exclaimed, taking deep breaths. “I… I want all of you or none of you. Just— Pick one.” You struggled to get the sentence out.

The anger in Conrad’s eyes had never fled as quick as it did that night upon hearing your words. His eyes softened once more as he took a step closer. “You have all of me already.”

“No, I don’t,” you took a step back and swatted away his hand that tried to reach out to hold your face. “And that’s fine. Seriously. I’m over– I can get over it. But stop fucking sabotaging me! I’m allowed to dance with people. I’m allowed to dance with Ben! Stop driving away people who actually fucking want me.”

It took a moment for your words to register for Conrad and he winced at the heartbreaking honesty of them. He knew he’d been an asshole. Everyone around him had done well to remind him of that every waking moment. But it killed him to think about how wrong you were. 

“I don’t want you to get over it,” he said, trying once more to take a step closer. 

“Excuse me?” You’d never slapped anyone before but this felt like the perfect opportunity.

“Because I do want you,” he whispered as he placed a tentative hand on your face and he was pleased to see you didn’t swat it away this time. “I’ve always wanted you. And I think I always will. I don’t want you to get over me,” he said again as he leant in a fraction of an inch and you could smell the booze on him. It was intoxicating to be this close. You were sure you could get drunk off of this feeling alone. Your eyes searched his as he leant in closer, “Because I don’t think I could ever get over you.”

You gulped as you saw his eyes jump to your lips. Your noses were almost brushing now and you could feel the ghost of his lips on yours. 

This was the moment you’d been waiting for since you two were kids. It was everything you thought you wanted. 

But the smell of booze on him was intoxicating for all the wrong reasons. 

It took everything in you to bring your hand to his chest and push him away. “You’re drunk, Conrad,” you pulled away, averting eye contact. “Go home.” 

And as you turned around to walk back to the living room, he couldn’t do much more than watch you leave, breathing heavily through his nose. He looked around awkwardly before spotting the drinks and picked up a bottle or two as he walked out the door. He’d be needing those tonight.

Conrad was many things – a shitty communicator, misunderstood, a full-on trainwreck – but he was also completely, absolutely in love with you. 

The only problem was, being a lovesick teenager without the ability to communicate was a bit of a tragic flaw.

_____________

You cursed profanities under your breath as you nervously looked around for Ben in the crowd. The overwhelming amount of eyes on you at this moment certainly was not helping and the weight of your white dress bore down on you worse than it had all evening.

Being a debutante this season had not been your idea. At all. 

And as you stood in the middle of the large banquet hall as your deb sisters paired up with their escorts, you couldn’t help but curse yourself for ever giving into Susannah’s request. 

“Jer!” you called nervously as you walked over to him in the midst of all the couples getting ready for the final waltz of the evening. “Have you seen Ben?” 

“Ben?” he questioned with furrowed brows as if he was trying to remember who that was.

“Yeah, uh, my escort?” you laughed nervously, continuing to look around, your hands folded over your stomach fiddling anxiously. 

“Oh right!” he exclaimed, before furrowing his brows again. “Didn’t he leave with Gigi’s sister like twenty minutes ago?”

“He left?” you asked incredulously to no one in particular as Jer had been roped in by Gigi, preparing for the dance that you were sure you would no longer be participating in. Belly shot you an alarmed look from across the room, as she stood with Cam’s arms draped over her waist. 

“Where’s Ben?” she mouthed silently and you had no answer to give. You looked around once again but it was hard to escape the humiliation of the whole situation. It felt like everyone was looking at you, like the whole room was silently remarking on how pathetic you looked standing there. You were just about to leave the dance floor when you caught Conrad’s eyes. 

Conrad, who sat with Susannah and Laurel and looked jaw-droppingly gorgeous in his suit.

Conrad’s eyes didn’t hold the same silent pity as everyone else. Instead, they seemed like they were gleaming. It seemed like he was waiting silently. Waiting for your permission to stand up and walk onto the dance floor. And, he must have seen something in your eyes then – something you didn’t even know you were concealing – because he stood straight up right then and walked over to you with the gentlest of steps. 

He wordlessly extended his hand to you and you took it quickly, keeping your eyes on his. And that’s when the music started. 

It felt so easy to dance with him. It was like it took no effort at all. Your bodies found the rhythm quickly and you couldn’t help but remember the dance practices he used to subject you two to when you were fifteen. 

“I’m getting deja vu right now,” you whispered to Conrad and your heart fluttered a little at how quickly a shit-eating grin appeared on his face.

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah,” you laughed a little and Conrad couldn’t think of much else but that laugh and that sound and how much he wanted to hear it again.

“Looks like you’re, uh– feeling the music,” he grinned as he tried his best to keep his voice down. You groaned silently as you remembered his cliche advice.

“Oh, god,” you shook your head, looking around quickly to make sure no one had noticed you two talking in the middle of your waltz. You were sure the dance teacher would have a meltdown if she saw.

“Feeling the rhythm.”

“Do not say it, Conrad,” you snorted a quiet laugh as you continued to sway.

“Letting your body do the leading,” he said finally through a laugh of his own, adding a suggestive eyebrow raise at the end. You shook your head fondly. Same old Conrad.

“Do I look stupid tonight, Con?” you asked then, a smile still on your face. Conrad stopped laughing then and his smile softened as he regarded you just as he had a couple of years prior. 

“No, you look beautiful, [Y/N],” he said simply, and he meant it. “As always.”

It was the truth. It had taken everything in Conrad to tear his eyes off of you when you had walked in with Ben. Ben, who was nowhere to be found right now. 

“Thank you,” you said with a small smile. “And thanks for stepping in like that. I know dancing isn’t really your thing anymore.”

“Who said dancing isn’t my thing anymore?” he asked with mock offense. “Maybe I’m just very selective with my dance partners.”

You chuckled, playing along once more. “Right, of course.”

You swayed in silence for a little while before Conrad broke it again. 

“I’m glad it was me,” he said quietly, but his tone carried the utmost sincerity. “I’ve kind of waited for this ever since that first dance rehearsal.” He breathed a quiet laugh and his eyes searched yours nervously, as if he was testing the waters. Testing how vulnerable he should be, given what transpired at that party. Though you had both gone on with life acting like that exchange hadn’t happened, Conrad couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

“I’m glad it was you, too,” you said slowly, as if you were testing the waters yourself. “Looks like you were right about Ben.” You finished with a bitter smile. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, every last one of Conrad’s words from that night at the party still rang in your ears. He had called Ben a player that night alone and you’d carelessly ignored him.

“He’s an asshole,” Conrad shook his head. “I’m sorry he did this to you.”

You found yourself feeling a little guilty at his apology because truth be told, you weren’t sorry at all. No matter how much you tried to convince yourself that your first choice for a dance partner and escort tonight would’ve been Ben, you couldn’t shake the allure of the tall, brunette boy standing right in front of you.

“I almost asked you to be my escort instead of Ben, you know,” you blurted out, filling with instant regret. “But– I guess… I just wasn’t sure if you would’ve said yes.” You cringed a little when you saw Conrad’s eyebrows furrow, showing he was deep in thought. You turned your eyes away quickly, suddenly embarrassed at his close proximity and his striking eyes fixated on you.

“I wish you would have,” he concluded finally and your eyes immediately shot to his. “I would’ve said yes. I’ll always say yes to you, [Y/N].” He added as a soft afterthought. As a tender observation that he wasn’t sure if he should be sharing. He gave your waist a gentle squeeze as if to reaffirm his words and you knew that you were a goner.

This time, it was your eyes that flickered to his lips. You were suddenly hyper aware of your senses and his overpowering cologne made you weak in the knees. 

That night, you cursed profanities under your breath a second time after the dance was over because if you two hadn’t been swaying at the momentous occasion that was your deb ball, in front of hundreds of people, you would’ve kissed him. Right then and there. 

_______________

“Steven’s going to kill you for eating the last of the blueberry ones,” you said with a giggle as you took a bite of your own muffin clutched in your hand, sitting in the passenger seat of Conrad’s car. 

“Don’t worry about me,” he remarked playfully, with a small smile playing on his lips as he reached for the last blueberry muffin collected on your morning muffin run. “I’m going to blame it on you.”

You roll your eyes and hit him on the shoulder lightly as his grin grows bigger. His lips had turned a little blue from the blueberries in the muffin and you couldn’t help but turn away, feeling your heart grow heavy with how endearing everything about him was. 

It had been a while since it had just been you and him, you and Conrad. Your eyes had still been groggy with sleep, your bedhead untamed when he had knocked on your door to ask if you wanted to go on a muffin run. Without thinking, you’d nodded at him with a smile and he’d told you to meet him outside in five. 

And, driving with him, the windows down and the morning air crisp, you quickly found yourself lamenting how much you’d missed this. 

You had been coming to Cousins for practically your whole life. That meant seeing Conrad was a given, a package deal. But the last few summers had been different, filled with strange tensions between you two that you could never seem to quell. 

This, though, was different. Conrad, thankfully, wasn’t in one of his moods this morning and his playful jokes reminded you so much of the Conrad you used to know. It felt easy to talk to him, sitting there in his car and listening to music, parked by the seaside. It felt wholesome. It felt simple. 

You were jolted out of your thoughts when you felt Conrad’s eyes on your face and you flushed as he smirked, as if you had just cracked the funniest joke he had ever heard.

“What?” you asked quickly. 

“Nothing.”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” you asked again, suddenly trying to check if you had something on your face.

Before you could pull your phone out to open the front camera, he took your face in his hands and turned it to face him. He gingerly brought his other hand to your lips to wipe some residue chocolate off, left behind from your muffin, explaining, “You’ve got a chocolate mustache.”

The action had been simple, yet it set your body aflame. His calloused thumb, from years of sailing and football, rubbed against your lips and you were sure then that your cheeks would burn his other hand placed on your face. 

And just like that, he was no longer looking at his hands on your lips. He instead brought his eyes to look into yours and the intensity of this moment – the intimacy of it – proved too much to bear. 

“You have blue on your lips, too,” you tried to joke, trying to diffuse the tension but the effort was meager at best. 

“Do I?” he had whispered absent mindedly, as if he hadn’t really heard what you had said at all. And if he was being honest, he hadn’t. Everything about you in this moment was distracting for him and he couldn’t focus on what you were saying even if he wanted to. His eyes were glued to your face – to every part of it. It was like he was looking at it for the first time and he wanted to burn every detail into his memory. He ran his thumb on your lip again before finding his voice, “[Y/N]?”

“Yeah?” 

“Can I…?” he’d begun to ask before trailing off and with everything he had in him, brought his eyes to yours. “Please.” He begged breathlessly, as if he were a starving man and you were his last meal. 

That was all the convincing you needed. Your head was spinning as you quickly brought a hand to his jaw and pulled him in over the center console of the car. Your lips met in a desperate, passionate clash and you breathed in sharply through your nose as you kissed him with all you had. His lips were soft against yours and his hands had a mind of their own as they took you in – all of you. Your hands quickly wound up around his neck, pulling him closer as one hand tugged slightly at his hair. Your noses brushed as your lips parted slightly, and Conrad was quick to deepen the kiss. 

It was like you could feel his heart beating alongside yours and the feeling was enough to show you stars.

When you two finally pulled away, you were both reluctant to let go completely, sitting with your foreheads pressed, eyes closed, breath mingling together. Conrad had never been a religious guy, but in this moment, he couldn’t help but pray that he would get to do that again everyday for the rest of his life. 

“Fucking finally,” he whispered as he opened his eyes to look at you with a dazed smile. You laughed as you nodded, at a loss for words. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind your ears before tucking a hand under your chin to pull you closer again.

“Your lips are still blue, you know,” you mumbled against his lips and felt him smile into you. 

“Are they?” he smirked as he nipped at your bottom lip, before pulling away again to look at you. “Yours are too, now.” He replied smugly, leaning in again. It was your turn to smile into the kiss this time.

“Wait,” you said abruptly, pulling away. “Is this all a clever ploy to blame me for eating the last blueberry muffin?”

Conrad laughed at this and it was the first one of those loud, content laughs you had heard from him all summer. “Maybe. I guess you’ll never know,” his last words were muffled as he brought your lips to his smiling ones yet again. 

And Steven did end up killing you that night… not because he thought you ate the last of the blueberry muffins, but because he saw you and Conrad making out on the living room couch. Much to his dismay, he was subjected to witnessing that quite frequently from thereon onwards.

And no amount of blueberry muffins could ever quiet the eardrum-crushing shriek he'd let out everytime he spotted it.

___________

tags: @gillybear17

[kamaluhkhan]

TIME TO PRETEND

pairing: luke castellan x gn!poseidon!reader word count: 5k chapter summary: you're the eldest child of poseidon and the hero of the last great prophecy. you left your demigod life behind after defeating kronos. now, years later, you find yourself back at camp half blood for the summer.....which means dealing with luke castellan, and all that history (tension?) left unresolved between you. warnings: some nicknames for reader are based on female characters (mermista, sailor neptune) but they're still written as gender neutral. reader has tattoos. mention of alcohol + death (post-titan war). spoilers for the entire pjo (book) series, mostly references to the last olympian. timeline is all over the place but set in the early 2000s for vibes. no betrayal (au where chris was the one who sided w kronos and led the titan army) so slightly ooc luke <3 author's note: welcome to another product of my pjo hyperfixation !!! i wanted to finish the nemesis!reader series first but it's summer and i felt like reworking my tsitp series in a camp half-blood setting with bb luke. so prepare for childhood friends to lovers drama! summertime vibes! nostalgia! angst! would love to know what y'all think about this and if you want a part 2 so feel free to scream at me in the comments. otherwise, enjoy and thanks 4 reading 💙

♪: time to pretend by mgmt

YOU’VE GOT MAIL!

1 new message 

from: LukeNotSkywalker

to: Mermista86

subject: you are GETTING that record deal

Hey,

Your demo CD just came in the mail — and, Connor as my witness, I’ve already listened to it five times!!! 

It’s amazing. You’re amazing. The label would totally lose out if they didn’t sign you. 

Things have been pretty chaotic around here, with the summer term happening soon. Speaking of which: are you coming back? Chiron gave me the list of returning campers and counsellors this morning and said he hadn’t heard from you, so I thought I’d ask. I know you’ll be busy with the band, but if you get the chance, it’d be really great to see you.

Anyways, I’m leading the next Shield & Sword session, so I’d better go. Talk soon ;)

- L

FOUR YEARS LATER

TURBULENT WATERS? ALT-ROCK BAND MIDNIGHT SIRENS HIT ROUGH PATCH AFTER LEAD GUITARIST GETS INTO VIOLENT ALTERCATION 

the cover is the nail in the coffin: a blurry picture of you, an electric blue guitar forgotten at your feet, lunging forward into a crowd, with your bandmates on stage behind you in shock. 

you’d gone all this time without any major incidents, and one stupid chimera managed to burn down everything you worked for in one fell swoop.

“that’d be $8.50,” the cashier informs. 

you tear your attention away from the magazine, instead fishing through your pocket for some change. meanwhile, the cashier furrows their brow, leans down slightly to get a better look at you underneath your sunglasses and baseball cap. 

“hey, do i know you?”

“nope,” you say instantly, slapping a $10 bill onto the counter. “keep the change.” you gather your pile of necessary roadtrip supplies (slushies, m&m’s, and goldfish) before rushing out the door, your half-brother trailing behind you.

you slide into the driver’s seat, set each slushie in a cup holder, and hand the rest to percy once he’s slipped into the passenger side. 

“seatbelt,” you remind him. you shake your hair out after removing your baseball cap disguise. “i promised your mom i’d be responsible.” 

percy does as he’s told, though not without mumbling about how he’s practically an adult and a demigod who’s been in much more dangerous situations than a car ride up to long island. you just tell him to put on some music, even though he has a point. he’ll be 18 in august and you’re only five years older, but the fact is that you gave sally jackson your word. 

plus — you’re his older sibling, so gods forbid you let him get hurt. a seatbelt seems like a band-aid solution for one of the most powerful demigods out there, but still.

percy flips through a few radio stations while he sips his blue raspberry slushie. when he doesn’t find anything good, he opens the glove compartment and surveys your music collection before sliding a cd into the stereo. 

instantly, the familiar sound of david bowie’s voice eases the tension in your shoulders.

“good choice?” 

you nod and percy smiles triumphantly. you reach over to steal a few goldfish from the bag he just opened and ruffle his hair playfully, for good measure. 

you’re perfectly happy, driving along a long island highway while getting lost in the glam rock world of ziggy stardust, but it isn’t long until percy interrupts: 

“are you finally gonna tell me what happened, or do i have to read it from some trashy gossip magazine like everyone else?”

“well, your dyslexic ass can barely read so….”

you look over at him briefly, and laugh when you see him stick his slightly-blue tongue out to you. 

“at least my dyslexic ass is actually decent at ancient greek. luke told me you failed the reading test, like, a million times.”

your heart twinges at the mention of your old friend. 

friend.

if you could still call him that. 

thankfully, percy doesn’t give you much room to dwell on the past, too focused on your drama-filled present.

“so, what is it? you got kicked out of the band? lost everything? have nowhere else to go?”

you roll your eyes at his dramatics. “i did not get kicked out.” 

“then, what happened?”

“just the usual.” you shrug. “monster attack, mortals who can’t see through the mist. i tried to explain it away after — something about how i saw someone in the crowd attack another person and i stepped in to help. most people bought it, but the media loves drama and the label’s worried i’m a flight risk now. apparently, everything will blow over if i just keep a low profile for the next few months. so….no. i didn’t lose everything.” you take a deep, like when anyone other than children of poseidon are about to go underwater and they’re not quite sure when they can come up for air. 

“i just don’t really have anywhere else to go,” you finish.

“damn.” percy offers you a blue shark gummy (or whale - you and percy had already debated the shape of the candy that sally packed for the trip, and the jury’s still out). you gratefully accept. “well, i know it’s not the best reason, but i’m excited to spend the summer together.”

despite everything, you find yourself smiling. 

“me too, kid.” 

“it’d give me a chance to kick your ass in sword-fighting.”

“you wish!” you nudge his shoulder, both of you giggling. once the laughter’s died down, you glance at percy once more. “hey – did you tell anyone i was coming?”

percy shakes his head. “why?”

you take a long swig of your drink until you’re on the brink of brain freeze. 

“no reason.”

it’s just after lunch when you arrive at camp half-blood. 

you weren’t sure what you were expecting — maybe not some futuristic technological developments that had been discovered within the years you were gone, but definitely not for camp to look pretty much exactly the same as when you left. 

instantly, you find comfort in the familiar scenes: a dragon, peleus, guarding the magical borders; dryads and satyrs picking strawberries in the fields next to the forest; chiron standing near the central guidepost, greeting and guiding every camper in the right direction.

chiron smiles down at percy and practically does a double take when his eyes land on you.

“mx. l/n! it has been a while. are you here to drop off your brother, or do you plan on staying for the summer?”

before you can answer, someone appears behind him. 

“perce! hey!” 

“hey, luke.”

luke gives him a side hug, and percy shoves him away with a laugh when he ruffles his hair. it’s then that luke acknowledges you, though he looks like that’s the last thing he wants to do.

“i thought i’d never see you again. what are you doing here? ”

chiron turns to you expectedly. “i believe you have yet to answer that question of mine as well.”

“staying for the summer…” you adjust the shoulder strap of your backpack, uneased by luke’s cold demeanor. “i hope that’s okay.”

“of course!” chiron’s smile grows wide, eyes crinkling. “you’ll resume your position as head counsellor of cabin 3.”

“so i’m dethroned? just like that?” percy guffaws.

you nudge percy’s shoulder. “fulfill the next great prophecy, and then we’ll talk.” 

percy rolls his eyes playfully. luke, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to appreciate your tongue-in-cheek remark. his jaw tightens, and he suddenly finds a deep interest in the clipboard he’s holding.

chiron clears his throat, likely sensing the tension. “yes, well, i’m sure you remember how things work around here. if not, mr. castellan has been keeping this ship afloat. he's always here to help.”

“always.” luke smiles, but it’s elastic, threatening to snap at any moment. someone calls his name, and he walks away to deal with whatever chaos is waiting for him.

summer — age 15

you weren’t exactly conscious when you first arrived at camp half-blood. 

apparently, coach hedge, a satyr and protector, found you just in time and had to practically drag you up half-blood hill after a particularly gruesome fury attack. 

when you woke up and saw luke sleeping next to you in a chair, his curls overgrown and falling onto his eyes, you thought you had died and gone to elysium. 

you took in your unfamiliar surroundings. some sort of infirmary, with only your best friend next to you, the one you hadn’t seen in almost a year since you’d parted ways. 

then, you remembered what was happening before you passed out; it was more likely that you were being tricked into a false sense of security by that fury, who definitely planned on devouring you later.

with a newfound sense of urgency, you decided it was time to get out of there before it was too late. you were reaching for your knife when you felt a hand grab your shoulder. without losing a second, you twisted your body around, weapon at the ready.

whoever it was watching over you sure looked like luke. he was wearing a bright orange shirt and leather cord necklace with one clay bead. another point of difference was the jagged scar that cut across his left cheek.

“it’s just me,” he said, gently. “you’re fine here. you’re safe.”

you weren’t convinced, kept your knife in front of you to keep distance. “prove it.” you narrowed your eyes. “tell me something only luke would know.”

“you’re left-handed.”

“that’s a great observation,” you scoff.

“storm is your favourite x-men character.”

“that’s a very popular opinion.”

“your aunt would make us mango lassi after swim camp when she got home from work,” luke tries for the third time. “and, my mom - she used to call you ‘starfish.’”

your heart skipped a beat.

that was the confirmation you needed. 

the knife dropped from your hand, clattered on the wooden floor, as you pulled luke in for a hug. you were greeted by a familiar scent, that pear shampoo luke loved because it made his hair so soft, mixed with the smell of fresh pine trees. 

“it’s really you,” you mumbled into his shoulder.

despite sleeping for gods know how long, you were exhausted. you rested your weight into luke, but he didn’t seem to care.

“it’s really you. i thought i’d never see you again.”

“where are we?” you asked, breaking away to face luke. you ignored the wooziness you felt throughout your body; luke seemed to sense it, his grip around you tightening. “are annabeth and thalia here, too? how’d you get here?” your thumb traced the unfamiliar scar on his face. “what happened? are you okay —”

“i-i’ll answer all your questions, but you lost a lot of blood.” luke guided you to lay back down in bed. “we’ll explain everything. just get some rest.”

a third scenario entered your mind: this was all a dream. you’d close your eyes and when you opened them again, luke would be gone. you’d be alone again.

you couldn’t let go of luke’s hand, even as he tucked you back into bed. you tugged his wrist, silently urging him to join you.

“will you stay with me?” you finally croaked when he continued standing. 

luke looked at you, and you nodded once as final confirmation. then, he removed his shoes and slipped into the bed next to you. it was luke, all sweet pear and soft curls and strong heartbeat, and you held on to him in fear that he might slip away.

“always,” he whispered.

during the orientation video you were later shown, you learned that camp half-blood’s motto is keeping young heroes safe (mostly) for over three millennia!  

luke had used that word, too. safe.

chiron told you this was to be your new home as he walked you to the poseidon cabin. he told you that you were safe now, though you noticed how the word almost got caught in his throat. he gave you a sad smile you didn’t quite understand.

you did wonder, at first, if those words were true: this place, a home for you and other children of gods. somewhere safe.

and, well.

you came to understand chiron’s general melancholy a few weeks later, and every week after that. he was used to training and sending heroes off to their potential death, and you would be no different. stolen lightning bolts, deadly quests, cryptic prophecies. a pending war between divine forces you had been entangled with long before you knew. heartache and betrayal and loss beyond measure. 

but, there were other things, too. 

annabeth, fitting in perfectly at the athena cabin, continued being her genius self, leading her team to victory every capture the flag game. she was extra patient in helping you with ancient greek, especially after chiron had given up.

chris rodriguez, luke’s half-brother, would tell you jokes from across the dining pavilion, knowing that you hated sitting alone at the poseidon table. michael yew, son of apollo, taught you how to play guitar at the bonfire one week; you’d ask for more and more lessons until you could start playing on your own. charles beckendorf made you a celestial bronze sword that shone like that burst of light when the sun hits the ocean at sunset. it transformed into a ring that you would never take off, unless in battle. you might not have gotten along with mr. d, but you spent free time picking fresh strawberries with his son, castor. you made matching friendship bracelets with silena beauregard, who was really the only person you confided in, about how you maybe possibly felt something other than friendship when it came to luke. she told you about her crush on clarisse larue, the daughter of ares whom you would always partner with during sparring practice. you taught ethan nakamura, who didn’t have his own cabin as the child of nemesis, how to properly hold a sword. thalia’s tree stood tall at the top of the hill where you almost bled to death, protecting you and everyone inside the magical borders. you, annabeth, and luke would share a picnic there every thursday.

you had been on the run for so long, always looking over your shoulder for monsters, sleeping with one eye open to be one step ahead of death, jumping from one place to the next so quickly to avoid danger.

so, yes. 

it was nice to stay in one place, where you knew you were as safe as demigods could be. it was nice to spend your time learning and training and laughing instead of just surviving. 

it was nice to have a place to call home. and people to call it home with.

now 

the first week passes in the blink of an eye, and it’s like you never left.

tie-dye, volleyball, strawberry picking, kitchen duty, and cabin inspection. 

luke has everyone on a tight schedule — one, you notice, conveniently places the two of you at opposite ends of camp at all times.

still, you catch up with clarisse and the stoll brothers, spend time with annabeth and percy, say hi to pollux and katie gardner and others you vaguely recognize as five years older than what you remember. there are also a lot of faces you don’t recognize at all.

of course, you try not to think about the faces you wished you could see: friends you grew up with and would never have a laugh with again, younger campers you had trained who would never grow up. all lost because of the gods and the titans and a prophecy you never asked to be a part of. 

it’s a side effect of being back here; their ghosts are harder to ignore.

again — trying not to think about it.

anyways.

climbing wall, armory, sword-fighting practice, archery field, and free time on the beach.

to conclude: capture-the-flag, a friday night camp-half blood tradition.

you’re praising annabeth for her latest strategy that led to blue team victory when you notice luke. he was also on the blue team, but instead of celebrating with the rest of you, he’s speaking to someone who’s wearing a red helmet. they seem to be in a heated discussion, one that luke is not wanting to continue. his tells are the same, after all these years: the impatient tapping of his foot, his eyes searching for an out.

you give it to him.

“sorry, i need to borrow this guy.” you say, grabbing luke’s wrist. “camp emergency.” 

if the person said anything, you didn’t hear it, because you were already dragging luke away from the crowd, towards the armory shed. 

“what’s the emergency?” luke wonders, brows furrowed in concern. he has deep shadows under his eyes, too. keeping the ship that is camp half-blood afloat has clearly taken a toll on him. 

“you wanting to get out of that conversation. you’re welcome.” you wink at him; luke flushes, and you’re not sure if it’s because he’s annoyed, or if he's just flustered. “so, are you gonna keep ignoring me the whole summer?”

you put your helmet on one of the shelves and turn back to luke. you expected him to start removing his armor as well, but he doesn’t. he just glares at you, arms crossed over his chest.

so, he’s annoyed, then. 

“what do you expect?” luke hisses. “you can’t come back here and pretend that everything can be like it was when we were kids. things are different now, especially between us.”

you decide to take him up on his challenge. 

“oh? tell me, luke, what exactly is different between us?”

luke shakes his head in disbelief. you remove your chest plate, and that’s when the tattoo on your waist becomes visible. it’s a magnolia, like one of the flowers that bloomed on the tree outside may castellan’s house. 

something in luke softens, then. he sighs. 

“you could have at least given me a warning.”

he storms off, and you’re left half-armored, wondering what he meant by that.

you figure it out once a few of you settle down for a late-night, underground poker game, and you’re trying not to stare at luke’s hands.

it starts with you telling yourself that you’re just trying to predict what cards he’s holding, figure out if he’s bluffing, and if he’s about to lose everything he’d so confidently bet on. 

but then you notice the silver thumb ring that thalia got him for his 17th birthday. you notice an array of hair ties and elastic bands he keeps just in case a camper needs them, and woven bracelets given to him by his admirers. you notice how the tattoo on his wrist is covered. (it’s hidden well, but you know it’s there — you’d gotten one of a wing, the kind that might be found on a pair of magical red converse, at the same time)

you also notice the forest green painted on luke’s nails, the same shade worn by the person beside him.

van, the new head counsellor of the hephaestus cabin. you’d seen them at staff meetings, but you somehow did not notice that they were dating luke. 

he moved on — is that why luke needed a warning? is that what's changed between you?

it’s fine. whatever. so what if luke has a new partner? it’s not like the two of you were anything, officially. 

luke has a new partner. they’re wearing matching nail polish. they’re one of those couples.

well, van is also wearing a nickleback shirt and luke hates nickleback, unless that fundamental part of his personality changed, too. 

“yo, sailor neptune. you in or not?” travis brings you out of your daze, by using a nickname luke once called you.

back before becoming heroes, when you and luke were just kids, you’d watch cartoons in his living room on saturday mornings — x-men, she-ra: princess of power, teenage mutant ninja turtles, sailor moon. a lifetime ago.

you look around the table and see that everyone has been waiting for you to take your turn. even luke raises an eyebrow at you.

“yeah.” you clear your throat and throw some chips into the centre. “i’m in.”

you have decent enough cards to keep you in the game, and you’re comfortable that you can play the odds in your favor. the stoll brothers are good liars, you know that, and so is luke. malcolm pace is good at strategy, but thankfully not as good as his half-sister annabeth. pollux, who had invited you to the game, already folded along with butch, the son of iris who has a rainbow tattoo on his bicep to prove it. beside you, lou ellen, daughter of the hecate, contemplates her next move. clovis has fallen asleep, true to their title as head counsellor of the hypnos cabin. you can’t get a read on van, but they keep raising the stakes so confidently, and you’ve always liked a good challenge.

soon enough, it’s only you and van in the bet. when it comes time to reveal your cards, you curse yourself for overplaying your hand.

“good game,” van says to you as they collect their winnings. “you really had me going there.” 

“yeah.” your smile is strained, but it’s there nonetheless. “tried my best.”

“guess the curse of achilles doesn’t help as much in poker as it does in capture the flag.” 

“excuse me?” you raise an eyebrow.

luke, who had one arm casually draped around van’s chair the entire game, pulls away. “van, maybe don’t —”

“it’s not like it’s a secret, luke. they’re the prophecy kid, everyone knows they bathed in the river styx to be able to fight kronos. it’s camp legend.”

other than you, luke, and van, everyone else is occupied with something else. connor busies himself shuffling the cards, while lou ellen, malcolm, and pollux get up for more drinks. it seems like butch and travis have their own bet going to see who can balance the most chips on clovis’ forehead without waking him up. 

van waits for an answer. you’re a little queasy, and it’s not from the wine pollux managed to snag from his dad’s office. you’re suddenly faced with the reality that your life is reduced to a legend. you try your best to swallow that feeling, of being made into a greek tragic hero while your heart is still beating, and your life is still a mess.

“that’s relevant, why?”

“just that some people might consider the invulnerability thing an unfair advantage in physical competitions like capture the flag,” van explains. “increased strength and all that.” 

“that would mean nothing without a good strategy,” you counter.

“that’s what i said,” luke grumbles. 

you recognize van now as the person luke was arguing with earlier. it must have been about this. 

about you. 

“okay, y’all were best friends, so luke is obviously going to take your side.”

you’re not sure what stings more: friends or were. 

“although, he never really talks about you, which is weird because you’re, like, famous in and outside camp.”

ouch. that definitely stings the most. luke winces slightly, almost like he feels it, too.

“alright, alright,” connor interjects, shuffling the cards in his hands. “another round?” 

you’re the only one who decides to call it a night. everyone says goodbye; even van, who’s blissfully unaware of the effect their words had on you. luke avoids your gaze. the game continues without you.

percy’s snoring provides enough cover as you sneak into your shared cabin. you try to sleep, but it doesn’t come easy. 

you feel the spot underneath your rib, the one spot you’re truly vulnerable, ache.

summer — age 17

for the first time in your life, you couldn’t breathe underwater. you were swimming in acid, and your skin was melting away.

at least, that’s what it felt like to bathe in the river styx. achilles could have mentioned that, but all he gave was a cryptic warning about anchoring yourself to what makes you mortal.

you really tried at first. you thought about your friends at camp. you thought about percy, about your aunt back when she was still around. you even thought about may castellan, burnt cookies and saturday mornings.

the pain was too much, though. 

you were forgetting where you were, who you were. with every passing second, you were dissolving into nothing.

“if you wanted to go for a swim, you should have told me. i would have worn my swimsuit.”

luke’s voice echoed across the waves. you tilted your head up to see him sitting on the dock above you, his feet dangling into the water. he had rolled up his jeans to just above his ankles so they didn’t get wet, but his shoes were still on, which was a bit strange. the sun made his eyes look like burnt amber, his teeth sparkling as he smiled at you. 

okay. cool.

you were at camp. it was mid-afternoon, free period. the two of you had been at the edge of the lake, until you became impatient and jumped in, fully clothed. behind him, you could see that annabeth, thalia, and percy were waiting for you on the shore. they were each wearing orange camp shirts, which was also strange; you couldn’t remember a time when you were all there together, as campers.

“we better go, sailor,” luke said, amusement laced throughout his words. “come on. those cabins aren’t gonna inspect themselves.”

luke extended his hand to you. when you hesitated, he added:

“i can’t do this without you. will you stay with me?”

you reached up and grabbed luke’s hand.

always.

you emerged from the water, catching your breath as you collapsed on the sand. 

“oh gods. are you okay?”

your cousin, nico diangelo, son of hades, knelt down next to you. he tried to check your pulse, but you waved him away. your eyes searched for luke, but he wasn’t there, despite feeling the ghost of his hand in your own. 

oh.

you weren’t at camp; you were in the underworld. it was nico’s idea for you to take on the curse of achilles so that you’d be strong enough to face kronos. 

“did it work?”

you got up, a bit uneasy on your feet at first. nico helped steady you, his hands cold on your skin.

you felt….stronger wasn’t the right word. you felt adrenaline coursing through your veins, like you could swim across the biggest ocean without pausing once. like you could defeat an entire army and not break a sweat. maybe even take down a titan or two while you're at it.

you needed to see luke again, to meet him and the others in manhattan before it was too late.

“let’s hope so.”

now

you always loved mornings at camp half-blood. the beach was particularly beautiful at sunrise, the water peaceful.

the morning after that impromptu poker game, you need that peacefulness to wash over you. you’re awake after a rather sleepless night, deciding to go for a quick run before breakfast. you get dressed and grab your mp3 player, as quietly as you can to avoid waking up percy (who, truthfully, could probably sleep through a hurricane anyways). 

you jog from one end of the beach to the other. you set a steady rhythm, somewhere between the beat of your music and the sound of waves gently washing over the shore. when you make your way back down to where you started, you notice someone sitting nearby.

luke doesn’t say anything when you first sit next to him. he’s wearing a dark blue hoodie over his usual orange shirt, a cigarette tucked behind his ear. you imagine that he confiscated it from a camper on the way here. 

“morning,” he finally whispers, eyes fixed towards the ocean. 

you shiver, and not just from the cool morning air. you’re reminded of the last time luke spoke to you so softly, the last time you’d caught an early morning sunrise together. such a contrast to where you are now.

“morning,” you finally reply. 

as the sound of waves fills the silence between you, luke surprises you by taking a lighter out of his pocket. he lights the cigarette and takes a puff. then, he hands it to you. 

it’s such an odd, though not unwelcomed, gesture. a peace offering, you figure, but it’s just so not luke that you can’t help yourself.

“is golden boy luke castellan, offering me contraband? what planet am i on?”

the hint of a smile creeps onto his face. “like i said: things are different now,” he echoes his words from the night before, but this time you don’t sense any hostility.

you take a drag of the cigarette. your fingers brush against his when you return it to him.

you decide to offer a peace offering as well, and present to him one of your earbuds — he accepts. you have to slide across the sand to move closer to him, but he doesn’t seem to mind. 

i’m feelin’ rough, i’m feeling raw / i’m in the prime of my life….

as the song plays, you glance to see luke nodding along, tapping a finger on his knee to the beat. he lets the cigarette smoulder in his other hand.

we’re fated to pretend / to pretend / yeah, yeah, yeah….

when the song is over, luke turns to you. 

“new group?” he brings the cigarette to his lips, then gives it back to you.

“kinda.” you inhale, letting the smoke warm your lungs before explaining. “this is considered they’re breakthrough album. they’re from connecticut, actually.”

“oh, yeah? guess that’s where all the talent is from.”

luke bumps his shoulder against yours knowingly. you feel your cheeks heat up at his praise, his witty sincerity.

this is familiar — you and luke, at the beach, sharing music. it’s familiar, and for a few moments, you can act like there isn’t a wall between you, of unresolved feelings and harsh words. you can pretend that nothing has changed.

“you know, nickleback are from connecticut, too. which means you just called them talented.”

luke coughs on some smoke as he exhales with a laugh. “what? no i didn’t!”

“in a roundabout way. i always knew you were an undercover fan,” you tease.

“i have better taste than that.”

“do you?”

“you’re fucking with me,” luke deadpans.

you crack a smile. “yeah, i’m fucking with you.”

“gods, you scared me for a second,” he laughs, and you can’t help but follow. luke glances at you and the sunshine highlights his smile, his dark brown curls, the ever-changing color of his eyes. golden, radiant. 

you shiver again, looking away. before you know it, you feel something draped across your shoulders.

“i’m not sure van would like it if i was wearing your hoodie.” you joke, but your words are laced with a bitterness you hope luke doesn’t catch. unlucky for you, luke still knows you too well, whether he likes it or not.

“you don’t get to do that.”

“do what?”

luke scoffs. “be jealous.” 

“well, you don’t get to tell me how to feel.”

“so, you are jealous?”

you exhale sharply; you can practically feel the wall between you two reappear.

“it’s too early, lu. and i’m too hungover to deal with this.”

there’s nothing more left to say. you get up, throw his hoodie on the sand, and walk back towards your cabin, the beach and luke further away with every step you take.

it makes sense that way: you were always the one to leave first.

[xoxochb]

close enough, welcome back josh and jules!

[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.”

[bellysruby]

i miss them

[zumicho]

PANORAMA — GRAND TOUR

THE ISLAND

as of 2023, the population of Panorama Island was estimated to be around 5,800 people. there are three houses on the island available for tourists to rent, one of which is currently abandoned / under construction.

there is a tennis court, two beaches on opposite sides, a weekend farmer’s and four total restaurants (includes two boardwalk stalls and a food truck) — open to the public

fishing is allowed between 6am to 6pm, illegal outside of the specified hours for safety due to lack of street lights

HOUSE #1 : SALISBURY

named after the beaches next to them

staying: you, kiyoko, bokuto, hinata, kageyama

HOUSE #2 : JEREMY

staying: tanaka, osamu, kuroo, kenma, nishinoya

SALISBURY BEACH

“the extrovert beach”

boardwalk : fast food, shaved ice

crowded 24/7 — bonfire nights on occasion !!

JEREMY BEACH

named after the lighthouse

the more peaceful choice

biking trail & island cat home

HOUSE #3

as afforementioned, abandoned and off limits

suna next season

author’s note: I wanted to make the floor plan things some of the my mutuals have done BUT I GAVE UP. this is what u get. I think more like a moviemaker so visual worldbuilding is so much easier to me than writing, idk if anyone cares about this but there’s bits of info that will play into the story !!!

GUESTLIST @causenessus @guitarstringed-scars @cloudybillows @s1ckntw1st3d @suna-rins-sunshine @hyenagoated @hibernatinghamster @yogurtkags @acowboykisser @yukatoraa @fishrene @iwaizluv @iluvmang @neoclb @kr1nqu @lvtilzs @wave2mia @zahrawr-writes-fanfics @bubooo @bectoshi

[optimism-blooms]

Lola Tung & Gavin Casalegno As Belly Conklin And Jeremiah Fisher In The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 1 (2022)

[probably-writing-x]

Doomed (Part Two)

Nobody had told you about how terrifying pregnancy scans were. You were now twelve weeks pregnant, and you and Conrad had booked in to see a doctor not far from Cousins, but far enough that there wasn’t a risk of seeing anybody you knew.

You’d made an excuse to Belly that you’d be going out to get your car serviced, and Conrad had said that he was going surfing. The pair of you waited until you were around the corner, out of view from the house, and he clambered into the passenger seat. The drive was in relative silence, neither of you knowing a single word that would be right to say.

You drive the way to the hospital, park up outside, check in at the reception. And the two of you sit in seats beside each other, both staring out at the rest of the room in front of you. Conrad picks up a pamphlet on ‘the early stages of pregnancy’ and then sets it down, picking up another one entitled ‘pregnancy progress’. You look away, the sight of the baby on the front making you feel like your entire stomach had just flipped.

“Miss (Y/L/N)?” A young woman approaches from one of the doors and you stand up, your eyes focused ahead of you as Conrad tucks the leaflet into his back pocket.

You’re both led into a room decorated in white. There’s a bed in the middle, covered in blue paper sheets, a monitor just beside it and a million wires that you’re certain have uses you’ll never know. There’s a doctor sat with her back to you, turning around with a warm smile at the sound of you entering.

“Good morning, (Y/N),” She beams, “It’s good to meet you. I’m Doctor Miller.”

She stands and extends a hand to you, shaking your hand in hers.

“And you must be-“

“Conrad,” He completes, shaking her hand too.

“Alright, please, come and take a seat,” She encourages, “(Y/N) if you’d like to hop onto the bed for me, and we’ll get your tests out of the way so that we can get started on your scan. Conrad, there’s a seat for you just beside the bed.”

Both of you do as asked and the doctor and her assistant run you through the routine checks. Every single thing they pick up seems to be met with worried expressions from Conrad, watching each of their movements as if he’s terrified of what they’ll do next.

“Okay, Mom and Dad, are we happy to get started with your ultrasound?”

You glance over to Conrad, something seeming to shift between you at the sound of those names. You swallow the lump in your throat and nod, suddenly aware of how nervous your entire body felt, how your ears were ringing, your eyes oddly blurry.

They move around you and brush an ice cold gel over your stomach, shifting around until they press the moving machine over the skin. You don’t look at the screen, your ears still ringing, eyes still blurry.

And then you hear it.

A beating. Soft, rhythmic, gentle. It’s muffled and strangely perfect and the ringing in your ears comes to a halt.

“Oh my god,” Conrad leans forward in his chair, eyes glazing over at the sight on screen.

You turn your head, breath catching at the sight. Amongst the blurry, greying space, you make out the shape of a tiny head, tiny body, tiny arms.

“And that right there, is your baby,” Doctor Miller speaks calmly, “Everything looks happy and healthy.”

“Oh my god,” Conrad speaks again and your head turns towards him.

His eyes fall to you and he smiles softly, his hand reaching out and squeezing yours, both of his palms cupping around your hand. You smile, tears brimming at your eyes and he presses a kiss to your fingers between his grasp.

“That’s a baby,” He mumbles, eyes not once leaving yours.

You nod, letting out a soft laugh, “And everything’s okay? I mean, it’s like… it’s healthy and like the size it should be and-“

“You have nothing to be worried about.”

You feel the weight on your chest ease a little, melding into the way Conrad holds so tightly onto your hand, both of you entranced by the screen in front of you, the beating echoing in your ears.

——Ten Weeks Earlier——

Getting ready for a funeral was an awful thought, really. You’d slipped into a dress, fixed your hair, done your lightest makeup, made yourself look presentable and you were driving over. Part of you was certain that you were in no place to drive. Your hands were trembling already, your head foggy and purely unclear. Every few seconds, another one of them flashed into your mind. Jeremiah saying goodbye to his Mom, Laurel saying goodbye to her best friend, Belly and Steven saying goodbye to someone that had treated them like her own, and… Conrad.

The entire morning feels like a blur until you arrive, and then it seems to all melt into one as if it’s impossible for you to truly accept what was happening. You were certain that you hadn’t gone a day without crying since you’d split up with Conrad, and today would be no different.

When you get there, Laurel’s car is already parked in front of the church and you park beside her, fixing your hair in the mirror once more before letting out a shaky breath, getting out to walk through towards the entrance.

There’s a weight on your chest that hasn’t shifted, but it seems to worsen at the sight in front of you - rows of solemn faces and shoulders hanging low. There’s a seat beside Belly in the second row and you make your way over.

“Hey,” She smiles softly when she sees you, “I was looking for you, I thought you’d come with Conrad.”

“Um,” You drag a hand through your hair, blinking the tears from your eyes, “I just-“

“Oh hello, honey,” Laurel interjects, reaching over Belly so that she can squeeze your hand, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” You reply, thankful for the distraction from Belly’s query.

As if on cue, the boys start to walk down the middle aisle, having said their welcomes to everyone on the way. Jeremiah stops at the sight of the group of you, smiling and squeezing your shoulder as if he needed the smallest reassurance. Conrad walks directly in front, taking his seat in front of you. His shoulders look heavy and his hair has been cut since you last saw him. Every morsel of your being wants to reach out to him and wrap your arms around him, tell him you loved him, that you were here for him.

But you sit back in your chair, letting out a shaky breath.

—

The wake, somehow, felt worse than the service. Everyone was mingling around you, the Conklins, the Fisher boys, as if they were waiting for you all to break. You still hadn’t spoken a word to Conrad, certain more than ever that he didn’t want to speak to you.

“Hey,” It’s Steven beside you as you fill up a glass of water at the sink.

There was a sickness in your stomach that hadn’t subsided all day.

“I haven’t had a chance to speak to you today,” He says, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay,” You nod, “It’s just horrible, you know?”

“So, I’m going to ask,” He turns around, glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody else was around, “When were you going to tell us that you and Conrad split up?”

“I don’t-“

“Come on (Y/n), you two have barely looked at each other all day. What’s going on?” Steven frowns just a little, his face softening.

“We, um, we split up a couple of weeks ago,” You explain, glancing over to where Conrad stood on the other end of the room, “Just… not what he needed right now.”

“You’re not what he needed?” Steven scoffs, “(Y/n) you’re always what he needs.”

You shrug your shoulders, wrapping your arms around yourself, “I thought so too.”

Steven reaches out and squeezes your shoulder, his eyes offering as much sympathy as they can.

“I’m sorry I just need to-“ You shake your head, trying to stop yourself from crying, “I’ll be back in a second.”

You shuffle your way through the crowd and head upstairs, finding the bathroom and locking the door behind you. You sit down onto the toilet and lean forward, pressing the heels of your hands against your closed eyes to stop every emotion that wanted to escape you. It wasn’t just today, or Susannah, or Conrad or everyone else or anything… there was one thing tugging at the back of your mind that you hadn’t been able to forget all day. You were late. By just over a week, actually. And you were never late.

You take your bag from your shoulder and pull out the small cardboard box you’d bought with you - the most accurate pregnancy test the store could offer you. And, in that moment, it’s like you’ve already got the result.

—

For a moment you wonder how other people react when they find out they’re pregnant. Is it fear at first? And then all together an overwhelming sense of joy? Are there tears? Do they plan out their future in that tiny moment of excitement?

Yours didn’t feel like that. But your entire body felt numb, weak. Your shoulders dropped over your torso and you hadn’t stood up just yet, certain that your legs would give out if you tried.

A baby.

You look down at your stomach, unchanged from its normal shape, and yet capable of changing everything about your life in a matter of months.

There’s a knock on the bathroom door and you flinch, glancing up quickly. As if in panic mode, you stuff the test into your bag, check your appearance in the mirror, scan the room for no signs of evidence and then turn around to unbolt the door and step out.

It’s Conrad on the other side.

“(Y/n)…” His voice breaks over the word, his eyes looking to you as if desperate to reach out.

Your vision blurs, ringing in your ears, heart pounding, “I-“

For a second there’s a glimpse of hope in his eyes, as if your voice was like a breath of fresh air to him.

“I have to go.”

——Now——

When you get home, Conrad goes in ahead of you, holding open the door and glancing back at you as if checking on you at every opportunity.

“Hey…” Belly frowns a little, pausing on the stairs on her way down, confused at the sight, “You guys okay?”

“Yeah,” You say softly, “Conrad was walking back as I drove around so I picked him up.”

She looks between the two of you and nods a little slowly.

“Come on Belly, we don’t have to hate each other,” Conrad interjects, clearing his throat, “We’re fine.”

“Right, yeah, of course,” Belly responds, “Well, we’re having a family dinner tonight so you both need to be there for that.”

“I’ve got too much to get done Be-“ Conrad begins.

“No you don’t. We’ve spoken to Julia, we’ve spoken to your Dad, we’re sorting things,” Belly shakes her head, “No excuses.”

His shoulders drop a little and he rolls his eyes, “Okay.”

Belly grins and disappears around the corner towards the back of the house. Conrad turns to you and you can feel his eyes on you, watching you.

“Do you feel okay?” He asks, a frown between his brows.

You offer him a small smile, “No different, really. I haven’t been sick anymore this past week or so, so I’m hoping that’s all done.”

He hums in agreement, “Okay but I mean all things considered are you-“

“Um, Im going to go lie down for a while,” You cut in, running a hand through your hair.

You hurry yourself up the stairs towards your room, closing the door behind you.

There were certain times in the past months since you’d known you were pregnant where it felt like everything came crashing down onto you. You had moments where you thought you were so capable of doing it all, and other times where it felt near impossible to even begin. How could you raise a child? You didn’t know where to start. You couldn’t even fathom the idea of giving birth, bringing a whole new life into the world and holding it in your arms knowing it was your responsibility - half of you and half of him. Part of you was relieved that Conrad was the father. All things considered, you were lucky to have him. But you didn’t have him, did you? He wasn’t yours. He was here because of the baby. Without you telling him you were pregnant, you and Conrad would barely be speaking right now.

You let your head hit the pillow of your bed and close your eyes, for a moment imagining your life beyond the safety blanket of your pregnancy. Pregnancy, for now, was delaying the responsibility of taking care of this child - a task you were yet to convince yourself that you were capable of.

You wrap your arms around your stomach and let yourself fall asleep, thankful that you don’t have to worry about it all as soon as your eyes are shut.

—

You wake up a couple of hours later and can already hear the clanging downstairs of them preparing for dinner tonight. You stop yourself momentarily in the way you’d learnt how to do in the past few weeks - stop before you get up, make sure you don’t need to be sick.

But that’s passed now. This was you going into the second trimester, this was everything becoming real.

Your clothing choices are limited when nobody knew that you were pregnant, and so you opt for a flowy dress that came down to your thighs, floating around your curves. You put on a light cover of makeup to make yourself feel more awake and pull your hair back into a messy bun, pieces falling around either side of your face. You double check in the mirror in your room, nothing was visible.

Deep breath, and you go downstairs.

There’s already the bustling sound of the group of them getting things ready in the kitchen, and you walk through into expected chaos.

“No Steven don’t take that I need that for the-“ Belly groans, taking a pan from his hands, her other hand holding a bowl.

“I need it! You told me you want me to fry these, how do you want me to fry without the good pan?” Steven returns, sweat forming on his brow.

“Steven there’s another pan in the cupboard, but I need you to do the salad before you do that,” Jeremiah interjects, pulling out a lettuce and tomatoes and setting them down onto the counter.

“Salad’s a shit job I do-“ Steven stops himself, “Hey (Y/n).”

“Hey,” You let out a laugh, “How’s it going?”

“Terribly,” Belly lets out a sigh, turning around to you with stressed eyes.

“Is this a ‘you need my help’ situation or a ‘too many cooks’ situation?” You ask, “I can help if you need me to.”

“Set the table?” Belly suggests, “I think Steven will scream if another person gets in his way.”

“Oh because I’m the dramatic one,” Steven rolls his eyes, “Belly it’s you that-“

You let their argument drown out behind you as you pick up the placemats and cutlery from the counter, carrying them through to the dining room to set it all out. You lay it out in your best version of how Susannah would want it, cutlery lined neatly next to clean mats. It feels empty, however, bare without any sort of homely touch.

You go through to the lounge and crouch down to rummage through one of the cupboards, looking for any kind of decorations that would still be lying around the place.

“What are you looking for?” It’s Conrad that speaks from behind you, dropping himself down onto the couch.

You glance back over your shoulder, “That candle thing that Susannah used to use to decorate the table.”

He smiles a little, looking down “Cupboard on your right, and there’s that weird centrepiece thing too.”

“Perfect!” You grin, following his instructions until you find what you were looking for, turning around with them in your hands.

“You know I knocked that candle over once, caught fire to the tablecloth,” Conrad smirks, “God, my dad hated me that day.”

You set the items down onto the coffee table and walk over to him, sitting down on the space on the couch beside him.

“How are yo-“

“Please don’t ask me how I’m feeling,” You smile gently.

Conrad smiles too, a blush creeping onto his cheeks, “Sorry.”

You sit in silence for a second, looking down at your belly in this dress, “I’m okay.”

He nods, “Felt like you were kind of spooked earlier.”

You let out a breathy laugh, “Aren’t you?”

Conrad thinks for a second and then shakes his head, “I thought I would be. But there was just something about it. Seeing them, hearing them, it felt so real.”

You soften at the sound of him talking, like he’s injecting the same reassurance into you.

“That’s a whole baby, and one day it’ll be a whole life and it’ll be ours,” Conrad leans forward in his seat, taking a deep breath that he releases slowly, “And I really think we can do it (Y/n).”

You place your hands over your stomach, smoothing over the material of your dress, “You sound so sure.”

“I am sure.”

He looks down at your stomach and then back up to your eyes. You take one of your hands away from the slight bump and guide it over to his, leading him to rest his hand beside yours. His fingers stretch around the curve, soft under your touch. When you glance up again, there are tears in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be sure if I didn’t know that we could do this (Y/n), that you could do this,” He assures you, “But you make everything seem possible, this is no different.”

You smile, squeezing his hand underneath yours.

“I wanted to ask you,” Conrad shifts in his seat a little, as if preparing himself for something, “Do you-“

“Dinner’s ready!” Jeremiah yells from the kitchen and both of you flinch away from each other.

Conrad looks at you as if desperate to continue.

“Dinner’s ready,” You repeat, standing up and grabbing the centrepieces from the coffee table, carrying them through.

Conrad drops back against the couch, dragging a hand through his hair, letting out a breath. He stands up and follows after you, that anxious tightness held in his chest.

—

Dinner is a success, mostly. Steven had undercooked the veg and Jeremiah had slightly over cooked the chicken, and Belly hadn’t given enough time for the cheesecake to set how she wanted. But it was nice. Conrad was sat on the seat furthest from you, because everyone was still walking on eggshells about the two of you having to be together now they knew you were split up. He glanced at you every so often but you tried to ignore it as much as you could, distracting yourself with whatever conversation the others were having.

Conrad had been relatively quiet but he chimed in when he needed to, not drawing much attention to himself.

When the two of you were together, you’d see him like that and want to reach out for him, hold his hand under the table, your arm over the back of his chair so that you could draw patterns across his shoulders or brush your thumb over the short hairs at the base of neck. You knew when he needed to talk and when he didn’t want to, you knew all of the lines with him, you were the only one who did. And, as you see him now, you know that instinct hasn’t disappeared. You’d always have it. For him.

“Let me clear up,” You offer, “You cooked it all.”

You stand up and start collecting together the last of the plates left over after dessert and Steven stands up too.

“Yeah, you guys can talk about house stuff or whatever,” He brushes off, collecting up the rest of them and following after you.

The two of you walk into the mess of the kitchen and you start loading the empty dishwasher.

“So, I’m going to ask,” Steven starts, crouching down in front of the dishwasher so that you can hand things over to him.

“We’re fine,” You say softly, glancing over to the door as if reaching for Conrad’s reassurance.

Steven laughs a little, “You’re fine? You went from broken up and not talking to each other to absolutely fine?”

You shrug your shoulders, handing him a few more plates, “I don’t know, things change.”

“So you’re getting back together?” Steven raises his brows, “Because it would make things easier if you did, he’s so grumpy without you, it’s so much worse. Did you hear him when we got here?! He’d have never said that if he wasn’t single and he-“

“Steven!” You laugh, interjecting before he persists.

His features soften and he smiles at you, “I’m serious, do you seriously think that’s it with you?”

You take a deep breath and feel that same nausea churn through you momentarily, letting the breath out shakily, “I don’t think that’ll ever be it with me and Conrad,” You speak so quietly you’re not even sure he’d hear you.

Steven goes to speak again but you’re interrupted, a knock at the open door. You both look over to see Conrad stood in the doorway, his hands stuffing into his pockets as if he was nervous.

“Can I talk to you for a second (Y/n)?”

You glance at Steven and he grins widely, winking at you before taking the pot from your grasp.

You wipe your hands on the nearest kitchen towel and wring them out, walking over to Conrad as he steps aside to let you past.

“I thought we could go outside,” He says quietly, walking ahead of you towards the door that led out to the garden.

You glance back over your shoulder and then back to him, following him through the door he’s holding open for you.

It’s a just falling to complete darkness outside and there’s the slightest chill in the still air as the two of you walk down towards the dock.

Within a second, a million memories come flooding back to you.

———Eleven Months Earlier———

“Conrad I’m serious I’m not taking you to the hospital if you break a bone,” You laugh, drawing your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms around your legs.

He turns around in the water to face you, kicking himself forward towards the ladder, pulling himself back onto the dock.

It was a hundred degrees out, and Conrad had spent all morning convincing you to jump off from the dock and go swimming with him. It was rocky and uneven underneath and, on at least three occasions, you were adamant he was close to seriously injuring himself. You were sat on the bench watching him, a book he’d given you perched at your side.

Conrad gets out of the water and flicks his hair back, spraying you with water in the process.

“You’re going to boil sat in this heat,” He points out, “It’s much more fun in the water.”

“What’s gotten into you today?” You laugh, “It’s like Conrad on crack.”

He rolls his eyes, “I’m not allowed to enjoy myself?”

You shake your head, “No you’re meant to be grumpy and forlorn and melancholy and cold hearted an-“

Within an instant, he scoops you up into his arms and throws you over his shoulder. You grip onto his damp skin instantly, squealing at the motion of him holding you beside him. He steps forward, teetering on the edge of the dock, somehow still so sturdy with you in his grasp. And… he jumps.

The two of you plunge into the water crashing under the surface. His grasp on you releases and you push off, swimming under the water until you break the surface, squinting at the sudden sun. You drag your hair away from your face and pinch a hand over your eyes to get rid of the water.

Conrad laughs from beside you, kicking around to face you again.

“Fuck, that really hurt,” You fake a wince, trying your best to offer any look of pain on your face.

“Oh shut up you’re just-“

“No I’m serious Con, I caught my ankle on something and it’s really hurting,” You grimace, fighting back a smile.

“Shit, are you serious?” He swims over to you quickly, treading water in front of you, “Can you move it?” His eyes scan your face with a furrow of worry between his brows.

Your face breaks into a smile and you giggle, watching his features relax.

“You’re the worst,” He splashes water towards you.

You laugh and splash him back until the two of you break into a full fight. He grabs your waist and pulls you into him before you get the chance to escape, you catching yourself on your hand against his chest.

For a moment, the two of you are breathless and laughing. And then the air seems to shift, and there’s something so unspoken held in the minimal space between you.

You see his eyes flick down to your lips and back up to your eyes, alternating with your own eyes doing the same. He swallows the lump in his throat. You know now that you want nothing to ruin this moment, that you wanted to conceal it. His grip on your waist tightens a little more and he seems a little more sure of himself, leaning in until his lips are nearly on yours. You seal the rest of the space, both of you inhaling sharply at the sudden contact. One of his hands moves from your waist and up to your jaw, thumb gripped around your chin to draw you impossibly closer to him, so confident now that your lips were on his.

You melt into every atom of his touch, desperate for more of him. When he pulls away, his hands remain exactly as they had been, like he wants to hold onto you for a moment longer.

And that’s how he’d been ever since, forever wanting to hold onto you.

———Now———

“Please don’t throw me into the water this time,” You say to break the odd silent tension between the two of you.

Conrad chuckles deeply, “No promises.”

Both of you fall silent again. He drags a hand through his hair, wipes his hands on his jeans, scratches the back of his neck.

“Okay so why did you bring me out here?”

He looks at you as if the words have just caught in his throat, unsure if any of them will come back to him.

“I just-“ He lets out a breath, somewhere close to a laugh like he’s mocking himself, “God I don’t know where to start.”

He grips the railing of the dock in front of him, as if grounding himself.

“When I-“ Another breath, shakier this time, “I want you to know that I never meant it. When I told you that in my dorm, when I made you feel like you had to leave, I never meant it. Not a single word.”

You’re lost for words now.

“I’m not sure who-“ He shakes his head, tears building in his eyes, “I’m not sure who I am now that my Mom’s gone… it’s like I’m supposed to be somebody and I don’t know who that is and I don’t know why and let alone how to do it. And, that day, that couple of weeks I wasn’t anybody.”

You bite at your cheek, fighting back every emotion that his words were bringing back.

“I took that out on you. I convinced myself in that stupid part of my brain that, if I couldn’t be somebody, then I couldn’t be anybody for you,” He stumbles over his words a little at the mention of ‘you’, “I was so sure that I’d lose you, I convinced myself it would be easier to just push you away. And that’s exactly what I did. And every single day, every night, every fucking minute since you left that day, I’ve hated myself for it.”

You swallow the lump in your throat.

“When you came to college that day I just convinced myself that this was some sort of second chance, that I might have a chance at fixing the biggest fuck up I’ve ever made,” Conrad says, turning around so that he’s facing you directly, “I know I don’t deserve it but I just need to tell you at least once that I lo-“

You lean up onto the tips of your toes and press a kiss to his lips, gripping his shoulders to steady yourself against him. Conrad’s hands fly to your waist instantly, one against your back to draw you into him.

You step away, feeling the all too familiar hold of his hands around you, “I love you too.”

[bunbunbl0gs]

︶︶ ୨♡୧ ︶︶ ⊹𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕⊹ ︶︶ ୨♡୧ ︶︶ ✩𝒏𝒉𝒍✩ ✩ 𝒐𝒃𝒙 ✩ ✩𝒈𝒐𝒕 ✩ ✩𝒅𝒐𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐 ✩ ✩𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒑 ✩ ✩𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒑𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 ✩ ✩𝒉𝒐𝒕𝒅 ✩ ✩𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 ✩ ✩𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒔 ✩ ✩𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 ✩ ✩𝒂𝒉𝒔 ✩ ✩𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎 ✩ ✩𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒇 ✩ ✩𝒕𝒎𝒓 ✩ ✩𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒔 ✩ ✩𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓✩

[jahayla-parker]

Her Faithful Protector: Conrad Fisher x Reader

Part 2

Descr.: Part 2, 3.2k wc, see series link below for full description. This part's theme: y/n and Con are together and he learns her triggers

Warnings: see series link below for warnings.

Her Faithful Protector Series Navigation

Conrad and y/n were cuddled up on the couch in Susannah’s house. They’d gone on their fifth date earlier that evening. Now they were relaxing in the summer house, watching y/f/m.

Y/n tried to fluff the throw pillows so Conrad would be more comfortable when he got back from getting them more popcorn. Unfortunately, one of the pillows fell off the couch and rolled onto the coffee table. Y/n winced as the action knocked Conrad’s water glass onto the ground. She tenses as the glass shattered, the ground now covered in a bunch of glass shards.

Conrad was just finishing up in the kitchen when he heard the commotion. He calmly made his way back to the living room, figuring she’d feel guilty over whatever broke. Whatever it was, Conrad knew it wouldn’t be a big deal or him or his mom so he wasn’t worried.

However, as he entered the room, Conrad’s footsteps echoed loudly in y/n’s head. She felt her body go into fight or fight mode. Y/n found herself blindly trying to pick up the pieces as tears formed in her eyes. She was struggling to breathe as her heart began to beat out of control.

“Y/n? What-“ Conrad began, his voice muffled over the sound of broken glass repeating in y/n’s mind.

“I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Y/n cried, scooping pieces of broken glass into her hand.

“Woah! Hey, love, don’t do that!“ Conrad panicked, rushing to y/n as her finger pinched the edge of another glass fragment.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I-I’ll, I’ll-“ y/n rambled, continuing to clean up the glass. She couldn’t even see what she was doing anymore, the tears blurring her vision. Y/n resorted to using one hand as a broom, brushing the shards into her other hand.

“Hey, hey,” Conrad soothed, delicately grabbing y/n’s hands. He cautiously removed the glass shards from her palms and placed the fragments on the coffee table beside them. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s just a glass” Conrad sighed, his fingers slowly guiding y/n’s hand back open so that he could examine her palm.

“I’m such an idiot, I was just trying to fluff the-the p-pillows for you..but I m-messed up a-a-and-“ y/n mumbled, her hands shaking inside of Conrad’s grip.

“Y/n, breathe, look at me” Conrad requested, rubbing the back of her hands with his thumbs. “Please” he pleaded, needing to see her eyes. When she finally let her eyes flicker up to look at him, Conrad offered her a loving gaze. “You’re not an idiot. It was an accident, no need to apologize. Okay?” He slowly assured her.

“You’re.. You’re not…” y/n began. She analyzed Conrad’s presence and found herself slowly coming back to reality. Y/n sighed and shook her head. “Oh, right” she whispered to herself, remembering she was with Conrad and not her father.

“What?” Conrad questioned carefully, having seen the way her eyes suddenly softened. He’d noticed a wave of realization take over her features. It was as if she had been somewhere else for a moment and just now returning to him.

“Nothing” y/n lied, hoping he’d drop it. She didn’t want to explain why she’d freaked out like that. Y/n didn’t want him to have to deal with all of that.

“Y/n,” Conrad pleaded with a sigh.

“I just.., sorry. I spaced,” y/n shook head, her breathing slowly returning to a calmer pace.

“What happened, where’d your mind go?” Conrad wondered.

Y/n shrugged halfheartedly, “I.. I forgot I was here with you, is all”.

Confused, Conrad nodded slowly. “Were you afraid I was going to hurt you?” He asked slowly.

Conrad felt a sharp pain in his chest when y/n froze upon hearing his question. “Y/n, I would never-“ he began softly.

“I know Con” y/n swiftly cut him off, eyes gazing up at him. She smiled faintly, “I do. I know. Like I said, I just… I forgot it was you for a moment”.

Conrad licked his lip as he tilted his head slightly to the side. He couldn’t figure out what was going on or why she’d been so scared if it wasn’t due to him. Conrad noticed the repetitive precise wording she used and asked, “who did you think was coming in?”

Y/n glanced away from him, her eyes shifting to stare at the remaining glass shards on the floor.

“Y/n” Conrad pleaded quietly, cautiously squeezing her fingers. “I need you talk to me. I can’t protect you if you don’t te-“ he began, worried eyes not leaving the side of her face.

Y/n sniffled quietly and shook her head, “I don’t need you to protect me”.

Conrad nodded to himself, “I know, but I-“

Y/n once again shook her head. She slowly turned back towards Conrad. “I feel safe with you Con” she promised, “that’s what matters”.

Conrad’s lips curled up slightly in a small smile. “That’s why you came over the other night a few weeks ago…” he said, piecing together some of the details.

Y/n nodded, her eyes on Conrad’s face now. “Yeah, you make me feel safe, Connie” she admitted, giving him a half smile.

Conrad smiled back at y/n gently and kissed her scratched palms. His voice was unbelievably soft as he assured her, “I’ll always be here. And I’ll listen whenever you’re ready to talk about what happened that night”.

Y/n’s tiny smile grew some as she turned her palms over to squeeze Conrad’s hands. “I know. Thank you” she whispered appreciatively.

Y/n sighed as she quickly walked through Susannah’s house, trying not to drip on everything. Jeremiah and Steven had jokingly tossed her into the Fisher’s pool moments ago. It was meant as a playful jab at her for wearing one of Conrad’s hoodies despite the 90-degree weather. However, y/n was now soaked and needed to change.

“Oh, did those two rascals get you?” Susannah hummed as she shook her head softly.

Y/n looked up from the floor to meet Susannah’s gaze and nodded. “My fault for wearing this on a sunny day” she laughed softly.

Susannah giggled but still shook her head. “It is a bit warm for a sweatshirt beautiful girl, but that doesn’t make you deserving of being tossed into the pool” she tsked, walking over to y/n. “Want me to yell at them?” Susannah asked softly, resting her hands on y/n’s cheeks.

Y/n couldn’t help but smile widely. Susannah always had that effect on people. No matter what your worry was, she could make it better without even knowing what had truly been troubling you. Hence why y/n beamed at the blonde despite y/N’s worry over trying to find a clean sweatshirt for her to wear.

Conrad was at work still so y/n couldn’t beg him for one of his. Plus, she suspected he’d catch on if she changed from one hoodie to another after being teased for wearing one in the first place. But, all of hers had been worn and were needing to be washed. Granted she only had two of her own here at the summer house; it was a summer house after all.

Nonetheless, the loving and carefree nature of Susannah’s support despite her youngest son being one of the culprits behind y/N’s soaked clothes was heartwarming. Y/n shook her head, moving Susannah’s hands side to side as they clung to her face. “Thank you” y/n smiled, “but I’m okay. I just need to find another clean sweatshirt to wear”.

Susannah hummed quietly and paused, her eyes scanning y/N’s face in silence. Whatever she’d been thinking disappeared from her face as she nodded. “Well, I’m sure Connie won’t mind you borrowing one of his. I just did a load of the boys’ clothes an hour ago” she offered. Susannah lowered her hands from y/N’s face down to her hands and gave them a soft squeeze, “I believe there was a sweatshirt in there. If so, it should still be on his bed”.

Y/n let out a soft sigh and smiled. “Thank you Suz” she cheered, going to give the woman a hug before she realized she was still dripping wet. But, y/n was quickly pulled in for a side hug by Susannah anyways. “I’ll change and then come dry this up” y/n promised, looking at the slightly wet ground beneath her.

Susannah giggled, her radiant smile on full display. “Don’t worry about it y/n/n! Go change and enjoy the rest of your day, hmm?” She suggested. When she saw y/n was about to argue that she’d clean it up, Susannah shook her head. She teasingly pointed towards the stairs, “it’ll take me all of two seconds. Now go steal your boyfriend’s sweatshirt”.

Y/n bashfully bit her lip as she mumbled a shy thank you to Conrad’s mom. She heard Susannah humming softly to herself as y/n exited the room. Y/n glanced down at her body and sighed.

The boys were right in their mockery, and so was Susannah in her thoughtful mention of the weather; it was far too warm for another sweatshirt. But, y/n didn’t have a choice. She had to cover up her arms. So, it was either a sweatshirt or a long sleeve shirt. At least with the former y/n could argue it was for comfort if someone asked.

Conrad kissed his mom’s cheek as he slipped into the kitchen on his way to the backyard to find the others. He smiled as his mom beamed and spun to face him and ask how work was. Conrad assured her that work was going well before his eyes glanced towards the back door.

“She’s actually upstairs Connie” Susannah smirked. When her son’s head whipped around towards her at the mention of y/n, his mom laughed. “The poor girl needed to change, the boys dunked her in the pool” she explained.

Conrad furrowed his brows, “what?”

“Relax Connie,” his mom soothed, stroking Conrad’s cheek. “She’s fine, just wanted to get into some dry clothes“ she explained.

Conrad nodded as his mind began to analyze the situation more. He had slightly been asking about why the boys did that, but also out of curiosity over y/N’s actions. Conrad knew y/n enjoyed swimming, even if on her own; especially on hot days like today. Sure, he wasn’t understanding why the boys dunked her into the pool. But, Conrad was more concerned over not understanding why y/n wasn’t already in the pool to begin with.

Whatever the reason, Conrad intended to find out. He thanked his mom, giving her another hug before he made a break for the stairs.

Conrad’s thoughts were racing as he made his way to her room. He didn’t know how to bring it up, but he knew he had to. Something was going on and he worried it might have to do with what had happened a few weeks back and her overreaction the other night.

When he didn’t find y/n in her room, Conrad made his way back down the hall. Maybe she’d slipped out the front door without his mom noticing. But if that were true, he’d need to figure out where she would’ve gone off to. Conrad suspected the beach, perhaps even their secret location down a ways from the pier.

Electing to follow that possibility, Conrad turned on his heels. He needed to change his shoes as the ones he had in for work wouldn’t be the most ideal if they were to spend the rest of the day in the sand. However, Conrad froze when he opened his bedroom door.

Conrad didn’t know y/n was going to be in there. Much less half naked as she was in the process of sliding one her shirt on over her damp bra. When his brain started functioning again, he quickly looked away out of chivalry and respect.

Conrad paused mid turn when his brain caught up with what he’d seen. There were marks on y/n’s back and shoulders. He knew they hadn’t been there before. Neither were the shadows he suspected were the faint edges of bruising on y/n’s stomach, having only seen her from the side. Conrad didn’t bother shutting the door as he rushed into the room and over to y/n. His voice was breathy and slightly panicked as he tried to speak, “y/n?” Conrad shook his head as he collected himself, “who did this to you?"

“Con!” Y/n panicked, shyly throwing her shirt on quicker. She hadn’t expected him to be home so soon. “Sorry..-boys dunked me into the pool” y/n explained, hoping he was asking why she was only half dressed in his room. She reached for Conrad’s hoodie that Susannah had placed on the bed but Conrad’s hand stopped her.

Conrad didn’t fall for the attempted change of topic. But he saw she was still standing there shyly, eyeing his jacket. Conrad let out a soft sigh and stepped back to let y/n put the sweatshirt on so she would be more comfortable.

Once y/n had the sweatshirt pulled down, her hands fiddling in the pocket, Conrad spoke up again. He stood before her, his eyes showing his deep concern. “Y/n. I saw your skin.. your stomach. Why-why do you have bruises? You- is there a bruise on your stomach?” Conrad rambled.

Y/n closed her eyes and tensed her body as she tried to think of a way out.

Conrad noticed the shift in body language and sighed. “Y/n,” he whispered grabbing her hand.

“You… don’t worry about it Con” y/n advised.

“I have the right to be worried!" Conrad broke, his eyes trailing over her clothed body. Despite being hidden under her shirt and his hoodie, Conrad could still envision where he’d seen the bruises. “Where did all those bruises come from?" He asked, his eyes watery as he waited impatiently for an answer.

Y/n laughed breathlessly, “I’m really clumsy Con, you know-“

Conrad breathed tensely through his nose, “Y/n, this is serious!" He ran a hand through his hair, brushing it to the side. “Cut the crap and tell me what happened” Conrad demanded, no longer letting it go. How could he after what he’d just seen?

Y/n stared at his chest as she tried to lie again. “I-I-I, well… I tri-“ she began.

“You don’t get those bruises from tripping!” Conrad argued. After taking a deep breath, he slowly grabbed the hems of the his sweatshirt and the shirt y/n had on underneath. When she didn’t stop him, Conrad lifted the material up until he could see her bare skin. He stopped lifting the fabric when he could see everything just underneath where her bra ended.

“Is this why you've been wearing that sweater so goddamn much?!" Conrad asked, his voice weak from seeing the splotches on her skin. How hadn’t he caught on before?! He should’ve known.

Y/n took a shaky breath and nodded her head silently. She couldn’t look at Conrad. Y/n knew he’d be upset that she hadn’t mentioned this abuse before.

Conrad noticed y/n wasn’t breathing as deeply when her ribs barely moved despite her shaky breath. He calmed himself and let out a deep breath. “Is someone hurting you..?" Conrad questioned directly, his thumb trailing under one of the bruises.

Y/n stayed silent, causing him to halt his movements and look up at her.

“Y/n,” Conrad whispered as softly as he could. “Please talk to me about it” he begged, trying not to tear up. “I want to help” Conrad added, feeling guilty that he clearly hadn’t made that known before.

“I’m okay Con-“ y/n breathed, giving him a small smile.

“Y/n,” Conrad sighed, squeezing his eyes shut.

When y/n saw his reaction, all she wanted to do was reassure him that everything would be okay. He didn’t need to be caught up in this. “Really, I’m okay” she argued.

“You're okay? Really, cause this doesn't look fucking okay!" Conrad snapped, stepping back to calm himself as he brought his hands to his hair.

Y/n reflectively flinched and stepped backwards until her legs hit the edge of a bed. Her knees buckled under her as she dropped to the floor, her eyes wild and alert. “P-p-please don- don’t” she trembled, vision blurry as she stared at the closest floorboard.

Conrad froze, staring down at y/n in shock before he analyzed his posture. He cautiously lowered his hand back to his side as he knelt down where he was, not moving closer to her yet. “Y/n, I’m sorry for yelling. I was worried- but, it doesn’t make it okay. I’m sorry I scared you” Conrad whispered softly.

Conrad watched y/n closely and noticed the way her eyes still stared into the distance, as if she was looking through him. He sighed softly and moved slightly closer. As he did, Conrad could hear her rapid and shallow breaths. He saw the death grip y/n had on the edge of his blanket that had hung just above the ground.

"It's me! It's me! Calm down, baby, please” Conrad begged. He took a shaky but deep breath and lowered his voice significantly. “It-it’s Con. I won’t ever hurt you. I swear. Please just listen to my voice” Conrad whispered, “it’s me”.

“C-c-co-” y/n mumbled after a few seconds, her eyes blinking as she began clenching and unclenching his blanket.

Conrad nodded, slowly moving a little closer. “Yeah, it’s me, it’s Con, baby, just breathe” he cooed, “you’re safe”. Conrad repeated these southing sentiments to y/n for at least five minutes before she’d calmed down enough to regain her senses.

“I’m sorry Con” y/n said hanging her head.

Conrad frowned, “Y/n don’t-“.

“No, it’s… No one wants to deal with this. You shouldn’t have to deal with m-“ y/n tried to explain.

“Do not finish that sentence. You’ve done nothing wrong” Conrad assured her.

“I freaked out over nothing… twice now. E-even though I know you wouldn’t hurt me” y/n shook her head. She continued to fiddle with the blanket, “it’s humiliating, you know?”

“What is, love?” Conrad asked lovingly.

Y/n spared a short glance up at him, “sitting here.., like this, looking like.. this… like…fuck!” She bit her lip and sighed loudly. “This is the first time you’ve seen me… without my shirt and this..” y/n shook her head as she looked down at her own torso. “And-and, here I am sobbing and shaking,” y/n laughed humorlessly, “of course it’s humiliating”.

Conrad let y/n finish her explanation before responding; despite not agreeing with her. “Y/n, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Look at me please” he asked, waiting until she did. When y/n’s timid eyes lifted to meet his, Conrad gave her a thankful smile. “You are gorgeous, no matter what. But, we need to address this. Not because there’s something to be ashamed of, but because I refuse to let anyone hurt you” Conrad stated. He grabbed her hand and held it securely in his, “okay?”

“Okay. Thank you” y/n said in a small, broken voice.

Conrad sighed and moved closer, closing the last of the distance between them. He wrapped y/n up into his arms as they sat on his floor In comfortable silence. Conrad didn’t know where to begin, but at least he was getting somewhere.

Part 3 coming soon (see series navigation link -at top and below- for exact time)

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[nohardfellings]

⚠️JUST MY OPINION⚠️ If you relate it's fine, but if you don't just scroll😋✌🏼

[kamaluhkhan]

im working on a new luke series inspired by my tsitp one where reader was actually the prophecy kid, left camp afterwards for a while to have a normal life (potentially started a band 👀) and then this summer has to come back....lots of romantic tension with luke + summer vibes + childhood friends to lovers fluff

SO reader has to be a child of one of the big three AND i want reader to have a younger brother....it's either gonna be daughter of poseidon (younger brother would be none other than percy jackson himself 🌊) or hades (for books fans this would mean more cameos from our goth gay bb, nico di angelo 🖤 and his sunshine boy will solace ☀️)