𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 // 𝙟𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧

[ 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 ]

it was dinner time. stella was sat beside jeremiah and conrad, who was sitting at the head of the table. steven was watching something on his phone and jeremiah was looking over his shoulder, laughing.

laurel, isabel and steven's mom, was not enjoying it. "steven, i swear to god, if you look at that phone one more time, i'm putting it in the screen basket."

"it's just, we want to see your beautiful faces," susannah, jeremiah and conrad's mom, added.

"she's talking about me," jeremiah muttered in stella's direction. she stifled a laugh under her breath. he smiled and sarcastically added, "what? what's so funny?"

susannah continued. "can dinner be a screen-free zone. you know, like the olden days."

jeremiah looked over at steven and noticed that he was still on his phone. "steven," he said before grabbing steven's phone out of his hand. he then continued to "shoot the phone" into the screen basket like a basketball. he made it. "boom! nailed it."

"dude, are you kidding me?" steven complained. andy, stella's older brother, laughed and nodded at jeremiah's good shot.

"that was good," stella laughed, putting her hands out for high fives. jeremiah happily high fived her and started flexing his arms.

steven rolled his eyes. "okay, okay, okay, we get it. you've been working out."

"oh, you're just jealous because j has a better body than you," stella scoffed, making jeremiah smirk in her direction and run a hand down his chest, gesturing to his abs. andy cringed at the interaction. stella let out a laugh, trying to cover up the fact that she was actually impressed with how much "stronger" jeremiah looked than last summer. "enough. i regret what i said."

steven rolled his eyes. "uh, no, actually, it's all about the lean look now. otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits. tell 'em, andy."

"no, yeah. the lean look is what all the ladies are looking for," andy smirked cockily.

"sure, sure," jeremiah mumbled, still smiling at stella playfully.

conrad finally spoke, but it was just a small mumble. "tailored suits."

stella tried to cheer him up by smiling at him, but conrad just forced a small smile for her then looked back down at his practically still full plate. he was acting odd and distant this summer. stella and conrad's friendship didn't feel the same as it was.

"when are you leaving for training camp, man?" steven brought up conrad's football plans.

everybody went silent. conrad glanced at stella before looking at the floor. jeremiah decided to break the silence. "uh, he quit football."

everyone looked around awkwardly. stella looked up at jeremiah then conrad, trying to read the situation.

steven was the first to speak. "what- wait, really? you quit?"

"mm-hmm," conrad hummed quietly. he maintained eye-contact with steven, trying not to look at stella or isabel.

"are you kidding me, man? i'd- i'd kill to play college ball," steven said, making things slightly more uncomfortable.

susannah cut in. "he can always change his mind."

"i'm not gonna change my mind," conrad shook his head. "i was just gonna sit on the bench all season anyways."

"well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" laurel asked.

stella, jeremiah, and steven sat up straighter. "oh, dude, you can work at the club," steven suggested happily. "yeah, with me, jere, and stel."