avery cooper was in love with jeremiah fisher. she always had been. he was her sun, her best friend, her favorite person in the whole world but she knew he'd never feel the same. because even though she loved him with everything in her, she'd never...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Avery Cooper's best friend was Belly Conklin.
Until she wasn't.
Until everything changed at the start of Summer 14.
Avery had no idea what she did wrong, but she knew nothing would ever be the same again. It was the summer when all of them started to grow up, just a little. Susannah had been going through chemo and it felt like every person in the house was walking on eggshells. Avery and her mother had just moved to the Boston area the January prior to help the Fisher family. She started school with the Fisher boys, in the same grade as Jeremiah.
Leaving their small town in New York was never originally in the cards for Ariana and Avery, but they both knew it was the best option at the end of the day. That way they weren't running away, they were running to someone. Because nothing was ever going to be the same again for either.
They spent nearly every day at the Fisher's, Ariana at Susannah's side watching their favorite old movies with Laurel on facetime when Adam didn't come home on time while Avery was in the kitchen baking (slightly disfigured) cutout cookies with Jeremiah as Conrad ate the dough. Life certainly wasn't perfect, but in its own way, it was beautiful.
All that added time especially didn't help Avery get rid of her crush on Jeremiah that she had ever since she was nine. And unfortunately for her, Conrad noticed.
While Jeremiah was out one night with friends, Conrad cornered the girl he viewed as his little sister and practically forced her to admit her feelings for his brother. She did, and they wound up talking for hours about what the summer would bring. Or, in Conrad's case, who the summer would bring. Avery wasn't blind, she knew that Conrad felt something for Belly but wasn't ready to admit it to himself just yet. And it was clear that Belly had been in love with Conrad for years, so it would just take time.
After that conversation, Conrad and Avery grew even closer. Some nights when Avery's night terrors would bother her to the point of tears, she would sneak into his window and stay the night as he held her close. She knew Jeremiah would do the same, but she also knew it would only hurt her more if he were to reject her and she lost that comfort that she needed. Ariana and Susannah were fine with the situation because they knew nothing would ever come from it. Avery and Conrad were soulmates, in a way, but definitely not romantic ones.
Everything changed when the families arrived at the beach house.
Ariana and Avery had gone up with the Fishers a few days early to get everything ready for Laurel and her kids, so when Jeremiah barged into Avery's room one morning begging her to go for a swim, she couldn't say no.
They played in the water and talked on the sand for hours until the subject of the Conklin siblings came up.
"I can't wait to see Belly and Steven, but especially Belly. We have so much to catch up on," Avery had mused with a small smile.
"Same," Jeremiah replied. "Like, don't get me wrong, Steven is my best friend and everything but I'm super ready to see Belly. Maybe something will finally change this year."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her smile fading slightly.
"Maybe this year she'll finally see me instead of Conrad."
Avery masked the way her heart broke with those words with a reassuring nudge. "I'm sure it'll happen someday."
Less than an hour later, Laurel, Belly, and Steven arrived and the annual "Belly Flop" occurred. Avery put on the happiest face she could, but Conrad immediately saw through her facade. She told him they'd talk later, but Belly was overly conscious of every concerned glance Conrad threw Avery's way. After dinner, Belly pulled Avery into her room to talk.
"What's going on with you and Conrad?" Belly demanded with a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"He's been sneaking glances at you all night and I heard you tell him you'd talk later. What's happening? Are you together?"
Avery almost laughed at the idea. "Absolutely not, we just got closer this year, that's all. We're friends, and will never be anything more. Besides, I've always lik-"
But before she could finally admit to Belly the secret she had been keeping for years, the younger girl interrupted her. "I don't believe you. You know I've liked Conrad for years and now you're going to betray me like that?" With those words, Avery stiffened and looked at her feet. She knew that Belly was only twelve- almost thirteen- and didn't want to believe her, despite what she said. So she sidestepped her friend and walked to the door.
"We're just friends, Belly," Avery said quietly as she left.
Conrad did his best to play matchmaker between Avery and Jeremiah the rest of the summer, but Avery knew his (laughable) attempts were futile. She wasn't the one Jeremiah wanted, and she was going to have to be okay with that.
She was going to have to move on.
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
lina speaks!
just some background so you know what's up :) super excited to begin writing the actual storyline, i can't wait for you all to actually meet avery. she's a sweetie and honestly she deserves the world.
quick note! AVERY AND CONRAD ARE FRIENDS. THEY WILL NEVER HAVE ANY ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEM.
now that that's settled, i have a few more notes!
trigger warnings will be given at the top of chapters that they apply to and i will write in bold
TRIGGER WARNING
before any segment of the chapter that includes the sensitive subject matter and i will finish it with
END OF TRIGGER WARNING
when it is done. i will write a synopsis of what happened in the author's note at the bottom so that no one misses anything crucial.
the trigger warnings will include: domestic abuse and death of a parent.
sending so much love to you all and i hope you enjoy out of the woods :)
