FWB -- steven conklin

𝐅𝐖𝐁

❝𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘴

𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 ❞

. . . . . ╰──╮*ೃ༄.ೃ࿐╭──╯ . . . . .

i woke up the next day wishing i made the bonfire up, but unfortunately i didn't. i heard conversation downstairs wondering if i should join everyone, but i couldn't risk seeing belly. i don't even know what to say to her. kissing steven was a mistake. the thing is i don't feel any regret. i flipped over my phone to see the time, 12:36 pm. i knew i had to go downstairs at some point i just didn't know when. then i remembered i have to go dress shopping with susannah, laurel, and belly for the debutante. just as i finished my thought i heard a knock at the door.

"hey haze, why didn't you come down for breakfast?" susannah questions. "belly and i aren't on the best terms" i sigh. susannah shuts the door and sits on the edge of my bed. "awe dear, what happened?" i cover my face and whisper, "i kissed steven twice and belly saw" as i uncovered my face i noticed the shock in susannah's face. "oh, um i don't know how to react. i always thought you and connie had a connection." she shares. i knew i could trust susannah so i just flat out told her everything, "that's another problem. i've liked steven forever, but i feel like i also like conrad. i just don't know if i like like conrad, you know? i can't tell if i like the attention or if i'm using him to try to get over steven" i explain. "oh my! you're in quite the pickle. i just suggest talking to belly to get the hardest part taken care of. but first get ready because we have to leave soon. just remember whatever happens i promise it'll get better" susannah advises. i give half a smile and hug her. she always knows how to help in any situation.

after she left i got myself together. i just threw on a pair of white jean shorts with a cropped teal baby tee. i also did my makeup and curled my hair. i took a deep breath before walking down the stairs. when i got downstairs i headed straight for the kitchen to get everything over with. of course the first person i saw was steven. he gave me a kind smile and i had to be nice and do the same. i noticed belly giving me a dirty look. i just shrugged it off and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket, then went outside. the kitchen was way to awkward to be in.

i saw jeremiah sitting on the edge of the pool so i decided to join him. "hey jere" i mutter. he looks over at me and smiles. "heyyy hazel. i heard about your bonfire event, how is everything?" he ask. i wonder who told him about that. "oh i didn't know you knew, but everything between me and belly is screwed" i let out an exhale. jeremiah puts his hand on my shoulder and states, "trust me nothing can ever screw up belly and yous friendship. she adores you, trust me. but you should get going i think my moms ready to take you both dress shopping." jere gets up and gives me his hand to pull me up. "thanks jere i needed to hear that" i thank him. "of course haz. now go get ur debutante on! i have to go to work with steven so i'll you around."

i went back inside just as susannah was grabbing her car keys. we headed out the front door together. susannah drove and laurel sat in the passenger seat. which left belly and i no choice but to sit next to each other. the car was full of awkward silence. the boutique was half an hour away so i just scrolled on tiktok until we arrived. susannah parked the car and we all got out of the car. i got to the door of the dress store before everyone so i help the door open. i got a thank you out of everyone but belly. she was obviously still mad.

susannah started picking out dresses for the debutante ball and for the tea party thing before. she grabbed a rich blue dress for me. she told me it would make my eye color pop, which it did. i fit me perfectly. it hugged my body and made me stand out. i felt so good about myself. susan also wanted me to get a hat like belly did but i refused to. i curled my hair and don't want to mess it up. belly got a plaid dress with flowers on it. it was cute and looked good on her, but i didn't say anything because i knew she'd ignore me.

after we got our first dress it was time to get the actual dress for the ball. i'm not a huge fan of dressing up, but i figured susannah would be happier if i said i would do this. i tried my dresses on first. i picked out five different ones. the first and second one was just too puffy. i looked like a marshmallow. the third one was way to basic. i didn't like the material of the fourth one, but the fifth one was perfect. it was a perfect length, not to puffy, and not basic at all. i knew it was the dress i wanted to wear. susan and laurel loved it too. i couldn't tell if belly did or not because she just had a disgusting look on her face the whole time. i just ignored her because i wasn't going to let her ruin my whole day.

after belly got her dress it was time to go to the country club. we were about five minutes late but susannah said it would be fine. belly and i were walking next to each other in pure silence, so i decided to break it. "you look good in that dress" i whisper. "thanks. i'm sure steven would say something about what you're wearing. maybe you should go find him" she snaps. before i had time to say anything back we saw jeremiah holding a stack of towels. we stopped to talk to him and he offered to walk us up to the debutante room.

once we reached the room the head lady approached us. "hi paige, these are the two lovely ladies my mom told you about" jeremiah smiles. "ah yes, they're late" she mentions. "yes we know. we're very sorry" i forgive. "you girls are at table two" she nods. belly and i walk towards the table. i hear belly curse under her breath. as we sat down belly broke the silence. "hi" she said with an awkward smile. the one girl named nicole said hi back but i noticed the girl give belly a dirty look. i was curious what that was all about.

after awhile a conversation broke out between belly, me, nicole, and two other girls named shayla and gigi. "so what is going on between you and jeremiah?" gigi questioned belly. "gigi!" nicole giggles, "they're like close family friends. her and hazel stay at the house with conrad, jeremiah, and steven." i noticed the girl shayla's eyes light up after nicole said steven's name. "shayla's been eye fucking the waiter this whole time" gigi laughs. "that's belly's brother stop" shayla informs gigi. i felt a rush of jealousy. suddenly someone pushes open the door, steven.

"i'm very sorry to barge in, but i need to see hazel allen" steven spits out. i feel shayla's eyes burn into me as i got up to walk over to the door. "steven what are you doing here" i ask. "i had to see you. i couldn't wait any longer. we have to talk" he stares into my blue eyes. "steven as much as i want to be more then friends, i just can't lose my friendship with belly. she's already pissed with me. maybe later in the summer, okay. i promise." i look up and knew he was going to come up with some sort of way to make this work. "what about friends with benefits?" he requests. i let the thought linger in my head before answering. "fine steven. we just can't tell anyone. no one can know" i reply. he nods and kisses my cheek before he went back downstairs.

i walk back to my seat knowing everyone saw him kiss my cheek. but at this point i didn't care. i knew when belly and i leave i would be able to tell her that steven and i were just friends. i mean technically we were just friends. we're just allowed to do more. that thought caused me to smile. god he has such a hold on me.

. . . . . ╰──╮*ೃ༄.ೃ࿐╭──╯ . . . . .