enough | conrad fisher

two

I woke with a start as a knock rang against my window. It was Conrad. I got out of bed and moved to open the window. Conrad climbed through and proceeded to just stand there. I looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry, Lila. I shouldn't have snapped at you, this year has just been really hard and--" I could tell he was getting worked up and grabbed his hand. "Conrad?"

"Yes?"

"I forgive you." He sighed in relief and pulled me towards him. His hug was warmer than any blanket I could wrap around myself. I breathed in the scent of his red hoodie and savored the small moment. I pulled back and cocked an eyebrow.

"Was that all you came here for? Or are we going to the bonfire?"

~~~ 

Music blared across the beach as drunk teens who love bad decisions mingled in the sand around the fire. Warm beers were passed around, but I opted against a drink tonight. I wanted to remember every moment. Conrad and I sat on the ground, people-watching. It was a favorite party-going activity. Making out was a close second, but not tonight. There's a special kind of magic about the first party of the summer that makes you just want to take it all in. 

Through Cardi B's voice, I saw someone fall out of the corner of my eye. Was that Belly? She wasn't looking at me, just Conrad. She stood up and yanked her dress down. 

"Belly, are you okay?" I asked, but she ignored me. 

"I thought you didn't like the Red Sox?" She questioned Conrad, referencing my hat. I frowned at her. 

"You're such a brat, Belly," Conrad said and I just looked at the ground. Belly had never been hostile like this to me. I'd known her since she was a baby and we'd always been friends. What changed?

"Yeah, well, you're an asshole!"

"Belly!" Jeremiah yelled running up and interrupting the tense situation. "You came! Great! We can all hang out together."

"I'm about to take her home," Steven interjected, but Jeremiah objected to this. 

Eventually, Steven was persuaded to let her stay and Belly flipped him off as Shayla pulled him away. I gently waved at Shayla, but I was distracted. Why was Belly acting this way? Jeremiah ran off and Belly gave Conrad and me one last glance before walking away. I tried to shake the feeling that something was up when she and Conrad held eye contact, but that nagging feeling was back. 

~~~

The night continued on and Conrad had had more than a few drinks. Some guy took his beer and Conrad was not having it. 

"Give me my beer back, dude," Conrad slurred and I tried to intervene. 

"Conrad, you're drunk, can we please just go home?" I pleaded, but he brushed me off.

"I'm fine, Lila. Give me back my beer, bro."

"Conrad, come on, it's not a big deal." But my words meant nothing as Conrad and Other Guy started shoving each other. Belly ran up to try and stop them but I went over to stop her.

This led to the next series of unfortunate events.

Other Guy elbowed me in the face, knocking me down and taking Belly down with me. I cried out in pain and rolled off of Belly.

"Lila!" Conrad shouted and tried to run over, but Other Guy shoved him back. Jeremiah ran over to help both Belly and me up. Still persistent and still drunk, Conrad made another move to go around and was promptly punched to the ground. Some guy came to Belly's aid as Jeremiah went to fight alongside Conrad. Police sirens sounded in the distance and like a herd, everyone took off running. And of course, only Conrad, Jeremiah, Belly, Belly's protector, and I were left to deal with the damage.

Jeremiah helped me get Conrad back to the Jeep. I went to put my small cooler in my car, since Conrad and I had driven it from my house. As I was walking back to the Jeep to tell Conrad goodnight I passed Jeremiah, who was looking for Steven, and Belly's protector, who I learned was named 'Cam' Cameron. 

As I approached the Jeep, Belly was in the front seat and I saw Conrad reach out and touch her hair. I could feel the tension from here but before it could be broken by me, a police officer knocked on the window. 

"Shit," I muttered to myself and jogged back to my car. The last thing I needed was to be caught up in this. Nonetheless, the whole way home I could only think about those stolen glances and tension-filled moments between Belly and Conrad. Surely I was just fabricating this in my mind. 

My summer of perfect memories was starting to get dimmer by the second. 

~~~

I woke up early the next morning, knowing Conrad would be at the beach. When I got there, I found my spot taken. I silently observed their body language and the raging green monster I had been trying so hard to kill fought its way back into my stomach. I felt my eyes start to tear up, but then Belly stood and ran my way. I blinked away the tears and pretended to be just arriving as she ran past. I gave a half-hearted wave and made my way down to Conrad. I silently sat beside him. Neither of us made a move to talk.

"You're going to have a black eye, you know."

"Do you like Belly?"

"What?"

"I see how you look at each other, Conrad," I said, hating how the tears flooded my eyes and the lump in my throat made me sound. 

"I don't like Belly, Lila. I love you!" He practically shouted and I looked at him with wide eyes. Neither of us had said 'I love you' before, we just kind of knew. I grabbed him by the hoodie and pulled him into a deep kiss. 

"I love you too Conrad Fisher," I breathed out, "you make me feel like enough." He pulled me back in and all jealousy and thoughts of Belly slipped my brain. 

This is what summer was about. 

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a/n:

hey lovies!

i hope you enjoyed this chapter! i wanted to add some background of lila's life and how she and conrad came to be. but if you can't tell, there's going to be rocky shores ahead. also, i made a spotify playlist of the playlist that i've been listening to as i write this story and man, is it hard not to cry when i listen to moral of the story and picture some emotional scenes i have planned. please vote and comment if you feel inclined to do such!

lots of love,

kaylee