OUT OF THE WOODS, jeremiah fisher

three.

WILLOW WAS ADDING some finishing touches to her makeup when she heard chattering in the hallway. She realized it was the boys and that it was time to leave, so she took one last look in the mirror and left her room. 

She met Steven and Jeremiah right on top of the stairs. They seemed surprised to see her all dressed up.

"You're coming to the bonfire?" asked, Steven.

"Yeah, Conrad invited me earlier and I thought it'd be fun to go this year," Willow explained.

"Oh, great, so you're gonna ride with us. It'll be so much fun!" Steven said excitedly while going down the stairs.

Willow and Jeremiah were left behind, on top of the stairs, by themselves. 

Jeremiah caught himself admiring her. He thought she looked even more beautiful if that was even possible.

"You look amazing," he said without really thinking about it.

"Thanks." Willow blushed.

She hated the effect that he had on her. 

She couldn't stand being alone with him, but as she was about to go down the stairs, Jeremiah stopped her by grabbing her wrist softly. The sudden contact made both of their hearts pick up their pace.

"Willow, we need to talk about it. We can't be like this forever," Jeremiah said with a low voice and looked at her with pleading eyes.

He really hoped that they could get past this and just be like they used to.

Willow looked back at him from over her shoulder, "There's nothing to talk about, Jeremiah. Nothing happened. And it'd be better to keep it that way." That last part she muttered, mainly as a reminder for herself.

But Jeremiah didn't miss it and it felt like a stab to his stomach once he heard it.

The past year he had really tried to come to terms with the fact that since what happened that night last summer, he had lost his best friend. And it was all his fault.

"First bonfire of the summer!" Steven was heard shouting from outside.

That made Jeremiah's hand fall to his side. Willow instantly turned away, making her way down the stairs, wanting to get away from the situation.

She went outside with Jeremiah following right behind her. 

There, Belly was in the pool swimming, along with Conrad, who was sitting at the edge of it, smoking.

Willow hated that he picked up that habit, but she understood it was his way of coping with things. She tried to get him to stop and instead pick up a hobby, but he refused and she didn't want to pressure him.

"Can I come, too?" Belly asked.

"Uh, no," Steven was quick to shut her down.

"Why? You always take Willow with you," Belly stated.

"Yeah, well Willow's always fun to be around," Steven nonchalantly declared, looking annoyed with his sister.

"Besides, the moms are getting everything set up for your movie night," Jeremiah added.

When Conrad got up and walked toward them, they all began making their way back to the car, except for Willow.

"Aren't you coming?" Conrad asked her with the other two boys looking expectantly at her.

"I'll meet you guys at the car," said Willow turning her attention back to Belly. 

She noticed that she looked annoyed and wanted to have a small chat with her.