𝐈𝐝𝐟𝐜 | 𝐉𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐚𝐡 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫

ten

"HEY,"

jeremiah said softly.

he sat on the side of her bed that she wasn't on with a bowl in hand and water in the other.

she didn't reply, too tired, too hungover, and too hurt to speak.

"molly, please. can we talk?" he asked. "or at least can i say something? you don't have to say anything. i just need you to listen."

in her mind, it couldn't really get much worse from what happened yesterday. "sure," she mumbled into her pillow.

"look, what i said last night," he began. "i didn't mean it. i didn't mean any of it. it wasn't 'just' a kiss, it meant more to me than i can even explain. i like you, molly. i have for a while now. you're my best friend though and i can't imagine losing you. i didn't know if you felt the same or even close so i chickened out and downplayed it. i shouldn't have done that."

she let his words sink in for a second, bringing a hand up to rub the sleep from her eyes. "you still said it though. you didn't even hesitate," she replied, voice hoarse and throat dry. "it hurt me, jeremiah."

his heart began to break. she only ever called him jeremiah when she was being serious. he was always jere. "and i regret it. i really, really do. i promise i can make it up to you and thats all i want to do right now. i don't want to be on bad terms with you. i wanna talk to you and spend time with you," he said quietly. "and it was never my intention to hurt you. i'd never, ever want to do that. you're my best friend, molly...most of the time, i wish we were more."

she felt like time suddenly slowed to almost completely still. she was frozen in place. how was she meant to tell him she felt the same way?

"is there any chance you can forgive me and come down to the beach with me?" he asked hopefully. he wouldn't put her on the spot like that. he just wanted things to go back to normal.

she didn't want to stay mad at him. she wanted nothing more than to crawl into his arms and fall asleep against his chest.  "i forgive you."

although she couldn't see it, a big cheesy smile overtook his lips. "c'mon. get ready," he said excitedly, gently tapping his fingers against her upper back. "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon."

"alright, relax. i'm going," she mumbled lazily before sighing and slowly sitting up to begin the task of finding a swimsuit. she could hear jeremiah shuffling around on her bed, most likely trying to get comfortable.

"that one," she heard him say.

she turned around to look at him with her brows furrowed in confusion. "what?" she asked, voice wavering slightly. he looked good. he was laying on his back, leaning up on his forearms at his sides as he watched her.

he nodded towards the bathing suit she was holding in her left hand. "that one."

she glanced down at it. it was okay but definitely not her first choice. she was going more for the one in her right. "why this one?" she questioned curiously, holding it up to examine it. it was just a simple, baby pink one piece.

"i like it," jeremiah replied. "it's simple and you look good in it," he added. "besides, it keeps everyone from seeing whats mine."

she knew she was blushing. she could feel the heat rise straight to her cheeks. she turned back to her drawer quickly, smiling to herself at his words. she heard him shuffling around again.

then she felt hands snake around her waist and turn her around to face him. "stop doing that," he said firmly.

she looked up, her chocolate brown eyes meeting his gorgeous bright blue ones. "doing what?"