The Summer We Changed

false confidence

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Jewel followed Jere out of the maze, tailing behind him as he took off his vest.
"Jere." She called out, watching as he ignored her plea and left the area. The girl released a huff of frustration, pushing her hair back as she tried to piece together what had happened. She knew they had upset him, even if nothing had happened between them, and there was nothing more she hated than being the cause. She pushed herself to follow after him, her eyes scanning over the crowds of faces for a sign of Jeremiah. She could see his green shirt in the corner of the arcade, chucking baseballs at small clown pins with the tokens he had kept in his pocket. It was evident he was still upset, releasing his frustrations on the poor clowns before him. She moved toward him hesitantly, Jeremiah seeing her red top approaching from the corner of his eye.
"Hey." She spoke, her eyes glued onto him as he ignored her once more.
"Jere, nothing happened." Jewel tried to reassure him, Jere releasing a light scoff in reply.
"It didn't look like 'nothing'." He retorted, hearing her sigh from her place beside him.
"Well it was, so I don't really know what to tell you." She admitted shrugging, Jeremiah tossing the baseball down as he turned to face her.
"I want you to tell me that nothing's going on with you and my brother." Jeremiah told her, a look of insecurity hidden behind layers of false confidence.
"Nothing's going on." Jewel reassured him, despite being unsure herself.
Jeremiah had always been in the back of Jewel's mind, lingering in her memories. She knew what he loves and what he hates, how he acts, argues, and how he forgives. But Conrad was a blank slate, a new path of opportunities and experiences, but also riddled with complications and obstacles. Sure she had longed for a fresh start, but she wasn't sure if Conrad was what she had in mind. She was unsure though, and in turn, so was Jeremiah.
"You've been so tense around Conrad, what's going on?" She questioned, watching as his eyes broke from their contact.
"Nothing." He lied, turning back toward the machine to claim his tickets.
"We should catch up with the others." Jere spoke, dismissing their conversation as he headed toward the rock-climbing wall.

"What'd we miss?" Jeremiah spoke to the others, who perked up upon hearing their return. Jere moved to stand beside Steven, putting space between the two as Jewel tried to keep her happy-face on.
"Only another point added to our team." Steven spoke cockily, high-fiving Conrad as Jewel groaned.
"I know, I'm sorry." Taylor spoke, clearly ashamed she had allowed Steven to secure a win over her.
"It's alright, you'll get him next time." Jewel tried to encourage, her eyes shifting toward the rock wall. Her eyes instead rested on a familiar face, Cam Cameron nodding at her and Jeremiah.
"Cam, hey, how have you been?" She smiled, attempting to ignore Jeremiah's distance from her.
"Good, good, just managing harnesses all summer." He smiled sarcastically, evidently not the biggest fan of his job.
"Hey, how would you feel about managing a little boardwalk competition? We need a middleman, otherwise how are we to know when they cheat?" Jewel playfully offered, watching as the boy's eyebrows furrowed at her words.
"Oh, so winning is cheating?" Steven asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement.
"No, no, cheating was when Belly hid Monopoly money under the board the entire game." Jeremiah reminded them, basking in the moment of nostalgia of when everything was 'normal'.
"You're never going to let that go, are you?" Belly laughed, her cheeks turning red as she thought back.
"I gotta admit Belly, I did feel a little betrayed." She admitted, watching as Belly's head quickly snapped in her direction.
"What?" She exclaimed, hearing the boy's laughter at her past example being called out.
"You let me go bankrupt." Jewel shrugged, having had her own struggles in Monopoly.
"Oh, okay, then how about when you snuck poker chips in your sleeve at Thanksgiving?" Belly retaliated, turning the tables back to Jewel.
"Oh my god, I remember that! You thought you were slick until Jeremiah tried to hold your hand and they fell everywhere." Steven laughed, unaware of the faltering smiles of Jewel and Jeremiah. Jewel wasn't sure which had stung more; mentioning their abandoned relationship or the mention of Thanksgiving. Both held a significant weight over her head, and yet memories of Thanksgiving break flashed in her mind like a flickering light. Her eyes shifted toward Jeremiah for only a moment, forcing a smile as she tried to ignore his glance.