𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃, jeremiah fisher

four. lifeguard

jeremiah's pov

IT'S SO HOT I can practically see the heat in the air. I wipe my hand across my head, trying to get rid of the sweat lining my brow.

It's the perfect summer day.

It's warm enough to mess with your head and make your thoughts all fuzzy, but every so often, there is the slightest breeze that sweeps past, forcing you to pay it attention. The heat just makes the day all the more sweet, knowing that the night will bring cool air and wistful thoughts.

I eye a few kids in the water trying to drown each other and internally sigh. I blow the whistle, trying to get them to calm down. They shoot me sheepish glances. I can't help the chuckle that leaves my mouth.

"Hey, Jeremiah."

I turn my head to find the source of the voice. I spot Gigi in the water, smiling up at me.

"Hey, Gigi."

"I didn't know you were working here this summer."

I let out a small laugh, still keeping an eye on the two kids from before. One of them, Billy, starts choking the other.

I blow my whistle again. "Hey! Billy, no choking, alright?"

The kids splash water in my direction, and I grin. Sometimes, I wish that I had a younger sibling. Though Conrad is great and I've looked up to him my whole life, it'd be nice if someone looked up to me.

I guess there's Belly since she is a year younger, but... I've never thought of her as a sister.

I can't.

"Jeremiah," Gigi says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Aren't you gonna save me?"

She smiles flirtatiously as she swims away.

I quirk a brow, looking after her. I would have no problem flirting back, except my heart's just not in it this summer.

It's getting increasingly hard to ignore the fact that I am falling hopelessly for my best friend. My best friend who is in love with my brother. It's painful watching someone you admire so much, someone you've admired for so long, love someone else.

It's not that I don't want Belly to be happy because I do. It's just that I want her to find someone who will love her without being an asshole half the time. Conrad means well, but lately, he's been a jerk and I don't want Belly to be with someone who doesn't show that he cares about her.

I groan lightly, rubbing my head to get rid of these useless thoughts. There's no point in thinking about what could be when I know it won't ever happen.

I'll risk just about anything, but Belly's friendship is the one thing I won't.

I'm so lost in my thoughts that I don't hear the intense sounds of someone hitting the water with their arms rapidly. Twisting in the lifeguard chair, my eyes find the outline of someone trying to keep their head above the water on the deeper end of the pool.

My eyes widen, and I quickly blow my whistle and start climbing down.

My feet slap the pavement as I rush toward the person drowning, but right before I can assess the situation further, someone dives into the pool. Before I have time to even blink, the person is pulling the kid who was drowning out of the water.

The kid starts coughing up water, and the person who jumped in to save him—a girl I realize— starts lightly hitting his back to help him breathe normally again.