Our Ever-Changing Love, Conrad Fisher

~The Bonfire~

The music blares my ears and I start seeing people outfits. Jean shorts, bathing suit tops, and I look at Belly. A really pink dress with spaghetti straps, and she looked embarrassed.

"I'm gonna kill Taylor." She says. I spot the boy from the gas station coming towards us, great. He stops infront of us with a beer in hand and looks Belly up and down. "Hey, where you coming from?" He says

"Uh, another party." She says as she nods. She gives me a look and I spot Steven with a girl I don't recognize, but that's the least of my worries. I nudge Belly on the shoulder and point out Steven to her. She decides to stick it out a little longer, and looks at the boy again.

"Here, take my beer." He says to her. She declines the offer and looks off awkwardly. "So you got a boyfriend back home?" He says, moving in closer. "Steven! Hey!" She calls.

"What are you doing here?" He says as he starts walking towards us from not far out the beach. "And what are you wearing?"

"I invited her? Who are you?" The gas station boy says.

"I'm her brother? And she's fifteen you weirdo." 

"Oh, my bad." The gas station boy says as he backs away, and finds someone else to bother. "Gosh Belly, come on." Steven says as he grabs her arm. "Let go of me!" Belly says. This interaction between Belly and Steven has nothing to do with me or the girl Stevens with, so we stay in the back.

"I'm Shayla." She says, trying to make thos situation less awkward. "Hi, I'm Nora-" I get cut off by gasps and a noise in the sand. It's Belly, on the ground. "You pushed her?" I whispered to Steven. He shakes his head and walks away.

"She just ate it dude." I hear a voice from someone and lots of other ridicules things like that coming from around the beach.

Belly gets up and I see Conrad, kissing a girl with a Red Sox Cap. Maybe this Summer won't be different, so much for my plans. I'm trying to decide what to do when I hear Belly, "I thought you hated the Red Sox?" She says, visibly upset.

"Who are you?" The mysterious girl says to Belly

"And who are you?" Belly says back

"Nicole, me and Conrad went to the Deb Ball last summer." She says, annoyed with Belly.

"It was when you guys left." Conrad says, defending Nicole.

"I thought you said Deb Balls are crap and are for sheep." Belly says to Conrad.

"I didn't," he begins, but he stops because Belly's right. "Your such a brat." He says.

"And your-" she begins, I can assume wasn't gonna be super nice, but then Jeremiah interupts her. What was that? Was she, Jealous? Does she like Conrad? Why wouldn't she tell me? How could she considering-. I cut myself off from these thoughts, Belly couldn't like him, I was jumping to conclusions.

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!"Jeremiah says. I walk away, I just wanna go home. I decided I would just sit in the grass and wait for this night to be over.

Jeremiah's Pov:

I thought it was obvious I liked Nora, I gave all the hints. But she keeps leaving me hanging, walking away when I start conversation, and giving me short answers when I ask questions. I guess she doesn't like me, but I figured I could try. I wanted this summer to be the summer it finally happened. I don't know what, or who, is occupying her mind.

Once I saw her at the bonfire, it was a chance to talk to her, but she just walked away. I don't know what to do, or how to do it, but I've got to tell her.

Nora's pov:

I'm on my what feels like a millionth TikTok when I hear a ruckus and I look up. "Just give me the beer!" A voice says. A familiar voice, Conrad. There shoving eachother and Nicole is trying to stop it. I immediatly run over there, without thinking, and try to step in. There fighting now, and Belly is trying to step in to, and then she gets punched. I hear Conrad say her name, but then continue to fight the guy. "Belly!" I say. I run over to help her. "I got her." Jeremiah says.

"You guys stop!" I say, doing the thing I came over to do anyways. I shove the guy off, and it doesn't do much, but the person screaming cops does. Conrad garbs my hand, and we run off. Me holding his hand was nothing,  I'm not going to get my hopes up like I tend to do with little things.

I get Conrad and the backseat, and I sit back there too. Jeremiah is in the front seat and Belly is outside with some guy. "Belly get in." Jeremiah says to the pair. "Uhm, Cam can give me a ride home."

Jeremiah denies that, and Cam leaves. "Shoot, Steven." Jeremiah says as he jumps out the car. I  look at Conrad, and he looks at me. He smiles and then looks at the car window. I look at Belly, and she is doing the same thing as me. Please don't like him.

"Nora," he begins, until we hear a knock on the window. It's a police officer, oh no. "You kids been drinking?"

"I'm sorry for wasting your time officer, have a great night." Laurel says to the officers as they leave. She looks at us, and I can tell this won't be good.

"What were you guys thinking?" She says

"It wasn't a big deal, they were just trying to break up the bonfire." Steven says.

"Not a big deal! I say getting picked up by the cops is a pretty big deal!" She yells.

Laurel rolls her eyes and looks at Conrad, "Ypur the oldest! What has gotten into you!" She says.

Conrad just looks away and rolls his eyes. "And when did you two leave the house without telling anyone? And how did you even get there?" She says to me and Belly.

"We walked." I said. Laurel scoffs, "What! Why would you guys walk on the street late at night!" She says. We all stay silent, so she continue.

"Just letting you know, this night could have ended differently if your family wasn't you family." She says, "Now go to bed!" She yells, finally.

"I'm never going out again." I say to Belly as she changes into a oversized T-shirt. She agrees, and goes to bed. I get in bed, but I don't go to sleep right away. I just think about my new realization, that my bestfriend is in love with Conrad Fisher.