𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃, jeremiah fisher

thirteen. a smile that could light up this whole town

jeremiah's pov

I'VE BEEN A little lost after what Autumn admitted in the storage room the other day.

I've never hated you, Jeremiah.

The words are like a sharp needle poking deep into my chest every fucking time. I don't know why or what it is about her confession that feels like a punch to the gut, but I've been thinking about it a lot more than I probably should.

I meant it when I said I didn't hate her. I really don't. I never have. I'll admit I never liked her exactly because of how our dynamic has always been, but that was before I really got to know her better this summer. Before I really realized how great she is.

It's made me wonder what it would have been like if we had been friends since the beginning. If I hadn't thought she hated me and started to "hate" her back. If I made the effort to get to know her back then.

The fact that she hasn't actually hated me all this time is a strange concept I'm having trouble wrapping my head around. It's honestly kind of sad that we only started "hating" each other because we thought the other hated us first. It's sad that we could have been friends.

But who says we can't be friends now?

The only thing I'm thinking about when I head to work is that I'm determined to become friends with Autumn Cortez.

But she's making it insanely difficult.

Every time I look over at her, she seems to be avoiding my gaze. Every time I try to go up to her to talk, she seems to find something more important to do. It's like she's embarrassed by her confession and wants to just act as if it never happened.

But I don't want to do that.

I don't think I can go back to how we were before with this new knowledge shoving itself down my throat and into my lungs, making it difficult to breathe. I refuse to go back to being enemies.

So that's why, after work ends, I wait outside of the parking lot on the side of the beach for Autumn to come out. Her shift is supposed to be over by now, so she's probably almost done changing.

As if on cue, I spot her walking out of the parking lot. She turns the corner into the area where all the shops are located. I start moving toward her, but before I can reach her, I see a ball kicked in her direction.

It hits her arm. I rush forward to see if she's okay, but she's already looking up to find the culprit. It's a small boy who has a mortified expression on his face as he seemingly waits to be scolded. Autumn narrows her eyes, and for a second, I think she's going to get mad.

But then a blinding smile cuts across her face as she kicks the ball softly toward the little boy who immediately looks relieved. He stops the ball with his foot just as Autumn reaches him. Bending down, she says something to him I'm too far away to hear. But whatever it is, it makes the boy grin. He quickly nods and backs up.

He kicks the ball toward her which she intercepts and kicks back toward him. They pass the ball back and forth a few times before she calls something out to him. She kicks the ball up into her hands and then drops it so that she can kick it with alternating knees.

The boy delights in awe, staring up at her with adoration. He gets closer and then she holds the ball out to him, pointing to his knees and then to his feet. He nods eagerly and attempts to do what she just did, but he can't get it.

Autumn laughs. It's just loud enough for me to hear it. Just loud enough for the beautiful sound to drift into my ears like soft music you can't get enough of. Music that is addicting. A song that you happen to hear by accident, a song you keep replaying over and over, a song you will never get tired of even years down the line.