Black & White [Jeremiah Fisher]

twenty-nine

ROWAN

Taylor and Elena left the next morning, leaving the next two weeks for Jeremiah and I to spend every waking moment together.

Keeping the secret that we were officially together didn't last long. Elena basically announced it at breakfast to Susannah and Laurel who were over the moon to hear the news.

Steven of course groaned when he found out, but after breakfast, he supposedly had a 'talk' with Jeremiah. It amazes me that Jeremiah kept a serious face while Steven tried giving him the 'if you ever hurt her..' speech.

And then Steven had the audacity to give me the same speech.

Conrad and I ended up having a very long conversation regarding the promise we made to each other many weeks ago. He expressed how excited he was for me and for Jeremiah. Conrad understands my struggles because, in many ways, we are the same. We are scared to allow those we care so deeply about in, unsure of what the ending might be.

I'm hopeful that my  huge leap that I took will also give him the confidence to allow himself to open up to Belly. Once again, he promised me that he will and I am taking his word.

A few days have passed since the girls left, but I'll be seeing them shortly enough once the summer ends and volleyball begins. I'm very thankful I have volleyball to distract me because even though I'm so sure of my relationship with Jeremiah, I know I'll need a distraction.

Because I'm going to fucking miss him.

So as we promised each other, we spent every day together leading up to the debutante dance which is tonight.

We had to part ways this afternoon because Belly and I had to get our hair done. Conveniently, neither of us could do hair worth of shit. Thankfully, some previous debutantes volunteered to do hair and makeup for tonight.

Laurel dropped the two of us off around 3:00 pm in order to ensure that we'd be able to get ready in time and as we walked to the dressing room, I felt my nerves start to pile up in my stomach. It would be the first time seeing all the deb girls since the night on Nicole's yacht.

All I know from Conrad is she was mainly upset with him and not us, but that still doesn't make us all friends. Especially, Gigi.

I am not looking forward to seeing her tonight.

I take one last deep breath before opening the curtain to the dressing room, my dress hung over my forearm and Belly right behind me. With my head held confidently high, I noticed a few too many eyes land on us, but the nicest of them all was Shayla who was touching up her own makeup.

"Belly, Rowan, so nice to see you two." She hums while brushing the finishing touches of mascara to her eyelashes.

"You as well. Steven's jaw is going to fall right off once he sees you." I joke, but am serious. She looks stunning already and is not even in her dress.

She blushes, waving my comment away. "You're too sweet, I'm sure Jeremiah's won't be that far behind his." She jokes back, sending me a laugh. I'm about to laugh back, but I feel a cold hand press lightly against my shoulder, catching my attention.

As I turn to look, all I see is Gigi staring guiltily behind me. My heart skips a beat, and my nerves roll harder in my stomach. Even though I'm confident and believe everything Jeremiah said, it's still hard for me to be this close to her.

Before I can ask her what she wants, she opens her mouth to speak. And the words that leave her mouth leave me speechless, once again.

But this time it's a different speechless.