Seasons Changing

The Bonfire

At the bonfire, everyone kind of split up. Steven found a girl, Lucas found Nicole (the girl he took to the deb ball last summer), and Jere and Conrad were surrounded by a couple girls. I kind of walked around until I found a group that invited me to join them.

"Hey, you're the girl who hangs out with the Fishers right?" a boy with fluffy brown hair asks. I nodded. "What's that like?" "A dream" a girl with bright red head answers. "Um, it's not bad. The Conklins are there too so it's like a big family". "Do you wanna sit? Um..." he trailed waiting for me to give him a name. "Ryan, and um, sure" I answered as I joined the group.

We kind of had some sort of introduction to each other when I looked up to see Belly. Then she fell. I tuned out whatever the people around me were saying. I saw Belly get up and seemingly start to yell at someone. I couldn't quite make out who it was.

"Ryan...? What do you think?" "Hmm, yeah. Um, excuse me, I need to check on something" I say as I get up to walk over to Belly.

As I approach, I see Jere reach her just before me, excited that she's here. When Steven said he's going to take her home. Jere convinces Steven to let her stay. I can barely hear what's being said when Jere walks off one way and Belly another. Leaving just enough room for me to see Lucas and Nicole. I changed my direction to follow Belly.

"Hey, you good?" "What? Oh, yeah. Sorry." "You're good Bells. What made you come?" I asked her. "I don't know, everyone had left and I felt like a kid. I'm not anymore but because I'm the youngest, you all see me as one". "Hey! Don't group me with that. I'm happy you came. This is gonna be a great summer Bells. Did you want me to stay with you or-" "No, um I kind of just want to be alone right now". "Oh, okay" I tell her as I leave to find Jeremiah.

••••

"Is she alright"? Jere asks me. "Yeah, I think. She asked me to leave her alone though" I say as I turn to find Belly and notice her next to a boy. "Look, she's with a boy" I say as I hit Jere. "I'm going to need you to not make that a habit " he tells me referring to me hitting him. "Who would've thought" I said smiling.

Just then, Belly got up running towards something. My eyes followed the direction she was going and I saw Conrad arguing with someone. As Belly approached them she got elbowed in the face by the other guy and fell down. Jere, Lucas, and I ran up to the commotion.

Conrad and the guy start full out fighting as me and the guy Belly was with help her up. They ran off together and I helped Jere get Conrad to the car. I sat in the back and Jere put Conrad in the car.

Belly was outside the car with the boy she'd just met. "Belly get in the car" Jere tells her. "Cam can take me home" she responds. "You're not gonna get in the car with a guy you just met" Jere tells her. The boy then introduces himself as Cam then corrects himself to Cameron. Jeremiah doesn't give and tells her to get in the car again. Belly kisses the boy goodnight and gets in the car.

"Belly! You dog" I teased as Jere started to take off. "Fuck! Steven and Luke" Jere yells as he hits his breaks. "Watch Conrad, I'll be right back" he says.

Jeremiah couldn't had been gone more than a minute when an officer comes and knocks on the window. The only one of us in the car that had been drinking was Conrad. We got escorted home.

••••

I sat next to Conrad in the foyer on a bench while everyone else stood. After the officers left Laurel went in on us. "How could you guys be so irresponsible?" "Mom, it wasn't a big deal. Alright? Seriously. The cops were just looking to break up the bonfire." Steven defends. "Not a big deal?" "Yes". "I would say getting picked up by the cops for underage drinking by the cops is a pretty big deal Steven" Laurel says.

"Um, we don't live here and we, well at least I, wasn't drinking" I tried to cut in. "You left with our kids and took Luke's car. You two aren't so innocent either" Laurel tells me.

Ryan kind of liked it when she and Lucas would get yelled at with the others. It reminds her that even though she didn't live in their house, Susannah and Laurel still considered her and Lucas their own.

"Were-were you guys, you guys smoking tonight?" Steven asks as he sniffs the air. "Keep your voice down Susannah is asleep on the couch" Laurel tells Steven. "What? I wasn't yelling-" "Just so you know Laurel, I wasn't drinking. I was the DD, I swear" Jeremiah defends. "You're the oldest. What the hell's gotten into you?" Laurel yells at Conrad, completely ignoring what Jere just said. "And when did you leave the house without telling anybody. And what in the world are you wearing?" Laurel asks Belly as she notices the small dress she's wearing. "It's Taylor's. And why am I the only one who's not allowed to go out?" Belly argues. "It's not that you aren't allowed it's that you should have told us you were going."

Laurel and Belly continue to go back and forth about being kids and adults and how we should behave. Lucas and I hesitated after being told to go to bed. Most of the time when it's so late we just spend the night at whoever's house we're at.

"You two can stay. A night of mischief doesn't change how we flow" Laurel assures us.

••••

"Conrad?" I knocked on his door. "Yeah?" "You know, just because you're the oldest doesn't mean we're your responsibility. I'm sorry a lot of people put that on you". "I'm used to it by now Ry. Thank you though". I smiled. "Well, I guess I'm gonna go to Belly's room now, uh goodnight". I say to him as I leave quietly.

As I make my way down the hall, I see Lucas. "He seems off to you too, right?" "Yeah, but I don't want to poke the bear ya know." "Yeah, whatever." he says as he walks into Steven's room.