rina

You were sat at table two by Paige, the lady hosting the event and instructor. All the girls were mainly welcoming to you. Asking you questions like if this was your first time in Cousins and why they haven’t seen you around. You brushed off a majority of the questions but told them that you had skipped out last year due to college admissions. Which wasn’t a complete lie since you went to go tour universities like Upenn, Columbia, NYU, and Yale. You got early admission into Columbia and it started beginning of July of last year. 

You learned the girls' names which are Nicole, Shayla, Gigi, and a couple others. You tried your best to not give a reaction when they mentioned the infamous Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher. You noticed the chair next to you was still open at your table. 

“Hey, are we missing anybody?” you asked the girls.

“Yeah, this girl is a new deb this year,” Nicole replied to you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Belly Conklin and Jeremiah Fisher walking into the room. You wanted to sink down to the floor to disappear but it was too late. You saw Jeremiah dodge Paige and make his way towards you all giddy. You saw the girls around the table slightly fix their dresses thinking he was coming toward them. You keep your eyes glued down to the table but looked up the second he called your name. What a rookie mistake.

“Y/N! You’re back, man, Conrad is not going to believe this. We missed you last summer. Are you back for good or you going to disappear again?” he rambles to you as he gets closer. He hugs you from behind your chair and kisses your cheek. You blush immediately and notice that Gigi is glaring at you from the table.

“Hey, Jere,” you mumble out.

“I’m glad, you’re here.”

“You know, me too,” you found yourself admitting out loud.

“Okay, I gotta go before Paige has me kicked out, but I’ll text you,” he says rushing out the door.

“Hi, Bells,” you greet the oh-so-familiar girl taking a seat next to you.

“Hey, Y/N,” she replies, smiling at you. 

“So when were you going to tell us that you know, a certain lifeguard…” Nicole teases you, trying to ease the tension at the table. 

“Family friend, you know.”

“But that’s it, right?” Gigi asks you.

“Yeah, of course. He’s like my little brother.”

“Y/N, wait up!” you hear from behind you seeing Belly.

“Belly?”

“I don’t want to push you or anything, but I just want to you know that I think Conrad would really enjoy a visit from you, we all would,” she says bashfully looking down to her feet. 

“Bells, I miss you too, but he was the one who broke up with me, remember? I don’t think that’s the best idea.”

“Think about it, okay?” she tries again

“Maybe.”

“CONRAD, GUESS WHAT!” Jere yells barging into Conrad’s room. 

“What, Jere?” Conrad says, tiredly looking at him from his bed.

“She’s back.”

“Who’s back?” Conrad questions him.

“Who else, Y/N!” as those words left Jeremiah’s mouth, Conrad found himself getting whiplash from getting up so quickly.

“You sure, it wasn’t some girl that just looked like her?” he asked.

“Oh, it was her,” he hears Belly add from the hallway. 

“You’re shitting, me,” Conrad says exasperated falling back down to his bed. 

‘Ding’ Jeremiah takes his phone out of his pocket to look at the text message he had just got. He looks to Conrad who had his head stuffed into a pillow then went back out of the hallway to call for Belly. 

“Hey, Belly, you wanna go get ice cream with, Y/N?” that got the attention of quite a few people in the house.

“Of course, when?” “Wait, Y/N’s back?” “You’re going where?” all directed towards Jeremiah who seemed occupied on his phone texting back. 

“Bells, later before dinner so like in 20-30 mins. Steven, yeah, we saw her today at the deb lunch thing. And, umm, Conrad, we’re going out with Y/N,” Jeremiah blurts out in a rush. 

“You think I could go?” Conrad asks. 

“Yeah, me too,” Steven adds on.

“Steven, yeah sure that’s fine. I don’t know, Conrad.”

“Come on, I’m sure, she won’t even care,” Conrad pushes.

“Fine, but you better not make her feel unwelcomed. Don’t be selfish here, we all miss her you know,” Jere gives in.

Your breakup with Conrad didn’t just affect you two but the families too. Your dad didn’t really like Conrad after finding you in your room crying when he had broken up with you. You were thankful for your parents especially your dad considering he was your shoulder to cry on during it. He made sure your mom didn’t push you too much during the weeks after everything happened. You loved your mom, but she never really got the hint when to stop at times. After the breakup your family still went to Susannah’s Fourth of July party that year, breaking the news to everyone you skipped out of going to Cousins because of college admissions. Everyone knew that it was deeper than that. 

When Conrad had broken up with you it was truly out of fear, you never knew that. You believed that he didn’t want to be with you anymore and didn’t care enough to give you a valid reason for it. Nobody really understood why he did it. It was so out of the blue since it seemed like you two were so in love with each other. They never expected for Conrad to turn so cold to you right before the summer, well neither did you. 

What was going through Conrad’s mind was the fear you would find someone better than him at the universities you talked about. He thought to save himself the pain and do it first. He broke up with you thinking that you would move on and be with some college guy. He loved you too much to see you fall into the arms of someone else while he wasn’t there. He trusted you, but that didn’t stop his fears from overwhelming him. What really pushed him over was when he found out that his dad cheated on his mom while she was going through chemotherapy. 

He was so scared to lose you that he lost you in the process. 

You sat down outside of the ice cream parlor, nervous to be spending time with them again. Jeremiah had responded to your text saying he and Belly would both be going. You looked around to see if Jere’s car was around but you see a red jeep pulling up from down the street. 

“Shit,” you muttered to yourself.

You prayed that maybe Jeremiah just took Conrad’s car instead of his, but it seemed like the world was against you when you saw him coming out of the car.

“Yo, Y/N, I didn’t believe Jere when he said he was coming to meet you,” you hear Steven say first approaching you. He pulled you into a hug whispering into your ear. “Don’t worry about him, okay?” 

You appreciated Steven in moments like this.  You guys have a very brother-sister relationship and he always tried to look out for you. He won't admit it out loud but he was so furious with Conrad screwing up with you. He called you immediately when he found out last you. You've been helping him with trying to prepare for Princeton without anyone knowing. You reassured him that he could do it.

“I’ll try,” you whisper back while hugging him back. 

“Y/N!! Oh, have I missed you,” Jere says tackling you with a hug after Steven stepped back.

“You saw me earlier, you know,” you laughed at him.

“Yeah, but for like a minute, so that doesn’t count.”

“You guys could let her breathe,” Belly says behind Jere waiting her turn to talk to you.

“Hey, Bells,” you smiled at her.

“I’m glad, you thought about it,” she says to you quietly.

“I didn’t though, I texted Jere thinking only you and him would be here,” you whisper into her ear as you two hug. You glared at Jeremiah, but he didn’t seem to notice or maybe he just didn’t care. 

“Oh, sorry about that,” she responds to you nervously as she lets go.

You felt the world stop for a second when you locked eyes with the one and only Conrad Fisher. 

“Hey.” 

“Hello, to you too,” you replied monotoned. You didn’t want to give him the pleasure of giving him a reaction to his presence. 

“Let’s get ice cream, shall we?” Jeremiah says cutting the tension between you two as you turned your head to look at him. 

“Yeah, let’s head in,” you said changing back to your usual tone.

“So, how’s uni?” Steven asked once you guys headed back outside to sit down.

“It’s interesting, to say the least…” you started

“Any hot people?” Jeremiah said, wiggling his eyebrows at you. You felt Conrad’s eyes bore into you when Jere asked the question.

“Some, but frat boys aren’t really the best at relationships,” you answered.

“YOU GOT WITH A FRAT GUY??” Belly gasped.

“No way, you gave a frat a chance, Y/N,” Steven added.

“It was just a fling. Nothing that serious, really. We went out for like two weeks before I broke up with him,” you said looking at everyone sheepishly. 

“Was he good?” Conrad challenged.

“Excuse me?” you said puzzled. You couldn’t believe the nerve he had to ask you that.

“Conrad, chill,” Jeremiah gapped at him.

“Belly, how do you feel about being a deb?” you asked Belly trying to move on from the subject.

“Umm… I don’t know honestly. I’m really nervous about it but I’m glad you got assigned to be my big sister cause I don’t know what I would do without you,” she rambled on.

“Bells, you’ll be great. There’s nothing to worry about and if anything happens we’ll do it together, okay,” you said as you squeezed her hand affectively. 

“I can’t believe you’re a big sis, Y/N,” Steven joked with you.

“Yeah, my mom made me deb last year in New York. Then she signed me up to help here.”

“That sounds like her,” Conrad said quietly.

“Did you have fun last year?” Jere asked.

“I did actually. It helped take my mind off things,” you answered while making eye contact with Conrad for a sec before turning your attention back to Jere.

“Someone escorted you?” Steven voiced out.

“Yeah, I have a friend Luke who took me.” as you said that you heard Conrad scoff at the name. 

“Hey, we have to head back soon but what if you came to dinner? Please think about it, mom misses you,” Jere begged you.

“Yeah sure,” you agreed already regretting your decision. 

“You want one of us to ride back with you?” Belly asked with a mischievous look on her face.

“If one of you want to sure,” you had a feeling where this was going.

“Conrad will go with you,” Jeremiah stated while Conrad stared at him wide-eyed.

“Whatever, I guess, you’re driving though,” you add turning to Conrad.

“Okay,” he muttered out.

The driving was filled with tension. Neither of you talking to each other but sneaking side glances hoping no one will notice. 

“Columbia, treating you good?” he asked while looking to the road.

“Better than you did,” you said bitterly

“Y/n/n, don’t be like that.”

“Be like what?”

“I’m sorry,” he said so quietly that you barely heard it.

“For what exactly?”

“For making a mistake.”

“Conrad, stop.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You know what you’re doing and stop it.”

“What am I doing?”

“You trying to make me forgive you after everything.”

“Can you?”

“That’s not the point. Why should I give you the decency of forgiveness when you couldn’t even give me a damn reason.” you scoffed as he pulled in front of the house.

You walked out of the car and headed towards the door, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down. You got to the door and debated on knocking but instead chose to walk in trying to not make any noise. You heard Conrad shuffle behind you but ignored him. You walked into the kitchen and saw Laurel and Susannah cooking dinner. You sat down at the counter not wanting to disturb them. 

“Y/N! You’re here!” Susannah says happily to you. She lowered the heat on the stove and went to you for a hug.

“Hey, Y/N,” you hear Laurel say while you are engulfed in a hug from Susannah.

“Mom, you can let her breathe now,” Conrad told his mom.

“Connie, be quiet for a second. Let me just admire her, she’s so beautiful.” you blush at her words.

“Your mom was telling me that you got into Columbia last year right?” Laurel asked.

“Yeah, early admission.”

“That’s exciting,” she replies.

“Now, why haven’t visited us yet?” Susannah questioned you.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been busy getting stuff together to be a big sis for the ball,” you answered giving an excuse for the summer only.

“Oh, Belly was telling me about that. She’s really glad that she can spend time with you again. She’s always looked up to you,” Laurel said smiling warmly at you.

“I missed her.”

“Well, we’ve all missed you,” Susannah told you slightly glaring at Conrad behind you, pulling you into another hug. 

“Yeah.” you hear behind you. 

Nothing was ever in your favor. You sat right next to Conrad and had Steven next to you and Belly in front of you. The room was filled with awkward tension seeping from both you and Conrad. You talked to Steven quietly as everyone else had their own conversations. 

“How’s the application process?” you asked Steven.

“Dad, says he thinks I can get in with some financial aid and I’m going to apply for a couple scholarships.”

“A couple scholarships for what?” Laurel sparks interest in your guys’ conversation. 

“I’m applying to Princeton,” Steven told her. Everyone dropped their side conversations and paid attention to Laurel and him. 

“I thought you gave up on that.”

“No, Dad and Y/N think I can do it if I get some help so I thought it was worth a shot,” he says to her slowly quieting his voice by the end of it.

“Laurel, Steven will be fine. If I could get into Columbia on a full ride, I’m sure he can too,” you try to reassure her.

“Yeah, and Y/N would only be like a 2-hour drive away too if I ever need anything,” Steven adds on. 

“Steven, I think that’s great for you, hun,” Susannah says sweetly.

“You going to let me steal your sweatshirt?” Belly asks Steven excitedly. 

“As if,” Steven scoffs.

“Hey, Bells how do you feel about a Columbia hoodie?” you say to Belly trying to make up for Steven’s rudeness.

“Really?” 

“Yeah, of course, I’ll bring it next time.”

“So you’ll be here the next time?” Jeremiah says jokingly.

“I'll be around.”

“That’s great, sweetheart. It would be nice having you around again,” Susannah tells you as you feel Conrad’s stare from your side.

“How’s football, Conrad?” you asked trying to make small talk. 

“I quit.”

“Oh.”

“You still doing volleyball?”

“Yeah, I’m trying out for captain next year.”

“That’s good.”

“Can we talk?” you hear Conrad say behind you.

“Sure, give me a sec. Jere, she really likes you don’t mess it up.”

“I won’t!” Jeremiah yelled walking back into the house.

You and Conrad sit beside the pool as everyone is inside. You kept a distance between you two but Conrad seemed to inch closer to you by the minute. 

“What’d you want to talk about?” you said breaking the silence.

“I never meant to hurt you.”

“You see, Conrad that’s the problem you did.”

“It was for the best.”

“What do you mean for the best, I was in love with you.”

“I loved you too.”

“Sure didn’t seem that way when you said you wanted a break.”

“Y/N, I was scared okay.”

“Scared for what exactly, Conrad?” you snapped him not getting where he was going with this conversation.

“We would’ve never lasted with you in college.”

“Well, now we’ll never know.”

“You seemed to move on pretty quick so I guess I was right.”

“Oh fuck you, Conrad. I had my heart broken because of you and all you think is that.”

“You were going to leave me.” Conrad implied as his voice cracked.

“What?” you said looking at him and making eye contact. 

“You would’ve found some college guy and probably notice how much better he is than me.” 

“Conrad, I don’t understand.”

“I was so fucking scared, Y/N. I thought maybe if I broke up with you first it would save me some of the heartache. I think it only made it worse.”

“What do you mean ‘broke up with me first’? Conrad, I would’ve never done that to you and I’m offended you don’t have any faith in me.”

“My dad cheated on my mom okay,” he said to you looking down towards the pool. 

“Oh, Con, I’m so sorry,” you grabbed his hand. You felt him tighten his hold against yours when you tried to pull back.

“I found out a week before we broke up.”

“Oh," you muttered under your breath as everything started clicking in your mind about how your breakup went down.

“I’m sorry, Y/N. For everything.” 

“I know, Con,” you said. 

Conrad Fisher always had that effect on you. No matter how much you tried to deny it you would always love him. For that, you would always end up forgiving him in the end. You wondered if he still had any love for you back.

“You know I never stopped loving you,” he said quietly, reconnecting your eyes. It was almost as if he read your mind.

“No. You can’t do that, Conrad. It hurts too much,” you said feeling tears fill your eyes. 

“I should’ve never done what I did.”

“Conrad, stop.”

“No. I need you to know I regret it okay.”

“You’re only saying this cause I’m back,” you said as the tears fell from your eyes. 

“I’m not. You know I tried visiting you once a couple weeks after everything but you were rehearsing with Luke,” he told you as he raised his hand to wipe away your tears.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” you flushed as you saw him stare at your face slowly taking you in admiration.

“I thought you would be better off without me,” he said rubbing his thumb against your cheek.

“Con,” you found yourself slowly leaning into his touch.

“I’ve always adored you.”

You tried looking away from him but you felt him gently grab your chin and tilt it up towards him.

“You’re an ass.” you laughed trying to put your nerves away as you looked down to his lips before traveling your eyes back to his. 

“I love you and I am sorry,” he whispered to you as he pulled you in. 

“Con, this is wrong.”

“Nothing is wrong. It’s only us,” he said inches away from your lips. 

He put his lips against yours and grabbed your face closer to him. You found yourself kissing him back wrapping your arms around his neck. It was as if you could feel the emotion Conrad was putting into this kiss, it felt like he was giving it his all. As if it was to make up for the past.

“Always know how to make a girl blush,” you said against his lips. You felt the vibration of his laugh as you said it. You missed hearing it. He pushed his lips back onto yours with the same kind of passion as before.

“Only you,” he responded as he pulled back leaning his forehead against yours. 

“Do you really think this is smart?” you muttered.

“It was stupid of me to ruin what we had in the first place.”

“Okay.” and with that, he grabbed your face into his hands.

“yeah?”

“connie?”

oh, fuck me.

conrad internally swore at the sound of your sweet voice dipped in distress and pain. he could already so clearly hear it with the sound of his name, he can feel it.

conrad sits himself down at the edge of his bed, almost as if preparing himself for this conversation, “what’s wrong, y/n/n?”

you close your eyes tightly at his hard but concerned voice, almost regretting making this call, but you push the lump in your throat, speaking, “i-uh, can you come pick me up?”

“why can’t you have steven or jere-“

“i don’t-i can’t. i’m not around them right now, connie,” you anxiously clutched the front fabric of your sundress, completely soaked in lake water as well as the on coming rain that was slowly setting in, painting your skin even colder. “please, conrad.”

he agreed, of course he agreed. it’s just, would he be in such an agreeing mood when he realized how wet it was outside, or how drenched you were?

he was, he felt absolutely horrible for you; seeing you left practically stranded on the side of the road with your hair clinging to the side of your face as well as your clothes sticking to your like glue as more and more rain poured down on you.

“where is jeremiah and steven?” his voice was stern as he looked you over again and again, still not getting over what a sad puppy you looked like. it didn’t sit well in his stomach, not at all, whatever was going on, it upset him a lot.

“it doesn’t matter, conrad,” you clutched yourself, trying to gather warmth as you were now sat in his passenger seat with the heat on high, “let’s just go.”

he looked at you, not convinced. it took everything in him not to pry, thinking it over and over, wondering how could they just ditch you in the pouring rain all by yourself practically in the middle of fucking no where. how?

he had to let it go. but it was still all he could think about.

“we need to get you out of those clothes,” first thing he said once you got home and you shamefully followed him to his room where he was quick to dig in his drawers for spare clothes he could give you—even as your room was just down the hall.

“connie,” he tossed you one of his tee shirts and a pair of stripped boxer shorts, not listening to your sounds of protests. “i’m alright now.”

he doesn’t believe it. he watches you carefully as you hold the clothes in a ball to your chest, starring back at him, and he just doesn’t believe it. your eyes were sad to the core and your whole body language screamed distraught. you weren’t alright.

“just change, unless you want me to do it for you.”

your body heats up at his words. he doesn’t even seem fazed, but you don’t expected anything less from him.

after you exit his room to the bathroom, connie falls on his bed, sighing as he thinks about the next morning and how he will be scolding, if not beating the fuck out of steven and jeremiah if they don’t have a good excuse.

this was the exact reason why conrad didn’t enjoy you going out alone or even without him to watch—as much as he hated to say that. he hated to care so much, but it was hard not to.

“you gonna tell me what happened tonight?”

“no?”

“wrong answer.”

you winced but still slowly made your way to the other side of conrad’s bed, slipping into it beside him as he still stared at the ceiling thinking. you hated doing this to him, being such a general burden on him, but he was honestly one of the only people you knew who would show up for you.

he would always show up, no matter the circumstance.

“jere and steven thought it’d be a fun idea to meet up with some guys that they had met before at a party and to just fuck around up at the lake… which was fine, i didn’t really care,” you paused, clasping the back of your neck while staring at your lap from the crisscross sitting position you were in on his bed. he watched you, sitting up straight now on the edge of the bed, waiting for your to continue.

“it was fun, fine, until we were on the dock and um, one of them ended up pushing me in and they were all laughing and y’know…” you coughed awkwardly and conrad frowned hard, the image of it playing in his head. “they ditched me after i guess, convinced steven and jeremiah that i wasn’t any fun, so they just left.”

what the fuck.

he continued to stare at the side of your face as your eyes were perfectly trained on his white sheets, not saying anything, letting the story sink in. you waited for him to say something, but you weren’t surprised when he didn’t.

that was one of the dumbest things conrad had probably heard. with the whole thing could have been easily avoided if his brother wasn’t such a dumbass and used basic sensibility—conrad cut his thoughts off, rubbing his face before moving fully onto his bed, his arm pulling on yours to lay down next to him.

he didn’t know what to say—he didn’t know what to say without sounding over aggressive or like an asshole, so he kept his mouth shut and let the only sound of your breathing fill the air.

you found it unbearable. always.

“are you mad that i called you?”

he looked over to you, narrowing his brows, confused on why you would ask, “why?”

“you wanted to stay in tonight,” you rolled to your side, looking up to him as you were still pressed very closely to him. “i feel bad-“

“don’t,” he shook his head, confused as to why you would feel bad in this situation. “you had a long night, y/n. you shouldn’t feel sorry about anything.”

you didn’t say anything more. there wasn’t anything more to say and you almost felt content enough as you pressed yourself further into conrad’s side, allowing his warmth to consume your body. he pursed his lips, not feeling content at all, but allowing this moment to be enough.

he allowed himself to let sleep come upon him with you pulled close to his side, and even if he wasn’t content with the outcomes of the night, he was satisfied that you were finally safe with him.

It had been weeks, months even since y/n had seen Conrad. There relationship didn’t exactly end on the greatest of terms. Infact, it ended with y/n storming out of his house at 4am calling him an asshole and saying she never wanted to see him again. But that was a lie. She’d secretly been praying he’d call her begging her to come back to him.

But that wasn’t Conrads style.

If he really thought she never wanted to see him again he’d do that for her. He’d stay out of her life no matter how much it hurt him. No matter how much he wanted to turn up at her house and tell her he wasn’t leaving until she took him back. He’d do anything for her even if it was killing him inside.

So when 3am rolled around and y/n was still up staring at the ceiling going over every detail of the last night she’d spent with Conrad. The way he’s brushed the hair out of her face telling her he wanted to see her entire face because it was to pretty to be hidden, the soft whispers of how be imagined there future of how they’d live here in cousins have three kids because he’d always though three kids was the perfect amount and two cats called Apollo and Athena. She though about how just that one message ruined everything.

“Why’s Nicole texting you at 3am?” Y/n asked Conrad just shrugged shielding the screen from her which only pissed y/n off more “what does she want?” Y/n asked but he didn’t say anything and that’s when she snatched his phone off him

“Y/n!” He said as she got up moving away from his scrolling through the messages and anything else she could find.

“What the fuck Conrad. Why the hell has she been calling you every night at 3am and 4am?” Y/n asked Conrad sighed sitting up and reaching out for her but she swatted his hand away

“It’s not what you think, y/n.” He said running his hands threw her hair but y/n had already decided it was exactly what she was thinking

“Are you still in love with her?” Y/n asked catching him off guard. She was good at that. Catching him off guard.

“No!” Conrad started to panic “god no, she’s going through a shitty time and needed someone to talk to, I love you y/n!” He said but she wasn’t having it.

“Does she not have friends she can bother? Why does it have to be you?” Y/n snapped as he grabbed her hand “don’t touch me!” Y/n stood up throwing his phone back at him

“It’s not that simple y/n but I promise it’s not what you’re thinking.” He said about to stand up but y/n shook her head slipping her shoes back on

“You’re a fucking liar Conrad… you know what let me make it simple for you, I don’t wanna see you again.” Y/n stormed out And conrad cased after her

“Y/n, please don’t do this!” He begged but she’d already made her mind up

“Leave me the hell alone Conrad!”

Y/n had never cried as much as that night she’d spent hours sobbing into her pillow until her throat was raw and face was puffy. Nicole had tried to call her a few days later but she didn’t want to hear what she had to say.

So there she was. Laying in her bed at 3am still trying to come to terms with the fact that they were over. It was almost strange how the second she started letting herself get upset again her phone started realising

‘Connie ❣️’ flashed on her screen. She’d yet to change anything about his contacts knowing that it would have made it real. She wanted to let it go to voicemail but something was telling me she needed to answer

“Hello?” She asked as if she didn’t already know it was him

"Hey Pretty girl ." He slurred clearly drunk which hurt her a little to think that he has to be drunk to think about calling her. But what was more concerning was that she could hear his car

"Con are you driving right now?" She asked trying not to panic. He was stupid sometimes when he drank. But he wasn’t that stupid

"Not yet but I wanna come see you." He said sweetly and she felt her chest tighten for fear and something else that she wanted to ignore

"Conrad don’t be stupid. you're drunk. Get out of your car." Y/n got up from her bed and pulled the closest jumper on she could find as well as slipping her shoes on

"why? do you not wanna see me." She could hear his pout through his words and it tugged on her heart strings.

"Connie, of course I wanna see you but im begging you, get out of your car." She said but he was stubborn

"I'm fine y/n I promise." He argued she heard the engine start and took a deep breath. She was scared he was going to get hurt and it would be her fault. He was trying to drive to her after all.

"Please Connie, I don't want you to get hurt. I'll come to you." She begged and he just let a groan “Connie please, you’re scaring me to death here.” And with that he gave in

“Okay.”

“Okay, where are you?” Y/n asked letting out a sigh of relief whipping the few tears that rolled down her cheeks away with the sleeve of her jumper before grabbing her car keys.

“Toms.” He told her she heard him undo his seat belt nodding to herself as she got left her house and sprinted to her car

“well go back inside for me, okay Honey?” She said setting off for the bar across town Conrad said an okay and nodded although she couldn’t see

“Y/n.” He said in almost a whisper

“Yes Con?”

“I love you.”

Y/n didn’t say it back instead she settled for a simple “I’ll see you soon Con.”

When she arrived at the bar she found him sat with Bartender who just gave her a sympathetic looks “your girls here.” He said to Conrad who never looked up faster

“Hey.” He said but Y/n just ignored him

"Take him home get him some more water...I’ll grab his Car keys" y/n nodded just nodded as the two were left alone

"Y/n." Conrad whispered reaching out for her. y/n shook her head

"Don’t." Was all she said as the two stood in silence for awhile before the bar tender returned

"okay... so you can pick your car up tomorrow afternoon as it will get locked in until then when I leave shorty.” He directed his statement more at y/n knowing conrad wasn’t listening he was to busy trying to figure out what the hell he was doing right now. Calling y/n out of no where. It wasn’t him. He doesn’t do this. Y/n thanked the bartender and apologised on Conrads behalf before walking out with Conrad following.

"Y/n."

"Just get in the car."

"Y/n please."

"Conrad, I said get in the car."

"Please!" He begged grabbing her wrist and spinning her around to face him "I'm sorry." Was all he said before she fell into his chest sobbing while he held here close "I'm so sorry." He repeated as she clung onto his shirt

"you scared me to death Conrad." She said through sobs “you don’t do that, you’re not stupid you know not to drive when you’ve been drinking. You know that!” He’d never felt like a more awful person that he did right now

"I'm really sorry.… I don't deserve you." He said as she looked up at him he was still drunk as ever but he was still Conrad. He still knew he had completely fucked up

“you could have gotten hurt Con, or worse." She said shaking head “do you know much that would have killed me knowing you got hurt because you were stupid enough to get behind the wheel drunk just to come and see me.” Conrad’s hand came to her cheek to wipe her tears away

"I'm okay!" He whispered he wanted to tell her how much of an idiot he was but she didn’t need that right now

“promise me you'll never do that again."

"I promise." He said before leaning And kissing her softly she let it happen for a few seconds before pulling away

"Conrad."

"I know."

"you can't just kiss me."

"I want you back." Hed never sounded so desperate before searching her eyes for an answer but she just shook her head

"we're not doing this right not let's just go home." She said unlocking the car door and getting in. Conrad sighed before making his way to the passenger side and getting in. The drive home was almost silent until Y/n sighed "you said you were driving to come and see me….. we haven't spoke in months Conrad." She said keeping her eyes on her road

"I thought if I stayed away it would be better for the both of us… you didn’t want to see me again and Although it killed me not being near you, id do anything you’d ask me." He said she sighed softly as they pulled up.

She let out a sigh knowing it was her own fault but also if he wasn’t so Goddamn stubborn. "Don't sigh y/n. You know it’s true I’d do anything you ask even if it killed me" He said y/n frowned

"can we just go Inside." Was all she said in response The pair didn't say another word to each other all night they both got ready for bed and that was it.

It wasn't until the next morning when y/n woke up tangled in his arms she knew she was done for. The second she tried to move his hold on her waist just tightened when she tried again he let out a small groan while squeezing her waist slightly "Con." She whispered not wanting to startle him "Connie please." She whispered again as he began to stir "I need to pee, con." She said he groaned once more letting her go.

In the time it took her to go to the bathroom and come back Conrad was basically asleep again or so she thought

"come back" she heard as he held his arm out for her. She knew she shouldn't that this would put them in an awkward spot but the idea of laying in his arms all morning was something she couldn't turn down. So she didn't. She crawled back into his arms instantly melting in his embrace. "Can we just stay here forever?" Conrad mumbled after what felt like a lifetime of silence

“I wish it was that easy." She mumbled he sighed softly

"can we just pretend it is... for while."

"Yeah."

———

Tag list

“save me some, connie.”

your soft teasing voice fills his ears before your finger tip pokes him in the cheek from where you stood behind him. it causes him to dip his head backwards to look at you, his soft brown curls falling back from his face as he smirks to you.

“thought you weren’t coming.”

“changed my mind,” you took a seat next to him from where he sat in a low beach chair. you could tell it was probably a good thing that you did come due to the beer bottles and heavy liquor stacking up by his side. it probably would have been a real lonely night without you, one he’d most likely regret in the morning.

“well i’m glad,” his hand reached to you, touching the bare skin exposed beneath the cropped top you wore. his finger tips were cold making you shiver slightly as they grazed your hip bone to all the way up your shirt. “you’re so far.”

his head leaned against the back of his chair, focused so closely on you that it made you so nervous for no particular reason. the flames from the fire that you were both sat around gave a soft glow to his face that made your stomach twist in a jittery feeling.

he looked so pretty. and so calm.

“c’mere, baby,” his finger hooks within your waistband, tugging you lightly to get you up from your seat and come closer. you feel your body strike up in heat as you were now sitting on his lap and his arms were tightly pulled around you. “now i can see you better.”

“you’re a big goof, connie,” you push his hair from his eyes, shaking your head with a smile. “sometimes i actually think you like me.”

he laughs quietly, “why wouldn’t i like you?”

“you tell me,” you press your nose against his, closing your eyes, regretting the fact that you even said anything. you knew if the conversation exceeded those two sentences, it could ruin the balance.

what you and conrad had, was something you weren’t going to take for granted. everyone knew he was very picky with girls, so the fact that he chose you was something you took honor in. the only thing, this relationship, was hanging on by threads and could be easily rocked into the sea with lack of caution. there was no label, that’s what it was. no label to tie you two together, making it easy for prying eyes to capsize the relationship if they tried so hard.

“no,” he shifts slightly underneath you, pulling his face a bit from yours so he can look at you, to see your eyes and what was flooding through them. “what do you mean?”

conrad was more unbalanced when drunk, not unbalanced but empathetic. you should have known he would question. he surprisingly thought more deeper on things, didn’t let it go as easily; opposed to when he was sober and wanted no problems. he wanted to know why, when, who, details, whatever. he wanted to clarify, otherwise while in clear mind, he didn’t care for fogginess and vague statements.

“talk to me.”

“i didn’t mean it,” you tried to smile, leaning closer to him in hopes he’d just let it go. “i’m joking, kiss me.”

he scoffed, “you mistake me for a fool,” his voice is highly amused but you can tell he’s not joking, and he wants to hear your truth. “you don’t think i like you?”

you pursed your lips, carefully conveying his face, trying to decide how you’re going to go about this because you can’t lie; he’ll know, he always knows, he can read you like the back of his hand.

“conrad,” your tone is hard and he can hear

the hesitation, he knows you don’t want to talk about it, don’t want to disturb the peace.

“be honest,” his fingers press against your cheek, almost pinching it teasingly before speaking again, “why do you think that?”

“you’re drunk,” you say, “maybe we should talk about this later.”

“if we don’t talk about it now, we’re never going to talk about it.”

right, exactly.

“i think… i really like you, connie, but you don’t really like me—like the way i like you,” you have your arms looped around his neck now as if holding him so he won’t get away. making the moment last. “i mean i should know better, but i can’t help but…” you stop pressing your lips against his.

“i think you think too much, y/n,” he taps your chin lightly, teasing, “i like you. i think you’re great, why are you so worried?”

“connie… i don’t know how to say this without seeming like a bitch, but everyone knows you don’t have the best track record.”

“and you’re everyone?”

“no,” you say fast. “no, but-“

“but what?”

“but why does it seem like we’re nothing? like we sleep in the same bed, but we’re still nothing to everyone.”

“why does it matter who we are to these people, y/n?” his eyes crinkle in the corners as he asks you this, his head tipping back in motion to the rest of the people on the beach. “you are so much better than that.”

“because maybe i want you all to myself and i want everyone to know that,” you mumble, almost feeling shameful, but he grins at the clinging nature that has suddenly came over you.

“then show them,” he chews on his bottom lip, looking up at you with smug look. “show them i’m yours.”

“Because I was fucking scared, okay,” he said as he broke away from your stare.

“Con, you could’ve talked to me.”

“No, cause you would’ve realized it soon than later.”

“Realize what?”

“That I wasn’t ready. That I wasn’t what you deserved at the time,” he said as he looked back at you.

“I will never understand you, Conrad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize for something you don’t mean,” you said as you moved away from him but he pulled you back by your hand.

“But I do. I’m sorry for everything. For last summer, for our argument before you left, for not explaining anything. After you left with your sister last summer, I couldn’t get you off my mind. When Nicole asked me, I didn’t think you would come back after everything that went down. I knew I made a mistake the second I saw you in the room that night,” he explained getting closer to you.

“I don’t even know what to think anymore.” 

“Nicole can never compare what you mean to me, okay. Last summer I was too scared to be with you. It felt all too real to me. I know that if I ever lost you after a stupid mistake, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. Nicole was safe, and I didn’t care if something happened between me and her. I regret everything that happened with you that night. But I was too much of a coward to say anything else,” he continued.

“Why are you telling me this now?” you asked him.

“Because I love you. I’ve always had,” he told you with love in his eyes.

Conrad Fisher confused you to no end, but there was a part of you that loved him for it. You let your mind process the information you’ve just been told. You were at a loss of words. Here you were standing in the Fishers’ kitchen in front of Conrad as he poured out his heart to you. It took everything in you to not kiss him right now. 

You always knew that Conrad could make you fold like no other. That’s just the way it was. You would always forgive him after he apologized to you even though sometimes you know you shouldn’t. But a part of you always held him so closely in your heart that no matter what he did or what he said you could forgive him. He just had that effect on you. 

“Conrad, stop looking at me like that,” you spoke flustered breaking away from his eye contact. 

“Like what?”

“Like you’re about to eat me!” you blurt out in a rush and a little embarrassed after you heard what you said. That motherfucker laughed. He laughed right in your face. You blushed at the embarrassment you started to feel as he continued to laugh.

“I haven’t laughed like that in a long time,” he chuckled, bringing his hand towards your face to brush a piece of hair that fell behind your ear. 

“I hate that I love you,” you admitted.

“Does it help that I love you too?” he grinned.

“Oh, just kiss me, you asshole.” 

You didn’t have to tell him twice for him to pull you by your waist and smash his lips against yours. You felt the eagerness and passion that both of you put into the kiss. His hands slid down to your ass and give it a squeeze. This resulted in you letting out a gasp allowing him to slip his tongue into your mouth. 

He lifted you with ease onto the counter and your legs wrapped around his waist. With your arms around his neck and your hands in his hair. You pulled his hair slightly and a moan escaped his lips. His hands gripped your hips pulling you closer to him. 

You broke away from the kiss, panting for air. Conrad lowered his head to press a trail of kisses on your neck. You bite down on your lip to keep your moans in as Conrad continued his assault on your neck. Nipping and sucking on the soft skin. He brought his head back up to press his lips against yours.

As you pulled away this time your foreheads leaned on each other’s, both of your eyes closed enjoying the silence and each other's presence.

“Stay the night,” he whispered.

“Okay.”

You woke up in Conrad’s bed wrapped around in his sheets facing him. His arms were wrapped around your waist snuggling into you. You looked at him in admiration. His hair was messy and his lips parted. He was so beautiful. You draw swirls on his arms as time passed.

“I can feel your stare,” he mumbled. 

“I thought you were asleep,” you blushed. 

“As that makes it any better,” he said amused.

“Conrad? Did you mean what you said last night?” you spoke softly.

“Every word. I love you, Y/N. You make me the happiest and if you’re willing to give me another chance. I promise you won’t regret it,” he told you moving pieces of hair out of your face. 

“Don’t screw this up.”

“Never again,” he said pressing a kiss on your forehead. 

“Come on let’s get up before your brother comes barging in here. Even worse if it’s your mom,” you said trying to get up slowly. 

“No, then I have to share you with everybody downstairs,” he grumbled pulling you back into him. 

“Sharing is caring, you know."

“Not with you.”

“They won’t be that bad.”

“Yeah but they love you too much and will start talking to you about stuff and then you’ll get so engulfed in the conversation and forget I’m standing right next to you.”

“Conrad, it seems like you’re speaking from experience?” you giggled.

“Because they do it every time,” he claimed.

“It won’t be that bad,” you said as you slowly got up putting a shirt on from the floor before going through one of Conrad’s drawers looking for the smallest pair of sweats he had. 

“Your stuff is still in the bottom drawer,” he said from the bed looking at you going through his things.

“I’m surprised you kept my stuff.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” you threw him a look as he said that making him realize and shut up.

“Exactly,” you laughed.

As you walked down the stairs together, you heard small chatter from the kitchen and took a deep breath in. It was now or never. 

“Y/N! You’re still here?!” Belly said excitedly pulling you into a hug.

“Yeah. Why are you still here?” Steven questioned from the table looking at you and Conrad suspiciously. 

“Steven, don’t be a jackass,” Laurel commented from the stove. 

“Oh, I know why…” Jeremiah teased walking up to you to only poke at your neck.

You gasped and looked to Conrad who had a smirk on his face. 

“Conrad!” as you hit his arm only for him to laugh. 

“I don’t even wanna know,” Susannah said handing you both a plate of breakfast. 

“It’s not what it looks like,” you say panicked. 

“So you two made up?” Jeremiah said wiggling his eyebrows to you and Conrad.

“Jere quit teasing them,” Belly said beside him.

 As you sat to eat at the table you felt your chair move as Conrad pulled one of the legs to pull you closer to him. Once the chairs were together, he placed his hand on the inner of your thigh drawing small circles with his thumb. 

“Well, I’m glad you two got over yourselves and made up,” Susannah said from behind the counter. 

It had been a while since you last spoke with Conrad Fisher at the debutante ball. Frankly, it bothered you what happened the last time you saw each other. You came back to Cousins after visiting colleges for your older sister expecting to talk to Conrad again but no. He was wrapped around Nicole and pushed you to the side. 

You couldn’t believe how much of a hypocrite he had become. After saying a lot of shit on debutante balls and how the girls that did them were sheep, he was escorting one of those girls. It was your sister’s year to be a big sister to one of the girls so your family took attendance at the ball. Your heart felt like it split into two seeing Conrad Fisher be announced as an escort.

Before leaving to go visit colleges, you and Conrad had an argument over him not being ready for a relationship but he wanted the things it came with. Conrad Fisher took your heart from a young age from his charming blue eyes to his alluring personality. You and Conrad started a friend-with-benefits situation at the beginning of the summer with you thinking that this would be enough for you. But it never was. 

Conrad knew he messed up the second you walked away from him that night. He never meant to hurt you but he wasn’t enough for you. At the time he couldn’t be what you needed from a person in a relationship. When you left last summer, he didn’t expect to see you again when he accepted Nicole's invitation to be her escort. He needed to get you off his mind. You swarmed every thought he’s had since that night. 

Even his family seemed disappointed in him for stupidly letting the girl go. Susannah remembered the days when she would talk to Laurel and your mom about how their girls were destined for her boys. Jeremiah and Belly always seemed to have a connection from early on always being stuck to each other’s hip. Everyone always knew that you and Conrad would end up together or at least hoped. You brought out the best in Conrad when nobody else could. You made him laugh in the best ways possible. They were truly rooting for you two but noticed that the night at the debutante ball something shifted between you two. 

You two no longer went to go hang out or spend time down at the beach. It was like you completely stopped talking to him in general. Nobody ever had the nerve to ask either of you what happened between you two. Some thought you had just grown from each other though others knew it was beyond that.

“Mom, do I have to do this?” you questioned as you tried on what seemed like the hundredth dress during this fitting. 

“Yes, aren’t you excited to be a deb?” she asked softly.

“A deb without a date, mom,” you said bitterly.

“Who knows maybe you’ll find somebody. You still have time, okay. If not we can figure something out,” she replied back fixing the back of your dress.

This one took your breath away looking at yourself in the mirror. You never remembered a time when you felt as beautiful as you did now. You turned to face your mom and her eyes looked at you in full admiration.

“Oh, Darling, you are truly gorgeous. Always have been,” you hear from the other side of the room surprised to see Susannah here with Laurel and Belly. Your cheeks turn bright red from the compliment. 

“Thank you, Susannah,” you told her.

“Hey, Beck,” your mom greeted from beside you.

“Y/n, you look beautiful,” Belly turned to you in a dress as well.

“As do you, Belly,” you replied.

As all the moms caught up with each other, they agreed to do lunch together wanting to spend more time with one another. This gave you time to talk to Belly as well. You hadn’t talked to each other in a while and it was nice to get updates on what was going on with her life since the last time you saw her. She told you about her Cam and Jeremiah situation and how she finally came to her senses when she decided to be with Jeremiah. Which didn’t surprise you in the way she thought it would. It was something everyone already saw coming. 

You updated her on your life as well telling her how you’ve been applying for Colleges already hoping to get into Yale for business. Though it would be a while before you did a final decision on where you wanted to go and where you would get accepted in. 

“How do you feel about this whole thing?” she asked you referring to the ball.

“Anxious but excited. I’ve seen my sister’s rehearsals and what she had to do before so I’m hoping it’s a similar experience, you know,”

“I forgot about your sister doing this whole thing last summer. She was a big sis, right?”

“Yeah, she was. Too bad I’m a year too late for her to be here,” you admitted.

“Did you already find a date for the ball?”

“No, I’m still figuring that out.”

“I’m sure you’ll find someone in time,” she said with a grin.

“Oh, she was absolutely beautiful in that dress wasn’t she, Belly?” Susannah spoke grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I hope she picks that one. She said that she has one more shop to visit before deciding, but I think that was the one.”

“The one, what?” Conrad asked walking into the room.

“Oh, a dress,” Susannah replied.

“You found your dress already, Belly? That was quick,” he said as he turned his attention towards her.

“No, not me. We saw Y/n at the shop we went to today and she had this stunning dress on!” Belly answered excitedly wanting a reaction from Conrad.

“Oh.”

“You should’ve seen her, Connie. She looked unbelievably gorgeous in the dress,” Susannah gushed.

“She always is,” he muttered under his breath. 

“What was that, hun?” Susannah asked even though she fully heard what he said.

“Yeah, what’d you say Conrad?” Belly teased.

“Nothing, never mind,” he noted as Susannah walked out of the room.

 “Whatcha guys talking about?” Jeremiah questioned coming into the room and sitting next to Belly by the counter.

“Just Y/n,” Belly answered.

“Oh, yeah my friend was talking about her at the club yesterday,” Jeremiah replied.

“About what?” Conrad spoke in interest.

“Not much. He’s another lifeguard at the pool and how he wanted her number,” Jere shrugged. Belly stared at the glass of water that was under Conrad’s tightening grip as Jeremiah spoke.

“You will be seated at table two next to Isabel and Shayla,” Paige directed me to my seat. 

‘Oh kill me now,’ you thought when you saw who exactly was at the table. It was as if the world hated you, sitting at a table with girls you knew were all gossip and something up their ass. Good thing you at least had Belly.

“Y/n! I’m so glad you’re here,” Belly said as you took a seat next to her. 

“Me too, Bells.”

“Please tell me you picked the dress already,” she pleaded.

“Matter of fact, I did… And yes, it was the one you saw,” you smiled.

“Yes!” as she exclaimed it brought the attention of the other girls.

“So Belly, how is it living with Jeremiah and Conrad?” one of the girls asks her moving on from the interaction from before.

“What do you mean?” Belly asked not really understanding what they were actually asking.

“You know like I heard you and Jeremiah were a thing before,” another one said to Belly jealously.

“She still is,” I voiced out.

“So, what I’m getting is that Conrad is still up for grabs though?” a different girl butts into the topic. 

“I don’t know, Conrad is pretty quiet when it comes to him liking someone,” Belly answered. 

“Hey, Y/N! Do you think you could come over today? I need advice on a couple things and I think you’re probably the best person to talk to about them,” Belly asks me as we walk out of the brunch. You hesitated in your answer seeing that Belly had a mischievous grin on her face.

“Oh, Belly I don’t know…” you trailed off.

“Pleaseee?” she pleaded.

“What do you even need help for?”

“I picked out my dress for the ball but I still need to make a couple decisions before everything is final,” Belly said excitedly as we walked out of the club.

“Wouldn’t Susannah be better for this?” you say trying to make an excuse.

“Yeah but I miss spending time with you,” she said looking back at me. 

“Okay.”

You forgot the comfort the Fisher house brought somebody the second you walked in. It was as if Susannah Fisher embedded memories in every wall and decoration as you walked to Belly’s room. You passed Conrad’s room and were thankful the door was shut as you walked by. You didn’t know if you were ready to face him again. 

Hours had passed and you forgot the laughter that comes to this house. You and Belly had spent much time with each other before the accidental meeting at the dress shop. You missed her. Granted you missed quite a lot of people in this house whether you would admit that out loud or not. That was until he walked into the room.

“Belly, your mom wants you downstairs before dinner,” Conrad told her as he continued to mindlessly scroll on his phone.

You took notice of his hair being longer than before and took in his tall structure before you realized you were staring. You turned your attention to Belly who had the biggest smirk on her face. As if she had something planned. 

“Okay, Conrad. Do you mind staying for dinner, Y/N?” as your name fell from Belly’s mouth, Conrad looked up from his phone seeing you in the room looking at Belly with what seemed like a murderous glare. 

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” you say making eye contact with Conrad.

“Oh, come on, you know damn well Susannah and Jere want to talk to you,” Belly responded looking back to you and Conrad. 

“I’ll let mom know to set an extra plate,” Conrad spoke as he walked out of the room.

“Belly, what was that for?” you yelled to her quietly.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she shrugged heading downstairs.

“Oh, sweetie, I’m glad you’re here! I almost didn’t believe Conrad when he told me” Susannah said pulling you into a hug as you walked into the kitchen.

“Thank you for having me.”

“You’re always welcomed here,” she replied as she pressed a hand against your cheek motherly.

Now you knew they were trying to conduct some sort of plan. When you saw the only other open seat at the table was next to Conrad. But you decided to not put much thought into it as you took your seat.

“Y/N!” Jeremiah said surprised.

“Hey, Jere.”

“So I was talking with your mom on the phone earlier and she said you already applied to some universities?” Laurel questioned as everyone ate quietly turning their attention to you.

“Yeah, I did. Hopefully, I can add this whole debutante ball thing on my applications still,” you joked.

“Oh! About that beautiful dress, did you get it?” Susannah asked brightly.

“I did.”

“Sweetheart, you are going to be gorgeous in that dress,” she complimented as your cheeks turned bright red blushing.

“Thank you,” you said softly.

“Y/N, my friend wants to know if he could get your number? He’s one of the other lifeguards at the club,” Jeremiah said teasingly looking toward Conrad. Who seemed very focused on his food and had a death grip on his fork.

“Jere, I don’t know…” you trailed.

“Oh, you could do better than some pool boy, Y/N,” Conrad said bitterly. The light chatter that had built around the table completely fell silent when the boy spoke out.

“Excuse me?” you replied in disbelief.

“You heard me.”

“Okay, so how’s your college admissions, Steven?” you said wanting to move on from the topic.

You stayed at the house longer wanting to help clean up. Everyone seemed to split except Conrad who was also cleaning up the table. You felt the awkward tension building in the air and it made you uneasy. Both of you waiting for the other to speak out before talking.

“Conrad, what was that about?” you referred to the dinner.

“Nothing.” 

“Oh that’s bullshit and you know it,” you scoffed.

“Y/n, get over yourself,” he replied taking the dishes to the sink.

“No, Conrad because you shouldn’t care about that stuff.” as you gathered the cups.

“Okay, but I do,” he said as you walked next to him by the sink to set them down.

“Then stop.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re the one who wanted to end things between us, Conrad,” you snapped harshly.

“This isn’t about us.”

“Then why else do you care?” 

“I don’t.”

“You obviously do after what you said at dinner.”

“Just dropped it, Y/n.” as he grabbed a beer from the fridge opening it.

“No, Conrad. You cannot dictate who I choose to talk to in life just because you decided I wasn’t enough for you.” you said as your voice cracked.

“Don’t say that. When you know it’s not true.” he said putting down the beer looking back at you.

“You never even gave me a reason so my fault for assuming,” you said resentfully. 

His free hand feathers down your arm, “What are you doing back? I wasn’t expecting you for two more days.” 

Neteyam has been off training with his father and brother. Not only was his father your clan’s Olo'eyktan, but Neteyam would be next in line as the eldest son. So taking these training sessions seriously was crucial to his future. 

“We finished early, but we go back out tomorrow. I needed to see you.” 

You smile at his endearment. 

“Let’s go, I want to go to Utral Aymokriyä,” he tells you suddenly.

“Right now?! It’s nearly eclipse,” but he drags you out in the absence of concern. 

— 

“Ma ‘Teyam! The sun has already set. Your father will kill us— you if he determines we are out here.”

“You worry too much, yawne (beloved).” 

“You are not worrying enough,” you huff, as he slows both of you to a stop, once you have reached your destination. 

The Tree of Voices is a magnificent sight, but at night, you marvel at how Eywa could have created something so beautiful. Watching as the willow tree glows its breathtaking purple hue. Surrounded by glowing green cherubs. Against Neteyam, his green eyes glimmer softly, as does his skin. 

He sits on his familiar spot, resting against a rock facing Utral Aymokriyä. He tugs you down with him, placing you against his toned chest. A teasing smirk on his face as he throws an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer. 

“You have training tomorrow with your father. I don’t want to be the reason—“

Neteyam can’t help but grow irritated (in a loving way, of course) at your worrisome ways. He hasn’t seen you in a week, since training with his father and younger brother becomes more frequent and tiresome. He just needed this moment to relax, and who better to do it with than his yawne.

He cups your jaw gently, silencing you in the moment, tilting your face to him. “I have not seen you in what feels like forever. Let yourself be the reason I am happy and easy. Hm?”

You smile shyly at his admission. Letting yourself relax in the arms of Neteyam entirely. 

“I have missed you.” He murmurs, the pads of his thumbs running over the apples of your cheek. 

“So have I. More than you know.” You reply, placing a hand behind his neck. Watching as his eyes become heavy lidded, inching his face— more so his lips— towards you. 

In a blink, Neteyam wraps another arm around your trim waist, pulling you even closer. And his lips latch on top of yours in a rush. 

“Neteyam,” you gasp, your hand squeezes his arm as he trails kisses down the side of your neck. 

“Y/n,” he groans against your pulse point before he fastens your lips with his, cupping the back of your head. 

It’s scandalous and a little degenerate to do what you do at such a sacred site. Neteyams kisses only grow fervent at the sounds you emit. The way you grip his arm or allow your tongue clash with his, just as he’s taught you. 

— 

Neteyam laughs at your joke, his lips never far from your temple. Your hands swim together in the air gently. 

“How are singing lessons?” He asks, bringing the back of your hand to his lips. 

Inwardly, you shudder at his affection. But the way the tips of your ears flicker gives you away. 

“It is alright. My mother believes I will be just as good as her one day, maybe even better when I master my breathing.” 

Your mother, Ninat. 

“You will be. You are.” Your Neteyam assures you with conviction, his fingers dropping yours to grasp your chin. 

“Thank you, ma Nateyam.” 

You kiss his swollen lips, cupping his face in your palms. Lost in anything and everything him.

Yet, the sound of a clearing throat causes the two of you to jump away. Your hands drop from Neteyam’s face. Your fingers covering your lips as if it could hide what the two of you had been doing, at the sight of your clan’s Olo'eyktan: Jake Sully. 

Lo’ak stands at his father's side. A guilty look on his face. He had no choice but to snitch. His father was a convincing man. 

“Dad—“

“Neteyam. You should’ve been home by eclipse, what are you doing out here— never mind, don’t answer that.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “We have training tomorrow morning, did you forget?” 

Neteyam rises to his feet, lending a hand to you. 

“I didn’t forget. It is my fault. I— I lost track of time.” 

Your stomach stirs at the sight of an intimidating Jake Sully. Your tail tucked low and ears pinned back. 

Jake sighs in reply. “Lo’ak, See to it Y/n gets home safely, and make your way back home quickly. Understood?” 

“Yes, sir.”

You look up at Neteyam in question, but when he squeezes your hand and nods softly. You know to follow his father’s orders. 

“Make sure she gets home safe.” Neteyam calls after your retreating figures.

“Yes brother.” Lo’ak replies exasperated as if he didn’t already know it would be his head if anything were to happen to Y/n.

“Goodnight, Y/n.” Jake smiles, bowing his head curtly. 

“Have a goodnight Mr. Sully. Goodnight Neteyam.” You reply, waving as you follow closely behind Lo’ak. 

When the sound of their footsteps is no longer heard, Jake can’t help but let out a short, frustrating sigh.

“What’s going on with you son. I can expect this behavior from your brother, but you? You’ve been slacking.” 

“I’m sorry, dad,” Neteyam can’t help lowering  his head at the disappointment he’s embarked on his father. “I’m trying to learn to balance it all. I barely get to see her.” He raises his head once again. 

Jake sighs again, unsure of what to say. How to fix this without coming off a complete jackass. Anything pertaining to his kids’ romantic lives was usually appointed to their mother. He wasn’t hopeless, but Neytiri was far better off. 

But he knows one thing. With the love he feels for his mate, he’d never want to get in the way of whatever it is between you and his son. 

“We’ll figure out a compromise. How does that sound?” Jake slings an arm around his eldest, letting a hand rest on top of Neteyam’s head. 

“Thank you, dad.” He smiles, throwing an arm around his waist. 

“Let’s head back, your mother is worried sick.” He kisses the top of his head and the two trek home. 

—