* 🏺    action prompts    …    ft.   jeremiah fisher.

so much has happened within that time. he and belly, conrad and he reconciling and being stronger than ever before, impervious affinities and even ones he's better off without. today he's at a party slightly off campus, a few frat brother mingling with their girlfriends and he mingling amongst the crowd. he cruises through the buzz effortlessly, discourse and charisma flowing through him until he finds himself in solitude, eyeing a rather familiar face. he's seated at the bar nursing a hard seltzer, the breadth of his palm concealing the brand from the bartender eyeing his drink in displeasure. with the drink he'd ordered for her now willingly collected, his grin is magnetic. "miss the lemon? now that'd just be criminal." his voice is affable above the dull bass thrumming through the speakers, forearms leaning against the bar. jeremiah gives her a feigned once over, gaze lingering a little too long on the quirk of her lips before finding its way back to her eyes. "—oh, it definitely suits you. and... okay, you only look a tiny bit lost." he grins, ivories flashing behind the smile. "i'm jeremiah."

angsty action prompts.   @jer3miah.

when still cushioned by the safety net of youth, jeremiah couldn't draw a distinction between all of the lilts one's voice. he could discern the fluctuations in emotions, he could hear when others were distressed or content, but he could never truly tell when they were faking it. he couldn't tell until it was he, who faked it. he couldn't tell until he plastered on a smile for the sake of those around him when what he felt was defeat and grief, he couldn't until susannah died. until he and his best friend's friendship turned sour, until he gazed at conrad with more disillusionment than pride. thankfully, it's not like that anymore, he's come to realize more than he'd ever thought he could, and he's also come to offer grace. as she lay dying, it was so difficult to see anything beyond his own suffering that he burrowed himself in how he perceived things in his life. he didn't listen. he once called conrad a coward, now he's the bravest person in the world to jeremiah. conrad and james, they're both brave. he wonders now if james' 'stay' was sincere, if he really wants him to remain, but jeremiah's been choking with anxiety, his friends' pronounced distancing a brick in the pit of his stomach. he'd been halted and embraced all in what seemed the same second, arms hovering in midair until they ever so willingly ascended to wrap around the others' back. "hey," he repeats, quieter now, hands slipping into the depths of his pockets as he fleetingly rocks back onto his heels. "i was worried. you've been distant, more so than the usual."

parties were supposed to be fun. they were tyler's excuse to just . . . let go for a few hours. but, like most nights, his anger got the best of him and it was jeremiah who had to break up the fight between tyler and a guy who was like, twice his size. typical. he finished filling one cup, passed it to jeremiah, and started to fill a second for himself. "i don't know, man. i just never really felt like i belonged anywhere, you know? like i'm homesick for a place I've never been."

reaching for the red solo cup extended to him, jeremiah's hand securely wraps around the exterior of the plastic before bringing it up to his lips, briefly sipping on its bitter contents. he nods gingerly at the other's words, knowing that although he may not relate, considering that cousins is the only place that has ever felt like home to him, where he belongs most, he can try to understand how it may not be the same for someone outside of their family. namely, the mayor's son. he wonders if tyler's sense of not belonging is due to his father, someone who he's seen on multiple accounts being the brunt of his foul mood. fernweh — being homesick for a place you've never been, he heard the term somewhere. maybe that's what tyler feels? he'd have to ask sometime. "well," he begins, "where would you wanna go? you won't feel like you belong somewhere until you finally get out of where you don't wanna be, right? so, where would you wanna go?" drawing out a hand behind him as he settles down into the cool sand below, he motions for his friend to join, gaze seeking his out. "and hey, you may not feel like you belong here, but you do have people you belong with. i'm one of those. you'll always have me, dude."

then scoffing as she wonders if she should go into detail about wyatt over the phone or not. he didn't feel like a phone subject, but then again, it wasn't her fault that her uncle lived too far away along with her cousin, who was more like a best friend and brother than her own brothers were. not that she didn't love the two little squirts - who were taller than her now. everyone were, except laura. but she'd probably grow too. unfair. " don't bring wyatt into this! i told you his name in full confidentiality. i am simply too afraid of dad knowing on his own, the more people who know wyatt exists, the better. less chance of him mysteriously disappearing one day if god forbid, he kisses me in front of condad fisher. " then snickering to herself as she plays with her hair on the bed. " thank you for offering, that is your job. i'll pack a bag and grab my car keys. is sebas home? ooooooh, and emmy?? do i have to compete for devoted attention and affection or will you shower me with it? " a loud giggle at her own words, she even ends up making herself snort.

where his gaze had formerly drifted toward the picture frame on his nightstand, it now flickers back into focus as familiar footfalls patter against hardwood and into his bedroom. her footfalls have decelerated throughout the years, tired and worn by endless days of play and delight. bailey's been a constant in his life for so long now that it's felt like she's always been a part of him. although she hadn't even been born yet when he was a kid, he felt that she was fatefully meant for him. she'd always be his sunshine girl. climbing the steps up to the bed that andrés so attentively constructed for her when leaping became more of a challenge than a past time, she bumps her snout against her dad's leg and settles snugly against his side, jeremiah's fingers instantly threading through golden fur. "becks, conrad will be fine... eventually." he grins into the receiver, "sebas is down at fire island with friends until tomorrow night, and emmy has a few site visits to do, so showering you with devoted attention and affection is a go. texting your parents now." @afterevers

the threat had dispersed the crowd at any rate, at which point he turned his waning irritation back towards his almost-friend, their tentative alliance still somehow in tact. with a canted head and eyes no less bent with quiet fury, the blade disappeared back into the ether between one movement and the next, which meant the only weapon jeremiah had to contend with was kenneth's stringent disapproval. ❛❛    tell me you did that 'cause violence doesn't solve nothing, i'll punch your lights out.    ❜❜

"kenneth," name glides along the surface of his tongue facilely, it was so smooth that it merely rolled. it sounds unlike any other time he'd uttered it. it’s softer now, and with a touch of rigid exigency, barren of any mischief or delight. it wasn't that the aggressions didn't cause every hair on the nape of his neck to stand on end, it's not that he wasn't bristling with discomfort and a churning gut, it's that he caught a shimmer reflecting off of the descending sun deriving from his almost-friend's hand that brought his blood to frigidity. the last thing he desired was for someone, for kenneth, to have yet another offense to add to his record. with jeremiah's hand still against the hard planes of his chest, he takes a step toward the right to partially position himself in kenneth's path, piercing eyes searching. "that's not what i was gonna say," he begins, voice low and tremor-free. "what i was gonna say was that i can take their shit, and they're not worth it. come on, just let it go."

@jer3miah : one liners.

"not at the moment, no," feigned displeasure weighs the corners of his lips down and out of their typical buoyancy, blue eyes bordering on translucent beneath the setting sun. "nothing nice enough to say out loud, at least." he holds out just long enough to crack a ghost of a smile, hand sinking into the sand behind him to support his seated frame. "....i'm kidding, we all have bad days, right? who am i to judge."

christmas thread ft. @con2ad + @jer3miah.

"technically, yes." arriving at a beck-enforced halt alongside belly and conrad idling by the kitchen island, jeremiah crouches down and releases beck's hand in one fluid motion, his now vacant hands enclosing around her waist and casting her up into his arms. it felt like yesterday where her entire body could nuzzle into the breadth of his forearms, now her legs come to dangle against his hips as her cheek meets his own. "it's his first christmas with us as a family. but he's had a few christmases without us, too, before he became a part of our family." hoping his annotations could offer some clarity, beryl irises glance expectantly at conrad, hoping that his brother's words could appease beck. "— he's with emmy, probably by the ocean. bails was getting restless and needed a walk." @con2ad

her grin brightens,    more joyous and amused as she chews the cherry she's just popped into her mouth.    “ why? ” she nudges @jer3miah's ankle with her foot, chuckling.    “ am i too charming? god forbid you're mesmerized by my beauty, ”    she says, pushing her hair back behind her shoulder with faux confidence.    “ we wouldn't want that now, would we? ”

with his cardigan settled over her shoulders, jeremiah sits as near to her as the cherry bowl allows, digits reaching for a red stone fruit and plopping it past his lips before his gaze fixes on the blazing star now fading into dusk.     "you make anyone fall to their knees with a single glance,   bia."    he smiles genuinely, warmly, as hands loosely clasp between denim-clad thighs.   "—you ready to go back home tomorrow?"

"they're definitely around here somewhere," feigning curiosity and ignorance alike, he takes a theatrical scan of their surroundings as he hovers just by her shoulder, his hands perched atop narrow hips. "probably eating it on the waves." it's not exceptional or unknown for jeremiah's smile to be as blinding as the summer sun beating down on them, it's visible at a bare glance, it's perceptible in the way he coasts across a room and inadvertently draws the attention of its populace, in being so easygoing and aglow. his magnetism is what captivates others, but it's his heart that he hopes makes them choose to stay. he strives diligently to be what others need him to be, but when will he be what he needs himself to be? who would exert that same effort for him? belly maybe. susannah? without hesitation. the amiability is clear across the upturn of his lips now, an arm dropping toward his side as his body descends into the awaiting sand alongside peyton. in being at a short distance, he notes features he may have never detected from afar, like how her eyes glimmer in the sun. all that tells him is that he hasn't spent nearly enough time making new connections, he hasn't mingled. "peyton, right? what're you reading there?"

" when are you coming back? i miss you, miaaah. " drawing out the nickname in a dramatic whine, head thrown back onto one of her pillows. " i have a secret, i'll tell you if - i can come sleep at your place this weekend, alone. "

beck's disputing remark generates a playful roll of his eyes, an arm ascending to prop up the back of his head. "i'm basically telling you that i love you and that i'm always gonna be here for you even when i'm not actually there, and this is your response? do you do this to belly and conrad? don't tell me you do it to... what's his name, again? oh, wyaaatt?" he laughs openly into the still air around him, her protests and huffs mostly anticipated and eagerly awaited on the other end of the line. "we're heading back down for thanksgiving, squirt. so sure, come over. are you planning on asking your parents or are you leaving that conversation to me?"

and with a laugh, she let go and nodded for the other to join her. ❝ let's go before we get lectured. ❞

it feels like a literal lifetime has passed since he'd seen her last. it feels like a lifetime since he'd seen any of them last. they texted every once in a while, sent relevant memes months after the mystic falls crew left for the summer jeremiah hadn't known would be their last. but as most things with distance go, they had lost touch and their lives kept going. susannah's cancer returned with a resolve far too big to vanquish, and then she was gone, too. bonnie and he were close, closer than most, and he'd missed her when she wasn't there. so many of his days had gone quiet, his light obscured by the shadow of the moon. but with a warm glow justly returned to his vacation eyes, summer's are jeremiah's, again. summers are theirs. his hands are still on either side of her waist, a smile as radiant as the sun beaming down at her. "nice to see you too, caroline!" he calls out above the lapping waves crashing on the shore, eyes flickering between her and bonnie before falling into step alongside one of his oldest friends. "so?" he commences anew, hands slipping into the pockets of his shorts and noting how she'd failed to settle his curiosities. "how have you been? oh, how's your grams?"

almost as if on cue beck bumps loudly into the coffee table in her eagerness to run and check on what was going on. " 'M FINEEEE! " she shouts before isabel gets to ask and check on her, shaking her head before a little head of brown curls appears, barreling into her uncle miah's legs. " mineeee. " the little toddler muses as she tugs on his shorts to be picked up.

azure irises flutter to a close and laugh lines crinkle at the corners of said eyes as belly's lips drop a kiss to his cheek. as she pulls away and descends to her typical tiny height, his gaze finds her blissfully, both thrill and tranquility warring within his heart. "way," he nods swiftly, "because you'd look so hot in a suit, bells. but either one is more than fine. as long as you guys are there standing by side." he was seconds shy of pulling her into yet another one of his bone crushing embraces when a bang resonates through the living room, beck's familiar voice reassuring the household soon after. before he could as little as react, the toddler all but plows into his knees, little fists clutching at the denim clinging to his legs. it's almost as if she simply knew this discussion was vital, and who was beck if not the center of all of their hearts? .... and attention. freeing belly and bending at the waist in one fluid motion, his hands tuck beneath beck's underarms and he straightens, situating her on a forearm and nuzzling his curls against her own. "hey, squirt," he greets cheerily, lips meeting her cheek. "missed me?"