out of the woods • jeremiah fisher

sparks fly

When Avery woke up on the morning of the Conklin's arrival, all she felt was the need to go on a run. Even though she and Belly had patched things up since their argument, things were never the same between the two of them, and seeing the younger girl was only a reminder of that fact.

She was downstairs lacing up her favorite running shoes when she heard Jeremiah's footsteps bounding down the stairs. You have to know someone very specifically to recognize their footsteps, but it was something Avery always noticed every summer. Jeremiah would run down the stairs with heavy steps, no matter who was sleeping or if he wasn't even in a rush. Conrad used to bounce down them as if he was jogging, but a few months prior that changed. He started walking quietly, as if he were walking on eggshells. Susannah took the steps one at a time nowadays, and Avery could often hear her heavy breathing at the toll that it took. It was enough to make her worried.

"Going on a run?" Jeremiah asked, already dressed for the day.

"No, I'm walking Nicky Johnson's fish," Avery said sarcastically. "Of course I'm going on a run."

"Sick, can I join?" he said, laughing slightly before the smile on his face faded. "Wait, didn't Nicky Johnson's fish die?"

"Shit, really? Poor kid, he loved that fish."

"Yeah, it lived like four years." Jeremiah leaned down to tie up his own shoes. "Do you still babysit for the Johnsons?"

"I have to get money in the summer somehow," Avery replied as he stood. "Not all of us can sit and look pretty at the pool all day."

"Aw, Aves, do you think I'm pretty?" Jeremiah cooed, pressing his hand to his heart as he opened the front door for them.

"Yeah, pretty ugly," she said before laughing and running out the door when he chased her. The blonde boy tackled her onto the front lawn, tickling her as she tried to break free of his grasp.

"Take it back!"

"Never," she yelled, getting out of his grasp for a second before being pulled right back in. "Okay, fine! Fine! You're not pretty ugly!" At this point she was gasping for breath as he stopped tickling her.

"Oh? Does that make me pretty?" There was the familiar mischevious twinkle in his eyes that Avery loved so much that entranced her, making her silent for a moment.

"Sure, Jere, you're pretty."

He smiled at her response, but made no move to change their position. He was still pinning her to the grass, leaning above her.

"Well, it takes one to know one."

The air between them thickened with tension as Jeremiah brushed a stray piece of hair behind Avery's ear, almost cupping her cheek. They were mere inches away from each other. Avery could barely breathe, and not because of how hard she had been laughing. She could swear she saw him swallow before he jerked away quickly, getting up and offering a hand to her.

"Excited for Steven, Belly, and Laurel to get here?" he asked as they stretched.

"Absolutely," Avery replied with a forced smile. She wasn't blind to how quickly his mind went from their moment to Belly Conklin. "The 'Belly Flop' is the official start to summer, after all."