𝑻𝑯𝑰𝑺 𝑳𝑶𝑽𝑬 - 𝑪.𝑭

chapter two

𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕣𝕒𝕕'𝕤 𝕡𝕠𝕧

watching as the world moved past him, conrad sits in the back of jeremiahs car. forced to listen to upbeat songs, all he can think about is the brunette girl. how they left things last summer, how he didn't get the opportunity to tell her.

he felt like an idiot. 

still a few miles away from cousins, conrad stares at the photo in his wallet. polaroid of him and hazel the night before everything happened.

a loud blare from the speakers causes conrad to drop his phone, jeremiah quickly apologises to his brother before turning down the volume. conrad rolling his eyes before focusing back on the picture. 

driving past the welcome to cousins sign, conrad smiles to himself. memories of last summer coming to his mind, replay, replay, replay.

a gust of wind slaps against his face as he winds the window up, susannah sitting in the passenger seat of the car turns around to her son.

"promise to be nice to hazel okay? bonnie told me she's been having a rough few weeks" susannah pats her sons lap before continuing to look out the window. "of course mom" he forces a smile, catching his brother in the rearview window. conrad rolls his eyes, knowing jeremiah was thinking the same thing.

conrad found out jeremiah knew only a few months ago. and let's just say it didn't go as planned. jeremiah and hazel were best friends, they had a far more special bond then her and belly. 

jeremiah was a little brother to hazel, practically inseparable since birth, the two told each other everything. so it never came as a shock to anyone when conrad found out he knew. 

jeremiah sat in the drivers seat, watching his brothers smile disappear. although jeremiah knew what his brother did, jeremiah was the one of the only people besides conrad who knew the truth. and it hurt him that his best friend was still hurt. 

susannah completely clueless to the fact, sticks her hand out the window. her blonde hair moving with the wind, her last summer. the last one with her kids, her best friend, with everyone. and she was ready to make it as special as possible.

pulling into their homes driveway, the fisher boys load their hands with bags while their mother tended to the home. the warm feeling of comfort and safety returned to susannahs heart.

the boys coming in behind her, they drop their bags and admire their home. after ten months of leaving the home unattended. it still felt the same, the dining room where they had their weekly dinners with the clarkes, the living room where belly, hazel, laurel, susannah and bonnie had their movie nights with brownies, and finally...the kitchen.

where conrad and hazel would cook waffles and pancakes on the first day, conrad would always top the clarke girls pancakes off with maple syrup in the shape of an infinity sign. 

susannah always thought belly and hazel were destined for her boys, belly thought hers was conrad and hazels jeremiah. turns out it was the other way around. jeremiahs was belly's first love, and conrad was hazels. ever since she was was ten years old, hazel knew she would marry conrad. until last summer, when she wished death upon him. and hazel was never that type of person, until she met brooke paterson. 

brooke and and hazel were best friends for six years, both attending the same school in cousins. hazel thought brooke would never mistreat her, until she found out she had been used for brookes own use. she wanted conrad to herself.

and so when hazel saw them kiss last summer, her heart shattered. hazel remembered running to conrad crying when the two had stopped being friends. and now he had fucked her over too.

conrad walking his stuff into his room, notices the sudden sadness that filled his room. no more photos in his room, the dead flowers hazel had given him and glass shattered over his rom.

"come on boys. time for the clarkes house" their mother screams from the bottom of the stairs, announcing to her sons. 

he flicks his head, pulling himself out of trance before making way downstairs. coming to meet jeremiah and his mother downstairs, conrad pulls his brother into another room. 

"is she there?" he asks jeremiah, to which his brother nods his head, conrad feels his heartbeat rise "have you spoken to her?" he asks again. this time his brother shakes his head "she's been uh preoccupied lately".

his mind runs a million miles an hour, does she have another boyfriend? who is he?

jeremiah notices his change and behaviour, pushing his brother out of the room the two get in the car and drive to the clarkes.

***

finally reaching the clarkes, conrad notices her wrangler in the driveway with her iconic turtle sticker on the back. a small smile creeps its way onto his face as they walk toward the front door. 

for the first time ever, conrad fisher was scared. he didn't know what to expect. maybe she would hit him, maybe she would scream in his face, or would she actually speak to him maybe?

the front door opening, bonnies warm smile welcomes the fishers. her arms extending around the four of them, she welcomes them into her home. 

bonnies home was everyone else's. her warm scent of coconut and perfume. listening as bonnie was asking them questions, conrad finds his eyes looking up toward the stairs. was she up there? was she alone?

taking notice of his constant eye switch, bonnie flicks her head toward the second story of the home. rushing up the curved set of stairs, conrad comes to meet two voices. 

luckily it was hazel and stevens.

hearing bits and parts of their conversation, conrad fights himself. trying to walk into that room, the room where his ex-girlfriend was in, where her smile, where her scent was. 

"what about team honrad?" he hears her voice. feeling weak the knees, he can't help but smile. their ship name they made when they were 15. "still am but he's an ass" he hears stevens comment, he wasn't wrong conrad thought to himself.

silence was the only thing he could hear, crickets even. taking his opportunity, he walks around the corner. her brunette hair fallen over her shoulders, and her smile. it was different, it was sad. 

"hey haze".