happier ⇒ the summer i turned pretty

FOURTEEN!

conrad had been in the backyard waiting for jere when mateo arrived. as soon as he came inside, he could tell something was different. the moms had told him mateo was back. he was actually excited about it. those two were the closest out of the group. it wasn't good for jeremiah though, he had always felt left out with them. it was almost like conrad considered mateo more of a brother to him. even steven would sometimes choose mateo over jeremiah.

when belly and steven came home that night they were shocked he was back. they didn't even believe it at first until he came downstairs to greet them.

mateo went up to his room for the rest of the night. he needed rest after his long days of travel. he had to take busses, walk miles, and get rides from strangers. he came all the way from georgia to cousins beach, in massachusetts.

he was going to have to adjust to being back with his family and friends. it was going to be difficult, but he wanted to. he wanted to make things right.

the next day

avalon decided to go back to deb training. none of the moms had even noticed she skipped it yesterday because of everything with mateo.

she didn't want to have to dance with the instructors daughter like she has been, so she had to ask one of the boys to dance with her, at least temporarily. jeremiah was at work and steven was shayla's escort. all that was left was conrad and mateo. she wasn't going to ask her brother. it wasn't good timing and she's not too comfortable with him.

she went to conrad's room and knocked on the door.

"one sec!" he shouted. she could hear drawers slamming shut and things being shuffled around.

he opened the door with a towel around his waist. he had just gotten out of the shower.

"oh! hey av." he was surprised it was her.

"hey..." she spoke awkwardly.

he chuckled a little. "is everything ok?"

"oh yeah i uh-" she gulped and pulled herself together. she had always thought conrad was attractive, but now more than ever since last summer.

"i have a question but i'll just ask you when you're dressed." she started to walk away.

"hey wait! just give me one second." he quickly closed his door, but it was still open a crack.

she walked over to the door slowly. she had an urge to peek in, but she didn't.

she moved over to the side of the door and waited.

"alright come on in." he opened the door. all he had on was a pair of shorts. his hair was still wet which made him look even more attractive.

she walked in and stood there awkwardly. she didn't know what to do or how to ask.

"you can sit down." he let out a laugh.

"i know." she spoke quietly. she sat down at the end of his bed.

he was going through his drawers looking for something.

"so, what's up?" he asked, still looking around his room.

she was getting a bit frustrated that he wasn't paying full attention. it wasn't too important of a question though. it's not like she was asking him to actually be her escort. it still annoyed her though. she always paid attention to people when they talk to her, no matter what it's about.