𝒮𝓃ℴ𝓌 ℴ𝓃 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝒷ℯ𝒶𝒸𝒽－ ᶜᵒⁿʳᵃᵈ ᶠⁱˢʰᵉʳ.

𝓃ℯ𝓌 𝒻𝒶𝒸ℯ𝓈 ⁰⁸

As Belly walks away, seeking solace to clear her head after the tumultuous turn of events, Florence turns her attention away from Conrad and Nicole. Just then, Jeremiah spots her and rushes towards her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Flo, you came, yay!" Jeremiah exclaims, his excitement evident as he holds onto her hand. "Hey, come on, let me introduce you to my friends."

Before Florence can respond, Jeremiah takes the initiative and begins to guide her away from the scene, leaving Conrad to watch them from a distance.

"Hey guys, this is Florence, my best friend that I told you guys about," Jeremiah introduces Florence to his group of friends, who all turn their attention towards her, assessing her appearance and taking in her presence.

One of the guys from the group speaks up first, breaking the silence. "Oh, so you do exist," he remarks playfully, a hint of surprise in his voice, "all this time, we just thought Jere was making you up since you were never around."

Feeling a bit awkward, Florence responds, "Oh no, umm, I just haven't been to Cousins in a bit." Jeremiah holds her hand firmly, subtly rubbing small circles on the back of her hand, offering her comfort and support in the unfamiliar setting.

"Well, I'm Liam," the guy introduces himself, extending a friendly hand towards Florence. "It's nice to finally get to meet you. It's nice to see some new faces around here."

Meanwhile, Conrad rises from his spot and makes his way toward the group, as that's where the beer box is located. As he helps himself to a beer, the guy who was conversing with Florence snatches the beer from Conrad's hand and offers it to her. "Here."

Florence politely declines, saying, "Um no, it's okay, I don't drink." Jeremiah gives her a confused look, trying to reassure her, "Flo, I'm the DD, don't worry, you can drink."

Despite his assurance, she maintains her decision, but Liam continues to insist.

"Dude, she said no," Conrad finally interjects, his voice filled with irritation. "Take a hint and back off."

"Chill, man, I'm right here with Flo," Jeremiah tries to reason with his brother, attempting to diffuse the tension. "She'll be fine."

"No, you should do better than this, Jere," Conrad retorts, his frustration seeping into his words as he showed his disappointment in his younger brother.

Florence then tries to step in, attempting to mediate the escalating situation but before she can say anything, Liam speaks up, his tone confrontational. "Dude, what is your problem?"

Conrad fires back, "What's yours? First, you take my beer, and now you're trying to force a girl to get drunk." The tension between them escalates as Liam rolls his eyes at Conrad's words.

"Just get another beer," Liam tells him dismissively, slightly pushing Conrad. The provocation proves too much for Conrad, and he loses his temper, pushing Liam back. The situation quickly escalates into a physical altercation as Liam retaliates, pushing Conrad onto the sand and throwing punches.

Florence watches in horror, her heart racing, as Jeremiah and Liam's friends quickly jump in, attempting to separate the two brawling boys. The atmosphere becomes chaotic, with shouts and commotion filling the air.

⋅• ━━━ ••⋅⊰☁︎︎☀︎︎☁︎⊱⋅•• ━━━ •⋅

On the other end of the beach, Belly was engrossed in a conversation with a familiar face from their 7th-grade Latin Convention, a guy named Cam. They were catching up, and Belly was finally beginning to feel better about being at the party. However, her peace was abruptly interrupted by the sounds of commotion coming from the fight.