𝐕𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫.

003.

cindy walked outside to enjoy some fresh air before the party. she stopped when she saw a certain boy near the pool with his feet in, smoking.

the girl made her way next to him and sat next to him. "really dude?"

"what?" conrad shrugged.

"i thought you said smoking pot changes the way your brain processes information." cindy reminded.

"so does your cell phone." he shot back.

belly joined the two, jumping in the pool. she had heard what they were talking about and joined the conversation.

"you said marijuana messes with white matter." belly spoke.

"do you even know what white matter is?" conrad raised an eyebrow.

"you said o-our brains are still developing and that.." belly trailed off.

"god, do you memorize every single thing that i've ever said?" conrad sarcastically asked.

"get over yourself." the girl scoffed not liking how rude conrad was acting. "i mean, you're the one who said that smoking's dumb and that real athletes don't put shit in their bodies."

"i said a lot of stuff, and i'm not an athlete anymore, so..." the older boy shrugged taking a hit from his joint.

"well, i still think you should quit." cindy spoke once again.

"what'll you give me if i do?" conrad maintained eye contact with the girl.

"whatever you want." she shrugged as conrad smirked.

"anything?" conrad asked, completely forgetting about the girl in the pool.

"mhm," cindy hummed as jeremiah and steven burst out the back door.

"first bonfire of the summer!" jeremiah cheered. "all right, we're totally taking my car." he said and then turned to steven with a more serious look. "you're not driving."

"come on, guys, we're leaving." steven whooped looking at conrad and cindy.

"you ready?" jeremiah questioned the two who just nodded.

"can i come, too?" belly asked causing all three of the boys to look at her questionably.

"uh, no." steven immediately laughed shaking his head.

"why not?" belly frowned. "me and cindy are the same age."

"cindy's cindy." steven shrugged. "we have to bring her."

"the moms are getting everything set up for your movie night." jeremiah smiled trying to make belly feel better.

"see you." steven shouted making his way towards the driveway.

"let's go, princess." jeremiah exclaimed, grabbing cindy's hand and pulling her along with him. "have fun with the moms!"

the four of them made their way to the jeep. jeremiah and steven sat in front as cindy and conrad sat in the back.

cindy couldn't help but steal glances at conrad the whole ride, her heart beating a little faster whenever their eyes met. there was an undeniable connection between them, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it meant.