↳ COME BACK TO THE SEA ༉‧₊˚✧ C.F

20

⋆·˚ ༘ * ITS NICE TO HAVE A FRIEND
"something gave you the nerve to touch my hand."

Juliette's eyes were admiring every part of the place she'd practically grown up at, everything was still the same. She smiled gently to herself, glancing to the side at Conrad as he seemed to do the same.

"See, aren't you glad we came?" She nudged him softly.

Conrad squinted as the sun beamed down on them. "How is this any less hot than it would be inside?"

"Because you have the magical sea breeze to cool you down." Juliette said in a duh tone as they walked down the boardwalk.

He rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Cool breeze, my ass."

"I want some ice cream." Taylor sighed, her eyes lighting up at the tiny ice cream parlor. Conrad glared at her with a cocked brow, she shooed him off. "Natures air conditioner."

The group made a pit stop at the polar per Taylor's request. Juliette hummed as the mint chocolate chip hit her tastebuds, the teenagers walking towards the built in; wooden, canopy.

"You know, I'm kind of a natural introvert, so I can't tell if this place is horrifying or if it's just, like, my lizard brain in action." Skye broke the silence, swallowing their ice cream.

Juliette grinned at them. "It's fun, I promise."

"Fun?" Jeremiah repeated in question, causing her gaze to shift to him, confused. "Because I seem to remember the last time we were here, you were crying." Her face fell. "And Conrad beat her at shoot Your shot. And her penalty was to ride the Tower of Terror."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head, her cheeks blushing red with embarrassment. "I was sick."

"Sick with fear." Jeremiah corrected her in a teasing tone. Conrad smiling. "My mom had to throw out your clothes and carry you home in a caftan."

"Susannah used to force my mom to come here when they were kids." Skye chuckled as they continued to walk at a slower pace. "My mom always hated it, but
Susannah loved it so much, so..."

"You know what else my mom loved?" Conrad cut them off, causing the group to stop underneath the shade. "The beach house."

Skye rolled their eyes in defeat. "My mom's not evil, Conrad. And your mom wasn't a saint."

Both of the Fisher boys faces twisted with annoyance at the slight jab at their mother. Juliette stepped in, "Skye, have you ever played shoot Your shot?"

"No, and I'm-I'm fine keeping it that way." Skye shook their head.

"Well, do you want to watch me beat Conrad's ass?" Juliette asked, her eyes flicking to Conrad's, her lips curling into a smirk.

He cocked a brow at her in challenge, his ice cream on his lips.

"I wouldn't hate watching that." Skye revealed with a shy shrug, causing them to all laugh.

"You think you still got it, Conrad?" Juliette pouted.

Steven shook his head with a low sigh, his eyes shifting between them. "Okay, no, please, not another
Great Boardwalk Showdown."

Skye furrowed their brows, confused. Jeremiah pinched the bridge of his nose. "So, they used to do this big tournament on the boardwalk every year when they were kids. I would get a, um, a riveting play-by-play as soon as Julie came over." They all chuckled, reminiscing. Steven nodded with a hum, adding, "Well, yeah, every year until Belly and Conrad got too competitive. And then my mom banned us from ever playing again."

"Are you down, Jere?" Juliette beamed at him, her stare making him chuckled with a nod.

"Uh... Hell yeah. Let's do it." Jeremiah bit his bottom lip, the group of friends sharing loud laughter.

Skye shifted awkwardly, feeling almost as if they stuck out like a sore thumb. "I should actually, um, head out."

Juliette's face fell, her lips falling flat. "No, you should stay. It's fun." She pouted her bottom lip once more. "Plus, you're already on my team."

Skye rolled their eyes, giving in. "Fine. You win." Juliette, Belly, and Taylor cheered softly, stopping once Skye set the mood. "But I don't do high fives. I'm not going to, like, whoop in the air. I don't trash talk.
The corners of my mouth might turn up just a little bit, but I'm not gonna smile."

"So then what's the prize?" Belly asked, her brown eyes large.

"Losers have to buy the winners the biggest bag of
candy of their choosing." Jeremiah retorted, his lips quirking up into a smile.

Taylor threw her head back slightly, crossing her arms over her chest, poutingly. "Really? Candy? No, I mean, can't we think of something, like, sexier?"

"Candy's always been the prize." Jeremiah shrugged. "I mean, it was Julie's and Belly's choice, obviously."

She groaned, throwing her hands up in defeat. "We can play the games. But... we start at the arcade
because it is hot as balls out here."

The group headed straight for the laser tag, gearing up with competitiveness. The group of teenagers could've been mistaken for children.

"All right, everyone. All right. The games are best of five rounds." Juliette spoke loudly, catching their attention. "The first and last rounds, everyone plays. The middle rounds, it's a one-on-one competition, so choose your best fighter."

The worried expression lingered on Skye's features, "Probably not gonna be me."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short, all right?" Juliette scrunched her nose at her, a friendly smile on her lips. "Three, two, one. Go!"

Juliette kept her back against the wall, the blue lights causing the room to luminesce. Her chest rose up and down, hearing foot steps all around her. She perked her head around the corner, seeing the silhouettes, as she turned back around, she was face to face with Conrad. He held the gun up at her, tilting his head as she fumbled with her toy gun. She watched her chest light up as he shot her.

She threw her head back in defeat, pressing her palms against his chest harshly. "Hey!"

Conrad shooed her off, pinning her against the wall, playfully. Her gasp left her lips as their chests touched, she stared up at him, dumbfounded. The score board lighting up had him pulling away. Conrad's team had won.

"What can I say?" He clicked his tongue, dangling his victory in her face.

She rolled her eyes, pursuing her lips. "Okay, okay. You won this round, Con. Let's see if you can go two for two."

The second round continued, Juliette shooting both of the Fisher brothers, hearing the groans and moans of annoyance and she slid past them. Juliette's team taking this victory.

"Okay, now it's a game. Next hit wins it all!" Stevens voice echoed as the third round began.

Juliette was crouched, the dim lights made every person less apparent. She hit a chest, Jeremiah's head cocking down towards her. She flicked her eyes over his features, his eyes mirroring hers. She stepped back, her eyes brows furrowed as he didn't lift his gun.

She lifted hers, his lips parting made her freeze. "Get her, get her, get her!"

Juliette's head flew to the side, Conrad shooting her. She whined loudly, shoving Jeremiah.

"We won! Yes!" The boys whooped, watching the girls shrink in their defeat.

Skyes lips were in a frown, Juliette nudging her elbow. "Hey, you know what? Don't worry. We'll get them next time."

"I think we're playing Capture the Flag next." Steven hummed as they took off the gear, the bright lights of the arcade made them squint.

authors note <3
ep 6 is my downfall.
also thank u for 700 reads 💕
sm love for u cuties