All I Want Is You

Chapter 6: Summer Tides

Ella wakes up the next day with a smile very happy about what happened last night. Later, Ella's outside in her debutante dress sitting down as Susannah paints her. Ella has a giant smile on her face thinking about Jeremiah. Susannah smiles at Ella and says, "You seem to be a good mood. Any reason why?" Susannah smiles at the blush on Ella's cheeks and Ella says, "Uh, I'm just very excited for the volleyball tournament." Susannah says, "Mm-hmm." Susannah doesn't quite believe her, but she'll get it out of Ella sooner or later. Susannah says, "So, which charity are you representing?" Ella smiles and says, "The one you help with. The homeless women's shelter." Susannah smiles her heart filled with warmth as she says, "That's sweet. Thank you, Ella. You really do look amazing in that dress." Ella smiles and says, "I feel amazing." Susannah smiles and says, "Okay, I just need a couple more seconds with those frills." Ella smiles. Later, Ella's wearing black spandex shorts with her light purple long sleeve shirt that says Team Ella on the back with her hair in a high ponytail. Ella's in the kitchen making a protein shake when Conrad walks in and says, "Hey, Ella." Ella smiles at Conrad and says, "Hey." Conrad looks at what Ella's making and says, "What's that?" Ella says, "My secret weapon." Conrad nods with a smile and says, "Feeling good about the tournament?" Ella nods and says, "Yeah, I'm ready." Conrad says, "If you stay ready, you won't have to get ready." Ella chuckles and says, "That was so cheesy." Conrad says, "Yeah. You try, you try coming up with a motivational phrase with no cheese." Ella chuckles and says, "Uh... I'm thinking." Conrad chuckles and Ella smiles, "I'm thinking. Okay, fine, I can't come up with a line that isn't cheesy." Conrad chuckles and says, "It's okay. I wanted to wish you good luck today." Ella smiles and says, "Thanks, I'm gonna need it." The door bell rings and Ella smiles, "That's Taylor." Ella walks away and answers the door. Taylor smiles, "What have you gotten yourself into, Cinderella?" Ella hugs Taylor and says, "I'm so happy you're here." Taylor looks at Ella's shirt and says, "Where's my shirt, okay? We're gonna kick all of their asses." Ella smiles and says, "Yeah, we are. Come on." Ella grabs Taylor's hand and brings her inside. They walk through the kitchen and Conrad says, "What's up, Taylor?" Taylor softly smiles and says, "Hey." Conrad walks away and Taylor looks at Ella and says, "What's the latest with you two?" Ella smiles and says, "There's so much to go over." Ella drags Taylor upstairs into her room. As Taylor gets ready, Ella tells Taylor everything that happened between Jeremiah and Conrad. Taylor smiles and excitedly says, "You finally kissed Jeremiah Fisher? Finally. So, how was he?" Ella smiles and says, "He was amazing. His lips are so soft and fit my lips so perfectly." Taylor gushes and says, "Oh, my God, Ella. That's hot." Ella smiles and says, "I know. We haven't exactly gotten a chance to talk about last night, but I definitely want to be with him." Taylor smiles and says, "Yeah. Team Jella." Ella chuckles and says, "Team Jella?" Taylor smiles and says, "Yeah, Jeremiah and Ella, it's my ship name for you guys." Ella chuckles and says, "It's cute." Taylor says, "Yeah, so, what about Conrad. You guys okay after he almost kissed you?" Ella softly smiles and says, "Yeah, we're fine. He said it was a mistake and he didn't want to ruin our friendship." Taylor nods and says, "Good. I mean, what was going through your head when you found out that Conrad was about to kiss you?" Ella says, "I was surprised. Because it's Conrad, I mean he's my best friend. I never thought he would have any sort of feelings for me." Taylor says, "Yeah, mean, he's hot, but he's messy and problematic." Ella frowns and says, "Taylor." Taylor says, "What? He is. Trouble always usually follows him. That's why Team Jella is endgame." Ella smiles and says, "Yeah." There's a knock on the door and Laurel walks in with a smile and says, "Are you guys ready? I'm gonna take you over." Ella smiles and says, "Can I drive?" Laurel smiles and says, "Of course." Laurel tosses the keys to Ella, and she catches them with a smile. Ella smiles at Taylor says, "Come on, let's go win this tournament." Taylor smiles and says, "Hell, yeah." Later, Ella and Taylor are at the tournament. Taylor went to go them drinks and Ella's watching the other girls practice with Conrad by her side. Susannah's at the microphone and says, "Good afternoon. I'm Susannah Fisher... chair of the club's community service board, and I am delighted to welcome you to Play It Forward!" The crowd claps and cheers. Susannah says, "You know, as my mother used to say, if you're lucky enough to be at the beach, you're lucky enough. And we are very fortunate indeed... which is why, in the spirit of fun and friendly competition... it is time to open our hearts and our wallets and give back to those who may not be as fortunate. We have teams raising money for homelessness, women's shelters, environmental causes and many more. And Play It Forward will match pledges for the winner of the tournament!" Everyone cheers and claps. Susannah says, "Pledge tables still open, so please donate generously. And with that, I say let the games begin!" Everyone claps and cheers. Ella points to the trophy and says, "That trophy is so going to be mine." Conrad points over to a group of girls and says, "Watch out for those two. Her spike is lethal." Conrad walks away and Ella has a determined look on her face going to win no matter what. Later, the tournament is starting and Team Ella is going against two older man. Ella and Taylor do their handshake as Jeremiah cheers, "Let's go, Ella! Come on!" Ella and Taylor both say, "Play sharp, play smart." The whistle blows and the game starts. Conrad cheers, "Good job, Ella! You got it, you got it!" The girls score and the crowd cheers. Ella serves the ball hitting the ball, the guys hit it and Ella dives for the ball hitting it. Jeremiah cheers, "Nice! You guys got it!" The girls score after score. Conrad cheers, "Let's go, Team Ella!" As Ella serves the ball, the guy gets and when Taylor dives for the ball, she hits the ball fake hurting herself. Ella rushes over to Taylor and worriedly says, "Are you okay?" Taylor says, "No, I just... my ankle." Ella says, "Do you want me to help you?" Jeremiah worriedly says, "You okay, Taylor?" Ella grabs a hold of Taylor's hands and helps her up as Taylor says, "I just, like, twisted it." Ella says, "Can you walk?" Taylor looks back at Jeremiah and says, "Can you sub, please?" Jeremiah smiles and says, "Yeah. Yeah, yeah." As Taylor limps away, Ella says, "Do you need help?" Taylor shakes her head and walks over to Jeremiah taking her shirt off and handing it to him. The whistle blows and Ella smiles at Jeremiah and says, "You ready?" Jeremiah smiles and says, "Yeah, let's do it." Ella says, "You have to be ready." Jeremiah says, "Let's do it. Yeah, yeah." Ella serves the ball hitting it over the net as the guy hits it, Jeremiah spikes it over the net getting a point. Ella then shows Jeremiah her and Taylor's handshake, and they bump chests with a smile. As the two continue to score, they win the round. Ella jumps into Jeremiah's arms as Jeremiah smiles swinging her around. Jeremiah smiles, "We did it." The next round is against Team Ava's, the one where Conrad said that these girls' spikes are lethal. As they play Team Ava, Jeremiah keeps messing up. Ella sighs and then as Jeremiah goes to hit the ball again, he misses earning Team Ava a point. Ella says, "Jere, you got to dive for those. That's why we're on sand." Jeremiah chuckles and says, "All right." As Team Ava serves the ball, Jeremiah dives for the ball but misses and Ella groans. Jeremiah smiles and says, "Got to work on my dive, right?" Ella says, "Just focus, okay? These guys are good. Okay. Don't look at me. Watch the ball." Jeremiah's paying close attention to Ella and says, "You got it." Jeremiah completely misses the ball and Ella groans, "Jere, focus!" As they continue the game, Team Ella is losing by a lot. Ella sighs frustratedly and she looks at the referee and says, "Ref, can we get a time..." The ref blows her whistle and Ella sighs looking around when her eyes land on Conrad. Ella looks at Jeremiah and says, "I'm so sorry. I have to win this, okay? They'll match my pledges." Jeremiah nods and says, "Yeah. I get it." Ella looks at Conrad and says, "Conrad, I need you to sub in." Jeremiah walks away taking off his shirt tossing it to Conrad. Conrad walks up to Ella and says, "Where do you want me?" Ella says, "You start up." Conrad says, "All right, let's do this." Ella nods and says, "Mm-hmm." As the two best friends play, Conrad scores making Ella smile. As the two play, they catch up to Team Ava. As Conrad scores the winning point, Ella smiles happy and she hugs Conrad with a smile. Later, it's now Team Ella vs Shayla and whoever wins is the champion. Ella looks at the couple and says, "You guys are going down." Steven scoffs and says, "As if. Watch your back, you two." Conrad smirks and says, "You watch yours." Just as the whistle blows, Ella and Conrad do their special handshake from when they were kids, and they start playing. As they're getting all tied up who ever wins this last point wins the game. As Conrad hits the ball over to Ella, she spikes it down earning them a point. Ella screams in joy because they won. The crowd cheers as Conrad lifts Ella into his arms swinging them around. Conrad sets Ella down and spins her around and as Ella laughs. Jeremiah watches them with a jealous look. Jeremiah knows that Ella said that she doesn't have any feelings for Conrad, but he can't help himself at the way they look happy together. Susannah says, "And the winners are Gabriella Conklin and Conrad Fisher!" Ella walks over to Shayla and Steven and Shayla smiles, "Good play, Ella. You sure know how to play." Ella smiles and says, "Thanks. You guys were amazing." The couple walk away and Susannah walks up to the two with the trophy and says, "You guys were incredible. Oh, you make such a great team." Susannah hugs them both and Ella smiles, "Yeah, we do." Laurel walks over with a smile and says, "I'm so proud of you guys." Ella smiles and says, "Thank you." Laurel says, "Come on, let's take a picture." Ella holds the trophy with Conrad and they both smile at the camera happy to have won. Later, as Ella and Taylor leave the tournament, Ella glances at Taylor and says, "How's your ankle?" Taylor says, "It's better." A voice says, "Ella." Ella looks over at Nicole with a smile and says, "Hey, Nicole. Uh, you remember my best friend Taylor?" Nicole says, "Yeah, hi. Um, so my dad's boat just came up from Anguilla. Um, so what do you guys think about a pizza and rose in a few hours?" Ella smiles and says, "Yeah, sounds perfect. We'll be there." Nicole smiles and says, "Okay, great. See you guys there."