Cruel Summer, Jeremiah Fisher

two

"Come on, Elle! It's the last day before school starts, you have to come with us," Belly groaned trying to convince me to leave my desk.

It had been two weeks since we left Cousins, and Jeremiah and I were constantly facetiming. I wasn't necessarily thrilled to be in a long distance relationship, but Jere meant enough to me that it was worth it.

I heard a laugh from my phone and looked down to see Jeremiah laying on his bed with his arm behind his head. He had no shirt on and he looked hot. God, I missed him already.

"Go with them Elle, I can call you later tonight," Jere chuckled.

I let out an over-dramatic groan, "But we just started talking like 10 minutes ago."

Turning around, I saw Belly leaned over on my bed, pretending to gag, "Jesus, you guys are so disgustingly cute," she walked up and took my phone before I could grab it, "I'm stealing my best friend back for the day, Jere. See you later!"

I threw my head back and groaned when she ended the call, "Do we seriously have to go to the fair? You know it can't be as good as the Cousins Boardwalk."

She nodded and started digging through my closet, "I know, but a bunch of guys are gonna be there and Taylor wants us to go with her."

Reluctantly, I stood up and helped Belly look through my clothes for a good outfit. I ended up deciding on some jean shorts and a cute tank top while belly wore the same cute romper she wore on her birthday.

Things had been tense between her and Conrad after they decided to put their relationship on pause with everything going on. It was probably a smart idea.

"How the hell do you expect me to convince my mom to let me leave the night before school starts?" I asked remembering that my mom was still home.

Belly shot me a smirk, "Leave that to me."

I thought that her saying that meant she had a plan, but instead we had to sneak downstairs and tip-toe through my large house and into the garage all while my mom was sitting on the couch with her glass of wine.

I laughed once we reached my parked car, "Ellie Belly succeeds once again!"

-

The smell of popcorn and overpriced cotton candy drifted through the air as screams shouted in the distance.

"Can you believe how many people are here right now?" Taylor looked around the fair with a shining grin, "And how many hot guys?"

There really were a lot of cute guys there, but obviously I didn't care because I had Jere.

Belly rolled her eyes and looped each of her arms with one of ours, "Come on, I want to go on some rides. I call not sitting by Elle," she laughed.

I scoffed and playfully shoved her shoulder. One thing about me is that I LOVE fair rides, but I'm not the type of person to get scared on them, and instead I laugh the entire time. That is why Belly's over-competitive self would get mad at me at the Cousins boardwalk, and I would always end up being Jeremiah's ride partner.

Later on, a small group of people who went to school with us also joined, some being girls from the volleyball team. They were all ecstatic to see Belly and I after our summer away from home.

After hours of running around the fairgrounds, laughing with my friends, things were beginning to wind down and everyone had broken off into smaller groups.

"Hey, I'm going to get a drink, I'll be right back," I told Belly and she nodded in okay.

Standing in the bustling food area, I was surprised when I felt a hand place on my arm. Turning around, I saw Ethan, my ex.