Chapter 4

"Okay, you ready?" Conrad asked, getting ready to push the board.

"Not really." I mumbled.

"Now, paddle!" he shouted as he gave the board a shove. I guess I kind of expected to be naturally amazing at surfing, I mean, considering I loved the beach so much, but as soon as the waves took the board, I knew I was screwed. The wave lifted the board slightly and I could hear Conrad shouting for me to stand up. I placed my hands on the rails like Con had shown me and pushed up, but as soon as I pushed up on the board, my hand slipped off the rail and my face slammed into the board. As if to make matters worse, Steven was cracking up from the shore.

"Hey, you okay?" Con held the board steady.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I felt my face turning beet red.

"How about we take a break for now?"

"Sounds good."

"Let me take the board." I undid the leash from my ankle and handed it to him before diving beneath the water's surface in a straight shot towards shore.

"That was hilarious. I even got it on film." Steven chuckled.

"Oh, can I see?" I asked. He handed me a towel to dry off my hands and I took the camera from him. Before he could stop me, I pulled out the memory card and chucked it into the water. "Oops"

"Belly!"

"I guess I have some weird arm spasm thing." i pretended to twitch my arm and hit Steven in the chest.

"Ha-ha very funny." he smiled. I began to walk back towards the house but I felt Conrad's muscular arms hoist me off the ground and lay me over his shoulder gently.

"Onward!" He declared, jogging towards the house. Steven opened the gate to the pool and they both grabbed my arms and legs.

"Guys, c'mon, seriously?" I accused, but not doing anything to get out of their grasp.

"Hey, what are ya'll up to?" I looked up and noticed Jeremiah hanging out of his window, asking us.

"'bout to throw Belly in the pool, wanna come down?" Steven offered.

"No, I'm good." he glanced at me and then sank back into the darkness of his room and shut the window.

"Suit yourself" Steven mumbled.

"1. 2. 3!"Conrad said and on three, they threw me into the pool and followed quickly after.

Jeremiah

"Pizza okay for dinner?" Conrad asked, laying across the couch. Steven sat in a chair, flipping through the channels on the tv.

"What happened to Betty Crocker?" Belly asked, placing a beer in front of each of us boys.

"Thanks." I mumbled.

"Betty Crocker doesn't do dinner" Conrad replied, smiling. Belly sat on the couch Conrad was on, at his feet. I ignored them as Conrad glanced at her happily. The way I used to.

He dialed the number and ordered the pizza. "Steven, go pick it up." Conrad ordered.

"Why can't they deliver it?" Steven complained.

"They don't do delivery." he replied. Steven scoffed before getting up and going to pick up the pizza. Conrad snuggled deeper into the couch and closed his eyes. A couple minutes later his breath shallowed. He was probably sleeping; or faking it, so he could eavesdrop on anything Belly and I said.

"How are you, Jere?" Belly asked, making me jump a bit because the show on television was one of those supernatural ones.

"Fine" I mumbled, swinging my beer.

"Really?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her elbows on her knees.

"Yeah. I'm just dandy." I downed the rest of the beer and then took Conrad's.

"Course you are."

"What?"

"I mean you never tell anyone how you really feel. You're trying to hide behind this joke-ster exterior, but you never tell anyone how you really are on the inside." she drank her water silently before continuing. "I learned about people like you in my psych class. Most of them become cereal killers of something."

"yeah, right." I didn't even smile, which I could tell bothered her. A lot.

"Well, to be honest, my heart was never fully yours. Never fully Cam's, never fully Conrad's. It'll never be whole because in my life, my hearts been torn in so many different directions, it's just over stretched." she stared at her hands. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah" I lied.

"But you'll always be my first kiss." she said in a perkier tone, smiling. I couldn't help cracking a smile either.

"I duno if it counts. Don't you have to get consent from both parties?"

"Well who says there's standards on whether or not it counted?" she looked at me with those sparkling eyes. "It definitely counted for me."

"Oh really? Well let's see if I can top that... hmm. You were my first love." I glanced at her boldly.

"You've gotta make everything a competition, don't you."

"Adds to my charm." I stood up. "Well, I've had my heart to heart fix, I think I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Okay." she looked a little disappointed, but I noticed Conrad stirring, taking it as a sign to leave.

Conrad

I heard every word of their conversation. It's easier to fake sleeping than you'd think. I'd been mastering the art over the years. "I mean you never tell anyone how you really feel. You're trying to hide behind this joke-ster exterior, but you never tell anyone how you really are on the inside. I learned about people like you in my psych class. Most of them become cereal killers of something." Belly said.

"Yeah, right" Jeremiah replied sadly. I had never heard so much pain in his voice than the pain I heard now. Sure, he was devastated when mom died, but now that she had lost mom and Belly, my heart sank even lower. I couldn't tell if it was grief or guilt I was feeling, but I just wanted to stand up and hug him.

We actually hadn't talked all year until we went to Becks the other day. I mean, we saw each other for holidays and dad would usually be busy with business so to avoid talking to Jere, I would call up old friend to hand out. I had thought about calling him a couple times throughout the year, but decided against it. He hated me. It was a wonder he didn't disown me yet.

When I heard Jere walk up the stair, I rolled onto my side a bit and then opened my eyes. A very convincing fake awakening. "Hey" Belly mumbled, chewing on her fingernail. I placed my hands on her waist and pulled her down on the couch beside me so I could hug her from behind.. I whispered into her ear huskily. "Hey"