THE WAY I LOVED YOU ╱ STEVEN CONKLIN
꒷꒦ · ˚.‧ . written by liv . . .©-wonderhaze
❛ and that's the way I loved you ❜

( ★ ) Cousins, Massachusetts was the town that hundreds of people traveled to every year. It was right on the beach and allowed those in the area to still enjoy the sand and water while not having to travel hundreds of thousands miles. The town was best known for its debutante ball every year, girls and boys dressing up to show their elegance and maturity. The ball was normally organized by the country club with a board of members helping as well, some of them being susannah fisher, jennifer bardot, and brittany wright.

The town was also known for those that lived there and the houses they had along the beach. While hundreds of people actually lived in cousins year round, hundreds of people had summer houses there. The Bardot family was one of those families, along with the fisher family. Susannah and Jennifer had grown up together, along with their friend, Laurel. Along the way, they found more friends and eventually had kids that all became friends. It was the perfect story they wanted. Although, nothing was perfect in their friend group or their kids friend group.

That summer would be one of the last, if not the last, summers where everyone was together. It was either everyone was going off to college or they just didn't have time those following summers, and while it pains them, they were prepared to make that summer the best summer they've ever had. If only things ever went according to plan when it came to cousins.

( ★ ) Saylor wright had a hard time trusting people. Her entire life was filled with people that would say they loved her and were her friend but ended up hurting and betraying her. She wasn't sure why all of her "friends" would do something like that to her at first but soon realized that they just used her to get what they wanted. That they never really cared. That's what led Saylor to anxiety and trust issues. Thoughts would constantly run through her mind, telling her that no one would ever love her or be her friend. Telling her that everyone would leave her. And it wasn't until that summer when she finally started to believe them.

The death of David Wright rocked the cousins community. Everyone was in shock that this once healthy man had died, especially when it was because of cancer. David didn't even tell his family that he had cancer, he just let them enjoy their time with him and when it was his time to go, he went. He knew his family would be in good hands and even though saylor hated that her dad had left her, she knew it was worth it in the end.

Saylor would forever believe that Steven Conklin showing up in her life was something her dad did for her. She met the one boy that truly made her happy just a few days after her dad passed and he was the only one to get her to smile after he had been buried. Steven conklin was the one person to show Saylor Wright what love truly was and how deep someone could love.

( ★ ) Steven Conklin trusted people fairly easily. He understood that there were bad people in the world, he had met his fair share before. But he still trusted that there was good in the world and that's what made him how he was today. He allowed himself to view the world in different ways but also allowed himself to trust that there was good and that he would meet that good. Although, his hope soon changed. When you get betrayed by someone who you view as a best friend, there's no way to describe how you feel. Steven felt angry, that much was obvious but it also felt ashamed of himself. He was mad that he allowed himself to be used and shamed by someone who never even cared for him in the first place.

Going back to cousins was the one thing that Steven looked forward to that year. He hadn't done anything that school year because of the hurt he went through so seeing his friends again and being in the one place that brought him happiness was the only thing he was looking forward to. But it all blows up in flames when he finally meets the girl of his dreams but is forbidden from being with her because of a stupid parent rivalry.

( ★ ) Saylor and steven were the epitome of a secret romance. They knew their parents hated each other but that didn't stop them from seeing one another. They continued to be themselves out in public but also made sure to keep it on the down low so no one would realize that they were together. They couldn't handle being separated. They were the only thing keeping each other happy and without that, they weren't sure what would happen to them.

Saylor knew that without Steven, she would never truly know what love felt like and she hated the thought of that. Steven knew that without saylor, he wouldn't be happy and he would be scared to love again and the thought of that truly terrified him. Saylor needed Steven and Steven needed saylor because they were the perfect example of how to show true love.

━━━━ starring !

INDIANA EVANS as SAYLOR MICHELE WRIGHT
seventeen. pansexual. the debutante.

___________________________

SEAN KAUFMAN as STEVEN CONKLIN
seventeen. bisexual. the escort.

━━━━ featuring !
Extended cast in the next part !
( tsitp cast as their respective characters )
( everyone else as described )

━━━━ steven and saylor!
( the escort, the debutante )

strangers to friends to lovers. forbidden romance. secret romance.

━━━━ playlist !

━━ side a !
the way I loved you, Taylor swift
MA&THBP, Taylor swift
Style, Taylor swift
beige, yoke lore
Lover, Taylor swift
Brazil, Declan McKenna
Until I found you, Stephan Sanchez
Adore you, Harry styles
King of my heart, Taylor swift
August, Taylor swift
The very first night, Taylor swift
Love of my life, harry styles
golden, harry styles
Gold rush, Taylor swift
Super cut, Lorde
Overdrive, Conan gray
Cornelia street, Taylor swift
Feels like, Gracie Abrams
I think he knows, Taylor swift
Wonder, Shawn mendes
Always been you, Shawn mendes
Teach me how to love, Shawn mendes
Hey Stephen, Taylor swift
Black and white, Niall horan
Message in a bottle, Taylor swift
Just like magic, Ariana grande
Today was a fairytale, Taylor swift
TIHYFIL, Jeremy zucker
I like me better, lauv
New Romantics, Taylor swift

━━ side b !
Somebody to you, the vamps
paper rings, Taylor swift
dandelions, Ruth b
Paris, the chainsmokers
Just like a movie, wallows
Tongue tied, grouplove
People watching, Conan gray
Electric love, Borns
Sofia, clairo
Pov, Ariana grande
Red, Taylor swift
Dress, Taylor swift
Late night talking, Harry styles
daylight, Taylor swift
love story, Taylor swift
Night changes, one direction
21, Gracie Abrams
Gorgeous, Taylor swift
Dark red, Steve Lacy
Blind, role model
Fearless, Taylor swift
Long story short, Taylor swift
Willow, Taylor swift
As it was, Harry styles
How you get the girl, Taylor swift
Cruel summer, Taylor swift
Dancing with our hands tied, Taylor swift
Don't blame me, Taylor swift
Wildest dreams, Taylor swift
perfect, one direction

━━━━ disclaimer !
This book will contain mature themes such as: underage drinking, panic attacks, eating disorders, sexual content (not smut), and other mature themes. if you are unable to watch tsitp, please do not read this book. Put yourself first, don't risk your mental health for a book.

this book is apart of a connected fic series, being the third book in the series. The other books are published now as well, make sure to go check them out !! (cruel summer, this love, how you get the girl, almost do, I wish you would, wildest dreams, and paper rings)

━━━━ dedications !
-cakeeater -lostgardens -fairyszn conflictcriminal -pixiegardens jacksfinale -cemetarygirl -Zaydalovesolivia wrldlvs itz-skye -parkersfilms -l0vesong -AMFILMS holyruin kieslvcr thegirlsgone iluvrjay Cocobutterr_ -elijahmikaelsons swiftieszn klauslastluv- -cupidszn mqybankk iloveyouette actuallyarden 90scoffeegossip cadyrodrigo alluringredroses oneirataxia_girl hcndcrsqn nottelics tsitpgirl styIed s6turngirl kidskrxw esmer9ld bittersleeep cvpidlavv -graciesbae eyelikeboobies mjslcvr joaoflms _C_H_A_N_G_ -hxneybee17 -luminescent_burn- beepbeep-richiee pogueIife mjslcvr joaoflms starsandsaints HalleCarey Chxerii AceFamily2020 twincoast MARVELMAZETEEN Babxzkim ellieluvrr imxa_dreamer scftxmax -bexsluvrr -belqvedle deadpovts roguemann boosent loaksullysgf lalax0x0 bexswitch -parkersfilms and anyone else who loves tsitp and Steven Conklin !!

━━━━ credit & copyright !
I do not own the tsitp, its characters, plot lines, or anything else created by anyone in the series. All credits go to Jenny Han.

However, I do own my original characters, including saylor wright, her backstory, her dialogue/scenes, the plot of the book, and any storylines that aren't canon in the show.

All graphics are made by me unless stated otherwise. The filters on the mood boards can be found on lostgardens on Polarr. The filters for the gifs can be found on jacksfinale on 24fps. Layout credit goes to -lostgardens ,, cover credit goes to me,, and beginning of chapter gif made by me

The plot and characters in this book are mine. Please do not take them or use them without asking for permission. I'm always willing to help others out with plots and characters, don't steal mine when you can just ask for help. Please ask for permission before making any translations or other universe books based on the way I loved you.

Copyrighted © 2023. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, distributed, translated, or copied without permission. This includes any graphics made in this book, including those made by others. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. You will be confronted and asked to remove the book. Every part of this publication belongs to -wonderhaze as of 2023. Do not steal anything from me, please, and thank you !

━━━━ Liv's speaking !

this is probably going to flop but let's hope it doesn't! I hope you guys enjoy!

Love you guys sm!
___________________________

━━━━━━━━━━ the way I loved you,
© -wonderhaze , august 2023

started: 7.1.23 published: 8.5.23
completed: TBD.