01. chapter one.
—the jump

THE NIGHT BEFORE driving down to Cousins was and had always been miserable. There was so much tossing and turning. I hardly ever slept because my mind couldn't wait for the anticipating drive down, honking the horn twice as soon as we arrived, Belly, Susannah, and Laurel would run down the porch steps, and they would crash us with their warm hugs.

We were always the last to arrive at the summer house. My mother, Alva, didn't have good time management. She was terrible at leaving the house on time which confused some, including me, because she was a teacher.

Even if I was still at home in bed, with my covers over my shoulders, snuggled into my warm comforter because my stepdad liked to keep the house freezing cold at night, I could already feel Susannah's warmth. She has this radiating smile that no one could ever compete with.

Then there was Laurel's hard stare, her eyes filled with such love, the love she had a hard time showing, but somehow I still saw it. The love in her eyes. She was always so easy to read, especially if you were reading her through her eyes. Alva says that I saw right through her, and that we always got along great. So much was hidden beneath us both, yet there was so much understanding.

I couldn't wait to see her. It's been too long.

It was a well known fact that I had two summers with Laurel before Belly was born. During those two summers, Laurel had over six months to grow and love me as her own daughter, but even then, not much changed between us when Belly was born. Laurel used to tell me that no matter what, she will endlessly love me the same. Alva, liked to talk about those six months like they were the greatest months of her life, which I'm glad. I like hearing about them.

"You, Sonny were Laurel's mini her. Always following her around, holding her hand like your lives depended on it, Laurel was so cocky about it too. Always saying how much you loved her more than everyone else in the entire planet. You made her so happy."

I smiled every time Alva mentioned it, no matter how many times she tells us that story, Laurel smiles at the reminiscing too.

Belly never really gave our bond any second thought, giving that she had a special bond with Susannah.

She loved her almost as much as her own mom. Susannah was like a second mother to Belly. All the Mom's were like mother figure heads during the summer.

Everyone called my mother Alva because her maiden name is Alvez. She got along well with Jeremiah and Steven. Of course they didn't share the same bond as me and Laurel, Conrad and Laurel, or Belly and Susannah, but she was the athletic type and into boy stuff, so that's why they got along great. Boy stuff was what my grandparents used to call it. I never gave it any mind because my mom taught me that such a thing didn't exist. Things that were meant for fun weren't for a specific gender. She said that fun was fun and don't let anyone ruin what was fun for you.

Unfortunately, that was the only thing I could admire about Alva.

But ever since then that's how I believed it should be, not because my mother told me to, but because the boys always seemed to think a certain way about girls. It irritated me in ways I couldn't decide. So when the boys would exclude me, talking their bullshit, saying that I should be inside, watching movies with the girls. It used to make my blood boil, so I went with them anyway. They wouldn't shut their mouths about how much they hated me being there. My point was always proven, and they always shut up.

Part of me hated them for it. They made me feel like hanging out with the girls was a bad thing, which I later learned that it wasn't.

Times clearly changed though, I stopped tagging along with them once I realized that the only reason I was going with them was because I was trying to prove something to them. I got tired of them doubting my capability. I stopped caring about changing their minds. If they thought that girls weren't capable of sitting around in a boat, then that's on them. Instead, I'd stay with the girls and spent most of the summer time with my Belly. Oh, and how the boys never gave her enough credit. She was absolutely amazing.

When I first started declining the boys offers, and instead went to other places with Belly, they went ballistic. But it made Belly feel on top of the world. I loved seeing the smile on Belly's face.

I have always been protective over her. She was like my little sister. Belly Button and Sonny D. That was us.

When the boys wanted to come to our little adventures, which is what we used to call them, we told them no. We never did anything real exciting during those, but the way Belly and I never told them what we did, kept what we did to ourselves, a mystery, they actually believed we did some of the most over top best things ever. It made us giggle when we were by ourselves.

Belly and I would sneak off to our shared bedroom and laugh about the type of faces they made.

Our fun pissed them off to a whole different degree, even when they pretended like they didn't care.

Our moms never got in between it, because... secretly, they loved how I would stand up for Belly, for us both. How Belly grew confidence around me. I didn't do anything special. The only thing I did was treat her as an equal, never babied her.

Conrad, Steven, and I, the oldest of our families. We were absolute chaos growing up, especially when it was just the three of us, there was no stopping our chaotic trio.

Conrad being the brains, Steven the follower, and I was the brave one out of the three. I did everything the boys didn't want to do, the things they were too scared to do. If you were to ask them now, they would deny it.

The amount of pranks we pulled together is innumerable. Most of the pranks we pulled were directed towards the younger bunch, but mostly at Jeremiah, because he could take it and didn't snitch on us.

Oh, and then there's my little brother, Joshua, Jo to me. I am the only person he allows to call him that. Everyone else who has at least tried has gotten a slap from it. He doesn't even let Alva call him that, which is funny, since she's the one who came up with it.

Josh and I weren't really close growing up, there isn't a specific reason why we weren't, we just... weren't. Not as close as Conrad was with Jeremiah, or even Steven and Belly. Alva told me that it was because I was always pushing him away, no matter the situation, no matter the circumstances, I pushed him away. At first, it didn't seem like he cared about it, but over the years, it's been more obvious that he did.

I hated it, but it wasn't something I could control. I wished I could, he's family, and I don't want him thinking that I didn't love him.

Since Alva's car was in the shop, we were using mine to drive up to Cousins. We agreed that she was going to drive, but as it turns out, I fell asleep and they made a pit stop. They switched seats when I was asleep. I only found out when I woke up to a swerve. Josh was a fast and a reckless driver. He didn't even have his license yet, but Alva would do anything to get out of driving. Our four hour drive quickly turned into three.

My eyes looked up from my book when Alva announced that we were only ten minutes away. Even then, I felt it. I recognized the comfort Cousins held in the air. The feeling of being inside your favorite place could never compare to anything in this world.

It felt like it was my cue to open the window. I let the wind pull my hair back, I let the saltiness of the ocean set into my nose. I just took it all in. Every single thing was just like I remembered, and how I missed every but of it. One year has always felt like an eternity, but two years was horribly longer.

"Five minutes!" Alva squealed from the passenger seat.

Alva has been really excited, more than normal. At first I thought it was because of last summer. She had been so persistent on how it was going to be a full house this summer, just the way she liked it. She said that it reminded her of visiting family in Mexico, which then followed by her profusely apologizing.

There was a reason for it, she felt insensitive for saying it, especially under the circumstances.

"Aren't you excited, mija?" She said, looking back at me with an annoyingly big smile. "Laurel and Susannah can't wait to finally see you, not to mention Belly."

Alva has always been pushy. It was a known fact for everyone that knew her.

Me and pushy don't get along great, so that means that I don't get along with my own mom.

I mean, who would? Who could get along with someone that doesn't let things go? Obviously Laurel and Susannah, but that's besides the point.

She was always trying to find something I did wrong, a flaw. She would go on and on about it until I shut her out. That was the only way to keep her at bay by ignoring her, but even sometimes, it wouldn't work. She never leaves it alone. She pushes and pushes until I finally shut her out completely. And now, with everything that happened last year and last summer, she been acting worse than normal. But what irritated me the most was that she never did it to Josh.

He would score a simple goal and he would get flowers and his own little trophy with a hug, gifted by Alva herself. That was the difference between me and Jo. That's the real reason why we never really had a great relationship. He was the golden child. He was the perfect child, born into the perfect family.

I wasn't that at all. He expressed his feelings like it was an easy thing to do. I couldn't do that, ever. I wish that I had a good explanation for it, but all I could really say about it was telling people my feelings didn't come naturally like it did with him. Maybe it was the way that he was brought up in a house where both of his parents talked to one another. They communicated with one another, not through their child. I wish I didn't have to stuff everything inside all the time. Why was it so hard to tell people how I felt?

So many questions and not enough answers.

Josh was only a couple of months older than Belly. Yet, the boys treated him as one of them. That made Belly go crazy, that made her hate him. She would tell me how it was so unfair, she was just as old as him and they never let her tag along, it was only when Jeremiah and I begged them to let her come with us.

But when they didn't let her, I would tell her that they were blind. Blind that they didn't see how amazing she really was. Sometimes she believed me, other times she wouldn't stop crying, during those times I stayed with her. And to calm her down, I got all the moms to build a fort with us. We brought snacks and painted our nails. They asked about boys and how school was going. Belly and I shrieked every time they asked about boys, the moms would laugh and tell us that they were joking, and that we weren't allowed to have boyfriends until they were dead, because during the time they were alive they wanted their girls to spend every second with them.

Ever since we were little, my brother and Belly never got along. Everyone wondered why. I mean, everyone at the beach house got along, so why didn't they?

The question was never answered, because to this day, they have shared the same hatred for each other. They both have their own reasons, I only knew Belly's reason, I never paid enough attention to know his.

My thoughts were quickly interrupted when Josh made a very harsh stop, causing my whole body to jerk forward.

"Damn Josh, how about you use a little less brake next time, yeah?" He turned back, and flipped me off, which had been my plan all along. He was distracted.

I quickly unbuckled and went straight for the wheel, beating him to it. I honked the horn and stuck my tongue out at him, he did not look happy. I thought, he got to do it last summer, so it shouldn't matter that much to him.

I was wrong.

"What the hell!" Josh pushed me back, I landed on the seat with a very loud laugh.

It was too late to take it back, Belly was already half way down the stairs.

I pushed the car door open and ran straight for her. She already had her arms stretched out and everything, waiting for our impact. We both screamed, then we laughed, right before we wrapped our arms around each other.

I could feel Belly's heartbeat through my chest.

"I missed you Sonny D." Belly let out a breathy laugh, then she sighed, like it was a relief to see me, to have me in her arms. She was always good at doing that, making me feel wanted and cared for.

"I missed you more, Bellybutton." I think it was my turn to feel that relief. "More than you think."

Our hug lasted for about ten seconds before someone pulled us apart. "Move it, Belly!" He yelled. "It's my turn."

That's when he put his arms around my waist and whispered, "mi sol." He said it in a perfect Mexican accent, which almost surprised me, but he and I had spent a long time perfecting it.

"Mi corona especial." My arms found themselves around his shoulders in almost an instant. My eyes closed too, like I was taking in that moment, as if I couldn't wrap my head around the fact that I was at the beach house. I hadn't realized how much I've missed him, missed everyone.

"What the hell Steven!" Belly yelled, annoyed. "Did you seriously pull us apart, really? I have a really strong hate for you right now." My eyes opened. She had her arms crossed, she looked angry, very very angry at him. Like she was ready to pull him off of me and punch him in the face, really hard.

"Shut up, Belly." Steven said, his chin on my shoulder. "Sonny and I are totally having a moment right now. Don't you dare ruin it."

"You're such an ass." I laughed, pushing him off.

"Thank you." Steven smiled brightly at me, before did a full one-eighty when he saw my brother. "Josh, man? What the hell, you're taller than me now? There's no fucking way in hell." Steven and Josh did their weird bro handshake.

"He's really... tall." Belly paused for more than she should have, before she looked at me again, trying so hard to ignore my brother, but she failed miserably. It was very hard not to smirk. "What did you call Steven just now?"

"Oh, I called him my special crown." I couldn't help but laugh when I saw her look of confusion. That was when I noticed that she put on mascara, no, a light coverage full face. "Steven, crown. Come on, let that sink in. You got it?"

"I hate you." Belly laughed before she wrapped her arm around my shoulder.

"From the looks of it, my Bellybutton is all grown up." I hummed as we walked towards the house together. "How many times have they already mentioned it? My guess is three."

"Thousands," She said with a sigh, she sounded exhausted.

"Well, let me tell you this... yes, you look absolutely gorgeous, mouth watering, I would likely crash into a wall from looking at you, but how you look, it doesn't define shit. And if you see people treating you differently then how they did last year, you run. It's not about looks for you Belly. You're radiant, and amazing." I grabbed her hand and spun her in a circle. "Plus, don't your dare give them a chance. I have always had dibs on you Bells, you remember that, okay?"

"Oh my god, shut up." Our hands were still locked. She was blushing, hard.

"Holy hell, I am so glad I've had my bloom era is over and done with. Now, here's the bloom, you can have it." I took an imaginary growing flower from my pocket. "I swear, the compliments were possibly the most backhanded shit I've ever heard."

"Oh, come on." Belly said with a slight roll of her eyes. "You've always been in bloom."

"And you haven't?" I asked. "Belly, you don't need people calling you pretty to be pretty. I really wished you knew that. I think, or rather, have always known, that you are possibly the most beautiful girl in Cousins. And I didn't need to see you in your glow up to know that."

I have always found myself saying these type of things to her. If it was any other person in the world, I wouldn't even dare. Belly has always been my exception. In my mind, Belly had always had enough height in her to reach the end of my very tall walls.

"Rodriguez number one!" Jeremiah yelled.

I hated when he called me that. He always called me number one because I was the oldest, but it didn't make any sense since Josh and I don't share a last name.

I slowly let go of Belly's hands and walked in his direction. "Sorry Belly, but I gotta go say hi to my absolutely most favorite Fisher brother on this entire planet."

"You hear that Connie?" Jeremiah said. "Looks like someone knows what they're talking about."

"Yeah, whatever." Conrad was right behind Jere. It was hard to believe that they were almost the same height. Conrad was always the taller one. Now, he was only a few, well maybe more than a few taller than Jeremiah. Times have changed.

"Jere, you were supposed to keep that a secret." I finally reached him, shushing him.

"Shit, was I?" He smiled wide, wrapping his arms around my waist and picking me up from the ground even before I had even put my hands over his shoulders. He didn't put me down right away. "Conrad, Steven, and my dear Joshua, I'll gladly give her our welcome back present, no?"

"You better be joking Jeremiah, or I swear to god, I'll bring back the prank war. You know how Conrad gets during those." I tried pushing myself off of him but it didn't work, he put me over his shoulder instead. "Isn't this Belly's thing? Let me down and let's do the Bellyflop, please Jere I will love you forever and more."

"No, we already did that." Conrad said. He stood in front of me, with an annoyingly big smirk. I wanted so desperately to wipe it off of his stupid lips.

"Connie, my heart and soul, please tell your brother he's gone crazy. He really needs to put me down or else he's a freak for wanting my ass so close to his face." I'm pretty sure it looked like I had already given up, but I was determined. I did not feel like getting my clothes wet.

"Yeah, I don't think that's what I'll be doing."

I screamed my lungs out, trying to get any of the moms attention, but they were probably inside, possibly already saying their hellos to one another.

My stomach was in so much pain by the time we were only half way towards the pool.

"You know, this is starting to feel like you guys are trying to punish me for not being here last year." I said, in monotone.

"That's not what we're doing." Jeremiah said, a laugh escaping his mouth.

"It sure looks like it." Josh said, keeping in pace with everyone else, who also seemed to be following behind, and doing absolutely nothing to stop this from happening.

Everyone laughed at that, because it did. From a strangers perspective, it looked exactly like it. They were doing it because I hadn't been here last year. "Jere, if you don't put me down, I will gladly tell everyone in Cousins that you punished me because I was visiting my father. Do you really want to be known as a complete asshole?"

Jeremiah stopped right beside the pool. I thought he was going to throw me in, I believed actually. I was waiting for the moment of shock that came with jumping into a pool during just the start of summer, but that moment thankfully didn't come.

He put me down. "That really wasn't the reason we were doing it, I promise."

"We?" I asked, confused.

That's when Conrad stepped forward and grabbed both of my arms. I looked up at him, still confused.

"I really don't care what these people think of me." He told me with a shrug of his shoulders.

With one look at him there was something off about him. Two years gives lots of room to change, but this... him, something just wasn't right about that unrecognizable, blank smirk. There was nothing real about it.

That moment, me looking, me searching for something that I did recognize, it felt infinite. I think he felt it too. While to us, both our stares felt like an eternity of looking into the familiar eyes of someone you've known your entire life, in reality it was quick.

So quick that before I could catch my breath, my instinct kicked in and I held onto Conrad, tight.

I bet that when they planned this, Conrad didn't expect to be pulled into the water. He didn't expect me hold onto him, even in the water. He didn't expect for himself to hold on too, hold on until we were finally above water.

That's when I pushed him off, he didn't expect that either.

AUTHORS NOTE:
okay, okay. i did in fact stay up all night writing this, but while rereading it, i hated it.

it was choppy and all over the place, so i fixed it, which added another one thousand words to this chapter, so i'm guess be glad i didn't update yesterday??

disclaimer for this fic: conrad and belly are PLATONIC and nothing more. they have and will forever be in their brother/sister relationship... only in this fanfic tho, because they're adorable.

i LOVE love triangles but that's not the trope i want to do for conrad and sonny, also, i don't want belly to feel betrayed by sonny, because they are my favorite duo.

but, i do have a REAL love triangle planned, which basically means... nevermind, don't wanna spoil it.

hope yall enjoyed this... i love you.

- ria