BACK TO YOU

eleven. oh, great lennox

▬▬ LENNOX HUMMED AS she made her way down the stairs, her tote bag hanging from her shoulder and her camera hanging from her neck. She had her hair pulled into a high pony and it swayed as she pretty much hopped down the stairs, a wide smile on her face. She jumped off the last step, her vans slapping against the floor and the two Fisher boys turned towards her, both with raised eyebrows.

“What’s with you?” Jeremiah asked as she raised his mug to his lips. “Finally nail Nate?”

“No, my degenerate friend.” She booped his nose, making him laugh. “I heard back from my photography teacher, I’m amazing. My work is amazing, yada yada yada.” She mumbled. “And he wants to set up a small showing in town for my pictures, well, for everyone's pictures.” She took the mug from the boy and took a sip of his coffee. “You are in the presence of greatness.”

“Shall I kneel before you?” He joked and Conrad laughed at the two as the girl tapped her chin as if thinking it over.

“Of course, peasant.” She nodded and the youngest Fisher dropped to his knee, his hands clasped together.

“Oh, great Lennox. I bow before thee. We are not worthy of your greatness.”

“At least you know.” She hummed, stepping around him and he laughed as he pushed himself up.

“You two are weird.” Conrad chuckled, leaning against the counter.

“Makes life interesting.” She shrugged. “So, I need more pictures, are you busy today?” She asked him, still sipping on Jeremiah’s coffee.

“What’d you have in mind?”

“You still sail, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Great.” She grinned. “Mind if we hit the water?”

“I would love to, but I’m helping Cleveland.”

“Is it alright if I join?”

“Yeah, yeah. I think we can manage that.” He nodded.

“Aren’t you two adorable?” Jeremiah mused.

“Don’t you have a pool to vacuum?” Conrad asked him and the boy pulled out his phone to check the time.

“Shit, I’m already late.” He huffed, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

“If you wait, I can take you.” Lennox told him. “I wanna tell Belly and Steven about the gallery. I love saying that.” She grinned and Conrad smiled at the sheer joy on her face.

“There’s no time.” He told her before tipping up his cereal bowl and downing the milk.

“Dude, seriously, you gotta stop with the milk thing. It’s disgusting.” Conrad told him as he put the bowl down and wiped his mouth before pressing a kiss to Lennox’s cheek.

“I’m proud of you.” He told her then he left the room and she smiled, a warm feeling bubbling up in her chest. It had been a while since she had heard that from anyone and she almost forgot what it felt like.

“You’re really excited about this.” Conrad mused, smiling at the girl as she turned towards him.

“Yeah. I had actually stopped taking pictures for a while but Susannah called a few weeks before summer and said she had found a class in town and I can’t say no to her. It’s physically impossible. I’m happy to be back at it. Forgot how much I loved it.”

“I like seeing you like this.”

“Like what?”

“Happy.”

Her smile grew even wider. “Well, it’s a good look on you, too. Though I can’t figure out why you’re so happy.”

“You really don’t know?” He asked and she shook her head. He smiled as he reached over and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before he cupped her cheek, his thumb moving across her skin in slow movements. “You, ya dummy.”

“Connie.” She sighed, her hand on his wrist as she tugged on his hand and took a small step back. “I told you yesterday, we can’t. You have-”

“No, I don't.” He shook his head. “Nicole and I are just friends. I told her about us, and that I couldn't lose you. I can't lose you.”

She was stunned. All she could do was look up at him, her eyes searching his and he seemed completely sincere. She took a small breath and moved his hand, her fingers still curled around his wrist, then she lightly kissed his palm. “You won’t lose me. Ever.”

His smile grew as he tugged her closer to him. “I do have one question.” She tilted her head back, waiting for him to ask. “Nate… are you two…”

“We're just friends.” She smiled, resting her hands on his sides. “Uh, I wanna talk more about this but I wanna get to the country club. I wanna tell Belly and Steven about the gallery.”

“I’ll drive you.” He told her, and she smiled before making her way through the kitchen and he followed after her. “Good morning, Laurel.” He told her as he passed her then he followed the brunette to the door.

>>>>> • <<<<<

▬▬ LENNOX WAS SO EXCITED about her news that she was out of the car before Conrad had even put it in park, then she took off across the parking lot. Conrad couldn’t help but laugh as he shook his head, watching as the girl disappeared into the building. He eventually got out and made his way around the car to close the door she had left open.

Lennox grinned as she sprinted down the hallway towards the ballroom, the music getting louder and when she reached the room, she stopped, her eyebrows pinched as everyone danced to So Pretty and there in the middle of it all was Jeremiah.

“Might have to rethink this deb thing.” She muttered to herself before she made her way over to Belly, grabbing the girl’s arms to stop her from dancing.

“Len? What are you doing here?” She asked, giggling a little.

“My photography teacher wants to set up a gallery for my pictures!” She shouted over the music.

“What!” Belly shouted, her smile growing and Lennox nodded. The two girls squealed and wrapped their arms around each other, jumping in place a little when the music stopped and all eyes turned to them for a moment. Both girls froze as they looked around, still wrapped around each other.

“Hi.” Lennox waved, her eyes scanning the room as a smile played on her lips.

“Jeremiah Fisher, why aren’t you at the pool?” Miss Paige asked the boy and Lennox shuffled so she was kind of hiding behind Belly.

“We had a code brown.” He answered, getting a few laughs from the debs and their escorts. “Yeah, we lost the keys to the chemical closet.” She simply looked at the boy before opening her binder and handing in the keys he needed. “Catch ya later, Bells.” He smiled at the girl and she as Lennox poked at her sides in a teasing manner. “Bye, oh, great, Lennox.” He bowed slightly and she stuck her tongue out at him.

“Get going, Jeremiah.” Paige told him before he eyes settled on Lennox. “Another crasher?”

“I would never.” Lennox shook her head as she clasped her hands together behind her back. “I was just, um, checking in.” She turned towards Belly. “You good, Bell?”

“Yep, I’m good.” Belly nodded.

“Stevie?”

“100%.” He nodded, playing along.

“Gotta make sure they’re doing alright. Big sister duties and all.”

“Miss St. James.” Paige sighed, and a smile pulled at the girl's lips. Then someone caught her attention and she looked over to see Conrad leaning against the wall. He raised his hand in a slight wave and she shook her head a little, biting her lip.

“I’ll be on my way.” She mumbled, walking towards the older boy. “Oh, Stevie.” She stopped and turned back around. “I wanted to tell you-”

“Lennox, please.” Paige almost begged.

“Ask Belly.” She told him and he nodded. “I’ll go now.” She muttered to the woman before making her way over to Conrad, who had yet to look away from her. As she reached him, they were both laughing and the girl shook her head, shoving his chest a little as she made her way down the hall and he followed.

“Next time, let me put the car in park before you jump out.” He shoved her shoulder a little as they walked down the hall. “I almost had a heart attack.”

“I got excited.” She shrugged and all he could do was laugh. She smiled as she looked up at him, she had missed that laugh. She had missed that smile. She had missed him. She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts straight but that was a losing battle, she was all jumbled up. So she just bumped him with her hip, nothing more than a playful gesture.

>>>>> • <<<<<

▬▬ LENNOX NARROWED HER eyes as she watched Conrad move around the boat, her sunglasses rested on her nose and her camera was raised as she snapped a picture of the boy. She smiled at the small screen on her camera, he was smiling and it had been a while since he smiled for pictures. She quickly shook her head then went back to taking pictures of the boat and the water from different angles. She was in full photographer mode, she had her ear buds in and she was focused on getting as many pictures as possible.

“Excuse me.” She mumbled, moving around Conrad and ducking under the sail where Cleveland stood. She sent him a smile but continued what she was doing. She laid down under the sail and raised her camera, trying to get a picture of the sky. Conrad simply smiled at the girl, which Cleveland noticed and he couldn’t help but ask.

After a while, Lennox decided she had taken plenty of pictures and that she wanted to soak up as much sun as she could. So, she laid on the boat in a floral bikini, her eyes closed as she used her shirt for a pillow. She still had her earbuds in and a smile played on her lips. She used to love sailing with Conrad, well, she loved being on the water with him. And that usually meant that she was soaking up the sun and listening to music while he fished. Still, it was one of their favorite things to do.

“Hey.” Conrad got the girl’s attention, shaking her shoulder lightly and she groaned as she opened her eyes, squinting at him even under her sunglasses. “Were you asleep?”

“No.” She mumbled as she sat up, stretching her arms above her head. “So, how’s the sailing coming?” She asked before looking over at Cleveland. “You a pro yet?”

“Not even close.” He shook his head and she hummed.

“Uh, we’re heading back. Do you have any more pictures you need to get?” Conrad asked, pulling her attention back to him.

“No, I think I got what I need.” She gave him a smile and he nodded as he stood up and even with that small interaction she could sense his attitude change. Her brows creased but before she could ask him what was wrong her phone chimed and she moved over to the bag to get it.

“Hey, Nate.” She answered, smiling small.