BACK TO YOU

fourteen. wanna talk

▬▬ "GOOD AFTERNOON, I’m Susannah Fisher,” The woman greeted, holding a microphone, and  a few people clapped and the two teenagers made their way towards the women, passing Nate and Callie on the way. “- chair of the community service board, and I am delighted to welcome you to Play it Forward!” The woman continued and everyone cheered and clapped.

“Hey, where’ve you been?” Nate asked, draping his arm over Lennox’s shoulders, it had become a habit. She simply waved the clipboard a little as her answer and he hummed, nodding his head before glancing over at Conrad, who was watching them. His eyebrows were furrowed a little and his eyes narrowed, but he said nothing as they came to a stop.

“It’s hot, can you…?” Lennox asked, looking up at the blond boy and he moved his arm, getting a smile in return.

“You know…” Susannah went on. “...as my mother used to say, if you’re lucky enough to be at the beach, you’re lucky enough. And we are very fortunate indeed.”

Callie moved closer to the older girl, making her brother step to the side. “You okay?”

Lennox managed a small smile, “Yeah, I’m okay.” It was a lie, but Callie seemed to believe it. Conrad, however, knew she was lying, so he placed his hand on the small of her back. She let out a small breath at the contact, shuffling her feet in the sand a little so she was closer to him.

“...which is why,” Susannah continued. “-in the spirit of fun and friendly competition it is time to open our hearts and our wallets, and give back to those who may not be as fortunate. We have teams raising money for homelessness, women’s shelters, environmental causes, and many more. And Play it Forward will match pledges for the winner of the tournament!” Everyone cheered and clapped. “The pledge table is still open, so please donate generously. And with that I say let the games begin!”

“Hey, Suze, I got everything you wanted checked off.” She told the woman as she handed the woman the clipboard. “Is there anything else you need me to do?” She asked, trying not to watch Conrad as he walked away, but she snuck a peak. And she watched as he walked over to Nicole.

“Yeah, Angel, just one thing.” Lennox looked at the woman again. “Have fun.” She gave her a smile and the girl chuckled. “Go hang out with your friends, have a good time.”

“Okay.” She hummed, walking over towards Callie and Nate, where they had a great view of the court as the games began.

“What’s going on over there?” Callie asked, nodding her head towards Conrad and Nicole.

“Um, I’m not… I’m not sure.” Lennox told her, her eyebrows pinched. He had said that he and Nicole weren't together, but she couldn't help the surge of jealousy that rushed through her, but she shook it off.

“Is he finally coming to his senses?” Nate huffed, sipping on his lemonade. “It’s about damn time.”

“Will you shut up?” Lennox huffed, smacking the boy’s shoulder and he laughed.

“I seriously don’t understand you two.” Callie mumbled, shaking her head. “I thought you guys were dating, but you seem very okay with the fact that Conrad is, maybe, breaking up with Nicole for Lennox.”

He wasn't because they weren't together, not that Callie knew that.

“How many times do I have to tell you, we’re friends.” Nate thumped the girl on the forehead and she narrowed her eyes at him as Lennox laughed at the two. “And I just want you to be happy.”

“Thank you.” Lennox told him, leaning against his shoulder but she stood up straight when Belly and Taylor started their game. They were playing really well, easily gaining a nice lead over the other team, until Taylor fell.

“You okay?” Belly asked, checking on her best friend.

“No.” Taylor sighed. “I just… my ankle. I just, like, twisted it.” She told Belly as the girl helped her to her feet.

“Can you walk?” Belly asked, but the girl groaned when she tried.

Taylor looked over her shoulder, where Jeremiah stood by the fence. “Can you sub, please?”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The boy nodded, making his way towards them, then they traded shirts and the game continued.

“Yeah, let’s go, Belly!” Lennox shouted, her hands cupped over her mouth and she got a wide smile from the girl, who shook her head before focusing on the game, which they won.

The next game they played, Jeremiah seemed to lose whatever skill he had, he was missing hits, fumbling and playing, well, he was pretty bad. But the team they were up against was also really good, so it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“Come on, Jere!” Lennox shouted, having moved closer to yell at the boy when she saw the Belly was getting irritated. “What are you doing out there?”

“Competitive, even from the sidelines.” Conrad mused as he stopped next to the girl, who had dropped her head into her hands when he missed the ball again.

“No, I just want Belly to win.” She told him, letting out an irritated huff as she looked up at him and he just smiled as she rolled her eyes, letting out a soft chuckle. “Yeah, I’m competitive.” She mumbled, leaning forward, her elbows on the fence. “This isn’t new information.”

“I know.” He hummed, leaning next to her and lightly bumping her shoulder with his. “So, I-” The whistle blew when Belly called for a timeout and they both looked over at Belly.

“Len!” She shouted and the girl stood up, her eyes wide. “Can you sub, please?”

A smile pulled at the girl’s lips. “Hell yeah.” She nodded, tugging her shirt off so her bikini top covered her chest. The boy next to her inhaled sharply, his eyes dropped to her chest before he looked away.

The girl made her way towards Jeremiah, who was pulling off his team Belly shirt. “Sorry, Jere. Don’t mean to cockblock.” She whispered.

He chuckled, handing her the shirt. “She needs to win this.”

“And we will.” Lennox nodded, pulling the shirt on as the boy left the court. “You ready, Bells?”

“Are you?” The girl asked, her eyebrows raised and a small smile playing on her lips.

“Let’s win this thing.” Lennox held her hand out and Belly slapped it in a high five before they took their places. The ref blew the whistle again and the game started. Lennox served and Belly hit it up, then the older girl jumped for a spike and the blonde on the other team missed it when she dove for it.

“Yes!” Belly cheered, jumping up and down as the crowd cheered. “I love you so much right now.”

“Tell me just how much after we win.” She told the younger girl, before focusing back on the game and by the end of it, team Belly had made a comeback.

“Yes!” Belly jumped up and down, wrapping her arms around Lennox, who jumped with her, both girls squealing in excitement. They went on to win the next two games, pitting them against Steven and Shayla for the final game.

“Not gonna go easy on ya, Stevie!” Lennox called out to the boy on the other side of the net.

“Just serve the ball, Len.” He rolled his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips. Lennox laughed, glancing over at Conrad, who had been cheering for her and Belly the entire time – though it was mostly her name leaving his lips. She smiled as he waved, nothing more but the slight wiggle of his fingers and she shook her head before looking over at Belly, getting a nod in return.

It was a tight game, the score stayed mostly even throughout. It was down to one measly point, the next to score won it all. Lennox narrowed her eyes, spinning the ball in her hands as she took a breath.

“Let’s go, Len!” Conrad shouted, his hand cupped over his mouth.

“It’s your call.” Lennox kept her voice low, looking over at Belly. She knew she could win it with a serve, but it was Belly’s game.

“I’ll set you up.” Belly smirked, making Lennox’s smile grow. “Let’s win this.”

“All right.” She hummed, taking another breath as she served, Belly rushed forward and hit the ball upwards and Lennox ran, jumping up and smacking the ball down. It flew right by both Steven and Shayla as they moved for it and the ref blew the whistle.

“Yes! We did it!” Belly shouted, rushing towards Lennox and they wrapped their arms around each other, both laughing as they jumped around. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“There were two of us out there.”

“And the winners are Isabel Conklin and Lennox St. James!” Susannah called over the speaker as the two girls pulled apart and made their way under the net.

“Sorry, Stevie.” Lennox grinned and the boy rolled his eyes. “Good game, Shayla. You’re amazing.” She told the girl, shaking her hand.

“Len!” She turned when Belly called her name to see Susannah crossing the sand with a giant trophy.

“Oh, my gosh! You guys were incredible.” The woman gushed, pulling Belly into a hug before she hugged the shorter girl, then she handed them the trophy.

“This is all you, Bell.” Lennox told the girl, moving it closer to her before pulling her hand back. “You deserve it.”

“You were amazing.” Conrad’s smile was so wide as he neared her that the sight had nearly knocked Lennox off her feet; it had been so long since she had seen it. He wrapped his around her waist and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around as she giggled, her arms winding around his neck. “I wanna talk to you.” He put her back on her feet.

“Yeah, okay.” She nodded and his smile grew as he took her hand and pulled her away from the crowd until they were in a more secluded area. “Should I be worried that this is a private conversation?” She joked, raising an eyebrow.

“I know you saw me talking to Nicole.”

“Yeah, I saw.” She nodded, looking up at him, her brown eyes wide with hope.

“I needed to thank her.” He smiled, watching as her brows creased in confusion. “She’s, um, she's been helping me figure out how to tell you that I… I wanna be with you.”

“Th-th-that’s good.” She mumbled and he chuckled.

“That’s all you got to say?” He mused, his fingers intertwining with hers.

“What am I supposed to say?”

“Say you’ll be my girlfriend again. Please, Len, I’ve missed you.”

“This has to be different this time,” She started. “No sneaking around, no secrets, no keeping things from me, okay?”

He quickly nodded, ignoring the pang in his chest. He was still keeping things from her, but he couldn’t tell her, not yet at least. “Anything. Anything you want, I’ll do it.” He wrapped his arms around her and tugged her closer to him. “Just say it, please.”

“Ask me.”

He chuckled, shaking his head a little. “Lennox Ann St. James, will you please be my girlfriend?”

“Yes.” She hummed, stretching up onto her toes to press her lips against his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He groaned into the kiss, an appreciative sound that made the girl smile.

⚘‎ nova speaks┆posted this early because of i am so excited about this chapter!! they are finally together!! only took forever and a lot of back and forth!!

also, writing the volleyball scenes were difficult for me, so i tried not to spend too much time on them :)

and i know that maybe this isn't the healthiest of relationships, especially not in the beginning but they do eventually get their shirt together!!

anyways, hope you enjoy!!