❝ debutantes ❞

-

ALENA PERCHED HER chin on the palm of her hand as she watched Jeremiah make a smoothie for hungover Conrad who was sprawled out on the couch. Steve continued to hover over Jere's shoulder.

"Do we really have to physically sit for our portraits? Can't she just, like, look at a picture on her phone or something?" The Fisher boy glanced back at Laurel who was typing away on her laptop, "She needs to see you in the flesh in order to capture your essence. While you're still young and full of hope."

Alena shook her head in amusement as Jeremiah and Steven erupted in laughter as Laurel shrugged, "Her words."

Jeremiah went back to cooking egg as he spoke, "Well, Conrad does not have hope actually, and I think Lena is getting there."

Alena blinked at the boy before talking ahold of an orange, "Try me." Jere rolled his eyes, "What's an orange gonna—"

The girl chucked it straight at Jeremiah's face, hitting the boy in the nose making him stumble backwards, "Okay, ow."

Alena sweetly smiled as she took a bite out of her muffin. Steven doubled over in laughter as Jere attempted to play it cool as he cleared his throat before turning back to the stove.

Laurel smiled at the trio, "She hasn't painted you since you were little. I think it'd be nice to have these portraits for when you're older."

Steven leaned his hands on the counter top, "When I'm older, I'm sure there'll be, like, like, holograms or something I can watch of myself, you know?"

Jeremiah turned on the blender as Laurel rolled her eyes at her sons statement, "Just sit for your portraits. I don't see Conrad complaining."

Alena let out a laugh as she glanced over at the boy, "He'll be complaining when he's conscious."

Jeremiah took the smoothie before walking over to his older brother, "Here." Conrad raised his head as he took ahold of the cup, "Thank you."

Steven let out a groan, "Come on, man. Hurry your ass up. All right? I can't be late for my first day of work."

"We won't. We're good." Jeremiah reassured his friend as Alena sipped her coffee, "Make sure not to push anyone into a pool."

Jere let out a sigh, "You're not letting go of that anytime soon, are you?" Alena bitterly smiled, "Don't go to the pool when I'm around."

"Those old country club boomers are gonna tip me so hard, man, they won't know what hit 'em." Steven enthusiastically spoke as he humped the air. Laurel let out a disappointed sigh, "Steven, I swear."

Alena scrunched up her features in disgust, "I'm eating here, dude."

"Come on, my boy's got to get that bread." Jeremiah backed up Steven who grinned at him. Alena rolled her eyes, "You're both complete idiots."

Steven rested his head on Alena's as squeezed the girl in his arms, "But we're your idiots." Lena shoved the boy off whilst laughing, "Get a grip."

"Good morning." Belly greeted as she walked into the kitchen, Alena sighed in relief, "Oh thank god."

Belly chuckled as she slipped into a seat beside Lena as Laurel eyed the bruise on her daughters cheekbone, "Is that a bruise?"

Isabel tucked her hair behind her hair before shrugging it off, "I bumped into someone."

"You bumped into someone?"

Belly nodded as Jeremiah gazed at her, "Cereal?" the fifteen year old girl nodded, "Yeah, hit me."

"Oh my god."

Alena turned her head to see Susannah holding two cardstock papers, a bright smile decorating her lips as she spoke, "Lena and Belly are going to be debutante's."

Alena blinked as she sighed, "I'm slightly regretting it now."

Susannah almost squealed as she glanced between her two girls, "Okay, this is going to be so much fun."

"I wouldn't say that." Alena muttered under her breath. The Fisher mother clasped her hands together as she thought, "Just you two wait. There is, uh... there's the tea, the auction, the ball, of course, the rehearsal. I got to write this down." Susannah suddenly let out a gasp, "We have to go shopping."

Laurel pursed her lips as she looked up from her screen, "This sounds... expensive." Susannah waved her friend off, "Oh, don't worry, Laur. It's on me. It was my idea after all, and we still need to style you for your book party, so."

Laurel gazed over at Alena, "Are you sure you want to do this? This doesn't seem very like you."

"It isn't." Conrad spoke up as he sat on the couch, glancing over at Alena who narrowed her eyes at him, "Stop acting like you know me so well."

Susannah rolled her eyes at her son, "Conrad, could you please be a little more supportive?" the mother now spoke loudly, "Now, which one of you is gonna be Belly's escort to the ball?"

Conrad gazed down into his smoothie, "Not me. I went last year."

Alena watched as Jeremiah spoke up as he stood by the stove, "Yeah, and I swore off balls." Steven blinked at his friend before letting out a laugh, "The dances dude."

Alena rolled her eyes, "No need to fight over us." the girl spoke in a sarcastic tone, "But I can get my own escort."

Jeremiah snickered as he glanced back at his best friend, "You? The one who scares away guys with just a look."

Lena clicked her tongue in annoyance, "Mhm, we'll see."

Belly nodded in agreement with the Elsher girl, "I will be getting my own date too."

Laurel narrowed her eyes at her computer as she read, "Wikipedia says debutante balls require instruction in morals and social etiquette."

Alena let out a sigh, "Lovely."

Belly let out a gasp as she turned to look at her friend, "What about that guy you were talking to at the bonfire?"

Lena tilted her head in confusion, "What guy?"

"The one that approached you, I saw you guys talking."

Lena parted her lips in realization, "Oh, him." Belly nodded at her friend, "Maybe he could be your escort, he looked pretty into you."

Conrad abruptly got up from the couch, lips tightly pursed as he made his way to the back door, "I'm going for a swim."

"No offense, Beck, but I don't feel like a country club is the best place to teach Belly about morals."

"Laur, times have changed. There's a girl debbing this season, and she's bringing her girlfriend as her escort, and the club was fine with it."

"How very progressive of them."

Alena's eyes followed the oldest Fisher as he was slipping off his sandals by the pool, Jeremiah slid the bowl of cereal to Isabel, "Here you are, Belly button."

"Well, hurry up! We have shopping to do."

Alena slammed her head on the table as she groaned, "I just want to sleep."

―

Alena shrunk in her seat as Laurel pulled them up to the club, the Elsher girl was wearing a black fascinator with a white and black floral dress. Susannah had obviously dressed her.

"Laur, take me back with you."

Belly rolled her eyes at her best friend as she exited the car and went to open the back passenger door where Lena was complaining.

Isabel held her hand out, "C'mon, we're in this together."

Alena gazed at her friend before letting out a groan as she unbuckled her seatbelt, Belly smiled happily as the two girls stood out the car as Laurel quickly took a picture of them.

"Laur." Alena blinked at the mother who shrugged innocently, "Your mom wanted a picture, take it up with her."

Alena crossed her arms over her chest as Belly's mother gazed between the two girls, "If you guys need anything, absolutely anything, I'm only a call away."

Belly nodded and Lena gave the woman a small smile, "Thanks, Laurel."

Isabel linked her arm through Alena's as the two began to walk into the country club, where Jeremiah was walking out with a stack of towels.

"Jere." Alena called out, slightly relieved to be seeing a familiar face. The boy didn't even glance at them until Belly and Lena were a few feet away from him.

The youngest Fisher looked up with wide eyes as he gazed between the two girls, "Belly? Lena?"

Alena pressed her lips into a firm line, already knowing what her friend was about to say, "Not a word."

Jeremiah let out a laugh, "Never thought I would get to see you in a fascinator."

"Shut. Up."

Jeremiah's eyes wandered over to Belly and he kept them there for a moment too long, the boy blinked a few times before speaking, "Uh, let me walk you guys over."

Alena turned on her heel as Jeremiah slipped into Belly's side, "Are those pineapple's?"

Isabel glanced down at her dress before shaking her head, "Pineapples?"

Alena furrowed her brows, "How the hell does that look like pineapple's to you?" Jere rolled his eyes, "They look like pineapple's." the boy quickly ran over to a gulf cart as he set down his stack of towels before joining the two girls once again.

Jeremiah held open the door for them, Belly walking in first as Alena leaned over to her best friend, "You're drooling, Jere."

The Fisher boy instinctively touched the corner of his mouth before giving the girl a look as she snickered before following after Isabel.

The trio made their way up the stairs as Jeremiah went on and on about the food, "They have strawberry, raspberry, raspberry type cookies. Oh, they're to die for."

They stepped into the room and all chatter died down as all the girls turned to look at the trio, Alena wished she could make herself disappear at that very moment.

Lena wore her usual blank expression as a woman walked up to them, "Jeremiah." The Fisher boy gave her a smile, "Paige."

"Where's your shirt?"

"It's always a pleasure."

Paige gave him a look, "Mhm."

Jeremiah gestured to the two girls by his side, "Uh, this is Alena Elsher, my best friend." Lena mustered up a half smile as the boy then addressed Belly, "Isabel Conklin, my future wife."

Belly slapped Jere's arm as Paige hummed, "They're late."

"W-were so sorry." Isabel apologized as the woman pointed to the table at the far end, "You're at table two."

Jeremiah's eyes landed on the table before them, "Are those those little Brie and fig jam sandwiches with the prosciutto?"

"Don't you dare." Paige warned but the boy didn't listen as he quickly grabbed one, "Jeremiah, those are for the girls!"

Jere gazed at his best friend, "You'll do great, Len." the boy then glanced over at Belly, "Knock em' dead." Jeremiah ran out the room as Alena shifted her eyes to her table, her lips parted upon seeing Nicole, the same girl Conrad had been making out with at the bonfire.

Belly linked her arm through Lena's as the two began to make their way to the empty seats, Alena took a seat beside Nicole as Isabel took hers beside Shayla, the girl Steven had been with.

"Hi." Belly greeted as the other girls at the table glanced at them, "Hey."

Alena clasped her hands together as she took a deep breath as Shayla smiled at them, the girl focused on the bruise Isabel had on her cheek, "Is that from the other night?"

Belly pursed her lips as she meekly nodded, "Yeah." Shayla reached for a beauty blender before placing a tad bit of foundation on it, "Here, let me fix that." she kindly spoke with her accent as she began to blend the product onto Isabel's cheek.

"I think we're good." Shayla smiled as she put her items away, Belly sheepishly grinned, "Thank you."

The girl sitting across from them spoke up, "I told my mom the only way I would do this is if I could bring my girlfriend, 'cause I thought it would be a deal killer, but the club has been surprisingly chill about the whole thing."

Dara, who was sitting beside her, hummed a reply, "I'm honestly shocked."

"Literally, Dara, I was expecting a conversion camp to spring out of the bushes. No. Lesbians and debutantes are, like, a completely juxtaposing idea. Opposites." Marisa glanced around the table as Nicole nodded, "Yeah, but Cousins likes to pretend to be woke. Trust me. My family deals with it constantly."

Marisa let out a heavy sigh, "The things we do for college applications." Shayla gave the girl a comforting smile, "Don't worry, Marisa. You'll get in everywhere."

Alena picked at her nails under the table as Belly gazed at Marisa before speaking up, "Wait. Where are you applying?"

"You know, the usual. Every Ivy minus Cornell."

"Ithaca is so bleak."

Marisa chuckled before gazing between Alena and Isabel, "So, what about you guys?"

"Bels is about to be a sophomore and I was thinking of somewhere more local to where I live." Alena unenthusiastically spoke to which Nicole agreed, "Yeah, you're about to be a senior, right? At least that's what Conrad told me."

Belly looked at Lena who nodded, "Yeah, in the fall." Dara darted her eyes between the two friends, "So, is this your guys' first summer in Cousins?"

Belly shook her head, "No, we've been coming here basically all our lives."

"Yeah, they're like, family friends with Conrad and Jeremiah." Nicole explained to the others. Alena gazed down at her plate as she began to chew the inside of her lip, the way Nicole kept speaking about Conrad was riling something up in Lena. This wasn't right, she shouldn't care, she had no feelings for him, she kept mentally reminding herself.

Gigi eyed Isabel before questioning, "Uh, so are you and Jeremiah, like, a-a thing, or are you gonna take him to the ball?" Nicole let out a laugh as she gazed at her friend, "Oh, my God, back off, Geeg."

"It was a question."

Nicole rolled her eyes, "They're, like, basically related, okay? You have nothing to worry about."

Alena spared a glance to Belly who shuffled awkwardly in her seat as Gigi spoke, "I'm not worried."

Shayla softly scoffed, "Yeah, sure."

"Keep telling yourself that, babe."

Alena was not much of a socializer if she wasn't with her main friends, the ones she grew up with, only then would she actively speak. At that table though, Lena felt out of place and kept her conversation making to a minimal.

Nicole gestured to her friend, "Gigi has had this thing for Jeremiah." Shayla nodded, "Ever since he got abs." The girls laughed as Gigi sent Shayla a look, Shayla waved the girl off, "Relax. I'm not into Jeremiah Fisher."

"Yeah, and your noticing his abs?"

A sly grin spread onto Marisa's lips, "No, she's too busy eye-fucking the waiter." Belly's features scrunched up in disgust as Alena shook her head in amusement.

Shayla gaped at her friend, "Dude, that's Belly's brother."

Dara gazed at the two best friends, "So, what's it like to live with Jeremiah and Conrad? Conrad's so mysterious."

Isabel looked over at her friend who leaned back in her seat, clearly not wanting to entertain the current conversation.

"Hello, debutantes."

Alena turned her attention towards Paige who stood at the center of the room, looking over the large group, "A few small housekeeping bits I'd like to go over. We have a lot to look forward to this season. Now, I understand some of you might think that debbing is outdated. It's something you're doing to appease your families."

Shayla slipped a flask out of her purse as she poured a bit into her teacup before passing it to the other girls who did the same.

Paige clasped her hands together before continuing, "But the Cousins Debutante Ball is a part of history. Venerated, yet ever evolving, it's a tradition you'll someday pass on to your own daughters. It's a formal marking of this passage of time between your teenage years and your adulthood. One ends, and the other begins."

"It's a journey generations of women before you have taken. Women who you can learn from and who can inspire you. Debs, at each table is a big sister who will guide you through the season. So, please introduce yourselves." Paige finally finished as she gestured to the tables.

Nicole glanced at Alena who was her side, "Hey, little sis." Lena gave her a half smile as she continued, "Honestly, my parents made me do it last year because, you know, like, all the women in my family have done it. But my big sis was great, and I actually ended up having a lot of fun. So just don't be nervous."

"Thanks, these type of things just aren't really my thing." Lena awkwardly spoke. Nicole got handed the flask and poured herself a bit before offering it to Alena who took it, pouring just a tad into her cup.

Belly raised a curious brow, "Since when did you start drinking?" Alena rolled her eyes, "I don't drink that much, just occasionally. I also never get wasted on it."

Alena passed the flask back to Shayla, not allowing Isabel to get ahold of it but the fifteen year old wasn't even paying attention as she gazed at the door.

Alena furrowed her brows as Belly abruptly stood from her seat, "Uh, excuse me. I'll be right back." the girl spoke before speeding out of the room.

Lena tilted her head in confusion before looking back at the table, she let out a sigh before downing the alcohol in her teacup in one go as she shrunk in her seat.

A part of her feared how this whole debutante thing would go, but a small, mini part of her, was excited.

―

Alena was sat in an arm chair, watching Conrad, Steven, and Jeremiah play video games as the girl scrolled through tiktok.

"Oh, come on!" Steven complained to which Alena spoke without taking her eyes off of her cellphone, "I've said it before and I'll say it again, you suck."

"You're always so encouraging, Len." Steven blinked at the seventeen year old who smiled at him, "Aw, I'm glad you think so."

Alena diverted her attention over to Belly who walked down the stairs, wearing a floral crop top with denim shorts, "That looks so good on you, Bels."

"Thanks, Len. I'll see you guys later."

Jeremiah was the first to look back, eyes widening as he took in the girls appearance, the boy set his controller down as he walked over to the youngest Conklin.

Steven blinked, "Yeah, fine, just abandon the game completely, Jere."

Jeremiah took ahold of Belly's hand, twirling her as he admired her, "You... look... hot." Steven glanced back at them, "Hey, hey, hey, stop flirting with my sister."

Belly rolled her eyes at her brother, "Shut up, Steven."

"No, you shut up. Well, you look good, though."

Jeremiah gazed at Isabel, "You driving with, or are you meeting us there?" Belly sheepishly smiled before answering, "I'm not going to the book party. I'm going to the drive-in."

Alena looked over at her friend, "Shut up, with who?" Belly hid a grin as her phone chimed, the girl gazed down at her device before beginning to walk away. Alena watched Belly fix her hair in the mirror, "Bels."

Isabel turned towards her friend, Lena gave the girl a kind smile, "You look absolutely stunning, go."

Belly chuckled softly, "I love you, Len." Alena shrugged whilst grinning, "I know. Have fun, he tries anything and I'll remove his ability to procreate."

Isabel blinked as Jeremiah and Steven erupted in laughter, Steven gave Alena a look, "This is why you're my favorite."

Conrad hid an amused smile as Belly rolled her eyes before walking out of the house.

—

Alena gazed at the bookshelves before gazing over at Conrad who was in the midst of downing a cup full of Chardonnay. Lena let out a sigh before approaching the boy, "Take it easy, this a book signing, not a pub."

Conrad gazed at the girl, "How was your debutante lunch?" Alena raised an incredulous brow, "Wow, didn't think I'd hear you asking about that."

Conrad hummed, "Yeah, it's not like Jere told me about how you were wearing a fascinator." Alena's expression morphed into a scowl, "Of course he did."

"Conrad!"

The oldest Fisher reluctantly tore his gaze away from Lena as he turned to see Laurel calling him over, he set his cup down as walked over to the woman.

Alena pursed her lips before looked around, taking in her surroundings.

"Hey."

The brunette turned to see the same boy from the bonfire night, Theo. Lena slipped her hands into her hoodie, "Hi?"

Theo ran a hand through his hair as he smiled, "It's nice to see you again." Alena furrowed her brows, "It is?"

"Yeah, I mean, we didn't get to say much the other night but I can see you're a person of few words. Which is totally understandable."

Alena intently gazed at him before humming, "Theo, right?"

The boy smiled happily, "Yeah, yeah. Alena." The brunette nodded, "That would be me."

Conrad slumped onto the couch beside Jeremiah and Steve, "This shit is so boring."

"You can say that again." Steven leaned his head back as Conrad glanced around, "Where's Lena?"

Jeremiah smirked as he gestured over to the other side of them room, "Talking to sum dude. I think it's the same one that approached her at the bonfire."

Conrad narrowed his eyes as he watched the two, his lips set into a firm line as he held a blank expression.

Theo clasped his hands together anxiously before speaking, "I was wondering, if uh, I could get your number?"

Alena was a tad taken back by the request, she fell silent for a minute and the boy stuttered out, "O-or not, it's okay if you don't wanna, I'm not gonna make you uncom—"

Lena quickly shook her head, "No sorry, I was just stunned by your question. No, I don't mind."

Theo gave her a relieved smile as he slipped his cellphone out of his pocket, handing it to the seventeen year old girl. Lena typed in her contact info before giving the device back.

"Lena!"

The brunette turned to see Jeremiah calling her over, Alena glanced back at Theo, "I should get going."

"Yeah, no worries."

The Elsher girl mustered up a half smile, "Bye." she turned on her heel, walking over to where the trio of boys were.

Alena raised a brow, "What?"

Steven grinned widely as he gazed at her, "So, did you score?" Lena rolled her eyes, "He just asked for my number, stop making a fuss over everything."

Conrad clenched his jaw before tossing the car keys to Steven, "We're going home, you're driving." The boy stood from his seat and walked away.

Alena knitted her brows together in confusion, "The hell happened to him?"

Steven and Jeremiah shared a knowing look before getting up from the couch, "He's just being a dick as usual."

Jere wrapped an arm around Lena as they began to walk out the party, "Don't worry about it."

—

AUTHORS NOTE, thank you for all the comments i absolutely love seeing what you guys think and have to say but i do hope you're all enjoying this xx