𝗜𝗡 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗠 ᐅ𝙟𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙖𝙝 𝙛𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧 [ 𝗢𝗡 𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 ]

𝟬𝟳

✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩ TODAY ✧ ೃ༄*ੈ✩

Confusion invaded Rose's mind. Belly had kissed Jeremiah and Conrad? And Cam Cameron? Why didn't Belly tell her about Conrad? Surely it hadn't just started happening, had it?

"How long have they been a thing?" she said suddenly.

"They kissed last summer—"

She blinked. "Last summer?"

"You good?"

Rose took a second to think about Jeremiah's question. Belly had told her about her and Jeremiah, of course she had, but that wasn't all there was, and that knowledge rendered Rose almost speechless. Belly and Rose told each other almost everything, and had done for years, and now suddenly there's a wall between them? That hurt more than anything—not the initial betrayal of Belly toward Jeremiah, but to Rose as well.

"Now that they're drenched in water? Yeah," Rose said eventually, keeping her facial expressions unreadable, although Jeremiah would most likely see exactly what she was feeling. "So, she kissed both of you?"

Jeremiah didn't break eye contact. "Yeah."

"Do you..."

"Do I still like her?" he finished with a nervous laugh. "I haven't really thought about it that much. You know, because of everything. But I don't think I do."

She smiled. "You think?"

"I know."

Rose grinned. "Good."

His smile grew. "Yeah? How?"

She rolled her eyes and pushed him out of her way as she moved towards the door, until he lightly grabbed her wrist, so gentle she was certain she had almost imagined it.

"You didn't answer my question," he said quietly.

Was he being serious? They'd never liked each other like that—they'd always been best friends. Always. She was there for him when his first girlfriend Emma broke his heart, and he was her shoulder to cry on when Adam crushed hers. That was how they worked. Like a safety net. Each designed to help each other, to provide the same comfort and familiarity. But even so, she couldn't help but notice the shiver that rushed through her at the contact of their skin. Jeremiah didn't drop her hand.

She pulled out of his reach with a laugh. "Get over yourself."

"You both are dead," Conrad said at the door, dripping wet, the droplets falling from the wisps of hair collecting on his forehead. He glared at the two of them before racing into the room. Rose leapt onto the bed and sprinted out of the door; Jeremiah close on her heels. He slammed it behind him. 

Conrad pounded on the wood. "Let me out you little shits!"

Rose laughed. "Come on, Jere."

"Go!" he proclaimed dramatically, one hand on his heart as the other held the door. "Forget about me."

She stifled a chuckle and played along. "I can't leave without you!"

"You have to leave!"

"I can't!"

"Why?"

Rose fell against the wall with a dramatic sigh. "Because I can't live without you."

Jeremiah burst out laughing. "See, if you said that seriously it would be full of sarcasm."

"Of course it would."

At that moment, the door burst open, and Jeremiah shoved Rose down the corridor. They needed a room with a lock... and the bathroom was right behind Conrad. Shit. She didn't want to go for another swim today, and she doubted Conrad would make the landing smooth. Rose looked around frantically. Her eyes landed on the store cupboard at the same time Jeremiah pulled her towards it.