ANOTHER PARTY

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Betty Graham was stood in her backyard, her eyes glued to the water of the pool as she zoned out. Her mind was spinning out over a few different things, the biggest thing being that she was going to have to endure a dinner with the Fishers and Conklins, a dinner her mother had signed her up for without speaking to her first, and a dinner she had told her they were hosting...and that she would be preparing the meal. It wasn't uncommon at all for Betty to cook, her mother was terrible at it, but it was the fact that she always just assumed she would do it, instead of ever asking her. It soured the deal.

The sound of footsteps made her eyes lift from the water and pulled her out of her thoughts, Betty noticing an all too familiar figure sneaking past the pool of the neighbors house.

"Belly?" The sound seemed to startle the girl, her head whipping to Betty Graham who was now standing at the edge of the fence that separated the two yards. Betty's eyes traced over Belly, her short pink dress giving off the impression that she was going somewhere. "You look hot...where you off to?"

"Oh...beach party. You aren't going?" Belly asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she stood in her place. Betty knew the party she was talking about, but she knew she didn't want to go to two parties in a row. She hummed a response and shrugged, Belly smiling as she looked away with a cheeky grin.

"Why you out here all alone? The boys not going?" The mention of the boys made her stomach turn as she said it but she kept a straight face for Belly, the girl opening her mouth to speak.

"Well they don't technically know...that I'm coming. I'm sneaking out." Now it all came into perspective for Betty, her lips parting as she whispered a soft 'oh'. Belly nodded along with her, her eyes crinkling as she smiled at her friend. It only took about 3 seconds of silence before Betty got a brilliant idea, quick to see what Belly thought about it.

"Well hey if you don't wanna show up alone...give me five minutes and I'll go with you?" Belly immediately jumped on the opportunity, nodding her head at Betty who nodded right back at her. Showing up alone was the worst part of this entire thing, at least now she would have someone she actually liked by her side. "Alright cool you just uh...stay there."

"Okay." Belly laughed out, Betty jogging back towards her house. She hurried up the stairs and was quick to pull open her closet, knowing Belly wore a dress and deciding to grab one of her own. Hers was a little more casual but it was a sundress nevertheless, the girl leaving her hair down and hurrying back down the stairs. It had been less than 5 minutes, Belly still standing in the exact same spot she had stopped her in.

"Alright let's go!" She said in an excitable tone, only excited over the fact she would be spending time with someone other than her brothers. The two girls laughed and cut up for most of the walk there,  Belly seeming nervous  due to the fact that this was her first party on the beach. Technically she had been invited, but now she was unsure how her brother would react. Another person whose reaction she was worried about was Conrad's, and while she wasn't sure if he would even care that she was there, she was 100% sure that he would care that she showed up with his ex. 

The sound of blaring music punched a hole in the girls conversation about hitting the boardwalk at some point, Belly's eyes widening as she looked out at the group of teens and the big bonfire. Betty noticed the way she crossed her arms over her chest, the discomfort becoming evident on her face as her quick pace slowed.

"Come on. You're gonna have fun." Betty said, pulling her towards the party and not looking anywhere but at her. She didn't want to search the crowd, she knew if she did she'd see familiar faces and plenty of people she didn't want to speak to again. They paused right before they fully entered the fold, the music echoing over the sand as someone seemed to take notice of Belly.

"Yo, gas station girl!" The boy approached her and Betty backed away, shaking her head slightly and looking to Belly.

"I'm gonna go grab a drink." She gave the younger girl a thumbs up and then sauntered off across the sand, going towards the keg that was shoddily dug into the ground. On the right of it was a nice amount of beer bottles, the girl opting for that instead of the keg. Just as she picked up a bottle she heard a commotion, the girl turning quickly to see Belly laying in the sand. "Oh God."

"Well you're an asshole!" Belly exclaimed just as Betty got to her, the older girl quickly stepping into the confrontation between Belly and someone she hadn't even bothered to look at her.

"Jesus Belly I left for one minute. What happened?"

"Nothing I— Steven made a big deal and then..."

"You guys came together?" It was now that Betty looked back at who Belly had been yelling at, her face falling when she saw that it was Conrad, sitting in the sand with his legs interlocked with Nicole's. Nicole and Betty were civil, but they didn't talk much anymore. However seeing her so close to Conrad was something that sparked confusion, her heart clenching as she aimed to answer the boy who had spoken.

"Yeah I walked her here. She was gonna come alone because some people abandoned her. Imagine that." Betty was quick to spit, Belly shaking her head from behind the older girl that was defending her. Conrads mouth opened in surprise and he stumbled over something to say back, Betty turning back to the younger girl before he ever figured it out. "Are you alright Belly? Did he say something to—"

"Belly! Bon! You're here! Great now we can all hang out!" Jeremiah's voice called as he jogged over, this catching the attention of two others, Nick and Noah.

"She doesn't like that name dude. Don't call her that." Conrad said from the ground pretty quietly , his comment being quickly overshadowed by Steven stepping in.

"I'm about to take her home." Steven cut in, Betty and Jeremiah both arguing.

"What?" Jeremiah said, confusion in his voice as he lifted a hand towards Steven.

"Yeah we're leaving. Are you kidding me?"

"Dude no she's fine. I brought her with me I'm not gonna let anything happen to her." Betty defended, stepping closer to Belly to get the point across. Steven looked at her with a slightly angered look, wondering why she would bring his 15 year old sister to a party.

"Just go—go hang out with Shayla or something." Jeremiah assisted her, his arm dropping over Betty Grahams shoulder as she nodded with him. Steven reluctantly looked back at Shayla, the girl nodding and telling him to just come on.

"Fine. But just stay right here and don't talk to anybody. And you're responsible for her...you said it yourself." Steven said, Jeremiah ushering him away as he leaned towards Betty to make his point.

"Got it dad." The Graham girl said, shaking her head at Steven and then looking to Jeremiah who still had his arm over her shoulders.

"Fuck you!" Belly yelled, flipping her brothers back off as Betty and Jeremiah both let out a sharp laugh at her outburst. There was an "ooh" from the crowd but nothing else really, Belly turning back to the two of them with a angered expression. Clearly whatever happened while she was getting a beer had been enough to ruin the younger girls mood. Betty brought the drink to her lips as Jeremiah started to talk, hoping to salvage the night for them.

"For one...I'm really happy you're here." Jeremiah said to Belly, his hand rubbing up Betty's arm. Belly began to smile but was quickly cut off by the sound of a voice behind them, the boys head turning to look in the direction of his name being called. "Okay. I will be right back."

Jeremiah left the two girls not even a moment later, Belly and Betty watching after him as he approached the girl who had called for him. Betty shook her head, looking back to Belly and then grabbing her by the hand.

"Let's go sit somewhere." Belly nodded in agreement, the silence making them both hyper aware of the fact that Conrad was sitting with a different girl right in front of them. Betty pulled her away to a place a little further from the sand, the two of them dropping to sit and Betty taking a sip of her beer. "What happened when I left? I think I missed the action."

"I tripped and  embarrassed myself and then when I looked up I saw Nicole and Conrad...doing what they're doing right now—which is making out." Betty couldn't help herself as she turned and looked at the pair, Belly being 100% right when she said they were making out. Betty's stomach dropped as she took the scene in but she shook her head and pursed her lips, only being able to look for a second. 

"Yeah that's...that'd make me mad too if I looked up and saw that disaster." Betty actually managed to make the younger girl laugh, the expression on her face of disgust mostly attributing to it. Betty pulled her legs up and leaned on them, giving Belly a small smile as she felt like she had been punched in the gut.  Belly looked at the girl with an expression that quickly changed, remembering once again that Betty and Conrad had been together for a long time. It had been awhile now, but she always wondered what really happened.

"What happened between you two?"

"Who?" Betty asked, feigning cluelessness although she knew who she was asking about. She used her head to gesture towards Conrad, Betty clicking her tongue and shaking her head as she considered whether or not she wanted to answer that. But then she remembered this was  Belly, and they were friends. And Conrad and Betty were over. So it didn't matter.

"Well we just kinda—"

"Flavia? It's me Sextus." An outside voice interrupted her, both girls looking up at the boy who approached them. Betty and Belly were confused on what he was talking about and who he was talking to, only until Betty saw that  he was looking right at Belly.

"What did you just say to me?" Belly asked defensively, the boy launching into correction for what he had said. Betty pushed herself up from the sand as he approached, dropping a hand onto Belly's shoulder and pointing towards the drinks. She gave a thumbs up and left the two of them alone, making her way towards another beer to wash away the bad taste in her mouth from seeing Nicole and Conrad. Her lips pursed and she turned her head back to the group, seeing a good spot to chill and keep an eye on Belly from. She wasn't too worried about her, Cameron was a nice guy.

She started towards the spot she had seen, walking towards the bonfire that Conrad and Nicole were still sitting by. She didn't need to speak or even acknowledge them, knowing the best thing to do was to get to her spot and suffer in silence.

However things rarely went the way she planned, the girl bumping right into Jumper as she tried to get past the small group there.

"I'm sorry—"

"Cant you watch where you're going?" He was quick to say in a rude tone, Betty's face screwing up into one of confusion.

"It was an accident I didn't mean—" He clearly had been drinking a bit too much,  his angry words cutting her off again.

"You spilled your beer on me. Are you stupid or something?" He took a step towards her and she felt a wave of fear crash over her, her stomach knotting as he got closer to her.

"No I-"

"Don't call her stupid!" Unfortunately for Jumper, Conrad Fisher had jumped up from the ground, his finger already pointing accusingly towards the antagonizer.

"Conrad it's okay."  Betty said, looking back at him, however his eyes didn't even shift to her, the girl looking back as Jumper spoke.

"This has nothing to do with you. Sit back down and  mack on your girl and stay out of my business." Jumper said, stepping to Conrad now. Conrad only stepped closer, Betty groaning as she realized this was the beginning of something that didn't need to happen.

"It's my business when you're calling my girl stupid alright? How about you apologize to her and then we can move on." Betty groaned at Conrad's words, her stomach knotting as he called her his girl. He didn't mean it, she could tell he was pretty drunk, but now Nicole was stepping in and trying to get him to calm down.

"Con maybe you should just let it go... you're drunk." She said, pushing Jumper back a little bit.  Conrad hardly looked at her either, shaking his head as he started to see nothing but red when he looked at the dude.

"No I'm not leaving until he apologizes."

"She needs to apologize to me.  She bumped into me and spilled beer on me." Betty was trying to get a word in but was getting nothing out, the two of them talking over each other so quickly and loudly.

"She did apologize and then you called her stupid. Sounds like you need to say sorry man." Conrad was getting more aggressive by the second, Jumper shaking his head.

"How about this...fuck no." Conrad nodded at his words and then turned back and pushed him, Betty gasping as Jumper stumbled back. The shouting soon began and Conrad and Jumper began to fight, Belly falling to the ground after Jumper elbowed her in the face. Betty shot towards Belly, helping her up as the two of them argued to stop Conrad and Jumper. Jeremiah, Nick, and Noah hurried over to try and do something but the sound of a cop siren is what ultimately stopped them, everyone starting into a sprint. Betty watched as Nick and Noah began to run away,  the girl groaning as she held onto Belly who was holding her cheek.

"Come on let's go." Betty said, helping Belly up from the ground. She huffed out as she started towards Jeremiah's car, Cam following close behind them as Jeremiah got ahold of Conrad. They all headed back to the car,  Jeremiah helping Conrad in as Belly broke away to talk to Cam. Betty rounded the car and helped Jeremiah, the younger Fisher brother closing the door and looking at the eldest Graham.

"Nick and Noah?" Jeremiah asked, Betty gesturing towards the road and responding.

"I saw them run off, they'll be home before I ever get there. Especially walking." Jeremiah was quit to shake his head.

"No you're not walking home, not in the middle of the night alone. I'll drive you. We're neighbors anyways."  Betty gave Jeremiah a small smile and pat him on the arm, the sleeve of his shirt reminding her that she had forgotten her jacket on the sand.

"Shit my jacket! Uh give me...give me five minutes!" Jeremiah nodded and Betty jogged away, Jeremiah's attention turning to Belly and Cam.

When Betty returned  she passed Jeremiah, the boy saying something about Steven as she passed by. She hurried back to the car and pulled the door open, both Belly and Conrad jumping. Conrad's hand withdrew from Belly's hair and he shot a look at Betty, his eyes glazed over as he did.

"Betty—" The sound of a knock on the window caught all of their attentions, their eyes widening when a cop stood at the door.

"Have you kids been drinking?"