chapter six
crashing first dates 101 : just don't

AFTER THE DEB TEA, Florence headed back home, lounging around for the rest of the day before she had to get ready for Laurel's book party. She put on a black tennis skirt, pairing it with a white shirt and a black and grey striped sweater. She plaited her hair and put it in a bun and grabbed her black converse.

The Castillo family all gathered in their lobby before travelling over to the Fisher's beach house. As soon as they arrived, Camden sat down with the other boys, grabbing a controller and joining in on whatever game they were playing. Emmeline ventured upstairs to find Laurel and Susannah leaving Sydney and Florence alone.

"How was the deb tea?" Sydney asked her sister.

"It was good, I had fun." Florence smiled. "The girls are nice and I was very happy about spending all afternoon with Shayla."

"That's good." Sydney nodded. "Did Belly have fun?"

"I think so." Florence told her honestly. "She was a bit awkward but it was okay."

Sydney made a face, nodding her head along with Florence's words. Florence was about to say anything when Belly bounced down the stairs to where they were stood.

"Belly, look at you." Florence spoke. "So cute."

"Thank you." Belly smiled, poking her head into the living room where the boys were sat. "See you guys later."

Jeremiah turned to face her, his mouth dropping. "Damn!"

Jeremiah stood up, leaving the game. Steven huffed. "Are you kidding? No. Yeah, fine, just abandon the game completely, Jere."

"You... look... hot." Jeremiah told Belly, grabbing her arm to spin her around. Sydney rolled her eyes at Jeremiah and Belly, moving to take the boy's place on the sofa.

Steven glanced at the two. "Hey, hey, hey, stop flirting with my sister."

"Shut up, Steven." Belly ordered.

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

"You driving with, or are you meeting us there?" Jeremiah asked Belly.

"I'm not going to the book party." Belly told him. "I'm going to the drive-in."

"With who?" Jeremiah asked but Belly didn't respond when her phone chimed.

Sydney turned out to look at the girl who was now giggling at her phone, Steven nudging her, "Dude, dude, dude, focus."

"Uh, okay. Bye." Belly waved goodbye, moving to look in the mirror, checking her outfit once more unaware of Sydney's gaze on her.

"Have so much fun." Florence smiled.

It wasn't long after that the group set out for Laurel's book party. The sun had set and they were all trying to find ways to entertain themselves. Sydney was sulking in the corner with Jeremiah and Steven trying to cheer her up by seeing how many books they could carry, Conrad was stealing the alcohol, Camden was talking to some girl in the corner and Florence was stuck in a conversation with some random woman.

"Uh, excuse me. I have to go—" Florence didn't even finish her sentence before she walked away from the random woman and made her way over to where Susannah was stood.

"Florence, how are you, sweetheart?" Susannah asked, hugging the girl.

"I'm good." Florence smiled.

"I still can't believe how grown up you are." Susannah gushed. "And I'm so glad you are doing the deb ball."

"It's gonna be so much fun, I can tell. A summer of dress up and hanging out with my best friends." Florence explained. "I'm so grateful that you got me an invite."

"I can't wait to see you in a white dress." Susannah told her. "Have you decided who will escort you yet?"

"No." Florence shook her head. "I was probably gonna force Steven into it but I think Shayla might ask him so I'm left with no options."

"What about Conrad?" Susannah suggested.

"Conrad would never." Florence scoffed.

"I think he would... for you." Susannah stated with a glint in her eye.

"Uh—I'll figure something out." Florence laughed awkwardly. The girl turned around to see Steven and Jeremiah now sat on the sofa. "I'm gonna go sit with Steven and Jere."

"Have fun, darling." Susannah kissed her head as she moved to sit next to Steven. "Is Sydney still sulking?"

"Yes." Steven nodded, whispering so Jeremiah couldn't hear her. "It's for sure because Belly is one that date."

"I know." Florence let out a sigh.

"Off the record, I'm team Syd." Steven whispered. Florence laughed slightly, falling silent when Syd huffed and sat next to Jeremiah, Conrad also joining the group.

"Where's Cam?" Florence wondered, not seeing him anywhere.

"He went home with the girl he was chatting with in the corner." Conrad told them.

"Right." They nodded before falling into silence.

"You know, this shit is so boring. Can we go somewhere?" Conrad asked.

"Yeah. Where?" Steven questioned.

"We could go into town, we could buy some weed from that guy with the Rainbow Dash tattoo?" Jeremiah suggested.

"Nah, he got arrested last summer." Conrad told him.

"Oh, shit. Really?" Jeremiah sighed.

"Yeah." Steven nodded. "Yeah, we could go to the drive-in."

"Dude, gross. No, I-I don't want to watch Belly hooking up with some kid in the back seat of a minivan." Jeremiah scrunched his face up.

"Yo actually... let's go to the drive-in." Sydney piped up.

"Wait, like... like really?" Steven wondered.

"Yeah, why not?" Conrad agreed with the girl.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"All right, bro."

"You're driving." Steven handed Conrad his keys.

"Get up. Come on." Steven urged Jeremiah and Florence after Sydney jumped up, Conrad following after her.

"We're not doing this." Florence told them.

"We are." Steven shrugged. "You don't have to."

Florence rolled her eyes, following them and getting in the backseat. Conrad sat in the middle between Florence and Sydney, Steven and Jeremiah in the front. They pulled up the drive-in, the boys and Sydney giggling, immediately catching Belly's attention.

Jeremiah and Steven started making kissing noises causing the girl to get out of the car, storming over to them after sending Cam to the drinks kiosk. Belly swung Steven's door open.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She exclaimed angrily.

"Uh, just catching the end of our favourite movie." Steven shrugged.

"I mean..."

"You have no right! You have to go!" Belly practically shouted.

"Oh, Belly, relax. We-we were just joking around." Jeremiah told her.

"Steven, if you don't leave, I swear to God, I will send everyone in this car your Dramione fanfic." Belly threatened, making them all gasp before laughing.

"You wouldn't."

"Oh, he spent an entire chapter talking about Draco's wand." Belly digressed.

"I've already read it so..." Florence shrugged, Conrad turning to face her. "He sent it to me to proofread. Can we leave though?"

"Oh my god."

"Bro."

"Steven, come on."

"You know, don't be embarrassed man. Draco's hot." Jeremiah tried to reassure him.

"Drop it. Drop it." Steven told them.

"Seriously," Belly looked at Sydney in the back. "Please leave."

"All right, let's go, guys." Sydney stated.

"What?"

"Wait. What?"

"Are you kidding me?"

"Steven, drive the car."

"You were the one who wanted to come, Sydney." Steven huffed.

They then drove off, leaving Belly to her date once more. Florence let out a sigh of relief, kind of angry at the boys for wanting to ruin the girl's first date. They dropped Sydney and Florence at their home before heading back to the Fishers.

"Syd." Florence stopped the girl when they got in the house.

"What?" Sydney spun on her heel with a small huff.

"What was that about?" Florence asked.

"What are you talking about?" Sydney looked bored.

"You crashing Belly's date?" Florence furrowed her eyebrow. "That isn't you."

"You don't know me." Sydney snapped.

"Okay." Florence nodded. "But sabotaging her relationships with people isn't gonna make Belly suddenly like Syd. It's going to push her away to the point that you lose your friendship with her."

"What do you know? You're literally single." Sydney threw her hands up in exasperation.

The two fell into silence when Camden came stumbling through the door. He stopped in his tracks when he saw his two sister staring daggers at each other.

"What is going on here?" Camden asked them, suddenly sobering up.

"Syd decided to randomly crash Belly's date." Florence told him.

"What? Syd?" Camden turned to face her.

"And she isn't listening to me, so that is your problem." Florence stated, moving past her siblings and going up the stairs and into her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed with a sigh, staying there for a little while until she heard something hitting against her bedroom window.

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows, pushing herself off of her bed and going over to her window. She opened the curtains, looking out with a slight squint to see the distinguishable figure of Conrad Fisher stood there. Florence opened her window, sticking her head out.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, careful not to be too loud and disturb anyone in the house.

"I, uh, I'm not actually sure." Conrad told her truthfully. "I got into an argument with Belly."

"Yeah, I don't blame her, you helped Syd crash her date." Florence scoffed lightly.

"Can we just—can you—?" The boy gestured around him as if to ask if Florence would actually go and speak to him instead of shouting out of her window. Florence hesitated before she rolled her eyes and let out a sigh, putting her shoes back on and making her way down the stairs.

She snuck out the front door, not drawing any attention to herself as she did so before rushing towards the back of the house where Conrad was waiting for her. The boy bounced on his heels awkwardly.

"For a second I thought you had just gone back to bed." He tried to ease the tension with a joke.

"Why are you here?" Florence questioned.

"I told you, I don't know." Conrad shook his head. "Belly and I got into an argument and then she stormed up to her room and I came here."

"Conrad, you are eighteen years old, and you spent your Saturday night crashing a fifteen year old's first date." Florence deadpanned.

"She's sixteen tomorrow." Conrad defended. "And besides I didn't do it for me, I did it for Sydney."

"Why?"

"Because Sydney is in love with Belly and we all know it." Conrad exclaimed.

Florence let out a breath. "Crashing a date is not the way to get someone to like you."

"Sydney was just reminding her that she exists." Conrad stated. "Because Syd feels invisible suddenly."

"How do you know?" Florence asked.

"I overheard her telling Jere about it." Conrad told her. "Not the Belly thing, the invisible thing. Sydney thinks everyone is forgetting about her, outgrowing her. Belly is with Cameron, I'm with you, Camden is with that girl, and Jere and Steven are hanging out, leaving Syd alone."

Florence sighed. "Belly loves Syd, like adores her. She wouldn't forget her."

"Yeah, but Sydney doesn't want to third wheel Belly and Cam Cameron." Conrad reminded her.

"Which is why she is hanging out with Jeremiah more, he's the closest thing to Belly that isn't Belly." Florence realised.

"Jere and Syd are best friends now." Conrad stated. "Like the best of friends."

"It still doesn't justify what she did, what you guys did, but I guess I can see it from her point of view. And yours." Florence sighed once more. They fell into silence for a moment before Florence decided to change the subject. "So, how's Nicole?"

"She's good." Conrad nodded. "I don't really think I'm feeling it though."

"Does she know that?"

"I'm not sure." Conrad made a face. "I will tell her... at some point."

"You should tell her sooner rather than later, save her the pain." Florence told him. Conrad nodded once more. "I think I'm gonna head to bed."

Conrad didn't say anything, allowing Florence to turn and start walking back towards the house, "Wait, Flo—"

The girl turned back to face him. "Yeah?"

"Uh... do you wanna—I don't know, do you wanna take a walk down the beach with me?" Conrad asked her.

"Sure." Florence nodded. The two left the Castillo's backyard, making their way towards the beach. They walked in silence for a little while, just enjoying each other's company and the sound of the sea crashing against the shore. "You know when I told you to stop smoking, I didn't mean replace it with excessive drinking."

"I know." Conrad stated.

"You're still not gonna stop are you?" Florence asked.

"Not at all." The boy laughed.

"Okay." Florence chuckled softly before stopping. "Let's make another deal."

"Oh god." Conrad stopped in front of her. "What now?"

"You stop day drinking." Florence instructed. "That's what we're working towards. You can drown yourself in alcohol at night, but the day drinking has to stop. If you can stop day-drinking within the next week, I will—"

"Give me your bracelet you keep playing with." Conrad finished.

Florence looked down at the bracelet she was currently fiddling with. It was a vacation bracelet she had gotten in France one year, it was made from black thread with balls of rose quartz threaded on it. Florence loved it and playing with the string that hung down since it was adjustable always calmed her down. It was her favourite bracelet which is why Conrad was asking for it, because he thought she wouldn't give it to him.

"Okay." Florence nodded. "I'll give it to you."

"Really?" Conrad was taken aback.

"Stop day drinking, I'll give you my bracelet." Florence shrugged. "I'll be watching you."

Florence then continued her walk down the beach, Conrad watching her as she did with a small smile on his face. Florence paused, noticing someone else on the beach further up, sat, staring at the water alone. Florence made her way closer and closer, recognising the person.

"Hey." Florence greeted sitting next to the person on the sand.

"Hi." Steven smiled.

"What's got you all in your ocean staring feels?" Florence asked.

"I'm sorry? 'Ocean staring feels'." Steven repeated with a laugh.

"Fine, I'll go then. Fuck you." Florence began to get up.

"Wait, wait." Steven stopped her. "Shayla asked me to go to the deb ball with her."

"Okay?"

"And I said yes." Steven stated.

"I don't see the problem." Florence furrowed her eyebrows.

"I am not a debutante ball escort, Flo. I'm not one of them." Steven tried to explain. "I work things like deb ball not go to them."

"Yeah but Steven, you don't have to hang out with the others, get along with them or even like them. You just have to be there for Shayla." Florence told him. "That's why you're going, that's why you've got the opportunity not to work it. A-And you belong there just as much as the rest of us do. You're not below any of them, Steven, and they won't think you are."

"Yeah." Steven nodded along. "No, you're right."

"I usually am." Florence shrugged. "Besides, you wouldn't of gotten out of it if you said no to Shayla because I was gonna force you to go with me."

"Because you're secretly in love with me?" Steven gasped, holding a hand to his chest dramatically. "Because I'm the best person you know? Because I in fact am your best friend and you cannot for us to both get into Princeton next year?"

"No." Florence deadpanned. "Because I have no one else to go with. Not going with my brother, not going with Jeremiah and it's not Conrad's thing."

"You love me a little bit though." Steven stated, holding his thumb and index finger up, close together.

"A teensy little bit." Florence told him. "Like a miniscule amount."

"And I'm your best friend?" Steven questioned.

"You're one of my best friends." Florence huffed.

"Good enough." Steven shrugged.

Florence laughed softly before sighing, a comfortable silence settling over them as Florence leant against Steven's arm. "I am excited for Princeton though."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I cannot wait." Florence nodded.

Conrad then appeared in front of them, the boy having finally caught the girl up. "Hi."

"Nice of you to join us." Florence teased with a smile.

"Shut up." Conrad rolled his eyes.

"I think it is bed time now." Steven stated, beginning to stand up. He held his hand out for Florence to hold onto. Florence grabbed his outstretched hand, allowing the boy to pull her up. "We'll walk you home."

The two boys walked Florence back to the beach house, the girl waving goodbye to them before heading into the house and back up to her bedroom. She quickly got into her pyjamas, deciding she needed a quick drink before she fell asleep.

Florene made her way down the stairs, careful not to stand on the creaky floorboard and wake any of her family members up. She walked into the kitchen to find Syd having a quick snack. Florence didn't say anything as she grabbed a glass and began to fill it up with water.

Silence filled the room as Florence drank her drink while Sydney continued eating the snack she had made.

"I get why you crashed Belly's date." Florence spoke up. "It's hard feeling like you're being forgotten."

"I just—I wanted her to know I'm here. Not even as a... as a anything but as her friend." Sydney told her, her eyes watering. "I'm supposed to be one of her best friends, and I know she wanted this summer to be different, but... different still includes me, right?"

"Of course it does, Syd." Florence moved to stand in front of her. "Belly is just caught up in the prospect of this new guy, it always happens, the pre-relationship honeymoon phase."

"It's just—It's always been me and Belly, Syd and Belly. And now it's changing and I hate change." Sydney explained.

"I know you do." Florence nodded. "But you have Jeremiah and me and Conrad and Steven, we're still here."

"You're gonna be focused on the deb ball and I'm sure so is Steven, and Conrad doesn't care enough—"

"He does." Florence interrupted her. "Conrad does care about you, how do you think I know about how you're feeling? Conrad told me. He cares, he loves you, you're like his little sister. He'd not be grumpy and would hang out with you if you asked him to."

Sydney nodded. "Yeah."

"And you have Jeremiah still." Florence told her. "Jeremiah's losing Belly too remember, your trio can go down to a duo."

"Yeah." Sydney sounded determined. "Yeah it can."

"You're gonna be okay, Syd." Florence hugged her little siter, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I'm gonna go to bed, get some sleep, okay?"

"Night, Flo." Sydney smiled.

"Night, Syd."

Florence made her way back up to her room, getting into her bed and falling asleep almost immediately from the exhaustion of her long day.

( 💌 ) isobel's notes
everyone this chapter 🤭🤭🤭