007 jeremy

"Okay, slow and steady. You're doing great. Just keep going straight, okay?" Jeremiah instructed from the back of the car. Caroline had to hold herself back from making fun of him for being a backseat driver as he was legitimately helping.

"Okay." Belly nodded, looking into the rear view mirror. Jeremiah smiled. "You excited to see Taylor?" Belly just stared forward. "Yeah, uh, of course. So excited." Jeremiah sent Caroline a confused look, who just shrugged in response. He chuckled lightly. "You sure?"

Belly sighed. "Look, she's my best friend in the world, but, um, I mean, you know how Taylor is. She's like a hurricane." Jeremiah nodded. "Oh, yeah, yeah. Hurricane Taylor." Mags chuckled from her seat. "I feel like that's a bit of an understatement."

"Typhoon Taylor." Caroline smirked. Belly laughed a bit from her seat. "And I guess I always feel like the supporting character around her, which, normally, I don't mind." Jeremiah shrugged. "But it's your birthday. And you're the main character, Belly, not her."

Caroline nodded. "Yeah, and you know I'll go to war today to keep it that way." Belly smiled. "Thanks, guys." Belly suddenly lost control of the car for a moment, veering them all towards the threes before she got the control back. "Whoops."

"Bels? We're gonna need a part two to this driving lesson, okay?" Jeremiah gasped, taking in deep breaths. "And part three and part four." Belly smiled, laughing at what had just occurred. Mags kept her hand safely on the vehicle after that, ready for any more moments of Belly losing control of the car.

"I cannot believe your only response to doing that was "whoops" before Jere said something." Caroline sighed, putting her hand on her heart. "It was a whoops moment." Belly responded lightly, smile still on her face.

———————

Caroline stood beside Belly as they all waited for Taylor's bus to make it. When the bus did pull up, Caroline grabbed Belly's hand to lightly squeeze it before letting it go once more. Belly sent her a small smile.

"Twenty bucks she calls you "Jeremy" again." Belly wagered, looking at Jeremiah. Jeremiah turned to the girl with a smile. "I don't... I think she learned from last time." Belly started forward. "You think? That's how she flirts with you."

Caroline bit her lip, watching as Taylor came off the bus with a shit tone of balloons. "Here she comes." Jeremiah smiled. Belly immediately moved towards her friend, excitedly hugging the girl. "Happy birthday." Taylor smiled as Belly looked at her excitedly. "Thank you."

Taylor looked at Belly's outfit. "Belly, you little tart." Belly looked at her confused. "What?" Taylor smiled. "You finally took my advice. This outfit is snatched." Belly awkwardly smiled. "Oh, my god, Taylor."

Taylor looked towards Jeremiah. "Isn't Belly looking like a snack?" Jeremiah just sent her a respectful smile. "Always." There was a moment of silence before Jeremiah turned towards Taylor. "Oh, uh, here, let me get your bag."

Taylor smiled as she handed it to him. "Thank you. You're such a gentleman, Jeremy." He just smiled. "Of course." Belly turned towards her friend. "Uh... it's Jeremiah, not Jeremy." Taylor shrugged. "I like "Jeremy" better."

"Uh, should we, uh, head home?" Jeremiah wondered. Caroline wrapped an arm around Mags' shoulder, the two twins just silently watching the encounter. "Ooh, actually, can we make a stop first?"

Belly smiled at that and the next thing they knew, the group was all sat at a table as Belly and Taylor shared a banana split.

"Mmm. I live." Taylor gushed. "I would literally eat this everyday if I could." She continued, earning a nod from Belly. "Me, too." Taylor put her spoon down after another bite. "Mmm. Okay. Open your present."

She pulled out the bag, handing it to Belly. Belly smiled and Caroline leaned her cheek against Jeremiah's arm to see what Belly got. "I think it'll look so hot on you." Taylor smiled. Caroline's eyes widened when she saw the purple bikini Belly was now holding and Jeremiah chuckled.

"Do you like it?" Taylor asked Belly eagerly. Jeremiah continued to laugh. "Okay, Belly would never wear that." Belly sent him a look. "Actually, I really like it. Thank you, Taylor." Taylor smiled. "You're welcome. Okay, so, what's the plan for tonight? Where's the party?"

"Well, Susannah always plans a big lobster dinner." Belly smiled, excitedly. "Boring. No. It's your 16th birthday. We have to go out." Mags frowned from her seat. "Shouldn't Belly decide what happens on her birthday?"

Taylor sent the quiet girl a look, almost as if she just realized she was even there. "Not when it's lame." Taylor concluded. "No, no, no. These dinners are really, really fun. And Susannah had the idea to make it Midsommar themed, so she got flower crowns especially made for us and everything." Belly smiled. Caroline smiled at that, she loved how excited Belly was about the theme.

Though Taylor didn't share in that joy. "Don't you think you should be spending your birthday with people your own age?" Belly sighed. "I am. You're here." Jeremiah put his hand up a bit. "Hello? Am I invisible?" Caroline picked her head off his arm. "Yeah, or us?" She wondered, legitimately as Taylor hadn't spared either of the twins a second glance since she arrived.

"And I guess Steven." Taylor stated towards Jeremiah, who just scoffed lightly in return. Caroline sighed, bringing one of the boys hands under the table to hold it in her own lightly. He gave her hand a soft squeeze in return but didn't let go as they continued to sit there.

Belly smiled. "And Cams coming, too." Taylor perked up at that, though Mags seemed to grow smaller. "Yay, I'm excited to meet the guy who finally got you to take your eyes off of you-know-who." Belly sent Taylor a look. "Taylor." The girl just smiled. "What?"

Belly sent a small glance in Jeremiah's direction, not needing him to know all about how she felt for his brother. Jeremiah bit down on his lip awkwardly before offering something. "I have an idea. We can go to Nicole's big blowout at her place tonight. Maybe go after dinner?" Taylor smiled at the idea. "Yes. Who's Nicole?"

"She's my big sister for the deb ball. She's super nice and just really cool and fun and..." Belly tried to explain before Taylor began scratching at the back of her head. "Ugh, I'm, like, melting right now. Can we go back to the house? I want to change into my bikini and jump into the pool."

Jeremiah nodded. "Sure." Taylor smiled. "I call shotgun." Jeremiah began standing up. "Come on, Bels." Caroline went to slip her hand out of his, but he didn't seem to have the same plan in mind as he just began dragging her behind him towards the car. Caroline turned slightly towards Mags, reaching her hand out for her sister. Mags smiled lightly, grabbing her twins hand.

"Okay. Hold on. I'm coming." Belly lightly called, finishing the banana split quickly. Jeremiah used his free hand to open the car door for Taylor, who just laughed. "Oh, wow. Look who decided to be nice."

Mags slipped her hand out of Caroline's as she went into the back of the car, Jeremiah pulling Caroline around the back to walk her over to the opposite side of the car. "This is going to be a very long weekend." Caroline joked quietly. Jeremiah chuckled, swiftly nodding. "Yes, it is."

Caroline took her hand out of Jeremiah's and he got into the drivers seat. Caroline turned back to see Belly only now throwing away the ice cream. "Bels! Come on!" Caroline smiled. Belly swiftly began making her way towards Caroline, using the other girl to stop her momentum.

The two hopped into the car and they all drove back to the Fisher home.

After a bit, everyone had seemed to gather at the pool. Well, besides Conrad who was still out. Caroline had only dipped her feet in, kicking water towards Jeremiah and Steven whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Mags was in the corner floating on her back while Taylor and Belly talked quietly to one another at the other corner near Mags. And that left Jeremiah and Steven, who were both half having their own conversation and half ready to pull Caroline under the water.

Caroline swiftly kicked water at the boys again, hitting Steven right in the face with a smile. "Caroline! Don't make me drag your ass into the water." Steven threatened, only making the girl laugh more. "I'd like to see you try!"

"I know you boys are gossiping about us over there." Taylor called out, getting both boys attention and stopping the conversation they were about to continue. "Yeah right, you wish!" Steven called back.

And then Taylor gasped. "Let's play chicken." Belly pointed a finger at her friend. "No. Not chicken! I was like 12 the last time we played." Taylor began walking towards the boys. "Oh, come on, it'll be hilarious."

Belly sighed. "Fine, but only if I'm partnered with Caroline. Having her against me is the most terrifying thing." Taylor smiled, turning towards Caroline. "If she's in." Caroline shrugged. "I'm always down to mess with a guys confidence."

Taylor laughed a bit. "I always forget how much I like you." Caroline moved into the pool, submerging her head momentarily before lightly swimming towards Belly. "Hey, I'm down. Come on, Steven." Jeremiah smiled. Steven sighed. "Fine."

"Dibs on Jeremy." Taylor called. "Wait, but who's going to play with Steven?" Belly wondered before her eyes turned towards Mags. "Mags! You want to come play with us?" Mags lifted her head up before shrugging. "Sure."

"Oh, poor Mags she's stuck with Steven." Caroline joked, scrunching her nose up in fake disgust. "Oh, you know I can't do that to her, Care. I'm sorry but I have to switch you out for Mags even if it means I feel your wrath." Belly decided. Caroline gasped. "I know you did not just force me to pair up with Steven."

"I don't want Caroline on my shoulders, her giraffe legs are too much for me to handle." Steven joked back and Caroline flipped her middle finger towards him. "I'm so sorry you're just too short, Steven." Caroline fought back. Taylor sighed. "Steven you're such a complainer. Caroline, we'll just switch."

Jeremiah grew excited at that. "Oh yeah, see Steven sees height as a disadvantage while I see it as a leg up. Let's destroy them Care." Caroline smiled moving towards Jeremiah in the water. "I sort of hate that I'm about to help fuel your ego by leading us to victory."

Jeremiah just laughed. "Oh, really? It seems your egos already high enough for the both of us." Caroline made a tsk noise. "No, that would actually be my giraffe legs, according to Steven. I think I could reach the top of a tree if I tried hard enough."

"Get on his shoulders already." Belly laughed, already on Mags. Jeremiah and Steven both went under at the same time, Caroline and Taylor face to face as they moved to get on top of the boys shoulders.

Taylor laughed. "Okay, it's free for all so everyone goes at the same time. Last team standing wins." Caroline and Belly both nodded, though Caroline jokingly glared at Belly. "You're going down, traitor." Belly laughed. "I'm sorry! I just couldn't do that to poor Mags."

Taylor looked down at Steven weirdly. "Ugh, Steven. Why are your shoulders so slippery?" Steven struggled below her. "Uh, maybe it's all that oil you slathered on your legs." Taylor scoffed. "Uh, maybe if you had some hair on your chest I wouldn't be sliding all over the place."

Everyone else laughed as Steven shook it off. "Okay. Let's just go. Let's just go." Caroline looked down towards Jeremiah. "Jere, don't stop fighting to keep me up here until they're both down." Jeremiah smiled. "Roger that, Care. Victory will be ours."

"Okay, let's go already!" Belly smiled. "All right. Three, two, one, go." Jeremiah called and Taylor and Caroline instantly began pushing at each other while laughing. Mags brought Belly over towards the fight, the girl in purple going after Caroline first.

"Belly!" Caroline gasped in betrayal as she pushed both Belly and Taylor away at once. "You're just too good at this game, Care!" Belly laughed, thinking of all the times when they were younger Belly and Mags refused to play and whatever pairing Caroline was in with the boys would win.

Caroline swayed lightly as Jeremiah got his footing back before she pushed Taylor lightly at the same time Belly did, sending Taylor and Steven down. Caroline smirked as her sights set solely on Belly, not letting Taylor and Stevens bickering distract her.

With one quick shove Mags lost her footing and Belly was sent down into the water, Caroline lifting her arms up in victory as Jeremiah cheered. "Champions!" Jeremiah yelled, throwing his body backwards to throw Caroline.

She screamed just before she collided with the water, resurfacing and immediately splashing any water she could at Jeremiah. "You asshole!" Caroline laughed as the blonde just took it. "Hey guys!" A new voice smiled and all heads turned towards Nicole, who was walking in with Conrad.

"Hey, Nicole." Belly smiled, moving her hair out of her face. "Hi. Happy birthday, Belly. Did I just see you guys playing chicken?" Nicole asked, a bit surprised they'd play a kids game. Belly's face fell. "Um, yeah. It was, it was Taylor's idea."

Taylor tried her best to smile at the girl. "Hey, I'm Taylor." Nicole waved. "Hi." Belly smiled once more. "She's my best friend from home." Taylor nodded. "Just visiting for the weekend."

"Oh. That's cute." Nicole nodded. Caroline sent her a salute in greeting, swiftly dunking Jeremiah's head under the water to continue his punishment. Though the boy just grabbed her waist and lifted her up, causing Caroline to gasp as she lost control over what she was doing in the water.

"You guys want to play a real game?" Belly wondered, instantly receiving yes's from everyone. "Jeremiah Fisher you put me down right now!" Caroline gasped, trying to swat at the boy. "Will you stop throwing water at me?" Caroline laughed. "In your dreams."

Jeremiah sighed, putting her down. "Yeah, okay." Caroline smiled before lightly splashing just the smallest bit of water onto the boys face. He smirked, turning towards everyone else. "Whatever we play I want to be on the opposite team as Caroline so I can rub it in her face when I win."

"You're dreaming still!" Caroline laughed, moving over towards Belly. Belly chuckled. "Let's play volleyball, and yeah Jere, you'll be on the opposing team as Care." Taylor nodded. "Yeah, because she's totally on our team. Girls verses guys."

Steven scoffed. "That's so unfair. It's four against two." Mags shook her head. "Three against two, I can't play volleyball to save my life. I'm just going to sunbathe." Belly nodded slightly at that, shrugging at her brother. "Three verses two shouldn't be that bad. Unless you're scared you can't win."

"Okay just for that, you're on." Steven decided, pointing a finger at his sister. Steven and Jeremiah quickly swam out to set up the net while Mags grabbed the ball for the five and once it was up, game on.

The boys continuously sucked, missing a lot and giving the girls easy points. Nicole and Conrad watched from the boys side, dipping their feet into the water. Caroline, while not a volleyball master, even found herself getting a few good hits in as her only goal was to hit one of the boys in the face.

Any point the boys got became the biggest deal that they gloated about, even with how much they were down by. Steven pointed a finger towards Caroline. "You aim that ball at my face one more time and we're gonna have a problem."

Caroline stuck her tongue out at him in response. "Try me, Steven. Try. Me." Steven shook his head. "Okay, its like super on now." Taylor laughed. "Isn't that what you said to me a few minutes ago before you continued to lose?" Caroline high-fived the girl, liking that she had more backup when it came to messing with Steven.

The boys missed again and Taylor was ready to put the ball into play, smirking at the boys. "I don't think you're ready." Steven motioned for her to bring it on. "Come on, come on." Taylor hit the ball, though it didn't go towards the boys and instead hit Nicole right in the face.

"Ow!" Nicole gasped, putting her hand to her face. Caroline put a hand over her mouth in shock. "Nicole, are you okay?" Taylor just began laughing. "Oh, my god. I'm so sorry." Steven looked at Nicole concerned. "Are you good?" Belly looked towards Taylor upset. "Taylor." Taylor's face fell. "It was an accident."

Belly turned away from her friend and towards Nicole. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" Nicole shook it off. "Yeah, no, I'm-I'm-I'm totally fine. Y-you guys keep playing." Conrad turned Nicole towards himself. "Let me see it. Let's go inside. I'll get you some ice."

The two stood up but Nicole just looked at Conrad. "Conrad, it's okay." Belly sighed. "I'm so, so sorry again, Nicole. Feel better, okay?" Nicole nodded, walking towards the house. "Yeah."

"Yeah." Belly repeated, watching her leave with Conrad. "Come on, Belly. Conrad can take care of Nicole. Let's go inside and look at ourselves in the mirror some more." Taylor spat towards Conrad. Caroline just watched as he stopped, sending the girl a look. "Yeah, have fun with that."

"Well, I think that's enough volleyball for the day... Steven? Let's put this all away." Jeremiah spoke after a moment. Steven nodded, beginning to help the boy as Caroline swam towards the edge of the pool, pulling herself up before she sat down on a pool chair next to Mags.

Mags looked at her sister before looking at Taylor. "Do you think it was on purpose?" Caroline sighed, shaking her head. "No... but I don't think that's the part that matters."

AUTHORS NOTE!
yay updates I'm actually doing them (she says... as if the longest so far she's gone between updates hasn't been a few days).

also just want to make it clear that I don't dislike taylor as a character! she really grows on me later in the season but she also does kind of do some mean things earlier so I'm just showing that. no hate to the character though I think she's amazing.