"Florence Park, daughter of Laurel Park. She just graduated from Chesterbrook High, where she was the valedictorian and editor for her school paper." I walk out, meeting Isla in the center of the stage. I'm a few inches taller than her in my heels, making her giggle as she loops her arm through mine. The lights are much brighter than I anticipated, and the cameras flash as we both smile.

"Lover boy looks like he's seen an angel," Isla whispers, knocking her hip against my own while we smile for the camera.

"Florence dreams of becoming a published author and raised 5,000$ for WomenOne, a non-profit devoted to creating a positive change in the lives of women and girls through access to quality education."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at Isla's teasing, glimpsing at our family's table out of the corner of my eye. I spot mom and Susannah first, both are smiling at me proudly, mom clutching Belly's bouquet in her hands. Cleveland and John are both here too, and Jeremiah's eyes are on Isla, amused and in awe. And then there's Conrad... His suit fits him perfectly, and his hair is brushed back. He smiled at me, and the look in his eyes was indescribable. All I knew was I wished I could take a picture of how perfect he looked in this moment.

I only look away when Isla leans her head on my shoulder, causing a giggle to escape past my lips as she cheekily grins at the camera. Then, instinctively, I lean my head on top of hers, smiling as big as I can, not caring if the two of us look ridiculous. We walk down the steps as the next couple walks out and over to the side of the dance floor where our family is sitting, a few feet away from Belly.

"You look beautiful," Mom mouthed as I approached. I abandon Isla so I can hug both my mom and Susannah.

When we pull away, I hold my flowers out to Susannah, who takes them with a look of surprise, smiling at me, "You look beautiful as ever, my love," She compliments, taking the flowers from me. "I've dreamt of seeing you in a white dress since you were born."

Her words strike me... realization hitting me like a truck. There was more to why Susannah wanted to see Belly, and I do the deb, and I finally understood why. She thought she wouldn't be at our weddings. To her, this was her one and only time seeing us like this. "Flo," Isla breaks me away from my thoughts, whispering for me to come back to her. I move back to her, curtsying towards our family, forcing the smile that'd fallen back onto my lips. Just as the next couple walks down, mom stands up, her head down as she walks out of the room. "Where's she going?" Isla whispers.

To cry. I think, looking over my shoulder at my mom, who's already out the door due to how quickly she was walking. She'd heard Susannah's comment, and I'm sure her heart was breaking even more than my own, "I don't know," I whispered back, worried.

John stands as Paige welcomes everyone in the audience, "it is my honour to introduce this year's Cousins Beach Country Club debutantes." Everyone claps, and once again, we curtsy. My eyes fall on Belly a few feet away. She's smiling at Cam dreamily, unbothered by our mom's departure.

As always, my eyes linger on Conrad, who I find already looking back. I've never seen him dressed up before. I'm used to his t-shirts and swim trunks and the way his hair is always messy from surfing, lingering on his forehead and practically begging for me to brush them aside. I wonder if Conrad wore this suit to his prom and immediately felt a bit envious of whatever lucky girl got to go with him.

Before I could walk over to the table, where almost all of our group was sitting, someone grabbed my arm, "Flo, my mom's taking group pictures of us. Come on." Gigi grabs my arm, dragging me over to a group of girls. Even Belly had been pulled away from Cam, kneeling in the front of the group with her dress splayed across the ground like a princess.

I am squished between Shayla and Gigi, our arms all wrapped around one another. It's crazy how I was dreading this at the beginning of the summer and had no intention of making new friends. I thought these girls were going to be awful, but I'm glad I met them.

My gaze can't help but linger over in Conrad's direction as we take pictures, all of the girls smiling at Gigi's mom's camera. Isla had moved over to where the other escorts were, most likely going over the routine they were about to perform, and Jeremiah was nowhere to be seen. And then there's Conrad... who's talking to Cleveland and his mom but watching me out of the corner of his eye, a small smile on his face.

Even when us girls depart from our squished pose, I can't help but peek over at him. Even when Conrad and I were just best friends, and two awkward kids figuring out who they were, he was still the most comforting presence in my life. And he didn't have to be directly beside me to be that, even when states separated us, he was the only person who really gets me.

I don't even realize I'm staring until Conrad turns to look at me, no longer occasionally glancing out of the corner of his eye, he's smirking, "it's rude to stare." He mouths, glancing over to make sure his mom and Cleveland, who's having another conversation, don't notice.

I can't control the scoff that escapes past my lips, followed by a breath of laughter. "What're you laughing at?" Shayla asks, her brow quirked.

I look away from Conrad fully, my gaze only on my brother's girlfriend, "just Isla," I make up on the spot, shrugging my shoulders as I nod towards my best friend. She's huddled up with the other escorts, one of the two girls joining the boys in their dance. Although she stood out, refusing to wear the same suits as the rest of the escorts, her satin suit was much more her style.

She looked in over her head as Steven talked about their routine, nodding wide-eyed. Shayla looks suspicious about my answer, "I thought you were looking at Conrad," She admits, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know if you've noticed, but he hasn't taken his eyes off you once tonight. He's got it bad."

I shake my head at her, biting my lip to suppress my grin, "got what bad?"

Shayla nudges me, shaking her head, amused. "Like you don't know."

"Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats," Paige speaks into the mic. Shayla shoots me one last grin before walking over to her table, while Belly links her arm through mine and drags me to our table. Jere and mom are both back, the curly-haired boy sitting between his brother and me. "It is my pleasure to introduce this year's debutante escorts."

I cup my hands in front of my mouth as I cheer for Isla, who's standing in between Cam and Steven. She looks at me across the room, her expression letting me know I owed her big time for this. "Are you ready to see the train wreck that is Isla dancing?" I whisper to Jere, nudging his arm.

I expect him to crack a joke or laugh, but his smile is small, his chuckle forced. Jeremiah's always been the kind of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. His blue eyes have lost their sparkle, and his dimpled smile, that's almost always apparent on his face, has vanished.

Before I can ask what's, wrong music starts playing, and Isla and the rest of the escorts have begun dancing. She's slightly offbeat, and her hips wiggle awkwardly as she tries to copy the other boys' motions. Still, she's laughing, rolling her eyes as our entire table hollers and cheers. Jeremiah does eventually crack a smile at her dancing. It was hard not to, even when she was dancing terribly, Isla's endearing. A few minutes later, she poses, kneeling down beside the only other girl in the group.

"Yes, Isla!" I cheer, as she laughs, throwing her head back, slightly out of breath from dancing and laughing at the same time.

Belly runs over to the group, pulling Cam into a hug, laughter falling between the two of them. While Isla rushes over to our table, dramatically bowing as we clap for her, "Wow, Isla, that was..." Conrad drags off, his smile only making me smile harder.

"Amazing? Spectacular?" She finishes his sentence for him.

"Interesting," Conrad corrects her, smirking.

This earns him a slap in the arm from Isla, who fakes hurt, "and this is why Jeremiah is my favourite Fisher brother." She smiles at the younger of the two brothers, and my heart melts at the look in my best friend's eyes. She really likes him. "What'd you think, Jere? Still like me?"

Jeremiah cracks a slight smile at that. It was hard to resist Isla's charm, "Of course," He nodded, "You were really good, Isla. I uh," He glances around, his moms gotten up to speak to Paige, and the other parents are up getting drinks from the open bar, "I need to go do something. I'll be right back."

Jeremiah walks away before the rest of us can respond, sending Isla a slightly apologetic look before walking away from the table. His hands shoved in his dress pants pockets. "What's his problem?" I ask Conrad, my brows furrowed together in concern.

"I don't know," Conrad admits, equally confused, "but something must be wrong with him if he thought Isla's dancing was good." He teases again, and I know it's just Conrad trying to lighten the mood and ease both of our anxieties.

"Hilarious," Isla rolls her eyes, though I can tell she's not annoyed, "listen, I'm going to go check on him. Text me when our dance is."

"Okay," I nod, grateful that Jeremiah's found someone who cares this much about him. Conrad and I both take our seats as Isla rushes off, following where Jere went. It isn't until she's gone that I realize something. For the first time tonight, it's just Conrad and me, and all I can think about is his little brother, worry coursing through me.

This chapter was really hard for me to right for some reason, and I think it's because I have SO many ideas for the next one's but needed this as a filler, ya know? 

Anyway... very exciting things in the next few! hope you enjoyed this filler!