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Steven, Conrad, and Dakota had finally made it to the party. It was in full swing as they walked in.

"Yo, did you see the car in the garage, bro ? I think it's a Dino 216." Steven boasts.

"Liam's family loves to show off." Conrad says

"Dude, I can't imagine growing up like this." Dakota says

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy, huh ?"

"Whatever, man. You're rich, too." Dakota says

"Not like this. I mean... I mean, these kids grew up going to boarding school. They saw their families once a year. That's why they're all such assholes. None of them are happy."

"Damn bro. You're such a buzzkill." Dakota says as he looks around. His eyes light up as he sees Jeremiah. "Oh, my God, I knew my boy'd rally !"

"Yes !" Steven says as he walks out after Jeremiah

"Yo, who's Jeremiah hooking up with these days ?" Conrad asks

"Uh, no one." Dakota says quickly. "Oh, my... No, actually, no, no, no. Lizzie has this crazy theory, bro. She thinks he's hooking up with Belly."

"Really ?"

"Yeah, I know, man. It sickens me, too."

"That's... Wow."

"But, uh, Lizzie has a lot of crazy theories, and Jere knows Steven would kill him if he ever
touched his little sister. So, you know..." He says

"Yo, boys ! Hey, check it out it's an ice luge ! Come try it ! Dakota, come on !"

"Dude, I got to go. I got to go. I got to go." He says as he pats Conrad shoulder and hurries out to Jeremiah.

Conrad watches him for a second before he pulls out his phone.

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The girls had agreed to go skinny dipping. For River, it took a lot of convincing before she realized that it would've been hypocritical of her due to her always telling Liz to live on the edge. The girls were actually having fun.

"Hey, watch out for jellyfish. I do not want to have to pee on any of you guys." Gigi says from the dock as she takes her shirt off.

"The other two girls missed out." Taylor says

"I know. I figured Dara wouldn't, but Marissa ?" Nicole says

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Belly says

"Nicole." Gigi says

"Yeah ?"

"Conrad's texting you."

"Okay, coming." She says as she swims to the dock. 

"This is so nice." Belly smiles

"Have to admit, I like your friends." Liz says

"I knew you would."

"They all seem down with you and Jeremiah. Even Gigi, whose veins just about exploded when she heard." Taylor says as they laugh

"Oh, my God." Taylor gasps

"What ?"

"I just realized something. Hashtag Team Jellyfish-er. Jellyfisher."

"Taylor, that is so dumb." Belly laughs

"No, I'm serious. It's so cute."

"It's the worst." River says as Taylor looks over when headlights shine on them.

"No way." Liz says

"I knew they were bitches." Taylor says as she swims to the dock

"What's happening ? Wait." Belly says as the other two follow Taylor, "Taylor, what's going on ?"

"They took everything." She says as she lifts herself on the dock, "Except for your phone, which has a really incriminating text from Conbad." She says as she looks to Liz who is still swimming up to her.

"Wait, what does it say ?"

"My mom did ask me to ask you to the ball, but that's not why I did it. I did it because I wanted to."

"Oh, my God." Liz says as she lifts herself up

"Liz, concentrate." They look over at Liz who has a soft smile on her face.

"Liz !" River says

"What ?" She says as River's eyebrows raise, "Okay, okay, okay."

"W-Well, wh-what do we do ? I mean, we cannot walk home naked." Belly stammers

"It-it could be worse." Taylor says

"Taylor." Belly chuckles

"What could be worse than this ?" River says

"Okay. Wh..." Belly says

"What about those ?" Liz says as she points to two large sheets

"No." River whines.

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The girls were walking two and two down the road with the sheets wrapped around them. River had been planning the other girls deaths the whole time as Taylor kept complaining.

"This is so bad. So bad." Belly says

"I knew those girls were shit." Taylor mutters

"Shut up, Taylor," River groans

"Okay, I get it. You were right." Belly says

"Why can't we just call Dakota ?" Taylor suggests as Liz shakes her head. "We're gonna be, like, murdered."

"No. Calling Dakota would be too much drama."

"I can't walk two more miles." Taylor whines

"Well, you're gonna have to." Liz says

"Oh, my God."

"You're not gonna be walking anywhere if you don't shut the hell up with your whining." River spits

Taylor starts to whine like a dog as she imitates what they hear. Belly laughs as Liz rolls her eyes playfully.

"Shut up." Belly says

"No, but this is why Conrad's a disaster. Like, he's hot and mysterious. You know. I get it. I know. But everything he touches turns to total shit." Taylor says as she leans to look at Liz

Liz sighs, "Yeah. I-I don't know why I keep letting him suck me in. It's just like, today, he was like the old Conrad and everything, it felt just like it used to. You know ?"

"He's got you back under his spell." River says

"And then the spell broke, and I realized I literally just kicked anyone to the side for him."

"Yeah, you kind of did do that." River says

"Yeah." Belly agrees as the girls stop

"I, um," Liz pauses, "I used to dream about Conrad and imagine what it would be like, and I felt safe. Because, you know, it was never gonna come true. He would never feel for me what I feel for him. And then we almost kissed and it was real. And real is-is like... scary."

"But isn't love supposed to be a little scary ?" Taylor says

"Yeah, you're right." Liz shrugs

"I'm always right, like, 98% of the time at least."

"Shut up, Taylor," River scoffs as the girls laugh.

Liz shushes them as she pulls out her phone, "Okay."

"Thank God." Taylor says

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Dakota ran around frantically looking around for the boys. He saw Jeremiah sitting on the stairs and ran up to him.

"Bro, we've gotta go now." He says as Jeremiah stands

"What ? Why ?"

"Because those girls left Belly, Taylor, River, and Liz on the side of the road." He says quickly as they both hurry to the front door. As they walk out, they see Conrad holding the girls' clothes.

"I'm gonna kick your ass." Dakota says before they run to the cars.

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The girls had been sitting on the curb for a little while and Liz was losing her patience. River had lost it long ago and Belly and Taylor had been quiet. Liz sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. Belly looked over as headlights came into view. The two cars stopped and Liz sighed in relief as she saw her brother get out of the car.

"Finally. Jesus Christ." River exclaimed as she rushed Liz to stand up.

"Oh, my God, Belly, are you okay ?" Jeremiah says

"What are you doing here ?" River says as Conrad walks up

"Nicole... she told me about, um..." Conrad stammers as he holds up the clothes

"I hope you told her to watch her back." Taylor says

"Yeah." He says as he hands Taylor the bag

"Can you just..." River says as she walks past the boys and holds the sheet out. Dakota grabs it and turns the other way. He also grabs Taylor's side as he stands in the middle of the girls. Jeremiah standing next to Belly and Conrad by Liz.

The girls finish and the boys leave the sheets on the side of the road. Conrad and River sat in the car as they waited for Liz and Dakota.

"It's a crazy night." Conrad chuckles awkwardly

"Didn't have to be. If you stopped playing all these games and just let her go, it would've been a great night." River says as she rolls her eyes looking out of the window. Conrad looks down as the twins get in the backseat.

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Liz looks over as her phone chimes. She had been laying in bed for awhile with sleep no where in sight. She grabs her phone to see Conrad texting her. She sighed as she got up and put her shoes on.

She walked out to the dock to see Conrad already sitting there. He turns upon hearing her steps. He stands up as she approaches.

"Hey."

"Why are you texting me ? Bad things happen when you text me." Liz says

"I know. I know. I'm sorry." He looks down, "I feel like I keep doing the wrong thing when it comes to you."

"This is yours." He says as he hands her a bag, "Uh, you don't have to keep it or... anything." Liz sighs as she pulls out a necklace. "You could throw it in the ocean, burn it. I... I just..."

"What ?" She says softly

"I got it for your birthday this year and was supposed to give it to you as soon as I saw you. I just... don't want to lose you." He says looking her in her eyes. Liz looks over his face before she looks back down at the necklace.

"Why do you keep doing this ?" She shakes her head as she looks up, "Why ?"

"I don't know. I don't know." He says, "I'm not trying to Lizzie." The girl closes her eyes at the nickname. She looks back down as Conrad steps closer.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Yet that's what you keep doing." She says as she looks up at him. Conrad's face softens as he notices the tears brimming her eyes.

Liz grabs his hand and places the necklace in it as he keeps his eyes on her face. She looks down at his hand as she closes it. Without a second glance, she turns away and walks back down the dock. He watches as his hand falls back down to his side. He watches as the girl he loved finally walked away.

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