Jeremiah Fisher ¹

It's a late afternoon. The sun is already hiding behind the trees. The air is warm, but a little humid — it feels like the sea, sand and salt on the skin. Everyone has just returned from the beach: someone is taking a shower, someone is changing clothes.

You go out on the porch and sit on the step. Konrad leaves the house with a book, but holds it in his hand just for show. When he sees you, he stops.

"Are you thinking all the time? Even in the summer?" - he asks, sitting down next to her.

"Are you silent all the time? Even when you have something to say?"

"I just don't like to talk unless I'm sure someone will hear me," - he mutters, and you nod.

"I don't like it when people look but don't see."

There is silence. I can hear the floor creaking in the house. Then there is a slight noise. Jeremiah comes around the corner with a bottle of lemonade in his hand. When he sees you, he stops, not saying a word, just looks. Then he abruptly goes back into the house, slamming the door a little louder than necessary.

After a couple of minutes, you follow him without a word. You find Jeremiah in the kitchen. He drinks straight from the bottle, leaning on the table, and doesn't turn around when he hears your footsteps.

"You know that I don't choose Conrad. But if you keep thinking that you're losing, that's how it's going to be. Even if I've already... already chosen."

He turns slowly.

"Did you choose?"

"I'm going to where they're waiting for me. Not where they're silent." - You gently put your hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry. I just saw you together and..." - Jeremiah shakes his head, trying not to think about what he wanted to say.

You're 17 and he's 18. You're a close friend of Belli's from school, whom she got close to last year. Although you haven't been friends as long as Belli and Taylor, there is a deep emotional connection between you: you are the kind of person who understands Belli on a deeper level. In the summer, Belly invites you to Cousins Beach, unaware that this will cause a real emotional storm.

At first, Jeremiah just flirts with you, like with any girl, but soon realizes that he can be himself around you — without masks and jokes. Later, he starts not just flirting, but sincerely trying to get your attention. He gets serious around you, not wanting to be in the shadows again.

Gradually, you make it clear that you're choosing Jeremiah—but only if he doesn't compete. However, a conflict arises when Conrad begins to show interest in you, although he still seems to like Belle. You choose "healthy love", that is, Jeremiah, not the drama with Conrad.

Jeremiah is afraid of being unnecessary, because after Belle chose Conrad instead of him, he began to doubt himself for a while.