ৎ ָ࣪ 𓄹 ﹙ 𝟬𝟬𝟭﹚˖ ᨒ .ﾟ ꗃ 𓄸
❛ BEACH HOUSE ❜ 𓂃  𓈒  𓏸 ₊˚〆

───────────────────────────────

           𝓐urora Monroe sat in the passenger seat of her mother's white range rover, airpods in both of her ears as she bobbed her head back and forth, slowly drumming her fingers along the dashboard. A quiet hum would escape her lips every once in a while, causing Rose to glance at her daughter with slight amusement. She loved moments liked these, where she could actually spend quality time with her daughter. She hated that her job caused her to become distant with her only child.

       The woman roughly hit the brakes at a red light. She looked to her side, laughing at her daughter that was thrown forward by the impact she caused.

"Mom! Take it easy on the brakes! You almost sent me to an early grave!" Aurora dramatically yelled, leaning over to tighten her loose seatbelt.

"You'll be fine, sweetie," Rose commented, not once taking her eyes off the road. Aurora noticed the amusement on her mothers face, smiling at the woman once she realized it was on purpose.

"That's not funny." The blonde shook her head, letting out a laugh of her own. Rose sent her daughter a pretend confused look, trying to appear innocent. It was clear that she smashed the brakes to get a reaction out of her daughter, but she wasn't going to admit it.

"I'm not laughing, you are." The woman shrugged her shoulders, glancing at her daughter to find a playful glare on her face. She pouted, reaching forward to poke her daughter on the cheek before turning back to the road. The younger Monroe shook her head with a smile, turning her attention back to her music, singing along loudly to one of the best songs on her playlist.

"Kiss me in the seat of your rover, real sweet, but I wish you were sober!" The girl with blonde hair began to sing loudly, her mom rolling her eyes at the lyrics. She puckered her lips towards her daughter teasingly, earning a disgusted and petrified look back in return.

          "What? You said kiss you in the seat of my rover! That's what I was doing!" Rose raised her hands in defense while she was at a red light.

           "No, mom, it's a song. Please, don't ruin it for me." Aurora turned to look out the window, keeping her eyes off the woman for the rest of the ride.

          A while after that horrifying moment, Aurora smiled as she texted Jeremiah back and forth. The two of them had gotten a lot closer the last few summers, and the memory of their secret hook-ups struck her mind. The two of them swore it could never happen again. Though, she doubted Jeremiah would be able to keep his hands off her. She was sure this summer would be no different than every other summer in Cousins.

          "You excited to see everyone this summer? I know how much you miss the boys. Belly, too." Rose turned to the girl curiously. She received a head nod, the girl still smiling at whoever was texting her.

          "Okay, rude. Look at me when I'm talking to you." The woman tried to snatch the phone, causing her to power it off instantly. That made her mother raise an eyebrow, wondering who she was texting.

          "It's just Jere. He was telling me how much fun we're gonna have this summer. What were you saying?" The girl quickly reassured her mother.

         "Nothing. When did you and Jere start talking so much? You've been on the phone with him and texting him a lot lately. Does your boyfriend know?" The woman asked curiously. Sue her for wanting to be involved in her teenage daughter's confusing love life.

         "What boyfriend?" Aurora played dumb. "You broke up with Caden? I liked him!" The woman let out a scowl. She was tired of her daughter. The girl changed boyfriends like she changed clothes.

         "Caden's a narcissist." Rory sighed, remembering when she started to noticed the signs.

         "Takes one to know one. You two had that in common." Rose poked her daughter on the nose. She received nothing but an eye roll in return.

          A few minutes after that, they arrived at Susannah's beach house. Rose pulled into the yard. She didn't even get a chance to park the car before her daughter jumped out and ran into the arms of Jeremiah. The teens smiled brightly at each other as the boy twirled her around a few times, trying to show off.

         "You weren't lying when you said you've been working out, Jere!" Aurora grinned as Jeremiah spun her again before putting her down. She squeezed his arm, teasing him about his new muscles that he loved to flex whenever they were on facetime.

         "My turn," Rose coughed, breaking the two apart. Jeremiah leaned down to hug the woman, smiling when she kissed his forehead and patted his back.

         "Connie," Aurora called out while her mother smothered Jeremiah. Conrad stopped in his tracks, his smile spreading when he noticed her.

          The boy rushed forward, Aurora meeting him halfway as they hugged each other. When they pulled apart, Conrad let his hand rest on top of her head. She smiled at him, shaking her head.

          Another car pulled into the driveway, everyone noticing the vehicle right away. Belly stepped out first, immediately getting tackled by Aurora. The two girls pressed their foreheads against each other's, their noses brushing slightly at their closeness.

"My Belly button," Rory whispered happily, both girls giggling at the nickname. Belly placed a kiss on Rory's cheek as she pulled away from her, going to hug Jeremiah and then Conrad.

Aurora then hugged Steven and Laurel, the two treating her as if they haven't seen her in a hundred years and as if she was so grown up now.

          Conrad and Belly looked like they were flirting. Steven noticed, walking towards them. "Guys, I don't know about you, but I think it's time. . .for a Belly flop!" The boy trailed off, Jeremiah joining him.

          Belly attempted to run in the opposite direction, only to be caught by Conrad lifting her in the air. Rory watched with a laugh, not noticing Jeremiah creeping up behind her as he lifted her off the ground.

          "Hey, no! You guys said a Belly flop, not a Rory flop! Put me down!" The girl screamed as her and Belly were both thrown into the pool. The girls came back up at the same time, annoyed looks on their faces.

          "How's the water?" Jeremiah teased, his bottom lip sticking out in a mocking pout.

          "I hurt my ankle. Help me out." Rory faked a pained look, tricking Jeremiah to hold out a hand for her while Belly did the same to Conrad.

Both girls successfully tricked the boys, snatching them into the pool. They all started to splash water in each other's faces, enjoying themselves.

          𝓛ater that day, after spending some time at the beach with Jeremiah and Belly, they were officially eating dinner. Everyone sat at the table, either eating quietly or making conversation with the person sitting next to them. Belly and Rory held hands under the table, talking about what they wanted to do for the summer.

           Steven and Jeremiah laughed at something on his phone. Conrad just ate in silence, not bothering to talk to anyone unless he was spoken to.

          "Steven, I swear to God, if you look at that phone one more time I'm putting it in the screen basket." Laurel scolded her son for the third time. He held his hands up in defense, hating the dinner rule.

"It's just. . .we wanna see your beautiful faces. Can dinner be a screen free zone? You know, like the olden days?" Susannah asked all the kids.

"Steven," Jeremiah called out, snatching Steven's phone right out of his hands. He threw the phone into a chair, the device landing with a quiet thud.

"Dude, are you kidding me?" Steven scoffed, holding his hands out in surprise.

"Boom! Nailed it!" Jeremiah cheered for himself, glancing at Rory, hoping she noticed. She smiled at Jere, giving him a round of applause.

  "Okay, we get it. You've been working out." Steven shook his head at Jeremiah, wanting the boy to sit down and stop doing the most.

"Oh, you're just jealous because Jere has a better body than you." Belly commented snidely. Aurora tried to hold back her laugh, but she couldn't.

"Uh, no. Actually, it's all about the lean look now. Otherwise, you can't wear tailored suits." Steven made a gesture down his body, a smug look on his face.

"Tailored suits," Conrad repeated him. "What are you doing for training camp?" Steven redirected the main focus from him to Conrad. The boy looked down at his plate awkwardly, not answering him.

"He quit football." Jeremiah answered for him, crickets being heard afterwards. No one said anything for a while, shocked by the revelation.

"Wait, really? You quit? Are you kidding me? I'd kill to play college ball." Steven stared at Conrad with his mouth agape. His shock was still present.

"He can always change his mind." Susannah lifted her shoulders in a small shrug. "I'm not gonna change my mind. I was just gonna sit on the bench the whole season anyways." Conrad explained.

"Well, if you're not playing football anymore, what are you gonna do all summer?" Laurel asked the boy. He didn't answer her, tilting his head.

"Oh, dude, you can work at the club with me and Jere!" Steven suggested with a grin. "No way, you guys are working there? I was gonna apply, but I don't want to anymore." Aurora sighed in annoyance.

"I'm not working with you guys, either." Conrad agreed with the blonde. He would rather stay in his room all day than work with those two idiots.

"Wait, you guys are working this summer?" Belly looked at everyone in shock. Was she the only one that didn't plan to get a job this summer?

"Yeah, I'm lifeguarding, and Steven's working at the snack shack." Jeremiah clicked his tongue, him and Steven giving each other fist bumps.

"Well, my plans have been ruined. So, I guess it's just you and me, Bells." Rory leaned her head on Belly's shoulder, glaring at Jeremiah and Steven. Conrad watched it all go down, amused at the sight.

"Oh! Girls! Me and Susannah almost forgot!" Rose jumped up from her seat with a smile. She grabbed two envelopes, handing them to the girls.

"So, this is why you two had to stop by the country club?" Laurel smiled at her two lifelong best friends. She knew exactly what they were up to.

"What is that?" Steven stared at both girls, nosily waiting for them to open their envelopes.

"Me and Rose got our girls invitations to be debutantes." Susannah cheered, clapping her hands together as Aurora grinned.

         "I'm so excited! I've always wanted to wear a white dress and curtsy like a princess." Aurora couldn't wipe the big smile off of her face.

          "Yeah, you have like, the perfect name for it." Jeremiah commented jokingly, earning a laugh from Steven, and another glare from the girl.

          "It's when a girl comes of age and is presented to society. I know it sounds silly, but I swear, it's fun. Girls come from all over New England to Cousins just to be a part of it. You'll make so many new friends." Susannah explained softly, smiling at both girls.

         "I can't believe the two of you are still holding onto this archaic dream." Laurel stood up from her seat, rolling her eyes at Susannah and Rose. She came back with a bottle of liquor, pouring her a new glass.

          "It used to be about finding a husband, but now it's about networking. They teach you leadership skills, like how to market yourselves, and it benefits charity." Rose told the girls, both of them nodding.

          "The whole deb scene is bullshit. It's for sheep. No wonder why Rory's so into it." Conrad called out, earning a middle finger towards his direction.

"No, it's not. When a girl has a coming out it's a recognition she's reached maturity." Susannah tried to defend the girls, making it worse since the boys laughed way too dramatically at her words.

"I'm sorry. Mature? Those two? A couple months ago, Belly, had a cat funeral and made us all wear black. And Rory, she can't keep a boyfriend longer than a week. There's nothing mature about them." Steven let out a loud laugh, the others smiling at his words.

"Shut up, Steven. I saw you crying in your room." Belly gave her brother a deadpan look, making him go silent. "Wait, Mochi died? I'm sorry, Bells." Jeremiah turned to the girl apologetically.

          "And at least I can get a boyfriend, Steven. I've never seen you date a girl. You should come out of the closet, we'll still love you the same." Aurora tilted her head at the boy, him scoffing in return.

"Very funny, Ror," Steven stuck his tongue out at the girl. She reached forward, Belly holding her back from giving in to his childishness.

          "Girls, ignore them. Don't you wanna get all dressed up?" Rose bit her lip hopefully. Aurora nodded, Belly being hesitant to give an answer.

           "It's just not Belly's kind of thing. She's our feral little alley cat." Laurel played with Belly's hair. The boys started to laugh loudly at the girl.

           "Cut it out," Aurora commented, kicking each of them with the sharp end of her shoe.

───────────────────────────────

oo. ┊ 𝐒𝐈𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐀❜𝐒  𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 ！ ₊˚ˑ༄ؘ     
❪  𝙰𝚄𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚁'𝚂 𝙽𝙾𝚃𝙴  ❫  ✩₊˚.  ◛ ·˚ ༘ ᝰ ── 💌

The first chapter is kind of messy, I honestly just wanted to get it over with! I promise it gets better!