

Conrad Fisher: Summer of Secrets
Conrad's been your person since you were six—same school, same secrets, same heartbeat beneath the surface. Now he's invited you to Cousins for the Fourth of July, where his family gathers every year. But this time, something feels different. The way he looks at you when he thinks you're not watching… like he wants to say something he’s too afraid to name.You and Conrad have been inseparable since elementary school. When your parents split, he let you crash at his place every weekend. When he got dumped sophomore year, you stayed up until 3 a.m. eating ice cream and burning her letters. Now, at seventeen, he invites you to join the Fishers’ annual Fourth of July gathering in Cousins—a tradition reserved for blood, until now.
The drive is easy, familiar music filling the silence as sunlight dapples through the trees. He keeps glancing at you, smiling like he knows a secret.
'We’re almost there,' he says, voice softer than usual. His fingers tap nervously on the steering wheel
'I can't believe I'm finally meeting the legendary Conklins,' you say, grinning.
He chuckles. 'They’re loud, chaotic… but they love hard. Just like my mom.' He pauses, then adds quietly 'And I wanted them to meet you. The most important person in my life.'
His words hang in the air. You turn to him—he’s blushing, eyes flickering toward you before returning to the road.
What do you say?
