There’s one scene in The Summer I Turned Pretty that fans replay over and over again.
Not because it’s loud.
Not because it’s dramatic.
But because of what wasn’t said.
Many viewers are convinced that in that moment, Conrad Fisher was about to tell Belly he still loved her — and maybe even wanted her back.
And then she said one word.
“Friends.”
And you can almost see his heart break.
The Look on His Face Said Everything
Supporters of this theory point to Conrad’s expression. The pause. The shift in his eyes. The way his posture changes after she says it.
It’s subtle, but devastating.
When Isabel “Belly” Conklin suggests they should just be friends, many fans believe it knocks the air out of him. As if he had built up the courage to finally be honest — only to feel the door quietly close before he could speak.
That micro-second of hesitation? That’s where the heartbreak lives.
Two People, One Massive Communication Failure
What makes the scene even more tragic is that neither of them knew how to communicate properly at that time.
Conrad struggles to express his emotions clearly. He internalizes. He overthinks. He protects himself by staying guarded.
Belly, on the other hand, often reacts to what she thinks she’s hearing rather than what’s actually being said. She fills in the blanks before the sentence is finished.
So when she says “friends,” she may think she’s protecting herself.
But to Conrad, it feels like rejection.
Two people in love.
Neither knowing how to say it.
Neither knowing how to hear it.
He Always Loved Her — He Just Didn’t Know How to Show It
One thing most fans across teams agree on: Conrad’s feelings for Belly were never the issue.
Expression was.
Even when he pushed her away. Even when he shut down. Even when he said the wrong thing at the worst time.
The love was there.
He just didn’t have the emotional tools yet to articulate it in a way she could receive.
And that’s what makes the scene so painful — not the absence of love, but the failure of delivery.
The Word “Friends” That Changed Everything
In another universe, maybe he gets the sentence out first.
Maybe he says “I still love you.”
Maybe she hears it.
Maybe things unfold differently.
But instead, one small word shifted the energy of the entire moment. And you can see it — the exact second it hits him.
For many viewers, that’s when it became clear:
Timing has always been Conrad and Belly’s biggest enemy.
And sometimes, love isn’t lost because it isn’t there.
It’s lost because neither person knows how to say it out loud.
