the middle ≫ jj maybank

xii. the letter

As the girls drove in the car, they were silent, though Slater could tell Kiara was itching to talk about Sarah. She wasn't bringing it up, likely because she didn't want to be rude in front of Slater.

"So," Slater said, clearing her throat. "What about John B and Sarah, hey?"

Kiara let out a loud groan, and Slater knew she had been right in her prediction. All it took was Slater opening the door. "I know! As if John B hasn't heard me complain about that witch a million times."

"What exactly happened between you two, if you don't mind me asking?" Slater asked. All she knew was that Kiara hated Sarah. She didn't know why.

"We were friends," Kiara began. "We were really close. In fact, when I started at the kook school, she was the first friend I made. And then ... she just dropped me. I don't know what I did. I don't know what happened. But, Sarah had a birthday party, and she invited everyone else but me."

Slater's mouth fell open. From the few times she'd interacted with Sarah Cameron, she seemed nice, especially in comparison to her brother. "Wow, that's awful. I'm sorry, Kie."

Kiara shrugged. "It's fine. I'm over it now. I have better friends. Friends that I thought would respect my dislike for Sarah Cameron, but I guess not."

"Did you ever talk to her about it?" Slater asked.

Kiara shook her head. "I mean, I tried, but ... I didn't really get anywhere. Whatever. Screw Sarah Cameron."

Slater's eyes widened, and she nodded. Kiara was clearly over the whole thing.

"So, Midsummers," Kiara said, letting out a sigh. "While I'm not thrilled about going to Midsummers, at least you'll be there."

Slater nodded in agreement, noticing the abrupt change in subject. "It will be nice to have a friend, beyond my sister."

"And the food is pretty good," Kiara noted.

"Oh right, Pope's dad is providing the fish," Slater said. "Is Pope going to be there?" she asked, glancing sideways at Kiara.

It was clear that Pope had a massive crush on Kiara, but Slater wasn't sure about how the girl felt about him.

Kiara nodded. "It's a busy day for Heyward, I'm sure he'll make Pope be there."

They arrived back at the Wreck, and Slater got in her car and drove home. Her parents would be home soon, as they'd both taken off early for the festival. She found Maeve upstairs, getting ready.

"Hey, Slate," Maeve said, a wide smile on her face. She'd been looking forward to Midsummers since last year's festival. She'd braided her dark hair into an updo, and she was wearing a beautiful, mint green dress that colored brightly against her tanned skin. A flower crown, traditional to Midsummers, made of white daisies adorned her head.

"You're ready already?" Slater asked with a laugh.

"I still have to paint my toenails!" Maeve said.

Slater laughed and shook her head as she headed into her own room, where her dress was laid out on her bed.

Maeve followed her, a bottle of nail polish in her hands, as she settled onto Slater's floor.

"Don't get any of that on my carpet," Slater warned.

"I won't! Don't worry," she said. "So, how were the pogues?"

"Since when do you care?" Slater asked.

Maeve shrugged. "Since they keep showing up on our roof to sneak you out. One in particular."

Slater's cheeks flushed and she turned away from her sister, busying herself with picking up her dress. As much as she didn't want to go to Midsummers, she was in love with her dress.

It was a stunning blue, a deep shade of cobalt that reminded her of the ocean. The silky fabric made her feel sophisticated and chic, which was a far change from the usual attire she donned from day to day.

Since the girls' mother worked at a flower shop, it had been easy for them to get flower crowns. The flower crowns, or some kind of floral head ornament, were a longstanding tradition of the country club's. Ordinarily, Slater wouldn't have loved the idea of flowers on her head, attracting bees and other insects, but given that her crown was made by her mom, she liked it. It was special. None of the other women would be able to say that their own mom made their crown, and Leanore's floral work was some of the best.

Slater's crown was crafted out of blue bellflowers, which were almost the exact same shade as her dress.

Slater sat down in front of her vanity to do her hair and makeup. Maeve lounged on her floor, her dress pooled around her like a flower and its petals.

"You don't have a date for tonight?" Maeve asked.

Slater scoffed. "Have you ever seen me with a date, Maeve?"

Maeve laughed and shook her head. "No, but with all these new friends you have, many of which are boys, I thought maybe you might be into one of them. Or, you know, maybe Kiara. She's cute, too."

"I don't have a date, Maeve," Slater said. "Why the sudden interest?"

Maeve shrugged. "I don't know, I hardly see you anymore! I thought maybe that was because you had a secret partner I didn't know about."

Slater shook her head, her cheeks turning pink as her mind drifted to JJ. Did he want to date Slater? Their relationship, if one could even call it that, hadn't progressed beyond a few secret kisses.

"No, Maeve," Slater replied. "I'm just finally making friends. I know that may come as a shock to you, but ..." she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. I finally found a group of people that like me. They like hanging out with me."

Maeve sighed. "I'm sorry, again. For ruining it. Well, for taking part in Mom and Dad ruining it."

"It's fine," Slater said. "It's not your fault."

"I'm glad you're making friends. Real friends," Maeve said, smiling. "It's about time."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ author's note ✫・゜・。.

wow, chapter twelve already! i can't believe it :)

so originally, i was thinking about carrying this book on through at least season two of outer banks, but now i think i'm going to end it just at the end of season one. i know it ends on a cliffhanger, but i think it will work out fine.

what are your thoughts on that? would you like to see me continue it through season two? season two ALSO ended on a cliffhanger, so that's really not a reliable stopping point either ... i guess we'll see.

thanks for reading, and please, if you don't mind, leave a comment and vote!

xx,

madi