𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 30.

"𝐒𝐎 𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐌𝐄 𝐆𝐄𝐓 this straight," I put a finger up.

John B rolled his eyes in annoyance. As I sat in the passenger seat of the van, my mouth would not stop opening in questions— the whole ride. Before getting into the boat, when we were back at the small island, I did not know what 'Midsummers' was, no other than hearing Caroline and Daryl drop a few comments about it over lunch earlier in the day. John B and Jj tried to explain on the way back to the Chateau. The only useful information I was able to retain from the conversation, was that Midsummers— which happens every year — is a huge Kook gathering, at the island Country Club.

Right upon arriving at John B's house, we had snuck into the back and tried to see if the grey car was still there. Thankfully, it was not. Jj put my bike in the van, and we were soon off, driving smoothly towards TannyHill. Repeatedly, the whole way there, I could not refrain from asking numerous questions, about the plan that John B had finished proposing. Along the blurry lines of it, he mentioned something about the newly translated letter, but said that we were going to have to wait until later. Then, I was told that I was going to go to Midsummers with Sarah.

"You want me," I now pointed a finger to my chest, "to go to a massive Kook-infested party, with Sarah Cameron, because you need a map of TannyHill."

"Yes." John B vaguely replied.

"Why can't you just get it yourself?" I narrowed my eyebrows at him.

He turned his head to me, and gave me a dumb look.

"Are you afraid of Kooks, or something?" I glanced back at Jj quickly. "Just ask Sarah at Midsummers, she'll give it to you."

"A Pogue can't go to Midsummers," Jj interjected, "That's just like— the way it is." Between his fingers, he held a vape. Right after speaking, he rose it up to his lips, took a large puff, and exhaled a cloud of smoke.

"Well, I'm a Pogue," I claimed, oblivious.

"Yeah, but you don't look like one," John B tilted his head to the side.

"Throw on a dress and a flower crown, and you're basically Sarah Cameron's sister," Jj hummed.

"Come on, guys, I don't even look like her," I huffed out a sigh.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna pass eleventh grade." Jj laughed, with a sarcastic tone.

"John B, what do you think Sarah'll say if I show up at her door, and ask if I can go with her to Midsummers." I ignored Jj, and turned myself in my seat, to face John B. "It's not like she's just gonna suddenly bring me with her."

"She probably will, Charls," John B looked at me, "I mean, unless she's going with Topper."

"Question." Jj raised his hand.

"What," I looked back to him.

"What are y'all doing with Sarah Cameron anyways?" he asked.

"Her and Charlie are friends." John B replied for me, speaking casually.

"Oh," Jj seemed a little bit taken aback, but tried to stay normal, "Does Kie know about that?"

John B glanced to his friend in the rear view mirror, "Know about what."

"That you three are hanging out." Jj spoke, before taking another puff. "That you're hanging out with Sarah Cameron. Dude— didn't her dad, like, just fire you?"

I narrowed my eyebrows, not knowing why it would be a big deal with Kiara. I stayed quiet.

"She doesn't have to know," John B lowered his eyes at Jj.

"So is like— one of you mackin' her, or something," Jj asked casually, while leaning his back against the van door.

My mouth fell open.

"No, Jj." John B rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Well, shit, I don't know," Jj shrugged, speaking quickly. "You guys aren't actin' on your little thing," he waved her finger between us, meaning our 'relationship'. "So I was just wondering,"

I bit down on my bottom lip. John B gripped harder on the steering wheel as the vehicle became silent. We didn't really look at one another, as the TannyHill mansion came into view outside of my window. He slowed down the car, stopping behind one of the tall trees, the van being hidden.

"Alright, so you remember the plan," John B was saying, while I pushed open the passenger door.

"Yes." I said, shutting the door behind me. My hand latched around the handle of the back door.

"Are you sure," he had one hand on the wheel, his body turned to face my window.

"Yeah, I got it," I nodded a few times, while grabbing the handles of my bicycle.

"Act like you just wanna hang out," he went over the plan quickly, as I pulled out the bike. "And remember— you don't know what Midsummers is." he grinned.

"Yes, John B, I know." A refreshed smile rose to meet my lips, the bicycle being put on the ground. "I'll meet you at the bag drop at nine, wherever it is."

Jj closed the door for me as John B sent me the usual cheeky grin.

"With the map." John B pointed a finger at me, foolishly lowering his eyes.

"With the map." I repeated, with a stern nod.

"See you after," John B placed his hands on the wheel.

"Bye," I smiled brightly at him, our eyes locking for a second, as I swung my leg over the bike. "See ya, Jj," I smiled to him sitting in the backseat.

He waved at me with the vape in his fingers, and then the van began to reel backwards slowly, going out of sight and away from Sarah's house. John B sent me a quick wink before he turned the vehicle around, and drove back the way we came from. With a wide smile on my face, I looked to the mansion on my right, and began to pedal up the hill. I rehearsed the prepared plan in my head, what I was supposed to say. John B didn't mention if I was allowed to tell Sarah about it.

Soon enough, my feet were stopping the pedalling when I made it to the front door of her home. My lips were departed when I stared up at the beautiful mansion, my feet landing on the ground as I slowly walked the bicycle up to the door. I placed it against the wall, before flattening my shirt and fixing my posture. I knocked four solid times.

There was a long wait, before a woman, wearing a deep pink material dress, opened the door. She had a drink in her hand, and narrowed eyebrows. I didn't know if she was Sarah's mother or not.

"Hi," I started, interlocking my fingers in front of my stomach nervously. "I'm Charlotte, here to see Sarah," there was a small smile on my lips.

"Oh," she forced a smile to her own lips, "I'll go and get her," she nodded once, and left the door open as she turned around and stepped away.

Sarah skipped around the corner after a minute, wearing blue shorts and a pajama sweater, "Charlie," she grinned with a happy look, causing a genuine smile to meet my lips. She stepped out of the door and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a tight hug.

When she pulled away, I was laughing lightly. "Hey," I said through small huffs.

"What are you doing here," she asked with shining eyes, her hands falling from my shoulders.

I cleared my throat, "I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out today," I said kindly.

"Oh—" the smile fell from her face and was replaced with a slight look of worry, "Well there's actually like this—um, this party I'm forced to go to today... but I could— like, I could ask if I don't have to go," she was rambling, seeming genuinely disappointed. She kept glancing back into her house.

"No, no, Sarah, it's okay," I pretended to be slightly upset.

"What if—" her eyes flashed with an idea, "what if you, like, came with me, or something." she asked suddenly.

"To the party?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's so sudden, though,"

"Yeah— I mean, I'm supposed to go with Topper, but I'll ask my dad," she smiled with excitement.

"You don't have to," I put my hands out.

"Yes, oh my god," she beamed with anticipation, her hand then wrapping around my wrist, "this is gonna be so fun, holy shit!" she practically squealed.

I felt bad for lying to her. "Are you sure this isn't, like, a family thing?"

"Not really," she mused happily.

My eyes were wide as I looked around the living room she was dragging me through. Before I could get a really good look at it, though, she abruptly stopped, as we almost bumped into a tall man.

"Dad— hi," Sarah composed herself quickly, her hand still on my wrist as she pulled me to stand next to her. "This is Charlotte,"

The man, with slicked back hair and a grey beard, looked over at me. Being slightly startled by the quick run-in, he slowly let a smile rise to his lips.

"Hi, Charlotte," he said kindly, "I don't believe we've met. Ward Cameron." He struck a hand out towards me.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Cameron," I smiled back, deciding to use a formal introduction, since they were rich people and all. "Sorry for the sudden appearance," I shook his hand. There seemed to be nothing wrong with him so far.

"Charlotte is new on the island," Sarah looked to me. "She's staying for the next year, came from New York," she admired me.

"First time in Kildare County?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah," I laughed lightly.

He looked at me, seeming to really examine my facial features. "Are you sure?" He said with a small laugh. "I feel like I've seen you before." He crossed his arms and tapped his chin with a finger. "You look very familiar."

I smiled, sort of awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

Sarah coughed, "So, daddy, Charlotte wants to, um, hang out today," She spoke lightly, breaking the small silence.

Her father looked to her, a sigh falling past his lips. "Sweetie, we just talked about this," he said. "You're going to Midsummers."

"Yeah— I know," Sarah quickly said. "But, could she, I don't know— come with us, as my plus one," she spoke with a soft tone, her eyes pleading.

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead. It seemed to me like they had talked about Topper earlier, since he was originally supposed to go with her, from the look Ward gave his daughter. It was an unsure look, sort of questioning her silently if she really wanted to forget about Topper and take me instead.

"Sure," he let out a stressed breath, after Sarah had given him puppy-dog eyes, "I suppose that's fine, girls." He smiled again, glancing to me.

I smiled lightly. Sarah squealed, and lunged forward, wrapping her arms around her father's neck. He let out a loud laugh at her excitement, and hugged her back, before she pulled away with a happy expression.

"You'll have to tell me how you two met, sometime else," he placed his hands on his hips. "I've gotta go get some stuff ready before we leave. Go and get yourselves dressed," he nodded his head towards the stairs, a wide smile still on his lips.

"Thanks, dad," Sarah patted his shoulder, as she gripped around my wrist again, beginning to drag me away.

"And— Charlotte," Ward turned around, and we stopped for a second to look back. "You sure you've never been on the island before?"

"Yeah," I nodded, laughing softly. Sarah wasn't listening, and began to pull me again.

As we trotted away, a wide smile on my face—knowing that the plan was working— Sarah's dad was fixing the sleeves of his shirt, looking at me with a confused look, before heading in an opposite direction. She was still pulling me along with her, all the way until we reached the staircase. I got a sense of déjà-vu when we ran up the stairs, just like how she'd dragged John B and I towards her dad's office the day before, when the three of us went to Chapel Hill. I wondered if I should tell her about him and I.

"Oh my god, you wouldn't be believe what I had to do when I got home," she was huffing out, now at the top of the stairs. "I had to sneak past my dad, and my older brother," she rolled her eyes, but still held a smile.

We were walking side by side, her hand no longer around my wrist, walking down the hall. The only places I'd been in her house so far, was the office, the kitchen, and up the stairs. I tried not to let my mouth fall open too much, while she guided me down the long and open hall, to, I suppose, her own bedroom. She stopped walking at an open door.

"Rafe," she called into the room with a happy tone.

Standing beside her, I looked into the open bedroom, to see her older brother, Rafe, fixing his bow tie in a full-length mirror. He looked to us standing at the doorway, through the reflection.

"I think you've already met Charlotte," she said, glancing to me.

Rafe turned around, his eyes pinned on me. He was wearing a silky baby-blue tuxedo, and a black bow tie, his hair perfectly slicked back, and shining shoes on his feet.

"She's coming to Midsummers," Sarah announced, her voice sweet. Her cheeks puffed when she smiled.

"What the hell happened to Top?" Rafe questioned, his voice deep, while taking a few short steps away from the mirror. I'd never really heard him speak before.

"Complicated." Sarah shrugged.

"Dad's letting her go?" he shifted his eyes to me, before biting the inside of his cheek, referring to me as 'her'. I breathed out uncomfortably from his stare.

"Yes," Sarah smiled shortly, and then began to turn away. She pulled me with her

"Hey where were you yesterday, Sarah," Rafe asked with a slightly demanding tone, as she guided me down the rest of the hall.

"Somewhere," she called back with an annoyed tone, not even looking back when she spoke.

Without another word, Sarah was wrapping her hand around a doorknob at the end of the hall, and pushing open the door. She walked in, and I followed slowly. My mouth was open as I looked around the space.

"Is this your room?" I asked, with slightly wide eyes.

She was walking over to the closet along the far wall, "Yep," she answered.

It looked similar to my own bedroom I had back in New York, with the large bed, and wide window, except the colours were different. My old bedroom was simply white and grey, all around, and I found myself admiring the different colour schemes in Sarah's room.

"I love it," I said with a wide smile, as I carefully plopped myself onto the bed.

"Thanks, Charlie," she sent me a soft grin, while closing her bedroom door. "I'll give you a tour of the house another time, if you want."

"Yeah, sure." I smiled. "So, uh, what's up with you and Topper?" I suddenly asked, trying to ease into it smoothly.

She let out a stressed breath of air as she plopped down beside me, "it's kind of complicated," she rolled her eyes at the thought, and laid down on her side.

"You wanna talk about it?" My voice was quiet and soft.

She looked away from me, and towards the wall, blinking, "it's just that— I don't think we're, like, right for each other." She said with a frown.

I swallowed a breath of air, "Did something else happen?"

"Not necessarily," she sighed, "I just don't feel like we know each other, you know?"

"Yeah," I nodded, remembering the night of the pool party, when she was crying in the bathroom. "Is he still mad about what happened at the party?" I asked softly.

"I don't even know," she rubbed a hand over her eyes. "I haven't talked to him since then."

"And he's going tonight. To Midsummers." I said, almost for clarification.

"Yeah, I was supposed to be his date," she frowned up at me.

"Are you gonna break up with him," I questioned, coming out more as a statement. "You know, if you're not feeling it,"

"I don't know yet," she formed her lips in a tight line, and looked down at her bed covers. "But I'm glad you're coming with me," she said.

"Of course," I smiled.

"He won't be on my ass the whole night if you're there," she rolled her eyes jokingly, and looked up to me again.

I let out a small laugh.

"So, what's with you and John B," she giggled, tapping my folded leg with the back of her hand.

I felt a heat rise to my cheeks, causing a red tint to colour them, "what do you mean," a soft laugh escaped my lips.

"Come on, Charlie," she rolled her eyes jokingly again, "I'm not dumb."

"I think he likes me," I said quietly, trying to keep in the wide smile.

"You think?" she said, "he obviously has feelings for you, Charlie," she giggled again, "I mean, just by the way he looks at you."

My fingers intertwined, "Yeah?"

"Do you like him?" She looked up at me with excited eyes.

The smile rose to my lips, and I looked down. "Yeah, I do." I said, quietly. I hadn't admitted it yet.

A bright smile appeared on her face, her cheeks creasing. She genuinely seemed happy for me. "Good for you, Charlotte," she tapped my leg approvingly, grinning.

"And," I stopped, debating if I should say it.

"And what," Sarah, intrigued, let her eyebrows slightly narrow.

I breathed out, the smile on my face growing. "He kissed me last night."

"What!" Sarah sat right up, her mouth falling open, "Oh my god, Charlie!"

My stomach swarmed with a happy feeling, when she grabbed my shoulders and lightly shook me with excitement. I had never gossiped about a boy before.

"He drove to my house after the docks, and just like— kissed me," I nodded, laughing at her excitement.

"In the rain?" She gawked.

"Yeah, in the rain." I bit down onto my bottom lip, agreeing with how cheesy— but good— it was.

She sighed out happily, a joyful look on her face as she leaned her body back on all the throw pillows placed on her bed. "That's, like, straight out of a movie," her eyes were twinkling, staring up at the roof.

"It was my first kiss, too," I told, laughing lightly.

"Dude, even better." Sarah's eyes widened more.

Then, there was an unexpected, loud knock on the door.

Before Sarah could ask who was there, a small dark-haired brunette appeared in the doorway. She had glasses, and was wearing a deep blue dress with yellow and pink flowers on it. She looked at me with a confused look.

"What do you want, Wheezie," Sarah groaned, sitting up slightly.

"Just dropping off your flower crown," the girl said with an annoyed tone, like she was forced to bring the item up, "Who's she?" She looked at me.

"My friend, Charlotte," Sarah said, while standing up. "She's coming to Midsummers. Now go." She grabbed the crown. Sarah's hands placed themselves on the girl's shoulder, as she turned her around and gently pushed her out of the room.

The girl narrowed her eyebrows sharply, "But what about Topper—"

Sarah shut the door.

"Is she your sister?" I asked with a soft tone. They didn't really look alike.

"Half-sister," Sarah answered, while placing the flower crown on her bedside table. I nodded. "My dad married Rose, the lady who opened the door for you, like twelve years ago. They had her when I was three." She was talking while searching through her closet.

"Oh, I see." I nodded slowly. I was enjoying learning more about her, the stuff that I didn't know. I wasn't going to ask about her real mom.

"I mean, Wheezie is basically my real sister, since we grew up like it," she explained calmly, "We're pretty close. But not so much the same vibe for her mom, though." She let out a small laugh.

"Hm," I hummed, sounding interested. "Hey, uh— Sarah?"

"Yeah?" She responded casually, turning her head.

"This is kind of a weird question, but," I started off slow, sort of sounding awkward. "I need a, um," I rubbed over my eyes. "Jeez, okay— I need a plat map of TannyHill."

✰༄✰

𝐇𝐈 !!

𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞

𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐢 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚

𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 !

-- 𝐢𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐭𝐰 😏

** 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐑: 𝘪 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘻𝘪𝘦

𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴

𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦

𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘐 𝘗𝘙𝘖𝘔𝘐𝘚𝘌 𝘏𝘌𝘏𝘌𝘏

-- 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬/𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞

𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 ^

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𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 !!