now playing: miss americana and the heartbreak prince, taylor swift

outer banks episode five: midsummers

CHAPTER TWO: RIPPED UP MY PROM DRESS

   The only thing that snapped Addie out of her daydream was the burning feeling on her neck. Wincing, she pulled the curling iron away from her head, playing with the freshly made curl. "What's got you so uptight," a joking voice says from the doorframe. Looking over, the girl frowns, seeing her brother. 

   "You and your bitchass friends," the girl mutters, looking back over at the mirror and staring at the purple bruise on her cheekbone. "How am I going to be able to fix this by tonight?"

   The boy shrugs, saying, "Honestly, not my problem," and leaves the room. Addie leans back into her chair, closing her eyes as she exhales heavily. The past few days had been hard for her, running around the island trying to avoid both the blonde from the party and Topper. She would have to face at least one tonight, at an event she dreaded. Midsummers. 

   Young Addie would consider her older self crazy for hating it but that girl was in the past. For the past 4 years, Addie had left the party early.  She would walk home, high heels in hand, regretting even going in the first place. 

As the girl curled her eyelashes, she heard  3 voices yelling different things at different people.

"Addie hurry up, we are leaving in 5" one called out. Scrambling to put on shoes, Addie rushed down the stairs, into the living room, where her family waited. "What took so long?" the girl's mother scolded, ushering her family out the door. "Sorry Mom, Kyler was being his usual prick self," she said, glaring at her older brother. Rolling his eyes, Kyler pushed his sister into the car, lightly enough to annoy her just a little more. 

After a near-silent drive, the Brooks family finally reached their destination. Tapping on the car window, Addie saw her dad on the other side. "Why can't I just stay in the car?" the girl whined, opening her door. "Sorry peanut, Mom insisted." the girl's dad responded. Groaning, the girl started walking into the venue. "Adeline," a sharp voice scolded. "Stop dragging your feet and come help set up. I don't want any of this mopey attitude tonight so cut it out." Addie just rolled her eyes at her mom's comment, shrugging it off like she often did. 

Walking around the place, the girl realized just how bad this event was going to be. She was losing hope as she weaved through people, desperate to find a person she at least tolerated. Addie caught a glimpse of a familiar girl and instantly felt better. As she walked over to the curly-headed girl, and her friend, she started to feel nervous for once.  Second-guessing herself, she started backing away. She turned around to see a familiar face exiting the pavilion, but before she could reach the Cameron girl, Topper had already reached her. "Hey, can we talk?" she faintly heard, before seeing Sarah and Topper walk away. Following them, Addie listened in on their conversation, waiting for the right moment to step in. Five minutes into the conversation, Sarah found the Brooks girl, looking at her and signaling for help. Addie walked up to the couple, as innocently as possible, flashing a charming smile. "Hey Top," she said, still smiling. "Do you mind if I borrow Sarah real quick?" Before the boy could answer she blurted, "Thanks so much Top, you're the greatest," and started walking away, arms linked with the blonde.

Once the two girls were out of Topper's sight, they broke into a skip, giggling. Sarah dragged both of them in front of two other girls, using them as human shields while they snuck a glass of wine. Still giggling, the pair made their way onto the dance floor, dodging the swarms of people going inside with their dates. Addie froze as she saw a familiar face, still surrounded by those on the dance floor. As the blonde boy from the party looked around, he caught a glimpse of the kook he had met a few nights before. Addie felt time stop until she realized her friend was tapping her shoulder. Addie silently thanked Sarah for the distraction, turning around to keep dancing. She didn't even realize the boy sneaking up next to Sarah, tapping her on the shoulder, and handing her a note. 

"Note from Vlad," the boy said smirking. "Read it," he finished. Addie took the boy in, her face falling when she noticed the bruises and scratches on his face. The blonde winked in Addie's direction, turning around right into Rafe Cameron and his minions. 

Seizing the moment, Addie grabbed the blonde boy's arm dragging him through the crowd into the main building. She pulled him into a closet, closing the door behind her. The boy tried to speak, but Addie held her pointer finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet. "What's your name?" she asked, leaning against the door. "JJ. JJ Maybank," the boy said, closing the space between the two. "Are you going to tell me your name?" the boy continued, looking down at the girl. "Adeline," the girl replied, biting her bottom lip to keep in a giggle. "And why is it," the girl paused, "that I keep saving you from my brother's friends?" JJ crossed his arms, thinking about his answer. Just as his mouth was opening, a bang on the door startled the two. 

Addie turned around backing as far away from the door as she could. She could feel his breath on her neck and his shirt on her back but she was too scared to move. "Come out pogue," a familiar voice called out, followed by another bang on the door. "Alright, alright. Just give me a second." JJ yelled back. "When I open that door, you run. Got it?" he whispered into the ear of the girl in front of him. All Addie could do was nod.  

Three.

Two.

One. 

The door flung open and the pair took off like twin bolts. Addie saw JJ, dodging through crowds and trying to find a way out of his mess. She followed JJ the whole time until he reached the boy's locker room. Even though she didn't want to leave him, Addie split up, going outside to find her parents. "Adeline. What has gotten into you?" the girl's mother muttered at the sight of her daughter. "Flo, let the girl live," Addie's father replied, flashing a smile at his daughter. Addie nodded her head at the man, expressing her gratitude. "I got legs. I can walk myself out."

Addie was surprisingly overjoyed to hear the voice. Looking over in the direction of the commotion, she saw the blonde, downing Mr. Dunleavy's drink. A small smile rested on her face seeing the boy relatively unscathed. The security guard took his arm again and started leading him away from the guests. "What are you doing? You can't boot him," Addie blurted at the security. The boy looked over at her from across the dance floor, just as Addie realized what she had said. Her mother reached for her arm but the girl quickly pulled away, still making eye contact with JJ. "I invited him here and I'm a member of this club. You can't kick him out." 

Both Addie's parents gave her a strange look but she shrugged it off like it was nothing. JJ gave her a slight smile before pointing at his friends to leave. Addie took off down the steps trying to reach him before he could leave but it was hopeless. She found herself right next to Sarah, unable to process why her heart dropped when she saw JJ leave. 

────────── ★ ──────────

Adeline found herself sitting on the floor of Sarah's bedroom that night, laughing so hard she might cry. "Oh my gosh. Guess what was on the note JJ gave me," Sarah suddenly said, tapping on Addie's knee. Addie looked up, suddenly more intrigued by the conversation. 

"I went with John B yesterday to Chapel Hill to look for documents. Something about a treasure he's looking for." Sarah continued. Addie nodded, silently telling the girl to keep talking. "And he found records of Royal Merchant Gold existing. Crazy right?" The brunette's jaw seemed to be on the floor. "I know right? Anyways he wants me to go help him and his friends find the treasure tonight." Sarah finished. "That's great Sarah," Addie said, placing her hand on her best friend's thigh. "I'm a little nervous, would you like to come with me?" Sarah added. Addie smiled at her friend, clearly showing her answer. 

The car ride seemed like a blur. Addie didn't know why she was nervous, but she did know this was her chance to talk to JJ. The way Addie chewed on her lip worried Sarah, but she chose not to say anything. After what felt like years, Addie heard Sarah say, "We're here." 

Taking a deep breath, Addie stepped out of the car, regretting coming. The two friends parted ways, Addie walking towards a beat-up van while Sarah walked over to John B. Even though the car door was open, Addie knocked on it. One of the people in the van glanced at Addie and looked across the car from him, a curious glance on his face. Two of the three friends in the car came over to the door, nudging a guy on the way over. Addie flashed a quick smile, hoping to win them over. "Why are you here?" the curly-haired girl questioned. 

"Uh, I'm with Sarah," Addie responded shakily. Rolling her eyes, the girl sat back down, leaving a boy looking at Addie. "Uh, um. Hi?" the boy stammered. "Leave her be," a voice interrupted, making Addie's heart skip a beat. Stepping out of the van was JJ. 

Addie smiled calmly, acting as if her nerves weren't on fire. "Can I talk to you? Over there," she asked. The boy nodded without a second thought. As soon as they were out of earshot, Addie took a deep breath. The blonde in front of her smiled, taking off his hat and looking down at his feet. "Sorry about them, Kiara is not too happy about Kooks helping us out," he said, looking back at the van. "Well, I came mainly to apologize for Rafe and my brother," the girl stated, flattening her dress. 

JJ ran a hand through his messy hair, thinking about what Addie had said. Finally, he looked back up at her, nodding his head in understanding. A lit lamp shone down on them and Addie caught a glimpse of the boy's bruised face. She found herself reaching towards his cheek but caught herself before contact was made. She stepped forward until there was only inches of space between them. 

"What the hell is going on?" a girl's voice rang out, storming over to the pair. "JJ, are you macking on a Kook?" she continued, angrily. JJ rolled his eyes, turning around to face her. "Kiara, we were just talking," he replied. "Oh yeah, sure. Talking that close to someone never ends in a friendly conversation, especially with her." Kiara retorted. 

Before anyone could speak, Addie heard a voice call out, "Please, somebody help." Addie ran, recognizing the voice as Sarah's. She didn't care about the mud on her dress or the branches cutting her arm, she only wanted to help her friend. Addie found her, lying over an unconscious John B, sobbing, and froze. The rest of the group ran past her, asking what happened but before Addie could say anything, someone grabbed her arm pulling her away from the scene, into a car. 

AUTHORS CORNER, sorry for the super long chapter but i hope you guys liked it! please be kind to everyone in the comments (including me lmao) and i encourage you to vote, comment, and share! i love you all so much, remember to eat and drink !!