𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬

  "You aren't dressed?" Wheezie stupidly asks as Sarah and Tatum sit at the counter on their phones.

"No, we're not going." "I mean, it's midsummers. You've been talking about Midsummers since last year. You have a date, remember?"

"Yes, I remember," Sarah scoffs, rolling her eyes, and Tatum sets her phone down on the counter, resting her face on the palm of her hand. "Sarah says they're not going."

"They hell they aren't," Rose chuckles, "Your father is being coronated as Guardian of Knights of the Rhododendron. You're going."

"You're not my mother, I don't have to do what you tell me." "Whatever. Your daughter says she's not going."

"Um.." Ward walked in the room, a little confused with everything going on. "She's off Topper, Jojo." "Wheezie, please. Go," Ward tells his youngest.

Tatum smirks as she watches the little annoying sister walk away, "Thank you very much. What's going on?" Ward looks at Sarah and Tatum.

"I just...don't feel like Topper is my splinter bean." "I don't know exactly what that means, but it sounds to me like you should probably dump his ass, maybe, huh? What are your thoughts, Tatum?"

Ward adjusted the cuffs of his shirt. "Absolutely. He's a sorry excuse for a teenager," Tatum groans.

"Maybe just not tonight, though. Maybe you could, I don't know-" "I just don't want to go with him."

"I know, I know. What is you just paste on a smile and you go, and we have a good time, all right? And you deal with your love life mañana? Please."

Sarah looks down from her dad to her best friend who was a smile plastered on her face. "You can be my date," Tatum grins, flashing her smile brightly.

"Yeah, you wish," Sarah stood up and walked to her room. "You'd be lucky to be my date!"

...

Tatum tossed her hair over her shoulder as she walked into the Midsummers event, holding her purse by her side. Not long after she walked in did the applause start for the Camerons.

"Hey, you look amazing," Tatum hugged Sarah. "So do you, Tate," Sarah smiled.

"Hey. Hey, Sarah. Hey. I waited on you," Topper comes up and grabs Sarah's wrist. "You said you wanted to walk in together."

"Yeah, well, I came with my parents." "Can we talk for a sec?" Tatum looks in between her brother and best friend, giving Sarah a smile if she needed her.

Sarah and Tatum were sitting at a table, sipping on wine they shouldn't be sipping on, considering they were literally 16.

"Dance with me!" Sarah dragged Tatum on to the dance floor, and Tatum was just trying to have a good time despite everything with JJ and Rafe going on.

Someone tapped Tatum's back, and she turned around, gasping. "JJ?" He held a finger to his lips, "Yep."

Tatum was led off the dance floor, Sarah giving her wiggly eyebrows. "What? How are you? Are you okay?"

JJ wrapped his hand around her waist, and the other held her hand in his. "I'm fine. You know me, always coming back for more," JJ grinned down at her.

"JJ, what did he do?" Tatum caressed his face with her thumb, asking about Luke Maybank.

"The usual. But I'm fine, it's nothing new, T. I promise, I'm fine," JJ just kept smiling, reassuring her.

"I'm always here, J. You know that right? I can help, like, find somewhere safe? I don't know-" "Don't worry about it, babe. Just have fun with me," JJ brushes off Tatum's worried concerns.