One of Two // JJ Maybank

midsummers: three

later that night, it was time for the dad and their daughters to dance. me and sarah shared our dad as he wrapped his arms around us, swaying us back and forth. sarah came up to me earlier with a note and apparently she met up with john b. he was telling her to get some plat map and he agreed to let me help as well. all of the sudden we heard a door slam open. someone was being dragged by security and was yelling random shit.

my dad stopped as me and sarah both turned around. i saw jj in a waiters uniform getting hauled by a bodyguard. "hey, mandatory power hour at rixon's, kie." he said pointing in her direction. "pope, you as well. workers of the world unite! throw off your chains!"

i saw kiara's parents get mad as she ran down the dance floor and towards the pogues. they looked so happy, running from their problems. jj made eye contact with me and sent a small nod and a wink. i saw him look me up and down. i giggled, sending a small, non-noticeable wave to him. i smiled, watching them hug each other and so did sarah. we both had the same look on our faces. wanting to be able to feel the freedom they had.

midsummers ended about an hour after the whole pogue mishap. me and sarah snuck into the library and shut the door quietly, making sure to not make any noise. i started going through shelves and drawers trying to find the plat map we needed. we silently looked before we heard the door open. we stopped immediately and looked up to see our dad. "what are you two doing?" he asked confused.

i looked towards sarah who had a look on her face. "we... were just looking for the old plat maps." i smiled innocently. sarah smiled and nodded along. "what else can i say, instead of being honest?"

he laughed and lowered his head. "the plat maps? are you two serious?" he asked, placing his hands on his hips, looking between the two of us. sarah bent down and chuckled, grabbing the maps out from the drawer and placing them on the table. "you guys never looked at them when i tried to show them to you."

i laughed awkwardly and answered for sarah while she got the exact map. "well, since then.." i started. "we have become so appreciative of this beautiful property that we call home." our dad raised his eyebrows as i continued. "we thought maybe we could get them framed, and hung in our rooms."

dad crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. "come on, girls, seriously." he replied. "what is this, a school thing?"

i rolled my eyes. "dad, it's july. it's the middle of summer." i said. "hence why we were at midsummers."

he nodded and looked towards sarah. "is it a topper thing?" he asked.

i heard sarah stop as she grabbed the map. "no, its not a topper thing." she giggled, grabbing my arm. "but, it is a boy thing." sarah led us to the door as we stood next to each other smiling. "he's a real go-getter. i think you'll like him."

we started to walk out the door but dad stopped us. "hey, who's this mystery buff?" he questioned, dad looked towards me and i shrugged, acting as dumb as possible. "is he a cartographer or something?"

sarah shook her head. "if i told you he wouldn't be much of a mystery now, would he?" she replied with a smile. before we walked out, he stopped us again. "yes?"

"make good choices." he said narrowing his gaze between us. "and be careful with that." he pointed to the plat map in sarah's hand.

i nodded. "promise." i kissed the map in my twin's hand and we walked out. "so, where are we even going?"

sarah opened the front door and closed it behind her as we walked. "hawksnest." she answered. "john b said he would meet me there at the top. he said, if you wanted, you could wait for us at the bottom. to look out for anyone."

i nodded as we quickly arrived to hawksnest. i looked up to see a platform where sarah started walking up towards. i sat down on the first step and waited, footsteps approached quickly and i stood up, being wary of my surroundings. "spencer!" i heard someone say. john b made his way into my peripheral vision. "is sarah up there?"

i saw him point up to the top of the hawksnest. i nodded. "yeah, she's waiting." i replied, moving out of the way so that he could climb up the stairs. "don't fall!"

he laughed as he got further up. "i wont!" he replied, getting farther away.

i sighed and decided to go for a walk. the moon shined bright in the night sky, letting the stars have their moment. i was still in my midsummers dress, staring up at the sky. what a movie cliché. it was quiet. i heard a car drive by but i didn't see any lights. i admired the silence for a little bit before i heard something break and thump on the ground. i ran back to the hawksnest. 

i froze in my spot as i saw john b lying on the floor, unconscious. i heard sarah quickly come down the stairs, crying hysterically. "john b!" she cried, getting on her knees and cupping his face. tears made their way into my eyes as i stared at john b. "topper pushed him off!"

i covered my mouth, crying. i opened my mouth. "help!" i screamed as loud as i could. sarah did the same. "somebody help!"

i got next to sarah's side as i sniffed. multiple running footsteps came towards us. i saw jj, kie, and pope stop dead in their tracks staring at their best friend. "what the fuck?" kie said, standing in her spot.

the salty tears streamed down my face and the same for sarah. "what happened?" pope asked, pacing around.

i heard john b groan, showing a sign that he was alive. sarah hiccupped before she spoke. "i don't know. he needs help." she replied. "topper shoved him."

jj clenched his fists and started walking around. "where the hell is he!" he said angrily.

i made eye contact with him and looked away quickly. i could still feel his gaze on my as i sniffled more. "oh, please, please. get help." sarah cried. "i dont care who. just call someone!"

jj pushed pope into another direction. "go, go!" he said as pope ran off.

"pope, hurry!" kie shouted. 

i stared zoning out as my face started becoming stiff from all the tears. i don't know what happened next. everything around me was going in slow motion. i snapped out of it when i saw flashing lights getting closer. jj walked over to me and helped me up. i looked up at him, my face wet from crying. he wrapped his arm around me and walked me towards his van as kie, sarah and pope went with john b. my mind was racing with thoughts. that car that drove by... was that topper? i could've stopped all of this from happening.

this is my fault.

he opened my door and helped me in. then getting into the drivers side and started the van. we stayed silent as we drove to the hospital. all you could hear was my sniffles. i felt drained. what was happening? "spence." jj said. i looked towards him, staying silent. "are you okay?"

i didn't avert my eyes, nor did i answer. i stayed silent because doing that seemed right in the moment. 

everything wasn't okay.