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CONSEQUENCES

( 1x01 - 1x02 : summer house & summer dress )

. . .

"Hey, sweetheart, don't forget the invite."

Maddie's nose crinkles up a bit, shoving her work uniform polo into her bag as she walked. Once at the kitchen counter, she looks at the card that she had yet to mark, and sighs. Then she glances back over her shoulder toward her mom, "Do you have a pencil or pen or something?"

"Check the drawer," she responds without looking up from where she was shuffling through her own bag. The teenager does so, opening it, grabbing the first pencil she finds, and goes back over to the kitchen counter where the RSVP is set down. Without hesitation, she marks down declining the invite. As much as the idea of disappointing Susannah sucked, Maddie did not have it in her to try enduring... all of that.

She sets the pencil down, and grabs the card, sticking it in her bag slung around her form. Her mother comes around and she glances up when she feels her hand touch her arm.
"Just so you know," her mom starts softly, "I talked to Sparrow about this already, but I stopped by the beach house while you were out. I told Laurel. So she knows."

Maddie's face falls. Then she swallows, and blinks, before clearing her throat and looking away again, trying to find an excuse to focus anywhere but her mothers gaze.
"Yeah, okay. Did-" the blonde stops, then starts again, "do the others know? Are they telling them or something?"
Her mom shakes her head a bit, "Kind of a hard topic to broach. We're figuring out how to go about it," she rubs Maddie's shoulder a bit and adds, "but if you want to say something yourself-"
"No," it bursts out a bit more suddenly then she intends. So she takes a breath in and shakes her head, "No you'd probably handle it better."
"Sweetheart-"

Her mom's cut off by the sound of the twin's bedroom door clicking open. Out comes Sparrow, fiddling with their hearing aid case a bit, before walking over.

Sorry, had to change the batteries. They sign, before sticking the case in their jacket pocket, and then adjusting the hearing aids themselves a bit on their ears. Maddie takes the interruption as an out to the conversation.

"Guess we're ready to go, then?" Maddie asks. She doesn't really wait for an answer, before she's out the door anyway.

. . .

"Good morning you three."

"Hey Laurel," Maddie greets the woman casually as they walk through the doorway. She tries to go around to the kitchen. To no avail.
"Nuh uh, cmere," Laurel signals with a laugh. Maddie exhales, but goes around and hugs the woman after putting her bag down. When the hug broke, Maddie had to be honest. The look the woman gave her made her want to be sick. But luckily, she turned to hug Sparrow instead of saying anything. Then she hugged her mom.

"Where's Susannah?" Her mom asked curiously with a raised brow. She had a point, Maddie realized. Usually Susannah was the first person to do the greetings.

"I'm the only one up so far. So we got a bit of peace and quiet." Laurel jokes a bit. Maddie forces an awkward smile while her mom chuckles. Then they start heading more in the house. Well, at least they are at first, until Laurel pauses and catches Maddie's arm to stop her in her tracks as well.

"If you need to talk, I'm here, you know?"

Great. Seems mom mentioned more to Laurel then she has let on.

"Thanks but I'm fine." Her tone is sharp and curt. She only really knows it comes across that way because of how the woman looks at her in response. The pity that was all over her features was now mixed with some look of defensiveness.

She pulls back from Laurel completely, and the woman seemed to be about to speak again, but she walks away too fast. Once she spots her mom again, she very quickly said, "I'm gonna go get some air."
Her mom gives her a quizzical look, before going, "Okay, but Mad-"

Too late, she was rushing out the door.

. . .

As soon as her feet are on the sand, Maddie leans back against the fence and tops her head back, before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in through her nose. The breath out that escapes her lips stutters at best. God, she was still trying to process the mess from last night. Then her mom dumps on her that she told Laurel everything right as they were leaving? The look of pity was enough to make her want to punch something. She sure she wouldn't be able to handle the 'how are you?'s and sympathy speeches that she was sure were going to follow. She could barely take it from Laurel just now. Forget when the others learned-

Maddie tries to shake the train of thought from her head and she looked forward again, eyes open. It doesn't take much though, because she notices farther out, the back of a figure sat in the sand. Conrad, still in last night's clothes.

She pauses, then debates. After last night, she wasn't entirely sure talking to him was a good idea... but at the same time, she couldn't avoid him forever. So if he didn't want to talk to her, tough shit. He was here all summer. He would have to at some point. So she walks on over and sits herself on down next to him. He looks up and over at her, and hesitates, before he goes, "You're gonna get sand all over yourself."

"Oh, shit, seriously?" Maddie asks, feigning cluelessness, "I had no idea that sitting in sand could, in fact, get me covered in sand!"

Conrad scoffs and looks forward again, shaking his head a little. Still, Maddie can see a slightly bemused smile quirk on his lips. She may not know what the hell his deal was right now, but at least she had being able to amuse him still going for her.

"Sooo," she continues, watching him instead of the view, "are we gonna talk about last night?"
Instantly, the smile on his face drops, "What about last night?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Mr. 'I remember everything when I'm drunk'."

He shoots something of a glare toward her. It does nothing to dissuade her position. So he sighs and shrugs, "I didn't know you had a boyfriend. That's all."
"That's bull," Maddie retorts, "I've been dating Lu for over a year. I know I talked about him last summer."
"I didn't think you were actually serious about him," he counters with more frustration. The excuse is a pathetic one. They both know it.

She rolls her eyes and finally looks forward again. It's then Conrad points out, "I could ask what's your problem too you know. Since when did you gain such a damn temper?"
"Probably the same time you suddenly became a douchebag."

There's a beat of silence. Then they both start laughing. Neither issue a proper apology. But Maddie knows they don't need to.

After a moment of silence, she notices him shuffle a bit in her peripheral. When she looks over at him again, she almost audibly gasps. "What the hell?" she laughs, "Since when do you of all people smoke?!"

The humor on Conrad's face drops instantly, "You sound like Belly," he gripes.
"Good! Because, again, what the hell?!" Maddie snorts in disbelief.

He opts to ignore her, putting the joint to his lips while he goes to grab his lighter from his pocket. However, as soon as he does this, the joint's been yanked from his mouth.
"What the fuck, Madison?"
"Nuh uh," Maddie sasses back, "No way. You so do not get to do this shit in front of me after last year Mr. 'Marijuana messes with white matter'."
"Okay, now you seriously sound like Belly." Conrad repeats, "Give it back."
"Absolutely not!" She laughs. "No, you don't get to spend the entirety of last summer getting on my ass for getting high, and then turn around and smoke in front of me yourself, you giant hypocrite."

He has no retort for that. He's lost and he knows it. And yet, he can't help but smile despite it.

"If I didn't get to smoke last year, you don't get to this year." She continues, wagging the joint at him for emphasis, "No way."
"Okay, okay, you win," he chuckles softly. "Though this is totally different. But still-"
"Oh, this ought to be good." Maddie moves her entire body to face him, legs crossing in her lap, "Please, enlighten me. How is this different?"
"You had track still. I don't have anything to worry about."
"What do you mean you don't have anything to worry about. You got your football camp thing."

There's no response, and Conrad glances away. Maddie's smile falters once more. Then, reluctantly, he admits, "I quit football."

... What the fuck?

Maddie's brows knit together in confusion. Him? Quit football? Had her friend been switched out for a pod person or something?

She has a million questions running a marathon in her head. But she doesn't ask any of them. He clearly didn't want to be pushed on it. He probably got pushed on it enough, knowing everyone else. So she chews on the inside of her cheek, before remarking in a teasing, lighthearted manner, "Well, for the record-" she reaches over and jabs his arm with her index finger of her free hand, "I was the reason my team made it to nationals, weed or not. So, suck it."

His smile returns, some relief smoothing out his features. Probably because she didn't badger. Just let well enough lie. She understood that feeling a little too well right now, so she got it. Still, a sense of pride flutters in her chest as she grins back.

"Touché," he mutters, glancing at the waters ahead for a moment, then back at her. "Hey, let's go pick up some of the good muffins before everybody else gets up."

Maddie chuckles, nose crinkling up a bit, "Well, Laurel was already up when we got there, and I'm pretty sure Sparrow hasn't eaten yet, so that may be a crap shoot, but," the blonde heaves herself up onto her feet, and then looks down at the boy, hands on her hips, "worth a shot, I guess."

Again, Conrad smiles. Again, she smiles back.

He follows her leads, pushing himself up. Unlike her, however, he winces once standing, and rubs his temples some. "Ow." He grumbles under his breath. Maddie can't help but giggle.
"Hangover finally catch up to you, tough guy?"
"It had a while ago," he gripes, "which had been why I came out to smoke until someone decided to nag me out of it."

The blonde girls grin turns into something much more akin to that of the Cheshire Cat, as she proudly sasses back, "That, Conrad Fisher, is called 'facing the consequences of your actions'."

He doesn't hesitate to shove her shoulder in retaliation before walking ahead. 

. . .

You look like shit.

Those are the first words signed to Conrad from Sparrow the second they see him walk in through the back door, Maddie trailing behind him. Naturally, she chuckles quite pridefully at her twin's sass. And it turns into a full cackle when, in response, Conrad simply flips them off before he heads up the stairs to change. He gives Maddie's mom a very pathetic greeting when passing her at the staircase, which leads to the woman looking equally as amused.

Maddie moved to plop herself on the couch. Almost as soon as she's gotten comfortable there, her phone pings. She shifts, digging it out of her pocket and clicking it on, maybe a bit too eagerly. Of course, her expression drops a little when she finds the notification isn't from who she hoped. Groaning a bit, she closes her phone again and rubs her face with her hands. It's then she feels a weight shift beside her, and she looks up to see Sparrow, holding out a muffin.

She gives her twin a smile, and takes the treat, biting into as they sign to her in question.

Still haven't heard anything?

Maddie shakes her head. She glances back over to the kitchen to make sure that the two mothers aren't paying attention, before she starts signing back. Nope. Not a thing.

The brunette frowns, burrows furrowing a bit, as Maddie continues.

He hasn't said a damn thing since dropping me off at home last night. I've been left on read for several hours now. And I know he's not sleeping in because he's being dragged out on some errand this morning with his dad.

Sparrow's nose wrinkles up a bit, Did he give any indication he was upset when Jo and him dropped you off last night?

Not a one. He was totally fine.

Sparrow snorts a bit, leaning back against the couch some more. I'm so glad I don't like men.

Maddie laughs a bit. Lucky bitch.

Both start laughing now. However, the pairs fit of giggles soon is overshadowed by the sounds of thundering footsteps making their way down the stairs. Nudging Sparrow, Maddie signs, Incoming. Sparrow's fingers move to turn on their hearing aids, just in time for Jeremiah to round the corner. Of course, like the golden retriever he was, he damn near yanked them up to hug them himself. The brunette let out a bit of a laugh of surprise when he does. They only get a brief moment of reprieve before Steven joins in as well, though his greeting is a lot less... aggressive, in nature.

As the three start making small talk, headed more toward the kitchen, Maddie sort of starts going back to her own thing, scrolling through her phone. Vaguely, she's aware of the feeling of eyes on her. No doubt one, or both moms were looking at her in some form of concern. She was the extrovert of the two, after all. Usually she was the one with Steven and Jere, all chatting each other's ears off.

She just didn't look up. The boy's didn't say anything. They probably didn't even notice. If they did, they probably just assumed she was hungover. That was good enough for her.

Her focus is broken after a moment though, when the weight next to her on the couch shifts again, and then she feels a pair of legs plop across her lap unceremoniously. Looking up and over, she sees Conrad now lying on the said couch, pretty much acting like she wasn't there.

"Do you mind?" Maddie asks with clear sass in her tone, raising a brow.
"Nope." Conrad grumbles back quite bluntly, putting a hand over his face. Maddie rolled her eyes, and shoved his legs off her lap with her free hand. It does nothing to deter him though, because he simply puts them back over her again. Scoffing, she reaches over and shoves at his head some, which makes him groan in pain.

Rolling her eyes, she grabs the muffin Sparrow had given her off the table again. Then she splits it in half, before nudging his leg again. "Hey, grumpy."

Conrad glances up to her handing him the half of the muffin she hadn't bitten into. He hesitates, before taking it from her hand, and for a split second Maddie is pretty sure he smiles a bit. But if he did, it was gone faster than when it arrived. Instead, he's simply focused at picking at the muffin. Maddie can't help but watch him for a second with a little smile on her face. At least until she hears the other two boys voices start raising in volume from the kitchen.

"... Can't she just, like, look at a picture on her phone or something?"

She starts tuning to the discussion at this point. While Jeremiah is griping at Steven's leering behind him by the stove, Maddie calls over, "Pictures for what, exactly?"

She'd vaguely aware of Conrad grumbling and glaring at her for raising her voice. But, hey, he was literally laying on top of her. What was she gonna do? Move?

"Susannah wants to paint portraits of you guys." Laurel says, looking back at Maddie so she can hear her.
"Uh, you guys as in not me and Sparrow, I'm assuming?" More like hoping. From the look on Sparrow's face, they were also hoping. "We weren't exactly around yet for those first ones."
"Nope, she wants all of you."

Maddie groans, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, told you that wouldn't go over well." She hears her mom chuckle, talking to Laurel from where she was sitting. Laurel just chuckles and faces her laptop again.

"She needs to see you in the flesh in order to capture your essence. While you're still young and full of hope."
"Come again?" Sparrow asks incredulously in between giggles. Their voice is croaky, and clearly out of place from the others, as expected. Not just because of their lack of hearing, but from general underuse. Summer was really the most Sparrow would ever really talk.

It seems Steven and Jeremiah also have that train of thought, because the looks on their faces are nothing short of judgmental as they laugh. Glancing up from the screen again, Laurel adds on, humor tinting her voice, "Her words."

"Well, Conrad does not have hope, actually. He's hopeless," Jeremiah responds, moving away from the stove, "but my hangover smoothie... it cures all."

"Can you please just hurry up?" Conrad groans. Maddie can't help but laugh. He glares at her again, but says nothing.
"Just go back to bed, all right?" Jeremiah calls out.
"I think he thinks I'm his bed right now." Maddie cuts in, taking a bite of her half of the muffin, which earns another laugh from Jeremiah as he's putting the smoothie together.

"Shut up," Conrad grumbles quietly at the girl. Her attention turns back to him, and she sticks her tongue out at him. "So says the guy literally laying on me."

He goes to retort, but the blender starts whirring quite loudly. So, instead, he jumps, before laying back down and holding his head again. Once more, Maddie giggles, and in a sing song-y voice, "Karma~"

Her gaze flickers back to her phone screen, finding herself silently willing a text to light up on her screen.

"Hey," Jeremiah approaches the couch, tapping his brother to get his attention, "Here."
"Thank you." The older boy mumbles, taking the glass and sitting up at last.
"Hey, sunshine, you want one?" Jere asks Maddie. She shakes her head and snorts.
"No, I actually practice self control." She grins. Another glare from Conrad. She was on a roll this morning.

"Come on, man. Hurry your ass up. All right? I can't be late for my first day of work." Steven yells out from the kitchen. Jeremiah turns his attention back to him, going back to where he came from. Meanwhile, Conrad downs the drink in his hand beside her.

Then her phone dings.

Instantly, she's sat up straight again, opening the message. Lulu<3 pops on her screen, and her face instantly lights up instantly.

shit, I forgot to plug my phone in last night
sorry babe

"Babe?" Conrad's tone is nothing short of utterly disgusted, and it breaks her focus from her phone once more.
"Are you seriously reading over my shoulder right now?" Maddie snarked back as she looked at him. His expression was even worse than his tone, brow raising. He doesn't even bother giving an excuse or response, just finishes the last of the drink. Shaking her head, she goes back to her phone.

it's fine!
you doing alright? you were acting a little off after the bonfire

The typing bubble bobs in and out for a minute. An oddly long amount of time, especially given the response he initially sends.

everything's fine

That was... not exactly reassuring.

just wasn't feeling that great

yikes that sucks
I was just wondering, you didn't even really say goodnight

Maddie had too much self worth to be apologizing for her boyfriend's bad mood, no matter how much she loved him. And clearly, that comes off, because this response comes much faster.

yeah I know, I was kinda a dick there. I'm sorry
can I make it up to you?

hm...
I'm listening

She can't help but chuckle a small bit as she watches the thing bubble rise once more.

there's a new movie at the drive in tomorrow
wanna go?

sounds perfect <3

And for a moment, she's smiling. But that moment is once again, very quickly ruined by Conrad and his sudden need to be way too nosy and infuriating. "You hate the drive in."

"Seriously, Conrad, what the fuck?" Maddie turns her phone off, turning to face him properly now. "Haven't you heard the term 'mind your own fucking business'?"
Unlike last night, the boy isn't phased by her newfound temper, as he flatly responds, "You always end up complaining about feeling cramped, and think the movies they choose are shit. You ended up bailing early last time we went."

She rolls her eyes, and her fuse is only getting shorter. It's a miracle she's still able to keep her tone at a level where only Conrad hears her.

"Okay, first of all, stop breaching my privacy," she gripes, "and second of all, that was three years ago. And I was in a car with three other people. Very different experiences."

What the hell even was this? They were perfectly fine like five minutes ago, and now he was being an asshole again? Why was he-?

... he wouldn't be the only one not acting like themselves this summer.

Maddie's jaw ticks as she remembers what Luis said. He had had a point. Usually she wouldn't react this... aggressively, either. But... extenuating circumstances. She was pretty sure she got a pass. Especially when Conrad was behaving like a giant douchebag.

Especially then.

"Just mind your damn business, Con." And she gets up from the couch to go sit next to Sparrow at the counter. It's not too long after that that a new set of steps joins the fray.

"Good morning." Jeremiah greets the newcomer, and Maddie knows from the way Sparrows face lights up that she doesn't need to turn around to identify them.
"Hey Belly." She chimes after, not looking up.

In her peripheral, she catches her twin mouth a very happy 'hi' as they hop off the seat and promptly get yanked into a huge hug by the younger girl.

"Oh, dear god, I'm definitely getting old. When the hell did you grow up?" Maddie's mom laughs as she rounds the counter to greet Belly next.
"Hi Nance," Belly greets through laughs, hugging the woman as soon as she's letting Sparrow go. Even after that, though, she doesn't get room to breathe, as Laurel is instantly interrogating her.

"Belly, where have you been?" is promptly followed by, "Is that a bruise?"
"Um, I-I bumped into someone." Belly stammers.
"You bumped into someone?"

"Doesn't look that bad." Conrad finally announces his presence from where he is on the couch once more.

There's a half second of tension that Jeremiah quickly cuts by asking Belly if she wants some food, which she accepts. That peace is abruptly disrupted by the loudest shriek Maddie thinks she's ever heard Susannah make.

"Oh, my God!" She yells out as she enters the room, "Belly is gonna be a debutante!"
"It's really not that big of a deal." Belly lets out a nervous laugh, clearly feeling awkward all the attention suddenly turned to her.

"You said yes to that?" Maddie asks her quietly, which earns a quizzical look in return.
"She asked you as well?" The younger girl asks back in surprise. But the blonde doesn't get to reply because Susannah then notices the twins and their mother, and is pulling Maddie onto a hug where she's sat.

"Oh, goodness, look at you two!" She chirps, before laughing. "Sorry, got a little sidetracked there."
"Hi Susannah." Maddie replies with a half smile.

"I'm sorry. Like, Belly? Like, my sister? Like, that thing right there?" Steven kept asking rhetorically, pointing toward Belly.
"Shut up, cretin." Belly snaps back, which, admittedly, earns a brighter smile on Maddie's part, for a brief moment.

Oh, please forget about mine, please forget about mine, please forget about mine-

Maddie's silent prayers are blatantly ignored, because Belly seems to bring it up.

"Besides, I'm not the only one that got an invite."

An audible groan escaped her, as all attention instantly pivots to her too. 

"Okay, my sister is one thing. But Madison?" Steven gawks, "This Madison? Madison Sutton? Aren't you meant to like, get along with the locals to even qualify-"
"Tread very carefully, Conklin," Maddie cuts in sharply, "I have been working with that club's kitchen for two years. I can make this summer a very long one for you."

The sound of Jeremiah's laughter echoes off the tiles, a beautiful soundtrack to the face Steven makes, like a fish out of water. Instead of saying anything further he makes the smart decision and backs away.

"Don't think you're safe either, pretty boy." Maddie remarks to Jeremiah.
"I didn't even do anything!" He pouts.
"I'm just warning you!"

He laughs and shakes his head, and Susannah pushes herself back into the conversation.

"Belly does have a point though."
"Yeah, sorry, but-" she goes over to her bag and rifles through it to find the card, "don't get your hopes up."

Maddie almost feels guilty as she hands the woman the card, with the RSVP marked as 'no'. But there's a flash of hope in her eyes, as Susannah says, "Well, you diiiid mark this in pencil-"
"Susannah." The twins mom chides with a laugh. "Don't push her."

"Oh, cmon, I'm just saying! It's gonna be so much fun. There is, uh... there's the tea, the auction, the ball, of course, the rehearsal- oh I gotta write this down." Susannah moves to find something to do just that while still trying to convince the blonde, who now looked a bit unnerved. It doesn't get any better when Susannah suddenly gasps and looks at Belly."

"We need to go shopping."

Belly, now delighted by her enthusiasm, laughs. Laurel, on the other hand, is quite apprehensive.

"This sounds... expensive."
"Oh, don't worry, Laur. It's on me. It was my idea after all, and we still need to style you for your book party, so..." Susannah trails off, before turning to Maddie.

"I really would rather not," Maddie insists.
"Okay at least... think about it?" She pleads, before a new thought sparks in her eyes, "Oh! You and Nance could come shopping with us! It's been ages since we had to do an all girls thing anyway,"
"I mean- mom and I have work-" Maddie tries. But evidently her mother refuses to be dragged down with her daughter.
"Not until late this afternoon." She corrects, and Maddie looks at her with a frown, giving her an indignant, "Mom!"

"Cmon, Mads. Enlighten me, at least?" Susannah asks. Finally, Maddie's shoulders slump, and she caves.
"Okay, fine."

That's all Susannah needs, as she's back to bouncing around. Maddie takes in a breath and rubs the face with her hand for a second.

"Belly, are you sure you want to do this? It doesn't seem very you." Laurel asks her daughter gently.
"Because it's not." Maddie bites out before she can stop herself.

"Madison." Her mom chides. She swallows and huffs, but nothing more, glaring down at her phone. She feels Sparrow wrap their arm around her and trap her in a side hug for a semblance of comfort.

"Now, which one of you is gonna be Belly's escort to the ball?" Susannah asks

That question does not land well.

"Not me. I went last year." Conrad responds blandly.
"Yeah, and I swore off balls." Jeremiah jumps off him. Naturally, Steven laughs like he's twelve again. "The dances, dude."
"You're disgusting, Stevie." Maddie snorts.
"Eh, you love me."

"Wow, guys. Stop fighting over me." Belly laughs, before she adds, "Um, I'm not going with either of you. I am going to find my own date."
"That's my girl." Maddie laughs, and Belly smiles much more brightly back at her.

Laurel and Susannah's conversation becomes background chatter as Conrad announces he's going for a swim and walks out the door. Maddie finds her gaze following him. She isn't sure why. Probably because he's been acting so... strange.

Conrad has always been sassy, and definitely a bit petty. But this was beyond that, straight into the territory of asshole. The kind of asshole Maddie usually would never give the time of day. It... worried her, a little bit, actually. If she wasn't still peeved at him literally reading her text messages, she would have half a mind to go ask-

"Well, hurry up! We have shopping to do!" Susannah's announcement almost makes Maddie jump, and she looks back at the woman before sighing, and then looks at Sparrow. With Conrad out swimming, and the boys leaving for work, they would be alone. Typically, that was how her twin liked it, especially after a hectic morning interaction like that. But she still had to ask.

You wanna come? She signs. Sparrow typically dressed androgynously more than anything else, but they did own a few dresses.

Sparrow let out a short laugh, Come dress shopping? Hell no. That's a dysphoric nightmare waiting to happen.

Worth a shot. Maddie giggled as she hopped off her seat, Wish me luck.

. . .

A/N: Well this chapter got a lot longer then I thought it would, so it's getting split into two parts! Hope yall enjoy!