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Tatum Donnelly ([info]ojandtostitos) wrote in [info]blueridgeau,
@ 2012-08-09 21:20:00


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Characters: Tatum & Mack.
Setting: Summer of 2002 in Portage Lake, Maine.
Content: SFW.
Summary: Being cute before everything went to shit.


It had been an excruciatingly boring day so far. Church first thing in the morning, and then shopping in town with her parents the whole afternoon after that. It was way too hot to be following her mother around department stores and grocery stores for hours and hours. She never even made the twins walk the whole day, even though they took up most of the room in the cart. It wasn't fair, it never was. Just about as soon as the car was pulling into the driveway, Tatum saw a chance to slip off, she was taking it, flinging her door open practically the second the vehicle came to a stop. Ignoring the grumbling of her father about taking the door off the hinges, she was already feeling better, humming to herself and heading through the backyard and into the woods, following the familiar pathway.

Mack had to be home, what else would she be doing on a Sunday afternoon? It was late summer, a bit chilly to go swimming, but Tatum wasn't totally opposed to it. There had to be something to do, and if Mack didn't have an idea, then probably Kia would. She couldn't even stick in the house and play her Gameboy, not after Sera had broken it a few weeks earlier, a fact she still hadn't forgiven or stopped pulling her sister's hair about. Basically anything was better than being stuck playing with the twins like she normally was. Mack was her best friend, but there weren't exactly a multitude of other kids to choose from when class was out for the summer. They had just sort of found each other. It was one of the many drawbacks of living so far out in a rural area. It sure was scenic, trees and trees for miles, but it sure was far away from everything and everyone else. Mack was the nearest neighbor, and even getting to her house took a few minutes through the path.

It was a pretty easy climb to jump over the fence and into Mack's backyard, but Tatum did struggle a little without a boost, almost losing her balance as she hoisted her legs over and tumbled into the grass on the other side. Kate always had people over making the backyard look presentable, and Tatum always found herself wondering where all of the crazy plants and things Mack's mom made her gardeners plant came from. It was definitely more refined than her own shrubbery maze of a backyard, but she liked her yard better. She felt less like she was going to break something, or get yelled at for climbing the wrong tree.

Bolting up the steps on the deck, Tatum was careful not to leave fingerprints on the glass as she knocked loudly on the back patio door, bouncing on the balls of her feet a little while she waited for someone to answer. Mack, hopefully. She hated calling for her friend when her mom answered, she always gave her weird looks. She liked their maid though, even if her own mom was always complaining about how boastful Mack's family having hired help was.


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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-10 01:09 am UTC (link)
Mack gave Tatum's hand a small squeeze and grinned from ear to ear. She was glad that they were at her house and not the other girls, her father always yelled at her when she got to comfortable with Tatum. What was wrong with loving your best friend? Mackenzie never understood why Tatum's parents got so bent out of shape when she kissed Tatum on the cheek, or told her that one day they would get married. It was silly, really. Who didn't want to spend their lives with their best friend?

"I'll beat him up if he is!" Mack told the other girl, slipping her shoes on. "No one messes with you when I'm around, T." She waved to Linda who told them both to be safe and have a good time, and started dragging Tatum down towards the edge of the woods. "Come on, Tate! Let's go build a fort! We can build it right on the water and live happily ever after!"

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-10 08:56 am UTC (link)
Tatum was only a little antsy while she waited for Mack to put her shoes on, she was more than ready to go to the lake and forgot her whole boring day so far. Sunday school was a drag, and if she went home, her parents would probably make her do her Sunday school homework. She would definitely much rather be with Mack, especially if they were alone and no one was around to give them any shit. She knew that he's mother and father didn't really like Mack very much, but she was her best friend and she had never done anything wrong. She didn't know what their problem was.

If anything, Mack had helped her. She had showed her how to stand up for herself, and how to fight. Anybody who picked on them for hanging out at school usually got beat the hell up, and then Tatum's mother would scream bloody murder when they got detention for it. Fighting, especially at school, wasn't ladylike. But Tatum hated it when people made fun of them, especially Rath and his dumb friends, and people usually left them alone once her and Mack beat them up. They started it was usually her excuse.

Tatum stuck close to Mack's side as they practically ran back through the yard and the edge of the woods waiting on the other side of the fence. She only let the other girl's hand go once they reached the fence, and she glanced up toward Mack's house to make sure Linda wasn't still watching them. She wasn't even supposed to be climbing anything after she ripped her brand new jeans a week ago. "It won't sink?" she asked cautiously, as she began to try to hoist herself up over the fence. She was smaller and it was quite a climb even though she did it all of the time. But she hated asking for help. Mack could jump it on her own and so could she.

"If Rath and Sera are there, they can't come in the fort. I bet he'll try to smash it, he's so rude!" she pouted. "An' he won't fight a girl but he says you're not a girl," she informed her friend, as she finally got herself up on the fence, wobbling a little.

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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-10 09:23 pm UTC (link)
"Well, maybe we'll build it next to the water," Mack said, noticing her friend struggling. The taller girl placed both hands on the other girl's hips and boosted her up the rest of the way before scrambling up after her. She hopped off the fence easily, like a monkey, and turned around to offer a hand to the little redhead.

"Well he's definitely not allowed in our fort!" Mack declared. She didn't much care for the twins, especially Rath. They always picked on Tatum and that was never something that endeared people to the taller girl. Rath was also what Kia called a bigot, which Mack knew wasn't a good thing. "What a little ass," she muttered, using one of the words that Kia had told her were bad. "He couldn't even beat me up if I had both hands tied behind my back!"

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-10 09:29 pm UTC (link)
"Can we? We could build it on the island," Tatum suggested eagerly, only pouting a little as Mack gave her a boost. She totally could have gotten it on her own. "I know it's not a real island, but it's so cool," she sighed. It was more like a little outcropping from the shore, still attached to the land, but it had always just been the island even if it wasn't really one. Rath and his friends went out there all of the time, though.

She took the offered hand, hopping down and steadying herself before grabbing Mack's hand again and practically dragging her along the path toward the lake. "I don't think we should have any boys in the fort, they do it to us all the time," Tatum agreed, turning to look at her friend. "He couldn't beat anyone up, one time he cried 'cos Sera hit him and she's a weakling!"

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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-11 02:27 pm UTC (link)
"Of course," Mack said, chuckling at Tatum's pout. "It can be our secret get away, just you and me. Nothing can bother us there!" It would have sounded like normal chatter for children their age, running off to an island on their own. Magic and adventure awaiting them, but it meant something else to Mackenzie too. A get away, a safe place to hide, even at ten years old she knew the importance of that. She was used to dodging Kate's attacks now, but it still would be nice.

Mack was silent as she was dragged towards the lake, lost in thought while Tatum chattered along. She was okay with their being no boys in the fort, especially Rath. No, he couldn't beat anyone up, and she was sure that he cried the second Sera made motions to hit him. He was a cry baby, a suck up who knew exactly how to play the Donnelly parents. She was pretty sick of him really.

"We shouldn't let anyone in our fort," Mack grumbled, a small frown on her face. "It's just for us, like a castle."

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-12 07:19 pm UTC (link)
"No way, nobody will find us," Tatum agreed happily, letting their arms swing between them again. "There's no way my mom will come all the way out there, yours either!" she added, scrunching her face in obvious dislike for both of the older women. Her mother was a tyrant of a whole different degree, verbally aggressive and emotionally domineering, but Kate was a nightmare toward Mack and she knew it. She mostly ignored Tatum, other than the occasional offhandedly rude comment, and she treated Kia like gold. But Tatum hated the way she treated her best friend, and she would do anything to have somewhere that they could just hide away forever and never have to worry about Kate or Madeline again.

She stopped along the path they were walking on when Mack said they shouldn't let anyone in, and Tatum spun around quickly to be face to face with the taller girl. She grabbed up her other hand, holding both of them in her smaller ones and squeezing. "Like a castle, like for princesses, right?" she asked, her eyes wide. Whenever they played that, Sera always got to be the princess and she had to be the maid.

"You wanna be a knight?"

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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-13 02:59 am UTC (link)
Mack was startled when Tatum stopped and spun around to face her. She let a crooked smile slide onto her face though as the other girl took her hand. "Yeah," she said. "Like a castle for a princess!"

The taller girl shrugged, scuffing her foot on the ground as she looked at her shoes. She didn't want to be the knight, she wanted to be the prince. Mack knew that Tatum's family would flip out if they found out what they were doing though. Plus, and she wasn't sure why, she was a little embarrassed to ask if she could be Tatum's prince. "Uh," she muttered, still looking at her foot digging into the soft soil of the forest around them. "I was actually hoping you would be my princess...if I was your prince?"

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-13 04:15 am UTC (link)
It was unusual to see Mack looking flustered like she did, and Tatum furrowed her eyebrows a bit as she watched her friend and waited for her to spit it out already. She squeezed the blonde's hands again reassuringly, and cracking a smile of her own once Mack finally asked her what she wanted. "Sure!" Tatum agreed easily, leaning forward and kissing Mack's cheek quickly.

She knew that if her parents knew they were playing like this together, she would get into loads of trouble. She and Mack weren't supposed to play house together, period. Girls didn't play house with other girls, only boys, that's what her mother and father always told her. But she liked playing with Mack, and she had fun with her, and she was a lot nicer than any of the boys around town. "You still need a sword though," she told the blonde, beginning to tug her down the path again.

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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-13 04:27 am UTC (link)
Mackenzie felt relieved when Tatum smiled and agreed to her question. She blushed as Tatum leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, her crooked smile back. "Okay, good," she mumbled happily, trying not to smile too big. She gave Tatum's hands a squeeze and dropped one so they could continue walking towards the lake, a slight jaunt in her step now.

"Well of course!" she declared with gusto. "I've gotta protect my princess! There are dragons, and evil knights, and bandits!" She grabbed a particularly sturdy stick off the ground and whipped it around, fighting off imaginary enemies. "Don't worry princess, no harm will come to you while I'm around!"

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-13 04:45 am UTC (link)
Tatum laughed a little, nodding her head. "Mmhm, I know you'll protect me from everything," she told her, smiling and entwining their fingers. "I trust you, brave prince!" the redhead added. It was true, of course, there wasn't anyone that Tatum trusted more than Mack. She couldn't really talk to her mom or dad about anything, and her brother and sister would always rat on her. Mack was everything she had, as far as friends went, and she had taught her all kinds of things like how to take care of herself. And she when she couldn't, Mack did.

Stopping as they came up on the edge of the lake, Tatum let their hands separate for a moment as she began to make their way over to where they crossed out onto the island. It was mostly some bushes with a muddy path through them, that ended eventually on a small outcropping of rocks out further in the lake. Her parents hated them playing on those rocks, her mother was terrified one of them would fall in, even if the water wasn't that deep out there. But it was really cool out there, and the view was great, and adults almost never went out there. Tatum loved it.

"C'mon!" she called back to her friend, waving at her. She was careful with her sneakers as she walked out toward their island, trying not to get them too mucky. Her mother would know where they were.

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[info]thedirtysouth
2012-08-14 12:46 am UTC (link)
Mack followed Tatum, grinning from ear to ear. She was the luckiest girl in the world right now, and she couldn't wait to tell Kia all about it when she got home. She quickly scooped Tatum up, knowing how mad Madeline would be if the girls shoes were muddy and carried her the rest of the way out to the rock.

"Here we are my princess!" she declared happily, making sure Tatum was safely on the ground before removing her hold. "Where would you like to build your castle?"

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[info]ojandtostitos
2012-08-14 12:44 pm UTC (link)
Tatum had been determined to do it on her own, as she was with most things, but she couldn't really offer much protest as MacKenzie lifted her from the ground. She clung on for dear life, letting the older girl carry her out until they were far away from the shore and on the outcropping of rocks. The view from the rocks was always nice, but especially in the evening when the sun began to set on the lake. It was the best place to see the sunset from, without the trees obscuring it like they did in the woods.

"Anywhere," Tatum told her, as she carefully climbed down from Mack's arms, letting her sneakers hit the rocks for a second before she was bounding off to look over the edge and into the water. It was kind of shallow here, but it was hard to tell with the dark bottom. Rath and his friends caught fish in the lake sometimes, but Tatum always told him they were probably diseased.

"How about up in a tree? That seems hard.. but no one would get us there. We could hide forever."

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