Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 19

"Well," she finally said, gently, walking over to him. "I think you're doing a great job."

She grabbed his hand, and he smiled softly.

"Let me just go change out of these sweaty clothes," she said. "And then I'll get my bag and we can go,"

Terry felt suddenly woozy, and so it wasn't until Charlene raised her eyebrows in anticipation that he realized he'd let a few seconds pass without answering her.

"Oh," he stuttered. "Okay. Yeah."

Charlene nodded before breaking their grip and walking towards the bench at the edge of the field where her gym-bag was waiting.

"We'll take my car?" she asked, turning her head back as she walked.

"Okay!" Terry called, as he watched her walk into the building, out of sight.

Slowly, a smile crept over his face, and he felt his heart start to beat a mile a minute, as a giant lump formed in his throat. Something in him was bursting, and he felt like he could sing...and he hated singing. He didn't understand it at all: he hadn't meant anything by coming out here, not that he was aware of, but now...now it was like he was understanding dozens of different things for the very first time.

Walking down the hallway towards the teachers' lounge, where she was allowed to change, Charlene pulled her bag strap tighter against her shoulder. Her heart skipped beats as she continued on her way, unable to stop thinking about what had just happened. In all she'd been through in high-school, and college, all the parties, the boyfriends, the dates...she'd never felt anything quite like this. He made her feel real.

It scared her almost, how intense it all was. But, she couldn't help it; a huge smile found its way onto her face, and she felt like she could do a cartwheel down the hallway. No matter how much she knew this should scare her, the idea of going out on a date with Terry just made her happy. She liked him; there was something about him that just made her feel safe around him, to want to be around him, almost like she'd known him forever.

***

Finn walked into his family's kitchen late that afternoon to find his mother tending dinner on the stove. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head around, and smiled when she saw him.

"Are your friends coming over tonight?" she asked, already turned back to her cooking.

"Not tonight," Finn said. He was about to say something else when Katie walked into the kitchen, heading towards the fridge, not even looking up from her phone for a second.

"Hey," Finn said, turning to her. "Prom's this weekend, right? Are you excited?"

Katie stopped what she was doing and raised her gaze to look at him oddly.

"What?" he asked.

"What's with you?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Since when do we ever make small talk?"

"I don't know, you're my sister!" Finn exclaimed. "Am I allowed to want to know about your life?"

"Yeah, but you generally don't take interest," Katie teased. "Not that it bothers me, I'm just saying."

"Katherine!" Mrs. Whitman snapped.

Katie simply snickered and looked at her phone again, turning back to her original task of getting a soda from the fridge. Meanwhile, Finn felt small, as it hit him how bad things were with him and his family. Things had been so different in his life the past few days, he almost forgot what the reality was. Now though, it was like he was seeing things from a new view, and mounds of regret fell onto him. Is this really what they'd become?

"You want me to bring it up to you?" his mother said, breaking him from his trance, and he shook off his thoughts, realizing he'd caught her mid-sentence.

"What?" he said.

"I said your dinner will be ready in about ten minutes," she repeated. "Do you want to stay here and wait to bring it up to your room or should I bring it up to you?"

It took Finn a few seconds to process the section, to put together what she meant, and once again he realized that his everyday reality was this ludicrous. Had he really gone years eating every meal alone, shut away from his family, when he lived with them?

"Actually Mom," he said, quietly, feeling so humbled that the words almost seemed hard to say. "I thought I'd eat dinner down here with you guys...if that's okay."

His mother stepped back slightly, and Finn watched her jaw drop slightly. Somehow, he felt like the biggest jerk in the world.

"Of...of course it's okay Finn," she said, and Finn could tell she was trying to hold back tears. "I would love that; your father will too."

She gave him a slight smile, then turned back to the stove, but Finn suddenly found himself saying more.

"And...and maybe," he stuttered. "Maybe we could watch The Simpsons together after dinner? Like we used to when I was in middle school?"

This stopped his mother entirely, and she dropped her spoon to turn to him completely. He even had Katie's attention now, who stood watching them, halfway done with closing the fridge.

Finn and his mother used to watch The Simpsons together all the time when he was younger, as it had been both of their favorite show. The tradition had slowed down more and more as he'd gotten older though, until it had stopped completely. They hadn't watched together in years, which explained the shell-shocked look that was currently on his mother's face.

"Well...sure," she said, and she was doing less and less of a successful job holding back her tears, which made Finn smile. "I think that would be great."

"Great," Finn said.

"We can have ketchup and potato chips if you want," Mrs. Whitman joked, referring to Finn's favorite, very messy, middle school snack, which she'd always hated him eating. "I'll make an exception."

They both laughed.

"Popcorn should be just fine," Finn said. He found the thought of the snack fairly repulsive now. "And maybe some of your cookies?"

Mrs. Whitman smiled softly, and a tear finally escaped her eye to roll down her cheek.

"Anything you want," she said.

The pair smiled at each other, before Finn turned back to his sister.

"You gonna join us Kaite?"

She too stared at him in shock, before her face melted into a smile, the kind he hadn't seen her wear in years. "Fine," she said. "But you can't ask me about Prom."

"Deal," Finn said.

They both laughed, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Finn saw the playful little munchkin he used to chase around the backyard and read to at bedtime; the little girl who, when they were 3 and 5, he told everyone was his best friend.

"I'll start setting the table," Finn said to his mother, walking over to the silverware drawer.

Without a word, Katie put down her things, and went to join him.

As he laid out the forks and knives, Finn looked over to Katie, still smiling, completely changed, and to his mother, who was now humming and even dancing slightly as she continued to stir her sauce. In an instant, everything just seemed perfect, and, for some reason, he thought he might cry. 

***

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! I may have been near tears writing the Finn scene. Things heat up next time, so prepare yourselves! Thanks for reading, and stay magical!