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“Enjoying yourself?” Claire reached out and took Kaia’s hand. “Told you you would.”
Kaia rolled her eyes. “You do know you’re supposed to wait for me to say yes before getting smug and saying I told you so, right?” She kissed Claire’s nose. “But yeah. I am. This is nice.”
“Better than spending the night studying dream analysis…?” Claire teased.
“Don’t push your luck, you little punk.” Kaia tugged the ends of Claire’s hair. “You know how important that stuff is to me.”
“Yeah, I do, but you’re still a nerd if you’d rather spend your evening with a bunch of books instead of fresh air, your girlfriend, and pretty lights. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.” Claire let go of Kaia’s hand, reaching up to hold her face instead. “Good thing I like nerds now.”
“Yeah, lucky me. Better than drugs, except for getting to sleep. Then you’re worse. You keep me awake. It’s very annoying.” Kaia tugged on Claire’s hair again. “You are going to let me actually watch the pretty lights, aren’t you? Because right now, all I can see is that you have way too much makeup on.”
“Shut up, you love my makeup.” Claire kissed Kaia quickly, and then let go. “But you’re right, I really should let you watch if I’m gonna make you give up your books for the evening. You’re gonna love this. I can’t believe you never got to do this as a kid!”
“Yeah, well… my parents weren’t exactly the type to celebrate, you know? This was just any other night, and then group homes and foster homes aren’t exactly…”
“Ugh, I know. Thank god for Jody Mills, right? And Cas and Sam Winchester, I guess. You being my foster sister would just be weird.”
“Don’t forget Jack. Sam and Cas wouldn’t have taken me in if it weren’t for him. Couldn’t have.” Kaia leaned against Claire. “You’re not weirded out by me living with a guy who looks almost identical to your dad?”
“I’m still convinced he’s my uncle or something. Got kidnapped or given up or whatever when he was a kid. There is no way he doesn’t know his family and looks that much like my dad just by coincidence!” Claire leaned against Kaia’s shoulder. “But no. That doesn’t make it weird.”
“Good.” They fell silent then, looking up at the sky. It was almost completely dark, with no clouds to threaten the show. Claire settled in and waited for the first boom.
When it came, she felt Kaia go stiff beside her. “Hey. You okay there, Kaia?”
“I’m… I’m fine,” Kaia lied. “It’s pretty. Is that music?”
There was music playing at the main festival. Claire and Kaia were far enough away that it was quiet, just barely audible. “Yeah, they’re playing country songs about how awesome America is, mostly. Yay military, yay country, yay red, white, and blue, all that shit. We could probably find it on the radio if you wanna listen.”
Kaia shook her head quickly. She flinched at the next boom from the fireworks. “So not your style. Let’s just watch.”
“Kaia, what’s wrong, babe? Talk to me.” Kaia just shook her head again, so Claire got to her feet. “Come on. This was a mistake. Let’s get you home.” She held out a hand to Kaia, who ignored it, curling up on her own.
Claire let her huddle while she packed everything but the blanket into the car. Then she crouched in front of Kaia. “Come on, you gave this a try against your better judgment, I’m not gonna make you stay out here if you’re terrified. You’re not the kind to spook easily or to like being afraid, so I’m not gonna be the kind of bitch that pushes you into something you’re this uncomfortable with.”
Kaia shook her head and didn’t move. “I… I can’t… Claire, I can’t…”
Claire reached out, putting her hands on Kaia’s face. “Look at me, okay? You’re safe. It’s just you and me, those lights can’t hurt you.”
“It’s not the lights. It’s the… the noise. Explosions.”
Claire moved her hands up, covering Kaia’s ears. That helped a little, enough that Kaia was able to uncurl and let Claire lead her to the car. Once inside, Claire cranked the radio way up loud to drown out the fireworks. Kaia leaned against the window, letting the tears come. When they got farther away, Claire turned down the radio – no more booms. They could talk now, if Kaia wanted to.
“I’m really sorry about messing up this date,” Kaia said when Claire pulled up in Jody’s driveway. Claire held back the urge to roll her eyes. “I’ve told you about my dreams, how I keep visiting the Bad Place?”
“And that’s how you get those injuries you sometimes show up with, the ones that everyone keeps saying are you cutting. Yes, I know about those.” She reached out and took Kaia’s hand.
“Most of the time, it’s forests, and monsters… dinosaurs and stuff. Sometimes, though, I can hear gunshots. One time, years ago, it was close enough that a wayward bullet hit me. I was in a group home, and the lady who ran it put all us kids through hell because I wouldn’t tell her who shot me and no one would speak up and take the blame for it. That was the first and last time I tried to tell a group home employee about my dreams. She said I was lying to cover up for someone, and when she found out who, I was going to get to watch what she did to him.”
“Him?”
Kaia’s mouth twisted. “She assumed I was covering for a boy I was dating or wanted to date or something. Shows how well she knew me, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. Wow.”
“I wasn’t at that home for much longer… all the kids hated me, because we were all getting punished, and then the group home got shut down because a kid got shot and they couldn’t figure out who did it or how. Ever since, anytime I hear gunfire in the Bad Place, I end up going fetal. I can’t move.”
“Like tonight.” Claire blinked back the tears. She’d heard of this happening to vets, but never even thought Kaia might be affected by it.
“Like tonight. I’m sorry. I didn’t think… I’m fine with explosions and even gunshots in movies, so…”
Claire pulled Kaia into a hug. “Those are right there in front of you. These explosions were coming from farther away. Don’t worry about it. Next year, we’ll find somewhere away from the fireworks and watch them on YouTube with the volume off. I’m sorry for pushing you to come.”
Kaia huffed lightly. “You couldn’t have known. You just wanted me to come out, which I do need to do more often and I know it. Thank you for your good intentions, even if the outcome wasn’t what either of us wanted.” She looked over at the house. “How much longer do you think Jody and Alex will be gone…?”
“Alex all night, she’s going to her boyfriend’s house. Jody’s gotta be out on patrol until really late, watching for idiots keeping the party going. We’ve got plenty of time. Wanna come inside?”