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Night-time had arrived and the air was alive with celebration. Sam was leaning against the glass railing of Alex and Andy's place, staring down at the ocean below. A Lot of people were gathered there; himself, Robin and Willa, Aster and her family, the twins of course and then finally their guardian. There were also a few other people but Sam didn't know who they were.
Apparently they were all there for something called the fourth of July. Aster had tried explaining it to him ("It's the anniversary of when our country of America declared independence from this place called Britain; there was a whole war and we won. There was an important piece of paper that was signed and nowadays we celebrate with hot dogs and parties and fireworks and scream about 'how great america is'") but it had just left him confused.
Back to the present, Sam walked over to where Robin was sitting on something called a lawn chair. He sat down in the chair next to him and smiled at his best friend. Robin returned the smile and handed him a plate of what seemed to be corn but looked slightly different but smelt amazing. Sam looked over at Robin confused.
"It's corn on the cob; it's basically cooked corn. I know you prefer to not eat meat when you can, so I decided to save you something I hope you'd like," the young wizard explained. Sam couldn't help but feel like a flurry of warmth that flourished in his chest.
Robin went back to eating his own food while Sam looked down at his own. Taking a small bite, flavour exploded in his mouth and Sam felt like melting in happiness. It tasted so good. Scarfing down the rest of his food, he sat back and relaxed. Maybe this fourth of July thing wasn't so bad.
Several hours later, everyone was gathered outside on the patio. Apparently it was time to set off the fireworks. Sam had never seen fireworks before but from what he'd heard, they were large and colourful displays. He heard a hissing noise go off and a streak of colour rise into the sky. That streak burst into a large ball of light that echoed a booming crackle. Cheers erupted from all around. The volume of the noise grated on Sam's nerves but he tried to ignore it and enjoy the firework display. But the noise continued to build and build and build.
Eventually all the noise became too much and Sam scrambled away into the building. He scanned around for a place to hide. His sight landed on a library next to the kitchen. Running inside, Sam sat in a corner and curled in on himself, attempting to cover his ears. The fireworks kept booming outside which made Sam shiver in fear. His breathing felt irregular and scattered and his body shook.
He sat there for who knows how long and didn't even realise someone had entered until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sam flinched and pressed himself against the bookshelf, hoping to put some space between himself and whoever had entered. Turns out the one who had touched him was Robin, who was kneeling in-front of him while Aster, Alex and Andy stood behind him. All four of them had worried expressions on their faces but Robin also looked extremely concerned.
"What's wrong? Are the fireworks bothering you?" he asked. Sam opened his mouth to answer but an echoing boom from outside made him curl back in on himself.
Moments later, Sam felt a body press against his. He raised his head to see Robin at his side, hugging him softly. Tears spilled from the young gargoyle's eyes as he leaned into his friend's side. Alex and Andy made their way to his other side, sitting down next to him. They weren't touching but they were a comforting presence. Sam hadn't even realised that Aster had left the room until she walked back in. She knelt down in-front of him and handed him something.
"These are some noise cancelling headphones. I always carry a few on me due to my hearing. I think you deserve one of them," she explained.
Looking between Aster and the headphones, Sam gave her a grateful nod and took the headphones, putting them on. Imminently he could feel a difference. The booming fireworks were nothing more than muffled sounds.
Relief flooded his body. Aster sat down next to Robin and pointed towards the windows. Sam gazed in that direction and his mouth dropped in amazement. Now that he was actually able to look at the fireworks, they were absolutely stunning. Balls of multicoloured light were scattered across the night sky in various patterns. Sam leaned back and watched the display, wanting to make the most of this celebration while the night was still young.