The Final Push

Chapter Seven: Stage Preparation

~Sera~

It was a few days after Quentin had asked me to the Wings party and I still hadn't given him an answer. I kept putting it off by telling myself that I needed to help prepare for the party. I should have given him an answer, though. The party did need my help, but I could have spared a moment to give him an answer. Somehow Caiden had found out about Quentin asking me and he kept telling me to say yes.

"You like Quentin! I know you do so just say yes!" he pestered me.

We were currently in the mess hall and he was helping me hang the banners of all the clans that were coming. I tacked up one corner of the banner I was currently on, "Caiden; I can't say yes, even if I wanted to."

I reached down and he handed me another tack, "Why not?"

"You know the rules of the party," I took the tack. "Anyone under sixteen has to leave the party and go home at sunset. You are under sixteen kiddo."

He nodded, "Yea, I know I'm not sixteen, but why does that matter?"

I tacked up the other side of the banner and started climbing down the ladder, "It matters because I would have to take you home, I would have to leave him at sunset. Everyone knows that after sunset is..." I froze, trying to think of words. "Well that's when things get fun and that would be rude of me."

"You don't have to take me home, I'm old enough to get there by myself!" he stomped his foot.

I jumped the rest of the way off the ladder, "Even if you were, you would be home alone for a few hours and I told you, you're not old enough to be home alone yet. Especially when there are hundreds of extra people in the settlement."

"I am too old enough to be home alone!" he cried.

I looked at the banner, "Does that look level to you?"

"Sera!" he clung to the hem of my shirt. "This isn't funny!"

I looked down at him, "You're right. It's not funny, it's embarrassing that you are throwing a temper tantrum in public."

"I'm not having a temper tantrum!" tears started to pool in his eyes. "Please let me stay home alone."

"Caiden, it's out of the question. I just don't feel comfortable leaving you alone for that long. I nearly had a panic attack when you stayed with Jessica," I shook my head.

His eyes lit up and I knew I had said something wrong, "That's it!" He did a little happy dance, "I could go and stay the night with Jessica and Mrs. Jennings!" Crap, I shouldn't have mentioned Jessica.

"Oh Caiden, you can't just invite yourself over to someone's house; you have to be invited," I tried not to let it show how much I wanted to yell no.

"But Mrs. Jennings said that I could stay over anytime I wanted!" he notified me.

Did she really say that? "Caiden, Mrs. Jennings is over sixteen, maybe she wants to stay after sunset too," I was proud of myself for coming up with that.

Caiden shook his head violently, "Yesterday Jessica and I were talking to her and she said she was too old to stay up that late!" This was not going my way.

"Well, they didn't invite you," I played my last card to try and make sure he stayed at home that night.

"Then I'll go ask!" before I could say anything else, he ran out of the mess hall.

"Wait Caiden!" I yelled, but he was already gone. I sighed and sat down on one of the benches. It wasn't that I didn't want to go with Quentin or that I didn't trust Mrs. Jennings, I just wanted to keep Caiden safe. He was safest when he was next to me. I didn't want him to be alone or with someone that probably couldn't protect him if they were attacked. Some people forgot that I was nineteen and I had been going to this party for a long time. I knew what happened after dark. People got drunk and they got stupid. Sure it was The Wings' job to monitor all of this but our people liked to get drunk too. So, one way or another, there were going to be issues with fights and other things. I didn't want Caiden to be around that if at all possible.