Julian and Ella talked animatedly about all the food they would binge on, Sarah jumping around excitedly as she walked backwards, way ahead of the group and high on energy. Finley seemed to be in his own thoughts, and Cailin hopped next to him. "What are you thinking about?" He asked and Finley looked up at him with a smile.

"Pie."

Cailin laughed, shaking his head. "I thought so, tubby." He poked Finley's side and the blonde jumped away, hitting Cailin's arm. "You're calling me tubby?! I weigh 118 pounds, and you eat half your body weight which is... what again?"

Cailin glared, and Finley patiently waited with an innocent look. The older boy scowled. "130."

“Mhm. Tubby. Psh," Finley scoffed as they all walked into the elevator. "I wonder how many people will be there,” Finley mumbled, after a long moment of silence.

Cailin took his hand, squeezing reassuringly. "You'll be fine. People won’t even recognize you."

Ella beamed. "Yeah! You don’t look like yourself, but nobody will. And plus, everybody will be celebrating. Nothing to worry about."

Finley stared at the elevator door, taking a nice deep breath. He should not be over thinking things. Ella may be right; everybody would be dancing and happy. No sad, vicious, or jealous emotions would be hanging around the air.... Right?

“I can't wait for the fireworks. People are saying this year, the shells will be filled with paint!” Sarah stated excitedly, and Finley could feel Cailin tense next to him.

"Gosh.... When is this elevator opening?" The brunette mumbled to himself, looking around the small space timidly while he tugged on his necklace.

Finley squeezed his hand back, knowing his friend was a little claustrophobic and that was only making his nerves fray, which in turn, made Finley nervous.

"Both of you are a mess," Julian stated with a shake of his head, staring at the two friends with a teasing smile.

 The elevator door finally opened to the first floor, and they all walked out to head for the back gardens. They could already see the sun setting, and with the lights strewn around trees and other purposefully placed poles, the entire gardens gave off a very relaxing aura.

The gardens are placed in the back of the school. The gardens are the size of two football fields, complete with long walkways that show off different plants, and even some fruits and vegetables. In school, the lunches that are provided for the kids were made straight from the soil. They make some well-done dishes for the students. In the gardens, there is also a barn where students can go and do chores to help around if they so please.

People were milling around outside the glass doors, holding drinks while music played loudly from the band up on the stage. The music was jazzy, swing and pop, which made Finley want to dance.

Once they opened the doors, the music blasted through their ears. Other scholars and children moved in between the five friends that stood in front of the doors, causing traffic, in flashy costumes that blinked in the lights as they ran into the crowd. Creatures flew through the air, while the Universe Dragons sat and mulled around, while some played with the scholars. The air smelled of candy and fruits, chicken, and all sorts of delicious other foods. The walkways that led to the barn and flower patches were lit up for the night, the barn itself being a large place for kids to run around. Lightning bugs flickered here and there, and almost everybody who lived within the KSDL were attending.

And Penelope was right, Finley felt overdressed. He did not miss the flashy clothing the women wear. He even recognized some of his grade, and they noticed Cailin immediately by their obvious stares.

Finley tried not to show the discomfort on his face, or the fear of losing Cailin in the crowd. He smiled over at his friends. "This place is a lot wilder than I thought," he said through the music as they all walked out of the doorway, for they were still causing traffic.

Ella sighed dreamily. "I know, it's amazing! Julian, come with me to get taffy!"

"Um, you don't have to ask."

"I want to come!" Sarah shouted, and Ella looked at Cailin expectantly.

The big brother rolled his eyes. "Just watch her, alright? Don't have too much fun."

Finley watched as they ran off, Cailin smiling after them, only to turn to the blonde. "Want to get some Twizzlers? Licorice? Tootsie Rolls?"

Finley groaned, taking Cailin's hand and leading him to another candy stand where it was less crowded. The brunette laughed as Finley’s stomach grumbled. "You're making me hungry."

"Good, because I want a burger."

"Of course, you do."

They waited in line before grabbing their candy, meeting up with Ella, Julian, and Sarah yet again. They sat down at one of the picnic tables, splaying out the goods all over the surface.

"I'm going to gain ten pounds after tonight," Ella stated, stuffing her face with popcorn, as Julian chugged down his fizzy drink.

He coughed wildly before nodding. "Oh yeah," he said, his voice raspy as he grabbed the licorice, Finley shouting in protest.

"Hey! Those are my favorite!"

"You got Twizzlers! Eat those!"

"I swear to the dragons—!"

"Here." Cailin sloppily handed him a bunch of Lifesavers that Finley barely caught, earning laughs around the table.

"Wow, Cailin is that you?" A new voice asked, and the brunette looked up to meet the eyes of Liz. His old girlfriend. Though, Cailin was not sure he even counted their relationship as dating.

Liz's theme was a mermaid. Her blue eyes were fanned with dark blue eyeshadow with glittering scales colored on her arms, cheeks, and collarbone. Her long wavy black hair was styled into an intricate french braid that hung over her shoulders, while her tight long blue dress hugged her figure.

Finley frowned up at her, Ella and Julian doing the same, as Cailin forced a grin. "Hey Liz."

"Hi Liz!" Sarah shouted excitedly, waving up at the teen who smiled and waved back, obviously uninterested in the sixth grader.

Liz set her hands on her hips, turning back to Cailin and feigning shock. "So, it is you! That’s crazy, I didn’t even recognize you all dusted up. I'm so used to you being in a soccer uniform and dusted with dirt." 

She smiled teasingly while Cailin shrugged. "Well…. Here I am."

"Is this your first Aura? I don't think I’ve ever seen you come to one."

"Yeah. I came with my friends." He gestured to the three other people sitting at the table, and Liz seemed to just notice them.

Her eyes immediately went to Finley sitting next to the brunette, and her eyes widened almost unnoticeably. "Oh, Finley. Hi. I didn't think you went to things like this."

Finley shrugged, not liking the emotions he was getting from this girl. He never did. "I forced Cailin to come with me. I'm surprisingly good at persuading people." He grinned at his friend who glared back playfully.

"You didn't force me, I just agreed to come."

Finley rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to Liz, who seemed to be watching intently. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah…." Liz changed the subject. "So, what are you? A butterfly?"

Finley swallowed, for some reason, becoming a little embarrassed. "A fairy."

Liz hesitated, blinking, before she busted out laughing. Ella and Julian's eyes squinted in annoyance and slight anger; Sarah too busy with her candy to get involved in the conversation.

Cailin frowned at her, looking confused. "What's funny?" He asked.

Liz sobered, waving her face as she shook her head. "A fairy. That’s cute. I’ve never seen a boy fairy before. There are tons of girls here who are fairies, so I guess it's kind of original."

Cailin twitched, and Finley shrunk away.

"Well, I’m a flamingo," Ella interrupted, crossing her arms. "And there are tons of girls who are dressed as mermaids, honey. You're the unoriginal one here."

Liz opened her mouth to protest, but Julian jumped in. "And I’m a Phoenix. Cailin is a warrior. All quite unoriginal themes. I guess we all just go together." Julian shrugged, and Finley grinned at him gratefully, earning a wink.

At the mention of Cailin, Liz seemed to remember the reason she came over here. "Oh, that’s right. Cailin, would you like to dance with me? We haven't talked in a long while."

Cailin hesitated, turning to look at Finley, who tried to seem interested in the lights. After a small second of staring, the older boy could not help but be fascinated. Finley's gray eyes were already popping with the color on his eyelids, but with the lights hanging overhead, and Finley looking directly into them, they shined. Cailin did not think he had ever seen something so beautiful. This was the point in his life where he figured out what his favorite color was.

He turned back to Liz after another while of staring. "No, maybe later. I want to hang out with my friends for a while."

Liz blinked, obviously not expecting that, but she collected herself. "Oh, yeah. Sure. I get it. Later then. Um, it was nice to meet you all, and good to see you again, Cailin. Finley," she mumbled, and Finley turned back to give her a stressed smile, nodding once.

They all watched as she walked back into the crowd, soon talking to a small group of girls.

"So…. Who was that?" Ella asked, turning back to Cailin, who sighed.

"I dated her in like... kindergarten? I would not call it dating though, we only lasted, what...? Two days? It was silly, and I had just learned what the term 'girlfriend' meant at the time. She was the first person I saw when I entered the classroom, so…." Ella and Julian busted out laughing while Finley giggled into his hand. "I don't even remember what it was like dating her, that’s how much I wasn't actually interested."

The laughter got louder, and Julian sighed. "Oh dude, sucks to be you."

Cailin scoffed. "Yeah. I constantly have people breathing down my neck. I can only stand a certain little cutie," he teased, hugging Finley to his side tightly. This made the blonde wheeze, groaning when Cailin squeezed his cheeks.

"Cailin let go!"

He let go with a smile, and Ella jumped in her seat. "Let’s go play some Aura games!"