Kingdom Keepers: Once Upon a Dream

Chapter 13

A/N: This chapter was way too much fun to write, so I hope you enjoy!

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That night, Finn walked down the stairs from his bedroom, Willa having texted him five minutes ago to say that she was on her way. Before he could make his way to the foyer to wait for the others, he ran into his mother coming out of the kitchen. He sighed; he couldn't escape a conversation now.

"You look so nice Finn," his mother said brightly.

Finn surveyed his outfit. He'd put on cargo shorts and a polo, and put a little gel into his hair as well.

"Those kids are coming over again tonight right?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "They should be here any minute."

He tried to turn to the door again, but his mother stopped him.

"Is there any reason why you're dressing so nice?" she asked, leaning into him, her voice clearly indicating that she was holding herself back from bursting.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to let his voice show how quickly annoyed he was becoming.

"Well....there were quite a few girls here the other night..."

"Mom," Finn protested, cutting her off.

"I'm just saying..."

"I'm having company, that's all. I thought I should look nice,"

"That Amanda girl seemed to..."

"Mom!" Finn shouted once more, which finally silenced her. She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but just smirked at him and turned away.

Finn sighed, feeling bad, and was about to apologize when the doorbell rang. Before he opened it, he took a moment to straighten out his shirt, and to check his hair in the mirror, not knowing who had arrived first. His Mom wasn't wrong; he had taken Amanda into slight consideration when getting dressed for the evening: of course he'd never tell her that.

He opened the door to reveal Charlie, greeting him with a bright smile.

"Hey!" she said.

"Hi!" Finn replied.

She held up a plastic Tupperware container.

"I made lemon bars with my Mom this afternoon, so I thought I'd bring some over, if that's okay," she explained. "I don't wanna step-on your Mom's amazing cookies,"

She laughed, like she was speaking to an old friend.

"It's more than okay," Finn said lightly. "There's no such thing as too many sweets."

Finn was ushering Charlie inside, when a voice came from behind her.

"Sweets?" Willa said, appearing from over Charlie's shoulder, her thick brown curls bouncing just below her shoulders, rather than being held in their normal braid.

"How do you guys know me so well already?!"

The three greeted each other and stepped inside, when Mrs. Whitman came up behind Finn.

"How lovely that you girls are here!" she said. "Charlie I can take those lemon bars and put them into the kitchen for you."

Finn begged for an escape then, but there didn't seem to be one; as Charlie handed his mother the container of lemon-bars, Amanda and Jess could be seen walking up the path.

"Oh!" Mrs. Whitman squealed, reaching what was probably the highest frequency her voice was capable of producing. "All four girls are here! Isn't this wonderful? Finn never has girls over you know."