Fourth of July 2/2

A/N: I don't really enjoy this part as much, but at least it's finished!

We're so close to posting on ff.net, I'm excited!

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“We’re lucky we’re in Mississippi.” It was a typical Lauren quip that came whipping through the darkness from behind Dean’s head. It was one of those statements that came with a creepily remembered fact attached, which generally made Dean wonder if Lauren had ever had a life outside of books. He trudged on through the dark forest, the only light was the silvery glow of the moon and the weak beam of his flashlight, which he kept trained to the forest floor. With a grumbled sigh he waited for the bizarre fact to come.

“Only thirty three of the fifty states allow consumer fireworks.”

“Ain’t that something.” Dean said sarcastically, although Lauren was used to his menial levels of enthusiasm when it came to her, and wasn’t induced into a fight.

“So tell me again where we’re going.” Emmy said from somewhere to his left.

“We’ll know when we get there,” Dean replied, cradling a large bundle of fireworks in his arms.

The hike through the forest wasn’t long, but in the dark it was full of stumbling and tripping punctuated by the occasional curse. The four trudged wearily in a line only stopping if someone had dropped something or had fallen over. Despite this they made good time as they strode deeper into the heart of the forest. After an indeterminable amount of time had passed, Dean halted and Emmy could just see him craning his neck to look towards the glow of the moon. With barely any clouds in the sky she could make out thousands of tiny pin prick stars looking down upon her.

Having made his inspection of the area and deeming it appropriate, Dean laid down his large load of fireworks on the grass and sat down beside them, keeping his eyes fixed on the sky. The others followed suit, dropping their own bundles of fireworks, settling down on the grass and taking in the sight of the night sky. Folds upon folds of the deepest blue splotched with black and smattered with starlight. Dean had insisted on an area relatively far from civilisation, but in the distance explosions from other fireworks were barely audible over a chorus of cicada song. The night air was warm and still about them and Dean almost loathed to break the silence that had settled over the group, each encompassed in their own thoughts.

“Are we going to light these babies up or what?” He asked gruffly, picking up a few select fireworks and ramming them into the ground. There were murmurs of consent from the others as they heaved themselves off the grass and into a safe distance away from the fireworks. Dean pulled a shiny silver lighter out of his battered leather jacket and lit a few of the fuses. He jogged over to the rest of the group and waited.

With a loud whining noise the fireworks took off from the ground and whizzed out of sight into the blackness of the night sky. Suddenly they exploded in a shower of red and green sparks, which cascaded out of nothing in a large bang. More and more followed them and soon the sky was full of blinding lights, a plethora of colours painted across the sky, each bright enough to burn an image into the group’s retinas. Their ears were assaulted with a cacophony of sounds, whizzes and bangs filled the air.

Dean couldn’t help but grin at the sight. It was magnificent. Beside him Emmy laughed and grinned with delight, even clapping at some of the more spectacular explosions. He was so transfixed at the sight of the sky he almost didn’t notice when she slipped her tiny, soft hand into his and squeezed it tightly.

Much to everyone’s dismay eventually the stack of fireworks they had brought with them dwindled, then disappeared completely

“You’ve got good choice in fireworks,” Emmy said quietly to Dean after it had been established there were none left to fire into the sky. “Aaand,” She continued purposely, putting a bit of the famous Roser condescension into her words, “I knew we could have a good fourth of July. We should celebrate more holidays.”

Dean smiled and shook his head at her antics.

“My vote is we skip Halloween, but Thanksgiving! Oh that’s a different kettle of fish entirely!”

~Shannon