Wings Of Choice (Joel Pimentel)

24 - Ditch The Sorrow

They bought some food for Finnick, since the boy said he hasn't eat anything since his house burned down with his mom. When they get back to the palace, the others were so clueless when they saw him.

Finnick was sitting in the dining hall, shoving the burger into his mouth. Joel and Erick sat beside him while Richard, Zabdiel and Chris were staring at him with question marks on their faces.

Cass hands Finnick a cup of drinks. "Stop staring at him like that, he's not an alien." she tells them. "Do you want some fries, Finnick?" she asks and the boy nods.

"Who is this kid again?" Chris asks, eyes on Finnick who ignores him to focus on eating. "The white witch's son, Finnick." Joel answers. "Just call me Finn." Finn says with his mouth full.

When the boy is done eating they took him to the living hall. They let him sit on the couch. Erick kneels in front of him, asking him to tell them what happened to his mom.

Finn took a deep breath before pouring it all to them. "A few days after you guys left, the sky suddenly turns grey. My mom could sense something bad is coming, so she told me to run away. I didn't listen to her. Instead of going far as she told me to, I just hid in a bush near our house. And then this man came. I'm assuming he was the Devil. The one that killed our family before because we won't join him.

He let out this kind of laugh that makes my spine chills. I was too scared I can't move. There were some people behind him too, all wearing black. He asked my mom about you. At first she lied, but he strangle her to the wall." he paused for a while, looking at Cassandra who then hugs him.

"In the end my mom tells him everything, making the guys growl on her face when she said she helped you. And then she saw me. She used her hand gesture for me to leave, which I did because the guys were too scary. I ran for my life, until I found my mother's deer. I followed her lead and stayed with her. I believe she kept me safe. Until that night the deer starts to fade away. That's when I know," he looks at Cassandra again. "That my mom is gone." he buried his head on her chest.

The guys look at him sympathetically. "We understand you, kid. We're in the same sorrow now." they gave him a group hug. "I'll show you your room." Erick took his hand.

Finn was more comfortable with Erick, so he talks more with him when they get into the room. Cassandra comes later, peeking her head from the door and asked if she can come in. When they allowed her to, she sits on the bed beside Finnick.

"Do you like it here?" she asked him. Finnick nods. "You guys are nice. And you remembered your promise to me." he smiles at Erick, who then stroke Finn's hair with his hand. "Stop it, you're messing my hair." Finnick push his hand away and fix his hair.

Erick and Cassandra look at each other before they burst into laughter. Finnick was already look messy even before Erick touched his hair. "Boy, you're covered in dirt but you still have faith with your hair?" Erick teased him. "You need a shower. Really." he said, picking the kid up on his shoulder and took him to the bathroom. "My room is just two doors away. Just come in if you're bored." he says before shutting the bathroom door behind him.

They decided to make the night more welcoming for Finnick, so they made a barbecue night for him. "Still got room for that tummy?" Richard asks Finn as he was flipping the rib on the grill.

Rubbing his tummy, Finnick nods his head repeatedly. "Aww, he's cute. I can feed him with everything he wants to eat." Jodi says, adoring the kid's face as he was waiting for his meal to be done. "I thought that line was only for me." Chris gave her his disapproving look.

After Richard put the meat on his plate Finnick joins Cassandra and Joel. "I can sense everyone is trying to be happy, but actually they are still sad." he says, eyes on his food.

"He's observant." Joel nods at Cassandra. "You're right. We are still sad." he tells Finnick.

The boy then hands his plate to Joel. After that, he reached for something in his pocket. It's a small potion bottle. He then hands it to Cassandra, before taking back his plate from Joel.

Confused, Cassandra studies the potion in her hand. "It's a happy potion." Joel says blankly. Finnick nods his head again while chewing his food. "There's another two bottles in my room."

"If this can drift away your sadness why didn't you take it?" Cassandra asked him. Both Cass and Joel are curious. "It feels weird to be alone, seeing my house burned down with my mom's ashes in it without feeling sad. That's why I made it, but can't tell myself to take it."

Joel just look at the potion in Cassandra's hand, didn't know if he should let his cousins have it or not. "My mom told me you guys have responsibilities. No one can work good when they're sad." Finnick convinced him. "Just a few drops in each drinks, and you'll forget about the sorrow you had."

Joel glanced at Cassandra first. She gives him her approving look. "We can't let ourselves in blue for long." she tells him. Looking at Finnick who's waiting for his decision, Joel smiles and took the bottle from Cassandra. He then leaves some drops into Finnick's cup.

"Before we take it, I have to make sure you have it too. We'll all be happy." he ran his hand in Finn's hair before leaving to the put some drops into his cousin's cups. "I still don't get why does people love to mess with my hair." Finnick complains to Cassandra.

Okay my lovely readers, if you're with me since He's The Bad News, I'm telling you guys I made a sequel to that one (Once A Bad Boy). I know I'm late, but I just can't stop writing about Erick. Check it out. And as always, don't forget to vote for this one.