Hello friends! this is the final chapter of american wasteland! hope you enjoyed it like i did! thank you for reading and until we meet again!
"Beana! Come on! Its time to set up for the BBQ!" Lionel yelled from the front door, carrying a cooler full of water and soda. Today was Independence Day and all of Midvale was outside and enjoying the festivities.
Lena and her family went to the parade earlier in the day, Lena not being able to help the fact she saw Jeremiah Danvers waving from a float of veterans, his family directly across from her. Kara, luckily, was paying more attention to her dad then the other parade goers.
Now Lena's street was getting ready for the biggest block party in town.
This year her family oversaw drinks and Lena was dreading grabbing one of the other coolers. Trying to convince Lex to grab hers proved pointless.
Lena trudged over to their garage and walked to the last cooler. Lucky for her it had wheels and she walked off easily. On the sidewalk, her family was sitting under a canopy, the coolers spread out in front of them.
People were already swarming their little street, finding something to do till the fireworks. Some of her neighbors were pulling out different party games and children were playing with water guns on the closed off road. Lena watched as one boy from down the street rode up on a skateboard.
Lena had done pretty good at avoiding thinking of her girlfriend for the past few days. She had heard from Alex that they had made a lot of progress with her already. That made her happy and certainly kept Sam and Jess from marching to Kara's house, out for blood.
Speaking of, most of her and Kara's friends were supposed to be attending.
The block party was what they had all planned to do together for the 4th and as far as she knew, that was still the plan. Lena decided on texting her friends to see if they were still coming.
Lena was ready to press send when she heard her name. when she scanned the street, she spotted everyone, including a certain blonde and her family.
Kara was smiling awkwardly at her, as if she was scared Lena would send her away. When everyone got to her, Kara stood at the back of the group, afraid to say her hello.
"this looks like it should be a good party this year huh?" Winn asked, reaching into his pocket to grab a pair of red white and blue sunglasses. James looked at him and shook his head, not seeing the irony in judging him when he was wearing an Uncle Sam hat.
"I have never been to this party before. I am excited to find out why it is special" Brainy walked up to Lena and shook her hand. He then went in one of the coolers and grabbed a sprite.
"get comfortable Lena's friends! Once it gets dark, the show will hit the road!" Lionel waved at everyone, beckoning them to sit under the canopy with them. Jeremiah and Eliza walked over and shook her parent's hands. someone tapped her shoulder.
Lena was face to face with Kara's distant cousin, Clark. He waved, his face screaming 'I am uncomfortable'.
"hi. We met a few weeks ago. I'm Clark" he put out his hand and Lena took it for a brief second and let go.
"Lena. I've heard of you from Kara." Lena tried to hide the fact she was unhappy with him but realized she was not doing a good job when the man winced.
"I was afraid of that." He said mostly to himself. He continued.
"I just wanted to say, I'm glad Kara has someone like you in her life. Rao knows I haven't been the cousin I should have been." Clark smiled kindly at her. Lena almost forgot how he let Kara feel abandoned. Almost.
"thank you, Lena Luthor, you're the person I wish I could be" Clark patted her shoulder and walked away, waltzing over to the other adults. Lena took a moment to look around at the people present. Nia and Brainy now had hot dogs, Brainy's mouth covered in ketchup. Winn was talking to Jess, his hand in hers.
How did I miss that?
Sam, Alex, and James were talking to Lex, the four of them having hit it off it seemed. There was really one person missing.
Lena spotted Kara sitting on the curb, away from the group and watching the other people on the block enjoy themselves. Lena took the opportunity to talk things out, hopefully get back to how things were or close to it.
Lena quietly sat down next to Kara; whose head whipped around too see who would possibly be sitting with her. When she realized who it was, she looked down at her hands in something Lena could only guess to be shame.
They sat like that in their own little world for a few minutes, neither daring to make the first move. The street was alive now, full of people getting a perfect spot for the show soon.
Lena watched as Kara fidgeted, her leg moving up and down. Even now Lena couldn't help but notice the cute things she had come to love about Kara in the little over a month since they had met.
"I'm so sorry Lena." Kara looked up at her, eyes glossy with unshed tears.
"you didn't deserve to be treated like that. I understand if you want me to stay away from you, for us to break up" a lone tear slid down Kara's face, falling off her chin and into the pavement. Lena put her hand on Kara's knee.
"that's all I wanted to hear. I accept your apology." Lena fixed a stray hair dangling in front of the blonde's eye.
"we can't just magically jump back to exactly where we were, but I love you so I'm willingly to wait" Kara looked like a fish out of water. Maybe saying those special three words was a big step but Lena didn't want to keep it inside forever.
"I love you too" Kara's voice was small, but it didn't change the impact it had on them. Lena thought maybe that a kiss would be a little much now, electing to move in for a hug instead.
Kara wrapped her arms around Lena's waist and set her head on her shoulder. Lena could feel her breath, feel her nose just barely touching her neck. Kara pulled away and Lena was bummed at the loss, but it went away when Kara smiled.
"I'm happy we aren't done." Lena pulled in Kara's head and left a brief kiss on her cheek.
"me too" she stood up and made Kara follow. They went over to where everyone was sitting and immediately had Lionel and Lillian's attention. The couple walked over to them.
"you must be Kara. I've heard so much about you I almost feel like I know you" Lionel smiled down and looked at the two of them, then down at their joined hands. he looked knowingly at Lillian who playfully smacked his arm.
"glad you two figured that out. Now, you might wanna find a spot, fireworks should start soon" Lillian interjected. Lionel patted Kara's shoulder and walked off, looping his arm around his wife. Lex waved them down from a blanket spread out on their lawn. He stood up when they got close.
"here, for you and your friends. Kara why don't you sit. I'm just gonna talk to Lena for a sec" Kara nodded and sat, waiting for everyone else.
"happy to see you two together." Lex flicked her nose. Lena rubbed the spot and pouted at her brother.
"was that all you wanted to do?" she whined. Lex folded his arms.
"no. just thought I would tell you that I got a call from my secretary. They've found someone to head up the branch in metropolis." He raised an eyebrow
"know what that means?" he didn't get a definite answer but by Lena's cry of 'yes!' and pulling him in for a hug, she knew what it meant.
"so, you're staying?"
"you bet. Hope mom hasn't turned my room into a lab or something" Lex looked over and saw the now packed blanket. He tipped his head in their direction.
"why don't you go with your friends now? Ill be here" he let her go and pushed her in the direction of the others and she ran and sat next to Kara. She was just in time as the lights went out and a firework went up in the sky. It lit up in bright red and blue and fizzled, another soon taking its place.
Lena looked around. Her family and Kara's were a few feet away, eyes locked on the sky. The parents were holding onto each other, enjoying another 4th together.
She looked over her group of friends. Jess had her head on Winn's shoulder. Nia and Brainy had their fingers barely interlocked, as if they weren't sure if they should or shouldn't. Another firework and Lena saw Sam and James looking up, their mouths open. Another time Lena would have laughed.
Everyone was enjoying a night out, with people they care about, without a care in the world. Lena's eyes finally drifted to Kara beside her.
She was staring up at the flashing of the fireworks, a wide grin on her face. She was oblivious to the fact that Lena was watching her, taking in the look on her face, savoring the moment that they would never get back. Kara came out of her trance and looked at Lena.
If it was possible, her grin got bigger. She put her arm around Lena's shoulder as always and pulled her in. The fireworks were amazing, but she just couldn't tear her eyes from the girl next to her. She watched as the light from the show danced in Kara's eyes.
Lena set her head back on Kara's shoulder and watched as a red and blue flag flashed across the night sky.
Who knows what would happen after today, but Lena knew that it didn't matter. Tonight, they were together, Kara was here, and she was perfect.