Hey all! I'm back! I'm SOOOO sorry I haven't updated "Rainy Fridays"! School been a complete bitch, but I promise to update it as soon as I possibly can. :D. And yes, I'm aware this fic is a little late.

Thoughts: //blah blah blah//

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It was Halloween. Tala despised this holiday almost as much as he despised the former abbey leader. The redhead also despised how Rei could con him into doing anything these days. It had been almost a year since the last tournament and Tala had grown a little more mature, finally letting go of past grudges. Though, his and Rei's friendship was mostly due to the fact that Rei was now dating Kai, one of Tala's closest friends.

When he had first heard about the party nearly two weeks ago, he had down right refused to go. He despised Halloween, and most of his close friends knew that. It had taken Rei up until a few days ago to get the stubborn blue-eyed male to agree to come, and up until yesterday to convince him to wear a costume that Rei himself had picked out for him. How Rei knew his exact size, he would never know, and Tala was pretty sure he didn't want too.

So now here he was at the very party he did not want to go to, on the day he despised most of all, wearing a short French maids costume. Upon first seeing the costume, Tala had laughed at Rei thinking it was a joke. But when the neko-jin had merely smirked mischievously when the redhead asked him if it really was a joke, he felt his stomach sink.

Rei had planned the whole 'get Tala into a maids outfit' thing well and Tala had to admit that he was pretty impressed, even though it had taken Rei, Kai and Brooklyn, who was also now a close friend of his, nearly a hour to wrestle him into the godforsaken costume. Tala had sulked like a child while Brooklyn fixed his hair and Rei put a little make-up on him. He had thrown a small hissy fit about the make-up and Kai had laughed at him, saying he played the part of a female well.

These comments did not sit well with Tala, which was why he was currently sitting at the kitchen table, away from the rest of the party. The redhead doubted that the other bladers knew where he was and he was glad of that small hope. Most of them bugged him, save a few. Bryan and Kai were undoubtedly his most cherished friends, and there was the fact that the redhead had a crush on the former that both Kai and Rei knew about.

Tala figured the maid's outfit was just another way to try and get himself and Bryan together. Rei had been trying to do just that for a few months now, but usually it ended up with one or both of them embarrassing the hell out of themselves. With Rei around things were never dull. The neko-jin had even gotten Brooklyn to loosen up a bit, much to the surprise of the ginger hair boy's lover, Garland.

Garland wasn't actually that bad when you got to know him. It had taken Tala a few months to warm up to him, but it had eventually happened through one of Rei's insane plans that poor Brooklyn had been drug into. Even Max was in on it to some degree.

The little blond had been hanging out with their little 'crew' since it's earliest days, back when it only consisted of Kai, Bryan, Rei and himself. Tala figured Max only hung around because he didn't want to be alone. He and Tyson had been going out, but at the end of the second world tournament, Tyson had abruptly left him for the blond member of the former team BEGA, Mystel. Mystel and Max were just a like, though Mystel, being Egyptian, was more exotic looking than the blond American, which is why Tala thought Tyson left him for Mystel, however unfair that was.

"I figured you would be in here. Rei's been looking for you."

The sound of Bryan's voice effectively drew him out of his musings and he looked up, taking in Bryan's surprising appearance.

The black fishnet shirt and the tight black leather pants he was wearing contrasted greatly with his pale skin. His lilac hair was gelled and was spiked up slightly, giving his appearance a rock star effect with a gothic twist. His ears were adorned with his usual earrings, only in silver and Tala could have sworn he saw a silver hoop on one of Bryan's nipples.

//I wonder when he got that. I wonder if it's even real. Maybe one day I'll find out. //

Bryan smirked and snapped his fingers in front of Tala's face causing the redhead to snap out of his thoughts and pin him with an evil glare.

Bryan shrugged and his smirk only widened

"You were staring."

Tala felt the temperature of his cheeks rise and he looked away, trying to rid himself of the blush.

"Whatever. I was not. You were just imagining things."

Tala may have sounded calm on the outside, but his mind was screaming at him to just get up and leave, though he continued to sit at the table, directly across from the object of his affection.

Placing his cheek in the palm of his hand Tala sighed softly, ignoring his lilac haired teammate.

//When will this damn party be over with? I don't want to make myself look like an idiot in front of Bryan…again. //

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Max wandered the halls of Kai's expensive Japanese mansion, his black, nearly 6-inch heels making a clicking sound every time they hit the black marble floor. He passed a gold platted mirror and stopped, turning to look at himself.

His usually unruly blond hair was pulled into two pigtails, the hair in them being curled. He was wearing a bit of black eyeliner and mascara, both of which Tala had done. Max didn't know where the redhead learned to put on make-up correctly, but he sure was good at it.

The blond's costume was beautiful. It was a traditional black Elegant Gothic Lolita dress, with the frills, lace and all that jazz. Bryan and Kai had it imported from France a few days earlier. To the blond's surprise, it had been Oliver who picked it out for him. He figured either Kai or Bryan told him that he didn't have a costume yet. Oliver had good taste, and Max had to admit, the costume did suit him quite nicely.

Yet, Max was not happy. He felt…lonely. Especially since he had just seen his ex and Mystel making out on Kai's couch mere moments ago. He was deeply hurt by the scene, but there was nothing he could do about it. Tyson had every right to make out with his new boyfriend in front of him, even though Max believed it was not the right thing to do.

//I know we're over, but it still hurts. He shouldn't have done that in front of me. It's not fair//

To deep in thought, Max was obviously not watching where he was going and collided into a hard object, falling right on his ass afterwards. Pouting the blond struggled to get up, stopping when a pale hand was right in front of him, reaching towards him.

Blinking he looked up, meeting stoic onyx eyes

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"You look bored."

"Huh?"

//Way to go Tala. You just zoned out again when the current object of affection tried to start up a conversation with you. God I'm so stupid. //

Bryan smirked.

"I said you looked bored."

The redhead nodded.

"Yeah. I don't care for most of the people here. Tyson's too bigheaded, Johnny's a complete obnoxious bastard, Michael's too cocky for my liking, Mariah and the rest of those annoying girls are such bitches, except maybe Emily and Matillda and if Daichi says one more word, I'll kill the damn brat."

Bryan snickered and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

"I completely agree with you about Tyson, the girls and most definitely Johnny, but Michael's actually not that bad once you get to know him."

Tala narrowed his eyes.

//It seems I have competition. But from Michael? That's just weird. I though he was into Lee. //

Bryan's face soon turned smug by the look on Tala's face.

"What? Are you jealous Ivanov?"

"Huh?"

//Damn it! Why do I always space out when he says something to me//

"You've been spacing out an awful lot lately, Tala. I said, are you jealous?"

Tala glared at Bryan.

//Yeah, well, when you dress like -that- it's hard not to space out//

To Tala's surprise Bryan started to snicker.

"So you think I look good, Tala?"

Tala's eyes widened.

//Holy shit! I said that out loud! Of all the stupid things I could have done why did it have to be -that-? I've got to get out of here. //

Tala glared heatedly at Bryan and stood up. He could feel his cheeks burning as he stormed out of the room and into Kai's spacious living room were the actual party was being held.

Bryan blinked. He really hadn't meant to say anything that offended the younger Russian. Sighing he got up and followed the path that the redhead had taken moments before.

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Max had seen this man before, though it was only in a picture. He was Hatsuharu Sohma, the rebel Goth kid that used to go to the boarding that Kai had gone to. Hatsuharu, Haru for short, was probably the only non-blader friend Kai had.

Haru was tall and lean, but Max could clearly tell by the tight black tank top he was wearing that he had a defined torso and though his arms were lean, they were still a bit muscular. He had two-toned white and black hair and two silver studs adorned one ear while the other only held one. Since he was wearing a tank top, Max could clearly see the black tattoo on his left arm, the arm that was reaching out to him.

Haru's onyx eyes stared at him boredly, though he was quite pleased at how the little blond looked.

"Are you going to let me help you get up or are you just going to sit there and stare at me?"

Max blushed lightly and took the other teen's hand, letting Haru pull him to his feet.

"Why were you staring?"

Neither noticed that Haru was still holding Max's hand.

Max bit his lip.

"I was trying to remember your name. Hatsuharu, right? Kai's told me about you."

Haru nodded.

"Just call me Haru. It's easier to remember."

Max smiled slightly, as did Haru.

Haru looked the young blond up and down.

"Blond hair, blue eyes, short, and very cute. You must be Max. Kai showed me a picture of his teammates once."

Max's blush deepened at being called cute by the Gothic teen.

"Yeah. That's me."

Max glance down and saw that Haru's hand still had a tight grip on his own. Wondering what the blond was looking at, Haru looked down and was met by the same sight. His eyes widened slightly and he quickly let go of the blond's hand.

"Sorry…"

Max looked up at the onyx-eyed teen shyly.

"It's okay…"

There was just something about Haru that drew Max to him. Perhaps it was his badass attitude or maybe it was uniqueness. The blond didn't know what it was, but after spending most of his time being the third wheel wherever he and his "crew" went, he was more than ready to find out.

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Kai watched silently as Tala nearly knocked down Johnny as he tried to get to the mansion's front door. The Scotsman, who had been openly flirting with Robert due to too much wine, had cursed Tala to hell and back, though Tala had only flipped him off, not even bothering to turn around.

Rei then chose this moment to walk up and lean against his lover, Kai immediately wrapped his arms around the neko-jin's waist. The raven-haired beauty was dressed as a witch, while he chose a vampire costume for himself.

"I see his talk with Bryan didn't go as we had planed…"

Kai frowned softly.

"So it seems…Bryan probably said something that offended him by accident."

"Possibly. What do we do now?"

"Nothing. Bryan's smart enough to fix this mess on his own. We've done all we can do."

"Yeah, and then some."

Garland, dressed as a ninja, appeared behind the two lovers, Brooklyn, who was dressed as an angel, at his side.

Brooklyn smiled reassuringly at his two friends.

"Don't worry. Tala may be stubborn, but I can tell he's getting tired of being alone. Or maybe Bryan will make the first move. I think he's figured out that Tala likes him as much as he likes Tala. I'm sure everything will work out."

Kai merely frowned and looked at the floor.

Rei watched Bryan slip out the front door with a soft sigh.

"We can only hope…"

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Tala sat on the mansion's steps, watching little trick-or-treaters pass by the mansion gate, looking warily at its scary appearance. Watching the little witches, pirates, princesses and ninjas walk by made him think of his own childhood, though for him, it wasn't a very pleasant thought.

The redhead had always hated to think about his past. It was depressing, and even now he could feel the abbey director's cold hands brushing against his skin. Shivering from the memory he instinctively pulled his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms securely around his legs and resting his chin on his knees afterwards.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and look back, his blue eyes widened in fright.

Bryan smirked.

"Did I scare you?"

Tala pinned him with a dark glare and pulled away from him stubbornly. Letting his arms fall to the side, he stretched his legs back out.

"No! You didn't!"

Bryan sat down next to the redhead, he was pretty close to him, but Tala didn't seem to mind at all.

"I'm sure…"

Tala merely glared at him and mumbled something under his breath.

Bryan sighed.

"Listen…I don't do this very often so listen up. I'm sorry if I offended you, okay? I didn't mean too."

Tala blinked.

//…That was unexpected. Bryan just apologized to someone. To -me- no less! But…why? He usually doesn't give a damn who he insults. //

"I…forgive you I guess."

Bryan raised an eyebrow.

"You guess?"

Tala rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up. I accept your apology."

"Good…"

Bryan looked at the ground.

//Damn it! Why can I just tell him//

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"So…"

Max was walking beside Haru, the two of them wandering aimlessly through the halls and away from the party.

Haru glanced over at the petite blond.

"So what?"

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

"I know a separate little living room we can sit in and talk…I mean, if that's what you want to do…"

Max looked down at the ground, blushing slightly.

Haru smiled slightly.

"Sounds good to me."

//I have to admit, this kid's pretty damn cute. It's hard to believe he's not spoken for already…or is he? I'll ask him once we get to wherever we're going. //

They went down hallway after hallway, and just when Haru was starting to believe Max didn't know where the hell he was going, they came upon two heavy wooden doors, which Haru immediately opened for Max, thinking he wouldn't be able to do it on his own.

Max blushed slightly and muttered a soft thanks and entered the room. It was cozy, with a fireplace, a couch and a big chair, big enough for two people to sit comfortably in. The blond walked over to the couch and flopped down upon it, taking off his shoes before stretching out.

Haru smirked softly and did the same, sitting cross-legged in the chair.

"So, tell me about yourself, Max."

"There's really not much to tell. My parents are divorced, I'm a decent blader, my favorite color is orange, and I've begged Kai to get me a puppy since forever."

Haru frowned. Max wasn't telling him what he wanted to hear.

"Do you have a boyfriend or anything like that?"

Max shook his head and his bright blue eyes became a little dull.

"No…I used to. He dumped me for someone almost just like me. It hurt, but I'm pretty much over it now."

Haru frowned.

"Why'd he dump you?"

Max bit his lip.

"Well, Mystel was willing to give up everything to Tyson, if you know what I mean. I wasn't. I'm not ready for that. Though my decision's made me pretty lonely…"

"I wouldn't do that to you."

Max sat up and stared at Haru for a few seconds.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, if I was your boyfriend, I'd wait until you were ready."

"If is the thing…"

Haru smirked.

"What? You like the idea of me being your boyfriend?"

Max's cheeks were on fire. He looked down and shook his head.

"You don't? Oh, okay then. I thought it would be a pretty good idea myself."

Max's eyes widened and he looked over at Haru in surprise.

"Y-You mean, you -want- to be my boyfriend? But, we barely know each other!"

Haru stood up and walked over to the couch, lifting Max's legs up and the laying them back over his own legs.

"Listen, we're both lonely and neither of us have anything to loose. Besides, I feel drawn to you. You know what I mean, right? This might turn into something good. Why not give it a try?"

Max bit his lip, still blushing heavily.

"Well, I guess we could give it a try…."

"I was hoping you would say that."

He kissed Max playfully on the cheek, making Max turn even redder. He shifted Max so that he was laying in his arms and they stayed that way for the rest of the night, talking until they had both fallen asleep.

Yes, this would definitely be the start of something good for the both of them.

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"Tala…"

Tala's blue eyes shifted over to Bryan, looking at him curiously.

"Yes…?"

"We need to talk…about earlier."

Tala bit his lip.

"There's nothing to talk about!"

Bryan glared slightly.

"Yes there is, Tala."

"It was just a slip of the tongue. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Damn it Tala! Quit being so damn stubborn!"

It was Tala's turn to glare.

"I'm not being stubborn"

Bryan sighed. This was getting them nowhere. It was now or never. He had to tell Tala how he felt.

"Tala…I…"

Tala stopped in mid sulk to look at Bryan curiously. The lilac haired teen actually sounded nervous.

"Yes…?"

"Love you. I have ever since I realized I could lose you if Boris went too far with his experiments."

Tala was shocked, to say the least. He never in a million years thought Bryan could ever feel the same way about him.

"Well…?"

"Huh?"

Bryan smiled ever so slightly.

"Do you feel the same way, Tala?"

Tala nodded.

"Of course I do! How could I not?"

Bryan's expression turned smug.

"Yes, how could someone not love a sex god like me?"

Tala rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and kiss me stupid"

Bryan happily and did as Tala demanded him to do.

From that moment on, Tala's feelings toward Halloween changed drastically. To him, it was now better than Christmas, and even his own birthday. He knew that in the future, Halloween was just going to get better and better

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Well, I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review!!