One
"I can't believe you signed me up for the planning committee! I don't want to give up my evenings to plan some stupid dance!"
Kairi Daniels scoffed, watching her sister decorate her bedroom with orange and purple strands of lights, pumpkins and fall-scented candles. "Namine, look around. You love Halloween. And you're the artsiest person I know! Of course we want you on the committee. Besides, it's not a dance. It's a costume party."
"Why is that somehow worse to me?" Namine groaned, flopping onto her bed. "I do love Halloween, and I love dressing up. But I hate parties, and you know that."
"Ugh, why are you such a loner weirdo? Can't we just do something together for once?"
Namine grumbled for a moment, knowing that Kairi would be upset for days if she said no. "Fine… I'll help out. But I'm not going to the party."
"Yay!" Kairi squealed, pouncing on Nami's bed and hugging the life out of her. "Oh, and I almost forgot! I convinced Yuffie to sign up too! Isn't she one of your friends from art class?"
The slim blonde girl's eyes widened and she shoved Kairi off of her. "No, you dipshit! Yuffie and I hate each other! What the hell is wrong with you?!"
"I… I didn't know… I was just trying to-"
"Yuffie was the one who almost got me suspended when she claimed I stole her art. Remember all of that? Or did your tiny brain forget?"
She could already hear Kairi sniffling as she turned away, heading for the hallway. "Just forget about helping. I'll take your name off the list. Aqua and I will find someone else."
"Kairi, wait…" she sighed, scrambling to her feet to run after her sister. "Don't take me off the list. I'm sorry."
The redhead stayed silent for a minute, her back turned to Namine and one hand on the doorknob to her own bedroom.
"Kairi, come on… You know I love you," Namine pleaded, wondering for a second how this turned into her begging to be on the stupid committee.
"Okay!" Kairi finally chirped, facing her twin with a grin on her lips. "But only 'cause you begged."
"Of course it was all an act…" Nami mumbled, fending off another hug from her. "It's sick how easily you can manipulate me."
Kairi giggled evilly. "That's why you love me!"
"I'm going to bed…" she rolled her eyes, disappearing back into her bedroom and slamming the door shut. Halloween was unequivocally her favorite holiday of all time, but parties made her wanna throw up. She'd rather sit on the front porch by herself and pass out candy like she'd done ever since they stopped trick-or-treating together.
And this party in particular was hyped up to being the biggest party that their school, Twilight High, had ever thrown. It was going to be a night that none of the students would ever forget. Though Namine hoped that if someone snuck in some booze, it would be a night she'd never remember.
...
"Sooo, what are we gonna go as?" Kairi latched herself onto her boyfriend's arm the next morning before school started.
Sora Grant nearly jumped out of his skin as she surprised him, his brain hardly able to process her question. "Go as…? Oh! You mean to the Halloween party?"
"Of course, dummy! It's gonna be sooo epic. We have to have perfect costumes!" she warned him, shaking his arm to emphasize how important it was to her.
"But of course," he laughed, heading to their first class with her suctioned to his arm. "I was kind of thinking we'd keep it classic and awesome, maybe do a prince and princess kind of deal?"
She frowned at first, finding the idea a little too simple for what she had in mind. But then it dawned on her that they could go incredibly extravagant with it and she swooned into him. "Ooh, how romantic! It'd be absolutely perfect! Oh, we'd be darling together!"
"Finally pick a costume?" their best friend, Riku James, fell into step with them.
"Ooh, Riku should be our jester!" Kairi exclaimed, clapping her hands together quickly.
Riku raised an eyebrow, giving her an unamused look. "Not a chance, derpy."
"Aww…" she pouted, poking him in the side. "You're no fun!"
"Did you pick something out yet? Or are you waiting to hear what Xion is going as?" Sora waggled his eyebrows at Riku lecherously.
Kairi squealed in a rather ear-splitting matter, hopping up and down excitedly. "It's so fricking adorable that you have a crush on my cousin! I wish you'd let me snoop for you and see if she likes you back!"
"No," Riku's eyes widened and he stopped dead in his tracks. "No snooping. Because with you, nothing is ever subtle. You just… keep your trap shut."
"Fine, then I won't tell you what she picked for her costume," Kairi shrugged, turning her nose up at him.
Sora sighed heavily, prying her off his arm so he could sit down at his desk. "Just tell him, Kai. Don't be mean."
"He's the one being mean to me!" she huffed, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out at Riku.
"Tell him!" Sora scolded her, giving her a little smack on the butt.
She squeaked in surprise and giggled, nodding. "Okay, okay… She's going as Harley Quinn. So your best bet is to show up as a sexy Joker."
"Joker… I can do that," Riku grinned, settling into his chair.
"So what's your plan? You'll show up in a coordinating costume to hers and she's just gonna swoon and fall into your lap?" Kairi stared at him skeptically.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess it'll just be a nice conversation starter so I won't be so afraid to talk to her."
"Orrr… I could tell her that you've been crushing on her since we were kids," Kairi mumbled under her breath, holding her hand over her mouth to muffle herself.
"What was that?" he glared at her, kicking her under her desk. "Don't you dare!"
"Oh, come on… You're the captain of the soccer team and you're hot as fuck. There's no way she won't like you!"
Sora shot her a concerned look at her last comment. "Excuse me?"
"What? He is! You'd have to be blind not to see it."
He glanced over his best friend, unable to deny it. "I mean… okay. But don't go around telling people that!"
"Oh hush… You're just as sexy," she cooed, leaning over to peck his lips with a kiss.
Sick of their PDA, Riku attempted to change the subject. "So what do you girls have planned for the party anyways? All my teammates are saying it's gonna be epic."
"Welll… You know there's gonna be a costume contest for sure. And the normal fun stuff, like dancing and food and drinks. But the surprise is…" she leaned forward and whispered, "We're turning the science wing into a big haunted house. We've got like the entire football team on board to dress up like monsters and scare the shit out of everyone."
"That sounds awesome!" Sora exclaimed, startling the students around them. "Can I help spookify everything?"
Kairi nodded. "Of course! We'll need some guys to climb ladders and lift things. You in too, Riku?"
"Eh, why not? Is Xion helping out?"
"Nah… she's overloaded with her AP classwork. But she promised me she'd make enough time to go to the actual party. Don't worry."
…
"Go with meee," Xion whined to her best friend, pushing her thick black glasses back up on her nose. "Please? Kairi is making me, and I don't wanna go alone."
"No way in hell," Roxas Mathews refused to even look up at her, staring at his open AP Chemistry textbook intently.
She whined loudly, draping herself over the lab table dramatically. "Come onnn… I don't want to go either, but it could maybe be fun! Think of it like cosplaying. I'm gonna be Harley Quinn!"
The word cosplay tugged at his brain and he found himself struggling to resist the opportunity to throw together a good cosplay outfit. "Well… I guess I could resurrect my Link cosplay from last year's convention."
"Right! You made a handsome Link," she teased, giggling. "So you'll go with me?"
"Whatever… I guess so…" he grumbled, blushing a little. "But you'd better still help me with this project! I don't need you getting all wrapped up in the party."
She jabbed him in the side with her finger, making him jump halfway out of his chair. "Lighten up, Roxy. You need to have a little fun with life every now and then. Can't spend all your time buried in your books."
"Don't call me that!" he hushed her, glaring over the tops of his own thick framed glasses. "Besides, you're just as nerdy as I am and you know it."
She couldn't really argue with that. "Yeah… but hanging around my cousin has had me thinking a lot lately. She just seems so-"
"Stupid?" he offered.
"Free," she corrected him, tapping him on the nose with her pencil. "She hardly has a care in the world, and look where it got her. She's dating the most popular guy in school, she's captain of the cheerleading squad, and she's vice-president of student council. Her life doesn't exactly suck."
He snorted, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes as he yawned. "Xion, you could literally have any guy in this school if you just asked them out. You're gorgeous."
"Right," she scoffed in disbelief, looking down at herself. "I'm plain. I blend right into the walls."
"So maybe stop wearing so much beige?" he laughed, noting her very school-girl like outfit. Beige skirt, white dress shirt, brown flats. She wore that outfit, if not something very similar, every single day.
She whacked him on the shoulder in offense. "This outfit is very comfortable and practical!"
"...Does Kairi dress practically or comfortably?"
Xion slumped down in her chair, hating when he had good points. "No… And she always looks adorable. Maybe I should rifle through her closet for a change."
"Try it out. I'm not saying to dress like a slut, but adding some color to your wardrobe couldn't hurt. You're just as pretty as she is, if not moreso. Play it up a little!"
"Ughhhh… it pains me that you're gay," she chuckled, leaning on his shoulder. "You'd make a hella good boyfriend."
Roxas rolled his eyes, wondering how he could attract all the women in this school, but none of the men. "Tell it to some of the guys around here. Please."
"Awww… Is someone feeling lonely?"
"I just… I wish there were more men like me walking the hallways. The other few gay guys here are just… not what I picture for myself. I want someone that can keep up with my mind… that I can study with and bounce ideas off of."
Xion laughed at that. "Of course you'd be looking for a carbon copy of yourself. Do you even realize how boring it would be to date someone just like you?"
"Gee, thanks," he deadpanned, flipping open his notebook.
"Not what I meant. I just mean… couples are supposed to be opposite in some ways. You want to have just enough in common to get along, and then lots of stuff different to spice things up! You need someone that'll just throw your notebook aside occasionally and pull you out the door to go see a movie!"
He threw her an incredulous look. "But that's not practical! If I had my notebook out, I was obviously doing something important, and pulling me away from it would be rude and hindering!"
"But it would be fun and spontaneous!" she exclaimed, snatching his notebook and tossing it across the room. "You gotta live a little sometimes, Roxy!"
He stared at her with an irrate look on his face, blinking slowly. "Go get it."
She tried to stare him down until he backed off, but he was dead serious. "Ugh… fine. But you gotta promise me that you'll at least dance with me at the Halloween party."
"I'm not promising a god damned thing. Now go get my notebook."
"You suck…" she pouted, stomping over to grab it off the ground. She'd get him to dance one way or another.
…
"A little bit higher!"
Aqua teetered on the ladder she was perched precariously at the top of, trying to reach up and tape her banner into place. "Good?"
"Higher!" Kairi squawked, motioning for her to raise it even more.
"I don't think I can-" her sentence cut off as she lost her balance, tearing the entire banner down as she grasped for something to hold onto. She thought she was done for… she could feel herself falling, and all she could do was close her eyes and wait to hit the ground.
She heard Kairi screech in terror, but then she felt herself fall onto something soft, yet strangely hard. She kept her eyes clamped shut for a moment, trying to will her heart down out of her throat before she opened them to find herself staring up into the deep blue eyes of Terra McLean, captain of the football team.
"You okay?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned as he cradled her in his arms.
Aqua tried to make herself say something, but no words would come out of her mouth.
"Oh my God! Aqua!" Kairi ran over, helping Terra set her down gently on her feet. "Are you all right? I thought you were gonna break your neck!"
She managed to nod a few times, her head rushing with each movement. "'m fine…"
"You look like you're going to be sick. Come sit down," Terra said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and walking her over to a bench in the hallway. "What were you doing up there?"
Aqua motioned to the torn remains of her banner for the party. "Hanging that…"
"And you didn't think to wait for someone a little taller to help?"
"I don't need help! I had it handled!" she jumped to the defensive, shrugging him away from her.
He snorted. "Yeah, I could tell by the way you fell into my arms."
"Shut up… I appreciate the catch, but you can go away now," she snapped, folding her arms over her chest and turning away from him.
Terra stood up and shrugged. "Fine. Just figured you might want some help with your banners, but I'll head home."
Aqua waited for him to disappear before groaning in irritation. "Ugh! He drives me insane."
Kairi gave her an incredulous look, thoroughly confused. "Uhm… he just saved your ass. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Besides the fact that he's the biggest asshole ever? Do you not remember him running against me for student council president? He tried to convince the entire school that I starred in a porno over the summer."
"I'm pretty sure that was his 'campaign manager' behind all that. He seemed just as shocked as you were."
Aqua huffed loudly. "All they did was find some blue haired porn star and photoshop her face so they'd think it was me! Jerks…"
"Aqua, you won anyways. Quit worrying about it. Literally everybody has already forgotten about it. Terra is drop dead gorgeous!"
"What's your point?" she lifted a brow, knowing exactly where Kairi was headed.
Kairi clucked her tongue. "Uhmmm… he likes you? You should ask him to the party!"
"He doesn't like me! You're full of shit, Kai. And there's no way in hell I'm asking him for anything. Besides, I'm going to be too busy making sure nothing goes wrong at the party. Including keeping an eye on all of his jock friends in the haunted house."
"You've always got such a stick up your ass… You're at least going to wear a costume, right?"
She scoffed. "I'll probably just paint some cat whiskers on my cheeks."
"Oh my God! Aqua! This whole thing was your idea! You have to wear a good costume!" Kairi swatted at her. "What is wrong with the girls in this school? Everyone wants to look frumpy and dumpy all the time. You're a total babe! Dress like it for once!"
Aqua thought about it for a minute. Kairi had a point; this was the one day out of the year that everyone could go really over the top. "What would I even be?"
"Something sexy…" Kairi trailed off, thinking. "Ooh! I got it! A mermaid! You're the faster swimmer in the school, it'd be perfect!"
"A mermaid…? So I'd be prancing around the school in a bra? No thanks."
Kairi frowned. "Oh, come on… we'll get a tasteful one! It's no worse than a bikini top at the beach!"
Being a mermaid did sound fun. It was one of Aqua's secret dreams, actually. She loved being in the water, and she'd gladly trade her legs for a tail any time. "All right… But you've got to help me find the costume. And it has to be tasteful."
"Promise!" Kairi giggled, incredibly excited to have another friend to dress up. Fashion was just about her favorite thing in the world, besides Sora.
"And you've got to drop all this nonsense about Terra," she added, glaring at her friend.
She snuck her hand behind her back, crossing her fingers while she nodded slowly. "I promise. Now… I'm going to go find Namine and see if she'll make us another banner. But this time I'm having Sora help us put it up. He's still around here somewhere with Riku."
As Kairi wandered off down the hallway, Aqua took the opportunity to breathe heavily, still shaking just a little from her fall. This party was going to be a bigger headache than she originally thought… but it was also going to be one of the best nights of their high school lives.
…
Author's Note: Yay! So I decided that since it's the best month of the year, I'd write a cute little Halloween fic! I'm planning for it to be 13 chapters of drama packed madness, and I'm soooo excited! Ugh, you have no idea. Its chock full of all your favorite pairings, and maybe some random crack pairings that I'll make you fall in love with. ;P And don't worry! There are still some lovlies that haven't been introduced yet. I'll sneak 'em in there. :3
Please please please leave me a review! I love them! ^^
Simply Rexene