"And I thought we were done with all this supernatural stuff. Yeah, it's a holiday. That doesn't mean we have the right to go completely insane again...those conferences have been over for years, thank god. Remember the last one? We're lucky we didn't end up dead, even with all that creepypasta stuff. Funny how I can't even read half of those anymore without laughing," Adeline Jeanette spoke aloud, not sure if she was really talking to herself or her boyfriend (who really should have been her fiancé by now, she thought with a sly grin), William Beckett, who probably was somewhere in the apartment getting ready for the Halloween party the two were going to later that night, but she just knew with the costume she was currently putting on that they weren't going to be there for long.

"Mhm, oh, Adeline, doll, don't you look lovely," William spoke from the doorway, causing her to jolt and turn, dress not fastened completely, although it didn't cover much of her in the first place.

"Uh, help? I can't reach the zipper...and these - oh!" She jerked softly against William's touch, one hand went to put her zipper up, the other to run along her exposed leg.

"William baby, d-don;t...these...we need to leave soon...I..." the blonde grappled for words as his hand snaked up her dress, fingers delicately sweeping against the black lace panties she wore, already knowing they'd be torn to shreds by the next morning. She shuddered, but he didn't move.

"Oh love...come on...we can play a little bit first, can't we?" he teased, adjusting the black top hat on his head, cracking a smile at the same time.

"Seven hells," she muttered darkly, rolling her hazel eyes, "Babe, there's no time. And what are Matt and Forrest gonna think when I show up with just-fucked hair, hey?" she teased, not expecting him to grin.

"You can just tie it back, like you always do," he murmured, lips against the hollow of her ear as he began to hum something she'd damn well recognize.

"Girl, you shoulda been a drummer You break me down like no other

You beat my heart black and bruised No one does it like you do

No doubt, you've got perfect rhythm Crash and burn and then it ended

You played me so hard so fast Just like heavy metal thunder.."

"You're not funny. You know what the song does to me! And yeah, I know I can tie it back, but this is the longest my hair's ever been! Every since like seventh grade!" she complained, absentmindedly running a hand through her now mid-back length curls.

"Alright, I'll let right now go, but I can't promise the after party's gonna be something you forget."

"Where would the fun in that be? You know there's going to be scene wherever we are, last time you went on tour with Hands Like Horses and Johnny Craig, someone almost broke up, what could top that?"

William smiled and rolled his eyes, motioning towards the door, "Well. Your parent's anniversary landing on the same exact day your heart shattered into a million pieces could be a start, love."

Adeline turned, pulling the back heel strap on the sandals she wore tighter, "Can. You. Not? That's the only reason I hate October now, thank you very much. It's bittersweet - given it's the day after our own anniversary, you can imagine why."

"It's not like we planned it that way, trust me. I didn't think you'd spend the next three days acting like the world had ended."

"Babe, I'd love to argue this more, but we gotta go. We're going to be lat-"

"Well let's get a move on then!"

As usual, the party itself was kind of slow from what AJ had been used to - thinking back she'd had more fun with her fake ID and her friends in Barrington during high school than she was having now, but the only plus side to now was that she didn't need to worry about finding a date every time she left the bar.

Four glasses of wine later, the room had began to spin and the music wasn't getting any better. AJ couldn't see straight and it almost felt like the first night in the Chicago bars during Spring Break all over again.

"William...your girl, you might want to-" Matt had shouted over the constant roar of the speaker, having seen the blonde fumbling to stay on her feet.

Within seconds he'd caught her under the arms, steading her with a sigh.

"After eight years and you still haven't learned to watch yourself. It's a wonder you're not dead."

At this, she smiled, knowing he'd meant something else entirely.

"Can we go now? The party isn't doing anything and we've got better drinks at home.*woah*..." she staggered, putting a hand to her head.

"I need to learn, don't I? This is out of control...if it's not starbucks it's wine, and if it's not that it's-"

"I get it. Come on, we should let the others know."

She smiled, "About time. I don't see why we even came tonight, I've seen the way you've been watching me all night..."

William raised an eyebrow, "Have you now? To be honest, I only thought it'd do you some go to be around other people, you do seem to spend way too much time around me."

"Hey guys, aren't you gonna stay? The contest winners are gonna be announced in like twenty minutes," one of the guys from Hellogoodbye added, arm slung around a redhead that was dressed as a greek goddess.

"Uh, yeah, come on - you two'll win something just because of who you are," a Jack Dawson chimed in.

"Thanks, but...I'm drunk and a little more than wanting to be alone with somebody right now, gentlemen!" AJ announced, grabbing for William's hand, attempting to walk to whichever way was the door.

"Some people never change," was the last thing AJ heard as the two went outside, the cool autumn air somewhat of a relief against her face as the alcohol had played with her body temperature and complexion, even though she was a vampire.

"That's better. It's actually nice out, given it's not snowing yet...I wonder who's doing Christmas this year? I mean, I really miss the Snakes & Suits acoustic show, it's too bad the label tanked...just like the band." she added as an afterthought, although it made her cringe.

William smiled, putting an arm around her waist as he looked around for the car.

"Hey, hey - I'm still playing the show this year, it's just at Reggie's called something different now, that's all. I'm sure you could play too if you wanted, everyone by now knows that you're-"

She snorted, the irony of what he was talking about was too great to pass up. She paused, turning to look at him, smirking slightly.

"Why haven't you just had my last name changed already? I mean, I still have that ring you gave me after that whole halloween scare died down, but - Bill, it's been nearly eight and a half years, don't you think it's time?"

He grinned, "Which is exactly why I'm waiting. I've just...I had a feeling things are off again, like that autumn after your graduation. Sooner or later, we're going to have to get everyone together again, and the easiest way to do that is, firstly - have an occasion that warrants it. Secondly, I'd mention the oddities, but the priority right now would be to plan the first one. And on your part, you're going to need to go shopping, dear. The dresses you have right now aren't near the caliber of what you'll need to be wearing that day."

AJ nearly tripped with the realization of what he was implying.

"You can't just spring this on me. You haven't even formally propo-"

"I'd thought it had been the same as taking your mortality, seeing as that alone has kept you by my side over the years, but if it's formality you want, it's formality you'll have. I should note now that I'm aware you're expecting it however, so it won't seem as special."

She sighed.

"Even for a three hundred some year old vampire, your logic confounds me. Can we just go home already? I'm not exactly keen standing here when we're talking about something that would have made human me absolutely impossible to deal with..."

He nodded in agreement, holding out a hand to lead her towards the car some block and a half away, "As you wish, love."

"WILLIAM! S-STOP IT!" AJ whined, half laughing, half trying to be serious. The middle of a tickle fight wasn't exactly the best time to beg for mercy, she knew. As she'd predicted, the only thing that remained from her costume earlier that night were the minute details - the furry anklets and the clip in barette lion ears were the only recognizable thing on her at the moment, being the dress had been easily been destroyed (between the thin fabric and William's nails it hadn't been much of a contest) along with the elbow length faux fur gloves she'd tossed aside the minute she'd gotten in the door.

Have often did they really end up like this? It was too easy to say she'd become accustomed to the feel of just-out-of-the-dryer sheets against her skin, and the little flecks of red smudging on said sheets and her body just didn't bother her anymore. If anything, it had become fun to wake up and assess the damage - bite marks were the best next to the ever-obvious signs that circulation had been cut off.

Okay, so she wasn't totally a good girl, she never had been. One book series in highschool had changed all that, and she gladly had joined in, though in retrospect she'd had no idea what she was getting herself into.

"B-Baby...quit it...I'm sore...I did way too much dancing tonight..." she explained, trying to playfully push him away, surprised when he rolled over onto his back and sighed, laying out an arm for her to rest her neck on.

"Well what were you thinking? You know what late nights look like, Adeline..." he chastised, although she smiled.

"No. You don't know what you get yourself into half the time, sweetheart. You kiss my neck, it's done, no argument - we're fucking." she giggled, remembering the massively-noted tumblr text post she'd found a week prior.

"My, someone's straight to the point."

"Is there ever a time when I'm not?" She couldn't help smiling at the 'are-you-really-asking-that' look he gave her, but nonetheless he replied, "You're a lot more straightforward than you used to be when I met you, that's for sure. Went from a stuttering mess asking me to kiss you to being able to tell

me exactly how to make your head spin and your knees go weak in ten seconds flat."

"It is not ten seconds!" She protested, although she knew if he really wanted to he could make her melt in half that time.

She yawned, stretched her arms above her head and then licked her palm, trying to clear up one of the smudges just below her collarbone, wondering exactly how many sets of bite marks he'd left this time.

"Aw, does the poor tired little lion want a bath?" William teased, and for a moment, her non-beating heart flew into her throat as he leaned down to kiss her nose, lips leading down her jaw, then her neck, then she can't help giggling, thinking she know exactly where this is heading. Again. But damn, can't he tell she was tired? And if that wasn't enough, she was still on an adrenaline high that she didn't want to prolong, knowing too much of the hormone in her body could make her sick at times.

"Bill, if you lick me, I swear."

"Oh relax - the amount of caffeine and sugar you've had today is only going to make anything else worse, adrenalin or not."

"Don't forget the alcohol."

"And the alcohol, then, dear."

"Eight years and you still aren't over the fact that I can handle caffeine better than you. Alcohol's a different story, but still. At least tonight was fun, I just wished I coulda skyped Amelia and see what she did for Halloween, that's if she'd even have time - she's been SO busy lately in the 'real world' that I almost wish I'd joined in. But that's me being hypocritical, I do love just being with you - between the old days touring with you and the boys to it being just you and the new stuff, I think I've grown to like this lifestyle more than the thought of going to college..."

"You're going to go off on one of your tangents again, aren't you doll? Sleep, why don't you? There's a new song I want you to hear tomorrow, and I think I'll take up your offer on finally getting some certain jewelry checked out, being you won't quite badgering me, and maybe then we can gt around to that occasion."

She smiled, grabbing for his hands to press them to her cheeks, forgetting how the temperature difference might have bugged her long ago.

"Alright...I'll sleep. You better mean that though, about the store. And I hope you know I'm going to hold that against you until you actually propose, right?"

"Now come on, you really think I'd lie? I would've done it sooner this month given our anniversary was in the first week, but I had the tour with Motion City and there was hardly any time. I promise, you'll have new things to show off soon. And don't worry - you'll still be taken by surprise. But darling, it's time for bed." he repeated, sensing she was talking just to hear the sound of her own voice.

She huffed softly, then turned to curl into him, closing her eyes. Maybe that party had been a good thing after all - it had managed to completely tire

her out, even if the 'after party' as William had suggested had been most of the fun.