COSTUME OF THE CENTURY

Laney facepalmed as Corey told her the news. "Core, you booked us a gig at the Halloween dance, and now you're saying you don't have a costume? The dance starts in like, an hour!" She fumed. Corey slung his arm around her shoulder.

"Chill out Lanes. I'll think of something! I could be...um..." The blue-haired guitarist fumbled for an idea, picking the first thing that popped into his mind. "A ninja!" The short red-head sighed and shook her head.

"Core, you're the lead singer of Grojband. You have to look fantastic out on stage. And I know just how to do it." Laney narrowed her eyes and smiled. Corey gulped. He knew he was in for something big.

"So...what are you guys being for Halloween this year?" Corey asked, trying to keep the subject off of him. The twins sprang to their feet. Kin spoke first.

"Kon and I decided to do something that fits together, so I'm being a mad scientist –"

"– and I'm being Igor!" Kon finished his brother's sentence. Corey and Laney both smiled, then he nudged her.

"Your turn, Lanes." Corey coaxed. Laney blushed and pulled on the collar of her shirt; nervous about sharing her idea and even more nervous about putting in on.

"I-I'm being a...a zombie bride." She confessed. She shut her eyes; waiting for the snickers to come, but they never did. Laney opened her eyes to find that her band mates were looking at her with excitement in their eyes.

"Wicked!" Kin and Kon squealed in sync. Laney looked at the boys in confusion.

"You don't think that's too...girly?" She asked. Corey patted her on the back.

"No way! Now, being a regular bride; that's girly. But a zombie bride? That's awesome!" He smiled, "Good thinking, chickadee!"

Laney blushed at the nickname. Chickadee? That's certainly a new one. And a girly one at that. Just as Laney was about to respond, a certain door at the top of the steps swung open.

"Like, you shouldn't even TRY to play your gig tonight, Garbage-band. And you shouldn't try to win the best costume award either. That is going to me!" an annoyed feminine voice echoed through the garage.

Corey rolled his eyes. "What are you going as, Trina?" he asked.

Trina glared down at the four teens before answering. "I'm going as Prom Queen! What else would fit my beauty and personality?" she asked, turning around without waiting for an answer.

"A bag of garbage," Laney mumbled under her breath, answering Trina's question.

"Nice one, Lanes!" Corey giggled. Laney blushed and rubbed the back of her neck. The band heard the door slam, signaling that Trina wasn't going to bother them any longer. Laney took a deep breath and stood up.

"Okay guys, first things first. You two," she said, addressing the twins, "Go home and get your costumes ready. And you," she said to Corey, "are coming with me." The twins saluted and bounced out of the garage, while Corey followed Laney to his upstairs bathroom.

"Are you sure about this Lanes?" Corey asked as Laney opened the door.

"Trust me, you'll love it," Laney winked. She gave Corey a stool to sit on, then dashed to the garage and dug around in her bag. She grabbed a spray bottle full of water, a comb, and a towel. The idea she'd just had was very ambitious, and she couldn't help worrying that Corey wouldn't get it, or that he'd be insulted. But she had to try.

Once she was back in the bathroom, she dug through her makeup bag, pulling out all kinds of eyeliner and face paint.

"Lanes, you know you don't have to do this," Corey stated, happy that his best friend would agree to do something like this for him.

"Of course I do! Now, I need you to sit very still for me." Laney instructed, wrapping the towel around Corey's neck, then letting it drape down and cover the rest of him. "This might tickle just a little bit," Laney warned as she brought a mascara pen to Corey's cheek. Corey nodded and stayed perfectly still while Laney got to work.

*COREY'S COSTUME TRANSITION*

"So Core, are you ready to see what you look like?" Laney asked, leading Corey to his bedroom to look in his giant mirror.

"Lanes, I can't wait!" Corey squealed. Laney giggled and opened the door to his room. Corey stood in front of his mirror; his mouth hanging open in awe. He looked…good.

He was wearing a ripped up black tux with matching pants, and a blood red tie. Laney had made his face paler so it would look like he was dead. His hair was combed out with tiny spikes sticking out here and there. "This. Is. So. Amazing." Corey gasped as he looked himself over. Laney smiled as she walked back into the room; Corey hadn't noticed she left.

"I'm glad you like it, Core," She said, stepping next to him so they were both looking at their reflections. "You're sure to win best costume with this!" the bassist exclaimed. Suddenly, Trina and Mina walked past Corey's room; already dressed. Trina was dressed as Prom Queen, and Mina was dressed as a minion from Despicable Me.

"Ha, as if! You'll never win best costume. That honor goes to me, right, Minski?" Trina growled.

"That's SO right Trina! You'll totally win!" Mina laughed nervously. Trina glared at Corey before walking away; Mina on her heels. Both preteens rolled their eyes then shared a laugh. Corey quickly checked the clock before nudging Laney.

"You should go get your costume on. The dance starts in about a half hour!" he exclaimed, pushing her into his bathroom to get changed.

A few moments later, Laney came out of the bathroom in her costume. She was wearing a ripped up white dress that trailed behind her onto the floor and a ripped veil that covered her face. Her makeup consisted of black eyeliner smudged around her eyes, a pale face like Corey's, and blood red lips close to the color of Corey's tie. In her hand she carried a bouquet of dead flowers.

"So, what do you think?" Laney asked nervously, snapping Corey out of his trance. She stepped next to him again and they gazed at their reflections again. The puzzle pieces in Corey's head clicked, and he realized that Laney had transformed him into a dead groom. And if she was a dead bride, then that meant...

On a sudden impulse, Corey turned towards Laney, lifted up her veil, and placed a kiss on her blood red lips. Corey felt the bassist's face heat up against his, as well as a tiny spark. After about ten seconds, he pulled away.

"C-Core!" Laney exclaimed; her face almost as red as her lips.

"You may now kiss the bride!" Corey sang before dashing out of his room. Laney put a hand to her head and sat down on Corey's bed. What was that about?! She shook her head, deciding that it was better not to dwell on it. The small redhead stood back up and went to go meet her band mates at the dance.

*TO THE DANCE TRANSITION*

Laney met up with the guys outside the school. She cast a nervous glance at Corey, who didn't seem to notice her discomfort. Kin was dressed as a mad scientist with a long white coat and his hair spiked up, while Kon was dressed as Igor in a striped shirt and black pants.

Corey watched his dead bride laugh at Kin's bad impression of a scientist. "Ready to rock this monster bash, you guys?" he asked, putting in his fist for a Grojband unity chant. No one took him up on it, but he just shrugged and started to walk up the steps to the doors of Elementary High.

The band walked into the school and opened the doors to the gym. Inside, there were kids dressed up in all sorts of costumes, food and games – and The Newmans singing onstage! Corey glanced incredulously at each of his bandmates, wondering what had happened.

"Corey, The Newmans stole our gig!" Kon exclaimed.

Corey nodded, his jaw hitting the floor. He definitely looked like a zombie now. "And I bet I know who helped them," he growled, looking over at the punch table where Trina was flirting with Nick Mallory (who wasn't even wearing a costume).

The band walked over to the Prom Queen. "Trina, did you tell The Newmans that they could have our gig?" Corey asked angrily. Trina snapped out of her Nick Mallory fever and grinned evilly at her brother.

"Like, totally. They play much better music than Mirage-band," she cackled. Corey was about to fight back, but Laney put a hand on her shoulder; signaling that he should calm down. The blue-haired guitarist took a deep breath and walked over to the stage, his band following him. The Newmans had just finished playing a song, and just as Konnie was about to click her drumsticks to start the next one, Corey stopped her.

"What are you doing on our stage, Newmans? You knew that the Halloween gig was ours this year," he spat. Carrie looked down at him.

"It's about time you showed up, Riffin. Grojband was late, so we got the gig. This stage is ours now," she smirked.

Corey frowned and looked around. "We'll see about that," he murmured under his breath, grabbing a bucket of candy corn from a nearby snack table. He shared a mischievous glace with Laney before letting a fistful fly at Carrie's head. Corey's gender bend stopped singing and glared at Corey.

"Oh it's on!" she growled, throwing a handful of Skittles back at him. Grojband and The Newmans broke out into an all-out candy war, and soon, the whole school got involved, pelting each other with chocolate, gum, candy corn, and more. Corey survived a few close calls, almost being iced by a passing tray of cupcakes. Kin had chewed up a wad of gum and stuck it in Kim's hair, while Kon smashed a chocolate bar into Konnie's face. Laney, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. Corey started to get worried until he saw the small redhead drench Lenny with a bowl of punch. The candy war had lasted all but ten minutes before Grojband had their doppelgangers trapped in a corner of the gym.

"Fine! We surrender! You can have the stupid stage!" Carrie yelped before dashing off; her bandmates at her heels. Corey glanced at his own bandmates.

"Well done, guys! We sure showed them who's boss!" he snickered. The twins laughed as well, while Laney suppressed a smile. Corey felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Nick Mallory thinks that Little Riffin and his friends deserve the stage tonight." Nick Mallory said.

"Hey, thanks man!" Corey smiled, giving Nick a fist bump. Suddenly, Mayor Mellow's voice boomed over the loud speaker.

"I would now like to announce the winner for 'Best Costume'," He said loudly, removing a slip of paper from an envelope. The entire gym quieted down. This was the moment everyone had been waiting for.

"And the winner is…"

"Me!" Trina interrupted, running onto the stage. Mayor Mellow gave her a disapproving glare.

"Actually, what I was about to say is: The winner is hunky Nick Mallory!" he announced. Everyone cheered as Nick walked onto the stage. Trina stood there in shock. Nick took the trophy and walked back off; blowing kisses and making girls faint as he went.

"W-what?! That trophy is supposed to be mine! MIIIIIIIINE!" Trina shrieked before going diary. Columns of fire erupted from the bowls of punch and candy, and the strobe lights placed around the gym went haywire. Trina's fiery pen scribbled in the diary, her eyes burning with anger. When she finished, she fell straight into the chocolate fountain. The diary landed in Corey's hand.

"Wow! I almost forgot about lyrics!" Corey exclaimed as he brought his bandmates to the stage. Laney giggled, which made Corey blush slightly.

When they were set up, Mayor Mellow introduced them. Corey took the mic and the little mayor walked offstage.

"Hello, Elementary High! Are you ready to rock?!" he screamed. The crowd screamed louder, and Kon clicked his drum sticks to start the song.

Jump Scare

By Grojband

I'm a monster in my own skin

I know you deserved to win

I couldn't believe my eyes

You didn't see through my disguise

Let's go!

Yeah, let's rock the show

'Cause I know

Yeah, you' re ready to go

I'm a freak show in the crowd

They're shrieking oh so loud

I'm gonna join them when I hear

That super special cheer

Let's go!

Yeah, let's rock the show

'Cause I know

Yeah, you're ready to go...

You're a scream

You're a dream

You're the moment when I jump in my seat

You're the beast in the dark of the night

That's when I knew

It was you

Looking over my shoulder, my heart pounding in my chest

You're the very very best

Corey breathed hard as he finished the song with a wicked guitar riff. The crowd went wild. A few girls yelled out things like "Corey, I love you!" or "Marry me, Corey!" After the band put their stuff away, the DJ came out to play the rest of the songs. That meant that Grojband could relax and hang out.

"Those were some wicked lyrics, Core," Laney commented as the twins ran to the food table, leaving the two guitarists alone.

"Yeah, Trina got really angry this time!" Corey chuckled, tapping his foot along to the music. Laney tried to figure out what to say next, but before she could, a slow song came on.

"This one's for all you creepy-crawly lovers out there!" The DJ said into the mic. Couples paired up to dance, slowly swaying to the beat of the song. Laney started to get nervous. What if Corey asked her to dance? Should she ask him? What if he says no? Before she could make a complete sentence, Laney felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. Looking up, she saw it was Corey, and blushed.

"Care to dance, Lanes?" he asked. Laney slowly nodded.

"I-I'd love to." she managed as she put her own arms around Corey's neck. Throughout the song, the two slowly leaned in. They got closer and closer until...

Corey pushed Laney's veil out of her face and kissed her. This time, she kissed back. Sparks flew everywhere, and Laney felt like her heart was going to beat itself out of her chest. As they pulled apart, they looked into each other's eyes. The song came to an end, and the two pulled apart from each other.

"Wow..." they whispered at the same time, smiling shyly. Holding hands, they went to go meet up with the twins so the four of them could hang out until the dance was over.

*GOING HOME TRANSITION*

When the group arrived at the garage, a spotlight shone down on Corey.

"When you feel the need to be the best at something, you should know that no one else feels the same. Other people might think...uh...wait, where was I going with this?"

"This is your final thought that you could possibly turn into lyrics, but you never remember it long enough to write it down," Laney explained with a roll of her eyes and a knowing smile.

"Oh, yeah! Other people might think...oh, what the heck. It's Halloween, I'm hyped up on candy, and I got to spend it with my friends," Corey concluded. Laney giggled while Kin and Kon shoved more candy into their mouths.

"I had a good time too, Core," the little bassist said, twirling a red lock of hair around her finger.

Corey smiled at her, then pulled his friends in for a group hug, turning to the invisible crowd outside of the garage. "Thanks for comin' out everyone! And have a happy Halloween!" he grinned, slamming the garage door shut.


Hey everyone! Lanes here! Ihope you enjoyed my first oneshot! I'd like to give credit to my amazingpartner Twi for helping me with the song. She came up with lyrics all byherself. I bet Corey could use her to help him. :3 Don't forget to check out her Nightmare Night oneshot, Mist, as well as Magic Song (Chapter Six will be up on Sunday)!Anyway, I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Halloween…be safe, have fun, and eat lots of candy!

- Lanes