Chapter VII

"The Dance"

"What was I thinking!" I told Zero in my room later that day. "I can't go to a dance on Halloween, of all days!"

Zero just licked my feet. I was thankful he couldn't talk—he would have told mom and dad everything by now. I had to tell my secret to someone that would listen. I couldn't tell Shock everything because she would either tall Oogie, Lock, or Barrel.

I went back the next day and Kate asked me if I had any experience with music. I told her I used to DJ at the dances at my school—doubting that they were the same as hers. Kate said that she'd sign me up to be a DJ.

"Should I wear a Halloween costume?" I asked her.

"Use your head, Dimitri!" she giggled as she knocked softly on my skull. "Of course you should, silly!"

"Right…" I said laughing.

"What are you going as?"

"It's a surprise." I said, smirking.

"Come on! Tell me!"

"Nope!"

I went home, smiling the whole way. I was planning on using my Pumpkin King costume. My dad and I were going to do a double fire dance on Halloween night at 11:00. I hope that dad would just believe that I was going to be "in my room practicing the dance". Then, before I knew it, Halloween night had arrived. I told Kate I wouldn't be there for the rest of the week because I've been helping the town prepare for the most frightening Halloween the world has ever seen. She told me that the dance started at 7 and ended at 10—which was perfect for me. I got out my suit that I only wore to formal occasions—dad wore his all the time; it was black with a bat bowtie. After I told mom and dad my lie—which, don't get me wrong, was not my favorite thing doing. I hated lying to my parents, but I made a commitment. I took the suit and stuffed the Pumpkin King costume in my backpack, made sure my door was locked, and I lowered myself out the window with a rope.

I ran to Kate's and climbed into her room. Kate was dressed in a beautiful blue gown her blonde hair up in a bun.

"What are you supposed to be?"

"Cinderella, duh!"

I recognized it. "Rob going as Prince Charming?"

"Bingo!" she said with a wink. "Now climb back down and knock on my front door."

"Why?"

"So it looks normal!"

"But your parents will see me." I said, confused. "They'll get all scared!"

"Not on Halloween."

I caught her drift and did as she was told. I knocked on her front door and both her parents answered it. She definitely got her blonde hair from her tall father and her looks from her mother.

"Is Kate home?" I asked her casually.

"Are you Rob?" her father asked gruffly.

"I'm Dimitri." I replied softly. Then I spoke up. "Dimitri Skellington."

"So you're the new boy in school." Kate's mom said.

I was confused.

"So how do you like our town?" her father asked me.

I caught on. "Fine, thank you."

Kate came down the stairs behind them. "There you are, Dimitri." She kissed her parents goodbye and walked out with me. "Love ya!"

We walked past the forest and into town where night was falling slowly. We walked up the driveway of the first house on the left on Elm's Street.

Kate knocked up on a door and in a few second a guy with black hair and blue eyes (he was about our age) opened the door and was dressed like Prince Charming.

"Hi, Kate." The boy said with a grin.

Kate giggled.

The boy turned to me. "Who's this?"

"Oh, that's Dimitri! He's a friend of mine from out of town. Dimitri, this is Rob."

Rob held out his hand for me to shake it and I did so. He seemed nice enough—and I wanted Kate to be with someone kind and considerate. I guess this guy would work. "Dimitri Skellington." I told him with a grin.

We all walked to the dance together, me being silent the whole way. I was admiring my surroundings; this world was so different. My father told me never to explore outside Halloweentown…now I was wondering that how could worlds outside Halloweentown, like this one, could be bad? The school's gymnasium was all decorated for Halloween. I can't say they did a bad job; it was just that they were amateurs compared to me and everyone back home.

"Do your thing!" Kate told me with good spirits as I stepped on stage and set up a mixing board the school provided me. Three boys—each a year older than me walked up to me. Their costumes were a vampire, a wolf man, and a mummy

"Who are you?" the vampire asked me. "You don't go to our school."

"No, I don't." I replied. "I'm here with a friend."

"I asked 'who are you', punk."

I sighed. "Dimitri Skellington. Pleasure."

"We don't take kindly to newcomers." The wolf man said.

I decided to use a comeback. I, myself, was bullied at school so I always had something ready. "And I don't take kindly to fakers. I've seen better vampires, wolf men, and mummies where I come from." And that was the truth.

They all began yelling nasty comments at me and I remembered that I had to practice my scaring. I stood up and stretched my mouth down and bared my teeth and roared loudly. After I was done, they all stared at me, their faces white and pupils small. They ran away.

The night went on and I DJ'ed full time. The kids in the poorly made Halloween costumes stayed away from me. It was about 9:45 when I saw Kate run out the gymnasium door with her hands over her face.

"Oh…dear." I whispered.

I asked someone to take over for me and I ran out after her. I saw Kate sobbing against the school's brick wall. "Kate?" I whispered.

"Oh, Dimitri," she sobbed.

"What's wrong?"

Kate told me the whole story: Rob had began flirting with other girls at the dance and when Kate told him to stop, he told her to buzz off and she had no choice but to cry and run.

"I'm so sorry, Kate." I said as I put my hand on her shoulder she took it and stared into my eye sockets as she wiped off tears with her other hand.

"Let's go, Dimitri."

"Go? Go where?"

"Halloweentown; I wanna see it."

I grinned. "Okay, let's go!"