Here we are: a fun, harmless filler chapter. Think of it as an early Halloween treat :)

eevilalice and Paxloria: Oh God, you have no idea. I'd never seen Cruel Intentions in my life when I planned out this story and started writing it, then the movie popped up on Netflix and I was like "Ooh, interesting," so I watched it and looked back on this fic like, "Well. This is awkward." Lulz. Anyway, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

For those who haven't seen Cruel Intentions, it's very much worth watching, and it's tagline applies very well to this fic: In the game of seduction, there's only one rule: don't fall in love.

10. Lookin Hot, Dangerous

Jet black, diamond hair
People stare, I don't care.
Want a taste? Sure I'll share!
Gotta be big, I'll take you there.

Glammed up, fabulous
Lookin hot, dangerous
Delicious, so viscous
I've got you fucking like it's fitness!

("Lookin Hot, Dangerous" by Blood on the Dance Floor)

The Shops were probably the biggest hang-out spot in the city. They were a little ways away from the heart of town and were basically an outdoor version of a mall. On weekends when Snake started to feel claustrophobic, he liked to take a bus to the shops and wander around. They were a good people-watching place.

Snake had spent this particular Saturday sequestered in a comfy chair at The Shop's Starbucks with a stack of paperbacks and a coffee. By the time the baristas started giving him dirty looks, it was about four pm. Snake took that as his cue to leave. As he wandered out of the dim cafe into the afternoon sunlight, Snake caught sight of Ciel, Sebastian and Lizzie. Lizzie was talking animatedly, arms full of glossy shopping bags. She hugged Ciel, then darted off to a waiting car with a stern-looking blonde woman in the driver's seat. Ciel waved.

The sight of Ciel made Snake's heartbeat hop like an ADD bunny, but he wasn't sure if he was up for social interaction today. Also, Sebastian was with him, and he made Snake just a little nervous. Perhaps it would be best to make a fast retreat...

Sebastian said something to Ciel and nodded his chin in Snake's direction. Ciel turned. Snake had been spotted. Now Snake had nothing else to do but go over and say hello.

"Lizzie dragged us along with her to shop," Ciel sighed when Snake greeted him, "so here we are."

"I'm here to make sure Ciel doesn't get lost," Sebastian said with a grin.

Ciel glared. "You're here because you're the one who told Lizzie I wasn't actually busy in the first place. If I suffer, you suffer."

"You shouldn't lie to your girlfriend," Sebastian said, but he was looking at Snake with that unnerving smile on his face. "And what are you doing here, Snake?"

It was a polite question, but the look Sebastian was giving him made Snake squirm inside. "Uh, I was just...hanging around. I need to get some new clothes for school."

"Oh, we'll come with you," Ciel offered, taking Snake by surprise, "I'm interested in seeing where you get those very useful clothes."

Snake blushed so hard, remembering all the times Ciel's used the chains on Snake's pants to yank him into a kiss. The statement left him totally tongue-tied, so Snake stuttered something affirmative, turned around, and started walking. Behind his back, Sebastian gave Ciel a laughing glance. Ciel did not reciprocate; he simply followed Snake down the brick-paved grid of storefronts. When they stopped behind Snake at a store, Ciel's eyebrows went up.

"It looks like a rave in there. A rave for dead people," he commented.

"Well, have fun, Snake. Not like Ciel's gonna set foot in there," Sebastian smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Ciel asked in warning tones (which Sebastian cheerfully ignored.)

"Well, no offense, Ciel," Sebastian said, "but you're kind of a preppy pussy."

Ciel stared invisible daggers, all of which seemed to bounce off Sebastian. At last, he stomped over toward the store entrance. "You know what? Screw you. I'm having a look around."

Sebastian shook his head. "I'm not sticking around for this train wreck. Give me a call when you're done?"

"Whatever."

"Which should be in about..." Sebastian glanced at his watch, "three minutes."

Instead of responding, Ciel flipped Sebastian off, grabbed Snake's arm, and dragged him into the store. The more Snake thought about it, the more accurate Ciel's previous assessment of the shop seemed. It was dark, with strobe-lights, full of pleather and fishnets, and all the customers and sale's people could easily be mistaken for multi-pierced vampires. Snake had to hand it to Ciel—after the initial culture shock had passed, the teen regained his usual composure, walking with his head held high and responding to the odd looks he got with a cool nod.

"I always thought this would be a good place to play hide-and-seek," Snake mused, then immediately put a hand over his mouth. Had he really just said that out loud? He never had much practice filtering his own peculiar thoughts, but he was going to have to learn.

Much to Snake's surprise, Ciel gave him a small smile. "You know, I bet it would."

Cue warm and fuzzy feelings. What are you doing to me, Ciel?

As they passed through an aisle of jewelry, Ciel paused. He fingered a choker made to look like a spiked dog collar, with a bit of chain dangling off it. He picked it off the rack with a little smirk. Along with it, he grabbed a skull stud, presumably for his right ear piercing. When they got to the accessories, Ciel's face brightened noticeably—though it may have just been the demonic red glow from an errant lamp.

"Bullet belts? What's the point of these?" he asked, but he sounded quite pleased.

"I think it's the insanity value," Snake offered. Ciel looked at him with a quirked brow, and Snake shrugged. "People with artillery around their waist are a lot scarier than people without it."

Ciel nodded and grabbed one of the belts. "Right."

Next stop was shoes, where Ciel found a pair of knee-high combat boots that rendered him several inches taller with their thick soles.

"These," he remarked, "these I really like."

The so-called novelties brought Ciel even more glee (well, for Ciel, "glee" was a relative term.) He grabbed absinthe gumballs, death mints, gummy brains, and a cherry blood bag. Some of the other "novelties" made Ciel grin in a different sort of way.

"Chocolate panties?" He remarked, "how...interesting." Snake knew Ciel was just trying to get a reaction out of him, so he looked away until the warmth in his cheeks subsided.

When they reached the racks of clothes, Ciel paused to tap his chin. "I guess since I'm proving a point, I might as well do it thoroughly." He eyed the items of clothing in a considering way. "I'll leave the bondage pants to you and the leather to Sebastian," he mused aloud. Abruptly, Ciel whirled to examine the pieces more carefully. Seeming to reach a conclusion, he turned to Snake. "We're going to make a game of this, okay?"

"...Okay," Snake agreed. He was a bit apprehensive, but he was also intrigued.

"It's really simple. I'm going to try something on, and you're going to say the absolute first thing that pops into your head," Ciel explained.

That didn't sound so bad. "Sure."

Ciel nodded once, then started snatching things off the racks. When he had a considerable stack of clothing in his hands, he found a dressing room. Snake waited outside for the game to begin.

Ensemble number one: cream-colored poet shirt, red velvet pants.

"Shakespeare, like 'Hamlet' or something," Snake said instantly, then added more shyly "um, I've never seen you wear red before. I like it."

Ciel grinned, nodded, and returned to the room. Snake found this was actually a nice game. Ciel didn't seem to think anything he said was stupid, and he liked making Ciel smile.

Ensemble number two: knee-length tan shorts with gold pocket watches dangling off the belt loops, a brown vest with tons of pockets and little gears for buttons, and a brown bowler hat with an attached monocle. Snake was once again reminded of Ciel's sense of humor.

"You just walked out of an H.G. Wells novel."

"You really like to read, huh?" Ciel asked with a quirk of his lips.

"...Yeah," Snake shrugged sheepishly.

"I've always wanted a Victorian dagger cane," Ciel offered.

"That sounds about right," Snake said as Ciel returned to the changing room.

Ensemble number three: blue-and-black pinstripe pants with a matching vest, fedora, and steel-tipped boots.

"Tim Burton's version of a gangster," Snake blurted, laughing. He was really starting to enjoy this, and it looked like Ciel was too, from the way he kept biting back laughter.

Ensemble number four: Floor length black trench coat, all the way buttoned...so that was all Snake could see. For effect, Ciel had raked his hair back with his fingers, and Snake found he liked how that looked. Well...he liked how Ciel looked in any way.

"You hunt vampires in your spare time."

"Ha!" Ciel said before returning. Snake felt like he'd really accomplished something.

Ensemble number five: dark gray military coat with skull buttons, matching pants tucked into slick black boots with at least ten buckles up the sides, and a peaked cap.

"...Like you should be holding a riding crop," Snake put in after a bit of staring, "Kind of scary but...sexy." It was the first time he'd ever said the word out loud, and he savored the sound of it. The smirk Ciel gave him was reward enough.

Ensemble number six: Midnight blue PVC shirt with tons of straps and buckles; pants with grommets down the sides and a neon blue arcade gun dangling from a chain on the belt.

Snake didn't say anything, but he turned an incredible shade of red. Ciel smiled widely. He aimed the fake gun at Snake: "Bang!"

Ensemble number seven: Leopard print jacket over a ripped white t-shirt with an obscure pink symbol and the words "God Save the Queen," a safety-pin studded blue-and-purple plaid kilt, choker and a gold bell necklace.

Snake and Ciel stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing. They couldn't keep it together.

"I'm sorry—I just—you as a London anarchist—" Snake trailed of, chuckling.

"You know what? Shut up," Ciel said good-naturedly, "I happen to love The Clash and the Ramones. And I own a pair of creepers."

"You're too posh to be punk," Snake smiled. He'd been watching a lot of BBC lately.

"Good one," Ciel's brows arched, "but seriously. Shut up."

And right there, in the dark-and-loud-but-very-much-public shop, Ciel leaned forward and snared Snake in a brief kiss. The dark-haired teen pulled away, smirking, and disappeared back into the dressing room. Snake touched his lips and looked around, glad no one had seen. These kisses were dangerous; they made Snake forget the world around him and left him wanting more.

Thankfully, that was the last of the outfits. Back in his usual clothes, Ciel strode out to Snake, arms still full of alternative apparel. "You're good at that game."

"Thanks. It was...fun."

"Yeah, it was," Ciel smiled, "so what is it that you want to get?"

"Oh, nothing really," Snake said. He didn't want Ciel to wait around while he picked through the clearance racks.

"Oh, that really does suck," Ciel sighed, "I hate picking out gifts for other people."

"...What?"

So that's how Snake ended up with back-laced thigh-high boots (he had his suspicions that Ciel pulled them from the Girl's section,) a fishnet jacket, shiny snakeskin style pants (ha ha,) a handcuff belt, and several PVC shirts with questionable cuts.

"I can't wear half of this stuff to school," Snake pointed out at the register. Sure, he liked these kinds of clothes, but the pieces Ciel selected revealed quite a bit of skin, and thus scales.

"Then maybe you shouldn't have let me shop for you," Ciel replied, utterly unrepentant. Despite Snake's protests, Ciel handed over his Platinum card to pay for Snake's stuff as well as his own (yes, he did go through with buying at least half the articles he tried on.) The sun was starting to set when they stepped out of the store with their bags.

"I'd better be getting home," Snake said, "thank you for...everything."

"Ugh, no need," Ciel brushed the words off, "but for what it's worth, this is the most I've ever enjoyed myself at a mall. So, thanks to you too, I guess."

A grin split Snake's face as he walked away. He got the sense that Ciel didn't say the "T" word very often. He waved goodbye at Ciel before turning towards the bus stop—he probably looked like a dork, but honestly, why should he care?

OoO

"Oh wow," Sebastian stifled laughter when he saw the shiny black bags in Ciel's arms.

"Yeah. Suck it," Ciel said after plopping down on a clean-looking bench in the outdoor food court.

"Is that how you talk to someone who just got you Cinnabon?" Sebastian asked, motioning to the tray of warm pastry and icing on the table. It wafted of sweet-spiced deliciousness.

Ciel selected one of the Cinna-sticks (the buns were just too messy.) and dipped it in the icing. He took his time chewing. "I got something for you too, Sebastian," Ciel said at last. Sebastian raised a skeptical brow as Ciel rummaged through the bags.

"Ha-ha. Hilarious," Sebastian deadpanned when Ciel presented him with the spiked dog collar. He took it delicately by the chain, much like one would pick up a piece of reeking trash. "I'll treasure it forever."

"Woof," Ciel said with a nasty grin, then returned to his Cinnabon. Sebastian rolled his eyes and pulled out his cellphone to text an unimportant-something to an unimportant-someone. That was when Ciel started make little "Mmm" noises, barely audible to anybody but Sebastian. Sebastian glanced up and met Ciel's eyes. Almost immediately, Ciel looked away, turning all his attention to the pastry-stick he was provocatively devouring.

Sebastian watched with hungry crimson eyes as Ciel ate. The icing only exacerbated Ciel's antics: he would coat the tip of the cinnamon stick in the white goop, then slowly lick it off before taking the treat in his mouth. He was very much enjoying the fact that Sebastian couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. Finally, Sebastian gained some semblance of control over himself.

"Ciel?"

"Mm?"

"Please stop molesting the pastry."

Another nasty grin. Sebastian couldn't help but smile. He muttered something under his breath that may have been "Fucking tease."

Ciel did stop his unnecessarily-sexual eating, though. He stared off into the distance as he finished his snack. Sebastian considered the rare mood Ciel was in today. Ciel had been like this lately—playful, mischievous. Sebastian knew this behavior; he was one of the very few people to ever witness it. Ciel's puckish moods weren't unheard of, but they weren't common, either. More importantly, they didn't endure for very long, so Sebastian had learned to enjoy them while they lasted. Lately, however, these good turns of humor were becoming increasingly common. Sebastian knew that it had everything to do with Snake. See, Ciel was like a little kid with a new toy—he was delighted by the novelty and having a hell of a time playing with it. Sebastian found it kind of cute, actually.

There was something else, though...

As Sebastian looked at Ciel's face, he saw that there was a miniscule upward tilt to the younger teen's lips, and a pleasant look in his sapphire eyes. Right now, Ciel was content, happy. Not only was he happy, but he was happy after shopping, which he hated.

Who are you, and what have you done with Ciel?

The thought brought a smirk to Sebastian's lips. Yes, he'd also seen Ciel like this in the past. On very rare occasion, Sebastian had succeeded in an attempt to make Ciel forget himself for a little while, to truly enjoy life. Sebastian wouldn't admit it to Ciel, but those moments brought him profound pleasure. And now it would seem that Snake was making Ciel happy. Well, this was a situation Sebastian would have to keep an eye on.

It would be bad for everybody if Ciel got too attached to his new toy.