"April, I need you to keep your arms held out," Maria said, for the fifth time since she had been taking April's measurements.
Blinking, April said "Huh? Oh, sorry Maria" as she held her arms to her sides again. Ever since she, Phil, and Alex had seen Daniel making out with Brie in the school hallways, the visual had been sticking onto April's thoughts all throughout the day. Whether it was her inability to pay attention during Creative Writing or narrowly avoiding getting hit during the game of dodgeball she had to participate in during Physical Fitness, April's thoughts had been preoccupied with having seen one of her friends make out with one of Eve's best friends. The strange thing about it was the fact that she had been picturing her and Phil in that particular situation all day, and weirdly enough, she actually liked the visual of her and Phil together; in her mind, something about it just felt right.
Wrapping the measuring tape around April's arm, Maria walked back over to where she had a sheet with April's measurements written down. So far, she had taken April's measurements for her neck and arms; all that was left was to measure around April's bust, chest, and waist and Maria would have all of the measurements she needed. Maria's main problem with taking the younger girl's measurements was the fact that April's attention kept drifting somewhere, and as a result, April wouldn't hold still for Maria to take the measurements.
Putting down the tape measure for the moment, Maria sighed and, stretching her arms out, said "I'm need of something to drink. You want anything, April?"
Putting her arms down, April said "Uh, no, I'm fine. Thanks anyway."
Shrugging, Maria said "Suit yourself" as she walked into the kitchen of her apartment. When April had first gotten to Maria's apartment, she was surprised to find out that Maria didn't live with her parents; the reason being that Maria's parents often went out on business trips, so Maria was left at home alone, which didn't seem to bother the redhead all that much. Walking in the apartment, April was amazed to see that there were pictures of Maria and her parents all around the apartment. She was also amazed to see that there were pictures of Maria and Candice together. When April asked Maria why she had so many pictures of Candice, Maria responded by saying that Candice lived with her and her parents due to Candice losing her parents when she was younger. As a result of this, along with having to look out for each other due to Maria's parents hardly being at home, Maria and Candice had grown pretty close and pretty much became sisters in the short span of a few years.
Watching as Maria walked around her kitchen grabbing a grape Fanta from her refrigerator and a Tupperware bowl of Skittles that was on one of her counters, April took a seat on one of the stools that was around the kitchen island as she pulled out her phone and replied to two texts that Josh and Phil had sent her.
Opening her Fanta as she took a handful of Skittles from the bowl, Maria asked "So, is something on your mind, April?"
Her head snapping up from her phone, April blushed slightly and asked "Has something I done really given it away?"
Giggling, Maria said "Only the fact that you haven't really been all that compliant with letting me get your measurements."
Her blush growing a bit more, April said "I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind recently."
Leaning over on the counter, Maria said "Do you want to talk about it? I might not look it, but I'm a really good listener."
Looking over to the sophomore, April took a breath and, letting it out, said "I don't really want to talk about this, but it's more or less just been something that's been picking at my brain for a good part of the day. Let's say that you're walking the school halls one day and, out of the corner of your eye, you see two people making out. And, after seeing said thing, the visual is pretty much stuck in your head for the rest of the day."
"You actually saw two people making out in the halls at school and no one caught them?" Maria asked, which April responded to with a nod. "I'd ask who it was, but this sounds like something that should be kept secret. Anyways, why would the visual be stuck in your head?"
Surprised that Maria was able to catch on to the fact that she was talking about herself, April said "Well, let's just say that I've got a crush on someone, but I'm a bit scared to admit to the guy."
"Oh, you have a crush on someone?" Maria asked, rather surprised.
Nodding her head as she felt her ears start to heat a bit, April said "Yeah. The only thing is I have no idea how to tell the guy how I feel."
"Well, would you feel comfortable telling me who it was?" Maria asked. "If I at least knew who it was, I could probably help you find a way to let him know how you feel."
"It's kind of embarrassing," April said, twisting one of her bracelets. "Besides, won't Candice hear?"
Laughing, Maria said "April, in case you haven't noticed, Candice isn't here right now. In fact, because of cheer practice, she's going to be at school for a good while."
"Good point," April said, nodding once she really noticed Candice's absence. Taking a breath, April said "Maria, I have a crush on Phil."
Blinking as she let what April just told her sink in, Maria then grinned and said "Oh, April. That's so cute that you like Phil!"
Blushing even more than before, April looked over to Maria and said "No, it's not! And, please don't say it that way!"
"Sorry, sorry," Maria said. "But, why are you taking your crush on Phil this way? It's completely normal that girls have a crush on at least somebody."
Biting her lip, April said "I know. It's just, I've never really known what it's like to have a crush on somebody. Bayley tells me all the time what it's like, but I guess it's just something else entirely to actually experience having a crush on somebody else yourself."
Hearing April say this, Maria smiled sympathetically at the younger girl and said "Just give it time, April. I'm sure you'll be able to tell Phil how it is that you feel about him sooner or later. Besides, with a guy like him as your boyfriend, you'll always have someone that'll protect you and keep you happy."
Hearing Maria say this, April started to feel a bit better about dealing with her feelings for Phil. Even though she couldn't bring herself to tell Phil her feelings just yet, April felt that she would be able to do so in time. Smiling at the older girl, April said "Thanks for hearing me out on this, Maria. It feels good to know that I was able to tell someone else about this and that they think I should go for telling Phil."
"It's no problem at all, April," Maria said. Standing straight up, Maria asked "You ready for me to get the rest of your measurements?"
Nodding as she got off of the stool she was sitting on, April walked with Maria back to the area where they were before they took their break. Once Maria had finished taking April's measurements, April took that as her sign to head home despite offers from Maria to stay around for a while longer. As April headed home, she couldn't help but let a smile edge its way across her face as she started to skip home. 'I'm so excited. I can't wait to see how Maria does with my costume,' April thought. 'Also, I've got backing from another friend with telling Phil how I feel about him. I just feel so happy right now.'
…
As promised, Maria had April's Yuna costume ready the week after Maria took the younger girl's measurements and drawn out her sketches for how she was going to make the costume. When April first saw Maria's finished costume for her and tried it on, April hugged Maria and thanked her numerous times for doing such a great job at making it look just like Yuna's Summoner robes in her graphic novel. Taking the costume with her when she left, April went over to Josh and Bayley's house to keep it there so that her parents wouldn't ask a lot of questions about how she got the costume and why she even had it in the first place. At the rate things were going, April was getting very excited for Halloween to come and her chance to debut her costume for her friends to see.
"Can you guys believe that Halloween's almost here?" April asked one day while she was over at Josh and Bayley's house.
"No, I can't!" Bayley chirped, bouncing in place excitedly. "Just the thought of all the candy and sweets that we're going to get is making me go crazy!"
Laughing at his twin, Josh said "I'm pretty excited too. It's going to be fun to see what the others have in mind for their own costumes." Looking at his closed closet door, Josh said "I just hope Alex will like the birthday present I got her."
"She will, Josh," Bayley told her twin. "I'm just freaking that Alex might not like mine. I feel kind of cheap for just getting her that choker she said she wanted."
Hearing this go on between Josh and Bayley, April asked "Wait. What do you two mean when you talk about Alex like that?"
Realization dawning on him that April didn't know what he and Bayley were talking about, Josh said "Oh, man! I guess we forgot to tell you. Halloween just so happens to be Alex's birthday, so it's something that we try to do every year is get her a present. We try not to go overboard with buying her stuff, but some of us still like to get her something."
Biting her lip, April said "Do you guys think I should try to find something for Alex? I'd feel bad if I was the only one that didn't get her something."
"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, April," Bayley chirped from her spot on the floor of Josh's bedroom. "Alex usually doesn't really ask for much for her birthday anyways. She's said that as long as she gets to celebrate her birthday with her brothers and her friends that's all that matters."
Blinking as she took this in, April asked "So, I could go to school with you guys on Halloween without a present for Alex and she wouldn't mind?"
"No she would not!" Bayley chirped, shaking her head.
Hearing this, April went on with her talk with Josh and Bayley while she kept this in the back of her mind. 'I might not be able to really buy Alex anything, but I can at least have fun with the others celebrating her birthday,' April thought. After another few minutes of laughing, talking, and joking around, April got up to leave. Before she left, April turned around to look back at Josh. "Hey, Josh. You know how we have the same kind of prescription in our glasses?" April asked.
"Of course," Josh said. "It's one of the things that make people think you could be triplets with me and Bayley at times. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if I could borrow your green and blue contacts," April said. "I want to wear them to help finish out my Yuna costume."
"That sounds like a great idea," Josh said, smiling as he walked past April to one of the bathrooms in the house. Walking through the doorway into the bathroom, Josh opened the cabinet door and, after looking around for a few minutes, pulled out two contact lens cases. Walking to meet back up with April, Josh gave her the cases. "Make sure you don't lose those."
"I won't," April said, smiling and giving Josh a hug. "Thanks for this, Josh."
Hugging April back, Josh smiled and said "No problem. Besides, I can't wait to see you in your Yuna costume."
"I can't wait to let the others see me in it either," April said, as she went down the stairs. Leaving Josh and Bayley's house as she headed home, April smiled again and thought 'This is going to be so great! Not only am I going to have a great costume, but I'm also going to debut the look of me without my glasses. I hope Phil will like it.'
…
After two more weeks of waiting, Halloween was finally upon Union City and students in schools across the city. A large number of the stores in the city had decorations up and were having sales; even Chrono had a Halloween special going where if shoppers came in dressed in their costumes, they would get 50 percent off their purchases. When Halloween finally came, the students of Union City High came to school dressed in their costumes. Getting ready before he headed to school, Phil made sure that his costume was buttoned together in the right places, his pants weren't falling down, and that his shoes were right. Once he was satisfied with his Kung Lao costume, Phil grabbed his phone, backpack and, for the finishing touch, his Kung Lao hat and, after looking at himself in the mirror one last time, went downstairs to find Amy and Colt already there waiting for him, talking to Ms. Brooks.
Looking up from her spot beside Ms. Brooks, Amy smiled at Phil and said "Well, you sure clean up well for a character from a gory video game."
Walking over to Amy and thumping her on the forehead, Phil said "Oh, hush, Ames. You're just jealous because I look better in my costume than you do in yours."
Rubbing her forehead where Phil thumped her, Amy stood up and, picking up her backpack, said "You had better be glad that I'm in a good mood this morning or else I'd fight you before we get to school."
"But then you'd mess up your costume," Phil said, smirking. "And I'm not quite sure Chris would like that."
"Hey, Starfire's a badass that can take on anyone," Amy said. "I doubt that Kung Lao can take a Tamaranian princess."
Stepping in between his friends, Colt said "Now, now, you two. Don't make Aquaman come in between you two."
Phil almost opened his mouth to say something else, but after hearing the warning in Colt's voice and seeing the look his mom was sending their way, Phil decided to back off. Holding his hands up defensively, Phil said "Fine. We'll call a truce for now. But, in all seriousness, nice costume Ames."
"Thanks," Amy said, grinning. "I had to make sure it fit right after I ordered it and made a few modifications. Now, I can proudly say that it fits so well."
Laughing, Phil said "I'm sure everyone will like it. I just can't wait to see what the others are going to be dressed as."
Grabbing his own backpack, Colt said "Well, let's not just stand here and wonder about what our friends are going to be dressed as. Let's go."
"Good idea," Phil said. Walking over to the front door, Phil opened it and, letting Amy and Colt walk out before him, said over his shoulder "Bye, mom. I'll see you when I come in today."
"Bye, Phil," Ms. Brooks said, walking over to the door. "And make sure to tell Alex that I said Happy Birthday."
Walking on with Colt and Amy, the three teens walked on to school, talking and joking the whole way there. Reaching the school, the three walked over to where a few of the freaks were already sitting.
"Morning everyone," Amy said. "And, happy birthday, Alex."
"Morning, Ames," Alex said, smiling. "And thanks. You have just helped make this Walker killer happier than she already was."
Laughing, Amy said "My pleasure. Cool Michonne costume by the way. Same goes for Matt, Jeff, and Kaitlyn. All of you guys have some cool costumes."
From where he was sitting next to Kaitlyn, Matt laughed and said "Thanks, Ames. After all, it's not every day you get to see me as The Riddler in Arkham City, Jeff rocking his inner Jack Skellington, and Kaitlyn as Ramona Flowers."
"I'm starting to think that there was some kind of memo sent out for all of us to dress up as dorkily as possible today," Phil said, shaking his head and laughing. "And if it's just us here right now, I'm a bit worried to see how it is that the others are dressed."
Over time, more of the freaks, as well as the other students came to school. Out of the other freaks that had yet to arrive, Ted, Mary, Dustin, and Cody were the first to show up. Ted, Mary, and Dustin all had a group theme going where Ted was dressed as Mario complete with a fake mustache, Dustin was dressed as Bowser complete with a Bowser shell backpack and a spiky red wig, and Mary, who was bouncing around in a circle, grinning and saying "I'm a princess! I'm a princess!", was dressed as Princess Peach. Cody was dressed as Frodo from Lord of the Rings, something that made Alex blush when she first caught sight of her boyfriend. The next to arrive were Trish, who was dressed as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas to pair off with Jeff; Melina and John, who had decided to dress as Lara Croft from Tomb Raider and Nathan Drake from Uncharted respectively; Ashley, who was dressed as Sherri Moon Zombie from the music video for 'Living Dead Girl'; Chris, who was dressed as Robin from Teen Titans; Maria and Candice, who were dressed as the human version of Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Poison Ivy from Batman respectively; Mickie, who was dressed as a cowgirl version of Wonder Woman; Derrick, who was dressed as his own version of Captain America; Zack, who was dressed as Beast Boy from Teen Titans minus the green skin, but with green dye in his hair; and Evan, who was dressed as the Green Arrow. As everyone showed up, they all wished Alex a happy birthday and talked about how great everyone's costumes looked.
Looking around at everyone in the group, Phil noticed that not everyone was there yet. Getting Kaitlyn's attention, Phil asked "You haven't seen April, Josh, and Bayley show up yet, have you?"
Shaking her head, Kaitlyn said "No, I haven't. I'm sure they'll be here soon. After all, it's not like them to be late for school."
Just as Kaitlyn said that, Phil caught sight of Bayley in her Sully costume. She was wearing a fuzzy blue hat with horns, a dress that was sky blue on the top half and ended with a fuzzy sky blue skirt with big purple spots, sky blue arm warmers that had purple spots, blue and purple striped stockings, and sky blue and purple spotted leg warmers over a pair of black boots. Looking next to her, Phil saw Josh in his Scott Pilgrim costume, which simply consisted of a yellow t-shirt with a red lining around the collar around the sleeves, a pair of light blue jeans, red Converses, and a blue coat with fuzzy lining to the hood; he also had his hair brushed down so that he had a bit of a bang. But what really caught Phil's attention was April in her costume. April had been saying that she was going to dress as Yuna in her Summoner robes, so to actually see her in them was a sight that took Phil's breath away. The costume looked exactly like Yuna's robes in the Final Fantasy games with alterations made to cover her chest and not show so much of her back. To complete the costume, April was wearing a pair of black boots and, upon a closer look, Phil noticed that she wasn't wearing her glasses and was wearing a different colored contact lens for each eye, green in the right and blue in the left. 'Oh man,' Phil thought, unable to keep the blush off of his face. 'April looks too cute in her costume.'
Seeing the distracted look on her friend's face, Kaitlyn followed Phil's path of vision and saw Josh, Bayley, and April headed their way. Waving her hand and smiling, Kaitlyn said "Josh! Bayley! Over here!"
Grinning as she saw Kaitlyn waving her over, Bayley skipped over and chirped "Morning everyone! Happy Halloween!"
"Happy Halloween to you too, Bayley," Kaitlyn said, laughing. "Cute costume. You have got to be the most adorable Sully I've ever seen."
Giggling at Kaitlyn's comment, Bayley said "Thanks, Kaity! This is going to help me score so much sweets today."
"You do know mom and dad aren't going to let you out by yourself considering how you get on Halloween, right?" Josh asked, laughing as he finally walked over to the freaks.
Sticking her tongue out at her twin, Bayley said "Don't rain on my parade, Josh!"
"It's not raining on your parade if it'll help to keep you from getting grounded," Josh said.
Laughing as Bayley rolled her eyes, Kaitlyn said "And this is why I love it that you two are two of our friends." Looking around, Kaitlyn asked "Where's April? Did she decide not to show up today?"
Sharing a look with his twin and then breaking out in laughter, Josh pointed to April and said "Kaitlyn, April's right there."
Blinking as she took a double take to look at April, Kaitlyn asked "Wait? That's April?"
Nodding her head, Bayley chirped "Yep! Hard to believe, isn't it? Me and Josh even had a hard time believing that was her when she put on her costume and put in the contacts."
"She sure looks cute in her costume," Kaitlyn said. Walking over to April, Kaitlyn stopped in front of the shorter girl and said "Morning, April. Love your costume. It looks great on you."
Blushing as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, April smiled and said "Thanks, Kaitlyn."
"Why are you standing over here by yourself?" Kaitlyn asked. "The others really want to see you in your costume."
Nervously swinging one of her feet around, April said "I'm a bit nervous about letting the others see me in my costume. Besides, I don't want a lot of unwanted eyes on me."
"I don't think you should worry much about that," Kaitlyn said. "In case you haven't noticed, I've got the blonde half of my hair dyed blue and the others have some pretty attention-drawing costumes themselves, especially since Mary's been going crazy in her Princess Peach costume. I swear someone's probably going to make her go see Mrs. S about getting a Ridalin injection."
Looking around Kaitlyn to see that the taller girl was telling the truth, April laughed and said "I guess you're right. And, I actually have an idea about how to reveal my Halloween look to the others."
Grinning at the change of tone in April's voice, Kaitlyn asked "Really? What's the idea?"
"Let me hide behind you and when we get to the others, you can reveal me to the group," April said.
"That sounds like a cool idea," Kaitlyn said, smiling widely. Moving to stand in front of April, Kaitlyn said "Now, just match my steps and things will go smoothly."
"OK," April said from behind Kaitlyn as the two walked forward.
Looking up from his talk with Trish, Jeff happened to catch sight of the way Kaitlyn was walking. Standing up once Kaitlyn came back to the group, Jeff chuckled and asked "Any particular reason why it is that you're walking like you've got rocks in your boots?"
Laughing, Kaitlyn said "Just doing my job to help a friend."
Raising an eyebrow, Jeff asked "And how exactly does doing a weird walk help you to help a friend?"
"Because it's to help a friend that wants to debut her Halloween costume in a grand fashion," Kaitlyn said, grinning widely. Stepping aside, Kaitlyn said "I give you all April as Yuna!"
Stepping forward and smiling a small smile, April said "Morning everyone. Happy Halloween."
One by one, each of the freaks turned and looked at April in her costume. Once Alex had caught sight of April herself, conversation among the freaks stopped. Standing from her spot between Matt and Cody, Alex walked over to April. Stopping next to Jeff, Alex took a walk around April to get a better look of her costume. Finally stopping where she was standing at first after she observed the fact that April wasn't wearing her glasses and instead had in green and blue contacts, Alex asked "April, is this really you?"
Blushing as she nodded her head and smiled a bit wider, April said "Yeah, it's me. Also, happy birthday, Alex. I'm sorry I didn't think to get you anything. Had I known earlier than now, I would've gotten you something."
"Are you kidding me?" Alex asked, laughing. "I thought I've made it clear that I don't want much for my birthday. Besides, getting to see you in your awesome costume and just knowing that you wanted to have Halloween fun with us is a great present in my book." Turning to look back at Maria, Alex gave her friend a thumbs-up and said "Great work on the costume, Ria."
Laughing from her spot next to Ashley, Maria said "I aim for greatness. Great to know that April likes it and that it's getting such a great feedback."
"I'd say it is," Mary said, readjusting her crown and smoothing out her dress. "Plus, it's cool that you decided to go with not wearing your glasses and wearing contacts to really complete the look."
"Thanks, Mary," April said. Looking around at the rest of her friends, April asked "What do the rest of you guys think of my costume?"
Speaking up from her spot between Chris and Colt, Amy said "I think I speak for everyone when I say that your costume is awesome" which earned many similar remarks and compliments from the others.
Smiling, April said "Thanks everyone. And, let me say that I think all of your costumes look pretty cool too. Especially yours, Alex. Michonne is so cool."
"I know, right?" Alex asked, excitedly. "I'm a bit bummed that I couldn't bring my katana to school, but people have been able to recognize who I'm supposed to be, so I feel that my costume works. Plus, how could you not like a badass Walker killer like Michonne?"
"And it's with good reason you couldn't bring your katana with you either, Lexi," Jeff said, laughing at his younger sister. "Last thing me and Matt would want is to get called to the front office because of you threatening to slice someone in half with it."
Feigning shock at Jeff's remarks, Alex said "I would never do such a thing. After all, it'd mostly be for show purposes only."
Laughing at the exchange in front of him and the others, Derrick said "Yeah, Alex. It'd mostly be for show until you got the urge to want to use it on Damien, Ryan, Sasha, or anyone else that gets under your skin."
Laughing herself as Alex went on to defend herself and her having her katana around, April walked over and joined her friends as they all talked about how they felt their own days would go with how people would react to their own costume choices. All while she talked, April couldn't help but feel that she hadn't noticed something. Whatever it was, April couldn't quite think on it any longer since the bell for the start of school had begun to ring. Grabbing her backpack, April headed up the school steps with her friends as more talk about what their plans for the rest of the day would be.
…
Phil was still completely shell-shocked with how April looked in her Yuna costume. He had been thinking that it was just going to be okay, but to see how Maria's finished work looked on the younger teen and to see that April had gone a step above and beyond by ditching her glasses and wearing contacts to help simulate the color of Yuna's eyes really took his breath away. He hadn't even realized that he was still sitting on the ground until Kofi and Daniel came up and shook him.
"Yo, Phil," Kofi said, shaking the older teen. "Come on, man. Get off the ground unless you want to be late."
Blinking as he finally came back to his senses, Phil looked up to see Kofi, who was dressed as his own version of the Joker, and Daniel, who was dressed as Thor, both looking at him with concerned looks on their faces. Standing from the ground as he grabbed his backpack, Phil said "Sorry, guys. I guess I wasn't paying attention."
"What's the deal with that?" Daniel asked. "Usually it takes having to listen to one of Mr. Laurinaitis's rants to make you get that glazed-over look on your face."
"I don't even know what it was," Phil said, walking to the school building with Kofi and Daniel. "I just remember seeing Bayley, Josh, and April in their costumes and then after that, my mind just went blank."
"Was there anything in particular about their costumes that might have made you have a mind wipe?" Daniel asked.
"Well, Bayley was dressed like Sully from Monsters Inc., Josh was dressed like Scott Pilgrim, and April was dressed in her Yuna costume. And the thing that helped to really sell it was that she had contacts in instead of wearing her glasses," Phil said, blushing slightly at the thought of April in her costume.
Seeing the blush on his friend's face when he mentioned April in her costume, Kofi smirked and said "Oh. I think I know why our good friend Philip is so zoned out this early in the morning, Daniel."
"Really, you do?" Daniel asked, which Kofi responded to with a nod. "Well, what's the reason?"
Laughing, Kofi said "I think you'll be able to piece it together, Daniel. But, for now, let's just go about our day."
Not really liking what Kofi was saying, Phil tried himself to shake his blush from his face before he got to World History. He couldn't quite bring himself to say it out loud, but the sight of April in her full costume had fully latched onto his thoughts. Normally, Phil didn't seem so hung up on how a girl looked, but to him, April looked entirely too cute in her costume. 'And just think. I get to sit through two classes, sitting right next to her,' Phil thought. 'This is certainly going to be an interesting Halloween.'
So, Halloween seems to be off to a rather good start for April, Phil, and the others. April dressed in her Summoner robes was well-received by everyone and Phil seems to really like her dressed as Yuna (after all, his silence and brain melt spoke for him). And don't think I'm going to leave the chapter open-ended like this. There's more Halloween celebrating on the way in the next chapter. So, don't forget to R&R please. =)