By the next day, the cold had passed a little bit and now it was just moderately chilly, but otherwise a nice Fall day. The perfect weather for Halloween.

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow discussed their plans for the night during lunch. Glimmer and Bow were self proclaimed 'Halloween enthusiasts' and they were excitedly outlining all the things they were gonna do.

Adora just agreed to everything with an amused smile. "As long as it's all before 9," Adora reminded the two.

"Oh right," Glimmer remembered and then pouted. "Man. I still can't believe you got invited to an awesome party and we didn't."

Adora smiled. "I can't help it that you two are a couple of losers."

Bow laughed and Glimmer smiled wryly, wagging a finger at Adora. "Don't you end up being like a cool, jock type."

Adora shrugged. "We'll see. But really it's just cuz me and Mermista talk a lot. And I'm only going to be polite." This was only about half true, the other half of her motivation being Catra.

"I wish I talked with Mermista a lot," Glimmer muttered under her breath and Bow narrowed his eyes, a grin slowly forming on his face.

"What was that?" He asked tauntingly.

"None of your business," Glimmer shot back matter-of-factly.

Bow giggled cheerily. "Well I for one am glad that Adora's become a little socialite. I just wish I could be there to help her bail out of awkward conversations."

Adora nodded quickly and pointed a finger at Bow. "Yes. You are fantastic at that. I need a pocket Bow."

"Hey man, as soon as I figure out how to do that I'll let you know," Bow promised. "By the way, what costume are you gonna wear tonight?"

Adora started to answer and Glimmer shushed her quickly. "That's a surprise, Bow. You can see tonight."

Bow sighed. "I guess I can try to wait that long. I'm sure they'll be great. Did you go all out again?"

"Oh yeah," Glimmer replied enthusiastically. "And I roped Adora into it! We've been casually working on our costumes off and on for the past few weeks," Glimmer explained.

"Yeah we just chill and craft and listen to music. It's actually pretty fun," Adora chimed in. "Even when Glimmer spills the tube of glitter and we spend hours cleaning up sparkles."

Glimmer looked down in shame. "I have repented for my sins."

Adora smiled at her goofball friend. "What about you, Bow? What's your costume?"

Bow almost answered, but caught himself and pouted his lips out snidely. "Well if you guys are gonna keep yours a secret then you don't get to know mine either."

"That's fair," Glimmer conceded.

Adora watched as Catra strolled by their table on her way over to her usual spot and shot Adora a quick smirk. Adora loved her smile and the flash of her canines from under her curled lip almost made Adora audibly gasp.

She managed to stay outwardly calm, however, and neither of her friends seemed to notice as they carried on with their plans for the night.


Catra walked over to her table and was met with the sight of her friend Scorpia, who looked up gleefully at Catra's approach and immediately stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Oh man, I feel like it's been so long!" Scorpia expressed as she squeezed Catra in her arms. "Have you gotten taller?"

Catra laughed lightly and hugged her friend back. "No I haven't gotten taller. It's literally only been like the weekend and two days."

Scorpia finally let Catra go and sat back down, patting Catra's seat beside her. Kyle and Rogelio were already seated and welcomed her as she sat. "Well that's too long," Scorpia complained.

"Oh shoot. Speaking of, am I gonna get sick from that hug?" Catra asked. "Did you just poison me with your disease?"

Scorpia laughed. "Of course not. I'm totally non-contagious by now! I'm not like some people who just come to school before they're healed and get people sick." She shot Rogelio a look.

Rogelio sighed and looked embarrassed. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Oh you're fine, Rogelio," Scorpia reassured her friend. "I spent the first couple days in my bed cursing your name and I think I got it all out of my system. But don't you come to school all sick again!"

Rogelio nodded sheepishly and Scorpia turned her attention back to Catra.

"And I was only gone for a few days but you're apparently in theater now!" Scorpia said amusedly.

"Heh. Yeah," Catra said plainly. "I kinda hate it already, but I think Adora's gonna end up liking it or something."

At the mention of Adora, Kyle perked up a little. He didn't say anything, but he listened more intently.

"Oh you didn't tell me Adora was in there with you. That's cool. How is she?" Scorpia asked honestly. She had nothing against Adora and had spent a lot of time thinking about it while she was bedridden. She came to the conclusion that Catra being friends with more people was a great thing. And if Scorpia was ever going to be her girlfriend she needed to support that fully. Plus Scorpia liked Adora and that there was someone else she could talk to about gym stuff.

"Yeah she's in there. We both had to. Cuz of the whole...y'know…" Catra mimed some little punches in the air.

"Right, right," Scorpia acknowledged. "Well hey I was thinking of joining another extracurricular anyway. Maybe I could join theater and then we could all three hang out like when we were gym buddies!"

Catra grunted a little bit suddenly like she had stubbed her toe on something. "That…that does sound fun," Catra replied, forcing a smile. "But…they already kinda assigned the roles so I'm not sure they could fit you in."

Scorpia nodded to herself thoughtfully. "Oh that's a good point. Maybe I could do like stage stuff! Like props and stuff or set design? That could be fun!"

"Uh," Catra said slowly. "Yeah I mean…I'm not sure they'd need it or whatever. They might be at capacity. Who knows? I'll ask tonight."

"Awesome. Thanks, Cat," Scorpia replied graciously. "And I got nothing to do so I figured I'd just chill in the auditorium and watch rehearsal. Maybe it'll help me figure out where I'd fit in, y'know?"

"Ah. Great idea," Catra said, straining to keep from showing any outward signs of distress.

"Right?!" Scorpia said and laughed heartily. "Yeah I'm pretty excited. And then tonight we can hang out and do Halloween things! I'm thinking right after you're done with theater we all meet up. Kyle and Rogelio said they're bringing like seven different snacks or something."

Rogelio shook his head and laughed lightly.

"We said we're bringing a seven layer dip. Seven layers. Of dip," Kyle clarified.

"Oooh," Scorpia realized. "Well Catra and I can pick up a buncha chips or something on the way back to my place. It'll be great!"

"Yeah that'll be pretty fun," Catra agreed. "And oh shoot. You know what? I totally forgot to tell you guys, but I'm going to Mermista's Halloween party tonight at 9 so I'm gonna have to bail after a while."

"Wh…" Scorpia stuttered. "You're friends with Mermista?"

Catra shrugged. "She says we're 'pretty tight or whatever.'"

"Oh…" Scorpia said and it grew quiet at the table for a moment. "I didn't even know you guys talked. That's cool though." Scorpia began to wonder how many people Catra was friends with now. She fought the feeling that she was replaceable and just clapped Catra on the back.

"Well we'll just make sure we have a great time before 9," she said enthusiastically. "Eating our overly layered dip and watching a scary movie or something."

Kyle nodded happily, shooting Scorpia a warm smile. He then observed Catra. She seemed a little distant. Her hesitation when Scorpia had shown interest in theater hadn't been lost on Kyle. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on with Catra, but he knew it wouldn't be good for Scorpia.


"Alright my theater babies! Class. Is. In. Session!" Double Trouble exclaimed, clapping their hands together with each word.

Adora and Catra stood awkwardly on the stage, facing the eager Double Trouble.

"Okay. First off. You can't be nervous on the stage. The stage is your friend. And in some cases your lover. You can't just be scared of it! Love it! Be empowered by it! You have to live for being on this stage!"

Double Trouble took in the confused looks on their pupils' faces and sighed. "Okay I'll try and explain that again. Basically we just want to get rid of the fear. Easier said than done, I know. But this stage will become a comfortable place for you, trust me. As long as you're up here, you're safe. And you're admired. People are literally and figuratively looking up to you. Whether it's a packed house or the lovely Scorpia." They gestured out to the seats of the auditorium and Scorpia clapped and waved from her front row seat.

"So you should both be confident. You're gorgeous. You're young. Everyone's jealous. People wish they could be you two. So act like it. Be confident in that. You two think on that when you're out of here and let it sink in. For now we're just gonna do the best thing you can do to remove stress."

"Run from our problems," Catra answered sarcastically.

"Haha! No," they replied quickly. "Breathing! We are gonna do some deep breathing exercises. Sit down."

All three of them sat down on the stage cross-legged.

"And you're sure you don't wanna join us, Scorpia?" Double Trouble called down from the stage. "If, and when, you end up deciding to join the team these skills will come in handy!"

"Oh, no thanks I'm good! I'm just watching for now!" Scorpia called out from her spot.

Double Trouble nodded and turned back to Catra and Adora. "Now we're gonna just close our eyes and breathe. I'll show you both the proper breathing technique." They guided both girls through the process and watched to make sure they were doing alright before they all took some time to breathe calmly.

After a few minutes of this quiet breathing, they told the girls to stop. "That should be enough for now. Adora you did very well. I could feel the zen dripping off of you."

Adora smiled bashfully. "I've been meditating a lot lately. That's probably why."

"Well you did amazing. Catra…you did…less amazing," Double Trouble explained delicately.

"What?" Catra responded hastily. "I did all the breathing and stuff."

"True. But I saw you peek your eyes open like five times. You have to really settle in and let go of everything."

"Seven. I peeked seven times. And how am I supposed to let go of something by breathing?" Catra asked.

"Perfuma says meditating is like a workout for your mind," Adora explained to Catra. "You slowly train it to be able to calm down in tense situations and stuff. It's pretty cool."

"Well…that is cool. I guess I want my brain to have muscles," Catra pondered aloud.

"And flexing those brain muscles can get your mind off of stage fright," Double Trouble added. "Now, let's shift gears. Before you can play a character, you must understand the character. You must flesh out every last detail of their lives and absorb them. You've both read the rough drafts of your scripts?"

Adora nodded and Catra wiggled her hand side to side.

"I may have skimmed a little," she replied honestly.

"That's alright, I figured you would," Double Trouble remarked passively. "Firstly, I was wondering if both of you are alright playing these characters. I want you to know I'm flexible here if you want to change anything. Especially you, Catra."

"Huh? Why me?"

"Well I originally wrote your character as a male and pitched it as such, as per my inspiration of Romeo and Juliet. But I never asked if you were comfortable with that. I assure you, I didn't intend to underrepresent the lesbian community by giving you a male character to play instead of a female one. And if you'd like we can easily change that! What would you prefer?"

"Oh. Uh," Catra said as she thought about it briefly. "I mean, lesbians are cool. Uh. But also...I dunno, I was kinda...alright with playing a guy? It seems kinda fun...and I really want the makeup team to give me, like, beard stubble. Also...real lesbians wouldn't be dumb enough to fall in love during a hostage situation."

"Your words ring true," Double Trouble said dramatically. "Alright, then we'll keep our armed intruder as a male. But if at any point you change your mind, let me know. We'll keep it fluid. I find that's the best way to experience gender." Double Trouble winked and Catra and Adora smiled. "And you, Adora? Any qualms?"

"No I think I'm fine," Adora answered before remembering something. "Oh, but I was wondering...how, uh, romantic is this getting?"

A gleam flashed in Double Trouble's eyes and they smiled. "Well I haven't finished the script yet, so who's to say? But I respect both of your boundaries. I understand you probably wouldn't want to have to be too intimate with each other."

"Well," Adora interrupted quickly. "I didn't mean... like...it's whatever you want." She looked away nervously.

"Yeah we're...comfortable with anything," Catra voiced, also looking a little embarrassed. "The show must go on and all that."

Double Trouble was happy that their assumptions were now glaringly obvious. These two were painfully in love with one another. "Well that's good to hear! I'll finish writing it eventually. And until then just let me know if you want to change anything. You're both geniuses after all. Anyway, with that out of the way, I have a quick exercise planned. We'll start with Adorbs over here."

Adora smiled at the nickname. "What do I do?"

"Well I'm gonna ask you questions about your character and you're gonna answer them. Just improvise them, but make sure they really fit your mental image of who your character is. Does that sound alright, honey?"

Adora nodded affirmatively and Double Trouble began their questions.

"What do you think the Senator's name should be?" They asked quickly.

Adora thought about the question for a bit. "Any name?"

"Not just any name. Her name."

Adora thought a bit longer before answering. "I guess she feels like a…Harriet?"

"Harriet…" Double Trouble whispered. "I like it. Last name?"

"Uh…Richardson?"

"Harriet Richardson…" They rubbed their hands together excitedly. "Where'd they go to school?"

"Uh…an ivy league school. Like Yale or something," Adora said quickly.

Double Trouble motioned for Adora to go on.

"Uh…she originally was going to major in…Computer Science. But she found a passion for political science in her…junior year."

Double Trouble made the same motion again and Adora continued. "I think she did really well in her classes. Except for her required fine arts class. She's not very creative. But she makes up for it in intelligence and wit. Her passion got her through school. She ran for local government two years after she became old enough. She lost her first run, but won her second. She held that position for another two terms before running for the Senate, which she also won on her second run."

Double Trouble cut in quickly. "What does she wear to the office?"

"Suit. A black suit. Red tie. And, um, old black loafers that are falling apart but she holds onto them because she won her first election in those shoes and she's a bit of a low key hoarder I think."

Double Trouble smiled as Adora came to a stop and they began to clap. Catra was staring at Adora, visibly impressed that she had made that up on the spot. Scorpia whooped from her seat.

"Beautiful job," Double Trouble congrulated her. "You're breathing life right into Senator Harriet Richardson. Keep fleshing her out. I think you'll be perfect for the role."

Adora smiled and for the first time, actually felt excited to play the role she was assigned.

Double Trouble turned to Catra. "Are you ready for your go?"

"No," Catra responded honestly.

"Alright here we go! What do you think your character's name is?"

"Uhhhhhh," Catra squinted her eyes together in deep thought. "Greg? Like Gregory. I'm getting strong Greg vibes. Or Clancy. Greg Clancy? Is that anything? Is that a real name?" Catra stumbled around the question.

"Moving on," Double Trouble continued. "What's their favorite food?"

"Oh, easy…um…probably, like, those little freezer pops. Or peanut butter maybe."

"Does he cook at all?"

"No...er...yes. He cooks…eggs sometimes. To eat. And I guess for...Easter."

"Is he a religious man?"

"I don't kn…er...yep. Yep he was. He was raised, like, Jewish, but he noped out of that when he was sixteen. No. Fifteen. And a half."

"How was his family life?"

"It was very…uh...normal? His parents were fine to him. Normal upbringing. Very…normal."

"What does he look like?"

"Uh well he's got…hair...that is…dark brown. And he looks a lot like me, obviously. But he wears a beanie all the time I'd say. And he likes black. Black leather. Yeah. Like this jacket I have on. Just like that. And then also black jeans. Also like the ones I have on. And uh…shoes…he wears...probably like a nice croc or something?"

Double Trouble cringed at the word croc and motioned for Catra to stop. "I loved a lot of that, actually. But I'm gonna pull rank and nix the crocs. The only one allowed to bring crocs on this stage is Entrapta, bless her soul." Double Trouble patted Catra on the shoulder. "You did good! It was a little choppy, but you know what? I think the character himself is a little choppy. And I think you really got into that mindset! Good job." They clapped for Catra and she smiled proudly.

Adora gave her a congratulating smile and patted her on the back. From her seat, Scorpia cheered even louder than before, clapping vigorously.

Double Trouble whistled a little tune and then smiled widely. "I'm very proud of my little stage babies. And now I want you two to talk to each other about your characters. Flesh them out together. That'll add a connection. A tether between them that will blossom with time. I'm gonna go sit in the audience and figure out where I want set pieces to go while you two do that. Sound good?"

Catra and Adora nodded, eager for the chance to talk to one another and relieved that they didn't have to do any acting yet.

Double Trouble spun around and walked off the stage. They went to the first row of center stage and approached Scorpia's spot. "Is this seat taken?" They asked, pointing to the seat next to Scorpia and sitting down.

"Uh...no...well actually…I guess it is now. Cuz you're in it," Scorpia said with a delighted chuckle.

Double Trouble laughed lightly. "You're freaking adorable," they said with a contented sigh as they took out a notepad and flipped to an empty page.

"Aw. Well thanks," Scorpia said bashfully. "And you're a really good teacher! You were all like 'get inside the head of the character' and 'open your mind's eye.'"

"Well I'm not sure I said that last bit, but the compliment is taken regardless," Double Trouble said smoothly. "I do so hope you decide to join us. You'd be an invaluable member of the team. We could give you a spot anywhere. If you want to act we'll make a role for you. It's that easy."

"Well that's really nice," Scorpia said thoughtfully. "I think I might, actually. It seems really cool. I wouldn't be able to be here every afternoon because of football practice, but I could do most."

"That sounds absolutely perfect," they responded immediately. "You just let me know the second you're ready to join our little family and you're in."

Scorpia scratched the back of her head and smiled widely. "Gee. Thanks."

"Of course," they responded dismissively. They looked up to the stage where Catra and Adora were seated, talking to one another. "They're friends of yours it seems?"

"Oh yeah," Scorpia said quickly. "I mean Catra's my best best friend ever of all time, but Adora is definitely my friend too."

"That's good. Friendship is a beautiful thing. What do you think of them then? You think they're a good match?" They smiled passively, watching the pair onstage.

"Oh," Scorpia said, confused. "I think they're gonna be good onstage for sure."

Double Trouble laughed. "No not that. Though that's true. I meant do you think they'll make a cute couple? You know them both pretty well. You think they have what it takes?"

Scorpia frowned and shook her head. "Oh no. I mean…Catra isn't...into Adora. They're just friends."

"Welllll," Double Trouble said slowly. "Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree, sweetie. I've seen young love and that's it. Disgusting in a sweet way."

"Young love?" Scorpia asked quietly, her eyes drifting over to Catra and Adora.

"Oh definitely. I can't believe you can't see it. The tension is so thick you could cut it up into little pieces! It's part of the reason I put them in the roles that I did."

Scorpia barely heard what Double Trouble was saying. Their words sounded distant. Instead she focused on Catra and Adora. The way Catra's eyes seemed glued to Adora. And then the second Adora would look up at her, she'd avert her gaze quickly. She noticed Adora smiling a lot and laughing at everything Catra said. She noticed their hands pressed onto the stage. So close together that they were almost touching.

Scorpia felt a surge of emotion as she started to connect things in her own mind. Catra wanting to be alone with Adora in weights class. Her funny moods. Intervening in the fight. Her mentioning that she wanted to ask someone to the dance this year.

It wasn't her.

It was Adora.

Scorpia felt tears well up in her eyes as her brain seemed to flit about wildly, unable to find a steady place to land. She cupped a hand to her mouth and stood up quickly, walking away.

Double Trouble noticed her movement and looked up from their notepad. "Oh are you leav…" They stopped as they caught a glimpse of the tears streaking down the girls face as she sped away without responding and left through the main entrance to the auditorium.

"What the…did I…?" Double Trouble muttered to themselves quietly. They looked to where Scorpia had left again and then looked up to the stage, at Catra specifically. "Oh…" They said with a gasp as it all clicked. "Oh no…she didn't know...and she was…."

Double Trouble bit their tongue, cursing themselves mentally for being such a harbinger of drama before sighing deeply.

"Oh well," they said simply and went back to sketching in their notepad.


When theater practice ended, Double Trouble congratulated both girls on their efforts.

Catra scanned the auditorium and suddenly remembered that she hadn't seen Scorpia in a while.

"Hey did you see where Scorpia went?" Catra asked Double Trouble, craning her neck around to look for the girl.

Double Trouble briefly considered being honest, but decided against it. "You know, I'm not sure. She just kinda left. Probably late for something. Who knows?"

Catra pursed her lips. "I guess...huh." Catra wrestled her phone out of her pocket and called Scorpia. Adora collected their backpacks and carried them over as Catra listened to the phone ring and got no answer.

"What's up?" Adora asked as Catra sighed and crammed her phone back into her pocket.

"Well Scorpia bailed I guess and she was my ride."

"Can your dad drive you?" Adora asked.

"Nah, he's still working."

"Well...Bow is picking me up and...I don't know if that'd be the best way to break the news that we're friends," Adora said worriedly.

Catra was confused, before she realized that Adora wasn't aware that her and Bow were already well acquainted. That wasn't a situation Catra wanted right now so she agreed.

"Well I can drive you home, honey," Double Trouble insisted, feeling a little guilty for what had happened with Scorpia. "I'll just shut everything down in here real quick. You can just wait for me by the front doors and I'll be out in a second."

"Thanks," Catra replied. Adora could tell that Catra was still wondering where Scorpia had gone.

Adora and Catra grabbed their things and walked out of the auditorium together.

"Man, I want a car," Catra grumbled as they walked down the empty school hall.

"Yeah it sure would be convenient. I hate making people pick me up all the time."

"Ugh, same. But anyway," Catra said, poking at Adora's arm. "You excited for the party tonight?"

"A little nervous, but for the most part I'm…excited I think," Adora answered unconfidently.

"Hmmm," Catra regarded the girl carefully. "What are you nervous about?"

"Well, you know," Adora shrugged a little. "Parties and, like, lots of people. All loud and in one unfamiliar place. Not exactly my ideal situation."

"I get you. It does seem like something you'd normally avoid," Catra said thoughtfully. "Let's just skip it then. We can hang out just you and me."

"You'd skip out on it just for me?"

"Of course!" Catra replied eagerly. "It's not like I'd even wanna go if you weren't there."

Adora smiled, but shook her head. "Well thanks. But I do wanna go. It's just one of those things you gotta force yourself to do and hopefully end up enjoying. You know?"

"Uhhh…not entirely. But I know it makes you uncomfortable so if at any point you wanna leave, you just let me know, okay?"

"Deal," Adora said confidently. "I'm just glad you're going."

"Me too! I'll be right by your side the whole time," Catra assured Adora. "Promise."

"You're too great," Adora said with a grin.

"Guilty as charged."

The pair approached the front doors of the school and looked out. Adora spotted Bow's car in the pick up lane.

"Well that's me. You fine waiting here for Double Trouble?" Adora asked.

Catra looked back over her shoulder. "Yeah I'll be fine. You go have fun with your friends. And I'll pick you up tonight and we'll have a great time."

"Alright," Adora said excitedly. She looked out to the car again and then back at Catra. "Okay, well. I'll see you then." Adora stalled for a bit, taking a step forward and then backward again before awkwardly patting Catra's shoulder and heading out the doors.

"Should I have hugged her? I wanted to. Would that be weird? Why am I so awkward?" Adora wondered these things to herself as she quickly walked to Bow's car.

She opened the passenger door and hopped in. "Hey, B…" Adora froze as she realized what Bow was wearing. "Wow."

"Whaddya think?" Bow asked as he gestured at himself. Adora hadn't played a lot of video games in her life, but she knew Lara Croft when she saw her.

Bow was wearing a purposefully dirtied, tight-fitting, blue tanktop on that exposed his midriff, which Adora had come to expect from most of his wardrobe. He had really short cargo shorts that showed off his shaved legs and there was what looked to be a gun belt around his hips that held two pistols in holsters. He had black combat boots and he had put some dark warpaint streaks under his eyes.

"You look awesome," Adora answered honestly, admiring her friend's costume. "Are you a Tomb Raider fan?"

Bow laughed. "I've never played any of them. I just like the costume and Lara Croft is a beast."

"Well you did a great job!" Adora assured him, shutting the car door behind her.

"I'm glad you think so," Bow said with a grin, as he began to drive away. "My parents weren't as big of fans."

"Oh yeah?" Adora asked curiously. "Why not?"

Bow smiled wryly. "You know, the same old stuff. 'Oh son, why do you always wear such revealing clothes? You're gonna be cold, put on a jacket. What do you mean Lara Croft doesn't wear a jacket?'"

Adora chuckled. "Well it looks like they didn't get their way."

"They sure think they did," Bow said proudly as he pointed to a discarded jacket in the back seat.


Bow and Adora arrived at their destination before long and pulled up to the curb outside the house. Angella still wasn't home, but she would be before too long.

The friends got out of the car and Adora complimented Bow's outfit again, now that she could see him standing up. Bow absorbed the praise and seemed to be loving the positive feedback.

Bow was just showing off his water gun pistols when they walked in the unlocked front door.

"Is the orange tip big enough do you think? I don't know. I hate guns, but I had to bring the ensemble together, y'know?"

"The orange tip is definitely big enough," Adora insisted, calming her friend a little. "Anyone would be able to tell they're fake."

"Okay good," Bow said in relief as he looked around and Adora kicked her shoes off by the door. "Where's Glimmer?"

Adora listened for the girl but didn't hear anything. She poked her head into the kitchen and didn't see her there. "She's probably in her room. Let's go grab her."

Bow and Adora rushed up the stairs and saw that Glimmer's door was cracked open slightly and it was dark inside. Adora could hear the faint whirring of Glimmer's box fan from inside.

"Ah, she must be sleeping," Adora realized. "She was whining about getting bad sleep when we were getting ready this morning."

"Aw, poor Glimmer. Poor, sleepy Glimmer," Bow said.

Adora and Bow crept up to the door and peeked through. They were able to make out the Glimmer sized lump on her bed.

"Well we should probably wake her up. She wouldn't wanna miss Halloween," Adora pointed out.

"True. Glim's so cute when she sleeps. Have you heard her talk in her sleep yet?"

Adora snickered, turning to face her friend. "No I haven't. She does that?"

Bow nodded. "Oh yeah she says weird stuff. Real weird stuff. Once at a sleepover she was dead asleep and muttered something about vegetables and then said in the clearest voice, 'I'm not here for you. You are nothing'."

"Oh my gosh." Adora looked back at the sleeping shape of her foster sister. "Well I will be sure to listen in sometime. C'mon."

Adora quietly squeezed through the door and Bow followed suit. They made their way through the darkened room to the bed, dodging the various items that littered Glimmer's floor. They managed to make it to her without tripping on anything and Adora gently whispered Glimmer's name as Bow poked at her.

After poking her, Bow drew his hand back quickly and looked confused. "Wait a min…"

"BWAAAAAAAAAA!" A loud voice shouted behind Bow and Adora and both of them felt a hand quickly grab them from behind.

Bow screamed loudly in a high pitch and Adora turned around, flailing wildly with her arms. She narrowly avoided hitting the figure behind them, who took off a scary mask and revealed the face of a very satisfied looking Glimmer.

Adora stopped swinging and buried her face in her hands. Bow had backed into the bed in his panic and had fallen onto it. When he saw Glimmer he gasped.

"Glimmer! I could have had a heart attack!" Bow exclaimed, still breathing heavily from the shock.

"And I almost punched you in the face!" Adora added.

Glimmer giggled profusely at this and doubled over. Adora shook her head in disbelief.

"Happy Halloween," Glimmer said with a content sigh, wiping a tear from her eye.

"That was...well done," Adora said begrudgingly.

"I know," Glimmer replied confidently.

"Well I, for one, hated it," Bow said, getting up from the bed slowly.

"Are you...are you Lara Croft?" Glimmer asked, squinting in the dark room.

"You got it. Except I'm a very easily scared version of Lara Croft," Bow explained.

"I could tell," Glimmer said with a devilish grin. Bow muttered something under his breath and Glimmer chuckled before turning on her bedside lamp and lighting up the room a little bit. "Yeah that's a quality costume. You look awesome. And those shorts on you!"

"Oh I know," Bow said with a grin, striking a pose. "When do I get to see your costumes?"

Adora and Glimmer looked at each other and nodded slightly.

"Bow you head downstairs and relax and we'll get changed," Glimmer told her friend.

Bow squealed in excitement and hurried out of the room and down the stairs.

"Glimmer it's gonna take you so long to do everything," Adora said as she opened Glimmer's closet and pulled out her costume.

"I know. But it's worth it!" Glimmer exclaimed and ran off to the bathroom. Adora shook her head and got ready.


Bow was watching a competitive cooking show on TV when he heard Adora behind him.

"Uh...I'm ready I guess."

Bow turned around rapidly and gasped. "Oh. My. God."

Adora smiled nervously and shuffled in place a little bit. Her reserved composure extremely contrasted her look. She looked like a barbarian straight out of a fantasy movie. She wore what looked like a thick, dark brown, leather jerkin. There were no sleeves and it left her muscled arms exposed. Patches of dark grey fur that looked like it came from a wolf lined the top of her shoulders. Several dark leather straps hung at her waist and what looked like a long tattered piece of fabric dropped from her waist to her knees in what looked like an extra long loincloth. The garment concealed dark leggings and at her feet there looked to be tall fur lined boots. Adora had an earring on that looked to be a long raven feather that dropped from one ear. On her face, Adora had a streak of crimson war paint that looked like dried blood stretching in a bar from one side of her face to the other and overlapping her eyes. And most noticeably, she gripped a huge shining longsword in one hand and it lingered menacingly by her side.

"Adora...You've outdone yourself," Bow said in awe. "I mean, really. Jesus. You look like you're gonna cut my head off and drink out of my skull."

Adora laughed, her initial nervousness fading a little bit. "That is what I was going for."

"Are you like a viking or a barbarian or something?"

"Something like that. I just told Glimmer I wanted to be strong and cool and she came up with this."

"Is that real fur? Did you skin a wolf or something?"

"Nah the only thing we skinned was some old fluffy pillows that Angella had in storage."

"Wow. Expert level. And is that the sword Glimmer got from the Renaissance Fair?"

"Yup. It's a good thing Glimmer had a literal sword laying around. Really ties it all together."

"Well you look amazing. And hey," Bow patted the spot on the couch next to him and Adora came and sat down. "Don't stress about tonight or how you look."

Adora chuckled grimly. "You noticed?"

"Yeah. But I can also tell you're excited. And there's no way you aren't in love with this costume."

"I really am," Adora admitted helplessly.

"Exactly. So be confident. You look fantastic! Own it. And your party will be great. You'll have Mermista there so you'll be more at ease."

"You're right. And also there's...you know...that one person there I told you about. I'm actually more nervous about them than I thought I'd be."

"Ohhhhh I see. Well does that make things better or worse?"

"Better. Much better. But worse. In a way. Ugh," Adora ran a hand through her hair. She seemed to remember something as she did this and turned to Bow. "Can you give me, like, a cool Nordic braid situation?"

"I would be honored," Bow answered immediately as he scooted up behind Adora and began to part her hair. "What about them makes it worse?"

Adora sighed. "I don't know, Bow. I mean they're great. Beyond great. But maybe...too great? It's just that it used to be easier to be around h...them, but now…I don't know, I feel really nervous and self conscious. And I think sh...they're interested in me and that makes me feel really good but I don't know what to do! What if I'm not good at the whole relationship thing? What if it doesn't work out and then our friendship gets weird because of it? I also don't know what she…agh!"

Adora's grip tightened on her sword and Bow quickly moved his hands from her hair to her shoulders and began to lightly squeeze. If there was one thing he had learned about Adora it was that she loved a good massage.

"You know, you kinda do this thing where you store up all your stress and junk and then it just builds and builds until you blow up," Bow told his friend, who nodded in agreement.

"You're right. Sorry, I've just been thinking about it a lot."

"It sounds like you've been stressing about it a lot. And that doesn't help at all. Adora...I don't know much about the situation, but I know that you are a fantastic person. You're funny and cute and sweet and uber smart in like a million ways."

"Bow…"

"No really, I mean it," Bow said, stopping Adora from disagreeing. "Anyone would be lucky to have you. Plus there's no 'right' way to do a relationship. You'll figure it out. And it'll be great. And honestly, if they see you tonight in this outfit, they'll probably just ask you out right then and there."

Adora smirked and Bow nudged her. "There it is. Be confident. And that nervousness and stuff you're feeling. It sounds an awful lot like some good old fashioned loooooove."

Adora smiled bashfully and looked away. "I definitely want...more than just a friendship. I think."

Bow laughed. "You think? Girl, I think you've been a goner since you first told me about them."

Adora hung her head in defeat. "Yeah you might be right."

"I usually am," he said proudly. "By the way, I've given so much premium advice that I think I deserve at least the first letter of their first name."

"Ha! No way," Adora said immediately. "You'd figure it out instantly."

"Darn. Well it was worth a shot. I'll just have to wait till you two are dating and then I can third wheel with you all the time."

Adora relished the thought of her and Catra dating. Bow always made her feel more sure of what she wanted. He was good at sorting through all the stuff she had flying around in her brain.

"Thanks, Bow. I feel like I abuse your ability to make people feel better."

"You definitely don't. I love talking to you about this stuff. And to be honest I just say random stuff until you feel better."

"You do not," Adora said jokingly.

"Well I really don't know what I'm talking about, but I do try. Even if you don't give me those juicy details. Now let me finish this hair. And maybe in the meantime you can tell me a little more about this person."

"Hmmm. Only small details. Real small details."

Adora and Bow spent the next few minutes talking about the situation and how everything was going. Before long, Adora was feeling better about it all and she even felt a little more comfortable about the party.

After a while, the two heard footsteps coming down the stairs and turned to look as Glimmer strolled into the room.

"Yo," she said suavely, flashing a peace sign and striking a pose.

Bow's jaw dropped and he looked from the smiling Adora back to Glimmer. "I swear. You two are blowing my mind with this stuff. Who are you and what have you done with Glimmer!?"

"Oh her?" Glimmer asked. "She's dead."

Glimmer smiled wickedly, her teeth flashing brightly in contrast to the pitch black makeup that coated her lips. Her eyes were similarly adorned with thick black eyeliner. A shiny metal nose ring hung from Glimmer's septum. She wore a low cut black dress with little skulls on it. Black fishnet leggings covered her legs and studded black boots rested on her feet. A lacey black choker fit snugly around her throat and over the top of it, she had a metal necklace in the shape of an upside down cross. Her fingernails were painted black to match and she had a few bulky rings on her fingers. But by far the most eye catching feature was Glimmer's hair. The usual bubblegum pink had been replaced by a jet black.

"Wow!" Bow exclaimed again. "What...did you dye your hair?"

Glimmer snorted. "It's spray on stuff. It should wash out easily. And heck, if it doesn't I'll have an excuse to dye my hair black for good!"

"You look great, Glimmer," Adora complimented.

"Oh my gosh, you do too!" She squealed and rushed over to Adora. "Oh man, your braid looks really cool!"

"You can thank Bow for that one," Adora said, shooting him a thankful look. Bow smiled and rested an arm on Adora's shoulder.

"So what do we do now?" He asked.

Glimmer looked at her friends with a big grin on her face. "Now I'm thinking we can carve pumpkins! And then watch a scary movie and eat so much candy that we all throw up together!"

Adora laughed loudly. "Yeah throwing up with you guys really sounds like a blast."

"I love you guys so much," Bow said joyfully.

"Awww come here," Adora crooned and gave Bow a big hug. Glimmer hopped in too and wrapped her arms around the two of them.

"Happy Halloween!" Glimmer proclaimed, her voice muffled by the group hug.

Don't fret reader, we aren't done with Halloween yet. We still have a party to go to! And some drama with Scorpia. Poor baby. I'm gonna split this into two parts cuz I love Halloween and this chapter would have been massive if I hadn't. And here comes a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT! I am putting up a version of Days At A Time that is translated to Spanish! A suuuper skilled translator and writer from this site reached out to me and offered to take on this task and I was really flattered and excited that I could have the opportunity to reach out to a broader group of readers and make my story more inclusive. So just massively huge thanks to Gio AR for everything they've done and I hope that this version of the story can be a better option for a lot of readers! So exciting! Anyway thanks to everyone for the support! It means a lot and I'm excited to keep writing this story. Thanks!