Their hands clasped together, Brady and Chloe carefully surveyed the living room of the Kiriakis mansion. It was obvious from the elaborate decorations and soft lights that Philip, Mimi, and the servants had truly outdone themselves.

Gently pulling Chloe into the room, Brady lowly whispered, "Let's get this show on the road. It's time to make everyone think that we're madly in love."

When Chloe gave no response, Brady asked, "You're not having second thoughts about our plan, are you?"

"No, not at all. I'm just wondering if we'll actually be able to pull this off and make everyone believe that we're in love."

Moving almost dangerously close to his betrothed, Brady whispered with a smile, "I guess we'll just have to work extra hard to make sure they believe it. So, that means when all the other girls start throwing themselves at me, you'll have to get all jealous and start a cat fight."

Chloe released a soft laugh before saying, "Brady Black, you honestly have the world's biggest ego."

Before Brady could give his retort, he happened to glance over Chloe's shoulder and see a very familiar figure. Smiling almost too brightly, he lowered his head and whispered, "Time to play the part. Jeremy Horton has just spotted us and is on his way over."

Only seconds after Brady issued his warning, Jeremy appeared at Chloe's side. Offering the couple a genuine smile, he greeted, "Hey, Mimi told me about the two of you, and I just wanted to come over and say congratulations on your engagement. I'm really happy for you guys."

"Um, thank you," stammered Chloe.

"Yeah, thanks, Horton," Brady echoed with an amazing amount of composure.

Looking around the room, Jeremy asked, "Have either of you seen Mimi? We were supposed to meet down here when she finished getting ready, but she hasn't shown up yet."

While Brady took a glance around the room, Chloe caught a glimpse of a familiar football player slinking up the front staircase in quite a unique costume. And, Chloe had the distinct feeling that wherever Jason was going, Mimi would be there.

Redirecting her attention to Jeremy, Chloe fibbed, "I don't have any idea where Mimi could be, but I'm sure she'll show up very soon. She's probably just trying to put some last minute touches on her costume."

"Yeah," agreed Jeremy with a weak smile. "You're probably right."

Trying to Jeremy distracted, Chloe began to ramble, "So, speaking of costumes you look really great in yours. It fits well - err, I mean it's fitting for you."

Brady sent Chloe an almost jealous glare as she cringed at her own words. He then turned his attention to Jeremy Horton and his costume. Adorning the handsome blonde's head was an oversized cowboy hat. His broad chest was covered by a red-checkered shirt and a pair of unbelievably tight Wrangler jeans looked to be painted on Jeremy's lower half. And, to top the costume off, he was wearing a pair of red pointed boots.

Looking back and forth between Chloe and Jeremy, Brady began to wonder if maybe his supposed fiancée actually found the sugary-sweet Horton attractive. The more he thought about such a thing, the more displeased Brady became.

Gently pulling Chloe's hand, Brady said, "Well, good luck finding your date, Jeremy. I'm sure she'll turn up somewhere."

Before Brady could take Chloe away, another handsome male came down the stairs, entered the living room, and made himself a part of the group. However, he did so with a great deal of hesitation.

Using his softest tone, Philip greeted, "Hello, everyone. Glad you guys could all make it." Turning his attention solely to Chloe, he quietly added, "You look beautiful."

As Brady gave her hand a squeeze, Chloe offered her former boyfriend a weak smile and replied, "Thank you, Philip. I must say that you look . . . interesting."

Philip glanced down at his own costume and released a genuine chuckle. Offering an explanation to his companions, he said, "Well, my dad's not even in Salem, so he wasn't a problem. But, Nicole was another story. So, she and I made a deal. If I let her help me choose a costume, she would conveniently disappear for the evening. Plus, she swore that this costume was perfect for showing off my physique."

"Well, you make a very charming Aladdin," said Chloe as she gave Philip another weak smile. Knowing that he had just come down the stairs, Chloe asked, "Jeremy's actually looking for Mimi. You haven't seen her have you?"

Philip's eyes fell to the floor as he replied, "Um, no, I haven't. But, I bet she'll turn up soon enough."

"Well," prodded Chloe as she became increasingly suspicious, "have you seen anyone that might know where Mimi is? Maybe you saw someone on your way downstairs?"

"Nah, I haven't seen anyone," Philip lied. "You guys are the first people from school I've actually seen."

Philip's response told Chloe all she really needed to know. There was definitely something going on with Mimi and Jason - and Philip was somehow a part of it. However, the obvious silence between Brady and Philip seemed to be a far more pressing matter.

Though it was clear that both guys were trying to act as if nothing was wrong, Chloe knew better. There was a rather pained expression that was present on not only Philip's face but Brady's as well. A part of her feared that this would be yet another party that resulted in Philip and another male getting into a brawl because of her.

Knowing that he honestly couldn't handle being around Brady and Chloe for a single more minute, Philip quickly said, "I have some stuff I need to go check on, I'll catch you guys later."

And, with those words, Philip Kiriakis sadly disappeared into the crowd that had appeared in his home.

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

Mimi was barely able to control her own breathing as she paced back and forth across the bedroom. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she wondered how exactly she had gotten into such a mess - and how she was going to get out of it.

Coming to a stop in front of the full-length mirror, Mimi muttered, "One thing's for sure. No one can see me like this. No one."

A sudden knock at the door sent Mimi into a near state of frenzy. As the door began to slowly open, Mimi threw her body against it and yelled, "Don't come in! I'm not decent."

"Neither am I - we'll get along great," joked Jason as he gave the door another slight push.

"Would you just go away?" Mimi screamed as she continued to use her body to keep Jason from pushing the door open.

"Come on, Meems. You've seen me in nothing but a towel, so that gives me the right to at least see you in your unmentionables."

"I'm not in my unmentionables!" Mimi retorted.

However, her victory was short lived when Jason remarked only half- jokingly, "Even better. I'm sure your birthday suit looks great on you."

Opening the door just enough to peek out at Jason, Mimi hissed, "That's not what I meant, and you know it!"

Mimi hurriedly shut the door, but it came flying wide open rather quickly. Anger practically radiated from the teen as she glared irately at Jason. Through gritted teeth, she demanded, "Why does it look like we have matching costumes? Jason Masters, you had better explain this right now!"

Pushing his way past Mimi and into the bedroom, Jason casually remarked, "What do you know, it does look like our costumes are rather similar. Go figure."

"You did this! You somehow switched my cowgirl costume with this!" Mimi yelled as she jabbed Jason in the chest with her index finger.

"Geez, Meems, calm down. It's not I committed some kind of federal offense. It's just a stupid costume."

"Yeah, well, it's a stupid costume that no one's ever going to see me in, because I'm not going down to that party."

Determination clearly written on his face, Jason questioned, "Wanna bet?"

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

Chloe was barely able to conceal her giggle as Zach accidentally stabbed Brady with his sword yet again. As he flirted with some blonde, Zach had his back to Brady and failed to realize that every time he took a step backwards he was stabbing Chloe's fiancée.

Finally having had enough of Zach's torture, Brady turned to the younger man and spun him around. He kept his hands on Zach's shoulders as he stated, "If you poke me with that sword one more time, I'm gonna shove it up your . . ."

"Brady . . ." Chloe reprimanded.

"Nose. I'll shove it up your nose, Zach," finished Brady with obvious frustration.

Shaking his body, Zach mockingly replied, "Ooh, I'm so scared. Big Bad Brady Black is gonna try and stick a sword up my nose. And, to think, I used to believe that the street gangs in Chicago were scary."

When Brady only stared at him with a perplexed expression on his face, Zach continued, "Come on, Brady. I know you have to have some sarcastic comeback line. Let's hear it."

"What?" Brady questioned as he returned to the present once more. He had yet again gotten that feeling that he somehow knew Zach Wesley. There was just something familiar about the young man that Brady couldn't quite place.

Already tired of arguing, Zach merely responded, "Never mind, man."

At that moment, Shawn and Belle graced the trio with their presence. Pointing in the direction of the forgotten blonde who was stalking away, Shawn commented, "Hey, Zach, looks like your latest flavor decided to move on."

"Yeah, it looks that way," Zach stated after a brief glance over his shoulder. Having lost all interest in the flirtatious blonde, Zach continued, "So, you two lovebirds decided to actually make an appearance, huh?"

"Of course," returned Belle as she glanced around the room and soaked in all the extravagant decorations and allowed the loud Halloween music to fill her mind. Turning her attention back to her companions, she asked, "Where's Philip at?"

"Right here," the handsome blonde answered as he suddenly appeared beside Shawn to whom he quickly gave the almost ritualistic handshake. Noticing Zach for the first time, Philip gave a chuckle and commented, "Dude, that has to be the lamest costume I've seen yet."

"This coming from a guy dressed in a vest and silk pants," retorted Zach defensively.

"Hey, anything's better than tights."

~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~ * * ~

As the guys insulted each other good-naturedly, Jason Masters literally dragged Mimi down the staircase. While he kept his powerful arms around Mimi's reluctant body, she tightly gripped the banister. Still, there was no way Jason was going to let her hide out in the bedroom all night - especially not when he had worked so hard to make certain her cowgirl costume had been switched with the one he had chosen.

Finally managing to get Mimi to the bottom of the stairs, Jason lightly pushed her into the living room where the greater part of the crowd was located.

Unfortunately, while Jason was pushing Mimi forward and she was struggling to go backwards, the heel of her right shoe became entangled with the electric wiring that supplied the power to the D.J. and his stereo system.

And, as Mimi lost her balance and fell into Jason's arms, the heel of her shoe pulled the extension cord loose of its socket and caused the entire stereo system to be without power.

Of course, the entire population of the room looked to see just what had caused the music to end so abruptly. What they saw was not only shocking but greatly amusing.

Staring at the couple with wide eyes, Chloe quietly remarked, "Mimi looks exactly like . . ."

"A call girl? Prostitute? Hooker? Streetwalker? Trollop? Madam? Lady of the night?" Zach offered with a bemused grin.

"Actually, I was going to say that she looks like Jan, but then again, there's not much difference, right?"

"You know," began Shawn. "Jason looks like a really convincing pimp."

"He does," acknowledged Belle while the other group members simply stared at the couple and nodded their agreement.

Glancing down at Mimi, who still rested in his arms, Jason smirked and commented, "So, about your unmentionables . . ."

Pushing Jason away, Mimi gave him her most withering glare and growled, "My underwear are none of your business, Jason Masters." With that said, Mimi stalked away in Jeremy's direction.

With a satisfied grin, Jason watched her struggle to keep her balance while trying to manage both the incredibly tight, short skirt and outrageous high heels. To himself, he stated, "Oh, this is definitely going to be a fun night."