When hinges creak in doorless chambers,

And strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls.

Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still —

That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!

"Oh my goodness, thank you for helping my friend out!

"It's no problem! She just got overwhelmed that's all."

Lilith groaned to herself, feeling her eyes slowly open. She hadn't the foggiest idea what just happened, but she felt herself get angry at the possibility that a male had something to do with it. Her eyes blurred, opening to reveal the images of Mela and another guy who was rubbing the back of his neck. They were inside the nurse's office where Lilith was lying on a bed with bandages wrapped around her head. The young man was talking with her friend with the biggest grin on his face.

It sickened her.

"Um...can someone please tell me why I'm in here? Where is my backpack? And why is he here?" Lilith asked, glaring right at the grinning boy's face.

"Lily!" Mela leaned over and gave her a large hug. "I was so worried when you suddenly passed out like that. Everyone was crowding over your body, some guys tried perving out on you. Then this guy, Luffy here, he and his friend managed to bring you and patch you up! His other friend goes to our school and he's a doctor! Luffy stayed here with me to wait until you woke up!"

Lilith batted a hand at her mouth, shutting her chatty friend. "I think I got the point." Her eyes turned to Luffy, who was still making that stupid face. "So what? You want a reward or something?"

"No, just wondering if you are alright to get up and leave. Didn't want to leave your side until you woke up and the swelling went down. Are you feeling better?"

"I'm fine now. Kindly remove yourself away from me and let me on my way."

Mela pouted as her friend got up from the bed and promptly snatched her backpack from the table. How could she let the opportunity of a lifetime pass her by? This guy was super cute and he even helped her out! She had to do something or else her friend would become nothing more than an old maid.

"Say Luffy, are you going to be at the Halloween party tonight? Is that why you were setting things up?"

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh! Since I help out here every day, I thought this would be a perfect way to meet new people. I go to an all-girls school and I practically use this place to hang out with my guy friends."

"Well...Lily here needs someone to go with her to the party. Perhaps you can escort her?"

Lilith's head whipped around so fast that she nearly gave herself some whiplash. This is what aggravated her about being friends with Mela. Always pushing her agenda upon her about love and relationships! Couldn't she just be happier alone in her studies and prospects? She didn't have time for some stupid dance or a stupid date?

Luffy saw her face scrunch up to an unusual degree and sighed. "I don't think your friend would like that very much. She seems to be the kind to avoid events like this."

Yes! Finally, someone who understood that she didn't need human social activities! All she wanted was to be alone with her books, laptop, and eccentric family of super-geniuses.

Mela bit her lip and tried to keep her emotions in check. "Can I be honest with you? She doesn't have many friends and tends to keep to herself a lot. I am the only one who pushes her out of her comfort zone alongside her father. I just want her to have a fun night and it doesn't need to be a date. Please Luffy?"

Lilith was stunned by the words of her friend. How could she say those things about her? Mela was one to push and prod, but she never did anything to cross the line with their friendship. In her heart, Lilith felt as if she had been betrayed by her friend after that heartfelt speech.

Without a word to the others, she ran out of the room. She could hear Mela yelp behind her, but she ignored her. The emotionless Lilith Vegapunk had finally shown a single emotion that was making her feel uncomfortable.

Despair.

Mela's face dropped when she saw Lilith run out of the room. Did she make her that upset? All she wanted was for Lily to experience teen social life before she went to college. Throughout their friendship, all she heard from the brainy beauty was her aspirations for college, working in a lab, and then cutting ties to work for the government. It sounded like a boring life to her! No one should fully delve into that kind of life. She should start a relationship, a family, and a nice house in the suburbs! Not slaving away to the man and never taking a vacation day.

Mela was about to chase after her when a hand was placed on her shoulder. She turned to see Luffy shaking his head and giving her a soft smile.

"You know, from what I just saw, you and her are very close. You both balance each other out and I find that cool! But maybe, you push your ideals on her too much?"

"What do you mean? I don't push things that much. Without me, Lily wouldn't have anyone to tell her that she isn't always right. No one tells her that she needs to avoid colliding with open locker doors. Without me, she would have no lab partner since she insists that she can do things herself! I just don't...want her to become so dependent on herself that she never asks for help. If you have no one to rely upon, you can become lonely and sad."

"But that's not fair." Luffy tilted his hat downwards. "You can't force your ideals on someone who doesn't want to listen. That's like telling someone that their favorite cake flavor is bad since it's not a flavor you like. Then you make their feelings invalidated. That's not fair to them."

"Gee...I never thought of that. You know, you are pretty smart Luffy."

"I'm no genius, but I do know how delicate a female's emotions can be."

Mela fiddled with her fingers, not wanting to look at Luffy. "So what should I do then?"

"I would apologize for my harsh words and hope she forgives you. As for me, I already have someone I am escorting to the dance."

Patting her on the head, Luffy walked past the girl to get ready for his date. He just hoped those two would be able to fix the problem that they were having with one another. He didn't know Lilith personally, but she seemed like a girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

He hoped that he could make it in time to pick up Reiju.

Reiju was putting on the final touches to her makeup as Sanji walked in.

Normally, the others who lived in the house would just kick down the door and invade her privacy. This got annoying the older she got since sometimes she would be naked or getting ready for bed. It got even more inappropriate when her mother died since she would always scold them for barging into her room. Now there was no one to protect her innocence from except for Sanji, who moved his room adjacent to hers to prevent doors from being kicked down.

On the plus side, he at least knocked.

"Reiju-oneesan! Are you ready to go to the party?" He exclaimed with a dramatic flair. Tonight, he and Pudding were to be wearing matching outfits for their couple's theme. She was a princess while he was wearing a rather elaborate knight costume.

"Just finished putting on the slight touches to my face. That's a cute costume you chose." This year, since she finally got to pick her costume for a change, she was dressed as a butterfly fairy. Purple wings rested on her back, she wore a nice pink dress, big gloves on her hands, and thigh-high matching boots. In her hair was a set of antennae attached to a headband.

"Not as pretty as your sis!" Sanji complimented, giving her a big hug. Then his face turned serious as he looked up at her. "So, who's the wise guy that's picking you up? Do I need to rough them up?"

Reiju ruffled his hair. "I can handle myself, you know? Who is the one that ingested all that poison to save your life after someone tried to kill you? Who also protected you from our slimeball of a father and those idiots all those years? Relax, if anything you know the guy well."

Sanji raised an eyebrow, releasing his sister as he rubbed his chin. "That so? Well if you trust him, and have enough willpower to not poison him, then I trust you."

The two quickly gathered their things and raced down the stairs. The longer they stayed in the house, the easier it would be for their father to keep them there. All they had to do was make sure he didn't come out of his downstairs lab long enough for them to escape. Reiju even took precautionary measures to text Luffy to meet her outside the back door. If they went out the front, the security cameras would catch them and report their leaving. Tonight was going to be tedious and the twosome didn't want to fail.

Making sure the coast was clear, Reiju ushered Sanji towards the kitchen area where Ichiji was cooking with his back turned. Niji was laughing at something in the living room, probably another one of his favorite slasher movies. Yonji was sleeping in his room and was out cold. Putting a finger on her lips, the two snuck around the kitchen quietly., avoiding Ichiji's gaze long enough to reach the sliding glass door. By the time the eldest son turned around, the two were racing down the wide lawn to the secret exit in the hedges.

Upon emerging from the branches and leaves, the two were greeted with the sight of Luffy wearing a werewolf costume and Pudding in a princess gown.

"Oh, so that's what you meant by I would know him." Sanji grinned, giving Luffy a fist pound. "You better treat my sister to a dance or two."

"Wouldn't dream of making her upset. She would kill me in several different ways." Luffy replied, eliciting a laugh from the group. "I'm not joking."

"Oh Luffy, never change." Reiju slipped her hands into his. "Shall we?"

He gave her a wide grin. "We shall!"

Next Time:

A blast from the past comes for a visit!

Luffy: Oh my gosh! She's coming back!

Yamato: What?! Luffy had an ex-girlfriend who was a pop star?

Pop idol Uta comes for a special performance and to reconnect with her family and friends.

Uta: It's nice to see you after all these years.

Luffy: Uta...I still keep your music close to my heart.

Will this chance encounter rekindle their relationship?

Uta: Luffy, come with me and leave this town!

Next time: Enter Stage Uta! Will Luffy leave Whole Cake?

I would like to issue an apology for the lame ending to this year's special. I had a terrible start to the month that prevent me from posting the chapter along with the fact the original idea for the chapter was untimely deleted. It was never recovered and this was slapped on the last second.

If some of you are wondering when the main story will be back in motion, let's just say that planning a lot of unique dates has become more of a task than something easy. I wanted each date to feel different and not the same. So, with great patience, please bare with me as I figure out how to please every girl.

The next special is dedicated to the film release of One Piece: Film Red. It introduced a new potential love interest that I was eager to write about. Uta seems like a perfect fit for an ex-lover rather than a new love interest. The new special will even bring in some Yamato dynamics to build out their relationship. Expect the next chapter to be up sooner than later. Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Hope everyone has a good day!