A/N: Requested on Tumblr by the ever lovely meet-me-onthe-equinox as part of Fictober 2018!

Prompt: Awkward loner finds themselves stranded at a party where one weirdo keeps wanting to talk.

Thank you so much. Let's start this off with a bang, a short AU piece.

It was one thing to have your friends drag you to a stupid Halloween house party you were only kind-of into going to; it was a complete betrayal to be abandoned by them.

Parties were supposed to be about making fun of lame idiots in bad costumes while you were hanging out with your own, cooler idiot friends. Instead of that, April wandered around and nursed a plastic cup's worth of whiskey stolen from a cabinet with an open lock. Thankfully the only person nearby was a tall, bearded guy in a leotard who reassured her that he wouldn't say anything. So she returned to being an aimless zombie, complete with sores she had Lucy spend far too long applying.

The next time April saw Lucy there would be some serious hell to pay or, at least, an annoyed text to send yet again. Leslie, on the other hand, was easy to find locking lips with their floor's stupid RA in a not-so-secluded room upstairs. Seeing that oddball with a blue shirt and pointed ears making out with a low-rent Hillary Clinton was too much. She didn't have much to say to them after going up to the room closest to the stairwell, only groaning in disgust and slamming the door behind her.

Now, instead of any that retribution, she had to deal with weird men on top of the surreal party no ad experience. She wasn't keen on making a scene, but the lack of her usual posse left her open to awful people's advances.

Wanna go upstairs?

Twice she had to stop the urge to vomit and evade people asking that stupid, pointless question. That same tall dude, pretty cute with a patchy mess of a beard and a beer in one hand, tried to introduce himself but after the previous two encounters April needed a break. It wasn't polite when she fled the exchange but she didn't need it to be.

Unfortunately that break came as one guy who either pre-gamed way too hard or simply had no control slurred a gross invitation in her ear.

"Can you please get away from me?" April pushed him aside easily but he came right back near her. "Seriously dude, go walk into a fire."

"Oh come on, don't be like that-"

"I don't even know you. Please go away and never come back."

"Oh, hey! I've been looking for you all night," the leotard guy easily moved her harasser out of the way and plopped down next to her. There was much more space between them than the other jerk afforded. "I didn't see where you went, b-"

April mouthed her name at him.

"Maypril," he finished and she could only barely stifle a laugh.

By then, the drunk guy gave up his little routine but April had questions for someone who seemed to be her stalker.

"Are you following me?" she asked bluntly.

"What? Like on Twitter?" he said with total conviction. "My buddy Tom might. I don't use it."

"No, like in this house? Are you going to serial murder me?" April said flatly.

"Wouldn't it be, like, not the point if I told you?" he looked so lost in thought that April just shook her head. "But really, I'm Andy. Nice to meet you Maypril."

"April," she corrected.

"No, it's October."

"My name's April."

"Oh, you know that's a way better name," he said with what he had to think was a wise look and a nod. "I didn't wanna say anything but Maypril is the worst name I've ever heard."

"You wanna go outside and talk? I can barely hear myself think in here," she almost shouted it, hoping to escape this party.

He leapt to his feet, offering her a hand. She thought about brushing it aside, but the whiskey helped soothe some nerves and she took his sweaty paw of a hand in hers and followed him outside. The sharp night air was a pleasant change. It certainly sobered April because she removed her hand from his almost the second they crossed the threshold of the front door.

"Sorry. Uh, cool costume by the way. I dig the makeup," he sat in the grass and gave her a shy glance before staring up at the stars. Then he stuttered out, "I meant to say that you make a very awesome zombie."

"Nice," is all she could come up with in a moment where awkward energy started to fill some void. "Y'know I think I'm gonna go back to the dorms."

"You need a ride or anything?"

She looked over at this chubby wrestler, Andy, and gave him a meager smirk. "No, but thanks. The walk is way better at night."

"Oh, that's cool, I don't technically have a car anyways," Andy said while scratching the back of his head.

April couldn't help herself and laughed, low and quiet. He still heard it and grinned. Standing up, April brushed some sort and grass fro her makeshift funeral shawl. She stood over him, awkward and uncomfortable yet again.

"Hey, I'll see you around," she muttered so fast it all but fell out of her.

"Yeah?" he looked up at her and she swore that she heard a little hope in his voice.

The words caught in her brain but her stupid mouth ran anyways when she said, "Second floor of McNutt. Ask for Ben."

"McNutt. Ha, classic!" he laughed but a moment before his whole face dropped, suddenly almost somber. "Wait-"

"Whatever, you don't seem terrible," she stared at the ground for a moment. Making to turn, she stammered out, "Okay, bye."

He didn't get a chance to answer because April took off in a brisk power walk towards her residence hall. Maybe she would yell at Lucy later, and definitely Leslie for subjecting her to a visual nightmare, but perhaps the night wasn't a total failure.