Tiny Halloween ficlet! Econ-verse. Cruddy. And I think I spelled "Bieber" wrong every time, and I can't be arsed to look it up.

"They're going to make you sing."

Jason gave his makeshift bangs another shot of hairspray; the blonde strands were practically a helmet at this point. "They're going to make you bend over."

"Zach is going to make me bend over," Raye corrected, elbowing him over in the bathroom as she wound her own ebony hair around the barrel of a curling iron. She was wearing nothing but a skintight black bodysuit and five inch platform heels: Zach would be walking behind her the entire night. "Darien, too, maybe."

"Darien, definitely." Jason tossed his head. "How does the kid do it?"

Raye put the iron down and picked up a tiny bottle of eyelash glue. "How does Kim not sweat to death in these things?" She pulled at the neckline of her bodysuit. "I should have gone as Pink Dress Kim."

Jason futzed with his hair. "Well I should have gone as Black Vest Bieber. I'm too blonde, I just look like a generic scenster kid." He was wearing black jeans so tight they were practically painted, neon green Nike Dunks, a purple t-shirt, and an aqua hoodie. "No one's going to know who I am."

"The dog tags give it away," Raye said. "And the hat. You never wear the brim like that."

"I wonder if Kevin's going to dress up."

Raye rolled her eyes while trying to stick a falsie eyelash to it and nearly poked her own eye out. "If he doesn't, he's the lamest lame-o that ever lived. I'll kill him. And he promised me he wouldn't wear a suit-costume."

Jason grunted in reply and adjusted the crotch of his jeans. "I think I'm chafing already."

Serena squealed when she opened the door. "OH MY GOD! Jason, you HAVE TO SING! I'll tell Darien to set up the karaoke machine!"

Raye gave her a quick once-over. "Your boobs. Nice."

Serena grinned and struck a pose, nearly toppling over in her gold and pink platform stilettos. "I knew you'd appreciate it! Look! Custom Manolos!" She adjusted her huge white wig. "Darien wouldn't dress as Louis XVI; he said he won't wear tights, not even for me." Sexy Marie Antoinette pouted briefly before perking right back up. "But look at you! Zach's going to have a heart attack, and oh my GOD! The real Kim was supposed to come tonight, but I think she got dumped or something because she had to cancel."

"Good, I don't think Zach could handle that much bodacious ass in one night." Darien appeared at her elbow, grinning. "Besides, you're much hotter than Kim Kardashian, Raye."

She surveyed his costume: a tuxedo with cummerbund, a top hat, a red and black cape, and a white eye mask. "What the hell are you?"

Darien shrugged. "I thought I'd look like The Phantom of the Opera, but he's got a different tuxedo."

"You look like Mr. Incredible crossed with a waiter," Raye said as she brushed past him and into their penthouse. "Your spiders are purple and have googly eyes."

Serena giggled. "I was going to decorate it like a haunted house, but I didn't want to scare my little girl!" She knelt down and held out her arms, and a black and orange fairy witch ran into them, grinning from ear-to-ear. "You are so adorable! Auntie could just eat you!"

Aja hugged her around the neck. "I can't find kitty!"

"Oh," Serena tutted. "Luna's probably hiding because there's so many people here!" She lowered the little girl to the floor. "How about we get some purple monster punch and then go look for her, OK?"

Aja nodded and allowed herself to be led away by Sexy Marie Antoinette.

Like a hapless prey drawn to the lure of an anglerfish, Zach immediately gravitated directly behind Raye. "I'm going to say something that's going to make you slap me."

Raye raised an eyebrow; she knew how to play this game. "So, is Amy here?"

At the mention of her name, he tore his eyes away from Raye's ass with a scowl. "Yes."

"Are you guys…talking? Or…what? What's the deal?"

Zach ignored the question and turned to Jason. "Bieber!"

"Yep," Jason said behind his Wayfarers.

"You're going to sing, right?"

"Yeah, what the hell," he conceded. "What are you?" Zach seemed to be clad in his normal navy hoodie and faded jeans.

He smirked. "I'll put it on again once Aja goes to bed. She doesn't like it too much."

Faux-Kim procured a drink and wandered the crowd until she heard her name called. She closed her eyes momentarily to gather her bearings, and then spun around.

"What the hell?"

Kevin shrank back from her screech. "It's not a suit!"

"I know!" Raye titled her head to get a better look. "So what is it?"

"You don't know? Really?"

"No."

Kevin ran a hand through his hair. "I knew this was a bad idea."

"No, it's a good one!" Mina interjected. She was clad head to toe in yellow, including a fluffy scarf. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy updo. "Really, you don't get it, Raye?"

Raye took in Kevin's outfit, which was jeans and a white T-shirt with some arty design on it. "You're a normal human being?"

"I'm Jason."

"Oh." She let out a single cough of a laugh. "Oh, nice try. You seriously just look like a person."

"Jason's a person," Kevin shot back defensively.

"No I mean—forget it." She turned to Mina. "Explain."

Mina grinned. "I'm sunshine!"

"Oh God," Raye turned on her stiletto. "You guys fail at costumes."

Makoto and Noah were much better: the mother of the little witch was obviously dressed as a big witch, but Noah was wearing all khaki and stuck straw around his head. Raye raised an eyebrow in appreciation: these two looked like they had put some effort in. "So you're her broom?"

"I'm Aja's broom," Noah corrected. "Hopefully she'll pass out soon and stop riding me."

Almost like clockwork, she did. Makoto carried the dozing fairy witch upstairs and returned with a baby monitor. "How much of that punch did she drink?"

"Not enough to keep her up," Darien said, unscrewing a bottle of Belvadere and dumping it in the punchbowl. "Now the party can start!"

Raye was three cups of purple spiked punch down when she felt a sudden, familiar stinging sensation on her ass. "Zach! You cock!" She spun around and gaped at the figure covered completely in skintight green spandex.

The green man posed. "GREENMAN!" He ran off cackling, his curly hair crinkling bumps underneath the spandex.

Raye rubbed her buttcheek and glanced at Amy. The petite girl's eyes were following the green blur, but she would occasionally look away. Raye knew what was up. She reached over and playfully tugged on the end of Amy's trailing sleeve. "Renaissance chick?"

"Oh." As always, Amy looked slightly uncomfortable starting a conversation. Raye kept her face neutral; she wouldn't make this hard for her. She needed this. "No, I was trying for Ophelia, but my hair's not long enough." One hand reached up and brushed the cropped black strands. "I'm still not used to it."

Raye lifted one shoulder and leaned on the wall next to her. "I got a chin-length bob once. It was weird whenever I washed my hair because I wasn't used to not using a whole handful of shampoo."

Amy smiled shyly, and Raye felt a burning sense of accomplishment. "I don't need to blowdry."

"Trust me, that's a good thing." She punctuated that statement with a huge swallow of purple punch. "And I think you look great. Better than Mina and Kevin. Those two half-ass it every year."

"Well, they might surprise you one year," Amy said. "Kevin will wear a chicken suit or something."

Their eyes met, and the two girls dissolved into giggles. After a minute, Raye caught her breath. "Amy, would you be one of my bridesmaids?"

The girl's breath caught as her eyes popped open. It seemed impossible for someone to get that red, Raye thought. "I, uh—are you sure? I mean-we've only been—I don't—"

"I promise I won't make you wear anything ugly."

Amy's head bowed and she stared at the surface of her drink. "I'd love to."

Raye's heart resumed beating; it wouldn't do to have anyone see the normally unflappable Raye becoming unnerved from a simple request. "Well, joke's on you; I lied about the ugly dress."

"Can I reneg—"

"No," she interrupted, and then grinned.

The next morning, Raye poured herself another cup of coffee while browsed through Amy's email, complete with photos from the previous night: Green Man and the Tuxedoed Mask wrestling on the floor in the middle of Serena's impeccable living room, Aja riding on Noah's shoulders when she woke up at midnight and rejoined the party, an extremely drunk Justin Bieber singing "Baby" on the karaoke machine, a ball of sunshine crashed out on a chaise lounge, Green Man wearing Sexy Marie Antoinette's wig. Raye only remembered a fraction of the activity thanks to the purple monster punch, but her butt was sore from Darien and Zach pinching it all night.

Amy was missing from the photos, since she had been the one taking them. Raye tapped her fingers against her desk; that didn't seem fair to her. The next party, Raye would take the pictures; all she needed was an occasion. She reached for her mouse and clicked "reply".

So, girls night this Friday? We need to talk dresses.