Prompt #10: "I met him fifteen years ago; I met this man with this blank, pale, emotionless face and the blackest eyes; the Devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven years trying to keep him locked up because I realized that what was living behind that man's eyes was purely and simply... evil." Dr. Sam Loomis, Halloween

Halloween Hookups

Harpier Cries "Tis Time, Tis Time"

It felt weird to be here again. Hell, who was she kidding? Anywhere she went in Port Charles felt weird. After being gone for six months, readjusting to life in the small town was more difficult than Elizabeth had expected, but she was back, classes had started again, and she was moving, so only more things were going to change. For some reason, before she could pack her last box and turn her back upon her studio once and for all, she needed closure, a way to say goodbye to the woman she had been before she had gone abroad to study; she needed to find a way to say goodbye to Jason Morgan.

Their relationship, with all its ups and downs, miscommunications, and even its wonderful moments, was unhealthy. She was in love with him; he only saw her as a friend, and, even putting aside their contrasting feelings for one another, she had finally realized that one day out of a whole year did not constitute a relationship. At most, they were acquaintances. It didn't matter that they had both saved each other, that they had shared a kiss, that she had held him close to her for an entire night the year before. Not only did she need more, but the young artist knew she deserved more, too. Finding Jason and taking care of him had taught her that.

Before the moment she had seen him lying almost unconscious in the snow, he had always represented something bigger, something more powerful than she was. Perhaps because of her silly, teenage crush, she had made him out to be some sort of hero, but thinking that way was unfair to the both of them. After all, he was just a man with flaws and weaknesses, and, as the years moved on, she had turned into the woman who had loved him not in spite of those flaws but because of them. She had loved him for the way he always tried to protect her, for his brooding, silent nature, even for his inability to ever truly tell her how he felt. Everything about him, the good and the bad, made Jason the person he was, and she could have happily accepted him that way until the night she had saved his life.

In the moment that they woke up together the next morning after spending the night together the year before, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, her head resting on his uninjured shoulder, his face buried in her hair, she realized sitting back and loving him from afar while waiting for him to someday return her feelings wasn't enough. If he couldn't love her for who she was the same way she loved him, then she would somehow rid herself of her feelings and find someone else to give them to, someone who would want to be with her, would want to share their life with her every day of the year and not just one.

Going abroad, studying for a semester in Italy, and being away from both Port Charles and all the things that reminded her so much of Jason helped her distance herself from the blonde enforcer even more. She never sent him a postcard the way he had her when he was traveling, she never got word to him to let him know she was alright, and, when she had returned to the city she had called home since she was born, she never told him she was back. Cutting all communication with the older man was the only way she would be able to forget about him and her feelings, and it didn't hurt her resolve any that she had returned to town with more than souvenirs. Elizabeth had brought back a boyfriend from Italy, too.

And now they were moving in together.

But, before she could fully commit to the man who loved her, she had to say goodbye to the man she had loved for so long. It had not been easy to figure out exactly how she should go about letting Jason go completely, nor had it been easy for her to decide the best place to say said goodbye. Eventually though, she had settled on Vista Point. Unlike any other location she and the hit man shared together, the lookout only held fond, happy memories for the brunette.

It was the place she had gone to on her seventeenth birthday to feel close to him, it was the place he had surprised her at, flying up from the Caribbean to simply wish her a happy birthday, and it was the first and only place the two of them had shared a kiss, and, now, five years later, she was back to remember all the wonderful times they had shared together one last time and to bury them so deep inside her heart, she'd never be able to recall them again.

Leaning out across the railing, she took a calming, cleaning breath. Unlike most Halloweens in the sleepy lakeside town, this one was mild. The meteorologists said they were experiencing an Indian summer, but, unlike most residents, Elizabeth missed the air that was so crisp it could make your lungs burn. She missed waking up in the morning and looking outside to see a heavy frost tinting the green grass a pale mint color. She longed for the purity of the first snow, and she needed to feel the earth dying around her as it prepared to hibernate, rest, and recuperate for life anew. Early winter she could identify with, for she was attempting to do the very same thing to her heart – hibernate her feelings for Jason, rest her mind, and recuperate her emotions so that they were ready to start a new life with her boyfriend. He deserved that from her, and she deserved the chance to give it to him. But, still, fall hung on and so did her love for a man who would never return her feelings.

At least this year it was very unlikely they would run into each other. Most people in Port Charles thought she was still in Italy, and, if nothing else, he had a daughter who was almost three years old to chase around, take trick-or-treating, and watch over. Surely, with everything going on in his life, Jason wouldn't have time to go off searching for her, especially after what had happened the year before. Knowing she was alone and feeling reassured that she would remain that way, Elizabeth allowed herself the chance to relax, to move away from the edge of the lookout to sit down on the bench, and to finally let all her strong, courageous pretenses drop; she allowed herself to cry.

As soon as the first tear fell, dozens followed, and what was supposed to be a simple release of frustration, hurt, and anger turned into body wracking, hiccupping sobs. It was as if once she gave herself the freedom to cry, she couldn't stop, and it was refreshing. The last time she had shed a tear had been a year before. Just as she had promised Jason, when they woke up that morning after the night of the ice storm, she had called his boss who had, in turn, sent men to pick up his trusted enforcer. For some stupid, delusional reason, she had hoped Jason would refuse to leave her or, if the doctor said his wound was too serious to stay, would insist that she go with him, but, instead, he had simply thanked her once again and turned his back on her, walking out without a second glance in her direction. The door behind him had not even latched completely shut before she collapsed onto the floor in tears, but, five minutes into her cry, she had gotten mad. She had gotten mad, she had gotten pissed off, trash your apartment, change your life, irrationally mad. Her rage had led to her determination to exercise Jason from her life, her determination had led to studying abroad in Italy, and Italy had led to finding herself a boyfriend who actually gave a damn about her more than twenty-four hours out of any given year.

Bully for her.

Too bad being with a man she didn't love and pretending to feel the same way for him was making her hate herself. Too bad her entire plan to exercise Jason from her heart had failed. And it was too bad that, as she sat there attempting to say goodbye to the enforcer, she found herself hoping that, despite all the reasons why he shouldn't find her that night sitting at Vista Point all alone mere minutes before her birthday, that he would.

And people said the mind was stubborn. Well, they were wrong. The truly tenacious organ was located about a foot and half lower in the human body, slightly left of center.

Balling her delicate fingers into fists, Elizabeth pounded her hands against the unforgiving wooden bench, screaming her aggravation with the whole world but mainly with herself into the gentle breeze. Yelling felt good and so did the pain, so she screamed some more and increased the force of her blows against the weathered seat.

"If you keep doing that, you're going to get a splinter."

As soon as the words were uttered from beside her, the brunette, without looking, leapt to her feet, clutching at the exact obstinate organ she had been cursing not two minutes before. "Fuck!"

His only response was to chuckle.

"You can't do that, Jason! Unless you want to give someone a heart attack the next time, you should stop sneaking up on people." Exhaling sharply, she glared at the man reclining back smugly beside where she had just been sitting. Dropping back down on the bench, she punched his shoulder, and, when her feeble attempts to hurt him only made him laugh harder, she continued to do so.

"That's better," he complimented her actions. "I'd rather you take your frustration out on me than this bench. At least I won't hurt you."

Averting her gaze, she mumbled under her breath. "That's what you think."

"What?"

"Nothing," the artist dismissed, turning back around to face the hit man and offering him an unconvincing smile. "It was nothing."

"Elizabeth?"

"Damn it, Jason, I said it was nothing, so just drop it already!"

"Alright, I will," he agreed almost hesitantly. "Are you okay? You seem a little…tense."

Rolling her eyes, she twisted back around to face the skyline, folded her arms across her chest, and responded. "I'm as fine as frog hair."

"Oh."

Becoming exasperated with him, with the situation, and especially with herself, she demanded to know, "what do you want, Jason?"

"I just…it's almost midnight," he explained, "so it's almost your birthday. I wanted to see you."

"That's all?"

"Does there need to be anything else? It's not enough that I want to spend time with my friend when she turns twenty-two?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "I don't know anymore." When he touched her hand, silently asking her to face him, she complied and then continued to explain. "Maybe it's supposed to be enough, but it's not."

"I don't understand."

"I met someone."

"Yeah, okay," the blonde eyed her carefully, smirking with amusement. "I meet a lot of people all the time."

"No, Jason," she corrected him, emphasizing her words. "I met someone. We're…we're moving in together."

"You're getting a roommate?" Scratching his jaw, he quirked a sandy brow in her direction. "Your studio's kind of small. Won't the two of you be cramped living there together?"

"We would be," she admitted, "so that's why we're going to be renting a house instead. It's nothing flashy, just a little two bedroom cottage, but it gets great light, and it has a bathtub. I love," she drawled out the word, fluttering her lashes softly in sheer bliss at the very idea of the whirlpool, "bathtubs."

Apparently, he still wasn't getting it. "But what if you have company? Where will they stay?"

"In the guest bedroom."

"But you said there were only two bedrooms. I'm confused."

"There are only two," she laughed at his baffled expression. "My boyfriend and I will share the master, and then we'll use the second as a guest bedroom."

Before replying, Jason swallowed thickly three times, and, once he did speak, the words appeared to give his mouth a foul taste. "Your boyfriend?"

Standing up from the bench, she slid her purse onto her shoulder before answering. "We met in Italy, and, to be with me, he transferred to PCU." Nodding her head just once, almost as if to say goodbye, she went to leave. "Take care of yourself…and Ella."

Walking away, she never heard his response – a quiet, heartbreaking, and most definitely regretful, "happy birthday, Elizabeth."

And, just like that, she moved on.