October, 31st
13 weeks into the first semester
The sky outside of Team Taupe's dorm room window glows a vibrant orange as the sun slowly descends toward the horizon.
Inside of the room Ty lowers a lit candle into a large jack-o-lantern the letters T-A-P-E carved into it. Someone had also crudely scribbled a "U" between the A and P in marker, but considering it looked absolutely atrocious everyone chose to ignore it. Ty took a deep breath and marveled the sight of his team's jack-o-lantern for a moment before standing and dusting off the light tan jacket of his perfectly recreated Eren Jaeger costume.
"Uuuugh, dude." Automne groaned from his bed as he flipped through windows on his Scroll. Instead of his usual attire he was dressed in a light blue button-up, a pair of khakis, a simple yellow diamond print tie and a pair of comically geeky square frame glasses. "When're we going to leave? The party started like five minutes ago."
"We're just waiting on Petunia and Eve, man." He said with a small nod to the thick red curtain dividing their room as he carried the pumpkin over to their desk and set it down.
"Ugh, why do girls always take so long to get ready? I can get ready in five minutes and look fine. If I want to look fabulous, fifteen."
Petunia gave an amused chuckle as she walked around the curtain, her face, arms and legs sticking out of a large yellow banana. "Oh, please, you look like crap no matter how much you comb your hair or use that crappy body spray."
"Hey, New Spice is not crappy; it's awesome. Now, shut up." Automne demanded, staring at the ludicrously dressed girl from behind his fake glasses. "So... Are you just-"
"I'm a banana." Petunia said sternly with a slight eyebrow waggle.
"Yeah, that's where I thought we were going with this." Automne said flatly as he contemplated if the sweet embrace of death would ever take him from this cruel, painfully unfunny world.
"Hey, well at least I got cult, stoner comedy on my side. What are you supposed to be?" She said with a raised eyebrow as she walked over and flicked Automne's brown, slightly scuffed dress shoes.
"I am John from accounting. The one guy in the office everyone always seems to talk about, but no one ever sees around." Automne said happily as he adjusted his tie.
"That's stupid." Petunia said flatly with an unimpressed stare.
"Kind of have to agree; 'das stupid." Ty added as he sat down on his bed and joined the heckling.
"Oh, whatever, at least I don't rely on dated internet humor for a costume or... Whatever you are, Ty."
"Uncultured, pleb." Ty scoffed.
"I'm more cultured than cheese!" Automne retorted instantly.
Ty and Petunia stared at him, completely dumbstruck by his spontaneous, stupid outburst.
"Umm..." Petunia started as she searched for the proper words to describe the sheer amount of stupidity that Automne had just exposed them to.
"Okay," Eve's soft sweet voice chimed from behind the curtain. "I'm all set."
Automne gave a heavy sigh and swung his legs off of his bed as he pocketed his Scroll. "About time." he muttered under his breath as he straightened out his tie and brushed at a few wrinkled patches on his shirt.
"So, what do you guys think?" Giddiness gushing from Eve's voice as she stepped out from around the curtain to reveal her costume.
Automne's eyes hesitated for a moment, as he looked over his khakis, before his gaze swiftly darted to Eve. Electricity burst through his body and set his senses ablaze as she graced his eyes with her presence.
His brain began to go into shock as he tried to take in every detail. From her dark eye shadow and black lipstick making her eyes and lips pop out at him like a beautiful, other-worldly neon sign to her gothic boots and deep black stockings, clinging tightly to the subtle curvatures of her legs, he had become completely enamored. His heart pounded heavily against his ribcage as his stomach sloshed around in his gut. From her black and silver skirt, ending at mid-thigh, to her skin tight black top which ended just above her bust line she was encapsulating him. If it weren't for the fact that she were wearing a slender leather jacket Automne would have surely collapsed from sensory overload.
"You look nice." Ty responded promptly while Automne's mouth hung agape in the background.
"Yeah, you look good." Petunia concurred as she looked Eve up and down quickly.
"Automne," Automne's heart skipped a beat as Eve turned to him, her periwinkle eyes watching him with joyful anticipation. "How do I look?"
Automne swallowed hard. "Um... ah-umm." Automne cleared his throat heavily as he tried to restart his brain. "Umm... w-what?"
"My costume," Eve clarified cheerfully as she tugged on the sides of her skirt with a smile, her deep black gloves snuggly clinging to her delicate hands. "I'm a Goth girl. What do you think?"
"Umm, it's- uh... You're...," Automne rubbed at the back of his head and steadily eased his gaze away from Eve, his cheeks burning a bright red. "Umm, hey- uh, aren't we running late? I think we should get on down there, to the dance, before they- uh- close the doors or something."
Eve's warm smile quickly vanished from her face as unquenched curiosity filled her countenance. "Automne, are you-"
"We don't want to be late- I mean- like more late than we already are, because we already are late and it's not even like a fashionably late, it's like a late-late." Automne nervously rambled as he slipped his way past Petunia and Eve, avoiding eye contact all the while, made his way over to the door and quickly shuffled out of the room.
"Pfft," Petunia said with a wide smile. "Real smooth."
Eve didn't hear her though she was occupied in diligently looking over her dress. "Petunia," Eve started quietly, that is quieter than normal. "D-did I say something? Because Automne was acting… odd… it was like he didn't want to look at me... Did- did I do something to make him upset or-"
"Eve, Eve, Eve," Petunia said dismissively as she took Eve by the wrist and began to drag her along. "Don't worry about it; it's Automne. You probably just surprised him since you're not dressed like a prude."
Eve writhed uncomfortably as she tried to release her wrist from Petunia's grip. "I don't dress like a prude." She said with a hint of bitterness as she pulled her wrist away from her banana clad captor.
"Eve, if you dressed like a nun for a week none of us would notice." Ty added jollily as he closed the door to the room and matched their pace.
"Automne would probably notice." A sly smirk parted Petunia's lips as Ty gave a chuckle.
Eve looked between them in confusion. "What do you-"
"It's nothing Eve. I'm sure you'll catch on in a little while."
Pure unbridled excitement swept through Eve as she entered the festively decorated ballroom. A set of pulsating strobe lights sporadically painted the room vibrant shades of orange and purple. The ceiling and pillars were strewn with dark streamers and tattered, ghostly white clothes that swayed ominously when a draft flowed through the room. And most importantly of all the dance floor was absolutely abuzz with costumed students stepping and swaying to revamped Halloween classics.
Eve smiled jubilantly as she started to sway lightly to the music.
"I thought you were supposed to be a Goth?" Petunia said with a grin as she gave Eve a small nudge.
"Oh," Eve said in surprise as she quickly cleared her throat and folded her hands down in front of herself; a somber straight face replacing her joy. "Sadness, death, despair..." Eve murmured seriously, the façade only lasting a couple seconds before she burst into giggles.
"I'd give you a B for effort, but honestly I don't even think you earned that." She said with a patronizing pat on the shoulder "So, should we head over to the dance floor? 'Cause I can't wait to show off my banana power." Petunia said as she made her best attempt to look seductive while shaking around in a banana costume.
"Not yet," Ty said dismissively as he looked around the room. "Let's go find Automne. He sent me a text saying he's sitting over at the tables." He said giving a nod to some tightly packed round tables to the left of the dance floor.
"Ugh, what a killjoy. Alright let's go find the spaz." Petunia remarked bitterly as she made her way towards the tables.
Anxiety welled in Eve's appearance. "Ty, d-do you think Automne was acting strange earlier?"
"Eve, you're going to have to be a lot more specific than that." Ty said lightheartedly as they eased their way around small clusters of students.
"I mean back at the room, he didn't want to look at me and he kept avoiding talking about my costume. Do you think he hates it?" Worry dripping from her voice like wet paint as she looked down at her skirt and stockings.
Ty gave a sigh, "Eve, I'm sure he doesn't hate it. He's just... Bad at being a normal person. He's like a deer, kind of, you probably just spooked him. Give him a little while and he'll warm up to it... and then we'll kill him and mount his head on the wall."
Eve blinked a few times, unsure if this had actually set her at ease or not, but that really didn't matter considering the fact that Automne had just come into eyesight. He was sitting at a small round table holding his fake glasses in one hand and rubbing his face with the other.
Eve quickly made her way over to the table, making an effort to stand directly across from Automne. "Hi Automne," Eve said with a soft, warm smile and slightly uneasy eyes.
Automne spread his fingers and cast a small glance out at Eve for a moment before his eyes darted elsewhere. "Umm, hey, Eve..." A clearly nervous and seemingly pre-occupied Automne muttered as he took his hand off his face and put his glasses back on.
"Are you all right?" Eve asked as she walked over and pulled up a chair next to Automne's, causing him to noticeably tense up. "You ran off earlier and-"
"Is anyone thirsty? I'll go get us all some punch. I heard that it's good punch. Usually punch isn't great, but this stuff is supposed to be good." Automne rambled as he quickly rose out of his chair and swiftly backed away from Eve. "Hey, Ty, how about you help me get some punch. I only have two hands and Petunia will probably want punch and you know how it goes, bro." Automne finished with forced laughter and a look that said 'for the love of all that is holy, take the damn hint'.
Ty gave a heavy sigh, shoving the chair he had just pulled out back under the table, "Fine,"
"Yo, what'd I miss?" Petunia said lackadaisically as she walked up eating a banana.
"Automne's an idiot."
"Yeah, what else's new?" Petunia said with a chuckle as Ty trudged off after Automne.
Eve gave a soft sigh as she watched the two walk away and disappear in the bustling crowd.
Petunia slowly came to a halt in the chewing of her banana and stared at Eve. "Hey, Eve, uuuuh, you alright?"
"Yes, I'm just thinking about something..." Eve said distantly as she stared at the table.
"Oh," Petunia continued to chew her banana with a blank look in her eyes; that is until a mischievous smirk crossed her lips, "Hey Eve, do you like sea-food?"
Eve blinked a couple times, "Well, I suppose it's alright. Why-"
"Blah." Petunia garbled as she opened her mouth wide and displayed the mushed mess that was her banana.
"Petunia!" Eve exclaimed in disgust as she held her hands up over her eyes.
(Meanwhile)
"So, why're you being a complete ass?" Ty asked nonchalantly as he ladled punch into a red plastic cup.
"I'm not being an ass, I'm just... keeping to myself." Automne said guiltily as he swirled the punch around in his cup.
"Yeah, well you're really upsetting Eve, you know that right? She thinks you hate her costume."
"I don't hate her costume." Automne stated matter-of-factly as he stared intently into his cup. "... Hey, uh, Ty... What uh, what do you think of Eve's costume?"
"I think she looks nice. It's nothing special." Ty said dryly as he filled up a third cup for himself. "Why, what do you think of it?"
"Oh," Automne muttered tensely. "Well- yeah, I guess it's not anything insane- yeah, but uhh," Automne cleared his throat. "Yeah, uh- yeah she looks- uh- very," Automne cleared his throat again, "Beautiful," He rapidly muttered before taking a swig of punch.
Ty stopped ladling and slowly turned to Automne a large smirk slowly spreading across his mouth. "What was that?"
"Bite me." Automne responded without hesitation as he stared at the bottom of his cup.
"I'm telling." Ty said with an extreme amount of amusement as he began to walk away with cups of punch in hand.
"Nononono please please please please please don't!" Automne pleaded as he chased after Ty.
"Dude, I don't think she'll go crazy over a little compliment."
"No, it's not that- well, not just that- it's- uhhh, look just please don't tell her, okay?"
Ty paused for a second as if he was experiencing some kind of groundbreaking revelation. "What, is this like your fetish or-"
"Dude! Please!" Automne begged.
"Alright, fine, just don't come whining to me about any drama later." Ty said in slight annoyance as he took a sip from his cup. "Also you lied, this punch is crap."
"Yeah... It is pretty bad..." Automne conceded weakly. Automne fell silent for the rest of the walk back to the table quietly moping. When Eve came into sight between shifting members of the crowd he took a deep breath and forced a smile onto his face."Heeey, we're back." Automne droned in an attempt to seem like he wasn't being awkward and unsociable as he walked up and set a cup of punch down in front of Eve.
"Where'd you two go?" Petunia inquired as she pulled another banana from the leg hole of her costume and began to peel it.
"Automne thought we should all have some punch." Ty said with a clearly forced, annoyed smile as he passed one of his cups of punch to Petunia.
"Well, why wouldn't we all want to have some punch, right? It's a dance and that's what people do at a dance right, drink punch... and dance." Automne finished nervously as he glanced over Eve from the corner of his eyes who was contently sipping punch, her black lips glistening lightly under the bright strobes. His cheeks swiftly caught fire and his face burned bright red as he silently watched a small smile cross her lips.
"Thank you for the punch, Automne." Eve chimed graciously as she beamed at Automne causing him to recoil and quickly avert his gaze.
"Umm- n-no problem, Eve." He weakly muttered as he stared down into his already emptied cup.
Eve blinked a few times, distress in her gaze as she looked at the unreasonably asocial boy. "Automne did I-"
Petunia gave a loud gasp, cutting off Eve, as the DJ switched tracks.
"Holy crap, this is my jam!" Petunia shouted as she jumped out of her chair and ran out to the dance floor.
There was a momentary pause before Eve too gave a surprised gasp and rose out of her chair. "I love this song." She cheered jubilantly as she swayed back and forth to the beat, her skirt lightly swaying with her. "Automne, we should go dance." Eve suggested as she beamed down at him, her emotions once again clashing with her costume.
Automne glanced up at her nervously, his eyes swiveling around the room, only occasionally returning back to Eve. His mouth was almost as dry as paper as she looked down at him and softly batted her eyes. "I- I, uh," Her smile fading quickly as he tried to compose himself "Well-uh- here's the thing I, uh, actually just saw some friends and I should probably go say hi to them."
"Friends, but I thought we were your only friends?" Eve said innocently.
"... Okay first of all, that was rude." Automne stated, slightly offended by this harsh, but undeniably true statement "Second, you don't know them. I hang out with them when you guys aren't around."
"Aren't around?" Ty chuckled, "We live in the same room."
"Yeah, well... I'm just gonna go say hi." Automne said dismissively as he rose and began to walk backwards.
Eve shuffled slightly in place as she watched Automne back away. "Well, um, maybe I can come with you and-"
"No! I mean no, don't worry about it Eve. Go have fun and I'll- I'll just catch up in a bit." He said with a nervous smile before he speed walked off in a different direction.
Eve gave a soft sigh as she watched him walk away.
Automne tentatively glanced around a group of students to make sure that Eve wouldn't be able to see him, images of her lovely, but miserable face still running through his head.
Automne gave a heavy sigh and leaned back against a wall. "I'm an ass."
"I would say you are more of a coward, even in this regard, but I do not feel inclined to disagree with you on this." Sienaerde smugly replied as she walked up and stood next to him, sporting a foreign military uniform of some sort.
"Oh... great, like my evening wasn't bad enough." Automne said dryly as he glared at her.
"Well, if it helps to alleviate you, the vast majority of your problems stem from your own emotional instabilities rather than your social ineptitude, but I can assure you, your ineptitude is a prominent factor in the vast majority of all your strife." An arrogant smile twisting her lips as she held her hands behind her back like some sort of master villain lecturing a child.
"I swear to Dust you eat thesauruses with every meal." Automne grumbled under his breath. "What do you want?"
Sienaerde gave a small chuckle, "I just wanted to tell you that your skills as a huntsmen are pathetic, but they're nowhere near as dreadful as your miserable, and frankly embarrassing, display of failing to court a woman. So rest assured you are reaching new lows in every walk of life with each passing day."
"Do I even want to know how you know about-"
"I was following you, but even if I weren't your less than subtle body language and lack of tact could be spotted from across the ballroom."
"Well, this talk has completely justified why I hate you. Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go be miserable somewhere else." Automne said with a grimace as he began to walk away.
"That's unfortunate, I haven't even insulted your low-budget costume yet."
"You are just Dust awful... Speaking of which what is your costume anyways?" Automne asked out of curiosity as he glanced her up and down from her black leather boots to hat.
"I'm an SS Officer." She said with a disgusting amount of pride as she clicked her heels together and gave a salute with an out stretched arm.
Automne stopped and stared at her, his mouth hanging open a bit as he registered what she had just said. " D-did we just broke the fourth wall so you could be a Nazi?"
"Ja," She remarked shamelessly as she stared at him with an unnerving amount of glee.
Automne blinked a couple times. "You are just a Dust awful person... I'm going to walk away now and pretend that I've never met you."
"One day we shall eradicate all of the Faunus schwein and unite the great Kingdoms under a true and pure flag!" Sienaerde shouted before bursting into maniacal laughter.
"Goodbye, crazy person." Automne muttered before quickly shuffling away while covering his face from on looking passers-by.
(Shortly after the craziness)
"Where've you been?" Ty called out from the table as a clearly unnerved Automne pulled out his seat.
"Hell... I've been in hell." Automne removed his glasses and did a tired face-palm. "Where's Eve at?" He groaned as he rubbed his eyes to the point that he could only see glowing dots.
"I convinced her to go dancing." Ty said from behind the rim of his cup. "You know she's-"
"Not having a good time and it's all my fault and I should feel bad. Save it," Automne gave a heavy sigh. "I already do." Automne pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes. "Auuuuugh why do emotions suck so much?!" Automne groaned as he stomped his feet against the ground.
"Because you're immature and don't know how to act like a man." Ty said curtly as he rocked back and forth in his chair.
Automne slid his face down his hands and rested his chin on the table. "I hate you."
"No, you don't." Ty said flatly as he took another sip of his punch, grimacing at the red plastic receptacle in disdain.
"Ey, we're back." Petunia said, beaming like an idiot as she walked up and collapsed into her chair.
Automne tensed up and tried to avert his gaze as Eve followed shortly after breathing heavily with a few beads of sweat running down her face.
"That was fun." Eve said cheerfully, picking up her cup and casting a glance over to Automne. "Maybe we can all go back out there in a little." she suggested with a warm smile aimed directly at Automne.
"Umm," Automne started, nervously watching Eve from the corner of his eyes. "Well, I-I don't know. Maybe in a little whi-whi-whi-whiiiii-" Automne stammered in shock as Eve removed her jacket. His mouth fell open and his face began to turn crimson as he admired a full view of Eve's pale white shoulders and her long, velvety black gloves that stretched the length of her forearms and crawled half-way up her supple, lean biceps. "Eve, you should put your jacket back on!" Automne shouted as he quickly turned away to prevent himself from dropping his gaze to the horribly low bust line of her dress.
Eve looked down at her dress in concern while Ty and Petunia just glared at Automne.
"I'm sorry." Eve said weakly, forcing Automne to guiltily turn back to her. "I am dressed rather...indecently. I should probably go-"
"Wait!" Automne shouted as he jumped up and held his palm out at Eve, who had started to rise from her chair. "Umm... I didn't mean 'put your jacket on' in a bad way, I meant- umm, I was trying to..."
Automne was drawing a blank as his eyes darted around from Eve, to the dance floor, to a cameraman standing near the door to- Automne gave a small gasp. "Iiii was going to say we should go take some pictures together!" Automne shouted triumphantly as if he didn't just stumble through his excuse like a drunkard in a field of land mines.
Eve gave a large gasp, a large smile quickly washing away her fears. "We completely forgot to take pictures together." She steadily rose out of her chair, slipped her jacket back over her arms, tossed her hair over the back and eagerly bounced in place. "Come on, let's go get a few pictures." Eve cheered happily as she made her way over towards the cameraman.
"Smooth save," Petunia said sarcastically as she rolled off the side of her chair and stumbled to her feet. "What's next, are you going to get her to jog around the campus?"
"Hey, I had to improvise."
"Don't be so hard on him, Petunia." Ty said calmly as they all began to walk across the room. "Some people prefer a physical image when we're getting off." Ty said with a suggestive grin and a painful nudge into Automne's ribs.
"It's not like that!" Automne growled through his teeth as they pushed past a small group of huntsmen.
"Whatever you need to tell yourself in public man. Just try not to glaze those khakis." Petunia egged on with a toothy smirk.
"I think he already did. Did you see the look on his face when she took off her jacket?"
Automne gave an exhausted groan as they rejoined Eve, who was still bouncing enthusiastically. "I really hope you two catch fire in a training room accident."
"Automne, that's not very nice." Eve said softly as a couple in front of them walked away contently with arms wrapped around each other.
Automne flinched as Eve watched him intently, her soft eyes glowing at him amongst her eye shadow like shiny gemstones. "Erm, yeah, I was just... I was joking. I mean, I never really-"
"Next," The portly cameraman called out to the team.
"Oh, thank Dust." Automne blurted out, making Eve turn back to him in confusion. "I mean... Thank Dust that we're finally up! I mean was that line long or what? Ahehehehe… anybody?"
Everyone, including the cameraman, blankly stared at Automne.
"Alright, let's move it along folks." The cameraman said suddenly after shaking off Automne's awkwardness. "Now, let's get the ladies together for the first one.
"I hope you enjoy leftovers." Petunia said with a smirk as she smacked Automne's chest with the back of her hand.
Automne gave a groan as Eve and Petunia stepped in front of a festive backdrop. "Gah, why do you two have to be dicks and make this weird?"
"Because you're such a bitch; you make it too much fun." Ty responded indifferently as Petunia and Eve struck a couple of quirky poses. "Also you're the one makin' it weird, dude. The rest of us are trying to have a good time."
Automne gave a heavy sigh. "Dust, I hate you."
"Love you too, but how about channeling all those pent-up emotions at your girlfriend?"
"Alright and now the gents." The cameraman called out prompting both Ty and Automne to step forward in front of the backdrop.
"She's not my girlfriend." Automne hissed under his breath as he spun around and pointed a finger gun at Ty's head with a smirk for the camera. Ty simply responded with a bright smile and returned the gesture.
"Aww, you two look cute together!" Petunia shouted from the side as the cameraman snapped the picture.
"Alright, now how about a couple of you all together."
"Oh, what kind of pose should we do?" Eve loudly whispered as she happily jogged back in front of the camera. "Should we go for a group pose where we all do the same thing or maybe a silly one where we all do goofy faces or-"
"How about we pose like our costumes?" Ty suggested cheerfully as Automne still struggled to maintain eye contact with Eve while Petunia took a bite out of yet another banana.
"That sounds perfect!" Eve called back cheerfully before taking a deep breath and pouting at the camera.
Automne gave a small chuckle and pretended to adjust his tie for the camera as he watched Eve pretend to be a moody, self-centered Goth girl from the corner of his eye. It was actually a rather gentle moment as the camera flashed and captured what seemed like the most harmonious point of the evening.
Automne gave a content sigh as he stared at the back of Eve's head as she broke character and returned to swaying lightly with a large smile.
"Now, how about a couple of you two together?" The cameraman suggested cheerfully as he pointed to Automne and Eve.
"Wait, what?" Automne sputtered completely dumbstruck by the sudden shift from a nice peaceful little photoshoot to an unholy nightmarish photoshoot from the most awkward pits of hell.
"Sure," Eve said happily as Petunia and Ty stepped out of the frame, but not before Ty intentionally shoved Automne closer to Eve.
"Wait, I'm not-"
"Automne," Eve's sweet voice chimed as she turned to him, her hands clasped together as she looked up at him with big eyes. "Please."
Automne could slowly feel his soul being sapped out by Eve's gaze. Her moon white eyes staring out at him from behind her periwinkle contacts. "Al-alright." Automne surrendered as he looked down at her with bright red cheeks.
Eve gave him a warm smile.
"Alright, so Miss, you turn around and you, young man place your hands on the lady's waist."
Automne's heart skipped a beat as Eve turned around and backed up against him, a slightly uncomfortable smile stretched across her lips.
His heart began to pound and beat against him like a mad drummer. His arms felt like lead as he slowly raised them and tentatively placed his hands on Eve's hips. The fabric of her clothes brushed against his softly as the camera flashed, capturing a snap shot of Automne holding Eve from the side. He began to breathe heavily as he turned his face into Eve's dark silky hair; her sweet fragrance wafting over him like warm water.
His eyelids began to grow heavy as a warm smile crossed his face. It was only a matter of seconds before he gave into his senses and gently wrapped his arms around Eve's waist. He pulled her closer and let his breath slowly flow past his lips. Silence fell upon him for a few brief moments until Eve responded.
"Automne," Eve's voice said softly. He opened his eyes and realized his face was resting against the back of her head, her dark hair shrouding him from the rest of the world. "A-a-are you-"
Automne quickly released his arms from around Eve's waist and stepped backwards; channeling his semblance he faded out of visibility.
Eve turned around and swept the room quickly to see that Automne was nowhere in sight. "Au-Automne?"
Automne tossed and turned in his bed restlessly as images of Eve clad in gothic clothing strutted through his mind. Chills ran up and down his body, his eyes transfixed on her smooth pale skin and her luscious black lips. Automne let out a whimper as she cast him a look of disdain and began to slowly walk away. His lips quivered and his eyes flooded with tears as his body began to crumble away into orange and brown leaves.
"Rise and shine, dude." Ty's voice rang out through his crumbling dystopia as cold water splashed against his face.
Automne jumped up in bed sputtering, his face and sheets sopping wet as Ty lifted a bottle of water to his lips and took a sip. Automne gave Ty a spiteful glare as his leader swished the water around in his mouth and swallowed.
"I didn't expect you to sleep in for so long. You know, since you were already asleep by the time we got back." Ty said with furrowed eyebrows as he began to cross the room towards one of their desks.
Automne gave a heavy sigh and ran his hands over his face a few times to wipe away some of the water.
"Was Eve-"
"Confused? Upset? Able to enjoy the rest of the evening? Yes, yes and hell no."
Automne gave a heavy sigh and hugged his knees. "I'm an ass." He muttered to himself.
"Yes, you are, also it looks like you're a pizza face today." Ty said curtly as he walked over and held a small mirror to Automne's face.
Automne stared into the mirror his miserable, acne riddled face looking back at him. He gave a heavy groan and fell back into his soaked pillow. "I break out when I'm stressed."
"Well, I guess you deserve it then." Ty responded dryly as he glared down at Automne.
"Piss off man, I'm having a hard time already."
"Eve didn't look like she was little miss sunshine when she woke up this morning either, man"
Automne's eyes shot open and his head popped back off the bed. "Where's Eve at? I need to go apologize, like right now."
Ty stopped for a moment pulled his sleeve back and looked at a wristwatch. "She went down to breakfast with Petunia over a half-hour ago. She'll probably be coming back up here in a few."
Automne gave a sigh and rolled off his bed. "Well then, I guess I better make myself presentable." Automne slurred miserably as he shuffled over to the end of his bed and pulled his sweater out from under it. "Can I borrow some cover-up man?"
"Maybe after you apologize." Ty shot back sternly as he sat down on his bed.
"That's mature." Automne grumbled to himself as he pulled his sweater down over his wet t-shirt. "Pants." Automne stated like a spoiled brat as he waited for Ty to toss him his pair of cargo pants from the floor.
Ty took a second before giving the appropriate response and chucking the pants directly at his head, the buckle from his belt smacking directly into his face.
Automne stumbled back before gaining his footing and turning to Ty with a serious look in his eye. "Rude,"
"We're back!" Petunia shouted half-heartedly as she threw the door open.
Automne gave a heavy sigh as he quickly tried to put on his pants. "Good morning, Petunia. Good morn-" Automne froze up as he turned his attention to Eve who was standing in the doorway still dressed as a Goth. "Umm, g-good morning, Eve." Automne stuttered in shock as he looked Eve up from her Gothic boots and jet black thigh high socks to her emblem emblazoned black tank-top mostly covered by the same dark jacket from last night.
Eve gave Automne a warm smile. "Good morning, Automne."
"Yeah, umm, morning- Eve, you're uh, still wearing... Goth." Automne mustered as he weakly pointed at Eve's clothes, her eyes shining brightly at him from behind her glasses.
"Oh, yeah, my jacket and pants got stained earlier, so I changed into this." Eve said with a small smile as she lightly tugged on the sides of her skirt.
"Oh, w-well, it certainly..." Automne's cheeks began to turn a dark shade of red as he quickly averted his gaze. "SO, uh-hey I-uh I think I should go down and maybe get some breakfast."
"Okay, are we still going to go to the library in a little while?" Eve said with a large sweet smile, prompting Automne to cringe.
"Umm, I- uh I don't know."
In an instant Eve's smile was swept away. Her eyes quivered a bit as she tried to force a smile back onto her lips. "B-but you said you were going to help me study today." Eve stopped and looked down at her clothes. "Automne, if this is about the way I'm dressed-"
"Hey, look at the time they're totally going to stop serving breakfast soon. I should get down there." Automne said in a rush as he quickly made for the door, gently stepping around Eve before he bailed into the hall.
"Wait, Automne!" Eve softly called out as Automne quickly walked down the hall.
Eve paused for a few moments as she stared down at her boots.
Petunia looked back over to Ty and shook her head. "Hey, Eve, I'll go study with you. Forget Automne, he's being-"
"A liar." Eve's sweet voice chimed with an uncharacteristically deep intensity. She quickly spun around and raised her fiery gaze to Petunia. "Automne has been lying and running away and it's all because of these clothes! I'm going to get him to tell me the truth and I'm going to use these clothes to do it!" Eve shouted as she balled her hands into fists. "Petunia grab my purse, please! We need to go to the mall!"
Petunia shuddered a bit and held her hands up defensively. "A-alright Eve, let's just keep our cool, 'kay."
"Hmm," Ty hummed nonchalantly, "As leader I should probably say something." Ty briskly walked over to his bed and pulled out a manga from under it. He threw himself onto his bed and flipped open the book. "Eh, I'll let them sort this out."
Automne gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed his forehead across his open textbook. He had the dorm all to himself and he was making the most of it by sighing and wallowing in his own pity. He rolled his head across the paper and turned over onto his cheek to see his half complete assignment lying next to his textbook.
"Probably would have finished by now if I decided to go with Eve." He muttered to himself as he tried to imagine a scenario of them sitting together in the library where he didn't embarrass himself and look like a complete jackass. Automne let out a heavy groan and threw his head back. "Ugggh, stupid socially awkward idiot."
Automne stopped berating himself as a chill flowed through his body. A second later the tumblers to the door clicked loudly as someone began to push it open. Automne quickly scooted forward in his seat, grabbed his pencil and pretended to look like he was working diligently.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as a long haired, dark figure slowly stepped into the room.
"Hello Automne." Eve's soft, captivating voice rang in his ears as he continued to stare down at his paper. Eve stared down at him as she confidently strutted over and stood behind him. "I missed you at the library." Her delicate voice cutting into him like a razor as she bent down and whispered into his ear.
"I-uh- I actually missed the – breakfast, so I had to wait for lunch." Automne lied as the feeling of Eve's soft breathing on the back of his neck threatened to drive him wild.
"That sounds awful." An irregular, and almost insulting, amount of insincerity heavy in her tone as she stepped forward into the corner of Automne's eye, spun around gracefully, and sat herself on the corner of the desk.
Automne's heart began to pound in his ears thunderously as he ever so slightly turned to stare at her black knee socks which clung tightly to her long smooth legs. Automne bit into his tongue as he began to trail his eyes up her creamy thighs which all too suddenly disappeared under the ruffles of her skirt.
"Automne," Eve seductively whispered as she pushed aside Automne's textbook. "Last night, you never told me how I looked."
Automne's face burned like lava as his gaze slowly rose up across a bold silver and black corset which hugged Eve's slender figure tightly.
"Automne,"
His heart came to a stop as he met her gaze. Her soft periwinkle eyes looking down into his from amidst a flourish of dark eye shadow, her lipstick his vibrant shade of yellow. "How do I look?"
Automne quickly bolted up from his seat causing Eve to jump off the table.
"No, we are going to-" Eve started before Automne quickly swept her off her feet and into his arms resulting in Eve quickly turning a bright pink. "No, no, no, no, no, put me down!" Eve protested as he turned around and began to carry her towards his bed. "No! Automne, stop! I- I was just-"
"Trying to get me to tell you why I've been avoiding you?" Guilt heavy in his voice as he set her down on the edge of the bed.
Eve immediately attempted to scurry across the bed away from him, but Automne quickly grabbed her by the wrist and sat down next to her. Eve tugged against his grip as her eyes darted across the room in panic. "H-how-"
"Eve, you are a terrible bluffer." Automne said with a grin, still hesitating to look directly at her.
Automne gave a few chuckles and released Eve's wrist; which she ripped away and hugged tightly.
Eve tried to do her best attempt at giving Automne an infuriated glare as she tried to compose herself. "W-well?"
Automne gave a heavy sigh, "Do I really have to tell you?" He said nervously; still averting his eyes.
"Mhmm," Eve confirmed with an aggressive nod.
Automne gave another sigh. "Well, it's... I don't know how to... "Automne gave another heavy sigh and looked directly into Eve's soft eyes; occasionally glancing away in fright.
"Eve... You're... very pretty, and that's- that's kind of awkward, because you're my best friend and that just… it feels wrong to say that to you because... well, it's you and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable around me like I'm just being a creep."
"... Oh," Surprise evident in Eve's voice as her cheeks glowed a warm pink. She swiftly looked away from Automne and down at her knees, her hands pressed tightly against her chest. "So..." Eve started cautiously as her eyes glanced between her knees and Automne's. "I-is that why you don't like it when I dress this way?"
"What? No, Eve I-" Automne gave a heavy sigh and rubbed at his neck as he turned away. "I think you look kind of... very… beautiful when you dress this way. I just- it- it just doesn't feel like you though. You feel like a completely different girl, like... the kind who-" Automne glanced around, gave a heavy sigh and ran his hands through his hair. "Make me nervous..."
Eve blinked a few times before turning to Automne, concern deep in her eyes. "Why do I make you nervous?"
"I don't know... M-maybe because you're not dressed like a prude."
"I don't dress like a prude." Eve huffed as she puffed her chest out.
"Eve, you regularly wear a button-up shirt and slacks. You wear sleeping gloves, Eve. Sleeping gloves," Automne stressed as he gestured back towards her side of the room. "And I'm not even going to start about how you freak out if anyone touches you for more than three seconds."
Eve blushed brightly and attempted to curl up into a ball. "W-well people should respect my body." Eve whined as tears began to bud in the corners of her eyes.
A smirk crossed Automne's lips, "Alright then, I'll just have to make sure to attract twice as much attention as you, so no one will violate you with their eyes." Eve gave Automne a warm, but stressed, smile, "So, uh Eve are- are you going to be... dressing this way more often?"
Eve gave a small sigh. "I don't think so. Boys have been trying to flirt with me all day." Eve perked up slightly as an idea smacked into her. "Do you think they would bother me if we dyed all the silver on my clothes yellow like your clothes? I've seen a few girls wearing their teammate's colors before and they never seem to have that problem."
Automne turned to Eve in shock. "Uh, Eve, um- t-that's an old huntsmen tradition where-uh... Huntsmen will do that to show that they're engaged."
Eve froze up at this previously unknown information and hastily scooted away from Automne, her cheeks burning an almost neon pink.
A smirk began to sprout on Automne's face. "You know, if you want to propose you can just say it. Who knows, maybe I'll say yes."
Eve gave a loud moan and scooted further up the bed.
"Alright, no need to get flustered." Automne mocked with a chuckle. "Now," Automne raised his fist out to the girl. "Are we good?"
Eve glanced over at his hand and without a second thought extended her own fist and gave him a small bump. Eve gave a small giggle, "We're good." Automne and Eve jubilantly smiled at each other for a short time before Eve breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that that's settled I'm going to go change into something less... promiscuous."
Eve made to get up, but was immediately pulled back down onto the bed by her wrist.
"Hold on!" Automne shouted nervously as he once again struggled to maintain eye contact. "Umm... do you think you could wear it for just a little while longer?"
Eve blinked in astonishment as Automne eased her back onto the bed. "Umm, well... I suppose I could"
"Great," Automne cheered as he bent down and began to remove Eve's boots.
"What're you-"
"You should get comfortable. Lay down for a while, let me do your homework or something. It's my way of saying sorry." Automne said with a large smile as he pulled her boots off and lifted her feet up onto the bed; all to the chorus of Eve moaning in distress. "Oh, calm down. Now, do you need anything; snacks, water, massage~"
Eve's eye's widened as the last word left Automne's mouth. "M-ma-massage?"
"Yeah, a massage," Automne placed a hand on Eve's knee. "And afterwards you can strip down for me so I can," Automne moved in close, his hand gently running up her thigh as he pulled aside her curtain of hair to expose her ear. "Dye your clothes."
Eve let out a loud shriek and rolled off Automne's bed as he broke out laughing.
"You're awful!" Eve whined as she curled up on the floor.
Automne gave a sigh and sat on the bed with a large smile, "Yeah, I know"
Why can't every day be Halloween?
-CS