Do you guys know what it feels like too have two term papers due this week and not be finished either of them? What if you hadn't even started one? No one knows how to procrastinate like me, lemme tell ya.
But while I suffer at the hands of psychology, please enoy the Halloween chapter almost a month after actual Halloween! You guys are seriously the best readers. I hope this chapter serves as a pretty decent reward. :)
V.
Something There
Natsu paced the gymnasium floor. The people around were giving him a wide berth, mostly because he punched the last person who was too close to him. His nerves were on edge. All right, they had been like that for the past several nights, but tonight they were even more so.
It was already almost 8:00. She should be here soon.
His costume was, for lack of a better word, freaking awesome. He and his friends had a tendency to go all-out for Halloween. Back when they were younger, it had been a tradition to dress up wildly and passionately, and spend hours out trick-or-treating. Finally, they got too old for that. Luckily, by then, they were just old enough for parties.
Natsu's costume consisted of a white shirt, with the first few buttons undone, and black pants tucked into boots. The boots were actually Igneel's, who had apparently played a Musketeer in a college play. They weren't exactly pirate shoes, but they had small heels and buckles. Natsu wasn't complaining. He also had a red overcoat edged in gold thread, found at the back end of a cheap costume store. The hat was the best part, in his opinion – huge, feathered, lace-trimmed, and completely covering his hair.
At the last second, he'd chickened out and bought a simple black mask. It belonged to a Zorro costume, but he swiped it. Now, he was completely unrecognizable. Even the people on the dance floor didn't know who he was, just the pacing punching pirate. Only his friends knew he had a pirate costume, and they hadn't seen the mask. Natsu had ditched them back at the car, saying he had 'things to do.'
By things, he meant nervously freak out while his date still refused to show up.
The music was booming all around, making the floor vibrate when the bass dropped. The DJ was doing a pretty good job, and a lot of people were out on the floor, dancing. Natsu caught sight of one couple, grinding against each other, and instantly wanted to pummel them both. How dare they dance so luridly in public? Especially when he wasn't able to?
The song came to a close, and a few people cheered. Then a few people started murmuring, and one pointed to the staircase. Natsu guessed one of their friends had arrived.
Then a few more people turned, and pointed. The cheering fell into murmuring. Natsu, intrigued, turned around to see what all the fuss was about.
His eyes landed on a figure in a pale blue gown gently descending the stairs.
Now, Natsu had never been one for being romantic, or dramatic. He wasn't the kind of guy to make a big deal over beautiful women, or to suddenly swoon on the spot and start writing poetry. He was a guy that liked to set things on fire, not a teen-girl book hero.
But the second he was that girl on the stairs, his feet were rooted to the spot and the whole world started spinning. And Natsu knew he wasn't the only person suddenly entranced, if the whispers fling around the dance floor were any indication.
The music started up again, and most people slowly shrugged off the sudden, mysterious appearance and went back to dancing. But Natsu kept his eyes focused on the girl. She paused on the stairs, fumbling around with shaking hands that Natsu could see even from where he stood. A second later, she flipped open a small silver device that looked like a phone.
A few moments passed. Then Natsu felt something vibrate in his pocket. Hurriedly, he fished out his phone. A new email was waiting for him in his inbox.
Celestial_Queen: I'm here. Are you?
He looked back up in shock. The girl was still standing on the stairs, looking around the room. Natsu felt his stomach drop right into his shoes. That was her.
Without hesitation, he surged forward, pushing through the crowd. Several people shouted in annoyance, but Natsu didn't listen. He didn't stop until he reached the foot of the stairs.
From up close, he could see she had a mask on. But her cheeks were mostly uncovered, and flushed red. She looked down in surprise.
"S-Salamander?"
Her voice was like music. His felt his knees go weak. Natsu wanted to punch himself for being such a wimp, but he couldn't help it. She was too good to be true.
"Hi," he managed.
Silence fell over them. Natsu couldn't make his eyes leave hers. They were a warm, lovely dark brown. She raised a hand to brush her bangs back, and her fingers were still shaking. Natsu jerked out of his reverie. He could hear the voice of Igneel in his head, yelling. Ask her to dance, idiot! Natsu told the Igneel in his head to shove off, and cleared his throat.
By this point, the song had changed again. The girl in blue looked away from him abruptly, looking at the DJ. Her lips curled up into a smile, it seemed unconsciously. "I love this song," she said. Then she blushed, and looked at him.
He nearly bit his tongue in his hurry to speak. "Do you want to dance?" Way to be spastic, Natsu.
She nodded, looking pleased. Natsu raised his hand, and she stretched hers out. Their palms met, and Natsu marvelled at how perfectly they seemed to fit.
He pulled her down the last few steps, and soon they were in the middle of the dance floor. Natsu wasn't really much of a dancer, but the girl seemed happy enough just swaying on the spot, her unoccupied hand coming to rest on his shoulder. Natsu tentatively put his other hand on her waist. She didn't pull away, and he relaxed some.
"So," he started.
"So," she replied. Her smile was becoming a little more natural. Natsu lost his focus for a second, and stepped on her foot.
"Ack!" She yelped. Natsu let go of her instantly. She stared at his incredulously. "Did you just step on my foot?"
"Um." Natsu wanted to step on his own foot. "Yes?"
She grumbled, but grabbed his hand again. Natsu blinked in surprise, as they began dancing again, even slower than before. "Some Prince Charming," she muttered.
Natsu scrunched up his nose at her. "I'm not a prince, I'm a pirate."
"What kind of pirate wears a mask?"
He twirled her abruptly. "What kind of princess wears a mask?"
She stopped, giving him an appraising look. "Touché."
Natsu grinned. After the initial nervousness, she was as easy to talk to as she was to message. He pulled her a little closer, confidence making his dancing a bit better. "So, Princess. You have a real name?"
"Oh, no." She shook her head teasingly. "We don't know each other nearly well enough for names yet."
Natsu laughed, and so did she. "Okay. Then what can I call you?"
She stepped back, tapping her chin and pretending to think. "I believe," she said slyly, "that Princess will do nicely for now."
Then Natsu's bubble cracked when some sleazeball from his gym class sidled up beside her. "Mind if I cut in?" He drawled. Leering at the girl, he uttered, "Hey gorgeous."
Natsu eyebrow twitched. "Yes," he sharply. "Yes, I do mind, actually." And he snatched Princess towards him. "Go back to dodgeball, assbutt."
Sleazeball made a face. "Do I know you, buddy?"
Natsu had momentarily forgotten his identity was hidden to all. Meaning, no one knew who he was. Meaning, if he got in a fight, no one could pin it on him. Natsu smirked, and cracked his knuckles.
"Nope," he replied, and punched Sleazeball in the nose.
He heard various screams and yells of indignation. Princess was beside him, angrily yelling in his ear. He didn't listen. Instead, he grabbed her wrist and started dragging her off the dance floor. "Come on, Princess!" He yelled over his shoulder. "Time to get rescued!"
X
Yukino stood near the top of the stairs, leaning over the railing. She could see Lucy being dragged off the dance floor by some pirate, whom she could only assume was Lucy's mystery beau. Yukino smiled. Lucy deserved at least some happiness.
On the car drive over, Lucy had told them about Minerva's cruelty. It made Yukino's blood boil. In fact, everything Minerva did made Yukino's blood boil and her vision turn red. Yukino wasn't really one for passionate emotions, but hatred was starting to worm its way into her heart.
"Your face has gone pretty sour," a familiar voice spoke beside her. "What are you thinking about?"
Yukino turned. Sting was leaning against the rail beside her, in a large fur trenchcoat and his hair spiked and wildly ruffled. She bit back a snort of laughter, opting for a more dignified response. "You look like Macklemore," she sniffed, turning her head to the side.
Sting only grinned wider. "I took your advice and stopped by a thrift store."
Now Yukino really did laugh. Sting chuckled, and held out his hand. "Wanna dance?"
"Isn't your girlfriend going to care?" Yukino arched an eyebrow. Sting scrunched up his nose.
"I've decided she's not my girlfriend anymore," he grumbled.
"Oh, really? Does she know that?"
"Uh-"
"Sting? Baby, where are you?"
Yukino blinked, and the colour drained from Sting's face. He slowly began shaking his head, as Yukino began to grin.
"Yes," she said.
"No," he hissed. "No! I'm not ready!"
Minerva came into their sight, in a costume just as ridiculous as Lucy had described. Sting pulled the collar of his fur coat up, and ducked behind Yukino.
"You have to do it at some point," Yukino pointed out. "Ah! She sees us!"
"She's going to kill me," Sting moaned. "I'm never going to get out of this alive."
Minerva was making her way towards Yukino, with a smile of cruel malice on her purple lips. Yukino met her gaze with one of equal strength, and smirked as she pulled Sting out from behind her. The smile on Minerva's face twisted into a scowl.
"What are you doing with her?" She spat, as she reached them. Sting gulped. Yukino elbowed him. Minerva swallowed. "You were supposed to meet me!"
"I didn't want to," Sting said bluntly, face still white. A look of confusion passed over Minerva's face.
"What he means to say," Yukino broke in. Clearly Sting wasn't going to be able to get this out, the idiot. "Is that he's breaking up with you."
"Y-yeah," Sting stumbled. "That."
Minerva took a step towards him, going nose to nose. "I don't think Lecter would like to hear you say that," she ground out.
Yukino's earlier anger came back at her full force. Minerva was threatening Sting's cat, the same way she had threatened Rogue's. Angrily, she stepped forward and pushed Minerva back. "You can't just threaten to kill people's pets whenever you want something," Yukino said sharply. "It didn't work with Rogue, and it won't work with Sting, either."
Sting looked between them. "Wait, what? Rogue? Lecter? What?"
"Your girlfriend here," Yukino explained, eyes not leaving Minerva's, "threatened to have Rogue's cat killed if he didn't tell me that nobody wanted to see me anymore." She cocked an eyebrow. "I believe your words were 'break her heart.'"
Sting stepped back, confusion marring his handsome features. "You did what?" He asked Minerva, voice low.
Minerva was livid. "He wasn't allowed to tell!" She screeched, momentarily forgetting herself. Sting's face fell, and hardened into a mask of fury.
"You threatened my friend's pet?" He growled. "His friend? And then, you go and threaten mine? What is wrong with you?"
"I've been asking myself that same question," a new voice cut in. All three heads swivelled to see Rogue, in a charcoal gray suit, top hat, and billowing black cloak. He narrowed his eyes at Minerva. "I let you bully me into doing something horrible."
"Why would you want to hurt her?" Sting demanded. "I thought you were friends!"
"Friends." Minerva scoffed. "I kept her around because she was pretty. It was good for my image."
"And you ditched me because I was too pretty," Yukino countered. "Right?"
"'A beautiful woman has no friends, only rivals,'" Rogue quoted coldly. He shook his head. "I was right. You are evil."
He walked quickly over to Yukino, bowing. "I apologize for everything I did," he said. His eyes were sincere. "I shouldn't have let her control me like that."
Yukino pulled him into a hug. "You're forgiven," she whispered. "Now go on, Dracula. Dance with some pretty girls."
Rogue smiled widely for the first time in weeks. He turned towards the stairs, but he paused in front of Sting.
"That's why you've been acting so weird lately," Sting said flatly. "Because of Minerva."
"I couldn't tell you," Rogue said. "I'm sorry."
Sting shook his head. "Nah, it's cool. I get it."
Rogue glanced over his shoulder at Minerva, who had been watching the scene with a look of frozen disgust and horror. "Give her hell," he smirked, before sweeping down the stairs and disappearing into the crowd.
"He makes a great vampire," Yukino observed dryly.
Minerva seemed to jolt out of her trance. She turned on Sting, mouth open, but he cut her off. "I'm done with you," he barked. "Don't talk to me; don't even come near me or my friends ever again."
Minerva gaped. Sting took a few derisive steps toward Yukino, and laced his arm around her back. "She counts as my friend," he added. "Meaning you leave her the hell alone."
Yukino's heart skipped a beat. Then it started pounding, and she fought very hard not to look up at Sting as the blood rushed to her cheeks. Minerva saw the look on her face, and nearly gagged.
It was only the icing on the cake when Angel appeared, in a costume identical to Minerva's but in all white. She looked at Sting and Yukino. "Hey, isn't that your boyfriend?"
"Nope," Sting said. "Cute costume. Angel, was it? Sorry, but I think I've got the better looking angel here with me." His arm tightened around Yukino.
Angel's mouth opened in disbelief. Minerva made some kind of noise in her throat. Sting cocked his head, acknowledging their defeat, and steered Yukino away.
They walked in silence down the stairs, and towards the sweaty, pulsating crowd of dancers. Just when Yukino thought they were safe, and maybe they had actually won against Minerva...
"Get back here!"
A huge grin broke out over Sting's face, and he let go of Yukino only to grab tightly to her hand. "Let's go!" He yelped, pulling her along. She shrieked, but allowed herself to be tugged away by Sting as Minerva's inhumane screams followed them.
They passed the folded up bleachers, and an idea crossed Yukino's mind. She changed direction quickly and Sting's arm snapped as he was suddenly pulled behind her. She slipped behind the bleachers and he followed, vanishing from sight just as Minerva pushed her way through the crowd.
Both of them were completely still as she searched the dance floor like a madwoman. Her eyes settled on the bleachers, and Sting made a noise of fear. Yukino reached up a hand to cover his mouth.
Then Minerva passed, pushing away with Angel hot on her heels. Yukino let out the breath she'd been holding, and twisted around to face Sting. Her hand still covered his mouth, and he raised his eyebrows at her.
"Sorry," Yukino amended, pulling her hand back quickly.
"No problem," Sting replied, smile firmly in place. From this close, she could see his canines were slightly pointed, and she tilted her head.
"Are you wearing fake teeth, by any chance?"
He leaned closer, the fur on his coat tickling her chin. "Nope."
"No way those are your real teeth."
"Would you like to find out?"
Yukino sighed and rolled her eyes, ignoring her pounding heart. "Lay off, Sting-"
He moved too quickly for her to react. His fingers caught her jaw, turning her head, and his lips landed on hers. She kissed back easily, leaning into him. His mouth opened as he groaned softly, and she took the opportunity to run her tongue along the edges of his teeth.
When they finally broke apart, she was smiling. "So they are real," she murmured. "How interesting."
"Conduct enough research, doctor?" Sting teased, breathless.
She bit her lip. "I could use a little more."
He leaned in and kissed her again.
X
Juvia knew she had made a promise to stop creeper-stalking Gray. She knew she had made it her goal to speak to him in person. She knew that, but it was so much easier to say things out loud than to actually do them in person.
Gray looked fantastic, Juvia thought, even as a Frankenstein. His skin was brushed over with green makeup and he had stitches drawn all over his face. He wore an old, brown tweed suit jacket, and brown pants. That was it. No shirt. No nothing over his bare chest.
Juvia attributed his state of near-nudity to her state of nerves. If he'd been fully clothed, she would have come out from behind this snack table and talked to him.
He stood apart from the crowd of dancers, leaning against a far wall and looking bored. Every once in a while, people would approach him to talk, and he would give short one-word answers until they left. Juvia gulped and looked down at her costume. She couldn't believe she let Yukino talk her into buying this horrible thing. She was showing far too much skin. If she went up to talk to Gray now, he'd think she was just another girl trying too hard.
Lost in her downward-spiraling thoughts, Juvia didn't notice the person behind her until his hand connected with her shoulders. "Hey!" His voice snapped. "Stop holding up the line!"
Juvia shrieked and toppled over. She spilled onto her hands and knees, landing away from the table. The guy who pushed her offered a vague 'sorry' and moved away, carrying snacks with him.
Juvia blinked back tears, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her knees burned.
A hand appeared in her vision. "Are you okay?" A very familiar voice asked. Juvia, almost afraid to look up, put her shaking hand in his, and was pulled to her feet. "I saw that. What a jerk."
Gray was glaring in the direction of the table, where students continued to grab snacks. None of them had paid Juvia any heed.
"Th-thank you," Juvia mumbled. Gray finally looked at her, dark eyes boring into hers.
"Are you okay, though?" He asked again, concern evident in his tone.
"Yes. Juvia was just a little shocked, is all." She started pulling on the hem of her skirt.
"Yeah, well, you have a right to be." Gray shook his head. "Whatever. I'll punch him later for you."
Juvia was having an out-of-body experience. She couldn't believe she was actually here, talking to Gray Fullbuster. And he was talking back. He had finally noticed her. Maybe Jose's clothes had done her some good, after all.
Gray was looking at her oddly. "Have we met before?" He asked abruptly. "I feel like I know you from somewhere."
All of a sudden, Juvia felt like she was drowning. It felt like there was water filling up her lungs, and she was unable to speak. Was he talking about the beach? She opened and closed her mouth, floundering. Her heart was beating so fast, she might pass out at any minute. This was it. She could tell him.
But he spoke before she could. "Oh, well I guess you go to Mag High, don't you? Obviously I'd have seen you here." He shook his head, smiling slightly. "Sorry."
Juvia squeaked and shook her head. He sent her a strange look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
She nodded, and when he shrugged and looked away, she let out her breath in one whoosh. Well, she didn't have to tell him right away. Maybe when she actually was able to talk to him like a normal person. After all, he knew she existed now.
Gray's phone made a noise, and he fished it out of his pants pocket. "Ah, I've gotta get going," he said. "Nice talking to you, though."
Juvia nodded again. Gray looked like he might laugh, but held it back. Then his eyes drifted down to her costume, and Juvia was surprised to see a little red bleeding through the green makeup. "Is that the only bathing suit you have?" He asked in a slightly strangled voice.
Juvia nearly died from mortification. He thought it was disgusting, just like Juvia thought he would! "Y-yes!" she nodded vehemently. At least she could do some damage control if he thought she didn't dress so provocatively like this all the time.
"Ah." Gray looked a little embarrassed. He started looking at anything but her, and Juvia started to curse Yukino for ever suggesting a mermaid would be a good idea.
Then Gray said, "Well, I've gotta go. I'll see you around, hey?"
And he waved at Juvia, taking off into the crowd. Juvia's knees felt like jelly, and she waved back faintly. He said he'd see her around. He wanted to see her again!
Fighting every urge to start jumping and screaming in front of everyone, Juvia turned on her heel and headed for the bathrooms, where she could freak out in peace.
X
If Erza had been thinking clearly, she certainly would have taken some kind of stomach medication before she left. Anything to calm the roiling sea of nerves currently making her seasick.
"You can't get seasick," Jellal told her mildly, "you aren't on a boat."
"I beg to differ," Erza argued faintly.
He sighed, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Would you just relax?" He asked. "They're going to love you."
They were standing on the far side of the dance floor, away from the throbbing hum of dancers, under one of the basketball hoops. Said hoop was covered in decorative silver tinsel, pieces of which kept falling down into Jellal's hair. It didn't go too well with his costume, which consisted of haphazardly-wrapped Ace bandages covering most of his body.
When it was clear Erza wasn't calming down any time soon, Jellal leaned in and pressed his face into her neck. "You look beautiful," he mumbled. Erza tensed her shoulders, but it was hard to keep the smile off her face.
"Stop it," she whispered, pushing in vain against his shoulders. "Your friends will be here any minute!"
"So?" Jellal allowed himself to be pushed away, laughing. "Okay, fine. You win. But please calm down."
Erza swallowed. "It feels just like middle school when I had to go onstage for the Christmas play."
"Did you get stage fright?" Jellal teased. "I'm sorry I missed that." Then Erza glared, and he held up his hands in surrender. "Or not! I'll pretend I know nothing about it."
Erza was about to reply, when she heard a shout over the crowd. "Yo! Jellal!"
"Gray!" Jellal called back, waving him over. Erza stiffened, and turned slowly. Gray Fullbuster was pushing his way through the dancers, Rogue Cheney trailing a bit behind him. A few people turned to yell at Gray, but he ignored them.
"Have you seen Sting?" Gray asked as he reached them. "We can't find him anywhere."
"He dumped Minerva," Rogue grinned. Erza had never seen him smile before. "It was beautiful."
Jellal laughed. "Guy's, that's mean," he protested, but Rogue gave him a look. "Whatever. Erza, I'd like you to meet my loser friends, Gray and Rogue. Guys, this is Erza Scarlet."
Erza cleared her throat, and raised a slightly shaky hand. "P-pleased to meet you both."
"Oh, yeah I know you!" Gray grasped her hand. "You were on the lacrosse team in middle school, right?"
"And the rugby team," Erza added automatically. "And the soccer team... and the... softball team..."
Jellal raised his eyebrows and Gray laughed. "Yeah, I remember. Ultear complained for a year about how you stole MVP from her."
"Are you still playing sports?" Rogue inquired in interest.
"Uh, no." Erza shook her head. "I've been working full-time at my family's flower shop."
"Cool," Gray said.
"Too bad," Rogue shrugged. "You'd probably be better than Natsu."
"Where is he, by the way?" Jellal asked, raising his head to look over the crowd.
"No one's seen him since we came in," Gray curled his lip. "Dick."
"Be nice," Jellal scolded.
Sometime during the conversation, Jellal's arm had found its way around Erza's waist again. She was surprised, even more so, to find herself settling into him quite nicely. If his friends noticed, they didn't say anything, and Erza was grateful. Slowly, as they chatted away, she raised a tentative hand and placed it on the small of Jellal's back.
"Speaking of missing persons," Rogue said as Sting materialized from the crowd. "Where have you been?" his hair was rumpled and messy, and on his arm was a very familiar face.
"Yukino?" Erza started, surprised.
"Erza!" Yukino smiled widely. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes locked onto Jellal. "Is this who you've been texting?"
"I haven't seen you in a while, Yukino," Jellal cut in smoothly as Erza turned red and began to babble. "What have you been up to?"
"Oh, just the usual." Yukino shrugged. "Making friends, taking down enemies. Fun stuff."
Sting grinned, and hugged her with one arm. "Isn't she great? Why didn't we hang out with her before?"
"We did, you idiot," Rogue stated, but Sting wasn't listening. Yukino had left his side and was grasping Erza's hands.
"Are you and Sting..." Erza's face was still quite red, and she spoke quietly. "You know..."
"A couple?" Yukino finished for her. "Yes, I suppose so."
"Have you always had feelings for him?" Erza didn't want to sound rude, but she couldn't help but wonder if Yukino was only interested in him partly for revenge on Minerva. She hated to sound so critical of her friend, but Minerva was enough to enact that kind of spiteful behaviour from anyone.
Luckily, it seemed Yukino knew what she meant. "I've always thought he was rather handsome," she admitted. "But I thought he was rude and shallow, just like Minerva. Once I actually talked to him..." she trailed off. "Well, it turns out he isn't as bad as you think."
The corners of her mouth turned up. "And what about you and Jellal? You seem awfully cozy."
"Um, no," Erza blushed even harder. "It's not what you think-"
"Actually, it's exactly what you think." Jellal had apparently been eavesdropping, and now interjected. "Erza's my girlfriend."
Apparently, he liked the sound of that so much that he turned around and shouted out to the dance floor, "Erza Scarlet is my girlfriend!"
"No one cares," someone called back.
"Dude, can you keep it down?" Sting frowned. "I'm still in hiding from Minerva."
"She can't be that scary, can she?" Gray asked.
Then Minerva appeared on the fringes of the crowd, looking around wildly. Her hair was falling out of its updo and her makeup was smudged.
"Um," Sting replied.
"I vote we run," Jellal said closing his hand around Erza's. "All in favour?"
Nobody answered. They merely took off at the same time, without even counting to three.
X
Romeo frowned, checking his phone again. None of the guys were bothering to text him back, those jerks. They were all at the Halloween dance. Romeo knew that technically he shouldn't classify them as his friends, since they were almost five years his senior, but they spent so much time in his dad's bar that they felt almost like family.
The mall wasn't very busy, and Romeo was using that to his advantage in the food court. He'd never been to a Starbucks with no lineup, and the feeling was so invigorating that he'd gone back several times for more. It was too much caffeine, really, but Romeo would have been jittery anyway.
If asked why Romeo was skulking a mall food court, jittery and ingesting too much caffeine, on Halloween, the answer was this: Romeo was meeting Wendy.
As in, Wendy Marvell. As in, the girl he'd been IM-ing for the better part of a week. As in, the cute girl with the big brown eyes and the impossibly long blue hair. As in, the girl he was probably in love with. As in, the girl who was off-limits because she was not allowed to date, or even go outside.
Rule breaking was fun, Romeo thought as he swung his feet around the stool. He should do it more often.
"Romeo?"
He turned around. There she was, standing in an oversized hoodie, her hair all the way down to her hips, hesitant smile on her lips.
Oh, yeah. Rule-breaking was definitely something he was going to do more often.
X
"Trick-or-treat!"
Levy swung the door open, beaming down at the costumed children. "Well, hello!" She cheered, holding out her bucket of candy. "Go on, it's free for all!" The children's faces lit up, and they dove into the bowl. Levy laughed.
When they had taken their fill, she waved them away and closed the door. It was already getting late, and they hadn't even halfway emptied the bowl of sweets. At this rate, Levy was going to have to bring it to the lounge and start eating them herself.
As it was, she only took a small handful back with her. Gajeel had another bowl on his lap; he hadn't wanted to hand out any tonight but Levy forced him. If she had to spend Halloween stuck up here, she argued, at least let her hand out candy.
The paper, as it turned out, had a two-page maximum and had taken only minutes to complete. Gajeel stood over her shoulder the entire time, telling her what to write and where. Levy had the growing suspicion that he hadn't needed her help at all, and only forced her to come as revenge for making him go to school every day. Another, sneaky voice in her head muttered that he may have done it because he didn't want to be alone on Halloween; but Levy firmly ignored said voice, as she was so adept at doing.
"Haven't the brats stopped coming by now?" Gajeel grumbled, downing another handful of Skittles.
"Not quite." Levy tucked her legs up, settling back into the plush couch. "Don't you usually have trick-or-treaters? You should be used to it by now."
"I turn off the porch light to keep them away," he snarked. "Now, can we finish the damn movie?"
"Yeah, yeah." Levy grabbed the remote and pressed play. Jack Skellington's lamenting voice filled their ears. She smiled automatically; this was one of her favourite movies.
"I never know whether to watch this on Halloween or Christmas," she said thoughtfully, placing her chin on her palm.
"Both," Gajeel replied. "Although, I watch it all the fuckin' time."
"Hey." She chided. "Don't swear, there are children around."
"Yeah, fuckin' outside."
"The window is open, smart aleck."
But there was no knock at the door for the next ten minutes. Levy was forced to admit defeat, and headed back into the hall to grab the bowl. Mournfully, she ripped open a Mars Bar. "You don't get very many people out here, do you?"
"We're kinda out of the way, if you hadn't noticed." Gajeel looked up as she re-entered. "Been meaning to ask, the hell's up with your costume?"
Levy looked down. "I'm an elf!" She exclaimed. Gajeel snickered, and she frowned. "It was the best I could do under circumstances, okay?" All she really had was a short green dress over brown leggings. It would have looked a lot better with fake ears, but there was only so much money Levy could spend.
Gajeel grunted. "Money problems?"
She was still not quite used to his blunt way of speaking. "Yeah," she said finally, sitting back down on the couch. Gajeel didn't say anything else, and for that Levy was grateful. Eager to break the mood, she said, "You shouldn't be talking, you aren't even dressed up!"
"Yeah, I am," he replied easily.
"Oh, yeah? As what?"
"Myself."
Levy giggled. Gajeel grinned, and turned up the movie. "You're so noisy."
"Shut up!"
"I should be saying that to you, you're the noisy one."
Levy tossed one of the couch cushions at him. He caught it with one hand and sent it flying back. It whacked her square in the nose. "Eek!"
Gajeel laughed as she tumbled backwards, spilling half the candy out of the bowl. "Good luck cleaning that up," he crowed.
"You're a jerk," Levy said, but she was laughing too.
They finished the rest of the movie in silence. Gajeel groaned, and leaned over. "I think I ate too much candy."
Levy sighed, and glanced at the clock. It was nearly midnight. She rubbed her eyes, sitting forward and leaning on her knees. "Gajeel?" She asked, voice much more timid than it had been before. "Is it...all right if I stay here tonight?"
He slowly raised his head. "Huh?"
"My Dad and I got into a bit of a fight earlier." She felt embarrassed to be even asking him. "I thought I'd be okay, but...I just don't really want to go home."
Gajeel was silent for several moments. Levy couldn't look at him. She felt horrible, asking him for a favour like that. She was sure he was going to say no.
"Sure," he said, "you can borrow one of the guest rooms."
She let out a puff of air. "Thanks."
"S'no problem." He was still looking at her. She avoided his eyes, looking at the carpet. "Your dad's a jerk, then?"
Again, with the blunt way of speaking. "He's going through some money problems," Levy said, beginning to pick at her cuticles. "And not handling it in the best way. He's dealing drugs," she clarified. Gajeel made a sour face.
"That blows," he said. Levy laughed without humour.
"Yeah. It really does. Because now there are strange men coming through the trailer all day, at any hour, and I never know what to do and all of them are so scary, and I just get so angry with him because he won't try and get a real job." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "Instead, he makes me afraid to go home because I might run in to some cartel from Colombia with gold teeth!"
Levy finished her tirade with a frustrated moan, burying her face in her hands. Immediately after, she regretted saying all of it. In fact she couldn't believe she had said it at all. She couldn't even talk about this with Lucy, her best friend. But somehow she could spill her guts to Gajeel, the jerk who was blackmailing her to do his homework?
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just-"
"I get it," Gajeel held up his hands. "It's cool."
They sat in awkward silence. Levy couldn't bear to raise her head. Just when they were starting to actually get along, she had to go and make it worse. She opened her mouth to try and say some else – she didn't know what, just something to break the awful silence – but Gajeel spoke first.
"You could always," he began haltingly. "Stay here. You know."
Levy finally looked up, eyes wide with shock. Gajeel was looking determinedly at the wall. "Really?" She managed, voice sounding a little strangled.
"Yeah." He didn't sound too much better. "I mean, you're forcing me to go to school anyways. You could just hitch a ride." He looked increasingly uncomfortable with every word he said. "And if you don't feel safe in your own house..."
Levy's heart melted like a stick of butter. The little, annoying voice in her head had been right. Gajeel might have been scary enough to go as himself for Halloween, but deep down he was just a sweetheart. "Thank you, Gajeel," she said, and she meant it.
"Yeah, well." He stood quickly. "Don't get too happy about it. Just means there are more things I can bully you into doing."
Levy smiled warmly. Gajeel finally looked at her, and sighed in annoyance. "Don't give me that look. C'mon, Shrimp, I'll show you the guest room."
She got up to follow him. As she did, she passed the clock on the mantelpiece. It read ten minutes to midnight. That Halloween party down at the school would be in full blast right now.
She wondered how Lucy was doing.
X
They ran down the abandoned halls, Lucy's heels clattering against the tile as they did. She stumbled, but Salamander was running so close beside her, she grabbed onto his arm and he held tight.
"Get back here!" The teacher chasing them yelled, but he was already too far behind. They rounded a corner, laughing loudly. Salamander screeched to a halt as they passed an open door to a classroom, and pulled Lucy inside. They slammed the door shut, and crouched down as the teacher's footsteps came around the corner.
Salamander was giggling silently, his chest shaking. Lucy out a hand over his mouth, but soon she started giggling so he reached up and pushed a hand over hers.
The footsteps stopped just in front of the door. Lucy squeezed her eyes shut.
Then they started again, and quickly faded away. Lucy sighed, and Salamander removed his hand.
"Hi," he said breathlessly, and Lucy realized just how close they were crouching.
"Hi," she said back, not moving.
"So, Princess." He cracked a slight grin. "How you enjoying a walk on the side of danger?"
"Danger?" Lucy tilted her chin. "I laugh in the face of danger."
"You walk on the wild side, huh?"
"Yup."
He leaned forwards a little. "You're still wearing your mask."
When he talked quietly like that, his voice sent chills across Lucy's skin. It was a nice sensation, considering the rest of her felt like it was on fire. "So are you," she answered, the words sounding odd in her throat.
"You planning on taking it off?"
"Nope."
"You planning on talking in one-word answers all night?"
"Yep."
He grinned even wider, leaning in so close she could see the flecks of green in his eyes. "Are you gonna tell me your name, at least?"
Lucy didn't answer. She leaned forward and kissed him.
And it might have been a dumb move. Lucy wasn't exactly the expert on kissing; she'd never had a real boyfriend. She'd never had time for one. In fact, the only knowledge Lucy had on romance and kissing came from the novels she got to read in her spare time. So Lucy was really going out on a limb when she pressed Salamander back into the door, placing her hands on his shoulders and kissing him for all she was worth.
Judging by his reaction, however, she did it right. He titled his chin, kissing her back with just as much exuberance, wrapping his arms around her back and pulling himself up. Their bodies met, and Lucy fell over backwards, but she barely felt the sting of the floor as Salamander landed on top of her.
She kissed him until she stared to go dizzy. He broke it first, breathing heavily, and leaning on his arms. Lucy's dress spilled across the floor like a cloud, and she sighed, closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath.
"Wow," she managed to say.
"Yeah," Salamander laughed shortly. "Hey, what's your name again?"
Lucy would have kissed him again, but her phone chose that exact moment to beep. Lucy's heart dropped into her stomach, and she pushed Salamander off. Pulling her phone out, she flipped it open and read. Yukino had sent her a text marked 'urgent'. She opened it, and with each word her stomach plummeted further.
Minerva left. Get home now.
"I have to go!" Lucy cried, stumbling to her feet. Ignoring Salamander's cry of "Wait!", she wrenched open the door and bolted out of the classroom.
Panic was filling her chest as she pounded down the halls. Her heels wobbled, and shortly she stumbled and fell. She looked down and cursed loudly. One of the heels had flat out snapped. She pulled both shoes off, leaving the broken one behind as she rounded the last corner and pushed the doors to the gym open.
Lucy pushed through the crowd like a madwoman, shoving random strangers aside. She bolted up the staircase, at one point even using her hands. At the stop, she stumbled upright, and for a second she paused.
The entire world had gone quiet. There was a faint buzzing in her ears, and she barely heard the sound of the principal announcing the winners of the costume contest. "The angel and the werewolf!"
Lucy's eyes were focused on the back doors, and the vague outline of a pirate holding a broken shoe in his hand.
Then she turned and ran, getting outside the gym and nearly throwing herself into the pumpkin orange car. She revved the engine and tore out of the parking lot, not bothering to even signal as she wove through the empty streets, using back alleys and a maze of shortcuts.
Halfway through she passed a gas station, and spotted the tiger-orange Jaguar. Nearly sobbing, she picked up the speed and prayed neither sister saw who was driving past.
Lucy grabbed her phone, clutching the steering wheel with one hand as she struggled to call Cana. When the latter picked up, she almost dropped the phone and screamed, "Get out! Minerva's on her way!"
Cana and Lisanna were waiting outside the house as Lucy screeched to a halt, the smell of burning rubber trailing behind her. "What did you do to my dad's car?" Cana demanded, but Lucy didn't listen. She shoved their cleaning gear into the back, then tore up the walk to the front door. She vaguely heard the sound of them driving away over the jangling of her keys, and made a note to thank them later. As for now, she swung the door open with ferocity and slammed it behind her, quickly locking it before running up the stairs.
She ran so fast that by the time it registered that Cana and Lisanna had done an excellent job cleaning, Lucy was already on the top floor. She leapt up, grabbing the cord to pull the ladder down and climbed up quickly.
As soon as she entered the attic, she looked out the small window. Minerva's car was pulling up to the garage. Lucy slammed her trapdoor shut, quickly ripping off as many things as she could. Her dress fell around her in a poof, and she shoved it underneath the rest of her clothes in her suitcase. Then she put the tiara, the opera gloves, and single shoe on top of it, and pulled her signature Hargeon hoodie on. She didn't bother with pants, but raked her fingers through her hair and across her face to smudge the makeup just as she heard Minerva's voice through the floorboards.
"Lucy? Are you there?"
Lucy took a deep breath, then leaned over and popped the trapdoor open. "Yeah, right here. What's up?"
"You finished all the cleaning?" Minerva sounded different than usual, angrier and less in control. She glared at Lucy like she believed it was impossible.
"Yeah." Lucy tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. "It was no big deal."
Minerva's eyes narrowed. Lucy swallowed. "Did you have fun tonight?"
From down the hall, Flare snickered. Minerva's face turned as green as her costume, and she screamed at Lucy in fury before rounding on Flare and storming down the hall.
Lucy closed the trapdoor as the inhumane screaming of the two sisters carried across the house. She glanced down at the floor and saw her phone. She must have dropped it in her mad scramble to hide her costume. She crouched down to pick it up, and saw an email waiting for her.
xXSalamanderXx: what happened?
Tears pricked up at the corners of Lucy's eyes. A scream of anger, frustration, and pain threatened to escape her, and she threw her phone against the wall and buried herself into a mass of blankets. She screamed and sobbed into her pillow. Minerva and Flare were so loud, they didn't hear a thing.