Hello darlings! I'm going to explain the late update really quick!

As some of you might know, I am a college student and I also am an athlete. For spring break, I rode on a charter bus for 25 hours to get from my school to Tuscon, Arizona. Since Monday, I have been playing softball or doing something with my team so I haven't really had time to update my stuff on here or anywhere else.

I'm glad to say that the wait is over!

Enjoy!

-Silverwing

000000000000

Connor narrowly avoided a paper ball sailing at his head as he walked into English. Hickey's goon, Tom Biddle, cackled at Connor's unamused glare. Biddle began shoving his way through the crowds, hammering people to the side with his large frame as Connor rolled his eyes. Hitching his backpack up onto his shoulder, he plopped down in his seat. Hickey and company hadn't been giving him nearly as much trouble since the incident with Achilles, but they were persistent in their aerial assaults.

As he sat, he could feel his mood souring. It was only third period and he wanted to go home.

"Were they bothering you again? Figli un puttane," a voice spat, sitting next to him. Claudia pulled out a tube of Chap Stick and quickly applied it.

He would have to kill Ellie for telling her about it.

She smacked her lips. "I don't know why the teachers don't do anything. Everyone sees it!"

Looks like Ellie will live another day. Connor thought bitterly.

Claudia sighed dramatically and stuffed the Chap Stick back into her purse. "Anyway, have you heard about the Halloween party?"

Connor arched a brow warily. "Halloween party?"

"Ellie's parents are holding it! They're inviting some work people and Ellie gets to invite some of her own friends! Has she told you yet? Oh merda she probably hasn't because she only got the text today," Claudia rambled, her Italian accent becoming heavier as she became more enthusiastic. Connor almost snorted.

Out of the corner of Connor's eye, he saw Ben Church, another goon, stride into the room. It took only a moment for Church to lob another paper wad at Connor's head, which was avoided effortlessly.

"Oi! Quit!" Claudia snapped, glowering heavily at Church with a glare that could immobilize most human beings.

Church cowered away, twiddling his thumbs. Connor didn't blame him. Despite her girly appearance, Claudia looked like she could singlehandedly carry out any threat she dealt out. She turned back to Connor, smirking. "My older brothers could get them, if you want. They fought mob members in Italia all the time," she suggested, deviously arching her eyebrows.

Connor let out a soft laugh. He had heard about her two older brothers. Federico, the oldest, worked at the bank with her father. Her other brother, Ezio, was an MMA instructor. Petruccio, the youngest of the family, had just started his Freshman year.

"That's alright. They're not worth it," he said, giving her a polite nod.

"Alright, but the offer stands," she shrugged, popping a piece of gum into her mouth. Claudia held the little pack out for Connor. "Want one?"

He took one, tossing it into his mouth. Ellie stormed in, slammed her book down on her desk, and huffed as she sat down.

"I am sick of APUSH!"

Connor turned in his seat, looking at her in surprise. Her face was red in frustration. "Why?"

Ellie huffed, opening her book to one of the many sticky notes. She pointed at a picture of the 'First Thanksgiving'. "That obviously didn't happen! A woman during Lincoln's Presidency vouched for the darn holiday and that's when the date was picked. This book is chock-full of incorrect information," she seethed, slamming the book shut loudly.

Connor glanced over at Claudia, who mirrored his sarcastic look. Only Ellie would know information like that and get worked up over textbooks.

"Anyway, Connor," she said, stuffing her APUSH book into her backpack, "my parents are having a Halloween party next weekend. You and your dad can come, if you want. It's a costume party."

Claudia's jaw dropped at that. "Costume party?! Can we go shopping tonight?!"

Ellie laughed. "Sure, I need a costume too. I grew out of my other one."

Connor rubbed the back of his head as they made plans.

"And you're coming too Connor," Ellie said, pulling her English book out. Just like her APUSH book, it was wedged with sticky notes.

Connor arched a brow, pointing at himself. "Me? Costumes? No thanks."

Ellie gave him a look that only girls were capable of giving. "Too bad. You aren't getting out of this. We'll need your help, and you can finally meet Fed and Ezio. They're cool guys."

Connor rolled his eyes, accepting his fate. Ellie smiled smugly. It was a good thing Achilles didn't need help with anything today.

"Sit down, berks," Mr. Lee said, striding in.

Connor reluctantly faced his grimy teacher. Things like that normally didn't bother him, but his instructor's grease stains were distracting.

"We are moving on to Beowulf, since we finally have the copies. I would have assigned The Canterbury Tales or La morte de Arthur but the blithering imbeciles who work here apparently can't read a clear list."

He tapped the tall stacks of books on his desk. "Excerpts will be read in class because there aren't enough copies for every student. Miss Johnston?"

"Yes?"

"Would you mind passing these out?" Mr. Lee asked, turning to the board.

Ellie gingerly walked up to the desk, keeping as far away from Lee as she possibly could. Ellie was a stickler for hygiene- the sweat stains on Lee's underarms couldn't have made her feel any better. She quickly grabbed an armful of books, distributing them quickly and hurrying back to her seat. A click sounded and a flowery aroma forced its way up his nose.

"Can I have some?" Claudia asked quietly.

Ellie held out her hand and Claudia wiped her palm across it.

"Country Chic! My favorite," she squealed.

Connor shook his head. Girls could read his mind and stay foreign to him.

"Mr. Kenway."

Connor sat up straight, paying attention to Mr. Lee. He could have sworn there was something up Lee's nose. "Yes?"

"Tell me, when was Beowulf written? Or did they not tell you that at your old school?" Mr. Lee asked, smirking maliciously.

Connor gritted his teeth and stared back at Lee. Ellie mumbled nastily under her breath as Church snickered audibly.

"I don't know," he forced out. It took all his strength to restrain himself.

"Thought so," Mr. Lee sneered. His high-nosed glare lifted to behind Connor and softened slightly. "Yes, Miss Johnston?"

"Mr. Lee, it's almost impossible to answer that question. No one knows the exact date. Beowulf was an oral piece for centuries before it became a written work," she rambled.

Connor was suddenly overjoyed that she knew such random information.

Mr. Lee went white and dropped the chalk. The class visibly leaned forward, hanging on to the only excitement they would likely get that day.

"Way to go, Ellie," Claudia snickered quietly.

"I will never get over Lee's face! I've never seen him speechless before," Claudia laughed, walking past the masks and towards the costumes for women.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "He was being a jerk. That's child's play."

She peeked at Connor and nudged him with her elbow; he looked as if he were tempted to make a break for it. "What's wrong?" Ellie hung back with Connor and asked quietly as Claudia continued talking aimlessly.

Connor gestured to the more…risqué costumes. "Seriously? Why am I here?" he whispered, a whine coming into his voice.

Ellie rolled her eyes. "We aren't even considering those. Calm down."

She tugged on his sleeve, moving toward the more entertaining costumes. "Here are some decent ones."

Connor's face was back to normal once the girls were done hunting through the section, and Ellie had two possible costumes. In one hand was a Lara Croft outfit, and in the other was a humorous dress stuck with play cats and tacky designs. "Cat Lady or Lara Croft?" she asked aloud, holding them up for her friends' inspection.

Connor looked at her, then at the costume pictures. "Lara Croft. Josh told me the game was fun."

"You would look way butch in it, though," Claudia said, looking at it down her nose.

Connor gave her an incredulous look. "Lara Croft? Butch? Have you been under a rock?"

Claudia shrugged. "In the video game world? Yes."

Ellie almost laughed at the shock on Connor's face. "I'll think about it. Your turn Claudia."

Claudia smirked. "I already have mine."

She held out the Renaissance woman costume. "I'm going to be historically classy this year."

Ellie laughed, looking at Connor. "Okay. Now for you, Ox."

Connor glowered at her. "I already told you. I don't do costumes," he insisted, crossing his arms.

Ellie acted as if he hadn't spoken as she hunted through the superhero costumes. She froze the moment she saw the mass of leather and straps dangling on the hanger. "Hawkeye!" she squealed, grabbing the costume.

Connor peeked over her shoulder. "Seriously?"

"Why not? You do archery and stuff!" Ellie said, pushing the extra-large costume into his hands.

"But-"

"Go try it on!" she insisted, pushing him toward the dressing rooms.

"I-"

"Go!" Ellie shoved him towards the door.

He grumbled as he walked into one of the stalls, pulling the curtain sharply closed.

Claudia held out her hand. Ellie high fived her.

"It's impeccable," Claudia snickered.

Ellie grinned smugly. "It'll fit him perfectly."

Claudia nodded. "He has the intense Jeremy Renner look too. It could just be your greatest genius yet."

"I know!" Ellie exclaimed, thoughtfully considering her own costume choices. Badass or hilarious?

When Connor pushed the curtain to the side and stepped out, Ellie had to stop her jaw from hitting the floor. Even the glower on his face complimented the perfection of the outfit. Ellie could imagine him being cast as a darker-skinned and longer haired version of Hawkeye. Ellie exchanged glances with Claudia, who mirrored the same shock on her own face.

"What?" Connor mumbled, not looking amused.

"You are not leaving here without that costume," Ellie ordered, smiling.

Connor turned and looked at her in the reflection of the mirror. He squirmed uneasily. "Seriously? It's really tight in some places."

"Tight in the right places," Claudia commented, wiggling her eyebrows with a wink.

Connor's face flamed bright red as he ducked back into the dressing room.

Ellie shot Claudia a look, rolling her eyes. "You scared him!"

Claudia mimicked her jokingly. "It made his-"

Ellie held up her hand, cutting off the comment. Claudia arched her eyebrows deviously.

Claudia leaned in close. "You saw how nice his butt looked."

Ellie rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Okay, Lara…or Cat Lady?"

"Just be Lara Croft." Connor fixed his sleeve as he walked out.

Ellie bit her lip and turned back to the rack, moving some costumes to the side and hanging both of them up. Something better would catch her eye. Just as the thought crossed her mind, she spotted a flash of bright blue clothing.

"Oh. My. Glob," she said, picking the Adventure Time Fionna costume from the rack. It was skin tight and short, but she couldn't stop herself.

Connor tried to hide his chuckles behind his hand as Claudia glowered at her. "Don't. You. Dare."

Ellie glanced at Connor over her shoulder. "Will you be Hawkeye if I wear this skin tight piece of amazingness? We can be uncomfortable, awkward, wannabes together."

Connor studied the outfit, sighing and running a hand over his face.

"One condition," he said finally.

"What?" Ellie raised her eyebrows.

"You have to talk exactly like Fionna would the whole time you're wearing it."

Ellie grinned, holding out her hand. "Deal."

"You both are nerds," Claudia muttered as they shook on it, rolling her eyes and stalking toward the registers.

Connor and Ellie watched her go, smiling widely. They high-fived and followed suit. "Nerds for life!" she crowed, skipping towards the register.

This was going to be a fun Halloween.

Connor slumped down in the booth of Dairy Queen and cursed all malls in existence. He made himself a promise to never let the girls take him shopping again. He put his head down on the table and groaned, only picking his head up when Ellie and Claudia came back with their shakes and his blizzard. He stuck a huge glob of the Oreo goodness into his mouth, shoving a few dollars at Ellie.

She shook her head and pushed them back, grinning. "You actually bought the Hawkeye outfit; I'll buy you a hundred blizzards for that."

Connor slumped down, letting his head fall back on the table. He felt so…exposed while wearing the outfit. Needless to say, he wasn't fond of the feeling.

"My stupid brother is taking forever," Claudia pouted, checking her phone.

"Is he late from a lesson?" Ellie asked around her straw.

"He probably is, the idiota," Claudia grumbled.

Connor paid attention to his blizzard again, hacking it to bits with his spoon.

"Sorella!"

Connor glanced at the two dark haired men walking towards them. The shorter of the two was dressed nicely in a dress shirt and slacks. The other had much longer hair, which was pulled back into a loose ponytail. He was much more casual, relaxed in an MMA shirt and a pair of jeans.

He had a friendly smile, but it obvious that the guy was lethal. He radiated confidence and his muscles pushed fiercely against his shirt.

"About time you get here," Claudia huffed, standing up.

Connor held back a groan as Claudia looked down at him. They were on the move again. "Connor, this is Federico and Ezio. This is Connor, Mr. Kenway's son." She gestured to the shorter guy and the taller guy, respectively.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Connor," Ezio said, holding his hand out and shaking Connor's firmly. The guy oozed charm- a few girls at a table near them giggled lightly as he threw them a small wink.

Connor felt a frown push at his lips. Overly flirtatious guys like that usually irritated him.

"Yeah, you too," Connor said, shaking his hand. He stuck the spoon in his blizzard and trudged along after them, hanging back with Federico and Ezio.

As they walked, Connor stuffed more ice cream into his mouth. "Claudia told us you moved here from a Reservation. What was living there like?" Ezio asked.

Connor inwardly groaned. He was sick of hearing the question over and over again- it only made his mood worse as he spat out the response he had begun to use every time. "Just like anywhere else. We just tried to be as self-dependent as we could," he replied, sticking another glob of ice cream in.

"Cool. Our Madre tried gardening once… Remember that, Fed?" He elbowed his brother.

Federico threw his head back in laughter. "It failed miserably," He told Connor. "Our Padre was pissed – nothing, not even grass, would grow in the patch of dirt she dug up. It's still in our yard, bare as ever."

Connor grinned, pushing down the pang of mourning that sprung up as he remembered the time his mother tried to grow rosemary. Ziio had gotten so frustrated she ripped the plants clear out of the dirt.

"So, what exactly does Mr. Kenway do?" Ezio asked.

"He's a lawyer."

Ezio looked up thoughtfully. "I figured it was something like that. I bet he kicks some culo in the court room."

Connor nodded silently. He assumed his father was successful, as his work was powerful enough to split his parents. "I guess he does."

They followed in a comfortable silence, drowning out the chatter of the girls until they stopped in front of Macy's. Ellie glanced at them over her shoulder. "You guys can hang out somewhere else if you want," she said, gesturing to the mall.

The words didn't need to be repeated. They quickly headed back to the food court, where the silence became slightly awkward, hanging heavily on their shoulders. Connor tossed his empty cup into the trash. "So Ezio, how did you get into MMA?" Connor asked.

The guy was an obvious badass. It was amazing he wasn't world famous.

Ezio smirked. "I boxed all the time back in Italia, when I was younger. When we came here, my Padre signed me up for MMA. The rest is history," he explained, sitting down at a table.

Connor sat across from him and Federico, who was mimicking his brother as he told his story. "What made you want to teach instead of compete?"

Ezio's smirk turned into a grin. "While I was in high school, I helped cover a bunch of classes. I decided I would give the other guys a chance and teach instead of kick ass all the time."

Connor scratched his head as Federico rolled his eyes. "Do you compete still?"

Ezio leaned back, stretching. "Yeah. I compete when I can. Teaching is nice. It keeps me up to date."

Federico grinned at Connor and started to flex his arms and make faces. Unfortunately, Ezio took that moment to look over at him. "Fottitini," he growled, shoving his brother playfully. Federico nearly fell out of his chair but popped back up, unfazed.

"Anyway," Ezio said, looking at Connor again, laughter fading. "When are you going to ask Ellie out? She's practically begging for it."

"What?" If there had been anything in his mouth, he would have spewed it across the table. His entire body froze.

The two men snorted and began to crack up. Connor glowered at them. "Your face! Christo, he actually believed me!" Ezio laughed.

Connor kicked him under the table. "That wasn't funny. Ellie's a friend," he snapped seriously.

Ezio waved it off good naturedly, laughing still.

Federico pulled himself together first, wiping a tear from his eye. "We just wanted to see how you react. Ellie's another little sister to us... We always check and make sure her and Claudia's 'friends' intentions don't involve what's inside their pants."

Connor gulped. "And…what if that was my intention?"

Federico jabbed a thumb in Ezio's direction as they grinned evilly. "Fratello gives you one of his famous MMA 'lessons'."

Connor was overwhelmed with happiness that they were okay with him.

Ezio tapped the table, moving to get up. "Let's head back. Claudia won't hesitate to bitch at us if we don't."

Federico rolled his eyes, standing up. Connor caught up with them as they started to talk about their costumes for next weekend.

Connor half-listened, consumed in thought. He'd never had a brother figure in his life- maybe they could fill in for that role.

As long as they didn't tease him about Ellie too much.

When Connor lazily opened his eyes to the Saturday morning light, the door to his room slammed open. He yelped and fell out of bed. "Get up. We're going out," Haytham ordered, walking away.

Connor rubbed his head and ran a hand over his face as he disentangled himself from the sheets. He got ready at a leisurely pace. He ached to follow his own agenda instead of rely those of others. I miss driving, he thought unhappily.

Once Connor trudged down the stairs, he almost collapsed at the bottom. Haytham was wearing a pair of jeans- it had to be the first time in history.

"Let's go," Haytham said, walking toward the door.

After a small period of silent driving, Connor sighed and asked his burning question. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Connor furrowed his brow. Why the secrecy? He leaned his head against the window, watching as Saratoga flew by. He furrowed his brow more when the horse statues appeared again. He really needed to ask Ellie about those things.

Haytham pulled into a Used Cars lot. Connor looked at him in confusion when he parked. "Uh, why are we here?"

Haytham shrugged. "You're 18. You need a car. I don't want you to depend on Miss Johnston or myself all the time and you've shown me that you're definitely responsible enough."

Connor barley stopped his jaw from dropping. His own car?! Even on the Rez, driving anywhere meant borrowing the van and taking anyone else who wanted to tag along.

Connor jumped out happily, almost jumping in excitement. Haytham waved it off. "Aren't fathers supposed to do this with their sons?" he said, smirking.

Connor grinned back, following him toward the garage. An older man walked out, wiping his hands on a rag. A name tag saying 'Henry' was stitched to his breast pocket. "Whatcha lookin' for?" he asked, holding his hand out.

Haytham shook it. "My son needs a car," he replied, gesturing to Connor.

Connor stuffed his hands in his pockets when the man studied him. "Well, what kind of car do you want?"

Connor glanced at Haytham, who waved him forward. Browsing the cars, he overheard the mechanic and his father chatting as Connor ambled around the lot of crappy, beat up old cars.

He turned back to ask his father to go somewhere else when the car caught his eye. He loped towards it and stared.

He was in love.

The Mustang symbol shined proudly on the front of the old muscle car. He stepped back a little and started waving his arms.

He finally got Haytham's attention. "I found something!"

As Haytham and the mechanic began to walk over, Connor checked out the car. The tires looked good and the inside was decent. He decided that it couldn't have gone through much.

Henry frowned as they approached him. "You want the '69? The engines busted, kid. Car's no good."

Connor wasn't going to be so easily deterred. "How do you pop the hood?" he asked. Fixing the cars on the reservation had been his job- there was hope for this one.

"Pull that lever." Henry tossed the keys to him and pointed. After the hood was open with a loud thunk, Connor threw the keys back.

Connor frowned as he mulled over the engine. "The fuel line needs an upgrade."

Henry's brows rose at the comment. "You know cars?"

"More or less," Connor said, looking back at the engine. He fiddled with the fuel line. "What's the issue with it, besides that?" He didn't see anything else wrong.

Henry sighed, almost nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "It leaks oil like nobody's business. Kid, it has too many problems."

Connor shut the lid and threw Haytham an unconvinced look. "I can fix that. I don't see anything else wrong with it."

Haytham's brows rose. "Are you sure you can fix it?"

Connor stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. Mom had me fix the cars on the reservation all the time. It's fine."

Henry looked like he was sweating bullets.

Haytham turned to him. "How much?"

Connor swore as more oil dripped onto the driveway. His father was going to kill him. He struggled for the pan and shoved it over the drop, grabbing his wrench and getting to work on the bottom of the car.

He sighed and scooted out from under the car, grabbing the motor oil and carefully filling the '69 Mustang. He crouched and eyed the pan, waiting for more oil to drip.

He smirked when it didn't. He'd only done the same thing on his grandmother's truck a million times. He could have done it with his eyes shut.

Wiping his hands on a rag, Connor reached inside the driver's seat and turned the ignition with a deep breath. He grinned when it roared to life then settled at a purr.

He felt happier than a kid on Christmas.

"Wow."

Connor looked to see Ellie walking over from her own car. She stood beside him and crossed her arms, cocking her head.

Connor crossed his arms too, leaning on the car. "Well? What do you think?"

Ellie grinned up at him, readjusting the strap of her sling purse. "It's badass. How did you convince your dad to get you this?" she asked, walking around it.

Connor shrugged. "He kicked me out of bed yesterday and dragged me to a used car lot."

Ellie ran her hand along the back, giving him an incredulous look. "Seriously? Old muscle cars aren't cheap," she said, walking back toward the front.

Connor smirked. "My dad almost got in a fight with the guy. He didn't want to sell it to us and he tried to say the engine was too messed up," he said, leaning back against the hood.

Ellie tapped her fingernails on the hood. "So, how did your dad win?"

Connor almost started laughing. "My dad pulled some lawyer move."

Ellie laughed. "How? By telling the guy there's a law for not selling someone a car?"

Connor shrugged. "He said something really confusing. Scared the heck out of the guy, though, so we got it for cheap."

Ellie threw back her head as she cackled. "That's awesome!"

Connor smiled, patting the hood. "Want a ride?"

Ellie gestured to his shirt. "Is it safe?"

Connor nodded. "Yeah. I've worked on many cars in my day," he joked, mimicking being a pensive old man.

Ellie smiled, tugging on his sleeve. "What are we waiting for?! Take me to Dairy Queen!"

Connor chuckled and stood up. He opened the door and looked over at Ellie in confusion, almost flinching away from her disapproving glare.

"What?"

"Change! You have oil all over you. You have some on your face too," she ordered, pointing toward the house. Connor rolled his eyes and trudged into the garage, where he peeled off his oil-stained shirt and pulled on a clean one, covering it with his jacket.

Ellie was frowning still when he returned. She grabbed the rag and walked over to him. "You're like a child," she chuckled, wiping at the smudge on his forehead.

Connor rolled his eyes but crouched slightly and let her clean his face.

She finally pulled away and tossed the rag to the side. "Now you're decent."

"Whatever." He playfully frowned.

She laughed as she got in.

Connor got in the driver's seat and pulled out, grinning widely at the car's purr. Ellie shook her head and let out a laugh. "This rides like a dream!"

Connor grinned, enjoying the moment.

"You're going to get a lot of girls with this thing," Ellie teased, poking his arm as she pulled the seatbelt across herself.

Connor stiffened, locking his hands on the steering wheel as Ezio and Federico's taunts echoed around his skill. He shook his head and tried to hide the redness; it was difficult to imagine himself dating anyone.

"What are you embarrassed for?" Ellie asked, poking his leg.

Connor sighed. "I just…don't see myself dating anyone soon."

"And why not?"

Connor glanced at her in irritation before looking at the road again. Stopping at a light, he let the purr of the engine full his ears and calm him down a little.

"Is it because you're shy?" He heard a smile in her voice.

Connor frowned. Women and their mind reading.

"It is." The smile turned to a grin- he purposely ignored it.

"No," he replied, gritting his teeth.

"Yes it is! You're shy!"

"Iáh."

"Just admit it!"

"Not happening."

Her teasing didn't relent until he got her a cookie dough blizzard.

There was no real reason for Ellie's happiness other than the awesomeness of her costume. She played with it in the mirror, grinning at the girl staring back at her. Fixing her white hat and tugging on the stockings, she slipped on her black shoes and pulled the dress down, willing it to be longer.

She loved this costume; Ellie knew she was going to be Fionna for Halloween every year. Slipping on the green felt backpack, she made her way downstairs.

In the kitchen, Eliza was setting out a bowl of blood red punch with plastic eyeballs floating in it. Ellie rolled her eyes and looked around in excitement. The Auditore siblings and Connor were both invited this year- it was the first time Ellie had been allowed to invite her own friends.

She just hoped Mr. Kenway came in something ridiculously unflattering so that Claudia wouldn't drool over him the whole night.

Some guests had already arrived and they were chatting with Peter in the living room. Ellie looked out the window, trying to see a familiar Auditore car or Connor's tall figure. Ellie flung open the door happily as the Auditore entourage waltzed up the walk- a Renaissance woman flanked by the Mario brothers.

"It's-a us!" Ezio, dressed as Mario, laughed, walking in and tapping her on the head lightly with a plastic wrench.

Ellie rolled her eyes as the boys immediately flocked to the kitchen. Claudia's sarcastic eye roll was at odds with her deep, blood red Renaissance dress; nonetheless, it was as elegant and beautiful on her as anything else she wore. "Ezio wanted to do something funny this year. He and Pettrucio were some game characters last year," she grumbled.

Ellie nodded, grinning broadly. "It's perfect."

The doorbell rang again and Ellie opened the door, stopping her jaw from dropping as she mentally cursed Mr. Kenway. He seemed to have stepped out of her APUSH book- his costume was constructed from leather straps and fluttered with every movement, somehow radiating lethality. Connor peeked over his shoulder, giving Ellie an eye roll.

"What are you supposed to be, Mr. Kenway?"

"A colonial," he replied in his normal, terse tone.

She shrugged and stood aside, letting them in. Connor stood beside her as she closed the door, watching Mr. Kenway walk toward Peter. His cloak billowed dramatically, somehow, and the tricorn hat was perfect.

"Oh glob," she muttered.

Claudia looked like she was about to faint, face flaring up as he passed her. "I need some air," she choked, walking toward the back porch, where more people were crowded.

Ellie looked up at Connor. "What made him dress like that?"

Connor shrugged. "Don't ask me."

Ellie nodded and studied him, taking in the full costume. Connor looked like he was ready to take out alien invaders. The only thing that stood apart was his bow and quiver. They looked Native American. Ellie tugged on the bow. "Is this yours?"

Connor tugged on it as well, nodding. "Yeah."

Ellie grinned, reaching up and tugging on his braid, which earned her a frown. "Sweet."

Irritated, he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, looking away. Ellie couldn't help but notice how enormous his arms looked, thanks to the costume.

"Want something to drink?" She tore her eyes off of his arms and looked up at his face.

"Sure." He still didn't look at her.

Ellie guided him to the kitchen, ladling the juice into the cups. They leaned against the counter, enjoying their drinks.

"Ellie?"

"Yeah?"

"You know the reservation, right?"

"Yup, what about it?"

"Would you want to visit with me?"

She almost dropped her punch. "Seriously?!"

Connor grinned at her, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I asked my dad if I could visit next weekend and he's fine with it. I'm planning on heading down there Friday night and coming back Sunday."

Ellie beamed and tried to find the right response. "And you want me to come?! Oh my Glob!"

"Wow, you took my costume deal seriously."

"You lumping bet I did!"

They broke out in laughter, grinning widely at one another.

She cocked her head slightly as they laughed, studying his expression. He should smile more.

"Smile!"

Before Ellie knew what was going on, Ezio was in front of them with his phone, snapping a picture.

Ellie crossed her arms. "Thanks for the warning," she said sarcastically.

"Anytime-a," Ezio said in a cheesy Italian accent with a sarcastically charming wink. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"I want-a good one now. Act like you're actually-a friends or something," he said, getting his phone ready again.

Ellie wrapped an arm around Connor's waist, leaning into him. He put one of his hands on the counter behind her, leaning back into it.

Ezio took the picture. "Wow, that's-a good one," he said, holding his phone out for Connor and Ellie to see.

Connor's intense look put Jeremy Renner to shame.

"Glob, you're like the Native American version of Hawkeye," Ellie chuckled, giving Connor an amused look.

Connor shrugged, keeping the same expression on his face. She could see the smile fighting its way against his stern look.

Petruccio and Claudia took no hesitation in joining them soon after the picture, chatting happily. Every now and then, Connor's giant arm would brush against hers; neither of them had bothered moving away after the picture.

Best. Halloween. Ever.