A/N- This was going to be one chapter but when I hit the 2000+ mark I decided to break it up into two chapters. Read, enjoy and review please.
September had passed with agonizing slowness with the day to day drudgery of school, homework, and after school activities. But then October came and the dullness brightened into shades of orange as Halloween approached. All over the school everyone talked about their plans, costumes, movie nights, and even a few of the brave (but unfortunately uncool) teens discussed going trick or treating.
And now, on the night of Halloween, children in colorful costumes ran through the streets yelling for candy while parents and reluctant older siblings followed. Lighted jack-o-lanterns lined the streets and almost every other house and store front had fake spider webs in the windows.
Fred squirmed in his seat as Joleena put the finishing touches on his zombie make up. He was at Kevin's house with the other team members and cool kids getting ready for a big Halloween party. It was a pretty exclusive party, but Fred managed to secure an invite for Joe and Sam.
Joleena moved the makeup brush to a spot on his neck causing him to laugh and squirm again.
"Ugh, stay still." Joleena pursed her lips in concentration. "This is hard enough as it is."
Fred stifled another laugh. "But I thought girls were supposed to be good at makeup. You sure wear enough of it."
"I don't wear that much." Joleena huffed.
"Please, you're wearing like two pounds of eye shadow right now."
It was true. Currently, his fake girlfriend's eyes were covered with intense blue eyeshadow and black eye liner flaring out to her temples. He had to admit, it didn't look bad on her.
Joleena rolled her eyes. "It's for my costume duh. I haven't finished putting it on yet."
"And I bet you'll look super cute when you do put it on." Fred winked.
Joleena looked away with a small blush. "Fred, if I didn't know any better I would swear you were flirting with me."
"And if I was? Would that be a bad thing?"
"Well…" Joleena stood up and looked at him. "It would be breaking our little agreement if you were."
"Technically, there's nothing against me flirting with you." Fred stood up and leaned close to her. "As long as I don't mean it."
"Hey Joleena!" One of the cheerleader's called. "If you're done making out with your boyfriend I could use some help with my hair."
Everyone chuckled making Joleena blush harder. "Oh please, as if we'd be making out in front of all of you."
Fred laughed and wrapped an arm around Joleena's waist. "Yeah if we were gonna make out we'd do it on Kevin's bed."
There was more laughing and Kevin shot them a mock look of disgust. Fred then added in a low voice for only Joleena to hear, "Maybe we could find some alone time later."
"Playing it a little too well are we?" Joleena playfully elbowed him away and went over to the rest of the girls.
Fred watched her talk and giggle with the other girls, a genuine smile on his face. Kevin noticed and playfully nudged his arm.
"If you guys really want some privacy you two can use my parent's bedroom." He gave him a naughty wink. "Just make sure you two lovers get out before my parents get home in the morning."
Fred laughed. "Dude shut up. Me and Joleena aren't- I mean, we're just taking things slow right now."
"What the heck are you waiting for? Babe is well… babe."
"Like I said, we're taking things slow."
Yeah, so slow that we're not even really dating. The thought came to him almost bitterly. He and Joleena got along great, they gave each other plenty of space when they wanted it, and there was no stupid drama between them. So why didn't they start going out for real?
"You know what Kevin?" Fred grinned as a thought came to him. "Maybe it is time for me to step things up with Joleena a little."
"Are you sure we have to go to this party?" Sam whined. "It's not too late to go back to your house and watch those pig man movies."
He was wearing a knee length green tunic with blue trimmings, brown leggings, a pointed green hat and ears, and a shield on his back. He supposed to be dressed as the hero from his favorite game series.
"But I thought you hated those movies." Joe pointed out.
His costume was a little more simple (and hopefully cooler) with a blue suit, sneakers, and a brown trench coat. He was dressed as the main character from his favorite time travel/science fiction tv series.
Sam slumped in his seat. "I do, but at least it'll be better than going to some stupid party."
Joe cast a warning look at his mom who was currently driving them to said party. In all honesty his mom was more than a little reluctant to let them go to a high school party, be she eventually gave her okay. Joe was extra careful to leave out the fact that there would be no parents at said party. She pulled up to the house and they could see lights flashing behind the black paper covered windows and the dull thump of music could be heard from outside.
"What time should I pick you boys up?" Mrs. Arthur asked as they got out the car.
"Um, midnight please?" Joe asked hopefully.
His mom gave him an unsure look, but then nodded. "Alright then, midnight but no later."
"We promise." Sam said. "And we'll be on our best behavior."
Mrs. Arthur gave a smile of approval then finally drove off. Joe adjusted his tie and took a breath. He had purposely chosen the most low-key costume he could think of so he wouldn't look like a major dork just in case he had a chance of talking to Joleena.
"You ready?" He asked Sam who looked equally nervous.
"As ready as I'll ever be." He mumbled.
Joe rolled his eyes and rang the doorbell. A chime rang out cutting through the music echoing through the house. After a few minutes the door opened and a nearly six foot zombie answered the door.
He eyed them in confusion with a small frown on his face. "Who the heck are you two supposed to be?"
"Well, I'm Joe and that's Sam." Joe said. "Um, Fred invited us?"
"Oh yeah, Fred's friends the loser and the nerd." The zombie gave them a friendly grin despite the fact he was clearly insulting them. "Come on in."
He opened the door wide and let them inside. The house was huge with blaring party music and spooky Halloween decorations. Teens from various grades were talking and flirting wearing creepy, sexy, and even goofy Halloween costumes.
"The name's Kevin by the way." The zombie host said leading them into the living room. "You guys want a beer or something? We got plenty of them."
"Uh, no thanks." Joe said, trying not to sound lame. "We're not thirsty."
"Besides, I'm pretty sure underage drinking is still illegal." Sam muttered under his breath.
Kevin narrowed his eyes. "So you must be the little know it all nerd Fred told me about. I can see what he means about you being annoying. "
"Oh shut up Kevin," Fred, also dressed as a zombie, came up to them. "I said that he can be annoying sometimes. I swear you're always trying to start things."
"What can I say? Life's no fun without a little drama." Kevin smirked as his eyes followed a girl in a playboy bunny costume. "Speaking of fun…"
He trailed off and followed after her leaving the three of them alone. Sam shot Fred a glare. "Annoying huh?"
"Sometimes, okay, sometimes." Fred gave him an embarrassed smile and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "Don't listen to anything that guy says. He's just jealous because I still consider you two my best friends."
"Yeah some best friend you are." Joe smirked playfully. "I had to get my mom to drop us off while you got to catch a ride with the cool kids."
Fred shrugged. "I had to get there early so the cheerleaders could do this zombie make-up. Took two hours."
"Well it looks pretty good." Sam said starting to relax a little. "Is it latex or rubber based?"
"Dude I have no idea. Joleena was the one who did it."
"Joleena?" Joe's head suddenly snapped up. He had been subconsciously looking for her this entire time. "Joleena's here?"
"Yeah she's somewhere around here." Fred waved his hand dismissively. "So anyway, what are you two supposed to be? An elf and a lawyer?"
Sam rolled his eyes indignantly. "Duh, I'm Lynx from Elf Quest IV: Journey to Atlantis. And Joe's obviously Professor Wayt from that weird sci-fi show."
"It isn't weird! It's creative and interesting." Joe protested which of course made Sam and Fred burst out laughing.
The party was filled with mostly jocks, cheerleaders, rich kids, and other popular people who would never in a million years talk to someone like Sam. And yet for some reason Fred still insisted on dragging him through the party, trying to force him to socialize. It was more than uncomfortable. No one seemed to get his costume or just ignored him and talked to Fred instead.
"You're dressed as what again?" A blonde girl named Marcie frowned and looked Sam up and down. "A… elf warrior?"
"Well Lynx isn't so much a warrior as he is a hero." Sam showed her his shield. "See this three symbols? They represent courage, heart, and-"
"Lameness." The guy next to Marcie snickered and they both laughed.
Sam flushed in embarrassment and Fred cringed.
"The game isn't that bad." He shrugged. "The sword is pretty sweet and you get to kill stuff with it."
"But it's not just about mindlessly swinging a sword around." Sam starting to get excited again. "It's about going on an adventurous quest, solving puzzles, and exploring creative environments."
"Like I said, la-ame." He and Marcie walked away laughing.
Sam's shoulders slumped in defeat. "See Fred? I told you this wasn't a good idea."
"Hey, it's not that bad." Fred smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "They rag on me all the time. You just got to get used to it."
"You think I would be now." Sam sighed. "Fred, these just aren't my kind of people. We should have just stayed at Joe's and watched movies."
"Well, I'm not giving up yet. Come on, there's one more person I want you to meet."
Despite Sam's protests, Fred began dragging him over to a group of cheerleaders dressed in sexy costumes. Sam felt his stomach twist.
"Fred don't." He whispered. "You know I'm no good at talking to girls. Especially cheerleading girls. They'll hate me."
"They're not that bad. I talk to them all the time."
"Well that's because you're a jock. I'm just a loser to them."
"Just relax and be cool." Fred gave him a confident smile. "You'll be fine, you're with me remember?"
"That's what I'm afraid of." Sam mumbled.
When they reached the girls they stopped talking and eyed Sam curiously, but not in an entirely nice way. There was a mermaid, a French maid, a playboy bunny, a sexy nurse, and a belly dancer. The one that stood out the most though was a dark skinned Egyptian goddess wearing a white and gold dress, tall strapped, gold heels, and gold, blue, and red feathers hanging from her arms.
"Hey girls." Fred nodded and smiled at the Egyptian goddess. "Hey Joleena, I want you to meet Sam, one of my best friends since like second grade."
"Is this the nerdy one?" The mermaid giggled. "Why is he dressed like an elf?"
The Egyptian goddess, Joleena, rolled her eyes. "Please ignore Justine, Sam. I think your costume is… adorable."
Joleena's smile was genuine but the other girls behind her started giggling so Sam couldn't tell if she was making fun of him or not.
"Um thanks?" Sam smiled sheepishly. "I like your costume too. But it's a little confusing."
Joleena smile fell a little. "I'm sorry?"
"It's a simple mistake really." Sam adjusted his glasses, eager to be helpful. "The symbol on your front of your headpiece is a tyet which is the knot of the goddess Isis, but the way your hair straightened and the gold chains you're wearing in it are more akin to the Egyptian queen Cleopatra."
There was an awkward silence when he finished and Fred groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. Sam's smile fell as he took in the annoyed look the other girls were giving him.
"But… it still looks pretty great." He said weakly.
"Joleena ignore the little dork." The belly dancer put a hand on Joleena's shoulder and glared at Sam. "What are you even doing here? Don't you have a math club meeting to go to or something?"
The girls laughed and walked away. Joleena shot Sam a sympathetic look but went with them.
"Told you this was a stupid idea." Sam mumbled.
"Hey look on the bright side." Fred shrugged. "They only made fun of your costume once."