Author's Note: Once again, Devon and Grim have lost their main character privileges. It's time for DJ and Dominic to get some time in the spotlight!
Back in New York, another Halloween party was in full swing at the Lopez house. The place was packed with the triplets' classmates and friends from other grades or schools, all the valuables/breakables were safely locked away, and the brothers had the house to themselves for the night on the condition that everything was cleaned up by the time Angelo and Elena arrived home the next day. DJ was having the time of his life playing host and talking to everyone. And Dominic…
"Okay, I get that having this party is pretty much a tradition now, but why does it always have to be so damn loud?" Dominic complained to Harper as the two of them nabbed a few slices of pizza and set about retreating someplace quieter while they waited for Errin and AJ to meet up with them.
"I hate to break it to ya man, but you can't have a party without a little noise. And don't act like you don't enjoy it at least a little bit. I've already caught you smiling a couple times," Harper pointed out as they followed Dominic outside toward the pool.
Dominic smiled and rolled his eyes playfully. "Sounds like you'd better get your eyes checked, Harps."
It was too cold for anyone to swim, but there was a fire pit with seats around it nearby. Thankfully, nobody seemed to have gotten to it yet, so Dominic and Harper opted to claim it as their base for the time being. Errin and AJ joined them a few minutes later and the group sat around the fire talking as more people began to filter out into the yard. Each time someone new walked outside, Dominic would glance up quickly to see who it was out of habit. He tried-also out of habit-to be subtle about it, but it didn't take long for the most eagle-eyed member of his friend squad to catch on.
"Please tell me you're not doing what I think you're doing," Errin said.
"Not sure, sweets. That depends on what you think I'm doing," Dominic replied.
Errin gently flicked him on the forehead. "I think you're looking for Liam."
Dominic met Errin's eyes briefly before looking away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Errin, Harper, and AJ watched as Dominic's eyes flicked toward the door leading into the yard again as another person came outside. All of them gave him deadpan stares when he turned his attention back to them.
"Okay, fine! Geez, what is this, an intervention or somethin'?!" Dominic exclaimed in exasperation. "I've been doin' my best to get over him, guys. Honest."
AJ put his hand on Dominic's shoulder. "We know you have, dude. We really do. And we get that it's not something you can just get over overnight."
"I'm sure the way he's been cozying up to you these past couple weeks didn't really help," Harper conceded.
Dominic hummed in response. Harper was right-Liam had gone from barely acknowledging him beyond maybe a glance in his direction if Dom greeted him to practically plastering himself to his side lately. As much as Dominic was tempted to let himself hope that Liam was finally starting to reciprocate his feelings, he'd been down this road too many times already. Errin was absolutely right: Liam was only ever this affectionate with him when he wanted something. In this particular case, that something was an invitation to the party. It was always the same: as soon as word started getting around about the party, Liam would suddenly begin acting as Dominic was and had always been his favorite person, always hanging around and going out of his way to talk to Dominic. Their conversations were almost always shallow small talk and it didn't feel like Liam was really listening or interested in what Dominic was saying, but whenever it seem like Dom was starting to catch on to what he was doing, Liam would start in with the casual hand brushes and shoulder squeezes where he'd let his touch linger just a little longer than necessary. If he really wanted to go the extra mile, he'd start playing with Dominic's short curly hair. In previous years, this sort of thing would make the youngest Lopez's heart race…despite Liam inevitably dropping him like a hot potato as soon as the party was over and moving on to whoever was most useful to him next. This year though, Dominic was surprised to find that those lingering touches and flirty comments were more irritating than anything else.
"Yeah, it's kinda hard to get over someone when they're always in your face," Dominic finally said.
"I've noticed that you haven't seemed as taken in by that phoney-baloney charm of his this year," Harper commented.
Dominic shrugged. "I guess all those warnings you guys gave me have finally started to sink in. Better late than never, right?"
"Yeah. Ooooor…," Errin replied with a mischievous smirk, "maybe Liam hasn't had as much of a grip on you this year because you've got something better to focus your attention on. Or maybe I should say…someone."
"Heh," Dominic chuckled nervously, his cheeks growing warm. "I dunno what you're talkin' about."
"C'mon Dom, tell us more about this Idia guy you've been talking to," AJ pressed.
"I've already told you guys everything I can: I met him playing games online, we started talking and found out we have a lot in common, he told me his name was Idia Shroud, and we've been talking more and more lately," Dominic said, naturally leaving out the bit about Idia being a mage from another world entirely. "I know you guys wanna meet him, but he has social anxiety too. I don't want to put any pressure on him, y'know."
"Fine. Keep your mystery man to yourself," Errin teased. "But I want you to know just for the record that I am completely on board with whatever you two have goin' on."
"Same," AJ agreed.
Harper nodded. "One hundred percent."
Dominic blinked. "Really? I thought you guys would've been more suspicious of him."
"Oh don't get us wrong, we'll find him and tear him to shreds if he hurts you, but we've seen the way you light up whenever you talk about him," Harper pointed out. "We're happy if you are. Hopefully, he be comfortable enough one day for you to officially bring him into the squad but either way, he's good in our books."
"It looks like he's been helping you get over Liam too, so that's a plus," Errin added.
Dominic thought for a moment. Errin had a point; the only thing Dominic could think of that would account for the dwindling effect Liam had on him (aside from growing maturity, which Dom seriously doubted was the case) was Idia coming into his life at more or less exactly the right moment. Instead of keeping his phone close in case Liam messaged him, Dominic found he was hoping to hear from Idia instead. In fact, the one time that Liam had messaged him since he'd remembered that Dominic existed, Dominic could only remember feeling disappointed that it wasn't Idia.
"Maybe you're right. To be honest, I'm not too sure if anything's going to happen between Idia and me, but I'm not in any rush. I know he's making himself a very important person to me and that's really all I need to know," Dominic replied honestly.
"Well, while you two work that out, you can just leave the wedding planning to Errin and me," AJ said.
"Hang on, hang on, let's not get ahead of ourselves here," Harper interjected. "There's one very important question that needs to be answered first." They gave Dominic a serious look. "I get to be your Best Person, right?"
"Ugh, seriously Harper?" Dominic groaned before shooting his best friend a smirk. "Of course you do."
"That's my boy!" Harper cheered as the group laughed.
Meanwhile, a sleek silver car turned onto the street facing the Lopez house. The driver gripped the steering wheel tightly as she glowered at her schoolmates gathered outside, chatting, eating, playing games and enjoying themselves. Music could be heard as she got closer and the Halloween decorations and lights flickered and pulsed to the beat.
"Unbelievable," Madison grumbled. "They seriously think they're gonna have this party and not invite me? Who the hell do they think they are?!"
"You're so right, Madison," Marcie agreed from her spot in the passenger seat.
"This is absolutely not gonna fly," Madison said, pulling to park her car on the side of the street before wrenching her door open and stepping out. She marched toward the front door without waiting for Marcie. "I think it's time I had a little word with Dev's brothers."
"DJ! Awesome party, man! The Lopez's deliver every year!" Noah greeted as he made his way through the crowd to his friends, a slight limp in his step. "It sucks that Dev couldn't be here, though."
"Thanks, man. Glad you could make it. And don't worry about Devon too much. Her new school's got its own kickass Halloween thing, so I bet she's havin' a blast," DJ replied with a smile, though it faded a bit when he noticed Noah's limp. "Not gonna lie, I'm a little surprised to see you tonight."
"Yeah, are you sure your leg's okay?" Mateo asked. "It looked like you got hurt pretty bad at the homecoming game."
Noah waved off their concern. "Don't worry about it. The doctor says I'll be fine so long as I don't overdo it and I managed to convince my moms that I'll take it easy. It's not like I was plannin' on goin' nuts tonight anyway. I just wanted to hang for a while."
"Hey, works for me," DJ replied. "If you sit down, I can-"
"DJ!" called one of DJ's friends from the wrestling team. "Dude, I've been lookin' everywhere for you! Just a heads up but-"
"Are you kidding me right now, DJ?!" shouted a shrill voice from the other side of the room. The room fell silent except for the music as Madison and Marcie stormed in; Marcie was the one who had yelled while Madison looked like she was doing everything in her power to keep from strangling her for causing a scene.
"Marcie. Maddy," DJ replied, smirking as Madison bristled at the nickname. "And what brings you two to our party tonight? I know it's not because you were invited since Dom and I agreed we didn't want either of you here."
"What are you even talking about?" Marcie demanded. "We're, like, the backbone of the entire school. Everyone knows you can have a party without us."
"Really?" DJ asked incredulously before gesturing around the room. "Because it seems like we've been able to manage." He looked out at the room full of people. "Y'all are havin' a good time tonight, right?" Cheers and shouts of ascent erupted from the other partygoers, causing the smirk to return to DJ's lips as he turned back to Marcie and Madison. "Seems we won't be needing your services after all."
Marcie sputtered for a moment as the rest of the room began to laugh before get right up in DJ's face and jabbing her finger right into his chest. "If you really think-"
"Okay, let's get something straight here, Mars Bars," DJ began as he smacked Marcie's hand away. "I'm not sure what made you think you're gonna to get away with yelling at me in my own house, but that shit ain't gonna fly here. If you wanna yell so bad, you can cart your ass outside." He turned his attention to Madison, who was still silently fuming. "And you. Keep a tighter leash on this yappy Chihuahua, would ya? If you had an issue about not getting an invite, we could've discussed it privately instead of involving this entire room. It wouldn't have changed anything and I still would've wanted you gone, but at least it wouldn't have caused a scene."
"If you so against me being here, why did always get an invite even before this stupid party of yours became the second biggest social event of the year?" Madison asked challengingly.
DJ rolled his eyes. "Why do you think, idiot? You only got invited because Devon insisted on it. I admit, back when you still a halfway decent person, Dom and I didn't mind havin' you around either, but ever since you turned into such a jerk, we've tried to talk her out of inviting you. Unfortunately for you, she's not here this year so I'm afraid your party privileges have been revoked."
"You know you really oughta be a little more grateful," Madison said. "Your sister would never made it as high up in the food chain as she did if I hadn't made her vice squad leader."
"Uuuugh," DJ groaned. "Again with the cheerleader crap. Do you really think that after we graduate anybody's gonna care that you were captain of your high school cheer squad? Sure, it might look decent enough on college applications, but I know Dev's always had you beat as far as grades go. And she actually put in the work to earn her grades too. You might be better at barking orders than Devon is and you can put some impressive routines together, I'll give you that, but everybody knows that Devon, Courtney, and Sidney are the ones who do most of the heavy lifting to get them executed."
"Well if Devon's so great, why was Madison made captain after what happened with Sara?" Marcie challenged.
"Marcie…," Madison said, giving her a warning look upon noticing DJ's darkening expression. She knew the triplets were all protective of each other, but DJ was the one who tended to get the meanest when it came to defending his brother and sister. She could also tell from the look on his face that he somehow knew about what really happened during tryouts for that captain spot and he was itching for a reason to spill it.
"No, it needs to be said," Marcie continued. "I know you think you and your siblings are hot shit, but if Devon's really sooooo impressive, why isn't she the one leading the squad? Surely she would've been first pick if she had what it takes."
"Marcie!" Madison exclaimed, knowing full well that it was too late now. She was tempted to give the eldest triplet a silent pleading look, but she knew it wouldn't do any good.
DJ let out a malicious-sounding chuckle. "That's the thing, though; she was first pick. Madison only got the spot because Devon turned it down." He leveled a glare in Madison's direction. "You might be able to convince your crony here that Devon couldn't have got where she is without you, but I think it's pretty clear that you need her way more than she needs you. And you know it, don't you?"
Madison could only glare at DJ, her cheeks red with anger and embarrassment, very much aware of all the eyes on them now. She knew she could try to deny his claims, but she also knew it wouldn't do any good. DJ wasn't the type to make baseless claims, after all.
"You can glare as hard as you want," DJ continued as he stepped closer, "but just remember that you two were the ones who escalated this. We could've avoided airing your dirty laundry if you'd just come at me like a normal person." He stepped directly in front of Madison and stopped, his tone and expression icy. "Now get your raggedy asses out of my house." He nodded in the direction of the front door. "Go on."
Madison stared back defiantly for a moment, her chest heaving as she bit her tongue, before glancing around the room for some sort of support. When it became clear that nobody was going to step up to defend her, she turned on her heel and marched out with Marcie rushing to keep up.
"Damn… Not gonna lie, man, that was pretty harsh," Mateo commented. "I can't say she didn't completely deserve it with the way she came at you but still…"
"Yeah, I know. I probably didn't have to go that hard but she needs to learn to check her tone before she starts runnin' her mouth about the people I care about," DJ replied. He turned to address the other people in the room. "Well, I'd say that fills our drama quota for the night. Let's get back to it, y'all!"
The room erupted in cheers once again as the tension lifted and the party resumed.
"Madison, wait up!" Marcie called out as she tried to keep up with Madison's powerwalking.
Madison ignored her, refusing to slow down until she'd reached her car.
"Why did what DJ said make you so upset anyway?" Marcie asked. "There's no way any of that's true, right? He was just trying to get under your skin. I mean, everyone knows-"
"Shut up, Marcie!" Madison finally shouted, whirling around to face her as frustrated tears began to gather in the corners of her green eyes. "Can you please just shut your big mouth and keep it shut for five minutes?! If you hadn't charged in there and started running your mouth, DJ wouldn't have had an excuse to…" She trailed off and shook her head.
"So…he was telling the truth?" Marcie asked in disbelief.
"Yes, you dumbass! Everything he said was true!" Madison exclaimed. "Devon turned down the offer to be cheer captain so I got the spot instead. And now, thanks to you, everyone knows it." With that, she yanked open her driver's side door and got in, starting the car and getting ready to pull away from the curb without waiting for Marcie to get in.
"Hang on! You're my ride, Madison," Marcie reminded her.
"Not anymore," Madison bit out. "Call an Uber or something. Hell, you can walk home for all I care."
The tires squealed as Madison sped off down the street, leaving Marcie in the dust behind her. She drove out of the residential area, blinking back the tears that threatened to blind her, and pulled into the parking lot of a long-abandoned convenience store. She parked the car before banging her fist repeatedly on the steering wheel as she finally let her tears fall.
"Damn… AJ picked a good time to run inside and grab more food, huh?" Dominic commented as he signed off of FaceTime with him. AJ had managed to keep himself in a place with a good view of the action without being right in Madison's line of fire and Errin had rushed in as soon as she realized what was about to happen because she wanted to see it in person.
Harper laughed and nodded. "Honestly, I don't know what Madison and Marcie were expecting. You can't just barge into someone's house uninvited and then start trash-talking the host's sibling like that. Besides, aren't they supposed to be Devon's friends?"
"Eh," Dominic made a noncommittal gesture with his hand, "I don't think Marcie and Devon have ever been friends. Anyone with working eyes could see that Marcie thinks Dev's competition for Madison's bestie…even though Marcie's the only one who seems to want that title at this point. I'm still not convinced Devon even remembered Marcie existed most of the time. As for Madison, though…well, that's complicated."
Harper looked at Dominic quizzically.
"I only every really saw Madison in passing, but I know she used to be much nicer than she is now," Dominic elaborated. "I'm not sure what changed, but I think that's why Dev hasn't really been able to bring herself to cut Madison loose. That's part of why I think this new school she's at will be good for her. Help her get a fresh perspective on things, you know?"
"I get you. I still get the feeling that there's something you're not telling us about this place she's at now, though, but I won't push it," Harper replied. They began digging through a nearby cooler, looking for something to drink. "I think you're outta root beer, man. Is there anymore inside?"
"Maybe, but I know we've got some more cases in the garage. Come on, we can just grab one and restock this cooler. That way we won't have to walk through the thick of the party," Dominic said.
Harper nodded with a smile as they followed Dominic. "There's that big brain I love so much." The pair came around the side of the house when Dominic suddenly froze in his tracks. Harper just barely kept from running into him. "What's wrong, Dom? You good-" They cut themself off when they followed Dominic's gaze. "Oh…"
There, just a few feet away, was Liam, leaned up against the house and making out with some underclassman they barely knew. Harper didn't know her name, but they'd heard that apparently her parents were rather wealthy…and she'd broken up with her boyfriend not too long ago. Harper looked at Dominic worriedly, noting how rigid his posture had become and how his fists were now clenched. The look in his eyes was mostly one of anger (not toward the underclassman, Harper was pleased to note, given the way Dominic's gaze remained fixed on Liam), but there was definitely some heartbreak in there too.
Now, Harper was not one for confrontation on most days. However, they also weren't the type of best friend to let something like this slide. Liam had been playing fast and loose with Dominic's feelings for too long. In all likelihood, there were probably plenty of others he'd been toying with too, but Dom was the only one that mattered to Harper. Either way, something had to be done. It was time for Harper…to make a scene.
"You bastard!" they shouted, storming up to Liam as he and the underclassman jumped apart. They could feel Dominic's confused stare on them as well. "Bad enough that you asked me to come to this party as your date and then ditch me as soon as we get here, but this?!" Without the slightest hesitation, they slapped Liam clean across the face
"Whatever, I just came here to have a good time. I'm not looking for drama right now," the underclassman muttered, wisely choosing to walk away.
"No, wait! You don't have to-" Liam tried to call out to her, but she'd already rounded the corner. He pushed his slightly disheveled brown hair out of his face before narrowing his blue eyes at Harper and rubbing his sore cheek. "What was that about?! I was just about to-" He stopped short as he finally noticed Dominic standing just a few steps away. He couldn't help but feel a little intimidated by the stony expression on his face; Dominic had never looked at him-or anyone-like that before. "Dominic, I- That- That wasn't what it-"
"Save it," Dominic said icily, holding up a hand to stop him. "I know exactly what that was. The least you could've done was find somewhere that wasn't out in the open like this." He started walking past Liam, motioning for Harper to follow. "C'mon, Harps. Let's get that root beer."
"Dominic, hang on," Liam said, reaching out to grab Dominic's arm.
Dominic promptly yanked his arm out of Liam's grip. "Don't touch me. I'm done playing this game with you, Liam."
Liam blinked, feigning ignorance. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. We're past that," Dominic replied. "I know you've known for a while that I've had a thing for you. You've been stringing me along for years and I'm tired of it. So I'm done. Clearly you aren't interested in anything serious with me, so it's time for me to move on. Now I'm not gonna throw you out of the party, but you'd best keep yourself outta my sight for the rest of the night."
With that, he marched off with Harper in tow and didn't stop until both of them had made it into the garage.
"Dude, I am so proud of you right now!" Harper said excitedly before snorting with laughter. "Did you see the look on Liam's face?! Oh man, Errin and AJ are gonna be pissed they missed it."
"Heh. Well it's been a long time coming," Dominic replied as he and Harper each grabbed a case of root beer. "But nevermind that; what was that performance all about? I think that show you put on was way more impressive!"
"Hey, I've been wantin' to slap that arrogant prick for a while now," Harper said with a shrug. "I figured I could see if I picked anything up from watching the actors on stage after working tech for so long."
"I'd say you picked up plenty. Does this mean you're gonna audition for a part in the next play?" Dominic asked.
Harper shook their head rapidly. "Oh no, no, no. Defending you is one thing, but I don't have it in me to do that in front of a big crowd." They studied Dominic carefully for a moment. "How are you feeling, though? I know it probably wasn't easy to see him all over that girl…"
"It wasn't," Dominic answered honestly. "It definitely stings, but I think seeing it just made me even more determined to get over him. It's Liam's business if he wants to date around, but I want something serious. It's time to find me a man that's on the same wavelength."
Harper gave Dominic a proud smile as they rounded the corner and walked into the backyard again. "I don't think I say this enough, but I am so proud to be your bestie, my guy."
"Likewise," Dominic replied, gently nudging Harper with his shoulder before catching sight of Errin and AJ. "Now, do you wanna tell them or should I?"
Ending Notes: Happy Holidays, everyone! Consider this Halloween chapter my gift to you all!
In all seriousness, I hope you all have stayed warm and safe. It's been insanely cold where I live; temps were down to -2 last night and we had some pretty serious wind gusts too. I know plenty of places got hit by the winter storm way worse, but I've lived in this area more or less my whole life and I don't remember it every getting so cold so fast.
We've just got one last chapter of the Halloween arc and then it'll be time for Octavinelle. I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty excited for it! We'll be sending off Halloween with a little more Dominic/Idia and Devon/Malleus so I hope you'll be looking forward to it!
Thank you all so much for reading! As always, feedback and constructive criticism are welcome. Geekinthepink, out!