When hinges creak in doorless chambers,
And strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls.
Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still —
That is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror with ghoulish delight!
A party where no one knows your face and everyone was wearing costumes to hide their feeble lives...
Yep, Lilith hated being here.
In the corner stood a young lady with a good head on her shoulders and no-nonsense on her face. She was at this youth Hallows Eve party at the local rec center and everything annoyed her. The sights of her fellow peers grinding on each other, the sickening scent of sugary candy, and the acrid taste of cider going past her tongue. Flashing strobe lights irritated her eyes, cute little decorations littered the walls, and the music was deafening.
It made her so annoyed to be here and yet she wanted to stay.
Perhaps she was still annoyed by what Mela had said earlier that day, how she was always by herself and never wanted to interact with people her age. She would rather spend her time reading books in the library, helping her siblings with experiments, and training the next generation of clones that lived in her father's lab. Not wanting to participate in this hookup culture and dating and love and junk.
"Makes me sick..." She muttered, sipping more of her cider and sliding down the wall. "Look at all these stupid ignoramuses with their smiling faces and stupid costumes. Are they trying to win a contest for the most idiotic-looking attire?"
She shouldn't be talking since she was wearing a costume of her creation. A pink full-body jumpsuit that bears her designation of Punk-02 on the left breast; she also wears a purple coat, black boots, dark purple gloves, and a red aviator helmet. Her father only refers to her by the number of when she was born. Her "costume" was her lab gear and she didn't want to buy or create a new one. Then again, she didn't want to come to a big party undressed or wearing her school uniform.
"This is so embarrassing. Maybe I should go."
Wait...those weren't her thoughts. Someone had spoken out loud what she was thinking! She turned to the side to see a pink-haired girl who was sitting next to her. Her costume was that of a cupid; a white dress, matching wings, gold sandals, red heart jewelry, and a halo headband. Said girl was snacking on a plate full of what looked like most of the buffet. Every bite and smack of her lips made Lilith cringe at all the splatter.
"I...do agree. This kind of festivities isn't my thing. I'd rather not flirt with boys, I can barely hear over this music, and..." Lilith closed her eyes. "I had a small tiff with my friend."
"That bad huh?" More food splatter hit her face, making her cringe. "Usually this kind of stuff isn't my thing too, however, free food and seeing some girls from school makes it more enjoyable."
Lilith saw the DJ throwing candy down at the cheering audience. "How do you...tolerate this? Like all this partying and crazy hormones? I am asking myself what am I doing here?"
Before the strange pink-haired girl could comment, a drunk guy came sauntering over to them. His eyes roamed not only her jumpsuit, but her chatting companion's dress. Her face scrunched up with disgust along with the pink-haired girl too. Both were visibly uncomfortable as his breath stunk up their faces. He was dressed like a walking skeleton.
"Hey girls, I was looking for someone out of this world and you look like you fit the bill." He then turned to the pink girl. "And I guess Cupid herself shot her arrow of love at me. Are you two ready to rattle my bones?"
"Drop dead, you drunken skull." The girl next to her scoffed. "We don't need you stinkin' up our girl time."
The skull guy frowned. "You don't need to be so rude. I was just playing." He turned to Lilith. "You wanna dance gorgeous?"
"I'm sorry, but I'll have to decline. I find the concept of "drunk dancing" to be beneath me. Perhaps if you were sober and not bothering me I would be happy to join."
The guy clearly couldn't take a hint as he slammed his hand against the wall. "I was trying to be polite sweetheart, but I guess you didn't take a hint."
Before any of them could react, the guy was shoved out of the way by some girl in a butterfly-themed costume. She glared down at the guy, almost begging him to fight back. Said guy hurriedly ran off, scared by her glare and height. She sighed, turning to the other girls with a smile.
"You girls doing okay?" She asked them, making sure they had no marks on them.
"Reiju! Didn't realize you were the party type. How did you sneak away from your brothers?" The gluttonous girl laughed, patting her on the back.
"I was...invited by a friend." Her cheeks flared up red as she stared down at Lilith. "You good?"
The sound of everyone's chatter, the whole experience of the drunkard, and the bright lights finally took its toll on the genius girl. Her hands clutched the sides of her head as she closed her eyes and brought her head to her knees. Her heart pounded rapidly in her chest, her breathing increased, and tears ran down her face. She knew this was going to be too much for her! Why is she even here? Everything was so overwhelming, people weren't like machines, and all these emotions were making her feel various emotions at once.
This was a mistake.
I shouldn't be here.
I can't comprehend all this nonsense!
Why aren't people easier to deal with?
I feel...so scared.
"Hey...HEY!" Arms wrapped around Lilith as she smelled a familiar scent of cocoa and shea butter filled her nose. "Lily? Calm down girl, breathe in and out."
The loud noises were dying down as she felt Mala move her out of the main room. Her friend moved her to one of the quiet rooms as she continued her deep breath exercises. Her soothing voice-guided her to a bean bag chair, letting her sit down. Her eyes opened to see Mala dressed as a witch with a cute black dress, a big hat, striped socks, and boots.
"Concentrate on your breathing. Stay in the present." Something warm was placed in her hands, which she saw was a cup of hot cider. "I'm here for you Lily. Just take your time and I'll be here for you. You don't have to worry about that party, just focus on me and the sound of my voice."
Her breathing was slowing down and her tears stopped falling. Lilith shakingly brought the cup up to her mouth and took tentative sips of the warm beverage. Mala calmly rubbed her back, making sure to check on her friend's condition.
"I'm here for you. You'll be okay soon." She gave her another hug before sighing. "There we go, all better now?"
"Yeah...I can't believe I let my emotions cloud my judgment." Lilith's hair covered her eyes as she felt ashamed. "This never happens to someone of my genius! I'm smart, better than anyone in there! And yet...social anxiety nearly made me pass out."
"But you are okay now. You came out here and tried!" Mala patted her back. "You're very brave for facing your fears of coming out here. On a night like this, our fears become amplified and everything seems so strange and weird. I may be an extrovert, but even I sometimes feel upset by being around people. I should've never pushed you to come here, even if that nice guy helped you. I'm so sorry for earlier."
Lilith looked at her friend who she had mocked and scorned earlier. How she still cared for her despite saying all those terrible things to her. A pang of guilt flashed in her thoughts as she turned to her friend.
"I should be the one to apologize to you. I thought you were just being cruel to me due to pushing me to do this and forcing me out of my comfort zone. I did try my best to accomplish this task." She squeezed Mala's hand. "It was...an experiment that needs more time."
"You can always count on me to be there for you. We'll get through moments like this together." Mala smiled at her friend. "You think you're comfortable enough to go back in there Vegapunk?"
"I think I'll need some time before I can go back in there. All those adolescents in their costumes and making sexual advances with each other makes me want to gag."
The party was in full swing as Luffy and Reiju started dancing with one another. After her encounter with Vegapunk, Reiju informed Luffy that she would go check on the frightened girl, but Luffy pointed out Mala taking her away. This made the upperclassman sigh in relief knowing that someone was watching over her. Seeing her have a panic attack reminded her of those nights when she had to comfort Sanji after the abuse from her father. It nearly made her cry when she saw that.
"Oi Reiju, I'm glad that you decided to come along with me," Luffy said, dancing closer to her now. "I was afraid that you wouldn't want to come because-"
"Rest assured, even if my father and brothers said no, I still would've come to this party." She spun around him with a seductive smile. "You just inviting me was just a bonus."
Luffy grinned. "Well, I'm happy that you are having a great time! Heck, you and I could try to hang out more after school if you'd like."
"I'd like that a lot. You seem pretty decent despite what Linlin has put you through."
"She just hates my guts for some reason. I just got used to it after this point."
"Aren't you going to at least try?"
"Can't beat her up in school. Maybe after..."
This made Reiju laugh as she hip-bumped Luffy. "Just as long as you get a good swing at her for me, I would appreciate that. The girl thinks she's better than everyone in the school. One time, she tried using my chemicals to enhance the flavor of her candies but ended up making a toxic smoke that covered the whole school. I was so upset with her and she acted like she had nothing to do with me."
"Wow, she's made enemies out of a lot of people. I may send a punch her way."
The two of them just laughed as they continued to dance the night away. Luffy would admit that later he found Reiju to be a great friend and companion to talk to whenever he needed a break at school.
So I got a comment on my story to involve more female interactions and less lovey-dovey Luffy stuff.
This year's Halloween special is a continuation from last year and a wrap-up to that arc as well. I do apologize for the lack of chapter writing. The Hancock arc's next chapter is nearly finished, so expect that one next month. What girl should I focus on next? Should I elaborate more on the mystery of the world? A chapter with only the female characters and no Luffy?
I also have the Christmas chapters at the ready. Expect a sequel to the Uta arc once again.
Have a Happy Halloween everyone!