Halloween Costumes.

Well, it was some days to Halloween, and we were all in the living room deciding on what costume to wear.

" I'll go as Wonder Woman. People love her." Mera said with a bright smile.

" Hmm, I'll go as the Nun. You know that horror movie, right?"

"You think I don't know you've been boring Priscilla with talk about her being a nun?" Mera asked.

"No, no. Pris did I ever tell you to be a nun?"

" No…you were forcing me to be a nun." I said, and Chris laughed out loud.

" See? The girl doesn't lie." Mera said.

" Well, she should be a nun, shouldn't she? So, she won't get her heart broken." Val in a very low tone.

" I heard that! And nobody broke my heart!"

" Who said anybody broke your heart? " Chris said, looking at Mera and she blinked.

" Keep denying it… You, and sam haven't talked since the day you kissed him forcefully." Val said.

" Stop mentioning his name! And I didn't kiss him!" She shouted.

"Now I know you've got a memory leak. You think gum would fix it?" Chris asked teasingly, and only both of us laughed, while Mera and Val glared at each other.

" Chillax babes don't go fighting, think of Halloween." Chris said.

" I don't think they're going to stop." I said as the wind blew the windows.

" I invited Sam today… he just sent me a message saying he's here." Chris said, looking at his phone, and Mera jumped up, making the cookies she was eating to somersault onto the floor. She ran, taking the stairs two at a time.

" Come back, come back! I'm just joking." he said, and Mera burst into tears, the way she had been doing since that day.

" Don't joke with me like that, Chris!" She said, and he walked to her, wrapping her in a hug, and she cried on his shoulder.

I thought: Was Love really that way?

" I'm truly sorry…but, I'm not used to you being like this." He said in a little voice.

" I'll… I'll be over it soon."

" I hope." Val muttered.

I sighed.

We ate roast chicken, and sandwiches for dinner.

Aunt kept asking what was wrong with Mera but, each time, she replied saying, she needed new clothes.

I went up to my room, still thinking of Halloween.

The school was going to pick the ones with the best outfits, and Chris said he was going to register our names for The best outfit challenge, meaning, we should dress well.

When it was midnight, I tiptoed downstairs, mainly because I couldn't sleep and eventually became hungry.

I opened the fridge, took out a huge hamburger and a milk shake. I didn't stop there, I opened the pizza pack and took two slices before closing the fridge.

"You didn't tell me you steal food at night" Chris said with a smile, and I nearly dropped everything.

" I could have broken something, Chris, and what are you doing here, gazing in the dark?" I asked, going to seat on the sofa opposite him.

" I like to think in the dark or when everything's quiet, but I couldn't, not when Mera slept off while playing loud music with a locked door, and I can't even get in to switch it off." he said, and truly Mera was playing loud music.

" Thinking of what?"

" Any possible mistakes I could have made, and how to correct them."

I took a large bite out of the hamburger, staring at the direction his voice was coming from, since I couldn't see a thing in the total darkness.

"So, have you found some mistakes you made?" I asked with my mouth full.

" Two big ones and some minor ones."

"Hmm what are they?"

" Don't want to say."

" Come on… I'm telling no one!" I insisted.

"No, I don't want to say"

" Seriously?" I asked, and took a sip out of the milkshake.

" Seriously." he repeated.

"Okay just tell me, one out of the big ones and another out of the minor ones."

"Sounds fair to me… The first big one is, I asked Pamela Johnson out, and she said yes, and it's looking like a really big mistake to me."

Don't know why, but I didn't like the sound of Chris asking someone out.

It made me feel heavy.

"And the minor one?" I managed to say through my mouthful of pizza.

" Told Sam to avoid Mera till the end."

" What?"

" Yeah, I'm the reason Sam's avoiding her."

"So, why do you think it's a mistake?"

" Because they need to talk things out, Mera can't keep going on like this, and only a deep heartfelt talk can release the burden in her."

" Oh, that's right." I said, sipping my milkshake.

"So, why do you think dating Pamela what's it? Is a bad idea?"

" Pamela Johnson? Number one, she loves to talk. I spent my break hour listening to how she made a lovely dress when she only tried fashion designing once.

"She repeated the story over and over, I can totally tell you everything she said without missing a word. It's all in my head.

" '…and then I folded the hem into two and turned on the switch and…" He said mimicking Pamela and I started to laugh hard.

" And, number two, she's got a terrible mouth odor... I died a thousand times, while she was talking, and spitting into my face." He said, and I doubled over in laughter, making my half-eaten pizza fall to the ground.

" I inhaled all that in, for almost an hour… She had been telling me the same story, right from class before the bell rang, and it was suffocating.

"If I wasn't a guy, I'd have cried, and to make matters worse, she tried to kiss me before going home. She said she wanted a deep kiss…

"Guess what? My heart beat the way it never beat before because I wondered what would happen if I ever had direct contact with her mouth, and its odor, so, I told her 'Hang on Pamela, your lips are too pretty, I want to watch them all day long instead of kiss them' and the damn girl blushed red!" He said, and I laughed like crazy.

Do you know what Pamela would have been thinking? She would have been thinking over the sky!

" Instead of giving her candy for Halloween, I'm going to give her a toothpaste." He continued, and I laughed hysterically… I laughed so much, I was scared I would wake everyone up.

" Why on earth do you laugh like that?" He said, and I laughed again, and choked on the milkshake I had just sipped.

I coughed until water came out of my eyes and Chris came, bent and held me.

" Are you okay?" He asked, looking up at me and at such close range, I was able to make out his eyes.

Jeez, I didn't like the way I felt when he touched me. It felt like, I felt like doing something really stupid, like hugging or maybe kissing him?

I guess he felt the way I flinched, when he touched me because he took his hands off me.

" Sorry."

" For what?" I asked, feeling shy but thanks to the darkness, he couldn't see me.

I hated the fact that I wasn't like Mera, who was used to guys and their touch.

" For…" he was about to say, but I interrupted.

" Don't reply me." I said quickly, and he laughed.

" Alright, I won't, just stop laughing that way. It's creepy, like those witches in movies." he said, and I laughed.

" Okay, should I change it to 'ha ha'" I said, laughing lightly like those barbie princesses.

"Woah… It's so not you." he said, smiling.

" How about hahahihihuhuhuhahiha!" I laughed and we both laughed.

I liked the feeling I always had with Chris… It was lovely.

" I think we should get to bed now… tomorrow's another tedious day at school."

" Yeah, that's true." I said, even though I badly wished we could talk through the night.

And surprisingly, I slept soundly.

<<<

The next day, during break< I and Mike were on the field, when I asked the question that had been bothering me since last night.

" Mike?"

"Yeah?"

" Um, when a guy, and a girl are together in the dark. Like, they don't… It's not a must they feel something, is it?" I asked

" In the dark? Together?"

" Nope, not together. Like, maybe he's sitting on a sofa, and she's sitting on the sofa opposite him. There's enough distance, so they can't feel, right?"

"Yeah, they might not, but in most situations, there will be chemistry between them." He said with a smile.

" Chemistry?"

" Yeah… There are different types of chemistry though, but let's just say, chemistry happens when you're free with someone, when you feel you can connect with that certain person, when you feel that person understands you… stuff like that."

" So, what does chemistry have to do with a guy and a girl in a dark place?"

" You know everywhere is quiet, you can only hear the other person's words, and no one else is around, and probably when you share stuff about you… or say something that no one else has heard, but, chemistry flows especially when touch is involved."

So, that was what happened when Sam and Mera were alone in the room, with her talking about how someone broke her heart.

Maybe, she felt Sam understood her, and that chemistry blossomed into love.

Wait wait wait… did Mike just say touch???.

" Touch???"

" Yeah, when touch is involved… Certain hormones are activated and so is the nervous system… sends a million mess…"

"Quit with the huge words, I can't understand! How…how does a girl know it's chemistry when a guy touches her?"

" You know, she might feel like grabbing him, or kissing him or touching him or…"

"Hold it!"

"Hold on, Pris... You're not telling me you felt chemistry with a guy?" He said with a huge smile on his face.

" No! No noooo. I'm not the girl in the story! It's just a question."

"Oh come on… no one uses that trick anymore."

" Okay, I just don't know why, he just held my arms, that's all."

"Even if he touched your feet or your hair, you'd feel it. Like, there's a fire burning in you, and you want to do something crazy."

I covered my mouth with my hands.

"Was that what I felt, when I had this crazy desire to kiss Peter during the dance?"

"Woah, during the dance?" Mike exclaimed dramatically.

" I know he felt it too, and we both, at that moment had no dates, so it felt like, we were on the same page."

" See? Told you."

"Woah!"

" So, getting ready for Halloween?"

" Oh yeah… I want to be different, so I'm not going for the common outfits like Superman… "

"Do girls do Superman?" He asked and I laughed.

"Okay, common stuff like famous people… Stuff like that, so I want to think it through."

"Okay, so, want to go Halloween shopping with me?"

" Sure… When's the date?"

" Tomorrow after school"

" Alright. I'll be there." I said and shortly, the bell rang so, he had to leave.

Later in the day, when school closed, I went to the high school to see if I could find Val, or Mera? No, not Mera... Chris? No, not Chris either.

I decided to search for Val when I saw Chris with a girl with straight brown hair like mine, oh I forgot to tell you, I already curled mine back to how it was. It's back in waves since homecoming ended.

She was talking excitedly with Chris while Chris was staring at her with love in his eyes.

Duh, it didn't bother me

Pfft.

Girls and Chris, were the letter 'X' so I felt cool.

….

No! I felt JELLY!

Really jelly that, that girl wasn't me!

She looked really chic.

She wore a pink mini skirt that had a lot of glitter, a sports bra and a blue jean jacket.

It showcased her full figure.

"Duh!" I said subconsciously.

" You don't like it?" Someone said in my ear and I turned around.

It was Sam.

" Jeez, you scared me."

" Everybody scares you… you going home?" He asked me

" Yeah… Want to go home together?"

" Maybe… do you guys have cookies at home?"

" Yeah, a lot! Want to visit?" I asked

" Sure."

" So, you're not planning on avoiding Mera anymore?" I asked, as we headed out the gate.

" Chris told me, to be me, and me isn't scared of telling a girl what she needs to hear."

" Oh really? Harsh."

" It's not harsh. They keep coming back, and pissing you off, when you don't tell them what you like, and what you don't."

" That's really true."

When we got home… I ran to my room, threw my bag on the bed and raced downstairs to the fridge.

I smiled as I brought out my personally baked cookies.

" Here, I baked them." I said after dishing them on a plate.

"You know how to bake?"

"I'm a baking star." I said.

" Okay, let's try it."

" Here."

" Feed me." he said, and I looked around.

" I'm talking to your girl… I don't eat cookies with my hands." He said with a sweet smile.

"Why?"

" Because, they taste better when I'm saved the stress of using my hands."

" Naughty." I said with an amused laugh, and held a cookie to his mouth.

"Why's your hand shaking?" He asked, smiling.

" Stop teasing me! It's because it's got no place to rest on."

" Oh yeah?" He said and ate the cookie.

He looked like a big baby.

After eating all the cookies, we were watching a TV show, when he suddenly said:

"Feel my heartbeat."

I stood up, with the plate, to take it to the kitchen.

" I'm starting to think you don't know how to use your hands." I said dropping it.

" I mean it." He said

" Why in the world should I feel your heartbeat?" I said sitting on the sofa.

" Because you're the only one here, and my heart is beating like crazy."

Was he saying, being with me, made his heart pound?

"It's not me! Maybe you saw a movie star, and liked her, perhaps that's why… Woah!" I had not finished talking, when he pulled my wrist towards him, I think he prepared his strength for something really heavy because due to the fact that I was light, he himself fell back on the sofa, and just like those romance movies, I filled my head with, I fell on top of him with my hand on his chest, and yeah, it was beating, but I couldn't tell if it was fast.

Our faces were close. Like, super close.

And then he just looked at my lips.

What is he doing!?

But, before I could pull myself away the door opened, and Mera, and Chris came in.

I saw as Mera eyes took in the whole situation, and I was feeling… scared?

"What the…?" Chris exclaimed, and I didn't know what to do, so I screamed!

" Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh!" I screamed so loud, with my eyes closed, and Sam pushed me away. Without even looking at Mera, he held me up.

" I wasn't doing anything! You know me… I fell over…!" I was saying, but Sam laughed.

"You didn't fall over. I dragged you." He said, and I looked at him like he was insane, but when I looked around, Mera wasn't even there, it was just Chris leaning on the door.

"Uhn?" I said

" I told you to feel my heartbeat, and you didn't, so I dragged you. Isn't that what happened?"

" Yeah, but I still fell over." I said, and he laughed again.

"Sam, why flirting when Mera could have seen?" Chris asked with his hands in his pockets, still leaning against the door.

"Yo, so, because she likes me, I can't touch a girl anymore? What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, then Mera came out from a door.

" Then can we have that talk?" Mera asked.

"Is it important?"

"Kinda… I still want to remain friends with you." she said

"So, I'll be in my bedroom" I said awkwardly and ran to my room, locking the door behind me.

I gave a long sigh, then jumped on my bed.

<<<

After school, Mike and I set out for Halloween shopping, I had finally decided on what I wanted to be.

I was going to be Mina, the supposed reincarnation of Elisabeta, Dracula's wife, and I was going to be dressed in red.

It was an ancient looking dress, so I was surely going to look pretty in it.

We got to the store, and the many Halloween dresses I saw, almost made me change my mind.

"Um, excuse me… Do you have any Dracula outfits?" I asked the lady at the counter.

"You want to dress as Dracula for Halloween?" She asked, looking at me weirdly.

"No, no, I'm actually checking for Mina's red outfit."

" Oh yeah… we ordered only one matching set, you're really lucky, are you and your boyfriend going as Dracula and Mina?" She asked with a smile.

" No, no he's not my boyfriend, and I'm going alone. Just as Mina."

"Okay, when the dress is acquired, we'll send the package to you, please fill in this slip, it contains your details, such as your address and other things we'll need to get the package across to you." She said politely.

"Oh, okay" I said, and took the pen given to me, and started to fill in the slip.

" I need Aladdin's outfit, I saw it back there." Mike said.

" Wow, cool." I said, still filling in the slip.

"Whitney's going as Jasmine." He said and I looked at him.

" Aww. That's couple outfits." I said smiling.

" Thanks."

On the way out, we bought ice cream.

" Pris, imagine you were dating that guy... over there." He said and signaled to a guy with large beards all over his face.

" Eww Mike!" I said and hit him playfully on his back.

" Isn't he cute?"

" Really mike? Okay, how about that girl?" I asked, pointing to a girl with a forest for hair, and bushy eyebrows, with big round glasses.

"Um, no, thank you." he said and we laughed.

" Should I get you her number?" I asked

" No, thanks, seems like you forgot I'm taken?"

"But, she's your love at first sight."

" Love at what what?" He asked, and

I stood up and made to go towards her.

"Pris." He said and pulled me back in such a way, that I accidentally smashed my ice cream onto his face.

"Oops, my ice cream!" I exclaimed, and laughed hysterically, as I saw his face.

And all of a sudden, he smashed his ice cream on my face.

" Ow!" I exclaimed and licked the bit over my mouth.

" Your flavor's actually sweet."

" Sorry, can I take a picture of you guys? I'd like to write a song about this moment." a girl said, holding a camera.

"Oh." I said

" Sure, how do you want us to pose?" Mike asked.

" If you could hold her from behind, please?" The girl asked politely.

"Sure." Mike replied.

" Hey, hey, hey…" I started to say

" They, they, they. Shut up and calm down." Mike said, and held me from behind, and I don't know why, I really don't know why, but I liked it. He was warm, and it wasn't awkward, it was totally natural.

* Was this how Whitney felt whenever Mike held her?*

I envied Whitney, and then snap! The picture was taken.

" Ooh, I love this!" The girl squealed.

We checked the photo, and anyone who saw it, would think I was in love with Mike!

I had this kind of dreamy expression on my face, like I was thinking about him.

" Sorry! Why's the picture like that?" I asked her.

"Sorry?" The girl asked puzzled at my question.

" That was great acting Pris! We looked like couples!" Mike said with excitement and I faked a smile.

" Yeah yeah."

It wasn't acting though, but I surely didn't like Mike…

Not a bit…

That was the one things I was sure of.

" Come on, let's go." he said, and we headed home.

" So… Halloween is on what day?"

" It's on a Sunday…"

"So everyone's coming to school on Sunday?" I asked,

" Yeah."

" Wow, what time is it?"

" Night of course, and the winners of the best outfits, which will be a guy and a girl, will get a matching bracelet.

"Not only that, they get to spend thirty minutes alone, enjoying a romantic, candlelit dinner, and see if they can have an attraction for each other, you know, get to know each other." He said, smiling.

" Just a bracelet?"

"Not just any bracelet… A really expensive one with your name carved on it."

" Wow… so what if the winner of Halloween best outfits is an ugly guy?" I asked and he laughed.

" That's your problem." He said, and that made me join him in laughing.

When I got home, and sat next to Val on the sofa, Mera came in.

" Where were you?" She asked.

" I was getting my Halloween outfit." I said smiling.

"What is it?" Val asked.

" No! Let's keep our outfits a secret…" Mera said with a smile.

" We know you're going as wonder woman."

" Nope, changed my mind." Mera said, still smiling.

And just like that, the days passed, and it came to a stop, on the day before Halloween, which was Saturday.

Peter and I had arranged to meet, as friends, and I was excited… I wore a white, long-sleeved top, white bum shorts, together with my new red jacket.

Immediately, I left the house, I spotted a black sports car outside.

I stared at it for a while, and passed it by, then Peter called.

I had given him my number.

" Hey, have you gotten there?" I asked.

"Nope, I haven't." Came his smooth voice.

"So, where are you?" I asked, smoothening my jacket.

"Right behind you." he said, and I turned around, sharply, and saw him dressed in all white leaning against the black sports car.

He was two words…

Dashing and Breathtaking.

He pulled off his black shades and smiled.

The white looked dazzling, next to his brown skin, and I slowly walked up to him.

" Nice jacket… looking pretty." he complimented when I came closer.

" Thanks… it's just a bit painful, that it turns out the guy is prettier than the girl." I said, looking away and he laughed.

" Prettier?"

" It's just… just a figure of speech… so where to?"

" You'll see… come in."

" In? In this car?"

" Where else?"

" Nope, nothing"

He held the door open for me, and I climbed in…

The car smelled a lot like him…

It had this lovely scent that spoke of a cool guy, in whose arms you wanted to keep resting in.

The seats were comfy, and everything else was sparkling and neat… not a speckle of dust on it.

But wait, why are the Archville guys obsessed with cars when they're not Eighteen? It was exactly what Chris did.

He came in and sat next to me.

"So, where to?"

" To do me a favor... I've got this appointment that my mum says I must go to, it's like a modeling stuff, she says I should bring a girl along, since I wouldn't like to model with a random girl.

" And out of the babble of dry and boring girls, you stood out."

"You mean I'm the most dry and boring girl." I said, and he laughed.

"You look like it… but, I feel you've got a lot more to you."

" Don't think that way, you wouldn't want to get disappointed when you discover this is all I am."

" Are you sure? You're a hot topic at the high school. Most guys are waiting for you to come in, next year, before they strike. They want to be your first."

" My first?" I asked, and he started the car and zoomed onto the street at a fast pace.

" Yup, so who would you prefer to be your first?"

" I… I haven't thought about it." I said.

" I'm disappointed. Thought it would be me, seeing how close we were to kissing at homecoming." he said, and I let out a little gasp, which he noticed.

Then he laughed.

" It's not bad… don't feel bad." He said.

" I'm not feeling bad."

" Really?"

" Yeah."

I rolled down the window, and air came in, ruffling my hair.

" Any girl competitors?" He asked me.

"Why would girls want to compete with me?" I asked

" For all the reasons."

" You? Got any guy competitors?"

" Sure… your cousin is one."

" Why should you have a competitor, I mean you're gentle, calm, cool…"

" What a nice stylish way to dish out my attributes." he said, smiling.

" I'm not dishing out anything."

" We're here darl." he said and parked to the side of a huge building.

He got out and opened the door for me, before I could get out.

Then, he held my hand.

He had a really soft palm, ooooooh!

He led me through the huge building, while waving and greeting lots of people, who stared more than normal, and I thought of his question.

Who would I like to date first?

*Chris? Who was sups romantic and handsome, and charming and gentle and caring!?

*Sam? Who was handsome, cool and a total playboy, who knows all the basics of flirting and likes me because I'm innocent and cute?

* Mike? Who has a girlfriend, I'm sups comfortable with him around, and he pours out his secrets, and everything to me because he trusts me like crazy? And don't overlook the fact that he's also really handsome, and knows how to make a girl feel special.

* Peter? Who totally takes my breath away, and brings out the feminine vulnerable side of me, with his stare, touch, and who made me want to kiss him just because he danced with me?

* Or Green-Eyed Boy? Poppy's brother? Who I saw only once, but was super daring, and all playful, had a way with words and had that shining black hair, and light green forest eyes I had been dreaming of?

Oh.

I wish I could date them all