"I feel a little silly," Alex mumbled as he tied a red paisley bandana around his neck, careful not to get his hair caught in the knot.
"How do you think I feel?" Jack called from his bedroom. "I'm dressed like an ass!"
"I thought you were supposed to be a horse."
"You know what I mean."
"I still don't understand why I had to get pulled into your costume's theming," Alex mumbled, looking down at his mostly constructed outfit. A denim shirt paired with baggy denim jeans that were tucked into well-worn brown cowboy boots. The bandana he had just added plus the giant cowboy hat sitting on Jack's coffee table completed the western look. "Or why these are even Halloween costumes in the first place. I thought they were meant to be scary."
"Stateside anything is a costume. It's called freedom. Besides if we limited ourselves that would put a dent in the pool of overpriced yet cheap pre-packaged costumes available at your local retailer."
"Are you going to be done anytime soon or should I put on the kettle?"
Jack answered that by walking out, dressed inconspicuously save for the tail safety pinned to the back of his belt and the long ears attached to his headband. The rest of his outfit consisted of just a t-shirt and jeans that matched his accessories' black colouring.
"Unfair," he mumbled when he saw Alex. "My first Halloween party in years and you're gonna look cooler than me."
"You're the one who agreed to wear that," Alex reminded him. "And who picked this out for me."
Jack straightened his posture slightly and smirked. "I suppose it'll be worth it to see Ellie in that dress," he said dreamily.
"I also don't understand how a black dress counts as a costume."
"I don't understand how you can have the gall to question why a woman would want to look drop-dead gorgeous at a party."
Jack grabbed the hat from its spot on his table and plonked it too far down on Alex's head.
"I think it's less about what she wants in this case," Alex said, adjusting the wide hat brim so he could see. "You were the one who picked it out. So, it's more like, why you would want to see a woman look gorgeous."
"If you don't understand that either I can explain it to you later. Not exactly enough time to give you an impromptu biology lesson right now."
Alex rolled his eyes as he heated up ever so slightly. "Are you ready then?"
"I was born ready for this."
Jack threw an arm around Alex's shoulders and ushered him toward the door. Their dorm was quiet thanks to all the students who had already left for the weeklong autumn break. Warren was one of them, so he wouldn't be at the party even though he had been invited. Connor and the girls would be there though, along with most of the kids who had been sitting on the far half of their table at meals, like Mikayla and Stephanie. Ellie had asked for Alex's blessing to invite Olena. Their resident Irish goth had been cordial but not kind to Alex ever since the vigil, but Ellie was convinced she just needed some time to get to know him. Alex had said yes, but Olena ended up being one of the few scholarship kids who left for the break. Gone to stay with family who lived in Reading.
Alex's cowboy costume had been pretty quickly decided for him when Jack spotted the hat at the thrift store. Ellie seemed pretty delighted at the thought of them matching as well, and it wasn't like Alex could manage to come up with anything better. Ellie almost bought a dress that she said looked like something from a Madonna music video, but Jack found a long-sleeved black dress in her size and challenged her to keep good on her promise to let him pick her costume. She had refused to let either Alex or Jack see her in it when she tried it on in the changing room, but she called Matthew in to get a second opinion before she committed to buying it.
"I think Farrow might just keel over when he sees it," Matthew had told them in a very solemn tone. "Damn near killed me."
All Matthew had grabbed at the thrift store was an orange puffer vest. Alex was a bit confused as to what kind of costume one could construct with that, but Jack seemed to understand what he was going for without explanation. Alex figured he should defer to the Americans' expertise in this situation.
Since Halloween was a Saturday, Alex still had his language lessons in the morning and afternoon. By the time he got back to the flat Matthew had already headed out to help with the party setup, so Alex had yet to see his costume all constructed.
Jack shivered most of the way to McAvoy, thanks to his costume's lack of a jacket coupled with the cool autumn air. Halfway there Alex took pity on him and intentionally warmed up to a comfortable heat, causing Jack to throw an arm back around him and cling to him like a sloth hanging on to a tree branch.
"You'd make a killing if you started charging for this in the winter," Jack mumbled as Alex practically dragged him the rest of the way.
"If I started charging, I'd make you pay double," Alex said. "Surely you're not so cold that you forgot how to walk."
"It's not my fault. You're just so dang cosy. No wonder that mouse tried to make your hair his new home."
Alex rolled his eyes and jabbed his elbow into Jack's side. He grunted but only tightened his hold and leaned more heavily on his poor friend. He only let go when they reached McAvoy and Jack barreled ahead to push open the front door. McAvoy's lobby was empty, a strange sight given the only time Alex had seen it before was when it was packed for that ill-fated start-of-term party.
"Tonight's the night, Al," Jack said as the two walked up the stairwell to the third floor where Ellie had set up the hopefully more successful party. "I'm going to do it. I'm gonna make a move on Ellie."
"Is that not what you've been doing this whole time?"
"Um, no. Thus far has been nothing but a prelude. A preamble. Marination."
"She's not a piece of meat."
Jack's light skin flushed pink. "I know that," he said quickly. "That's not what I meant."
"Sure, you didn't."
"Don't tell her I said that."
"Don't tell Ellie you've been marinating her?"
"Okay yeah, I hear how bad it sounds when you say it like that."
"I should warn you that if whatever you start ends poorly, I'll probably be forced to side with her."
"Seriously? Does loyalty mean nothing to you?"
"Between the two of you, who's more likely to do something massively stupid enough to cause your relationship to implode?"
"You know what? Fair enough."
Alex grabbed Jack by the wrist just as he was about to open the door to the third floor. He glanced back over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow.
"Try… Try to tread with care, Jack," Alex said as he mustered up enough courage to be sincere with his best friend.
Jack smirked. "Don't hurt her?" he said. "You've been her self-appointed brother for like a month and you're already pulling out that cliché?"
"I would hope that not hurting her goes without saying. I meant to take care of yourself. I know your heart's not as hard as you like people to believe."
Jack's smirk slipped for a second, and the two just blinked at each other in silence. Then Jack grinned and slipped out of Alex's hold to push the cowboy hat down over his eyes again.
"It would be if it wasn't for you," Alex heard him say as he held the hat down over Alex's eyes for a second. Once he let go Alex pulled the hat back up to a functional position, and by the time he could see again Jack was gone and the door to the third floor was swinging shut, quiet music escaping for a second until it fell back into place.
Alex properly straightened his hat and climbed the rest of the steps, taking a deep breath before he opened the door to the floor. It opened up at the end of a dimly lit hallway, its layout almost identical to the dorm Alex lived in. The slightly faded carpet and old-fashioned wallpaper made it feel like he was stepping into a past version of it. Doors leading to flats lined both sides of the hallway, and Alex saw that at its end there was a fork, with the lift situated in the centre of it. Jack was already socializing with a couple of kids who were hanging out by the lift, plastic cups in their hands. Alex swallowed his fear and trekked down the hallway to reach them, smelling the alcohol from the kids' cups once he was close.
"—no fun whatsoever," Jack was saying to the kids. "An entire country full of people with no fucking whimsy." Jack nodded at Alex as he approached. "I had to wrestle this whimsy-less tool into his costume."
The kids looked over at Alex with half-drunk smiles on their faces. He had seen both of them around, but he was pretty sure they were year twelve. One was a light-skinned brunette girl with moles speckled on her face and the other was a boy with light brown skin and long black hair pulled back in a messy bun. The girl was wearing what looked like an American flag-themed one-piece swimsuit that was paired with knee-high red boots and a golden tiara in her hair. The boy had on chunky glasses with no lenses and a uniform shirt that was unbuttoned enough for Alex to see a blue shirt with a yellow and red symbol that looked vaguely familiar.
"Farrow was just letting us know we have him to thank for this Halloween party," the girl explained to Alex. She had an American accent, but it was different from Matthew's or even the southern one Mikayla had. "Since you Brits are allergic to fun."
"Not everyone feels like urge to turn every pagan holiday into a capitalist enterprise," the boy said. He had an accent Alex would guess was from a Spanish-speaking country in the Caribbean. Maybe Cuba or the Dominican Republic.
"Bold words coming from someone meant to be about truth, justice, and the American way," Jack said, earning a giggle from the girl.
"There is no way a man can embody the first two and the third at the same time."
"Oh, those are fighting words, Benny," the girl said, but she looked enamoured rather than mad.
"My money's on Wonder Woman in a fight," Jack said. "One hundred per cent."
"Mine would be too," Benny said, earning a more delighted smile from the American girl.
Jack looped his arm through Alex's and pulled him away before he managed to say a single word to the two. He tried to exchange pleasantries over his shoulder, but by the time he turned to look back at them they were already snogging like it was the only way they could breathe.
"Do you think they would have done that if we hadn't walked away?" Alex wondered, barely able to hear himself as Jack led him down the hallway that took them closer to the source of the floor's music.
"I think they would have done that if we had been standing in between them," Jack said with a chuckle.
The hallway they were going down got progressively more crowded, filled with similarly occupied couples or friends just socializing over drinks. It ended with a big crowded square room, one that Alex could barely recognize as being a duplicate of the common space lounges that were on every other floor back in his dorm as well. Since all the flats in Pearson had their lounges, they weren't used much. But he was pretty sure the flats in McAvoy were smaller, so the scholarship kids probably used theirs more often.
Ellie had employed a similar tactic to the previous party and pushed the lounge's furniture up against the walls. The sofas and armchairs were all occupied, most over their intended capacity, and the rest of the space was being put to good use as a dance floor. Now that he was closer to the music's source, Matthew's new stereo placed on a table surrounded by plastic cups, he could discern that the song playing was appropriately themed to the spooky holiday.
Jack pulled Alex towards one of the tables against a wall, where a girl wearing a pink ballerina outfit with glittery wings strapped to her back was pouring liquor and mixers into a pitcher. When she turned her head, it took Alex a second to realize the girl was Mikayla. She had elaborate sparkly makeup that did a good job of hiding her identity. He wasn't even entirely sure it was Mikayla until she started speaking in her distinct Kentucky drawl.
"Well, howdy partner," she said, tipping an invisible hat when she saw Alex's costume. "Don't you look dashing?"
Alex mumbled a thank you as Jack pointed to himself. "And what about me?" He asked.
"A mighty steed indeed."
"What are you mixing?"
"A recipe of my brother's. He calls it The Devil's Spit."
"Does it taste better than it sounds?"
"Honestly? I'd say it tastes worse. Want to try?"
"Absolutely."
Alex passed on The Devil's Spit, though the way Jack reacted to it almost made him want to try. "It's like…" he said, swirling his plastic cup as if he was a wine connoisseur. "It's widely unpleasant in a way that leaves me constantly craving more."
"It's an Indian girl who pushes you off swing sets," Alex offered, earning an involuntary snort from Jack and a puzzled look from Mikayla.
"Speaking of," Jack said around another sip of his terrible drink, "have you seen Ellie?"
"Yeah, she should be out on the balcony with Matthew," Mikayla said, pointing to the glass doors past the dance floor that led out onto a moderately sized balcony. She put aside her cursed concoction to make a much more subdued mix of gin, lime juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker. Once she poured it into a plastic cup she handed it to Jack. "Here. Since a gentleman should never show up empty-handed."
"My fairy godmother," Jack said, taking the cup with a bow of his head.
"Hurt her and I'll fuck you up, Farrow."
"I would ask for nothing less."
"Is there any drink I can send you off with, Alexander?" Mikayla asked, gesturing to her seemingly infinite supply of liquids. "I can make mocktails too. Oh, or an ice cream float. I got root beer. Cola. Orange soda."
"Floats?" Alex said, searching the table until he found a clear tub of vanilla ice cream. "How are you keeping the ice cream frozen?"
Mikayla smirked and held up a hand, wiggling her fingers until ice crystals started to form on her nails.
"Ah," Alex said, feeling a little foolish for not knowing Mikayla's type already. He felt even more foolish when he realized he didn't know Ellie either. "Right. Brilliant."
"I think so too. So, can I make you one?"
"The orange one does sound interesting."
"One orange creamsicle, coming up."
Mikayla got to work making Alex the frozen drink, and Jack somehow managed to finish his cup's vile contents before she was done. Against Mikayla's advice, he poured himself another serving, and then the two skirted around the dance floor to reach the balcony doors.
The balcony had two pockets of people hanging out at its corners. On the right side was a group of three girls dressed as witches passing around a joint. On the left were Ellie and Matthew, sitting on overturned buckets and in the middle of laughing over something. Ellie spotted Alex and Jack once they stepped outside and stood up to wave them over. Once Jack caught sight of her, Alex felt Jack physically stiffen beside him. Alex didn't blame him; he may not have understood exactly what the costume was meant to be, but he got why Jack had been so excited to see her in it.
The dress was simple, form-fitting and floor-length with long flowing sleeves. They had been intact at the thrift store, but Ellie had altered the ends of them to make them look tattered. The v-shaped neckline plunged just below her collarbone. It fit her shockingly well as if the thrifted piece had been made especially for her. The most striking part of her look had nothing to do with her dress, though. Her makeup accented her cheekbones, her lips were lined in a cherry red colour that looked fantastic on her, and her eyes were decorated with black liner and silver shadow. To top it all off, her normally curly hair had been straightened, and cascaded so far down that it almost reached her hips.
"Coming, Farrow?" Matthew called when he noticed how dumbstruck Jack was. He had a beer bottle in his hand and a smirk on his lips.
The taunt snapped Jack out of his trance, and he forged ahead with the same ease he had when he approached that couple and Mikayla.
"A drink for the lady," he said, offering Ellie the drink Mikayla had made.
"The Pony Express is a truly marvellous delivery service," Ellie said, taking the drink with a smile.
"Got something for me?" Matthew asked pointedly.
Jack held out his drink. "You can have some of The Devil's Spit, I guess."
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that shit is actual poison."
"Eh. I've had a cup already and feel fine."
"A cup?"
"Cup and a half probably."
Matthew shook his head and took the plastic cup, then promptly dumped it in a nearby potted plant. "How much you want to bet that thing is gonna be dead tomorrow morning?" He asked no one in particular.
"100 per cent, yes," Ellie said before turning to smile at Alex. "You look fantastic, by the way."
"Thanks. You do too. How long did it take you to do that to your hair?"
"You don't want to know. And every time I even look at the water, I swear I feel it curling again. Out of curiosity, can you tell who I'm supposed to be?"
"Are you someone specific? My guess was just going to be a vampire."
"She's Morticia Addams," Jack explained. "From the Addams Family. Previously the hottest woman to ever don a black dress. Until today."
Ellie rolled her eyes but couldn't fully hide the uptick at one of the corners of her mouth or the slight flush in her cheeks that the compliment spurned.
"Wait, wait," Matthew said, setting his beer down on the floor and getting up to model his outfit. "What about me?"
Alex tilted his head as he tried to deduce Matthew's attire. He was wearing faded baggy blue jeans and about four visible layers on his torso. A checkered collared shirt was slightly unbuttoned to reveal a maroon t-shirt underneath it. On top of it, he had on a denim jacket that Alex had seen him wear on their off days, though the cuffs were now folded up. On top of that jacket was the orange puffer vest he had bought in Brighton. His glasses were once again pushed up on top of his head, holding down his more unruly than usual curls.
"Honestly all I can think up is a hunter," Alex admitted. "All you need to complete the look is a rifle and a birding dog."
Ellie and Jack both chuckled as Matthew rolled his eyes and reached into his denim jacket's oversized pocket, pulling out the notebook he kept The List in.
"Back… to… the future," he mumbled as he wrote the corresponding words at the bottom of the list. "Might as well add Addams Family while I'm at it."
"Guess that means I was wrong."
"It's not your fault, Allie. Farrow had failed you in every way a man possibly could."
"Unfair," Jack argued, stealing Matthew's beer bottle from its spot on the ground. "It's impossible to get this guy to have fun. Excuse me if I'd rather take advantage of his rare bouts of whimsy to get him to live in the world rather than plonk him in front of a TV screen."
"You're using that word a lot today," Alex noticed.
"It's a good word. You wouldn't know because cuz as previously stated, this country has none."
"Excuse you, I have plenty," Eloise protested. Her eyes suddenly lit up and she put her drink in Matthew's empty hand. "Stop, I love this song. Come on Jackie, I'll give you whimsy."
Jack barely had time to get out a semi-confused grunt as Ellie took his hand and pulled him back towards the balcony door. Before they disappeared back inside Jack looked back at Alex to flash a cheeky grin and a thumbs up. Alex tried to signal back, but they were gone so quickly that he doubted Jack saw.
Matthew settled back onto the overturned bucket he had been sitting on and sniffed the drink Ellie had given him. "Did Mikayla make this one too?" he asked suspiciously. "I couldn't swallow whatever the hell her Devil's Spit was."
"She did, but it's just a gimlet," Alex explained as he took Ellie's seat.
"A what?"
"It's the name of the cocktail. Gin and lime juice mostly."
Matthew raised an eyebrow as he took a tentative sip. "Did Mikayla tell you that was the name or did you know it by watching her make it?"
"The second."
"The things you know never cease to baffle me. He doesn't know Marty McFly, but he can name an obscure cocktail just by the recipe."
"It's an extremely popular cocktail, Matthew."
"I've never heard of it. Then again, I guess most of my experience with alcohol has just been coolers of beer and solo cups filled with Coke and Jack Daniels."
"At most old family parties, I babysit Sean and Jack by the bars the whole time. I overhear a lot of orders."
Matthew swirled his gifted cocktail. "It's nice to know Mikayla's capable of making a sane drink," he said, "and that she's concocting toxic brews just for shits and giggles."
"I'm surprised she managed to get her hands on her hands on so many types of liquor."
"A few years thirteens are eighteen already. They helped her conspire. Ellie wanted this party to be dry too, but the Americans revolted. A Halloween party without booze has, and I quote from Lauren, no fucking point."
"Lauren?"
"You probably saw her when you walked in. She's wearing the Wonder Woman costume. You know Wonder Woman, Allie?"
"I didn't make the connection when I first saw her," Alex admitted. "But when Jack mentioned it then it clicked. Her boyfriend was Superman, yeah?"
"Clark Kent, technically, but I'll give it to you."
Alex stirred the straw of his drink to mix up its contents a bit as one of the witch girls came over to offer Matthew their mostly smoked-down joint. He thanked them for the offer but turned it down, and the girl hesitated for a second before asking Alex as well.
"No thank you," he mumbled. The girl shrugged and put it out on the underside of her boot, then pocketed the butt and went back inside with her friends. Now it was just Alex and Matthew alone on the balcony.
"Weed and alcohol in the same sitting is a bad mix for me," Matthew said, taking another small sip of Ellie's drink. "Buzz goes sideways real fast."
"You smoke?"
"If my mom asks, never. If my dad asks, only socially."
"Does your dad get the truth?"
"Kind of. I may go through a joint on my own now and then. Usually only when I'm super stressed. Do you smoke?"
"I tried once. It made me feel even more paranoid than I usually do, so I haven't touched it since."
"He doesn't like drinking or drugs," Matthew said to himself like he was constructing his file on Alex. "At every function, he tucks himself into quiet corners to hang out with either no one or asshole losers. I can see why parties hold little appeal to him."
Alex warmed at the observations, but it died down when he saw Matthew was wearing a playful smile. "It's unfair for you to call Sean a loser," Alex pointed out. "You've never met him."
"Fair point," Matthew conceded. "I stand by my assessment of Farrow, though. Plus, right now you're hanging out with me, so another bit of evidence in that column."
"I don't think you're a loser."
"But I am an asshole, right?"
"Do… do you want me to say yes?"
"I mean, I have a reputation to maintain."
"I think despite your best efforts you're very kind. But if anyone asks, yes, you're a right arsehole."
Matthew giggled in a way Alex had never heard before, perhaps a result of his slight inebriation. Whatever its cause, it made Alex's body surge with a flash of heat.
You've melted your drink, AJ observed, speaking up for the first time that night.
Alex tried to calm down and stirred his now completely liquid beverage as Matthew recovered from his giggle.
"Your accent gets me sometimes," he explained before fully composing himself. "Okay, so he's avoidant of substances. Socializing choices are questionable at best. What about dancing? You ever danced before?"
"I know how to waltz. I hate it, but I know how to."
Matthew groaned and tilted his head back. "Waltz?" he repeated, sounding pained just to say it. "Seriously? Is that it?"
"Yes. The only party other than all those stuffy ones I ever go to is Mary's start-of-term one, and I've just never been in the mood to give it a try. The closest I got was when Hannah dragged me over for a slow dance to make her boyfriend at the time jealous."
"How did that go?"
Alex squirmed at the memory. "She forced a kiss on me halfway through and I was so mortified that I nearly spit up fire onto her face. As it was, I had to pull away and make a run for it before I hurt her or anyone else."
Matthew frowned. "Sounds like she would have deserved it," he said, his voice icier than Mikayla's fingernails had been.
"I find it hard to imagine that anyone deserves to have their face burned off."
"She assaulted you to make some sap jealous. I have to disagree with you on that."
"That's a bit of a strong way to—"
"She does that often, doesn't she?" Matthew pressed. "She puts her hands on you in ways that she knows bothers you."
"I don't know if I'd say often… Not infrequently, I suppose."
"Why do you let her?"
"She's just trying to get a rise out of me. The best way to handle her is to give her as little of a reaction as possible. She'll get bored and find something else to do."
"But then she'll just—"
"I've been dealing with Hannah Palmer my whole life," Alex said, a little more forcefully than he intended. He clenched his jaw as AJ helpfully added, Yes, and you'll be dealing with her for the rest of it, won't you?
"Trust me," Alex continued, a bit more softly. "I know what I'm doing with her."
Matthew looked like he wanted to argue further, but instead, he just mumbled something in Spanish under his breath, too quick and quiet for Alex to have a chance at understanding it.
"Will you dance tonight?" Matthew asked to change the subject. "My dad put a lot of work into tonight's soundtrack. I'd hate to tell him you disgraced that by sitting on the sidelines all night. Nary even a foot tap in sight."
"Do you mean this is your dad's music?" Alex asked, straining to hear the music through the glass. He earned another giggle from Matthew.
"No, right now this is Ray Parker Jr.," Matthew said, his giggles not quite subsiding. "Ghostbusters, from the hit 1984 American comedy film, Ghostbusters."
"Add it to the list I suppose."
Matthew shook his head and complied. "My dad just burned these songs onto a CD," Matthew explained as he jotted down the addition. "Sent it for my birthday. He didn't put any of his music on it cuz he thinks that's conceited. Putting your music on a compilation mixtape like this. He's got tracks that would fit right in with the spooky theming though."
"Why are your parents allowed to send you gifts?" Alex said, remembering Matthew's request that no one try to give him anything that day.
"Because they refuse to listen to me and know there's nothing that I can do to stop them."
"So, you don't like getting gifts at all? Ever?"
"Not on my birthday. It makes me feel weird, getting stuff but not giving things back. It's too one-sided."
"Do you give people gifts on their birthday?"
"Of course. I'm not a monster."
Alex chuckled and shook his head as Matthew nudged him with his foot.
"Don't think I didn't notice you dodged my dancing question," he pointed out.
Alex took a sip of the drink that had become orange-flavoured milk. "I'm not good," he finally said. "However uncoordinated I am at football, multiply that tenfold and you have a good image of what it would be like if I tried to dance to music like this."
"It's not about being good," Matthew insisted. "I mean, look at those drunk idiots. It's about having fun. Communing with the music. With the crowd."
"You make it sound religious."
"It can be, my friend. It can be." Matthew read Alex's nerves and bumped him on the arm with his shoulder. "Tell you what. If the mood ever strikes you tonight, you let me know, and I'll be there right there with you. We can look like right arseholes together."
Alex chuckled at Matthew's terrible impersonation of his accent. "Okay," Alex agreed. "I… thank you."
Matthew rose to his feet, shaking one of his legs out as if it had gone numb. "Not long before you got here, Stephanie was trying to round up people to watch a horror movie in her dorm," he explained, gesturing inside. "Want to give that a try? We can rectify at least a fraction of the shit education Farrow has gotten away with all these years."
"Sure," Alex said without thinking, but he hesitated after he stood up. "Wait, it won't be too scary, will it?"
"She was debating on which film to pick, so I'm not entirely sure," Matthew admitted, his playful smile coming back. "But don't worry. If you get too scared, you're more than welcome to hold my hand."
Alex had a feeling Matthew meant that to be teasing, but he his heart and stomach still fluttered at the words. At the image they conjured in his head.
I am begging you, AJ said as Alex followed Matthew back inside, for the sake of what's left of your sanity, keep your fucking hands to yourself.