đ MARC & LUCAS đ
âWeâll let her chooseâ Lucas suggests, and both he and Marc turn their gaze on you. âSay, which one of us looks better in this? Be honest.â
You sigh, looking up from your phone to observe the two boys in identical pirate costumes. Itâs hard to choose what's worse: Lucas so obviously flexing his exposed muscles, or Marc wearing that hideous wig and looking like he wants to crawl into a hole.
âHey, donât bring her into your stupid competitionsâ interrupts Marc before you even have a chance to destroy his self-esteem with your real opinion. Obviously embarrassed, he walks back into the fitting room. âWhy do I keep listening to you? I donât even like this costumeâŚâ
âYou're always such a stick in the mud...â Lucas says under his breath, and then turns to look at you again. âWant me to help you find a nice one for you while grandpa gets changed? Letâs go take a look!â
âHuh? Youâre not thinking of walking around the store dressed like thâ ? Hey, come back!â
You hurriedly follow him to the women's costume section, pretending not to notice the grumpy look the store clerk is throwing your way.
âLucas!â
He suddenly stops in front of one of the shelves, making you bump into his hard back. Rubbing your nose, you look at the section that has caught his attention and start shaking your head before he gets to say a thing.
âNo.â
âButâ Why?! You would look reaaally good in some of theseâŚâ he insists and, with a playful smirk on his face, points to the sexy policewoman and the seductive vampiress costumes in display.
âNo way. These are made for girls more⌠Well, they are not for me.â
âHuh? What does that mean?â he asks, his brow furrowing in confusion. âWait, you are not talking about your body, right?â
âNo, IâŚâ
ââCause let me tell you, you look really sexy even when you wear your normal clothesâ he adds. Then, apparently not being conscious of his own actions, he scans you with his eyes and moves his hands towards you, as if he was about to put them on your⌠hips?
âAhemâŚ! Iâm back, guys.â
Marc's body squeezes into the small space left between you and Lucas, interrupting your awkward conversation. You take a step back to avoid becoming a human sandwich.
âHere, go change or theyâll end up kicking us outâ he adds, placing the empty package of Lucasâ costume on his still raised hands.
âUm⌠But Iâm still not sure if Iâll get this oneâŚâ Lucas complains, looking at himself in the reflection of a nearby window.
âIt reminds me of the one you were wearing at the NeonGreen the night we met each otherâ you point out, not giving your words much thought. But for some reason, they both watch you in silence for a few seconds.
âAww⌠You remember that?â Lucas finally reacts, and with a smile much sweeter than usual, he pinches your cheek as if you were a baby. Just as you're about to kick him in the shin, he jumps to the side and runs toward the fitting room, laughing out loud. âIâm buying it, then!â
Marc and you are left alone, and then he sighs audibly while looking at his surroundings. You can't help but laugh at seeing him so overwhelmed, and that brings his attention back to you.
âNeed some help?â you offer, and his face lights up almost immediately.
âYes, please. I canât trust Lucas on this.â
âAlrightâŚâ You take a few moments to think as you begin walking towards the men's costume section. âWe should look for something that is comfortable to wear, and thatâs easy to put on. Oh! And it shouldnât attract peopleâs attention to you, either.â
âI think you're the only one in the group that knows this wellâ he admits, shooting you a grateful smile.
âPff, donât be so naiveâŚâ you joke around, and when he sticks his right hand inside his jacketâs pocket, you take the chance to intertwine your arm with his. âThe others know you as well as I do, they just pretend they don't so they can put you in awkward situationsâŚâ
You look back at him again, waiting for his reaction to your confession. But he seems⌠distracted. Just when you're about to ask whatâs wrong, something catches your eye from the shelf you just passed by.
âThat oneâs perfect!â you exclaim, and you let go of his arm to grab the werewolf mask you just found. âIf you wear this with your jeans and that leather jacket that looks so good on you, you'll look like an old movie werewolf.â
âTheââ Marc begins, sounding even more distracted than before. âThe leather jacket that⌠what?â
âTRICK OR TREAT!â
You both jump back when the head of the girl from The Exorcist appears between you without warning, and you barely manage to avoid knocking all the masks off the shelf right behind you.
âLUCAS!â


đ§ââď¸ SAMUEL đ§ââď¸
âDon't let him dress up as a superhero this year again!! He's not a four year old!!â Rebeca yells on her end of the line, forcing you to quickly move the phone away to avoid going deaf.
âTell her I'll stop dressing as a superhero when she stops dressing as a nurse of ill repute!â Samuel shouts next to you, leaving your other ear ringing.
âIâm hanging up! Bye!â
You stop the call and put your cell phone back in your pocket, giving Samuel the biggest side-eye while the rest of the customers in the store look at you as if you were two lunatics. Samuel looks away when he senses you're in a bad mood, biting his lip and checking with his right hand the quality of a fairy costume that he is obviously not going to buy.
âLet's do this quickly and leave this place. You've managed to give me a headache...â you grumble, walking down one of the aisles without actually looking where you're going. You leave Samuel behind, but it only takes him a few seconds to react and start following you at a quick pace.
âAre you angry?â he asks in a regretful tone, grabbing your sleeve when he finally manages to catch up with you. You look at him out of the corner of your eye, and then a big sigh leaves your mouth.
âNo, I'm not angry. But is it really that difficult for you both to agree on something? You keep involving me on your fights. Itâs just a simple costume...â
âYeah⌠Iâm sorry.â
An awkward silence falls between you two, and Samuel rubs the back of his neck, restless. Feeling somewhat bad, you try to lighten the mood by giving him a push with your shoulder to get his attention.
âI think we need someone to help us choose the perfect costume. Time to light up the Sam-signal!â you joke around, pointing towards a Batman costume with your head. Samuel's face lights up for a moment, but then that emotion quickly disappears.
âUm, well⌠Maybe this year I can dress up as something elseâ Sam suggests, but his voice does not sound convincing at all. Then he steals a glance at you before looking back at the shelf. âWhich one do you think would suit me best?â
âSam, the things you like are the ones that look better on you. Don't change yourself for others, because I like you just the way you are.â You wink at him, and then you take the Batman costume from the shelf and put it in his hands.
Samuel observes the costume for a few seconds, apparently a bit confused by your words. But then, a shy smile appears on his face.
âFine. But... I think this one is child sizeâ he laughs, pointing to the little boy posing on the package cover. âWe superheroes like to dress tight, but not that tight...â
âOops, we better look for the right section!â

đť SUHO đť
âThanks for coming with me. I would never have found this store withoutââ
âWelcome to our store! Can I help you find anything?â
The storeâs clerk appears out of nowhere as you both enter the first aisle. You do a little jump, scared, and you almost make all the merchandise on the shelf behind you fall to the floor. Luckily, Suho grabs your forearm and helps you regain balance.
âNot reallââ
âCome with me! We just received some new costumes that would look great on you.â
The clerk starts walking down the aisle before you can let out a single word. Suho looks at you with an amused expression in his face, and you both burst out laughing before chasing after her. It's when you finally manage to catch up that Suho notices he's still holding your forearm. He releases it so fast that anyone would think your skin is made of lava.
âWhat do you think?â The clerks breaks the awkward atmosphere between you two, pointing to the costumes displayed on one of the shelves. âOur customers are really liking this one. I think it would be perfect for you" she adds, pointing at Suho.
When you see the model on the cover, you can't help but laugh imagining Suho on it. Your reaction seems to encourage the clerk even more, probably thinking this would be an easy sell.
âSee? Your girlfriend likes it too.â Her words cut off your laughter, but she doesn't seem to notice and places the costume on Suho's hands. âThe fitting room is over there!â
âUm, we arenât⌠Er⌠Weâre justâŚâ tries to explain Suho, but the clerk is already following another poor customer. You both look at each other, feeling awkward once again.
âWell⌠Donât you want to give it a try?â you ask to change the subject, pointing with your head to the costume and holding back a giggle. You think he'll say no, but for some reason he seems to like the idea.
âNothing to loseâ he answers, walking towards the fitting room. After getting inside, he turns to you with one eyebrow raised. âBut don't complain when I steal the spotlight from you at the party with such a stylish outfit.â
He closes the fitting roomâs door without giving you enough time to process what he just said, and after a few seconds, you chortle out a laugh. You wait for a few minutes, listening to his struggle with the low quality plastic.
âEverything alright in there?â you ask after a few more minutes, starting to get worried.
âAhhh, no!â The door opens, but you can only see Suho being kidnapped by an unrealistic skeleton.
His performance, worthy of an Oscar, is funnier than you would have expected, and your laughter attracts the attention of the clerk again.
âSo, what do you think?â she asks, and Suho stops acting almost immediately, visibly embarrassed. Before giving an answer, he watches you with an gleam in his eye as you try to hold back your laughter.
âI'll take it.â

đ NICHOLAS đ
âNo. No. No. That oneâs ridiculous. That oneâs even worse. No way.â
This whole situation is starting to piss you off, so after discarding costume number twenty, you turn to Nicholas with a deadly glare. For some reason, he avoids your gaze and looks to his left, pretending not to notice the murderous lasers you're shooting at him with your eyes.
âYou're going to keep saying no to all of them, arenât you?â you say with a snort, tired of putting up with his attitude. He just shrugs and hides his hands inside his pockets, suddenly interested in the furthest shelf of the store. âLook, we both know that you hate anything that's fun, but it was Daniel the one who invited you and thereâs no way Iâm letting you spoil his Halloween party by dressing with those stuck-up clothes you wear everyday.â
Hearing your description of his usual choice of outfit, he frowns and opens up his mouth to refute you. But before he has a chance to do so, you raise your hand and place your finger over his lips. The movement catches him by surprise, and his eyes open a few millimeters wider than necessary.
âSo you have two options: either you choose a costume so we can put an ending to this torture, or you call your childhood friend right now to tell him you donât wanna go to his party because dressing up is too much of an effort. Itâs up to you.â
You remove your finger from his lips, but his eyes lock onto yours for a few seconds until he abruptly turns his head and starts looking around. Did emotional blackmail actually work? Looks like it, because Nicholas reluctantly points to one of the mannequins right behind you.
âThat oneâ he says, and his voice sounds a little hoarser than usual.
You turn around and can't help but roll your eyes when you spot the costume he has chosen.
âReally? You want to dress up as a hitman? Thatâs just like putting on a suit, âcause your face already looks like the face of a murderer! Maybe we should give it a⌠mysterious touch.â
You start searching through a shelf full accesories until an evil smile spreads across your face. You just found what you were looking for: an anonymous mask, andâŚ
âNo way! Iâm not putting that dead-rat-looking wig on my head.â
âWhy not?â you insist, observing the wig while pouting your lips. âI think longer hair would look really good on you.â
You find strange not receiving an instant response from him, so you slowly look up only to be met with his confused gaze, and what looks like a light blush on his cheeks. However, you don't have time to check if you're imagining things because Nicholas snatches the two accessories from your hands, grabs his costume from the rack, and starts walking towards the store clerk.
âWhat are you waiting for? If you are not done picking your costume before I pay for mine and get into my car, I'll leave without you.â
âHeyâŚ!â

đ DANIEL đ
âWhat if we dress up as the Smurfs?â
âYou want me to cover my entire body in blue paint? Ughâ you complain, picturing the mess you'd make in the bathroom just to get all that paint off.
âYouâre right. MmmâŚâ
Daniel keeps looking for the perfect costumes among the ones in display, putting his arm around your waist to pull you closer to him and prevent you from bumping into another customer that passes you by. âA zombie couple?... Too typical. What do you think about these two? You could be the Little Red Riding Hood and I would be the wolf.â
âUm⌠The Little Red Riding Hood one doesn't leave much to the imagination.â you point out, looking with pity at the model on the package cover. âBy the look in her eyes, even she must be thinking âHelp, this is too tight in the wrong placesâ.â
âAh⌠Thatâs true.â Daniel admits, and his brow suddenly furrows, probably imagining how the costume would look on you. âNot a good idea to show that much skin around⌠all your friends. Oh! What if we dress up as the moon and the sun?! You would be the sun, obviously, sunshineâ he adds, giving you a soft kiss on the temple.
âBut thatâs not scary at all!â you laugh, jokingly rolling your eyes. âIt might be easier to look for costumes that arenât sold as a match⌠Donât you think?â
âOh⌠yeah. Sure.â he answers, and even though he tries to hide his disappointment with a smile, his grip on your waist slightly loosens. âThatâs a good option, too.â
Danielâs sudeen silence contrasts so much with his previous chattiness that you can't help but glance at him out of the corner of your eye. His lips are pursed in a slight pout, making him look like a disgruntled little child. You burst out laughing, squeezing his cheeks with your right hand and making his expression even funnier.
âWhbat you doibng?â
âWhat I meant, Mr. Cranky-pants, is that we should look for two costumes that are sold separately and modify them a little to make them match.â you clarify, chuckling again when his face lights up again.
âOh! Okay⌠But are you sure thâ What about these two?!â he blurts out, releasing your waist to grab two costumes from the rack. âWe could ask Sofia to fix this one so that it looks like Morticia's dress, and I would totally look like GĂłmez with this one.â
âYou want us to dress up as the Addams family?â You are about to reject his idea again, but the excited gleam in his eyes stops you. With an amused smile, you nod. âSounds good to me, but you'll need to grow a mustache.â
âAt your order! Oh, but Morticia and GĂłmez were a married couple, so first things first...â he adds, and the tone he uses immediately tells you he is about to embarrass you in public. âWill you be my wife for a day?â
âEeek, stop it!â you say in an urgent whisper, pulling his arm to stop him from getting on one knee. He must find your reaction hilarious, because he canât stop laughing as you drag him towards the checkout line, feeling the curious gaze of the other customers on you.

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