Halloween Costumes

The little cemetery sat where the streetlights began to disappear. The road was almost empty of trick-or-treaters, with just a few stragglers making their way home. Eric and Morgan wandered through the open gates and strolled along the path. The gravestones showed up as lighter shapes against the dark background of the night.

“I have to sit down,” Morgan groaned. “I’m not used to these stupid boots. My feet feel like the bones are grinding through.” She searched for a spot to sit. Eric wandered off the path and found a nice thick patch of grass that hadn’t yet been killed by frost. Settling down, his knees drawn up to his chest, he leaned his back against a huge granite monument. Morgan followed.

“Isn’t it disrespectful of the dead to sit on their graves?” she asked.

Eric glanced at the inscription behind him, running his fingers along the cool grooves. “I don’t think old Mr. and Mrs. Ezekiel Thompson mind,” he answered. Morgan sat down, her legs curled awkwardly under her. Her shoulder pushed against Eric’s. “No ghosts out tonight,” he assured her.

The sky was blotted out by a covering of thick clouds. Morgan sighed, “Not even a full moon.” They said nothing, hidden in shadows and staring into the forest at the edge of the graveyard, listening to the far-off sounds of cars and voices.

Every Halloween from fourth grade until high school, Morgan and Eric had ventured out, prowling the usually quiet streets and winding back roads for candy. Their costumes ranged from the Peter Pan and Tinkerbell ensemble in fourth grade to their eighth-grade creation, when they wrapped themselves in pillows and Morgan’s green bed sheets and went as pieces of sushi.

But once they got to high school, no one went trick-or-treating anymore. They switched to attending the annual Halloween Costume Ball at Mayview High School.

“Did you guys get your tickets to the dance yet?” Tony asked. Eric, Morgan, and their pals Tony and Rob were hanging out in the school parking lot, sitting on Morgan’s car and soaking up some afternoon sun.

“Are we going?” Eric asked Morgan, who was sitting beside him on the hood.

Morgan gave a slow shrug. “I was thinking, why don’t we ditch the prep-fest and go walk the town, like old times? Just you and me.”

“Sure,” Eric agreed. “Not like I’m going to miss being packed into the sweaty gym and deafened by crappy music.” No one ever commented on the cleverness of Eric’s tinfoil knight’s armor or Morgan’s papier-mâché dragon head with Barbie princesses wedged between its teeth; people could barely see them in the flashes of the rented strobe lights. They had to shout to each other just to have a conversation. Every time, the two ended up outside, sitting on the stone wall next to the parking lot waiting to be picked up. The chilly night air bit at their ears as they talked and laughed together.

“I dunno, man,” said Rob, taking a long drag from his cigarette. “I overheard Jess telling Ashley what she’s going to wear for a costume. Leather mini-skirt and cat ears.” He closed his eyes and let out a long, smoky sigh.

“Cats my ass,” Morgan spat. “She should be a dog. ‘Give me a treat and I’ll lift my tail like a bitch in heat.’”

Tony grinned. “You’re just jealous, Morgan.”

Morgan laughed. “Dude, if you want some dumb twat with a cunt like a parking garage, be my fucking guest.” She stretched back on the hood, ignoring the boys’ goggling at her string of profanity.

Eric didn’t think she had any reason to be envious. Right now, in a pair of ragged carpenter jeans and a faded Nine Inch Nails t-shirt, she was still sexier than all the skeletal, under-dressed tarts in the whole school. So when saw her framed in the front doorway of his house, wearing a red vinyl dress so tight that it looked like it had been shrink-wrapped onto her, it took him a moment to realize it was Morgan. Provoking a reaction was nothing new to her, but her outfit looked so much like something one of the girls at school would wear to the Halloween dance.

“You look good tonight,” he told her.

“Thanks,” she replied, smiling and shooting him a saucy sideways look that Eric couldn’t remember her ever sending his way before.

He ran his fingers through the grass. “Where did you get all that stuff anyway? I didn’t know you had it.”

“Chrissy gave it to me. It’s her old club-wear. You know how she is.” She smoothed down the skirt a bit more; it squeaked under her palms.

“Knowing Chrissy, I’m surprised it doesn’t have removable bra cups,” Eric said with a roll of his eyes. Morgan laughed. “I feel bad, kind of, that my costume is so half-assed,” Eric admitted.

Morgan looked him over. “Not bad. We shoulda gotten you one of those mesh shirts from Hot Topic, though. Sexy.” She winked.

Eric laughed weakly. He squeezed the grass between his fingers, ripped it up slowly. “Why, so I could show off my scrawny torso?”

Morgan shrugged. “Hey, chicks dig scrawny pale guys,” she said. A line off of one of her t-shirts.

“Do they?” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Morgan just smiled, the pink tip of her tongue jutting out between her front teeth.

The breeze was still, but the cold of the stone went right through Eric’s shirt. Earlier, the night air had been incredibly balmy for October. Now Morgan shivered, hugging herself against the chill. Eric put his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder as though trying to smooth out the goosebumps. Morgan didn’t pull away; she leaned against him and lay her head on his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re here with me. These places are kinda creepy,” Morgan said.

“I dunno,” Eric mused, “I always found them peaceful. There’s nothing to be afraid of; everyone’s already dead. Any ghosts that hang around here are probably the quiet type that wouldn’t bother us anyway.”

“You think?”

“Sure. I come here some nights, when I can’t sleep.”

“Really?” Morgan asked. “Why?”

“It’s a nice walk, if the weather cooperates. And it’s just… so peaceful here. Being around dead people puts your problems in perspective.”

“What problems? When did you stop telling me about things that are bugging you?” Morgan pulled away and faced him. Eric shrugged. “No, I’m serious. C’mon.”

“It’s stupid stuff,” Eric said dismissively. “Projects stressing me out, worrying about whether I’ll get into Oakhurst.” Pining over you, obsessing over any little sign that you feel the same, thinking about it until the thoughts won’t let me sleep, he added mentally.

“Oakhurst has been practically begging for you. Before you even did the SATs they sent you what, like five pamphlets? And you got a 1400!”

“You know how it gets, though, when you just can’t stop thinking about things, even if they’re just stupid things.”

Morgan picked at her fingernails. “You could call me, you know. I know you got out of the habit when I was with Brandon but it’s been three months since I dumped him.”

Eric sucked air noisily through his teeth. “I don’t know. He might have one of his three hundred-pound vampire chicks sit on me.”

“Tch. Don’t worry about him.” Morgan’s upper lip curled. “You know he had the nerve to tell me I couldn’t go to your sleepovers anymore? He said he knew ‘what really goes on.’” Morgan laughed. “Yeah, apparently our all-night video game tournaments are just an excuse for me to get triple-teamed by you, Tony, and Rob.”

“Since fourth grade?” Eric laughed in disbelief.

“I know! What a freak!” Morgan scoffed.

Ever since Eric first got his Nintendo, Rob and Tony had spent one Friday night a month every month playing video games all night with Eric in his basement.

“A girl, Eric? What the heck?” Tony had protested when Eric told them he had invited Morgan to join them.

“Girls suck at video games! They only want to play stupid Barbie Shopping Spree and crud like that,” Rob added.

“Not Morgan,” Eric said. “Now shut up; she’s here.”

“I brought my Sega Genesis,” Morgan called down.

“Dude, you have a Sega?” Tony gaped at the sweatshirt-clad girl who lugged an old army duffel down the stairs.

“Yup,” she replied, pulling tangles of plastic and wires out of the bag. “Who thinks they can beat my time in Sonic the Hedgehog?” she challenged, eyes glinting under the bill of her baseball cap.

By the end of the night, she was officially one of the guys, and the only female member of their private video game sleepover club. Morgan and Eric often stayed up talking, bundled in the cocoons of their sleeping bags, long after the others had succumbed to exhaustion. She was the only girl he could ever really talk to.

A sudden shudder of cold shook Morgan. “You cold? Want to head back?” Eric asked.

“Not yet,” she replied, edging closer until their ribcages touched. His arm went around her shoulders again, and she snuggled in. Eric’s heart hammered in his throat. He tried not to breathe too hard even though he felt like gasping for air. He rubbed Morgan’s shoulder slowly, his thumb squeaking against the strap of her dress.

“Brandon used to give me such a hard time about you,” Morgan said. “Funny, the cheaters always think everyone’s cheating on them. Of course he said he did it ‘cause I wasn’t satisfying him.”

“Asshole,” Eric muttered. “I’d never do that to you.”

“I know,” Morgan said with a smile. “That’s what I told him.”

“He must have loved that. And why didn’t I hear about this until now? Didn’t you think I’d want to hear news of my triumphant victory over Undead Boy?”

“I didn’t want you to get a big head,” Morgan teased, ruffling his hair and laying a sticky kiss on his cheek.

Eric blinked. He kissed her cheek too. Morgan smiled. They both giggled a little. She gave him a suggestive look.

“What?” he asked.

Morgan pressed her lips to his. Eric’s heart jumped. Her lips were soft. They drew apart, light-headed. Eric’s lips were smeared with red. Morgan giggled. They kissed again, harder this time, lips parted. Her mouth tasted like chocolate, sweet and dark. Eric prayed it would never end. Morgan made a little moan in her throat that sent his heart galloping. He slid one of Morgan’s straps off her shoulder without even thinking of it; she didn’t stop him. Encouraged, he began to tug lightly at the zipper on the back of her dress. Morgan’s tongue slid along the curve of his jaw.

He didn’t hear the crunch of gravel under tires or see the beam of the flashlight sweep across the cemetery lawn. It wasn’t until a voice boomed, “Is someone out there?” did they freeze, shocked out of their embrace.

“Shit!” Morgan hissed, letting go of Eric as though she had touched a hot iron. “It’s the cops!” She pressed her back against the granite. “They won’t arrest us for trespassing, will they?” Morgan whispered frantically. Eric shook his head, motioning for quiet. A car door slammed, and the two looked at each other wide-eyed. The flashlight beam scanned back and forth as the footsteps got closer. Eric desperately tried not to breathe too loudly. One more sweep of the flashlight, and the steps retreated. The car door slammed again, and the cruiser drove away.

Morgan let out her breath in a long, shaking sigh. “Jesus,” she swore as she got to her feet, evading Eric’s attempt to catch her in his arms again. “I think we’d better go, huh?”

“It’s their last patrol of the night; they won’t come back,” Eric struggled, heart sinking. Morgan was already making her way, slightly limping, down the gravel path toward the road. Heaving a sigh, he got up and followed her.

They walked side by side, silent for the entire walk back to Eric’s house. With every step, he tried to will himself to take her hand, but failed. They got to the door, and Eric fiddled with his keys, knowing he should turn around and kiss her. The lock clicked open. He turned, and for a moment just looked at her. Morgan smiled and rose up on tiptoe to give him a hug. “See you at school,” she said, and slipped out of his arms.

Eric watched her get in her car and drive away before he went into the house, kicked off his shoes, and crept upstairs to bed. He could still taste chocolate and feel the stickiness of her lipstick around his mouth as he flopped down on his mattress. “Damn it all,” he whispered to his ceiling as he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

All day at school the next day, Morgan found excuses to ignore him. Eric just barely caught her at her locker five minutes before home room, in time to hand her a hot cup of coffee. She took it hesitantly. “Uh, thanks. I’ll pay you back later,” she said, taking a sip.

“No, that’s okay. It’s on me,” Eric said. Morgan raised an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Could I talk to you a sec?”

“Maybe later,” Morgan replied. “I’m already late.” She scooped up her backpack and tore down the hall, elbowing through the crowd, not even waiting for him.

He went through the day in his classes, half paying attention and feeling vaguely sick and anxious. In their one class together, World Studies, they were watching a film on conflicts in Sudan. Morgan sat at the desk on his right. Eric sneaked glances at her out of the corner of his eye, trying to imagine her in her Halloween costume once again. Today she was back to normal, buried in a huge black sweatshirt. Her hair was clipped back out of her face, which was now scrubbed clean of makeup. Still beautiful, still sexy in her quiet way. Normally she would lean over to whisper a comment or two, never enough that the teacher would make a fuss about talking during the movie, just enough to make Eric laugh. But today she was intent on the screen, as if it was the most fascinating thing she had ever watched.

He tore off a piece of notebook paper as quietly as he could, took out his pen, and scribbled a quick note: Meet me after school, we have to talk. Nudging Morgan’s arm, he shoved the note at her. She took it and unfolded it under the desktop, then looked back and nodded.

They sat in the cafeteria, next to the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out into the parking lot. She didn’t look at him, instead focusing her attention on the janitor mopping the floor in the distance. The overly-sweet smell of chemical lemon made Eric’s stomach tighten even more.

“Do I smell today? Why are you avoiding me?” Eric asked.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just kind of embarrassed about last night,” Morgan said, fidgeting in her seat.

“Embarrassed about what? That we almost got caught by the cops? They would’ve just given us a stern talking-to and sent us on our way.”

“No, you know what I mean. Oh, nevermind.”

“You’re not embarrassed about what we did, are you?”

“Well, kinda. I just feel so stupid, like I shouldn’t have done it.” She had her head down on the table now, hiding behind her arms.

Eric reached over and put a hand on her head. “Do you hear me complaining?”

“No. But…”

“But what?”

“I dunno, maybe it wasn’t a good idea. I don’t want to ruin the friendship.”

Eric sighed and let his head fall to the table with a thunk. “If you were any other girl I’d think you were making the clichéd excuse.” He propped his chin on his hands. Morgan still had her head down. “Look at me.” She shook her head. Eric reached over and slid his hand under her forehead to lift her head. “Does this friendship look ruined to you?”

“No. I can’t explain it though. I mean, it spooked the hell out of me when the cops showed up. I was thinking about it; maybe it’s a sign.”

“A sign.”

“Yeah, like a warning. Like we should stop.”

Eric grabbed her face in both hands. “Morgan, I love you but you’re a superstitious idiot.”

She drew back. “Seriously, Eric? I don’t know if this is a rebound thing. You’ve always been there for me, you’ve been the nice guy when Brandon was an asshole. I don’t know if I’m confused or not. I want to be sure. I don’t want to just use you,” Morgan said.

“Use me, I don’t care!” he said. Morgan rolled her eyes. “You’re not using me. You’re not sitting there rubbing your hands together and cackling about how you’re going to bend me to your whim.”

She grabbed his hands. “Eric, I’m doing this because I care about you.”

Eric sighed and squeezed her hands. “I care about you too. Take all the time you need. I’ll be here.”

Morgan raised an eyebrow. “You think they’ll let you sit in the cafeteria the whole time?”

“You know what I mean!” he scolded. They stood up. “You have time for a coffee run, smartass?”

“Just you and me?” Morgan asked.

Eric smiled. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. C’mon,” he said, pulling Morgan to her feet. “I’ll drive.”