A Night to Remember

Chapter 4: Crisis Diverded

(I apologize to those who thought this book was done because of the "complete" switch being turned on. I have just forgotten about that whoops 😅 I did finish this and the last two chapters so now enjoy the rest of the book and tootles!)

    While you silently cried, The Jester stood having to hear the unbearable sniffles and hiccups every few seconds. It pained him hearing a child cry. Worse, he was the source. His heart was overtook by the feeling of guilt knowing your Halloween was probably completely ruined a second time right after your friends. How selfish is he. . .
    You let go of his suit when watching him turn around to face you and get down on one knee. He didn't seem to want to fully face you due to his head being at another direction instead of forward to you but you waited upon his next movements. You felt him pat your shoulder and blinked in surprise when he stood back up, fixed his suit, and began walking past you. Surprised turned to confusion now watching behind his back as the distance between both of you increased.
    "Wait, where are you going," you asked sadly yet puzzled. You hoped he wasn't going to leave you just like how your other friends did despite in a sense you knew that was the case. The adult now halting his steps, his back still towards you, his head only turned slightly to the side enough where he remain not showing his "face."
    "Please. . please don't leave," you softly pleaded. Yes, he may have attempted fetching candy for you in the wrong way, it doesn't mean you wanted him to leave because of that. The way he went out of his way to trick-or-treat with you is what you focused on during the whole time both of you began. What honestly mattered to you is his endeavor regardless of the bad ways which of course, harassing an unwilling spirited neighbor is no excuse. In your eyes, he was your friend and still is no matter what. The only thing you hope he won't ever do a second time is what he had done with the man living in this house.
    The Jester was seen fully facing forward again. He pondered deeply about his next move. What should he do? Just as he was about to continue walking away, you spoke up again, "Are you going to leave? I don't want you to, please. Don't think I don't want to be your friend anymore."
    This interested The Jester. Turning his head to the side, you can see the side profile of his mask as if he was side-eyeing you. You let out a relief yet nervous sigh. It was clear you felt a little anxious wanting to say what was on your mind due to the tiny fidgeting of the bag of candy in your hold but it didn't take much courage to carry for you to finally say it.
    You began, "I still want to be friends with you. You are very caring. You're a true friend and I don't want to lose you, Mr. Jester. I hope we can stay friends and be happy together."
    Upon your small speech, it replaced The Jester's guilt with surprise, then honor. Honor that you felt this way seeing through his strange behaviors. All this time, you've seen him as nothing but a friend without judgment.
    The Jester silently sighed, comprehending what he should do next. After a while, he faced you again, and began slowly taking steps towards you. He stopped once in front and knelt down. And before he could reach his hand on your shoulder, you beat him to it and reached forward without a second thought, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him close smiling. The Jester froze at the sudden movements, shocked at this out-of-the-blue gesture, but then happily embraced you back.
    "You're the best best friend someone could ever have," you whispered. The Jester never went through this before. It nevertheless filled him up with joy that someone expressed their gratefulness towards him this much. After a while, both of you pulled away. The Jester observed your face and noticed some tear streaks remained by light reflecting on them and so were wiped with his sleeve. You thanked him with a smile before watching him stand back up again and adjust his suit and tie. Looking back onto the street, you followed his gaze and immediately got the idea. Your smile widened by the idea and turned to your friend, grabbing his hand. Quickly taking off, The Jester had the reflex to hold his hat down as he were to be dragged away by you.
    When the both of you were on the sidewalk, your hands remained holding together while walking, wondering what house will both of you target next.
    You were bouncing around ahead of The Jester as he watched, unsure if your energy is due to the candy or just how excited you were. Maybe even both! No matter, he was happy seeing you happy and that's all it meant to him. Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when he watched you have bumped into someone as you were distracted walking backwards.
The person's voice sounded like the same age as your's as they let out a rude tone saying, "Watch it," and as you turned around, you were slightly shoved back. This fazed you for a brief moment until you felt a feeling of familiarity over the voice.

    Viewing who was in front of you, it wasn't just one person you knew too well. But the whole group that betrayed you.