Happy

Chapter 7.

"No."

"Really? Why not?"

"Just... No."

Brooke frowned as she twirled in the mirror, examining the black dress that fit snug at the waist and exploded as the skirt flared out until it reached her mid thigh. A matching velvet hat with a curved point rested on her head and, as she tilted the brim slightly, she released a very suitable wicked laugh. "I think it looks hot."

"Guess just the sight of your lazy ass with a broom seems a little unnatural." Caleb teased as he pushed at his right handrim so that the wheelchair could turn toward her. His short black hair was uncombed and a mess, but luckily he was the type that was able to pull off the just-got-out-of-bed look perfectly. Novelty glasses that he just snatched off of the shelf moments ago rested on top of his dark brown, almost black, eyes that had a ring of light hazel circling around the pupil.

A long corridor of fitting rooms, each equipped with a red curtain substituting for a door, surrounded them as a massive line of impatient customers waited outside. Brooke was the only one with the curtain fully drawn open. She never was the shy, or discrete, type.

"Oh whatever." She tossed the hat at him and turned back to the mirror to, once again, admire how well the dress fit her. Wavy, dirty blonde hair stopped just past her shoulders and she ran her fingers through it to revive the volume that the hat just flattened. "Shit, I might just buy this for the dress alone."

"Don't you already have a costume?" Caleb removed the glasses and set them on his lap. "Why are you even trying things on?"

"What else am I supposed to do to kill the time? Andrew's taking forever."

A voice called out from a nearby fitting room across from them, "Heard that!"

Brooke lowered her voice to that of a whisper, "Now remind me again why we're shopping for Halloween costumes on Halloween. That's like going to a liquor store on New Year's Eve. Oh, that's right, because your boyfriend is what people call a procrastinator. But he's not the only one, now is he?"

"Shut up."

"So I take it you still didn't tell him yet?"

"Tell me what?" Andrew asked as he pulled the curtain open to reveal his outfit.

"What—" Brooke couldn't control it as she burst into laughter, nearly bringing her to the point of tears. "What the hell are you wearing?"

Andrew turned back to his mirror to take another look at the long medieval-like bright green tunic that nearly reached his knees. A thin belt, similar to that which would be on a house robe, wrapped around his waist and tied at the side. Tight black trousers tucked loosely into paper-thin boots made out of some material that was clearly trying, and failing, to imitate leather. A platinum blonde wig draped past his shoulders, the loose strands held back by a thick braid trailing down the center of the back.

Caleb cracked a smile. "Yeah babe, I think you got your holidays mixed up."

"What?" Andrew glanced at his outfit once again before the thought finally clicked. "No, I'm not an elf. Well, I guess technically I am, but not from Santa's workshop. I'm Legolas."

Brooke shrugged. "And I'm confused."

"Uh, Lord of the Rings... ? Orlando Bloom?!" He stared at two blank faces. "Really, guys? Okay, I mean it's supposed to be more of a brownish color. And have a cloak. But still."

"Well, whatever it is, okay." Caleb nodded. He somehow managed to hold onto a serious tone as he tried like hell to refrain from making any impulsive comments. "I mean, you could pull it off."

Andrew removed the wig and tossed it aside, revealing the much more appealing low-fade tapered buzz cut that was hidden underneath, and dramatically placed his hand next to his ear. "Was that the rare Caleb stamp-of-approval I just heard?"

"Look, I'm just saying... Yeah, I guess. Legotrus is it."

Andrew leaned down to give him a peck on the lips. "Legolas," he corrected him, "So what did you not tell me?"

Caleb sighed. He was really hoping he'd forgotten after all that talk about elves or hobbits or whatever it was he was referring to. "That..."

"That he's really bummed he couldn't find the right costume," Brooke said under a conniving smirk as Caleb glared at her. He never was the one for festivities, especially not at a time like this, and he might rather spill his guts to Andrew at this point than deal with the repercussions of what's likely soon to follow Brooke's poor attempt at a save. "He really wanted to do the whole him-and-him couple match-a-roo but nothing seemed to fit."

"Really? I thought you didn't want to dress up." Andrew's eyes instantly lit up. "Well, although Legolas and Tauriel never got together I'm pretty sure there were some sparks ignited between the two. Tauriel was a wood elf of Mirkwood and she—"

"I think I'm good."

"You sure? If you're not comfortable with genderbending we could always switch and you could be Legolas."

"Pretty sure. Cool idea though."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind." Andrew said as he stepped back into the fitting room and drew the curtain closed. "Or we could go as Deadpool and Spiderman. Oh, or even Dwight and David!"

Caleb quickly tossed the glasses onto a nearby rack containing go-backs. His eyes gazed over to Brooke, who was already slipping out of her dress, and the two exchanged worried looks.

"I hate you." He worded with his lips.

She winked and mouthed back, "You're welcome."

A young girl, no older than ten, hollered for help as her older brother chased her throughout the store with a fake machete. Caleb rolled his eyes in annoyance as Andrew flashed him a smile, meanwhile Brooke tagged along behind them with her attention primarily on her phone.

"Come on, Caleb. Get in the spirit," Andrew squeezed Caleb's shoulder playfully.

As the trio continued to fight through the last-minute crowd rushing in and out of aisles cluttered with unorganized props and outfits ripped from their packages, they finally closed in on the long counter housing three cash registers when—

A pale clown, blood dripping out from its sharpened teeth, unexpectedly turned the corner of an endcap with a hatchet in its hand and crashed into Andrew.

Andrew released an ear-piercing shriek, nearly tumbling into the shelf of fake body parts behind them as the bag containing his costume fell to the floor.

The kid readjusted the latex mask so he could see properly. The rubber axe swayed wildly as he darted off. "Sorry!"

"You okay?" Caleb stuck out his tongue tauntingly. He wasted no time in seizing the opportunity that had just unfolded. "Get in the spirit."

"Leave me alone." Andrew took in a heavy breath, still a bit shaken. He snatched the bag from the floor as he tried his best to not blush. If he wasn't going to die from a heart attack in this moment, then it might be from embarrassment. "You know clowns freak me out."