FSE

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The night was easing into a comfortable rest. The cheer that had permeated most of the party had resigned itself to content smiles and easy chatter between the guests. Leo felt a strange sense of accomplishment at the success of it. Perhaps just a perceived success, but a success nonetheless.

Missy had shifted from inside to out quite a bit, but when she was out, she always return to Leo. At this point he was just a fancy chair while she gossiped away or chattered with kids with similar ease.

“Mind getting up?” Leo asked.

“Do you mind?” Missy replied.

“Yes, I do.”

“Fiiiine.”

Missy stood up, and Leo quickly followed, allowing blood to rush back into his legs. Missy immediately took his chair and resumed whatever conversation she had going.

Leo headed on inside to his home to make sure everything was going smoothly, and it was. As smoothly as several people mucking around in his home could go. Karaoke had ended and moved on to watching scary or at least spooky movies.

Linda and Ruth had settled on the couch. Hopefully they had become good friends through Missy’s tampering. That would probably be the best outcome of any Missy tampering, actually.

Linda actually waved him over. “Hey, Leo, over here!” she said.

Leo nodded and headed his way over there. “What’s up?” he asked.

“We were curious about something, well, more like Ruth was curious,” Linda said.

Ruth only shot a slightly awkward look at Leo before returning to the movie.

“About what?”

“Well, you’ve got all these movies on here, a lot of them those old rubber monster movies. You’re a big fan of those?”

Leo chuckled. “No, no, that’s Missy’s department. I’m more of a Jaws kind of guy.”

“So, she put all of those on here?” Ruth asked, still not looking up.

“Yeah, that’s all–“ Leo was cut off.

“Leo!” Missy yelled out after him. He turned around to see her slink through the door and into the kitchen.

“Excuse me one second,” he said.

“Come help me pop open a root beer,” Missy said.

“Something wrong, dear?” Leo asked sarcastically as he moved toward her. Though there might have actually been something wrong.

“Just wanted to say a few things is all. So, that Linda girl… I talked to her some more. She’s pretty relaxed.” she said.

“Yeah, what about her? She’s nice to talk to. Not exactly stirring stuff, I guess.”

“Yeah, haha, kinda like Ruth I guess. Well, maybe not exactly. Sometimes. Anyways, you gotta stay away from her.” She grabbed his arm. The woman was firm, and that firmness only grew as she looked at him.

“Sorry, what?” Leo asked.

“She’s just bad news, alright?” Her head instantly swiveled to look at Linda, leaning over to get a better view. “She’s bad news,” she said in a lower tone.

“I mean, I guess the Egyptian stuff threw me off balance but I’m pretty sure she outgrew that.” Was she getting mad over the costume comments? That was typical.

“Not that!” She huffed. “Not that.”

“Then what is it? She’s just like anyone else.”

Missy’s other hand grabbed onto him. “Just trust me on this, OK? Please?” Her grip trembled ever so slightly. “I don’t know what it is, but she’s just wrong. Do not go near her.” She shook her head.

Leo’s brow furrowed. Something was wrong here. Her eyes were glassy. Her voice struggled to keep a proper tone. The firmness of her body. She had been like this before, and he could tell whatever it was, it drove her to fear.

“Alright. No going near Linda,” Leo replied. “Relax. People are wrapping up and they’ll all be heading home. Take a deep breath.”

Missy nodded and released her grasp on him. He could feel the cool air return to where she had grabbed him. A few seconds later she followed his advice and took a few deep breaths. A weak smile pulled on her face. He looked to her for a few more seconds to make sure that settled into her thoughts and her fears melted away, whatever they were.

“Now, don’t you have an audience to get back to?” Leo asked.

The Egyptian woman’s smile strengthened and she headed to the front door, stopping for just a moment to look at him. Leo raised his hands disarmingly. She slipped outside after that. Phew. Alright, no more Linda.

“Sorry, I have to tend to some things,” Leo called out.

Linda nodded and waved at him. Ruth similarly returned a weak wave. Good enough, he supposed. No need to have an awkward conversation as to why the woman he was supposedly dating definitely didn’t want him to have anything to do with Linda.

Instead of dealing with Linda, Leo spent his time checking on the guests, giving simple greetings and idle chatter before moving on to the next. It was surprising that, despite how distant this community was physically, they had all retained a pretty strong relationship with one another. Funny to think he was supposed to be in this community at all. He was now, and he had a woodland monster to thank for it.

Amid another check-in, there was a sudden cheerful shouting. “Alrighty everyone, round up and head on outside for the big picture!” Monica said. Leo paused in his spot. That was going to be an issue. He politely excused himself and followed Monica outside.

Missy was already there, giddily talking to Monica about where everyone should be and the best place to take it.

“Mind if I take my girl from you for a moment, Monica?” Leo said.

“Oh! Go right ahead. I’ve gotta take the kids’ pictures first. I just love snapping them throughout the years. It’s a real eye opener,” Monica replied. She turned back to Missy. “But you get back to me with your ideas on composure and all that big talk, OK?”

Missy nodded. “Sure thing!”

Monica went on her way, gathering up the kids in the group.

“You know we’re going to have to get rid of any pictures with you, right?” Leo said in a hushed tone.

“What? I can be here in-person but I can’t have some pictures snapped?” Missy replied. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

“I’ll admit, that slipped my mind, but I figured you would have thought about it too.” Considering it was her life.

“So what?” Missy placed her hands on her hips. The awkward nature of her anatomy made that more amusing than she likely had hoped. “Do you really think it’s gonna be that big of a deal if people see me in a picture over a photo?”

“Difference is, I know where these people come from and they believe me. They can see you move, and have had an explanation. If any kind of photo got out on the Internet, then what?” Leo replied. He was already pushing his luck here anyways.

Missy’s energetic posture lost its luster. “I guess. Just caught up in it all. Wanted something to know it really happened.”

Yeah, that was true. After this, reality would snap back to the solitary life she was used to. Leo couldn’t blame her, nor could he shake the sadness that he felt from those words. There had to be a more elegant solution.

“How about this: We take one group photo with you and one without. I’m sure Monica will want plenty, so we can keep the one with you in it.”

“I guess that’s not the worst.” She looked up and away, crossing her arms.

“Have to keep the costume a secret for college after all, right?”

Missy sighed. “Right.”

With that mostly taken care of, Leo turned back to the photoshoot at hand. The kids had been lined up nearby by age and height, with Monica snapping several images. Older ones in the back, younger up front. A few of the younger monster kids had to be held upright by their parents. Leo had to admit, it was fairly cute.

“So, out of all of them, which do you think has the best costume?” Missy asked.

“I don’t know, they’re all pretty good in their own way. I don’t think they have to worry about being ranked,” Leo replied. “It’s all for fun, right?”

“Yeah, but, I dunno, was just thinking which would be the best is all.”

“Alright, what would you think is best, then?” Leo asked.

“Oh, probably the um, the little bear guy there.” She nodded to a young child dressed up like a fuzzy black bear. No ferociousness but he nailed the adorable aspect of such a creature. His mother was nearby, getting him to smile and holding him upright to face the camera. “You know, the round ears and the little button eyes on top. It’s pretty cute. Small and huggable. I’d almost want a plush of that.”

“Is that it?”

“No. The little felt claws are also a pretty good touch. But maybe I’d go for a glove rather than having the claws on the cuff. I bet the tail on the back is super cute too. Oh, and don’t forget the paws on his feet.”

Leo blinked, trying to put all of that into his head. Just looked like a cute little bear to him, but Missy was straining it through her thoughts, like there was something underlying all that simple cuteness.

“Just gonna ignore the kid himself?”

Missy straightened up. “Well, I mean, yeah, he’s cute too, but I wasn’t looking at that at all. I was looking at the costume. The costume is cute.”

“Right.”

After a few more images and smiles, Monica was onto the full group.

“Alrighty everyone! Let’s start getting up in a biiiiiig group! I want everyone in this one. How about over near the side of the house here, with the trees in the back?” Monica said.

“Told her that would be the best spot,” Missy said smugly.

Leo walked on over to the amassing group of monsters and regular people, stopping by Monica first.

“How’s about you go right up front?” she said.

“Any specific reason?” Leo asked.

“You hosted the darn thing, might as well be the star of the show with your girlfriend, right?” She smiled.

“Makes sense to me.” Not that he was excited at the prospect. “But before I go on up, you got a second?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. Gonna be a while before everyone gets up off their butts.”

“I’m really sorry to bother you like this, but it just hit me. I’m gonna need those pictures Missy was in.”

“You know, she looks lovely in them. Or her costume does, anyways. No need to be embarrassed.”

“Oh, believe me, I know. It’s not that she’s camera shy, just that we want to keep the costume a secret for her grand reveal at college, you know? Not much of a surprise if she’s at the Halloween party in all sorts of situations.”

“Ahh, yeah, I gotcha. Well, wouldn’t want to tarnish the surprise.” Monica looked down at the bag slung over her shoulder, zipping it open to reveal a photo album. “A shame, though. Everyone went wild for her costume.”

“Well, they’re never going to forget the costume.”

“True!” Monica fished out some photos and handed them to Leo. “So what’re we gonna do about the whole big group photo? I don’t want her bein’ left out.”

“We can just have one with her in it and one without, right? You’ll want plenty of photos anyways.”

“Ah, you know, I bought extra blanks just for that! Good idea!” Monica poked him in the ribs with her elbow. “Now you get on up there with your special someone. She’s waiting.”

Leo pocketed the images and looked to Missy, who had already taken her spot in the center. It was a natural fit for her, flanked on both sides by wildly dressed people. Yet, she stood out. Maybe it was just because he knew she was the actual cryptid in the crowd. Something of a gem in the sea of costume-goers. She waved him over.

Accepting his center position, Leo settled himself by his monstrous partner. He took a moment to look around him, seeing all the happy faces in the group. It felt calming. He relaxed.

Missy looked to Monica out in front, who was setting up her camera, but she would also look down. Leo traced her gaze back down to the kids up front. She must’ve been fawning over them again. He’d have to make a mental note to tease her about that. One of the kids looked back. Oh, that was the little bear one.

“Alright everyone! Smile!” Monica said. She rushed back to the group and settled alongside her husband.

Leo looked to the camera, Missy wrapped her arm around his shoulder and placed her other hand on her hip. He smiled. Genuinely. But as he smiled, those thoughts about Missy lingered. Focusing on the one child dolled up in a fuzzy, black costume…

A spark of the imagination. Missy holding a black furred creature. “It’s yours!” she would coo.

Leo’s brow slightly crinkled.

Snap.

“Alright, just a few more!” Monica said, rushing back to her spot.

People returned to chattering. Leo shook his head and rubbed his eyes.

“I think that’s your cue,” Leo said.

“Fine, fine,” Missy replied.

“Go ask Monica for your picture.”

Missy trotted off and exchanged a few words with the camera woman. She was handed a photo. Her eyes widened a small amount as she stared, and stared, and stared.

“Another biiiiig smile!”

Snap.

_

Leo stood by Missy as they waved people on out.

“Thank you!”

“Still an amazing costume.”

“Where did the other one go?”

“I am going to die from all this candy.”

“Way better than that community center.

“I’m about ready to sleep for a year.”

People of all shapes and sizes flowed on out, heading off to their vehicles calmly and happily. A few numbers were exchanged, some parting gifts, and a few tight hugs. As the last of the guests left, Leo could feel the last of his energy slip by with them.

The door shut and the car engines hummed off into the night.

“That was fucking amazing!” Missy said.

“Easy! I’m glad you had fun, but now we have to clean up,” Leo replied.

“Can’t we just do that tomorrow? You have the day off.”

“You want to sleep with all of this just hanging out here?”

“I kinda do, yeah.”

Missy looked to the photo in her hand. It hadn’t left her since it was handed to her.

“This is the best thing ever. I know it’s lame but do you think I could get a frame for this?”

“It’s not lame.” Leo tilted his head. “Well, it might be, you dork.”

Missy smacked his shoulder. “Don’t be mean!”

“Oh, yeah, speaking of you being a dork.” Leo nodded over to Missy’s room. “C’mon.”

“I am not a dork. I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

They moved onto Missy’s room, where Leo had meticulously assembled the cheapest gift he had ever gotten her. On her bed sat that silly story corkboard, only now instead of an elaborate lie, it held every photo Missy had been in that night.

She tottered over to it, eyes and head zipping each way to all the photos on it.

“I figured you could pin them in place. I know if I organized them you’d throw a fit.”

“I wouldn’t throw a fit!” Missy stared at the corkboard a while longer. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now help me clean up all this candy before it sticks to everything and I throw a fit.”

Leo turned, only to be met with a hug from behind. Missy nudged her nose against the base of his neck, sending a small spark through his back. Then she shifted around him, hugging in from the front and placing her head on his shoulder. He moved his hands to her back and gave her a gentle pat.

“You’re welcome,” Leo said. He waited a good minute or two. “Now I know you have a full schedule of lounging tomorrow, so let’s clean up now, alright?”

“OK, but you’re doing the dishes.”