An Autumn Dream

by Melissa Giorgio

  “That’s swell of you to say,” I said, preening. I reached up to fluff the brown hair on my bob cut wig and Rafe smiled. He took a step back to fully appreciate my costume. I posed for him, one hand on my waist and a finger on my lips like I had a secret.

  My brilliant costume idea was a couple from the Jazz Era. I don’t know why the image had suddenly popped in to my head—maybe from watching The Great Gatsby in English class last month. The flapper dresses and fine-cut suits had stayed with me, and I knew if we could pull this off, we’d look amazing.

  Which we totally did.

  It had taken a little bit of searching, but I had finally managed to track down a flapper dress at a Halloween costume store. It was sleeveless, the color of steel, and adorned with sparkly sequins. The skirt tapered off with fringe and ended a little below my knees. On my feet were a pair of silver heels, and I wore white gloves up to my elbows. Long strings of pearls hung around my neck, and my wig was adorned with a silver headband with a giant, black feather hanging from it. A small silver handbag and dangling earrings completed the look, and god, I loved it. I know the feather was probably ridiculous, but there was no way I was passing it up. It was Halloween!

  Oh, and Chloe had done a masterful job with my makeup, heavily lining my eyes, making my lips appear big and pouty, and applying the right amount of blush to my cheeks. A quick look in the mirror hanging on the wall confirmed why Rafe could not stop staring at me.

  Okay, yeah, maybe the stupid Halloween party was actually a good idea. When was I going to start listening to Penny?

  “Picture time,” Dad said, when it became clear all Rafe and I were going to do was stare at one another like a couple of drooling idiots. Blinking to clear my head, I stood next to him and he wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close against his side. We obediently posed, letting Dad snap a gazillion shots with his digital camera.

  “Take one of them kissing,” Chloe suggested from where she was perched on the back of the couch. Her eyes were bright, and she looked happier than I had seen in a while.

  “No, I think that’s enough,” Dad said, checking something on the back of his camera. “Yeah, my memory card is full.”

  “It is not!” Chloe replied. “You’ve got space for like, one thousand pictures left! Come on, let them suck face!”

  “Chloe!”

  I noticed Rafe was turning red and poked him in his side. “You are so cute when you blush.”

  “I’m not blushing!” He shot my dad a furtive glance. “I just don’t want to kiss you in front of him!”

  “Yeah, he might kill you. With his extra sharp knives.” I made a scary face and Rafe groaned. I picked up the final piece of my costume, a black feathered boa, and slung it over my shoulders. “Come on, handsome, we better get going before Penny calls and demands to know where we are.”

  Rafe put on his fedora and nodded.

  “Not too late, guys,” Dad said as he showed us out.

  “I’ll have her home by twelve, Mr. Harkins,” Rafe promised, a hand on my back as we went down the porch stairs. I paused and he looked at me. “Gabi? Everything okay?”

  “You know, we could do something else…” I bit my lip. “Instead of the stupid dance.” Maybe I had just realized the party wasn’t such a bad idea, but would I ever admit that out loud? No freaking way.

  “Something else?” Even in the dark I could see him blushing again. “Why does that sound so wrong?”

  “Okay, pervert, I was thinking of something much different.” I gestured to the houses. Rafe continued to stare at me blankly. “What’s tonight, Rafe?”

  “Halloween…”

  “What do kids do on Halloween?”

  “Go Trick-or-Treating.” He blinked. “You want to go Trick-or-Treating?”

  I smiled gleefully. “Why not? We’re all dressed up! People will have to give us candy!”

  “They only give candy to kids!”

  “Do not!”

  “Yes they do!”

  I grabbed him by the arm and marched him across the street. “Oh yeah? Ring the bell, Mr. Skeptic.”

  Rafe heaved a giant sigh, but did as I said, tapping his foot as he waited for the people inside to answer. The door finally opened, and an older woman with gray hair squinted at us.

  “Trick-or-Treat!” we chimed after I elbowed Rafe in the side.

  Looking confused, the woman said, “Aren’t you a little old—”

  “You are NEVER too old to go Trick-or-Treating,” I interrupted, ignoring the “I told you so” look Rafe was giving me. Come on lady, fork over the candy!

  After a moment of hesitation, she picked up the candy bowl and went to give us some. “Wait, where are your bags?”

  Curses, I knew I had forgotten something! I grabbed Rafe’s hat from off his head and turned it upside-down. “Just put the candy in here. Ma’am,” I quickly added. I peered into her candy bowl. “If you have any peanut butter cups, we’d gladly take those.”

  “You are so bad,” Rafe said as we walked back to his car, his hat clutched happily to my chest as I surveyed the goodies inside.

  Yay, extra peanut butter cups! I glared at Rafe; I was so not sharing them with him!

  “Keep it,” he said, noticing my glare. “Keep it all. God forbid I touch your candy; I’ll be dead before the night is through.”

  “If you weren’t so skeptical I would have shared,” I sniffed, getting in his car and buckling up. I unwrapped a peanut butter cup and took a careful bite; I didn’t want to smear my lipstick before I even got to the party. “Mmm,” I groaned, “so good. Mmmmmmmm.”

  “Whatever,” Rafe responded, putting the car into drive. “So what if those are my favorite candies as well and you won’t share them with me. I’ll just go to the Convenience Corral tomorrow and pick up my own bag.” He smirked as I stared at him in horror. “They’ll be on clearance, right? Fifty percent off? And aren’t you working?”

  “RAFE, NO!” I shrieked hysterically. “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO THERE WHEN I’M WORKING!”

  “But I really wanted a peanut butter cup…”

  Like the stupid Corral was the only place in town that sold peanut butter cups. With a huff I dug through the candy and threw one at him.

  “Thank you, doll,” he drawled in a really bad imitation of a gangster.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared out the window.

  That lasted all of thirty seconds before we burst into laughter. We were still chuckling when he pulled into the school’s crowded parking lot, going slow to avoid running over costumed teens. After parking toward the back of the lot, he turned the car off and held out his hand for his hat. I dumped the rest of the candy on the seat behind me before giving it back.

  “Ready, Daddy?” I asked, using flapper slang I had researched on the net before getting dressed. “Let’s not be late to this swanky dance.”

  Rafe winced. “Please don’t call me that. It sounds so wrong.”

  I leaned toward him. “Can I have that kiss now? The one you wouldn’t give me in front of my actual dad?”

  “Thought you didn’t want to be late?”

  “Hey, we’re here. Isn’t that good enough?”

  He chuckled. “I think we have to be inside the actual building…” But that didn’t stop him from tilting his head forward so he could brush his lips against mine.

  Oh well, so much for my lipstick…

  ***

  Rafe jerked away when my cell phone started ringing, and I heaved a huge sigh of impatience as I dug it out of my bag. “What?” I snapped.

  “WHERE ARE YOU?” Penny screamed. I jumped and pulled the phone away from my now-deaf ear.

  “We’re in the car. Relax!”

  “ARE YOU UNDRESSING HIM NOW? I TOLD YOU TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE DANCE TO DO THAT—”

  I disconnected the call, but it was too late. Rafe stared out the front window, cheeks red, and I wished I could die of embarrassment right then and there.

  “Well,” I s
aid, shoving my phone back in my purse, “shall we?”

  He let out a snort of laughter. “Shall we what? Go to the dance or…” He turned to me to wiggle his eyebrows suggestively, and I saw a distinct sparkle in his eyes. “Undress?”

  “Rafe Fitzgerald,” I said, glaring at him, “if you think I just spent the last two hours getting ready only to have you undress me before my friends see how amazing I look, then you are in for a very disappointing evening.” To emphasize my point I pulled out my compact and lipstick to touch up my makeup.

  “The dance it is, then.” After setting his fedora on the top of his head at a rakish angle, he got out of the car and came to my side, opening it and holding out a hand to help me out. “Are you chilly?” he asked once I had finished adjusting my dress and boa.

  “Nah, it’s not too bad tonight.” It was actually mild out. Unusual, but I’d take it. I was sick of freezing my butt off, and it wasn’t even winter yet!

  “Well, you let me know if you are,” he said as I took his arm. “I’m roasting in this suit and wouldn’t mind shedding a few layers.”

  I gave him an amused look and he blushed again.

  “You know what I mean!”

  Stepping inside the school, we handed a bored-looking chaperone our tickets and followed the sounds of loud dance music to the cafeteria. Rafe was looking around curiously, and I belatedly remembered that he had never been to my school before. Well, he played baseball games here, but he had never been inside. Not that the school was anything to be impressed about. I’m sure it was the same as his school. Same boring lockers, same smelly hallways, same stupid spirit posters taped to the walls…

  And same stupid cafeteria that doubled as our dance hall for events like this.

  We stopped at the doorway, taking in the multicolored strobe lights that were guaranteed to give someone a seizure and the music coming from the DJ booth that was loud, but not nearly as bad as a typical house party. The floor had a few couples chastely dancing under the hawkeyed gazes of the teachers, but mostly everyone was standing around, munching on chips or drinking warm punch.

  I sighed. Loudly. “This is so lame.”

  “Oh, come on,” Rafe laughed, practically dragging me into the cafeteria. “Let’s at least make the rounds and have everyone tell you—”

  “YOU LOOK AMAZING!” Penny shrieked as she came running up, an amused Harrison in tow. Penny was decked out in a skintight black cat suit, complete with cat ears and a tail. She had drawn whiskers on her cheeks and was wearing a mask and gloves that started at her elbows and ended with pointy claws.

  “Hey, Catwoman, cool!” Rafe said. He turned to Harrison. “And Batman.” They did that bump-fist guy thing. “Great costumes, both of you!”

  Harrison was wearing the Dark Knight costume Penny had forced him to rent from the local costume shop, complete with an uncomfortable head mask that didn’t allow him to turn his neck. He had wanted to be Wolverine, but she had insisted on matching costumes. “You guys look good,” Harrison said enviously. “I don’t know why I couldn’t have worn a suit as well. Bruce Wayne wears suits.” He turned his entire body so he could give Penny a pointed look, but she ignored him.

  “Aren’t you glad you came?” she asked me, finally lowering her voice to normal human volume.

  I looked around the darkened cafeteria and shrugged. “I guess?” Then I brightened. “Oh, but I did score some peanut butter cups earlier!”

  “Gabi.” Penny gave me an anguished look. “Please don’t tell me you dragged Rafe Trick-or-Treating.”

  I shrugged. “Okay, I won’t tell you.”

  “GABI!”

  “Stop screaming!” I said, smacking her on the shoulder.

  She shook her head, watching Rafe and Harrison talk. “That poor boy.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Just then the song changed and Penny let out a squeal only dogs could hear. Grabbing a startled Harrison by the arm, she dragged him out to the dance floor. I shook my head. She felt bad for my boyfriend?

  Rafe came over and put a hand on the small of my back. I tried not to shiver in pleasure. “Do you want something to drink?” he asked, leaning close to speak into my ear.

  “Okay!” I reached up to adjust his bowtie, and he smiled before disappearing into the crowd.

  Two seconds later, enter Christian Thompson. He was dressed like a doctor in a pristine white medical coat with a stethoscope hanging loosely around his neck. There was no shirt under the coat (which was unbuttoned all the way down to his stomach), and I had to actually check to make sure he was wearing pants.

  Ugh, creepy doctor alert.

  “Well, well, well, look who decided to come to a dance,” he said, circling me like he was a shark and I was his next meal.

  I crossed my arms over my chest, not liking the way he was eyeing me. When Rafe had looked at me, he had done it appreciatively and tastefully, making me feel beautiful and lovely. When Christian did it, I could practically feel my dress being flung to the wind as he undressed me with his eyes.

  “Go away,” I said, deliberately turning my back on him.

  “Come on, Gabi, let me take you for a spin on the dance floor.” He walked in front of me again and gave me a suggestive smile. “Or we could sneak down a hallway and I could examine you…”

  “I’d rather die of the plague than go anywhere alone with you,” I said. “Go examine someone else.” I scanned the crowd. “Where’s Stacey?”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “We’re not together anymore.”

  How not surprising. He had done the same thing to my sister. Used her, and then thrown her away when he got bored. “Of course not. Who’s the flavor of the week this time?”

  He put a hand on my arm, and I felt my skin recoil from his touch. “It could be you.”

  “Let go of me,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Loosen up, Gabi.” He looked me over again, and I resisted the urge to knee him in the crotch. That would take his mind off of whatever perverted things he was currently thinking!

  “Christian, I am here with my BOYFRIEND. As in, someone I like very much and want to be with. I know the thought of being with only one person for more than a minute is alien to you, but you should try it some time.” My blood was pumping hotly in my veins as I stared into his cruel, handsome face. It wasn’t fair that someone so evil had been blessed with an angel’s face, I thought bitterly. He should look like Fishface or Boneless, all gross and demonic.

  He put his face closer to mine to whisper, “How about your sister, then? Is she here tonight?”

  The rapidly-building anger burst like a volcano, and I yanked my arm out of his grasp, fully intending on punching him right in the middle of his stupid face. Instead, I went stumbling backwards, where I crashed into something solid and felt lukewarm liquid splash against my back.

  “Gabi?” I turned around to see Rafe standing there, two empty cups in his hands and a rapidly-forming pink stain spreading across his white shirt. He paled. “Crap.”

  Oh, dammit. Damn, damn, dammit! My boyfriend was looking so hot tonight and stupid Christian Thompson had to ruin everything!

  I whirled around to cream the punk in the face with my fists, only to discover he had disappeared. He must have taken one look at my gangster, beefed-up boyfriend and split. Huh, maybe he did have a few brain cells still working in that freakishly large head of his.

  “What happened?” Rafe was asking as I turned around again. “Are you all right? I’m so sorry about your dress—”

  “Come on, let’s put some water on your shirt before it stains,” I said taking him by the hand and leading him toward the bathroom. The suit was a rental, but the shirt, thankfully, was his.

  “I’m really, really sorry,” he said in the empty hallway, panic lacing his words.

  “Relax. It’s okay.”

  “Okay?” His voice rose in pitch. “Aren’t you going to kill me for ruining another—”

  I spun on
my heel and he flinched, actually taking two giant steps back and crashing into the lockers behind him. I covered my mouth with my hand, but not before a snort of laughter escaped my lips.

  “Are you…laughing?” He looked really confused, poor boy.

  “No,” I said, trying to compose myself. “Now, come on!” I marched to the bathroom. He followed me like an obedient child, but balked when I pushed open the door to the women’s bathroom.

  “Gabi, I’m not going in there!”

  Spying a couple of girls applying lipstick or rearranging their costumes for maximum cleavage exposure, I nodded. “You’re right.” If exposed to that, Rafe might die. I pushed open the men’s bathroom door. “We’ll go in here!”

  “Gabi!” he hissed. “Wait, don’t! Gabi!” His green eyes were wide with panic as he looked up and down the hallway as if he expected a teacher to pop out of a locker and arrest me for trespassing.

  “Will you relax and come on?” I said, holding the door open for him. “God, Rafe, it’s a bathroom. Oooh, look, urinals! My poor innocent eyes!”

  He stormed in, took a quick peek in the stalls to make sure no one was there, and then turned to me. “You are insane!”

  “I just want to make sure it doesn’t stain,” I said, grabbing a couple of paper towels and wetting them with water.

  As I rubbed them against his shirt, he sighed softly and asked, “What happened back there?”

  I gritted my teeth. “Christian Thompson.”

  “Do you want me to talk to him?” Rafe flashed me a dark smile. “I can be very scary when I want to.”

  Yes, you can, I thought with a shiver, thinking of the times I had watched him battle demons with that same, scary smile. Like he actually enjoyed the hunt and the fight. He was a completely different person from the boy who blushed at the thought of kissing his girlfriend in front of her father.

  But Rafe couldn’t protect me all the time from Christian. He didn’t go to this school, and he didn’t know how easily Christian could make my life miserable. It was best to do what I had been doing for years now: ignore him.

  But it was hard when he brought up Chloe.

  “Gabi?” Rafe asked when I didn’t answer him.