Trick-or-Treat #2
But I still expected more of a haphazardly thrown-together event, especially since it’s the first one they’ve thrown here.
What I didn’t expect was for the crowd to wrap from the front door to almost all the way down the frat row block.
The buzz over the event had been high, but I still hadn’t expected this kind of turnout.
The point of the event was to set up trick-or-treat stations throughout the house so people could essentially ‘trunk-or-treat’ inside. It took nearly half an hour just to get in, but once we passed the threshold and got a decent look, my eyes widened with awe.
Each stop is decorated with its theme, and the frat bros manning the doors are dressed to match their door's theme. But it’s not blood, guts, and gore as you’d imagine at a college event like this; it’s childhood nostalgia through and through.
Everything from Hocus Pocus to Casper, and just about every other childhood Halloween movie, is on display and absolutely amazingly done.
If I hadn’t seen them working on this firsthand, no one could have convinced me that a professional hadn’t done it.
Everywhere I look, there’s something new to see.
Notwithstanding the banter and fun at each door, and the overall enjoyment despite the long lines.
There’s just so much to take in that, even while standing and slowly moving through the house in semi-step-forward increments, boredom never sets in.
After we’d visited a couple of doors, Cade approaches us in an old, vintage red-and-black vampire costume. His white-blonde hair and icy blue eyes only add to the vibe he’s going for.
“Stunning as always, Qiang. I kind of wish we’d put up costume prizes for the event; you’d have won for sure,” he says, flashing me a wink and a bright smile.
I smile back, my vanity loving the attention. “You always did know how to turn flattery into an art form.”
“Not hard when visions such as yourself are in my home,” he practically purrs, his bright smile turning flirty.
Marcus’s fingers curl around my hipbone, sending goosebumps through my skin while he slightly tugs me backward against him, not enough to knock me off balance, but enough to have my heart skipping into overdrive.
“I think we’re all in your house, Cade,” he says pointedly.
There’s a growl of disapproval in his voice that I find most unfair since he’s already moved on, but there’s still that illogical swoop of satisfaction in my gut at his possessiveness. It’s nonsensical.
Cade huffs out a chuckle and focuses on Marcus with a teasing glint in his eyes.
“And you all look amazing as well,” he says with amusement clear in his tone.
Marcus huffs a bit as Qi nudges him with his elbow, reminding him to behave. Marcus rolls his eyes and steps to the side, pulling me with him.
“And you do as well. Everything looks so amazing,” Qi says graciously, trying to cover up Marcus’s bit of rudeness.
Not that it wasn’t earned; the teasing glint in Cade’s eyes was enough for me to know he did it on purpose, and Marcus’s reaction is amusing him, not offending him.
Cade gives Qi a more genuine, less teasing smile. “It does, Holt and the guys did so well,” he says proudly. He reaches up and pats Tristan congenially on the shoulder before stepping away from us. “Enjoy the rest of your night.”
“Happy Halloween,” Tristan calls out as Cade moves down the line to mingle with other acquaintances.
“Because the makeout session from last time wasn’t enough,” Marcus mutters darkly under his breath.
I briefly wonder how much that would be amplified if he knew we’d actually slept together—obviously not that night, but a few years ago. I don’t entertain the thought too much, though. Even though Marcus doesn’t really have the right to be jealous, that doesn’t mean I’m that petty.
“Is there anyone who doesn’t flirt with you?” he asks louder, obviously meaning for me to hear this thought.
“Qi,” I deadpan instead, then laugh at the unamused expression on Marcus’s face.
“What about me?” Qi asks, having only heard his name.
“You don’t flirt with me,” I explain and bite my lip to keep from cracking up at the horrified expression on my brother’s face.
“You have some weird fucking conversations,” Tristan says, rolling his eyes and pulling Qi up against him, as though he can somehow shield him from our weird banter.
I ignore them, though, while checking out Gio and Holt’s door. From the Mystery Machine to some amazingly drawn spooks and ghouls, along with Gio’s sexified version of Fred and Holt’s masculine version of Daphne, they are fully Scooby-Doo-decked.
“This is one hell of an event,” I tell them, smiling over at Gio.
Gio grins back at me. He’d flirted with me a couple of times when we first met, but it fizzled into a friendship before anything deeper developed.
While I’m sure that’s in large part because of Marcus, I honestly think even if I’d met Gio before I’d met Marcus, it probably would have turned out the same.
No matter how amazing someone is, sometimes chemistry just isn’t there.
Holt grins over at us. “I can’t believe it turned out quite this big. You guys look great, by the way.”
Marcus doesn’t even hesitate to throw his arm around my shoulder. After Cade's flirting and knowing that he’s had to sit through multiple occasions where Gio has flirted with me too, he’s not leaving room for anyone else to sneak in and try their hand.
I’m not really interested in getting hot and heavy with anyone anytime soon. Still, with Marcus seeing Imani, he’s gonna have to eventually learn to compartmentalize and understand if he can move on, so can I.
Somehow, the conversation gets steered toward how good Gio’s and Holt’s pecs look in their shirts, and I have to eat my own words about being jealous with how into the topic Marcus seems to be.
Although he keeps flitting his eyes in my direction, so I feel like he’s doing it on purpose because I flirted back with Cade earlier. Gawd, he’s so childish sometimes.
All of that fades into the back of my mind when I realize everyone’s attention is focused on Tristan and Qi making out in front of a house full of people. Not that it’s anything new, but their shamelessness is so at odds with their usually shy personas.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, you two!” I grumble, grabbing Qi’s arm and tugging him away from Tristan and towards the next door.
“Keep it moving; can’t hold still for nothing around you two, I swear,” I hiss, my annoyance prickling as Tristan and Marcus chuckle behind us.
Tristan and Marcus follow behind Qi and me for a while after that, slowly moving between doors and checking out the different themes, from Buffy to Casper to the Addams Family to a couple of frat bros dressed as the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus, and trying to get people to grab their ‘boobs’.
It’s during the ruckus that I spot Imani across the room. My stomach falls to my feet, but not because of jealousy.
Her back is pressed against Derrick’s chest, her arms stretched above and behind her to clasp the back of his neck. His arms are wrapped around her waist from behind, and they sway together as they move through the line.
Their position looks extremely intimate for someone who has a boyfriend, but I swallow it back because Marcus and I are the same way when we dance at parties and stuff. It could be innocent, and I’m making too much out of it.
I know I should stop watching them; it’s getting kind of creepy at this point. But as soon as I tell myself that and start to look away, Derrick leans down, and Imani stretches up on her toes to meet his descent with a kiss.
It’s not innocent. They’re here together. But does that mean my assessment of her and Marcus is wrong, or that she’s cheating? I never really took Imani for the cheating type, and I don’t know fuck-all about Derrick other than the position he plays and that he’s Kingston’s football mentor.
I glance over towards Marcus, but he and Tristan are deep in conversation. I wonder if I should point her out in a ‘hey, look who’s here’ kind of way, but then again, maybe I should just stay the fuck out of it. It’s not my business, and I have no place.
However, how often has Marcus stepped into mine, whether he has the foothold to do so or not?
But doesn’t it make it worse to point out what could or could not potentially be her cheating on him, when I have a personal stake in this now?
I want him. I mean, I have all along, but the fact that I’m not lying to myself about it anymore puts everything on a different level.
If they are together, and I tell him that she’s cheating, is the moral high road of being his friend explanatory enough to override the idea that I have something to gain by them splitting?
Not that that is where my concern is at all, but it’s what it’ll look like.
But, as much as this may not be my business, I can’t just let this pass. He deserves better than this. Better than being cheated on, and better than anything I’ve given him so far.
Marcus’s eyes flit over to me, and he raises an eyebrow, probably sensing my discomfort. Uncanny sometimes how he can clock my moods without even having to look at me.
I nod my head in the crowd towards where Imani is, but when I look back, the crowd has swallowed her and Derrick out of view. I frown at the missing proof, then look back at Marcus, who is frowning now.
I clear my face and smile. With them missing in action now, there’s no reason to ruin the event. I’ll tell him about it later.
He slowly gravitates towards me until his arm wraps around my waist and his fingers flex back on my hipbone, like he’s grounding me, and I can’t even say his assumption is wrong.
“Everything alright?” he murmurs in my ear.
“Yeah, just a lot of people,” I tell him, smiling to reassure him.
He smiles back, but I know he doesn’t fully believe me because his arm doesn't leave my waist for the rest of the night. Not gonna lie, I could really get used to this.