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You felt like you were going crazy.
Your doorbell ringing with no one in sight, the tv turning on and off even when you were nowhere close to the remote, the motion sensor outside turning on when no one was there.
And it didn’t help that all of this was happening in the week leading up to Halloween, the pumpkin and skeleton decorations only adding to your weariness.
Luckily nothing seemed to happen in the night, only in the hours that lead to it, leaving you to sleep somewhat peacefully.
Still, getting home from work each evening left you with a sense of… not quite dread, but something along those lines.
You had talked about it at the Hard Deck before everything started happening, which only made this feel like a wicked joke from the universe or a ghost that had taken you as its victim after your talk with them.
”Didn’t sleep?” Hangman asked you, leaning over the counter as you prepared their usual order.
You smiled when you opened Bob’s lemonade, still finding it cute how he never drank alcohol and always opted for the citrusy drink.
“Watched a horror film last night.” You explained with a sigh, “I’m not usually afraid, but I kept feeling like I’d open my eyes to find a ghost staring at me.”
You laughed along when he did, rolling your eyes when he slapped a hand over his thigh, still laughing.
“Scared of ghosts?” He asked, making you shake your head in answer as you placed the last bottle on the tray.
“Not quite. Ghosts aren’t real.” You explained with a chuckle, as if it was obvious, “But after a horror film it’s easy to forget about my lack of belief.”
He smirked, playfully saluting you before heading back to the pool table, handing everyone their drink and taking hold of a cue stick, challenging whoever dared play against him, Coyote not backing out but accepting the challenge, smirking back at him.
Bob turned to look at you, raising his drink your way with a smile that you returned, loving that he always thanked you, even if Hangman was the one bringing him his drink and this was, after all, part of your job.
A few days after that, things started happening.
First it was small things, the gust of wind past your window sounding a little too loud, the scrape of wood against the glass sounding like fingernails, all things that were only scary because of the connections your mind decided to make, but then the tv started turning on and off and the lights outside turning on when no one was even near your porch.
It wasn’t extreme, wouldn’t happen more than once or twice a night, but it started making you wonder, the spooky season only adding to it, with its great selection of horror films each night, amazing both for the entertainment of them and for plaguing your mind with the wonder of what could be haunting your home.
It was Monday morning, and as you looked in the mirror you did everything you could do to make you look less tired and more pretty, doing a simple Halloween makeup for the day, happy that your shift didn’t start until three, ending at nine and leaving you to spend the last hours of the night with your favorite squad, looking forward to teasing Hangman and Rooster and gossip with Phoenix, maybe talk a little to Fanboy or Bob.
Penny had prepared a small witch hat clip you could clip on your head, so you chose a cute black dress, simple black tights and your favorite black boots, looking badass enough to kick whatever ghost was haunting you while also looking pretty enough to maybe find the courage to flirt a little with your lemonade-drinking crush.
Time to leave rolled by quickly enough, and glancing in the mirror you smiled at the reflection, loving the outfit and having worn it as it was on many occasions, but the little witch hat waiting for you at the Hard Deck definitely the perfect choice to elevate the look.
“You look great!” Penny exclaimed when you walked in, twirling when she saw you walking in to show you her own outfit, the dark red dress fitting her perfectly and the little horns she wore to match completing the look.
“Look at you!” You smiled, holding a hand out to squeeze her shoulder, “Mav’s going to lose his mind.” You joked, nudging her softly.
The look she sent your way made you laugh, and when she patted your shoulder you smiled, lowering your head so she could clip the little hat in place, leaving it resting comfortably on one side of your head.
You glanced at the reflection in the mirror, loving the little addition, handmade by Penny the day before.
“So,” she started explaining, pointing around the different parts of the bar, “decorations are sort of put up, we have to add a few more by the pool tables, near the darts, but only what won’t be ruined by whoever has bad aim, and down on the porch.”
You nodded, getting to work with the decorations, one of your favorite parts of the holiday, the little skeletons and pumpkins and spiders, a good mix between cute and creepy as you hung them and placed them around the space.
It would all look tied in together when the sun would set, leaving the candles and fairy lights to set the mood.
You and Penny ended up chatting for most of the afternoon, the first few clients walking in around the time the sun set, some of them complimenting the decorations, others pretending to be spooked, giving the two of you a thumbs up.
“You’re on until 9pm, then you can go with your sailors.” Penny said with a playful glance once the few orders had been taken care of, reminding you about the deal you and her had for Halloween, knowing how much you enjoyed it and wanting you to have fun while still working, since you had insisted.
She also knew about your little crush and teased you relentlessly for it, always urging you to do something about it because of how cute you and Bob would look together.
“Yeah, yeah.” You muttered, turning over to prepare a pint for an old regular, a retired man by now but a good pilot years ago, his years of service shown by the wrinkles on his face and the badges that still adorned his jacket.
“Here you go, Paul.” You said softly, handing him his drink.
“Well, well, well. You clean up nicely.” Hangman said loudly the second he walked in, interrupting your small talk with Paul as Coyote, Phoenix and Bob followed behind him, all of them looking you up and down with a smile.
You always got along with Hangman, always answering back and never backing down, telling him when he was being a jerk and ringing the bell on him when he was being nothing but annoying.
“Why, thank you, Bagman, and what are you supposed to be?” You asked, leaning over the counter and smirking, the fangs in his mouth, pale skin, exposed veins and bloodied shirt giving a pretty clear idea.
“Yeah, he’s original as always.” Spoke Phoenix from behind him, slipping ahead and sitting on one of the free bar stools, placing a little Frankenstein’s Monster plushie on the counter.
“You’re one to speak, Doctor.” Hangman scoffed, clearly not having noticed the plushie.
“It’s Frankenstein.” She said, rolling her eyes and smiling at you when you placed her drink in front of her, not needing her to order anymore, knowing her choices by now.
“Why don’t you have the scar and green skin then?” He asked, as if she was the one in the wrong, still oblivious.
“Frankenstein’s the doctor.” You and Bob both said in unison, making Phoenix smirk up at you, another person that had figured out your not-so-secret crush.
“Which, arguably, the real monster.” Bob added, knowing that the small freckles drawn on his cheeks were doing nothing to hide his blush.
“Good observation, Milo.” You smiled his way, handing him his lemonade.
You loved his costume, not far from his usual attire, wearing a beige tank top and khaki green pants, the easiest clue as to who he was dressed as being the round frames resting on his nose and his hair parted in the middle, always having loved Milo as a character.
His mouth fell open, a silent oh slipping from his lips that only made his blush darken, earning a chuckle from Coyote, his makeup matching Hangman’s, with the only addition of a bite mark on his neck.
“He didn’t think anyone would get who he was.” Coyote explained, raising his drink your way in a silent cheer.
“Yeah, I mean who the hell knows about Milo?” Hangman asked, practically draping himself over the stool.
“Clearly not you, you didn’t even know about Frankenstein.” You joked, earning a scoff from the blond aviator.
“What’s up with your neck?” You then asked Coyote, looking at him instead of granting Hangman more than a glance as you pointed at the two little bite marks, odd on a vampire.
“I can answer this one.” Hangman proudly announced, sitting up straight.
“The one thing he knows.” Bob muttered, his voice low enough for you to hear.
No one else seemed to, anyway, making your laughter seem out of place, yet Bob seemed to appreciate it, always loving when he got you to smile or laugh, a personal accomplishment he carried close to his heart.
“We decided that I’d clearly be the first one to turn into a vampire, being the jock and all, but as a vampire I’d definitely turn Coyote with me. He’s my best friend, if I’m living forever, he’s suffering along.” He said, landing a loud smack on Coyote’s arm, the other man looking like he was ready to fight back.
“I’m kinda surprised to see how much thought went into that, Count Bagman.” You bowed lightly, hoping he’d get at least this reference.
He chuckled, tilting his head to the side and smirking as he always did, pointing to the pool tables.
“Count Hangman has to show these people how to get beaten by him at pool, will you join us later?”
“Yep. Shift finishes at nine, so I’ll be there around then.” You replied, checking that no other clients needed a refill or wanted to order.
“Pretty good. See you in a few hours then!” Phoenix said with a smile, walking her way to the pool table and standing on one end, rolling the sleeves of her white coat up. She looked effortlessly cool, the black dress under the coat suiting her perfectly, and the fishnets were a fun touch, making her look the coolest out of the group of monsters and ghouls that were sitting around the table.
“I’ll see you later.” Added Bob softly, giving you a little nod as he made his way to join her, smiling when he heard you shout a see you later, Milo! his way.
Nine pm rolled by quickly, making you sigh in relief when you sat by Nat’s side, joining the conversation effortlessly as you sipped on your drink.
It hadn’t been a long shift per se, the bigger part of the work starting an hour before your shift ended, but you were glad to be on the other side of the counter and surrounded by your friends, finally catching up to their stories once more.
“So,” Nat spoke after finishing her conversation with Fanboy, leaning more into your side, “Gonna talk to Bob?”
“What?” You asked, never having mentioned that you would, too scared of ruining the perfectly great friendship you had built to risk it.
“Oh, c’mon. You’ve both been staring at each other all night, and he couldn’t help but keep that blush on his cheeks after you called him Milo. He likes you too.”
You shushed her, nudging her back.
You wouldn’t talk to him, no, even if you knew that eventually your feelings would bubble out.
That, or everyone that knew would carry on looking at you with that teasing or pitiful look.
Either way, you could deal with it.
“What about you, Nat?” you teased instead, tugging lightly at her white coat, “Got your eyes set on anyone tonight?”
She looked around the room, taking a sip from her drink when she found who she was looking for. Following the direction of her gaze, you immediately could tell who she was looking for, the sparkling red dress hard to miss.
“Wow. She’s really your type.”
“There’s a lot of pretty people tonight.” She defended, looking around, “But yeah, she’s really my type.” She repeated, chuckling against you, setting her empty glass down.
“Go order another cocktail. She’s near the bar and probably will come over, and if not…”
“If not I don’t chicken out on my feelings like some of my friends.” She muttered, winking at you as she stood, grabbing her glass and making her way to the bar, her eyes darting to the woman as she did, not going unnoticed.
With Natasha chatting to the mystery woman, and you perched on the pool table, jokingly judging each single one of Hangman’s hits, you soon grew tired of the loud music and chatter, needing a moment with some quiet and fresh air.
“Count?” You called after he stopped cheering, his smirk still plastered on his face when he moved to look at you, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes?” He drawled, resting some of his weight on the cue stick.
“Heading out for some fresh air.”
He nodded, his smirk dropping to a sincere smile.
Your friendship with Hangman wasn’t free of arguments or tense moments, but he always looked out for you, and telling him when you were stepping out of the Hard Deck was one of the things he had asked you to mention, after spending a night with his heart in his throat when he couldn’t find you, the crowds thick and hard to get through. He found you eventually, hiding just by the porch after the overcrowded rooms grew too loud and rowdy, needing the moment of break before heading back in to finish the last hour of your shift.
The porch was full of people, some dressed up and others in regular clothes, so you sneaked further ahead, on the sand, looking at the waves crash and turn into foam, the warm glow of the moon making everything more special.
You felt someone sit next to you after some time had passed, looking up to see Bob and smiling at the sight, resting your head on his shoulder, the sound of the waves repetitive enough to make your eyes grow heavy.
“Enjoying the party?” He asked, voice hushed after having to talk so loudly over the music and the chatter.
“Yeah. Just needed some fresh air.” You said softly, eyes still closed as you stifled a yawn.
He chuckled, grabbing a handful of sand and watching it slip past his fingers, “you sound tired.”
“Haven’t been sleeping too well.” You muttered, lifting your head from his shoulder so that you could look at him.
“How come?” He asked quickly, his expression growing slightly worried, something that did nothing to help your quick heartbeat.
“Oh, well… I mean, it sounds stupid.” You said with a laugh, his serious expression making you go on as you shuffled, crossing your legs as you fully turned to look at him, your knees resting against his when he mirrored your position.
“It started a few nights ago. Things are slightly weird at home, and I know it sounds stupid but it almost feels like there’s a ghost haunting me.”
He looked at you for a moment, expression serious, before his lips twisted upwards, a quiet laugh bubbling from him, easily going unnoticed had it not been for the movement of his shoulders.
You placed your hands over them, holding them down as if that could stop his laughing fit, starting to laugh with him when his hands flew up to grip onto your arms for support, head tilted forward as he tried catching his breath.
“Sorry,” he muttered, looking up to find your face inches away from his, his blush returning as quickly as yours, laughter slowly dying, even if his smile remained.
“Sorry.” He repeated, pulling back. “It’s just, the other day you said that ‘ghosts aren’t real’.”
You didn’t think he had heard, considering he was all the way at the pool tables. Or was he? You tried thinking back, not remembering him anywhere near Hangman.
“Stealth pilot, yeah.” He answered, almost replying to your question. “You didn’t see me, but I had gone to the bathroom. I had just walked past Hangman when you said that.” He continued his explanation, a playful look in his eyes.
“Huh. Impressive.” You replied, letting your hands fall on his knees for a moment only, not resisting the touch. “But yeah, a ghost is haunting me, look at that.”
“What kind of haunting?” He asked, suddenly curious. He had always enjoyed paranormal programs, ghost hunting and the likes, even if he was a non-believer, simply not finding the idea of ghosts, ghouls or demons realistic.
“Tv turning on and off, motion sensor light activating when no one’s there, doorbell ringing when no one’s there, … oh, weird sounds. Stuff like that.”
“I feel like most of that can be explained. Maybe you need to switch your batteries out?” He offered, still finding the whole situation hilarious.
“Sure, everything started happening at the same time four days ago because all of my batteries are dead.”
“Almost dead.” He corrected.
“Okay, almost dead.” You said, rolling your eyes, “but if that ghost decides to kill me tonight, my life’s on you.” You joked, this time watching him roll his eyes.
“Okay, okay, well, I…” he rarely was shy around you, having grown used to your presence and humor and having hung out enough to truly consider you a friend, but he looked a little uncertain as he spoke, this time. “I could come over, if you’d like. Watch a scary film, catch the ghost, eat candy and tell each other some scary stories.”
“You really don’t want me to sleep, huh?” You jokingly said, pushing his shoulder back to tease him.
“Floyd planning on keeping you up all night?” Phoenix spoke, draping her arms around your shoulders, her words carrying the sweet smell of the strawberry cocktail she was sipping on.
“Nat.” You heard him whisper, sending her a warning glance.
You understood the connotation of her words, knowing they were a silent dig at you, not at him.
After all, you were the one with the crush.
“I have a ghost at home and he offered to help me catch it.” You said looking up at her, her head slipping from resting on the top of your head to rest against your cheek instead.
She clearly was a little drunk, taking the chance to be since they had the next day off, and she became a little more clingy than usual when she was.
“Ah, of course he did.” She smirked, and even if you couldn’t see that you could perfectly see Bob’s reaction, his eyes begging her to be quiet while her words tinted his cheeks to the color of her drink.
“Well, good look with that.” She mumbled, sending Bob a wink as she slipped back inside, the door clinking as it closed behind her.
You sat in silence for a moment, looking up at the stars, the salty air kissing your skin.
He kept his eyes on you, unable to peer them away from your lips, their dark colour suiting you so well.
He truly was bewitched.
“I love the night.” You whispered, looking back down at him. He looked so cute, his hair parted differently and glasses big and round, suiting him almost as much as his regular glasses did. But it was the blue and red neon lights from the Hard Deck that completed the scene, casting purple highlights on his skin, his look almost ethereal, somehow.
“Can I take a picture of you?” You asked quietly when he only nodded at your statement, watching him stutter out an answer.
“Well, I-… I mean, sure, I just- I… don’t usually look good.”
You pulled up your phone, looking at him through the viewfinder and snapping the first picture, his eyes still wide from your question.
“You’re very photogenic, Bob, and you do look good.”
You snapped another picture after speaking your words, his smile genuine in the second snapshot.
“Look.” You said, turning the phone his way to show him, his eyes still on you.
“Can we take a photo together?” He asked you, this time.
You had few photos with Bob, always getting lost in the moments you shared with him, often enjoying the time together too much to remember to document it with a picture.
“Sure.” You said, standing to sit next to him, handing him your phone as you rested your head on his shoulder, smiling at the camera.
It was a cute picture, one you surely would print to hang on your wall, his smile soft matching your own, except you both were secretly looking at each other, the cause of your smile kept a secret from one another.
“I like myself next to you.” He said softly, studying the photo on your phone.
It was a simple comment, but it still made you blush, the honesty behind it.
You stayed like that for a little while longer, resting your head on his shoulder, stifling a yawn when the tiredness snuck up on you again.
“Tired?” He whispered, lowering his hand to meet yours, interlocking your fingers together and squeezing them once out of reflex, feeling how well they fit together.
“A little.” You mumbled back, smiling up when you looked at him, his lips a little too close for you to think anything other than how easy it would be to reach up and kiss them.
“Let’s go then.” He said, breaking your thought process and tugging you up with him, his hand never leaving yours.
You walked hand in hand in hand, ignoring Phoenix’s look and smirk and just squeezing his hand once, walking towards the rest of the squad to wish them a good night.
He held your hand all the way to your home, thankful that it wasn’t too far, considering that the pretty heels you were wearing that were slowly starting to hurt, but you ended up wishing it was a longer way when his hand slipped out of yours, setting on the small of your back as you opened the door and inviting him in, taking his jacket and leading him to the couch.
“Would you like something to drink? I have lemonade.” You offered cheerfully, this whole routine familiar from the many late night chats and occasional movie nights you had shared.
You always made sure to be stocked up, occasionally buying different ones to try to find his favorite, keeping some snacks you knew he liked too, knowing he’d never request anything specific but slowly picking up on what his favorites were.
“I’d love that.” He said with a small nod, leaning back and resting his head, grabbing a hold of the remote when you handed it to him.
With the drinks set on the table you sat by his side, going through the movies being shown and settling on a cheesy horror, more than happy to chat rather than watch jocks and cheerleaders being killed one by one.
“I’ll put the remote over there, so if the ghost decides to turn the tv off there’s no doubt about it being one of us.” You said with a smirk, choosing to joke about this, no matter how much nervousness it had caused you over the past few days.
“Sure. But what if the ghost doesn’t appreciate our film choice?” He teased, pulling his tongue out at you.
“Then said ghost will have to suck it up.”
You sat on the sofa, your legs resting on his as the movie played, the blonde cheerleader screaming as she ran away from the killer, the scene cliché enough to not even phase you.
“Do you think you’d survive in a horror film?” You asked him after a while, lifting your head to look at him.
“People barely see me most of the time, so hopefully a killer also wouldn’t.” He chuckled, hand resting on your leg, the warmth of his hand making your skin buzz beneath it.
“I see you.” You said, wishing you were closer to hold his hand, or show him that you cared, somehow.
“I know.” He said honestly, smiling.
You kept his eyes on him, feeling like maybe you could say something, but the doorbell went off, making your legs jolt away from his, suddenly feeling tense again.
“I’ll go check.” He said, standing and moving towards the door, feeling your hand grip his arm after less than a step.
“Not letting you go alone.” You mumbled, knowing he was wondering why you had joined him.
And just like each night, the door was opened to reveal nobody there, the chilly air making its way into the apartment.
Bob took another step forward, stepping outside and keeping you behind him, shielding you from whatever was waiting in the dark.
“Hello?” He called out, shushing you when you laughed. “What?” He asked you then, looking at you curiously.
“Think you’ll need a ouija board if you want to talk to it.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be angry if you stopped calling it it.” He said back, pulling his tongue out at you.
“You just called it it too.” You argued, smirking up at him.
“Guess we’ll just have to be haunted together, then.” He teased, letting go of your hand to wrap his arm around your shoulder instead.
You felt so comfortable in his arms, so safe, and even if you wouldn’t reveal it to him, you couldn’t help the feeling blooming in your chest, and you mentally cursed when you reached the coach again, thinking that he’d let you go, but he didn’t, making you rest on his chest instead as you watched the unfortunate future of those teens, too dumb to make any right choices, it seemed.
He chuckled at the exaggerated scream another character let out, holding onto you as he did. You could barely concentrate, too focused on how it felt to be in his arms, how his heart sounded under your cheek, how his arm was wrapped protectively around you.
You looked up again, taking in how he looked in these lights, the colors changing as the film went on, his lips settled into a relaxed smile, his blue eyes shining bright.
He looked down at you, eyes darting between your eyes and your lips, feeling time slow down.
Yet you both looked up when the detective on the screen shouted “Hands up!”, the volume sounding louder that it initially had, making you jolt as the killer was soon to be revealed.
You held your breath in, not really for the revelation that was about to happen on the screen, but for what had almost happened between you and Bob.
Your eyes were trailed on the tv, too afraid to look anywhere else as the killer was slowly getting illuminated by the police lights, the camera panning up, reaching higher and higher until…
The tv turned off.
You glanced at the screen, seeing the remote resting near it, glancing up at Bob to prove what you meant.
“See? I didn’t turn it off.” You huffed, cheeks still red from the almost-kiss, even if now the paranormal was back in mind.
“This is the most annoying ghost. Right before we get to find out who the killer is.” He muttered, head turning to the side when he saw the motion light turn on.
“Huh.” He hummed at that, furrowing his eyebrows.
You tried not to mind that he seemed so normal, unable to see his cheeks in the dark, but still, he didn’t seem bothered by you two almost kissing. Were you reading too much into this?
“You see, motion lights usually die when the batteries do, and ghosts wouldn’t activate them, technically.” He said, suddenly an expert ghost hunter.
“Which means…?” You trailed on, not liking where this was going.
“That this is a person.”
His expression switched from a softer one to a harsher one, seeing what Natasha had once described to you as his “serious look”, one he only donned while taking notes about important maneuvers, up in the air and when he felt in danger.
Only this time he didn’t feel in danger, he felt like you were, which was worse.
“You stay here.” He said sternly, pushing you back against the couch, both of his hands holding your shoulders, not wanting you to move.
He was going to deal with this.
“I’m going out.”
It wasn’t a question, and his eyes were focused, cold, as he looked at you once again, gaze falling to the window behind you, looking over the garden.
“You stay here.” He repeated, studying your face for one moment longer before standing and walking out back, his steps quiet enough that you didn’t even hear as he descended the stairs.
You couldn’t get his eyes out of your head, how different they looked when they sensed danger, how quickly he leaped into action, how he glanced at your lips once more before going out the door.
You cursed yourself for not moving sooner, getting distracted instead by the tv when what you had been waiting for was finally happening.
A scream broke the silence, and your train of thought, mainly, yet not close to Bob’s, meaning it must’ve been the mystery man.
It was when his name was said that you realized who was in your garden.
“Bob?” you heard coming from outside.
Hangman.
You had been scared of Hangman.
Not a ghost, not a demon, not even a creep that had decided on scaring you around Halloween.
No, Hangman.
“What the hell are you doing here? Ow! Ow, ow, Bob, wait!”
You stood, knowing that there was no danger anymore, standing at your door with your arms crossed.
You watched as Bob dragged Hangman by the ear up to your front porch, the scene funny enough to make you smile.
“Happy Halloween!” He said, trying to free himself from Bob’s hold.
“Dick move, Hangman.” You spoke, giving a small nod to Bob, fine with letting him go now, but Bob shook his head, pulling on his ear, making him hiss at the tug.
“Dude!”
“Apologize.” Bob said back, set on not letting him go until he did.
“I’m sorry.” He mumbled, looking more annoyed than sorry.
“Did that sound sincere to you?” Bob asked you, his eyes finding yours with a sweetness they had lost when the motion light had turned on, determination having taken its place.
“Not really, no.” You said, playing along.
You didn’t really mind, seeing Bob holding Hangman by the ear enough of an apology for you.
Actually, this was a great image.
You raised a finger, telling Bob to wait a moment, running to the couch and grabbing your phone, opening the camera as you walked out, snapping a picture of the scene.
“Oh, c’mon.” He grumbled, trying to pull away.
“Apologize once more and you’re free.” Bob said, smirking at you when he saw you were still pointing the phone at them.
“I’m sorry.” He said again, this time his tone was deemed sincere enough, making Bob let go of him.
He straightened up, wiping his shirt down in a theatrical manner, swinging the cloak behind his back like a truly ridiculous vampire.
“How did you do it all?” You asked, not really out of curiosity, but because you needed to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“Universal remote for your tv. Doorbell was… me ringing your doorbell and hiding.”
“Like a child.” Bob muttered as you nodded along.
“Motion sensor was an accident. I just happen to be a physical being.”
You chuckled, shaking your head.
“Go enjoy your night, instead of ruining mine.” you said, still annoyed but less so now that you knew what, or who, was causing all of the weirdness.
“No more?” Bob asked, not wanting to be disturbed anymore tonight and not wanting you to get disturbed in the future.
“Promise I’ll stop. It just felt funny with the whole ‘ghosts aren’t real’ talk.”
Bob hummed, pushing Jake away with a quick good night, having had enough of him.
He reached you and closed the door behind the two of you, smiling when he saw your relief.
“We never found out who the killer was.” You muttered, breaking the silence.
“No, but we caught the ghost.” He joked, his hand reaching up to rest on your cheek, making your breath get stuck in your throat once again, the touch new and foreign.
You were great friends, and often cuddled, held hands or simply rested on each other, it wasn’t new, but this was, feeling more intimate somehow.
“There’s something else I never found out.” He whispered, thumb rubbing your cheek softly as you looked at him, his blue eyes peering into yours once more.
“What?” You asked, eyes glancing at his lips before focusing back on the shade of blue you loved so much.
“If we were going to kiss.”
He waited, smiling when you nodded, glancing at his lips again.
“Can I kiss you now?” He asked after another moment, leaning a little closer, leaving you to close the distance between the two of you.
“Yes.” You hummed, pushing yourself up to meet his lips, taking a deep breath when you felt him against you, the hand that wasn’t holding your cheek slipping around your waist, pulling you flush against him.
Your arms rose to wrap around his shoulders, smiling against his lips when you felt him melt into you, all of that nervousness you had held when it came to him leaving the second he deepened the kiss, pulling away to look at you again, the thumb grazing your cheek falling over your lips, tracing where his had just been.
He chuckled, resting his forehead against your own.
“So, I promised you a scary movie, and we watched one. Promised to catch a ghost, and we caught him.” He spoke matter of factly, tilting his head to the side, “That leaves…”
“Candies and scary stories.” you said, quoting his earlier words.
“Now, as much as I don’t think there’s anything as sweet as you…” he trailed on, laughing when you scoffed at his words.
“You’re so cheesy.” You said softly, dropping your arms to rest at his waist, holding him close to you.
He tilted his head, reaching down to press a feather-light kiss on your lips, not getting enough of it now that he knew what it felt like.
“I’ll grab some snacks, and we can snuggle on the couch?” You offered, untangling from him and immediately missing him, walking towards the cabinet to grab a few different things, from savory to sweet, along with another bottle of your drinks, the taste of his lemonade still lingering on your lips.
“I’d love that, yeah.”
He moved back, grabbing a fluffy blanket and placing it on his legs, waiting for you to place everything on the table before enveloping you in it, his strong arms wrapped around you as he kissed you again.
“Out of all the trick or treating I’ve done, this is definitely the best treat.” He whispered as he pulled away, gaze raking over your features before leaning back towards you, your lips meeting his again as you giggled, pulling him closer still against you, not wanting to let him go.