October 31, 2010 – Halloween

The sun had lowered in the distance, past the towering buildings that surrounded the lush green fields of Central Park. This oasis in the jungle of towering steel and glass has always been a hallmark of beauty for the city, a place where city dwellers could reconnect with the nature that they get to see so little of. But now, in the beginning wake of fall, when the leaves begin to turn and die, when the wind begins to bite and the darkness comes just a little earlier, a large section of this park has been transformed, altered, and made into a nightmarish vision that chills the blood and quivers the soul. Yet it is not because of demonic forces that this change has occurred. No, instead it is all for the sake of…fun and good times.

Tonight is Halloween and for a special cause, Central Park has been transformed into a devilish playground for men, women and children to gather candy, party and have fun, but the biggest and most important rule for people who are attending is to be someone else. The reasoning for this was a good one, one that people could not ignore. Started by a wealthy family looking to raise funds for the New York Children’s Hospital, the Adams Family (pun intended), threw together Terror-Fest, a Halloween event where half of all proceeds will go to the hospital and allow people to have fun, as well as do something good for their community.

With no expense too high, Terror-fest has already been hailed as one of the most hyped and excitement inducing events of the year. Foods, rides, parties, and plenty of thrilling surprises were to be available to all who attended. It would be a night that nobody would ever want to forget. Only thing was that costumes were a necessity. People were not allowed to be themselves here. After all…that’s the point of Halloween isn’t it?

Central Park, the glorious fields of green have been sectioned off into several “zones”. One of these zones entitled, “Dementia’s Madness Carnival” has been created into a hellish parody of the children’s carnivals that so many people have been to in their youth. Booths of games have become side shows to nightmares and horrors, where people hurl human heads at stacked bottles, throw darts to pop balloons filled with blood, and straight-jacketed clowns scream and leap out of every corner. The most impressive of these twisted ideas though, is the massive ferris wheel that dominates the heart of the Dementia’s Carnival. The wheel, midnight black but accented in lights of fiery red, displayed demonic heads with gapping mouths that passengers are to climb in to begin their rise and fall. From afar, the attraction looks more like a twelve headed demon.

In this wonderland of madness, people ran to and fro in costume. Some as superheroes, others as historic figures or villains, but many, many more of them were monsters or hellish creatures. Around the food stands, all of which offered disgusting named version of popular carnival fare people crowded, laughed and had good times. It was a fun night for both the alive, the dead and the undead, but as the sky darkened and the stars began to pierce through the inky canvas above, a sense of foreboding began.

What was it about the night? Everything that was laid out during the day, but there was something about the absent of light above that made people cringe and adrenaline pulse. In the blackness of this zone, lit only by the maddening, pulsating lights from all about people laughed a little harder and were a little more on edge. But what was there to fear? It was just a carnival.

***
Jorge Cervantes, detective for the NYPD, MRC division sighed as he walked across the grass and ignored the smirks and nods from the costumed people around him. He still could not believe he was doing this, but the chief said that they needed volunteers to be at the charity function, but they had to be in costume. Jorge had not planned to go but since he started dating a wonderful woman by the name of Gemma, it figured it would be a good place for them to simply have some fun. Though he still could not believe that he was in costume.

“I’m going to kill that costume store clerk,” Jorge sighed as he walked through the park and kept a wary eye on everyone.

He had volunteered for the event last minute and by the time he made time to go to the costume store, unfortunately most of the good, and basically cheap costumes were gone. Because of that…well…there was only one choice he could go with. And in all honesty, Jorge really was no amused by the irony of it.

As he walked across the grass, his robes of white and green waved with each of his sandal covered steps. Across his chest there was draped a toga of gauzy sea green that shimmered as it flapped behind him in the evening breeze and in his hand he clutched a toy trident of plastic gold. He wanted to scratch his chin, but he could not due to the fact that he wore a fake white beard and flowing white hair. He could have sworn when he put those on that he looked like his great uncle Valentino whom he had only met once when he was a small boy. And now, he wanted to remove it, but it was part of the costume. And, atop that mass of white hair, he wore a single fake ground of sea green and gold. That’s right boys and ghouls…Jorge Cervantes, MRC detective, mutant with the ability to manipulate water was dressed as Neptune god of the seas.

Jorge sighed as he passed by a house of mirrors and caught his reflection glaring back at him from one of their polished surfaces that lined the outside. “I am not amused.”

He shook his head as he walked one. When he last spoke to Gemma, she said she’d meet him at one of the refreshment stands. He could only wonder what she was dressed as.

It was Gemma's first Halloween party since the kids moved out. It was never as fun without them, and besided, if she did attend Halloween events, it was usually to keep an eye on the kids. Any kids. Especially mutant ones.
She knew many of the Mansion students were attending the carnival in Central Park tonight; she also knew that Jorge was going to show up, and seeing him in costume was the bait that got her to attend too, not only to look after the kids but also to... have fun.
After a long (and I mean long) conference call from Laurent and Valerie, the kids managed to convince Gemma not to go with any of her own costume choices ("Mom I swear if you dress up as the fairy godmother I'm gonna deny I ever knew you.") and decided on one that Valerie picked out for her online. It was kind of... well, all kinds of flirty, but it looked good on her, or so the kids said. Wonders of the Internet.
So now Gemma walked among the laughing, cheerful horror crowd dressed as Queen Cleopatra, wearing jewels and make-up she never even dreamed of for a ling time. Of course the jewelry was fake, but still.
She spotted Jorge. She didn't really recognize him at first sight, but his form was the same even dressed in robes and fake hair, and she smiled as she walked over to him.

"Look at you. King of the Oceans." she chukled, looking up at him "Are you on duty tonight?"

October 31st, the day of the Terror-Fest. Lance had passed-by the announcement countless times over the last month. The organizers of the affair, a grand charity costume party in time for the Halloween, wanted a good number of attendees to the event and so had wasted no time in putting-up the announcements. The days leading up to the charity event had been quite taxing for the teen. Choosing a costume to wear for the Terror-Fest was consuming almost all of his time. Even when on duty at the mansion’s library, Lance spent most of the time behind the computer checking for a costume that he would like. The problem there is that there were too many to choose from. Thankfully, the other consideration, which was a date for the affair had been resolved several days ago. Faye Roberts the girl he literally bumped into at Grand Central Station had agreed to go with him to the event. After several more (library) hours invested on costume hunting, Lance finally decided on whom to dress-up as for the affair... a Jedi Knight.

Lance had been edgy for most of the day. This was, after all, his first date... if you can call it that. To maximize their experience of the event, the two had agreed to meet at the mansion foyer at around 5:30 in the afternoon and go to Central Park together.

He headed to the agreed upon meeting place ahead of schedule. While waiting for Faye, he considered their mode of transportation to the affair... a cab was a logical choice, but the traffic around Central Park will be horrendous by the time they get there. The subway was another option... and they will be able to avoid the expected traffic jam around Central Park. The only problem he saw with taking the subway is that they will be, or at least he was already, in costume. His Jedi outfit will certainly draw curious attention from the other passengers, but he was not sure about Faye. He hasn’t seen her for the entire day and in his nervousness in asking her to be his companion date for the affair, several days ago, he completely forgot to ask her what her costume will be. Hopefully, there will be other attendees of Terror-Fest who will also be taking the subway to Central Park.

Time seemed to slow down as Lance patiently waited for his date to arrive.

Dancing along to the music that blasted from her laptop Faye moved around her room picking up the necessities; headphones, phone, cigarettes, lighter, cash and tossing them into a little bag.

A glance at the clock told her she needed to get moving if she was meet her date, for it was a date, for the evening.
Not cute boy, Lance she corrected herself had asked her to this big party in Central Park on Halloween, the day when it was socially acceptable to dress like this
Faye considered her outfit in the mirror, something her mother wouldn’t have approved of, but something boys Lance might.
She wondered what Lance would be wearing; maybe we should have gone as something matching? Still it’ll all work out in the end she thought it’s just a date, you’ve been on plenty on those.
But Lance wasn’t just some boy. He was Lance, and for some reason that made tonight more important.

She opened her window and lent out to have a cigarette looking out across the grounds and towards the city.
The alarm Faye had set on her phone broke her staring match with Manhattan.

5:30pm time to go.

Stubbing the cigarette out on the windowsill Faye popped some gum in her mouth, grabbed the club that completed her outfit and turned off the music before leaving her room.
The mansions corridors were full of people getting ready to go out and Faye caught a few glances and catty whispers directed at her. A month ago she might have said something back or been upset, but you can’t please everyone so why bother?
They were only jealous of her anyway Faye realised they didn’t have the guts to dress like this.

She went down the stairs and into the foyer, her pace slowing as she spotted Lance dressed as a well what was he dressed as?
A monk?
Nah, couldn’t be.
Who dressed up as a monk for Halloween? Oh gods please don’t let him be dressed as monk.

Recovering well she walked up to the monk version of Lance before kissing him on the cheek, an action that drew more looks and whispers before offering him her arm and asking

Shall we go? And why are you dressed as a monk?

>> Look at you. King of the Oceans…Are you on duty tonight?"

The voice was immediately recognizable behind Jorge. He knew he was going to get teased for the costume choice but he would state adamantly that it was not his fault. Because he had to be in costume, the choice was entirely taken away from him. He turned and immediately, once he spotted Gemma, he could have swore that his mouth was about to drop. But he did not let it since that would have been rude. He noted the costume that looked like a combination of white and tan silk, as well as the ornate jewelry that adorned her arms, face and hair. He could simply not stop smirking from underneath the itchy white beard.

“Gemma, there you are,” he said with a smirk. Though his cheeks did burn a little from parading around in his costume, he felt a little better that at least someone familiar was here. “Wow, that’s…that’s a hell of a costume. You look great.” he said with a nod as he leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on her cheek, but made sure not to smear her make-up.

A sight the pair of them must have made. A Roman god and the Queen of Egypt. It was funny because their costume choices seemed to almost go together. Maybe it was not so bad that Jorge stumbled into this costume after all? He smirked as he stood back and admired the rest of Gemma’s costume before he finally nodded to her question.

“Yeah, on duty as a volunteer,” he said and showed her his badge he had hanging around his neck, beneath his robes. “We’re pretty much just here to make sure things don’t get too crazy. But thankfully, that means I can parade around in this ridiculous getup with people I know.” he smiled as he waved over towards the refreshment stands. “So, care to dine with a god, tonight?”

It was already 5:30 and Faye had not yet made her entrance into the foyer. Lance worried. What if Faye’s costume met an accident? Or worse, what if she didn’t find any costume to wear at all?

”Quit worrying. If she cannot make it to the affair, she would have told you already.” Lance muttered under his breath, in an effort to calm himself down.

Glancing towards the stairs leading to the second floor, Lance’s jaw nearly dropped as he saw Faye in her Halloween costume. It took all of the teen’s self-control to prevent that embarrassing faux pas from happening. As Faye neared, Lance caught several mansion residents staring at his date. Some were stares of shock while the majority, were undisguised admiration.

His temperature rose as Faye kissed him on the cheek in greeting. Some Jedi you are... the inner voice chided him, with reference to the costume. If you can’t control your emotions, might as well become a Sith.

”Nice costume...” Lance complimented his date with a grin. Okay, so nice was perhaps the lamest adjective in the list of compliments that suddenly crammed into his brain, but that was the only adjective, then, that did not warrant an immediate retaliatory slap in the face. Darn hormones trying to force their way into the conversation.

”Shall we go? And why are you dressed as a monk?”

Lance took the offered arm and nodded in answer to Faye’s first question. The second question however, elicited a chuckle from the teen. He was surprised that she did not recognize a Jedi costume, but then again, his date might not be a fan of Star Wars. ”It’s not a monk costume,” he answered, still sniggering. Lance found the question to be really quite funny. The teen took out the metallic rod from its holster on his right hip and activated it. The bluish light-saber was about three feet long from the end of the metallic rod to the tip of the blade. ”It’s a Jedi Knight costume from the Star Wars series.” he added in explanation.

As the two exited the foyer, Lance could still feel eyes on them... or at least on his date.

While waiting for Faye earlier, Lance had decided to take the subway to Central Park to cut down on travel time. But now... seeing Faye in her costume, he decided to take a cab to the event, instead.

Outside the mansion grounds, the two still drew the attention of passers-by. Lance was quick to spot the incoming cab. Flagging it down, though, felt kind of awkward due to the loose sleeve of his chosen costume.

As the cab slowed down in front of the two, the driver glanced at his would be passengers for a few seconds.

Lance opened the rear passenger door and ushered Faye in, seating himself beside her a few seconds later.

“Lemme guess, Friar Tuck,” the driver quipped, looking at Lance from the rearview mirror. “Central Park... Terror-Fest.”

”Yes,” Lance answered. ”And it’s not a friar costume... it’s a Star Wars Jedi costume.” he added, somewhat irritated.

The driver let out a small chuckle. Seeming to take a small measure of delight in the irritation his comment caused on his male passenger.

The cab made good time on the trip to Central Park, taking only about an hour from the mansion. However, it was forced to stop about a block from its destination, where the river of vehicles going towards the park seems to end. The two decided to walk the rest of the way to Central Park and got off the cab where they were stopped by the traffic, with Lance paying the driver after they had alighted from the cab.

There were quite a number of New Yorkers headed for Central Park decked in different costumes. The two easily disappeared in the throng of costumed party-goers.

The entrance they had taken led the two teens to the Dementia’s Madness Carnival zone, where they were assaulted by all sorts of ghoulish attractions and delight.

Tilting his head towards Faye, Lance flashed his date a smile, ”So, what do you want to try out first?”

>>“Gemma, there you are. Wow, that’s…that’s a hell of a costume. You look great.”

Gemma smiled and twirled around (with dignity); the look in his eyes when he turned around was more than any compliment he could say out loud. Also, he looked very funny with the fake beard. Without the beard and the hair though, the costume was a perfect fit. She wondered if he was planning on using his powers just to make it more authentic...

>>“Yeah, on duty as a volunteer. We’re pretty much just here to make sure things don’t get too crazy. But thankfully, that means I can parade around in this ridiculous getup with people I know.”

Gemma chuckled.

"It's a Halloween party, Jorge. The more ridiculous you look, the better." she said "Besides this one is not that bad. Looks good on you. Well, except for this" she saig with a grin, tugging on his beard "Who came up with the idea that Neptune is supposed to look like Santa?"

>>“So, care to dine with a god, tonight?”

"That sounds like a great honor for a mortal queen" she smiled.

Faye watched and tried to bite down the giggle as Lance tried to wave down a cab with his robed arms, in truth he looked a little bit special at that moment in time but recovered it well when he held the door open for her.

She offered her thanks and hid the smile as the cab driver called him Friar Tuck.
In an attempt to get to know Lance a bit more she asked him about his costume, apparently a jedi was like a police/knight in the future but in the past.
It was from a movie called Star Wars which upon her asking Lance told her it was about a princess being captured and two knights Jedi, a Pirate, an 8ft dog that can’t speak and two robots going to rescue her.
That was cool, what women didn’t like being rescued and apparently Harrison ford, omg Lush!, was in it so Faye said that she would watch it sometime with him which she think he liked.

They had to get out and walk the last block or so as the streets where rammed but there was plenty of other peoples costumes to watch and Lance pointed out some little kids dressed as princess and one of the robots from Star Wars. They were so cute she had to bite her lower lip to avoid letting out a little squee.

>>>”So, what do you want to try out first?” asked Lance as they entered the section of central part layed out as the Madness part of the event. It was like a creepy carnival full of rides and those old timey freak show booths, and people jumping out from behind trees dressed as demented carnies.
Faye held Lances hand and moved closer pretending to be all scared and screaming out when they jumped out behind obvious hiding places.

“Lets get a picture done!” cried Faye, pointing at a stall where people where getting pictures taken with old-timey black and white cameras.
Faye paid and left there address so they could be sent a couple of copies of the pictures when they got developed and she and Lance jumped up on the little platform.

“Why don’t you kids hold hands and face each other?” offered the photographer.
Faye moved to the side and faced Lance holding both his hands.

“That’s nice! I’ll take the picture in 3…2…1”

When the man called one Faye lent in a kissed Lance on the lips, lingering for a couple of seconds before pulling away leaving a slight taste of cherry on his lips and a look of surprise on his face.

Faye grinned, “ Let’s go get a drink, Over…” she wavered searching for the right stall, yes that one where the staff were too rushed to be bothered carding “…there” she finished.
Five minutes,12 bucks lighter andeach grasping a bottle of beer they headed off to grab some food at a stall where they found themselves in a queue behind some guy dressed up like Ariel’s dad and a woman with a white dress and too much jewellery.

Faye found her hearing getting dulled and her ears popping, was it too loud and her enhanced hearing was compensating?
Hang on, Wait. this has happened before remember. And you know that voice. Nah, no wait yeah. Yeah I do. Somebody at the school? Oh fudge.

Faye turned to Lance whispering “Quick hide the beer up your sleeves before she turns around” Motioning at the backs of the people ahead of them. “Its Mamma T and I don’t need another talk”

>> "Who came up with the idea that Neptune is supposed to look like Santa?"

Jorge had jumped a little when she tugged on his beard but he could only chuckle in reply after she had done it. That was exactly how he was feeling after he had put on the whole costume. He knew a lot of the imagery of Neptune looked like this, but for the life of him, he could not figure out why. Why was Neptune, and many of the Greek gods, made to look like white-haired, long bearded gentlemen, akin to Santa Claus? He sighed as he shook his head and shrugged his shoulders to her question.

“Hey, it came with the costume,” he said with a smirk. “Besides, we can’t all look as good as you even in costume.”

He gave her a playful wink before he turned and led her towards the refreshment stands. Though Jorge was never really the type to go to parties like this, he had to admit that it was good to be with someone like Gemma, someone who could remind him that it was okay to have fun every once and while. So yes, maybe he was dressed in a rather silly costume, but it was good to take part in things like this, especially with someone he had started to care about.

Jorge smirked as he kept watching Gemma out of the corner of his eye and got in line for one of the stands that was selling disgusting sounding items, but in the midst of hunger, it was easy to over look the names just this once. He still could not get over how her costume and wondered if that was her original intention. Was that her choice or did she have help? Whatever the case may be, he was thankful for it.

“So you decide to come just to get a mental snapshot of me in this costume, or you here to keep an eye on any of the mansion kids? There’s a huge turn out here, I would be surprised if none decided to show up.” he asked as he glanced behind them at a pair of costumed people. He could already smell the alcohol in the air. Maybe he would have to flash his badge after all. So much for it being just a fun night.

The two of them moved deeper into the Madness Carnival zone. Faye held his hand and inched closer every time one of those demented clowns hopped out of their hiding places. The attempt to scare was a failure of course, except for the kids that would be startled and all. Lance was not sure whether Faye was really being frightened by the clowns, who were not really that scary to begin with, or taking the opportunity to get close. Why bother yourself with that? Just be thankful that someone like her is willing to get close to you... the inner voice rambled.

”Lets get a picture done!”

Faye’s sudden exclamation drowned whatever else his inner voice had said. Lance was half-dragged by his excited date to a stall where souvenir pictures were being taken. Before he could fish out his wallet to pay for the pictures, Faye had beaten him to it. After informing the festival staff where to send the pictures, the two of them hopped onto a small platform.

“Why don’t you kids hold hands and face each other?”

Taking her cue from the photographer Faye moved to the side and took both of Lance’s hands in hers. The scene was making the teen somewhat edgy. Hopefully his palms will not end-up sweaty as that will be a major turn off.

As his date faced him, Lance could not help but gaze upon Faye’s eyes. He smiled.

“That’s nice! I’ll take the picture in... 3... 2... 1!”

The flash of the camera glinted of Faye’s mesmerizing eyes that were suddenly only inches from Lance’s. His date had leaned-in on the last count and kissed him on the lips just as the camera flashed. Their lips remained lock for but a few seconds, but the sensation of it will forever leave its mark on Lance. The teen was stunned. His date had just stolen a kiss from him! Not that he didn’t mind being kissed by Faye, stolen or not... but, heck! He should have been the one doing it, not her.

His inner voice was having a field day.

Still lost in the moment, Lance simply followed Faye to a refreshment stall with too many customers and few employees. Faye made a quick purchase of two bottles of beer, and the two of them quickly moved to grab some solid food before enjoying the rest of the evening.

The pair found themselves at the tail end of a long queue of costumed individuals, waiting to buy food. While waiting for their turn to purchase their dinner, Lance kept drifting back to the “kiss stealing” that happened a while ago... the cherry flavored lipstick was indeed getting to him.

”Quick hide the beer up your sleeves before she turns around...”

The urgent whispered instruction from Faye brought Lance back to the present. His date was pointing at the backs of the two characters ahead of them in the line. It was the first time that Lance had a chance to observe the two. The man was dressed in a white tunic, or was that a robe? No, a toga... with green motifs and a golden trident. And the woman was wearing a white gown with a lot of gold embellishments.

”Its Mamma T and I don’t need another talk.”

Wait... Mama T? Not the Mama T, Xavier’s resident Guidance Counselor... Mama T? Lance went slightly pale at the thought. The last thing the teen wanted was the school Guidance Counselor ruining the evening for him and his date. And what did she mean by another talk? He wanted to ask Faye about it, but things were happening all of a sudden and the urgency in Faye’s voice left a sense of “act now, ask questions later”. Lance did as he was instructed; tucking the two beer bottles up the loose sleeves of his Jedi robe. But in his rush, the bottles clinked as he was tucking them up his left sleeve.

Lance hoped that the sound of clinking bottles would be drowned by the din of the carnival.

>>“Hey, it came with the costume. Besides, we can’t all look as good as you even in costume.”

Gemma smiled at the compliment, and smoothed down her dress. She was not really comfortable in it, and she had to constantly watch not to step on the skirts, but apparently it was worth the trouble.

>>“So you decide to come just to get a mental snapshot of me in this costume, or you here to keep an eye on any of the mansion kids? There’s a huge turn out here, I would be surprised if none decided to show up.”

"I'm keeping an eye on the kids" she nodded and smirked "Not like the snapshot wouldn't be worth it in itself." she added.

As if on cue, she heard familiar voices from somewhere behind them.

>>“...Its Mamma T and I don’t need another talk”

Oh yes. Was that familiar.

Turning around and pulling Jorge with her, she smiled a radiant smile at Faye and the boy she only knew from the files. Lance?... Maybe.

"Hi there, kids" she smiled "Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying the carnival?" she chose to ignore the guilty looks and the was the guy held his hands and arms. "Jorge, let me introduce you to some of my students. Faye, Lance, this is Detective Cervantes."

She let the title do the rest.

No no no nooooo, don’t turn around. Nothing to see here…
Time seemed to slow as Mama T dressed as Cleopatra and the guy dressed as Ariel’s dad turned around.

>>>"Hi there, kids. Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying the carnival?" Before Faye could answer her Mama T added "Jorge, let me introduce you to some of my students. Faye, Lance, this is Detective Cervantes."

“De-detective?” Oh sh*t she thought as she glanced at Lance, good he’d managed to get the beer up his sleeves, she hoped that none would leak out.
“I didn’t realise you were coming here miss, you on a date too?”
That’s it, stall. Stall like crazy till either she or Lance could think of something.

“Yeah the carnivals pretty cool, we were thinking of checking out the zoo soon weren’t we Lance” putting a little stress on the word soon.
“I just love animals” she said to Detective Cervantes “All of ‘em, Rabbits, Bears. You know... all of them” she finished weakly.

Change tack, Change tack!
“Ummm, so…. How come your dressed up as Ariel’s dad then?” she asked him.

“Whooa! Gemma wha…?” Jorge muttered as Gemma suddenly spun him around.

He had only gotten a brief glance of the kids when they first showed up behind them in line but he did not give them a second glance. Though he was going to start making that move when he suddenly caught the scent of alcohol in the air. Yes the carnival had its own adult only beverage vendors but it was close by. And he could see in front of them all that awaited was an older couple, each with a diet coke bottle in their hands and behind him, the two teenagers who had looked like they had been caught with their hands in a cookie jar.

>> "Jorge, let me introduce you to some of my students. Faye, Lance, this is Detective Cervantes."

She used the title. That means she is trying to scare some bejeezus into the two teens, which could only mean that that had to be the source of the alcohol smell. He nodded and gave them a slightly stern look, though it must have been hard to look serious through the fake beard and hair he wore, he knew it would work either way. His badge, which had been hanging around his neck under his robes flashed out briefly from when Gemma spun him. He did not bother to tuck it back inside. Instead he merely smiled as he glanced at Gemma, and then back to the two teens.

“Good evening to the both of you, having a good time?”

He remained quiet as he watched the girl, a blond as she started to ramble on about how much fun she was having about what things she wanted to see next. The boy was too quiet. He was definitely hiding something. The beer smell, though faint on the girl, Faye as Gemma called her, it was clear to him. Being a cop that is one of the smells you get used to and are able to easily identify.

“Ummm, so…. How come your dressed up as Ariel’s dad then?”

“All part of the costume. I’m supposed to be the roman god of the seas. Gemma here says that the beard makes me look like Santa Claus though,” Jorge said with a smirk and laughed heartily. He was just disarming enough until he stepped closer to them and whispered in a voice so that only Faye, Lance and Gemma could hear. “Which I guess is appropriate since I feel like being generous tonight. For example, if I were to catch two underaged teens drinking alcohol, instead of hauling their butts into the precinct as I normally would, I would instead inform them that if they dropped the bottles into the nearest trash can, the one over there for example,” he nodded to an open trashcan within his line of sight, “we could forgo all of that suffering and not ruining anyones night.” He smiled wide through the beard as he stood up straight and then glanced over at Lance, the kid with the overly large sleeves. “Catch my drift? Nice hermit costume by the way.”

Time seemed to slow down as Lance noticed Mama T turning towards their direction. Fear slowly crept in.Oh, great!

A quick glance to his date showed approximately the same reaction.

“Hi there, kids. Fancy meeting you here. Enjoying the carnival?”

Lance was about to answer Mama T’s question and exchange pleasantries with Xavier’s resident Guidance Counselor, whom he hasn’t met yet until now, when she dropped the bomb she held in her arm...

“Jorge, let me introduce you to some of my students. Faye, Lance, this is Detective Cervantes.”

Detective... Lance’s heart froze in sheer terror. The situation was quickly spiraling out of control. Not only was their school Guidance Counselor there but her date was a cop! The teen could have sworn that his left eye twitched at the mention of the word “Detective”.

Lance caught Faye’s quick glance towards his direction. He needed to think of a quick way out of this sticky situation before the two adults in front of them caught on.

Faye had begun to engage Mama T in idle chitchat... good. Maybe she can sufficiently divert their attention from his now damp left sleeve.

Don’t just stand there looking like the guilty criminal you are! the inner voice suddenly blurted out. Be man enough to accept whatever consequences come your way! Oh, and proper behavior always makes the sentence lighter.

Lance couldn’t make out what his inner voice was trying to tell him, but the last comment, at least, was clear.

So, putting on a smile, Lance looked at Mama T and her companion, ” So good to finally meet you, Ma’am.” the teen greeted the woman dressed as Cleopatra warmly, extending his free right hand. Then, turning to her companion, ”Officer...” he greeted the man dressed as Poseidon, or was that Neptune, similarly extending his free hand.

”Yeah the carnivals pretty cool, we were thinking of checking out the zoo soon weren’t we Lance.”

Lance caught his date’s subtle hint. The teen quickly nodded his head in agreement, ”Yup.”

” I just love animals... All of ‘em, Rabbits, Bears. You know... all of them... Ummm, so... How come your dressed up as Ariel’s dad then?”

Faye was rambling. Damn! Not good... Not good at all.

The Detective gamely answered Faye’s costume related question, but moved closer towards the end of his explanation... his next statement made Lance’s blood run cold.

”Which I guess is appropriate since I feel like being generous tonight. For example, if I were to catch two underaged teens drinking alcohol, instead of hauling their butts into the precinct as I normally would, I would instead inform them that if they dropped the bottles into the nearest trash can,” he nodded to an open trashcan within his line of sight, “we could forgo all of that suffering and not ruining anyones night. Catch my drift? Nice hermit costume by the way[/i].”[/color]

The way the Detective delivered his statement brooked no room for argument whatsoever. Though he was kind enough to deliver the order in the form of an example, and not directly naming Lance and Faye as the “underaged teens” in that statement.

On one side, Lance wanted to do as Detective Cervantes had suggested. But doing so would be an admission of the transgression that they had done... sadly, his pride will permit no such thing. And the officer’s last statement was like adding insult to injury. Ok, so it was adding insult to injury... Lance was tempted to dig his heels in, regardless of the consequences. He threw an irritated glance towards Faye.

You sure you wanna do that, kid? the inner voice asked in a mocking tone. He is a cop... and you? You’re a nobody.

Shut up! the teen shot back.

Okay then... But let me just remind you this, smart ass... You’re not the only one in this. Just look beside you... do you want her to be dragged along the hell hole you’re putting yourself into? Do you want Faye to suffer just because you allowed your high and mighty pride to dictate your actions? Think, kid... What will that make you, huh?

Lance took a long look at Faye. He had to admit, his inner voice had a point. Dragging her into the mess he will surely end up in was not an option.

Putting up a brave face, Lance took a meaningful look past Mama T and Detective Cervantes. The line had moved and there was now a considerable gap between the four of them and the last person on the queue. ”Uh... looks like we’re holding up the line.”

Hopefully Mama T and the Detective will get the hint and move on.

Once they do, he planned to leave the queue on the pretense of buying drinks for him and Faye. Then, dump the alcohols in a trash bin away from the scrutinizing eyes of the two adults. He still had to save face, one way or another.

How can something that started so beautifully, turn out to be so... like this?

The teen’s mood was beginning to get sour... What else could go wrong?

But for the time being, his first mission was to clandestinely get rid of the alcoholic evidences he held in his left hand, which was now beginning to feel numb from holding the cold beer bottles too long, and his left sleeve was also developing a pronounced water map from absorbing the moisture on the bottles.

Well, they have to suffer a little longer before he can relieve them of their illicit packages.

[/size]

Kate walked through the rows of booths and rides listening to her 'date' talk. It seemed to her that all he knew how to do was talk about himself, he had been doing nothing but since they left the mansion over an hour ago. Kate was normally a very polite person but she had stopped listening about 10 minutes ago out of self preservation. So, at the moment, she found herself looking around at the ghoulish attractions. She watched as a woman kiss her date as he won her a bear and a little girl drag her father over to a line for ice cream.

I wonder what Ice Cream taste like? I mean a lot of people seem to like it so it must be good?

"Kate?" The boy had finally noticed that she wasn't paying attention, "Kate?"

"Huh?" Kate turned to face him and saw him giving her a confused look that was most likely because she hadn't been paying attention to him, "Oh sorry. I wasn't exactly paying attention."

"I noticed." He seemed annoyed and she couldn't blame him, "Do you want to be here?"

"The truth is..." Kate didn't know how to tell him. She had said yes in the first place because she felt bad saying no. Now she felt horrible because the truth was she didn't want to be there. She would have rather gone out with someone she had known longer, like Andrew or Gawain. Though the former of the two would be preferred since she only understood about half of what Gawain said.

"Just spit it out please and save me the embarrassment." he looked at her expectantly.

"No, I don't really want to be here. I mean it's cold and over exaggeratedly silly. I'm not one for Halloween I don't think. Do you hate me terribly?"

"No," He smiled sadly at her, "If you wanted to say no you could have. You should never feel obligated to go out with someone. Do you want me to take you back to the Mansion?"

"If you wouldn't mind. Unless you really want to stay. I can call a car."

"I don't mind at all."

They turned and started walking toward the exit when Kate thought she heard a familiar voice yell her name. She turned to check and by the time she turned back her 'date' had disappeared into the crowd. She turned looking in every direction for him without success.

She walked forward and kept heading to the exit looking every which way to find the boy. He seemed to be no where to found. In her lack of attention to where she was going she banged right into a large mass covered in green fabric which she looked up and found was a man.

"Sorry I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."