Halloween had come. Michael had somehow convinced me to dress up for the holiday, although I had about the laziest costume ever. I had just put on a black shirt and a black skirt and wore a pointed witches hat. Well, ta-da, I thought as I looked in the mirror.

  Michael decided to be as ironic as possible and dressed as, you guessed it, a vampire. He used gel to slick his hair back and wore a black cape with red lining. He even committed to the bit with plastic fangs.

  I tried not to roll my eyes when he came out of the bathroom in his full getup this morning. He was just happy that I participated at all. This was one holiday I could usually get behind, even if I usually skipped dressing up.

  Some of the employees brought their kids to work to trick or treat their co-workers. We all had bags of candy to hand out as little kids would randomly come up.

  “Trick or treat!” a little girl in a princess costume yelled, her pink dress sparkly and a tiara on her head.

  I gave her a candy, saying, “Happy Halloween,” as she skipped to Michael’s side of the desk. She petitioned him the same way and received another piece of candy. She reminded me of the little girl at the Ren Faire with her pink dress.

  Cowboys, superheroes, animals and others all came through the office, the entire floor abuzz with activity. I already knew I couldn't get much work done in an environment like this, but it was one day out of the year. Even my inner grouch cracked a smile whenever I saw the excitement of the holiday in the kids’ eyes.

  A high-pitched, “Woah,” quickly followed by a thud and a wail happened right outside Trevor’s office. A child was running and had run full force into the side of someone’s desk, their forehead at level with the edge of the desk.

  I was too busy trying to see what happened to notice Michael go unnaturally still behind me. “Drew,” he said, trying to get my attention. “Drew!” he tried again, this time with success.

  I noticed his darkened eyes and knew that the injury had drawn blood. I grabbed his hand and started toward the elevator.

  “Drew!” I stopped and looked at him. His eyes were already starting to turn back to their original green.

  “What?” I asked, panting from the rush.

  “I think I’ll be okay, I just needed you to know that I had noticed, just in case. You acted fast.” He looked at our hands, still held together. I let go, but he didn’t. He held my hand a moment longer before dropping it. I looked at him, confused. He just started walking back to the desk.

  I don’t know what to think. Michael might be my best friend, but at times he feels like something more. But I’m so scared to lose him. He used to be little more than the office idiot. How did things change so much?

  I followed after him, my mind full of questions and my heart confused.

  ? ?? ?

  After work, Michael and I gave out candy at the apartment. We were visited by several trick or treaters. It was easier to sit with the apartment door open with the bowl of candy instead of opening the door over and over. I sat there with the bowl on my lap, my witches hat on to stay on theme.

  It didn’t take long for my supply of candy to dwindle, and then the bowl was empty. I wrote on a paper with a Sharpie ‘Out of Candy’ and taped it to my door. I closed the door, locking it with a snick.

  Michael was sitting at the table. “Wanna watch a scary movie? I’m sure there are plenty of options, being Halloween and all.”

  I consented, heading toward the kitchen. “Popcorn and M&Ms?”

  A sarcastic, “Duh,” was the reply I got. “I’m going to see what’s available.” He went to the bedroom, turning on the TV. He sat on the bed, scrolling through titles as I popped the corn and pulled out the M&Ms.

  With snacks in hand, I sat next to Michael on the bed. “How about this one?” He clicked on a title, pulling up its synopsis. It was a vampire flick, given its rating for blood and gore, thematic events, and so on.

  I chuckled that he had picked a vampire movie, but agreed. Even though I didn’t think I’d get scared, I was still glad that Michael was here to watch it with me. We started the movie, settling in with our snackage.

  It was well made for a film, even if they got so much wrong about vampires. Turning into bats? Come on, that’s just silly. But the creepy music was definitely on point. It was the only reason the movie was scary.

  I could still hear the theremin and screeching violins after the movie was done. I could hear the music as I got dressed for bed, as I brushed my teeth, as I washed my face. It was eerie and disconcerting. Whoever was in charge of the music for the movie had done too well.

  “Hey Michael, what did you think of the movie?”

  “Good overall, but so inaccurate. The actors did well, I thought, despite that. What did you think?”

  “Same, but the creepy music is stuck in my head. It’s like I have my own boss music in my head right now and I don’t like it.”

  Michael’s brows knit together and he gave a chuckle, “Really? That sucks. I didn’t really think about the music honestly.” He put a hand in his pants pocket. Though he hardly needed sleep, the plaid pants made him look more human. “Wanna listen to some music for a bit before you try to go to bed? I’ve got an idea.”

  Curious, I agreed. What was his idea? He pulled up a song, refusing to let me see the title or the artist.

  “Wait, is this Weird Al?” He smiled and nodded. I laughed, “I haven’t heard any of his stuff in years! Probably since high school. I imagine he’s got a lot more stuff out since then.”

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  He sang along to some of the songs, exaggerating his facial expressions as he did so, making me laugh harder. The flood of music helped to wash away the volume of the creepy sounds in my head, muting them to a vague, dull sound in the far back of my mind.

  I wanted to stay like this longer, but I knew that if I didn’t get enough sleep, my work tomorrow would suffer for it. “Thank you, Michael. That helped a ton. I almost forgot why we even started listening to this stuff in the first place.”

  He gave me a smile, his teeth gleaming. His teeth were distractingly straight and white, his lips soft and unexpectedly… beautiful.

  What’s that?

  I had never noticed there was a small birthmark on the right side of his bottom lip…

  “What’re you looking at, Drew? Is there something on my face?”

  Embarrassing, I had been staring again. “No! No, nothing on your face. I was just lost in thought, sorry.”

  He gazed down at me. “What were you thinking about?”

  About how soft those lips looked, wondering how it would feel to run my thumb along them. About how they might taste. I blushed at my inner thoughts.

  “I don’t remember anymore, it must’ve not been very important.”

  No way would I tell him what I was really thinking. When had I started looking at Michael like this? I used to hate him, but now? I didn’t know what I felt now, but it definitely was not negative.

  I got up, using the popcorn bowl as an excuse. I went to the kitchen, pouring the remaining kernels into the garbage can. I decided to hand wash the bowl, needing more time to calm down my racing head.

  He’s not just my trainee anymore. He’s… more. Closer. If we… kissed, would everything break? If he knew how I felt, would he still look at me the same?

  I rinsed the bowl, using the sprayer attachment on the sink.

  Behind me I heard, “Are you okay?”

  I jumped, turning, but I was still holding the sprayer. I sprayed water all over Michael and the floor.

  He took a surprised step back, his foot slipping in a puddle.

  Shit! Help him!

  I dropped the sprayer, lunging to catch him – too late. His feet went out from under him, and I tumbled after, landing squarely on his chest.

  I gasped for breath, trying to figure out what happened.

  His shirt was soaked, his muscles shown in stark relief – his chest solid, his stomach toned. He began to sit up on his elbows, but I was still on top of him.

  I looked up only to find his face right in front of mine. Those green eyes were brilliant, the depth like a forest you could wander forever. I looked away from his eyes only to look back at the birthmark on his lip.

  We didn’t move. He just watched me, quiet, patient. It scared me – how easy it was to imagine leaning in.

  One of his hands came up to brush the hair from my face. He seemed to be studying me as much as I was him.

  The world stopped. Everything in the apartment was still, including us. I looked into his eyes, seeing a question there.

  No, too close, I’m not ready.

  I backed away from his hand, careful as I got off of him, our eyes locked. I offered a hand up and he took it. In his eyes I read a mix of emotions – acceptance, disappointment, and…

  I broke the spell, looking anywhere but at him. I grabbed the hand towel to wipe up the mess on the floor, kneeling down to wipe up everything.

  The silence was so incredibly awkward you could cut the tension like a knife through butter. I couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Sorry about spraying you, you surprised me when you spoke up behind me.”

  He looked down at himself, all wet. He peeled his soaked shirt away and cleared his throat. “It was my fault. I just need to switch to dry clothes, no big deal.” He rushed over to his bag, swiftly retrieving said clothes and sprinting to the bathroom.

  I slapped my forehead, deserving the mark it left.

  What the hell, Drew? You almost kissed him! Seriously? You’ve already let him in more than anybody else, do you really want to ruin the friendship you have now? It’s been years since you’ve had anyone you could even call a friend. Don’t be dumb and ruin one of the only friendships you have just because he makes your heart pound. Do you want to be alone again? No… But… Grr…

  My mind kept whirling as I went to the sink, dampening my hands with cold water to splash on my cheeks. My skin calmed some, but not the heat underneath. Nothing I could do, even if I hated it. I dried my face and took calming breaths, trying to get the blush to subside. Soon Michael was out of the bathroom, his wet clothes in hand.

  “I’ll, uh, just put these in the dryer,” he said, heading straight for it. Why did the washer have to be in the kitchen – why did the kitchen have to again be the scene of my humiliation? He walked past me, his arm brushing mine as he passed. A jolt ran through me as goosebumps prickled my skin.

  I sped from the kitchen, the space suddenly way too small.

  “I think I’m going to head to bed now, I don’t want to be useless in the morning.” I headed to my room.

  Michael’s voice slowed me. “Drew, are you okay?”

  No.

  “Yeah, are you?”

  His response was slightly delayed. “Yeah.”

  I nodded, not knowing how else to respond, then I turned back towards my room.

  As I laid in my bed, I could’ve sworn I heard screeching violins, hiding in the shadows. I shut my eyes, but the darkness was not kind tonight.

  ? ?? ?

  Creepy boss music hummed in the background as I walked. I kept looking around, trying to figure out where it was coming from. I had to make it stop. I started running. I didn’t even know where I was going, I just had to get away from that music.

  “Ms. Nelson,” I heard behind me and I whirled around. Nikola was standing right behind me. He grabbed my hair just like before, tilting my head back and exposing my throat. He grabbed both of my hands in one of his behind my back. He licked a trail along my neck, along the pumping vein. “This will only take a moment…”

  I sat up, a scream in my throat. It choked off as I took in the room. My bedroom. I was at home. A man was in my doorway, then. My stomach dropped. I thought I would vomit.

  “Are you alright?” His voice was soft, as if he didn’t dare to speak louder. His voice was soft and familiar.

  “Michael?” My voice shook but I needed to know that it was him. “Is that you?”

  He stepped into the room, “Yeah, it's just me, Drew.” He stopped. “Do you want me to come closer?”

  I wasn’t sure. The dream still felt too vivid, too real. “Yeah,” my voice cracked.

  He was by my side in less than a moment, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side.

  The tears came. I didn’t want to cry, but that nightmare… Every nightmare with Nikola. They reminded me of how tenuous my safety actually was. I couldn’t help the shaking in my body as I began to cry in earnest.

  His other arm looped under my legs, picking me up and settling me on his lap.

  “You’re safe, it was just a dream. You’re at home. I’m here, you’re not alone. You’re safe.”

  Michael continued to whisper as he stroked my hair. I began to calm down after a few minutes. Soon enough, my crying had turned into shuddering breaths as I tried to calm my body down.

  “I’m so tired of these nightmares.” I sniffled, accepting the proffered tissue to clean my nose.

  Michael rubbed my back as if to say I know.

  “Antun is using all the resources he has to try to find Nikola. I’m sure something will turn up soon.”

  I tried to have faith in that, that something would come up. I didn’t know what we’d do once we found him. I hoped that Antun and Michael together would be enough to overpower him should the need arise.

  I was so tired of always feeling scared. I wanted this to be over. ‘This’ as in all the Nikola stuff. But once all of that was resolved, Michael would leave. Was I ready for that?

  How did I come to trust this man so much? Months ago, I wouldn’t have trusted him with anything. Now, he’s sleeping under my roof.

  As I sat with him, his arms around me, I felt safer. I didn’t want him to leave, I realized. But… oh, it was all so confusing. I continued to calm down, enough so that Michael helped me up. He offered to stay next to me until I fell asleep.

  I didn’t care if it made me feel like a child, I said yes. I somehow went from not trusting anyone to trusting him.

  He held my hand as I began to drift off in the dark, the coolness of his fingers contrasting with the warmth of my own. His cool fingers wrapped around mine like a promise I didn’t dare ask for. I fell asleep holding onto that promise anyway.

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