White is for Virgins

Chapter 16

.EMERY'S POV.

"Pfffhaaaaahahahaahaa," Lily and I practically wheezed as we stared at the screen. White Chicks was hilarious, I found myself in love with the Wayans Brothers. I grabbed the bowl of candy we'd set aside for trick-or-treaters. We called it the Icky Bowl because we'd selfishly picked out all the good stuff and stashed it away for later. Lily pulled open the red front door, and I began to say 'Happy Halloween' before I realized the candy addicts weren't kids. They were tall guys – one look at the Scream guy made me jump.

"Trick or treat, smell my feet, gimme something good to eat," the guy behind the Hilary Clinton mask sang miserably. "If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear," the one behind the Scream mask finished in a high-pitched tone, moving forward with tempted hands. I found myself smiling, remembering how popular that song had been a couple years ago.

"Alright pedophiles," Lily muttered, "Reveal yourselves." The guys hesitated before pulling their masks off. Scream did it first. I rolled my eyes when a pair of emerald eyes met mine and a mop of white blonde hair appeared.

"Who's Hilary?" I asked curiously, leaning against the doorframe.

"None other than my wingman," Fox smirked, wrapping his arm around the guy's shoulders. He whipped the mask up, and Nick smiled sheepishly at me.

"One of these days, Fox, you're gonna regret all the shit you put me through," Nick threatened.

"No hard feelings, boo bear," Fox muttered, releasing Nick from his hold and crossing his arms over his broad shoulders. His feet were slightly spread out, and he had lifted his chin a little. He was inspecting me, and when I finally realized that the blush was inevitable.

"That's not something Teresa would wear," he observed, eyeing me up and down. I self-consciously crossed my arms over chest in an effort to hide my nonexistent cleavage. I suddenly felt naked; my hair wasn't in its usual curtain form around my face and on my shoulders. It was tied up in a high, perky ponytail.

"I decided to make tonight a 'sweatpants and tank top' night," I sighed. "That's not something Trisha would wear either." I nodded at his attire.

"But it scared you anyway," he smirked, "I figured since the outfit still had the same effect, I was good." I laughed, cursing myself on the inside.

"The only reason I jumped when I saw you was because we watched Scream earlier," I explained. He nodded, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. It was then that I averted my gaze to Lily, who was staring off into the night. I glanced at Nick, who was staring at his feet and clenching his jaw. A brilliant question popped into my mind.

"Why are you guys even here?" I asked finally. I narrowed my eyes as Fox looked over at Nick, whose black eyes are staring at the empty space between Lily and me. They stayed silent, so I pressed the matter. "Didn't you guys say you had dates tonight...?" I chuckled as I watched them continue to shift their weight uncomfortably. Hah! This was a good feeling... having the upper hand. I could definitely get use to this.

Nick cleared his throat. "Well obviously we're out together," he smirked.

"Dude, I'm straight," Fox objected, distancing himself from Nick. They both laughed, while Lily and I just stood there. So we really were rejected. Not because they had actual dates, but because they didn't want to be seen in public with us. Why did it hurt to realize that?

***

.FOX'S POV.

I kept looking over at Lily, who was biting her lip and sighing every now and then. Nick was staring at his feet. Loser. Emery was completely oblivious to their behavior, but the awkward silences were definitely there.

"Right," I said – sick of the silence, "Ladies, hand over the goods." Emery came to life, extending the purple bowl of candy to me. I grabbed a few handfuls and stuffed the candy into my backpack. I zipped it up, and slung it back over my shoulder.

"You're seriously trick-or-treating?" she smirked, tucking her dirty blonde bangs behind her left ear. They kept slipping out and into her face. I almost felt tempted to reach over and tuck them behind her ear myself. But I didn't, that would just creep her out.

"Why not?" I shrugged. I'd convinced Nick to go trick-or-treating with me because I was on a top-secret mission. One he was totally oblivious too. Since he lived a few houses down from Lily's, I figured we could just stop by unannounced. He hadn't been too fond of the idea, but I didn't really care. "Right, well we've got a long night ahead of us," I muttered after another painfully dull silence. "You guys enjoy yourselves, but not too much."

"Pshh, we'll do whatever we want," Emery said, uncrossing her arms. I gave her another once-over, and then returned my gaze to a safety zone before she caught me checking her out. There wasn't much to see, but she was a touchy person. "Happy Halloween," Lily said wickedly, "I hope your teeth rot from all that candy." And with that, they closed the door.

I smirked and shook my head as Nick and I walked back onto the sidewalk and continued down the street. Gotta love women.

"Dude, let's find some chicks," Nick muttered.

"I thought you were against infamous hookups," I said, making this difficult for him.

"Screw what I said before," Nick scoffed. "What about Tinkerbell over there?" He pointed to a glittery pixie looking blonde across the street.

"Dude, she is such a butterface," I disapproved.

"Butterface?"

"Yeah, everything is cute... but-her-face."

"Her face is the last thing I'm interested in," he said, ignoring my statement and walking over to her. He needed to let go of the past. Or face it...Which would start right after I had some fun with Tinkerbell's lovely friend, who was dressed as a sexy little nurse. Nick had definitely forgotten how to pick 'em.

***

.EMERY'S POV.

I sighed, blowing my bangs out of my eyes. Lily and I were in sleeping bags on her living room floor, where we not only had access to the kitchen and all of its yummy contents, but where were warmed by the fireplace. It was electric, so I could go to sleep without fear of setting on fire – which was great.

"So, what's the deal with Nick?" I asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Lily replied.

"He was really sketchy today," I murmured.

"He's always sketchy." So much for that conversation...

"Fox wants in your pants, Em," Lily said randomly.

"Umm..." I laughed nervously, "Where did that come from?"

"You guys are always flirting, and you spend so much time together. It's obvious he wants to get with you," she muttered. "Or he definitely wouldn't mind." I blushed and turned over, feigning a yawn in an effort to fall asleep and avoid this conversation.

"Well even if that were true Lil, it would never happen," I stated.

"Why not?"

"Because I wouldn't let it."

"I honestly think a girl like you would do him some good," she chuckled, "You would keep him in check."

"Um, what part of he's a wild, untamable animal do you not understand?" I smirked.

"Ouch, harsh much," Lily whistled.

"That's the way the cookie crumbles," I murmured coldly. And that conversation died quickly, too. I was sick of talking about Fox. I was sick of thinking about him. And what would happen if we ever did get together? Just thinking about it made me nervous. Which was stupid, because it's never gonna happen. Frustrated, I ate a Kit-Kat and then went to sleep. This was my first sleepover in about five years, and I didn't know what to think of it.