Part 1It was the time of year when the world seemed to be on fire; the trees, grasses, and plants having turned from their cheery greens into bright, blazing reds, oranges, and browns. The air was thick with the holiday spirit; Halloween was close at hand. As a matter of fact, it was only days away.
The Koji Residence was in the middle of its seasonal makeover. Mia was quite insistent on having a Halloween party this year, so the guys were put to work turning the cute lakeside home into a creepy, haunted-looking abbey. All preparations were almost complete, when Mia noticed no one was readying their costumes.
"You guys have to wear costumes. No buts about it." Mia would say, stomp her feet and cross her arms. Honestly, sometimes it was preferable to go up against a hundred Dynasty soldiers than to argue with Mia. So, risking only slight scrapes to their dignities and egos, the boys sat down and discussed costumes.
"I dunno, I’ll probably just hang out and play video games upstairs the whole time. I don’t know too many people that actually celebrate Halloween, ya know? It’s really just a kid’s holiday. Though, the truck loads of candy part isn’t that bad." Kento said, leaning back on the sofa. The other four guys shrugged, Rowen shook his head.
"I’ll admit some parts are kinda hokey, like trick-or-treating, but I’ve always thought it was fun to not know who anybody is behind their masks." He said and smiled. Sage grinned and leaned over.
"I’d know it was you no matter how much make-up you put on." Sage whispered. A few seats away, Ryo rolled his eyes. Cye suddenly snapped his fingers, bringing about everyone’s attention.
"That’s a great idea, Rowen!" Rowen looked a little confused. "We should dress up like those old day revelers. You know what I’m talking about, right?" Silence. Cye rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! You know, a reveler’s outfit is a simple black cloak. His or her face is hidden by a very detailed mask, making sure to hide everything, like, hair, skin, sometimes even the mouth. The only thing the mask doesn’t hide is the person’s eyes. At the end of the party, or Masquerade as it’s usually known when revelers are involved, everyone takes off their masks. The point is to surprise and confuse your friends." Cye explained, then sat back. He awaited the reaction from his friends about his idea.
A light of understanding lit Rowen’s eyes, as if he suddenly just understood what Cye had been talking about. He, Sage, and Ryo all agreed that a Masque would be a fun idea; Kento still said he probably would just hang out upstairs. Either way, the idea was accepted and Cye went off to go explain it to Mia who was, of course, enthralled with the whole concept.
"Now all we have to do is find enough long, black cloaks for all of us and keep each of our special masks a secret from everyone else." Cye said, returning with Mia at his side. Mia clapped her hands.
"I know where I can pick up a whole bunch! There’s this great store downtown that specializes in costumes for plays and…" Mia went on. She walked back out of the room with Cye and Kento at her side, apparently determined to get started at that very moment with the new Masquerade idea. Sage chuckled as he watched the three head outside towards the jeep, the two males obviously being dragged along.
"I think I’ll go with those three. You never know what Mia might try to buy next." Sage said with a smile. Waving, he jumped down the front steps just in time before the jeep pulled out. Ryo turned his head and looked at Rowen.
"A Masque does kinda sound like a bit of fun, you know? But won’t it be obvious who each of us are? I mean, come on, I’m well…short." Ryo said, smirking. Rowen laughed.
"That’s easily fixed, bud! The ‘cloaks’ are actually more like robes; they cover the entire body, except for the head. You can try wearing tall shoes and we probably won’t be able to tell the difference." Rowen said. Ryo grinned slyly over at him.
"You know, I just got the craziest idea…" Ryo started. Rowen tilted his head to the side.
"Oh? What do you plan to do?" Rowen asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice. Ryo forced a look of complete innocence. It looked strange on him.
"Nothing! Well, almost nothing. Actually…hmm." Ryo’s smile widened. "Rowen, how ‘bout you and me team up for a bit of good ol’ Halloween trickery?" Ryo asked. Rowen was definitely suspicious now.
"What is going on in that twisted head of yours?" Rowen asked. Ryo chuckled.
"Here’s the deal. When we all get set on creating our masks, you and me show each other ours. That way, we know who we are. I’m sure you’ll somehow find out what Sage’s mask looks like." Ryo said that a little too sarcastically. Rowen smirked. "Anyway, you ‘leak’ to Sage what your mask looks like. So far, you and me will know what Sage and we look like, but Sage only knows what he and you look like. Following?" Ryo asked. Rowen nodded. "Good. Here’s the fun part. You and me switch masks." At this, Rowen scowled.
"What’s the point of that?" He asked. Ryo smiled innocently.
"I’m getting to that. If you remember, Sage told you that he’d know you no matter how much make-up you wear. Wanna see if that’s true?" Ryo asked. Rowen’s eyes widened.
"You want me to trick Sage? You want to switch places just to see if Sage could tell the difference between you and me? It’s a doomed experiment. Sage would see through that." Rowen shook his head and crossed his arms. Ryo smirked and raised an eyebrow.
"Really? Then, why so upset?" Ryo asked. Rowen scowled.
"Sage would be able to tell you aren’t me. He knows me." Rowen grumbled. Ryo placed a hand on Rowen’s shoulder.
"Then you have nothing to worry about. Unless, for some reason, you think Sage wouldn’t be able to tell the difference…" Ryo said, letting the thought dangle. Rowen shrugged off Ryo’s hand and he stood.
"I have nothing to worry about. I’m not a sneaky type of guy, like you." Rowen said and stormed out of the room. He headed upstairs to his room, angry.
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Part 2All through dinner that night, Rowen kept watching Sage. He was haunted by the idea that Sage may in fact not know who he was if he was wearing a costume. Would he really think Ryo was him if he was simply wearing his mask? It couldn’t be true. It couldn’t! There were so many differences between him and Ryo. Didn’t he have a certain smell, a certain feel? Sage did. Does Sage even notice those small things? Damn.
"Rowen, are you okay? You look a little spaced out." Cye asked as Rowen helped him clear the table. Rowen shook his head.
"I guess I’m just not feeling very well right now…" Rowen mumbled. Cye smiled and took the stack of plates from Rowen’s hands.
"Then go upstairs and lie down a while. I’ll finish in here." Rowen smiled his thanks and headed out the kitchen. He deliberately ignored Sage as he walked over to the staircase. Sage followed him with his eyes, which looked a little sad.
When Rowen reached his room, he slumped onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He was feeling too much like blah to even flick off the light. He heard his door click open and he knew it was Sage. He pretended to be asleep. Stupid, didn’t he just see Sage not two minutes ago? Ugh.
"Rowen, is something wrong?" Sage asked. Rowen squeezed his eyes shut. Sage walked over to Rowen and kneeled down next to him. Rowen sharply breathed in when he felt Sage softly caress his shoulders. It felt nice, but he wanted to shrug Sage off badly right now. Instead, he rolled over onto his side and looked Sage straight into his eyes. He sighed painfully.
"Nothing’s wrong, Sage. Just not feeling great right now. I think I just need sleep. Could you turn off the light?" Rowen asked and turned over onto his other side, his back facing Sage. Sage looked a little curious, a little worried, but he turned the light off anyway.
"You shouldn’t wear jeans to bed. Sleep tight." Sage whispered and lightly kissed Rowen. Rowen couldn’t help but smile. He turned over again real quick and pulled Sage in closer. He gave him a nice, long kiss, breathing him in as deeply as he could. Sage pulled away gently and turned to leave.
"Good night, Sage. Love you." Rowen whispered. Sage turned his head quickly and smiled warmly.
"Love you, too. ‘Night." Sage said and quietly exited. Rowen turned over and hugged his pillow.
It was only a little while after Sage had tucked Rowen in that he joined him. Rowen couldn’t seem to drift off, but Sage fell asleep almost immediately. He was sleeping soundly, but every time Rowen faced Sage, he felt a sharp tugging pain in his gut. He had to know how well Sage really knew him. If he didn’t, the questions would drive him insane.
The digital clock glowed a menacing 3:30 a.m. Rowen sighed and wrapped his arms around Sage. He didn’t really want to trick Sage, but it may be the only way he’d find anything out. Rowen decided he would join Ryo in his little prank. Hey, if Sage catches them, it’ll prove Rowen had nothing to worry about. Until then, no sleep for Rowen.
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"Whoa, what side of the bed did you wake up on, Row?" Ryo asked when he met the lone boy at the breakfast table. Rowen glowered up at Ryo."You can’t wake up if you didn’t get any sleep." Rowen grumbled. Ryo smiled and grabbed a pear from the kitchen. Rowen took a deep breath and sat up straight. "Ryo…" Rowen began. Ryo re-appeared in the dining room and took a seat next to Rowen.
"Yeah?" Ryo asked, biting into his fruit. Rowen bit his lip.
"I think we should go through with your plan…"
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Part 3In some places, it was called Devil’s Night. Some paranoid people in other places started calling it Angel’s Night, thinking the name would put a stop to the rampant trick playing. Regardless, it was the day before Halloween and Rowen’s stomach was doing flip-flops.
So far, everything was going smoothly. Rowen’s mask was a pale blue, marble-looking man-in-the-moon, the mouth uncovered. Sage was going to wear a simple white Phantom of the Opera type mask, one that covers only half the face, leaving the mouth uncovered. Ryo was going in a full horned devil mask. It was probable that a lot of people would show up as horned demons, but Rowen’s photographic memory wouldn’t fail him.
Rowen let Sage learn what he was going to wear and Sage let him know likewise. Rowen then told Ryo, all the while feeling like he was somehow betraying Sage’s trust. But, it wasn’t that big a deal. It was only a little Halloween party, after all.
All day Rowen seemed only half awake. He was watching the clock, a sure sign that something was up. Ryo took notice real quick.
"Rowen, knock it off." Ryo muttered at Rowen when he caught him staring at the living room clock at five in the afternoon. Rowen’s head snapped up, almost as if Ryo’s voice had shocked him.
"What? What am I doing?" Rowen asked, looking around. Ryo sighed and sat next to Rowen.
"Man, you’ve been watching the seconds tick by all day. Is there something bothering you?" Ryo asked. Rowen smirked.
"You of all people should know." Rowen grumbled. Ryo smiled slyly.
"Second thoughts about tomorrow? I wouldn’t think any less of you if you chickened out this early in the game." Ryo said. Rowen bit his lip.
"I’m not having second thoughts! Now, buzz off. I don’t want to talk." Rowen muttered harshly. Ryo stood up and wandered out. Rowen sighed.
‘Just a little longer. Damn, why does time move so frickin’ slow?!’ Rowen thought to himself.
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Halloween. The black robes were actually pretty comfortable considering they looked like they were made of wool. Rowen looked absolutely horrible, and this was before he put on his mask. He had dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep and his stomach felt like it was still performing a three-ring circus. His hands kept slipping up every time he tried to tie the leather band of his mask behind his head. He eventually just had to stop and ask for Sage’s help."Are you all right? You look a little queasy." Sage said as he helped arrange Rowen’s hair so it wouldn’t show outside his hood. Sage had done a pretty good job with his own mask. It was a little difficult telling it was Sage, but Rowen knew by the look in his eyes and the way that he stood that he was Sage. This just made Rowen feel a little bit worse.
"I’ll be fine. I’ve just been snacking on Skittles all day. I don’t think I’m gonna get to sleep for a while." Rowen smiled. Sage grinned. Rowen knew that was Sage’s grin. He wondered if Sage knew Rowen’s smile...
"Well, let’s get downstairs. Happy Halloween!" Sage laughed and opened the door. The banister had been covered in fake spider webs and Cye had been thoughtful enough to add a few fake spiders to make it more "realistic".
Sage walked out ahead of Rowen and already began to mingle with the guests, which were more or less some close friends and relatives. Rowen thought he saw his mom over in the living room, but that didn’t matter right now. He went to work immediately to find Ryo. He was out on the backyard patio, alone. He was waiting for Rowen.
"When do we make the switch?" Rowen asked as he walked up behind Ryo. Ryo turned around and lifted his mask. He was smiling.
"In a couple of minutes. I want everything to seem normal. We shouldn’t rush anything." Ryo said. He looked a little jittery. Rowen guessed that was a good thing, since he knew he was acting just like that. If they wanted to pull this off, they’d have to pay attention to detail. That just brought an interesting thought to Rowen: How did Ryo get so tall? He was exactly Rowen’s height. He was about to ask when he remembered telling Ryo about "tall shoes". He took a quick, deep breath and undid his mask.
"We should trade masks now. You never know when someone might walk out here." Rowen said and handed over his man-in-the-moon. Ryo grinned and handed Rowen his demon face. Unlike Rowen, Ryo had no problem tying the leather band around his head. Rowen was glad Ryo had had an easy mask; all he had to do was slip it on.
"Come here, your hair is sticking out." Ryo said and he helped Rowen with his hair, just as Sage had done only moments before. Ryo didn’t need any help; he seemed to know how to wear masks.
It was strange; Rowen always considered himself to be kinda pale and Ryo to be pretty tan. But, in the moonlight, the skin difference wasn’t noticeable. Rowen secretly wished, however, that Sage’s eyes were keener than normal and that he’d be able to spot it.
"Target is in sight…" Ryo muttered. Rowen turned around and saw Sage walk out onto the upper balcony right above them. He suddenly got this overwhelming urge to shout out to him that he looked beautiful, but he restrained himself. He was going to have to if everything was going to work right.
"Okay, I’m gonna head up there. He seems to be alone. You follow me, but at a distance." Ryo said from beneath Rowen’s mask. Rowen tore his eyes away from Sage and nodded to Ryo. Ryo smiled. "Let’s go."
The trip upstairs was almost impossible. Rowen’s feet felt like they were being weighed down and it took so much of his strength just to climb a few steps.
‘The moment of truth…’ Rowen thought as they neared the middle room in the upstairs hall; Ryo’s room. It was the only one with a balcony. Sure enough, Sage was sitting out there, alone.
Rowen silently moved forward and hid himself right behind the shadowy glass door. He watched as Ryo steadied himself then walked out to meet up with Sage. As Ryo stepped out, Sage looked up.
"Oh, hi Rowen. Like the party?" Sage asked. Rowen’s stomach gave a sharp tug.
‘Give him time. He’ll notice. He’ll notice it isn’t me.’ Rowen thought, gripping his robes tight around him. He saw Ryo give a nod then sit next to Sage. He heard Sage sigh.
"Rowen, I’ve got this funny feeling that you’re mad at me. Are you?" Sage asked and turned to face Ryo. Rowen bit his lip. Ryo shook his head. Sage tilted his head up and looked at the starry sky, his face illuminated by the full moon. Rowen thought he looked positively angelic.
"It’s just that you seem to be acting cold towards me. And now you aren't talking..." Sage said. Here, Rowen noticed Ryo pause.
'Damn. He doesn't know what to do...' Rowen thought, panicked. He felt as if he should just walk out there and stop everything. He wanted badly to call the whole thing off. But, he knew if he did, Ryo would never let him live it down. Taking a deep breath, Rowen sat still.
Sage turned his face back and looked at Ryo. He lifted his hand and lightly touched Rowen's mask, just under the right eye. Rowen's heart practically tried to break its way out of his chest. He knew what Sage was about to do; he was going to kiss Ryo.
Rowen gripped the edge of the glass door to steady himself. He practically had one foot out the door already. He didn't care how long or how badly Ryo would bother him; anything was better than watching the guy he loved so dearly kiss someone other than he.
Ryo appeared to try to back off, but Sage had one arm around his shoulders already. Ryo threw a helpless sort of look over at Rowen. Rowen understood; Ryo had absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing or what the hell he should do. Apparently unlike Rowen, Ryo wasn't as eager to let the curtain fall this early.
'I'm not just gonna sit by and let this happen...' Rowen thought angrily and he stood up from his hiding spot. He moved around the door and began to walk outside, but he was a little too late to stop Sage. There was Rowen's Angel, kissing a wide-eyed Ryo in sheep's clothing.
Rowen felt as if all his insides were just jerked out of him. He dropped to his knees, Ryo’s mask falling off. He was having trouble breathing. He felt like he should cry, or punch something at least.
Sage opened his eyes and looked over at Rowen, not six feet away. Shocked, he pulled sharply away from Ryo and tripped over his seat as he rushed to stand and head over to Rowen at the same time.
"What the hell?! Rowen?!" Sage asked, falling to his knees right in front of Rowen. He turned his head back over his shoulder, glaring at Ryo. "Then, who the hell is that?!" Sage shouted. Slowly, Ryo dropped his hood and undid Rowen’s mask. His eyes were full of sympathy.
"I'm sorry. I didn’t mean for anything to go that far. I just thought it’d be fun to play a little joke, nothing to cause any harm. I’m really sorry." Ryo apologized, shaking his head. Sage was infuriated. He turned his gaze back on Rowen, who had his eyes closed, his neck bent downwards.
"Why? Did you think this would be funny or something, Rowen? Well, you don't seem to be laughing." Sage hissed, his voice dripping with spite. Rowen squeezed his eyes shut.
"I...I didn't do it...for the same reason as Ryo..." Rowen wheezed. Sage scowled at him, apparently not understanding.
"Then what did you do it for?" Sage asked, a touch softer. Rowen took a deep breath, but he still couldn’t bring himself to look at Sage.
"I wanted to know if you knew who I was, even if I didn't look like myself. I honestly thought you would. I mean, I could go blind, but I'd always know who you were." Rowen slowly lifted his eyes to meet Sage's, which were surprisingly soft and sad, not mad or cold. It was very difficult to look at him. "But...you didn't know. You don't, do you? You don’t really know who I am..." Rowen whispered just loud enough so Sage could hear him.
"Rowen..." Sage began. Unsure of himself, he carefully placed a hand on Rowen's shoulder. "Rowen, you're right. Maybe I don't really know who you are. These past couple of days I wasn't sure who you were at all. You acted almost as if you didn't want me anymore. I almost convinced myself that was true." Rowen's head snapped up, his eyes full of shock.
"You can't be serious!" Rowen said. Sage smiled.
"Almost. You have been acting funny." Sage said. Rowen nodded. Placing his hands on the cold floor, he pushed himself up onto his feet, Sage rising with him. They practically forgot Ryo was still behind them.
"I think I’ll just leave you two alone..." Ryo whispered to himself and he sidestepped the two. Sage glared at Ryo out of the corner of his eye, but he just let him pass. He made a mental note to deal with him later.
Rowen had walked up to the edge of the balcony, having forgotten the devil mask on the floor, and leaned against the ledge, gazing up into the sky. Sage slipped off his mask and joined Rowen. He wrapped his arms around him, nuzzling his face into Rowen’s neck.
"You know, you scared the hell out of me. Here I was, kissing who I thought was you, and there I see you, practically collapsed on the floor a couple of feet away." Sage whispered into Rowen’s ear. Rowen chuckled. "But, you should have seen yourself. It looked like you had just swallowed an entire barrel of hemlock. Did I really scare you as much as you did me?" Sage asked. Rowen bit his lip and turned to look Sage straight in the face.
"When I saw you kiss Ryo, I thought everything had just been ripped away from me. Everything." Rowen said, lifting his hand and caressing Sage’s ear. "Well, almost everything. I could still feel my heart, because it had been torn to shreds and the pieces were stabbing me on the inside." Sage chuckled this time.
"You big softie…" Sage smiled and leaned in close. His lips were barely touching Rowen’s skin, just at the side of his mouth. Rowen licked his lips and hugged Sage closer to him. He breathed him in deeply and sighed happily.
"Well, this Halloween certainly did its job, ne? Scared both of us pretty damn good." Rowen smiled. Sage kissed Rowen gently on his neck and laughed.
"Yeah, but we weren’t the only ones. You should have seen Ryo. I swear, I definitely thought something must have been wrong with you because as soon as I leaned in, he looked as if he swallowed his tongue!" Sage said. Rowen laughed.
"Good! Maybe he’ll be smarter from now on and think twice before trying any more tricks." Rowen said. Sage smiled, and the two headed inside.
The End
