Fourteen 

 

“How did I let you talk me into this?” Lance muttered.

“Quit blinking!”

“JC, you keep sticking something in my eye. I can't help it if I blink!”

“Just…try, okay?” JC said, exasperated.

“Fine. Lemme get it out.” Lance blinked hard and fast, then straightened up obediently. “There.”

“You are gonna look so hot. The two of us are gonna make them drool.”

“Make WHO drool?” Lance asked.

“Our men.”

“I don't have a man,” Lance corrected. “YOU have an elf.”

“I have a man,” JC said defensively. “And I forgot. There's no one that will be at this party tonight that you secretly think is hot.”

“Maybe Joey,” Lance said, and JC threatened to poke him in the eye with the black eyeliner he was applying.

“Stop it.”

Lance obediently looked up at the ceiling as JC applied the black streaks below his green eyes. He had no clue WHO JC was talking about. The Halloween party was mostly for the frat, though a few outsiders usually showed up. Joey liked to come with a few of his larger friends to the fraternity parties, because occasionally someone else who didn't LIKE the idea of a gay fraternity felt the need to assert his opinion. And since most of Joey's friends were culinary majors who liked to sample their own work, most of Joey's friends were on the large side.

“I don't want any of Joey's friends, OR Joey. And since anyone else who will be here without a date is a member of the frat…”

“And since we know good little Lance would never break a rule…”

“I can't,” Lance said, almost panicking. “I couldn't get thrown out.”

“Relax, Lance, I was kidding,” JC said. “Okay. I'm done.”

“Good,” Lance said.

AJ knocked, then poked his head in the door. “Hey, do either of you…damn, Lancey!” AJ smiled. “Nice.” Lance blushed. “Anyway, do either of you have red hairspray?” Lance and JC looked at him blankly. “Right. Maybe Nick will have some.” AJ darted back out of the room.

“He's still after him, huh?” JC said, laughing.

“He's SO jealous that I have the room near the bathroom on this floor,” Lance said. “He's camped out here three times to see Nick come out of the shower in a towel.”

“Does Nick know?”

“Nah…he misses a lot of that kinda stuff. He doesn't do subtle,” Lance said, grinning. “I wish he knew how much it SUCKS having the room near the shower. People always wanna borrow stuff that they forget.” Lance ignored the memory of Justin coming out of the bathroom in a pair of low-slung pajama pants. He also ignored the memory of Justin first thing in the morning as he ate his cereal, and Justin late at night, stumbling in drunk from a party he was too young to have attended in the first place. Lance had been trying to ignore Justin a lot lately, and it just wasn't easy. Justin was everywhere Lance happened to be.

“So…do you think Chris will like it?” JC stepped back and whirled around.

“Chris will pass out,” Lance said. JC was dressed as a cat, in sleek black leather pants and a long sleeved tight black shirt that shimmered when he moved. Small black ears were placed in JC's wavy hair, and he had drawn black whiskers on his cheeks with eyeliner. “Your ass…hell, JC, it looks amazing.”

“It does, doesn't it?” JC said, admiring himself in the mirror. “You look good, too.”

“I don't know.” Lance stood by the mirror and looked at himself. JC had insisted that Lance would make the perfect vampire. Lance wore black leather pants that felt way too snug around his crotch and backside. The shirt was one of JC's, a smoky grey-green fabric with ruffles down the front. JC had slapped Lance's hands away as he had attempted to button the shirt, and Lance was embarrassed at how pasty his chest was. JC assured him that vampires had no color, anyway. JC had then carefully used some stage makeup to put two red bite marks on Lance's neck. Black eyeliner accentuated the beautiful green of Lance's eyes. He looked like some ethereal otherworldly character.

“I'm telling you. He'll drool.”

“WHO?”

“Anyone who looks at you,” JC said. He had noticed the sparks between Lance and Justin, and he wondered for the thousandth time why they wouldn't admit it. He had gotten to know Justin, and he knew that Justin was interested in Lance, although they were as different as night and day. And then there was the whole Lance hating Justin's guts thing…

“What's Chris' costume?” Lance asked to change the subject. JC had finally convinced Chris to come to the party, as long as Chris could wear a mask. It wouldn't look good for the professor to show up as someone's date.

“The Man in the Iron Mask,” JC said. “The costume itself is beautiful. A gorgeous burgundy and gold fabric, and then a cool mask…”

“And you'll rip it all off back at your apartment by midnight, right?” Lance teased. JC blushed.

“Let's go down.” 

Many of the frat brothers were already downstairs, and everyone they saw admired Lance's costume. He began to relax, and even thought that maybe after a few beers, he'd be able to relax.

JC chuckled and pointed at AJ. “Perfect,” he said. AJ was dressed as a devil, in an unbuttoned gauzy red shirt and black and red leather pants. He wore horns in his dark hair, and a tail swung lazily down the back of his legs.

“Meow,” AJ said, sauntering over to JC. “Any chance I can use my evil wiles and lure you away from your man?”

“Doubtful,” JC said, tugging on AJ's tail. AJ turned to Lance.

“I think we're on the same side, aren't we?”

“I'm a good vampire,” Lance said, and AJ laughed.

“Is that like a good witch? No fun.” AJ sailed away.

“The Crocodile Hunter?” JC asked Nick as he approached. Nick sighed.

“No…Indiana Jones. I TOLD Justin this was stupid.”

“Of course you're Indy,” Lance said quickly. “You have a whip and a gun. The stupid Croc Hunter doesn't have either of those.”

“Thank you,” Nick said gratefully.

“Where IS Justin?” JC asked. Lance could have kicked him. “Picking up a date?”

“He didn't have a date, last I heard,” Nick said. “He was looking for his sunglasses. He had special ones for his costume.”

“Oh,” JC said, nodding. He was watching the door for Chris, but he smiled when Joey and his friends came in. “Oh, good Lord.”

“Hiya,” Joey said, smiling. “I'm not gonna get molested in this, am I?” He was dressed as Tom Cruise in “Risky Business,” wearing only underwear, a long shirt, socks and sunglasses.

“I don't think you're ANYONE's type here, Joe,” Lance teased.

“Wow, Lance.” Joey took his first good look at Lance and his mouth fell open. “I hardly even recognized you. You look…”

“Edible. Doesn't he?” JC said proudly. Lance blushed. 

Chris came in the door, already sick of his mask and his entire costume. He hadn't wanted to come in the first place, but JC had begged. As much as he cared about Chris, sometimes he hated the fact that he couldn't be seen with him around campus. Chris finally relented, allowing JC to pick a costume that would hide his identity. They had confided in Joey, Lance, AJ, Nick and Justin, but no one else would know. JC had kept his own costume a secret, which irritated Chris.

“Hey, Chris,” someone murmured as Chris walked by the stairs to the second floor. He made sure the mask was on firmly, and turned around.

“Timberlake? That you?”

“How do I look?” Justin spun around. He wore dark pants and a dark shirt, and over that he wore a long black trench coat. He quickly shoved sunglasses up on his face.

“Neo. Sweet,” Chris said jealously. “I wish I could dress like that.”

“You look good. I like the mask,” Justin said, fingering it.

“I just can't see shit. I won't even be able to find JC,” Chris said.

“I'll find him. I'm sure he's with…” Justin actually paled slightly. “Uh, with Lance.”

“Where?” Chris looked in the direction Justin was looking. “Holy hell.” He stared for a moment. “Is that Lance?”

“I think so,” Justin said. “He looks…”

“He looks hot,” Chris said. “His ass in those pants, it's…”

“Hot,” Justin said. He could hardly form sentences. Shy, bookish Lance made one sexy vampire. “And JC…”

“Where's JC?” Chris tried to look.

“Next to Lance.”

“The cat?” Chris actually grabbed Justin's arm. “He told me I'd like it. He told me it was hot. He did NOT tell me I'd want to fuck him right here and now.”

Justin laughed. “Ready to mingle?”

“How long do I have to mingle before I can take him out of here?” Chris watched JC stretch, his smooth stomach revealed under the tight shirt.

“A half hour,” Justin answered.

“This will be the longest thirty minutes of my life,” Chris mumbled, heading for his friends and boyfriend.

Fifteen