Under My Skin

Halloween

"Come in!" I called back to Connor's telltale gentle knock on my front door

"Hey there, Mr. Munch!"

"...hm?"

"Edvard Munch! He was like.. famously agoraphobic"

"Oh.. I-I didn't know that."

"I don't know why I expected you to.. are you excited to see your costume?"

"More so terrified, but..."

"Awh, you'll be okay.. if you put it on for ten minutes and you still hate it, you can take it off."

"Promise?"

"I promise! I wouldn't lie to you, you know that."

"That's true.... although, one time you said the dinner I made tasted good even though the cap to the garlic powder fell off into the pot."

"We had just met, I didn't want to be rude! I promise you, I'll tell you if you ever put too much garlic powder in a dinner again, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now put this on" he grinned, holding out a costume in front of me, consisting of a denim jacket,
Pants, checkered shirt, and orange vest, still on its plastic hanger

"..oh, you have to be kidding me."

"Nope! Think, McFly!"

"..I hate my life."

"I know. Go change!"

Groaning dramatically the whole way to the bathroom, I followed his orders and got into costume, giving myself a good ten-second-long stare into the mirror, my previous clothes draped over my forearm

"I look ridiculous!" I shouted out from the bathroom

"Oh, don't be a baby, come on out! I want to see you!"

"...Don't make fun of me!"

"I won't!! Come out, I want to see my little Marty Mcfly!"

with a deep breath, I dragged myself out of the bathroom, to see Connor at the end of the hallway, waiting for me.

"Oh my god..."

"Don't make fun of me"

"Kevin, you look so cute!!"

"..I do?"

"You look adorable!! Awh, I love it... can I take a picture of you?"

"I.. I guess..."

"Alright, smile for me!" He grinned behind his phone camera, preparing to snap a couple of photos

I put on a large, though uncomfortable smile, showing almost all my teeth, bared.
My shoulders were held in tight, carrying all my stress, though I balanced it out with an incredibly forced thumbs-up

"That's it... God, you're the cutest. Do you have any bowls? Large ones?"

"Um... yes, I believe I have a few plastic mixing bowls... why?"

"Because, I brought candy" he dropped his backpack down on the counter, pulling out a large plastic bag, filled with individually wrapped candies

"You're handing it out, right?"

"Yep! Don't worry about a thing, okay? It won't be too different from usual.. why don't you put these in a bowl, I'll go get changed"

"W-What's your costume?"

"You're gonna have to wait and see it" he smirked, playfully poking my chest before taking his bag back and heading off to the bathroom

He spent the next two minutes changing, coming back out in a knee-length red robe with black trim, exposing his collar, a pair of black trousers, and a pipe. He leaned up against the doorframe, giving me a grin.