Jude winced as he scrubbed his face harshly with the wipes from the nurse, his skin reddening as he got the green paint off. Like he predicted, a constellation of three little pimples were on his left cheek. Pulling his jacket on from his locker, all he had to do was scrub his hands until he looked some what normal again.
"Jude!" Mike knocked harshly on the door. "Open up!"
Jude unlocked the boys locker room door, trapping himself in there to avoid any of the boys. Unlocking the door, Mike dove in quickly and slammed it back, locking it in the process. Jude gave him an odd look. "What the hells your problem?"
"I was being chased." Mike gave him an insane look as Jude went back to scrubbing his hands. "I'll never wear a halloween costume to school again."
"I just don't understand why no one bothered to spreed the news about how costumes stopped being cool after seventh grade." Jude admitted, all that was left was the green stained to his nails. "Here, you can wear this one."
Jude pulled the extra tee from his backpack and tossed it Mikes way. "Mom said I could stay at Dustin's for the night so I packed a shirt just incase I don't have time to go home."
Mike dropped his ghost busters extinguisher and pulled the long sleeve, striped shirt over his head. Now it just looked like he was a bit bulky with kaki pants. "Why are you staying at Dustin's?"
"What do you mean?" Jude asked with an odd look, turning the sink off and turning to him. "I always stay at Dustin's."
"Yeah, but I live closer and Will will be there too." Mike gave a slightly offend look his way. "Dustin's mom doesn't even like you."
"She likes me." Jude defended himself.
"She thinks you're a bad influence." Mike corrected himself. "And your birthday is tomorrow. You're gonna wake up at Dustin's?"
"What does it matter?" Jude threw his hands up his way.
"Because my mom always make you that birthday toast you like." Mike pointed out with a huff. "Why are you changing things? Why is everything different?"
"I'm just staying at Dustin's." Jude gave him a crazy look in return. "Doesn't mean i'm changing things."
"Yes, it does! Why can't things just stay the same?" Mike continued to panic on in disbelief and out of breath.
"Michael!" Jude gave him a odd look. "What's gotten in to you?"
Mike huffed as he looked down a second. "I just don't want stuff to be different again. I don't want stuff too keep changing."
Jude sighed, knowing this probably had to do with El, and also how weird things were when Will was missing. "Maybe we can all just go to your house tonight instead."
Mike gave him a look. "You're just saying that."
"I'm not." Jude shook his head at him. "Just, instead of just us, we can all go. Still different, but not completely changed."
That made Mike smile.
"Stop quoting Jane Austen!" Dustin yelled at Jude as they walked down the road together after school. "Not everything needs a metaphor!"
"That was an analogy, for your information." Jude huffed as he wacked Dustin upside the head with his book.
"You act like you're so wise." Dustin waved him off with a roll of his eyes.
"I don't pretend to be wise, but I am observing, and I see a great deal more then you'd imagine." Jude nodded his head confidently.
"Oh god, now he's quoting Little Woman again." Lucas threw his hands up in disbelief.
"Hey, guys." Dustin looked over his shoulder when an engine sounded loudly.
"Go! Go! Go!" Mike yelled as the four jumped on their bikes and hurried down the road, peddling harshly.
"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Dustin shouted as the car got right behind them, causing each of them to swerve off to the ditch quickly. Jude flew over his bars with a huff, his book flopping next to him and bookmark flew free.
"Was that..." Dustin trialed off as he caught his breath.
"Mad Max." Lucas said as Jude pulled Mike from the ground, dusting off his shoulders and picking a leaf from his raven hair.
"Oh! Well, aren't you cute? The little exterminators and Frankinstine." the old woman for the other side of the door gushed. The boys faces fell as she put the candy in their bags, shutting the door back as they walked away.
"If I get another 3 Musketeers, i'm gonna kill myself." Lucas announced as they walked back toward the side walk.
"Where are all the Rolos? That was the entire reason I wanted to Trick or Treat." Jude huffed as he looked through his bag.
"What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?" Dustin looked to Lucas in defense.
"What's wrong with 3 Musketeers?" Lucas mocked him.
"No one likes 3 Musketeers." Mike agreed with Lucas.
"Yeah, it's just nougat." Will added.
"And gets stuck in your braces." Jude nodded his head. "First thing I ate when I got em off last month, still got stuck in my teeth."
"It's top three for me!" Dustin looked around with a crazy expression across his face.
"Top three?" Lucas asked in disbelief.
"Too three!" Dustin agreed.
"Oh, god. Give me a break." Mike rolled his eyes. "Almost as bad as Jude and his Rolo fetish."
"Rolo fetish? Rol- You know what Mike, I was gonna split some with you, but never mind." Jude shook his head, curls bouncing as he did so.
"I can just eat a whole bowl of nougat, Striaght up." Dustin nodded confidently, clearly taking his friends words to heart. Before anyone had a chance to argue, someone in a Michael Myers mask jumped out infront of them. Lucas and Dustin screamed, Will hide quickly, and Mike and Jude gasped. Mike grabbed hold of Jude's wrist tightly on instinct.
Laughter escaped the mask, red hair falling from it as the mask came off. Max laughed from under it. "Holy shit! You should have seen the look on your faces."
She then looked at Lucas. "And you? Who screams like that? You sound like a little girl."
Jude put a hand on his heart when Mike let his wrist go. Max turned to look back when she started to walk off. "Hey, you guys coming or not? Oh, I heard we should hit up Loch Nora. That's where the rich people live, right?"
"She's insane." Jude's eyes widened as he watched her leave. "I so like her."
Dustin smacked him upside the head. "Yeah? Well she doesn't like you! She isn't like the rest of the girls. The only curls she likes are mine."
"Oh yeah? How many girls have liked you, Dustin?" Jude crossed his arms with a raise of his eyebrows. "Even Jennifer Hayes liked me at one point!"
"Doesn't matter! She doesn't want you!" Dustin argued with a finger in his face.
"I don't want her! I just like her enough to be her friend." Jude rose his hands in defense, his candy spilling slightly. "Don't get all insecure on me. Not my fault the ladies love me."
"Well, how could they not love this face?" Lucas grabbed his cheeks harshly and made baby noises.
"All of you are ridiculous." Mike bumped Jude's shoulder harshly as he walked past him. Jude rolled his eyes as Dustin and Lucas ran after Max, Jude catching up with Will and Mike.
"What? Do you not think she's cool?" Jude questioned Mike as he walked by his side.
"Cool? Because she has a Michael Myers mask?" Mike gave him a look of disbelief. "You think every girl is cool."
"Not true." Jude defended himself. "I don't think your mom is cool."
Mike gave him a look of disbelief, but almost cracked a grin.
"I saw that grin!" Jude hollered as he poked his cheek. "Give it to me, Wheeler! I see you wanting to smile at me!"
Jude bumping into him harshly, causing Mike to stumble before the Mackenzie boy jabbed a finger into his side. Mike let out a laugh and pushed him away. "Okay. Okay. Did you agree to this?"
"Agree to what?" Jude hummed, searching his bag again.
"To her joining our party." Mike nodded upwards to Max.
"Who said she was joining our party?" Jude shrugged as he threw a hand full of skittles into his mouth.
"Did you?" Mike turned to his other side to ask Will.
"It's just for halloween." Will shrugged his shoulders.
"They should have checked with me." Mike commented, Jude rolling his eyes as he threw the yellow one at the side of Mikes face.
"Well, they were excited. I guess I thought you'd be okay with it." Will looked at Mike guilty like.
"Majority would have ruled anyways." Jude pointed out.
"She's ruining the best night of the year." Mike huffed.
"She's not even doing anything." Jude argued with Mike, neither seeing Will hadn't been following anymore.
"She's existing." Mike pointed to Max again.
"Well, I think she's cool." Jude rolled his eyes again. "If you'd lighten up a bit, you'd see that."
"If you like her so much, go hang out with her." Mike spoke in defense with anger in his tone.
"Maybe I will!" Jude yelled as him before a shout of Mikes name echoed through the air.
•
kylie speaks
as i promised.