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It was no secret that Halloween was Eddie’s favorite time of year.
Yeah, sure, it makes it easier to be a freak this time of year because everyone’s a freak on Halloween, but that wasn’t why he loved it.
Eddie has always been, first and foremost, a theater kid. Which meant that his costumes and decorations were always over the top and incredible.
Plus Gareth had gotten them involved in a Haunted House a few years back because he owed someone a favor, and Eddie had gone back every year since.
Being a scare actor was a lot of fun. Picking a new fear to embody every year gave him the opportunity to explore new characters and play around with personality traits he wouldn’t ordinarily show off.
Case in point, this year he was donning a scarecrow mask. It was pretty realistic too, and if he stayed still enough, guests wouldn't notice him until it was too late.
He tested it on Jeff before they opened just to be sure, and Jeff would swear up and down that he didn’t scream like a toddler, but Eddie knew the truth.
His costume wasn’t unlike that of a scarecrow’s typical garb. Eddie had borrowed an old plaid shirt of Wayne’s and found pants loose enough to give the illusion there was stuffing in them. He’d found a straw hat and vest at a garage sale over the summer, and his work boots would work just fine.
The only complication was the weapon. An ax would be easy enough, but he wanted something that would really drive home the theme of freaky farm ornament he was going for.
He ended up finding a wooden scythe at a craft store in Indy that he was able to modify for this exact purpose.
His costume was complete.
The barn they held it in was set up over the next couple of weeks, and they were able to run it through with some of the understudies before they opened it to the public. Eddie was about two-thirds of the way through, and was having the best time figuring out how to lay just so people would think he was a real scarecrow, and not a person waiting to scare them.
It worked best if he was draped backwards over a few bales of hay. His arms hung loosely, but one hand was sure to be poised over the scythe so he could grab it and roll upwards to chase after whoever came through.
He tested it on Jeff again, who this time admitted to screaming like a child.
Everything was perfect.
Once the crowds started to flock to the haunted house, it was the same as it was every year.
Eddie was always able to pick out the different kinds of people that went to haunted houses.
There were the seasoned veterans, the people who came year after year, searching for the thrill of being scared. Sometimes Eddie even recognized people from the years prior.
Right up alongside them in Eddie’s favorite customers list were the kids. Usually between the ages of 8-12 where they pretended to not be scared, even if they were. He’d always tone down his act for them, but it was still cute to see them and their costumes.
Then there were the couples. The boyfriends who showed up with their girlfriends under the guise of protecting them, using it as an excuse to cop a feel. It was fun to get all up in the guys faces when his character allowed for it, plus it usually got a laugh out of the girls too.
There were usually a few odd stragglers too, random people who stopped by that Eddie couldn’t always get a read on, but that wasn’t his job. He just had to scare them.
One part of his job that wasn’t technically required, although he would argue otherwise, was playing a game he liked to call ‘Fight, Flight, or Freeze’. Basically, he’d predict which approach people would take to being spooked.
Flight and freeze were the most common, but occasionally he’d get a fighter, and he really didn’t want another bloody nose.
Sometimes he got groups that kept him guessing though. Those were his favorites.
Case in point, a trio. Eddie couldn’t figure out what their specific dynamic was, if it was a couple and a sibling, a group of friends, or if there was something else going on there, but regardless it was a guy and two girls.
This could go one of three ways:
- The guy pretends to be macho for the ladies and either pisses himself or decks Eddie,
- The short girl punches him because she looks scary and more apt to punch him than the guy, or
- They all just run.
Eddie’s money was on 3, but he wasn’t ruling out 2 just yet.
What he didn’t expect was for it to be none of those possibilities.
The door out of his room pushed people into a fork in the road.
Go right, continue on with the house.
Go left? Dead end.
It was actually an emergency exit, but they’d managed to prevent people from mistaking it for the main path thanks to some cleverly placed decorations.
So when Eddie dragged himself up from his position and gave this group a spook, he figured he’d guessed correctly as they ran, and he chased them to that fork.
Which is exactly when things went sideways.
Upon encountering the fork, the group did the unexpected: they split up.
The guy went left while the girls went right.
Eddie also went left for two primary reasons. First, to direct the guy back to the correct door, and second, that short girl really was scary. He liked his chances with the guy.
A moment later he came up behind the guy who was discovering very quickly that he wasn’t going to be able to escape that way. He kept his back to the door as Eddie approached.
He heard him swear under his breath and watched as his eyes darted around the room. Planning an escape route.
Eddie held up the scythe, ready to swing at the guy, but as he went to do so, found that he was unable to.
The guy caught his wrist and spun them so it was Eddie pinned against the door. He used the hand not holding him to push up his mask. Then, he leaned in.
His lips were soft. He tasted like apple cider.
And then as soon as it happened, he was gone. Sprinting back out the way he came, yelling for his friends like it was a game of Marco Polo.
Eddie was still frozen where the guy had pinned him. That wasn’t how people typically reacted to being cornered.
He heard a door open, and someone grabbed the back of his collar before pulling him through the emergency exit.
Gareth.
“Dude, what the fuck was that?”
“I don’t know,” Eddie cried, yanking his mask off the rest of the way. “He just kissed me!”
“Dear god. That’s your sign from the universe to go take your break. Go smoke somewhere the crowds won’t see you and have your little freak out in peace.”
He loved that man so much. “Thank you.”
Gareth waved him off. “I don’t want to hear about him later either, by the way!”
Eddie laughed as he slipped out to the back of the barn. They didn’t route guests out this way, so he figured he was good to chill out for a few minutes.
Except just as he lit a cigarette, he heard voices.
“I don’t know, Robin, I was just trying to get out of there to find you.”
“At no point did it need to involve your faces being smushed together.”
Oh no.
“I don’t know,” a new voice chimed in. “I’ve seen him in a relationship and in a fight. Sometimes when you push someone against a wall, your signals get mixed up.”
“So he accidentally socks his partner or kisses his opponent. Sure, I’ll buy that,” the voice he’d determined was Robin said.
“Stop it, both of you,” the guy said. “Go get in line for donuts or something, I’m going to go try to find a staff member to pass along an apology for me. What was their costume again?”
“God, you made out with them and you don’t remember their costume?”
“Scarecrow, I think,” the other girl answered. “Try out back, someone might be taking their break.”
Shit, shit, shit.
“Thanks Nance, I owe you one. I’ll catch up with you in a bit.”
There was the sound of footsteps, and Eddie briefly thought of bolting, but where was the sense in that? Instead, he took another drag and hoped the guy wouldn’t see him.
Of course, he was never that lucky.
“Hey, do you work here?”
Eddie exhaled. “Depends on who’s asking.”
“Listen, this is going to sound insane, but do you know the person dressed as a scarecrow? Maybe has one of those curved sword things?”
“A scythe,” he corrected without thinking.
“Yeah that.”
“Any chance he looked like this?” Eddie held up his mask so the guy could see. It was dark, but the lights from the front of the barn should have been enough to illuminate it.
“Oh shit,” the guy said.
“Yep.”
“I am so sorry.”
“No hard feelings. It’s not exactly the worst way someone's reacted to me scaring them. Honestly, it’s up there with one of the best.” Eddie wanted to scream. Why did he say that?
“Really?”
“Yeah, well when most guys would punch me in the face, I’m not going to complain about something that’s not that.”
“That certainly would hurt. One of the best, though?”
He shrugged. “It was a good kiss, and certainly memorable in terms of reactions. You’re going to give a guy a complex.”
“I see.”
“Like I said, I’m not complaining.” The guy didn’t move, seemingly stuck on a thought, so Eddie spoke up again. “Want a smoke?”
“I just came back here to apologize, and anyways, I’m trying to quit.”
“That’s not a no.”
“Maybe just a drag.”
Eddie handed him the one he’d just lit, and tried not to overthink it. Their mouths had touched, and yet he was focused on the indirect trade of spit over a cigarette filter.
“Thanks. I’m Steve, by the way.”
“Eddie,” he responded, taking his cigarette back.
“Nice to officially meet you. Usually I try to learn people’s names before I kiss them.”
“Well, you know it now.”
“I also prefer to get the numbers of the people I’d be interested in kissing again.”
Gareth was never going to let him live this down if he didn’t kill Eddie first.
“Do you have your phone on you, or a scrap of paper maybe?”
“Sure.” Steve produced his phone from a pocket, and opened his contacts so Eddie could enter his number.
“Just so you know, I don’t make a habit of giving customers my number.”
“Good.”
“Also, I get off at 11, and there’s a late night diner down the road I always stop at for coffee.”
“Great. I’ll see you at 11:15 then?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then. I have to get back though.”
“Of course, I should probably go find my friends anyway. One last thing before I go, though.”
“What’s that?”
Steve stooped down and kissed him, softer this time, and Eddie wasn’t so shocked that he couldn’t enjoy it.
As he pulled away, he could feel the giddy smile on his face. “See you around, Steve.”
“Bye Eds.” He waved goodbye, and Eddie stood, letting himself bask in the moment for a bit longer until the door behind him opened, an echo of his first kiss with Steve.
Gareth gave him another unimpressed glare. “Dude.”
Eddie waved him off. “You’re going to hear about him.”
“I hate you so much, oh my god.”