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Careful fingers smoothed over Chris' neck, soft and wet against his skin as they travelled to his throat, tracing the slight bob of his Adam’s apple. Leaning close, Josh gently tilted the blond's head, his eyes focused on the other teen, fingers continuing their journey, following the line of Chris' jaw.
“Dude...”
But Chris' murmur did nothing to stop him. Holding his friend's cheek, Josh brushed his fingertip along Chris' bottom lip. “Shh…”
The soft pad of Josh’s thumb crept to the corner of Chris' mouth and rubbed slowly down toward his chin. His gaze followed its path then flickered up to meet his friend’s eyes, unobstructed by glasses for once, seeming strange and different for it. As Josh leaned in closer, a soft exhale trembled between the blond’s parted lips, and Chris swallowed, turning away just a touch, but Josh held him still.
“Wait…”
Josh’s eyes raked over Chris' features, observing every inch of his face, taking in every little detail. Finally, Josh’s eyes lit up.
“...and we’re done.”
Chris blinked as if coming out of a trance. “How does it look?”
“Would be better if you quit squirming,” Josh replied, looking pleased with himself. “It looks good.”
“You nearly glued my eye shut.” Chris blinked a few more times to emphasise the point then went to touch his face, but Josh batted his hand away.
“Hey, you want it done fast or you want it done right? Give it time to dry,” Josh scolded through soft laughter, shaking his head. “Worst. Corpse. Ever.”
Job done, Josh sat back in his chair to admire his handiwork, eyes raking over the blond sitting on the bed.
It had taken over an hour to apply the various layers, Chris positively itching to move throughout, but it was worth the wait, turning out better than Josh had anticipated. The liquid latex and blood had been hard to come by - it wasn’t the usual, cheap, store-bought crap - and the application had taken a bit of practice, but Josh had his sources. Blood shone wetly along the seams holding Chris' severed head and hands to the rest of his body; the joints of his wrists and the line of his neck marked by harsh, rough stitches, raised up from sallow, waxy skin. Dark shadows made his face more gaunt and angular than usual, one bright blue eye hidden beneath a milky white contact lens.
Chris slipped his glasses back on, careful not to disturb Josh’s work, before leaning over to pick up his drink, sipping it through a straw. He smiled back at Josh, the expression made tight by drying makeup, but it managed to reach his eyes, and Josh’s smile broadened to a grin.
Satisfied, Josh wiped his hands on his messy apron, smearing red across it, but another bit of fake blood wasn’t going to ruin his costume.
“You okay, bro?”
“Yeah. I just didn’t think there would be so much makeup involved.”
“Man, you like bitching today, huh?” Ignoring the complaint, Josh reached over and held Chris’ hand, turning his friend’s arm over to inspect the ragged stitches criss-crossing Chris’ wrist with inquisitive fingers. “Dude, after camo, this is like, the manliest makeup you can wear, probably.”
“Then why aren’t you wearing any?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Because I’m the doctor and you, my reanimated friend, are my hideous creation.”
“Hideous?”
Josh glanced up from Chris’ wrist with a smirk and released his hand. “A fucking abomination.”
A smile tugged at Chris’ lips, accompanied by a small chuckle that seemed out of place amid the gore. “Thanks, I think?”
“Hey, we agreed. Last year funny, this year scary. That was the deal,” Josh reminded him.
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”
Turning in the chair, Josh reached over to his desk and fetched a mirror. He handed it to Chris, who promptly held it up, turning his head to look at himself.
“Well?”
Chris glanced over the mirror at Josh and his mouth formed a thoughtful little smile, quietly impressed. “Okay, I admit it. You’re the master.”
With a grin, Josh got to his feet, treating Chris to an exaggerated bow before crossing the room to stand in front of the full length wall mirror.
Chris was right - Josh’s costume involved far less makeup, but a lot more blood, if that was any consolation. Strategically placed flecks of red littered his shirt, his apron, and the face mask hanging limp around his neck. It smeared his forearms, misted his neck and colored the blade of the fake hacksaw tucked away in the worn leather medical bag by his feet; blunt but convincing. With a satisfied smile, Josh retrieved a pair of bloody surgeon’s gloves from his back pocket and pulled them on one by one.
Yeah, Halloween was his time to shine.
Belatedly, Josh realised that Chris had fallen quiet again. He glanced at his friend in the mirror and watched Chris pore over his phone, something lacking in his expression, an anxious little frown knotting his brow. At first, Josh had put it down to Chris not being able to talk much throughout the transformation process, but now they were finished, Chris still wasn’t his usual talkative self. He'd seemed pensive for a while; quiet and thoughtful.
“You sure you’re okay?” Josh asked, catching Chris’ eye in the reflection.
“Yeah, I’m good,” Chris said, brightening in a heartbeat, a little too quickly.
When Josh glanced over his shoulder, unconvinced, Chris faltered. A moment later, he dropped the act and lowered his phone, shrugging in a strangely shy sort of way.
“Yeah, I mean…” Chris trailed off, following the vague reply with another small shrug.
“What’s up?” Josh asked, flattening his apron before turning to face his friend.
Chris never usually had a problem talking to him about anything. Hell, some days Josh was lucky if Chris gave him a chance to get a word in edgewise. But Josh knew there was one subject that was guaranteed to leave Chris at a loss for words; all awkward gestures and half finished thoughts. With no answer forthcoming, Josh ventured a guess.
“Ashley?” Josh asked, trying to mask his weariness.
“...Yeah,” Chris admitted finally, deflating. “She's gonna be there later and… I dunno.” He shrugged self-consciously.
Josh suppressed a sigh and returned to Chris, sinking down in the office chair opposite him. “So, you go and talk to her like you do, like, every day. Literally every single day.”
“Yeah, but that’s at school. That’s different,” Chris said dismissively.
“How is that different? Just talk to her.”
“She...”
“She what?” Josh pressed.
“She wouldn't like me anyway, you know?”
The slightly exasperated edge to Josh’s words softened under the weight of Chris’ expression. Shoulders slumped, gaze forlorn and fixed on his knees, Chris looked dejected and uncertain. Josh hated seeing Chris like this; lost and wrapped up in self-doubt that seemed so far removed from everything he associated with his best friend.
“She likes you.”
Chris looked at Josh skeptically. But it wasn't false modesty, not a case of fishing for compliments. There was genuine doubt there.
“Come on,” Josh continued, “What’s not to like? You're smart, you’re funny and you look good as a corpse. How many guys can say that?”
Chris chuckled despite himself, smiling softly at his feet, but it was a momentary ray of sunshine between the clouds.
With a sigh, Josh leaned forward in his seat and placed his hand on Chris’ knee, bridging the gap between them.
“She likes you, dude.”
Chris met Josh's eye, but the doubt remained, made all the more poignant by the dark shadows around his eyes. “I mean as more than a friend.”
“Yeah, I know you do,” Josh smirked, “and she does.”
The blond’s dubious look remained a moment longer before it gave way to curiosity. “Wait. Did she say something to you?”
How do I answer that?
The truth was that Ashley hadn't said anything, not outright, but on those rare occasions when Josh found himself alone with their mutual friend, studying or just hanging out, the topic inevitably somehow found its way to Chris; shyly asked questions and hopeful little comments that were too obvious to chalk up to idle curiosity. Josh saw the way they looked at each other, both wrapped up in their hopeless crushes, both assuming the other wouldn't look at them twice as more than a friend. They were both just so painfully clueless.
No, Ashley hadn't said anything to him, but she hadn't needed to.
“She likes you. Trust me,” Josh repeated with a sense of finality, squeezing Chris' knee before sitting back in his seat. “And, just in case I'm wrong, which I'm not, and she somehow doesn’t, then you just eat her brains. No biggy.”
Chris' smile returned, bolstered by encouraging words and the amusement dancing in his Josh’s eyes. The blond looked grateful, even if he wasn't entirely convinced. “Thanks, man.”
“For what?”
Josh's smile softened, and he clapped a hand around Chris' arm before standing up. Sure, this wasn’t the first time they’d had this conversation and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but it didn’t matter. His words would no doubt be ignored yet again, but if they helped bring a smile to Chris’ face, if only for a little while, then he’d say them a hundred times over.
“Now, if you're done being butthurt about it...”
Josh offered Chris his hand and helped the other teen to his feet before walking him over to the wall mirror. Side by side, Josh threw his arm around his friend’s shoulders and gave them a reassuring squeeze; smiling at their shared reflection. They looked good together. His sisters were going to hate it, but that was half the fun.
“Man… I did good, right?”
“Dude, Sam is gonna lose her shit,” Chris said, matching Josh's grin.
“I know, right?” Josh chuckled and stooped down to pick up his bag. “Good to go?”
With his smile firmly back in place for now, Chris gave a nod. “Hell yeah. Let’s do this thing.”