Chapter Text
🎃🚫 ADAM 🚫🎃
Adam took a sip of his morning coffee and grabbed his tablet to have a look at his calendar and go through his today's commitments.
The second his eyes landed on the date, he cursed under his breath.
October 31st. Halloween.
One of the most annoying days of the year.
He didn't hate the holiday itself. It was good fun. Especially for kids.
He genuinely enjoyed the idea of little ones dressing up and walking around their neighbourhoods with their trick or treating bags.
Where he drew the line, however, was grown ass adults dressing up to his lectures.
Stanford University was not the right place for such shenanigans.
But he couldn't even confront his own grads about it. Not unless they severely broke the lab dress code with their bizarre outfits. And not when Adam's very own best friend and fellow professor was the one coming up with the most ridiculous costumes imaginable.
Today was about to be a nightmare and Adam had completely forgotten to mentally prepare himself for it.
He partially blamed Holden for not reminding Adam. In previous years Holden had worked hard to pester Adam about Halloween at least a month in advance. He'd recommended costumes Adam didn’t even consider getting. He'd asked for Adam's advice on his own outfits. He'd tried to sneakily decorate Adam's porch.
But this year? Crickets.
For some reason it made Adam feel uneasy. What the fuck was Holden's game? That immature asshole would not skip Halloween, Adam thought as he rinsed his mug and got ready for work.
When he got to the campus, he was surprised to notice that nobody had dressed up. Not a single soul.
What was happening?
Not that Adam was complaining, not at all. He was glad to see that people were finally mature enough to act their age. Still, it was so unexpected that Adam had no clue what to think about it.
Not to mention, the people around him were dressed more formally than usual. Anywhere he looked he saw a wave of black. Black shirts. Black trousers. Black shoes. Even black handbags and backpacks.
Had he missed a notification about somebody's death? He wondered horrified. No, that couldn’t be it. The department heads would have made enough noise about something like this that even Adam would’ve been aware. Holden would have mentioned it too. Surely Adam would’ve known about something like this by now. That was not the case then.
The black clothes were still a mystery to him. Another thing he didn't quite understand was the number of people wearing hats indoors. Black beanies and baseball caps ruined the formal attire of some of the students around him, but he ultimately decided that trying to understand the thought process behind their awful headwear choices was a waste of his time.
“Happy Halloween!” Holden said and patted Adam's back.
Adam turned towards his friend and frowned. Holden was not dressed up either. He was also wearing all black.
“Did someone die?” Adam deadpanned.
Holden chucked and nodded. “Yup. Joy and fashion sense.”
“What?” Adam asked.
“What?” Holden repeated.
“Okay, what the hell is happening here?”
“What do you mean?” Holden asked innocently.
Adam squinted his eyes. He could tell that Holden was just acting dumb and knew exactly what Adam was asking. Adam did not like his best friend's behaviour one bit.
“It's Halloween. You're not dressed up” Adam pointed out quietly. He'd used all his patience on this one question, so he really needed Holden to stop playing his stupid games.
Holden looked down at his black shirt and black suit trousers. “Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot. Huh! What a shame” he said with a shrug.
A shrug!
Adam's eyebrows shot up. Holden would spend months planning any holiday. Holden would not simply forget about Halloween!
Something was seriously off, but before managed to come up with a question his friend would not be able to deflect, Holden was already walking away.
“Holden!” Adam yelled after his friend. Holden stopped and glanced over his shoulder. “What's with the hats?”
Holden just laughed and resumed his stroll.
What the hell was happening?
🎃🥸 OLIVE 🥸🎃
“You know nobody will even notice the eye color, right?” Malcolm teased as he watched Olive try her best to put on her cheap novelty contact lenses.
“I am not going to half ass it” Olive argued.
When she was finally done she stepped back and admired her costume. She usually loved color, but even she had to admit that back on black with even more black sprinkled on top was not a bad look at all. She was wearing her second hand black shirt and black leggings. She even went ahead and found a black beanie to cover her brown hair. She was fairly committed to the bit, but not committed enough to risk damaging her hair. She was, however, committed enough to use brown contact lenses to get as close to Dr Evil's eye color as possible.
She could never tell Malcolm about the amount of time she'd spent looking at Dr Carlsen's photos. She wanted to find the right contact lenses, but the aloof professor had to make that task hard for his students too. Not that Olive was his student. She'd never even interacted with the man. But now even she was frustrated with him. His eyes were so hard to imitate. They were brown which should have made her task easy. Brown was the most common eye colour in the world after all. But no, Dr Evil just had to have some yellow and green sprinkled in his irises too!
His eyes were beautiful, Olive had to admit, but no cheap colored contacts manufacturer had even considered making such an option. How silly of them! So Olive had to begrudgingly buy some dirt cheap brown contact lenses that were fairly close to the brown shade of his eyes.
At least Malcolm saw the vision behind them, which gave her the confidence boost she needed.
She glanced at her roommate and smiled.
“You look sharp. Maybe you should get a Henley for yourself too" she teased.
Malcolm glanced at his outfit with a frown. He was wearing a black Henley he'd borrowed from a student from the physics department, and black jeans. He really did look good, Olive thought.
"I am not letting Carlsen set fashion trends for me, Kalamata. I'd rather set this Henley on fire" he grumbled and turned to leave.
Before he faced the door, Olive noticed his cocky smile. She rolled her eyes at his stubbornness. He was too proud to admit that his most hated adviser's fashion sense was not bad. She was getting him a Henley for Christmas, she decided then and there. She knew he'd love it!
She sighed and decided to get going too.It was show time.
She hoped that Dr Carlsen would find humor in the crowd's idea and would not end up trying to have them all kicked out of the program for it. He wouldn’t be able to punish all of them, right?
But in order to be safe and invisible within the crown she needed the crowd to cooperate. She hoped that people hadn’t backed out without telling her and Malcolm. She would not want them to be the only ones dressed up as the scariest man in California. What if he confronted her? She could pretend to be mourning. Yes. That was a good excuse. Carlsen couldn’t try to claim a colour, so he would have no right to question the reasoning behind her outfit too much. Plus, if they did end up being the only ones dressed up as him, Olive would really be mourning. She’d be mourning every single relationship she’d wasted her time on with these traitors.
She took a deep breath and grabbed her things. If only her costume came with Carlsen’s car, she thought with a sigh and grabbed her colourful bike helmet. It looked ridiculous next to her grim black outfit, but she had no choice but to put it on. Safety first, after all, she thought and rubbed her eyes, trying to get used to the novelty contact lenses. They did not feel quite right, but they would have to do. She only needed them for one day. She could stand having them on for that long.
🎃🚫 ADAM 🚫🎃
The longer he observed his students and fellow professors, the more unsettled he felt. People were laughing and joking around, occasionally mentioning Halloween as well.
“So you do know what day it is” Adam murmured to himself as he watched his grads point at each other's black outfits.
Why was no one talking about the lack of actual costumes in the department? He hated every one of those assholes in black clothes! They made him act like the only Halloween-obsessed idiot! He did not even care for the costumes! He didn't care for the mood around the department. He was usually happy being way out of the loop when it came to all those idiotic fun social ideas. What he did not like was not being able to wrap his head around things. And today his whole department made him feel insane. He needed someone to explain the black clothes to him. He also needed someone to explain to him why people scowled so much. He'd seen at least ten people scowling at each other and bursting out laughing just seconds later.
People made no sense, and Adam hated them. Even more so than usual.
The only person whom he couldn't hate was Olive Smith. Olive Smith who was also dressed in black. She looked stunning. Absolutely beautiful. Though Adam had to admit, he loved her colorful outfits more. She was usually a ray of sunshine around the department and today she looked almost as dark and broody as him. Well… she did until she smiled. The beautiful expression restored order in his world. She was still the ray of sunshine, no black piece of clothing could ever change that, Adam thought with a sigh.
He frowned a second later, when he noticed her eyes. Why on earth would she use colored lenses? Her green eyes were prettier than the dull brown she had on her irises today. He couldn’t think of a good reason as to why she’d do this. She was not dressed up. Why would she use a novelty item like this if she had no outfit to go with it?
Were these lenses corrective? Did she get them because of some random sale? Given her very questionable eye care history, he would not put it past her. Still, he was not a fan. He adored her green eyes. But then again, his opinion did not matter.
He turned around and left the moment he realised he was staring at her for a second too long. He needed to get a damn grip. He was shaping to be the most insane person in the department today. He couldn’t wait for this cursed day to end. He wanted to go back to normal. To Olive Smith wearing her colorful outfits, to being able to see her beautiful green eyes again. Even to other people dressed in their usual clothes too. He’d even take a random lab dress code violation over this… dark madness.
It was unnerving, he decided later that afternoon when yet another dark-dressed student shot him a sideways glance over his microscope. Adam didn’t understand those looks. He was the only one who’d stuck to his usual wardrobe today! But people still kept looking at him.
Did they expect him to praise them for finally dressing up like mature adults? If so, they were being ridiculous, he decided and grabbed a tray of dirty beakers and headed for the bathroom to wash them… and to have a moment to himself, away from everyone.
🎃🥸 OLIVE 🥸🎃
“I'm never buying lenses from that company” Olive announced to Malcolm and blinked rapidly trying to moisturise her cheap lenses.
The lenses irritated her eyes. It wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't a great feeling either. The world was a little bit blurry but it was nothing she hadn’t experienced before.
“What the fuck? Take them out” he ordered immediately and stepped closer to have a look.
“It's fine. I've only got a couple more hours left”
“Kalamata, I don’t think you should be wearing them if they hurt your eyes” Malcolm reasoned.
“It’s fine. I’ve worn worse” she joked. “At least these are not expired.”
“Are you sure they aren’t?” Malcolm asked with a frown.
Now that she thought about it, she couldn’t remember seeing any date on the packaging. The box the item had arrived in had very little information on and in it. She was happy with the low price tag, so she hadn’t even considered questioning anything else.
She did now that the question was raised.
“Pretty sure” she said with a shrug, even though she was not sure at all. She was not ready for a lecture about her eye care routine.
It took her less than an hour to change her mind about the lenses.
She needed to take them out. Now.
She could hardly see, the world had gone blurry, and the burning sensation was unbearable.
She needed to find the nearest bathroom. It didn’t help that she couldn’t even recognize anyone she could ask for help. Any person she walked past looked just like a blurry Dr Carlsen. Nobody looked familiar to her.
Well… no, that wasn't quite true. The blurry dark silhouettes seemed oddly familiar. Comforting even.
They reminded her of her mysterious friend, she realised as she walked past a couple more Bathroom Guy lookalikes on her way to the nearest bathroom. She really needed to get rid of those god forsaken lenses. She hoped she could get a refund too. They were not worth a dime.
“Hello” said a deep voice as soon as she entered the bathroom. He reminded her of her old bathroom friend but she did not trust her memory at the moment. All the blurry people made her think of him. Of course her mind would play tricks on her and try to make her believe that any deep voice was the voice too.
“Hi” Olive said with a wave and turned towards the sink.
“Are you… okay?” the voice asked with obvious concern.
“Yeah, it's just…” she waved her hand in front of her eyes. “My contacts” she said, not willing to elaborate.
She would not embarrass herself and her eye care in front of yet another man. Nope, not happening, she thought as she leaned over the sink and splashed her eyes with water. She would keep her guards up around strangers this time around.
“Please tell me they're not expired” the voice said, completely unaware that his innocent words broke straight through Olive's line of defence. She couldn't embarrass herself in front of a stranger if there was no stranger around. The man in the room was not a stranger at all! He was her bathroom friend!
“It's you!” she yelled and turned towards him, accidentally spraying him with water too. “Sorry!” she said quickly. “I hope the water didn't get on you. I can't really… see.”
“It did” he deadpanned. “But it's fine. We should focus on your eyes.”
“I'm fine, really. I just need to take the lenses out. And before you ask again, no, they are not expired” she grumbled and focused on the removal of the torture devices.
“But they still hurt you” the man pointed out. “Why would you want to change your eye colour anyway?”
Olive paused. She was yet to let him see her lenses. Why would he know they were not simply corrective? Why would he know brown was not her real eye color?
“What makes you think I'm trying to change my eye color?” she asked quietly.
“Because your eyes are green” the man stated simply. “Except for today.”
“How do you know my eye color?” she pressed on.
“You don't forget the eyes that cried but not really cried in your bathroom once already” he teased.
Olive still couldn't see his features enough to be able to tell for sure, but she could hear a smile in his voice.
“Oh, god, is it the same bathroom?” she asked. “Is it… your bathroom?”
“It is” he said slowly. “Out of curiosity, have you done… this… contact lense nonsense… in other people's bathrooms?”
How on earth had he managed to try and choose his words carefully and still end up insulting her actions?
“No. Yours is my bathroom of choice” she said sarcastically.
“Well, my bathroom and I are honored” he deadpanned.
Olive chuckled despite herself.
“I can't believe you remember me. And my eye color!” she pointed out again.
“We work in the same department. I see you quite often, Olive like the tree.”
Olive inhaled loudly. He knew her. He was aware of her presence around the department yet he'd never even considered talking to her?
All while she had no idea who he was?
She wanted to call him out on it straight away, but it didn't seem like the right move just yet. She needed to collect more data in case he managed to disappear from her life again.
“Hey, what’s your name? I’m still upset that I’d never gotten to ask you last time.”
The man paused. She wondered if she’d get an answer at all, but then she heard him sigh and announce “I’m Dr Carlsen” he said quietly.
Olive laughed. Of course he would not just give her a straight answer.
“Yeah, of course you are” she said sarcastically. “We all are today, aren’t we” she added and waved her hand between them. “What's your real name?”
🎃🚫 ADAM 🚫🎃
He froze.
“We all are today, aren't we”
Was she serious?
He considered everyone's black clothes, black hats. Even Olive's brown contact lenses made sense now.
Had everyone really plotted to dress up as him today? Was it Holden's idea? He would not be surprised at all.
But he had no room for anger at his friend and… everyone else. He was too focused on spiraling. He finally found the courage to tell Olive who he really was just to not only have her not believe him, but also to find out that she was in on the joke. She was dressed as him for Halloween. She'd even gone and risked damage to her eyes just to copy his eye color. Was that really what she thought of him? A monster worth becoming a Halloween costume?
She couldn't find out that he really was Dr Carlsen. Not after this. She wouldn't want to talk to him if she ever found out his true identity.
He was lucky as it was anyway. He'd never expected to talk to her again, yet here they were, getting a second chance to chat while she was blinded… again. It was more than he deserved, really. It would have to be enough.
“I'm Adam” he said quietly.
She would never know Adam's last name. She would never see him again. But at least he got to introduce himself this time around.
“Adam” she repeated, making him smile.