The night carried on with me occasionally glaring at Bella. Julian and Lillian were in their own world only talking amongst themselves. I guess this was a good thing since I didn't want it to be awkward the whole time she was here. The two had nothing in common so it surprised me that they were talking, a lot. I've never seen Julian talk this much and it made me a little envious of my sister since she got him to open up so much.

Out of all the pumpkins carved, I hated to admit it but mine was the ugliest. It did not look right but to be fair I wasn't really paying attention at mine but I was paying attention to the conversation that was going on in front of me.

My friends helped me clean up before they all left before it got too late. It was just me and my sister watching TV.

She broke the silence first. "When's the last time you've seen our parents?"

"It's been a week. Usually see them in the morning, it's rare though."

"Hmm, sad to see they haven't changed."

I agreed. "Yeah but I'm used to it. Can't complain when they've given us so much."

Lillian didn't say anything and continued watching the movie.

I let out a cough. "So, what did you and Julian talk about?"

Lillian looked at me and rolled her eyes. "School."

I didn't buy it; I knew she was lying. "Really?"

She nodded and got more comfortable on the couch. "What else would we talk about?"

"I don't know." I contemplated asking the next question. "Has Mariano talked to you? Visited you?"

I watched to see her reaction but got none. "No and I don't see why he would. We ended things in the summer and that is how it will remain." Her voice was tense, but I wanted to probe her some more. Maybe she will tell me the story.

"You know you never told me what happened between you two," I said coolly.

"I'll tell you when I'm ready," she said, a hint of sadness in her tone.

"You don't have to tell me more, but can you at least tell me if he cheated?" I needed confirmation. There were always rumors circulating Mariano. He was what they called the "bad boy" which I thought was cringe. I wanted to say the only person who truly knew him was my sister and his ex best friend.

"He didn't cheat." She stood up. "In my opinion he did something much worse. I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

I sat there dumbfounded. More questions, she left me with more questions. What could be worse than cheating?

I stood up and turned the TV. I made sure to put out the fireplace before heading up to my room.

I did my night routine before plopping down on my bed. Knowing that Lillian was right down the hall made me feel happy since I wasn't alone tonight.

I snuggled into my sheets and drifted off into a deep sleep.

--

The smell of bacon filled the air. I reached out for my phone to check the time. It was morning and looked to be a cloudy day.

Squinting at my phone, I saw it was only 10 am. Way too early to be up on a weekend.

I sat up and stretched. I hurriedly did my morning routine and went downstairs ready for Lillian's cooking which I missed dearly. Lillian was stupidly good at everything, and cooking was on that list.

When I walked into the kitchen I didn't expect both of my sisters to be there. I smiled brightly at Valeria who was by the stove and at Lillian who was sitting at the kitchen island.

Lillian glanced at me. "Oh you're up."

I took the stool next to her. "Yeah the food smells great. I didn't know you were coming Valeria."

She was scrambling the eggs and brewing some coffee. "Wanted to see how you were doing and I came to pick up Lily."

I crossed my arms and looked at the two. "Doing just fine. What did you need Lily for?"

Lillian got up to go to the fridge. "Remind me to get groceries for later." She pulled out some orange juice and grabbed a cup.

Valeria plated the eggs, bacon, and toast. "Just need Lillian for business things."

"Oh for the new place?" I asked.

Valeria set the plate in front of me and nodded. "Yup."

"But Lily, I'm going over to Axel's later since it's Halloween so can't go get groceries."

"Axel?" Valeria asked. "What will you be doing at Axel's? Did you get permission?"

I swallowed my food and rolled my eyes. Valeria was acting more like a mom than my real mom was.

"Just getting together with the gang. Plus, parents don't care where I go, and I'll be with Axel. You know how much mom loves him."

Valeria gave me a look from where she sat. "Doesn't mean you can wander anywhere you want. You better be home before 11. How's dance? Heard you won the competition."

Lillian sat a cup of orange juice in front of me and dug into her food.

I shrugged. "That was weeks ago but we did win. Dance is alright, getting ready for the next round."

"When is it maybe I can go and watch you this time?"

I froze and looked at the two who were watching me.

"Here's the thing. I won't be dancing in this one," I said.

They looked confused. "Why not?" Valeria asked.

"Interesting story. Last round I danced with Axel and he got hurt because of that so he had to take time off of swimming."

Lillian studied me. "Why were you dancing with Axel? He's not on the dance team."

I bit my lip. "Um so the dance team was short a male dancer, so Niko substituted in but get this. He never showed up to the competition because his dad 'kidnapped' him so he could go work. That's when Axel substituted in for him literally last minute. I don't have a dance partner anymore so I'm just the substitute in case someone gets hurt."

Valeria shook her head and went back to eating. "Swear that kid is in love with you." She muttered it but I obviously heard it and chose to ignore it.

"You sure you're fine with not dancing?" Lillian asked with doubt written all over her face.

"One hundred perfect. Plus, I'm the main lead in the musical so I need to focus on that."

"Oh, that's right, you somehow got cast as the lead. Beaty and the Beast right?" Valeria asked.

I nodded. "Guess who is the lead." I didn't wait for their response. "Axel!"

Valeria looked unamused. "Of course, he is. You two are always doing everything together. When is it by the way? There is no way in hell I'm missing that."

I thought about it for a moment. "I think February. Since we're still blocking, and break starts in a little over a month."

Valeria looked at Lily. "How about you? How is college treating you?"

Lily shrugged. "It's alright, survived midterms."

"When's your next concert thingy?" I asked excited to hear her play again.

"There's one before Christmas break. I'll let you guys know when the time gets closer."

"Happy with the college choice you made?" Valeria asked.

I looked at Lillian trying to read her expression. She sighed and shook her head.

"Don't tell our parents this but I'm thinking of transferring to one of the ivy leagues."

I looked at her a little surprised. The thought of Lily not being near me made me nauseous. Sure, she was hours away in college but that was just a drive away. Her going to an ivy league meant she'd be in a different state.

Valeria nodded, she seemed happy. "Glad you finally decided on that. Don't know why you stayed here when you got a full ride to those schools."

Lily looked down at her food. "Yeah, don't know why I stayed here." There was more to that sentence. It made me itch for more about her life. Lily was close yet so far away; I wanted Lily to open up to me.

Valeria stood up. "I'll wash the dishes if you two are done. Lily, we leave in an hour."

I put my dish in the sink and was a little saddened that this was probably the last time I'd eat breakfast with my sisters in a while. Valeria was so busy asking us about our life that I didn't get to ask her about hers.

"I'll see you," I bid farewell to her and trudged up the stairs. I was going to make the most of my alone time before I had to socialize.

--

I smoothed out my high-waisted pleated skirt that was a little too high up for comfort. I cursed the costume store for not having any capes to go along with my costume. I was dressed in Slytherin's uniform.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I had some light makeup and I left my hair free in its natural wavy state.

Taking one last look around my room, I grabbed my hoodie since it'll probably be colder later when we're coming home. I grabbed my wallet and keys and headed out.

Lillian was long gone with Valeria on "work business." I was still trying to work out why Valeria would need Lillian for something like that.

Shaking the thoughts away, I locked my door and headed toward Bella's house. It was almost 9 at night and the drive to the party was a little over thirty minutes since Vince's teammate was holding it at his family's winter cabin.

I didn't bother knocking and let myself in like Bella always tells me to do. I could hear her music blasting from her room.

I locked the door and made my way up to her room. She was touching up her makeup but other than that seemed almost done.

"Oh you're here." She didn't look in my direction and kept doing what she was doing.

Bella looked stunning. She and Vince decided on going as a Greek Goddess and God. A good choice on her end since she looked absolutely beautiful.

I plopped down on her bed and watched as she hummed along with her music. Seconds later, I was a little surprised when Vince walked out of her bathroom.

He was grinning and flexing.

"Don't I look good?" he asked as he flexed again.

I looked at him disgusted.

"You probably only chose to go as that because you wanted to show off your toned body," I said.

He rolled his eyes and checked himself out in the mirror. I hated to admit it but Vince was in shape and looked good. The hours he put in when it came to working out for soccer had paid off.

"Almost done Bells?" Vince asked, still checking himself out.

"Yeah, just one more thing."

I ignored them both and pulled out my phone. There was a couple of messages from Lillian saying she was going to come home very late.

"Axel almost done too?" Vince asked me.

I shrugged. "Should be. He said he was helping his mom with something but that was like one hour ago. He should be done by now."

Vince nodded and sat down next to me. "How's it going between you two?"

I looked at Bella and glared at her. Of course, she'd tell Vince everything. I didn't answer Vince and got back to messing with my phone.

"How was dancing in the rain?" He teased.

I scowled and smacked him on the arm.

"That was a while ago. Bella, I'm never telling you anything," I scowled.

I got up from the bed when I saw Bella put lip-gloss on.

"I can't keep anything from Vince and you know it," she responded.

"Mmmhmm. I'll meet you guys at Axel's since I'm assuming you're both done."

I turned to walk away but was stopped by Bella calling out my name.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed.

She smirked but then shook her head. "Never mind."

I rolled my eyes and continued to make my way toward Axel's house. The breeze hit and all my life choices were being regretted. I should've chosen a costume that had pants.

Axel was outside taking things out of his car. Typical Axel last minute taking the trash out of his car.

"Never letting you or Bella in my car again. You two always leave your crap," he grumbled.

I laughed and leaned against his car. "Suck it up. You look good."

He turned to look at me and froze. "You do too I guess." He went back to doing whatever he was doing.

"Ready to hit the road!" Vince yelled behind us.

Axel and I both turned to look at him and Bella. They both looked good.

"Alright, I need to get gas first before we set off. Everyone has everything ready?" Axel asked.

I responded with a quick 'yeah' and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Let's go then."

--

I slipped my hand through Bella's arm. "You ready Bella?" She seemed a little nervous coming here.

She nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, no one is drinking remember."

Axel and Vince nodded and walked in front of us. They were not going to listen to her. I didn't plan on drinking; I knew the idiots were more than likely getting intoxicated.

"This is sketchy Mari. Why are we in the middle of the woods?" Bella walked closer to me.

I chuckled. "We'll be fine." Music was blasting, and there were people outside mingling here and there, but it was too cold, so everyone was inside.

I tugged Bella. "Let's go." We were engulfed by the sweet warmth the moment we walked inside. It was packed, almost like the whole school was there. Everyone was in their costumes and having a good time.

"Arabella!" I turned to look at the culprit of the voice. It was one of Bella's friends from student government.

Bella let go of my arm and looked at me. I motioned for her to go and join her friend. She did so reluctantly and then the two disappeared into the crowd.

I scanned the crowd for any sign of Julian and Niko, but I only spotted Niko talking to a group of females. It was a little upsetting to see.

I made my way over toward him and when he caught sight of me he excused himself and met me halfway.

"Where's Julian?" I yelled over the loud music and looked around.

"Stayed home, had to do something last minute." Niko took hold of my hand to grab my attention. He leaned forward towards my ear. "You look good Mariposa."

I felt my face heat up; I took a step back and avoided his gaze. I discreetly checked him out. Wasn't really dressed up, all Niko wore was a leather jacket with a white shirt and jeans.

"Want something to drink?" He asked.

I shook my head. "No thank you."

"You sure? I'll go get us some drinks. Stay here." And he was gone.

I stood there awkwardly looking around to see if I saw any other familiar faces.

"Mariposa!" I turned surprised to see Greyson.

I grinned widely. Greyson was dressed up as Prince Charming. "Greyson, what are you doing here?" He gave me a quick hug.

"Got invited. You here with your friends?"

I nodded and continued to look around.

"How's it going in the love department?"

I let out a dry laugh. "There's no progress there."

"The swimmer or the soccer player?"

I looked at him. "Neither."

He shook his head in disappointment. "Kinda hoping you go for the soccer player. The other one seems like a pushover."

I glared at him which caused him to laugh. "Axel is not a pushover."

"That's what you think. Looks like the soccer player is heading this way. I'm going to dip before he beats me up for even talking to you. See you around Mari." He quickly walked away, I let out a small laugh.

"Was tha-"

I cut Niko off. "No. Let's go look for our friends."

--

Bella was pissed. All three idiots were intoxicated. Vince was tipsy but it was still a hassle getting him into the car. Same with Axel who was now fast asleep in the passenger seat of his car.

Niko was being stubborn, it was a sight.

"Let's go Niko," Bella said irritated.

Niko shook his head stubbornly. "No, I want to go with Mari. Alone." He stumbled over and tried to put his arm over my shoulder but lost balance. I tried holding him up with all the strength I could muster.

Bella folded her arms. "Why do you want to go with Mari alone?"

Niko stumbled again. "That's none of your business."

Bella sighed. "Mari I know you hate driving but-"

I waved her off. "It's fine, he can spend the night at mine since my parents won't be home. You'll be okay with those two?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Vince should be better by the time we get home."

"Alright, I'll be behind you." I watched as she got in Axel's car and turned on the engine.

"Niko," I said softly. "Let's go to your car."

Niko grinned widely and didn't let go of me. This was a workout.

"'Mari," Niko mumbled as I tried to get him in the passenger seat.

"Hmm."

"You're so pretty."

I chuckled. "Thank you Niko. Let's buckle you up."

Once everything was set I climbed into the drivers seat and took a deep breath.

"Mari, I trust your driving."

"Very reassuring," I mumbled and I put the car in drive.

The real struggle was about to begin. Niko slept through the whole car ride, thankfully. Now I had to somehow get him into the house without waking up Lillian.

I glared at Niko, he was still peacefully sleeping.

I opened the door and unbuckled his seatbelt. I nudged him softly.

"Niko, let's go inside."

"Where are we?" He asked. He wasn't as drunk as earlier.

"My place, let's go."

I tugged on his arm so he would get out. Slowly he did, he was still stumbling.

"Mari."

I ignored him and tried to get him up the stairs to the front door.

"Niko, you have to be quiet so we don't wake up Lillian. You understand?"

He nodded. " I have to be quiet," he whispered loudly.

I rolled my eyes and unlocked the door. Everything was still dimly lit.

"Alight, let's go to my room."

"Okay," he whispered.

Slowly we made it up the stairs. Luckily we were quiet about it and he only stumbled once or twice.

Niko flopped onto my bed; he was barely awake. I quickly went downstairs for some water and medicine. When I went back into my room, he was fumbling with the TV remote.

I snatched it away and gave him the medicine and water.

"Drink this," I said. He obliged and let out a sigh.

"Mari, can I confess something?" Niko said, eyes half open.

"What do you want to say?"

"I think you're the most beautiful girl in the world," his words were still a slur.

My heart rate sped up. Tonight was not the night for this.

"I really really had a big crush on you when we-" his words were cut off by a gag.

Him throwing up on my sheets was the last thing I needed. I quickly rushed to get a bucket to set it next to the bed but he was already fast asleep by the time I came back.

I studied him. They say drunk words are sober thoughts. Did Niko like me back at some point?

QOTC: what are some of your hobbies?