Chapter 9.2: Party Hard

Every Halloween when Ace and Fenton would go to parties, they would wear outfits of a similar theme.

  This year Fenton could not do that, and didn't know what to wear. He was buying a last minute costume and didn't know what to get. Santos was with him, and they stood in front of a mostly bought out Halloween store. The kind that popped up the last week in September and disappeared without a trace November 1st.

   Santos and Fenton had become quite close over the past month in the quest to find out why everything kept repeating. Fenton however, still disliked Levi. It was soon turning into hatred. He hated that he was rich and constantly flouted the rules. He hated that when Ace disappeared, he asked Fenton, Do you think that I had something to do with it?

  Fenton felt that Leviathan was one of the most self-centered people he had ever met in his life, and hated that he knew that Levi was interested in Ace.

It made his skin crawl.

  Santos and Fenton however, got along great. Fenton was curious, he had to know everything about everyone and anything. Santos was older than dirt as he liked to say, and would answer many of Fenton's questions. Many of the answers he did not like, but he still asked Santos anyway.

  While Fenton was trying to decide between the last few outfits, none of which appealed to him, Fenton drilled him with more questions. "Why are you Levi's bodyguard," Fenton asked. "I knew his grandfather," Santos said. Fenton dropped the pen that looked like a syringe filled with blood he was considering buying and looked at Santos like he had discovered the cure to cancer.

"You knew Michael Slater?"

Santos nodded. "Good man, his youngest son is a shit head though," Santos scoffed. "I promised him I'd take care of his family, in return he took care of mine."

Oh yeah, Fenton thought. He must have kids. It's so weird to think about.

  "Why do you live in the dorms," Fenton asked.

  "You are just full of questions today," Santos sneered. He picked up glow in the dark vampire fangs and let out a soft heh.

  "Answer me," Fenton grumbled.

  Santos answered all his questions while he played with the fake teeth, moving it up and down as he talked, pretending as if it were speaking instead of him. "I am so tired of Maximillian," Santos groaned. "He hates going anywhere near there, so I live there with everyone else in the Defense Program."

   "He can't be that bad," Fenton grinned. "The only reason he breathes is because I promised his father, and his father has kept his end of the bargain," Santos sneered. "I await the day Maximillian finally gives me an excuse to tear his head off."

Killing him would be doing the world a service, Fenton thought.

  Fenton had given up making an actual costume until he saw what Santos was doing. "I'm going to be a vampire for Halloween," Fenton decided.

  Santos leered at him. "Don't appropriate my culture." Fenton laughed and Santos broke out in a wild grin. "You aren't so bad," Santos mumbled. "I'll miss you when you die."

  "Please stop saying strange things," Fenton groaned. He found a pair of fangs that Santos hadn't molested and put it in his shopping cart.

  "I didn't really care about things repeating until now," Santos said. He looked crestfallen and talked very quiet. "I was upset that I had to keep reliving everything, but honestly it's given me time to get to know myself and all of you."

  He's going to tell me something I can't unlearn, Fenton thought. Not again.

  "Everything repeats, but nothing changes," Santos grumbled. "Sometimes the ending is different, but it all repeats. Sometimes you die, sometimes everyone dies, sometimes Ace dies."

   Fenton stopped looking and glared at him hard. "Where is he," Fenton screamed. "You knew where he was this entire time and didn't tell anyone!?!"

"No, I don't know where he is," Santos shouted. "Shut the hell up!"

  Fenton was gripping the cart handle so hard his knuckles were turning white. "Don't hide anything from me," Fenton snarled. "I don't like fake people!" Santos scoffed and shook his head.

  "In the thousands of times I've talked to you, you always say that," he chuckled. "You got some serious control issues." Fenton ignored him and walked away, off to find the rest of his vampire costume. Santos picked up the pen that looked like a blood syringe and looked at the price. He let out a grunt, took off the sticker and simply shoplifted it.

  As they went through the store, Santos refused to pay for anything. He was absolutely sure everything would repeat, so why bother paying for anything at all? By the end of their shopping spree, Fenton had a simple costume, and Santos had lifted various knick knacks he would never use and didn't really want.

  He grinned like a hyena as they walked out and the alarms didn't go off. Fenton was done giving Santos the silent treatment because he knew it never worked. "Sorry for yelling," he mumbled. "I just really miss him."

  "Don't worry," Santos sighed. "You'll see him once everything starts over again."

  "I don't want it to," Fenton's voice cracked. "Why should I lose him over again?"

  Santos groaned. "Don't cry. I'll take you home."

  "I'm not crying," Fenton mumbled. "I'm just upset." Santos took off his jacket and had an open back shirt on. "That's a pretty girly shirt," Fenton teased.

   "You were shorter than Harmonia last month, be quiet," Santos teased. Fenton was now silent and gripped his plastic bag tighter, pouting like a toddler that was told no. Santos stretched his arms and his shoulders, making a big show.

  "Are… you going to call a cab or something," Fenton asked.

  "Nope. Waste of time and money," Santos replied. Great wings burst from his back and Fenton flinched, having long forgotten his trick.

  He can't really be as old as he says he is Fenton thought. He doesn't look older than twenty.

  Fenton and everyone else refused to believe Santos was completely honest about everything, because he was never serious about anything.

  "Put this in your bag," Santos grumbled. Fenton stuffed his jacket in the bag, and Santos grabbed him.

"Don't let go," Santos barked. He picked up Fenton like he was a potato sack and he started to shout. Fenton screamed, high pitched as Santos ran and leaped off into the air. It was possibly the most distressing five minutes of his life as Santos made dirty jokes to Fenton, his captive audience the entire flight back.

  Santos landed in the fly zone, where all the other people who could fly could take off and return. The landing zone had deep ridges in the ground where everyone repeatedly landed, and the take off zone had many cracks. Like the others he slid into the landing zone's ridges and came to a halt.

  The employee who had to supervise the zone yawned. A winged man was the least concerning thing he had seen at work, and was simply happy that rocks didn't go flying when he landed.

Fenton's legs shook as Santos put him down, and finished his last dirty joke.

  "It was a sheep," Santos laughed. Fenton laughed nervously, clutching his shirt while his heart beat fast.

  "Don't do that again," he whispered.

  "Tell that joke," Santos asked.

  "Don't fly with me ever again," Fenton trembled.

  "You need to loosen up," Santos grumbled. "You're eighteen, you act like you're fucking fourty."

  They walked through the campus, already decorated with signs for the visitors to go on rides and see concerts. The main walkway was painted orange and black for the entire month of October, and large spooky banners graced the entrances of all the buildings. Balloons were tied down by large rocks and littered the hallways. Jack-o-lanterns grinned at the bottom of stairwells and everyone was already wearing their costumes.

   Everyone was excited for many reasons the last three days of October. Most of the people employed in the Defense Program had three days off, the students had three days off, and so did the trainees. Everyone who was young had fun and ate candy, and everyone who was older went on vacation or simply got trashed and didn't remember the past three days.

It was a win-win.

  On their way into the dorms, they passed by Candice.

   "What are you doing here," Fenton grumbled. "This isn't even your building."

"It's a free planet, leave me alone," she said shrill and high pitched.

   Candie was on edge ever since Ace had disappeared. That was normal, since they were dating, but she wasn't taking it very well. This surprised Fenton because he thought that she was just waiting for her chance to swallow him whole.

  Fenton refused to leave the lobby and waited for her to leave first. "Why are you staring at me," she hissed.

  "Why are you staring at us," Santos spat. Someone entered the lobby and waved at Candice. She had a box of arts and crafts.

  "Eat rocks," Candice jeered. They left and Fenton and Santos felt silly. "Do you ever think that we're imaging it all," Fenton asked.

  "No. I have lived through this day many times. I wish it were all in my head," Santos seethed. Santos got out his phone and saw the time. "I need to go," he mumbled. He quickly left, and Fenton sighed. He got into the elevator and suddenly felt sad again.

   He could not handle being alone anymore ever since Ace had disappeared. He used Santos as his emotional support human, and Fenton knew it was starting to get to him. Fenton returned to his room, with the packed up boxes of Ace's things, the once in a lifetime cleaned bed, and the crushing silence.

  "I hate it here now," Fenton grumbled. I should have made more friends outside of my team in my five years here, Fenton thought.

  He got dressed in his costume, and inspected himself. He stared into his reflection using the mirror attached to his door. He felt quite ridiculous, and his confidence wasn't as high as it usually was without his partner in crime.

   Shouldn't I feel a little silly, Fenton asked himself. Isn't that the point of Halloween? He hissed, baring his quite realistic plastic fangs.

I just need more self confidence, Fenton told himself. You're only young once. Go out and meet someone!

  Fenton was his own hype man, as he did jumping jacks, punched the air, yelled and braced himself for the night on the town.

"I can make it without him," Fenton mumbled. "Everyone else is fine."

Everyone else was not fine.