𝒊 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕

She looked down at her hands between his, but there was so much going on in her head, that she forgot to offer him a smile… Something that would have happened if this was an entirely different situation, because Isabelle enjoyed people who communicated with touch. Her eyes averted up to his, panic evident in her gaze, but she didn’t say anything. She just let Patrick take her away from there.

Patrick pulled her further away from the confusion, but then he started to feel bad. He knew how she felt. His friends could be back there as well. He ducked into a nearby bookstore, figuring it would be pretty quiet in there. He turned to Belle then, biting his lip as he looked down at her.

The sounds were so familiar… it was almost like she was back at that parking lot. There was a burning sensation on her abdomen, where her worse injury had been and she was quick to move her hand there and check for any bleeding… No blood. No bullet wound. This wasn’t real. 

Patrick shook his head quickly, his dark hair flying across his forehead. "N-no, you c-can't," he said, taking her hand and holding it between his. "Th-there's still gunfire g-going off. We n-eed to get as f-far away f-from the shots as we c-can." He was extremely worried about Wyatt and Doreen, but he didn't want Belle to get hurt on his watch.

Doreen studied his expression, unsure how to proceed. If this was his first time around guns then the shock would be common, but if he was having second thoughts she didn’t want to confirm to him that this job was pulled off by them. “I don’t know.” she lied. “I don’t remember anyone telling me about this.” It was believable enough. “Let’s go to that rave. Get a drink. Calm nerves and get seen. Just in case.” 

Patrick wasn't sure if Doreen was lying or not. He couldn't tell with all the commotion. But he couldn't very well go running toward the gunshots to look for Wyatt, and he couldn't leave her there to go back to his home, so he just nodded at her suggestion, swallowing hard.

"Nonsense." Belle shook her head as she looked at the other boy. "Come. Let’s get ourselves some treats." The brunette smiled, but stopped short as she heard the distant sound of gunfire. She clung to Patrick’s arm and even though she should have moved, she couldn’t… Belle just stood there, frozen.

Patrick paled as he heard the gunshots. He froze as well, feeling Belle clinging to his arm but not sure what to do about it. He kind of wanted to break into a run toward the where the gunshots were, to see if Wyatt had been there, to make sure his friend was okay. But as he looked down at the girl beside him, he realized that he couldn't do that. He couldn't abandon her there.

Doreen stopped walking when the gunshots began, by instinct she pulled Patrick behind her. Pin-pointing that the sound was coming from The Devil’s Underground, she turned them around and pulled him in the opposite direction. “I guess we should have gone for the haunted house, huh?” She joked, trying to make light of the situation. “I bet it is a lot less scary in there right now.”

Patrick froze when he heard the gunshots, stumbling behind Doreen as she pulled him behind her. He bit his lip, allowing her to drag him away, though he glanced back at the where the gunshots had originated, wondering if anyone he knew was hurt, wondering where Wyatt was, and if he was okay. "W-Was . . . was that us?" he asked Doreen then in a soft voice, swallowing hard. Hacking into enemy databases was one thing. Burning down a restaurant with no one else around was another. But a shoot-out . . . with people actually getting hurt and dying . . . He got the sick feeling that Merveilles was behind the attack, but he hoped it wasn't. He wasn't stupid. He knew that the gang he was affiliated with was dangerous. But up until now nobody had died. He felt sick.

Flynn bit back the chuckle that was threatening to come out of his lips at the guy’s reaction. Truth be told, he hadn’t meant to frightened the man, he had merely made his statement out as a joke. Gently patting the man on his shoulder he flashed him a smile. “Nothing to fret over man. No vampires here, simply said it as a light air of humor. What’s life without a good humor, aye? Although, I did catch one fellow walking around with a wooden stake, but that was all props for his costume, I’m sure. What’s your name?” 

Patrick let out a sigh of relief, shaking his head then and feeling foolish. "I-I knew that," he muttered under his breath before looking up at the other man beside him. "I'm P-P-Patrick," he stammered out, flushing and hating his stutter more than ever. It made introductions awfully annoying, as he always seemed to have the most trouble with his "Ps."

Yeah. He’s like my brother, I’m an only child, so it felt like it.

I-I was an o-only child t-too. Wyatt and his f-family sort of b-became a s-surrogate for mine. S-so I know wh-what that's like. To-to adopt s-someone into y-your life and f-family, I mean.

"Well, seems like you’ve got some good friends there. Here’s hoping you have an equally good night, yeah?" She smiled. "How are you liking it so far?"

"It's, um, it's i-interesting. Yeah," he said, biting his lip as he looked around and then back at her. "I-I don't kn-know if I'd c-call it a g-good night though. N-Not much has h-happened. I'm n-not sure if that's a g-good thing or a b-bad thing."

"Thanks. Are you working anything tonight or just walking around?"

"O-oh, I was g-going to be w-working. But, um, my f-friends thought I sh-should get out m-more. S-so I'm just w-walking around."

Lead the way, then.

Wh-where do you want t-to go?

Sally smiled at the man, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. “Thank you, and oh, well I am in charge along side my best-friend Jack of the Haunted House. You should you know stop by…. It came out fantastic.” She offered him another smile at the compliment of her costume. “Thank you, and you’re very welcome.”

"O-oh. Er. I d-don't think I'll be g-going to the H-Haunted H-House. Sc-scary things like that, um, sc-scare me." He shook his head, feeling a little sheepish.

"Yeah, I guess. I’m really excited about that fact, though."

"Y-you should be. I th-think you'd be g-great at it. Y-you're really sw-sweet and k-kind."

"Only if you get too greedy and bite right into them. Come on, Patrick. Besides, you need to walk around, show off your costume to people.”

A-Ack, okay. Okay! Y-you don't n-need to-to p-p-pull my arm o-off. 

"Thank you!" She smiled warmly, taking his arm and began dragging him towards the Devil’s Underground. "Come on! It is the party or the haunted house. And I hear the haunted house is really, really scary. Extremely scary. Please. Please, please please.” She pouted her lip, which was difficult with vampire teeth. “Scary or semi-scary with lots of alcohol and some dancing.”

Patrick sighed. He couldn't very well refuse her when she was pouting like that. "A-Alright. I'll g-go to the p-p-party with you," he said, deciding that semi-scary with alcohol sounded better than completely scary with zero alcohol.

Yeah, he is. Since we were little kids.

Th-That's c-cool. It's good t-to have a b-best friend l-like that. I d-don't know where I'd b-be without Wyatt.

Well. Next year then? And I’m sure this won’t be the last dress up event in the city.

Y-you're p-p-probably right. So, um, is C-Colton your b-best friend?

Oh, that’s actually pretty cool. Nice costume. Well, Colton is the other half of my costume, since he’s the vampire I’m after. His idea, not mine.

I-I wanted to p-pair up with Wyatt like th-that. But I-I couldn't come up with an i-idea in t-time. I-I think he ended up w-working tonight a-anyway though.