Ch. 22: Costumes & Ego-Trips

"Okay, so Halloween is in one week. Can we please talk about costumes?" Char asks, as we all settle in the living room at the football house.

It's been a few weeks since the Homecoming game, and as our friend group has gotten closer, so have me and Asher. I know I was the one who wanted to take it slow, but I feel like I'm ready to move forward to the next step. Make things official. In almost two months, Asher has shattered every misconception I have had about him. Asher can be an arrogant ass, but I've come to realize it's a front; a defense mechanism to keep people out. If anyone can understand that it would be me.

"Before you even start, I am not doing joint costumes with you, Noah." Asher interrupts my train of thought, as I tune back into the conversation between my friends.

"You haven't even given my ideas a fair chance!" Noah protests, as Asher only shakes his head.

"I am not dressing up as Thing 1 and Thing 2." I stifle a laugh, as I listen to Noah and Asher argue yet again. Noah has been bugging Asher for weeks to do a best friend costume, and Asher refuses to budge.

"For the thousandth time, it would be Drunk 1 and Drunk 2! How are people supposed to know we are best friends if we don't dress up together?" Noah yells back. Nina and Char roll their eyes, as Colton laughs.

"Dude, I'm not getting into this again. No joint costumes. End of discussion." Asher responds. Noah starts to argue, but Asher shoots him a look. Pouting, Noah sinks back into his seat, folding his arms across his chest. Char shakes her head at the child that is her boyfriend before kissing his cheek and leaning into his side to comfort him. Noah smiles and relaxes, but not before shooting Asher one last glare.

"Well, the costume I have planned has been years in the making. Elle Woods' bunny costume from Legally Blonde!" Char dances in her seat, all excited. Noah cheers her on, and I can only grin at the sight of those two together.

"Babe, that is iconic. I'm here for it." Noah says, holding his hand, as the couple fist bumps.

"I know! All my past boyfriends were never secure enough, and always critiqued how I would dress, but now, my boyfriend is my hype-man," Char starts to say, with Noah adding in "You know it girl" at her remark. "So, I'm going as the icon that is Elle Woods. Anyone else know what they are going to dress up as?" Char asks the room.

From his chair, Colton stands up and points over at Nina. "Well, if someone wouldn't be so stubborn, we could do a couple costume", he says. Nina shoots out of her seat, ready to start a fight. I swear all our group does is bicker.

"Couple costumes are for people who are a couple. Unless I missed something, you and I aren't together, Colton!" Nina responds. Oh boy, here we go again.

"Well, it's not from my lack of trying." Colton replies, frustration clear in his tone. "If it was up to me, we would have been back together months ago, but every time I bring it up, YOU change the subject." Colton answers.

"We have been doing this on and off thing for years, and I can't do it anymore! I'm tired of getting hurt," she exclaims. Nina is pacing back and forth now, until Colton grabs her by the shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

"Nina, you're hurting us. Look, I know blame can be put on me too; I wasn't always the best communicator, but all I have done in the past year is open up and show you how I feel. It's like that terrifies you! You want me to communicate, but the second I do, and we start to get close, you run. You make up some excuse for why it isn't working and before I can even process what's happening, you're out the door." I sigh. I love my best friend, but there's a lot of truth in what Colton says. As long as I have known Nina, she has kept people at a distance. It took a long time to chip away at Nina's harsh exterior to discover the person hiding behind it is more fragile than she lets on. Nina's gaze softens as she starts to tear up.

"You know that my mom cheated on my dad. He loved her with every fiber of his being, and she broke him. And, then she left us. I don't want that. I don't want to love someone that badly, only for it to end in heartbreak and devastation. And with you...I can see myself loving you. Needing you; and I'm scared to need you," Nina confesses, on the verge of tears. Char and I make eye contact; this isn't news to us. Nina isn't the type to easily let her emotions show, but she has confided in us about her feelings for Colton and why she keeps pushing him away. While Char and I might have known what was in our best friends' heart, Colton has been left in the dark. Until now.

A small smile begins to form on his face, as he pulls her close, wiping away the tears that have begun to fall.

"Nina, I love you. I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, as long as you'll have me." Nina looks up at Colton as he reassures her. The room is silent. I gasp, as I watch my best friends' resolve crumble. Nina smiles, pulling Colton into a short kiss.

"I love you too." Nina mumbles, as she breaks the kiss. Colton grins before cheering like a maniac. Everybody lets out a sigh of relief, watching Colton pick Nina up and spin her around in his arms. Throwing her head back in a fit of laughter, I don't think I have ever seen Nina so blissfully happy.

"Okay, so we can do a couple costume?" Colton asks, hopefully. Nina rolls her eyes, laughing while nodding her head. As the two kiss again, things start to get a little too heated. Char starts snapping her fingers, interrupting the two.

"First of all, as someone who has been rooting for you two crazy kids to work it out, I have never been happier, but y'all need to either chill or get a room!" Char jokes.

"You know what? You're right, Char. Let's go babe." Nina retorts, sending us a playful smirk. Before Colton could protest (which I doubt he ever would), Nina grabs his hand, pulling him out of the house. The second the door slams shut; we are all sent into a laughing fit.

As I catch my breath, I find myself smiling, happy for my friend.

"Ok, so if Nina and Colton are doing a couple costume, why can't we, buddy?" Noah asks, looking over at Asher.

"Because we aren't a couple, Noah!" Asher explains, yelling at his best friend. I start to laugh before I feel Asher elbow my side. I grumble out in false pain, glancing over and seeing Asher with a cheeky grin.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Noah mumbles, shrugging his shoulders. The argument is luckily broken up when Liam walks into the room. Feeling Asher tense up beside me, I look over at Liam, who is glaring at the boy sitting next to me.

"Liam, hey! What's up?" I try to break up the tension that has entered the room. Char and Noah catch my drift; Char waves and Noah nods his head in Liam's direction.

"Hey guys! Asher." Liam greets the rest of us warmly but grits his teeth as he acknowledges Asher.

"You look nice, Liam! Who are you all dressed up for?" Char asks, in another attempt at diffusing the ticking time bomb that are the Asher and Liam.

"Thanks, Charlotte! I'm actually headed out to meet up with Annie." Liam responds.

"Ooh! Tell her I said hi. And Char is right, you look great." I mention, smiling. Asher stiffens next to me, but I ignore him.

"Thanks! It doesn't look like I'm trying too hard?" Liam asks, fidgeting nervously with the buttons on his shirt. I do a once-over of his outfit; a plain black t-shirt he layered with a button-up black and grey flannel and a pair of black jeans, distressed and worn.

"No, you look good, and Annie would be a fool to think otherwise." I reassure him. Asher scoffs, mumbling under his breath. I pinch his side, letting him know to knock it off. I can feel Asher glaring at the side of my head but again choose to ignore him. I don't know what his issues with Liam are, but I'm trying to help. I have no interest in being caught in the middle of two men and their fragile egos.

"Thanks, Makayla! Thought I would finally take your advice and lay all my cards out on the table. Wish me luck!" he says, walking out of the room. Char, Noah, and I tell him good luck before he leaves. We watch as Liam grabs his keys from the front-end table when Asher finally speaks.

"Yeah, tell Annie I said hi too." Asher spits out, sarcasm and anger laced in his tone. I suck in a breath, as I glance over at Liam. He froze in his steps, hands still on the doorknob. A few moments pass, as we all wait for a response. Noah is on the balls of his feet, ready to step in, if a fight breaks out. With how volatile these two have been in the past, it wouldn't be too surprising.

"I'll pass on the message. While I'm at, I'll remind her that you're still an arrogant prick. Although, I'm sure she hasn't forgotten that fact." Liam spits out, venomously. Without turning back, Liam walks out the front door, closing it shut in his stride. The sound of the door slamming echoes through the large, quiet house.

I'm furious at Asher; why couldn't he just let it go? Everything was fine, and Liam was leaving. Why did he have to stir the pot? Looking past the anger, I mostly feel confused.

"Okay, so you want to tell me what the hell that was about?" Asher's face falls, as he notices my reaction. I see Noah and Char quietly leave the room, not wanting to intrude on this moment between me and Asher.

"It's kind of a long story," he nervously answers, not knowing how I will take it.

"Well lucky for you, I got time."

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Disclaimer: I don't know the legality of using established references in works of fiction, but any mention of pop culture or fictional people, places, or things, are not my own. All rights to original creation.