"You know what?” Ayaka said, sceptical as she was applying under Ocean's eyes a thick white paint, “I've noticed something strange lately… I haven't seen any girls coming out of your door for the last couple of weeks. Are you feeling okay?"

Ocean smirked, letting a sharp puff of air come out of his nostrils. He was sitting on a short stool, trying to keep still while Ayaka was putting makeup on him with the help of her brushes, colour tubes, pigments and all the neat tools she had in the pockets of her white apron.

He really wanted to look like a scary skeleton for this afternoon's party, and Ayaka was the only person he knew and trusted for great results. What he did for himself was to buy a pair of jet black leggings with bone structure printed on them and dig out from his wardrobe an oversized black hoodie. The rest was left in the hands of the mightful spirits. And alcohol. It was Halloween after all.

"That's probably because you're too busy shifting yer man-"

"Jesse?" said Ayaka and sighed. "If only it was so... I think he respects me too much, you know?"

"Respects you too much?" Ocean howled and raised his eyebrows so high his forehead wrinkled and cracked the colour of his white foundation.

Ayaka rolled her eyes irritated and grabbed a tear-shaped sponge, dipped it in pigment and began pressing it against Ocean's skin to fix the coverage. "Stop moving your face so much! And what I meant was... I'm tired of waiting, that's all. We’ve been dating for a few months now and we've barely kissed. I like him and he likes me, so let's get this party started, that's what I'm saying."

"Have you ever thought of just... you know, asking him?"

"Why would I? He's the guy!"

Ocean exhaled loudly and deeply in disappointment. "Right, that's exactly how it works... Anyway, how's Takehiko? Haven't seen him much around. Has he settled down?"

"Oh yeah, he's such an angel, all day in the library, leaving me alone in peace. I'm giving him two weeks before his enthusiasm wears off and he starts slacking, I know my brother."

"Just in time for his first exams. Is he coming tonight?"

Ayaka silently took a brush from the pocket of her apron and started filling Ocean's eye socket with black eye shadow. "Don't open your eyes until I'm finished... Yup, he is definitely coming, can’t get rid of him that easily.”

“About time he makes some friends too, eh?”

“Doubt it. He’s too much of a hedgehog to even give it a try.”

“A hedgehog?”

“Yeah,” said Ayaka and changed her brush to an extremely thin one to add details to the teeth she had drawn on Ocean’s cheeks. “Keep still. Yeah, so, a hedgehog. It’s a thing, I’ve only learned about it the other day when I was checking out someone’s psychology books. ‘The hedgehog’s dilemma’, do you know?”

“Sounds like you do,” said Ocean, trying to keep his expression calm, his eyes still closed.

“Well, it’s the whole thing about people being afraid of hurting others and themselves so they keep a comfortable distance. Just like hedgehogs do so that they don’t stick each other’s eyes with their quills. That’s Také. People haven’t been very kind to him so…  He might give it a go nevertheless, you never know.”

“I see.”

“There, all done. You can open your eyes now," Ayaka said and stood back to look at her art. “What do you think?”

Ocean turned on the front camera of his phone and admired the results. "It looks fierce! I look like a dead wearing normal-people clothes!"

"So just like every other day, yeah?"

The two friends laughed in unison. They took a picture together, cleaned up and Ocean, after gathering his stuff, headed for the long-awaited Halloween party.

❦

Fidgeting around awkwardly with his phone, Takehiko was sitting in the corner of a long black couch, his double whiskey and coke waiting on the coffee table before him. The music was very loud, which wasn't helping his efforts to suppress the drowning feeling that was trying to overwhelm him. With every gulp of his drink, he hoped he could suffocate it and replace it with something new.

He was very proud of his costume. His last haul to the local charity shop had paid off more than he’d thought. He was wearing the tightest faux leather trousers he had ever worn in his life, a similar vest with spikes and multiple chains were hanging on his torn red top. His hands were decorated by fingerless mesh gloves and his nails were painted black. His hair was straightened, teased and sprayed to perfection, courtesy of Ayaka’s artistry, while his cheeks had two black strikes and his eyes were filled with what Ayaka had called kohl eyeliner. 

Tonight’s goal was to get drunk enough to forget his sister's stupid outfit (A Japanese girl in a ‘sexy’ maid dress... Really, Aya?) and to gain the courage to talk to or even perhaps flirt with familiar faces with forgotten names. However, even though his trousers had transformed his ass into an incredible piece of art, his balls were squeezed like a Tokyo train during rush hour, making the decision of standing up ever so difficult.

It was to be admitted that the place was rather nicely decorated. It was a typical three-story Dutch house with extremely narrow staircases. Bits of fake and, occasionally real, cobweb were hanging from the corners, while bones, gravestones, pumpkins and other decorations of the like could be found on the walls, the stair bannisters and the floor. There was also a sculpture of a witch on a broomstick hanging from the ceiling, under which someone had attached a small disco ball. All very on point and all very unnecessary. 

The cherry on top were the drunk and, in some cases, high young adults, that one detail a successful party always needs and at the same time, doesn't. Bodies dipped in glitter and sweat, swaying to the rhythm of the everchanging beats. Always a handful near the snacks table. So many nice and tacky costumes. A babel of voices.

All this was a pleasant sight for Takehiko's shy eyes, yet he couldn't find the courage to move from his seat. College was supposed to be the perfect time for a young man like him to spread his wings, explore every possibility, drink, trip, have wild sex. That was what Takehiko had planned, although drinking was the only thing from his list he could cross out. He took the glass with his poorly made cocktail and gulped some of its contents. Sweet off-brand cola mixed with cheap whiskey, a simple yet effective recipe for early disaster. There were more than a few people he had already met or seen around the campus. Some names came up, some stuck at the tip of his brain.

He decided to stand up and finally make a move. As Mötley Crüe’s ‘Dr. Feelgood’ was blasting from the speakers, Takehiko wandered around the house, intensely seeking a group to magically blend in. In his despair, he decided to refill his drink, with more whiskey this time. 

With the plastic cup on his lips, his eyes involuntarily locked on a couple that was kissing, pressed against the wall. His heart skipped at least one beat. His gaze froze. Two young men were exchanging tongues and mouth fluids. A blond. A redhead. The latter was tugging the blond man's hair so tightly it looked painful. His free hand inside the other's jeans, squeezing and pulling the blond's body towards him.

Takehiko’s curiosity was pushing him to watch more but at the same time, the fear of being caught staring overwhelmed him. He kept on walking slowly among the crowd and kept on watching. The dim light on their faces moved as he did and Takehiko could finally see more. One of them seemed oddly familiar.