"I hope I didn't keep you waiting," were the first words out of Hazel's mouth when she stopped and caught her breath.

Freddie glanced down at his phone to check the time. Hazel was barely two minutes late, so in the grand scheme of things, really not late at all. It was just that he'd been waiting here for the past fifteen minutes, arriving too early the way he always did when he was excited for something.

"Don't worry about it," he replied easily, offering her a smile to hide his nervousness. He didn't tell Hazel that, for the last ten minutes, he'd been wondering if she would stand him up. Hazel was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen, with soulful dark eyes and soft curls and a dancer-like grace to the way she moved, and she was definitely too good for him. In the back of his mind, he knew it was only a matter of time before she realized that and turned away from him.

But for now she didn't seem to think so, not yet. For now she had already agreed to go on three dates with him, and maybe, just maybe, his worries were unfounded. Maybe this time, at long last, something more would come out of this than a rejection or a brief fling that didn't even deserve the title of romance.

"Great!" she said, brushing her hair out of her face with an easy gesture and smiling. "Where are we going first?"

Freddie let his gaze roam across the fairgrounds. In his head he always called it a fair, not a carnival, because it sounded less like a horror movie setting that way—less like a haunted place with creepy clowns lurking around the corner. Which was not to say it hadn't been made spooky for the Halloween season, but it was the fun kind of spooky, not the one he didn't want to deal with after dark. Most of the attractions looked promising. If he were here with his boys, he knew they'd have a field day.

"We could get some food," he said out loud, because he'd been told before that he was too old to still mess around with fair attractions like a little kid. "Do you want anything?"

Right thing to say. Smiling, she took his arm, steering him through the crowd and towards a stall selling all sorts of cupcakes. Some of them had little Halloween decorations on them, black or green icing or little jack-o-lanterns made of sugar, to say nothing of the ones with white icing and ghost faces painted on top. But Hazel didn't go for them; she ordered a simple pumpkin spice one, and it didn't come with any seasonal decor. Just a sensible adult cupcake.

"Thank you!" Hazel said to the vendor, then turned to him. "And what are you getting?"

Freddie looked at the black-glazed Halloween cupcakes. Then at her, all mature and put together with just the cupcake people would expect a young woman her age to get. Then down along himself, his eyes resting on the chipped black nail polish on his hands.

"I'll have the cholocate one," he said.

Chewing on their cupcakes, they strolled on, and Freddie tried not to throw any longing glances towards the spooky ones still smiling at him from the stall. "Did you see all the decorated ones?" he finally said, unable to keep his tongue after all. "I wonder how they taste."

Hazel glanced over her shoulder. "The Halloween ones? Yeah, I'm sure the kids love them!" She finished off her cupcake. "No one else does, though. They just taste like sugar and food coloring."

Freddie glanced down at his sensible chocolate cupcake. I like them, he wanted to say. And he did. Every year he looked forward to the season where everything was spooky and Halloween-themed.

"Where are we going now?" he asked, shaking off the odd and probably irrational feeling of being judged. "I'm okay with anything as long as it's not the roller-coaster."

She laughed out loud. "Don't worry, I hate roller-coasters too," she said, and part of him relaxed again. "How about the haunted house? And then the Ferris wheel."

He relaxed further. The activities she had suggested were both ones he liked, and if she hadn't brought them up, he would've done it himself. Maybe he'd been stressing for nothing after all. They had gotten along well so far; what was he still so worried about?

Hazel had taken his arm again, her hold on him as as gentle as it was decisive. Conversation flowed for now; from their surroundings they moved on to their respective past summer jobs at fairs, recounting memories and funny anecdotes. At the haunted house they had to wait in line, but they were both so busy talking they barely noticed it; and then they were inside, and Hazel still hadn't let go of his arm. She didn't look scared, not even apprehensive as they plunged into the dark. More curious than anything, really.

They rounded the first corner, and out of nowhere a costumed figure came appeared in front of them, warning them of the way ahead in a thin little voice. It took Freddie barely more than a glance to realize the one in the costume was a teenager: a high school kid probably, trying to earn some extra money during the spooky season.

"Shit, you scared me!" he burst out, taking an exaggerated step back and laughing. "Did you see that? He just materialized out of nowhere!"

The kid looked pleased with himself, and Freddie went on with a smile. If he could, he would've stuck around for a while and complimented his costume; but he knew that would put the boy in an awkward position while he still had to stay in character, and so he left it be. Besides, Hazel didn't look very impressed, and he didn't want to embarrass or bore her.

Little by little they made their way through the house, bumping into actors after actors, all of them teens that were clearly doing their best, with mixed results. Freddie made a deliberate show of acting just a little more startled than he actually was each time one of them jumped out of their corner to scare them, smiling to himself when he saw them happy. They really were amateurs, all of them. But they were trying hard, and how could he not try to encourage a bunch of teenagers trying their best?

"That was kind of boring," Hazel remarked when they finally exited the haunted house, barely waiting to be out of earshot. "I thought it'd be more than a bunch of kids in costumes, I wasn't scared at all."

Freddie didn't answer at once. From one second to another he was apprehensive again. Of course he understood Hazel's viewpoint; very little in that haunted house had actually been scary. But hearing her say it so bluntly still felt wrong somehow.

"But their costumes were good," he said at length.

"They were well made, that's true," Hazel admitted. "They still looked kind of cringe though, no offense. Like—the kids can wear them," she added, laughing, "but if you wore one of them for Halloween I'd tell everybody I don't know you."

I thought the costumes were cool, Freddie wanted to say, but he swallowed the comment. Maybe he shouldn't feel that way in the first place. What other twenty-three-year-old still unironically fanboyed over some silly haunted house costumes made for underpaid teens? He should save his excitement for something more worthwhile. What exactly that was, anyone had yet to tell him.

"But you were great with them," Hazel added, smiling up at him with genuine amazement in her face. "Like, the way you encouraged them? That was really sweet."

Freddie smiled back, but part of him was still shut off, urging him to withdraw from her and into himself. Things were going fine, but somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that he was failing at this date. Or maybe he wasn't yet failing at this one, but he was definitely setting himself up for failure for the next one. If there was going to be a next one in the first place.

"Ferris wheel?" she said.

He nodded. Fell into stride beside her. Tried not to think about the way that place would be full of happy couples.

The rest of the date went fine, but Freddie couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't himself. He had put on a mask, turned into someone else, someone normal and palatable who didn't embarrass Hazel and didn't nearly panic when the Ferris wheel briefly stopped while they were at the top. But they still talked a lot, they still laughed together, and when they parted ways Hazel reached up and pulled him down into a hug. She didn't say anything about a fourth date, but she promised to text him. And she did look happy.

Freddie felt like a failure.

Hands in his pockets, he lingered idly at the fair entrance, watching the blinking, spinning lights in the early dark of the October evening. The wind was chilly, but he barely felt it. All around him were happy people, couples holding hands, families with kids. Groups of friends goofing off. He was the only one left here who was alone.

Inside his pocket, his phone buzzed.

For a moment he didn't even want to reach for it. It was probably Theo or one of the other guys, he thought, asking how the date had gone; and he had no idea how to answer. It was definitely not Hazel, he added in his head. He knew she had promised to text him, but something in the back of his mind was convinced he'd never hear from her again.

But in the end hope won over frustration and anxiety. He glanced at his phone.

The message wasn't from Hazel or one of his boys. It was from Clara.

WIP sneak peek 👀, she had written, and added onto the text were two screenshots of her poster designs. 1 or 2? I cant decide 🤔

Freddie opened the images, and instantly all his worries were forgotten. Clara's designs were everything he had hoped for and more: simple yet flashy, eye-catching at a glance, even on a notice board filled to the brim with flyers. And even more than that, they seemed to suit the band's nature better than anything they could ever have designed themselves.

A smile spreading over his face, he typed in one reply after the other, sending them all in quick succession.

Holy shit

These are so good already ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Thank u so much for doing them, theyre perfect!

Idk about 1 or 2 either but Ill ask the boys and get back to u 🙂

There was a short pause in which he wondered if his replies had been too much, then Clara started typing, and moments later Clara's reply appeared on the screan. Thank you! she texted back. Lowkey wanna add something spooky to it tho. Since the show's on Halloween 👻

Freddie smiled at the little ghost emoji. She really did know them well, he thought, all on instinct. The guys would love something spooky on the poster, as long as it wasn't over the top. He himself most definitely would.

Like what? he texted back. Ghosts? Jack-o-lanterns?

Why not 😈, she replied. Would be funny tbh

He snickered, and suddenly an idea popped up in his head. Make a version thats really ugly spooky, he typed in. We can show that to the others & make them think its the real design

HELL yeah, she answered, and then, Gonna put so many witches on this

Add some bedsheet ghosts, Freddie threw in.

Clara sent back a couple of laughing emojis. Actually you guys should just wear costumes for the show itself, she added after a moment. It would be really funny

What do I go as? A zombie? Freddie replied, not bothering to muffle his laughter in full public. I wouldnt even need a costume, I'm already a zombie irl

This time Clara typed for a longer while, then another message lit up his screen. I thought you were a vampire? 🤔🧐

Both undead, he texted back. Same difference

More laughing emojis, then a reaction image reading, I guess? Then she typed for another while. Freddie waited patiently, the chilly wind forgotten.

For real tho, she wrote at last, if you guys do that then I'll be in the audience dressed as a ghost 👻

Gonna be in the front row wearing a bedsheet with eye holes

Freddie burst out laughing. Some people stared in passing, but that was fine. He didn't have anyone with him that he could embarrass right now.

Oh, the others would kill him for this joke. They would kill them both.

But, he added as he finally headed home, it would be so worth it.