Time seemed to fly by. Before Lyric knew it, it was October 28th. Halloween was only days away, and she still hadn’t finished her costume. All her time had been spent on helping Luke with his costume and with his music.

The one time she had paused to think about where the time had gone, she was glad she hadn’t done it sooner. Spending so much time with Luke meant that she wasn’t at home until curfew, and she left for school early to do homework before class. Home had become a place where she just slept, and she couldn’t remember the last time she had a conversation with her parents.

This made her feel a little guilty, but staying busy could help her forget that too.

“I need to stop here.” She told Michael, pointing across the parking lot they were passing. On the far side was the bright red sign of a drug store.

She watched his face as he glanced at the store. It twisted into a mix of dread and discomfort with a valiant attempt to remain neutral. He forced a smile when he turned to her. “Okay.”

She laughed as they crossed the parking lot. “I need eyeshadow. It’s easier to get it here than to make a special trip to the mall.”

“Oh.” Michael relaxed. “Sorry. I thought…”

“Girl things.” She dismissed him with a wave of her hand. “I get it. You’re a macho guy with no sisters. It’s foreign territory for you.”

“I always thought you were my sister.” He joked, nudging her shoulder as they entered the store.

She nudged him back. “We don’t live together.” Her feet faltered. The conversation was drifting into family territory. That was not a safe topic.

Michael noticed her hesitation. “So, eyeshadow?”

Lyric smiled gratefully. “Yes. I need purple.”

They turned down the cosmetics aisle, skipping past the gimmicky Halloween orange and glow in the dark stuff. Just as they reached the regular makeup, someone entered the aisle from the other end.

“Luke.” Michael called and waved.

Luke flinched and clutched a small bag to his chest. Then he saw them and returned a shy wave. “What are you doing here?” He questioned, closing the distance.

“Eyeshadow.” Lyric pulled up an image on her phone and passed it to Luke. Then she grabbed two purple pallets and held them up. “Which one?”

Luke looked at the phone. “Is this Elsa?”

“Yes.” She held the eyeshadow closer to him. “Which one?”

He took a moment to study them, and for a moment she feared he would deem them identical, just like Michael had the first time she asked him for help. But Luke had an eye for art, and eventually pointed at the left one. “This one’s almost spot on. Won’t get closer without a trip to a specialty store.”

“Great.” She put the other one back. “I already have the lipstick and blush, so we can head over to the rink.” She grabbed Luke by the arm. “I think the final tweaks to the music are perfect, but you have to be the final judge of that.”

In his surprise at suddenly being dragged down the aisle, Luke dropped the bag he had been holding.

Michael picked it up for him. “I got it.” He assured him.

But Luke flailed so that Lyric had to release his arm. He snatched the bag from Michael, tucking it securely under his thin fall jacket. He wouldn’t look either of them in the eye.

“Relax.” Michael told him, giving Lyric a lost look. “No need to be embarrassed about medication. Everyone --”

“Don’t.” Luke cut him off. “Please. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Lyric and Michael exchanged another look. Lyric shrugged. “Okay. Let’s get going.”

As Lyric paid for her eyeshadow, Michael and Luke stood in awkward silence. Lyric had known Michael long enough to know that he was trying to figure out how to make things right. Unfortunately, she realized that she didn’t know Luke well enough to know the answer.