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"Perry! You won! You look FEDORABLE!" Draconia gave him a grin. She reached over and tipped his new-old fedora at an angle. "There. Now you look like Scream Kelly, just like how he looked in 'An American Werewolf in Scaris.'"

"You think so?" He asked, before catching himself. "I mean, I have no idea who that is. I don't watch boosicals."

Draconia gave him a sly smile.

"Of course you don't, and neither does Manny." She gave him a wink as Hellene, a large bag stuffed full of fangulously fluffy skirts, rejoined them.

"Aw, you won the hat!" Hellene replied, a bit disappointed. "Oh, well. Look at the bargains I found! I didn't just find something for me, but there were these stockings in a vintage scargyle pattern that I just KNOW my sister Melpomene will adore, even if she'd never actually say so, since she never looks on the bright side of things and would just complain about how 'vintage' is just shorthand for 'out of style,' but I've SEEN in her wardrobe and there is at least four different ensembles in there that SCREAM for a scargyle accoutrement."

Perry stifled a sigh. Draconia looked up.

"Oh! We should go to Grave Expectations next and pick up that Spellbound card for Glen."

"Grave Expectations?!" Perry felt a bit hopeful. That was RIGHT next to the Skate Chop! "GREAT idea. Let's go there."

Perry prepared his tackling shoulder to break through the crowd again. Draconia tapped her chin with one claw.

"You know what? I have to do something first, very quick. Could you both please wait fright here?"

"Sure, no problem." Hellene nodded. Perry figured that Draconia must be headed to the little ghouls room. He got up from his crouched, prepared-to-part-the-sea-of-choppers position.

"Fine, hurry back." Draconia nodded at them both and slipped off to the side. Perry looked up, down...anywhere to avoid eye contact with Hellene. When he finally glanced over at her, she was staring straight at him with her clear, bright blue eyes.

"Can I...help you?" He asked, feeling a little hot under Hellene's intense scrutiny.

"I need to ask you something, and I need you to be as honest as you possibly can." She said. The pushiness and urgency of the chopping furor wasn't in her eyes anymore, but it was replaced with something else. Concern...maybe?

"I'll, uh, I'll try." Perry coughed a little bit. Where was she going with this?

"Good! All right, I need to know...what are your intentions with Draconia?! Are you into her? Because she's clearly into you."

"Wh-WHAT?!" Perry nearly knocked the fedora right off his own head doing a double take. Hellene tilted her head at him a bit.

"You just suddenly appear next to us in line at the maul, yet you clearly don't want to be here. You're hexactly the type she LOVES to date, tall, strong, athletic and with, shall we say, some lack of social graces. And she is CLEARLY flirting with you, what with all of her fedora-punning and hat-adjusting and casting loving glances at you as she leaves-"

"I did not see any loving glances-" Perry started to protest, but Hellene cut him off.

"And as her beast friend, I absolutely need to make sure she's not going to be hurt by another boo, so please, I need to know! What are your intentions towards Draconia?!!!"

Oh speaking of Draconia...



There she was, stepping back inside of Fashion Bites, just for a second. By a sheer stroke of luck, she had seen (or thought she had) a shadow move inside at a display from the corner of her eye. had had done so much to get them inside quickly past the masses, she just simply couldn't leave the skittish Sackboo alone in the maul in the middle of all those monsters! How would he make it?

Yes, just as she thought, Shad was standing at a table filled to spilling over with all manner of berets, and the next table over, grrtle neck sweaters for the average beatnik manster! Shad had four berets tucked into his arm while rifling through the mountain of sweaters with his free claw. His manner told Draconia what she had believed: he appeared to want to get in and out as quickly as possible!

"Shad?" Draconia gently tapped him on the shoulder...

"ARGH! I WAS GONNA PAY FOR THE GOODS, I SWEAR!!!"

Draconia stumbled back at Shad's outburst as the Sackboo spun around, spilling his goods and clutching a claw to his chest!

"Oh! I thought someone was gonna go squaresville and completely fall on me! You scared the unlife out of me, I can't even feel the beat in my box! I..."

Shad started patting his chest over his heart area and grew frantic.

"My beat! There's no box in my beat! Er, no beat in my box! Help! Help! I'm totally..."

"Shad!" Draconia grasped him by the arms and gave him a gentle shake. "Calm down Daddy-O! Like, Sack mansters totally go without beats in their boxes, y'dig? Monster Biteology 101?"

"Riiiiight!" Shad blinked behind his shades then waved a hand over the air in a passive gesture. "Cosmic!"

Draconia smiled, all too used to odd behavior with Glen for a beastie and she stepped back as Shad started picking up his intended purchases. "Loving the new hat! You about ready to totally fall out and meet up with the rest of our hip galaxy? Just right outside."

"Yeah just let me grab my bread and get this one sweater I totally had my peepers on and I'll..."

Shad tugged on the sweater in his claw but it appeared to be caught on something. He tugged harder and stepped back, pulling, and other sweaters started falling to the floor as it was revealed the OTHER end of the sweater was being pulled on by a tall, lanky werecat who was wearing a similar beatnik outfit as Shad himself.

"Yo cat!" Shad protested. "I totally rocked my claws on this crazy quilt first!"

"`Fraid not my shadow graveyard." The boo werecat answered. "My claws. My quilt!"

"Gimme!"

And before Draconia's startled eyes, the werecat gave a hefty tug and almost dragged Shad over the table display but the Sackboo dug his heels in and braced his feet against the display, pulling!

"It's MINE!"

"Yo manster! Don't be a SQUARE!"

Shad immediately let go and pointed at the werecat who went tumbling back head over tail. Shad gasped and looked aghast at being called THE most insulting thing a beatnik could possibly be called by another!

Hellene pursed her lips thoughtfully and arched a perfect eyebrow.

"That sounds almost reasonable, and like the typical rash plan that would cause us to miss out on the Bloburry sale because you didn't plan ahead and opportunistically took advantage of a couple of ghouls you barely even know and then result in some unfortunate emotional entanglements. It's very Booran High School Ghost Club."

"I wasn't..."

"Of course you were. You're a boo and this is a big event and you wanted a thing without thinking about it. I'm only surprised that we don't have anyone trying to be in too many places at once while also supposed to be out on a date with his ghoulfiend but not trying to let his bluddies down. This is just like Glen and Manny all over again, except of course you're not trying to steal Draconia's boofriend."

"No! I'm not...wait what are you...You're not saying you think I'm..."

Perry started to look a little flustered and somewhere under that fur and feathers, color was starting to rise up into his cheeks.

"I'm SAYING that I totally understand wanting to get away from a family around Fangsgiving, Ra knows I've got enough sisters to last me several unlifetimes and I'm still not sure I'd ever run out, and Melly drives me crazy enough that I agreed to come to Bleak Friday even though I normally do shopping for my sisters online. Plus it's fun, and your scheme has backfired into a marvelous offensive strategy.."

Perry let out a deep breath of relief.

"That doesn't mean I've forgiven you quite yet. I am still hatless. And besides that, if you really have no intentions towards Draconia, who is the sweetest ghoul in the entire school and I'll hear no words otherwise, and whose ruby heart is still cracked and mending, then you have to be absolutely the soul of gentlemonsterly behavior and let her down as nicely as monsterly possible. Because so help me if you chip her heart even the tiniest bit I will see to it you never date anyone for the rest of high school." Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly and the glitter eyeshadow flashed dangerously, "So do we have an understanding?"

Perry took a step back into a rack of 70s ties and stumbled.

"Y-yes," he said, picking an orange and green paisley print with trains tie out of his antlers.

"Good!" Hellene said brightly, "now come on, Draconia is headed back this way and I've got a turtle holding us a place in line at the register."

"Shad, you must do me the biggest favour!" Draconia implored her shadowy friend. "I need to kip over to the Skate Chop without being noticed."

"Wiggy!" Shad replied. "You don't really strike me as the skater grrrrrrl type."

"It's not for me," Draconia hexplained as she maneuvered the two of them over to the back of Fashion Bites. "Perry has been ever so nice helping Hellene and I out today and I've seen him giving the scary eyeball to that skateboard deck in the front window of the Chop since we got into the maul. I thought it'd be a nice surprise to pick it up for him as a fang-you gift."

"Aw, that's really groovy." Shad grinned at her. "But I dunno if I can beat feet that way for you, it's total crashville out there, ya know?"

"Can't we slip there through here?" Draconia opened the Fashion Bites supply closet. It was positively tiny and there was clearly no way the two of them would fit, but...

"Solid!" Shad grinned a pointy grin. "I mean, of course I can find my way there. It's just across the maul, after all. Practically a flip, skip, jump and a bump away."

He tried very hard not to look nervous. Why would he? As a Sackman boo, slipping from closet to closet was supposed to be the easiest thing in the world. It wasn't his fault that the closets all seemed to rearrange themselves every time he tried to go somewhere!

Shad slipped himself into the closet and stepped into the shadowiest part. His claw jutted out of the shadows, and he motioned for Draconia to follow.

Draconia looked left and right, and then took Shad's hand as he pulled her into the shadows. For brief moments, just like when they'd entered the maul, everything felt inky, black and cold. But then, just as suddenly, with a *bump!* the two of them were back inside of a closet.

"Hey, I didn't even get hit by a mop this time!" Shad announced proudly. "Or a broom!"

Draconia opened the supply closet door and peeked out.

"This isn't the Skate Chop." She announced. Shad nearly bit his toungue.

"Oh no! It's not Bora bora again, is it? Or the Himalayas? They told me to never come back there!"

"No, it's all fright! It's Grave Expectations!" Draconia opened the door wider so Shad could slip out. "We're right next to the chop! You did great!"

"I did? I did great?!" Shad rubbed the back of his head. "Of...course I did! Dig that!"

Grave Expectations was packed (like everywhere else in the maul, of course. Draconia looked at the table where the ghostly owner of the chop, Boouis Bane, was handing out the special-edition Bleak Friday card. It looked like he still had several left, and he was being very picky about who he granted the card to. Draconia knew if she assured him it was for Glen he'd give her one, but for the moment her mission was to get to the Skate Chop.

Fanging to the side of the store, out of the way of normal foot traffic, Shad and Draconia managed to get to the front of the shop and out into the main veranda of the maul. They turned to head towards the Skate Chop when-

"I BEEN DITCHED!"

Draconia's head swiveled around.

"Was that...Glen?"

"Zombies, five o'clock!" Shad cried, pulling Draconia into the Skate Chop just as a dozen large zombies lurched in the way, nearly drowning the veranda as they loped to their next chopping haunt. Draconia let out a sigh of relief.

"Fangs!" She informed Shad. "I owe you one!"

"Can I help you?" The werewolf sales clerk came up behind them, polishing an SKRM skate.

"Yes, I'd like to get the skateboard deck in the window, please." Draconia turned to him with a smile. "The grimited edition one for Fangsgiving."

"You're in luck!" The Weresalesclerk replied. "That's our last one!"

He pulled it from the window and put up a "Souled Out" sign in its place. Draconia and Shad were all grins as she checked out. Shad was tempted to try on a pair of skates, but after his little 'adventure' earlier in Fashion Bites he was hesitant to buy anything else.

"Anything else for you two?" The weresalesclerk asked as he handed Draconia her wrapped package.

"Oh! I suppose....would you mind terribly if we used your closet?"

The clerk raised an eyebrow, but eventually shrugged. Draconia and Shad slipped into the closet and, somehow, miraculously were able to make their way back to Fashion Bites. Draconia stepped out of the supply closet first, spotting Hellene and Perry looking for her at the front of the store. Shad stepped out second, and took a moment to replace the bucket that had somehow found itself on top of his head.

"Here I am! Sorry!" Draconia apologized to Hellene and Perry. "The strangest thing happened. I thought I heard Glen but when I looked, he was nowhere to be found. Isn't that strange?"

"Yes, although with Glen, to be perfectly honest I wouldn't put anything past him." Hellene replied skeptically. "Oh, I think Perry has something to tell you."

Hellene lightly elbowed Perry forward, who coughed a bit uncomfortably.

"Er, uh, I mean, I, uh..." He stammered. Hellene cleared her throat.

"I mean, that is to say...look. I don't like you." Perry spit out. Draconia's eyebrows raised up.

"Hexcuse me?" She asked. Perry nearly winced.

"I mean, I don't LIKE like you. At all! One hundred percent! Not even one bit!"

Draconia screwed up one eye and squinted at Perry.

"You...don't like me? But...what did I ever do? Wh-why were you fanging out with us if you don't like me?" Her lower lip was starting to tremble.

"That's not what I mean!" Perry tried to recover. This was going even worse than with Vinnie. "I mean that, I mean, I guess I LIKE you just fine, I mean I barely know you, and you're making me run all over the maul like crazy, but-"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize I was MAKING you be around me!n Especially since I'm so clawful!" Draconia shot back. Hellene facepalmed.

"You're not letting me finish!" Perry nearly shouted. He was getting frustrated and it was making his temper short. "I just want to tell you that it's stupid for you to go falling in love with me!"

"HEX-CUUUSE ME?!" Steam was shooting out of Draconia's mouth. "I can ASSURE you, that is not nor ever will be the case! Especially since you need so badly to tell me how horrible being around me is!"

"Well....good!" Perry shouted, flustered. "That's just fine by me!"

"Fine, then!" Draconia wiped away two stubborn, boiling hot tears. "Why don't you just...go insult somemonster else, then?!"

"Maybe I will!" Perry shot back. Draconia started to stomp away as Hellene chewed on her lower lip and Shad tried very hard to look at something, anything else.

"I can't believe I wanted to fang you for being so nice and helpful!" She reached into her bag, pulled out the skateboard she'd just bought and hexpertly lobbed it across the store. It smacked neatly into the rack of 70's ties behind Perry. "And I hope I never see you again!"


Draconia continued stomping off, shoving her own way across the veranda. Monsters went flying left and right as she cleared a path over to Grave Expectations. Hellene looked at Perry.

"Wow, I haven't seen Draconia this angry since-"

"YEOWCH!" Somemonster in the crowd shouted. "Hey, watch the flame breath, goldie!"

"-Okay, since ever." Hellene finished up. "Let me go talk to her."

And Hellene dashed off after Draconia into the crowd, leaving Perry standing in front of Fashion Bites with the hurled package next to him.

"Ack!" Dashner exclaimed as a ton of iCoffins fell upon them. He quickly looked around, and found a case that was a mirror. Perfect! While most were still wondering what happened, Dashner looked into the mirror case.

"Rorrim Bludworth..." he repeated the name 12 more times.

Gryff stood aimlessly in front of the Beast Buy while waiting for Atomica and Lin to finish sorting out the chopping spree. The haul they'd managed was impressive and while Gryff was having a a certain smug pleasure at watching Toralei grow increasingly furious as Lin nabbed one iBlargh after another, the oppressive stench of corpseperate branding made Gryff need a breath of fresh air.

Since he was at the maul, standing near the Scarbucks would have to do. He sighed as he sipped his double-hexpresso with a shot of arrrghmoretto. That c**k-headed werechicken stumbled past him and crashed into an iCoffin cart. Gryff rolled his eyes and turned and walked away from the mess.

Watching the monsters swarming past him in a mindless, greed-driven chopping frenzy was amusing. He already had three blag posts in mind and had instagrimmed a few dozen photos.

The weirdest thing is that everyone seemed to want a "Rorrim" this year. He didn't know whose doorbuster deal it was, but every 5 minutes it seemed like someone was running by, chanting to themselves. Whatever it was must have been hard to find, leading Gryff to be almost interested in it. Except that probably everyone had their hands, claws and talons on "Rorrim" by now so what was even the point?

Gryff walked past Fashion Bites and now another monster nearly careened into him!

"YEOWCH! Watch the flame breath, goldie!" he cried as Draconia nearly singed his artfully arranged bangs, but she was already pushing away through the crowd.

"Uhg," he muttered, ducking into Fashion Bites to use the mirror in the jewlery department, "at least she didn't hit anything. Probably after another one of those stupid Rorrims, whatever that is. Can't walk ten feet without someone wanting one. Rorrim Bloodworth, Rorrim Bloodworth, Rorrim Bloodworth,Rorrim Bloodworth, Rorrim Bloodworth..." he snarked, tousling his bangs back into place.

Atomica raced up to the row of check out lanes where monsters, adult and kid alike, were waiting and watching to see what the two chopping spree contestants could walk away with! Atomica braced herself to come to a screeching halt, and her SKRM wheels did indeed 'screech' -- and left smoldering marks on the tile floor as she shoved the cart forward toward the register and clerks...

"One down! More to go!"

And Atomica snatched hold of not one, not two, but THREE chopping carts and raced them right past Toralei and Rocco... and ran right over Rocco's foot ... and whaddya know? Even a gargoyle's stone foot wasn't immune to the pain and pressure of an automaton racing at top speed!

Rocco hopped along on one foot while grasping the other and snarled, "What IS going on here!?"

Allie jumped up, perky as always while two cashiers started ringing in Atomica and Lin's grabs! "You know that ghostemer survey you told the little gremlin to fill out?"

"Yeah!?"

"Well he won!"

"Won!? Won what!?"

"The Beast Buy Ghostemer Survey Chopping Spree! Remember?"

Rocco's jaw looked about ready to hit the floor, while Toralei swatted her boofriend upside the head, then grabbed her throbbing paw.



"What are we after?" Atomica called out as she skated right up to where Lin was grabbing at the shelves in Electronics!

"Whatever's not nailed down!" Lin repeated what the contest rules were.

Lin started tossing packages as best he could to Atomica and she caught them and tossed them into the cart!

"Just start grabbing! We'll sort it out at the Lair!"

"There you are!"

Despite her anger, Draconia turned around with Hellene to spot Shad lurking at the corner of the glass case that Bouis floated behind, trying to remain as inconspicuous as was possible. Easy enough for a Sack Boo.

The ghouls couldn't help but notice Shad's new hat as astray, and his grrtleneck sweater had snags and tears, and he himself had a fair number of werecat claw marks, but to his credit? He had the new sweater in his claws that both he and the werecat boo both set their eyes upon!

(Go Shad!)

Shad glanced at the pile of ashes on the counter and wrinkled his nose at the smell.

"Trippy! What kind of unfiendly earth oils are they making those things with?" He then looked to Draconia and Hellene and continued, "Look my little swinging werechicks, I totally has to blow this joint. Too much mama drama, y'dig? It was a total groove while it lasted but I came to see if you needed a jump tart back to your place? I always end up there once or twice a day anyway, it seems. Totally not out of the path of my pad."