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With Halloween just around the corner the theater Melody’s work had unanimously decided, to put on their annual Spooktacular Haunted House. It started out as a joke a few years back but had over time evolved into an all out scare competition pulled out of Monsters Inc. but a bit more graphic and definitely not PG rated.

Each team had been picked lottery style, every put their name in a bucket corresponding to what role they wanted to partake; makeup artist, costume designer, actor, set designer … the works. It was an attempt to make sure the teams were both random and balanced. Naturally her name went into the costume bucket since she didn’t have any plans on being present while the event was actually happening. It’s not that Halloween wasn’t her thing; hell she loved dressing up. It was the fact that she hated being startled that made her wary about what was around the dark corner when the motion sensor lights went out.

After what happened two years ago everyone knew how bad of an idea it was to jump out and surprise her and those that didn’t learned quickly especially after what happened to Jacob two years back. Poor guy was just an intern at the time when one of his senior set designers had decided to haze him just a bit by sending him on a fool's errand that landed him with a not-quite-broken but definitely bloody nose. To this day he still kept her at arm's reach especially at this time of year. Poor boy…

At least the last costume had been finished; tattered and torn clothes that look like the wearer had been dragged behind a tractor trailer through a cornfield fake blood staining the frayed edges as if a limb had been torn off. All in all she was pretty proud of her Walking Dead inspired attire but still she wondered, why did it have to be zombies? The mere thought of them sent shivers up her spine as she walked down the street to towards the grocery store just five blocks away before heading home.

Melody’s breath lingered for a moment as she breathed warm air onto her cold fingertips before pulling her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “Hmm…” It’s later than I thought it was. Almost nine o’clock PM. it at least explained why there weren’t many people outside waiting for the bus across the street; usually there were at least six or so people standing there when she got off.

As she approached the crosswalk she paused, waiting for the light to turn red so she could legally cross when she heard the footsteps of someone approaching her from behind. Turning her head, Melody smiled in warm greeting “H-....” Immediately her brows furrowed in utter confusion. “Or not…” I swear to god someone was there. Either she was going completely mental or someone from work was being an a*****e again.

“Whatever.” She shrugged, shoving her hands back into her pocket as the light finally changed and she proceeded across the street. Again, before she had even made it to the halfway point, Melody heard the distinct sound of someone walking in high heels behind her; this time closer than before. Out in the open as she was, Melody was positive she would catch the person following her but when she turned around there was nothing but a blinking red hand counting down from 5. What the hell…. “Jacob… Leslie… I swear to god I’ll kick your asses if you’re trying to scare me.”

The woman across the street stopped to watch but quickly averted her gaze to the ground as if it was more interesting to look at when Melody motioned with her arms as if gesturally saying “What? I’m not going crazy.”

Or maybe she was.

Either way when the impatient driver wanting to make a right hand turn started honking at her to hustle Melody rolled her eyes, resisting the urge to flip him off, as paranoia creeped up her spin causing a ripple of goosebumps to race down her arms. Just three more blocks… just three more blocks… just two more blocks… Each time she mentally thought those four words her footsteps would quicken until the sensation of someone, or thing, put a hand on her shoulder sending the woman into a flat out run.

Terror nipped at her heels when she caught a glimpse of something, or rather someone, in a storefront window that was anything but her own reflection. “Oh hell no…” God help her; if that light didn’t turn red by the time she got there the only thing that would stop her from making it to the other side would to be hit by a car because there was no way in hell she was going to stop. Not now, not later, not until she got into the store where there were cameras and people and lights.



Austin was walking home.

The smart thing would have been to call an Uber, but his place wasn’t too far from the instacare he’d ended up at after he’d crashed the honda. He was fine. His car was mostly fine, but he’d managed to crack the radiator and until he got that fixed well...his car was not drivable.

It was annoying, but manageable.

Besides the nights were nice enough that his long sleeves felt somewhat appropriate for the chillier weather and it felt good on his flushed skin. His arm had been bandaged, because he’d managed to cut it on something when he’d crawled out of his smoking vehicle and his neck was sore, bruises on his forehead and even a cut that’d needed stitching.

He might’ve been doped up on whatever pain killer they’d thought to supply so wandering around at night really wasn’t the best decision, but no one said that he was a person who made good decisions. Anyway, he could handle himself.

Probably. Definitely mostly likely at least.

Eh, he’d worry about it if the time came.

Behind him, he could hear the pounding of feet against the pavement but it didn’t really bother him, at first, because people liked to run late at night. He was one of those people, when he felt like it, but the noise kept getting closer and closer and when he looked around, there was no one to be seen.

Well that was ******** up.

At some point he had broken into a jog, his house only another block over. He’d be home in no time and whatever creepy feelings he was feeling, they’d disappear.



Something Melody had learned early on in life is that there were very distinct levels of fear. There’s startled where something made her gasp or maybe scream then give someone the death glare; mostly harmless jokes save for the relentless heartbeat pounding against her chest.

Next step up would be scared stiff; like when there was a spider the size of her hand on the wall or a very angry dog about ready to rip jer face off. Closely followed by scared shitless where her legs would turn to jelly sending her scrambling to grab onto something before she hit the floor like the time her oldest brother hid in the pantree and blew a fog horn in her face when she opened the door; that got him punched in the nuts.

However, all of those levels of scared pale in comparison to the blind terror she felt now.

While some people lived in ignorance, Melody knew, better than most, that there were true monsters hiding in the shadows of Destiny City.

Youma…

But that feeling she got when the hand had touched her, words could not accurately describe it. To a degree it felt less chaotic and more paranormal but without powering up in the middle of the street she had no way of confirming there was anything there at all. one more block, one… more.

There was no preparing herself for what happened as she reached the corner of the building.

In her pherperial Melody had barely registered the sight of someone directly to her left before she let out an almost ear piercing scream with what air was left in her lungs; a scream that would have left opera singers jealous of the octave she just hit. Self preservation kicked in shortly thereafter as she squeezed her eyes shut and swun her purse at the poor soul that happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

In her current uncoordinated state of terror, the momentum she pivoted on her heel and swung wide Melody was sent stumbling over her own feet and falling flat on her backside; her head just mere inches from the curb. Whatever happened to her stuff as she let go of the bag didn’t matter, if it was all over the sidewalk who cares because the only thing she saw after finally opening her eyes were stars, lots of pretty stars dotting the sky or maybe that was a street light; either way it was beautiful.



He was lucky that he was so tall.

Austin barely registered the person on his right until she was shrieking, his whole body jerking in shock, and he barely had time to defend himself from the purse that came swinging his way. Arms lifted, the bag smacking into his shoulder and something flying out of it to clip him in the face with enough force that he was surprised enough to stumble back.

Melody fell and nearly cracked her skull, But Austin found himself flat on his a**, the stitches on his forehead busted and blood dripping down his face.

“What the ********--?” He slurred, head spinning from a mix of getting clocked and the high of his medication. It took a moment for the world to stop spinning enough that he registered the poor woman on her back and her belongings all over the sidewalk and street.

“Ah, ********, you okay lady?”



Melody blinked a few times, slowly banishing the number of dark spots that had blotted her vision just enough for her to realize that it was in fact a street light and the name of a cafe she had been looking at, not the stars.

Carefully, with a groan, she rolled over onto her side to sit up, instantly regretting the action when she put weight on her elbow. s**t… “Yeah I’m-” Melody paused mid reply as she took in the man she had taken a swing at. “Oh. My. God… Oh my god…” Her eyes went wide like saucers. “You’re bleeding! Oh my god I’m so sorry.”

“I am so sorry, I didn’t mean- … There was....” Again she looked down the street she had been running and like before there was nobody there. “I am so sorry.” If it were possible for her skin to become any paler she would undoubtedly be mistaken for a ghost. Guilt gripped her just as strongly as the terror she had felt just seconds ago.

“I need to get you to the hospital.” Out of instinct her hand went for her back pocket only to realize it wasn’t here. “My phone…” Oh lord where did it go? Frantically Melody crawled over next to the young man and began throwing random cosmetics back into her bag as well as a taser that she never bothered to recharge and a can of pepper spray, both that would have come in handy had she remembered they were in there BEFORE darting off like a bat out of hell.

Unfortunately, none of the items she spotted on the sidewalk was her i-phone. Nope, that particular item didn’t come into view until the headlights of an oncoming car reflected off silver glitter case seconds before she heard the very distinct crunching sound of her screen shattering as it got ran over. In shock, Melody sat back on her heels, concrete scratched palms coming up to cover her face in utter despair.

Why? “I am so sorry, I swear I didn’t mean to hurt you.” her apology was partially muffled by her hands covering her face. Here he was bleeding from a gash across his head and yet she’s the one in near tears. “”There’s um-.. A uh-... There’s a grocery store that way.” She pointed a shaky finger in the direction she had been running. “If you can walk I- we can get you some help.” Lord she was going to be sick especially if he pressed charges against her.

God I hate Halloween



Lots of Austin hurt, but it wasn’t the fault of the lady and when she started to panic he just shrugged at her. It took some rocking, some finagling but he was pulling himself up off the concrete and back onto his feet. There were some new scrapes on his arms, or maybe they were old, it was hard for him to really think past the dull throbbing pain and numbness of his high.

“Hm? Nah, I just came from one.” He waved a hand at her, trying to dismiss the notion that he needed to go back to the hospital. He’d just been discharged and he wasn’t really feeling like going back in, paying another co-pay or getting another bill in the mail that his parents would probably end up taking care of if he ignored it long enough.

Austin swayed where he stood, almost staring blankly at the girl when she started to fumble for her phone only to hear the tell-tale crunching sounds of it getting run over. “That’s rough buddy.” The comment spilled from his lips, followed by a chuckle and a grin.

“You know, if you feel bad,” the grin widened to something a little more smug, “you could just come and play nurse for me~” Austin put the offer out there, complete with a provocative eyebrow waggle and then a hiss and a wince because it aggravated his torn stitches.

“You’re freaking out, it’s all gravy babe.”



Gravy? now that was a phrase she hadn’t heard someone say in a long a** time.

When she looked up at him, Melody’s face deadpanned once she realize what he was suggesting. Is he- blackmailing me? He has to be… There’s no way he’s being serious right now. “I’m going to assume that’s the medicine talking.” She finally replied after a pregnant pause.

Clocking him upside the head must have rattled his senses lose, or maybe he just wasn’t seeing clearly, because from where she sat on the sidewalk even she could tell there was a bit of an age difference between them. “If it’s a money issue I will pay for a professional to fix that cut on your head.” She may be a master of sewing sheers and thread but stitching together a leather costume by hand did not make her qualified to mend human flesh. There were reasons she didn’t go to nursing school and standing in front of her was a prime example of why.



His smile slipped, replaced with a furrowed brow and slightly pursed lips.

“You’re gonna have to be a little more specific babe,” he pushed, hands sliding into the front pockets of his jeans when he leaned forward to squint at her a bit. There was still a lot of space between them, but Austin was a big guy, and it wouldn’t be too hard to read into his ‘looming’ if his new buddy wanted.

“S’not about the money.” Well it was. Kinda. Sorta. Maybe? “S’not about anything, actually.” His head tilted when he straightened, shoulders rolling. Blood dripped down his face, across his eyebrow and almost into his eye before he reached up to brush it away.

Okay, maybe his head injury was worse than he was pretending.

It didn’t stop him from giving her a once over. “You take me to the hospital, then you might need to hold my hand~”



Melody nearly balked but instead bit back any remark she would have typically thrown at him if only to save face and keep him from reporting her to the police for aggravated assault, hit and run, or whatever creative scenario his mind could come up with.

With a sigh she slowly stood up, assessing herself for any other injuries aside from the egg size lump on the back of her head as she retrieved her broken phone from the street. “Fine” she pinched the bridge of her nose and drew in a deep breath. “If that's what it takes to get you back to the hospital…” Melody held her hand out for him to take.

If he wanted to milk this for all it was worth, then God as her witness she was going to drag his a** kicking and screaming if he decided to up and changed his mind about going. Yes, this whole situation was indisputably her fault, and she admitted it, out loud even! But man what she would give for that senshi’s phone number right now. The one she had ran into months ago who could heal stuff like this and make the problem go away so she could go home, curl up on her couch with a cup of coffee and will this night away.



Green eyes squinted at her, because Austin couldn’t figure out if the lady was dense or just not having his s**t.

It didn’t seem like she just wasn’t having any of his swarminess. It was disappointing, running into a woman who was less receptive-- or, well she was more oblivious than anything else and that was such a pity.

Rocking on his heels, green eyes blinked at the woman before giving her another once over. “S’fine, really,” he decided to say, waving his hand in the air instead of taking hers. “I’m fine, don’t need to go back to the hospital or anything.”

One foot shuffled back. “Just gonna, head home. Get some sleep.” More hand waving because the aftermath of everything was making it hard for him to concentrate. “But you should lighten up, bet you’re cute when you smile~” His flirting was followed by some chuckling.

Everything seemed a little funny while he was high on meds.



Melody lowered her arm to her side and just studied him for a moment. His comment had been a bit disarming and though she felt the distinct hint of humor tuge the corners of her lips she just couldn’t bring herself to join him in laughing at this situation.

“You’re not fine,” She finally commented after some time. Whether he truly was the Tony Stark of Destiny city, or simply putting on a playboy act to downplay the seriousness, she really couldn’t tell. But she had a gut feeling that she may have giving him a concussion, either that or the blood loss from his head wound was finally catching up to him and he just didn’t want to admit it. “I have two older brothers that use to say the same thing when they just wanted to be left alone or not be bothered with what they think are trivial matters.”

“I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer but I can’t in good consciousness let you walk home as you are because there is no guarantee you’ll even make it there given your current state.” As a case and point Melody gestured to his bloody face. “You already had the unfortunate luck of running into me, literally. And I’m mild when compared to some of the things that happen around here.” True monsters lurking in dark alleyways and a certain General came to mind.

“All things considered, I’m sure you’re a sweet guy but I’m not going to take advantage of the situation nor am I going to just leave either.” They way she saw it there were three choices; hospital, wait in the grocery store for someone to pick him up, or take him home herself. While she’d prefer he go along with the first option, Melody had a feeling he’d be quick to choose the third. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a pain in the a** about this.”



Some of the blood had dried along his dark skin but the wound was still open, trickling fresh red blood down his forehead and along the side of his face. If he licked his lips, he could taste the tangy, metallic taste of blood on his tongue but it didn’t seem to bother thing.

“Babe, look at me. I’m a giant. I don’t have a lot to worry about unless you’re a cop.” As if to emphasis, he gestured to the entirety of his frame and he stepped closer so that all six feet and seven inches of him had the opportunity to loom without being too threatening.

“You that fond of me already sweetheart?” He laughed, those pearly whites of his flashing when he allowed himself to creep into her space, inconsiderate of what she might feel towards such an action and he slung his arm over her shoulder, leaned nice and close so his mouth was by her ear.

“I’m flattered, it’s like you wanna take me home or something~” Austin was amused. “Alright, alright. I’ll let you take me where ever you want potentially-not-as-bad-as-what-goes-bump-in-the-night.”



His warm breath against her ear sent a shiver racing from Melody’s already tense shoulders down her spine and back again; not in the sensual kind of way either. If anything it tickled in the worst way imaginable and took way more effort than it should to keep from accidentally bumping foreheads with him as she squirmed beneath the weight of his arm.

Lips pursed into a thin line to keep from making any sounds that he may interpret the wong way, Melody wrapped her fingers loosely around his wrist and carefully lifted his arm.

Under any other circumstances this whole scenario would have played out entirely different. Hell, with how hard he was trying to hit on her she would have probably actually played along for some time and maybe, if he wasn’t leaking blood from the gash on his head, just maybe she would have actually turned to kiss him with how close he was if only to elicit a reaction or shock the s**t out of him. But that was neither here nor there and at the moment his well being took priority over all else.

“First off…” she ducked under his arm and took a step back. “Point taken.” Yes, he was a big guy. Intimidating as ******** when that close, especially when you take into account the whole horror thing going on with the blood and all, people would be very stupid to approach him. It’s not that he was mean or rude in any way, hell he could have easily started throwing his arms in the air and cussing her out for what she did, and she would have deserved the verbal lashing; but he didn’t and for that she was thankful for that.

“Second, my name is Melody. Since you kinda skipped over that whole introduction part.” So did she for that matter but she wasn’t the one trying to get into his pants either for that matter. “And I’m going to hold you to your last statement” She leveled her gaze with his but behind those lavender colored eyes there was no anger or glare; perhaps an exasperated sigh begging to be released. But beyond that she was relatively calm at this point.

“You can hate me all you want, and that’s fine; I deserve it. Or, you can just,” Melody shrugged not really know where she was going with this ramblin she had going on. “I don’t know, consider me a dumb blonde that can’t take a hint. I don’t care.” She blatantly lied because in truth she would care especially if he said that to her face. “So if I have to hold your hand all the way back to the hospital then fine. Just don’t go passing out on me; I won’t be able to call for help and I sure as hell won’t be able to carry, let alone drag you, the rest of the way.” She offered him an awkward sort of half smile once she had finished.



He could tell that she was uncomfortable by something he’d done. It could have been the way he whispered into her ear or the way he’d touched her without thinking or even just how he encroached on her space. Normally, he might not have cared but he was feeling a little woozy and when he drew off, long limbs returning to himself, his hands were shoved back in his pockets and his shoulders hunched like a kid who’d been told off.

“Alright Mels,” he almost slurred, tongue wetting his lips as she talked. “Don’t hate you.” He didn’t, he barely had an opinion of her except maybe she was stubborn, but he didn’t think that was a bad thing. Even if it was annoying to go back to the hospital.

He reached for her hand, large fingers closing around smaller ones. “No promises about not passing out,” Austin said, waving his hand to indicate she should lead the way.

“Just don’t take advantage of in my weak state~” He teased.



For the first time this entire night he actually managed to startle a laugh out of her. “Don’t worry I won’t.”

For all his charm and swagger Melody was grateful that he didn’t put up a fight and in turn closed her fingers around his. “Thank you.” She gave his hand a light squeeze and a light tug to get him to start walking with her. And maybe, once he was all patched up and on the mend, maybe she could take him to get some coffee or something. It was just a thought assuming they ever touched base again once they finally parted ways.