n

n

nElias shrugged as he gave Alyssa a sheepish look.

n

"I've never dressed up before,

" he admitted.

nAlyssa's eyes widened. She had never heard of that before. Even she got to dress up in whatever she found around the house and go trick or treating on Halloween night.

nThat usually meant something along the lines of a white sheet or a towel as a black cape. She had to be creative as a kid.

n

"Really?

" she asked him.

nElias shook his head.

n

"My parents don't really celebrate the holiday,

" he replied.

"I mean, I like it.

"

n

"They're like super religious, aren't they?

" Zoe asked as she gave Elias a curious look.

nElias chuckled awkwardly before shaking his head.

n

"No, they're just particular,

" he said.

n

"We don't have to dress up if you don't want to,

" Alyssa told him.

nIt was probably a little embarrassing to dress up at their age. It just helped that a lot of other people were also dressing up.

n

"No, I want to. You'll just have to help me out,

" Elias replied.

n

"There's a costume shop in town. You guys should go costume shopping together,

" Zoe suggested with an excited expression.

nIt seemed like Zoe was putting in a lot of work to ensure that Alyssa and Elias were together in some instance.

nAlyssa appreciated her as a friend, but she knew that she would have to be brave enough to make her own moves eventually.

nShe couldn't always rely on Zoe to break the ice.

n

"I'm free on Saturday,

" Alyssa told Elias. It would be after all of her midterms were over with, so she wouldn't be worrying about those.

nCostume shopping with him sounded fun.

n

"We can go around noon. I'll pick you up from the dorms,

" Elias said with a nod.

n

"Great, thanks,

" Alyssa replied, feeling her heart race once again. She had another thing planned with Elias.

nHe made up more and more of her schedule, which she didn't mind. She loved getting to see him.

n

"Awesome. We're gonna rock this,

" Zoe said as she shook her fists excitedly.

"Now, let's finish off this pizza. I refuse to let it go to waste.

"

nAlyssa smiled and nodded before reaching forward to grab a slice of the meat lovers.

nShe bit into the greasy and cheesy goodness as she thought about what she could possibly dress up as.

nShe could do something silly, but she could also do something a little more grown up.

nIt would be a change of pace for her, but she was trying out new things.

nShe supposed that it would depend on what she found at the costume shop.

nHopefully, there were plenty of options for them to choose from so that they could find the perfect choice.

n

"We should match,

" Elias commented.

nAlyssa didn't know what he meant at first, but she realized that he was talking about their costumes. He actually wanted to look like they were there as a pair.

n

"Yeah, definitely,

" she said. She somehow felt even more excited now. Maybe he did feel something if he wanted to match too, or maybe he was just being nice.

nShe was determined to somehow find out his feelings at the party. They would be there as dates. If nothing happened between them, she would have to assume that he felt nothing. She hoped there was something.

nAlyssa smoothed vanilla scented lotion down her legs past the edges of her black denim shorts.

nShe was killing time until Elias came and picked her up to go costume shopping for the Halloween party next weekend.

nLately, she had been trying to incorporate more things in her getting ready routine.

nShe wanted to look good, smell good, and dress good. She was still steadily working on her clothes, but she'd get fashion down eventually.

nAt least her hair and makeup were looking better than they used to be.

nShe wasn't only doing this because of Elias. She was also doing this because she was getting older. She was trying to figure herself out.

nThe only way she could do that was to experiment and see what version of herself she liked the best. So far, she liked this version. She tried new things and was less hesitant when new opportunities came up.

nAlyssa straightened up and checked herself out in the mirror one more time before heading out to the parking lot. She had been enjoying her job so far. It was laidback and simple.

nCollege students were easy to deal with, and checking in and out books wasn't hard at all. She even got to work on homework when she wasn't talking to people.

n

"Well, hello,

" a smooth voice rang out.

nAlyssa snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Elias pulling up in his car with his window down. Black sunglasses rested on his nose as his lips curled up in a smile beneath them. She felt herself automatically smile back as she approached him.

n

"You're a few minutes early,

" she said as she rested her arms on the bottom window frame.

n

"Just couldn't wait any longer,

" Elias said as he gazed up at her.

nThat sounded kind of romantic. Alyssa pushed the thought away as she moved to get into the passenger's seat. She didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. That would just be embarrassing for her.

n

"Ready to go shopping?

" she quipped.

nElias chuckled and nodded. He drove out of the parking lot and down the street.

n

"Do you have a certain theme in mind?

" he asked.

nAlyssa shrugged. She had a few ideas, but she hadn't committed to any of them. She wasn't even sure what the costume shop would have.

n

"We could do something dark or moody. That matches your personality,

" she suggested.

n

"But you're not dark and moody. You're like sunshine,

" Elias pointed out.

nHis words made Alyssa feel warm on the inside. It was nice that he saw her in such a light. Him not being all cheery and bright all of the time wasn't an issue for her, though.

nShe liked that he had a mysterious edge to him. In a way, they balanced each other out.

n