The cold was starting to spread in the air. Winter was walking to the café after school, curiously watching the people dressed up in different costumes. The jack-o'-lanterns lit up the evening streets in a majestic yet spooky way. She could hear the soft giggles of children as they were trick-or-treating in front of their neighborhood houses.
Halloween was never a big deal in Bangladesh. No one dressed up, no one threw a party to celebrate it. It was just a normal day there. But from what it seemed, it was a huge occasion in the USA.
"Good evening," Winter greeted, entering through the backdoor. As soon as she looked up, she let out a scream. There was a grim reaper standing in front of her, the black cloak covering it from head to toe. With its long skeleton-like fingers, it was calling her towards it.
"I'm here to take the soul of Winter Candace," said the grim reaper, pointing his long scythe at her.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me!" Winter screeched and tried to go back through the backdoor.
"Stop scaring the poor girl, Leon." Lucy's voice came from the changing room.
"Leon!" Winter let out and took off the scary mask from his face and glared at him. Leon only grinned sheepishly as she started hitting his arm. "Stupid. Idiot. I hate you!"
The staff room door opened and Zane walked in. "What's all the commotion about?"
"Zane, look what—" Winter's breath hitched as her eyes landed on him. He was wearing black slacks, blood smeared on his white shirt, and a fedora hat on his head. The rolled-up sleeves and the bloody dust on his face made him look unbelievably hot.
Seeing her jaw dropped, Zane raised his hat to let her meet his blue eyes. "I look weird, don't I?"
"No, not at all," Winter replied almost immediately, her cheeks starting to heat up. She averted her gaze and asked, "What are you dressed as?"
Before Zane could reply, Leon chimed in, "Clyde Barrow. Isn't Zane just perfect for that role?"
"I'm not a criminal," Zane retorted.
"He's a hero, bro!"
"You would better start getting ready. We are going to be a lot busy today," Zane told Winter and went out with Leon.
"I haven't decided on a costume yet." Winter pouted, looking at the costumes hanging in the staff room.
"I just have the perfect one for you." Lucy popped out of the changing room, dressed up as a royal vampire, her short cape trailing behind her elegantly. She was wearing a skin-tight burgundy dress that reached up to her mid-thigh, along with fishnet tights and gloves.
"Wow, you look gorgeous," Winter complimented. Lucy always managed to look stunning in just about anything. No wonder Cedric was head over heels for her.
"Thanks. Cedric chose it for me," Lucy said proudly. "Now let's get you ready."
°°°°°
"Damn, there are so many customers," Leon said with excitement.
"You find this enjoyable? I'm tired of playing these silly games." Zane let out an exhausted sigh.
On the occasion of Halloween, there was a special offer going on in Coffee Secrets. Any customer who would spend more than 50 bucks would get to play a game they like with any staff of the café. If they win, they can get a twenty percent discount.
"Hey, Zane, where's Lucy?" Cedric asked.
"I didn't think gangsters cared about Halloween," Leon said, eyeing Cedric who was wearing a burgundy royal vampire outfit, the same as Lucy's.
"I don't. But Lucy does." Cedric leaned over the counter and took Zane's gun, rubbing it across his forehead intimidatingly.
"I know that's a fake gun," Leon retorted, taking a cautionary step back.
Cedric let out a dark, humorless laugh. "This gun might be fake, but the one in my pocket is very, very real."
Leon gulped.
"No fighting, guys," Zane interrupted, creating some distance between the two of them. "And Lucy is playing pocky on table 8."
The blank look on Cedric's face was worth watching for an eternity. "Playing what?"
"Pocky."
"Fucking hell," Cedric cursed and ran a hand through his hair. His hand went back to his waistband where his gun rested. "I'm going to kill that asshole." With that, he started pushing his way through the crowd, trying to find his girlfriend as soon as possible.
"Isn't Lucy actually playing monopoly? You got it wro—" Zane smoothly cut Leon off.
"He doesn't need to know that yet," Zane said mischievously. Leon laughed along with his best friend before going back to work.
Zane leaned against the counter and closed his eyes, letting out a sigh. There was a faint ache in his shoulders, and he felt more exhausted than usual. His head was pounding, and he was getting chills. It was probably because of just wearing a shirt without any jacket.
All of a sudden, there was a cold hand on his warm forehead. "You are getting a fever," said a soft voice.
Zane opened his eyes to meet the familiar pair of green eyes, blinking at him with concern. His eyes traveled downwards, noticing her outfit. Winter was wearing a black pencil skirt and blood-smeared grey wool sweater with a beret hat. She was clearly Bonnie, his partner. One might think they are pairing intentionally—which was indeed the case since Lucy planned it.
"You should get some rest," Winter said.
Zane bit his lips and replied, "It happens often. Don't worry."
"But—"
"I'm fine," he cut her off.
"Zane—"
"I want to get some fresh air." He leaned closer and said, "Hey, you wanna go looking around after work?"
"Are you sure? You aren't feeling that well. We can go some other day." Winter wasn't getting a good feeling about this.
"I feel just well enough to visit a haunted house."
Winter arched an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"
"Aren't you scared?"
"I have seen far worse things. Ghosts don't scare me anymore." The bitterness in her voice made him curious, but he decided not to question it. She needed time to open up, and he was willing to give it to her.
"Everyone visits the haunted house on Halloween. It would be crowded. Let's go somewhere els—"
"Zane, are you scared of a haunted house?"
"N-no. Not at all." Seeing the way he touched his ear and avoided eye contact while saying that made it obvious that he was lying.
"Do you always touch your ear when you are lying?" she asked, leaning beside him against the counter.
"I am really, really not scared." He crossed his arm against his chest.
"You are a bad liar," she stated.
"No, I am not," Zane objected.
Winter chuckled and looked up at him. "It's actually a good thing."
He rolled his eyes. "No, it's not."
"At least there would be one person that I can put my trust into." Her voice was casual, still it managed to tug a string at his heart. Maybe it was simply because she was the girl he liked that everything about her fluttered his heart or maybe it just felt good to be trusted by someone—it was probably both.
There was a little pause before he started, "Actually, I had a bad experience at the haunted house. I got stuck in a small room there. It was scary and I was only nine back then. The music playing in the background was scary too."
"You don't like closed rooms then?"
He nodded. "Pretty pathetic, right?"
Winter smiled and placed her hands on his. "Not at all. Everyone is scared of one or two things, aren't they? And to be frank, I'm glad that there's something that you are scared of, otherwise you would be perfect."
"There's actually one more thing I'm afraid of." He let out a shaky breath, the headache becoming more prominent. She gave his hand a light squeeze. "I'm scared of losing what I have. I… don't want to lose my family, my best friend, and everything that I have earned."
Winter just hummed in response. She understood his point. But the thought that she possessed nothing to begin with did cross her mind.
Zane stood up straight and faced her from front with a smile, with no trace of his previous sadness. "Maybe you are my lady luck."
"As if." She chuckled humorlessly. She has been told she brought bad luck wherever she went, and now that someone was telling her otherwise, she found it hard to believe.
"No, really. It's because you attended my first basketball match, our team hasn't lost a single match since then. My cycle doesn't break down that often anymore, either."
"Those are small things."
"Evolution starts out small. Besides, it's not like I'm asking for stars or moon here," Zane added the last sentence with a playful eye roll.
Winter laughed and said, "Okay, if you want me to be your lady luck, you will have to trick or treat me."
"Just say the words," he urged.
"Trick or treat?"
"Trick." His eyes traveled to her lips for a split second before leaning over and placing a lingering kiss on her cheek. Her breath hitched in her throat as his warm breath fanned over her skin. "Would that work?" he whispered in her ears.
Her cheeks flushed red before she ran out there.
Zane could not stop himself from smiling as he touched his lips. "Nothing would be a better treat for me if only I could taste those inviting lips of hers."
°°°°°
"Took you long enough," Zane said as soon as Winter came out of the café's backdoor. He has been waiting for her outside.
"Sorry, it took time to get the bloody makeup off," she breathed out.
"Let's go to the—" he cut himself off as Winter placed her hand on his cheek.
"Your face is warm. We should probably cancel today's plan."
"But I—"
"No, Zane. Go home and take rest," she said sternly.
"Okay, then. But next time you will have to go on a full day date."
"It was a date?" she asked as if he reminded her of an exam she had forgotten about.
"Was it not?" he asked back.
"Was it?"
"It was."
Winter raised an eyebrow in question.
"At least for me," he added quietly. "Whatever. Never mind. I'm going home." He started walking away from her.
What is he, a five-year old kid? she thought. "Fine!"
Zane turned around and asked, "For what?"
Winter bit her lips and said, "A date is fine by me."
He suppressed a smile. "Didn't hear you. Say it louder."
Winter puffed her cheeks, knowing he was messing with her. He was only standing ten feet away from her. "I will go on a date with you!"
Zane couldn't stop himself from grinning anymore. "Great then. I will text you the time and place."
"Get well at first." She glared at him.
"I'm going to buy medicines on the way then. Bye!" He ran off on his own.
"Seriously, how can he prioritize a silly date over his health?" She huffed. Even though she was acting all haughty, she was excited about it. A whole day with Zane would be like a dream.
Just as she started imagining the future events a realization hit her which made her want to crawl back to the hole she came from. "Shit, I have never been on a date before."
