In The Woods, Somewhere

Chapter 7

You clung to Diane every day up until Halloween, which was now tonight. You missed Baxter, you had him ever since he was a puppy and now he was gone. Something killed him and it couldn't have been Diane, she loved Baxter and he loved Diane, that and she wouldn't have had enough time. You sat on her couch, knees tucked up to your chest as the morning sun crept over the treeline. Diane had gotten up by now, b-lining to you from her bedroom and giving her a big hug. "I'm still sorry about Baxter, I should've kept a better eye on him." Diane whispered, squeezing you in her arms. You clung to Diane as tightly as possible, feeling protected from the woods in her embrace. I love you. How long have I been here? You recounted how many days. 3 weeks, not bad. "To take your mind of Baxter, can you help me with my costume? I want to wear what Legoshi wore on that stage fight." Diane offered, seeing you perk up. "Would you prefer to be Adler?" You suggested, pulling up images. "I'm fine with Legoshi's stage costume, every time that scene comes up, you hush everyone and recite the lines." Diane reassured, reminiscing on the first night you showed her the anime.

You pulled up the image, starting on her makeup and grabbing some costume items you had brought with you. Wolf ears and a wolf tail, fake of course. It took a little while to get Diane ready for tonight, but as her costume was finished, she looked intimidating. She stood in the living room, eyes locked on you. You were choosing between Haru and Louis, opting to dress like Haru to go with Diane's Legoshi.

As you finished your costume, you finally looked over, jumping as Diane came out of the kitchen. In this lighting, she looked terrifying, but as she got closer, she was just Diane. "You look beautiful." Diane whispered, smiling. "You look like you're about to kick someone's ass." You gave her a hug, sneakily clipping on the tail. She didn't want the tail, but it went with the costume.

The driveway to the main road was lit up just as the moon hung high in the sky. For the first hour, no children came by. Then, as you helped Diane get together a bonfire, people began to show up. You smiled as Diane came out of the shadows, seeing a few kids shake in fear. She had on your wolf-paw shoes, which were hard for her to walk in at first, but as she crept out of the shadows, she got it perfect. "You're scaring the children." You teased, giving her a kiss. "Good! It's Halloween, and we spent so much time making this candy." You thought back to a couple days ago.

Diane didn't want to buy candy, she wanted to make her own. So, for the two weeks she had fermented and roasted her own chocolate. You helped her, well more like she had you help her to keep your mind off Baxter.

"Come here, I need you to help me with this." Diane called from the kitchen. You dragged your feet in, sniffling. "Hey, hey. There's no time for crying." Diane wiped away your tears, giving you a kiss. "Here, help me. Can you spread these nibs on this baking sheet, put them in the oven, and press start on the timer?" Diane asked, seeing you nod. "Thank you, sweetheart." You leaned into her touch and watched her leave the kitchen. You did as she asked, gagging at the gooey texture. You put the nibs in and turned on the timer, wiping it off after you washed your hands.

You then helped Diane make honeycomb candy, made with actual honey for the flavor. It was something you found interesting to make, especially when she let you smash it up to make more manageable chunks. When the timer for the nibs went off, you took them out of the oven and let them cool. "We're going to dip the honeycombs in ganache and then dip the the chocolate chip cookies in this." Diane explained, smiling. You were enjoying yourself, working like two busy little bees. You focusing on using half the nibs for ganache while Diane took the other half for cookies. She put the cookies in the oven and started the timer, pulling you away from the counter to hold you in her arms. "How are you feeling?" Diane's voice was quiet, laced with affection. "I'm still sad, but not as much." You looked up at her, smiling. "I promise I'll make it up to you." She wrapped her pinkie around yours, smiling. "Like how, being right by my side for eight years?" You suggested, resting your head on her chest. You couldn't see her face, but you swore she smiled. "Yeah."

You faced Diane, who was handing out candy, laughing and telling scary stories. When no more kids began to show up, you helped Diane put out the fire and you took her inside and helped her take off the makeup. "How are you feeling?" Diane asked, smiling softly. "I feel great. I had a lot of fun." You spoke honestly, sighing dreamily. "And?" Diane prodded, knowing what that sigh was. "Did you see anyone you liked?" She continued to prod, making you give a quiet laugh. "Yeah, I saw you."

Diane's eyes lit up, a soft blush creeping over her face. She then smiled, eyes filled with affection and pride.