Chance Encounter ➳ Drew Dirksen

29. tricks and treats

October 31st. Probably Drew's favorite day ever — aside from his birthday and Christmas, of course. He wasn't sure if Halloween was an actual holiday, but he considered it one.

He'd found himself in a candy store at four in the fucking morning, buying pretty much every single candy, in every single flavor. He'd even gone the extra mile and bought some simple things that would contribute to the Halloween costumes Drew had in mind, just in case Brandi was feeling up to it tonight.

"Happy Halloween!" Drew yelled, nearly making Brandi roll out of bed in surprise. Her hair was everywhere and there was a bit of dried drool on her face, but she was still the most beautiful girl in his eyes.

"Candy for breakfast?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"Take it as some kind of breakfast in bed," Drew replied as he placed the tray full of sweets down in front of her, before he crawled back into his spot on the bed. "But with candy."

Drew watched his girlfriend pick up three gumdrops in one small grab and toss them into her mouth in such a graceful way. He didn't know how eating candy could be graceful, but Brandi surprised him everyday without even knowing.

"Okay," Brandi said, after chewing and swallowing the three gumdrops. "What's all this for?"

"It's Halloween!"

"It's too damn early for all this candy, Drew."

Brandi snuggled her face into the empty space between Drew's shoulder and Drew's jaw, just taking in his scent and the warmth that he gave her. He smelled like autumn leaves and sleep, which was so strange to her, because sleep wasn't a scent, nor did it have a scent. The smell was just so calming, and peaceful, and bland, that there was nothing else she could say to describe it well enough than that he smelled like sleep.

Completely intoxicated by his scent, Brandi had almost said the three words that had been on her tongue all month. Those three, simple, words, which meaning wasn't as simple. They had almost slipped out, but Brandi couldn't stop biting her tongue, and eventually, the time had passed and she'd completely missed her opportunity.

Drew wrapped one arm around her waist as his fingertips rested on the bare skin that was exposed due to the loose T-shirt she was wearing, which rode up her sides a bit.

He'd never felt such a comfortable silence and he'd almost fallen asleep, but then the crinkling sound of a candy wrapper woke his mind up and brought him back to full consciousness.

"I thought you said it was too early for candy," Drew said, watching Brandi open a chocolate bar.

"Technically," Brandi replied, with her mouth full of chocolate. "Chocolate isn't candy."

"But it's still a sweet," Drew argued back.

"I just wanted some chocolate, okay? Let me be."

Drew's face flushed. He didn't mean to get her all worked up like that. He was just teasing her, but he just so happened to ruin another beautiful morning, because he didn't know when to stop.

"Sorry," he muttered, timidly, looking down at the sheet bunched up in his hands — which was a very autumnal shade of red.

Brandi forgot how sensitive and fragile Drew was when it came to her remarks, and she immediately placed a hand on his cheek so he would look at her straight in the eye. "Please don't get upset. I didn't mean to snap. It's alright, I'm sorry."

"Okay."

And to think the morning started out so perfect.

~

"You must be joking," Brandi laughed, clutching her stomach, as she sank to the floor.

Laid out on the bed were two overalls, two yellow shirts, and two pairs of silver goggles, and it was honestly the silliest Halloween costume that Brandi had ever seen.

Drew didn't feel upset this time though, because he was expecting this reaction from her, so, I guess that made it hurt less than it should have.

"What do you have against minions?"

"I'm not five, Drew," Brandi replied, getting up off the floor. "But alright, just because I know it'll make you happy."

Drew pressed his smiling lips against hers for a few seconds, before pulling away, as his arm found its usual spot around her waist, where it rested comfortably. "You're the best girlfriend ever!"

"But you owe me one, Dirksen," Brandi said, quickly, pointing a finger at his face to make her words seem more threatening than they actually were.

"Whatever you say," Drew replied, rolling his eyes. "Now go get dressed, while I give perfectly good candy away to some children. Then we switch, alright?"

"Okay." And with that she pecked him on the lips one more time and retreated into the bathroom with her costume thrown over her shoulder.

He didn't know why, but it took his breath away, and he found himself adoring every aspect of her being even more than he already did, which — if you could physically see how much he adored her — would seem impossible, but there seemed to be no limit. No borderline. No end.

~

Halloween was long gone now and the next month had already began to dawn on both Drew and Brandi, as it was already 2 AM on November 1st. These too-early mornings seemed to feel too familiar. As if the hours between midnight and sunrise felt like home to them; as much as they felt at home with each other.

"That was probably the best night of my life," Brandi said, pulling a dead leaf — which had been whisked around by the wind — out of her blonde hair, before letting it fall to the ground. "It was definitely the best Halloween I've ever experienced."

"I guess big kids receive more treats."

"And big kids pull better tricks," she replied, remembering what they had done to prank that old lady down the street. It wasn't anything too much, but it did shake her up a bit afterwards.

Both of them were walking back to Brandi's flat, hand-in-hand, as they stared straight ahead of them at the gravelly street, half-covered in crispy autumn leaves.

The chilly wind raked through both of their blonde hair as soon as they arrived in front of the familiar house. And once they retreated inside, warmth flooded in their direction and they nearly forgot about how long they'd been walking out in the cold.

"Want to see which one of us got the most candy?" Brandi suggested, throwing her minion goggles on the couch as Drew followed her actions.

A smiled spread across his face and he ended up pouring all his candy out of the pillowcase and onto the wooden floor, beginning to count each piece, one-by-one.

Because — even doing the simplest things — big kids had the most fun.

~

a/n: I FRICKING LOVE THIS CHAPTER OMG THIS WAS PERFECT WOW. IT WAS ALL DEEP AND SHIT IM SO PROUD. YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW BLOODY LONG I WAITED TO WRITE THIS HALLOWEEN CHAPTER. I COULDNT EVEN WAIT FOR OCTOBER

BREW IS LIKE MY ULTIMATE OTP AND ITS ACTUALLY REALLY PATHETIC HOW MUCH I SHIP THEM BUT OMG THEYRE LIKE PERF

ALSO DREW TILANUS DIRKSEN IS A YEAR OLDER TODAY. I HAVENT EVEN RECOVERED FROM NATE'S BDAY YET AND HERE COMES DREW GIVING ME EVEN MORE CHEST PAINS AND EMOTIONAL ANXIETY.

IF THIS CHAPTER DOESNT MAKE YOU EXPLODE FROM FEELS OR GETS YOU EXCITED FOR HALLOWEEN THEN I DONT KNOW WHAT WILL. (question: what are you guys going as for halloween? bc I'm going as a slytherin student from harry potter lol)

NO CHILL. IM DONE. BYE.