Phenomenal

25 ~ This Is Halloween

"Did Classy beat you up since I saw you half an hour ago?" Darcy asked, staring at Damien ten minutes later, down in the courtyard, his hand over his mouth as he tried not to laugh.

"Does it look that bad?" Damien asked.

"Hell no, it looks that good, though I suppose that's bad. I genuinely thought you'd been in a fight that I didn't know about, look at this detail!" he said, eyeing the gradating shifts in colour between the browns, greys, yellows and greens. "How'd she do that, she never mentioned anything about art."

Damien clamped his hand to Darcy's face and shoved him away. "Stop ogling," he said, adjusting his vest that wasn't really a vest anymore, he might as well have gone shirtless.

Darcy laughed, readjusting his hood - he was dressed in a Pikachu onesie to match Violet's Pikachu onesie. Violet was with Clarissa, Charlotte and Sasha at that moment, all of them talking about the group trip the complex would be taking the next week, it had changed from the usual camping trip to a day at the beach (Sasha had decided it might be better for a kid so young to not spend the whole night away from home in a tent, at least not that year).

"How come we have to dress up yet no one forces Donny to dress up?" Damien asked, looking over to Dante who was dressed like normal and no one questioned him.

"Three reasons," Darcy said, "One, Donny doesn't have to dress up because no one can make Donny do anything, as we well know. Two, I have to dress up because Violet and I are two peas in a pod and we look freaking adorable in matching outfits. Three, you have to dress up because Charlotte likes you spending time with Classy and you aren't allowed to the party without dressing up."

Damien raised an eyebrow at his brother.

"What? Those are the rules."

"Not that. Charlotte doesn't care one way or another if we spend time together."

"Mmm-hmm," Darcy said, folding his arms, "I happen to know it's because if she spends time with you she doesn't spend time with Brett - which was her plan from the moment she hooked you two up together for morning runs. Her hatred for that man runs deep."

"Clearly," Damien said, glancing to Charlotte who was laughing at something Violet had said as the four girls walked towards where people were dancing - the music switching between the songs that would usually be played at the apartment parties, to music more suited to a child. Violet waved wildly to Darcy as they passed, calling for him to join them and Darcy bounded over to her, scooping her up into his arms and swinging around the dance floor, laughing, Violet shrieking in delight. Damien smiled slightly, watching them as he walked to the edge of the dance area, folding his arms as he watched.

"You dancing, zombie-boy?" Charlotte asked, stopping beside him, watching Clarissa and Adam as they did something that was kind of like a waltz, but not exactly.

"Not that much of a dancer," Damien said, grinning, "You?"

"When my best friend gives my boyfriend back," Charlotte said, "you're coming on the beach trip next week right?"

"Yeah, I think so. What usually happens on these trips?"

"Ah the usual, we go out for a good time. Drinks, music, usually a campfire - though we'll need to get permission since it's a beach this time, chatting, romance, all that stuff you usually do while freezing to death in October or November - I don't know why we do this to ourselves every year but yet no one ever says no."

"Tradition?" Damien suggested.

"Tradition," Charlotte agreed. "Classy! Give Adam back!"

Clarissa and Adam laughed as Charlotte walked over to them and dragged her into a confusing three person waltz and Damien turned to Suzy when she joined him, both of them getting drinks and taking a seat.