"Who Would've Thought Getting Knocked Down Would End So Well?"

“Well, what do you think?”

Drew turned in a slow circle. He gazed at me expectantly, encouraging me to praise him on his choice of Halloween costume. Shaking my head and folding my arms across my chest, I refused to comply. He had decided to disguise himself as a devilled egg, his costume consisting of a rounded white piece of foam equipped with holes for his arms and legs, an oval of yellow foam at the centre, representing the yolk. To complete the look he wore a pair of white leggings and devil horns. His gangly arms stood out awkwardly, the egg preventing him from resting them at his sides.

“Drew, that is the cheesiest costume I have ever seen.” He stuck his tongue out at me in a taunting, childish manner.

“Oh come on, Amelia, you love it. I’m an egg wearing devil horns ... I’m a devilled egg!” He waited for me to crack a smile. I chose not to encourage this type of behaviour.

“Fine. I’m gonna change into my regular clothes for now, it’s still way too early to be dressed up. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to start getting jealous of my costume.” Grinning, he headed towards the downstairs bathroom to change into his everyday clothing.

Rolling my eyes, I leaned back against the couch. Settling into a more comfortable position with my legs resting underneath my body, I glanced distractedly at a tattered copy of Spin magazine; grabbing it, I flipped through its pages while I waited for Drew to join me in the den. I had asked him to come over before the party; Billie Joe was still out shopping and I wanted to have some alone time with him. We had not spent much time together lately.

Drew returned to the den wearing a pair of loose fitting jeans and his favourite t-shirt, a garment commemorating an unforgettable trip we had taken to Europe five years prior, a shirt worn ragged from years of abuse. It used to list the names of countries we’d once visited, however, any writing that was once there had long faded away. I grinned as he dropped himself onto the couch clumsily. He turned so we could face one another. When our eyes met I noticed that he was staring at me intently.

Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I gazed at him questioningly. “What?”

Drew tilted his head and continued to watch me, the intensity of his glare stronger, if at all possible. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah Drew, I’m fine.”

He did not seem convinced. “Ok.” he paused. “It’s - it’s just that you look a little bit off somehow. I can’t quite put my finger on it. You feeling all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” The truth was, I had been feeling quite tired lately. It was nothing out of the ordinary, however. My fatigue was probably a result of the stress from the past few weeks; a few more nights of solid sleep would surely remedy the problem. I had also been feeling nauseous with little or no appetite, but I had been stressed so of course I did not want to eat. I shrugged.

“Ok. As long as there’s nothing wrong.”

“Everything’s fine, Drew.”

Drew did not seem convinced but dropped the subject anyway, continuing to eye me carefully. I was not sure what he was getting at, but it did not really matter. I was fine.

“So,” I began, in an attempt to steer the conversation in another direction, “how are things with Sara?”

Drew beamed proudly and I knew that he was happy. Staring at the couch, he merely nodded. The simple mention of her name was enough to brighten Drew’s day. I couldn’t be happier with his reaction.

“I love her, Amelia.”

The ease and honesty of his statement moved me. The emotional intensity of his warm brown eyes nearly brought me to tears; I could not be more pleased for my best friend who had been so unlucky in love. Scooting closer to him on the couch, I reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m so happy for you Drew. You deserve this.”

He squeezed back. “Thank you.”

Drew and I talked about everything and nothing that afternoon. We were still chatting in the den when I heard Billie Joe’s keys in the front door.

“Amy, are you home?” I could hear him throwing his keys on the side table near the door. The crackling of an army of plastic grocery bags nearly drowned out his voice.

“I’m in the den with Drew!” I yelled back.

Once Billie Joe had placed the bags in the kitchen and put everything away, he ventured into the den to greet us. Giving me a quick peck on the lips he settled himself onto the other couch as the three of us enjoyed a lazy Saturday afternoon.

* * *

I watched Billie Joe with an amused grin. He had decided to attend our party dressed as a beauty pageant contestant. Wearing a long, flowing pink satin gown, a homemade Miss East Bay sash and a tiara encrusted with fake rhinestones, Billie Joe was a sight for sore eyes. Looking up from padding his bra, he caught me watching him, an evil smirk playing upon his lips.

“Jealous?”

I furrowed my eyebrows, pretending to be naive. “Jealous of what?”

“I am such a sexy woman.” Running his hands up along his thighs, he gave me what he must have considered a ‘sexy woman look’. Instead, he looked constipated. Shaking my head, I could not help but laugh; Billie Joe began laughing too.

“You make a hideous woman, I’m sorry to be the one to break it to you, darling.” Billie Joe folded his arms across his chest, pretending to pout. “Let me help you with your makeup.” Patting a spot beside me on the bed, I beckoned for him to join me. As I applied a pink tinted gloss to his lips, my mind began to wander. I wondered what would happen tonight. I thought back to the last party I had attended, the one that culminated in a game of spin the bottle and a stolen kiss from Tre. I was shaken from my thoughts when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it” I said as I headed towards the door to our bedroom and eventually to the front door. I paused, facing Billie Joe. “You finish making yourself ‘beautiful,’ you need the extra time.” Pretending to be offended, he scoffed, walking towards the mirror to put the final touches on his makeup.

“You too, Drew! I think you need some extra time too!” I yelled through the closed door of the guest bedroom where Drew was getting into costume. Choosing not to grace me with his usual witty reply, I overheard him grumbling under his breath.

Heading downstairs to greet our first guests of the evening, I walked carefully down each step, still trying to adjust to the high heeled knee high boots I was wearing. Dressed as a sexy dark fairy, I sported a short black strapless dress and a broad pair of black and silver wings. In addition to helping Billie Joe with his makeup, I had spent the last half hour applying black eyeliner and a dark, shimmering shadow to my eyes. Finishing off the look with very dark red lipstick and black nail polish, I knew I looked great.

As I reached the bottom of the staircase I headed towards the front door and opened it; Tre and Claudia were waiting patiently on the other side.

“Happy Halloween!” They exclaimed in unison, walking past me and into the house. Claudia looked over my costume.

“Amelia, you look hot!” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Tre’s eyes lingering as he took in my costume. I felt my cheeks burn, reddening as I blushed. Deciding to disregard his look, I instead replied to Claudia.

“You too, Claud,” I said and I meant it. She’d come as Bat Girl, complete with a mask, a skin tight black vinyl outfit with a very short skirt and thigh high boots. She seemed pleased.

“Thanks.”

Tre folded his arms across his chest and pouted. “What about me?”

“Uh, what are you, anyway, Tre?” I asked. I thoroughly enjoyed teasing Tre, he made it so easy. In this instance, however, I actually was confused. I was not entirely sure what he was dressed as. Tre was quick to respond.

“What are you, slow? It’s so obvious. I’m Clark Kent, drunk.”

Raising my eyebrows in a look of sheer bewilderment, I slowly began to analyse his costume. Tre wore a pair of grey dress pants; one pant leg was tucked into a bright red boot while the other pant leg covered a black dress shoe. His white shirt was half buttoned, revealing Superman’s typical garb underneath, the crimson S peeking out from under his dress shirt. He had slicked his hair back, and had even darkened it a little, sporting the standard Superman cowlick. Finishing off the look, Tre wore a pair of thick, black rimmed glasses similar to the ones he donned on the December issue of Spin Magazine in 1995. Once I knew what he was dressed as, his costume was painfully evident. I had to admit, it was clever.

“Very cute, Tre.”

He pretended to think it over, tapping his chin with his index finger, his sparkling baby blues pointed upwards toward the ceiling. “Cute, huh? I’ll take it!”

Claudia rolled her eyes. Walking out of the foyer and further into the house, we moved silently towards the living room. Claudia seemed impressed by the manner in which the house was decorated for the night’s festivities. In the living room, the lights had been turned off completely. The tables were adorned with a myriad of candles, providing an air of mystery. Spider webs hung precariously from the high ceiling as music emanated from the sound system located in the far corner of the chamber. Billie Joe had taken care of the decorations and I was impressed; the decor was simple yet effective.

While Tre prepared a Cheech for Claudia, I turned towards the staircase as Drew sauntered down the stairs. Behind him, Billie Joe walked carefully and with as much femininity as he could muster. Joining the group, they began drinking immediately, poking fun at one another’s costumes. As guests continued to arrive, I realized that an initially quiet day had turned into a full blown party. I had a feeling it would be a night I’d never forget.