I Want It All

Lyle frowned walking into one of the many Halloween stores within one city block from the hotel and the venue. “How am I supposed to pick out a Halloween outfit? I haven’t gone trick-or-treating in ten years—I haven’t dressed up in ten years,” she said, glancing at all of the costume ideas on the side.

“You just have to get in touch with your inner child,” Erika said before pausing. “Okay, that sounded a lot worse than it did in my head.”

Lyle laughed. “Pedophile,” she joked.

“You jealous?” Erika asked, throwing an arm around her best friend’s shoulder as best as she could given their height difference.

“Not exactly.”

“What should Lex be?”

“I don’t know, but Jack needs a leotard if he wants to be a cat,” Lyle said.

Erika laughed. “Yes! And tights!”

Lyle paused. “Wait. Jack can be Scar, and Alex can be Mufasa!”

“Oh my God, that is the best idea I have ever heard,” Erika decided.

“Now…for our costumes?”

Erika shrugged. “I’ll probably go as a baby prostitute or something.”

“So Lindsey Lohan?”

“Yup.”

“Good choice,” Lyle said with a nod.

Erika went through the shelves, finding the sizes she needed for herself and Jack before turning to face her best friend. “Any ideas?”

“Alex mentioned wanting to go as the Joker… I think I’m going to go as the Joker instead,” Lyle said.

“Rub salt in the wound while your boyfriend wears tights, I like your style,” Erika told her.

Lyle paused. “Alex isn’t my boyfriend.”

Erika recovered quickly with a nod. “Yeah, I know. It’s just a comment, jeeze.”

“Right,” she muttered before searching through the costumes for her size and Alex’s size. Or, well, she pretty much just guessed on his. Whatever. She made sure she had all of the makeup that she would need for their adventures before joining Erika at the register.

Lyle might not have been excited for the scavenger hunt earlier that day, but now she was getting exciting.

+

“You’re trusting your girlfriend to pick out your Halloween outfit?” Rian asked, shaking his head. “You’re hysterial.”

Jack shrugged. “You’re just jealous because you and Cass aren’t as secure in your relationship as Erika and I are.”

Cass laughed. “I think he’s right, Rian—“

“You’re not funny,” Rian decided, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek.

“I already picked out your outfit for tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter,” Cass told him with a smile.

Rian rolled his eyes.

“Did Flyzik finish all the clues?” Jack asked him.

“Yeah, he said he already hid them.”

“Why are we doing this again?” Riley, Zack’s girlfriend of one month (exactly) asked.

“So Alex can man up and tell Lyle that he digs her,” Zack told her, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Do we like Lyle?”

“We adore her,” Cass told her. “I mean, I’ve only met her twice but. She’s great.”

“Yeah, and she helped us with the new album so she’s got talent,” Rian added.

Riley nodded. “I’m in. I can throw together a costume in seven minutes flat.”

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” Alex asked, walking into the room.

“Nothing,” Jack said quickly.

Alex paused. “You know that awkward feeling when you walk into a room and everyone stops talking? And that’s when you know that they were talking about you right before you walked in? Yeah, that’s what I’m feeling right now,” he said with a smile.

“We were just talking about how pretty you are,” Cass said with a big smile.

“You’re such a little liar,” Alex replied mocking her smile.

Cass laughed. “We were just talking about the scavenger hunt tomorrow.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes, the not-so-subtle scavenger hunt that my best friend set up,” he muttered, walking across the dressing room to pick up a bottle of water.

“It’s what I’m here for,” Jack told him with a smile.

“Lyle better not pick me out a stupid outfit…”

“I could never,” Lyle announced walking into the room. “In fact, I think you’ll love it.”

Alex smiled when she walked in. “I better.”

+

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

Lyle bit back a smile when Alex walked out of the bathroom, complete with tan tights, leotard, and tail. “Oh, my God.”

“What the fuck am I even supposed to be?” he asked with a frown.

“Sit down and let me do your makeup,” Lyle told him.

“No, no,” Alex protested, taking a step back. “Make up?”

“I have to finish your costume!”

Alex sighed. “I’m going to fucking kill Jack,” he muttered before sitting down on the bed. “Don’t make me look ridiculous.”

“Too late,” she scoffed before grabbing the bag of makeup. “Okay, close your eyes and let me work.”

Alex laughed. “Not the first time I’ve ever heard that.”

Lyle slapped his shoulder before starting on his makeup, spreading around some dark foundation around his eyes and nose, adding whiskers that were more comedic than realistic. Of course, it was a Halloween costume—it was supposed to be fun. She even teased his hair which might have been the most amusing part. She took a step back, smiling. “You look… I can’t even.”

Alex opened his eyes. “Do I want to look in the mirror?”

“You do that while I get ready,” she suggested, grabbing her makeup bag and her clothes before heading into the bathroom. After she bought her outfit, she made a few alterations since it was a man’s costume. She cut the pants into shorts that would fall right above her knee and she pulled them on over a white cami, creating a high-waist look that might have been awkward, but she actually kind of liked it. She pulled on the purple jacket, thankful that she pinned the sides back to give it a little bit more structure around her waist. Her makeup was the easiest—white all around, black around the eyes, the exaggerated red smile. Boom. Simple.

When she walked out of the bathroom, Alex was pulling on his Nike high-tops. He glanced up and paused. “You, uh…look absolutely ridiculous,” he told her with a small smile.

Lyle rolled her eyes. “Please, at least I don’t have a tail,” she commented before pulling on some socks and her black combat boots.

Alex smiled. Okay, she didn’t look ridiculous, she actually pulled the look off very well. Extremely well, whatever. Same thing. He finished lacing up his shoes and grabbed his wallet. “Um. Where am I going to put this?”

“Just give me your hotel key and your phone, I’ll put them in my pocket,” Lyle said, standing up and fluffing her hair out. “We good?”

“Do we really have to do this scavenger hunt bullshit?” Alex asked.

Lyle shrugged, shoving Alex’s phone and hotel key into her pocket. “He’s your best friend.”

Alex sighed. “Let’s just go downstairs, yeah?”

+

Rian was a cop and Cass was Elmo; Zack was a body building (go figure) and Riley was Cleopatra; Jack was Scar and Erika was a prostitute; Alex was Mufasa and Lyle was the Joker. It was definitely a sight to see these eight twenty-something-year-olds gathering in the lobby of the Four Seasons. Lyle was almost positive that the guests checking in or out would be glad to get away from them.

“Okay, here are the rules,” Flyzik said, handing each guy an envelope. “You all know how a scavenger hunt works.”

“How does it work again?” Cass asked, tugging her bright rad hat further down over her ears.

Flyzik rolled his eyes. “You aren’t an idiot, Cass—“

“You sure?” Jack asked. “I mean, she is dating Rian…”

“Oh, ha, ha,” Cass muttered dryly.

“The list within this envelope is a list of tasks you must accomplish. You all have your phones—“

“iPhone’s unite!” Jack declared, thrusting his phone up in the air.

Flyzik sighed. “It’s like dealing with a bunch of children,” he muttered.

Vinny stepped up and pushed his friend aside. “Okay, there are twenty things on this list. You all have three hours to find and document as many of the things on this list as possible. One of you will take a picture of the other with one of the things on this list. They cannot be self-taken pictures, so that means you cannot split up, okay? We will meet in the lobby in three hours and Flyzik, Evan, and I will compare the results. Got it?” he asked.

Lyle raised her hand slowly. “What do we get if we win?”

Vinny paused. “I don’t… We didn’t discuss that.”

“So we’re running all over town, trying to find things on a list, for no prize?” she asked.

“Well, when you say it like that it just sounds fruitless,” Flyzik said.

“How do you want me to say it?”

“With a bit of gusto?” Flyzik suggested.

Lyle sighed.

“We’ll think of the prize while you’re gone. Cool?” Vinny offered.

“Sounds great,” Alex said. “Now who’s on my team?”

“I’m with Cass,” Rian said.

“I called dibs on Riley already,” Zack announced with a shrug.

Jack threw his arm around Erika’s shoulders. “I don’t go anywhere without my ball and chain.”

Lyle looked up at Alex; she knew that she was thinking the exact same thing that he was. Set up. “Looks like you’re stuck with me, buddy.”

“Let the games begin.”