All or Nothing

“This is ridiculous,” Eliza said as she flopped down in a chair.

They were in the middle of a food court in the third mall they’d been to today. It was Halloween day and she still hadn’t been able to find the outfit she wanted to wear. Val and Katie had more or less been able to find what they wanted to wear, but hadn’t gotten anything out of courtesy to Eliza.

“What about the cowgirl one?”

“No, I didn’t like it.”

“Well, we need to keep looking,” Val said as she took a sip of her drink.

“I know, but I still think this is ridiculous,” Eliza said as she put her head down on her crossed arms.

“We’ll find you one, fool,” Katie said, ruffling Eliza’s hair.

Eliza threw her hand around wildly trying to get rid of Katie’s hand and they laughed before standing up to venture on.

“What about this one?” Katie asked, holding up a school girl outfit as they entered another store.

“No, that’s so overplayed.”

“It’s so fun, though!”

Eliza looked at the outfit and tilted her head. Just because she wasn’t going to wear it for Halloween didn’t mean she couldn’t buy it and use it another time. She smiled and grabbed the package from Katie.

“Does that mean you’re going to be a school girl tonight?” Val asked confused as she and Katie followed her.

“No, it doesn’t. I’m just buying this for shits and giggles,” Eliza said.

“Do you guys really do that?” Katie asked.

“No, but I have a feeling we’re going to start,” Eliza said with a smile.

Once they were done, they moved down to another store. Eliza had pointed it out. The “3 WISHES” was a bright orange over the opening and as soon as they walked in, Eliza knew she’d found the right store.

“Eliza, over here!” Val hollered from a couple of aisles away.

Eliza and Katie wandered over to where she was and saw her holding up three outfits. One was Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”, but with a twist. The dress was baby blue, and white with black swirls. The second outfit was the Queen of Hearts that had the same kind of dress as Alice, but red with white and black swirls. The third was a blue and grey furry thing shoved in a plastic bag. Eliza took it from Val and saw the picture. Her eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning.

“Oh, my God,” Eliza said, her smile getting bigger as she thought about it. “I’m going to be the Cheshire Cat.”

“That’s going to look badass, especially since it shows off your back tattoo. It would look amazing if you curled your hair,” Katie said, smiling.

“I think you should be Alice since your hair is already blonde,” Eliza said to Val.

“Oh, goodie! I’ve always wanted to be a queen,” Katie said as she took her own package and smiled.

“This is going to be fucking great,” Eliza said as they made their way to the cashier.



Brian looked down at his phone again. Eliza had text him hours ago saying she was going to be dressed up as someone from her favorite movie, and he instantly knew she was going to be coming as someone from “Alice and Wonderland”. He’d been scouring the crowd at Jimmy’s house for hours and he still hadn’t seen her. He’d tried to call her, but she didn’t answer, nor did she reply when he text her.

Finally, a scrap of blue caught his eye. He recognized the outfit and immediately smiled, making his way to her. He wrapped his hands around her eyes and lowered his voice.

“Guess who?” he asked before reaching around to kiss her on the mouth.

When he opened his eyes, Kaicey was staring back at him.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

“I was invited, Brian. Mmm, that sure was a good kiss,” she said with a smile on her face.

“That kiss never fucking happened,” Brian said as he moved away from her.

She reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. “It happened for me, Brian.”

“No, Kaicey,” he said, removing her hand from his arm. “It didn’t fucking happen. You bring this up and I will deny every single fucking bit of it. I will make sure Val fires your ass and then I will get a restraining order against you. I have a fiancé that I love with my entire heart, and I would rather argue with her rather than look at you any fucking day.”

Brian walked away from her after his speech and made his way to where Jimmy and Matt were standing. From there, he was able to see the three girls walk through the doors into the backyard.

Val had her hair almost spiked around her head, a blue headband on, and a light blue dress with a white apron with black swirls on it. Her white tights made it halfway up her thigh, and her shoes were the same light blue as her dress. Katie was wearing an almost identical dress except it was red, and she had a crown instead of a headband.

His eyes moved to Eliza and he burst out laughing. She had a furry grey and blue hat with ears on her head. Strings fell down either side of her face with balls on the end. Her skin-tight dress was grey with blue and grey striped fur with a tail on the backside. Her legwarmers were the same and half covered her grey heels. He laughed as he realized she was the Cheshire Cat. He’d assumed she was going to be Alice, but the Cheshire Cat was most definitely her.

He made a beeline for her and her arms went around his neck as he leaned in to kiss her.

“You look fucking adorable,” he said as he leaned in again.

“You look might fine too, Captain,” she said, noticing his pirate outfit. “You could’ve told me; I would’ve dressed as a pirate, too.”

“You look much better as a kitty cat,” he said smiling down at her.

“Are you calling me a pussy, sir?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, leaning in to kiss her again.

They moved to go back inside to go get a drink, but Brian’s arm was caught. They both turned to see Kaicey standing there. Brian was shooting daggers at the blond who obviously hadn’t seen Eliza. She was looking directly at Brian and was about to speak but Eliza stepped between her and Brian.

“Bitch, don’t you ever touch him again,” Eliza said menacingly.

“Whatever,” Kaicey said and turned to Brian again.

“Bitch, I told you, not to touch him. Now, I’m telling you not to speak to him. If you want that nasty bottle blond to stay in your fucking head, you’ll learn to do as you’re told. You work for them, not date them. You don’t have any say here.”

With the last word, Eliza turned around and pulled Brian with her. She was beyond pissed off and needed a drink.

“You’re hot when you’re mad,” he whispered in her ear as she poured herself some vodka
.
“Some bitches just need to learn their place. Don't drink a whole lot, baby. We've got a flight to catch in the morning."

"Seriously, Eliza? We're going tomorrow?"

"I told you the photoshoot was tomorrow, Brian. You know weeks ago."

"I know, but I wanted to get wasted tonight."

"You always get wasted. I tell you what; if you don't drink, I'll show you the surprise I bought for you today."

Brian's face lit up. "What'd you buy me?"

"It's a surprise, silly. I promise you'll like it, though. It's red and black," Eliza said, leaning into him. "It's really short and plaid."

"Arrg, do I get me buried treasure?" Brian asked, instantly liking the idea.

Just before she walked away from him, she whispered in his ear. "You'll be buried in my treasure."

All Brian could do was watch her walk away as his jaw hung open. A silly smile replaced the look on his face and he watched Eliza wink at him from the circle where she was talking to Matt and the Berry twins.

"What's that smile for?" Zacky asked, coming to stand beside him.

"Dude, I love my fiance," Brian said.