Trapped and trying to find a way out
It was THE party. The Johnsons threw the best Halloween parties. Every year they'd have like a hundred people, easy. The music was loud. The liquor was flowing. Last year, things got kind of crazy. In all the confusion, Chloe ended up blowing the wrong guy. Or did she? Whaddaya gonna do? It happened. Then everything changed.
In a way, it all started the previous November.
"Hey Nick, you're good at this stuff..." Chloe sought the attention of the guy sitting next to her in the break room at work. "Do you know a way I could make costumes like Suni-Jo and Nishi-Ka-Ren?" She was referring to popular characters from an Anime series they were both familiar with. "My costume was so lame this year. Next year I really want to come up with something more creative."
"Hmmm." Nick thought for a moment. "I think you could totally do that. It shouldn't be too hard."
Nick was a graphic designer and Chloe was an assistant to the Director of Marketing at their firm. Both were in their mid-twenties. They were work friends, not even close enough to know each other's exact ages. They were among the younger employees at their company. Nick was strongly attracted to Chloe, but then again, it seemed like everybody was.
Although she'd been far from the prettiest girl at the small college she attended, Chloe was now clearly established as the "hot girl" in the office. Chloe hadn't changed; it was her surroundings. Chloe was also widely known to be going out with Jared from Product Engineering, who was, according to most of the women in the office, clearly the most eligible bachelor.
"Can I do it with no sewing? My sewing skills are complete shit."
"Yeah. No problem. You see, the design for Suni-Jo is really not too different from those hot French Maid outfits you can get pretty much anywhere, except you lose the skirt and add a tail." Nick sketched quickly as he talked, "...and Nishi-Ka-Ren is kind of like a cross between Gandalf and the Grim Reaper." Nick gestured as he sketched to show Chloe what he meant. "The artists probably started with something like that in their heads and then just changed it up a little. You could get costumes off the shelf, maybe dye a couple pieces, tuck here ... fold a little different...there. The folds could hide a safety pin to get the right fit, and voila!"
"OhMyGod you're right! I think I see it. Oh wow, Nick. That's great. I don't know how you just see stuff like that"
"Of course you should do a black stocking over Nishi-Ka-Ren's head. The wearer could see through that, no problem, but other people couldn't see in. That would add a nice effect for a Halloween costume too."
"Oh yeah. I like it! Remind me if I ask you next year, OK?"
"Sure thing."
Chloe did not ask Nick to remind her next year. In fact, when September came around and she started thinking of Halloween costumes for the Johnsons' upcoming party, she remembered her idea, but initially totally forgot the part Nick had played in showing her how to make it real.
Nick did not forget, neither the idea, nor the fact he had sketched it out for Chloe. In fact, Nick planned on wearing his concept of a Nishi-Ka-Ren costume to this year's party. He figured Chloe had probably forgotten by now. He hadn't heard her mention it. But he remembered she liked his idea and he thought if he could pull off a costume that impressed her, well then so much the better. Sure, she seemed pretty solid with Jared, but Jared was an ass, and he was hoping eventually she'd realize it.
If somehow she did remember, and Jared was wearing his idea, well then Nick was pretty sure he would do it better. The thought of upstaging Jared a little was kind of appealing too.
Over the previous year, Nick tried dating a couple of other girls, but never really hit it off with any of them. It didn't help that every weekday at work, Chloe sat about 50 ft. down the cubicle farm from him. He passed her desk regularly on the way to the elevators. Chloe just always seemed...better in every way than any other girl he met.
Nick was a better-than-average-looking guy. He had talent too. It took talent for a guy his age to land a plum position in graphic design at a solid company like Dynacorp. Nick got along well in the office. He wasn't outgoing, but people who he interacted with liked him. The one thing he did not do was stand out in a crowd.
Chloe liked Nick well enough, but she never really spent much time thinking about him. She was already dating Jared when Nick got hired. Jared was confident, even a little bit cocky. He had a reputation for being very good at his job. At 30, he was already making good money and seemed likely to rise in the company, maybe even all the way to the top someday.
"I think Nick likes you," Emily, one of the girls in the office, said to Chloe one day, when a group of them were out for drinks after work.
"Nick from Marketing?" Chloe replied.
"They all like Chloe," their much older coworker, Marie jumped in. "Enjoy being the pretty girl in the office while you can, Chloe. Believe it or not, even I used to be the pretty girl once." Everyone laughed and after that nobody gave it much thought.
The Johnsons were a married couple, both co-workers at Dynacorp who had a very big house, and no kids. Rumor was one of them must have had trust fund money, or maybe they inherited it, because there was no way they could afford that place on their combined salaries. Either way, they were people who liked to throw parties. Their annual Halloween party was the biggest of these, and they always invited quite a few coworkers.
At the Halloween Party
The night of the party, Chloe was decked out. The anime-like features of her Suni-Jo costume really suited her small frame: plump lips, ample breasts—especially for a petite girl—and large, round eyes. She wore thigh high stockings trimmed in lace, and a lace-trimmed push-up bustier that gave her more cleavage than she would have dared to be seen in public with for any other occasion. A cameo choker with the series symbol around her neck added a nice touch.
Chloe picked out Jared's costume, and left it at his house. He was going to have to meet her at the party. Jared was flying back from a conference and couldn't make it there until after 9:30. Chloe loved a party and didn't want to wait for him.
Nick was very happy with the way his costume turned out. He wore a large hooded cloak that reached all the way to the floor. The fabric draped and flowed nicely off his wide shoulders and 6 ft frame. With his face covered by the black stocking he wore over his head, and inside that huge hood, he was absolutely unrecognizable.
Maybe the best part, as far as Nick was concerned, was that if he wanted to stay in character as Nishi-Ka-Ren, then he didn't even have to speak, because his character normally communicates telepathically.
Suni-Jo (Chloe) was near the punchbowl when she saw Nishi-Ka-Ren drifting slowly toward her through the crowd. She was surprised to see him, since it was only 8:30 and he said he wouldn't be there for another hour at the earliest, but maybe he managed to catch an earlier flight or something. What a nice surprise. He certainly cut a magnetic figure. She loved how his costume turned out, It was even better than she imagined. He really looked the part.
Even in a crowded room, eyes were turning toward Nishi-Ka-Ren. He had real presence. You could even say he had gravitas. Of course, you couldn't see his eyes, but he turned his head to face her, and it looked like she was fixed in his gaze as he seemed to almost float straight toward her. Chloe felt her heart skip a beat, as if she had immediately fallen under his spell. She felt a tingle down below too. His legendary seductive powers were fully in effect.
Nishi took her breath away as he slowly, purposefully moved toward her. When he was at last within reach, his gloved hand emerged from the billowing cloak and layered robes underneath to gently cup the side of her face and turn it toward him, just like the two characters had reunited in episode 7 after their year-long absence.
