Yeah, I know I'm going backwards, and I'm sorry if this confuses anyone. Hopefully not, as I think this works well as a stand alone scene. Carol gave me an idea for a costume and I simply could not get it out of my head, so I had to write it. And although I think this scene was a little different than she originally intended, this is what I came up with.
HALLOWEEN
*~Ellie~*
I was readjusting my costume once again when Jay knocked on my door.
“Come in!” I shouted, not wanting to bother with getting the door myself.
“I still can’t believe you don’t keep your door locked,” he lectured as he entered, making sure to lock the door behind him. “Anyone can come in.”
“I’ll hear them if they do,” I shrugged. “Besides, it’s not like I’ll really be in any danger. And I always lock the door when I leave.” I gave my costume a final tweak and turned to face him. “What do you think?”
“What are you supposed to be?”
I glanced down at my all black ensemble. I had a little tail stuck to my back acting as flagellum, and there were letters spelling DNA stuck all over me with masking tape.
“Well, it doesn’t really make sense until I go like this,” I explained, ripping one of the ‘DNA’s off me and sticking it onto Jay. He still looked confused. “I’m prokaryotic horizontal gene transfer,” I told him.
“Oh. Of course,” he said sarcastically. “Why didn’t I think of that before?”
“Well, a lot of people at the party will recognize it,” I grumbled.
“I bet they will,” he consoled. “After all, it is your faculty party. Bound to be plenty of geeky costumes in the mix.”
“Hey!” I protested. But not too vehemently. He was probably right. “Anyway, what are you dressed up as? Is it a mobster, or is there a different costume under the trench coat?”
“Guess,” he commanded with that awful grin he gets when he’s about to do something really annoying. And that’s when I caught sight of the red boots sticking out underneath the hem of his coat.
“Jay, those better not be what I think they are,” I told him dangerously.
“Ellie, I wanted to have the best costume at the party,” he boasted. “And what could possible be better than…” he unbuttoned his coat dramatically, finally opening it with a flourish. “The Man of Steel?”
“Oh, I can think of a lot of things that would be better,” I told him furiously. “Anything, actually. You wear a white sheet over your head and that would still be a better costume than this.”
“What’s wrong with it?” he frowned innocently. Like he didn’t know. “It doesn’t look good?”
The truth was, seeing Jay in a skin-tight suit wasn’t really a bad thing. I mean, of all the people to see in such a suit, he would be the one I would pick. It emphasized all the right parts, and the smooth material showcased his impressive musculature.
“Well, yeah, it looks good. I mean, really good,” I replied. But then my eyes slid over the familiar crest, and the rest of the costume jumped out at me in its entirety. “But, Jay, you’re dressed up as my dad!” I exclaimed. “Do you have any idea how disturbing that is?”
He grinned, and rocked back on the heels of those stupid boots.
“At least tell me that the costume’s not authentic,” I begged.
“Clark’s would be too long for me,” he replied. “But the boots are actually Jon’s. Apparently, they use the same color of dye. Who knew?”
“I did,” I snapped. “I know because I’m related to both of them! Do you have any idea of the kind of comments we’re going to get tonight? Little giggles and asides about how great it must be to date Superman?”
“Yep,” Jay replied happily. “And your face is going to turn *so* red. I think it’s gonna be a fun night.”
I looked the costume over from head to toe. Although it wasn’t authentic, it was a very good replica. And the boots were indistinguishable, of course. Even his hair looked very realistic with it plastered close to his head in a very similar style to the way that Dad wore it. All in all, it was extremely close to the original. And it was weird. Very weird. I sighed.
“I don’t suppose there’s any way I can convince you to borrow one of my bed sheets for the night, is there?”
“Now, what kind of Man of Steel would I be if I allowed myself to give over to such a suggestion?”
Grunting in defeat, I grabbed my coat and slipped it on. “Let’s go,” I sighed, heading down the hall to the door.
Jay jumped in front of me just as I was about to reach for the knob. “Superman is always a gentleman,” he told me, holding the door open. “Especially when he’s on a date.”
“Oh, shut up,” I snapped.
* * *
We were just about to enter the hall where the party was being held when I grabbed onto Jay’s arm to pull him back.
“Before we go in, there’s something you should know,” I told him.
“What is it?”
“Well, a couple years ago, I dated one of the guys who was a student here.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And we broke up and everything, but people still tend to talk about it. And not that it was a bad break-up or anything. Just because… Well, because people talk.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “Thanks for telling me. I’ll be sure to fry him with my heat vision when I get a good shot. Care to give me some aiming tips?”
“Would you cut it out? I’m trying to be serious here!” I demanded.
“Sorry,” he apologized.
“Anyway, he’s not here anymore, he’s at some university out west I think, but just know that it might come up in conversation.”
“Okay. Thanks for telling me. That would help to avoid an awkward moment.”
“Good.” I was glad he seemed okay with this. And there really wasn’t anything for him to worry about. “His name’s Arty, by the way. Just so you know.”
“Thanks. Shall we go in now?”
I took the arm that Jay offered, and we went into the party together. It was nice to be able to introduce Jay to some of my friends from school. I had mentioned him before, but I had never really gotten around to getting him to meet them. I didn’t see this crowd as often as I used to anyway now that I was spending the majority of my time at STAR Labs.
“It’s great to meet you,” Hannah told Jay as she shook his hand. “I’ve heard about you, of course.”
“You have?” Jay asked.
“Oh, sure,” my friend Roy cut in. “Ever since Ellie mentioned that she was seeing someone, we’ve been going crazy with curiosity. We’ve been trying to decide if you’d be another dork like her last boyfriend, or if you’d actually have some social capabilities.”
“I don’t understand what you guys had against Arty! He was really nice!” I defended.
“And that’s about all he was, at best,” Hannah told Jay. “Seriously, the guy couldn’t have a conversation with someone without bringing up protein synthesis.”
“We may be scientists, but we try to lead normal lives,” Roy explained to Jay.
“Speaking of which,” Hannah said, “I love your costume, Ellie. Very creative.”
“Thanks.” I gave her one of my ‘DNA’s as a gift. “See, Jay? I told you that some people would appreciate my efforts.”
“Oh, but I love Superman, too,” Hannah told us. “And how great must that be for you, Ellie? Dating Superman for the evening?”
“Oh, it’s great,” I said through a fake smile. I was seriously going to kill Jay for putting me through this.
“Did I hear something about Superman?” Another girl I had befriended as an undergrad pushed herself into our group. “Oh, hey! Great costume! I’m Samantha.”
“Jay. I’m with Ellie.”
“This is the boyfriend?” she asked in exaggerated surprise. “Well, I guess that means I loose the pool. You’re definitely not a nerd. I can tell just by looking at you.”
“Sam…” I groaned. Why had I thought that getting Jay to meet my friends was a good idea?
“Um… thanks, I guess,” Jay replied awkwardly.
“I bet ten to one that outfit gets some more action tonight after the party, right?” Samantha nudged Jay with her elbow.
I was sure my face had started glowing with embarrassment. “Sam, seriously, cut it out,” I begged. “You’re embarrassing Jay.”
“Oh, just ignore me,” she told Jay. “I only say things like that because it’s fun to watch Ellie blush.”
“Oh, I completely agree,” Jay said. “It’s something I strive to do on a daily basis.”
“Great, two seconds with my boyfriend and you’ve already managed to turn him against me,” I complained.
“Relax, Ellie,” Sam told me. “I haven’t done anything.”
“I was against you from the very beginning,” Jay chimed in.
Our banter was stopped by sudden panic from the opposite end of the room. There were a few shouts, and it seemed as if everyone was trying to get away from something.
“What’s going on?” Jay whispered in my ear.
“Some genius decided it’d be a good idea to put real jack-o-lanterns in here as decorations and leave them unattended,” I replied, using my x-ray vision to look through people and see what was going on. “I’ll be right back.”
Making use of the confusion, I was able to slip away from the group and return as Nebula easily. It was a piece of cake to put out the small fire, and I turned to address my colleagues.
“It’s never a good idea to leave an open flame unattended at a party,” I cautioned them. “It’s best to stick with electric lights.” It was a bit of a sanctimonious speech, I thought. But it was expected of me, so I had to deliver it.
“Thanks, Nebula!”
I turned to see Samantha push through the crowd towards me. She was obsessed with my super-persona, and although this wasn’t the first time she had met Nebula, she still looked excited. “How did you manage to get here so fast?” she asked.
“I was in the area,” I replied vaguely, getting ready to leave. Unfortunately, my eyes landed square on Jay just as I was about to make an exit. Everyone saw that I could see him, as he was standing on the fringe of the crowd. As Nebula, there was no way I could get away without commenting on his costume choice, yet what could I really say? Finally, I settled on something conservative. “Nice costume,” I told him.
“Thank you,” he replied. “I wasn’t too keen on the idea myself, but my girlfriend convinced me it was a good idea. I’ll be sure to let her know that you approve.”
“I… uh…” What could Nebula say to that? Nothing, I realized. So instead, I gave a deep, serious nod, and exited the room.
I was going to kill him when I got back.
