Chapter Six
The Promises of Nocturne

The smell of autumn was in the air and it was wonderful. The trees were vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange but most were already beginning to look barren as leaves fluttered to the ground with the wind. Long gone were the days where one could get away with wearing only a t-shirt; October was coming to an end and with that came the usual temperature drop. It was cold, noses were running left and right, and the last couple days for apple picking were coming before the cold front came in and everything would start to freeze overnight. It was autumn, and it was beautiful.

Despite the chilly winds, Key found himself growing tired of being cooped up in the house every day and since the past couple weeks he’d been on his best behavior – maybe not best but he wasn’t being an – Heechul had said that he had no problem letting him go out and roam around town so long as he finished up his school assignments. Donned with his brand new winter coat and an outfit that belonged entirely to him, Key walked down the street with a smile on his face feeling giddy. It was exciting to finally be out and about, he would enjoy this newfound freedom and not let it go to waste. It had been far too long since he’d be allowed out on his own; Heechul had even given him some spending money.

Though it was tempting to go into the shops he walked by, Key held his head high and continued walking with a destination in mind. Mir was going to turn sixteen in two weeks and lately things had gotten better between the two of them so he thought it might be nice to get him something. He wasn’t exactly sure what to get because Mir had so many quirky obsessions, but to play it safe he was going to buy a giant five pound bag of gummy bears and a couple outfits for his two dogs and call it a day. It was a win-win either way. Mir loved candy and he would no doubt bring his dogs over too and that would make Donghae happy and if Donghae was happy then he might just be a bit friendlier to him.

“Oh, the cleverness of me!” Key said to himself with a cocky grin as he reached the candy store. The bell chimed as he walked in and the overweight counter girl greeted him halfheartedly without looking up from her magazine article ‘Ten Ways to Beat Bloating During the Holidays!’ He smirked and went to the back of the store where the bulk items were displayed. Amongst the package of gummy bears there was an assortment of mixed candy bags for Halloween, large quantities of chocolates for the upcoming holidays, and even sugar free candies for health nuts.

Maybe I should get a bag of assorted candy for Heechul to hand out on Halloween, he thought to himself as he looked over the options. He paused for a moment and a strange feeling washed over him when he realized this would be the first year that he was no going trick-or-treating. His entire life he would go out with his friends and then spend the night together. They would all coordinate costumes too; last year they all dressed up like the Avengers.

“Are you going to buy something?” The chick at the counter asked in an annoyingly nasally voice. Key blinked and grabbed the bag of gummy bears and headed over to pay, making sure to give her a dirty look before leaving the store.

As he stepped back into the cold, Key reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPod to check the time. It was nearly 3:00PM and he knew that Mir would be getting out of school any minute now. With nothing better to do, he headed towards the high school to wait. Personally he thought it was rather odd that the school stayed in session so late when his own school was released at 2:15PM. He als