A/N: Originally posted on my wordpress blog on Halloween.

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**Halloween, Two Years Ago**

The restaurant was shining brightly in the night from the hallowed pumpkins lining up outside. Rainie’s dad sure pulled off all the stops this time, I thought as I walked into the party. It was already packed with so many people in costumes, and the lighting was moody and dark – suitable for a Halloween party, but it made it difficult for me to recognise anyone.

Squinting my eyes in an attempt to see better, I scanned the room and saw what seemed to be a familiar, although bloody face, and walked over. “Lily, I’m surprised to see you here! What are you supposed to be?” I looked at Lily Galliano’s wedding dress and the blood that seemed to be seeping out from the corner of . “A vampire bride?”

Lily’s shy face broke into an ecstatic smile. “Yes, exactly! People have been staring at me since I got here, I thought no one understood what I was trying to portray, but you guessed it immediately!”

I smiled at her, although inwardly I was surprised. Lily was a very quiet and reserved person, and we’ve never had a reason to say more than two words to each other before, so her enthusiastic hold on my arm left me a little confused as to how to react. I tried to ignore it and asked the question I came over to ask. “Have you seen our host?”

“The owner seems quite busy with the food, but I think I saw his daughter on the second floor.”

Nodding and thanking her, I tried to make haste for the second floor. It was really the daughter, the one I was close to, that I was looking for. However, I made a mental note to thank the owner before I go home. My stride slowed as friends saw me and stopped me to chat. Most of them asked how my music Was going – something that I was hoping to forget just for tonight.

As I approached the second floor, I heard faint strains of The Addams Family theme playing over the piano. Grinning, I walked towards the grand piano and sat beside the pianist. She finished playing and turned to me with a scowl, fitting her outfit as Wednesday Addams perfectly. “So you finally decided to show up, Gabriel,” she said.

“Sorry, I got caught up with my agent on the phone.”

“Oh! How is it going, any news?” She asked. One look at my face and instantly took on an apologetic look. “Sorry, you must be stressed out about it. How many people have asked the same thing?”

“You’re the ten thousandth. Sadly for you there’s no prize for being the ten thousandth, but congratulations all the same!” I laughed as she gave me another scowl and a swipe at my arm.

“I’m serious. I hope things go well for you, Gabriel.”

I sobered and nodded. ” I hope so too.” Then I grinned mischievously. “If we become famous you can be part of our band and play the piano. I’ll make sure your name is written in really big font on the posters. Well, probably smaller than Chris’ and mine, but still big letters, I’ll make sure of it, hehehe.”

At that image, she grimaced. “No thanks, you know I don’t really like my name. Besides, I’m not that good of a player, and my dad is planning to have me start running the restaurant soon.”

“So you’re really going to do it? You at cooking though! Your face is going to get all wrinkly and ugly if you keep scowling like that,” I said when she scrunched up her face at me again. She quickly schooled her face into a more pleasant expression. I smiled. As if she would ever look ugly, even if her face becomes wrinkly.

“I’m going to take some cooking lessons. Besides, most of the cooking won’t be done by me anyway. I’m going to run and manage the restaurant.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know how to put what I wanted to tell her into words. “I was hoping that if we get to sign with the record label, you’d manage us instead. That is, if you really don’t want to be in our band. We can always put Rainie on the poster instead of your real name,” I grinned, trying to hide my nervousness.

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I have to take care of the restaurant, Gabriel. Besides, if you become an idol, I’ll just cramp your style. Won’t it be weird for you to hit on your fans with me as your manager hanging around you all the time?”

“Well, actually I…” Damn it, this is so hard. How am I supposed to tell her that it won’t matter because I’d like her to be my girlfriend?

As I was stuttering like an idiot, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. It was my agent. “Sorry, I have to take this.” I left her and walked outside, away from the sound of chatter and laughter of the party.

“Guess who is going to be an idol under the biggest recording label around?” My agent’s excited voice rang through the phone.

~•~•~•~

I wonder what he was going to tell me, I thought. I was torn between staying put and following Gabriel out. It seemed like an important call. However, my attention was diverted by the sound of my father’s voice calling my name.

Beside him was a tall, slender young man. He was wearing casual clothes, not bothering to dress up for the party. My father introduced him as Charles, who will be teaching in my cooking class.

“I know we’ll see each other tomorrow when you start class, but since your father invited me to the party, I thought I’d come and say hi.” His gaze seemed cold and intimidating, but his voice was pleasant and somehow put me at ease. He stuck his hand out and I shook it.

“Nice to meet you.”