Secret Santa
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Wax Lips
It was early October, and the schoolyard was buzzing with excitement. Halloween was only weeks away, and there was to be a big event the morning of. The whole school was invited, and there would be a prize awarded for the best costume. Sounds of laughter and animated chattering filled the air, and it seemed that no one was immune to the good cheer that permeated the school like a thick fog.
Fourteen year old Dearka Elthman was pleasantly surprised by his best friend's enthusiasm. Yzak Jule never seemed to get excited for any event, quite the opposite in fact. Dearka suspected that the gleam in those blue eyes had more to do with the mention of a contest than anything else, but he didn't give it much thought. He was certain that this Halloween would be the best one yet now that his best friend was looking forward to it as much as he was, no matter what the other's motivation.
Over the course of the next few weeks, Dearka was continuously pestering Yzak about his choice of costume, but the latter refused to tell him a thing, no matter how many times he asked, insisting that the costumes should stay a surprise until the contest.
When the big day finally arrived, Dearka arrived bright and early at Yzak's house. He had chosen to disguise himself as some sort of "beast-man", and his costume was very effective. He was dressed in tight-fitting brown leather pants, with a "tail" made from the faux-fur trim of a winter jacket sewn on the back, and a chocolate coloured vest. He had on fingerless brown gloves, and his forearms were wrapped in frayed white strips of cloth. He had a torn length of cloth attached to the collar of his vest which served as a cape, and a pair of brown 'cowboy boots". The finishing touches: press-on nails filed to appear clawlike, and his grin which revealed a set of realistic looking plastic "fangs". He looked like something from a fantasy RPG.
Dearka had to wait nearly an hour for his friend to 'get ready', and was starting to regret getting up so early. Just when Dearka was certain that they were going to be late, Yzak finally emerged from his bedroom. He wore baggy white pants and a loose-fitting white top with long sleeves reminiscent of a kimono. Over top of it was a powder-blue sleeveless tunic with silver trim and patterns. The moccasin-like shoes that went with the outfit were also blue with silver trim around the top. He had a bit of glitter on his cheeks, and his hair looked even shinier than usual.
The most remarkable thing about the outfit was the pair of white feathery wings attached to his back. Each feather was perfectly in place, and the wings looked like they might belong to a real bird - or a real angel. They must have cost a considerable amount of money to create, but they suited Yzak, with his fair complexion and silvery hair. In that costume, he was the very definition of 'angel'.
After complementing Yzak on his costume Dearka paused for a few seconds, allowing his friend time to form a complacent expression before commenting that everyone would be shocked when they saw his 'cute fairy outfit'. Yzak's expression turned from pleased to murderous. Dearka blinked innocently, and reassured Yzak that he made an adorable little fairy princess, and that there was no reason to be upset. After teasing his friend for a little while longer, he finally agreed that Yzak did not resemble a 'fairy princess' in any way, shape, or form, and the two left for the party at last.
The pair spent most of the first two hours near the refreshment table. For Dearka it was a great opportunity for free candy, about a handful of which ended up crammed into his boots for later. He regretted wearing pants without pockets, but managed, after a lot of coaxing, to persuade Yzak to stuff some treats into his pockets - those baggy pants could hold quite a bit. Yzak's reason for remaining near the table had nothing to do with the food. The refreshments were located near the door, providing him with a great view of the competition.
When the contest officially began, all who wished to participate were asked to go onstage where they were introduced. Slips of paper were distributed, and those who weren't participating were told to write down the name of the contestant with the best costume. Yzak wasn't worried in the least. He was firm in his belief that his costume was by far the best of the bunch.
It took about an hour for all of the votes to be counted. When the student government president went onstage to announce the winner, the room went silent. Everyone waited impatiently while she gave the usual 'you're all winners' speech, then the big moment had finally arrived. Yzak was eager to hear the results, but Dearka was beginning to feel a bit nervous. Suppose Yzak lost? He was not about to let his Halloween fun end so soon. He was considered too old for trick-or-treating, so the costume party was the best he could get, but his best friend off sulking in the corner would ruin the mood. He knew that Yzak was a bit of a sore loser, and would not be easily consoled, but Dearka was determined to try his best to get his friend enjoy the rest of the day, whatever the results. Resolutely, he grabbed a set of large red 'wax-lips', and some gummy bears. Once the 'lips' were in place, he began tossing gummies at Yzak, who rolled his eyes before turning his gaze back to the stage. The president was midway through the announcement, and Dearka was desperate to distract Yzak. Going with the first idea that popped into his mind, he roughly grabbed his friend's head and turned it towards him, pressing the 'wax lips' against Yzak's mouth. Yzak squirmed out of Dearka's grasp, and grabed a handful of chips to throw. There was a loud burst of applause, and Yzak whipped around to try to discover whose name had just been called. In a last-ditch effort to side-track him, Dearka grabbed the waistband of Yzak's pants, and poured half a bowl of 'fuzzy peaches' down the front of them. Furious, Yzak tried to retaliate by throwing a paper cup of punch at him, but was pulled into another pseudo-kiss with the fake lips. When Yzak finally managed, after a few seconds, to push their faces apart, he snatched the 'lips' off of Dearka's face. This didn't deter Dearka, who once again pressed his lips to Yzak's, his real lips this time. The silver-haired teen's eyes widened, and he took an involuntary step backwards - into the table. The table hit into the wall, causing heads to turn, but neither noticed as they crashed to the floor, with Dearka on top. Pulling apart for air, the two finally noticed that they were being watched. Noting the look in his friend's eyes, Dearka wisely chose to get up off of Yzak. The other jumped to his feet, and stiffly left the room, Dearka hot on his heels.
After catching up to Yzak, Dearka began to apologize but was cut off by Yzak, who demanded to know why he had done such a thing. After a moments hesitation, Dearka settled on the truth, explaining that he was worried that Yzak would be upset if he lost, and wanted to distract him. Yzak, who took this to mean that Dearka had expected him to lose, was less than thrilled. Before he could storm off, Dearka pulled him close yet again. With their faces no more than a centimeter apart, Dearka softly implored Yzak not to be angry with him. Yzak's cheeks turned as red as the wax lips, and he didn't respond for what seemed like an eternity. Dearka's heart started to sink as Yzak slipped out of his arms and started to walk away. He had all but given up on a half decent afternoon when Yzak shouted back to him that he had better hurry up if he still wanted the candy they had taken from the party - otherwise Yzak was going to eat it without him. Relieved, Dearka took off after his 'fairy/angel', and the two spent the rest of the day chatting and nibbling on junk food (they snuck down to the basket reserved for the trick-or-treaters to replenish their supply a couple of times). The only piece of candy that didn't get eaten was a set of wax lips - neither of them could look at it without laughing or turning a comparable shade of red. Looking back on it, the pair were in agreement - though neither would ever say so - that that Halloween was indeed one of the best.
