Page 58 of Flash

“Do you seriously expect me to wear this all night?” Rowan calls, pulling open the door to his back seat and holding up the massive Audrey II head that he agreed to wear.

“Well, if you don’t, then I’ll look pretty stupid,” I say. “I’ll just look like a nerd with a button-up and glasses. I’m only Seymore if I have my Twoey.”

Rowan sighs and pulls the head on. That’s why he’s my bestie.

I slide my hand into Arrow’s and we all head for the door together, Rowan tottering awkwardly at the rear, trying to get used to the weight of his costume. Nerves flutter in my stomach as Piston reaches the door first and holds it open for the rest of us. Arrow’s been trying to introduce me to his brother for the past couple of months, but things have kept coming up, so tonight will be the first time I get to meet him.

“Don’t stress. If you can handle Jag, you can more than handle Henry,” Arrow says near my ear as we step into the noisy chaos of the bar. It’s like the man can read my mind.

I take a breath and nod. “Let’s get it out of the way first, otherwise I’m going to be anxious the whole time.”

I look around the bar at all the invite-only guests at this Halloween party. It seems like everyone knows each other, which makes for a cool vibe. There’s a guy dressed in a bulky bee costume kicking ass over at the pool table against another pair of guys who seem to have gone with the classic two-part horse costume.

“Nice costume, Stone,” Jag says as we pass them.

The guy who has the head end chuckles and looks over at the guy I’m assuming is Stone.

“I’ve always said he’s a horse’s ass,” he says, pulling Stone into a playful headlock.

Stone scoffs. “I’ve got a horse’s—”

We don’t get to find out the end of that sentence because they end up with their tongues down each other’s throats, but I’m sure I can guess.

I recognize the guys gathered closer to the bar as the mechanics from Big Bull. Heat rises in my cheeks. Even though it’s been ages since the incident and I’ve had to deal with them since, I still want to crawl into a hole every time I think about it.

“They probably don’t even remember,” Rowan assures me, no doubt reading my panic all over my face as we get closer to the mechanics.

Oh fuck, is one of them Arrow’s brother?

“Remember what?” Arrow asks.

Rowan opens his mouth to answer, but I elbow him to stop him. “Nothing.”

We stop right in front of a tall guy leaning against the bar. He’s dressed as Beetlejuice and clearly put a lot of effort into his face paint. He has his arm slung around another man who is… also dressed as Beetlejuice. I look between the two of them and the second Beetlejuice shrugs and smirks.

“Miscommunication, but we’re rolling with it.”

I chuckle, and then I suddenly feel several pairs of eyes on me. The twink mechanic who came and towed my car months ago is dressed in a white faux fur coat, with his chest bare and a headband around his head, à la Mojo Dojo Ken. He gives me a toothy smile.

“Hey, I just remembered who you are. You’re the porn dude.”

“Fuck my life,” I mutter.

Rowan barks out a loud laugh, then tries to cover it a second too late with a painfully fake cough.

“Porn guy?” Hero asks.

“Yes, please do tell.” Jag leans in conspiratorially. “Did our little Tater Tot do porn?”

“I didn’t do porn.” I roll my eyes.

Arrow coughs to stifle a laugh. “Uh, on that note, Lewis, this is my brother, Henry.”

He gestures to the first Beetlejuice, and my face heats. Under the makeup I’m almost positive now that he’s the guy who runs customer service at Big Bull, and I’m pretty sure I said he was hot right to his face once.

“Hey,” I mutter, thrusting my hand out in greeting.

Henry takes it and uses the leverage to pull me in for a big bear hug, slapping my back and lifting me off the floor.

---