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themetaphorgirl · 4 years

Note

What do you think drunk reid would be like lol

this was inspired by my own experiences as a sheltered little church girl trying alcohol for the first time

bless this sweet child.

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“I’m so glad you finally came out with us, Reid,” Garcia said. “We’ve been asking you for ages.”

“Yeah, it’s about time you joined us,” Morgan added.

He sat very stiffly on the cracked vinyl seat, his arms at his sides like he was afraid to put his hands down. “You’ve asked me thirty-two times,” he said. “I thought I should give up at some point.”

Garcia laughed. “You’re stubborn and I love it,” she said. “But I’m glad you gave in.”

Nights out had been few and far between for too long, and she was thrilled to be out of her lair and with her people. The last case was resolved much sooner than they expected, and she had begged everyone to come out. Gideon wasn’t there, which wasn’t too much of a surprise, but everyone else had made it. Even Hotch, who usually begged off because of Haley and the baby, and even Reid, who had politely turned down every offer to go out.

“Spence, are you doing okay?” JJ asked. “You can put your arms down.”

“Everything is sticky,” he said, his shoulders curving.

Morgan laughed. “You’ll be fine, Reid,” he said. “Don’t give me statistics on germs. Just enjoy yourself. Get a drink. Relax.”

“This isn’t exactly my idea of relaxing,” he said.

“C’mon, live a little, boy wonder,” Garcia said. “What do you want? First drink is on me.”

He hunched farther in his chair. “You know, most medieval cultures drank only beer and mead instead of water because the quality-”

“Reid,” Hotch interrupted. “Just order something.”

His ears were turning red and he mumbled something under his breath.

“What was that?” Emily asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’ve never tried anything.”

“You were in college for like ten years, you’ve never had alcohol?” JJ said, her eyebrows raising.

“Fifteen-year-olds don’t get invited to a lot of frat parties!” Spencer said. “And I went straight from college to the academy, and straight to the BAU from the academy.” He scrunched up his face. “And besides, I don’t think there’s anything about me that indicates I get invited to parties very often.”

Garcia squeezed his arm. “Well, you’re at a party now,” she said. “How about this, we’ll let you try a little bit of everybody’s drinks, so you can figure out what you like, and then you can order something.” He opened his mouth to argue. “And we’ll let you have the first sips so you can’t complain about germs.”

“Yes, but then if everyone’s drinking after me, everyone’s getting my germs,” Spencer objected. “What if everybody gets mono?”

“Who’re you kissing, pretty Ricky?” Morgan teased, and Spencer’s embarrassed flush spread to his cheekbones. Morgan tossed his arm around his shoulder. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Relax.”

They all placed their orders- the waitress scrutinized Spencer’s ID for quite a while, making him blush even redder- and before long everyone had drinks placed in front of them, and Spencer was visibly sweating.

“All right, who’s drink do you want to try first?” JJ asked.

Spencer looked around. “I have no idea,” he said.

Morgan slid his pint glass over to him. “Try this,” he said. “It’s just a beer. Entry level. You can’t go wrong.”

Spencer took a very small sip, averting everyone’s eyes, and quickly handed the glass back to Morgan. “That’s bread,” he said. “That is a glass of wet bread.”

“So not a beer fan?” Garcia asked. He shook his head.

“Oh, you’re going to hate what I have, then,” Hotch said, sliding his Guinness down the table.

Spencer stuck a straw in it and recoiled. “Oh, that’s worse,” he said. “Oh, that’s so much worse. How is it so much worse?”

Hotch laughed. “So we can determine that beer is a no go,” he said.

“MIne won’t be as bad,” JJ said. “It’s just a hard cider, nothing too crazy.”

He wrinkled his nose. “It tastes like apple juice was left sitting around for too long,” he complained.

JJ looked at the glass, then back at him. “That’s...that’s basically what hard cider is, Spence,” she said.

“I knew that. it’s...it’s just very different in application.”

“Ooh me, ooh me!” Emily said. “This is fun.” She leaned around JJ to hand him a wineglass. “Try it.”

Spencer took it hesitantly. “Wine isn’t that bad, is it?” he said warily.

Emily rested her chin on her hands. “I don’t know, you tell me,” she said.

He took a sip. “That’s disgusting,” he said. He screwed up his face, sticking out his tongue a little. “How is it so dry? It’s like I was walking in a desert and someone gave me an old grape instead of water!”

Emily laughed. “That’s how I like it,” she said. She got up from the table. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to get a surprise.”

“Okay, okay, try mine,” Garcia encouraged. “It’s a Moscow mule. I think you’ll like it.”

“Garcia, the odds are against me,” he said, taking the copper mug warily.

“Please please please,” she wheedled. “It’s delicious.”

He took a sip, paused, and took another one. “Oh, this isn’t terrible,” he said. “It’s very...but it has this kind of…”

“It’s a win!” Garcia said, slamming her fist on the table. “Garcia, one, everybody else, zero!”

“Okay, okay, fine, but...consider this,” Emily said. She set a shot glass down in front of Spencer. “Shots are a rite of passage for all college students, so…here you go!”

“Shots, shots, shots!” JJ chanted.

Spencer picked up the glass, looked around at them in confusion, and then took a small sip. “Reid, what the actual hell?” Emily said.

“What’re you doing, kid?” Morgan asked.

He shrugged, holding the tiny glass in his hands like a mouse holding a thimble. “I’m drinking out of this ridiculously small cup that Emily gave me,” he said.

Hotch sighed. “Reid, that’s not how shots work,” he said.

Emily took the glass from Spencer’s hand. “Hey,” he protested, but she knocked it back in an easy motion.

“Learned that in boarding school,” she said, setting the shotglass down. “Let’s try this again!”

Spencer held the new glass like a bomb when it was handed it to him. “What am I supposed to do?” he said.

“Just throw the whole drink in your mouth and swallow,” JJ said. “Don’t think about it.”

“All I do is think,” he said, but he did his best, tossing the shot in his mouth. “Oh god! What...oh god, it’s burning!”

“That’s what Fireball does,” Garcia said. “Try it again, it gets easier.”

It did not get easier.

In the end, it took three shots, half of Garcia’s Moscow Mule, and the collective tastes of everyone’s drinks to get Dr. Spencer Reid half slumped in his chair, his long arms draped over the sticky table. “...and that’s when I dropped out of, out of medieval lit, because…because it sucked, you guys,” he slurred. “It sucked, so bad, I...I learned more when I was two than I did...in...in…” He raised his head, his long hair hanging over his eyes. “What?”

“Ooh, we forgot to factor in the newbie tolerance levels,” Emily said.

“What tolerance level?” Hotch said dryly.

Spencer rubbed his eyes. “I’m...so tired,” he said. He lurched towards Morgan. “Can I...take a nap?”

“No, pretty boy, not here,” Morgan said. “God, what a lightweight.”

“Honestly, we should have seen this coming,” Hotch said.

Spencer half stood up. “I want another one of these,” he announced, holding the empty copper mug in his hand.

“No, no, my darling, absolutely not,” Garcia said, tugging on his arm.

He plunked down in his seat. “I feel great,” he said. He smiled, warm and dopey. “I...I love you guys. All you guys.”

“Aw, we love you too, Garcia said.

He frowned, tugging at his tie. “I’m...why this?” he said. He fumbled with the knot. “Why this? I wanna-”

��Oh, no, he’s a Penelope Garcia kind of drunk,” Emily said.

“I don’t always take my clothes off when I’m drunk,” Garcia said. “I just...oh, no, Spencer-”

He tossed his tie at Emily. “I got it,” he said, pleased.

“Good job.”

He lurched out of his seat. “I’ll be right back,” he said.

“Should somebody follow him?” JJ asked.

Hotch looked at his phone. “If he doesn’t come back in a few minutes, I’ll go get him,” he said.

“Man, I didn’t know what kind of drunk Reid would be, but somehow this seems right,” Emily said, draining the last of her second glass of wine. “He has the tolerance of a wet piece of paper.”

“Maybe next time we’ll just get him something that isn’t too strong,” Garcia said. “This might have been too much for him.”

“We’ll get him a Capri Sun or something,” Morgan snickered.

Spencer stumbled towards them, his mouth tugging at the corner. “Hey, champ, how we doin’?” Emily said.

“I threw up,” he said, confused.

“Are you okay?” JJ asked.

He shrugged. “I threw up.”

“Okay, pretty boy, you’re going home,” Morgan said, scooting his chair back from the table. “Baby’s first drinks are turning into baby’s first hangover.”

“Get something greasy for breakfast in the morning, it’ll help,” Garcia offered.

Spencer rubbed the side of his face. “I’m...sleep,” he mumbled

“You’re going to drink your bodyweight in water and maybe eat some saltines, and then you’re gonna go to sleep,” Morgan said. “And next time we go out for drinks...no shots for you.”

#criminal minds fanfiction #spencer reid #caitlin writes things #derek morgan #penelope garcia #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #Anonymous

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tsarisfanfiction · 4 years

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Thinking thoughts and wanted to know your opinion law went from this seemingly laid back almost easy going personality to this brooding serious man during the time skip do you think he’ll slowly ease back into his old personality once this emperor stuff is taken care of and do you think his crew miss his laid back ways?

Ooh, hello Anon! This is an interesting question for sure, but honestly? I don’t think Law’s personality really changed. What changed is his situation (and two years of additional experience).

Aaaaand my explanation/character study got super long so it’s under a cut. Oops. Vague warning for Wano spoilers at some point (I give an actual warning when I get there but a few other things may have slipped in earlier so watch out if you’re anime-only, I guess?)

Okay, so: Sabaody. Laid back, taunting so-and-so noted by Kid of all people to have zero manners and perfectly happy to poke fun at Drake (note: Drake is also former North Blue, we know their backstories intersected - although whether they know that is another matter entirely, although I headcanon that Drake knows and Law doesn’t but that’s a whole other thing, just like I headcanon that Drake, Penguin and Shachi totally knew each other as teenagers. I mean, neighbouring islands? Pirates? Don’t try and tell me the Barrel Pirates never visited Swallow Island when it was literally right there, and what little we know of pre-Hearts Penguin and Shachi they would totally have been in the pirate kid’s face, but I’m getting off-track).

Law spends a lot of time in Sabaody watching. When we first see him, he’s watching Killer and Urouge duke it out, and doesn’t do anything to influence what’s going on until Drake arrives (again: Drake, North Blue, a Known Quantity. Killer? South Blue. Urouge? Sky Islands. Unknown Quantities, and possibly the first time he’s seen either of them in person). Then we see him in the Auction House, and we all know he wasn’t there to make a purchase. One of Oda’s brilliant tie-backs - the Auction House is one of Joker’s things. Joker is Doffy. Law is tracking Doffy. It’s not rocket science that he’s there to get more info.

Then the Strawhats happen. Law sits there amid all that carnage, seeing the entire crew reunite in the middle of the Biggest Thing Ever To Happen on Sabaody (I mean… punch a tenryubito, nice one Luffy). Doesn’t join in, doesn’t try to leave. Sits and watches. His interaction with Luffy is more info-gathering: this guy just punched a tenryubito and now the Marines are here. What next?

I love the Three Captains Beatdown. (I am delighted we finally have the Part 2). Luffy and Kid are being Luffy and Kid. They’re crazy, they’re strong, they’re not backing down. Law has his pride. He’s the ‘weakest’ of the three (by which I mean he has the lowest bounty and in pirate-speak that means weaker) and both Kid and Luffy are completely not his type of pirate (again, revisited in current manga events and thank you, Oda). If he doesn’t act then, he’ll lose a whole load of respect, and also put his crew in danger because, you know, the admiral is coming and Shachi already admitted Rayleigh’s haki nearly took him out. So we have three of Law’s big traits coming out in Sabaody (imo): Protectiveness of his crew, Scheming, and being an Intentional Pain in the Ass (with a subsection of Pride but all pirates have that one so I’m not gonna focus on that too much).

As for Marineford, that’s really a case of sticking his tongue out at the World Government, let’s be honest (plus the whole Will of D schtick we still don’t know the full depth of). What better way of saying ‘screw you’ to the WG than saving someone who just broke out of Impel Down and has made themselves out to be a royal nuisance but hey it’s okay because he’s dea- dammit Trafalgar came in and now he’s not dead? Also really got his name on their radar for Shichibukai fun later.

All three of these traits still show themselves post-timeskip, but up until Zou/Wano there is one big factor that’s changed.

Law is alone.

He’s sent his crew off somewhere safe (there is no other reason for ditching most of his fighting power all the way to Zou other than to just keep Doflamingo’s strings away), his scheming is reaching its peak, and then the Straw Hats come in and make a mess of everything.

I don’t know about you, but I’d be much more serious when I’m alone in a keystone of my greatest enemy’s lair with my nakama too far away to help, and then the Strawhats crash the party.

He’s met them once before, presumably also read about them in the News Coo, so he knows they do unpredictable things at the worst times. He also knows they’re strong, so Scheming Law comes in again, allies with them to both try and stop them from messing everything up, and also get some additional firepower in to replace his crew’s strength (or at least a bit of it - considering the Strawhats are half the size of the Hearts and if anyone tries to tell me Law, Bepo and Jean Bart are the only powerhouses in that crew I will fight, how much exactly it compares is a grey area).

Too bad Luffy is, well, Luffy, and it doesn’t quiiite pan out the way Law planned (but he’s learning! Latest chapter is gold). But again, Punk Hazard: we see Pain in the Ass Law (vs Smoker), Scheming Law (basically main Law right now), and Protective Law (Heart Pirates hidden away safe).

And this continues into Dressrosa, with of course the addition of Tragic Backstory (it’s One Piece, he was going to have one. Even if Law’s ends up particularly nasty). Law is facing his greatest enemy, the one he swore to defeat after thirteen years, and then he gets outsmarted. So we have out of his depth, defeated Law - although he’s still being a Smartass to Doffy because he can. Again, I think being tense, snappy and generally not a happy guy is pretty fair in that situation. Luffy simultaneously makes things better and worse - Law has to rely on him to get him out of there, and we know Law’s not one for trusting easily (Jean Bart’s recruitment is an interesting case and I wonder if he was planning on keeping him straight away or if it was another FU to the tenryubito plus ‘hey, fighting power’ moment but then Jean Bart was actually loyal and also a goof). But Luffy does it, they win, hooray.

But now? Now we have Law alone with the Straw Hats forming a Grand Fleet and he’s really back-footed here in terms of power balance. It is Not Smart to rib the pirates who a) outnumber you like hell and you have no hope of backup anywhere and b) are the ones that are going to get you back to your own crew. This isn’t like Sabaody, where there’s Luffy and Kid and he needs to prove himself to them as well as keep his crew safe. His crew are safe (he thinks… we’ll get to that in a minute), Luffy’s seen him at his absolute worst in the last 13 years, and all his scheming for the last 13 years has reached a conclusion.

He’s lost, he’s tired, and really he just wants to go home to his nakama now. Can you blame him?

Then, we get Zou.

Zou is fun. Zou is really, really fun. We get the reunion! Which we see literally 1% of and I’m mad because that would have been so good to see. Bepo literally jumps on him and he lets him. I bet the rest of the crew did, too. We see Law with his crew of idiots and he loves them and there’s so much scope in there for Law finally being able to relax for the first time since Time Skip. And the Hearts get on well with the Straw Hats. We see Penguin and Usopp dancing together later on, we see Law teasing his crew (not introducing them? Their reaction to that is the sort of thing we would see other pirate captains punish for mutiny but he just shrugs it off. He knew they’d react like that).

But there are two big elephants in the room here (unintentional pun whoops). Number one: Sanji’s disappearance and his ally’s reaction to that. We see that covered pretty well in canon, Law realising that his ally is about to have two yonkou after his head at the same time and the problem that poses for him, Law getting dragged into a new alliance with the Minks and Samurai (Law being a total goof about Raizo but Keeping Up Appearances because Strawhats). Law presumably making the executive decision that breaking his alliance now would be a bad idea (Kaido is still annoyed with him, the Minks adore the Strawhats, Luffy is a clingy rubbery bastard that won’t let him go anyway), and once more we have a back-footed Law.

The second elephant is fun for me. It’s never fully stated in canon, but. Jack attacked the Minks. The Heart Pirates were living with the Minks. The Heart Pirates fought with the Minks (we saw that). Bepo was treated by Nami (we also saw that). The Heart Pirates got caught up in that whole mess. At the minimum, the whole crew got poisoned alongside the Minks. I reckon some of them were probably tortured, too. Law came home to his crew expecting them to have been safe and they weren’t. And now he’s asking them to go straight to the lair of the crew that did that to them. That’s not going to settle particularly well with him, either.

We don’t see the journey to Wano (disclaimer: I haven’t seen anything past WCI in the anime so I have no clue what fillers may have been added), but there’s still four Strawhats and the samurai on board, so even back in his own ship Law can’t fully relax, but I bet he’s still like Zou-Law. A little peeved, trying to work out how the hell he’s going to deal with Kaido with or without Luffy and the half of the Strawhats that have gone on a suicide mission, but genuinely happy to see his crew again.

Then he manages to kick all the intruders once they arrive at Wano, and the first we see of him, he’s chilling out. Watching. He even has his crew on info-gathering/watching (we see Penguin, Shachi and Bepo but I bet they’re all doing it). Hello, Sabaody!Law! Chilled, keeping an eye on things, scheming (just no-one to irritate because they’re trying to keep a low profile).

And then Luffy returns and we’re back to Punk Hazard, except this time, Law’s crew are in the mess, too. Law’s plans are crumbling, Luffy is being a royal nuisance, and then things go from Bad to Worse.

I don’t know how far the anime has got so vague blanket manga spoiler warning from here.

Luffy gets captured. Kaido knows they’re there. Kaido attacks his crew. If it wasn’t for Shinobu having a devil fruit useful in that situation, that would have been bye-bye Penguin, Shachi and Bepo. So there go Law’s plans and his crew are in danger. Punk Hazard but worse.

Then, thanks to the traitor, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo get captured. They’re also accused of being the traitor, and Protective Law rears his head big time. The Heart Pirates in effect leave the alliance. Not officially, because Law knows he’ll need them later even if it’s only as bait while he gets the hell out of there with his crew, if required, but he strikes out and they hear nothing from him until voila, Penguin, Shachi and Bepo are back!

And this was the return of Pain In The Ass Law. He’s smirking at Hawkins, and someone else I’m currently running with the theory of Drake. Oh look, North Blue buddies! Known Quantities. Some scheme is hatched (looking forwards to that one). He’s also protecting the hell out of his crew, because Hawkins hit him where it hurts (North Blue not-so-buddies. Known Quantities. Works both ways).

Now? Now, we’re looped right back to Sabaody again. The Three Captains are back, Law is back to being surrounded by idiots but still proving himself whilst protecting his crew and scheming (and this time knows how to include Luffy and Kid into his schemes! Character development!).

It’s been two years, he’s been through hell (again, Oda please give him a break), but the core things we saw back in Sabaody? They’re still there, and the closer he is to his crew the clearer we see them.

So to answer the question will he go back to that? No, because that’s not how character development works, but I do think we’ll see the Pain In The Ass Law more once Protective and Scheming Law aren’t needed in earnest (unfortunately, as long as the Strawhats are around, he’s always going to have some sort of guard up because he’s learnt and he’s not stupid. As they’re our protags, that means we’re probably only going to see Law much while he’s with them).

As for his crew? We know, thanks to the SBS, that Penguin, Shachi and Bepo have known him since basically the day he lost Rocinante. Whatever hell of a mess he is at the moment, it’s not going to be anything like 13yo Law after his whole life crumbled again. It’s not known exactly when he meets the rest of the crew (except Jean Bart), but it’s somewhere in those 11 years between Minion Island and Sabaody (and maybe some again in the time skip).

So some of his crew, at least, have seen him worse and basically learn to love again (as cheesy as that sounds). They might not like the blip, but they’ve seen him worse, so they’ll know that it’ll pass. And as I’ve been saying, we’ve seen him far more without his crew than with them. There’s a high chance that how he acts with them hasn’t changed as much as the change we’ve seen as readers.

This basically turned into an Essay on Law oops. But it was a very interesting question!

#ask #trafalgar law #character study #heart pirates #i tried to keep headcanons out of this and stick to the manga facts but I know a couple slipped in #essay on law #tl;dr i don't think his personality has changed just the situations he's been in #Anonymous

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askmissthunder · 7 years

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Happy (Belated) Halloween, everybody!

I've always been honest with you all during my posts and this one will be no exception. When Cassie (Red Rabbit) asked if I wanted to go to the Halloween party on campus this year, I... wanted to say "No."

I know that sounds very odd considering how much I love Halloween but...I really didn't want to have to be in the same room with my main tormentors, Samantha Crestfield and her little toadies, Bianca Haywood and Nicki Beltran. As you can probably guess, they're the other flutists in my class and they love to point out how fat I am, about how lazy and stupid I am, about...

*sigh*

Anyway, I deal with them enough everyday at school and when I told Cassie I didn't want to go during one of our lunch breaks, she put on those big sad puppy-dog eyes and frowned.

"But why?", Cassie pouted, "We had a lot of fun last year! You ended up going anyway so why not be there from the start?"

"Yes but...that was kind of an accident. Eli and I never intended to go to the party. You guys moved it to the park because there was no more room here, remember?"

Cassie crossed her arms over her chest, "Well, why don't you want to go?"

I twiddled my fingers nervously, lowering my gaze. "....You know why."

She gave me an irritated look. "No, I don't. What's the matter? Don't say you can't find a costume because you had that cute witch costume last year!"

I only gave a half-hearted mumble.

"Pardon?"

Clearing my throat, I spoke in a louder voice. "....She's going to be there."

Cassie shrugged, "Who's 'she'?"

I could feel my eyes well up. "Y'know.....Samantha..."

Cassie's face softened as she let out a sad sigh. "Oh, Penny."

I could feel myself breathing in quick gasps as my heart started racing. Whatever annoyance I had towards Cassie and the situation in general just spilled out of me. I could envision in my mind Samantha's angry, spiteful eyes, glaring at me. The way her friends laugh in that mocking way. Just that Godawful feeling of having to be trapped in class with them every day and there was nothing I could do about it.

"I don't want to be there with her, all right?! I don't want to hear her stupid voice and her stupid little put downs all night long! I can't...I don't want to, Cass. Bad enough I have to put up with her in school....I can't...."

She walked towards me and wrapped her arms around me as best as she could. "Hey, hey, hey, Penn. Just settle down for a moment, all right?"

I tried my best to calm myself but it was rather hard considering how much effort I was trying not to start sobbing in public.

She took a seat close to my wheelchair and held my hand. "Look, I'm sorry that girl gives you such a hard time. She shouldn't be doing that and I know it really really sucks but.... you can't let her win like this."

I wiped my eyes, a bit confused, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, look at what she's making you do: She's made it where you don't want to go out with us because of her. What was it that you said she told you last week? That 'you don't belong here' ?"

I gave a curt nod but hearing that come out of Cassie's mouth felt like a punch to the gut.

"Well, Penny....I'd hate to say this but....you're kinda proving her right. You not coming to the party, where literally EVERYBODY in school is invited. To me, that's basically telling her, 'You're right, I don't belong there.' "

I kept my head down where she couldn't see the stray tear come down my cheek.

Cassie continued, her voice rising in tone as if she were getting outraged for me.

"And I know you don't like being with a ton of people, with big crowds. I'm not asking you to be the belle of the ball, Penny, but....maybe coming out with us can show Samantha that you do belong out there. That she doesn't get to have any say about what you do. She doesn't get to say jack shit about how you want to have fun on your time and dime! And if you just so happen to bump into each other and she starts giving you some bullshit about being in her space? Fuck her! You get in her face and tell her to fuck right off! I mean, what's she gonna do? Slap you? I've seen you take shotgun blasts point blank to the face. Some little asshole trying to throw her weight around shouldn't even phase you!"

I didn't say anything but I knew that Cassie was right but it was hard to explain to her why I haven't come down harder on Samantha. Honestly? It was mainly fear. Not because of what Samantha could do to me but rather, what I could do to her if I lost my temper to the point that I just snap and....

Well, I don't like to think about it.

But not only that, it was also what I've been been taught by my classmates throughout all my school years: that I deserved to be made fun of. I'm fat, I'm a nerd, I like classical music too much. Why shouldn't I be picked on? I'm different, they're not. It's just the Law of the School Jungle, right?

I assume Cassie could probably sense the negative feelings radiating off of me as she lowered her voice again. "Look, just come with us and I'll promise you, Samantha and her little jerk squad won't give you a hard time. If they do, you got me, Eli, Talon and my whole dance team there to chase them off. We'll make sure you have the best time ever, okay?"

I wiped my eyes with my napkin as I looked up at her with a smile. How can I say no to hanging out with such an entourage?

"Okay."

......................................................................................

Now we come to a new dilemma: I had no costume for this year.

Oh, I was lucky last year that I happened to have one of my Nan's black dresses laying around but the rest of her wardrobe she loaned me seemed rather...like something an old lady would wear. (No offense, Nana!) I did have some of her Circus Fat Lady costumes (I use them as pajamas sometimes) but they showed quite a bit more skin that I was comfortable with, especially in public.

And I'm pretty sure that I don't have to tell you that they don't exactly make, well, anything for a girl my size. I couldn't just go to the costume store and pick something off the shelf.

I was in bit of a mental pickle as Cassie and I lounged around on the carpet of her flat a week and a half before Halloween, doing some homework. Eli was also hanging out with us, having just gotten out of training and skimming through one of my X-Factor comics while lounging against my right hip.

As we wrapped up one last algebra problem, Cassie chirped up, "So, any ideas for a costume yet?"

I plopped my head on the floor and groaned.

She giggled, "I take it that's a 'no' then."

I looked back towards Eli as best as I could, "Sweetie, what do you want to be for Halloween?"

"Hmm? Me?", he asked, a surprised tone to his voice.

He tapped his chin, "Well, I'd like to be something where I could let my tail out in public again. Maybe we can be puppy dogs?"

I couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of the two of us dressed up in fuzzy pajamas with our noses painted, yipping at passersby. "I'm not sure about that, E. Cute idea, though."

He bounced the back of his head against my fat as he pondered. "Hmm...What was that movie we watched the other day? 'Bride of Frankanstan'? Maybe we can go as those two monsters."

Cassie let out a loud gasp, grinning like she won the lottery. "That's it! You two should go as a couple!"

Eli tilted his head at her, "We already are going as a couple. Going as a random boyfriend and girlfriend seems kind of against the whole point of wearing a spooky costume."

"No, no, no! I mean going as a costume couple like Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein or Bonnie and Clyde or Romeo and Juliet!"

I could feel Eli's tail wag against me as he sat up. "Oh! Like if Penny and me went dressed up like Robin Hood and Marian?"

Cassie nodded excitedly, "Yes! Exactly that!"

The thought of dressing up as a couple did seem pretty neat. It brought up one idea to mind as I spoke up, "There is one couple I kinda wanted to dress up as..."

"Who?", Eli and Cassie both asked in unison.

"...Beauty and the Beast."

Cassie let out an even sharper gasp as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God! That would be so, so CUTE! I love it!"

I blushed and lowered my gaze, 'Well, I don't know. It was just an idea. I'm pretty sure I'd look like a giant banana in a yellow gown."

"Are you kidding?! You'd look gorgeous! I can see it in my mind right now! You as Belle in the sparkling gown, Eli, looking dashing in a blue coat and fake horns on his head! Oh, you two would look so adorable!"

"I'd like to be the Beast!", Eli chimed in with a smile, "He looked pretty cool how he fought off those wolves and Gaston!"

I sighed, knowing that there was no backing out now. "That'd be lovely and all but where am I gonna get a dress like that in my size?"

With a grin like a Cheshire Cat, Cassie replied, "Oh, you leave that to me! I've got somebody in mind."

True to her word, the next day, Cassie brought Joanie, one of her dance mates and aspiring fashion designer, to my flat. When we showed her the dress we wanted to make for me, I was afraid that she might balk at the idea of making a costume for someone my size. Instead, she rubbed her hands and chuckled, "Ooh! You know how I love a challenge, Cass!"

As we talked about the design of Belle's dress, I was getting a bit nervous as I knew that Joanie would have to take my measurements. I've tried to avoid knowing exactly just how large I've become since getting my powers but there would be no getting around this.

"Okay, Penny", Joanie stated, pulling out several measuring tapes from her purse, "Let me get your numbers so I can see how much fabric I'm gonna be working with."

I let her and Cassie "help" me up to my feet. Despite seeing just how enormous I was in front of her, Joanie barely batted an eye as she dutifully went about her business, orbiting around me like a moon to a planet. Thankfully, she didn't say the numbers aloud, instead writing them down on a small notepad. After she was done, morbid curiosity got the better of me as I couldn't help but sneak a peek at what she wrote down while Cassie had her distracted with dancing to a new song on the radio. I could literally feel the blood drain from my face as I gazed at the numbers. I won't repeat them here but my bust-waist-hips measurements were all in the triple digits.

It wouldn't be until a few days before the party before Cassie and I saw Joanie again as she practically spent day and night working on the dress. She arrived at my door, looked rather haggard with her hair unbrushed and circles under her eyes but she had the biggest grin on her face as she hauled in a large box nearly too big for my doorway.

"It's done!", she said almost manically as she pushed the box to the center of my living room, "At long last, it's done!"

Cassie gave a bit of a nervous laugh, "You okay, Joan?"

"Never better! I've been running on nothing but coffee and jelly beans for the last 24 hours!", she yelled, her eye twitching wildly. "Excuse me for a moment!"

She then fell face down on my couch with a loud thud. Cassie and I grew concerned as she was completely still but we each breathed a sigh of relief as we heard her start to snore loudly.

"Well, let's take it out!", Cassie exclaimed as she pried the lid of the box which was stuffed to the gills with bright, glittery yellow fabric, poofing out like a package of Jiffy Pop.

I pulled it out gently, unfurling it in all its splendor. It must've been the size of a circus tent to wee Cassie but it looked to be just about my size as I held it up against my body.

Cassie let out a small gasp. "Oh, Penny! That's lovely! Just look at that!"

I carried the dress to my full-length mirror and saw that Joanie had really outdone herself as it looked like a true copy of the dress onscreen. Every ruffle, every stitch looked exact albeit tailored to accommodate my mega-sized curves.

I asked Cassie to help me try it on. Thankfully, Joanie was fast asleep as Cassie's one of the few people I trust to see me in my knickers. I'll admit not even Eli has that privilege. Not yet, at least.

After a lot of tucking and squeezing and shimmying, we managed to get the dress on. It was a little snug around the belly when I sat down but otherwise, it was a near-perfect fit! Even the yellow opera gloves fit me like, well, a glove!

I pulled my hair back as I trotted to my mirror, hoping to get an idea of what the finished costume would look like. I hesitated for a moment before stepping in front of the reflection, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself before I took the plunge.

As I stepped lightly in front of the mirror, a startled gasp escaped from my mouth. I was too used to seeing mousy, average Penny staring back at that reflection. Instead, I saw a girl not ready for a Halloween party but for an elegant ball, ready to wow everybody in attendance. I saw a girl who knew just what to say at parties, who could charm a potential suitor or entertain a group with delightful stories.

In my wonderment, I clasped my hands over my mouth as a steady stream of tears fell down my cheeks. Cassie must've clearly saw this as she quickly rushed over and placed a gentle hand on my side.

"Penny, what's wrong?", she asked, her voice strong with concern.

I could only stammer out, nearly to the point of weeping, "Cass....look. I...I...I look...like a princess...."

Cassie let out a short relieved laugh as she hugged me tight. We stood in silence, both basking in the aura I felt I was giving off.

My gasp must've roused Joanie as she stirred on the couch, picking her head up slightly. "Oh, wow!", she uttered sleepily, smiling as if in a daze. Not caring about keeping my identity a secret at that moment, I quickly moved towards her and held her hand.

"Thank you. Thank you so much..."

She must've been too tired to notice how fast I had just moved as she only grinned up at me, her eyes unfocused. "Happy to be of service, your Highness."

.......................................................................................

The night of the party, we had all agreed to meet up at the campus dance studio to put the final touches on our costumes, mainly because of the giant mirrors. I was delighted to see that the girls in Cassie's dance team were inspired by my costume and decided to all go as Disney characters!

There was:

Amanda as Cinderella

Stacey as Snow White

Karen as Alice

Tamika as Aurora

Deb as Cruella De Ville

Lailani as Malificent

Joanie as Ariel ("No offense, Penny, but I needed something simple to dress up as after all that work")

Cassie, always the performer, showed off her Tinkerbell costume in a spectacular way, doing a quick series of gymnastic cartwheels before landing on a mat on one knee.

"Ehh, I'd give it a 7", Stacey joked, "A bit wobbily on that landing."

"Bullshit!" Cassie pouted, "That was at least an 8.5! The wings threw me off!"

Cassie had certainly picked out the perfect costume as it showed off her body: petite, toned and lean from years of dancing and super-speed running.

As Karen helped put the finishing touches on my makeup, we heard a knock at the studio door. In walked Eli, who was covering his eyes with his hands.

"Is...is everybody decent?", he asked timidly.

"No, we're all in our bras and panties having a big pillow fight!", Deb teased.

Eli gasped and was about to run out before we all called for him to come back. He looked very flustered as he stepped in the room, straightening his coat.

While Joanie was busy with my dress, Tamika and Karen had worked together to make Eli's Beast costume. It was the formal attire the Beast wore during the big ballroom scene in the movie with a blue coat with gold trim, a gold vest with white dress shirt and black pants.

To complete the the more beastly aspects, Eli had asked one of the makeup artists from his work to paint his face. Whoever they were, they went above and beyond just painting his eyes and nose, like I assumed. Instead, his entire face was painted the same colors as the Beast with a set of fake fangs poking out of his mouth to complete the look.

He wore a headband with two dark horns attached along with a long brown wig complete with a blue bow for the ponytail. A pair of fake furry paws were slipped over his shoes and, of course, his (normally black-furred but I guessed they either painted or dyed it a light brown) tail poked out of a hole in the back of his pants.

"Oh my!", I said, perhaps gushing a bit as I lightly fanned myself. What can I say? I'm used to seeing Eli wearing just a t-shirt and blue jeans so seeing him in such fancy duds got my heart pumping a bit.

Eli, on the other hand, froze on the spot when he saw me. I was in my wheelchair, still wearing my glasses but also wearing my sparkling yellow gown with my hair up exactly like Belle's, not to mention wearing makeup for once so I perhaps looked a bit more presentable than usual.

"Penny!", he exclaimed as headed in my direction, "You...you look amazing! You look just like Belle!"

I could hear all the girls in the room go "Awwww!" as Eli held my hands, smiling as if he's seeing me for the first time.

"Aw, thank you, luv.", I say, pulling him in for a well-deserved kiss on the cheek. "I thought about losing the glasses but, y'know..........secret identity."

With our costumes juuuuuuust right, we made our way towards the party's outdoor entrance.

We knew the party was gonna be big but we hadn't expected to see such a vast stream of people entering the room. The fog machines must've been working overtime as a a nearly solid wall of mist obscured the doorway. It looked spooky as the partiers seemed to vanish before our very eyes.

Before we got too close, a sudden mental alert popped in my mind. "Oi! Cass!", I yelled over the din of the crowd, "Isn't Talon supposed to be with us?"

Cassie groaned, "I knew it! I knew I forgot something! Oh, she's gonna be pissed at us!"

"You did tell her we were meeting up at the studio, right?", Amanda asked, straightening her gloves.

"Nooooo....", Cassie admitted sheepishly, "I kinda told her we were meeting at the entrance last week. Meeting at the studio was sort of last-second..."

"Well, there's a payphone down by the cafeteria", Lailani suggested, "Maybe you can call to see if she went back home."

"Here's hoping...", Cassie sighed. She stopped in her tracks as a tall silhouette lumbered from the shadows. It being a Halloween party, a few scary costumes are to be expected but Cassie was a bit startled to see Jason Voorhees, hockey mask, machete and all, making a slow beeline towards her.

"Who's that?", she asked, a bit of fear in her voice.

Jason stopped in front of her, pulled up his mask to reveal Talon with a rare Mona Lisa-esque smile on her lips. "Hey."

Cassie laughed, more out of relief than anything, "Oh, jeez, T! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, I'm late. I had some...'business' to attend to. Some guy in an alley trying to take advantage of a girl with too much to drink."

"Wow!", Deb exclaimed, "Great costume! The fake blood on that machete looks so real!"

"Yeah....'fake'....", Talon mumbled.

Karen did a happy twirl, "Great! Everybody's here now! Are you ready to party?!"

We all cheered in response, except Talon who only did a half-hearted fist pump, as we headed towards the entrance and disappeared into the foggy veil.

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The entire ballroom was massive, lit with both Jack O' Lanterns of all shapes and sizes, and swirling, blinking, flashing disco lights everywhere. Sparkling bats and spiders hung from the ceiling, glistening from the lights. Ghosts made of sheets and fabric dangled off the walls, and in the dim lighting, it gave the illusion they were passing through like Shadowcat. A DJ dressed as a skeleton was spinning tracks up on a stage while partiers wearing all sorts of costumes boogied on the dance floor while others chatted and mingled, drinking punch and soda and munching on finger foods.

"Oh man!", Cassie yelled over the music, "This place is bumpin'! Come on, girls! Let's get some snacks before we tear up that dance floor!"

As we all grabbed some plates, Eli and I marveled at the specially made treats laid out in front of us: Deviled eggs shaped like eyeballs, cocktail weenies wrapped in crescent rolls to look like mummies, ghosts made out of white chocolate-covered strawberries.

"Ooh hoo!", Eli exclaimed with child-like glee, "Look at all the creepy food!"

Before I could even dig in, an all-too familiar voice emerged over the music.

"Aw, shit. Everybody better get some food now before a certain little piggy eats it all!"

I could feel my pulse speed up as I slowly turned to see Samantha, dressed as Marilyn Monroe, standing behind me with a contemptuous smirk. As always, Bianca and Nicki were by her side, dressed up as Cleopatra and a witch.

Samantha looked me up and down in mild disgust. "Heh. What are you supposed to be, Piggy? A giant tub of butter?"

"Nah!", Bianca chimed in, "She has to be a taxi cab! She's about the size of one. anyway!"

"No, no! I got it! Piggy's dressing up as the Blob! Hell, it doesn't even have to be Halloween for her to dress up as that!", Nicki giggled, puffing up her cheeks to make herself look fatter.

I could hear Eli start to growl at them, lowering his gaze and bearing his teeth. I started to mentally panic, not only at being taunted by these three yet again but there was a good chance Eli would just straight up murder them by accident if pushed too far. There was a bit of me that wanted that but knew it in my heart that it was the wrong thing to do.

Thankfully, Cassie quickly came between us. "Eli! How about you you take Penny to get some punch? It's really good!"

Begrudgingly, Eli did as he was told, glaring at the trio the entire time as he pushed my wheel chair towards the punch bowl. While we were away from Samantha, I could still faintly hear the conversation between her and Cassie.

"Is there a problem?', Cassie said in a calm voice.

Samantha shook her head, "No, no problem. Except the giant fat-ass about to inhale all the food."

"Yeah, we wouldn't want Piggy to ruin the party although she did manage to roll her sweaty blubber all the way over here.", Bianca stated nonchalantly, gazing at her nails.

Cassie crossed her arms, "There's plenty of snacks for everybody. And her name is Penny. Something you three would know if you actually tried to treat her like a human being."

Nicki scoffed. "A human being?! Look at her! She's a freak! She barely fits anywhere during band practice because she's so fucking fat! She can't even walk! She's literally like a giant pile of pudding stuffed in a bag!"

I could see Cassie clench her fists but she remained still. Her dance friends must've heard the confrontation as they quickly came to her side.

"Something going on here?", Karen asked, her tone much more serious than her usual perky voice.

"Well, I thought I was talking to some ladies from Penny's music class. Turns out I was talking to three assholes instead!", Cassie growled.

Samantha stepped in front of Cassie, their faces nearly touching. "What'd you say, you flat-chested slut?"

Stacey stood by Cassie's side, "You heard her, you little snot! What the fuck is your problem?! Why do you have to act like a bunch of little shits to Penny?!"

"I don't have to justify myself to you, bitch! I'm just doing everybody in class a favor in telling her off! She comes in late all the time because of her stupid 'condition', she has the audacity to be in MY flute section and she makes our orchestra look like a joke with her disgusting flabby body filling up so much space!"

"Pssh! Is that all?", Tamika interrupted, "I though it was maybe because she stole your boyfriend or something. Lord knows he wouldn't want to hang around you all day!"

"Nobody's talking to you, ho!", Bianca yelled, "So why don't you zip your little hood mouth? Grown folks are talking!"

Amanda raised her fist in her friend's defense, about to rush the trio before being held back by Deb and Joanie.

Perhaps sensing that my friends were not going to take their insults lightly and that the dance team outnumbered the flutes by 8 to 3, Samantha started to walk away.

"Come on, girls! I don't want to hang around these losers any longer than I have to! Besides, it wouldn't look good for us to be seen with a dance team that only got second place in competition, would it?"

A volley of middle fingers fired out between the two groups of girls as the flutists strutted away. As the dancers made sure there was enough distance between us, they all immediately flocked to my side.

"Are you alright, Penny?", Lailani asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm fine...", I mumbled, embarrassed that the girls had to be on the receiving end of Samantha's venomous disdain.

"Jesus Christ, Penny!", Joanie cried out, "You really have to be with those three everyday? I don't know how you do it!"

"If I knew, you'd be the first to know...", I thought glumly.

.................................................................................

Cassie spun around and saw Talon at the snack bar, filling up two plates full of food. "Tal!", she yelled out.

"Hmm?", Talon replied, not taking her eyes off her plates.

"What are you doing?!", Cassie hissed out, "We could've used your help earlier!"

The tall girl bit into a small ham sandwich. "I'm eating. I didn't have lunch today."

She piled on a few more sandwiches on her plate. "Do you think they'll complain if I take this to go?"

"Did you not see Penny getting picked on by her bullies?!"

Talon nodded, "I saw. She shouldn't let them talk to her like that. That's why they act so bad. Because Penny never speaks up, they'll figure they can get away with it every time."

"I know that but-"

"I'm sure Penny appreciates you girls coming to her rescue and all but you can't fight all her battles for her. She needs to learn how to stand on her own two feet. Relatively speaking, that is."

Cassie sighed wearily, "You're right but I don't know how to help her with that."

Talon shrugged, "I wouldn't worry too much. Penny's a big girl. She'll figure it out eventually."

...............................................................................

Despite the festivities and lively music playing all around me, I sat in my wheelchair, stewing in my thoughts. Days and weeks and months of insults and ugly glares were all that came to mind.

Hell, it was only a couple days ago that I accidentally bumped into Nikki while taking my spot during rehearsal. "Oops! Sorry about that!", I said a bit sheepishly.

Of course, she couldn't just let it go. She had to knock my sheet music out of my stand, glaring at me the entire time. "Oops. Sorry about that. Fucking lard-ass."

"Aw, did poor little Piggy drop her notes?", I heard Bianca speak from the other side of me. As she bent down to pick them up, I foolishly presumed that there was some part of her that didn't despise me. Then she spat on them as she handed them back.

"Aren't you gonna tell Bianca 'thank you' for picking up your music, Piggy?", Samantha asked, as she took her seat. "I mean, she took the time to spit-shine them clean for you."

I could feel that all-too familiar sensation of panic and dread overtake me, silencing my voice for me as I wiped my notes with the sleeve of my shirt. I saw that everyone around us could clearly see or hear what had just happened and yet, they did nothing. As usual.

Samantha scoffed, "Ungrateful bitch."

It was only when I heard the faint tone of Cassie's voice that I snapped out of memory lane.

"Huh?", I said, remembering that I was still at the party.

"I said, we're all gonna hit the dance floor! You wanna come with?"

I looked at Eli next to me, who seemed excited to show off his "moves" again, nearly hopping up and down in place.

I sigh with a smile, "How can I say no to that face? Let's go."

Both Eli and Cassie hopped on the back of my chair as I rolled towards the dance floor.

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Dancing seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as it definitely lifted my spirits. I'm sure everyone else at the party were weirded out or in stunned awe by the gigantically fat girl dressed as Belle rolling around on the dance floor in a wheelchair nearly the size of a golf cart. But if they were, I hardly even noticed it as Cassie, Eli and the dance team were always in my line of sight, blocking any ugly glares or finger pointing.

Eli certainly danced like no one was watching as he twirled and shimmied through the dance floor, clearly having the time of his life. Even though they were dressed as Disney ladies, I nearly forgot that Cassie's friends were a dance team as they all moved with such precision and grace, looking like a group of nymphs and dryads, mesmerizing all who witnessed their sacred dances.

And then there was me.

Being stuck in a wheelchair to keep everybody from knowing Miss Thunder was a student here, there wasn't a whole lot I could do other than but jerk my wheelchair's controls, making me bounce and wobble to the beat. Sometimes I spiced things up by spinning in a circle. But the girls must've noticed that my dance moves were severely limited as Cassie and Joanie locked hands with me to do a "pop and lock".

Eli came and took my hands, guiding me in a similar dance from last year, "spinning" me around and doing a type of square dance as we moved back and forth in a line. It wasn't long before the girls joined us in our dance, making us look like some type of Disney Dance Squad.

Talon, meanwhile, only watched us from afar with a bemused expression on her face. While I've always felt uneasy around crowds due to my size, Talon looked especially uncomfortable being around so many people. Cassie and Lailani went up to her during a transition between songs, all smiles and giggles.

"Come on, Talon! Dance with us!", Cassie laughed, beckoning her to follow them.

"No.", Talon said sternly.

"Please, Talon? We just want you to have a good time!", Lailani pleaded.

"I am having a good time. I have free food.", the tall girl replied, popping a grape in her mouth for emphasis. "Besides, I don't dance."

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Suddenly, a loud "OH HO HO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO" blasted from the speakers, signalling the beginning of the song "Kung Fu Fighting".

"Well, then.", Cassie said with an idea brewing in her mind, "If you don't dance, can you fight?"

"...Pardon?"

"If you don't want to dance, maybe you can show us some of your katas?", Cassie asked, striking a karate pose.

Talon was silent for moment before trudging towards the rest of the group, sighing out of exasperation. Eli and I smiled at one another in excitement, eager to see what Talon might do. Cassie fluttered around us, telling us to give her space with a gleeful grin.

The Native girl did a respectful martial art bow before launching into a series of quick strikes and kicks. The crowd started to take notice as the moves become more and more complex with the punches became powerful uppercuts and the kicks turning into spinning roundhouses. She went further with her techniques, adding both front and back flips. I couldn't help but notice that some of her moves looked....rather painful with some of her strikes having gouging, twisting and tearing motions.

By now, the crowd was cheering at the spectacle of a tall, beefy Native American girl dressed as Jason Voorhees doing advanced martial arts in the middle of the dance floor. One poor drunken frat boy made the foolish attempt to "fight" with her only to accidentally run face first into her boot as she did a high kick, knocking him flat on his back. Talon only glared at him as Amanda and Stacey dragged him away from the danger zone. This only made the crowd cheer louder, ecstatic to see some action.

As the song ended, Talon immediately stopped, pulled down her mask, did a quick bow and swiftly dropped a smoke bomb onto the floor. Those nearby all coughed and waved the smoke away, only to see that Talon had disappeared.

"Where'd she go?", Eli asked, trying to sniff her out.

I waved him down, "Leave her be. I think she's had enough social interaction for one night."

I knew how she might've felt. I can only handle being out and about as Penny for so long before wanting to retreat back to the isolation of my flat.

We continued dancing for what felt like hours, boogieing the night away but eventually, I started to feel a bit sweaty coming from a combination of dancing and wearing a big poofy dress. I tugged on Cassie's fake wings to grab her attention.

"I'm gonna head outside for a bit and get some fresh air."

Cassie smiled back, "All right, babe! We're gonna get some more food and we'll meet up with you!"

As Eli accompanied the girls to the snack bar, I rolled myself outside onto a nearby grassy knoll, breathing in that crisp night air. I looked up to see that a nearly full moon shining brightly above the Ocean City skyline. Even though it must've been past midnight, I could still hear the laughter of children and families engaging in Halloween festivities throughout the nearby neighborhoods.

"All in all", I mused to myself, "It wasn't that bad a night."

I might have well as thought "What could possibly go wrong?" with such a fate-tempting line.

"Awww, did your friends leave their little pet whale outside?", Bianca said from behind, followed by a chorus of harsh cackling.

The trio staggered out in front of me, holding each other up with half-lidded eyes.

"Yeah, what's the matter? Did they get tired of lugging you around?" Nicki snarked, taking a swig from her red party cup.

"H...hey, girls...", I stammered, trying my best not to give away how much I wanted to bolt. Even if I did, my wheelchair wouldn't have moved fast enough to outrun them, tipsy as they might be.

Samantha leaned towards me, placing a hand on my shoulder, perhaps to keep herself up. "Piggy, Piggy, Piggy. What are we going to do about you?"

Bianca picked up the bottom of my gown and grabbed a hold of my foot. "Heh! All I know is this little Piggy should go 'Wee Wee Wee!' all the way home. We don't want her scaring all the kids."

"I think I saw a mudhole by the baseball field! Why don't we give Piggy an escort home?", Nicki sneered as she oinked mockingly at me.

The girls howled with laughter as they lurched behind me and attempted to push me forward. They didn't get very far as they were too buzzed and well, I was too heavy. That, and I might have put on the brakes on my wheelchair.

"Fucking Christ, Piggy!" Nicki huffed, "How much does your fat ass weigh?! Five tons?!"

"How the fuck does your boyfriend move you around?", Bianca cursed, her feet slipping in the grass.

Samantha put her back into it and managed to move me by a quarter-inch. "Hey *oof!* what's the deal with *huff!* you and him? *wheeze!* Is he retarded or something?"

The world seemed to freeze as I heard that. I finally felt an emotion in that moment that wasn't terror or anxious panic. It was anger.

"He has to be if he's going out with her! Who else but a retard would go out with a frickin' blimp?!", Bianca spat out.

That was the final straw.

I took a deep breath and turned off my brakes, letting all three girls crash to the ground as I suddenly jolted the chair forward.

"Look here, you bloody pieces of dried-up slug vomit.", I said, in angry yet quiet voice, "Make fun of me all you want but don't you ever, EVER insult my boyfriend."

Samantha managed to climb to her feet after a few moments of struggle. "Well! Look who finally decided to grow a backbone! What are you gonna do about it, honey? Your fat sausage legs can't even lift you up! You're just some...some fat....waste of space who shouldn't even be allowed to go outside! Why don't you go back to stupid England or wherever bumfuck country you're from and just go have a heart attack?! Just fucking get the fuck out of my flute section!"

I lowered my gaze. "Heh. Tough talk....from little Miss Future Second Chair."

"..........What?"

Popping my neck, I cleared my throat. "Well, I know because of all my tardies, Professor Mitra suspended me from running for First Chair for the first half of the semester. But the first half is already over and I believe the Holiday Recital is coming up. And I believe that means a new First Chair tryout is coming up as well."

"Wha...What are you saying?", Samantha sputtered out, a nervous laugh in her voice.

I patted my belly, making sure it gave a good jiggle. "All I'm saying is you better get used to seeing all this blubber between you and the audience! Hmm...I wonder if I can get Eli to help me get a bit heftier. That way, if I'm bigger, the audience doesn't even have to be reduced to seeing three nasty little hellspawn attempting to play the flute!"

The look on Samantha's face dropped all pretenses of mirth as she charged at me, pulling her fist back and yelling like a banshee.

A large hand lashed out from behind Samantha and grabbed her arm, yanking it hard behind her back in an awkward position. She gave a great cry of pain as I could hear a barely audible *crack*. Turning her head, she gasped as she saw Jason Voorhees glaring at her through the hockey mask.

Lifting the mask up, Talon scowled, her face nearly an inch away from Samantha's.

"Leave. My friend. Alone."

Talon tossed Samantha free, who after a moment's panicked hesitation, swiftly turned tail and ran off into the night, back towards the dormitories.

Bianca didn't have to be told twice as she bolted to her feet in fear and ran after Samantha. Nicki, however, proved to be made of more sturdier stuff as she punched Talon behind the back. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!", she screamed.

Talon had hardly even flinched from her jab and slowly turned around, her eyes unnaturally wide. She took a sudden step forward towards Nicki, causing the remaining bully to promptly attempt to get the hell out of there but a certain Beast stood in her way. Eli let out a true animalistic growl as he spat out his fake fangs, showing her a true set of fangs which looked rather unsettling as he had two pairs of canines on his top jaw.

Nicki only trembled as Eli leaned closer and snarled out in a low voice. "Get out."

She shrieked and ran away, flailing her arms wildly. Most people leaving the party hardly paid her any mind as they probably assumed she was just another drunk girl who was really into the spirit of the holiday.

It felt like an eternity before my mind registered what had just happened: I just told off the three girls who seemed dedicated to making my life hell. Not only that, I had enraged my main tormentor to the point that she actually tried to attack me. While I was worried that Samantha and Nicki could try to press charges against Talon and Eli, they only scared/used weird ninja techniques to defend me. Not to mention, as I looked back towards the entrance, I had eight witnesses that could testify on their behalf.

Cassie and her dance friends (I guess I can officially call them "my friends" now) all stood with their jaws dropped, not out of horrified shock but out of celebratory awe. They all whooped and hollered as they ran towards me.

"That's how you do it, Penny!", Cassie cheered, hopping up and down in excitement.

"D...did you hear...everything I said?", I asked, a little embarrassed.

Tamika nodded, "We certainly heard you call them ' dried-up pieces of slug vomit'. Very British of you, I must say."

"Yeah, I just would've called them 'motherfuckers' but your way was more classy!", Deb added.

Despite the immense pride I was feeling from my personal victory, I felt that I had enough excitement for one night and told the girls I was ready to go home. Cassie and Talon offered to walk Eli and I back to my flat, just in the off chance Samantha and her cronies regained their composure and tried to egg us or something of that nature. We waved goodbye to the Dance girls as they headed back to their dorms.

"Eli?", I spoke up as we walked.

He leaned closer to me, "Yes, Penny?"

Seeing my chance, I gave him a peck on the cheek.

His face turned bashful but smiled, "What was that for?"

"To say thank you for coming to my rescue."

If he wasn't wearing so much makeup, I'm sure he would be blushing.

"Anytime, Penny. Anytime."

I looked up towards Talon, who was just moseying along in front of us, looking at the decorations.

“You too, Talon. Thank you.”

“I don’t want a kiss.”, she said stoically, looking over her shoulder, “But.....you’re welcome.”

Thankfully, there was no last minute ambush as the walk back was very pleasant. It reminded me of last year when Eli and I explored the city streets, gazing at all the spooky sights and sounds. However, with it being as late as it was, there were far less people, letting us soak in the 'City in Autumn' aesthetic with pumpkins and fallen leaves decorating the sidewalks.

When we arrived at my flat, I offered everyone a cup of hot cider to shake off that brisk fall air. After all that time sitting in my wheelchair, it felt great to finally stand up on my feet and move about. As I made my way to the kitchen, I couldn't help but stop by my mirror again. Taking off my glasses, I smiled at the girl in the reflection. Perhaps for the first time, I felt actually impressed with myself as Penny.

"This is the start of something new, lass.", I said quietly to myself. On the way home, I had worried what would happen between my and my bullies the next time during rehearsal but the more I thought about it, the more I realized Cassie was right. I can't hide from them forever but now, I hope they realize that I won't be their easy punching bag anymore. I'm a grown-up now and it's time I started acting like one. At least, when it comes to standing up for myself.

After filling up four mugs with sweet, steamy goodness, I headed back to the living room only to find that the lights were off with the sole exception of my spinning disco ball, flooding the room with swirling lights. Talon took the mug I gave her as Cassie tried to show Eli some dance moves to a disco song on the radio. Eli, never one to go along with the crowd, only followed Cassie's steps for so long before he just started doing his own thing, doing some type of cross between a Russian dance and the Robot.

As the song ended and Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" started, Eli held out his hand towards me. "May I have this dance?", he asked.

I gave a soft gasp as I realized this would be Eli and I's first true dance together and not the usual spinning back and forth we do with my wheelchair. As I took his hand, I realized it must've looked odd to Cassie and Talon to see a enormous Belle dancing with a small Beast rather than vice-versa.

We tried to remember the dance scene in the movie as Eli placed his hand on my vast hip as he held my other hand aloft. His hands were tiny compared to mine but he didn't seem to mind as he held onto my thick fingers tightly. Given my size, it was rather hard for him to lead me in the dance, but I let him guide me as best as he could, making sure I didn't step on his toes.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Cassie dash to my CD collection and rummage through my selection. Her eyes lit up as she found what she was looking for and held up my copy of the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack to my line of vision. I nodded excitedly as she popped it in my stereo. Eli and I kept swaying in silence until we heard THE song.

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"Tale as old as time...", Angela Lansbury's sweet voice sang out as Eli guided me towards the center of my living room. We both curtsied towards each other as we resumed dancing. As we twirled and waltzed, my flat seemed to disappear as I imagined us both in a beautiful ballroom in an enchanted castle. No bullies. Nobody there to mock or belittle us. Just me and Eli, my handsome prince.

As we danced, Talon tapped Cassie on the shoulder, whose eyes were watery with joy, seeing two of her dearest friends get the fairy tale dance they've waited so long for.

"I think we should let them have their moment.", she whispered to the shorter girl, nudging her head towards the door.

Cassie wanted to protest but knew that she was right as they both crept quietly to the door. I looked up for a brief moment to see Cassie poking her head in and giving a silent wave. I waved back with my free hand as the door slowly shut behind them.

As the final notes of the song started playing, I gently lifted Eli up to my eye level. Without missing a beat, we shared a passionate kiss as he hugged me as tight as he could.

"I love you, Penny.", he whispered softly in my ear.

I could no longer hold back the waterworks as I started weeping. Just hearing those wonderful words that I thought for so long that I didn't deserve.

"I love you too, Eli."

We kissed again, knowing that this would be a Halloween we would never forget.

(OOC: I’d like to thank theatomicavenger for their hard work on this outstanding drawing.)

#happy halloween #I hoped everyone had a fun spooky time #ask miss thunder #also fair warning but there's quite a bit more cursing and insults in this post than usual so be careful reading this at work

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