CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
( DECORATE )

     CARMEN LIMPS PAST Aurora. From inside the house, Zach yells loudly. So loudly, in fact, that Carmen and Aurora could hear it when the door was closed. Carmen sighs to herself as she grabs two bags from the backseat, and hobbles to the front door.

When opening it, she winces at the arguing going on in the living room.

"Why wouldn't you tell me?" Zach questions Corbyn, running his fingers through his hair. "You know what happened the last time she left without me!"

"She's fine," Corbyn says from the couch. "Carmen is with Aurora, and we all know Aurora is her personal body guard."

"I heard my name," Carmen says, peeping her head into the living room. "Now what's all the fighting about?"

Zach's head snaps in her direction, his face immediately lighting up. He rushes over to her, pulling Carmen into a soft embrace. She chuckles, dropping the bags as she wraps her arms around him.

"Come on!" Aurora groans. "Don't I get a hug?"

"Of course," Jonah grins, jumping from the couch. But as he reaches her, she holds out her hand to stop him.

"No, I get it," She shakes her head. "Am I not good enough for a hug?"

"But I'm trying to hug you and you just shoved me away!"

"Only because I asked for one," Aurora complains, tossing the bags into the couch. "You know what? Fuck you all, I'm getting ice cream. Caramel, you want some?"

"No thanks, I'm good," Carmen laughs, bending over to pick up the bags again. Zach snatches them before she can, glancing at her warily.

"Wait, where are your crutches?"

"In the car," Carmen replies. "I prefer limping, it gets me places faster."

"No, no, no," He says sternly. "You need to have your crutches with you at all times. What if you hurt your foot again?"

"But they hurt my arm!" She complains. "I can barely put any pressure on my broken arm, so the crutches aren't helping anything."

"That wouldn't happen I you told me," Zach sighs, picking her up, before placing her on the couch next to Daniel. "Waking up with a Post-it on my forehead isn't something I prefer. You promised me you'd stay home."

"Aurora convinced me," Carmen shrugs innocently. "And besides, I needed to get our costumes- and not online, either. You can't trust American shipping."

"You got our costumes?" He raises an eyebrow. Carmen nods in responce, a smile falling onto her lips.

"So did you actually get Belle and the Beast costumes?" Daniel asks, dumping the bags onto the floor.

"No, I got Minnie and Mickey Mouse outfits," She states. "And I got Halloween decorations and candy because I think we should have a party."

"I heard party!" Aurora sprints into the room, launching herself onto Jonah. She clings to him like a koala, peeking at them over his shoulder. "Okay, you may proceed with the conversation."

"While you're still hurt?" Zach asks, hesitant on the idea.

"I'll be a lot better by then," Carmen assures him. "It's two weeks away, Zach. Trust me on this. It'll be fun."

"I'm in," Daniel speaks up, glancing to Zach. "C'mon, man. Have a little fun."

"I WANT TO THROW A PARTY!" Aurora yells into Jonah's ear. "I'VE NEVER BEEN TO A PARTY BEFORE!"

"See?" Carmen places her hands on his cheeks, her eyes boring into his. "Please let us throw this party. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I want it to be special."

The boy hesitates, before placing his forehead on hers, and nodding slightly. "Okay, we can throw a Halloween party."

"YAY!" Aurora screeches, jumping off of Jonah's back, and into his arms. "JONAH, DID YOU HEAR THAT? WE GET TO THROW A PARTY!"

"Okay, who gave Aurora sugar?" Corbyn questions, running his hands down his face.

"I couldn't help it, she wanted coffee," Carmen defends herself, looking away from Zach as he runs his thumb over her bottom lip. "The girl told the cashier to give her all they had. And when she did, it's not like I could've stopped-"

Carmen is cut off as Zach takes her face in his hands, and plants his lips on hers. She's surprised at first, before leaning into him.

"NO, DON'T TOUCH HER!" Aurora yells, snatching bags of candy into her arms. "LEAVE CARAMEL ALONE, ZACH! REMOVE YOUR LIPS FROM HER, YA NASTY!"

She then begins to throw the bags of candy at him, launching them across the room as hard as she can. Carmen giggles, moving over just as the bags begin to hit Zach. He furrows his eyebrows, watching as Aurora repeatedly throws the oversized bags at him.

"Thank you," She mutters, dropping the bags as she moves back to Jonah. "Just please never torture me like that again."

Corbyn laughs as he shakes his head, seemingly exhausted. "I'm honestly not surprised she just did that."

"Me either," Zach mutters.

"So that's the candy we got today," Aurora says sweetly, gesturing down to all the bags on the floor dramatically. "The other bags on the couch are full of decorations. But we don't have enough yet, so we'll have to go back soon to get more."

"How many people are we inviting?" Jonah raises an eyebrow.

"I don't know," Aurora taps her chin, pretending to think. "Oh, yeah! Daniel Skye for sure. I think Caramel would be great friends with him."

"We're really going back to that topic?" Zach huffs.

"Of course, it's a celebrity party, Heroine," Aurora rolls her eyes. "And if you don't agree with me . . . well, you can go fuck yourself. Daniel is coming. And so are Hayes Grier and Aaron Carpenter."

"Why are we inviting them?" Jack questions, looking quite confused.

"Because they're pretty, duh," Aurora scoffs. "And besides, it's not like Heroine has made a move on Caramel, anyway. I mean, yeah- they kiss, but she's not his girlfriend. I'm just finding options for Caramel."

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Zach asks, immediately turning to Carmen.

"Real romantic," Aurora chuckles. "Caramel?"

"Yes," Carmen replies with a smile. "Of course I'll be your girlfriend."

"FINALLY!" Aurora exclaims, throwing her hands in the air. "IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! ZARMEN IS REAL, YOU GUYS!"

"So no more Daniel Skye?" Zach questions hopefully, pulling Carmen closer to him, before wrapping his arm around her waist gently.

"This is only the beginning, Heroine," Aurora smirks, rubbing her hands together quickly. "I say Stanislav Lanevski comes, too."

"I don't think so," Zach argues.

"TOO BAD!" Aurora sprints into the kitchen. "HE'S FIRST ON THE LIST, BITCH. SECOND IS THEO JAMES! HOLY SHIT, ANYONE ELSE UP FOR CHANNING TATUM?"

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