"'Dear, dear! How queer everything is today!
And yesterday things went on just as usual.'"
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
Willow adjusted the blue ribbon in Buffy's blonde hair.
"You look wonderful, Alice!" she giggled.
Buffy fluffed up her short blue dress and pirouetted. "So do you, White Rabbit."
Willow grinned. "How much do you want to bet- everyone at the Bronze will think I'm the Easter Bunny?"
"Not as long as you're with us!" Xander was struggling valiantly with his egg costume; as Humpty-Dumpty, he was determined not to fall to pieces before the end of the evening. "First prize is free admission for a month!"
"C'mon, " Willow said happily, "lets go meet Cordy, Oz and Scott. This will be so great!"
Cordelia looked gorgeous as the bad-tempered Queen of Hearts...type-casting, as Xander pointed out. And Oz...his outfit was a triumph; as the hookah-smoking caterpillar, he drew all eyes.
But there was no sign of Scott; and once again Buffy was feeling like so much excess baggage.
Willow was worried too. "I hope Scott didn't have trouble with his costume."
"What IS his costume?" Buffy inquired. "He wouldn't say."
"You'll see!" Willow promised. "He'll...hey...there he is now!" The Mad Hatter, complete with mask, high collar, and huge top hat, stepped forward and grabbed Buffy's hand- just as the music began to play.
Buffy laughed and hugged him gingerly, trying not to disarrange his costume. Scott, however, seemed to have no such inhibitions. He placed both hands on her waist and pulled her firmly against him.
Buffy was surprised; but not displeased. She'd always thought Scott the shy type...
"You look fantastic," she told him. He didn't answer; but she could detect a faint smile under the mask.
The trophy and first prize was awarded to the Alice in Wonderland troupe; and Buffy's friends were ecstatic.
Buffy herself couldn't remember when she'd been so happy. Scott didn't seem to be in a very talkative mood; but he kept both arms around her, holding her close while they were dancing, cuddling her on his lap in intervals at the table. She felt protected, almost...cherished. Perhaps she was actually beginning to develop a warmer emotion than friendship for him? Tonight he was different...more exciting. She sensed that she was magnetically drawn to him, in a way she'd never experienced before.
Finally it was the last dance before unmasking...Buffy leaned her head contentedly against Scott's shoulder.
"It's been...a perfect evening. My best Halloween ever," she confessed.
His lips brushed her hair. "Mine too," he murmured in her ear.
She lifted her face to his in silent invitation; he seemed to hesitate, then his mouth came down on hers in a kiss that almost made her heart stop.
That's when the lights went out...just for an instant. And when they came back on...
Buffy blinked, looking around the crowd of laughing party-goers now unmasking. There was no sign of Scott. Perplexed, she made her way back to the table, but none of the others had seen him, either.
They were about to leave when a disheveled Scott, sans costume, dashed up to them.
"What happened to you?" Buffy exclaimed.
"Yeah- where's your costume?" chimed in Xander.
"HE took it!" yelled Scott. "And then- he locked me in the trunk of my car! He mugged me!"
"Who? Did you see who it was?" Cordelia asked.
"No!" Scott said bitterly. "I was just getting out of the car when he knocked me out and stole my costume..."
"Did...he bite you...or anything?" Oz inquired delicately.
Scott looked surprised. "I don't think so...and the weird thing is, he didn't even take my wallet!"
Buffy sighed in relief; and something like regret. "Probably someone playing a joke," she decided. "C'mon, let's go...this is one Halloween we'll never forget!"
And someone else was sharing that sentiment. Alone in his lair on the edge of town, Spike contemplated his behavior with astonishment. What madness had seized him tonight?
He'd made his routine surveillance of the Slayer, trailing her to the Bronze. Then, he'd spotted the boy...and...
"All those years with Drusilla finally rubbed off," he said ruefully, shaking his head. "Insanity must be catching!"
"Oh well...no harm done. And it was a ...joke...that's it! Just a joke, and a bloody good one!"
Shakily he lit a cigarette, wondering why he felt so...disturbed. What was the matter with him?
He reached out, and fingered the top hat in the center of his bed.
"A bloody good joke," he repeated, trying to convince himself. He stopped uncertainly.
"Uh-oh," he whispered at last. "I'm very much afraid...the laugh's on me."