“Are you sure this Halloween party is a good idea?” Simon slumped deeper into the passenger seat of his friend’s late model hatchback.
The hill country was passing them by outside. Simon had to admit the view was pretty nice out here. He rarely got this far out of the city. The lush greens were a nice change of pace. It was a little strange to see the houses so spaced apart. Speaking of which, he was pretty sure their destination was that mansion up on the top of the next hill.
“It’s not a Halloween party-“ Clark started. Then the driver remembered the three other times they had gone through this conversation. “Alright, it’s not just a Halloween party. It’s a masquerade!”
“Every face a different shade, yes yes,” Simon quoted an old musical sarcastically.
“Look, you’re the one who wanted help meeting new people,” Clark reminded him, “Come on, these mixers usually are a blast.”
“How am I supposed to meet people if everyone’s behind a mask?” Simon grumbled.
“And in character. Word on the street these folks take their role play pretty seriously,” Clark mused, looking up at the mansion himself.
“Wait, you’ve never been to one of these parties?” Simon sat up as they approached the house on the hill.
“Not personally, but I hear they’re fun! The guys at the local swingers group said it was the event of the year. I had to work hard to get a plus one invite!” he smiled as he pulled the car into the driveway.
“Oh my god,” Simon felt like head going to melt into the seat at this point, “I said I wanted to meet people! Not-“
“Meet people?” Clark grinned, “I must have missed how much italics you used. Come on, when’s the last time you got laid?”
“God, since college?” Simon rubbed the back of his head.
“This’ll be good for you,” Clark parked the car with a smile on his face, “There’s a reason they rent a place this big. I’m pretty sure all the action happens upstairs in the bedrooms. Just hang out in the common areas if you get flustered.”
The two started to get out of the car. Simon still couldn’t drop his anxious posture, “I’m alwaysflustered.” He blinked, “Wait… can I still get a ride home?”
Clark put a finger on his chin. “Hmm… We’ll see,” he winked, “Depends on if I hit it off with anyone. Text me. You can always grab a ride share.”
Simon was about to say something, but Clark hit a button on his remote and cut him off with a loud beep as the trunk popped open, “Come on, let’s get changed.”
Clark hadn’t said exactly what his mask was just yet. Resting inside the car was a generic looking cardboard box. For some reason Simon was expecting something a bit more ornate. Clark reached inside and- Woah! Someone splurged on Etsy!
“You can call me Prince Chesh tonight,” Clark did a bow, sliding on his mask as he stood back up.
It was an ostentatious looking thing. Perfect for the masquerade theme. There was suede and feathers, but mostly fur. It took Simon a second to realize he was looking at some sort of orange cat mask. The whiskers bobbed in the air as Clark settled it into place.
“Chesh?” Simon repeated back curiously.
Clark reached into the box. He pulled out some sort of satin sheet and- Oh. Wow. It was a cape. Clark started clipping it under his shirt collar, and suddenly the outfit was starting to make sense.
He was wearing a dark purple suit. Clark refused to comment on it earlier, but the purple cape had just the faintest amount of striping in its pattern. His orange striped disguise wasn’t of a tiger… it was just a tabby cat. The mask stopped just after his nose, letting Simon see Clark’s wide grin.
“Price Chesh,” he corrected, “You may also call me Sire.”
“A Cheshire Cat. Got it,” Simon gave a polite chuckle.
“Hmpf,” Clark dropped his posturing and put on a small plastic crown, “Come on, it took me a while to find a good cape. You’ll need to play along when we’re in there.”
‘Chesh’ hovered his hand on the trunk of the car, peering inside the vehicle, “Did you bring your own mask, or were you planning on seeing what they had at the door?”