Before I could begin to get ready for the Halloween party, I decided to go and get a drink from the local cafe. Sure enough, once I got there, Lois seemed to be ending her shift. She made her way over to me and smiled.

"Hey you," she said.

"Hi Lois," I replied.

"Are you going to the Halloween party tonight?" she asked me.

I gave a nod of my head in confirmation that I was. I couldn't leave Emmy to go alone.

"Oh, Emmy asked me to be her plus one," she told me.

"Oh," I said and it was merely a whisper.

Lois' eyebrows crinkled together slightly in response to that.

"Is that okay?" she asked me.

"Huh? Yeah. It's cool. Awesome," I said.

"Good! Emmy's a really sweet girl. We had so much fun at the park! I really like her," Lois told me.

I was happy for the both of them but my chest ached.

That was why I needed to remember that I didn't have to keep being so sad.

Emmy had already told me to go and get a date. I had to follow through with that, now. I supposed that was where my anxiety came into the mix.

For someone who had so much love to give, I certainly found it difficult to find it.

"Are you okay?" Lois asked me.

"You know Courtney...do you think that i should hold out hope on being friends with her?" I asked Lois, then.

"She actually mentioned you yesterday. I wouldn't worry about that. I mean, I'm sure she already thinks of you as a friend," Lois told me.

If that was true, she had a funny way of showing it.

"Anyway, the two of us should probably go and get ready for this party tonight, huh?" Lois asked me.

I gave a murmur of agreement and the two of us made our way out of the cafe, after I had finished my cappuccino. It was delicious. Coffee tended to help my anxiety, rather than make it worse. So, I was quite thankful for that.

Lois and I parted ways, as I made my way back home so I could get changed into my bunny costume. I know, I know. I was a walking cliche when it came to Halloween parties but I wasn't sure what else to wear.

After I was all dressed, Emmy texted me to let me know she was outside.

I smiled at my reflection in the mirror, and smoothed down the curls of my hair a little, before making my way out of the house.

"Mum! I'll see you later!" I called out to her.

I walked over to Emmy's car and she drove the two of us to the hall where the party was taking place.

"Are you alright?" she asked me.

"Yeah. I saw Lois earlier. She said that she had a good time with you," I told her.

"Really? That's good," Emmy said.

Emmy's eyes scanned over my outfit momentarily.

"You look nice," she said, as she drove on down the streetlight-lit road.

"Thank you. So do you," I told her.

Emmy was dressed like a cat. The two of us tended to match when it came to Halloween costumes.

"Thank you. I'm so excited to pick up Lois," she said, as she drove down the road that would have taken us to the party destination. That made sense, now. She needed to pick up Lois.

"Okay," I whispered.

We stopped off outside Lois' house and she rushed over to the car, dressed like a leopard.

It seemed as though we had all had fairly similar ideas for this Halloween party this evening. It didn't matter all that much, though. I believed that I was most excited to see Courtney's costume, anyway.

Emmy continued to drive on until we reached our destination.

The three of us got out of the car and made our way towards the hall, to walk inside and instantly be welcomed by the blaring music and scent of alcohol.

"Drinks?" Lois asked Emmy.

Emmy nodded her head.

Lois smiled and walked away to fetch them some drinks.

Emmy turned back to me and grinned.

"Isn't she just great?" Emmy asked me.

"Huh? Yeah. Lois is cool," I said.

Emmy's eyebrows crinkled together slightly, then.

"Are you sure that you're okay?" she asked me, as she began to bop side to side to the music.

"Yes, I'm all good. I'm happy for you," I told her, with a friendly smile.

Emmy smiled back, seeming relieved that I was.

"I'm glad to hear that. Anyway, I'll see you soon. I'm going to go and dance with Lois," she said.

Emmy began to walk away after that and I found myself saying, "Emmy, wait-" but she was already out of sight.

I turned around to find a girl dressed in a witch costume stood behind me. It took me a moment to realise she was Courtney. I supposed the bright golden contact lenses had made it a little less obvious but that charismatic smile she had on her face gave it all away.

"Drink?" she asked me, as she passed me one.

"Sure. Thank you," I replied.

"Trust me, you'll need one if you're going to stand there and watch Emmy dance with someone else all night," Courtney said.

"But-"

"I see the way that you look at her, Phoebs. You can't deny that there's something there. I admire you, though. You're being a good friend in not letting your feelings influence the way that you act around her," she said.

"I don't like her like that. You're making things up," I said.

Courtney raised an eyebrow at me, then.

"Suit yourself," she said, as she took a sip of her own drink.

I decided to take a sip of mine, too.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked her, "I didn't think that you even liked me," I stated.

"Well, we're friends now, bunny. You're going to have to deal with that," Courtney said.

"Okay," I said, as I gave her a warm smile.

Thankfully, the two of us avoided the whole Emmy subject after that, as we began to dance together.