Maisey clapped her hands together as they met up after school, so loud it startled Luc out of her thoughts. “So, what’s the plan for Halloween? Similar theme, coordinated outfits, couples costumes?” She nudged Marie in the side, eyebrows working suggestively.

  Marie scowled, lips pursing the way they always did when she was annoyed. She shifted away from Maisey just enough to direct the full force of her annoyance at the tall blonde. “That would only work if we were all dating each other, so no.”

  “I mean, we could be,” Tobias said as he looped his arm around Mason's shoulders.

  “Don't include me in whatever this is,” Mason said, extricating himself from Tobias's grip. “I am not a part of this. Plus I already have my costume.”

  Luc decided it was best to ignore the three of them and focus on Mason instead. He was the simplest and least likely to offend, and Luc really wasn’t interested in jumping into the middle of Marie, Maisey, and Tobias. “What are you going as?” Luc asked.

  “Luke Skywalker,” Mason said with a shrug. “It seemed like a natural choice.” He motioned at his hair as if that explained everything, and honestly, it wasn’t far off. His hair wasn’t that far off from A New Hope’s Luke, although shinier and slightly more curly.

  “I suppose I could go as Princess Leia,” Maisey mused. “Maybe even Bikini Princess Leia.”

  “It’s a little late to make a costume like that,” Mason pointed out. “And you’d freeze.”

  “The price to pay for fashion,” Maisey said, and turned her devilish smile onto Tobias. “And you can go as Han Solo.”

  “I’m not opposed,” Tobias said with a shrug. “Though, you could always go as classic Leia and, y’know, not freeze.”

  “I suppose,” she said. “I bet Mom could make that for me too. What about you two?”

  “I wasn’t planning on doing anything,” Luc said quickly. She hadn’t dressed up for Halloween since she was little. It was one of the biggest days of the year for magical monsters, and after becoming a magical girl, she’d always spent the day on call. It was one of her most profitable days of the year, and this year that time was especially important. Getting a community recommendation took a certain amount of the population giving her a good review, and there was no better way to interact with lots of people than Halloween night. While everyone else was trick or treating, she’d be out there making sure the only thing kids found was candy, not monsters.

  “What?” Marie demanded, sounding as though Luc had just admitted to murdering someone. “You have to do something for Halloween.”

  “I’d rather patrol,” Luc said with a shrug. “You should consider doing the same. It’s a good day for magical girl work.”

  “Oh, I was planning on it,” Marie said. “But that’s no reason not to wear a costume.”

  Luc didn’t think it was smart to wear anything over a magical uniform, and wouldn’t have thought Marie would think so. “I thought branding was the most important thing for a magical girl.”

  “You don’t get to use those words against me,” Marie said, wagging a finger at her. “Not when you don’t take your branding seriously at all. Besides, it’s important to be seen as relatable. What’s more relatable than dressing up for Halloween?”

  Luc shrugged. She’d never had any problem on Halloween not being in a costume while doing magical girl work, but she doubted Marie was going to give on this. She took clothing and branding personally, taking offense with Luc’s magical girl outfit. Not that anything was wrong with her outfit. It was bland, but classic. Just because everyone else insisted on personalized branding didn’t mean she needed to.

  “Don’t ignore me,” Marie said, scowling at her.

  “I’m not! I’d just rather not spend money on an outfit that’ll fall apart after dealing with my first magical monster,” Luc said. Normal clothes just didn’t hold up the way mage-made ones did; if they did, she’d change her outfit in a heartbeat.

  “Which is why there are magical costumes,” Marie said with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t you think magical girls know how to be whimsical? That’s our whole thing.”

  Pretty sure our whole thing is protecting people, Luc thought, but kept it to herself.

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  She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for Marie to keep talking, ready to stand her ground. No, she wouldn’t be dressing up, and no, Marie couldn’t buy an outfit for her. She’d patrol like she’d planned, like she’d done for years. Her outfit was fine as it was. She didn’t need anyone else’s help.

  “You have to dress up,” Marie said, planting her hands on her hips. “I’m dressing up, so you have to dress up.”

  “I don’t think that’s how that works.”

  “It is,” Marie said. “How else is everyone going to know we’re a pair?”

  “Plus it’s fun,” Maisey jumped in. “And it’s not like it hurts anything. Just do it, Luc.”

  They really weren’t going to let this go. She’d either have to fight about it until Halloween, or give in. And even if Marie did drop it, she’d be disappointed.

  “You don’t have to dress up,” Tobias said, “but it’s not like it causes any harm. It’s just for fun.”

  “If I dress up, you’re not allowed to say anything about my normal outfit,” Luc said finally.

  Marie’s face lit up, eyes shining with mirth as she clapped her hands together. “Deal. Let’s go.”

  “Right now?” Luc demanded.

  “Why not?” Marie asked. “It’s not like we have anything else to do tonight. So why not? Consider it a date.”

  Luc wavered in the face of Marie’s pleading smile and extended hand, waiting for her to take it.

  A sigh slipped free of her lips as she reached out, linking her fingers with Marie’s. “Fine.” She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go.”

  Marie didn’t waste any time in taking off, barely saying bye to the others before dragging Luc off to her car and speeding through town to the commission building.

  Luc dragged her feet as Marie led her through the commission lobby into a room to the side that she’d entered once and only once, to build her magical girl outfit. She’d been in the room for all of five minutes, ignoring everything but the cheapest items on the roster for shoes, shirts, and bottoms.

  Marie darted up to the floor length screen and motioned for Luc to step onto a dot in the center of the room.

  “We can just look on the tablet,” Luc said, stepping around the dot so Marie couldn’t scan her.

  Though Marie was faced away, Luc could tell when she rolled her eyes. “It’s just to look at the costumes. Now get on. Please.”

  She turned to Luc pleadingly, eyes wide. She was absolutely using her magic to make herself look as perfect and appealing as possible, and Luc hated her for it, but she also couldn’t resist it.

  “Fine.” Luc stepped onto the dot, letting her arms fall flat at her sides with a quiet slap. A moment later, buzzing filled the room as the laser beam shot and scanned her. Her sense of her power tingled, letting her know that the beam was magetech. The whole room was, surrounding her in magical technology.

  This is what I might be able to do if I get into Mage Academy, Luc thought, letting her gaze wander the room. A shiver shot up her spine at the thought. She loved magical girl work, but she also liked making things. Being able to do more than turn pieces of trash into temporary tools would be amazing.

  “You okay?” Marie asked.

  “Yes,” Luc said. “Just thinking.”

  “About your costume?”

  “No.”

  “About me?”

  “No.”

  “Aww.” Marie pouted, directing the full force of the expression at Luc, who did her best to ignore her. That became difficult when Marie walked over with the tablet and pressed her body against Luc’s, staring at the image of her on the screen. “That’s disappointing, because I’m thinking about you.”

  Warmth tingled across her skin, slipping beneath her clothes alongside the tips of Marie’s fingers. While Luc couldn’t say exactly what they were, she enjoyed being with Marie.

  She was getting bolder. So far, all they’d done was kiss, but Marie’s wandering hands left Luc wondering if she was ready for more. She certainly wouldn’t complain if Marie was. “Oh?”

  “Mhmm. Thinking about you in this outfit.” Her hands dropped away from Luc’s body, tapping something on the screen. Luc sighed as the outfit appeared, barely paying attention. Was Marie ever going to want to do more than just kiss her?

  The outfit that appeared on her avatar made her eyebrows raise. “Really?”

  “It’s cute.”

  “No.” The costume Marie had picked wasn’t something Luc would describe as cute. Provocative, maybe? It was a tiny blue two piece covered in feathers and rhinestones, with bright blue wings attached at the back. This was possibly even worse than Maisey’s Bikini Princess Leia idea.

  “What about this one?” Marie clicked another outfit, and Luc snatched the tablet from her, ignoring Marie’s pout as she scrolled through options. So many of these costumes were expensive and ridiculous, and entirely impractical for magical girl work. She didn’t want an outfit that would interfere with her work, or that would empty out her bank account.

  Mid scroll, her eyes landed on the cheapest option she’d seen, and she quickly selected it. A pair of plastic cat ears appeared on top of her avatar’s head, along with a simple black blouse, skirt, and tights.

  “There,” she said, setting down the tablet and stepping away. “I’ll be a cat.”

  “Seriously?” Marie demanded, planting her hands on her hips.

  “Yes,” Luc said, nodding at the image of herself on the screen. “That’s my costume.”

  Marie opened her mouth as if to protest, and then sighed, picking up the tablet for herself. “If that’s your outfit, I’ll just have to pick something that matches.”

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