The clock tower rang seven times through out the small town. The town was top to bottom decorated down to the slums where the slightly whorish and trashy street was. Jen Milano couldn't help but feel dread as she watched her mother gobble up at the sight of her twin sisters. The two were dressed in pink and blue tooth fairy outfits. Her mother was squeeling while the twins giggled as they were fawned over. Their toothless smiles and glittered cheeks hid the fact they were evil little demons. Mary and Suu were definitely not the keepers in Jen's books. She wasn't dressed up though.

She loathed anything and everything of Halloween. She couldn't believe her mother had actually 'convinced' her to actually take the little monsters out to the world of the light. Her mother gently led the two girls with screaming Frankenstein head bins ready for trick or treating. "Alright Jenifer! Get them back home by nine!"

"Jen, Mom. Jen."

"Of course Sweetie." Her mom ignored her of course. Her mother didn't care about her. She was so busy in her house wife and cookie cutter dome of a life she didn't care about Jen's loathing of Halloween. "Alright goblins let's get your candy fill and hope you drive mother of the year crazy!"

"We're tooth fairies!" Mary pouted shaking her head. Jen laughed as she pulled her light brown hair into a low pony tail. She put her glasses over hazel eyes as she put her cabby brown hat over her head. "Let's go." She rolled her eyes taking a hold of their hands leading them into the neighborhood. The neighborhood was filled with screaming and sugar driven children in choking hazardous masks with over priced cheap fabric to cover their mini bodies. "Alright trolls go run a muck and I'll follow." Mary and Suu soon ran off from house to house as Jen slowly followed along.

She sighed softly. She couldn't wait till tomorrow. A big red velvet cake with homemade cream cheese icing was waiting for her. Today she was officially eighteen but would not recognize it till tomorrow. She looked at her olive skin contemplating whether or not she should go to the beach after tomorrow. She felt like she was looking on the pasty side. She also looked at her average body wondering if she should just have one piece of red velvet cake instead of two just like her friend wanted to. But knowing Elphaba she would just shove cake in her face and she'd have to eat it.

Halloween was one of those nights that the typical silence and serious of the dark was shut away. Children ran from place to place, begging for treats and threatening neighbors that did not provide the sugary substances. Nothing was as it seemed, perhaps the beauty of the holiday. All Hallows Eve was, if anything, a day you could really lose yourself in.

Especially if it was how it had once been. Everything seemed so much about image now a-days. Teenage girls ran around in as little clothing as possible, and parents drank themselves into stupors and left their children to their own devices. Empty threats of tricks had now turned into flying eggs aimed at people's windows and of processed lunch-meats on the cars of innocent house-dwellers.

And yet, it was still as amazing as it had always been. You could become someone you weren't the day before. The unusual was commonplace. And it the spooky nature of the night that made it the most beautiful day of all.

Gloved hands ran over the brim of a seemingly velveteen top hat as if to make sure it was still atop his head. It was, and a smirk curled the handsomely plump lips of a stranger as he continued down the street. Halloween was such a lovely holiday.

Jen saw her twin sisters run off without her. "Hey! You dirty little munchkins get back here!" She ran through the streets in her old jeans and scoffed up converse shoes. She heard giggles coming from her little monsters. She groaned as she continued running towards the little ones. She hated this holiday. It was the worst holiday and the worst 'birthday' ever.

She felt her clumsy nature come rushing back as she skidded to the floor her knees now sore. Jen groaned in pain as she sat up looking up at a strangely dressed man with a top hat. He seemed to have walked out of a Victorian magazine. "Sorry, sir...was just uh...chasing my little sisters. You know candy and all."

A sudden urge of motion forced Damien forward slightly. He stumbled before quickly regaining his footing from a moment before. A quick readjustment of his hat and a slight brush off and he was back, looking around as if to try and see who or what had caused his loss of grace for that moment.

He quickly came upon the realization that a girl was now on the ground, presumably the cause of his little stumble. She seemed to be in pain, on her knees before him. Damien extended a hand to help the girl up as she spoke, apologizing.

"Of course. I understand." He offered, voice as smooth as the silken gloves that covered his hands. "How are you, though? It looked like you took a nasty spill there." He added.

She wasn't in costume; something that made her out of place on this night. First impressions lead Damien to decide she was plain. Her hair, glasses and dress didn't inspire. Perhaps she was just uncreative, or maybe there was something more there. She seemed like a very nice girl, undeserving of the wicked children that her little sisters sounded like.

Jen smiled a bright smile shaking her head with a laugh. "Oh this? No no I'm fine. Just going to chase down the little monsters. I think they've already eaten ten times their body weight in candy. I think its time to cage them already and give them shots can deal with them. Sorry to have...uh almost tripped you there." She ran her fingers through bangs, fixing them. "Ah there they are! HEY! You little goblins get over here!" The two giggled closing in on Jen ready to push her down but she held fast to a pole so they would shove her too much.

"There you two are." The clung to both her legs.

"Walk! Walk! Walk!" They yelled their demands as each one clung to a leg. Jen laughed shaking her head. "Man getting a bit demanding you two," She laughed looking down at the two she looked back up, " hey thanks for not getting mad. It was nice meeting you and whoever your meeting will probably be happy to see you. You look like a cool guy." She said with a soft smile. She had to admit he was on the handsome side if he took off the strange clothing. "See you around."

"Now, why would I get mad?" He inquired, smiling at her. Damien seemed to be ignoring the existence of the two little girls. His suspicions, however, had been confirmed. The two little children seemed rather demanding, if not down right annoying.

An eyebrow raised slightly. 'Cool' had not been a word used to describe him, at least not in recent memory. And she was so quick to dismiss him; as if she didn't want to be around him. In Damien's mind, he fit in quite well. It was, after all, Halloween. He had little intention of meeting anyone else, and his curiosity about this girl was growing.

"My name is Damien." He offered, removing his hat in gesture before returning it to the top of his dark-haired head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"

He took time now to actually examine the small children. Both were dressed as fairies or princesses of some type. The same costume, it seemed. So much for originality; twins in matching costumes.

Jen pried off the little ones off her legs to get her name through to Damien. "The name's Jen...Jen Milano. And this is Mary and Suu. They bite so don't get too close to them." She looked up at him crossing her arms. "You know for someone dressed for Halloween you don't look like your from around here. And I haven't seen your costume mass produced in any of the stores so that definitely shows you have creativity unlike this town." She asked curiously looking at his costumes. Every costume on this street was mass produced. No one had originality anymore. She may have loathed the holiday but even she could respect someone for having some originality.

"Hey you two why don't you walk off home while I talk okay?"

The twin girls for once actually listened to her running into her house which was one house down. She wanted to get to know this Damien stranger.

"Well, Miss Jen." He smiled again, bowing his head slightly at mention of her name. "I suppose you can say I'm not from around here. I see you aren't wearing a costume. Unless you are and I just don't understand what you are; in which case I apologize." Damien explained, rambling slightly as he waved a hand in the air.

Jen sent the small demon children away, and they willingly left. Fast little buggers, Damien decided. They entered a house only a few from their current position; Damien assumed this to be their house.

"Excitable little girls, aren't they?" He asked, looking back to Jen. He wondered for a moment why she had been so willing and sudden to rid of herself of the small sisters she had been in charge of looking after for the night. But after the display of leg-clinging they had shown only moments before, Damien could only imagine that she was all too happy to rid herself of them.

"More like horrible little things in my sense. And no I refuse to use mass produced costumes that lack any creativity just to ten times the price." She decided not to say she 'hated' Halloween. It looked like this guy was pretty fond of the holiday. And the last thing she wanted to do was insult him. She wasn't the type of person to insult people so openly. Though she did feel right on the costume take. "I always thought Halloween was a day to express your true colors, to make your own costume, and express individuality. All I see are carbon copies of people and it just seems uncreative and in bad taste." She shrugged softly placing her hands in her pocket making sure the little monsters ran in the house.

The one thing she hated was getting in trouble with her mother. She always seemed to find a way of saying a subtlety 'I hate you' or 'Why can't you be like your sisters?'. It just bugged her insides like a larva in a rotting corpses ears.

Damien was impressed. She seemed so opinionated, at least when it came to this topic. He was sure that she had creativity; everyone did. And if someone was smart enough to realize that mass produced costumes weren't good had to have some type of creativity in their blood. Besides, she seemed to have the views of this holiday pegged down well enough. She certainly was a strange one.

"But they were creative and original once. Someone came up with the idea, and others must have fallen for it. I'm not going to say it's not a loss of something, but creativity is still there in a sense. If you think about it." he offered, flicking the brim of his hat as he spoke the last sentence.

"Besides, I'm sure you could come up with something to wear as a costume. It doesn't matter what it looks like you are as long as you know what your supposed to be." He explained, pausing for a moment. Perhaps that was a bit confusing; he didn't quite understand what he himself had said. "You know. Artistic expression and all that." Damien added quickly with a wave of his hand.

"Not necessarily. People make costumes like those in order to mass produce it. There is no creativity, no heart, no soul to it. Halloween has just become an economic holiday were big corporates can cash in on the over consumption of candy. Also medical building and hospitals cash in too because people are idiotic on their sugar highs and pulling idiotic stunts to hurt themselves. So in a way this a cash in now holiday more than showing creativity." Jen was opinionated and liked it. She then covered her mouth realizing what she was doing.

"I'm sorry you must think I just go on and on." She laughed sincerely with a soft smile. "Sorry, didn't mean to bore you with my idealogy on this holiday. I just am not such a fan of its...cash in haze. I guess this is the part where I say I miss the good ol days." She laughed once more running her fingers through her hair. "So what about you how's Halloween from where you come from. Must be a lot better over there than it is over here."

((I'm so sorry I didn't reply for...like...ever. I had a crap load of school and finals and now a new semester. But I'm good now.))

"Well, I don't know if I would say that." Damien explained, leaning a bit on a nearby fence. "Take, for instance, if you are really passionate about creating costumes. Of course you have to make money, and so you create something because you love the holiday. The essence is still there, even if it's watered down with commercialism." He added, smirking slightly at her. "Besides, there are some people who make the holiday special."

But then she questioned him about where he was from, and he seemed to light up. "Of course! Halloween is a month long...perhaps almost year long celebration. Dear, it's filled with glee and creativity and pumpkins. You, Miss Jen, would greatly enjoy it there."

((It's okay, I understand completely. XD I have a paper to write and its due Friday XD. -cough- Still getting sources...but its a four page paper and I have all day tomorrow and it won't be due till Friday midnight. XD!!!)

"But even an artist doesn't paint five million paintings because he wants money. He paints because he want to not just for the quick buck." She pointed out as she watched him lean against the fence. Jen saw his mood quickly perk up about speaking of a town celebrating a year long Halloween holiday. Now that just seemed strange. What town or place would actually do that? It didn't even see believable. "Oh..? Really. I don't believe such a place exists." She rolled her eyes placing her hands behind her back. "How can Halloween last a whole year without everyone getting sick of it?" She seemed baffled a group of people would actually have it all year round.


Though she noticed something about the way he spoke of the town. It was almost as if he was colorfully sugar coating it or maybe he was so desensitized by it, that now it was a normal mundane routine. "Besides, I've never heard of a place like that. Well...except for this town being obsessed with it. They only celebrate it for two months which is my limit." She didn't understand why she was even out tonight. She would rather be finishing her homework up and watching the new case of dvds she bought off ebay. "How come I haven't heard of it?"

((Lol. That's always fun, isn't it? Anyway, things are taking a bit longer on this end. There's major drama about my driving over here, and I have to retake a bunch of tests I already took and stuff. It sucks. :( Anyway, I'll try to reply more quickly.))

Damien laughed a strange little laugh and smiled at Jen. He liked this girl; she thought for herself. She thought because she was a questioner, not preconditioned to follow like she was told. Damien liked that in a person. "Well of course it's real! Do you think I just popped out of the ground or something? Perhaps I exaggerated a bit. But we don't take Halloween lightly. We have things leading up to it, and things leading away from it. Everything leads back to it. Everything." He said, walking his fingers around in a circle to illustrate his point.

"Called?" He questioned after a moment, cocking his head to the side. "Lumures. But it's not the Halloween you think of, Miss Jen." He added, leaning closer. "It's more traditional. No more candy, no more idiots running around hurting themselves. "

((Well, its the end of the week so you can get some rest now <3. At least for me. I just had the paper due and a Japanese test I had not even studied XD))

As he leaned in Jen repeated the name letting it roll off her tongue. "Lumures..." She blinked softly her hazel eyes looking into his eyes. "Traditional?" She somehow felt curious to see what he meant by that. The way he spoke was interesting. He seemed to go by the beat of his own drum and it probably was a drum of his very own. She wondered why she had not heard of it. The name sounded so beautiful. But for something to be Halloween all year long and have such a name didn't seem to fit in Jen's mind.

"So, it really isn't all Halloween 24-7? Phew..." She laughed shaking her head. "Because if it was to an extreme you wouldn't see me visiting then." Alright, so she did want to visit this place. It was her goal to take a tour of her most favorite locations and back pack through it all before she found the love of her life. Or maybe even with the love her life. Which ever came first was just fine for Jen.

Damien seemed puzzled. He cocked his head to the side, looking strangely at her as if he didn't understand her. And in fact, he didn't. How one could base the beauty and wonder of a city on it's holidays was confusing. Besides. she knew nothing of his world, why dismiss it?

"Would it be that bad?" He questioned, looking at her with dark, honest eyes. "At least there would be a spark of something. Even if you don't like Halloween, perhaps living in a place where it was celebrated differently would change your mind." He offered, pondering his own words for a moment.

He knew she didn't like this holiday. But Damien couldn't help but believe that if he showed her his Halloween she would change her mind. She was such a lovely girl; Damien hated to feel such hate for a holiday from her.

"Besides," Damien added, straightening up with a grin. "You'd look splendid in a dress. So what do you say? Care to see Lumures?" He asked, extending a slim hand to her.

"Dre-dress?" She blinked softly looking over at her. "Take me there-"

"Jen! Get in here it's dinner time or you won't get any cake!" Her mother interrupted with her loud and annoying voice. Jen turned around making a disgusted face as her mother yelled across the houses and tattered lawns with lawn gnomes. She looked back at Damien. "That's my mother...she'll get upset if I'm late for dinner." She smiled softly shrugging. "As interesting as going with a stranger to a different place sounds great. But my mother is definitely scarier than this holiday." She rubbed the back of her head blushing softly.

"Well, I better get going before she starts throwing me threats. It was nice meeting you. I hope we do meet again." She ran her fingers through her hair. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here. Don't get hit by any toilet paper or eggs on your way back." She joked pointing at a house that was currently being T-peed and egged by kids, including teens, that were not given confectionery treats.

Damien was not about to be upstaged by a middle-aged woman with cake. He was going to show this girl what his world was like, and the strange Cake-woman would have no say in it. He hesitated for a brief moment before rummaging around in his coat pocket.

"Wait." Damien produced a strange looking ring from his pocket, seemingly pumpkin shaped and rather golden orange in color. "Marry me. Promise me that in a year you'll come to Lumunes with me as my Queen." He spoke quickly, stepping in front of Jen slightly so he was between the girl and her mother. "Please." He added, extending his hand once more.

Perhaps hurried, brash thinking on his part, but Damien was pleased with his decision. He had, after all, come with the intention of finding himself a bride. And one as interesting as Miss Jen was sure to create more amusement in his life. Besides; she had something in her that Damien hadn't seen yet.

A sound affect sounded off in her head as she heard this. "M-marry...you say." Her mind went into over drive, rushing with thoughts. Are you kidding me!? This guy is a freak! A bonafide freak! How can he just ask someone he just met to marry him let alone move!? Wait...this must be that joke my friends were going to play on me. Every year they put me through something weird and laugh about it tomorrow. That's it but I'm not getting scared this time. I'll show them. Then who will be the laughing one then!! Me! Jen felt the triumphant horns of success blow in her mind as she made sure it did not show on her face.

"I will marry you and go to...Lumunes to be your..queen." She hesitated slightly trying to remember what he said. Though she had to admit this was a well thought ruse. And this guy did an amazing job at playing the part. She would savor this moment as she won against her friends.

Damien thought little of any hesitation she might have had. It was, after all, a big decision. She was a lovely girl, and Damien was sure other people were looking towards her (If not for marriage at least for company, Damien believed). But he didn't want to keep her here, waiting for him to finish whatever he was doing while her mother grew more and more upset.

"Splendid." He murmured, taking her hand gently and sliding the ring onto her ring finger. "I hate to keep you, although we do have much more to talk about, don't we? I'll be back; one year. Next Halloween, I promise." Damien smiled at her. "And I never go back on my word."

Jen knew he would be back next year to play over this ruse. But she knew that this wouldn't be. "Well going back on your own word would be hard." She continued to play along. When he had slid the ring on her finger she felt something strange. She wasn't sure what it was she felt but it was a warm tingle feeling. It wasn't painful but it definitely was noticeable from her side. She looked at her hand curious at what the feeling was.

"I guess I'll see you..in a year then?" Her mother was fuming from the house. But she didn't care she had to savor this. "It's my birthday today. My mom is going to rip my head off if I don't get inside to celebrate." She laughed. She hated celebrating it on this day but her parents refused to acknowledge that she hated this day. Jen smiled softly nodding. "I'll see you later then."

Damien smiled slightly, gently squeezing her hand as he looked at her. The thought of a kiss had entered his mind, but he decided it too forward. Rather he simply released her hand and tipped his hat slightly. "Well, Miss Jen. I wish you a happy birthday and many, many happy returns." He smiled.

"I would hate for you to be given trouble for my own silly desires to talk to you. By all means, please." he added, extending a hand towards Jen's house. "I'll talk to you in a year then, Miss Jen."

With that he turned, bowing slightly to her once more before starting down the street.

Jen watched as he bowed and left. Their was just no way that could've been any stranger. She walked into the home after he left her mother gave her a good scolding before she blew out the candles. She had to admit it though. Damien was handsome. She wouldn't mind seeing him again if he would play that ruse again. He seemed nice. But she wouldn't know. After dinner she went to her room, changed into her pajamas, and soon went to bed. Thinking nothing of the ring, not even noticing it was there.

((I'm gonna fast forward to morning when she finds engagement presents and how she can't take the ring off ^^-)

The next morning she woke up to strange noises. She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "You evil twins...out of my-" Her words were cut off when she found her glasses and placed them on her face. Her eyes widened seeing presents flooding her room. Little ghosts with the appearance of hand made napkin ghosts, but slightly larger, opening their mouths and a present plopping out of the non-existent stomachs of the ghosts. The side of her mouth twitched seeing the display. She removed her glasses cleaning them, rubbing her eyes, and placing her glasses on. "I'm...I'm...I'm dreaming. That's it. Dreaming. That cake must've been bad." She quickly covered herself in her comforter laying back down trying to go back to sleep. Until she saw a ghost looking at her inside the cover with a present it's jaws. A loud scream broke through the silent and empty house coming from Jen. She wasn't dreaming.

"Eeep!" The ghost made a strange little noise, popping the present out of its mouth. It pulled back quickly, almost throwing itself out of the covers and into the room itself. It continued to make the noise until it reached the slim legs of another, ducking behind them with earnest.

The other person was quickly revealed to be Damien, who was dressed in a similar fashion to what he had worn yesterday. Hair slightly more mussed than the night previous, he was also missing a top hat. His coat was a dark grey color, shirt and pants a dark black. A vest of orange completed the look. But he wasn't paying attention.

"You've frightened her! I know you didn't mean to, but that was hardly a way to wake up, now was it?" Damien asked, shaking a gloved finger at the small ghost with a smile. "But I'm sure Miss Jen will forgive you."

Jen dug through her covers, her head popped out from the foot of the bed looking straight to see a pair of thin legs. Her eyes slowly followed the figure to his face. "Y..you again!?" She pointed upwards to the slightly familiar stranger. "This has to be some crazy dream...a figment! That's it a figment of my imagination." With that said she sat up, the covers falling back on the bed. Her eyes never left his.

"What are you doing here anyways! And why are there presents and stuffed napkins!?" She began pointing at other things. "Not that I'm not happy with receiving gifts b-but why!? Half of these presents say congratulations and tying the knot! What is that suppose to mean! And explain yourself before I call the Neighborhood police!" She crossed her arms over her chest giving a slight 'hmph'. Her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed already scared out of her life. Even though her appearance wasn't like yesterday. She wore glasses, her hair was in a messy form of a pony tail, and she hadn't primed herself to be seen by anyone. Her plan today was to go out shopping and then lay around in the house till her friends invited her to her birthday party.