“So, what are you getting up tonight for Halloween? Those meathead friends of yours dragging you to that party still?” Darla asked.

“They aren’t meatheads. Well, Chuck is, but still, yes, we’re going to that house party on Clive Street. I wish you’d come with us. It might be fun,” Tom replied, elbowing his introverted friend in the ribs.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I’ll hang out in my dorm watching scary movies instead. I’d rather watch people being slashed than hit on by drunk frat guys all night.”

“You’ve gotta break out of your shell at some point, Darla. Clean off your glasses, and maybe you’ll meet some cute guy at the party ... or a cute girl, whatever you’re into,” he joked, receiving a swift slap on the back of the head.

“I like my shell. It’s safe and warm. Besides, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your game. Girls would see me and think I’m your girlfriend or something. You can go out with your wingmen and get rejected all night like usual,” Darla replied, laughing.

“I’ve got some skills. I dated Carrie Anders all senior year,” he said proudly.

“Till you found out she was cheating on you with half the basketball team right before prom,” Darla said, stifling a laugh. “You were lucky I was going solo, or you wouldn’t have had a date at all, Romeo.”

“Low blow, Dar. Very low,” Tom said, bowing his head.

“Sorry, Tom-bomb. I shouldn’t have brought that up.”

“That’s ok, it was a while ago. Why were you going by yourself anyway? I heard that a few people had asked you out.”

“No reason. I just thought it’d be more fun to go it alone, that is, until you needed rescuing from your funk. Back to the subject of the party. What kind is it?” she asked casually.

“Oh, since it’s Halloween, it’s a costume party. Guess who I’ll be.”

“Batman,” she said instantly, “you’re always Batman. You’ve been Batman since third grade. Seriously, you need a girlfriend, buddy.”

“Well, I like Batman. Besides, I have the costume already, so I don’t have to buy anything. Maybe I’ll meet my Catwoman at the party; you’ll never know if you don’t try,” Tom said, egging on his friend to join him.

“When I try, you won’t believe it when you see it. I gotta get going for my next course. Have fun at the party. Let me know if you meet Poison Ivy or Two-Face, the girls you’re more likely to meet, Tom-bomb.”

“Likely, but you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, Darlanguish,” Tom said, as they both got up to leave, heading in opposite directions on campus. He’d show her! He was going to meet someone amazing tonight! Then she would see how it’s worth leaving your room sometimes. You just need a bit of confidence and the smarts of the world’s greatest detective.

Tom went to his next class before heading to his dorm to get ready for the party. He wished Darla would come out to more things. She seemed to shy away from social activities more often now. He thought back before college and their lives together.

He had been best friends with Darla since they met in first grade. She was swinging on a swing when he chased a ball in her path. BAM! The lights went out as her feet connected with his face. After he regained consciousness, she said she was sorry, and they became friends. They were closer than siblings, and he thought of her like a sister ... a better sister, actually, since he had two of them already, and he barely got along with either of them.

Through elementary school, she was actually the social one of the pair, dragging him to birthday parties for her other friends. As they grew up and moved up to high school, though, she started closing herself off more and more, hanging out only with him. It was difficult for him, at times, to try to go out with other girls, as they all assumed he was dating Darla. He had to constantly say they were just friends, but the girls didn’t seem to believe him. Not that he would trade her friendship in for any other girl. He wouldn’t do that! It was just frustrating.

Tom’s other friends all thought she was cute, so he tried a few times to set her up with one of his male friends. She did go on a few dates with a couple, but it never lasted very long. He always got the impression that she only accepted his setups to make him happy, but she would never admit it. He wondered if she might like girls but couldn’t admit it to herself. He would be cool with it if she did. She was his best friend, and nothing could ever change that.

After showering, he went through his closet and dug out his Batman costume. He had made it years ago for a project, using molded plastic, Lycra-spandex, and a 3D-printer. Everything was hand-painted for detail, right down to the utility belt. His design was a mix of the modern Nolan style with hard black materials and mixed with the 60’s Adam West style logo and utility belt. He could have made one or the other, but he really liked the blending of the two. Plus, it made it his own!

He put on some deodorant and started the process of putting on the suit. While the material in the suit was relatively cool, compared to what some other people have made, it would still get sweaty after a while. He didn’t want to scare off the girls with some Bat-stink. He even brought spray deodorant in a canister that fit on his utility belt in the slot marked ‘shark repellant’, in a nod to the 60’s series.

He looked at himself in the mirror. ‘Looking good’ he thought to himself before sliding on the boots and donning the cowl. One final check, and he was ready to go. He messaged his buddies, and they met up in the common room. A few had already started on some beer before leaving. Most of their costumes were pretty lame and simplistic, Tom thought to himself, but they were broke college students. They gathered up and headed over to the party.

The party was based out of a large house off-campus. It was known for legendary parties each year by whoever lived there. It became an expectation and a lot to live up to, as each year tried to top the previous ones. The neighborhood was mostly student housing, so the cops were never called. A rumor swirled that the chief of police used to be one of the house alumni, but it was never proven.

As Tom and his buddies entered the house, they were swallowed up by the crush of people and the loud music. They recognized a few people amongst the crowd and said hello before looking to find the keg that had to be around somewhere. After asking a few people, they headed to the backyard where they found all the drinks. Grabbing a red cup, Tom filled it with slightly warm beer. It tasted cheap, but he wasn’t expecting the good stuff anyway.

Re-entering the house, beers in hand, they started cruising around looking to chat up some girls. The party was quite packed, and it became difficult to move from room to room in a group of five guys, so they split off to cover more ground. Tom ventured into the sea of people alone with only his keen detective skills and his slightly heightened sense of smell.

He found himself at a beer pong game, watching a guy dressed as a lumberjack battle another guy in a Pikachu onesie. He would have continued walking on, but he spotted a couple of girls watching as well. He approached the two girls. One was wearing bunny ears and a fluffy tail while the other had blue hair and some kind of plasticky outfit, probably some anime thing.

“Hey girls, wanna know my secret identity?” Tom asks, trying to sound cool.

“I think it’s best if it stays a secret,” the anime girl said before they both laughed and walked away.

Dejected but still determined, Tom continued to make conversation with any girl he could find. He was rejected by Wonder Woman, 2 Katniss’s, and several Harley Quinns. He was starting to lose hope when he saw a bat signal on the horizon. Standing alone in a corner, holding a drink, was a Batgirl. He knew he’d have to swoop in before someone else got to her.

As he tried to make his way through the crowd, he watched as his buddy Chuck approached her. He cursed himself for not getting there fast enough but was surprised to see him dispatched quickly by her strong defenses. He knew he’d have a hard time if Chuck couldn’t last more than a few seconds with her, but he had to try. Finally, he was able to break through, stealing his nerves, and jumped in.

“Batgirl! Who’s watching Gotham if we’re both here?” Tom said, trying to make a gravelly voice.

The girl laughed and then caught herself, “I think Nightwing has us covered, Batman.” She replied with a slightly nasally voice.

“That’s a nice costume. Did you make it yourself?” he asked, dropping the act now that he had broken the ice.

“I did, well, I designed it. I had to commission someone to actually make it. I wanted a classic look mixed with a few different elements from other designs,” she replied while pointing at a few of the accessories, like the yellow purse and purple color. Her hair was red at the back, but Tom couldn’t tell if that was a wig or not.

“It looks great. What’s your name?” Tom asked, hoping he’d made a strong enough connection.

“Thanks, yours looks great too. My name? I don’t want to reveal my secret identity. Just call me Barbara, for now.”

“Cute. Ok, Barbara. My name is Tom,” he said with a smile.

“Oh, you’re telling me your secret identity. Aren’t you trusting of someone you just met,” she said with a sly grin.

“Oh, well, I thought we were hitting it off,” Tom said before finishing his third beer of the night. “I’m empty. Would you like another, too?”

“I’ve still got half a cup left, but I’ll go with you. It’s a little noisy and cramped in here anyway,” Barbara said as they walked to the backyard.

Tom filled up his cup at the keg, occasionally looking over at the cute girl waiting for him. He couldn’t help but smile. He was making better progress than Chuck, and that had never happened before. Cup full, he took a swig. The effects of the alcohol were starting to numb his brain. He went back to his new acquaintance

“Would you like to go back inside?” He asked, his words slightly slurred.

“No, I’d prefer to stay out here if that’s ok. It’s easier to talk without yelling, and I don’t feel like I’ll be crushed by a stampede.”

“True. And we’ll be closer to the beer too,” Tom said, taking another swig of liquid courage.

“Yes,” she laughed, “that’s true. Just pace yourself. I don’t want you to blackout and forget about me in the morning.”

“How could I forget about you? You’re the prettiest girl at the party,” he said, her cheeks blushing beneath her cowl. “You look familiar. What program are you in?”

“Me? Oh, I’m in Economics,” Barbara said before taking a sip of her own drink.

“Huh, nope. Not in Econ, I’m a Chem major. Do you know my friend, Darla? She’s in Econ. Blonde hair, glasses, kind of shy?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell, but it’s a big department. Why, is she your girlfriend or something?” she asked, her lips curling into a devilish smile.

“Darla? What? NO! She’s been my best friend since forever. She’s like my sister or something,” Tom said, tipping over slightly and nearly spilling his beer.

“Are you sure she doesn’t feel differently? I don’t want to get in the middle of some drama.”

“Nah, she’s cool. I don’t really know what she likes. She never talks about guys ... or girls, for that matter. She’s pretty much like one of the guys, only a girl.” He stopped, trying to gather his blurry thoughts. “She’s nowhere as pretty as you, Barbara. I like your red hair.”

“Well thanks,” she said with a chuckle. “I hope you’re right about your friend. Do you want to get out of here?”

“Sure, we can. Where would we go?” Tom asked as he finished the last of his beer.

“We could go back to your place. You look like you’ve had a few too many,” Barbara said, as he stumbled slightly, throwing his cup in the garbage.

“I like the sound of that. To the Batcave!”

The two walked the twenty minutes back towards Tom’s dorm, with him stumbling a few times and having to take a rest on a bench. Finally, dodging some campus security, Tom led her to his dorm room. He sat on the bed after nearly falling over while trying to sit in his desk chair.

“Let me get you some water,” she said, opening the small mini-fridge and finding a cup on the desk. She filled it and handed it to him, asking him to drink it.

“Are you ever going to tell me your real name?” Tom asked, putting the now empty cup down.

“Maybe, at some point. We should get you out of that costume before you pass out.” she suggested, pulling at his boots.

“I should get you out of your costume, Barbara,” he slurred, trying to stand up but instead falling over onto the bed

“But I don’t have any other clothes. This is all I’m wearing,” she said, standing up after taking off his boots.

“That’s ok with me. I’ll take off mine if you take off yours.”

“Charming. With lines like that, I’m surprised there’s not a line of girls outside the door,” she chided him, as she helped take off his belt and pants.

“That was mean. Besides, it got you here didn’t it?” Tom said, sitting up again in only his cowl, upper chest piece, and boxers.

She stopped for a moment, “Well, you got me there. Come on, hero, arms up.” She took off the rest of his costume, then he reached for the water cup again, finding it empty. She took it from him, filled it, and handed it back to him.

“Why ARE you being so nice to me?” he asked, after downing half the water.

“Because I think you’re pretty cute, and I don’t want you to die in your sleep.” She turned around to move his stuff out of the way. When she turned back, he grabbed her and pulled her onto the bed.