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Halloween Havoc

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A/N: Don't own the Lorax or the Addams Family.  However, I do own Kat and any other original characters in this fanfic.  This fanfic is for :iconlilmonstergurl:'s Once-ler/OC week.  I picked day six and day seven.  This takes place when Kat and Once-ler are both rich and living together.  I'd like to thank Mircosedy from fanfiction.net for beta-reading.  I'd also like to thank :iconbloodrosered: for PMing with me on fanfiction.net about how I can push the limits of a T rated fanfic.  I also thought that I'd try a little thing I like to call Note sending role-playing.  You can ask my characters anything and I will respond to you as the OC you ask, provided it's not too spoiler heavy.

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"You think Mr. D'Amico's secretly a criminal mob boss and that's why he's so rich?" Kat asked as she looked out the window to see the large buildings and the trees in the background slowly decreasing in numbers.

"The guy comes from four generations of wealth and inherited a well-to-do soda factory. I don't think he needs to get involved with crime," Once-ler said doubtfully.

"Not every rich man's an outstanding citizen. Maybe he hooked up with the mafia so he could remain the top soda entrepreneur in business," Kat pondered as she turned to Once-ler with a mischievous grin. "Or maybe he's the head of the D'Amico crime family and he's using his soda business to embezzle funds."

Once-ler laughed. "Save your creative energy for your writing, Cara Bella."

"I can't help it, when the muse strikes me, I simply must create, Mon Cheri," Kat said, changing her tone to be icy yet seductive.

"That's french!" Once-ler said excitedly. Then he held Kat's hand and kissed it with a fiery passion. Kat leaned against the soft black leather seat, enjoying Once-ler's touch.

Once-ler stopped as soon as he heard the door open. It was Isabella with her fake sweet smile.

"Kitty, will you scoot down in the middle?" she asked with fake politeness.

"Kat," Kat told her as she scooted near Once-ler on the leather black seats.

Isabella took the seat on Kat's left as Aunt Grizelda, Uncle Ubb, Brett and Chet took their places across from them.

"I love your costume, Kitty!" Isabella said as she looked at Kat's Morticia costume. "A bizarre harlot who uses her feminine wiles to wrap her husband around her finger, very suiting."

"Burn!" either Brett or Chet exclaimed (Kat never could tell them apart) as everyone laughed, Aunt Grizelda's being the meanest. The only one who didn't find this funny was Once-ler.

"It's Kat," she, once again, corrected out of impulse and then looked at Isabella's costume. "You went with Glinda the Good Witch of the North?"

"Yes, isn't it lovely?!" Isabella exclaimed.

"I thought you would've gone with the Wicked Witch of the West," Kat said nonchanlantly.

Isabella looked horrified as everyone (save for Once-ler and Aunt Grizelda) laughed at Kat's comment. Then her fake smile returned.

"Kitty, not everyone on Halloween wants to dress up as a monster," Isabella condescendingly explained. "Some women actually prefer to look nice for the night."

Once-ler was about to come to Kat's defense until she gave him a look that told him she could handle this.

"I can't help it, whenever I look at you, I think 'wicked witch,'" Kat responded with a smirk. "Don't know why."

Before anyone could reply, the limo stopped outside of D'Amico's mansion. As the Once-ler family stepped out of the limo, Kat saw the mansion in all its glory. The mansion was huge with gray bricks, various windows and a large wooden door complete with a second floor balcony.

It wouldn't be Halloween without costumes and the Once-ler family was no exception. Aunt Grizelda wore a simple gorilla costume while the twins and Uncle Ubb put sheets over their heads and said they were ghosts, the former doing so out of stupidity while the latter did so out of laziness. Isabella wore a frilly pink dress with a matching crown and held a wand in her hand, dressed as Glinda the Good Witch of the North. Last but not least were Kat and Once-ler, dressed as Gomez and Morticia Addams. Once-ler wore the black and white pinstriped suit along with the black shirt underneath and red and black striped tie complete with black dress shoes. He held a cigar in his right hand and wore a fake black mustache on his face. Kat wore the tight long-sleeved v-neck black dress that left very little to the imagination (thankful she lost a lot of weight from her waitressing days and was no longer chubby) with a hobble skirt that resembled octopus tentacles at the lower hem. Kat wore a necklace with a large cut stone and a ring on the fourth finger of her left hand that was a huge black gem set on an ornate, hinged compartment. Kat also wore a wig of long raven black hair and no Morticia costume would be complete without the makeup, which was ghostly white powder applied all over her skin, a tinge of black eye shadow and black eyeliner to give her the cat eye look, along with crimson red lipstick and matching nail polish on her perfectly manicured fingernails. Kat carried a black leather purse with a strap around her right shoulder.

As soon as they got to the door, a well-dressed man held his hand out. "Sir, madam, your invitation please," The butler said nonchalantly.

Every member of the Once-ler family, including Kat, handed the butler their invitations. As soon as they were inside, the family went their separate ways with only Kat and Once-ler sticking together. If the outside didn't impress Kat, the ballroom certainly did. It was a large room with light brown tiles on the floor and matching walls with red curtains covering the windows. Chandeliers covered with cob webs decorated the ceiling and the place was filled with tables covered in white tablecloths and matching chairs along with end tables decorated with all kinds of treats such as caviar, escargot and crab cakes. Many tables had a champagne bottle stored in a bucket of ice and waiters carried trays of champagne and wine glasses along with cheese cubes. A bar was in the corner along with a well-dressed bartender to complete it. The room was also decorated with various candelabras also covered with cob webs and a man in a tuxedo played the organ, filling the ballroom with spooky music. Kat took a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter and thanked him. Once-ler smiled as he lit his cigar.

"Two years ago, if anyone told us we'd be living in a well-to-do factory and attending high-class parties, we would've looked at them like they were insane," Kat said as she took a sip of the bubbly drink.

"You would've but not me," Once-ler said proudly. "I always knew I was destined for greatness!"

Kat laughed. "So you've never had one moment of doubt?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Not one, Cara Mia," Once-ler said, standing proudly. "Okay, maybe one, but I was always proven wrong in the end!"

"I knew it!" Kat said proudly, taking another sip of her champagne. "I'm going off to do a little exploring. Try not to miss me too much, Bubele."

Kat left to explore the whole interior, seeing some of the costumes the other guests were wearing. She noticed some actually took the time to wore costumes, noting a couple dressed like Romeo and Juliet. While others just threw on nice evening wear and put on a mask to make it look like a costume. Kat thought about how nice it was that she was the one being waited on and not vice versa. It was also nice to be the one admired instead of people constantly looking down on her. In spite of all of her happiness, she couldn't escape this small pinch of guilt inside of her. Kat took another sip of champagne in an effort to destroy it. Then she heard snobby voices talking nearby.

"I can't believe my husband invited those lowlives to his party," the skinny Maris D'Amico dressed as the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra, said distastefully.

"You mean The Once-ler?" The red-head woman in a green evening gown and matching feather mask said. "If you want to be anybody in Greenville, you have to associate with him."

Kat took another sip of her champagne.

"Still, does he have to take his hillbilly family and that weird feminist girlfriend with him?" Maris said with scorn evident in her voice.

"You get The Once-ler, you get his family," a voluptuous dark-haired woman with a bright red evening gown and a matching bright red feather mask said with a snobby tone. "Plus, his girlfriend's doing well in the writer's circle and, as long as The Once-ler's thneeds are popular, he'll be invited to every high-class party all over America."

"Key words 'as long as their popular,'" the second woman said with glee. "Mark my words, in a few months, they'll be nothing but a couple of has-beens living on the street and bragging about their former glory."

This made all three women laugh as Kat held her glass tighter and downed the rest of the champagne.

"Do you think The Once-ler and Katrina Johnson are related?" Maris asked jokingly. "They have the same hair color, eye color and skin tone."

"Hey," Kat said nonchalantly as she placed her empty glass on the table.

The women turned around to see Kat standing right behind them.

"Kat, how lovely to see you again!" one of them said with fake glee causing Kat to scoff. "I just love your dress!"

"Sure you do," Kat said sardonically as she left to go sit in the bar.

She took a cigarette from her purse and put it in her mouth.

"What will you have, Ms. Johnson?" the bartender asked.

"Vodka," Kat said as she lit her cancer stick.

Kat inhaled the poisonous smoke in her lungs as she thought about what she heard. Then the bartender placed a shot of vodka right in front of her that she took without a second thought as its bitter taste burned her throat.

"Hit me again," she said, putting the empty glass on the bar.

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Once-ler took another puff of his cigar as he chatted with everyone at the party. A few months ago, they were throwing tomatoes at him and now everyone was gathering around him, wanting nothing more than to be seen with The Once-ler himself. One voice was enough to crush his happiness.

"Hit me again," he heard Kat's voice say nearby.

Once-ler turned in the voice's direction to see Kat with an empty shot glass in front of her and a cigarette in her mouth.

"Ma'am, I think you've had enough," the bartender said.

"I'll tell you when I've had enough!" Kat practically screamed at him causing her cigarette to fall on the floor (Once-ler was thankful that she hadn't lit it yet), either not noticing that everyone was staring at her or not caring. What she said next answered Once-ler's question. "Oh, the former diner waitress got drunk, don't act like you're so shocked!"

"How barbaric!" a woman exclaimed horrified which only made Kat scoff.

"Oh, and you people are so civilized," Kat remarked, slurring her words and failing to keep herself still. "You think you're so above the common people with your fancy cars and classy parties, well guess what?! You're trading partners, sniffing drugs in the bathroom and you so-called 'family men' are banging your secretaries while your wives are sneaking around with the pool boy! And you eat slugs! How sick is that?!"

Maris gasped and put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"You are a horrific young woman who needs a lesson in proper etiquette!" she said as she stuck her nose up in the air while Once-ler buried his head in his hands in shame.

Kat laughed. "Yeah, well I think you people are two-faced douche bags who'd turn on each other at the drop of a hat! So, we're even!" she said, holding up her empty shot glass to the rest of the party.

"I am really sorry about Kitty's behavior," Isabella said in her usual fake sweet voice. "To think of how humiliating this is for my poor Oncie."

"Oh shut up, Isabella!" Kat yelled at her. "You didn't even give a crap about 'Oncie' until you found out he was going to be loaded! As far as I'm concerned, you fit right in with these people!"

Isabella put her hands to her chest and gasped. "Oncie, are you going to let her speak to me that way?!" she said, giving Once-ler a pleading look.

Kat scoffed. "What's the matter, Isabella? Too cowardly to fight back?" she said smugly. "Or, deep down, do you know I'm right?"

That was it, Once-ler had to put a stop to this before things got completely out of hand. He walked to Kat and smiled at her.

"Come on, Cara Mia, let's go home," Once-ler said to her gently, putting his hand on Kat's shoulder.

Instead of being happy to see him, Kat glared at Once-ler and put her finger on his chest.

"Don't you 'Cara Mia' me!" Kat said angrily. "I'm not in the mood!"

"Kat, please," Once-ler begged. "We can talk about whatever's bothering you in the limo."

"You want to know what's bothering me?!" Kat exclaimed slamming her shot glass on the bar. "We had genuine friends! We had creatures that loved us for who we were and weren't leeching off of our popularity!"

"That's right, let it all out," Once-ler said gently as he led her back to the limo.

"When things are finally going our way, what do we do?! We turn our backs on them for money and fame, destroy their home and expect them to be grateful for it!" Kat exclaimed.

Once-ler put her in the back of the limo.

"Leaving already?" the driver said.

"Yes, come back to pick up the rest of my family later," Once-ler instructed as he took a seat next to Kat.

"We promised The Lorax we wouldn't cut down anymore trees!" Kat said, breaking out into tears. "We broke our promise!"

Kat leaned her head on Once-ler's chest and hugged him as she cried, repeating the same words over and over.

"We broke our promise!"

As Kat cried, Once-ler started thinking about everything she said. Even if Kat did make a complete spectacle of herself in public, she was right. They had friends that loved them for who they were and they betrayed them for acquaintances that were using them. Maybe they were producing enough thneeds for now. Maybe he should stop chopping down the trees and go back to harvesting the tufts. Then again, people were expecting thneeds faster than harvesting the tufts could give them. Economically, he needed to supply enough thneeds to keep up with his customers demands. He also didn't want to have to explain to Isabella how business will have to go slower than usual because her future daughter-in-law caused a scene at a party. Besides, Kat was drunk. She didn't know what she was talking about. Tomorrow, Kat will forget the whole thing and she'd be happy again.

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A/N: Here's my story for Once-ler/OC week.  If you haven't read How Bad Could it Be, I hope this fanfic encourages you to check it out.  If you're a regular reader of it, than think of this story as a preview of what's to come.  I started a Star Trek: Deep Space Nine fanfic called Mind Games staring an expy of BBC's Sherlock.  It's going to be on hiatus until I finish my background reading on the Star Trek universe but, once I do, my updates on my Lorax fanfic might be less frequent.  Don't worry, I promised myself that I would finish How Bad Could It Be and I'm not about to break it.  Don't forget to comment, it keeps me motivated.
For :iconmewcherryblossom:'s Once-ler/OC week. From nobodies to somebodies, Once-ler and Kat are on top of the world. The high class elite that once looked down on them invited the couple to a Halloween party. Unfortunately, things are not always what they seem.
© 2014 - 2024 suburbantimewaster
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jecoil's avatar

For ReadThine-ReadMine


I should start with admitting that I know nothing about the Lorax, although I am familiar with the Addams Family (the “That’s French!” line was just classic). As such I can only comment based on the story as it stands on its own, not as it relates to the fandom.


Your description of the mansion was well done, and I think that mentioning everyone’s costumes helped give a feel for the environment.


What I read here isn’t so much a clash of classes, but a clash of old-money vs new-money. For reasons I’ve never understood people born to wealth look down at people who earned their wealth, even more so than they look down on the ‘peasants’. Judging from some of the comments Kat overhears it looks like the old-money snobs are hoping for the couple’s business to fail.


I also get the impression that Once-ler’s family doesn’t like Kat either, although the story doesn’t give any indication why; I presume this is something any Lorax fan would know, but giving us non-fans a clue would be helpful.


I do think that Once-ler should have stood up a little more for Kat during her tirade, but he seemed more intent on hustling her out of the party which is exactly what the snobs wanted. It would have been better to just take her to some private spot and talk to her there, taking her home only when she wanted to go.


One thing that I have to point out is your use of prentices (). These really have no place in narration since they tend to break up the flow of a sentence. If the words they separate are important for the reader to know, then just make a sentence out of them. If the reader doesn’t need to know then just delete them.