Hey guys! This is my entry for the Halloween Exchange for Mo, using the prompts: gummy worms, haunted houses, Halloween dances, and whorish Halloween costumes. It takes place partway through the second book and is like an alternate ending. Imagine that Halloween was on a Saturday and the girls wore their Dirty Devil costumes to school on Friday. I hope you enjoy, and Happy Halloween!
It was just one of those nights, Massie thought as she sat on the railing of her back deck and stared up at the clear starry sky. The moon was full, it was a perfect temperature, and the twinkle-y lights and lit jack-o-lanterns smiled back and winked at her playfully. The decorations hung cheerfully from the trees and music was playing from the sound system in the middle of the yard. The only thing missing was the guests.
It was the kind of thing that never would have been fathomable even two days ago, but at this point, she tried not to let anything surprise her. How had her life fallen apart so completely? It wasn't supposed to be like this; she was always the center of attention and she most definitely didn't do "out". She had never come up with a backup plan for her social life, choosing to let it live and die with the Pretty Committee.
Except the Pretty Committee hadn't died. Instead they had chosen to move on without her, celebrating at a bigger, better bash at the Rivera Estate. The whole school was over there in fact, and it only hurt more to realize that they had all been prepared for her demise. Even innocent Claire. Massie had always assumed Claire was so hung up on being friends with her specifically, but now it was quite clear that she was only after the popularity.
One screw up. One screw up with a Halloween costume. It had been a sexy one, too! Where was the issue? Just because Principal Burns was a total prude and didn't understand the meaning of festive? Hadn't she ever seen Mean Girls? Wasn't the whole uniform threat a massive over reaction? And why was it that not one of her friends came to her defense after the assembly? They had worn the costumes too, but somehow this whole thing was being blamed on her. Not even close to fair. And everyone knew that her father would be able to donate money to let them wear what they wanted anyway, so what was the big deal? Why the social exile? And really, the Dirty Devil costume hadn't even been that whorish. Who really should have been shunned were the Student Council members who dressed up as the lamest things for their charity haunted house in the library. Lame ghouls and wannabe cute princesses welcomed the eager do-gooders into the maze of bookshelf, with skeletons around every corner. Massie normally thought the library was scary enough as it was, but Kristen had insisted they all go through, and like any good friend, Massie had obliged. Too bad Kristen didn't know how to return the favor.
Massie chomped on a gummy worm angrily, then spit it out remembering both that gummy worms contained calories and that they were only there due to her mom's effort to please Claire. She felt like such an LBR, and for a moment she almost started to believe it was true. It didn't take long though to snap back to reality and remember that the real LBRs were those who would swing so easily between what they knew was the gold standard and some cheap beta trying to take control.
Alicia was definitely the part that hurt the most out of this. Massie had always suspected she wasn't as innocent as a bat of her eyelashes to teachers made her seem, but after all Massie had done for her, being loyal was the least she could do. Instead, she took the opportunity with the fallen alpha and ran with it, stealing Massie's last hope of a friend—Claire—in the process.
The ghoulish music drifting through the yard was just another reminder that no one had attended; if they had, the dance floor would be crowded with the latest party tunes being drowning out any hope of real conversation. The servers, DJ, and caricature artist hadn't shown up, but Massie didn't even care, not wanting them to witness her rare moment of patheticness. For all she knew, they had been enlisted by Alicia for her party.
Massie had half a mind to go over and crash that party, insisting that the whole bash had been her idea (ok, maybe Becca Wilder's) to avoid the lamer-than-the-haunted-house-student -government-run-Halloween-dance and the sexy costumes were her idea and that could everyone please remember who exactly ruled the school? The saddest part was that tonight had held so much promise. Not only was it a Halloween party, but OCD-Briarwood's first boy-girl . And Massie knew exactly who she had planned on chatting it up with.
The thought of all the guys worshipping Alicia almost made Massie sick. They already wanted to hang out with her more due to her bra size, but this nailed in the coffin. And if Alicia got to them first, they would forsurely never know that Massie was the clever, talented beautiful one. Sigh.
Massie heard a soft creaking noise characteristic of the gate to her backyard. Tensing immediately, Massie didn't know whether to run for cover or approach the intruder. If it was a stray partygoer who somehow missed the memo about the location change, she would be mortified for them to see her sitting alone in her empty backyard. But at this point, what else did she have to lose?
Tentatively she stood up, straightened out the controversial costume, and rounded the corner of her house to greet whoever had been dumb or clueless enough to show up. She was met with a pair of bright, different colored eyes that she distinctly recognized from the OCD benefit dance floor and felt a little flutter of excitement and nervousness set into her stomach.
"Cameron Fisher" she stated, not sure how to begin a conversation and hoping maybe he'd just explain why he was there.
"Hey Massie," he replied casual, and she internally squealed that he knew her name. "What are you doing here all alone?" Her good feeling plummeted as she remembered how embarrassed she should be. But his eyes were so imploring and sincere, not mocking. And he looked cute all dressed in his soccer uniform. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear shyly before answering.
"Oh you know, just waiting for someone like you to show up," she raised her eyebrows as her confidence returned. He grinned widely, showing off a set of pearly whites.
"Well I'm here now," he shrugged, and they started walking slowly around the yard. "I was at Alicia's earlier," he admitted timidly. Massie felt the scowl cross her face but couldn't stop it in time. "Yeah, well, it wasn't any fun," he was quick to add.
"Doubt it," Massie let slip, and then wished she could take it back. The last thing she wanted to do was make the one person who still cared about her to think she was a bitter person. But really, how could a party at the Rivera Estate be bad? He had to be lying.
"Well," he reached for her hand and held it making her heart beat doubletime. "It wasn't any fun because you weren't there," he mumbled, and only the nervous look on her face stopped her from thinking he was being a complete cheeseball.
It was a funny thing, how quickly her mood could go from ecstatic to miserable and back these days. And all it took was the sweetest guy in the world liking her to negate the whole school hating her. There he was with his blue eye and his green eye looking at her so sincerely, that everything was somehow okay. She gave his had a reassuring squeeze and they continued with easy conversation. He praised her creative genius with the costume, for which she was grateful. And as they learned more about each other, Massie learned more about herself. She had done nothing wrong in the situation (okay, aside from breaking the dresscode), and she had stayed true to herself. If other people couldn't accept that, then that was on them. It might hurt to not have loyal best friends, but Massie knew she deserved better. And better was walking beside her, holding her hand.
Thanks for reading! Sorry it's not entirely well thought out/developed, I had minimal time to write it. But I hope that everyone has a very happy Halloween!
Hugs, Sky