Halloween was my favourite time of the year. People wouldn't call me names for how I dressed or what I liked, because for once I fit in with everyone else. I'd already began to eat candy in preparation whilst I waited for my friends to arrive (they always spent ridiculously long perfecting every detail of their costumes). I however, decided to simply go as myself, as people found that sickening and horrifying enough anyway, just because I didn't want to be an orange Barbie doll like the other girls in my life.

"Come with us and you will see, this, our town of Halloween" I sang along, fixing my black makeup. I loved the Marilyn Manson cover of the song so I had it on loop. They were now half an hour late and I was seriously considering leaving without them. The posters on my wall smiled wickedly at me and some even seemed to wink. "I'm flattered, really" I laughed, twirling for them.

"Your friends don't deserve you" one smiled. I ran my fingers over the paper of the poster, knowing it wasn't really talking to me; it was nice to know people thought I was nice though. Friends. We weren't really friends in the conventional way, more that we were forced to talk as none of us could fit in with anyone else. A friend by default is a nicer way to put it. "You're far too adventurous for them"

"But mom won't let me out if I don't go with my friends" I sighed a response, applying another layer of black nail polish to my fingernails with the new found time. Banging downstairs signified they were here so I placed the half empty bottle on my dresser and walked downstairs with a potato sack, blowing softly on my nails to help them dry. I'd only managed one hand so I looked mismatch at the moment.

"Hey Mace" my friends smiled up at me. I rolled my eyes with a 'huff' response and clutched the sack in my hand. Some strands of the material poked into my skin but I didn't notice; I was far too busy eyeing up what they had decided to wear. Chris had opted for a zombie costume and I found my cheeks flush with heat as I stared at him. He liked fire a lot, and nearly burned down a classroom, which I found strangely attractive. Jennifer was dressed like a slutty cat but that was how she dressed every day.

"Can we go now?" I sighed. They nodded and I ran out before they could utter another monotonous word. We targeted every house on our block, even though most refused to give us sweets because we were too old (personally, I don't see eighteen as being too old to trick or treat). However, we did go to enough houses that our sacks/pillowcases were full.

"Hey Macey" Chris smiled. Nobody called me by my full first name anymore because I sprayed a teacher in the face with pepper spray and now everybody calls me Mace unless they want something. If he thinks I'm going to hop into bed with him he can expect to be beaten up. "We were going to go and chill in the forest; we found a clearing where we can sit. Wanna come?" he asked with hope in his eyes. I shrugged and nodded. It didn't sound that bad.

Jennifer led us to the clearing they had found. Apparently her mum wouldn't let her come tonight so she hid out in the forest for a while until Chris picked her up. That had given her enough time to find a perfect spot to sit around a fire and eat candy and marshmallows. The thing that worried me is that despite the fact she dressed completely exposed, she was a very introverted and insecure person. She would never talk. Never show her emotions. If she was taller I would've likened her to that guy from Creepypasta.

Chris collected some logs and placed them in the middle of the clearing, before dropping his lighter onto the pile. I watched it catch fire, each piece of wood soon consumed by the flames. Somehow it reminded me of my life. If I had stayed normal then I would remain normal, but I was burnt by everything around me. Chris empties his case of candy into an empty space behind him, followed by Jennifer and then my own. We had a considerably big stash.

I'd never seen Jennifer eat in person; she had claimed that she didn't eat outside of her house because of her body issues. Chris and I were suspicious but it meant we had more candy as we halved her pile. She seemed distant – at least more than usual – as she stared out into the trees. I nudged her repeatedly but she failed to notice.

"What's up with her?" Chris asked. I shrugged. A smile crept onto her face and I felt myself breathe calmly again, she was alive at least. "And now she's smiling at some trees, because that's not weird or messed up at all"

"Shut up" I sighed, sending a punch straight into his ribs.

"I'm not messed up" Jennifer stated, looking directly at us both. Chris and I stared back at her in shock at the simple fact that she had spoken. "I just...the forest calms me down. It's not judging me. It's not laughing at me. It's not stealing from me..." she continued, glaring at the candy. "I always sit in the forest when I get lonely or upset. It's not like my parents, it won't blame everything on me. It welcomes me with open arms"

I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and smiled when she relished my warmth and rested her shivering body against my own. I loved Jennifer like a sister...but I hated it when she made out that everyone hated her. Grabbing a stick, I attached a marshmallow to the end and hovered it over the flames, turning it as if on a spit. It soon toasted and I handed it to her, watching her nibble at it.

She looked up at me with a smile. "Mace?"

"Yeah?" I replied, staring into the trees. I used to play here with my sister before she left. The clearing was only here because they took away the playground after some children lost their way in the trees and never made it out.

"I'm glad you're my friend. You as well" she smiled, looking over at Chris. He smiled back with a blush across his cheeks, to which I sighed.

"We'll always be your friends, I promise"

She sighed happily and placed her hands up to the flames, taking in their warmth. I looked in the direction she was staring and noticed nothing strange, just another guy hanging out. He was tall, I liked tall guy. When Chris looked at the time we all collected our candy, put the fire out and ran home. Jennifer was reluctant to, but she followed us in the end.