After this chapter, I'm putting in a little Christmas filler since the game goes straight to Valentine's day. The relationship is gonna start showing itself soon!
It was Halloween now. Dad had been looking at me strangely the entire car ride. When we got there, he turned towards me as I got up. "Ben... you've been awfully experimental with your clothes lately."
I stare for a moment before facepalming. "Dad... It's Halloween today." He looks surprised, turning forward again in slight embarrassment at the blunder.
"Oops..." He clears his throat, starting the car again. "Well, have a good day, Ben." I smiled, waving him and turning to head into the campus. Ethan asked to meet me in the auditorium, and how could I say no? Maybe I'd find him dying from laughter again.
Everybody had something Halloween-y on, at least half of them in full blown costumes. When I finally got to the auditorium, I found a roomful of people in sheets with faces drawn on or cut out. "Oh my gosh. How am I supposed to know which one is Ethan?"
Actually, not as hard as I anticipated. While everyone in the room had the same costume, Ethan's height and lankiness was easily distinguishable. Also, he was the only one right by the front of the stage.
"Trick or treat!" He exclaimed, pulling the sheet off suddenly when I came up. "I knew you'd prefer to stick with us rather than the Alphas." I grinned at him, pulling my mask up. The thing got a little stuffy if I left it on too long. "Ya know, I heard there's a secret passage in the auditorium." He added excitedly.
"Oh yeah?" He nods, then seems to notice something. As I turn to see Kaitlin walking by, Ethan pats my arm with a mischievious look in his eye.
"Hey, I have a super fun idea." He bounces slightly in excitement. "Kaitlin gets scared super easily. Come with me." I pull my mask back down, following after the excited boy to the auditorium hallways. "When I give the cue, pretend to be a spirit."
"That's so mean!" I try to feign shock, but I still grinned at the prank. He keeps nudging me though, trying to get me to verbally agree until I roll my eyes under the mask. "Fine, fine. Let's do this." He grinned wider as I shooed him to go start his plan. He walked around the center wall, and I went the other way to peek around the corner, taking my mask off completely to be less obvious.
"Hey! What's up, Ethan?" Kaitlin asked, looking to Ethan as he walked up. He had put on a scared and worried look, and for a split second I thought it was genuine.
"I don't know... I'm a little worried." I wondered why he never tried out for school plays. He was a pretty good actor, and he helped out with theater anyway. Then he darts his eyes around, leaning towards Kaitlin and getting quieter. "I think I hear voices... do you think it's the spirit of Halloween..?"
"Hey, don't scare me!" Kaitlin scolded, but it was obvious she already seemed frightened at the prospect. Was that my cue? Or-
"Don't you hear it?!" Ethan exclaimed suddenly, and I took that one as my cue. Here we go... be scary, Ben.
"Kaitlin..." I groaned, trying not to giggle. "I'm keeping an eye on you!" She looked terrified, looking around for the source. I made sure to keep myself hidden.
"Oh my gosh! There's a ghost!" She gasped, turning suddenly to Ethan. I needed to try harder to give her a scare. I'll try a deeper voice.
"You can't hide your secrets from me..." She gasped again, backing up against the wall.
"Which secrets?! I - I didn't cheat during yesterday's exam!" ...Wait, wasn't she sitting next to me during that exam? I focused on the prank again, amused at her reactions.
"I'll be your worst nightmare...!" She looked shaken now, looking around frantically.
"Somebody help me!" Ethan was trying not to laugh, and luckily Kaitlin was too busy being scared to notice it.
"Spirit! I demand you go away!" He recomposed, putting his arms up as he gave the demand.
"This is so scary, Ethan! Could you hear it?!" She asked quickly, practically jumping off the wall towards him in fear.
"Of course. Sounds like somebody in the underworld is angry with you..." He answered matter-of-factly. She gasped, again, looking around in hopes of seeing it.
"I - I need some fresh air... I promise I'll be better to you and everyone..." She nodded to herself, than hurried out of the auditorium. I pulled my mask back on quickly before she got past me, walking around to Ethan after she was gone just in time to see him burst into laughter.
"That was so much fun! Thanks, Ben." He grinned.
"No problem, man. That went better than expected!" He nods, then heads back to the main room.
I guess now I should go see the Alphas. I went to leave the auditorium, stopping after opening the doors and seeing outside. Oh, crap. The Alphas were right outside of the auditorium, talking. They hadn't noticed me, so I quickly closed the doors went back inside.
They said I needed to stop hanging out with the geeks, and if they know I've been deliberately disobeying I'd be ostracized for sure. They have too much influence on the whole school. I needed to find another way out.
I suddenly remembered Ethan mentioning a secret passage in the auditorium, and there was only one room in here I wasn't acquainted with. It must be the room that has it. I head inside the empty room, eyeing the single desk. It seemed suspicious enough for a hidden entrance.I leaned down to look closer and found out I was right, under the desk there was a part of the floor you could remove. I pushed the desk aside and opened it, climbing down and closing it after me.
It exited all the way behind the gym, allowing to inconspicuously head back towards the auditorium to see the Alphas.
"Hey! We've been looking for you all day! There's so much to gossip about!" Roman berated me as I walked up, then chuckled. "Have you seen the geeks with those childish costumes?"
I frowned slightly. "They're not childish! They're just having fun."
Carter waved his hand at me. "Ben, don't try to defend them. We're on a different level, you know."
Ty nudged me with his elbow, grinning. "Emma invited us to the spooky house at the hill."
"Let's go!" Roman commanded, and I took a moment before following after them. They really didn't like my other friends, did they? I frowned, rubbing my wrist nervously before putting a smile on and heading after them. All I had to do was not tell them I hung out with the geeks still. I could manage that.
