"October 31st, 2020. DEAR DIARY!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, brushing the last few snarls out of my hair. "Picked out a costume for tonight, Squip told me to get a size that was a lot too tight. You can kinda see my business, but I'll act like I don't know." I said nonchalantly into the mirror, internally cursing my Squip for making me wear this particular costume.
I was dressed as the 'mythic bitch' herself, Heather Chandler: red button-down blouse, white collared shirt, plaid skirt, argyle socks, black heels, red lipstick, blue drain cleaner dripping down the side of my mouth and onto my neck. Oh, and I can't forget the bright red scrunchie that was holding my hair half up, half down.
"Tonight's the night. This is what we've been working towards. Are you ready?" My Squip asked from beside me. He looked different. His hair was silver, cut in a half-bob, and he was wearing a white trenchcoat with black circuits on it. I nodded slightly.
"Born ready, son," I replied, then looked at him with confusion. "Wait, is that your costume in a sense?" I asked. He nodded slightly.
"Yes. I may not be a physical being, but I still wish to celebrate this particular holiday." He replied. I was a little confused and opened my mouth to speak, then heard Dallas knocking at my door.
"Yo, short-ass, you coming or what?" He called. I nodded slightly.
"I'll be right there!" I replied, swinging my red messenger bag over my shoulder and bounding out of the room. Dallas, Rose, and Tempest all decided to get ready for Jade's Halloween party at my house.
"I got a condom!" He shouted to no one, seeming slightly surprised when he heard Rose laugh from downstairs
"And a flask!" Tempest called from my bathroom. Dallas laughed as well.
"I stole my dad's old Jason mask. Yet, I don't have a machete-" He pulled a baguette out of the bag that was sitting on his hip, brandishing it much like a knife, making me roll my eyes in amusement. "-but a loaf of bread will do!" He finished, suddenly whacking himself in the head with the baked good. "...ow." He mumbled. Rose came bouncing up the stairs, surveying Dallas and me.
"Oooh! Falner, you look gorgeous!" She commented, giving me a smile. I blushed slightly. She was dressed like Connor Murphy from Dear Evan Hansen, right down to the dark circles under her eyes.
"Thanks, Rose. You look amazing!" I commented. She beamed, grabbing my wrist and leading me downstairs. Dallas bounced down and crashed on the green and white couch closest to the TV while Rose and I moved to sit on the piano bench, our shoulders touching. I couldn't help but blush as red as my blouse as she scooted closer, giving me a smile.
"Glad to see you're making friends, Greyson," Tempest said from the top of the stairs, making me jump in surprise and turn to look at her. She was dressed like a baby, right down to a bottle that, to my knowledge, wasn't filled.
"Uh...thanks," I said slowly, knowing damn well I couldn't take her seriously while she was dressed like that. After a moment, Dallas stood up.
"Well, I'm our mode of transportation. Who's riding shotgun?" He asked. Tempest, Rose and I raised our hands all at once, making him let out a laugh and shake his head.
"Falner, you're riding up in front with me. Tempest and Rose, you're gonna have to get cozy in the back." He said. I nodded, then opened the door into the garage and stepped into the darkness, the rest of the group following my lead. Dallas's eyes seemed to glow in the dark as I pressed the button to open up the garage door, and I noticed a ball of neon blue light floating next to me for a moment.
"Keep me out of trouble, okay?" I muttered, walking out of the now-open garage and opening the door to Dallas's red truck, hopping into the passenger side seat. Dallas jumped into the driver's seat, and Rose and Tempest managed to squeeze their way into the back without much damage to their costumes.
"And we're off!" Dallas sang, starting the car, backing out of my driveway, and pulling away. I closed the garage door behind me, feeling an unexplained chill shoot down my spine. It didn't feel like one of my Squip's shocks. It felt more like the chills you get when you're in a haunted house or something. Something about this whole party felt off to me, and I couldn't put my finger on it.
(Time Squip - I mean skip)
We reached Jade's house a few hours later than expected, partially due to Tempest giving Dallas the wrong directions. As we pulled into the driveway, I could see the party raging inside. Windows were broken, people were flopped out on the ground outside, obviously drunk, and the music was blaring.
"Ahh, home sweet home!" Dallas laughed, putting the car in park and opening his door, jumping out and opening the passenger side door after a second. I gave him a grateful smile, hopping out myself and being extra careful not to slip and crack my head on the pavement due to my slippery three-inch black heels. Rose hopped out of the backseat, Dallas holding his hand out for Tempest to grab. I rolled my eyes at the blatantly flirtatious smile on her face and walked up to the front door, rapping my knuckles against it.
"Party's here, bitches!" I called. The door opened to reveal Jade standing in the doorway, excitement evident on his face.
"Hey, guys! Who's ready for my Halloween party?!" He asked, leading us all inside. "Check it! Everybody's got a red Solo cup. Fill it up, fill it up, hear the beer spill on the ground! Everybody's all like "'Sup! Yo man, 'sup! Let's catch up! Let's smoke up! Look how many drinks I've downed!" He laughed, spinning Rose and me around the living room, barely missing someone dressed as Pennywise from It in the process.
"Every single song's all like "Whoop!" They're all "Whoop!" We're like "Yup, turn it up!" as we stumble to the sound!" He cheered alongside the rest of the house. Rose and I looked at each other, shrugged, then began to shout as well.
"Cause a Halloween party's a rad excuse to put your body through mad abuse! And I might pass out but it's alright 'cause I'm Halloween partyin' hard tonight! Woo! It's Halloween! Woo! It's Halloween!" We all screamed. I broke away from the group, laughing near-hysterically, and almost slammed into Hope.
"Falner! I-I was afraid you weren't coming!" She stammered, blushing profusely and smiling up at me. I saw excitement shining in her eyes. "Did you get my messages?" She asked.
"Play it off." My Squip instructed.
"Am I late?" I feigned indifference. "Didn't even realize." She looked at me with a semblance of sadness, then perked up slightly as she twirled around herself.
"W-What do you think of my costume? I figured, you always see sexy cats, but no one ever goes as a sexy dog!" She chirped. She was wearing a dark grey dress that came to about her knees, a black choker with a bell on it, fluffy wolf ears and a very large, very fluffy wolf tail.
"It's uh..." I trailed off, at a loss for words. Thank God for the Squip.
"Vague compliment." He muttered, rolling his eyes.
"...Original." I managed to say before almost melting at the sadness in Hope's eyes, making me quickly retract my statement. "I mean, adorable. Seriously, I can't believe I'm here with a girl who looks like you." She smiled up at me, but almost immediately looked down at her feet.
"Tempest said it was dumb," She said softly. "You...need a drink." She walked off. I felt my heart sink as my Squip appeared next to me.
"Did you see the look on her face? She thought I stood her up!" I hissed. He laughed softly, patting the top of my head.
"And she was so excited when she realized you hadn't. People want what they don't have. Look who's here." He said, gesturing to the center of the room. Christine had walked in, dressed in the most elegant gown I had ever seen. Black lace, bright, almost neon blue accents and a red rose on the front of the bodice.
"Holy shit." I breathed. My Squip looked her up and down, then chuckled softly.
"Hm. The girl has good taste in colors." He said. I wanted to tell him to shut up but was transfixed at the sight in front of me. It looked like her hair had either grown longer, or she was wearing extensions. Either way, she was gorgeous.
[Christine's POV]
I walked into the party and was immediately hit with a wave of nervous nausea. I'm not usually the social type, especially not when it came to parties that weren't cast parties, but Jade had invited me to come as his plus one, so...how could I say no? I looked around and marveled at the different costumes I could see. Tempest was a sexy baby, Hope was a sexy wolf, Rose was Connor Murphy...and then my eyes landed on Falner, who was leaning against the wall and surveying her surroundings. My jaw nearly hit the floor.
She was dressed as Heather McFucking Chandler, right down to the drain cleaner nearly dripping off of her face. Before I could go over to her and compliment her on her outfit, I spotted Jade standing near someone dressed as Pennywise.
"Jade!" I called, hurrying over to him while being careful not to trip anyone with my giant skirt. He looked over at me and beamed. "I'm sorry I'm late." I apologized. He gently pat the top of my head, smiling.
"I didn't even realize." He said simply. I looked down at my concealed feet.
"Oh. Okay..." I said softly, then noticed his outfit. He was wearing a purple overcoat, white button-down, black pants, and black boots. His brown hair was all curled and pulled into some sort of afro. I raised an eyebrow.
"I thought we were going as prince and princess," I commented. He laughed slightly, gesturing to his outfit.
"Right. I'm Prince! What are you supposed to be?" He asked. I flushed almost as red as the rose on the bodice of my dress.
"I'm... Oh, never mind." I said, shaking my head. He looked surprised.
"Ohh..." He trailed off, leading to quite the awkward silence. After a moment, he coughed slightly. "You want a drink?" He asked. I nodded slightly, grateful.
"Sure-!" I got cut off by him patting my shoulder and taking off like a bullet.
"Cool, they're over there!" He called as he ran, making me shake my head and shuffle over to an empty side of the room. I didn't want to be here. If I could, I'd walk out and just make my way home. The only thing keeping me here was Jade...and Falner. I marveled internally at how much this one girl whom I always thought as someone just passing by had changed. Ever since I saw her at the mall, she looked and acted differently.
She became more confident. Cool. Chill, even. I let out a sigh, slumping down against the wall and burying my face in my skirt.
I would give anything to be like that.
[Falner's POV]
My vision of Christine was swallowed up by the crowd, and I could hear myself let out a groan. All I wanted was to just get a moment alone with her to tell her how I feel. Is that too much to ask?! The entire house was buzzing with activity.
"Crank the bass! It's Halloween! Break a vase! It's Halloween! Jello shots! It's Halloween! Liver spots! From Halloween!" Everyone screamed. I managed to squirm my way through the crowd, bumping into Jade after a second.
"Oh, shit, sorry!" I said, embarrassed. He gave me a good-natured shove.
"Greyson, I hear you're a pretty good dancer. Wanna put that to the test?" He asked. I nodded, stealing my jaw. Funny story...despite wanting to be a Broadway actress, I actually can't dance too well. But they didn't know that. All they knew is that I could dance. As the music's volume rose, Jade started it off with a few simple hip-hop steps. I gave him a smirk, channeling the energy of the school during homecoming and jumping into a full split as the beat dropped, wincing as I felt my legs burning in pain.
After a series of various meme dances, Fortnite dances - who knew Jade could floss like a pro! - and a whole bunch of Drake moves, we eventually collapsed onto our butts, laughing hysterically. Jade stood up and held out a hand to help me up. I took it, giving him a confident smile.
"Y'know...you're pretty cool, Falner." He said.
"You aren't too bad yourself, Jade," I replied. He smiled at me, and I felt a shift in our relationship. No longer was he just this stone-cold guy that I only saw from a distance. Now, he and I were something like equals. Almost as if we were all prompted, we all began to repeat our words from earlier.
"Everybody's got a red Solo cup. Fill it up, fill it up, hear the beer spill on the ground! Everybody's all like "'Sup! Yo man, 'sup! Let's catch up! Let's smoke up! Look how many drinks I've downed!" Every single song's all like "Whoop!" They're all "Whoop!" We're like "Yup, turn it up!" as we stumble to the sound!" I found myself dancing with Rose and Tempest in my attempts to find Christine, something that a part of me didn't mind.
"Cause a Halloween party's a rad excuse to put your body through mad abuse! And I might pass out but it's alright 'cause I'm Halloween partyin' hard tonight! It's Halloween! It's Halloween!" I then felt my Squip grab my arm and twirl me around, and I was suddenly aware that he was...physical. Completely physical. If anyone else could see him, they paid him no mind.
"Before the kill screen hits the scene!" He shouted, almost prompting everyone else to keep shout-singing.
"Gimme nicotine, Vaseline, amphetamine-" Everyone shouted.
"And gasoline!" Dallas practically screamed.
"It's alright, 'cause tonight is Halloween!" We all sang in unison. My Squip gave me a rather dorky grin and did something I would never forgive: he dabbed. I screamed - louder than I meant to - and started laughing.
"No! Agh, my soul!" I screeched. He started laughing as well and threw an arm around my shoulder, planting a giddy kiss on my cheek. As everyone's shouts decreased in volume, Tempest grabbed my arm.
"I'm supposed to get you. Hope has a surprise." She said. I tilted my head.
"What kind of surprise?" I asked. She rolled her eyes and started to almost drag me off.
"The one where you don't ask questions and follow me upstairs." She snapped. I stiffened, then noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Dallas was almost spazzing out in the center of the room.
"I-It's Halloween...It's Halloween..." He repeated the words over and over in an almost glitchy loop, and I felt my brow furrow and concern seep into my voice.
"Dallas...?" I asked aloud. He looked at me, and my blood froze. His hair was hanging in his face, his brown eyes were filled with tears, and...there were neon blue circuits searing themselves into his neck. Just like in my dream. Before I could say anything, Tempest dragged me up a flight of stairs and into a bedroom, almost slamming the door shut behind her.
I couldn't get that image out of my mind.