"Three!...Two!...One! Happy New Year!" loud cheers filled the room from the drunk college students. With the beginning of the new year, as tradition dictated, couples kissed to start off the year. Deanna kissed Cassie, Sam kissed Jess, and Cassie even caught a glimpse of Charlie sneaking one on Dorothy. Cassie pulled away to see Deanna's eyes shinning bright.

Garth the host of the party slung his arms over both of the girls and hugged them tightly, "Man, it's great you guys could come."

Cassie hugged him back, while Deanna patted him awkwardly, "Yeah, great party, Garth. You have a really nice place."

Garth let them go and looked bashful, "Oh, it's nothing much. I just inherited it from my father. In my opinion, the big ol' house can get pretty lonely, living here all by your lonesome." Garth looked sad for a moment, before his usually happy face was back wearing a cheerful smile. Garth was a good person and he didn't really seem the party type, so Deanna and Cassie were a bit surprised when he invited them, but the party was a big turn out. Deanna knew him through Bobby, he was a distant cousin or something so Bobby offered him a job at the auto shop for a while. Deanna didn't like him at first, thought he was too happy all the time, but he grew on her. And they became friends again, when she ran into him at the college.

"Are you guys gonna stay longer? I think they're setting up beer pong in the basement," Garth asked nursing his own red solo cup.

Deanna took a swig from her water bottle. She had remained sober since her and Cassie started going out and she intended to keep it that way. She didn't want to disappoint her. Even though Cassie told her a beer every now and again was okay as long as she didn't over do it, Deanna saw the way Cassie brightened whenever Deanna denied a drink. It was like she was proud of her and Deanna never wanted that smile to leave Cassie's face.

"Nah," Deanna answered, "I think I'm gonna go ahead and home. Early classes in the morning. Cas?"

Cassie nodded her head, "Yes, I think I'll be leaving, too. I had a nice time, Garth, Thank you for inviting us."

Garth smiled, "Feel free to come by anytime. Ya'll be careful on your way home."

They said their goodbyes to their friends and headed out into the cool night air. Deanna started walking towards the Impala and realized Cassie wasn't behind her, "Cas? You coming?"

Cassie stood on the sidewalk, "No, I think I'll walk. I want enjoy the fresh air."

Deanna looked at her uneasily, "You sure, Cas? I don't mid driving you."

"I'll be fine. My apartment is just a street over. Won't take me ten minutes," Cassie reassured her.

"Well, if you say so," Deanna still looked at her worriedly, "Call me if you need anything."

Cassie waved at Deanna as she pulled out and into the street. She turned in the direction to her apartment, when she caught sight of Chuck stumbling out of the party.

"Hello, Chuck, are you headed home as well?"

Chuck walked over to her, "Yeah, but I think I'll walk. I had a few too many beers to be driving. I just hope I don't trip and pass out into the bushes or something."

"I'll walk with you since we're headed the same way," Cassie offered. Chuck looked like he needed someone to lean on. He was swaying slightly from side to side and Cassie didn't think he was over exaggerating at the possibility of passing out on the streets. He lived in her building so it wasn't a big deal anyway.

Chuck sighed gratefully, "Thanks, Cassie."

They strolled wrapped in their coats, talking about classes and other random things. Cassie thought she should text Deanna, she knew she worried.

Cassie: I ran into Chuck. He's accompanying me home. So, don't worry.

Seconds later she got a reply.

Deanna: Good. Chuck's a good guy. He won't let anything happen to you. You really shouldn't walk by yourself at night.

Cassie was about to text out a reply, when Chuck nudged her arm. The walk had sobered him up a bit and he was walking steadier.

"Hey, Cassie, I'm sorry, but I need to run into this book store real quick. I forgot I needed a book for my philosophy class," he pointed at the bookstore across the street, surprisingly still open.

"Oh, that's fine, Chuck. I can make it home by myself."

Chuck looked at her with uncertainty, "You sure? I mean I'll only be a minute if you wanna wait."

"No, that's okay. Goodnight, Chuck."

Chuck nodded goodnight back at her, before crossing the street and entering the bright lit book store. Cassie continued her walk through the dim streets. After, she turned the corner, she heard heavy breathing behind her. She laughed without turning around, "Wow, that was fast. Did you run to catch up with me?"

When there was no reply, Cassie looked over her shoulder expecting an out of breath Chuck, but there was no one. She searched the street, but there wasn't a soul to be seen. Telling herself it was the wind, Cassie started on her walk again, but quickened her pace just in case.

She could see her apartment in the distance and breathed a sigh of relief. But then she heard light footsteps behind her. She ignore them and slipped into a faster walk, almost a jog. But the footsteps only matched her pace and sped with her. Too scared to turn around, Cassie full out sprinted to her building. She rushed into the warm lobby, her heart pounding in her chest. After a minute and checking to see if the security guard was still at his post, she peeked out into the street. No one was there, again.

Cassie lay in bed that night with a sense of fear in her heart she couldn't seem to shake. She knew it was silly, but the small dagger under her pillow made her feel secure enough for her to get an hour or two. She didn't tell Deanna about it the next day, assuming it was a fluke of a thing and wouldn't happen again.

"Deanna," Professor Missouri called her back as the students left the classroom. Deanna internally groaned wondering what she had done now.

"Yes?"

"Child, don't always assume a teacher talking to you is a bad thing. Stop slumping your shoulders."

"Sorry."

"I wanted to talk to you about the piece you submitted."

"Yeah?" Deanna eyed her nervously.

"I asked to write about an adventure. Most students wrote about traveling and things that sounded like it came out of the Lord of the Rings. But you wrote about hunting monsters?"

Deanna scratched the back of her head awkwardly, "Uh, yeah. I watched horror movies a lot with my dad as a kid."

"I was very impressed."

"What?"

"Deanna, I thought it was brilliant and very symbolic."

Deanna didn't look her in the eye, embarrassed, "Oh, you caught that, huh? Well, you know the family so I guess I should have expected it."

"I didn't say it was a bad thing. People could simply read it for entertainment, but also if you looked closely you could see what you were really talking about."

Deanna felt like Missouri had just read her diary and she regretted her writing peace. But Missouri gave her a smile and continued, "I noticed that your father kept disappearing, that must have been him going off to rehab? And the monsters, the alcoholism that your father battled and then you?"

Deanna looked at her shoes, "Uh, yeah."

"And you felt like you were dragging Sam down with you? Is that why he kept getting hurt?"

Deanna didn't reply as she went on, "Then, you went to Hell and an angel saved you."

A blush crept up Deanna's neck and Missouri chuckled, "Well, whoever it is. I'm glad you have them and the story could end happily."

Deanna let out a nervous laugh, "What are you? A mind reader? Damm, it wasn't supposed to reveal all of that."

"I can be very intuitive. Keep up the good work, Deanna. You have a bright future ahead of you."

Deanna nodded and thanked her before walking out. Outside the doors she let out a shaky breath. Maybe she shouldn't have wrote something so personal, but Missouri was probably the only person who would see all of that. She pulled out her phone to call Cassie for lunch. But there was no answer, which was weird because Cassie usually answered after the second ring. She shook the thought off that something was wrong and assumed Cassie was just in the shower or something. As she was walking towards the Impala, her phone chirped. She pulled it out and her heart stopped.

Cassie: Help. I think someone's in my home.