My phone's buzzer alarm blared in my ears. Thank God it was Thursday. Due to some really good planning on my part, this was actually the end of my week. I somehow managed to keep from scheduling any classes or work on Fridays meaning I consistently received three day weekends. I just had to make it through this day and then I would be free. Unfortunately, this was also a work day meaning that I needed to be up at an ungodly hour of the morning (for me, anyway) and I would also be busy well into the evening.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I pushed my bedroom door open to mosey into the bathroom to begin my morning rituals but stopped to examine something which was fluttering to the floor. It seemed like nothing special, a plain piece of printer paper roughly torn from its original sheet. However, I noticed just before tossing it in a trash bin that scrawled across this careless stationary was neat, tight cursive script in black ink. It didn't resemble either of my roommates' handwriting.

"Halloween party tonight at Crandall. Be there." It was simply signed, "- Marko." Odd. He didn't strike me as the cursive sort, but thinking back on his fashion choices, he was a little eccentric. Maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised.

A more confusing thought struck me then: how did he get the note into the apartment at all? I imagined Jordan or Colette probably found it on the front door and, in turn, stuck it to mine. After all, they were already at their morning yoga session together according to my Facebook feed, so they were awake before me. However, that still didn't answer the nagging question of how Marko found my apartment at all. I shrugged. He could have asked around, I supposed. Maybe someone around here actually knew who I was.

The invitation listed an address along the bottom edge of the paper which I wasn't terribly familiar with, but everyone knew what and where Crandall was. Named after the street the house resided on, it was THE party house of the semester. From the three-story beer bong to the parties that needed more than 48 hours to wrap up to the regular furniture bonfires in the front yard, the cops paid the place a visit on a bi-weekly basis minimally. Anyone who was anyone hung out at Crandall on the weekends. You just needed to know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who lived there to snag an invitation and get your name on the guest list. I, apparently, now did. A smile began to light up my features and I bit my lip softly. I was actually invited. I had convinced myself I didn't want to be on the guestlist for stupid college parties, but I had a suspicion that was a defense mechanism I developed against not being included. I tucked the piece of paper under a Freddy Krueger figurine for safe keeping and darted out the door before I was late.

I was grateful that the work day flew by for once. The department I worked in at the school was empty – everyone had taken the remainder of the week off - and all I could think about was what I would wear that night. I was basically a glorified answering machine, so it wouldn't be out of the question to spend my entire day pulling ideas together on the internet. All I had to do was make sure I answered the phone when it rang, took down a message, and placed it in the right mailbox. Unfortunately, even with all this time on my hands, I wasn't having many creative thoughts. I sighed as I reached the end of another Pinterest search. I didn't have the time or the money to go out and buy a costume let alone make an attempt at crafting one, so I would just have to work with what I had on hand in my wardrobe and from previous years. I brainstormed a few ideas and wrote them down, crossing concepts off throughout the day for one reason or another until only one was left.

'Well,' I thought to myself, 'It's cliché, but it'll do.' I set to work the moment I got back home, rushed and only able to work off some sketches I made. I powered up my hair straightener to allow it time to warm up and began ripping clothes out of my closet, piling them onto my bed until I located the red dress I purchased as an early birthday present to myself. It was deep burgundy and long sleeved with delicate black, pointed lace lining the cuffs. The top was a deceivingly conservative sweetheart neckline while the skirt reached my knees. It laced up the back, corset style, as did the cleavage in the front of the dress allowing me to be as risque as I felt comfortable with. I opted to leave it mostly tied until I saw what everyone else decided to wear.

It took a few tries to actually get the dress on (seriously – how are you supposed to lace a corset by yourself?) but once it fit right, I was able to straighten my hair. I was never particularly skilled at hair styling and usually left that task to Jordan, but she had left with Colette as I was getting in, so that option was out. I pursed my lips thinking back on it. I had been really bothered by how they hardly acknowledged me as I held the door for them on their way to…Who even knew. Jordan may have been my friend the longest, but it was growing ever clearer that Colette was the closer friend. They were both in the same program, shared similar schedules, participated in the same hobbies, and had lived together for the past few years. It hadn't been so obvious when there was a distance between Jordan and me because when one of us visited the other, her attention was solely on myself. But, now that I was closer and she could see me whenever she wanted, Jordan was forced to split time between Colette and me and it was painfully clear who was winning the tug of war. Despite their efforts to make me feel included, every inside joke between the two of them drove the wedge a fraction deeper.

Maybe I was just being jealous...Regardless, the shittiest part of the whole situation was that it wasn't like I had anyone else around here to divert my attention to when I was snubbed. Most of my friends in Azuline were also friends with my ex so, to avoid creating an awkward situation for either themselves or me, I decided to cut contact with all of them when I left. That way they wouldn't get stuck in the middle of a messy breakup and I wouldn't have to hear anything else about Ethan and the bitch of an ex-friend he was sleeping with now. As for my new school, the same thing ended up happening in a way. After Jordan broke it off with Will, I felt marginally uncomfortable hanging out with him, his brother, and his circle, just in case she found out and got mad or something. Beyond this, every time I started to reach out to join a club or make new friends, I found myself withdrawing even further into myself. It took me a while to realize it, but all along it was because I was terrified of stumbling into something that had to do with Josh.

Anyway, long story short, my social life was non-existent and I had no one to turn to when I needed a hair stylist. I figured I would need to let my makeup do the talking. Fortunately, that was my strong suit. I painted my eyelids smokey black and my lips ruby red in addition to the rest of my full face of makeup: eyebrows, contouring, and a shade of foundation just a hair lighter than my normal skin tone. Then, the piece that would pull it all together. I withdrew the small coffin-shaped container from my desk drawer and removed from inside the custom fitted Scarecrow fangs from a Hot Topic purchase in my middle school days. I let out a sigh of relief when I realized they still fit, surveying myself in the mirror.

"Damn…" I whispered. It had been so long since I had actually done my makeup and gone out. It was kind of a shock to see what I looked like with everything on. I felt kind of sexy...It was then I caught sight of the fangs and my new-found confidence was punctured.

"This is ridiculous," I grumbled before baring my teeth, poking at the canines, contemplating pulling them out. I had felt so certain about the idea at the office, but now… "Vampires. So overdone." I trilled my lips and I checked my phone. Did I really need to be a vampire? Or anything, for that matter? Some girls just wore the skimpiest thing in their closet and pretended it was a costume. Could I get away with that?

It turned out that I wouldn't have time to make that decision if I wanted to make it to the party in time to be fashionably late. I needed to get going. Despite my second guessing in front of the mirror, I had a really good feeling the night was going to go my way and I tried to give myself an internal pep talk while applying two pinprick bite marks with some eyeliner just above my black, beaded choker. It was the only jewelry I wore beyond my usual black and white shell bracelet and some red teardrop earrings. I rolled some black stockings over my legs and slid into my favorite pair of combat boots to finish the costume. Standing before my full-length mirror, I nodded a final approval at my reflection, assuring myself one more time that I looked fantastic.

I made sure I was on my way to the car before I could rethink what I was about to do, practically jogging all the way, fingers fumbling as I plugged the address into my phone. I couldn't tell if I was terrified or excited - both, probably. I glanced up just in time to see 2202 pulling out of a parking spot on a red motorcycle. He waved at me on his way past and I vaguely wondered if we were both headed in the same direction. It would be nice to see a friendly face there if I couldn't find Marko. I waved back with a smile, simultaneously bringing up some music on my Accord's stereo. The beat came thumping through my speakers as the wheels turned against the pavement, but I had already lost him.

In the Darkness (Tech Mix) - Darude

"You…
Everytime you go
You leave my heart alone
I flow in the darkness"

This particular tech remix of an old Darude song never failed to get me pumped up. I sang along, drumming on the steering wheel a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't have as much time for pregame music as I hoped. The party was a lot closer than I expected and it threw me off somewhat. I felt my heart flutter with nerves as I actually passed the house. I couldn't believe how packed the street was…Or how far I would have to walk. Alone. At night. I frowned. I hadn't felt uncomfortable in this town yet, but Jack and Theo's words kept ringing in my ears.

"This place is no laughing matter..."

I shook them out of my head. When would I ever get a chance to do this again? I needed a night out.

"You…
Every time in vain
You fill my mind with pain
I flow…"

I parallel parked the car and brought it to a final halt. The street was well lit and I assured myself I would be fine with all the people around. Despite powering off the car stereo, Darude still echoed in my head keeping my spirits high. I tried to keep from curling into myself, shuddering in the cold, and to walk as confidently as possible. I had to leave my coat in my car and contemplated where exactly I could shove my keys, wallet, and phone. Maybe in one of my boots?

"You…every time you go…"

I would feel better when I was inside, I was sure of it. But…What if I couldn't find anyone? I was already on the porch, the smokers outside giving me a side-eye while someone checked my name against a list. While waiting for the bouncer to clear me, a lump began to rise in my throat. Was it that obvious that I didn't belong here? What if this was some sort of prank and I wasn't really invited? It still wasn't too late to turn around...

"Go ahead in," The towering gentleman announced gruffly, opening the door for me. "Enjoy." I tried to return his confident smile, but I think what came out was likely closer to a grimace.

Stepping through the threshold I was immediately slapped with thumping base followed immediately by an overpowering stench of stale beer and fog machine smoke. I was also physically pushed off balance by a much taller man in a banana costume knocking into me. He appeared to be my age or maybe a little older. Standing across from him, shaking out his hand, was a sophomore dressed in a Superman shirt under a white button down. I could only guess that the sophomore must have been starting a fight with the banana. I tried to get out of the way before things got any worse but, to my great confusion, the upperclassman didn't attempt to hit back as he rose to full height - he shook the underclassman's hand and smiled. Did I hear him say thank you? What planet was I on?

My boots stuck to the floor as I tried to push through the crowd and away from the crazy and I thanked myself for deciding to wear something sensible on my feet unlike most of the other girls in the room. A lot of them were sloppy already, hanging over guys and sloshing their drinks onto an already well-coated floor. A few individuals dangled their heels in their hands and I couldn't help but cringe at their bare feet. Did they have any idea what they were stepping in? Regardless, as I checked out the other guests, another nearly crippling wave of self-consciousness hit me. Everyone, men and women both, wore much less clothing than me. I wondered if it was even clear that I was in costume, to begin with. I scanned the room for the curly mop of blonde hair that invited me here as I tugged on the laces covering my cleavage, trying to loosen them. Without guidance or any understanding of the layout, I wandered toward the stairs to what I assumed was the basement. It seemed like the right place to go.

"I flow…in the darkness…"

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"What are you doing here?!" I barely had a moment to register who it was before I was pulled into a hug. It took me several solid seconds to recognize him when he stepped back. Gone was the nerd from sophomore year. Once he lost a paltry amount of baby weight and outgrew the acne, he had turned into a ladies' man, it seemed, with his rectangular face and squared jaw. By the looks of things, I guessed he never managed to grow out the beard, unfortunately for him.

"Will!" I returned the squeeze.

"I thought you 'didn't do parties'?" He quoted, still holding me by the shoulders. My eyes darted over his shoulder to the stairs again. "Are you feeling ok? This is very not you."

"I flow…"

"Never been better, actually," I smiled, hoping to hide my nervousness. I could tell he was only teasing. "I'm really happy I came out. I've been cooped up a bit too long." He clapped me on the shoulder, clearly happy with my response.

"Well, I'm glad you could make it! Come on, I'll introduce you to some people!" He led me to a more secluded area with couches and some individuals I recognized as William's friends, including his brother, Philip. Their costumes didn't make a whole lot of sense apart, but I now realized that the brothers were dressed up as basketball players. I joined them in their circle around what I recognized as a hookah and tried to get comfortable in the quite dilapidated piece of furniture. Not only was my seat lumpy and cramped, but I also felt antsy. I was not at all sure what to do with myself now that I was finally attending a "real" party. I didn't know what the script was for the situation. Shouldn't I be grinding on someone or something? William jolted me from my thoughts with a nudge, offering me a joint. I shook my head, politely declining, but took it to pass on.

"I flow…in the darkness…"

"You know," I initially thought it was William talking, but when I turned and noticed his lips weren't moving, I realized the voice was coming from behind me. "A little birdie told me that you didn't smoke." Marko stood over me, nodding down at the lit blunt.

"Oh, uh…" I quickly handed it off to the person on my left. "I was just-" He laughed, not unkindly, and I couldn't help but notice a blackened tooth. Taking in more of his appearance, I also discovered a feathered hat had been added to his eclectic outfit from yesterday. My guess was that he was dressed as some sort of pirate.

"I'm kidding," he assured me. "No judgment! It's a free world! I'm just glad you came!" I noticed then that Marko wasn't alone. Along with him, he brought a crew of four. They were dressed as Tarzan, an 80s hair metal band member, possibly Zoro, and what might have been a biker although it was difficult to determine if the last one was actually a costume or something he picked up off his floor this morning. It was very befitting of him.

"Brenna, I presume?" The rocker reached out a hand, pulling me to my feet. I nodded, dumbly. One cute boy and I lost control of my speech, and now there were four of them staring at me. I was completely boned. "A pleasure." He gave a low bow, kissing my hand much like Marko had the previous night and I couldn't help but giggle because, frankly, that was all I was capable of. I thought I might have seen some heads swivel, but I must have imagined it. The only person I found staring at me was Twisted Sister, although some of the others suddenly looked like something foul had been shoved under their noses. I felt self-conscious again. Had I done something wrong?

"A vampire?" The biker scoffed. Oh. That.

"I know, I know," I rubbed the back of my neck. "Overdone. Played out. Cliché." I shrugged. "It's all I had in my closet."

"Mm." He eyed me, and I felt myself shift under the intensity of his stare. I restrained myself from trading insults and commenting on his choice of attire, but only barely. "Feel like introducing the rest of us?" He directed at the pirate, boredom apparent in his tone.

"Brenna, I would like to introduce you to David," the biker. "Paul," the band member. "Dwayne," Tarzan. "And Jay" Zoro. "Gentlemen, Brenna." They nodded in turn, grunting out responses, but I could already see their attention turning to other conquests. That was fine by me, or so I tried to tell myself. So far they mostly seemed like a bunch of assholes - a bunch of assholes that I desperately now felt the need to prove myself to. Ugh. I was an absolute slave to peer pressure.

"So, I've never seen you around." Marko hopped over the back of the couch with ease to plop beside me, perching on an arm of the sofa. "New here, or just don't come to parties?"

"Both," I admitted. "I'm a transfer student and I typically don't come out for stuff like this. It's...Not really my scene."

"So you came out just for me?" He noted. "Well, I am flattered." I rolled my eyes as he batted his lashes.

"Deflate your ego there, bub. I came out tonight because…" I struggled to find a reason. Why did I come out to this party other than to see him? "I felt like I needed to get out." It wasn't a total lie, but it sounded incredibly weak anyway. I wasn't off to a great start.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." He winked, starting to chew on his thumb.

"So, you brought the booze, right?" Paul leaned against the back of the couch, closer to me.

"No, sorry." Shit, was I supposed to? Is that the whole reason he invited me? Of course it was. I should have seen this coming...

"Damn!" Paul snapped his fingers. "We missed the BYOB memo too. Dude at the front door was talking about a beer tax. Totally bogus." I wasn't exactly following, but he didn't seem actually upset, so that was good. "Oh well. I'm sure we can find some way to entertain ourselves. Especially with a babe like you around..." His voice dropped a little at the end. I hadn't noticed how close our faces were until Paul's jolted suddenly to the left.

"Dude!" Marko, I realized, had given him a quick jab to the shoulder. "I just convinced her to hang! You're gonna scare her off!"

"Oh, he's fine!" I chimed in with a partially forced smile, trying to dispell some of the weird tension I was catching between the two. "Really! I'm just...Ok, I'll be honest, I've been off the market for a while and I've completely forgotten how to behave around boys I don't know." As I had hoped, pulling the blame onto myself seemed to calm both boys down.

"Pfft," Paul waved his hands a bit, walking around the couch. "That's easily fixed." I cringed a little as he began to fold his legs to sit on the floor. It wasn't coated with a thin layer of beer like other parts of the house, but who knew when they had cleaned it last. "We're gonna play a game called Never Never Have I Ever. You game, girl?"

"Sure, but I should warn you. I always win..."

Paul, of course, did not believe me. However, several rounds later, he was starting to understand.

"You've never climbed a tree?!" Marko was incredulous as I won my second game in a row. "Did you even have a childhood?"

"I warned you," I laughed. "I always win this game!"

"Never been to a circus, never read Dr. Seuss…I won't stand for this! This is an outrage!" Marko stood and I pulled him back down into his chair, laughing. "We need to fix this immediately," he insisted.

"Okay, okay. But it's your turn," I reminded him. He crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze at me and sitting forward, scrunching up his face. I couldn't remember the last time I had smiled this much. My cheeks were starting to hurt.

"Never have I ever...Had a threesome."

"Oh, come on!" Paul shoved Marko from the loveseat diagonal to us. Will, Phil, and the rest of their group had vanished a while ago and Paul moved to take their place. I hadn't noticed they even left until Paul moved. "This game is rigged! Fine, never have I ever…" A small smile began to grow on his face as he stared down Marko. "Never have I ever had to ask someone if we screwed before because I wasn't sure." I glanced between the two clearly missing out on some sort of story. It was so easy to listen to them talk - they were both fascinating and had experienced so much. I, apparently, had been living under a rock for the past twenty years.

"You've totally forgotten if you banged a chick or not!" Marko snapped back.

"Yeah, but I've never actually ASKED THE GIRL!"

"Never have I ever watched Star Wars?" I asked quickly to try and diffuse the situation. In addition to Will's group, Jay had left the party a while ago and David disappeared downstairs. The bickering between Paul and Marko seemed to have forced them out. Dwayne still hung around, though, as the ever-silent observer.

"Oh, shush," Marko flapped a hand at me as both put up another finger to indicate their score. "We know, we know – you have no life." He directed his attention back to the other blonde. "Never have I ever decided to have sex while other people were STILL IN THE ROOM!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I've never…" Paul cut himself off mid-sentence, glancing over at my hand and then doing a double-take. "Hold the phone. Brenna only had two fingers up a second ago, didn't she?"

"I believe she did…"

"Why, Brenna!" He held a hand over his heart in mock shock. "Innocent little Brenna! I believe we judged you too soon!"

"What?" I crossed my arms, looking away from the two and attempting to hide a blush. "I said I didn't have a childhood, not that I was a virgin. I've done…Things…" I didn't like the way they were looking at me, so I found myself avoiding eye contact.

"Oooh…" Paul rubbed his hands together. "This opens up a whole new WORLD of possibilities. Never have I ever…Hey!" I hadn't noticed my vision was locked onto the basement steps again until Marko started snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"Alright, alright. You've been looking over there all night. Wanna dance?"

"Sure!" I surprised myself with the speed of my answer and was even more confused to find myself standing before I felt like my brain had fully sent the signal to my legs. I didn't even know how to dance. What the hell was I doing? Regardless, we slipped downstairs and into the writhing mass of bodies.

Skrillex - Ease My Mind with Nikki and the Dove

I normally wouldn't feel comfortable with this at all, but with Marko and Paul I couldn't stop laughing. It wasn't the typical grinding and wasn't even remotely erotic aside from a couple of interesting moves performed between the two boys. I attempted to move my limbs in a way that might be considered dance-like, but as Paul quickly pointed out, I looked stiff. Mostly I stuck to waving a few glow sticks around that I had caught and doing a sort of two step with my feet. There were a surprising number of glowsticks, actually. Every time an EDM song hit a big drop, the air was full of them.

"You're doing it all wrong," he yelled over the music, motioning for me to come closer to him. "You gotta loosen up! Come here, you don't know what you're doing." He twirled me around to face away from him, one hand encircled each of my wrists as he seemingly shook me out. He began to pull my hands over my head. "Just leave these here. It doesn't matter what you do with them as long as they're up there, but anything is better than what you were just trying." I turned to glare at him but did as he said, jumping as I felt his hands grip my hips once my arms were supporting themselves. "This is the important part. It's all in the hips." He tried to sway me lightly, but my body didn't seem to be responding to the signals from my brain.

"What about my feet," I questioned, trying in vain to roll my hips the way he was trying to make me move.

"Just relax," He pulled me closer, pressing my body against his as he tried to make me move with him. "And do what comes naturally."

It was like my joints had rusted or something in the way they just didn't move with his at first, but all at once, as though a switch were flipped, I was actually following along.

"Now you're getting it," Paul released my hips and nudged me toward Marko. Giving him a saucy look, I strolled right up, trying my new moves out. To my delight, he seemed to be responding for a minute. However, as I whipped my head and hair and my vision focused back on Marko, I realized he had completely stopped dancing. He was looking just over my head, staring at something across the room, one hand over his mouth, biting a knuckle to try and hold back his laughter.

"What?" I stopped moving and tried to follow his line of sight, eventually locating a very displeased David with someone literally hanging off of him. She hardly looked coherent and appeared to be in danger of ruining his shoes with her stomach acid.

"Hold on, I got this." I pushed my way over, smoothly sliding an arm through David's while simultaneously pushing the drunk away. I leaned into him heavily, placing a hand on his chest.

"Hey baby," I purred. "I thought you said you weren't coming out tonight." I hoped my soap opera acting was bad enough to tip him off, but not so exaggerated that the girl would notice through her intoxication. Thankfully he caught on quickly, wrapping his free arm around me. At least, I hoped he understood that I was acting...

"The same could be said for you." He smirked. I hadn't anticipated the reaction my body would have as he turned his icy gaze on me. Goosebumps took over every inch of my skin despite the actual temperature of the room. With all the bodies packed in, it felt like it was 300 degrees. I almost lost my cool demeanor. His eyes reminded me of something…

"Who the hell is this," the girl slurred, but I paid her no mind, swallowing hard in the hopes of forcing my heart back into where it dislodged itself from.

"What do you say we cut to the chase and go somewhere a little more…Private" I shot a glare over at my "competition" to break his gaze and the spell it seemed to have over me. I took David's gloved hand and began pulling him through the crowd. I didn't understand how he could be wearing so many layers in the packed basement.

This was all an act I had developed while rescuing friends at parties at Azuline. However, as I neared the front door, I began to very clearly remember that this was not my old school and David wasn't someone I felt comfortable calling a friend. Furthermore, the girl was still toddling up the stairs after us. We had to sell the deception if she was going to leave him alone. I pulled him the rest of the way out of the front door, pausing at the corner of the house, hoping I wouldn't have to take this any further. I wouldn't necessarily be opposed to making out with David, but something in the pit of my stomach decided it wasn't a great idea. Fortunately, it soon became clear she wasn't following us anymore. I let out the breath I had been holding and turned to David, immediately regretting my decision. His intense stare smoldered under the sodium street lights.

"So, approximately how much of that would you consider to be bullshit," he asked, a smirk etched into his face.

"Like…ninety-five percent?" I grimaced. "Nothing against you! I just…Don't know you. That's all. Sorry?" The apologies tumbled out of my mouth like word vomit. He pulled a pack of cigarettes from his leather jacket, lighting one with his zippo in a smooth motion. If he was bothered, it didn't seem to be showing.

"Smart," he commented. "It's not safe to trust strangers around here so quickly. Not with all the people going missing."

"People going missing?" I repeated. I was bad at keeping up with local news, but I figured I would have caught wind of something this serious.

"You haven't heard about Jade Vishali?" David gestured his head at a telephone pole behind me and I turned to find it covered in missing person fliers. My stomach dropped at the number of different faces staring back at me. However, one profile, in particular, stood out. It wasn't just because the paper was less weathered than the others – I hadn't even noticed that at the time – but because I had the inexplicable feeling I had seen this blonde haired girl before. A few memories were filtering back from somewhere…Something about red lights…

"Forget about that loser. You wanna get out of here with me, toots?" I was thankful that Paul interrupted my train of thoughts. They were making me uncomfortable. In contrast, everything about being around paul was easy. He wiggled his eyebrows at me and I slowly realized what, exactly, he was referencing.

"Jesus, did everyone in the room hear me?" I buried my face in my hands. "I thought I would have been safe with how loud the music was!"

"Nah," he slung an arm around my shoulder. "Only most of them. But I was serious about getting out of here seeing as you and David can't really go back, and that's no fun for either of you."

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I kinda just met you guys. I'm not really sure how I feel about going somewhere alone with all of you just yet." I glanced back at the telephone pole again.

"So, bring a friend?" Marko, who had been trailing Paul, shrugged.

"I don't know…It's pretty late..."

"But we really want you to come with!" Paul whined. I looked to David for affirmation but found none. He still giving me that odd stare.

"Pleeeaaaase?" I heard Marko continue on the other side of me giving me his biggest, saddest puppy dog eyes. "Pretty, pretty, pleeeeaaaaase?"

"You're such a child, Marko," I accused playfully, pulling out my phone. After checking the time, I realized that it was considerably earlier than I anticipated and my argument was sounding weak even to me.

"I just need to be back by 1:00" I conceded.

"Yeah, yeah, we'll have you back before your carriage turns into a pumpkin…" I heard the eye roll in Paul's voice as he began dragging me away. I looked back at the telephone pole one more time. Something wasn't right.

Author's Note: Aaaaaand that concludes Chapter 3! Who is Jade Vishali? Where are the boys taking Brenna? And who was that fifth boy? Hmmm... Let me know with a review!

A HUGE thanks goes out to JakkiiSukaru and ShiplessOceans for your kind words in your reviews. It's really appreciated and I love hearing from you!

My next update should be Wednesday, as planned, so see you all next week with Chapter 4!

- A