Chapter 6

I held my breath, not knowing how Sam would answer my question. Yes, I know I was essentially asking him out on a date, but I hadn't come to terms with my feelings for him yet. The only thought running through my head at the time was that he was still pretty withdrawn, and this would be a chance for him to make more friends.

"Sure, I guess," Sam finally said, causing me to let out my breath in relief. What I didn't know was that the dance would have nearly disastrous consequences for all involved, especially Sam.

...

The day of the dance, I was extremely nervous for reasons that I couldn't seem to pinpoint. I could barely concentrate in class, and whenever I passed Sam in the hall, my heart would skip a beat. Mazzy, Sully, and my sisters all kept smirking whenever I saw them, like they knew something I didn't.

"Okay, what's the deal?" I demanded from Sully after managing to corner him between classes.

"Dude, you're crushing on Sam hard. Even Leni can see that," Sully said, never losing the smirk. I denied it of course, but it still made me think. I found it easy to get lost in his electric-blue eyes; he had the rugged, hairy physique that I had a preference for; he was a charming, witty gentleman who liked to put others before himself, as evidenced by him holding open doors for me and offering to carry my backpack. Almost nobody liked him, not even the teachers, but I had come to admire him as a person.

Sweet Caroline...I DID have a crush on him!

...

Me and my siblings got home from school and immediately started preparing for Halloween. Lincoln, as usual, dressed as his favorite superhero Ace Savvy, and was going to a party hosted by one of his friends. The twins once again went with matching costume themes: Lola was Little Miss Muffet, and Lana was a spider. Lisa and Lily did their Kangaroo/Baby Roo costume for the second year in a row. Lucy had put flour in her hair and wore a tattered dress made from rags in various shades of gray (with her ability to stand next to you without you knowing she was there, one would wonder whether she was a ghost to begin with).

Dad would take the twins, Lisa, and Lily trick-or-treating while Mom stayed home to help run Lucy's haunted maze.

As for my other sisters, Lynn was dressed as a (filthy) pirate and was busy smudging black makeup powder on her exposed skin; Luan painted her face with her white mime makeup and wore a red-and-black clown suit to emulate the DC supervillain Harley Quinn, complete with a comically oversized inflatable hammer; and Leni wore a simple black cat costume with whiskers drawn on her cheekbones.

I myself was dressed as a vampire. I wore a form-fitting black top with red lace at the ends of the long sleeves, a red satin skirt with a black spiderweb pattern over black-and-red striped leggings, a black belt studded with silver spikes and a choker to match, and a black-and-red cape that reached my knees. On my feet were black pointy-toed boots with slight heels. I completed the look with black eyeliner and lipstick, black nail polish, and dental caps on my canines for fangs.

"Wow, Luna! With a costume like that, boys are gonna come crawling!" Leni gushed, causing me to blush. She then looked to make sure nobody was watching before leaning in and whispering, "Especially Sam." I felt my whole face light on fire, and Leni snickered with a knowing grin.

"Not cool, dude!" I whined and gave her a weak shove. After we all had our costumes put together, the fam went their separate ways, with me, Leni, Luan, and Lynn walking to the high school dance. The sun was just touching the horizon when we got there, casting the building's shadow over the courtyard where the dance was being held. Halloween-themed music was playing, but no one was dancing yet. Like us, they had only recently arrived and were busy socializing. Sam wasn't hard to spot, as he was one of the few with no costume. He wore an outfit very similar to what he wore to school every day, only this time his black sleeveless T-shirt had an orange Jack-o-Lantern face on the front.

"Wow...you look beautiful in that costume, Luna," he said after greeting me, his cheeks developing a faint blush.

As I was about to thank him for the compliment, Sully (who had volunteered to be the DJ for the occasion) declared over the microphone, "Alright, people, let's see some action out there! Dance your best and your spookiest, because the best moves and the best costume both get a prize at the end of the night! This first song's gonna be a real THRILLER!" True to his pun, Sully started playing Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The proper dance for this song required the dancer to move like a zombie, so Sam and I both joined the large group dancing to the rhythm. Sam was not only a good singer, but also a good dancer. Two more songs played, and Sam showed himself to be a breakdancing pro!

"You tend to pick up a few skills when you're desperate for money and food," he explained when we both took a break for refreshments. The sun had fully gone down by then, allowing the courtyard to be illuminated by orange and purple lanterns. I happened to look up and noticed a patch of clouds obscuring the moon.

"The full moon is gonna be beautiful tonight," I deduced. Sam's eyes widened in alarm, and he spat out his punch.

"A f-f-full m-m-moon?" he stammered in fear. "I, uh, have to use the bathroom! Keep dancing without me!" He ran toward the school building, only slowing down to swerve around other students. As you might have guessed, this left me very, very confused.

"Hi, Luna. Where'd Sam go? I saw him just now," Mazzy asked, walking toward me in a witch costume.

"I dunno, dude. The minute I said there was gonna be a full moon, he said he needed to use the bathroom and ran off," I told her. "He looked pretty scared, too. I wonder what's the matter with him?"

"Maybe he has a bad memory of being abused while he could see the full moon?" Mazzy suggested, to which I gave her a deadpan look. "Just throwing things out there." Suddenly, someone grabbed both of my arms with a rough grip.

"I don't care about the terms of that bet. Sharp's not here, so I can do whatever I want with you. You're coming with me!" snarled Bryce, who was dressed as a skeleton. His garish black-and-white face paint accentuated the look of utter malice in his eyes, and I was scared for my life. Mazzy tried to help but was stopped by Bryce's lackeys.

"Bryce, stop! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!" I screamed as Bryce started dragging me in the direction of the woods.

"LUNA!" I heard Sam shout. He was running toward me and Bryce when he froze in his tracks. The moon had come out from behind the clouds, and Sam was standing on the very edge of the shadow cast by the school. By now, we had drawn the attention of the other partygoers.

"What's the matter, Sharp? Afraid of a little moonshine?" Bryce taunted. "Get him, boys!" His henchmen grabbed Sam and started dragging him out of the school's shadow. Sam struggled, but in the end fell to his knees a full ten feet out in the moonlight. He immediately shuddered all over and began to convulse, clutching his stomach and groaning. This strange reaction bewildered everyone, and I took advantage of the distraction. I threw my head back, and Bryce let go of me with a shout of pain as my skull smashed his nose. I ran over to Sam, who was now stumbling around holding his head.

"Sam, are you okay? What's wrong? What do I do?" I asked, grabbing his wrists so that he would hold still.

"The only...thing...you can..." he grunted. His gaze met mine, and I could see the abject terror in his eyes. "Run."

He flung back his head, opened his mouth, and screamed at the top of his lungs for nearly a minute. He hunched over, and his muscles began to writhe under his skin, growing, stretching, bunching together. Judging by the series of sickening cracks and pops that came from his body, his skeletal structure was being twisted and rearranged. His clothes tore right off as his body nearly doubled in size, his body hair quickly gaining length and density. His ears grew and moved to the top of his head as his mouth and nose stretched into a fang-filled muzzle, hair sprouting all over his face. A long, bushy tail sprouted between his digitigrade hind legs, and his claw-like nails morphed into ACTUAL claws. Finally, his arms lengthened until his hunched form dragged his hands along the ground.

Sam Sharp, the new boy at school, whom I'd first found on my family's porch and now considered a close friend...was a werewolf.