Jackson

A large, dimly lit room was where I found myself. It was crowded with monsters, but I couldn't tell who any of them were. This place felt like somewhere I'd been before, but I held no real memories of coming here. Maybe Holt had been here, once?

As I scanned the room searching for a familiar face, one finally stood out to me. A tall, blonde Normie with blue eyes and a beard who was facing everyone else as he stood by the door. He held a small scroll and wore a curious-looking ring. He also seemed to be chanting something, but no matter how much I strained against the deafening sound of ringing in my ears, I couldn't hear the words. A powerful flash of white-blue light brought this strange sequence to an abrupt end.

I lay still, contemplating the dream I'd just woken from. Now that I was awake, I was able to start piecing together the things that had been there. The room, for starters, looked like it could be one of the many throughout Monster High's catacombs. It didn't look like anywhere I'd been but, like my dream self, I guessed that maybe Holt had. I knew I'd seen the blonde man somewhere before, too.

Beside me, my husband was still sleeping soundly and, based on the lack of noise in the house, it seemed our two daughters were, as well. I was mildly surprised neither one of them had stirred, seeing as usually they preferred to rise early. Even so, I didn't want to wake anyone so as quietly as I could, I got dressed and then padded over to my desk to retrieve my laptop and its charger, bringing both out to the living room. I decided not to dwell on that dream anymore. It wasn't real to begin with, after all.

Or so I thought.

After setting the computer on the coffee table I made my way quietly down the hall, where one of the doors stood slightly ajar. Opening it a tad further I peered inside, finding that I'd been right to think the girls hadn't woken. 

An entire year had flown by since we found that our application to adopt had been approved, that we'd passed the home study and background checks and such. Amazingly, we'd only been on the waiting list for three full months before we were matched with Aella and Skye, air elementals aged two and five, respectively. The short time surprised us quite a bit since adoption wait lists were normally so much longer, but we certainly hadn't complained. Once we were matched, we began to have scheduled visits with them that got gradually longer as time went on - that was how they had transitioned into living with us.

It had, admittedly, been a little tricky to explain to them who Holt was and why I turned into him, but we had somehow managed to do it in the simplest way we could think of, back when we first began meeting with them. Holt participated in the meetings as well, of course.

Speaking of which, Holt and I were both surprised to find that our former pediatrician had been wrong all those years ago when he told me that the trigger for our transformations might change again. To this day, it was still loud music as it had been during high school. We were both extremely grateful for that, though, because it would have been difficult for us and Kieran to adjust if it had changed to something else.

Not wanting to wake the two of them just yet, I returned to the living room and booted up my computer. I figured if I was the only one up, that meant I had a few minutes to check my emails - both work and home. Today may have been my day off, but that didn't guarantee a lack of emails.

As I was scrolling through my personal inbox to see if it was holding anything important, I noticed an unexpected message that had been sent out the day before. It was from Monster High, inviting me and several others to a reunion they were holding at the end of the week. Footsteps sounded from the hallway. "Hey, Kieran?"

"Hmm?" Kieran replied sleepily as he entered the room. He noticed the open laptop and added, "Oh, you got the email, too?"

"Yeah. When did you get it?"

"Last night," said Kieran, "I checked my inbox just before we went to bed. It's a bit odd for them to have a reunion for us when it hasn't even been a decade, if you ask me. Though that is coming from a vampire of over 1600 years."

"I mean, it has been, what, six years since we graduated from there? It's not that weird, at least to me. Besides, it's probably for all the alumni and not just us," I suggested, "That would make the most sense."

"Fair enough. Are you interested in going?"

"Of course." 

"Me, too."  Kieran leaned in for a kiss before getting to his feet. "I'm going to go wake up the girls, love, I'll be right back."

Despite how much I'd struggled to fit in at Monster high during the first couple years I was there, the place had still become special to me. I'd discovered who I really was there, after all. Who Holt was. And if it weren't for Monster High, I never would have met Kieran or any of our friends. It may have taken time, but I did eventually find my place there among them. Felt like I belonged. Became more confident in myself.

All that said, I was elated to be visiting it again. I was especially looking forward to the idea of seeing everyone, finding out what they'd been up to. Kieran and I had been in contact with a lot of them – and those people had made up a good number of the guests at our wedding - but there were still people we'd gone to school with who we hadn't seen at all since graduation.

My thoughts were broken by the sight of a sleepy toddler climbing onto the couch beside me and curling into a ball against the armrest. "Good morning, Aella."

"Morning, Jackson," she replied, not quite managing to pronounce the 'J'. Neither of the girls were at a point where they felt comfortable calling Kieran or I 'Dad', but that was something we both felt it was better not to rush. We wanted them to make that choice on their own, and in their own time.

Skye entered the room a moment later, holding Kieran's wrist as he guided her across the room to Aella and me. Skye had been born without any eyesight, so we were in the process of teaching her to navigate the house by feel, but she was still at a point where she often preferred to link on to one of us. 

In her free hand she held a Bop It, which was one of her absolute favourite things to play with. Unlike the ones you'd see Normie kids playing with, though, this one was designed to resemble a bat - wings and all - which also meant it had plenty of room for a few extra features. "Hey, Aella, want to play Bop-It with me?" she asked her little sister, who became more alert at once.

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, jumping off the couch with enthusiasm and plopping down on the floor. Skye, able to pick up on where she was through the noise and vibration, sat down in front of her and the two began to play.

Kieran, who'd taken a seat next to me by this point, smiled down at the two of them. Aella and Skye had an ongoing competition to see who could reach the highest level of the game, something the two of them had even managed to get Kieran in on after awhile. So far Skye was winning.

"Oh, hey, I just remembered something..." Kieran got up off the couch for a moment to retrieve something from a drawer. When he brought it over, I saw that it was one of our old yearbooks (or fearbooks, as the others called them), the one from our final year. "I found this buried somewhere upstairs."

"I haven't looked at it in ages," I admitted, "Is this one yours or mine?"

"I think it's yours. I found a message from Frankie on one of the pages," answered Kieran, "Mine's likely still hiding out upstairs." He was probably right. It was the only one of his yearbooks he'd kept, the others having been left with his mother Rose. He'd told me before that he didn't care for the idea of keeping any memorabilia from his old school, which was why he'd left them with her in the first place. I couldn't really blame him, though I also had to admit it would have been interesting to see some old photos from there.

Skye looked up from the Bop It just as it called a command, bringing an end to her winning streak and a triumphant grin to Aella's face. "What are you guys doing?" the latter asked curiously, as she made their way to us with Skye not far behind.

"Just looking at an old book I found," Kieran told her, "Want to see?"

"Yeah," said Aella, climbing back onto the couch and leaning over to see it better.

"Ooh, cool!" Skye exclaimed when Kieran relayed to her what the book was, reaching out to run a hand along the cover. She was clearly hoping to find out if it was at all tactile, which it unfortunately wasn't.

For the fun of it, we decided to flip through the book in front of us, describing the photos within to Skye as we went. Aella had fun looking at them, too, joyously pointing to the monsters she recognized and curiously asking who the others were. It wasn't like any of us had anywhere to be, since today was my day off and Kieran was off work for the next several weeks due to adoption leave.

Throughout the book we found photos and notes related to all kinds of events, from that year's Halloween dance to prom, and even photos from the trip to Transylvania we'd taken during the summer. That section explained why we were mailed this yearbook the following September instead of having them handed out before grad.

"I don't remember this being taken," I pointed to a photo of me, Kieran, Cleo and Deuce in the clawditorium.

"If I'm not mistaken, they took that picture after the Jekyll and Hyde play was finished," replied Kieran, "Right after they got one of the whole drama class."

He was right, all of us except for Kieran were in costume. "I can't believe it took me that long to register that fact," I remarked, and we both chuckled a bit. Usually, I was a lot more observant than that.

Cleo and Deuce were two of the monsters Kieran and I stayed in touch with the most, along with Spelldon Cauldronello, whom we'd run into on our way to one of our very first scheduled visits with our daughters. He'd been thrilled to see us, having recently returned from a visit to a small town in Maine, and since that day he'd seamlessly re-entered our lives as though he'd never been gone.

Since Deuce had somehow gotten Cleo interested in some of the video games he played, the four of us would sometimes play them together online. Joined by Heath, of course, and even Spelldon on occasion. At first, it surprised me just how well Cleo and I got along now; she'd never really interacted with me in school other than to have me pass along a message or party invitation to Holt sometimes--up until that last year--so it was a nice change from that.

It was also really entertaining to watch Cleo figure out the mechanics of Minecraft when we first showed it to her, though it didn't take her long to get the hang of it. She was understandably not too impressed with the idea of zombies and skeletons and such being exclusively enemies in the game, but she enjoyed the rest of it quite a bit. Plus, her annoyance with the former point decreased slightly when she encountered some of the game's human enemies such as Illagers for the first time. 

I honestly had to wonder how Cleo's father Ramses might react if he saw the more easy-going side of her that emerged while gaming. I kept that to myself, though.

"What time are they coming over later?" asked Kieran.

"Around 4:00. Cleo has some work she has to get done before then." Since the girls were distracted by the yearbook at this point I figured it was safe to add, "I honestly can't wait to see how she reacts to this game."

"I imagine she'll fall in love with it. I know I did."

"You're saying that as though you've actually been able to shut up about it since you started playing it," I teased.

"As if you're any better," he countered, "and allow me to remind you, you're the one who introduced me to it in the first place."

"True. But let's see you make it to the last hour of the game, keep getting killed and not obsess over it."

"I'm dreading that hour. 3:00 AM is bad enough."

The game we were talking about was an indie horror game called Emily Wants to Play, which had four enemies total and took place in a mostly ordinary-looking house. It was an interesting game, especially as you learned more and more of the backstory through audio tapes and drawings scattered around the house.

We didn't plan on introducing Cleo and Deuce to the game until Aella and Skye were asleep, of course, since we knew they were too young to watch us play it. That was also why I made sure they were immersed in the book before bringing it up in conversation.

"Yeah, but at least you're at a point where you can still pick a room and stick to it...and the one next to it, technically," I reasoned. With a brief glance at my watch, I added, "I'm going to run out after and pick up the stuff to make dinner. And probably snacks for later."

True to my word, I did just that once breakfast was finished. As I was walking, though, I noticed a nearby figure who seemed very familiar to me for some reason and as they got closer, I realized why with a start.

This was Lilith Van Hellscream.

She looked the exact same as she always had – fair skin, icy blue eyes, crimson lipstick - though she wore her blonde hair differently these days, allowing it to fall loosely around her shoulders. That and she'd probably gone over it with a straightening iron. "Hello, Jackson," she greeted me, "Long time, no see. How have you been?"

"Fine, thanks," I replied, "I honestly didn't expect to see you again. How have things been for you?"

"They've been decent enough. I've just returned from visiting my uncle. I heard you got married last year, congratulations. Cleo told me."

"You two are still in contact?" I was a bit surprised.

"Yes, of course. Well, anyway...I'd better get going. It was nice running into you, Jackson. Tell Holt I said hello, won't you?"

"Uh...sure," I replied, and she walked past me without another word. 

Along with the things needed for dinner, I ended up choosing a pack of candy skulls for Cleo and the girls, along with a pack of blood-flavoured gummy bears for Kieran. Personally, I found the latter pretty fascinating since instead of different colours, they were varying shades of red, each one representing a different blood type. I'd never tried them, of course, but still. The concept was intriguing. 

It didn't take me long to return home after getting what I needed, and just after 4:00 was when we heard our doorbell ring, letting us know Deuce and Cleo had arrived. "What's up, dude?" Deuce greeted me as I moved aside to let them in.

"Hey, Deuce. Not much, what about you?"

"Same here. Cleo and I both got an email about this thing on Friday, though," said Deuce, "Monster High's holding a reunion or something."

"And you'd better believe we'll be there," added Cleo, "although I suspect Nefera has plans to go, too."

"Thanks for the warning," said Kieran, "Jackson and I plan on being there as well."

"Excellent! Because of how many people are attending, I imagine they'll set up that old concert hall down in the catacombs," Cleo predicted, taking a seat on the couch. 

Since Aella and Skye's bedtimes were 7:30 and 8:30 respectively, we made sure dinner was ready by 5:00. The time between was mostly spent catching up on things and otherwise relaxing, and I had to admit it was rather adorable to see Deuce and Aella playing Minecraft together while Skye showed Cleo how the Bop It worked. Finally, once the girls were both tucked in, it was time to begin Emily Wants to Play.

"Now, you said this game is single player, right?" Cleo quietly asked once we'd all returned to the living room.

"Yeah," responded Deuce, "The plan was for all of us to take turns, so I think you should have the first one since you're new at the game." He then whispered something to her, and she nodded in response with a relieved look on her face.

"Deuce, you're going to have to let them know about that anyway. You really didn't have to whisper," she told him, "Jackson, Deuce just told me that you three normally play these types of games in the dark, but I'm requesting that we leave the light on this time. As ashamed as I am to admit it, I don't like the dark - for good reason, of course. But to be clear, that stays between us."

"Hey, no judgement here," I assured her.

"We can agree to that," added Kieran as he sat down next to her.

"The controls are pretty straightforward. Left stick to move, L3 to run, right stick to look around, R3 to zoom in, A to toggle the flashlight and right bumper or B to interact with things around the house," Deuce explained as Cleo selected 'New Game'.

"Hello?" the game's protagonist called, "Your pizza's here!"

"Oh, how lovely. I'm a pizza delivery man," Cleo commented with a hint of sarcasm in her voice as Emily briefly appeared on the screen after the door shut and locked itself. "What was that?"

"You'll find out," replied Deuce, tone dripping with amusement, as Cleo began to look around and explore the house. A porcelain doll in a black dress sat on top of a couch that was tipped forward. Cleo also found a clown with a blue top hat and a Slappy-like ventriloquist dummy in other rooms of the house, as well as a white board in the kitchen that read 'Let's play at midnight' with a smiley face.

On the other side of the kitchen there was a small room with a gaping hole in the floor. Cleo walked toward it and played the tape recorder that sat nearby before peering down into the hole.

"Cleo, don't jump in there, you'll--"

Too late. Emily came charging at Cleo, jump-scaring her with a high-pitched scream before the option to restart came onto the screen.

"You may want to avoid that hole from now on," Kieran advised, "Emily always kills you if you jump down there before 4:00 AM."

Thankfully, Cleo managed to make it to midnight, coming across the new message on the whiteboard: "Don't stare at her". A few seconds later, a girlish giggle was heard and the porcelain doll from before spawned in. Cleo began to panic. "What's - Deuce, what do I do?" She tried looking away, but the doll killed her. "I did exactly what the board said, why did she kill me anyway?"

Deuce was trying not to laugh. "I'll give you a hint, babe: Ignore the board for now. It lies."

After a couple more tries, she figured out the trick was to stare at the doll, Kiki, until she vanished. After a few times of doing that, 1:00 AM rolled around and Mr. Tatters the Clown came into play.

"I'm going to check the board," said Cleo, "'Don't stay still?' Alright, so stay still. Wait, am I dealing with both now, or just the clown?"

"Both," I replied, "and the ventriloquist dummy shows up after this. 3:00 AM has you dealing with all three, so have fun with that."

A deep laugh sounded in the game, making Cleo jump. She managed to keep the pizza guy still, thankfully, and she got through the hour without dying once. "Yes! You will all be ancient hiss-tory by the time I get out of this house!" Cleo told the dolls in a whisper-shout as the clock struck 2:00 AM.

To be honest, we didn't even start taking turns until 3:00 AM rolled around because it wasn't until then that anyone started having any difficulty. I personally found it just as entertaining to watch someone else play this game as it was to play it myself. The controller got passed around quite a few times once 3:00 AM did hit, to the point where Cleo was completely desensitized to the jumpscares. "I actually don't mind Chester's at all," she commented, "I can't take it seriously because of the sound he makes."

"Along with the look on his face," chortled Deuce.

4:00 AM was a cakewalk since we just had to keep finding Emily in various places around the house in the dark--something Cleo found out the hard way when she tried to turn a light on and promptly died. 5:00 AM was the last hour of the game and the hardest, because we had to repeat the hide-and-seek game, this time with a slightly longer time limit but with the dolls trying to kill us.

"Damn it," Deuce complained on his third attempt, "I keep getting killed by that stupid ventriloquist dummy."

"I know, and it seems like it's always he and Kiki tag-teaming us. We'll be staring at her and suddenly Chester decides, 'I want in!'" added Kieran, "It's infuriating."

"Or better yet," Cleo chimed in, "when you're already running from Chester and Mr. Tatters spawns. I actually can't decide which one of those scenarios is the bigger pain."

"Tatters and Chester," I answered, "At least with Kiki you can find a way to run from Chester backwards. With Tatters, if you so much as look around, you're screwed."

"True."

Eventually we decided to call it a night, unsuccessful in beating the game despite how many times we all tried. 

"Deuce, be sure to get me a copy of that game. Ra help me, I will defeat those accursed dolls," Cleo told the gorgon before bidding Kieran and me goodnight.

"Yo, thanks for having us over," Deuce grinned before following her.

"It was our pleasure. See you at the reunion," said Kieran.

"Oh, yeah, dude. It'll be a blast!"

I found myself drifting off to sleep easily that night, Kieran's arms wrapped around me in a loving embrace, the previous night's dream all but forgotten. I couldn't deny for a moment that I was truly happy here with him, with our daughters, with this life. And I knew both he and Holt felt the same way. It was all any of us ever wished for, and I knew none of us were willing to give it up for anything in the world.

Little did we know that these wonderful, peaceful times would soon come to a halt.