Michael

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I groan.

"Hold still, you're going to make me jab your eye out," Andrea warns me again. She dips her brush back into the plastic tray of eyeshadows, this time into a dark purple, before dabbing the colour around my eyes. Her brush is scratchy and the powder makes me want to sneeze.

Andrea managed to catch wind of the party from Carmen, then somehow managed to find out that I was invited. She very happily told me to pull the stick out of my ass and have fun for once.

I try to take a peek at myself in her medicine cabinet mirror, but I'm too short in my chair to be able to see more than a couple centimeters of my hair.

Andrea notices and reaches for the handheld mirror sitting on the counter, but I easily grab it first. With no option but to use my left hand after getting the splint off, the dexterity in my left hand has improved dramatically compared to it prior to the accident. I'm going to become ambidextrous at this rate.

I study my reflection in the small mirror. The dark shades of purple and grey around my eyes and cheeks make them look sunken and hollow. Fake blood is strategically dripped down the corners of my mouth.

"Remind me what I'm supposed to be."

"A zombie who was in a car accident," she explains, gesturing towards my chair.

"That doesn't make any sense," I point out. "Zombies die and come back to life, yet I'm still in this chair?"

"Don't overthink it, just focus on having fun." Andrea laughs. She ruffles up my hair and makes final adjustments to my ripped up, stained clothing.

-----

Andrea pushes me through the front door of the sorority house. It's almost unrecognizable from the last time I came here. The lights are off, replaced by orange and purple LED strip lights and spotlights pointing in all directions. Fake skeletons, pumpkins, bats, and spiderwebs cover nearly every inch of the floors and walls. The musky scent of alcohol, perfume, and smoke hangs low in the air.

We head through the house, looking for Alyssa. Every room and hall is packed with people dressed in costumes. Most costumes seem to involve more skin than fabric. We weave through the crowds, which proves to be quite difficult. My chair is wide and most people can't be bothered to move out of the way.

"Michael! You actually came!"

I spot Alyssa waving excitedly as she pushes through the densely packed crowd.

I stare at her blankly as she approaches us. "What are you supposed to be?" I shout over the noise. Music is playing so loudly that I can feel the deep bass thumping in my chest.

She's wearing a red, one-piece swimsuit and a whistle on a string around her neck. The top is low cut and she's put something on her skin to make it tanned and shiny. I quickly avert my gaze when I realize I'm staring.

"A lifeguard of course," she giggles. "I'm matching with Chris."

I look back over at the crowd. I easily spot him standing by the side of the room, talking to two girls dressed as cats. He's wearing a whistle around his neck and red swim shorts. His torso is shamelessly bare, showing off his abs and biceps.

Andrea raises an eyebrow. "Did you apply contour to his muscles?" she asks Alyssa.

Alyssa sheepishly chuckles and shakes her head. "No, but I think he did it himself."

I have no idea what that even means, but I do know that it sounds ridiculous.

"Anyways, I have my own party to attend!" Andrea announces. From what I remember, she's going to some party at a club downtown – which somehow sounds even less fun than this. "Are you ok to bring Michael back to his place after the party?"

"Of course, have fun!"

"So what now?" I ask once Andrea has disappeared from our view.

Alyssa snaps her fingers. "We're having a costume competition, let's sign you up!"

Before I can protest, she starts pushing me down the hall towards the living room. We approach a table in front of the crackling fireplace – despite it being much too hot in here to have the fireplace lit. Alyssa explains that it's to go with the Halloween vibe. Yet another example of these people valuing appearances over practicality.

Two girls dressed as rabbits are sitting behind the table.

"Hey Alyssa!" one of them cheerfully greets her.

"Hey Kate, my friend here is entering the contest." Alyssa gestures towards me.

The other rabbit immediately points a pastel pink Polaroid camera at me. "Smile!"

I flinch at the bright white light and find myself momentarily blinded by the flash. Dark splotches blur my vision. "God, some warning would've been nice," I grumble, rubbing my eyes.

As my vision slowly returns, I see the rabbit adding my picture to a pile of other Polaroids. What a juvenile competition – I couldn't care less about winning or losing.

Alyssa picks up a pen and the sign-up list. I watch as she neatly fills my name on the next empty line. "You actually know my last name?" I ask. I can't help but be pleasantly surprised. Everyone is constantly misspelling it, even my friends.

She rolls her eyes and giggles. "Of course! What kind of friend-" She quickly stops and gives me a sheepish smile. "I mean, acquaintance-"

"Thanks Alyssa," I interrupt her. "You're a good friend."

She gives me a wide grin and nods.

"Hey Alyssa," I hear a deep voice call from behind her.

"Hey Chris, what's up?" Alyssa greets him as he comes over and hands her a shot glass with bright orange liquid inside. They clink glasses and both down the shots.

He nods towards a group of guys standing nearby. "We're headed to another party in around ten minutes, want to come?"

Alyssa hesitates for a moment. She turns back and leans forward to speak into my ear. I can't help but notice she smells like coconut. "Thoughts?"

"I'm definitely staying here," I say. Coming to one party was difficult enough, there's no way I'm going to another. "Don't let me stop you from having fun though, you can go without me."

Alyssa gives me the tiniest smile before turning back to Chris. "No thanks, I'll see you tomorrow."

Chris looks over Alyssa's shoulder and directly at me. I swear I see him frown at me for a split second before the obnoxious, "I'm too cool to care" expression returns to his face.

"Sure, whatever," he says with a shrug, and Alyssa gives him a quick hug.

Just as he's about to leave, he makes eye contact with me again. Chris is definitely frowning this time, and he wants me to know it.

He seems to think for a moment, I assume a rare occurrence for him, before he turns back to Alyssa. His hands grip her waist and he leans in to kiss her. Alyssa seems caught off guard but kisses him back anyways. His hands drift lower, past her lower back and down to her butt. I feel an uncomfortable heat rush to my face and my collar suddenly feels tight as their kiss continues for an obnoxiously long time.

He finally pulls away and whispers something into her ear. Alyssa nods and whispers something back.

As he walks away, he looks over his shoulder at me and smirks.

What the fuck was that about?

Alyssa turns around. Her eyes are glassy, and a dazed smile is spread across her face. She looks as if she's forgotten what planet we're on.

I clear my throat. She slowly blinks a couple of times before giving me an embarrassed smile. "Oh, uh, sorry about that," she says with a sheepish chuckle. "Let's go get a drink."

Alyssa wheels me through the house and into the kitchen. The counters are a mess; covered by empty liquor bottles, spilled snacks, and used cups. In stark contrast, the kitchen island is spotless; neatly lined with bottles, stacked cups, and bartending equipment. Someone dressed as a vampire seems to be making drinks for everyone.

"We hired a bartender!" Alyssa explains. "Did you know U of M has a bartending club?"

Don't know, don't care.

"What would you like to drink?" she asks.

I read the framed menu displayed at the end of the kitchen island. All of the drink names are Halloween themed.

Franken-tini

Witches Brew

Zombie blood

I don't bother reading the rest of the names. "Get me whatever you're getting, I guess."

She nods, just seeming happy that I even agreed. "Hi Brett! Two franken-punches please!"

I watch as he quickly begins working on the drinks. Measuring out liquids from different bottles, shaking them in a shaker, straining it into a cup, and adding garnishes. Before I know it, Alyssa is handing me a neon green drink in a plastic cup shaped like a skull. I gingerly take a sip. It's sickly sweet, but at least the alcohol will help make the night tolerable.

"Hi Alyssa!"

I barely make out a soft, high-pitched voice over the noise.

"Hannah! You made it!" Alyssa squeals and hugs a girl in a simple witch costume – a long black dress and a tall witches hat. "Your costume is adorable."

"I hope you don't mind, I invited Sienna," she says and points towards a girl slowly approaching us.

I can't tell what her costume is supposed to be. She's dressed completely in black from head to toe. She's wearing a short dress covered with frills and lace, fishnet gloves and tights, a bow in her hair, and she's carrying a lace umbrella. The dark, racoon-looking makeup around her eyes make her light grey irises look shockingly bright.

"Hey Alyssa," she says with a smile pulled tightly across her face. I can't put my finger on what it is, but I immediately notice that there's something off about this girl. At the very least, that's definitely not a genuine smile.

"Hey," Alyssa mumbles. "Of course I don't mind, the more the merrier."

"I like your costume, you're a lifeguard right?" Hannah giggles.

Alyssa quickly turns her attention back to Hannah. "Yeah, Chris and I are matching."

Sienna gives her a smirk. "How creative. It must've taken you ages to come up with that."

I raise a brow. Is this seriously someone Alyssa is friends with?

I notice Alyssa's left eye slightly twitch before she gives Sienna a smile. "My boyfriend and I were having some difficulty deciding on matching costumes, this is the only one we could agree on."

I furrow my brows. At this point, I've known Alyssa long enough to know that this isn't a costume she'd happily agree with. I also know it's none of my business, so I decide to keep my mouth shut.

"Right," she says cooly.

Alyssa grits her teeth before turning back towards the kitchen island. "Brett, a shot please." He fills a shot glass with the same bright orange liquid she and Chris drank earlier. She quickly downs it.

Hannah suddenly turns to me. "Oh hi! You must be Michael. I'm Hannah, it's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too, Hannah." She reaches out to give me a quick handshake. Her hand is small and surprisingly cold.

I vaguely remember Alyssa telling me about Hannah. She sounds nice enough; polite, reserved, and intelligent. I have no clue who this Sienna is though.

"I'm Sienna. Alyssa's told us a lot about you," Sienna says, barely making eye contact with me.

"Thanks, I can't say the same about you though," I say dryly. "Who are you again?"

Sienna tightly purses her lips and crosses her arms. "I guess it makes sense, Alyssa" she scoffs and flips her hair over her shoulder. "You have so many guys in your life, how could you remember all of them?"

Alyssa gives her what I know is a fake chuckle. She quickly turns back to the bar. "Brett, another shot please."

No sooner than the glass is in her hand, Alyssa immediately tips the shot into her mouth.

A wave of guilt hits me when I realize how similar Sienna's comments towards Alyssa are to the ones I make. In my defense, there's significantly less, if not any, malice from mine. Sienna is clearly out to get Alyssa.

"Alyssa?" I ask quietly. "Are you ok?"

"Of course."

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A/N:

Thanks for reading! Happy 2023 everyone, any new years resolutions?!