Gabriel pretty much lost his mind when Luke reminded him of Halloween. And then he promptly went insane when I casually mentioned Knox and Zain's annual Halloween party. He had immediately insisted that we attend, though most of us were weary and hesitant about the idea. He probably wouldn't have won this battle if it weren't for the fact that he was so determined and that, apparently, Halloween was his favorite holiday.

My brothers, who weren't fond of me attending the party either, begrudgingly agreed to make the party a masquerade. The idea had come from Kota's brilliant mind, who had thought that it would be hard for anyone to pinpoint I was there if I was wearing a mask. Everyone agreed, especially since we had been reminded of Halloween late and masks were an easy enough costume to pick up. Gabriel was not happy, but he was content enough which was good enough for all of us.

"Gabriellllll," I sang, shifting foot to foot, standing at the bottom of the stairs that lead to Kota's bedroom. "If you don't get your ass down here soon, we're going to be late. To my own brothers' party. What kind of sister would I be? Gabriel, do you want to make me a horrible sister? Because that's-"

"Jesus fucking Christ, okay, Trouble, I'm ready," Gabriel groaned as he ran down the stairs. I smirked at him, taking in pride in the fact that I had annoyed him so much that he had finally graced us with his presence. He rolled his eyes at me then pressed a hard and fast kiss to my lips.

I watched him bustle into the kitchen and giggled, aware that he was about to bother all the boys in an attempt to make sure that they were all ready to go. I brushed my curls away from my face, completely prepared to leave, as I had been for the last hour and a half. Gabriel had picked out a pale pink dress for me that was lace and off the shoulders, flowing out at my waist into pretty folds. My mask matched it, pink and silver, covering the top half of my face.

I was the only one who was dressed really nice besides Owen. The others were dressing casually and just wearing their masks to complete their "costume" much to Gabriel's dismay. He insisted that next Halloween when everything was calmer that we would go all out with costumes and decorating. My heart soared whenever at the fact that they were convinced we would all still be together next year, but my stomach also tied in knots. I couldn't help but look at the what ifs.

What if something happened that prevented us from being together? I couldn't stand the thought of our relationship being ruined by mother and Volto, but I knew that there was the slightest of chances, and it brought tears to my eyes. I didn't ever want to leave my boys.

"Sang? Are you okay?"

I looked up and blinked a few times, startled by Silas looking down at me, his dark eyes curious and concerned. I forced a smile and nodded slowly, sliding my mask off my head and into place, hoping that would conceal my false expression somewhat. He didn't seem that convinced, and in an attempt to distract him I struck up a conversation.

"Are the others ready?" I asked, clenching my fists to keep from squirming. I had so much excess energy and anxiety built up inside me, that I felt like I was vibrating, making it hard to stay still at the moment.

Silas nodded, his expression turning weary, which was how most of us felt. "Yeah, just about. Gabriel and Raven are arguing about something, I don't know what. I just thought I would come check on you before we left. I wanted to make sure you really want to go to this... We won't go if you want to."

His face was open and honest, making it obvious that he truly cared about my opinion on this. Part of me wanted to blurt out that I would prefer to stay home and watch all the zombie movies that Nathan wanted, but the larger part of me that knew how badly Gabriel wanted to go and how badly Micah and Marie wanted to see me, won out.

"I'm sure, Superman," I reassured him quietly, resting a hand on his bicep, flashing a smile, though it was weak. "Let's go have some fun, yeah?"

He nodded, seeming about uncertain as I felt, and I couldn't blame. After everything that had happened, I was constantly on edge, waiting for something to happen, for something to knock me off my feet when I was least expecting it. As Silas turned away, heading back into the kitchen, I couldn't help the shiver that went through me.

If I knew how badly Gabriel wanted to go to the party, and I had agreed, then why did I have such a bad feeling about it in the pit of my stomach?

***

The house was decked out, as it was every year. Knox and Zain's philosophy was that if they were going to throw a party, they were going to make a good one. They never failed to deliver, and even though I was their sister, I was continuously impressed by their parties. Their was a certain atmosphere to the place that made you feel as if you were walking into a haunted house, and it didn't help the knots forming in my stomach at all.

I jumped when he an arm went around my neck and I was pulled into a body. I wriggled, panicking slightly, but then calmed some when the familiar scent of Axe cologne and laundry detergent reached my nose. Knowing who it was, I leaned into their touch, my grin wide.

"Your party sucks," I joked, nudging him in the ribs with my elbow.

"Don't be an ass," Knox said, laughing and rolling his eyes. He released me and turned to greet the boys, his host smile on, probably one he had learned from our mom when he was around the age of seven. We had all learned that smile pretty young.

I glanced around the living room, taking in the masked faces and the low lighting. At the time, a masquerade party had sounded great, but as I took in all the concealed faces, my unease grew. While it would be hard for anyone to recognize me, it would be just as hard for me to recognize anyone else. Tearing my gaze away from the crowds of party guests who only succeeded in intensifying my anxiety, I gripped my brother's arm, drawing his attention to me.

"Where's the others?" I asked, raising my voice enough so that he could hear me.

He used his free arm to point to the kitchen, and I laughed. I should have figured they would have been hiding out in there. Even though we threw a bunch of them, we weren't always the most fond of parties, resulting in us hiding sometimes.

I gestured to the boys that I was going to head to the kitchen to greet my siblings. Their eyebrows shot up, and Victor and Luke appeared on either side of me, clearly escorting me to the kitchen. I figured the others would join us soon enough, so I remained unbothered by it. Luke wrapped an arm around my waist, gripping my hip tightly, and Victor held my hand, rubbing his thumb against the back of it, probably in a silent form of reassurance.

The kitchen was much less crowded than the rest of the house, mostly full of people who wanted something to drink or wanted somewhere a little quieter to talk. I found the Sorenson clan in the corner near the door to the hall, clustered together, heads bent together. Always sharing secrets, always blocking out the rest of the world. That was how we had been for so long, and it was strange seeing us in action like that again, even stranger to see Zain without a bottle of beer in his hand.

I pounced on Micah, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing, happy to be around them. He stumbled, then laughed, probably aware that his little sister who had just attacked him in a hug.

"Hi, Sang," he greeted me as I released him and took a step away, backing into Luke's warm touch. "Glad you could make it."

"Ew," I said, my nose scrunching up in distaste at his words. I shot him a glare and stuck my tongue out at him, ignoring Victor and Luke's laughter at my childishness. "Don't talk to me like I'm one of your party guests. I'm your sister."

"Yeah, Micah," Marie interjected, sharing a grin with me. She loved to pick on Micah and took every chance that she could get. "Why would you ever treat dear, sweet Sang like that?"

"Sweet?" Luke chuckled, winding his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my head. My siblings didn't even bat an eyelash at the way he touched me, not fully aware of my relationship with the boys, but knowing enough not to question anything. "I wouldn't say that's the exact right word for my cupcake here..."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, giggling and smacking his arm. His chest vibrated against my back from his laughter, and it made unexplainable warmth spread through my body. I would never get sick of listening to my boys' laughter, and it would never fail to make me smile.

"Where's the rest of your boys?" Zain questioned, leaning against the wall, and shooting a glare over my shoulder at someone who had presumably tried to approach us. I didn't have to turn around to know that they were in the midst of speed walking away.

"Talking with Knox," Victor informed him, stepping up closer, shoving his hands into his pockets.

I watched, slightly amused but content as the boys struck up a conversation. As the other boys joined us, they joined in too, conversing with my siblings, and over all having a good time. There wasn't much of a need to leave the kitchen, though I was certain that at some point, Luke and Gabriel were going to drag me out into the living room to dance. I leant against Luke, happy with listening and quietly speaking with Marie.

It had been about an hour into being at the party and sipping from my boys drinks when my bladder decided that it needed to relieve itself. I quietly informed Marie that I would be right back and she nodded, telling me to be quick or else the boys would have a heart attack.

Untangling myself from Luke, I tip toed down the hall to the bathroom that resided next to the stairs. It wasn't used often, mostly by guests and even then, they preferred the bathroom that was closer to the living room. Before I headed back out, I stopped in front of the mirror, lifting my mask and cleaning up any makeup that had smudged. I smiled at my reflection, the knots that had formed in my stomach earlier lessening some.

I had just been paranoid. The party was going great, and although I wasn't doing much else besides talking with my siblings and my boys, I was having a good time.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, I blinked at the darkness of the hallway. Compared to the kitchen, it was a little hard to see but I figured I wasn't going to be lingering, so it didn't really matter. Turning towards the kitchen doorway, I froze, movement catching my eye out of my peripheral vision. I frowned, and looked over at the stairs, shocked to see a masculine figure starting up them.

No one was allowed upstairs during parties, it was the number one rule for Sorenson parties. And seeing as no one was dumb enough to risk their life, I figured it must have been one of my boys.

"Marc? Sean? That you?" I called out, lifting my mask to rest on my head, as I squinted in the darkness, trying to make out any distinguishable features.

The figure turned in the darkness, and before I could try to figure out who it was, they were moving down the stairs and right towards me. Something similar to fear spiked inside me and I took a step back, but wasn't fast enough. The person collided with me and I slammed into the wall, the back of my head crashing against it. Black dots swam before my vision and I gasped, slumping to the ground, bringing my hand to where I had hit my head. I winced at the feeling of blood, and glanced up, gasping at the sight of an all too familiar mask.

"You fuckface asshole!" I spat out, reaching out and trying to swing at him.

A chuckle escaped his mouth, cold and uncaring towards me, and it sent shivers down my spine. I pressed against the wall, realizing I had made a mistake by threatening when I was all alone in a dark hallway. I opened my mouth, prepared to call for help and hope that someone would hear me over the music, but I didn't get the chance. A fist collided with my face and the darkness consumed me.

I woke to the sound of voices, concerned and angry and panicked voices. I groaned, my skull and my face throbbing, though I was having a hard time remembering why they were throbbing. Had I fallen and smacked my head against something? The harder I pushed for the memory, the more my head heart, so I gave up, settling for groaning louder.

"Sang? Sang! She's awake!"

My eyebrows furrowed together in confusion, wondering why whoever it was was so excited about me being awake. Hands gently grasped my shoulders and arms, helping me into a sitting a position and leaning me against a wall. I forced my eyes open, though I wasn't sure I wanted to see what would greet me.

All of my boys were surrounding me. Some were pacing, some were standing and conversing, and others were sitting around me, probably waiting for me to wake up so they could take care of me. I pressed my hand to the back of my throbbing skull, but Sean quickly drew it away, a frown on his face.

"What happened?" I directed the question towards Kota, who wasn't exactly paying attention to me at the moment, but the sound of my voice caused his eyes to be drawn to me. He frowned, exchanging a look with Owen and Axel, the look that usually meant they were debating on telling me something. "Dakota, tell me what happened."

He looked absolutely crushed as he said, "Volto attacked you, Sang. You went to the bathroom and we don't exactly know what happened other than he attacked you."

My heart sank, and my eyes fluttered shut, tears of frustration forming. I had thought we could get through the party without any incidents occurring, and I had been wrong. I figured the boys must have felt worse than me, after all, they had promised that Volto wouldn't ever hurt me, and they had failed me. I didn't blame them, though. The only person to truly blame was Volto.

"Anything else I should know?" I questioned in a whisper, pulling my knees up to my chest.

"He left you a note," Axel informed me, reaching out to hand me what looked like a pink sticky note. From the butterflies that decorated the left corner of it, I knew that it had been taken from my bedroom, either tonight or when he had trashed it. "And, once Sean has checked you over, we're going to Victor's and we're going under lockdown."

I could barely listen to whatever else he had to say, bile rising in my throat from the words that Volto had left for me to read.

I warned you, Sang. Maybe this will help you learn to listen better next time.

P.S. I hope the head feels better, and tell your sister she should hide her diary better, you never know what kind of psychos may be lurking around.

It wasn't okay, it wasn't okay at all. I had hoped that Owen would have been right, but not even he could have predicted how horrible things would have gone so fast.

a/n: originally, this was going to be on a schedule. I was going to post each new chapter on a certain  week this day but then my excitement and impatientness got to me (and some birdies too who will go unnamed for rn...) so I'm dropping all of the last chapters right now! Enjoy! A Q&A thing will be up soon. 

Also, wow, this was intense!!

xoxo,

ry.