Brandi said our costumes were from a previous year's dance competition, and each included a leotard, leggings, long satin gloves, a skirt, and a pair of glittery, transparent wings.

Mine were silver and black, and Ruby's mother had tried to make the outfit a bit more 'masculine' for me, since Ruby had told her I was a boy, so my skirt wasn't quite as long or as puffy as the others. Brandi had done my hair in a loose, braided crown, and arranged it with sprays of little white silk flowers.

I had never felt so lovely and so free.

Once we'd made our 'entrance,' I sought Dennis and Gray where they stood together near a table of refreshments, and Dennis looked up as I approached. He stared for a moment, his eyes widening, and then the little paper cup he held tipped to the side, and he spilled some of his drink on himself. He seemed not to notice.

"Oh...shit," he groaned. "I think I've got a bad, bad kink."

"A kink in what, Dennis?" I asked, concerned. "Ari gets those in his neck sometimes, after a lot of studying. I could rub it for you, if you like. Ari says that helps."

"Uh..." Dennis did his color-changing thing again, turning a shade of pink that matched Brandi's wings, and his voice sounded a bit strained. "No...it's...actually fine now."

Gray, too, seemed to watch me with a strange intensity, and I touched my hair self-consciously, wondering if perhaps it had become disarranged in the excitement.

Gray spoke before I could ask. "There has been little dancing, so far," he said. "And what there has been is not...spirited. No one is getting close enough for a casual touch to go unnoticed."

"You have one hella creepy super-power, you know that?" Dennis said, making a face and finally looking away from me. "Anyway, leave that to me. I know the DJ. Just gimme a minute."

He darted away, weaving through the crowd towards the stage, where a tall boy with short black hair and glasses stood behind a sort of table with many wires trailing off of it. Dennis mounted the stage, and pointed at the overhead lights and then at the crowd.

The other boy said something in return, and then pressed some of the buttons and switches in front of him.

The multicolored lights dimmed, the music grew louder and changed to something with a fast, exciting beat, with sounds and words full of energy and motion, and I sensed the mood of the room begin to shift. People drifted closer to the stage and began to move with the music, and soon they danced quite close together.

Gray sighed. "He has his uses, I suppose," he remarked, looking across the room to where Dennis stood at the 'DJ' table, shouting and laughing with the crowd.

Then Gray's demeanor shifted, like an actor assuming a role, and by subtle adjustments to his posture and expression, he transformed from the quiet, unassuming boy I knew into a dangerously handsome rogue. From his copper skin, to his dark hair, to the low-cut shirt he wore, he appeared a true Don Giovanni.

With a knowing curl on his lips and a smug arch in his brow, he looked at me and smiled. An odd tingle shot through my chest.

"Well? Do I look the part?" he asked. Even his voice was different—cool and self-assured.

I nodded. "You ought to join drama club, Gray. Mr. Dave would give you all the 'bad boy' roles."

"Maybe," he said, looking and sounding like himself again. "But my acting isn't for fun. Pretending to be something I'm not is just another tool of my unpleasant trade."

The veil of his disguise descended again, more effective than any mask.

"Wish me luck,"he said, and melted in among the crowd.

"Luck," I whispered, and then stood back, watching from the edges of the room.

I enjoyed wearing my beautiful costume, and being with my friends, and I knew that I was safe with Dennis and Gray, but it was quite loud, and there were a lot of people.

It took a good deal of concentration simply not to be overwhelmed, and for the moment I was content to wait on the 'sidelines.' For one thing,  no matter how closely I watched, I could not quite grasp the form of this dance.

Gray seemed quite skilled, fortunately, and moved about the floor with ease. Before long, eager partners surrounded him, and I observed how he lightly touched a shoulder or arm before moving on to the next. I found myself wishing he would dance with me, but we weren't here to have fun. We were hunting for clues, and I figured I might as well put my own skills to use.

I circled the room, tuning my hearing to the conversations going on around me. It was a delicate balance, to open my senses enough to focus on words without being inundated with music and noise, but the more I practiced, the more I was able to listen to one thing at a time.

There was talk of movies and games, music, and plans for future dreams; there were complaints about parents and siblings, and homework and school. It was not until I neared the spot where the cheerleaders were gathered that I heard something of interest.

And then I wished I had not.

"Ugh, I smudged my eyeliner," Shawna complained. "Where'd that little freak go? I need him to fix it for me."

"He's so gross," Brandi said. "I mean, what even is he? Like, he's pretty as a girl, he dresses like a girl, but he says he's a boy. It's fuckin' 'fusing."

"I know, right?" Saira agreed. "Like, pick a side, bro. At least after tonight we don't have to pretend to like him anymore."

"What about his Insta? I thought we needed the boost?" Brandi asked. "He still has more followers than all of us combined, and his account's, like, two weeks old."

"He's competition, Bran," Shawna said. "And you know what we do to the comp."

"Claim 'em or maim 'em," Saira said. "You know how he said he can't show his face or his name online? Well, Ruby took a shit-ton of pictures while he was doing our makeup...and while he was changing." She giggled. "She's posting it tomorrow, and then nothing will be secret."

"He'll probs have to change his name and move away," Shawna said, inspecting her nails.

"What if he gets all depressed and... you know. Like that kid a few years back?" Brandi asked.

Saira frowned. "You mean Avery's step-brother? Or sister, or whatever it was?"

"Brother," Shawna said firmly. "He had a dick, and everyone saw the pictures to prove it. Having a dick makes you a boy. It's not our fault if he couldn't handle facts."

"Oh my God, Shawn!" Ruby objected. "That is so mean!"

But then she laughed.

They all laughed.

I stood absolutely still as the music and laughter and talk continued to swirl around me like dust in a moat of sunlight.

Perhaps I had misunderstood, as I often did.

For once, I wished I had, but they'd spoken plainly enough.

They meant to hurt me. They'd hurt someone before, and they didn't care about the consequences. They weren't my friends, and I wasn't one of them.

Nor did I wish to be.

I gazed out upon the dance floor again. Dennis still stood on stage, laughing with the other boy as they handled the music and lights together. A new song started—slower than the last—and people danced closer together now. Gray swayed to the beat with Lauren in his arms, and the smile on his face did not look pretended at all.

And then there was me.

The only boy dressed as a butterfly; the only one wearing pretty colors on his face.

The only one who did not belong here at all.

Maybe I had already learned what I had come here to learn, and I ought to leave this world to sort out its problems on its own.

With sadness settling on my heart as evening gloom, I slipped out through the emergency door, which someone had propped open to let in air.

Outside, I drew in a cooling breath, and gazed up at the ghost-white orb of the full moon.

Being a vampire, the cold didn't bother me, but I shivered anyway, feeling the difference in temperature against the bare skin of my shoulders and back.

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall, shutting my eyes. For the first time since I'd arrived at school, I wished I was anywhere but here. I wished I was home, with Ari and Soren. I wished I was sitting with them in the lovely heated pools, watching the stars wheel on their slow, immortal journey across the heavens high above.

My senses were still heightened, and gradually, I became aware of an odd, rhythmic squeaking sound drifting across the open ground beyond the gymnasium.

It was coming from the area near the playing field, where an old swing-set stood—a relic from a time when the school had been home to younger grades.

Curious who might be out there, in the 'forbidden zone,' at this time of night, I pushed myself away from the wall and walked to the top of the slope that dropped away towards the field below. The bleachers and the dark woods lay at one end, the old swing-set at the other, tucked behind the backstop of the baseball diamond.

Even by the light of the moon, my inhuman sight picked out Avery's knotted hair, which she'd dyed an unfortunate, bright blonde.

I hesitated, knowing I would not be welcome, but then I recalled what Shawna and the others had said.

Perhaps Avery's hatred stemmed from the fact that I had been, overall, embraced and accepted, while her sister had not. Perhaps, if I made things clear with her, once and for all, we could be friends again.

With this resolve in my heart, I descended the slope of dry grass, and approached the swings.

"Hello, Avery," I said, when I was near enough not to have to shout, but not so near that I would startle her.

She looked up. "Who's that?"

I'd forgotten she couldn't see in the dark. "It is...Fenn," I answered.

The squeak of the swing stopped.

"Go away."

I paused, then continued and halted at the boundary of the playground, where the grass gave way to old wood-chips.

"Please, Avery. Can we talk?"

"Just piss off, would you!?" she shouted, and I heard traces of tears in her voice.

I decided to try one more time.

"Please, Avery—let me walk you back to the dance. It isn't safe out here."

She laughed, though it sounded as if she were crying at the same time.

"Oh, I know it's not," she said. "It's not safe for you, you stupid little fairy."

She wiped at her eyes.

"I've tried really fucking hard to stay away from you, Fenn. I said all the mean shit I could think of, right to your stupid, sweet face, and made it super clear I want nothing to do with you, and yet you just... won't... stay... away!"

She hissed the last words in a sort of angry growl.

I sniffed, stung by her vehemence. "I don't 'like' Dennis, Avery," I said. "I will—"

"It doesn't matter if you like him!" she snapped. "He likes you. I've been trying to get him to notice me for two years, and he fell in love with you at first-fucking-sight."

"Avery..."

"I wish I didn't care," she went on, sniffing back tears. "I've tried so hard not to care. But I do. I care. So I tried to stay away from you instead. For your sake," she sneers. "And yet here you are."

She shook her head.

"Hatred, anger, jealousy...that's what attracts them," she said, beginning to cry again.

"Who?" I asked, now thoroughly confused.

"The shadows," she whispered.

"The...shadows?"

Even as I speak, I feel a creeping cold, and a sense of deep, soul-chilling dread.

"The shadows that kill," Avery said, crying in earnest now. "They belong to me, Fenn. And they're gonna make me choose again."

And from the black woods at her back, three shapes emerged, darker than the darkness there. A pair of red eyes glowed in each, and all fixed on me.

I gasped and took a half-stumbled step back.

"I'm so sorry," Avery breathed. "Juno wouldn't have wanted this. But I can't stop them. I can't control them now, and it will be worse if I don't choose. I'm so sorry. Please...just run. I'll try to hold them back, but..."

The shadows—the phonoi—advanced, and I retreated another pace, and then another.

I stood a better chance against them than any human would, but I was not half so deadly as even one of them, and there were three.

I fell back another step, trying to think. I couldn't lead them back to the dance, and I couldn't fight them alone. The woods, I thought; perhaps I might lose them among the trees.

"Fenn...please."

Avery's voice was a breathless shiver, and I saw the foremost shadow take on a more human shape—a torso, legs and arms, long fingered hands tipped in blades, and a gaping mouth of shadow-teeth.

It lunged.

"Fenn, RUN!" Avery screamed.

I turned and ran.

I ran as fast as I ever had, darting along the edge of the field and away from Avery, headed for the thick woods that bordered the other end.

The phonoi were faster. Avery's description—shadows—was apt. They traveled between darknesses, fluid as liquid night pouring from pool to pool. And beneath the trees, they awaited me.

I halted. They'd killed Ryan and his friends sometime in the mid-afternoon, so light alone wouldn't stop them, but maybe it slowed them down, or weakened them. If I stayed in the moonlight, maybe I still had a chance.

They advanced, one in front, and two flanking me, closing in classic pincer formation.

I readied myself as best I could. Father Volkir had tried to teach me to defend myself, in our long years together, but I'd always lacked the heart, or the mind, for fighting.

I could only do my best, and hope that Ari and Soren would discover what had happened to me, and that they wouldn't miss me too much when they did.

"Fenn!"

A voice hailed me from across the field, and my fear-fired heart froze and sank like a stone. Constant Gray sprinted towards me, something held before him like a shield, at a speed that would have made Mr. Ramsey quite proud.