Song: Blackout - Breathe Carolina

"Casey!"

April calls after me, but I don't stop.  It's as if a trance has taken me over, and all that matters is speaking to this mysterious girl.

Her gaze meets mine as I approach her and I swear I feel my heart stop.  My own life seems to flash in her eyes, as if warning me to tread lightly.  But again, nothing is going to prevent me from striking up a discussion with her.

My heart is pounding out of my chest and I hope she can't hear it.  Remembering my hockey mask is covering my face and hiding my expressions, my confidence renews ten-fold.  I take on a swagger-like demeanor and lean casually against my hockey stick.  Without hesitation, I release the best pick-up line I can come up with on the spot.

"Are you so beautiful that the dead rejected you?"

The girl does not break eye contact with me, but she does not smile either.  "I would not be so fastidious as to flirt with the undead."  Her strange way of speech makes her all the more riveting.

"I've dared to do much more extreme things," I replies as I try to continue the conversation.

"Oh?" She tilts her head with the faintest bit of interest.  "Do elaborate further."

My mind is spinning so fast that I can't come up with a clever response.  I can't decide if I should pull the 'mysterious' or 'prince' card.  In the end, I settle on the latter, since she seems to be working the former herself.

"I don't give away free demos," I sniff and let a smirk show, though she can't see it under my mask.

The dark girl's expression does not betray her, however much I wish it would.  "Pity," she chimes in a light tone.  I half expect her to depart, but her gaze never once deserts mine.  "What do you go by?"

Seeing another chance to drop a flirty line, a thrill lights me up.  "You can call me the Man of Your Dreams," I answer as smooth as molasses.

That causes a hint of amusement to flash across her vision.  "Charming," she comments.

"If you want, I'll be your Prince Charming too." I shift myself towards her.  "And what do they call you?" I feel myself falling into my role quite well.  It's a bit foreign to me, but it gets easier as time goes on.

The girl seems to consider this question before responding.  "Tonight, my name is Nyleve," she finally replies, almost carefully.

I risk leaning my face closer to hers. I want to see what she really looks like, but her skilled make-up job prevents that.  "An alias, huh?  I like it," I rumble.

Nyleve shakes her head, renewing the secretive expression upon her facial features.  "Enough with the idle prattle.  Enlighten me; what pleasantries do you fancy to occupy your time?"

Her words have me practically swaying with confusion.  Luckily, I studied enough Old English to comprehend what she's saying.  "Well, I like to spend my time taking leisure walks around the neighborhood."  That's a lie, but it seems like something a prince would say.  So I roll with it.

   To my surprise, Nyleve lets out a yawn.  "How unfortunate.  I was hoping for a companion to assist me with my evening Halloween pranks," she says as her gaze wanders the room for the first time.

   I brighten, feeling the real me leak out.  "Pranks?" I ask.  "Pranks are my specialty.  I once tricked my whole algebra class into thinking there was a deadly snake roaming the room.  We got to skip class that day for 'safety precautions'."

   For the first time, a faint smile crosses her royal purple lips.  "Is that so?  Well, I do believe I have found myself a partner."

   I barely have time to nod before she turns and skirts her way into another room.  I follow her on her heels, nothing on my mind except her mesmerizing presence.  The way she glides across the floor is almost ghostly. The way her dark hair falls down her back sends chills up my spine. The eerie feeling about her is captivating.

   "So what are we gonna do?" I question as I watch her rummage through a bin of supplies.  Even the way her hands grip things is graceful.

   Nyleve doesn't answer. She continues searching through the bin until she settles on an object. As her hands come out, I see she'\ holding a knife with blood coating the tip. At first I am worried; but then I realize it's just plastic, and that the blood is fake.

   She places the knife in my hands and she pulls out a plastic axe for herself. "How talented are you at startling children?" she asks with a devious glint in her eyes.

   I have never had a chance to prank a child before. My whole life, I've spent time around my peers rather than those younger than me. Still, scaring some little kids senseless sounds like a great way to spend Halloween night.

   "We're about to find out," I respond and narrow my eyes excitedly.

   Nyleve gives me a single nod and floats out of the room. I trail close behind her as we slip through the huge crowd of people. I think I hear someone say my name from close by, but I ignore it. I'm too caught up in the mystery of my companion.

   We walk down the sidewalk calmly. I admire Nyleve as she merely surveys the costumed people she passes. They say things like "Boo!" to try and frighten her, but she never flinches. She simply gives them a look of boredom and travels on.

   We eventually make it to an area where the teenagers have transformed into preteen trick-or-treaters. They all run around in super-hero or princess getups with giant grins on their faces. Hardly any adults are around, so it makes our job of scaring kids a lot easier.

   Keeping our 'weapons' hidden, Nyleve and I slink away from the bulk of the crowds and off to an almost-secluded area. As we duck behind a dumpster, my dark-haired partner turns her gaze on me.

   "Don't bother the small children," she says in a soft voice that doesn't seem to fit her creepy outfit. "Let's attempt to spook the older treaters."

   Giving her a nod of approval, we fall into silence. Kids travel by our hiding spot quite often, but they don't qualify for our scares. Finally, however, a group of four kids wander by. It consists of a scrawny boy and three tougher-looking ones. The smaller one trails behind as if they are excluding him from their conversation.

   Nodding towards the group, Nyleve seems to understand what I mean. As soon as the group is close enough, we both leap out and release bloodcurdling screams. The three preteens scream as well, but out of fear. They bolt down the sidewalk, leaving the scrawny boy cackling as he heads after them. We made his night.

   "That was epic!" I exclaim.  An adrenaline rush courses through my veins. "Let's do it again!"

   For a good couple of hours, Nyleve and I continue to startle the pants off of older trick-or-treaters. Every so often, the reaction is be so priceless that even my mysterious companion can't help but smile. And when she does, I always feel my heart grow a bit more attached to her. I can't explain why, but I really like being around her.

   Finally, the jumpscares grow boring and the trick-or-treaters begin to go home. My scary companion and I are forced to head back to the mansion, which we can see even from this far down the road. The party seems fun, but I am dreading it; I'm afraid of losing Nyleve to someone else, which is strange considering I just met her.

   "I don't want to go back there," I state as I kick a rock down the sidewalk.

   Nyleve continues to look straightforward. "Why not?" she questions.

   I can't tell her the real reason, so I make one up. "It's too cramped," I answer.

   Nyleve gives a tiny nod. "I see. I thought it was rather spacious. Every room is the double the size of any apartment building."

   I open my mouth to reply, but something suspicious catches my eye. Three huge, animal-like figures are on a rooftop. I can't make out who it is, but they seem to be arguing over something. They have no idea that they are being watched.

   "What is wrong?" Nyleve asks; but for once, I pay her no attention. Something about the shapes of the creatures makes my stomach churn. They have ears and tails like those of animals, though I'm not sure what kind. Those are some strange Halloween costumes.

   As one of the figures turns its head, bright golden eyes meet mine. The menace and hatred stored in the tiny lights i enough to kill. Shocked, I take a step away and crash right into Nyleve.

   "What's the matter?" She places a hand on my shoulder, bringing me to make eye contact with her instead.

   "Don't you see that?" I ask as I point to where the figures are.

   Nyleve looks confused as she stares where I'' pointing. "I see nothing," she replies in puzzlement.

   Snapping my head back to the roof, I realize that the shapes have disappeared. I shake my head and check again, but there is still nothing. Did I imagine it?  I mean, it is very likely to hallucinate on a holiday like this.  It's the most paranoid day of the year.

   "Uh, never mind," I tell her, slightly embarrassed. "It was just a pigeon."

   Nyleve looks as if she doesn't believe me, but she doesn't press the issue. She continues on her way back towards the party and I have no choice but to follow.

   We don't talk much, but that's alright. Just being around her is enough to satisfy me. The only disappointment is when we get back to the mansion and April races up to me, ending our alone time.

   "There you are!" the redhead gasps, her blue eyes alit with irritation. "I've been looking all over!"

   "Sorry, Red," I reply in the most unapologetic way. "I was with-"

   I start to gesture to Nyleve, but she is gone. She must have faded into the crowds.  I try to peer through and spot her, but there is no hope of finding her in such a huge mess. A sad feeling engulfs me, but it's easy to hide it behind my hockey mask.

   "You ditched me," April scolds as she punches my arm. Her eyes are round with anger, but she doesn't seem surprised.  "I thought we were in this together.  You make me come to this party so you wouldn't be alone, then you leave me alone."

   "We are in this together," I insist.  My gaze keeps shooting through the queue of teenagers. "I just got a bit distracted is all."

   "You were gone for hours, Casey," April sighs in exasperation. "I was left by that disgusting punch bowl all night. Are you even listening to me?"

   I strain my neck to see over the masked and painted faces at the party, but I still can't spot Nyleve.  But at April's question, I immediately snap my full attention back to her.  "Yeah, I hear you," I mumble bashfully. 

   April crosses her arms disbelievingly.  "Good to know I can rely on you," she remarks sarcastically.  She brushes passed my shoulder and heads out of the mansion.

   "Hey!" I race after her, struggling to keep pace with her quick steps.  The strange trance I've been under is gone and I'm back to my usual, chill self.  "Where are you going?" I ask as I catch up to her.

   April returns my baseball bat to me and continues on her way.  "I'm going to go see the turtles.  Maybe they'll watch vampire chick flicks with me," she remarks sarcastically.  "You're obviously too interested in some weird mystery girl, so I'll leave you to her."

   It bothers me to have hurt my best friend.  I throw my arm around April's shoulders, but she shrugs it off. Quickly recovering my wounded pride I walk close to her, but not enough for her to brush me off again. I flip my mask up and put on my most persuasive smile.

   "I'll make it up to you, Red," I say as sincerely as I can. "Let's go to a haunted house!  Invite the turtle dudes, too.  We can make this into a group thing!"

   April seems a bit uncertain at my change of heart.  "I'm not paying for the tickets," she says slowly.

   I smirk.  "You honestly think I'd invite you out somewhere and make you pay?  That isn't how Casey Jones rolls."  I motion for her to follow me as I lead the way. "And don't forget, you can hold my hand whenever you get scared," I add smoothly.

   April rolls her eyes. "In your dreams, Jones," she returns, but she is smiling slightly.

   As April calls the turtles, I can't stop my mind from flickering to Nyleve. I assume it's just for the night, that I will be over her by morning. I never care about a random girl for more than a few hours.

   Little do I know, I have developed an unhealthy obsession with the mysterious girl from the Halloween party.