The Grim Reaper Effect

-E I G H T-

My ninja costume came together pretty well. I found a long sleeve black shirt with a hood. I paired it with black leggings and black ballerina flats. I tied a red karate belt around my waist and tucked my fake swords into it. I put on my mask and tossed my hood over my head. I looked like a 21st-century ninja and I was happy with that. My hair was in a bun now so it would go under the hood. I touched up my eyeliner and I was ready.

We all headed downstairs and helped set up the food and the music. After an hour of making last minute adjustments, guests started arriving. It didn't take long for the party to kickoff. Thirty minutes in, it was in full swing. Monsters and movie characters were everywhere. Bradley arrived dressed as Mario and I suddenly understood why Indie was so determined to be Luigi. It was a couple costume. It was cute.

Indie ran over to him, throwing her arms around him. Kira and I were left on the couch, sipping drinks from our cups. Kira had spiked her drink, wanting something stronger than the punch. I, on the other hand, decided on sparkling cider. The first time I got drunk wouldn't be at my parents' party. Especially not while my little brother was here.

"Aww! They are so cute!" Kira squealed. "Ugh! When is it gonna be my turn?!"

"When you stop being an ass towards every girl and boy that comes your way!" I chuckled. "Seriously, you reject everyone that even comes within a three-mile radius of you."

She shrugged, "If I can find someone who's worthy of me, I'll let you know."

I rolled my eyes and laughed. People thought Kira was asexual for an entire year since she rejected everyone, though I knew better. She just wasn't looking for a relationship. Eventually, she came out as bisexual and even more people started throwing themselves at her. She was amused by it at first but got annoyed very quickly.

She stood up and smoothed her dress out, "Screw this. I'm having some fun tonight!"

With that, she left me alone on the couch with a fake zombie. I raised my glass, as if making a toast, and took a sip. I pulled out my phone and started scrolling through my social media apps. All I saw were pictures of different people's costumes. I saw animals and mystical creatures everywhere. It was starting to get old.

"Bored?" I glanced up and saw Griffin standing there.

He looked good as a vampire. He had on a black tailcoat with velvet cuffs, a dark red velvet vest under and a white button up underneath all of that. He wore black slacks and wingtip dress shoes. His curly hair was now slicked back. I found myself missing his curly hair. It seemed to fit him.

"Don't tell me you forgot to get fangs," I raised my eyebrows at him, putting my phone down.

He shook his head and showed off his realistic fangs, "I had to look up what these foolish creatures look like and I saw they had fangs. Fangs! This is absolute nonsense!"

I smiled at him, "For what it's worth, you look pretty cool."

He rolled his eyes and took a seat next to me, "I will never understand these things. Why would you want to be in a crowd of sweaty people that you can hardly move in?"

"It's the atmosphere," I explained. "The thought of getting together with a group of friends and having a good time, that's why they're here."

He shrugged, "Still seems a bit overrated to me."

We sat there for a while, not talking. He was observing the party while I observed him. Even at a party, he's sitting up straight. Every time I see him, he's always perfectly aligned. It was interesting. The costume only made his perfect posture look more natural.