Kat's heart skipped a beat. As soon as the door swung open, she had to force down a gulp of air. He was actually here, smiling and sweeping out his arm in a bow, offering his hand to her in a gentlemanlike manner. It was so corny. Kat couldn't help but grin.
She wasn't sure exactly how she had thought this was going to play out, but she wasn't entirely surprised. There had been a few daydreams here and there that they would both show up to the party in matching dress and suit, turning heads as they made their entrance. That wouldn't exactly be the case. Zach's outfit wasn't much different than what he had been wearing every single day prior. The only effort he had put into a costume was a graphic t-shirt with a faded skeleton cage. His hoodie being worn half-zipped helped to play into the illusion. As Kat took his hand she could see that his under eyes were smudged with black, using that cheap putty-looking "makeup" sold at Spirit Halloween. She couldn't decide if the costume was just as lazy as any other teenage boy or if she was kinda into it.
"You look lovely this evening, m'lady," Zach said as she finally took his hand. She held her breath as he drew her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss atop her knuckles.
"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased. Kat could feel her face reddening, knowing that it would only remain perpetually flushed throughout the night as long as she was attempting her awkward flirting.
Zach guided her down the steps of the front stoop, being sure to move at a steady pace so that Kat could hold up the skirt of her dress to avoid tripping over the hem. Their cutesy back and forth flirting had taken a momentary pause, as they were both too focused on simply making it down to the last step.
As they strolled, the thought occurred to Kat for the first time; transportation. Were they going on foot? Did Zach have a car? The thought of being driven by him, with just the two of them, summoned even more butterflies in her stomach.
The front gate of Whipstaff came into view, as well as a car. Kat squinted at the sight of the bluish gray minivan. She couldn't make out the figure behind the wheel. The butterflies disappeared in an instant as they were overpowered by a feeling of unease. She thought back to the stranger danger videos teachers used to play for the class back in middle school.
"Who's that?" Kat asked. She couldn't remove her stare from the car, but she could feel Zach's suddenly concerned gaze despite him being just out of her peripheral vision. His palm felt clammy against her hand.
Just as the question left her mouth, they were already close enough for her to finally recognize the face of Vic DePhilippi. His mop of blonde curls were barely kept out of his eyes by a strip of tattered red cloth tied around his forehead- likely a piece of a t-shirt that had been terribly butchered by a pair of kitchen scissors- which was paired with a primary green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume top. The sleeves were baggy, obviously missing some kind of foam inserts originally meant to give the appearance of bulky muscles, leaving the fabric hanging awkwardly and deflated on his broad shoulders. He had probably dug up the old costume from the bowels of his basement just a few hours before he left the house.
Being accompanied by two teenage boys in equally sloppy costumes had the upside of making her feel more confident in her own getup. Hopefully, by comparison, she would give the impression of a girl who was out of their league, yet was gracious enough to join them on this night out.
"Vic," Kat said. It didn't sound like a greeting. It came out like a statement of fact. She didn't intend for it to have any tone of distaste.
Vic's face reacted to her as expected. His expression was lacking at first, then timid, as though it was slowly dawning on him that Kat was in fact the person he had once assisted Amber in tormenting. Kat had never held any of it against him.
Unlike Amber, Vic always kept quiet and kept his head even lower. He had been going out of his way to avoid Kat like the plague since middle school. Kat knew that despite being an accomplice, he had always been the one to purposefully sabotage the pranks and general cruelty of Amber. It was a wonder he had stuck by her side throughout the years, and there was no way that Vic could've been unaware of the effects on his reputation. The two of them were the most hated people out of the entire student body- so much so that even they grew to despise each other by the end of sophomore year. Now they sat on opposite sides of the cafeteria and opted to go solo on every class activity requiring a partner.
Vic had ruined his own social life, and for what? To avoid hurting Amber's feelings? As much as Kat wanted to judge him for it, she couldn't help but have some amount of admiration for his loyal nature.
With all of that in consideration, who knows why the hell he was interested in attending the party- if not for the chance of scoring some free alcohol.
"Hey," Vic said. His blank expression was wavering. Whatever barrier he was trying to hold up was starting to come crashing down. He seemed determined to avoid fully addressing her, as if pretending that he had no recollection of Kat Harvey was the key to making it through the night.
Zach opened the passenger door and held it in place. Kat stood in a daze, failing to realize that he was prompting her to take the seat until Zach cleared his throat and nodded his head in an even more obvious gesture. Kat still hesitated. She hoped that if she stood there long enough with stiffened posture that Zach would eventually get the message that she would rather hitchhike than sit next to Vic at this time, but he wasn't getting it. Kat sighed, forced a polite smile, and dipped herself in a joking curtsey before climbing in.
* * *
The drive wasn't terribly awkward. It helped that the radio was half-broken, leaving the volume stuck at a moderately loud volume as Vic's Greatest Halloween Hits cassette played a rather pitchy rendition of The Monster Mash. It left little room for small talk, as long as they wanted to avoid straining their voices to yell over the radio. Kat had never been more grateful to be subjected to such mediocre music.
They arrived at a private doc, in an area that would've been comparable to an isolated area in a horror movie if it hadn't been for the obscene amount of lights and Halloween decor strung across every beam and light pole in sight. The other side of the harbor was also lit up by clusters of boats, where you could hear the distant music and shouts of people who were somehow already hammered before sunset.
Kat had never seen a house boat before, at least not up close, and sure enough, it was quite literally a house floating on the water. It was about the size of any ordinary, modest suburban home, but still not quite the ideal size for the amount of guests who had shown.
Amber had apparently been prepared for an influx. The H-shaped pier that anchored the houseboat was spotted with plenty of deck chairs, coolers, and trays of finger foods. Every available corner had a massive speaker, all of which were synchronized to blast music at just the right volume, suitable for either dancing or socializing.
"Coming through!" a voice yelled from behind. Kat felt a tug at her waist as Zach scooped her out of the way of two boys as they plowed through, rolling two massive beer kegs like steamrollers across the pavement.
Once the coast was clear, Kat looked at Zach and felt her cheeks burn at the sight of her hand against his chest. His hand was still placed by her hip. She could've stayed like this for so much longer if it hadn't been for the fact that they were still standing in the parking lot with Vic at an awkward proximity. Zach's lips were close enough to her that he could've planted a kiss on her cheek, and Kat could've sworn that he was beginning to do so.
"So, where to?" Vic asked. Kat couldn't tell if he was asking a genuine question or going out of his way to break the moment of intimacy. Either way, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of annoyance as Zach pulled back.
"Guess we should find Amber," Zach suggested.
"Why?" Kat heard her voice snap. She sounded like a total bitch. "Like, is it an etiquette thing to greet a host at a house party?" she rushed to do damage control, to hopefully soften the bitchiness.
"You mean a house- boat party," Vic said with a snicker. His mood had suddenly switched to something much more happy-go-lucky. He seemed to have become aware of his predicament as a third wheel and was attempting to fill the gap with whatever humor he could find. "I dunno. It's just what you do. So. . . yeah, I guess it's an etiquette thing."
Kat shrugged in wordless agreement. She fell behind the boys as Vic took it upon himself to lead the way to the pier. They passed by clusters of party-goers in various costumes, ranging from a full-body inflatable Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters to some guy in a top hat and a drawn-on beard. Kat caught enough pieces of conversations here and there to know that the costume contest was the headliner of the festivities. Considering the competition, Marshmallow Man was the most likely contender by a landslide.
The three found their way to the pier. Kat mumbled some apologies here and there as she bumped shoulders with random people who she didn't recognize, which was due to both the masks and heavy makeup and her previous history- or lack thereof- of socializing.
The piers had guests busy with all sorts of activities. Ping pong balls littered the water below due to a lack of competent beer pong players. Kat nearly slipped on an apple core that had strayed from the other apples floating in a tub of water, making it apparent that half of these people had never encountered a game of bobbing for apples.
After ducking past a couple who shamelessly made out with each other, whilst tangled together in a deck chair, they finally reached the entrance of the houseboat. Vic passed through the doorway with confident ease. Kat figured that he had hung out at this place frequently enough in the past to make himself at home without a second thought. Zach followed him.
Meanwhile, Kat hesitated. She looked down at the gap between the pier and the boat's entrance. It was roughly six inches wide, but the rocking of the houseboat widened it by another few inches, practically a whole foot. It made her stomach churn. She had never set foot on a boat, let alone one this massive. It looked less stable up close.
Her thoughts began to race. Who's idea was it to put a house on the water? It was practically a death wish. If you're thinking about investing in deathtrap, why not save a few bucks and drown yourself in the nearest river for free?
"Come on." Zach's hand entered her vision. "It's safe."
Kat looked up and swallowed. She was surrounded by strangers who were already having more fun than she probably ever would, which was doing nothing but spiking her anxiety with insecurity. She had never felt more vulnerable.
"I think I'm gonna get seasick," she choked out.
"You won't," he said with a reassuring smile. "This is a harbor."
Kat rolled her eyes. She couldn't resist a laugh. "Same difference."
Zach's smile softened into something that expressed comfort and understanding. He was trying in every way that he could to make her feel safe. Kat appreciated it, but it wasn't of much use. She couldn't help but look down at the gap, at the water lapping at the side of the boat, a creature that was more than eager to drag her down by the ankle.
Kat wasn't given much more time to dwell in her hesitation. She felt a warm embrace around her waist as she was swiftly lifted in the air and through the threshold. She felt instant relief as her boots touched down on the floor, then felt a reassuring hold on her forearm from Zach.
"Don't worry, I got you," he said quietly.
Kat could feel the intensity of her own stare, from her own shock at his forwardness. So far, with every single disaster that could have occurred, Zach had swooped in to save the day. She didn't think it was possible to fall for someone again and again, each time harder than the last, yet here they were.
Zach took her hand and guided her through the room. They had lost track of Vic. Kat stood on her tiptoes to scan the air for a red headband, but to no avail. It took a minute or two of aimless wandering and bumping into strangers until they finally stumbled upon a narrow staircase- to which Kat's initial thought was absolutely not . There was no other sign of Vic, leaving this as the only place he could possibly be. Kat's breath caught in her throat. It helped to feel Zach's grasp tighten around her hand, reminding her that she was perfectly safe. She still wasn't going to like this, though.
It was a tight squeeze with a low ceiling that forced them to crouch most of the way up. With no handlebars to steady herself, Kat kept her free hand pressed against the wall. The lighting was dim, coming from a cobweb-filled lantern that creaked and swayed overhead.
Once they reached the top, Kat could finally breathe thanks to a small overhead fan that circulated the dry air. The room was much smaller than the first floor with its open floor plan. This area had a lower ceiling that was still tall enough to allow standing room, but most preferred to sit cross-legged on the floor. Orange string lights hung overhead like a sagging web. Pumpkin and bat-patterned tablecloths covered the floor, paired with a cooler which overall gave the appearance of a Halloween-themed picnic. There were no radios or speakers, which left them with muffled music from the first floor.
Now that she was managing to calm her breathing, she was quickly adapting. The atmosphere was much calmer. A party consisting of a small group, sitting together and engaging in conversation at a regular volume made the first floor seem more like a mosh pit. Kat could get used to this.
Vic had joined a group of guys in a corner, all dressed in football jerseys with matching face paint. The school colors were purple and gold, not the blue and white of Friendship High. That would explain how Vic suddenly had friends. It might also explain the sheer amount of people at this party. Kat wouldn't put it past Amber to spread the word across every school in the area in hopes of making up for the absence of most of her classmates.
Vic looked up at Zach and Kat when they entered the room and raised a hand in the air to wave them over. "Speaking of the lovebirds," he said to the other boys, tongue-in-cheek.
Player #5 whistled. He eyed Kat up and down while a smirk tugged at his lip.
"Who knew you had game," player #18 added through a chuckle, giving Zach a hard slap on his lower leg. "Way to go, man."
Kat's face reddened, now twice as red from the stuffy air. She didn't know whether to feel flattered or pissed by the remarks. They talked as if they knew Zach personally. There was no way. If not because they were from a different school, Zach would never associate with such douchebags.
Zach seemed to detect her discomfort. He squeezed her hand. "Is Amber around?" he asked.
Vic didn't respond at first. He swirled the beer around in his solo cup and squinted his eyes as he forced his memory to jog. "Oh, Amber. Right," he nodded, "over there."
Kat was somehow surprised to see the host at her own party, dressed in a skimpy witch costume with striped thigh-high stockings, platform heels and a ripped miniskirt. The garb was dark and gothic, a weird contrast to her usual floral and pastel wardrobe. It was strange to see her engaging in a conversation with actual excitement and genuine interest in what others had to say. Amber barely talked to anyone at all at school unless the interaction was absolutely necessary.
With Zach at her side, Kat approached who looked and felt like a stranger. As their shadow fell over the group, Amber looked up. Her black-painted lips curled into a look of distaste as soon as she realized who had just arrived. She was trying a little too hard to look pleased with Zach's arrival, but the expression was overpowered by her much more obvious feelings towards Kat.
Everyone in the surrounding circle grew quiet. Anyone in the room could sense the tension between the three of them, and no one wanted to make any false movements that could set Amber off.
"You made it," she said, honing in on Zach. Kat could've sworn that Amber's left eye had twitched for a millisecond.
"This place looks amazing," Zach complimented. "I didn't know what to expect but you really outdid yourself."
Amber grinned and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear in a not-so-subtle flirtatious manner. "Thank my parents," she said, "I told them it was the perfect party venue. Thank god they decided to start renting it out for weddings."
Kat nodded with a forced smile. "It really is perfect." She gestured to the small, square window on the opposite wall. "I mean, that view is gorgeous."
"Are you staying for the costume contest?" Amber continued without so much as batting an eye in reaction to Kat.
"When was that again?" Kat asked. She decided then and there to simply ignore Amber's ignoring. Why not fight fire with fire?
"Midnight," Amber said as if Kat's question was totally absurd and completely unwarranted. "I think you'd do great," she eyed Zach's costume as if he was wearing the sexiest costume on the planet. Even though Kat couldn't deny that Zach looked hot, his "costume" was far from award-worthy.
"I don't know," Zach said, taking a glance at Kat. "I don't want to miss your curfew."
Kat's expression turned puzzled. She hadn't brought up a curfew. Another squeeze of her hand made her realize what Zac was doing. It was the perfect failsafe in case they needed an escape route later in the night.
"No worries," Kat went along with it. "My dad wants me home before ten but I might be able to convince him later over the phone."
"Guess that's a maybe," Zach concluded with a half smile.
Amber didn't look satisfied. She cocked her head and took a sip of diet soda. "Maybe," she repeated. Her intended sexy tone came across as more of a threat, which she must've realized as she averted her gaze and took a deeper sip of her drink.
Kat bit down on her bottom lip and looked around the room, unsure of their next move. Vic was hanging out with total strangers, another group was locked into a hushed gossip circle, and the last group behind them were busy making out and doing other things that Kat preferred to not be subjected to. She looked back down at Amber's group. It was an even balance of girls and boys. Everyone seemed friendly enough. It was the most comfortable option.
* * *
"How long have you been in town, Zachary?" asked a girl in a purposefully ironic Santa's elf costume. She leaned in and rested her chin in her hand, with nails painted cherry red. "Amber said you're new to Friendship."
Zach nodded. "It's only temporary. My parents are in between jobs."
Kat shot a glance at him. Temporary? Zach's posture stiffened. He knew he just said the wrong thing at the wrong moment. He looked just as shaken as Kat felt. The look on Amber's face looked surprised, then almost devilish, as she locked eyes with her. Kat could feel her blood boil. It's not like Amber had won or anything. This news wasn't appealing for either of them.
"Aww that's too bad," Elf Girl said with a pout.
"But that means you'll be here for prom, right?" another girl chimed in.
"Who cares about prom?" one of the guys groaned, either from general annoyance or because he was tired of Zach getting all of the attention from the ladies. Kat was glad someone had interrupted. Even if she had just been on the edge of her seat for Zach's answer, she preferred not to hear it just yet. The first bit of news was already enough to process. "It's like half a year away."
"You guys talk like how my mom does when she starts her early decorating for Christmas," another guy agreed. "She started putting up the tree yesterday ."
The conversation immediately took a turn into a debate of Halloween vs Christmas. Probably one of the most mundane topics to bring up in a party setting, yet still engaging enough to stir up some strong opinions on the opposing sides.
A sharp, ear-piercing whistle, split through the air, garnering everyone's attention. Everyone in the makeout group in the corner had turned to face outward, with a scrawny guy in the middle raising up an empty beer bottle like a beacon.
"Who's in for spin the bottle?" he yelled in a drunk sing-song voice.
His group whooped and hollered their support while the rest of the room went quiet. The suggestion had instantly killed the buzz. Silence hung in the air for a beat until heads turned to each other in huddles and whispers began to spread.
"There's a twist," the guy shouted even louder, giving his pitch like a salesman, "we're doing this Seven Minutes of Heaven style."
He pointed to the other side of the room, at a door that was open just wide enough to reveal a tiny bathroom and sink, roughly the size of what one would find in an airplane.
"I'm in," one of Vic's football player friends shouted. The other player let out a hearty laugh, then joined his friend as they made their way over to the corner.
The volunteer caused a domino effect of even more volunteers. Snickers erupted from all sides of the room. One by one, more people gathered to form a circle. The energy grew increasingly eager. It was the exact type of scenario that people mean when they say "if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" Normally, Kat would say no, she wouldn't. But that was before Zach disappeared from her side as Amber dragged him into the circle. She didn't have a good feeling about it, but being a bystander seemed worse.
Kat was too late to sit next to her own date. She was forced to wedge herself between a vampire and a guy with massive sweat stains on the neck of his shirt, which would likely grow larger over the course of the activity.
As promised, the bottle was spun. The circle burst into cheering and giggles. Fists pounded against the floor and participants pushed and shoved at one another to try and increase their luck. The bottle slowed and came to a gentle stop, pointing at its first two victims. The girl in the elf costume looked up at the vampire guy. Kat was astounded by their lack of hesitation. The girl jumped to her feet and pulled the boy behind her, out of the circle, and into the bathroom.
The guy who initiated the game lifted his wrist to start a timer on his digital watch. "And now we wait."
The seven minutes felt more like hours. As it dragged on, Kat began crossing her fingers and praying for a natural disaster to put an end to it. She looked up at Zach for some reassurance, comfort, anything, but he was kept distracted by Amber. She didn't know where else to set her gaze. It was nearly impossible to look in any given direction without making uncomfortable eye contact with a boy who looked a little too antsy for the next round to start.
Kat had to endure another three rounds. As the rounds passed, the circle shrank. The self-proclaimed leader of the game had declared that anyone selected in a previous round should sit out, to keep things interesting and also give everyone a fair chance at getting some action. Kat had drowned out everyone's voices in favor of daydreaming after nearly an hour of waiting and averting her eyes from creeps. She reminded herself that there were only a few hours left to endure before she was guaranteed time alone with Zach. Completely alone. Without any stupid party games to intervene.
"Next round!" a voice yelled. Kat was transported back to the present, and back to her impending doom.
The bottle placed back in the center of the circle, then spun in place. As the glass turned like a compass gone haywire, Kat realized the stakes at hand. The circle was less than half the size as when they started, and her options were only getting worse. And creepier. Zach shared a similar look of fear. Kat looked back at the bottle, then at him, then back at the bottle. She wanted to close her eyes. It was times like this that she wished she had the same ability as Casper to go invisible at will.
Kat had been too distracted by her own anxiety to feel the dozens of eyes that were now on her and the other sorry contestant. She stared intently at the bottle and tried to silently command it to move as she wished. It was technically still moving, but not by much. She kept her fingers crossed. Now would be a great time for the laws of physics to make an exception, but time was up.
The bottle came to a full, wobbly stop. It pointed in the opposite direction from her, the same direction as Zach. Kat felt the return of some hope, but she kept her head low and her eyes on the bottle. There was still the chance of it not being Zach. It was an incredibly close call. She didn't want to set herself up for disappointment, but the odds had to be in her favor. It had to be him. There was no way. . .
Kat's heart dropped to her stomach.
Amber stared back. She was frozen, with lips sewn shut and stormy eyes filled with resentment. No. . . it wasn't that. Was it fear?
Other than the initial shock of the reveal, Kat was overwhelmed by something else. It fell over the room like a sudden downpour. No one said a word. There wasn't even a whisper. It was a collective understanding of something that Kat wasn't aware of, like an inside joke she hadn't been around to hear in the first place.
"Well? Get to it!" a gruff voice shouted from the back of the room. The comment inspired collective cheering and whistling from most of the other boys in the room.
"Do we have to close the door?"
"OOH YEAH!"
"This is gonna be so good!"
Kat had never been so mortified. Even if she wanted to run away, her legs had turned to jelly. There was no escaping this. She was trapped in what was possibly her worst nightmare. Amber was probably thinking the same thing. She looked pale.
Vic scooted forward from his spot against the wall, where he had been sitting since getting his turn during round three. He moved closer to Amber and slowly placed a hand on her thigh. She finally broke from her frozen state as Vic whispered something to her. Kat squinted, as if squinting would somehow help her to hear. Whatever it was he said, it seemed to help Amber ground herself, although her eyes remained wide and uneasy.
"Wait, for real?" an unknown voice of an unseen girl shouted out of the blue while another shushed her.
"Oh my god! Shut up!" the other voice screamed.
"Amber's a fucking lesbian."
Heads turned in search of the two girls. Everyone broke out into whispers that weren't really whispers, just commentary spoken in a hushed tone at full volume. It was already spreading like wildfire, and it didn't help that Amber was making no attempt to defend herself. She stared back at Kat.
"It was a joke! She said Winona Ryder is sexy, but like, not seriously. It was a joke . I swear to god. Just spin the bottle again."
The room broke into total chaos. Laughter and chuckles turned into yelling and shrieks. People argued, some sneered, and others continued to voice their creepy thoughts on how awesome it would be for the two girls to make out.
Amber's lips trembled and her blinking became more persistent. Her face was pleading, but Kat had no idea what for. She didn't understand what Amber wanted from her. Kat winced upon realizing that Amber was on the brink of tears. Vic stood up, pulled her to her feet, and ushered her out of the room. The rest of the room was too busy with the new gossip to realize the subject at hand was fleeing from the scene.
Kat couldn't force herself to move. She couldn't even think. She didn't know what to think at all.
What the hell just happened?