"You've got to be kidding me," I laugh, holding up the costume to Emily as she twirls around her room. "Are you sure?"
"It's perfect for the night, plus, every year some of us get together at Brian and Zayne Adam's house for a party." Emily takes the costume from my hands and takes off her shirt as I go back to what we chose for me. It sounds cliché to me but I like it, the cape and everything that grows with it. Little Red Riding Hood, an idea that Emily snorted at as she laughed. As for her, she will be Marilyn Monroe, her blond hair pinned up and that iconic dress on for the night.
Usually my parents would be scolding me for living a little, saying how I'm ruining my life, but because I pulled the 'I'm a senior this year' card, they obliged.
By the time we're dressed and putting on our shoes, a pair of midnight blue eyes invade my mind. It's been four weeks since I saw the man Emily told me to avoid, and it's been killing me at night, not being able to sleep, or even concentrate on school as I think about him.
"Ready?"
I nod, taking in one last look of my outfit. The cape is my favorite, hitting my thigh as its cherry red and a small string around my neck, the hood pulled over as my hair falls into two long braid in front. The skirt is black and so it the top, a bit showy but not too revealing, and paired with some simple ballet flats, I'm enjoying the look as Emily pulls me from her bright pink room and out the front door of the house.
We hop in her car, turning on the radio as we go to Brian and Zayne Adam's house, the family I visited when I was first here.
The ride is filled with music as we make our way across town, the sun already gone beyond the horizon. Emily rants every so often about graduation and applications for scholarships as we pull into the street, the massive houses intimidating as we pass bye to the one I was at weeks ago.
It's still beautiful, but the second my eyes glance to the one next to it, my heart skips a beat and my breathing becomes heavy.
There's no light in the house nor a car parked outside, it's as if the house is a phantom next to the others, yet it sticks out the most in awe.
"Come on, Lil, let's go."
I snap back to reality, hopping out as I can already hear the pounding music. Somehow we got a good parking spot as others are parked further down, having to walk in the chilly October air.
Once we enter the house, I'm greeted by a sea of people dancing, their bodies swaying to the music as they forget their thoughts. As I slide past people who ignore the world around them, I find myself holding onto Emily's shoulder to where we are going.
The kitchen is filled with people getting drinks or just chatting as the dining room as about three games of beer pong going on at once. "Where are we going?" I ask, finding myself in a hallway.
"Oliver texted me to meet in the library, he said they were playing something," she informs as I nod, my eyes scanning the cream walls as we come to a wooden door. "Let's play the game."
The door opens to reveal a nice library about two stories high filled on two walls with books and a lounge covers the floor. Wow, I think to myself as I take in the beauty of the room.
"Lily, glad you made it," the familiar voice of Zayne calls as I spin around to face a group of ten sitting on the couches.
"Here I am," I reply, taking a seat next to Oliver as he offers me a warm smile. "What's the game?"
"Dare or Dare pretty much."
"So we only take dares from one another?" I ask, meeting the eyes of a girl with red hair, sitting next to Zayne as she runs her fingers through his blond hair.
"Yes, and I you can't take a dear, you drink."
"How much?" Emily asks, excitement lacing her voice.
"Three shots of tequila for the first, and the number increases by one for every dare you refuse."
We all get pumped as the red head takes out an empty wine bottle and hands it to a guy I've never met, but I've seen him in AP Lit. "We go clockwise for spinning, who your spin lands on is who you dare."
The bottle is spun, Emily first as she's dared to steal the football from some guys in the backyard from the football team. Five minutes later she returns with her hair a mess and the ball in her hands. We go on for thirty minutes, each time the dare getting better, and some people drink instead as the music vibrates the walls.
"So, wait, has Lily had a dare yet?" George, the guy from Literature class asks as he's about to spin. "Because I can think of the perfect one for her."
My skin goes pale as some of the people smirk, excited to see if I get landed on.
The bottle spins, going round and round as the label of the company of the wine becomes a circle. As it begins to slow down, I take in a deep breath, knowing the outcome.
"Well then, Lily, I've got one for you."
They watch me as George looks excited to dare me. "The house next door-
"George," Zayne snaps, only to be shot a look down.
"The old man is gone, Zayne, he's always gone on Halloween. And as I was saying, the house next door, the big modern one with the fountain out front. I want you to enter and to find, lets day, a dish plate, take it, and return it here."
For some reason I have a bad feeling about this dare as everyone around me seems to be frozen. "George," Oliver speaks up. "What about the security cameras and all of t-
"All fake unless the office. So, Lily, what to you say, drink or take the dare?"
George said the owner was gone and the only security cameras were in this old man's office. So there's probably an incredibly small chance of my being caught. I'd get to see what's in this house I've been thinking about non-stop. I'll have to drink if I don't do the dare, and I'm not the biggest fan of tequila.
Sighing, I know my choice as they all watch me.
"I'll take the dare."
<><>
They watch me as I disappear by the hedge, my fingers locking upon the brass doorknob as my heart is pounding in my chest. Taking out the small credit card like device Zayne gave me, I push it through, my ear pressed against the door as my hands become sweaty.
Click.
My eyes widen as the door opens and revealed to me is a dark yet beautiful entrance. The staircase ascends to the second floor, the marble floor polished to perfection, and a scent lingers here that makes a part of me relax yet another part afraid for my life.
Closing the door, all I can hear is my heavy breathing as I try to think where the kitchen would be.
Walking straight ahead, my footsteps lightly echo across the massive house I wonder how much it costed. I enter what appears to be a smaller lounge, leather ottomans and couches placed around in a circle, a glass coffee table in the center of it, a modern chandelier above. Taking a left, I enter the living room, a massive room with tall walls, massive windows covered by think curtains, leather couches, a modern fireplace, and not my destination. Turning around, I walk past the little lounge and right into another room.
Marble flooring and some stairs that lead about two feet to where a beautiful grand piano stands, the keys polished and the piano looks beautiful in the moonlight that peaks through a window.
I forget the plate for a minute, walking towards the piano, my fingers softly brushing the keys as they feel smooth underneath my fingers.
As if a timer has gone off in my head, I remember the plates and walk out of the room, and right into the one I was looking for.
I wonder what the others are doing as I'm snooping around Zayne and Brain's neighbor's house.
The kitchen is modern to say the least with stainless steel and marble countertops as I begin pulling open the cupboards for one plate. Finding wine glasses, I shut the next one and continue my search as a bead of sweat runs down my face. Wiping the sweat away, I pull open another set next to the massive fridge, and there I find them, white and square-shaped played without a single speck.
There's ten of them, each placed perfectly on top of the other. For sure this old man has got to be a perfectionist/OCD. Grabbing a plate, I hop down from the counter and look to the arch from where I passed under, only, as I do, the plate falls from my fingertips and shatters on the floor.
A pair of eyes are locked on me, the outline of a rather talk and built old man, the curve of his muscles making my legs shake as he crosses his arms.
Of shit, oh shit, oh shit, I think to myself as he watches me like I watch him.
"Out of everything in this house, I'm surprised you came for a plate," he jokes, his voice deep and a bit scruffy as if he just woke up. The outline of his hair is all messy, securing my thought that he just woke up. "I wake up to hear someone moving in the entrance, and expecting some guy in a black mask, I find a girl dressed up as a fairytale character."
He sounds too young to be old like George said. He looks way too good to be old, and that's making me want to pee my pants.
"So, why has Little Red trespassed upon the property of the big, bad wolf?"
My throat is dry as I try and focus on the male, to see who he is as the night only becomes darker. "I-I was just getting a plate for-for a dare," I say, my words placed together as I'm scared for my life. God, he could call the cops and my parents would hate me and my record would have a criminal offense.
"Is that so?" He's mocking me almost as he takes a step forward, resulting in me taking a step back. There's a backdoor where I'm nearing, one to the backyard that I could run through and find a place to hop the brick fence. "Now, I know you're probably my fearing the authorities right now-
"That's an understatement," I comment, watching as he nears, and as he does, I make a run for it, pulling open the door as I sprint outside.
He's following me, I can sense it as I jump over a small portion of the massive pool outback, rushing towards anyplace I can hop the fence and be safe of this guy. Sadly, these houses aren't compacted, but rather you have to really run to make it to the fence.
Just as I look over my shoulder, I see him, approaching me like a predator as he walks, not even caring to run as I approach the wall, my breathing heavy as I catch my breath.
I'm too shot as I try and jump for the top to pull myself over, for there's no place for me to get a good grip.
Just as I jump again, I see him nearing, and right away, I look him in the eyes.
My breath hitches as I lock eyes with him, my body frozen in realization as he watches me with all kinds of emotions in his midnight blue eyes. It's as if he's daring me to run, to flee, to lead him on a chase. "I don't know what you're intending on, but I doubt I did anything but break and enter. So, can we leave it at that?"
He cocks his head at me, as if questioning if I really said that. I know I sounded stupid there as well. As I bite my lip, I watch the male once more, how he's dressed in blue and gray plaid pajama pants and a plane white t-short that just displays the hard work he put into his body. For sure he looks good enough to eat, but also, scary enough to flee from as well. "Just a dare you know."
"And who dared you?" He asks, as if playing a game with me as he approaches where I'm frozen in place, right next to some fountain. "Let me guess, some friends."
He's closer now, enough to where I'm shaking. Two yards apart and he has me a complete mess. "You could say that."
"Well then, those friends, Lily, are pretty damn stupid to send you here."
My skin instantly turns pale as he says my name, my eyes wide as he smirks at me, a smirk that would make me swoon in any situation.
"They said you were supposed to me some old man and gone tonight," I confess, his body drawing near as my heart skips a beat. It's as if I feel some weird pull towards him, as if I both want to jump into his arms and run away.
He smiles, pearly whites on display as I try and think how to get out of here. "I bet we can both agree I'm not some old man, and I'm here, in my home tonight."
I nod, knowing he has me there. "That just leaves one question of how you're going to get out of this mess."
"Please don't call the authorities," I somewhat beg, already knowing what he decides will probably go seeing that I can't jump his fence as I thought beforehand. "I just don't want a criminal offense because my parents will freak and colleges will see that."
He almost frowns at my reason why, crossing his arms as he gets a yard closer.
"I'll tell you something, Lily, something that I've been dying to tell you since I saw you," he speaks up, my eyes snapping up to his as I'm caught in a trance. He's not inches from me, our chests close to touching as I feel his heat coming off of him in waves. Suddenly, a piece of hair that cane loose from its braid is pushed behind my ear, sparking a flying in my skin as my veins feel electrified.
"You see, Lily, I know your friend has warned you to stay away from me," he whispers, his lips so close to mine as I can smell his minty breath. "But if you follow her instructions, I won't be happy, and I won't like it when I have to force you to be around me."
"What the hell are you saying?" I ask, gritting my teeth as all of a sudden his forehead is pressed against mine, his body flush against mine, and his eyes digging into my soul as he towers over me.
"A part of me thirsts for you, Lily, a part of me wants you by my side every second, wants my scent over you, wants to be on top of you, wants to make sure you go hoarse after screaming my name, and make sure you never think about leaving me."
He pauses, as if to let all those words sink in as fear laces almost every corner of my body, but there's a fraction that wants his words to come true.
"And soon enough, little red, it won't just be a part of me thirsting after you, but every damn bit of me."
With those words, I run.