For me there are only three kinds of people during Halloween.
The Hallo-wieners; those who have Halloween as a default holiday all year round. They're literally always on their 'booshit'. The Sugar-fiends; these are the sugar addicts who religiously collect, give and receive candy. They always prefer treats to tricks. Let's be honest they're nothing but absolute monsters when they're hyped on sugar. The Extravaganzas; those who only care about Halloween because they get to dress however they like with the excuse of being new and innovative for the season. They remind me of drag queens.
I don't belong to any of these groups. Why? Because the Halloween season isn't a huge deal for me at all. I might as well be the Grinch of Halloween.
I'm going on about Halloween because it's the 31st of October. Halloween is finally here and this means only one thing to me. Another chance to cement my seat at the head of the social table at St. Vincenzo High. How am I going to do this? Well it's pretty easy. I'm going to plan the spookiest yet classiest Halloween dance in the history of S.V.H. Absolutely nothing is going to dampen my mood today.
The girls on the planning committee and I set a makeshift stand right in the middle of the hallway. Everything is perfectly decorated with craved pumpkins, faux skulls, skeletal hands and fake blood. We're wearing feathered masks as we give out flyers to all the students as they walk into school. Everyone has to know about the dance to ensure a large turnover. I even have someone announce it on the speakers. It's all going according to plan.
Remember when I said nothing would dampen my mood today? Well I lied because when I see Pierce Jeong sauntering past our stand everything isn't so great anymore.
Jessie Lee waves him over, a cheery smile on her round face as she happily hands him a flyer. Pierce takes the flyer, gives it a cursory scan before he scoffs looking up to find my pointed glare. I just know he's going to say something stupid to push my buttons. I won't let him get to me though. Not today.
'Masquerade? That's the theme? Let me guess. Leventis, you came up with this utterly prissy theme.'
He's pushed my buttons and it's gotten to me already.
'Excuse you, Jeong. It's not 'prissy', it's classy but I wouldn't expect you to understand that.'
'I don't expect you to understand what you're even doing with this dance, Leventis.'
'Excuse me?'
'You're excused. You don't know shit about Halloween. You don't even believe in it, yet you're here parading the halls with a silly mask and a pretty smile hoping you can fool everyone. You can't fool me though.'
Before I can get a word in he walks away, dismissing me. If looks could kill, he'd be a bloody mess, splattered on the walls and floor right now. There's silence. No one dares to say a word when they see how enraged I am. Pierce is a fucking thorn in my side. Despite being the star of S.V.H, he opposes me every time. Over and over again. He doesn't seem to know his place around here and sooner than later I will make sure he does.
'Dawn...'
'What.' I snap, turning around to see Jessie cowering behind me and I soften my glare.
'It's time for class, everyone else left already.'
'Oh.'
Flashing my pearly whites at her, I flip my hair over my shoulder and head for first period. Jessie scurries after me, humming lightly.
🎃
My phone buzzes during second period but I ignore it until I can't anymore. I have a text message from an unknown number and I furrow my brows, unlocking my phone.
'Masquerade, Masquerade, Masquerade,
Lurking beneath the mask lies the truth,
Concealed, unheeded, shunned.
Take new form 'til thy true form be brought to light.
Fail to do so in time and thou shall remain masked forever.
Queen of facades,
Unveil thy true self
Eos, goddess of the dawn, shine forth.'
Is this someone's idea of a prank? Is this someone's attempt to creep me out? There's only one person who could pull this on me –Pierce Jeong. I've had enough of his taunts and I'm going to put an end to it.
🎃
I wait till I see him in the hallway and make sure it's crowded so everyone witnesses what's about to happen. So everyone knows what type of creep Pierce Jeong really is. I march over to him, phone clenched in my hand and my posse hot on my heels.
'Jeong, is this your sick idea of a Halloween scare?' I ask loudly and instantly there's silence in the hallway. I smile smugly as I fold my arms waiting for him to respond. There's no way he can escape this confrontation.
'What are you whining about this time, Leventis?' He shuts his locker and leans against it. He's cool, calm and collected but not for long I can assure you.
I shove my phone into his face and wait for recognition to cross his features but he just furrows his rugged brows as his eyes dart across the screen –reading.
'You sent this crap, didn't you? You sent that to scare me. I know you typed this and sent it to me, to taunt me. Didn't you? Jeong.'
'Wait. You think I sent that to you? Calm down puffball. I don't even know your number or what any of that is about.'
'You're lying through your teeth. You don't like my idea for the Halloween dance and so you came up with this dumb cryptic poem to scare me. How you even know certain things here, I don't know, so you better confess now before I take this to the authorities.'
'Do you want to see my phone? Will that prove my innocence?'
'No, of course not, you could have wiped it. Do you think I'm dumb?'
'No, I don't think you're dumb. I think you're confused. Just because I called you out for using Halloween as an excuse to run things your way and I told you the truth everyone is too cowardly to tell you, doesn't mean I sent that.'
There are whispers around us now and I'm starting to feel uncomfortable in their presence –they aren't supposed to be hearing things like this. Without overthinking it, I grab Pierce's wrist and pull him after me to the back of school where we can talk privately.
'You really didn't send the message?' I ask, staring directly into his eyes when we're alone.
'I didn't.'
'But you're the only one who knows my name is Eos at school.'
'And?'
'What do you mean 'and?' Whoever sent that message obviously knew that too.'
'Let me see it again.' His hand is open to receive my phone and I hesitantly give it to him.
He reads the words out loud and slowly. I'm listening to him and with each word he says I start to feel worry creep up on me. By the time Pierce is done and he looks at me, I know the worry is evident on my face. I see his features soften slightly.
'Eos. You don't have to get so worked up about this. It might just be a dumb prank.'
I stare at him for a moment lost. Is Pierce being nice to me? I frown and ignore the concerned look he gives me.
'Whoever is doing this better not mess up tonight for me and its Dawn.'
'I don't know why you insist on everyone calling you that, when it's not even your name. What are you trying to prove to anyone at this fake school anyways?'
'What are you talking about Jeong? You don't fucking know me, don't act like you do.'
'I see you, Eos. I see past all these layers you've put on to hide the real you. This message is so spot on and I'm wondering why I hadn't been the one to send it a long time ago. Having a masked dance is so you.'
'I'm not pretending to be who I'm not. You don't get to be so presumptuous about me. Mind your damn business.'
Snatching my phone from him, I shoot him a nasty glare and sashay away from him with as much grace as I can muster at the moment.
🎃
It's 9:30 pm and the dance is already is full swing. Stepping into the auditorium feels like stepping into a time machine that teleports you back to the roaring 20's. I based the design concept of the dance loosely on The Great Gatsby and everything looks simply amazing. The girls are daintily dressed in exquisite flapper dresses and dangling pearl necklaces which they accessorize with masquerade masks, while the boys are dressed spruce in suits which they pair with masquerade masks as well. Figuring that restricting everyone to being classy would somehow defeat the purpose of the Halloween dance, I let everyone have the freedom of choosing the scariest masks they can find to fit their outfits. It looks like a bash from the 20's had a baby with a horror show and it puked.
My date to the dance is Scottie Thompson. He's a jock and so it only makes sense that we'd come together. He's pretty but not enough to cover up how dumb he really is. He's gone to get us punch which I made sure is being poured in faux wine glasses. I'm so relieved he's gone. He was talking my ear off. I wouldn't mind if it was actually intelligent in any way. So now I'm just standing here; taking everything in and watching everyone have fun –knowing I created this. My mind drifts to the text from earlier and then I'm worried again. What if there's more to it and it's not just a prank? What if someone is out there or in here with intent to ruin my hard work? My head is spinning from these thoughts and I need some air. I see Scottie in his Purge styled mask talking to a group of people. He might look for me but right now I don't really care.
I walk up the auditorium stairs and make my way unto the balcony for some fresh air. I take off my mask and draw a deep breath, staring down at it. It's nothing special. It's plain and simple. Just a half face mask with different shades of gold and intricate patterns around the edges that I run my fingers over delicately. My dress isn't much either. Simplicity always. It's funny because I'm a rather complex person. Sometimes I feel like I'm a walking oxymoron. Contradicting myself.
'What's a pretty lady such as yourself doing up here all by herself, when the real party is downstairs?'
Pleasant shivers crawl up my spine and I stiffen, shocked at the way my body reacts to just a voice.
'I needed some air.' I say softly barely able to find my voice as my nerves flare. I put my mask back on and turn to see who this intruder is. My breath hitches when I see his mask. It's a black apothecary mask.
'Not enough downstairs?' He asks, amusement clear in his voice as he walks over to me and leans against the bannister of the balcony beside me.
'If you call carbon-dioxide air, then there's plenty of that downstairs. I guess I just needed some quiet to clear my thoughts.'
I don't know why I'm disclosing so much to him but it feels so good to let things off my chest to a stranger.
'I could leave if I'm disturbing that.'
He ventures, not really sounding like he wants to. I laugh light-heartedly.
'You seem like you need some quiet too and there's enough space for two here.'
He chuckles softly. It does things to my heart, which betrays me by skipping several beats. The silence is comfortable as we stare at the stars. The party rages on below.
'Did you come with someone?'
'Yeah, but I couldn't stand his incessant blabbering so I slipped away.'
'Poor guy.'
'Did you come with someone?'
'No. I didn't really plan on coming yet here I am. I'm glad I did though. I'm getting to talk to a pretty girl who hasn't run away from me yet.'
My cheeks burn beneath my mask as I tuck my hair behind my ears to distract myself from his words.
'Why would a girl run away?'
'Many reasons.'
'Such as?'
'Maybe she's too beautiful to be talking to someone like me for starters. Maybe both of us are on different planets that only seem to drift close for utter chaos. Maybe no matter how hard I try to reach for her; to make her see that I see her for who she is, she just shuts me out over and over again. And maybe I only get to see her when she's trying so hard to be someone she shouldn't be.'
'I'm assuming this is all about a particular girl.'
I glance at him. He seems deep in thought now. Why does he seem so familiar? Is it possible that we've met? We might go to the same school or maybe someone invited him? So many thoughts are racing through my mind as I study him. His dark hair is gelled back suavely on the back of his head, his strong defined jaw is clenched and disappears into the mask. Even without seeing his face I know he's handsome.
'Have you ever tried talking to her?'
He chuckles once again and this time it isn't sweet, it sounds sardonic and I wonder why it pierces my heart. He sounds so hopeless.
'I've tried. She hears but doesn't listen. She probably hates me because I tell her the truth and she wishes I didn't. How do you talk to someone who's too caught up in an illusion they've made for themselves to notice how special they can really be?'
I don't speak, because I don't know what to say. Whoever he's talking about obviously means a lot to him. I don't know him enough to pretend to know what to say and so I don't. I turn back to the night sky and just marvel at the stars.
'She's a lot like you though.'
'What...?'
'She's beautiful. Inside and out. She can be thoughtful. She can be kind. She can be funny. She can be happy. She can be real. But she isn't, she refuses to be.'
'You don't know me.'
He straightens and turns to me, looming as he leans. The tip of his mask nearly scrapes against mine when I turn to him.
'But I do know you.'
He hesitantly lifts a gloved hand to the side of my face. I feel the cool leather against my burning skin. Then, I find myself leaning into it.
'Who are you?'
'If I told you, it would ruin everything.'
My brows furrow beneath my mask as I think over his words, sliding my gloved hand across the bannister to meet his.
'Why?'
He's silent for a moment. I feel my heart pounding against my rib cage fiercely as I wait for his answer.
'Close your eyes.'
I stare at him puzzled, debating in my head whether or not to do so. The curious part of me decides to take the leap. You only live once and so I close my eyes, waiting. I hear a shallow breath, then I hear some movement but I struggle to keep my eyes closed. Slowly his fingers intertwine with mine on the bannister. His other hand returns to my face a little while later and then butterflies erupt in my belly when I feel soft lips brush against mine. I let out a surprised breath. He deepens the kiss. My free hand finds his shoulder and I wrap my arm around his neck as he wraps his around my waist pulling me closer gently. I don't know what he looks like because my eyes remain closed but I don't need to know right now when he's making my knees weak. I'm breathless when he pulls away. It feels like a spell that I don't want to break as I slowly open my eyes. The sky and its jewels shine down on us casting a side of his face in darkness.
'P...pierce?' I stutter.
I'm in the arms of my sworn enemy Pierce Jeong and he has just given me the best kiss of my life. My heart plummets to the depths of my stomach. He looks just like me right now –scared.
'Eos. I know I shouldn't have kissed you and I shouldn't have lead you on but you just look so beautiful tonight. I couldn't resist it anymore.'
'Did you mean me when you said all those things?'
'Yes.'
'Is it all true? Am I really that fake?'
'You're not fake. You just try too hard to prove things to everyone when they don't matter.'
'How could you tell?'
'We've known each other since we were kids, Eos. We used to be best friends, remember? I know you don't believe in a lot of things, like Halloween, but yet you put yourself on the spot to make an impression on people. I know who you really are without your mask on and I love that Eos, not Dawn.'
'Pierce Jeong. Can you just kiss me and scare the shit out of my heart again?'
'Happy Halloween, Eos Leventis.'
And then he makes my heart pound against my rib cage harder than ever.
Halloween is a time for scares, candy, dressing up, getting shitfaced and celebrating culture for others. For me it was nothing until today. Now, it's the time my mask was ripped off and I fell in love.
🎃
But who sent the message?