Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

30. feels like

met you at the right time
this is what it feels like
― gracie abrams

♦

THE FOXES CLEARED OUT OF ABBY'S before noon the next day, but Andrew's lot didn't head back to Fox Tower. Instead they went out for an early lunch. Aaron, Nicky, and Kevin were too hungover to eat much and settled for pushing their food around their plates. Andrew was oblivious and unsympathetic to their plight. By the time they left the three were looking a little steadier, so Nicky drove them to a party store fifteen minutes out from campus. 

Halloween fell on a Tuesday this year, which meant Eden's Twilight was having an event the Friday before. Mara only knew this because Nicky had been talking about it nonstop for over a week. 

"We're a little old for costumes, don't you think?" Neil asked as he climbed out of the car. 

"It's bad form to go to a Halloween party without a costume, Neil," Nicky said. "Besides, the bartenders give out a free round to anyone who comes dressed up."

"I don't drink," Neil said. 

"Then give your shot to me, you stingy child," Nicky said. "I know you said you'd never come shopping with us again, but we're doing you a huge favor dragging you along. You wouldn't trust me to pick out your costume, would you? I'd probably make you a French maid or something. Come on."

The front of the store was packed with decorations, everything from packs of spider webs to skull-shaped shot glasses and ghost window clings.

They passed rows of wigs, masks, and an entire self of face paint and gaudy makeup. The entire back half of the store was devoted to costumes. The six of them spread out between the racks to search.

Mara trailed after Kevin, having no idea what to look for. It wasn't like her parents were the kind of people to celebrate Halloween and take her and her brother trick-or-treating. Their everyday life had been enough of a horror show to render the holiday obsolete. 

Mara thumbed through a rack of women's costumes, her frown deepening with each ridiculous costume. Clowns, cops, nuns, hippies—all with more cleavage and exposed midriff than she was comfortable showing. 

"What are you going as?" Kevin asked as he looked through a rack a few feet down the aisle. 

Mara shrugged, pulling out a bright red costume. "A... demon."

Across the aisle, Aaron snorted. "You're supposed to go as something you're not already."

Mara raised an eyebrow. "So antisocial asshole is out of the question for you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Ha-ha."

Kevin looked at them for a moment, then said, "Well, I'm going as..." He pulled something long and dark off the rack. "The Grim Reaper." 

"Have fun with that," Mara muttered as he went off to look at decorations. 

Aaron pulled out a doctor costume. 

"Creative," Mara deadpanned. 

He made a face at her as he stopped beside her. "Pick something out yet?"

"No," Mara muttered. "These are all stupid."

"It's Halloween, of course it's stupid," he said. "Didn't you dress up as a kid?"

"Hardly," Mara said. "My family wasn't the trick-or-treat sort."

"Not like mine was, either," Aaron said, absently plucking at some sparkly costume. "'Til now, I guess."