Maniac (American Horror Story)

19 // Halloween

Free. For a whole night I was free. I could do anything I wanted. Anything. But I had only one thing in mind.

It hadn't always been my plan. No, I was going to spend my whole Halloween anyway I fucking wanted, not basing it around Summer. Lately, I had become almost obsessed with her. Was she with Tate? Was she near him? Was he thinking about her? Was she thinking about him? No thought that wasn't Summer related entered my head.

It was almost too perfect. She would be in an easily accessible place, a place where a dead teenage girl could fit in on a Halloween night. Tate would be there. He would be able to see what I was willing to do for him.

Night came quickly and I started to chicken out. I wanted to chicken out. But, for some reason, I just couldn't.

I waited for Summer to leave with Tate. She was dressed as a Raggedy Ann doll, and Tate was wearing normal clothing, continually claiming to be a sociopath because they looked just like everyone else on the outside (she had no idea). I watched them walk down the sidewalk in the direction of the school, and silently made my way out of the house to follow them.

When we reached the school, my heart sunk. What was I doing? I couldn't do this. I couldn't. But you will do it, coward, somewhere deep inside me whispered. I knew I had to. This was the last time I would think about chickening out.

Tate held the gymnasium door open for Summer, giving me a peek inside. It looked like Itz A Party threw up Halloween decorations; it was a typical school dance.

I followed in shortly after them, many pubescent, pimply teenage boys making catcalls in my direction. I didn't have time to flirt to make Tate jealous. Tonight, it was all about Summer.

I did my best to stay away from them but within a certain distance so that I could see them. I watched as Summer introduced Tate to a few girls who looked like that kind of people I wanted to strangle in high school; you know, the peppy, overly girly ones who were secretely whores. They gave Summer a weird look, almost as if to say Where did you get this thing? The garbage out back? Tate was hot, but to others, he looked like he hadn't slept in months and couldn't afford a pair of clothes that weren't dingy and from the dinosaur ages.

Tate looked completely uninterested. He kept looking around, as if he could sense that I was here. Maybe he was just terrified someone would recognize him as the school shooter from the 90s and everything would go to shit. Probably the latter, but I liked to pretend it was because of me.

I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I waited until Summer whispered in Tate's ear and he nodded, and waited until she was inside the bathroom to sprint after her. I gripped the grimy door handle and pulled it open, twisting the little knob behind me, locking the entire bathroom shut. It was just me and Summer. No one else.

I heard the toilet flush, and my heart started to race. This is it, I said to myself, gripping the wire I had taken from the basement that was hidden under my shirt. Summer opened the bathroom stall, coming face to face with me.

She looked startled. "Oh, hello, Violet." Then she smiled. "I'm really glad to see you! It's nice to see that you care enough about me to show up." Summer went to the sink and turned on the faucet, beginning to wash her hands.

"Yea," I spoke, coming up behind her, "I care a lot." In one swift movement that even surprised me, I bashed her head against the side of the sink, hard enough to send her to the ground but not hard enough to knock her unconcious. I pulled the cord out from underneath my shirt, unravelling it quickly and pinning Summer to the ground. She was crying.

"Violet, please, what are you... what are you doing... Plea-" I wrapped the cord around her neck, tight, causing her pleas of peace to choking for air. I continued to pull tighter and tighter, looking her in the eyes, never once feeling any mercy. Somewhere inside me screamed, STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?, but too much of me loved the power, loved watching the color drain from her face and the light leave her eyes. Once she had stopped kicking, stopped choking, I figured the deed had been done.

Walking over to the door, I looked at her lifeless body once last time. "I'll see you at home!" I couldn't help myself; I smiled. She was gone. She was gone.