me and the devil - kai parker

bonus chapter; Halloween 1993

this is a bonus content chapter, it does not need to be read to follow the original plot, and it does not change the storyline. but hey, it's fun

October 31st, 1993 - Portland, Oregon

The full moon cast an eerie glow over the sprawling woods surrounding Kai and Madelene as they made their way along the already-trodden path. The leaves crackled under their feet as they made their way toward the familiar clearing. A bonfire flickered in the distance—the annual Halloween party thrown by the local high school, which happened to be the same one Madelene attended.

"I still don't know why we're going to this," Madelene muttered, pulling her jean jacket tighter around her. She wasn't exactly fond of the crowd. School was never really something she enjoyed, but to be fair, the school wasn't really for enjoyment.

The thing was, she had one friend, who was forbidden by her religious mother to attend anything outside of school hours. Even though she had lived in this town her whole life and gone to school with the same people since she turned six, she still felt like an outsider. She was sure none of them even knew her name. Not to mention Kai was homeschooled, so neither of them had ever been invited to any High School parties before. They weren't really invited to this one either. What a bunch of losers we are.

"Because," Kai said, nudging her with a grin, "we're witches. And what kind of witches don't show up at a creepy forest party on Halloween?"

Madelene shot him a playful glare. "You forced me to wear this hat." She tugged at the floppy black witch's hat perched on her head. "If I get bullied, it's on you."

She never really thought of Halloween as a fun holiday, she never participated in trick or treat or any of that stupid bullshit. She refused to dress in a costume when Kai asked her to earlier today. But then somehow her regular, full black outfit with a skirt, denim oversized jacket, and heavy booths ended up fitting in perfectly with the witch hat he bought at Party City and the heavy, signature eyeliner she wore every day. Maybe he just knew her well enough to guess it.

Kai himself was dressed in all black, he had a leather jacket and heavy boots on, his hair was frizzed and messy styled on gel and his face was pained like the band members of KISS. He looked good, but she would never say it out loud.

"It completes the look!" Kai said, laughing. "Besides, how are we going to mess with these kids if you don't look the part?"

Madelene raised an eyebrow. "Mess with them? You're serious about that?"

Kai's smile widened, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Oh yeah. We've got the element of surprise on our side. They don't even know us. We're just a spooky couple from the woods, right? Let's have some fun."

"They do know me." She playfully hit his arm, making him chuckle even more. 

As they neared the clearing, the sound of laughter and music grew louder. They could see groups of teens dressed in costumes huddled around the fire, sharing ghost stories, taking turns trying to scare each other, some were dancing or just simply standing around and drinking beer, deep in meaningless conversations.

Madelene sighed. "I don't know, Kai. This is your thing. I just—"

He took her hand, pulling her closer. "Hey, I've got you. Besides, it'll be fun. I mean, it's Halloween. What's the worst that could happen?"

She gave him a sideways glance. "That's like, the most dangerous thing you could possibly say on Halloween."

Kai leaned in close. "Lucky for us, we're dangerous too." He gave her a quick peck on the cheek, which made her heart flutter and forget the anxiety building up in her stomach.