s h e

chapter two

Soon enough, October comes, bringing with it jack-o-lanterns and costumed kids and teeth-rotting sweets. The cool air and autumn leaves are much preferred to the muggy summer weather.

It flies by fast, unfortunately, but excitement sets in anyway because it's the night of your favorite holiday.

"Melly!" Winnie cries, scurrying into the living room of your flat. She's wearing fishnets, a black leather bodysuit, a dark blue jacket, and black combat boots. Her hair is curled, and she's managed to apply some eyeliner without accidentally blinding herself. She looks good. Really good, actually.

"Think I'd make Dinah Lance proud?" She beams, twirling in her homemade Black Canary costume.

"Sweetie, she'd be drooling if she could see you." Smirking, you step into the light of the hallway to reveal a tight black corset and black leggings. A pair of fluffy faux black wings rest on your back, and a black feathered halo perches on your head. Black lipstick, sharp purple nails, and heavy eyeliner make make you look purely evil. However, good natured Winnie continues to insist you are 'every bit an angel as Castiel', and then you laugh and tell her to stop marathoning Supernatural after her early morning run because it's ruining her emotional health.

The two of you have been invited by Lincoln, your best friend from college, to his All Hallows' Eve party (for whatever reason, Winnie insists you call it by its proper, historical name). Lincoln, a goofy, lanky, good looking nerd with scruffy brown hair, baby blue eyes, and a collection of comic books (this fact is especially important to your nerdy best friend), met the two of you when you began working at Minnie's, the diner down the street from the Science building. Every morning, he stopped in for a cup of coffee and blueberry waffles, which he had been doing for a year, leading him to memorize the names of all the waiters and waitresses. So when the new girl, Winnie, stepped up with her pretty smile and perky demeanor, pad of paper and favorite pen in hand, he was a tiny bit shocked.

"Who the hell are you?" Suffice to say, their first meeting didn't end too well. But eventually, the sophomore had come to love both you freshmen, and the three of you became notoriously known as 'The Three Diablos' (or really, just you and Lincoln were devil children. Winnie spent most of her college days apologizing and cleaning up the messes your pranks left. And with her charming personality, you and Link almost never got punished for your wrongdoings.)

"C'mon! We gotta go, Lincoln's bringing Joey and I need to interrogate him!" Winnie whined, stomping her foot and ruining her whole badass look with childish crossed arms and sad eyes. You roll your eyes, dragging her out of your little apartment to her 2009 Honda CRV she's lovingly nicknamed 'Bucky'.

Joey is Lincoln's boyfriend. He'd had a long string of hookups throughout sophomore and junior year, and every boy in his bed only mattered as a new notch in his belt. Joey had captured the heartbreaker's attention with his sassy attitude and graphic t-shirts paired with cardigans, and the two had fallen madly in love, according to Lincoln. They'd been together for two long years, and yet, Joey had never met the nerds Lincoln called his best friends (for good reasons. You two are fucking embarrassing.) Winnie, of course, was beyond thrilled to be meeting THE Joey Gutierrez, the boy who'd stolen Link's heart.

Winnie affectionately pats the steering wheel of her beloved car, and the two of you drive off into the night.

_______________________________

One of the perks of being Lincoln Caise's bestie was, of course, his house, paid for by his mega rich politician parents (who were actually super supportive of Link and Joey and insisted you and Winnie come to family dinners because you counted as family, so they're all good in your book). Slumber parties at the Caise Estate were always enjoyable due to it being a fucking mansion, as well as housing an ice cream bar second to none. Tonight, however, it's been converted to Horrorland, crawling with zombies and vampires and werewolves galore. The top notch decorating, unlike the rest of the jobs the house had received over the years, had been undertaken by a dorky blonde songwriter and her snarky violet-haired accomplice, not professionals. And you have to say, you'd done a spectacular job. Despite some initial setbacks, such as Winnie's deadly fear of Halloween- sorry, All Hallows' Eve decorations, and your incapability to deal with the vendors for food, props, and music, you both had found a way to make it work.