This is an (entry) for the Light As A Feather, Stiff As A Board Halloween Writing Contest. Entry is in brackets, as I went WAY over the 500 words limit, but since I wrote it I decided to put it up here anyway.
If you're not a reader of LAAFSAAB, then you need to go read it right away. Okay? It's my favourite book on Wattpad, and it's really well written. Go give it a whirl. :)
Anyway, I don't know if anyone will see this, but I love the book and wanted to give it a try. I scared myself writing it (literally kept looking over my shoulder) so please, tell me if it scared you! x
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ghost stories were a given on Halloween.
Great, Stephanie thought to herself, as she put the finishing touches to her heavy eye make-up. My favourite. Ghosts.
Stephanie DeMilo had spent the last two hours closeted in Hannah’s bedroom, the two of them preparing for her Halloween party later that evening. It was always fun spending time with Hannah; simply because the girl was so different to anyone else Stephanie had ever known. Her striking looks alone- that unusual combination of pale eyes and dark hair- made her stand out from the rest of the student body, but what really made Hannah special was her mystery. Hannah had this fragile, elusive quality about her, which no amount of friendship could ever peel away. She would joke, she would laugh, she would tease, but Stephanie always felt that there was a part of Hannah she could never, and would never reach, hidden behind a pane of glass all but invisible to anyone else’s eyes but her own.
Still, there was one time, and one time only, when Stephanie felt that she was really reaching the true Hannah. And that was when Hannah would tell one of her stories.
And that was the one time that she secretly hated her new best friend. Because the truth was, Hannah’s stories scared the bejeezus out of Stephanie. And it wasn’t because she believed all those stupid rumours about her predicting Olivia Richmond’s death. No, it was just that Stephanie used to be scared of the dark, and ghosts, and monsters under the bed, and somehow, despite the fact that she had grown out of all of those puerile fears, Hannah still managed to freak her out.
So much so, after the last party, she’d not stolen a wink of sleep.
She’d even briefly considered missing this one, especially as it was on Halloween. But Hannah, as if she had sensed her friend’s unease, had invited her, and only her, over beforehand to get ready together. The honour in that invitation had been enough of a pull for Stephanie. She knew a good deal when she smelt one.
‘Are you done?’ asked Hannah, turning to face Stephanie.
The two girls admired each other’s costumes. Stephanie wore a tight, black lace dress, showing off her athletic frame, and a pair of cute, sparkly cat ears appeared out of the messy bun of her hair. Hannah, on the other hand, had made her face even paler than usual, and she wore a long white dress, old-fashioned and delicate. Her look, of a ghostly, waif-like spirit, was perfected by some white contacts. She looked, in a word, eerie.
‘Wow,’ said Stephanie sincerely. ‘You look awesome!’
You look like a ghost, she added in her head. You even move like one- as Hannah slipped gracefully over to the window to see that the rest of her guests had arrived.
The party began quickly; all the guests were the popular crew, friendly and confident and proud of their social height, wanting to cling to it as much as they could. Hannah floated amongst her friends like a spell whispered on the wind; her slim white figure visible from anywhere in the room. For a while, Stephanie relaxed and concentrated on having the best time possible. Until the inevitable moment when the music dimmed and the conversation hushed and all eyes turned to Hannah.
