Hallow

(8) Grim's Party

GRIM'S PARTY

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THE NOISE OF THE PARTY reached them long before they saw the actual house, decked out with fake webbing, carved pumpkins and plastic tombstones. Two plastic skeletons clung to the front wall of the house, reaching for the windows. A sign on the front gate said, BEWARE OF ZOMBIE DOG. And beneath it: One bite is all it takes.

Bethanie smiled. This was Nathan Merrit's house. The Merrits owned a Dachshund.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to come?" Dylan asked beside her. He was looking at the house, not with apprehension, but with interest.

"Of course. Everyone goes to these things." The sun had set, the light leaking from the sky. In the dying light, she almost missed the look on Dylan's face - the look that let her realise the mistake in her words.

"I don't," he said.

Bethanie felt embarrassed by her own ignorance. Of course he didn't come to these things. To her, he may have always been Dylan Corvall, boy-next-door. But to the rest of the school he was the Town Loner - the Hains Recluse. The boy who hid not just behind his camera, but also in the shadow of his father the Mayor.

Bethanie ought to pity him, but she didn't. There was something about him that suggested he wasn't bothered by his lot, nor worried by the titles placed upon him by their cohort. Even standing before a house filled with people who disliked him, he seemed calm in a way she could never manage. He seemed strong.

She put on a smile. "Well there's a first time for everything."

Swinging open the gate, they treaded up the path. The house before them was practically booming, and the sounds of talking and laughing echoed in the air. Bethanie stepped up to the door and went to turn to the doorknob. She'd learnt very early on that you don't knock when coming to parties like these - you let yourself in.

"You didn't think you were going to this party without me, did you?"

The two of them swung around. Back on the path, Florence stood with a wide smile, as if she had just manifested out of thin air.

"Florence!" Bethanie said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes. "I may be new, but I don't live under a rock. I've come for the party, of course."

"How did you know we'd be here?"

She shrugged. "I took a chance." She started walking up the path towards them until all three were at the front door. "You really should have invited me, you know. I'm new. I need to be introduced to people."

Bethanie laughed. "You seem to be doing a pretty good job of that yourself."

Florence smirked. "I know." Then she reached for the door and swung it open.

All at once, they were awash in the party. The volume of the music outside the house was nothing compared to inside - in here, it roared, the bass vibrating through the air and mixing with the cacophony of voices. Bethanie had to admit - she'd missed this.

"I'll get us some drinks," Florence yelled over the music, and disappeared into the throng of bodies.

Bethanie felt herself moving to the left, as though caught in a current. She couldn't help scanning the faces of those around her to see if any belonged to Amelia or Chance. She told herself it was because she wanted to avoid them, but some part of her just wished for a reunion - for things to go back to the way they were yesterday. Bethanie had wanted this day to be different, to be a break in the endless routine, but she hadn't expected feeling nostalgic. And she didn't want to.