Halloween night, when your ghosts come back to haunt you.
The celebration was over and all the students couldn't be happier to finally stand again on their noodle legs hurting with pins-and-needles. Alex walked around, unsurprisingly in search of food. By the chips stood a little girl dressed in a plain, intentionally ragged outfit. He decided to approach her.
"Hey Mish!"
"Oh, hey Lex," she seemed...grieving, for lack of a better term; like she'd lost something special.
"What's wrong.."
"Huh? Nah, it's nothing. How are you and Emily, by the way?"
"There's so much I wanna tell you, it'd take an hour. When was the last time we sat down together, just the two of us?"
"Dunno actually," her answer was flat.
"Why-"
"Hey Alex! Where've you been? I was looking for you." Emily came over, barely giving any notice to the other girl. "Oh, hey...you. Anyways Lex, I heard they've got a haunted house boothe downstairs wanna come? I'll be waiting." She scurried off before he could even mouth a reply.
"Nice talking to you Alex," Mish mumbled and walked off. In all honesty he felt quite dejected at the fact that he never really spoke with his once closest friend since he started dating Emily. Now they were, it's sad to say but, essentially strangers. Both used to know every single moment of the other's life down to the detail, how the most precious things come and go without a warning.
Snapping him out of his ponderings, a force was shoved into him from the back. He turned to discover bright, golden hair; blonde hair like an ocean. "Oh, it's you," it was a familiar voice, one which his ears wouldn't let him forget.
"Hi, Carol."
"Oh!" She seemed baffled to be finding him. "It's you again." Her baffled tone had somehow morphed into one of irritance." She wore a strange outfit, peculiar even for a Halloween party during which everyone wears the most embarrassing costumes. On her hair was an enamouring tiara of silver, yet her dress was poorly tailored and made of a cheap, dull fabric. To further confuse anyone, she wore black, leather boots on top of red stockings. "I can feel you judging me. Stop it," her blue-tinted eyes peeked right into his soul."
"Jeez, chill. Anyways uh, Michelle mentioned you had a boyfriend? How's...things?"
"Oh...Rojan." For a split second all her characteristic rage vanished from her face and she looked, for an even shorter instant, vulnerable. "We broke up." Her cheeks reddened.
"I'm sorry, what happened?"
"We just...weren't compatible." She didn't seem to be willing to reveal the reason, something which she was entirely her right to do. "You're dating that girl aren't you? Emily."
"Yeah," Alex could hear the tinge of enmity in her words. "Why?"
"She's...be careful with her," she regretted her words as soon as they escaped her lips. "I'm so sorry, I don't wanna be involved." She pushed past him. He grabbed her by the wrist. "No, please. Tell me." What was he saying? "Tell me. Why is it that sometimes it feels like Emily's hiding so much behind that smile of hers." Why was he suddenly asking all these questions, wasn't that smile what enchanted him in the first place?
Carol pitied him. "Rojan broke it off between us. 'I don't think you and I are gonna work out,' he lied. I've seen how he acted around Emily, and how she did around him. They just kept...flirting. Even through chat, everyday." Alex knew. He'd always known, he just kept denying it to to himself. "They were always online every time I checked." He knew that's why it always took so long for her to answer his messages. "So, Alex, just be careful, OK? Don't let her throw you away like garbage the way he set me aside."
"That guy, he gets on my nerves just hearing what he did." She giggled, first time he'd seen her smile. "You'll find someone better, don't worry."
"Alex!" Called out a distant girl. Emily had grown impatient.
"Thanks, Alex," she gave a sweet smile. He'd never actually realised how beautiful she was.
