All Hallows Eve (A Ryan Blaney Halloween Story)

Chapter 1

Hello everyone! In the spirit of Halloween, here's an eight chapter short story inspired by Blaney and one of my favourite times of year. The first three chapters will be posted today, two on October 29th, two on October 30th and the finale on October 31st. Hope you enjoy! 

***

"Are you ready to go, Lauren?" my cousin Tara asks, walking into my room. She pauses in the doorway to adjust the armbands on her Wonder Woman costume.

I sigh and roll my eyes. Today's October 31st. Yep, good ol' Halloween. The only night a year where it's socially acceptable to dress up and pretend to be someone else. Of course, for most it's just an excuse to go party and get drunk. But hey, to each their own. Who am I to judge?

Speaking of partying, Tara's been nagging me all day long to go to a Halloween party with her. I love my cousin but sometimes she's a major pain in the ass. Normally, I'd just ignore her and move on with my life but she's been gushing about this party for the last two weeks. Like, I'm not even kidding, she won't leave me alone about it. I've been assaulted for fourteen days straight while eating my cereal in the morning with info about how "epic" this party's gonna be. Apparently, I should be prepared to have my "socks knocked off with fright"- her words, not mine.

The original invitation came from one of her guy friends at the race track or something like that. I think his name's Bubba. I know, what the hell kinda name is that? The poor guy's parents must've been on something when they named him. In case you're wondering Tara works as a PR rep for Nascar. Other than the fact she travels a lot for work, I don't really know all that much about her job. I could really care less about racing.

"Tara," I start, staring at her. I'm giving her my best death glare. I have zero interest in going to the party. First off, I'm a major introvert, so socializing at parties stresses me out and second, I don't drink. The two combined don't make me a real fun party guest. But I've already told her this a million times today. I'm pretty sure me laying in bed watching Netflix in my sweats is a big flashing neon sign I have no intention of going anywhere. Problem is, Tara just can't seem to take no for an answer. Call it a character flaw.

"You know I'll be drinking, right? C'mon Laur, you know I depend on you to be my designated driver," she says stepping into my room. "Besides, when was the last time we spent any time together?" she questions, crossing her arms over her chest.

I puff out a breath as I mull over her words. She's pulling the guilt card on me. The worst part is, it's working. Sensing my weakness, she takes the opportunity to bat her long eyelashes at me. I can feel myself starting to cave.

She's done this ever since we were kids. Tara and I are only a year apart in age and even though I'm the older one, she's always bossed me around. I still remember one time when both our parents went out for the night. My aunt left me in charge with the words "make sure Tara stays out of trouble". Who says that to a twelve year old? My family apparently...

I guess I've earned the reputation as the responsible one, which means I'm always cleaning up Tara's messes. Fixing things when they go wrong. Perfect example, about five years ago, Tara decided it'd be a fantastic idea to take my aunt's car out for a joy ride in the middle of the night. Who did she drag along? This girl. And what happened? She ended up crashing the car into a telephone pole. Guess who was left to explain to aunt Meg what happened? If you picked Lauren for any of the above, ding ding, ding, we have a winner!

I wish for once I didn't have to look after everyone else. That a knight in shining armour would sweep me off my feet, whisk me away and take care of me. It's a nice fantasy, right? Sigh. Guess tonight's not the night. I spend way too much time with my head up in the clouds.

"Fine," I grind out. I'll go to the stupid party just so she'll leave me alone.

"If you don't have anything to wear, you can borrow one of my costumes, Lauren," Tara tells me.

I snort at the thought. Tara's a sucker for any costume with the word "sexy" added to it. See Exhibit A. Tonight she's going dressed as "sexy Wonder Woman". Let's just say her dress doesn't really leave anything to the imagination. Not exactly my cup of tea. I shake my head. Now that she's guilted me into going, I guess I'm gonna have to find something to wear.

As she leaves to finish getting ready, I pause my show, roll out of bed and head over to my closet. I stand there with my hands on my hips. What to wear? I bite my lip as I scan through the clothes hanging there. Since I wasn't planning on going, I don't have a huge selection of outfits to choose from. But I refuse to degrade myself in front of a bunch of strangers. In a show of silent protest, I decide, fuck it and put on the most covered thing I can find.

***