Perhaps (Book 1) | ✔

ACT II - Scene 6

* Author's Note: The following chapter contains a brief scene that may be sensitive/graphic to some readers. Reader discretion is advised.

Further discussion about this chapter present at its conclusion. *

*

Gloria's home — her bedroom

Halloween evening after rehearsal, I went home and started getting ready for the party. I had no idea what to actually wear to a party, since I'd never really been to one; and I had no "cool-looking" costumes at my disposal (old ballet costumes didn't count—they were too over-the-top for what was basically a frat party). I opted for something casual: an off-white camisole under a chocolate-brown top that I could wear off of one shoulder, and my nicest pair of skinny jeans. I decided on flats over heels—high heels weren't really my footwear of choice. I curled my hair and put on a little bit of make-up, lining my eyes in the cat's eye style with dark brown liner. I didn't want to do myself up too much, because it wasn't like this was a date or anything.

It's kind of like a date, Gloria...

For the finishing touch—and since this was a Halloween party, and I couldn't allow myself to go to it without some kind of costume—I put a pair of fuzzy brown cat ears on the top of my head that I had bought at the drugstore on my way home. There. Hopefully I didn't look too stupid.

Should I draw on some whiskers?

A few minutes after 7:30pm, I heard a car pull in the driveway and peered out my window to see Riley's red coupe sitting there. I took a deep breath, grabbed my phone and keys, and left my room.

"I'm going out!" I called to my parents, not stopping to hear their replies. They had been arguing again when I had come home, and I thought I still heard shouts coming from my father's study. I marched out the door before either had a chance to come out and stop me.

"Wow, you look really nice!" Riley said as I climbed into his car. I looked up at him: he was wearing what looked like a pirate costume. "Wait! Let me guess what you're supposed to be!" He screwed up his face and began to scrutinize me. "I think you must be a cat!" He flicked at my cat ears, causing them to slip off my head.

"Hey!" I laughed, reaching up to fix them. "Don't flick my ears!" I reached over and swiped the pirate hat off his head. "You're missing your eyepatch, by the way, Cap'n." He snickered.

"I have no love for eyepatches. Why would I want to cover up these gorgeous eyes?" He winked at me, and I blushed. "Honestly, I wanted to wear my 'Lucas' costume because it looks so badass. Too bad they took them for dry cleaning after we took all those pictures for the programs and posters." He backed out of the driveway, heading in the direction of the school.

"We would have had the best costumes if we had shown up as 'Lucas' and 'Gloria'," I agreed. "But I guess the party will have to settle for 'Captain No-Eyepatch' and his pet cat." He smiled—I think it made him happy that I referred to myself as "his pet cat".

"Well, technically, since I play 'Lucas' and you play 'Gloria', you are kind of already like my pet. So our costumes are appropriate. And in-character." I laughed.

This does feel really easy...

We parked in the nearest lot to Accent Academy's small Greek Row, opting to walk towards Mu Sigma Kappa's fraternity house. I caught sight of several other students heading in the same direction as us: some were dressed up, and others weren't. I felt a bit better at my poor excuse of a costume, despite how much Riley loved it. When we stepped into the house, the sound of heavy bass music hit my ears. There were so many people here—I recognized a few of them, but the majority I didn't know. Many of them raised their hands and greeted Riley, who greeted them back.