How Curiosity Killed the Cat and the Ghost Was Brought Back

Tricks and Treats

Kat's heart skipped a beat. As soon as the door swung open, she had to force down a gulp of air. He was actually here, smiling and sweeping out his arm in a bow, offering his hand to her in a gentlemanlike manner. It was so corny. Kat couldn't help but grin.

She wasn't sure exactly how she had thought this was going to play out, but she wasn't entirely surprised. There had been a few daydreams here and there that they would both show up to the party in matching dress and suit, turning heads as they made their entrance. That wouldn't exactly be the case. Zach's outfit wasn't much different than what he had been wearing every single day prior. The only effort he had put into a costume was a graphic t-shirt with a faded skeleton cage. His hoodie being worn half-zipped helped to play into the illusion. As Kat took his hand she could see that his under eyes were smudged with black, using that cheap putty-looking "makeup" sold at Spirit Halloween. She couldn't decide if the costume was just as lazy as any other teenage boy or if she was kinda into it.

"You look lovely this evening, m'lady," Zach said as she finally took his hand. She held her breath as he drew her hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss atop her knuckles.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she teased. Kat could feel her face reddening, knowing that it would only remain perpetually flushed throughout the night as long as she was attempting her awkward flirting.

Zach guided her down the steps of the front stoop, being sure to move at a steady pace so that Kat could hold up the skirt of her dress to avoid tripping over the hem. Their cutesy back and forth flirting had taken a momentary pause, as they were both too focused on simply making it down to the last step.

As they strolled, the thought occurred to Kat for the first time; transportation. Were they going on foot? Did Zach have a car? The thought of being driven by him, with just the two of them, summoned even more butterflies in her stomach.

The front gate of Whipstaff came into view, as well as a car. Kat squinted at the sight of the bluish gray minivan. She couldn't make out the figure behind the wheel. The butterflies disappeared in an instant as they were overpowered by a feeling of unease. She thought back to the stranger danger videos teachers used to play for the class back in middle school.

"Who's that?" Kat asked. She couldn't remove her stare from the car, but she could feel Zach's suddenly concerned gaze despite him being just out of her peripheral vision. His palm felt clammy against her hand.

Just as the question left her mouth, they were already close enough for her to finally recognize the face of Vic DePhilippi. His mop of blonde curls were barely kept out of his eyes by a strip of tattered red cloth tied around his forehead- likely a piece of a t-shirt that had been terribly butchered by a pair of kitchen scissors- which was paired with a primary green Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles costume top. The sleeves were baggy, obviously missing some kind of foam inserts originally meant to give the appearance of bulky muscles, leaving the fabric hanging awkwardly and deflated on his broad shoulders. He had probably dug up the old costume from the bowels of his basement just a few hours before he left the house.

Being accompanied by two teenage boys in equally sloppy costumes had the upside of making her feel more confident in her own getup. Hopefully, by comparison, she would give the impression of a girl who was out of their league, yet was gracious enough to join them on this night out.

"Vic," Kat said. It didn't sound like a greeting. It came out like a statement of fact. She didn't intend for it to have any tone of distaste.

Vic's face reacted to her as expected. His expression was lacking at first, then timid, as though it was slowly dawning on him that Kat was in fact the person he had once assisted Amber in tormenting. Kat had never held any of it against him.