The Kiss of Fangs

Astray

Belladonna Grace Sanderson, September 27th 2024

Bucks Hollow was transforming colder than ever. The crunch of my boots sounded every morning on my walk to school, and I couldn't decipher whether the fog over the gravestones were lost souls or not. The old houses creaked more than usual, their black and gray shutters dancing to the sound of the wind. The air seemed to shift, and so did a particular feeling about Bucks Hollow.

Or maybe it was the knowledge of the Halloween carnival this weekend. They were finally coming to town, an event that happened every year for a short period of time. They came and went as fast as the maple leaves fell.

It had also been only one week since my gallant dunk in the artic water, by the gracious Emily Soucie. Which somehow signified the start of something new. Maybe she was a witch, cursing me the rest of the schoolyear. I wouldn't find that to be far-fetched, considering my current situation.

Bridget started avoiding me, I couldn't even find her after I crawled myself out of the tank and dragged my heavy water sacked dress home.

You should've seen the look on my parents face when I came home still drenched, my mascara running down my face as if I'd been crying. They must've mistaken me for a banshee, or a siren out of water. My mother ran to me as fast as she could, demanding I take a warm bath to counter act the hypothermia I was going to get-though I didn't think it worked that way. My father happily made me some warm ginger tea, telling me about how he always got dunked in the toilets at school. Which honestly, made me feel more grateful that my experience was somewhat clean.

But Bridget...

...is really starting to bother me. She hadn't said a word to me all week, disregarding my looks in the halls and overlooking me when we accidentally locked eyes. She seemed to be busy with what looked to be a boyfriend, or someone she'd been hooking up with (which wasn't likely for Bridget.) He was the same guy who'd been eyeing me at the trailer park. Blonde, tall, sharp eyes, earrings, and a neck tattoo that I didn't see before when his hoodie was up. Bridget was always hanging off of his shoulder, like she had been doing to me.

There were other people who followed both Bridget and blonde boy around, as if they were some sort of gang. There were two more guys in the group, one with long black hair that parted evenly down the middle. His skin was a soft shade of hazelnut, and his smile revealed a wide gap that complimented his plump lips. The other guy was one that I had recognized before, from V's snack bar. Big oak-colored curls sat atop his head, and the same red rimmed eyes looked tired, or drugged. His freckles were a lot more noticeable in the daytime, spreading all across his dark complexion.

The only girl in the group, besides Bridget, was a knock-out. She was far more attractive than Bridget, who was average at best. The girl's hair was the perfect pastel pink shade, cut into a pixie-making her appear ethereal, like a faerie. She wore leather leggings and a leather jacket over the purple pastel tank underneath. And when she smiled, her colorful braces sparkled, not taking an ounce of beauty from her-but somehow amplifying it.

They all made me jealous, in some sort of intriguing way. Bridget never told be about these new friends, and yet she looked like she was having the time of her life. Like she completely forgot I ever existed.

The last bell rang for Friday as I practiced my usual routine, walk to my locker, grab what I needed for the weekend, and leave. Luckily, I didn't need much, considering last weekend I helped student council set up for this weekend's carnival.

"Hey," I heard a familiar voice say. I shut my locker and turned around to pair of baggy eyes and a flirty smirk. "I saw you looking at me all week."

It's the guy from Bridget's group, the one that works at the snack bar.

God dude, I wasn't looking at you, he's already so oblivious.

"Hey..." I said swinging my black bag over my shoulders, "...can I help you?"

His smile widened, brining me to realize how adorable he actually was. Like a cute little kitten, or a new puppy you just brought home. "Just wondering, you wanna come with me and my friends to the party tonight? We weren't invited, just crashin'. Ya know?" He said, swinging his arms around a little bit as if he was awkward.

Usually, I'd stay out of the parties, nothing was more annoying than watching a bunch of underage high schoolers think that their part of some TV show. The way they all drink too much, smoke too deep, and do stupid shit that would likely be recorded and fumble their chances at getting into college.

But this time, I was pissed. Pissed at Bridget, and for some reason the perfect opportunity to get back at her was standing right in front of my face. I wasn't technically going to use him, he seemed nice and wasn't bad looking at all.

"Sorry, I'm Logan," he said scratching his head.

"Well Logan, I'm Bell, and I'd love to accompany you." I said, with a bright smile on my face, giving him a little more of me than I usually would with someone. I had to make this believable, keep him interested in me so he'd keep me around.

Logan seemed to perk right up, almost like he was surprised I'd say yes. He fumbled for his pocket and pulled out his phone, the screen was completely cracked, but not enough to block anything on it.

"Here, put your number in. I'll pick ya up tonight." Logan handed me his phone after he unlocked the screen for me, and I typed my number into it, deciding whether I should put a heart next to my name or not.

Hell with it, and hell with Bridget.

I searched through his keyboard for the black heart, put it on the end of my name, and handed his phone back to him.

He excitedly looked at his screen, smile lines dancing the corners of his dark lazy eyes.

"Gothic, heh, I like it." He said as he threw his phone back into his pocket, gave me a smirk, and walked down the hall to the school's front entrance.

I cringed at the comment, rolling my eyes and walking far behind him as I went to exit the school. There was so much ahead of me now for the weekend, a party, the carnival, making Bridget jealous by invading her life.

What the hell am I thinking?

As I left out the front doors, Logan hollered at me one last time. "See ya tonight, bat girl!"

My whole body wanted to puke at the horrendous nickname. Luckily, the girl with the pastel hair punched him in the shoulder, clearly annoyed with Logans teasing. Bridget was under the arm of Blondie, giving me the death stare as if I'd stolen from her. Blondie's face was completely unreadable, as before. And the long black-haired guy laughed loud as he took the cigarette from Blondies face, finishing it off with a puff and a stomp.

Tonight's surely going to be interesting.