Deadly Secrets

Chapter 29: Trick Or Treat*

"I can barely see shit through this. Are you sure you bought the right size?" Zara glared at Orion from behind her Batgirl mask, but he was too busy patting his pockets for his lighter to pay her any heed. He stopped to push his Spiderman mask up onto his forehead then continued his search.

The taxi caught a bump in the road, jostling its passengers in their seats. Zara's mask inched down her face, and with a huff, she pushed it back up. Her eyelashes scraped against its interior every time she blinked, and her vision was limited to two rectangular slits.

Stupid mask, taking the meaning of 'Batgirl' freakin' literally.

The pair had opted for a twenty-dollar ride rather than a thirty-minute walk; they'd be up all night drinking and dancing, so they couldn't waste any energy on unnecessary physical activity. It was just the two of them tonight, as unfortunately, the others weren't able to go; Saffron had to take his sisters trick-or-treating whilst Aurora had other plans, which Zara couldn't remember. It would've been nice for the gang to do something normal on a Friday night for once—especially since Orion had managed to score invites for all four of them—but nothing ever went normally for the abnormal. Zara was supposed to start getting used to that.

"It's one-size-fits-all, maybe your eyes are just too big." He found what he was looking for and lit up his cigarette. It was his first for the night and definitely not his last—Orion eyed the driver, who didn't seem to mind. The man had probably experienced much worse than a teenager smoking in his ride.

"Or...maybe it's only good for slanted Asian eyes," Zara countered.

Orion took a lengthy drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke in Zara's face. Enveloped in carcinogenic fumes, she immediately turned towards her window and rolled it down, coughing and gasping for fresh air. It took way too long for the smell to disperse, and when it did, her eyes had already begun watering.

"Happy Halloween, bitch," he said with a smirk, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.

Once they arrived at the party, 'Happy Halloween' became a mantra. Almost every drunken teenager she bumped into tossed the phrase at her; it soon went from being enjoyable to downright irritable. Zara gradually levelled down from responding, to merely smiling, and finally ignoring them all together. 

She wasn't there to talk to anyone, just to get drunk with Orion and, even if only for one night, forget about the fact that her life would end in little over a week. It was a good thing she asked Maximilian whether he would be showing up or not; it was better to know that he wouldn't rather than spend the time with the doubt clawing at her mind.

Whoever organised the party had gone all out: the venue was huge, the decorations aplenty, and the music chosen alternated between Hip Hop and Dubstep. It wasn't long before Zara realised that her and Orion's costumes were by far the least imaginative of them all—after showing their fliers to the bouncer and paying the fare, it was as if they'd entered a different dimension, inhabited by monsters, superheroes, and every fantastical creature in between.

In comparison, their black outfits and five dollar plastic masks were pitiable. Regardless, the energy in the place was too powerful for Zara to resist; she soon found herself dancing and singing along to her favourite songs, one arm looped around Orion's and the other waving wildly in the air. Only once they were both settled in did Orion start snogging girls in skimpy costumes; to his credit, he got in-between three douchebags hitting on Zara, so for once, she let him off the hook. She was in a giddy mood and didn't want to spoil it by nagging her friend about STDs.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink," she informed him, instead, and after receiving a nod of understanding, she began weaving her way through the crowd of sweaty bodies and towards the food tables. She hadn't had a sip of alcohol since her arrival and it was about time she got a little tipsy.