Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Halloween Party

 

The plan was that I was to go back home to get ready but Stephan already had my costume in his room so we planned to make it look like I left but in actuality I would be in Stephan’s room getting ready.  The plan was simple, I would be dressed and ready to sneak downstairs were all the other party goers were around eight thirty and Stephan would make sure that the guys were busy when I snuck downstairs to the party.  I was really looking forward to this.  I knew it was going to be a blast and I knew that James wanted me to relax.  I had been here almost a month and a half and I still jumped and got defensive when someone startled me but I was getting better I didn’t automatically attack them or throw myself into a defensive pose anymore.

Stephan came up to me around four in the afternoon and tapped my shoulder.  This was the one place that I didn’t get all defensive, I felt safe at this house.  I didn’t understand why but I did.

“Anna, it’s time for you to go get ready.  I’ll drive you home.” Stephan smiled and winked at me.  

“Ok, just let me grab my jacket.” I smiled.                                                                             “Anna come on, what are you going as? Please just give me a tiny winey hint.” Lizzy begged. 

“I’ll put it to you this way, if you don’t figure it out in the first two hours I’ll let you know.” I smiled.

“Alright” she pouted but I could tell she was looking forward to the challenge.  I walked up the stairs to the family room and almost bumped into Alex as he balanced a large tray of glasses and plates on one hand.
 “Sorry Alex, I wasn’t paying attention.  I’ll see you tonight.” I smiled and slipped past him quickly. Stephan and I got into the car and drove off.

“Okay, how am I going to get back into the house without any of them seeing me?” I asked as I watched the road in front of us. 
  “That shouldn’t be so hard.  I’ll just make sure they are all in the basement while you come in through the kitchen.  Don’t worry Katie is waiting for you and she knows that you will be at the back door at exactly four forty five, she’ll make sure that you get into my room so that you can get ready.  Just remember that you have to shower quickly.  I still need to get ready too and they might get suspicious if there is one extra shower goer although I doubt they’ll notice.” Stephan smiled.

“You thought of everything.  Thank you.” I smiled in return.  On our way back to the house he slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road where we couldn’t be seen.                                        “George will get you to the house he should be over there by the rock.  If he isn’t wait five minutes and head that way as quietly as possible.  If any of them are outside they might hear you coming.” Stephan instructed. 
 “No problem.  Thanks I’ll see you in a bit.” I slipped out of the car and headed for the rock as Stephan pulled away.  As I reached the rock I saw George leaning against a large tree with a smirk on his face.
 “Hi George.” I smiled.
  “Hey kid, are you ready to play cloak and dagger.” He smiled and winked.  
  “You bet.” I smirked.  George motioned me to follow him.  He didn’t make a sound as he moved and I did my best to copy his movements as we headed towards the house.  Once we got to the edge of the trees he stopped and waited.  We saw a flash and he signaled me to run across the lawn.  I took off as fast as I could and got to the side of the house. George walked out of the trees with a huge box and walked around to the back of the house.  He motioned me to follow and I did hugging the house as I moved.  He went into basement where the party was going to be and distracted everyone as I took off my shoes and got ready to sprint up the stairs.  I heard a tap on the window and bolted for the stairs and took them two at a time.  Katie had the door open for me as I darted in the kitchen and fled down the hall to Stephan’s room.  Katie came in behind me to make sure I had everything that I needed.                                                                               

“There is a towel here for you dear.  I do love to pull a trick or too on the kids once in awhile.  They’ll be floored when they realize that you never really left the grounds.” She smiled happily.

“I guess it’s pretty hard to fool them.” I smiled softly.
“You have no idea.  The twins are very crafty, you may be the first person ever to pull a fast one on them and you can imagine we are all looking forward to seeing them trip over themselves.  Now go get ready, I’ll check on you in a little while.” Katie smiled and winked as she left the room.

Stephan’s room was large and very masculine there was a large four poster bed made of dark stained oak with a matching dresser and night tables, a large mirror over the dresser and an entertainment area with a large flat screen TV and two recliner chairs that looked very comfortable, the room itself was a rich burgundy colour with cream coloured draperies over the windows so the room didn’t look small.  I looked for my costume and found everything in a bag under the bed where he told me he hid everything.  I pulled everything out and started to lay everything out on his bed.  The cat suit and corset were laid out perfectly.  I found my boots and got them ready and a pair of black socks and sheep skins to protect my feet as I hadn’t broken these boots in properly.  I placed the gun belts and toy guns beside the corset and then placed the black messy wig on the dresser.  I grabbed my toiletries bag and my towel and went into Stephan’s bathroom to start my shower.  When my shower was completed I towel dried my hair and began to pull it into a very tight braid.  I wrapped the towel around me and walked into the main bedroom to get my cat suit on.  The hard part about wearing something like this is that you can’t wear underclothing which means no panties because it’ll show through and no bra because that’s what the corset is for.  I dried myself really well and then slipped into the cat suit and zipped it up then I put my boots on and went back into the bathroom to start working on my makeup.  It took me almost an hour to do my makeup which is a ridiculous amount of time but I wanted it to be perfect.  I heard a tap at the door as Katie entered the room with what smelled like dinner.  I smiled and came out of the bathroom.
 “Anna, I hardly recognized you.  Here is something light to eat a salad and some chicken.” Katie smiled.                                                                                                                                      “Thanks I’m starving.” I took the plate and started to eat.
“Do you want some help with the corset?” Katie asked with a smile.                             
 “Sure, I’d love it.  They can be a real pain getting on, it’s amazing how easy they are to get out of. You’d think it would be hard but it isn’t.” I smiled as I took another bite of my dinner.                        “You can say that again.  I’ve worn them before and I must say it sometimes takes fifteen minutes to get into the thing and only about twenty seconds for a man to get you out of it.” She laughed happily at a memory that she didn’t fully tell.  I smiled as I took the last bite of my dinner and moved towards the bed.  I stopped and quickly went to the bathroom I knew that once the corset went on there wouldn’t be many pee breaks and I needed to brush my teeth too.  You couldn’t bend the same way with a corset on.     Katie tied me into my corset and it was amazing that I could breath, my ribs still hurt but nothing compared to when I first broke them and the corset was a great means of support I didn’t even wince when she yanked at the strings.  When I looked into the mirror I was astonished at how small my waist looked.  I turned from side to side admiring my figure.  Katie pulled out a camera and asked if she could take my picture.  I nodded and grabbed the wig.  I hated wearing them but it was a necessity tonight so I pulled it on and made sure you couldn’t see any of my own hair.  When I was sure that I was perfect I turned and smiled for the camera.  Katie smiled as she snapped the picture.

“Oh are they going to be surprised when they see this picture in the morning.  Don’t tell them that you got ready here if you can manage it.” Katie smiled and slipped out into the hallway.  I grabbed my sunglasses and slid them on.  I was ready for the party and none of the others had found out that I was here.  At seven thirty Stephan came into the room and smiled at me.                             

“You look great.  I’ll only be a few minutes and then you can slip downstairs.  People have already started to arrive.” Stephan smiled and slipped into his bathroom to get ready.  When he came out twenty minutes later he was dressed as a Victorian gentleman.  He looked so sexy it was scary, my mouth dropped open.                                                                                                    

“Wow.” Was all I could say as I looked at him.                                                                                 “Thanks.  You ready.” He asked.  I nodded and smiled as I closed my eyes for a moment and got into character. We slipped down the hall and into the basement.  I decided to have a seat in an arm chair while Stephan and George discussed play lists.  Everyone looked amazing.  I saw Christine and Michelle they were dressed as fairies and Lizzy was dressed as the goddess of wisdom and Cassy was dressed as a nymph.  Many of the guys in the room were drooling just at the sight of them.  No one had noticed me yet and that is exactly what I wanted.  My trench coat hid most of my costume and I wanted to make sure that Alex and Will were both in the room before I made my move.  A few minutes passed and Will entered the room looking like the Greek god Zeus and Alex was dressed as a renaissance man. He looked so elegant as he moved around the room greeting all the students from school.  I finally decided to stand up and move around the room, as I stood up I let my coat slip off and suddenly I noticed that all eyes were on me.  I walked with cat like grace to the music booth and requested a song.  George asked if I would dance with him and I nodded.  On the dance floor I saw Cassy eyeing me with a not too happy look.     

“Cassy isn’t too happy George.” I smirked.
“Don’t worry about her, I’ll let her know in an hour if she hasn’t figured it out.  You should see Alex and Will scoping you out and half of the other guys in the room.” He grinned.

           “Well that’s the idea isn’t it, I just have to

get Alex and Will to fall all over themselves a bit

 and my job will be complete.” I smiled.

            “I don’t think that will be too hard.  I suggest that you brush your shoulder against Alex’s as

you walk by to go talk to Lizzy.  That should just about do it, I’m sure.” He smiled evilly.  I nodded

and smiled back my eyes were twinkling with excitement.  After the dance was over I went to talk to

 a few of my classmates and complimented them on their costumes before I decided to talk to Lizzy.

          I glanced around the room and saw Lizzy and Cassy standing by the DJ table and Will and

 Alex were standing in the middle of the room talking with a group of what looked like football

 players.  This was my chance and I took it, I walked slowly with a perfect sway of the hips placing

my feet perfectly so that I was as sexy and sultry as possible as I walked past Alex and Will.  My

shoulder brushed his just slightly and he gasped in surprise.  I smiled slightly and kept walking. 

 I made it to Lizzy and Cassy without falling over and I was very thankful.

“Well Selene you’re looking very impressive at the moment, my brother is falling all over himself.” Lizzy said with narrowed eyes and a coolness to her voice that I had never heard before.             

“Well that was the idea, Goddess of Wisdom.” I smirked.                                                   Suddenly Lizzy’s eyes widened and she looked at me and then at Cassy and then back at me again with a look of disbelief.                                                                

“Anna” she whispered.  I nodded and Lizzy and Cassy burst out laughing.  They finally understood why I didn’t want anyone to know what I was going as.                                         

“Oh man you are diabolical, no wonder you didn’t tell us.  To be honest I was getting ready to kick your ass because Will is drooling as much as Alex.  I’ll deal with him later.  So what’s your plan now?” Lizzy asked. 
 “I’m not exactly sure but I could use a few suggestions.” I smiled.
 “Ask Will to dance and make sure you look as if you’re going to ask Alex.  That should drive him insane.” Cassy had an evil smile on her lips.
   “Are you okay with that Lizzy I don’t want to step on any toes if you know what I mean?” I looked at her with a bit of concern.
   “Oh I think you should play this up to the max.  I want you to tease the hell out of both of them.” Lizzy smirked.                                                                                                                                           “Okay just remember I’m playing a character and I’m not interested in Will.” I smiled as I took a deep breath and got into character again.  I walked with my sexy sultry movements straight towards Alex and when I was right in front of him I smiled and turned slightly and looked at Will.

“Would you dance with me?” I asked in a perfectly mimicked voice of Kate Beckinsale.  Will’s eyebrows shot up and he smiled.
“Sure beautiful.” He took my hand and led me to the dance floor leaving Alex staring after us with his jaw around his knees.  As I danced with Will I really pushed the limit as the upbeat song played relying on my dance training from New York, it was a miracle that Will didn’t figure out it was me. When the song ended Will was flushed and I smiled sweetly at him.
“Thanks for the dance.” I turned and walked to the refreshment table to get myself a drink.  Cassy handed me a glass and winked.
“Good work.  He has no idea.  Now go ask one of the jocks to dance and make sure you look at Alex before you do it.  I know that he’s on fire right now.” Cassy smiled.  I nodded as I took a long sip of fruit punch.  I looked around the room and spotted one of the guys from the football team.  Aaron was a nice guy, he was dressed as a zombie.  I walked towards him and accidentally on purpose of course brushed up against Alex’s back as I walked by.  I spoke with Aaron for a few minutes and then we were on the dance floor.  I had a rock’n time dancing and flirting with every guy I could while Alex and Will watched trying to figure out who I was.  Finally at eleven thirty Stephan came over the mic.

“I hope everyone is having a good time tonight.  It’s time to cast your votes for best and worst costumes of the night. We’ll take ten to fifteen minutes to vote and I’ll give you the results at midnight.” Stephan smiled.          

            “Lizzy has he figured it out yet?” I whispered.                                                                                         “No but he has realized that he hasn’t seen you and he’s kicking himself because you distracted him for the past four hours.” She whispered back.
            “How do you think he’ll respond to the news?” I asked quietly.
            “Well I’m sure he’ll be surprised when he finds out.” Lizzy replied quietly. 
            “Okay everyone gather round.  The winners of the worst male and female costumes are, bed sheet ghost Sarah Miller and garbage can man Jeff Wilkins, Congratulations.” Stephan smiled.  Everyone cheered as they went up to get their prizes.
            “Okay the best male costume of the night goes to the life like zombie man Aaron Thomas.” Stephan smirked as he looked in my direction.  Everyone cheered again as Aaron headed for the DJ table to collect his prize.
            “And last but definitely not least the winner of the best female costume is Selene from Underworld our very own Anastasia Graham.” He smirked as everyone cheered and Alex and Will turned and stared in disbelief as I walked by them in character to the DJ table to get my prize.  When I peeked in the bag I saw a small stuffed bear and smiled.  I looked at Stephan and he put his hand up for a high five and I gladly slapped his hand, so did George.  They laughed at how Will and Alex had been fooled all night and running in circles.                                   

“Anna that was the best ever, I’ve never seen them so confused. You did good.” George grinned.

“Ok everyone the next dance is for our winners.” Stephan said smiling as a slow song started to play.  I walked up to Aaron and we walked onto the dance floor and started to dance.  It was nice he was practically terrified to touch me.  
“Anna your costume is fantastic I didn’t even recognize you.” Aaron said wide eyed.
“Thanks you look great too.” I smiled.
“Uh, Anna I don’t think Alex is too happy he looks pretty pissed right now.” Aaron nodded towards Alex and Will arguing with Lizzy and Cassy.
“Well I could be in for a blasting we’ll see.” I looked slightly worried in their direction and then decided to turn my attention to Aaron.  I wasn’t going to let anyone spoil the moment I was having fun for the first time in a long time.
“Well it’s obvious that he likes you, I mean no guy in school would go near you because of him, although they might try now just to see if you’ll go out with them.” Aaron smiled.
“Sorry Aaron, I’m not interested in dating anyone and you can tell all the guys that too, I played a character tonight and nothing more.  I went to an Arts school so I just used what I learned there.” I smiled at him.  He nodded with a slightly sad and resigned expression on his face.

After the dance was over I went over to Stephan to ask him how bad I was going to be yelled at.

“Hey, so how bad is it?” I asked looking over to Alex and Will.
“Let’s just say you had better take cover, Will thought you did a great job at fooling them.  Alex on the other hand is well, let’s just say he’s not so happy.” Stephan eyed me with slight concern.
“Am I going to have to call James to come and pick me up?” I questioned slightly worried that my presence might cause a fight.
“Anna you are not going anywhere, Alex is being ridiculous.” Lizzy stated as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“What happened?” I asked.
“Well he is definitely turned on, but he’s mad because you were flirting with everyone but him.” Lizzy snapped as she rubbed her temple.                                                                                                “I didn’t mean to cause this much trouble Lizzy, I just wanted to have some fun, I don’t get to do that very often and I have to admit that I was getting tired of being picked on all the time.  Teasing is okay once and awhile but the two of them were at me every day.  Maybe now he knows how I feel.” I said slowly.
“Anna, don’t worry about it, let him cool down and things will be fine in the morning.” Cassy smiled.  I nodded and went to get a drink.                                                                                                       As I got to the table I felt slightly dizzy and closed my eyes and steadied myself by placing my hand on the table.  I took a few slow deep breaths and I felt better.  The next thing I knew was Alex had grabbed my arm and started to tow me to a quieter corner.  I tried to pull my arm away and just follow but his grip tightened.  I could see the tension in his shoulders and I was starting to get annoyed.
“Alex let go. I’ll go with you, you’re starting to hurt my arm.” I stated with a bit of anger in my voice, Alex wheeled on me and slightly pushed me into the corner where I couldn’t easily escape and put a hand on either side of my head by the wall and leaned in.  His eyes were a piercing cold green that I had never seen before and to be honest he was almost terrifying.           

“Why?” he demanded.                                                                                                                       “Why, what?” I snapped back.                                                                                                          

“Why did you dress like this?  Why did you flirt with every guy here making yourself out to be a tramp?” He snapped.  My anger flared and I turned as cold as he was.
“I dressed this way because I wanted to.  It’s Halloween and you are supposed to get out of your comfort zone.  I didn’t flirt with anyone I played a role and I played it well.  Anyone who knows me would understand that I did go to a theater arts school.  People were attracted to a character that doesn’t exist.  Not me.  You’re not my boyfriend Alex and you’re not my brother so stop acting like it.  I can do what I want I don’t need your permission.” I snapped glaring at him.           

“Anna if you were my sister I would have dragged you upstairs and forced you to change.  You have no idea what you’ve done.” He growled angrily.
“I haven’t done anything but socialize and dance.  Nothing more.” I glared at him.
 “God you don’t own me Alex so stop acting like you do.”
 “Every guy here is going to think that you’re a slut because of the way you were acting.” He practically snarled.
“I am not a slut and anyone who knows me would understand that I would never let myself be used by some asswipe guy who thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips and salsa dip on the side. You are such a jackass.” I replied heatedly and slapped him as hard as I could before I forced my way out of his guard.  I walked over to the chair and grabbed my coat and then walked out the back door.  As I was putting my coat on Will walked by and heard me mumbling angrily to myself.               

“Anna, are you okay?” Will asked concerned.
“Piss off Will, stupid bastard called me a slut, I’m a virgin for god sake.” I mumbled angrily and exited the party.  I looked around and decided then and there that I would go home.  It wasn’t worth staying here so I headed around the house and started down the dirt road towards home trying to walk off my anger.  When I reached the turn off point I realized that I didn’t have my keys or my cell phone.                                                                                              

“Dimmit…I have to go back and get my bloody keys.” I stomped my foot like a two year old and turned back towards Lizzy’s house.  By the time I reached the house my anger hadn’t faded much I was positively livid but that was when I realized that I could see perfectly as if it were a cloudy day.  My second sight had been working for quite some time now, much longer than usual and it was slightly concerning.  Will came running towards me when I came into view at the edge of the driveway.                  

“Anna where have you been, I’ve been looking all over for you?” Will asked in a concerned voice.

“I was on my home but I left my cell and my keys in Stephan’s room.” I snapped as I walked by.   
“Anna wait, Alex didn’t mean what he said he was just jealous.” Will blurted as he followed me into the house. 
“Get lost Will, I don’t care, no one calls me a slut.  I’m getting my cell and my keys and I’m walking home.” I growled through my teeth and headed for Stephan’s room.  Will stopped at the top of the stairs and watched me completely perplexed.                                                            

“Anna, please.” He said. I ignored him and continued on down the hall.  Once I walked into Stephan’s room I grabbed my phone and keys off the dresser but as I turned to leave the room the keys slipped out of my hand and fell to the floor.  I rolled my eyes and bent over to pick them up when a wave of nausea swept over me.  I clasped my hand over my mouth and ran to the bathroom.  I made it just in time as wave after wave of nausea made me retch and then I vomit everything I had eaten earlier.  I felt awful and once the retching stopped the room started to spin uncontrollably.  I managed to rinse my mouth out with water and I slip back to the bathroom floor and tried to stay as still as possible.  My eyes were going crazy the room was going from light to dark so I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and grabbed my head as pains started shooting behind my eyes. I groaned softly to myself.               

“Where is she?” I heard Lizzy’s panicked voice as she came into the room.
“Her keys and cell are on the floor.” Alex said quietly.                                                             

“You shouldn’t have yelled at her you idiot.  She would have flirted with you but you never gave her a chance, you went off the deep end as usual.  I can’t believe you would be so stupid.  You know she doesn’t relax, she looks over her shoulder all the time and she’s on the defensive all the time.  She just started loosening up and now you’ve ruined it.” She spat at him.                 

“Lizzy I know I screwed up, I couldn’t help it, all those guys are going to be after her and I won’t stand a chance.” He sounded sad but totally annoyed.

“Well after calling her a slut, your damn right you don’t stand a chance.” Lizzy snapped angrily.  I whimpered quietly as their voices bounced off my head like a wrecking ball.                                              

“Anna, are you okay?” Lizzy said as she banged open the bathroom door and rushed to my side.  The sound made the pain in my head worse so I curled tighter into a ball.                        

“Stop it, just stop making noise, stop the light my head is killing me. Please.” I begged.                      

“Oh, Anna.” Lizzy whispered, she moved away slowly and the next thing I knew I was in the air and being carried out of the bathroom and down the hall.  My stomach flipped over again and I began to retch again.  Thankfully there was nothing left in my stomach.  I was slowly placed on the bed in Lizzy’s room.  Lizzy slowly pulled the laces of the corset loose and removed it slowly. I groaned and clutched my left side.

“Anna what’s wrong with your side.” Alex asked all concerned.  I hadn’t realized it was him taking the corset off.  I inhaled slowly before I spoke.                                  

“Broken ribs, not completely healed yet, puking didn’t help.” I mumbled.                            “How did you get broken ribs?” the twins asked in unison.                                                        “A fight in New York, now please just let me be still, it hurts to talk.” I breathed.                   “Does James know about this?” Alex asked. I shook my head.                                     

  “Did you go see a doctor?” I shook my head slowly again.

One of the twins started to stroke my hair gently and my breathing started to slow.  I started to relax as the scent of jasmine and vanilla enveloped me and I drifted off to sleep.

             When I finally woke up a few hours later it was around eight in the morning.  My head still ached but the room didn’t spin like a roulette wheel.  I slowly stretched and looked around the room, Alex was fast asleep in a chair at the side of the bed.  I watched him for a few minutes surprised to see him there.  He had stayed with me all night.  I was touched by this even though I was still pissed at him.  I smiled to myself and slowly got out of bed, my bag was at the end of the bed so I grabbed it quietly and slipped into the bathroom. I quickly washed up and put on a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, after I put my hair into a pony tail and brushed my teeth I slipped out of the bathroom as quietly as possible and put all my costume pieces into the bag.  The only thing missing was my corset but I could get that back later.  Alex was still fast asleep in the chair so I slipped out of Lizzy’s room trying not to make a sound.  I went to the kitchen and called James to pick me up.  No one seemed to be around so I grabbed a few garbage bags and headed to the basement to clean up a bit while I waited for James.  I knew it would be about twenty minutes.  After four bags of garbage collection the basement was almost cleaned up.  They would only have to vacuum the floor and wipe things down.  I had placed all the decorations on the pool table in small piles to help them put them away and then I took the garbage up stairs and put it on the back porch were I had seen other bags of garbage.  James would be here any minute so I quickly wrote Lizzy a note and slipped out the door.

Chapter 11

Chapter: 11 Invitation

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day was back to normal.  I went home early so that I could get started with my practise sessions with James.  Before I left Alex gave me my ipod and docking station back.  He had loaded it with all of his and Lizzy’s favourite music and there was lots of room left for me to add more if needed.  The next few weeks flew past.  Midterm exams had come and gone and finals were fast approaching.  I was in a routine and I enjoyed that.  One day just before midterms Lizzy handed me an invitation.

       “What’s this?” I asked questioningly.  I saw Will and Alex leaning against their lockers watching for my response.

       “We’re having a Halloween costume party and your invited, it’s on Halloween night because it’s actually finally on a Saturday.  Its lots of fun, everyone dresses up and we always have a competition for best male and female costumes. It’s like a huge dance.  You have to come, it wouldn’t be the same without you and it will be your first official dance.  PLEASE” she looked at me with wide pleading eyes, she was impossible to refuse when she did that.

       “Sure I’ll go.” I replied smiling at her.

       “I guess I had better see if I can go with James to the city this weekend to get a costume.  I can’t go as just anything.  I want to make sure that none of you can figure out who I am.” I smirked. 

        “No fair, you have to tell me what you’ll be.” she insisted.

        “No I don’t, it’ll be a surprise.” I beamed at her.  She knew that I wouldn’t give in.

Alex and Will nodded to each other smiling.

       “What are they up to?” I asked Lizzy rolling my eyes.

        “They’re taking bets on what you’re going to go as.” she laughed.

        “What are their ideas?” I said shaking my head.

       “Will thinks you’ll go as a sexy kitten or a witch, Alex figures a martial artist or a fairy.” she replied.

       “Well they’re both wrong.” I smirked.  I knew exactly what I was going to go as.  I was going to turn myself into Selene from the Underworld movie.  No one would recognize me by the time I was done.  Besides I wanted to see what effect that outfit would have on Alex and Will.  They deserved a bit of their own medicine.  It was my turn to tease them instead of always the other way around.

When I got home after school James and Stephan were talking about their trip to Toronto.        

“James would it be ok for me to tag along, I need to get a costume.” I asked with a smile.

            “A costume for what?” he looked at me quizzically.

           “Lizzy invited me to a costume Halloween party on the thirty first, I want to make sure that my costume is something none of them would think of or that anyone would recognize me.” I stated with a smile.

          “This party is pretty wild.  We hold it every year and it gets better and better.  You’ll love it Anna.” Stephan smiled.

        “Well we’ll be leaving Friday morning so you’ll have to get all your homework done before we leave is that an okay condition?” James smirked at me.

        “No problem, I’ll get everything I need tomorrow.  Thank you James.”I smiled.

I went to my room to start a list of what I would need.  I need to get a corset and a long black pleather jacket as well as that black one piece body suit that Selene wears.  I went online to search for the right stores so that I could make out a simple shopping rout.  I was looking forward to this trip it would be fun to spend some time getting to know James and Stephan better.

Thursday went by quickly I got all my assignments for the weekend from my teachers and rushed home to get it all done.  Lizzy was pouting because I wouldn’t tell her where I was going to shop. I didn’t want her to get any ideas of what I was going as, it was bad enough that Stephan would know or at least have an idea.

We left early Friday morning it was a four hour drive to the city and James had a meeting around noon.  We were planning on spending the night at the Hilton hotel right down town which was perfect as two of the stores I wanted to go to were within walking distance of the hotel.

The first store I went to was for the boots.  I needed to find the right kind and this place had a great variety.  Thank goodness they were on sale, black calf boots with a bit of a heel and silver and black buckles along the sides.  The second store I went to had the contacts and the wig I wanted.  I took my purchases back to the hotel and got ready to go to one of my final destinations on Young Street. 

“Where are you headed now?” Stephan asked politely.

“There’s a store I want to go to on Young.  They have the rest of what I need I think.” I replied.

“Do you mind if I come with you?” he asked.

“Sure if you want to but you can’t tell anyone what I’m going as, you’ll know once we get to the store.” I said worried.

“I promise I won’t tell any of them.” he laughed a soft enticing musical sound, it was so beautiful. 

We took a taxi to the store in question.  Stephan raised an eyebrow at me as we walked into the store.

“What you’re going as a dominatrix?” he eyed me carefully.

“NO!” I rolled my eyes at him.

A pretty young girl was behind the counter, she smiled “Can I help you.”

“Yes I called yesterday and asked you to put aside a few items. My name is Anastasia.” I smiled back.

“I have them right here.” she handed me the one piece body suit and the corset.

“Would you like to try them on first?” she asked politely.

“Yes thank you.” I replied.  I went into the change room and put on the one piece suit first and then the corset.  I walked out of the dressing room and Stephan’s eyes bulged and his mouth fell open slightly.  I smiled.

“Now remember you can’t tell anyone that I’m going as Selene.” I giggled flattered at his response to the outfit.

“You are going to be in so much trouble.  Alex and Will are going to have heart attacks with the rest of the guys and all the girls will never forgive you.” Stephan said shaking his head.

“That’s the idea Stephan.  Alex and Will abuse me with all the teasing to get me to blush I think it’s about time that I give them a taste of their own medicine.” I replied.

“You go girl” the shop clerk said with a smile.

Stephan just shook his head slowly and nodded. “Your right they deserve it.  Lizzy and Alex will never get this one out of me, even if I have to take off until the party.” he laughed and the sound of his intoxicating laughter filled the shop.  I went back into the dressing room and changed back into my clothes.  I paid for my purchases and then we went to grab something to eat. 

“Aren’t you hungry?” I asked.

“No I’m good, you go ahead, my treat.” he smiled.  I nodded and ordered a salad.  I ate quickly as I had one more item to pick up before we went back to the hotel.

“I need to get a trench coat like hers, have any ideas were I could get that?” I asked.

“Sure, there’s a store that sells that kind of stuff not far from here, do you have the gun and belts that she wears at home?” he asked with a smile.

“No I don’t, I forgot to look that stuff up.” I wrinkled my nose in disappointment.

“Don’t worry I know a place we can go to, you’ll be pretty authentic looking too.  I can hardly wait to see the look on Alex and Will’s face when you come through the door.  You do realize they’re going to go crazy.  You’ll have every guy in your school fantasizing about you.” he smirked.

“No they’ll be fantasizing about a character not me.” I smiled back.  Stephan was a really nice guy now that I’ve gotten a chance to talk to him.  He was relatively quiet most of the time.  His long dark hair and liquid golden hazel eyes were devastatingly beautiful.  His pale skin was almost luminous on this cloudy day on the streets of the city.  I was happy to have him around it was nice to get his opinion on my costume.  We went to the other store’s he suggested and I got the rest of the things I needed for my grand costume entrance.  I even got a really cool pair of sunglasses to hide my eyes and give a bit more of a dramatic look.

On Monday everyone was buzzing about the party and deciding what costumes to wear.  Everyone was trying to outdo each other.  I sat back and smiled as Lizzy glared at me across our table.

“Stephan won’t tell us anything he decided to go up north for a few days so we can’t get it out of him.  This is so not fair.  Why won’t you tell me?” she complained pouting.

“Because I want you to get the full affect of the costume and I want to see the look on the guy’s faces when I walk through that front door.  I’m sure I’ll be very entertained as will you I’m sure.” I smiled mischievously.

“But I won’t know who you’ll be dressed as?” she whined.

“Trust me, you’ll know by Alex and Will’s reaction I promise.”I replied.  She knew I wouldn’t give in.  I really wanted this to be a surprise.

Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Feelings

 

 

 

The next day was a crazy day of driving on the highway weaving in and out of traffic so that we could get to our destination in Barrie, the Georgian Mall.  We wandered in and out of stores for hours, I managed to pick up a couple of new outfits and so did Lizzy.  I also bought a new ipod and docking station.  My old ipod was sadly at full capacity and the battery was shot.  I also wanted more music so that I could have better play lists.  We went to Lizzy’s favourite restaurant for lunch The Fish Bowl.  It was located down the street from the mall near the Kozlov Centre.  Lunch was light because Lizzy wanted to do some more shopping.  We went to Chapters book store where I picked up some light reading, a few sci-fi’s, and a mystery novel.  I also got the Anatomy colouring book to help me study for my biology midterm that was coming up in a few weeks.  Lizzy got a bunch of romance novels and a few magazines.  We headed back to Huntsville around three in the afternoon and we got back to her place around five o’clock.  When we pulled up to the house the guy’s car was there.  I looked at Lizzy questioningly. 

“Did you know they were coming back early?” I asked suspiciously. 

“Well” she sighed “kind of” she admitted. 

“Lizzy, James will kill me if he finds out that we lied.  I don’t want to betray his trust, things have been so good between him and I.” I glared at her disapprovingly.

“Anna don’t worry, the guy’s are only here for a couple of hours, Will promised to meet some guys at school for something and Alex said he would go with him, he didn’t want to be stuck here with two girls to gang up on him” she smiled and I smiled with relief.  That was the last thing I needed, Alex just down the hall from me, when I tended to wake in the middle of the night and wander around. 

We walked into the house with all of our bags. Will and Alex were watching TV.

“So did you buy out everything in the mall Lizzy like usual?” Alex asked with a smirk.

“No” she retorted and stuck her tongue out at him. I smiled as the two of them bantered back and forth for a few minutes.

“You were just as bad as me, Anna” Lizzy complained.  I looked at her innocently.

“But I needed to buy some winter clothes.  I don’t have quite as an extensive wardrobe as you do.” I said stifling a laugh.  Lizzy looked at me with a betrayed look, sighed and went into the kitchen dumping her bags on the table.  I followed her and did the same I decided to get my new ipod out so that I could plug it in to charge.

“Are you going to load that with music while you’re here?” asked Alex as he inspected my purchase.

“I was going to charge it.  I don’t have a lap top here, so I’ll load it tomorrow when I’m home.” I replied.

“Give it to me I’ll get you set up.  That way when you go running tomorrow with James you won’t have to listen to him banter the entire time.” he smiled at me as he held out his hand for the ipod.

“Um Sure, Thanks” I blushed as I gave him the ipod and docking station.  I noticed my hand was quivering I hoped he hadn’t noticed.  I always got butterflies in my stomach when I was around him and then I realized he was being nice, what was he up to?

“So what are we going to do about dinner” asked Will.  He smiled at me and then got a playful look on his face as if he were about to try something foolish again.

“Why don’t we order in” Lizzy suggested. 

All of a sudden I felt something cold wet and hard on my back, I jumped up and screamed with annoyance as I realized that Will had shoved a piece of ice down the back of my shirt.  “Oh you are so dead Will” I shrieked at him as I grabbed the piece of ice from my shirt and ran after him.  He laughed all the way down the hall and into Alex’s room.  I entered the room right after him and Lizzy was a few seconds after me with more ice cube ammunition.  I saw Lizzy beside me she had a determined look on her face as she slipped me another piece of ice.  We glanced at each other I went one direction and she went the other so that we could corner Will.  I smirked tilted my head slightly eyeing Will, he was distracted by my expression and Lizzy pounced.  Will jumped as the ice cube went down the back of his shirt.  Alex watched perplexed as we ganged up on Will.  I managed to get a piece of ice down the back of his jeans as Lizzy held him down. 

“A little help Alex” Will complained.

“Hey man, you started it, you got what you deserved.  Although two on one doesn’t seem fair does it.” he grinned viciously and dove at my waist trying to knock me over.  I managed to get out of the way and he took down Will instead, they landed on the floor in a tangled pile of arms and legs.  Lizzy and I burst out laughing and ran from the room.  We armed ourselves with pillows just in case the boys decided to make chase again.  We ordered in Chinese food and pick out a movie to watch on the big screen TV, we had decided to watch Underworld.  I went to Lizzy’s room to get some blankets so that we could curl up on the couch comfortably in case we fell asleep.  After we started the movie, Will and Alex joined us.  Will curled up with Lizzy and Alex sat on the floor with his back leaning on the couch that I was stretched out on.  I watched Alex quietly as the movie played.  I memorized the way his wavy blond hair flowed just past the nape in his neck, the curve of his cheek, and chin, his straight nose, the curl of his eyelashes.  I jumped when the doorbell rang.  I was always so nervous and constantly annoyed when I let my guard down. 

“Well that will be dinner” Will said as he got up to go to the door.

“Do you want something to drink?” Alex asked as he looked from me to Lizzy. 

“I’ll have a coke” Lizzy said.

“Water please” I smiled.  Alex got up and went into the kitchen.  He returned with a tray full of plates, chop sticks and our drinks.  We sat on the floor, getting our dinner dished out and then returned to our places.  I curled my legs up so that Alex could sit on the couch.  He smiled and sat down making sure to not disturb my feet.  When the movie was over I started to clean up, I gathered everyone’s plates and chop sticks onto the tray that Alex had brought in earlier and headed for the kitchen.

“You don’t have to do that” Alex said quietly from behind me.  I looked up at him and smiled.

“I don’t mind, I want to help out.” I said shyly.   He laughed quietly. 

“Lizzy has a good friend in you.  Don’t let her take advantage of your good nature.” he smirked and ruffled my hair. 

“Hey, don’t touch the hair” I complained laughing. 

“What, too delicate” he chided. 

“No, but I don’t want another war on my hands like earlier” I half smiled and walked quickly back to the couch.  It was so easy to relax here, to just have fun.  I didn’t feel like I had to look over my shoulder.  I didn’t mind being close to Alex, Lizzy or Will.  I could have one moment of freedom, I would enjoy tonight. 

Alex followed me back to the couch he sat on the other end from me and grabbed the blanket to cover his lap.  Lizzy and I glanced at each other and she smiled with a satisfied look on her face.  Will stifled a laugh as he looked at Alex.

        I was getting the feeling that everyone knew how I felt about Alex and that wasn’t good.  Or was it that he liked me?  No way, that can’t be it.  I shivered and pulled my legs in tighter and turned my attention to the next movie.  If I thought about him anymore I’d start blushing and I would never here the end of it.

            After the movie ended Will and Alex went out to their friends place. 

“We’ll see you girls in the morning” Will winked at us then leaned over to kiss Lizzy good night. I smiled and half waved as they left.

“Well you looked cosy with Alex” Lizzy teased as we went to finish cleaning up the kitchen. 

“I don’t know what you are talking about” I said innocently.

“I wasn’t the one with a huge talking pillow wrapped around me” I teased.  Lizzy giggled. 

“Ok, I give in” she said.  “Oh, come on Anna.  Do you like him or not” she begged.  I glared at her, sighed and nodded.  She grinned in triumph.

“At last confirmation!!!” she practically singed.

“If you say a word to him or anyone else, I WILL DISOWN YOU AS A FRIEND!” I practically yelled at her, but soften my harsh words with pleading eyes.

 She held up her hands “I swear, I will never say a word of this”

I watched her carefully, then nodded and slowly started to smiled again.  Shortly after that we headed for bed.

        As usual I woke up covered in sweat panting in fear.  I slipped out of bed and went to the washroom to rinse my face.  I decided to go for a walk around the house that way I could calm down so I could try to get some more sleep.  I went to the family room and stared out the window when I heard someone clearing their throat behind me.  I spun around with my hands up and my heart racing ready to throw a punch at whoever was behind me.  Standing there in the doorway to the kitchen was Alex, I looked at him confused and lowered my hands.

“Are you alright?” his rich deep voice was melodic as he spoke to me.

“Ya, I’m fine.” I said quietly as I wrapped my arms around my waist and turned to look out the window.

“Anna, you’re not fine.  I can tell you have fear written all over you.  What are you so scared of?” his voice was full of concern.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s nothing.  I thought you and Will were staying at a friend’s tonight.” I said quietly.

“Na, we decided to come home we only got back about an hour ago.  Are you sure your okay?” he tried again to get me to open up to him and I wanted nothing more than to do that but I wasn’t ready to trust him.  I eyed him wondering why he was being so nice instead of finding a way to get under my skin, maybe he really is a nice guy after all.  I sighed.

“Yes, I’ll be fine.  I better get back to bed.  Good night Alex.” I replied and slowly walked back to Lizzy’s room not waiting for him to respond.