“A rock star, obviously,” he answers with his standard smirk.
“Obviously,” I parrot mockingly, then gesture at the guitar, “Can you actually play that or is it just a prop?”
“Oh no, I can play it,” he assures smugly while strumming a few cords with his fingers, followed by an up and down of my costume. “Nice Wonder Woman getup.”
“Thanks,” I answer awkwardly, resisting the urge to pull down on the booty shorts.Just gotta own it.
His gaze shifts from me to Connor and he groans, “What the hell are you wearing?”
“Apparently, he’s going as a student this year,” I answer for him since Connor only does another one of his patented shrugs.
“You know you won’t hear the end of it if you come into the party like that,” Kaleb sighs, then while walking back toward their truck, he yells over his shoulder, “Follow me.”
Once we reach the truck, Kaleb climbs into the cab and comes out with a black t-shirt. Throwing it at Connor, he instructs, “Put that on.”
Connor sniffs it.
“It’s clean,” Donovan informs indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest… that is bare and muscly.
Connor shrugs, then does as he’s told, stripping down to the waist in the parking lot and throwing his flannel over the side of the truck bed.
I studiously check my arm guards that have indeed stayed in place since I put them on-- my blush from earlier going nowhere.
Kaleb hops up into the bed of the truck and starts rummaging through a large box mounted to the back. Curious, I peek over and find that the box is filled with… “Swords? You have swords stashed in the back of your truck?”
Donovan gestures at himself. “Dark nephilim, remember? Demon hunting kind of a big part of my life.”
“But that’s not until after graduation, right?” I question, a thread of panic weaving around my heart.
“That’s the plan,” he reassures, my anxiety easing, “but it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.”
Kaleb hands Connor a large piece of duct tape, which was apparently what he was looking for in the sword box, and says, “Tape this to your chest.”
It’s only after Connor puts it on that I see, in block letters, Kaleb wrote ‘Ninja’ with a sharpie. Donovan and I both start laughing while Kaleb gets back out of the truck.
He nods at his handiwork and comments, “Nolan should find it funny enough to think it was intentional. Now let’s get to the party before we start getting texts wondering where we are.”
“Lead the way, Cap,” I chirp, more than ready to be indoors.
∞∞∞
Nolan kept his word and made sure all the decorations for the party were Callie approved, which means nothing will pop out at me, no knives-- even fake ones, no type of evil scientist style decorations, and nothing that could be mistaken for a flame. Instead, all the decorations are mostly fog, spider webs, and lights. However, it appears he couldn’t help himself, and on the front door is what looks like a witch that’s crashed into it, arms and legs spread like a star with her broom poking out.
“The coven must love that,” I chuckle, while Kaleb rings the doorbell that’s been changed to sound like the toll of old gothic bells.
A doorman dressed as Frankenstein's monster answers, and with a few heavy groans, gestures for us to enter. The foyer is decorated to look like a spooky crossroads with twisted metal signs that point in different directions where attendees can find food, dancing, a photo booth, a fortune teller, and more. There even appears to be an area specifically designed for small children where they can play safely and parents can enjoy the night.
Yeah, it might not be an over exaggeration that the whole town is here. Definitely more than just Nolan’s friends.
“You’re here!” Felix cheers, popping up out of nowhere and scaring the crap out of me.
“What did I say about doing that, Casper?” I gasp, throwing my arms out before I have a close encounter with the granite floor, while the guys chuckle at me.
“That ghosts gotta ghost, so it’s just part of the friend experience?” he replies, though I can’t see his face behind his fake Yoda mask.
“Pretty sure that’s not what I said,” I grumble then take in his costume. “Why are you dressed in a cheesy Yoda costume?”
“It’s a ghost Yoda costume,” he corrects, holding out his arm. “Note the subtle blue glow.”
