I don’t remember it ever being this cold in October back home. The second after I get out of the van in front of Lizzie’s, I regret not at least throwing a sweater in my bag.

Dad drives away once I’m free of the curb going home for a while since most of my family isn’t arriving until after dark. Once I decided to go with Kent and his friends—I’m still struggling to think of them as my friends. It actually took very little work to get the rest of my family on board for the town’s Halloween event in the square, the curiosity around Fairview’s festivities was too much to resist.

With my costume still shoved in my bag, I walk across the square to where I promised to meet everyone. There aren’t many people out yet, but intricate jack-o-lanterns sit every few spaces, portraying everything from typical geometric faces to intricate character designs. Booths line the north edge of the square selling everything from carnival food, to handmade jewelry to snacks made in the shapes of ghosts and vampires.

Every time I make eye contact with someone, I can practically sense their gaze following me as I make my way by. Nearly two months into living in Fairview and I still hate being this recognizable.

I spot Kent’s hair first, but I quickly see Rosie and Frankie talking nearby, and Jen is making her way toward them from the opposite direction. I double my speed, doing my best to keep my head down. I spent the last week hanging out with all of them during our lunch periods, I still get nervous every time I see them, like having a crush on an entire group of people at once. And I’m still half convinced that it’s almost inevitable that I’m going to screw this all up.

"You’re not wearing a costume," Kent says, throwing his hands up as soon as I reach the group. "You promised you would. It’s the whole point of tonight!" He was already fully decked out in a homemade Captain America outfit, it fits perfectly with Rosie’s Black Widow and Frank’s incredibly intricate Vision costume. Jen didn’t seem to be dressed up either, until I took a closer look. She’s wearing a button up plaid shirt and a ‘Hello my name is sticker’ that declares her Joss Whedon.

"I’ve got something," I promise. "But I need to find a place to change here. It’s a thing with my sisters. I couldn’t let them see what I was going as."

"Is your costume that bad?" Rosie said, looking up from her phone. She was smirking a little, but the expression didn’t look unkind, only teasing.

"The costume party idea was half the reason my sisters decided to come. Not being recognized during a big down event has its plus sides. But then we somehow also decided to try and get one over on one another as well. So we’re all dressing up in a way that cover’s our faces."

"So, then what?" Jen asks. "You try to figure out if you still recognize each other without just looking for your own face?"

"Something like that. I’m not sure if there was really a point, but I’m curious to see how long it will take me to do it." There was never a doubt in my mind that I’d be able to track down each of my sisters eventually. I know them by so much more than what they look like.

After changing into my costume, I stepped out of the women’s bathroom at Lizzie’s dressed head to toe in a dinosaur onesie I’d picked up a few days before. I’d always been terrible at costumes, so having to come up with something last minute hadn’t exactly led to my rising to the occasion. I popped on a facemask of a T-rex that didn’t at all match with the stegosaurus I thought the onesie had been modeled after. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about a sweater anymore.

"Umm, nice costume," Rosie said as I made my big entrance, clearly not meaning a word of it.

"What are you even dressed as?" Frank asked.

"Frankenstein’s dinosaur?" I answered, feeling pathetic. "I may have been a little more focused on keeping my identity a secret than winning the costume contest. Besides, my family would have never guessed I’d be able to go out in public dressed up in something this sad looking.” On the other hand, they had all seen me go to school last year dressed up as a book with cardboard stuck to each of my arms, and paper glued all over my clothes. Their expectations for my costume this year couldn’t be all that high.

And now I feel like a moron.

"Well, if you’re sure you want to go out in public like that…" Jen trails off, her eyes giving me the once over. For a second, I really consider scrapping the whole idea. If I just ditch the mask, at least I’ll look somewhat passable.

"Don’t listen to her," Rosie interrupts. "No one is going to know it’s you anyway, right? Isn’t that the whole point? It’s just a costume, and it sounds like things are starting to pick up out there."

Someone has turned on the music, the square is quickly filling with people. There’s even a station to bob for apples, like this town is trying to hit every Halloween cliché all in one night. Back home, no one would have ever gone along with something like that, they’d be too worried about all the things that could go wrong or how someone with bad intentions might have tried to pull something. But here, a line is already forming to participate.

"So, where’s this candy I was promised?" I ask. A few minutes later, for only five dollars, we each have a goody bag filled to overflowing with some of my favorite treats. It’s been a few years since I’ve been out trick-or-treating, so this is my best haul in a while, I make a note to go back for seconds before I leave. I’ve only brought a twenty to spend, but I’m already sure I’ll eat through my entire bag by the time I leave. I want to have some to snack on at school next week.

Already I’m on full alert, scanning the crowd for anyone who might be related to me. No one immediately grabs my attention, but the night is still young, and I’m determined to come away from it holding the crown of most observant Donovan.

"Boo!" A voice calls from directly behind me, making me jump straight into the air.

I turn to find Kent, he’s holding out some cotton candy to me. "Sorry. Didn’t realize that would actually scare you." He hands me the snack as a peace offering.

"Let’s just say that Halloween isn’t exactly my ideal holiday. I can’t even watch scary movies, so the terrifying the crap out of people part of the holiday isn’t my thing." I take a mouthful of pink cotton candy, humming with happiness as it melts in my mouth. "The candy part though, that I can get behind."

"Wait, no scary stuff? Does that mean you’re not going to do the haunted house with us? It’s the best part of the whole night. Every year, a ton of people sign up, hoping to get on the committee to do the Halloween House. They pull half of the volunteers from the high school for the community service requirement, and the other half are just super enthusiastic adults. Every year gets better and better as everyone tries to outdo the people that went before them. Last year, they made everyone take off their shoes before going in the house, saying that Mrs. Sangiti made that a rule of using her house. Then they covered an entire room in spaghetti noodles."

I blink at him. "How is that scary?"

"No idea. But it was gross so people loved it."

I squirm a little at the idea of getting spaghetti stuck between my toes. No thank you. "Sounds like something I would be happy to miss."

"Boo," he calls again, but this time sounds like a jeering crowd. "That’s no fun."

We rejoin our group, not saying anything else about the haunted house, but it’s already taking over my every thought. The idea of people jumping out at me with chainsaws and fake fangs doesn’t sound like any kind of fun I’m interested in, I can already feel my willpower crumbling. I don’t want to be left behind.

The sound of familiar laughter nearby grabs my attention. I look around, scanning the crowd until my eyes find the face I already knew I was looking for. Reece is standing in a big group of people, mostly guys, but also a couple of girls I don’t recognize, howling with laughter and almost doubled over. She’s dressed as what I can only guess is some kind of fairy princess, judging by the crown and the wings, the rest of her clothes is the same stuff she usually wore to parties back home—jeans and a tight t-shirt. A small mask, which was probably just supposed to cover her eyes to begin with, has already been moved up to sit atop her hair. So much for trying to hide her identity. She’s clearly enjoying the attention.

Frowning, I turn away and try to jump into a conversation about the latest episode of some show I’ve never heard of. I make a mental note to check if it’s on Netflix so I can try to get caught up before the second person within ten minutes sneaks up behind me.

"Reagan, I know that’s you. I could practically feel you staring at me through that stupid dino mask of yours."

I turn around to stick out my tongue before remembering she can’t see my face through the mask anyway, and find Reece making a face at me.

"Like you were so hard to figure out," I counter. "You didn’t even try."

"The mask was itchy," she says with a shrug.

"Is everyone else here?" I ask.

"No idea. Rachel’s brother drove us over. Reilly, Mom and Dad were still at home when I left."

I want to ask where Rhiannon went, but Reece has already left to go back to her friends. I realize how little I know about the people my sisters are making friends with since we moved here. Before, I knew all of their friends almost as well as I knew my own since everything from birthday parties to movie nights to school dances usually ended up combining multiple groups of friends into one big one. Now, I don’t know who any of these people are. At least Reece would have had to have seen me here, standing around with a group of my own. If only I’d managed to have her turn up at a moment where everyone was laughing hysterically at one of my jokes. Not that I’d had one of those moments yet, but it could happen.

Too soon, Kent is leading everyone over to the Mclusky house where this year’s Halloween House has taken over the otherwise colonial looking home. A graveyard marks the front lawn, lights flash in each of the windows, occasionally revealing the silhouette of a knife-wielding man. My heart starts racing all over again as I scan the area for anything that might want to jump out at me. Yes, nothing in there would really hurt me, but I won’t know what’s coming for me either. There’s bound to be something in there that will give me nightmares beyond the initial heart attack it will give me.

"Who’s ready to go?" Kent says, wiggling his shoulders like an overexcited flight attendant. Frank lets out a groan in response, but everyone else claps and hoots excitedly. I have a brief shimmer of hope where I think maybe Frank will stay out with me, but he steps forward to follow the group.

As the house looms over me, I’m resigned to going in, not sure if I’ll be able to live down chickening out. No one has even looked back to make sure I was going with them, and as sad as it is, I don’t want them to go through without me, creating more memories I wouldn’t be a part of.

"Only four at a time," the man at the door says, moving his scythe down to block my way before I can enter through the front door.

Relief and disappointment both collide in my gut. At least I don’t have to go in right away. Everyone inside stops to look at me. "No worries then. I’m too much of a pansy for this anyway." That’s it, the universe has decided for me, I’m totally okay with not going in.

"No way! You got so close" Kent says, ducking under the scythe to rejoin me. "We’ll go in the next group."

"Thanks," I chirp out. I’m still getting used to being around Kent with his friends as a buffer. Now I’m going to stand out here with Kent, and I’m going to try and not make an idiot of myself, all before having to deal with strangers jumping out at me in a haunted house. The nightmares just keep coming.

Kent is standing right beside me, his arm inches from mine, I try to remind myself to breathe normally.

Neither of us say anything as we wait for our turn to go inside the house. I try to follow every shriek, yell, and howl that comes from inside. I’ll take any clue I can get about what’s coming next. The anticipation is only making things worse, my brain can’t decide what I should obsess over more right now, the house or Kent.

Kent. Kent. Kent.

I wish my stupid brain hadn’t even let me think about him. Wasn’t it in hardcore survival mode? Thinking about boys should have been its lowest priority.

I glance behind me to find no one else waiting to go inside the house yet, which means it will probably be just Kent and I, alone. It also means there will be only two targets for anyone inside the house intent on scaring incoming guests. If I shriek, pass out, or something, there’s no way Kent won’t notice. We’re already failing at small talk. It’s hard to see this situation getting any better once a little mayhem and fake murder gets thrown in.

As we wait outside for two more people, the undeniable sound of Rosie’s laugh comes from above us and I almost jump right out of my skin and go running in the opposite direction, but instinct and terror keep me glued to the spot. She’s laughing, not screaming out in pain. Relax.

A couple in their early twenties begins to make their way to join the line behind us, blocking my escape route. At least I don’t have to worry about being alone with Kent yet. It’s something I want eventually, but maybe when the stakes are a little lower.

This is not how I imagined any part of tonight going.

I kind of wish my sisters were here with me. Maybe not Reilly since she’s as big of a baby about this stuff as I am, but Rhiannon and Reece would be way better at standing their ground, probably scaring off anyone before they got close enough to touch me, or laughing at the ridiculousness of it all and making the whole thing seem like less of a big deal.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kent asks, glancing down at me. For the first time, I really notice how tall he is, and, for half a second, it’s enough to distract me from what’s coming next.

I shrug, trying to seem uninterested in everything going on around me. At least my mask hides just how sweaty my hairline is getting. "I’m fine. This will all be over soon, right?"

"You make it sound like we’re about to die. This is supposed to be fun. If you really hate the idea, I promise I won’t give you a hard time if you don’t come in. I’ll just make Rosie go again with me. Sounds like she’s having fun."

I seriously consider taking him up on his offer, but the couple has arrived behind us and already started making out. I know that there really is nothing inside that house that can hurt me, even if my nerves don’t quite believe my head on that one. All I have to do is go through the house, then it’s over.

I resolve that I should take advantage of this situation. After all, this is my chance to get one-on-one time with Kent, which is what I want. Over the past few weeks, I’ve come up with so many ways the two of us could get some time together and the fear part of my brain is trying to ruin everything. I can’t let my brain mess this up for me.

"You’re up," the doorman says, raising his scythe ominously, an effect ruined by the gum he’s smacking.

"Are we doing this? It’s your call." Kent smiles, I really do believe him that he won’t give me a hard time if I decide not to go through with this. But it’s that very same smile that has me wanting to follow him into the haunted house or right across the state if he asks me to.

I should probably start with the haunted house and see how that goes.

Taking off my mask, I scrunch it up in my fists to give me something to hold on to. I’m going to do this, but I’m going to do it with a clear field of vision. "Okay." I nod. "I’m in."

Kent grins, and after each handing over a five-dollar bill, together we head inside.

My can-do attitude shoots right out the window by the time the first plastic skeleton is flung from its hiding place to swoop over my head. I dig my nails into my hand to keep myself from yelling out but find I’m actually okay. I knew something like that was coming, the effect isn’t nearly as scary as I’d been preparing myself for.

"Do skeletons even fly?" Kent asks as our group moves on from the first room to the next.

I’m too busy looking for clues about what to expect to answer, the people behind us have already started mocking the flying skeleton.

The next room is covered in toilet paper, making it harder to see too far inside of what is clearly the kitchen. But not hard enough to see that I can’t make out the black clad body of the person standing maybe five feet ahead of me. I shift back, pretending to get distracted so that Kent will be the one in the lead.

There’s no way he doesn’t see the person reaching toward him, even in the gloom of the poorly lit room. Kent pretends not to, pointedly looking everywhere but straight ahead.

Right as we’re about to pass the kitchen island, the sound of pots and pans clattering fills the room. It’s just enough to pull our focus away from what’s coming in order to look behind us. I turn back right as a hand reaches out to touch Kent’s shoulder.

The blood drains from my face, even though this whole moment has been less than scary. I never considered that people here would actually touch me. Most places, it would be a law suit waiting to happen. Here, anything seems to go though.

Kent’s laughing just in front of me, talking to whoever had just tried to scare him like they’re old friends.

The couple behind us has given up on any sort of pretense and are just full on making out now.

Nothing about this is scary, I’m almost disappointed.

I start to relax in earnest almost as soon as we start our way up the stairs through to the second level of the house. I don't understand what the people who tried to organize this place was going for, but so far everything has been far more cheesy than scary. Kent is constantly looking from side to side, inspecting every element of the house for something that might genuinely scare him, he comes away disappointed.

"Okay, I can take this. This really isn't so bad."

"I swear, last year it was so scary. The effects were really well done. They put a lot of thought into it. I’ve heard multiple people swear that Jamie Daniels wet himself when one of the actors jumped out at him. This is… Well, this is not that."

I'm not sure how, but somewhere along the way we lose sight of the other duo in our group. It’s possible they've decided to call it a day and gone back out the way we came, or they've slipped away into a closet to continue what they started in the kitchen. Either way, that only leaves Kent and me.

"And then there were two," I whisper, trying to sound ominous.

The second last stair near the top of the landing creeks as I put my weight on it, sending a shiver running up my spine. So far, that's proved far scarier than anything I've seen until this moment. The blacklight arrows lead us into an empty bedroom cloaked in fog. Before going in, my eyes scan the walls, but there is literally nowhere in this room that anyone or anything can be lying in wait for us.

"Do we go in?" I ask, looking over at Kent. He looks behind us and then back in toward the room where the black light arrow on the floor clearly points us deeper into the bedroom.

"I guess so. Maybe we're supposed to be contemplating the horror of solitude."

"You're starting to sound like Mr. Sullen," I say, making Kent roll his eyes. Together we step inside the room, taking each foot slowly and stopping in place before taking the next. Something is bound to happen. If this is an exercise in anticipation, I want my money back.

Nothing downstairs managed to scare me, and now I can't help but wonder if they were trying to lure us into a false sense of security. I should have just waited outside, at least then I wouldn’t have to worry about any of this.

We make it all the way to the far wall of the room where the windows look down on the happy crowds below. Nothing happens.

"Why do I feel like those people down there are about to get a great view of the two of us being murdered?" I ask.

Kent doesn't say anything in response, he’s still on the lookout for what might be coming for us next. Again nothing happens. We stand there, barely breathing for as long as my nerves will allow. "Do we just go back out then? Could the person who was supposed to be in this room have wandered off?"

Kent shrugs, looking even less confident than I feel. We turned to head back towards the door, but once we take a step, something drops from the ceiling. I cover my mouth before I can let out a shriek, eyes going wide as I try to figure out what's happening. There's a huge part of me convinced that this is the end, not just of the house but of my entire life. My reaction is nothing compared to Kent's. As soon as the swish from above comes at us, he jumps back a solid foot, his hand wrapping around my wrist as though to tug me back with him, away from danger.

I make myself look up to see a hundred plastic bats tethered to the ceiling, hanging down only inches above my head. After a second, they’re all completely stationary.

That was it? That was the big moment. As one, Kent and I exhale but only a second, before the two of us burst out laughing.