Monthly Bonus #2 - Ava Autumn Scenario Special - "Halloween Party" (Patreon)

In the smoky darkness, vivid light occasionally flashes. It reveals the mass of vampires, werewolves, and a whole host of supernatural beings swaying around me.

I struggle to breathe.

“Stop worrying so much!” Tina calls over the beating blare of the music. “You look great!”

My gaze withers on her. “I look like a blob of goo.”

She fails to bite back a laugh. “I mean…it was the last one in the shop. At least you made the effort.”

I raise my arms, the floppy sleeves of the Halloween costume hanging limply. The rest of the outfit sags over my body like a deflated toxic-green balloon.

She tilts her head at me. “…What are you supposed to be anyway?”

I shrug. I’m not sure she can see the gesture under the thick shoulder pads, or in the dimly lit space of the old-factory-turned-club, decked out in Halloween decorations for the party.

“I think it’s a bug of some kind,” I state, staring down at the costume with a groaned sigh.

“Let’s start light. How about a couple of shots?” she suggests, her eyes lighting up as she gestures to the bartender dressed as some kind of slasher villain.

“Ah, yes. Light,” I reply through a snort as four glasses with vibrant liquid are shoved in front of us. We down the alcohol, and I wince at the burn against my throat.

I stop after an hour. But Tina has a worrying amount of glasses piling in front of her.

Then the familiar ‘do-do-doo-do-doo’ of Thriller blasts out of the speakers.

“Aah!” Tina squeals, trying to jump off of the bar stool but instead sliding-stumbling off of it. “I love this song! And I know the dance!” She makes some fumbled gestures I guess are supposed to be the correct moves. “I’m going on the floor. Will you be ok?”

I wave a hand at her and roll my eyes. “Go. Have fun.”

“Are you sure it won’t bug you?” she slurs with a smile.

I purse my lips with a glare.

She laughs. “Sorry.” She shuffles her way onto the floor, sticking to the edge where I can see her.

Clicking my tongue, I turn back towards the bar, which is unusually quiet. Apparently ‘Thriller’ is too much of a banger of a track for people not to head straight for the dance floor to join in.

I order a glass of water, hoping to dilute some of the alcohol buzzing tightly through my system.

Fidgeting on the tall barstool, I get comfortable, planning to be there the rest of the night. Another hour passes, and I nurse the same bland drink for all of it.

I only remember other people are actually there when I feel a presence at my side.

Broad shoulders and solid arms, which look about the size of tree trunks, grace my sight before my gaze continues upwards.

The stranger stares at me through icy green eyes, her solid, square features and arched nose look like something that should be in an art gallery rather than on a real person. Her pale cream skin is shadowed in the gloom, the flashing light glowing across her gaze.

I’m staring—I know I am—but it’s kind of impossible not to.

And because of my distraction, it takes a moment to realise that she’s staring back.

“Are you alright?” A clear British accent makes her words crisp.

My throat is dry, her question making me realise I’ve been gawping for a couple of minutes. “Uh, sure.”

Her blonde brows tug together as she looks over me. “A caterpillar is the most unique choice of outfit I’ve seen tonight.”

I drop my gaze to myself. “Oh. Is that what it is?”

“You do not know what you came dressed as?” she asks. I’m pretty sure I hear a tinge of amusement on her voice, but it’s hard to tell with the music drumming so loud.

“It was the last costume in the shop,” I reply, shrugging. “I hadn’t expected to come tonight.”

She nods, the motion barely making her stiff, upright posture shift. “It was the same for me. I was dragged here completely against my will.”

I glance over her, trying not to get too distracted by solid thickness of her waist, or the way her cargo pants hug, well, everything. “What did you come dressed as?”

She looks down at herself, brushing out the non-existent wrinkles in her plain grey t-shirt. “Myself.”

“That’s not much of a costume,” I reply.

Her lips press together. “It can be.”

I frown, confused at the enigmatic reply. “What do you mean—”

“There you are!” Tina calls, throwing herself against me, her arm draped around my shoulders.

I smile at her. “Here I am. Are you still this drunk?”

She presses her forefinger and thumb together. “A little bit. I don’t think the exercise burned it off.” Her chest heaves a little as her eyes drift closed. A flush of red glows across her cheeks and nose.

“If she pukes in here, there’ll be a fine,” the bartender states, pointing at Tina.

I groan. “Come on. I’m not paying for your inability to hold your drink.”

“What?” Disappointment crests across her face. She stumbles, almost banging into the stranger, who steps aside to avoid the collision.

Tina drinks in the sight of her about as subtly as I had. “Well, well…Hello there!”

The woman barely manages to hold back the grimace on her face. “Good evening.”

“Are you, uh, new here?” Tina asks, leaning unbalanced against the bar and batting her lashes at her.

Her gaze swings between me and Tina. I’m not sure why, but I feel a pinch of jealousy as Tina shuffles closer.

The unwanted sensation fades as the stranger steps even further away.

“I believe your friend is correct. It seems you have imbibed enough for one evening,” she says.

Tina flings her curled hair back over her shoulder, knocking over an empty glass in the process. “Are you offering to buy me a drink?”

I scoff. “That is definitely not what she’s offering.” I arch a brow at the woman. “It’s not, is it?”

She tenses. “Not in any way.”

I do my best to carefully balance Tina on her ridiculously high heels that match her sexy cat costume, but it ends up more like a tangle of limbs and hair as I struggle against the bag of costume around my legs at the same time.

“Do you need some assistance?” the stranger asks.

I could probably manage—not easily, but I could. Yet for some reason, I just don’t want to leave this stranger I barely even know.

I nod. “Thanks.”

She slips an arm under Tina’s arms, holding her steady as though she weighs nothing more than a sheet of paper.

I become very aware of how stupid I must look, shuffling along ahead of them through the crowd with the caterpillar costume flailing around my legs, hampering every step I take.

We finally make it outside, and a rush of cool night air washes over me to sweep away the sticky heat of the club.

The stranger brings Tina out with her, coming to stand close as I flag down a taxi. My body shivers where we almost touch.

“Uh, thanks,” I mutter, unsure what to say, also very aware that I am gazing at her while being framed by a baggy green hood with floppy antennae.

She loads Tina into the backseat of the car before standing tall again, nodding at me. “You are most welcome.”

“Not exactly the best first impression,” I joke, feeling a sudden hesitation to leave.

I’m not entirely sure she realises when she shifts a step closer.

“I would not say that,” she replies.

I frown in questioning.

She spreads a hand towards me. “I have never met a caterpillar who will leave such an impression as you have.”

A laugh bubbles out, and a flush of heat sweeps through me. “Thanks.”

Silence shivers between us. It tingles with something I can’t put my finger on. But whatever it is makes my blood rush through my entire body.

The stranger swallows thickly before stepping back, breaking whatever moment had been brewing.

“Good evening.” Then she leaves.

I watch her go, wondering why it feels so much like part of my heart is going with her.

I didn’t even get her name.

After drawing a breath to steady my racing heart, I slide into the backseat next to Tina.

“You should have got her number!” Tina wags her finger before grinning. “Or better yet, brought her home.”

I roll my eyes, tapping the front seat to let the taxi driver know we’re ready. “I talked to her for, like, five minutes.”

“That seemed to be enough with the way you two were looking at each.”

I stare out of the window and into the darkness where the stranger had been, getting the odd feeling she might be right.

“Oh no…I think I’m gonna—hurk!”

My stomach churns as Tina clears out all the drinks she’d consumed in quick succession into the footwell.

“There’ll be a fine for that,” the driver snaps.

I sigh. “…Wonderful.”