Daphne
Scarlett is adorable dressed up as a hula dancer, and Max chose to reprise his Miami Vice look from Spirit Week. Climbing from the back seat, I hold my long, white robes up so they aren’t dirtied on the way into the party. I’m not sure why I bother; there is no way my white Princess Leia costume is coming out of tonight unscathed. I’ll no doubt end up with a drink sloshed on me, and it’s so long, I bet the hem gets stomped on all night long.
Beau greets us at the front door in full vampire costume. He immediately pulls me in for a hug, whispering loudly with his fangs out, “Princess Leia, I vant to suck your blood.” I giggle and swat him away. Not to be dissuaded, he turns and immediately repeats his greeting to Scarlett.
Once he’s messed with her enough, he allows her to pass. Bringing up the rear, Max wiggles his brows at Beau, making all of us laugh.
“Come on in.” Beau nods up toward the stairs. “I think Micah is still changing into his costume.”
“I can’t believe you guys were up for this after a game. You must be exhausted.”
Beau winces. “Yeah, but the alcohol helps numb the pain from the loss, so there’s that. Hey, you didn’t see Alora outside on your way in, did you?”
I frown. “No. Should I be worried?”
“It’ll be fine, sweetness. I guess she’s got her thong in a twist or something. Micah asked me to watch out for her and make sure she stayed gone. She took off about fifteen minutes ago. I haven’t seen her since.”
Great. Alora with underwear stuck up her butt. Exactly what we need. This can’t be good.
I’ve started really wondering how terrifying a truly pissed off Alora could be when a weird, animal-like garbled cry comes from the stairwell and our attention snaps to a huge, furry beast with an ammo strap slung over his shoulder. Oh my God, Micah is so freaking cute in his Chewbacca costume.
Max turns to me as Micah slowly comes down the stairs head to foot in Wookiee fur. “Did you plan this together?”
“I swear we didn’t. This is literally the only costume I already owned.”
Micah reaches the bottom of the stairs and sweeps me into his arms, making more Wookiee noises, then proceeds to carry me through the house.
He finally sets me down outside and takes my hand in his furry one. Apparently, the Wookiee is all about playing the part tonight because he walks around making all sorts of noises and gestures. I go right along with him, Princess Leia buns and all. He is making such a spectacle of himself that people stop what they are doing as he circulates through the crowd. And the funny thing is, I find I don’t even mind. If he wants to geek out in a Star Wars costume with me, I’m actually okay with it.
I’m still giggling when he lifts the Wookiee head off of his shoulders a few minutes later. Holding it under his arm, he dips down, clasping his hand behind my neck and dragging my lips to his for a kiss. I’m surprised at first because there are so many people around. Someone is bound to see us. But I guess if Alora isn’t here, it doesn’t matter. I’m as tired of dealing with her antics as Micah is.
He laughs. “Isn’t there some line in The Empire Strikes Back about this?” When my brows pinch together, confused, he smiles. “When Princess Leia says, ‘I’d rather kiss a Wookiee.’”
“That’s a misquoted line, Chewy.” I cross my arms and laugh.
He growls, “You would know that.”
“Yeah, well. I’ve been honest about my Star Wars geekiness right from the start.”
“Damn right. I don’t care what the fucking quote is, so long as you kiss me again.”
I grin up at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. He’s just pressed his lips to mine when someone behind us shouts, “Hey, it’s eleven!”
Micah pulls away, frowning, and as he does, the lights inside the house go out, and so do the fairy lights outside. “Fuck. Who did that?”
“Not funny, assholes,” Beau grumbles loudly.
Xander raises his voice to be heard over the chatter of our startled classmates, “No one move. We don’t need anyone falling into the pool in the dark while drunk and in costume.”
A few people pull up their flashlight apps on their phones as a big square of light shows up on the wall. What the hell is that? A recording of something? Oh. Oh, no. Tell me she didn’t… I’ve known Alora had that video of us, but I suddenly realize that before this moment I’d never thought she would actually be awful enough to go through with it.
Oh my God, not like this.
My mouth goes dry, and I’m almost immediately light-headed.
The video begins to play, dark at first, and I feel Micah’s hand tighten around my waist. “Where the fuck is that being projected from? Turn it off!” he bellows into the night air, his muscles tense as he holds me tightly to his side.
For the first several seconds of the video, it’s almost as if someone had hit record on their camera app and then walked with the phone down at their side. It’s jarring. I know I don’t want to see this, but I find myself squinting at the image, trying to decide if anyone else can tell exactly what or who is being shown. I’m unable to look away.