Laney
A gustof wind ruffled my hair as I walked across campus with my friends. The fall night air was crisp, lit by a yellow harvest moon hanging low in the velvety sky, and everything smelled of pine needles and distant woodsmoke.
Trina and I were dressed as 80s-style camp counselors with blue retro shorts, white T-shirts, sweatbands, sneakers, and long white socks with blue stripes around the top. Adam was dressed as Jason Voorhees—hockey mask, loose olive green work shirt, tan pants, chunky black boots and a utility belt.
“I’m glad you made us come out tonight,” he said, slinging an arm around my shoulder. “It’s gonna be so fun. I can’t wait to see my brother’s face when he sees you strutting in.”
I let out a wry laugh and rubbed my arms to warm myself up. “Yeah. Let’s just hope it isn’t another setup.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on you and make sure nothing happens,” he replied. “Unless you want to sneak off with Chris.”
He snickered, and I playfully shoved him, grinning. They’d been teasing me about Chris ever since last night, even though I kept telling them I wasn’t interested in anything but friendship from him.
“Honestly, isn’t this just the perfect night to throw a Friday-the-13th-themed party?” Trina cut in, wrapping her arms around herself. “It looks so creepy out here!”
She was right. Fog was starting to roll in from the lake, eerily backlit by the full moon, and it lent a seriously spooky vibe to the atmosphere. I half-expected a crazed murderer to jump out from behind the bushes with a chainsaw at any minute.
“You know it’s literally Friday the 13th today, right?” Adam said. “That’s why he picked the theme.”
Trina’s brows shot up. “It is? I thought it was the 11th,” she replied. “Guess I’m not really on top of things at the moment.”
“Probably because you’ve been so distracted by that guy in our English class,” I said, jostling her side.
“What guy?” Adam asked, voice taking on a tinge of excitement.
I let Trina fill him in on her latest crush, smiling contentedly as we walked along. I had a feeling this was going to be a good night.
A heavy musical beat filled the air as we drew closer to the lake. A massive ‘Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake’ banner had been strung up between two towering birch trees on either side of the main path, and beyond that, fake cobwebs and bloodied hockey masks hung from the smaller trees and shrubs.
A bunch of chairs littered the shore near the dense forest on the western side of the lake, and someone had also set up a table with snacks, drinks, and red Jell-O shots served on silver platters in the shape of machetes. Strings of fairy lights lit the area, with bloody knives hanging between the glowing globes.
A little farther down from the main party area was a fire pit ringed with big gray rocks. A bonfire was already burning in it when we arrived, and students were milling around it, laughing and throwing back drinks.
“Wow,” I said, taking a deep breath as I took it all in. “Chris went all out with these decorations.”
“I know, right?” Trina said. “It’s awesome!”
As we headed closer to the action, I spotted Hunter sitting on a low wooden bench near the firepit. When he noticed me, his eyes narrowed, but he didn’t say anything.
Talia was perched on the bench next to him, dressed in tiny shorts and a T-shirt with ‘Camp Crystal Lake’ emblazoned on it. She must’ve wet the top, because part of it had gone see-through, exposing her hard nipples.
“Desperate much?” Trina muttered, noticing the same thing.
I nodded. I had to admit I felt a little gleeful when I saw how Hunter was ignoring Talia, even though she was practically throwing herself at him.
“Who the fuck invited you?”
I turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Jessica Fitzgerald was standing behind us, hands on her hips and red lips twisted into a sneer. She obviously hadn’t understood the party theme very well, because she was dressed as something I could only describe as a slutty cat.
“I—”
Before I could get more than one word out, Chris strode up behind us and clapped a hand on my shoulder. “I invited her. Everyone’s welcome at my parties.”
Jessica’s button nose wrinkled. “They shouldn’t be,” she hissed before stomping off.
Chris grinned and handed me a cup. “I got this for you,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if you drink or not, so it’s just orange soda. But if you want, you can add a little of this…” He opened his jacket to reveal a silver flask.
“Thanks, but I’ll keep it virgin for now,” I replied.