Intoxicated bodies swayed together in a crowd, red cups in hand filled to the brim with bittersweet liquid.

Among those unknowing teens, was Calum. He wasn't messing around with a girl or watching his drunk friends from afar, they were actually barely under sober.  Turns out, he was that one friend that had to be watched.

He drained the rest of his cup and shifted through the crowd. His thoughts were blurry, his brain was scattered. He just didn't give a fuck, and he loved it.

Tonight, he didn't feel the need to watch Hadley like a hawk, or to make sure Sophia was alright, better yet make sure Ashton doesn't get caught up in something. The only thing he was urged to do, was to get drunk, to let the alcohol poison his clear veins.

He caught sight of some girl standing off to the side. Her velvet red hair was thrown into a ponytail, her white and purple flannel hung loosely at her sides and legs.

He let his eyes roam over her, every inch, but it all led back to Hadley, the black tank top that was clad over her chest, similar to the color of Hadley's black walls, how her pale skin was alike the girl who wouldn't leave his mind, and especially the fact they both seemed to act without a care.

As he let his gaze scan her, he didn't notice the fact she'd caught sight of his sly actions and had already walked in front of him.

"Yes?"

Her soft yet rough voice entered into his messed up brain. A single thought sent him into action.

Her voice wasn't like Hadley's.

"Hey, you alright?" She placed her hand on his shoulder. When she did so, Calum realized how unsteady he actually was. He stumbled forwards, the carmine haired girl grabbed hold of him and let out a laugh at his drunk state.

"Okay then," she choked out through her slight laughs. "Where's you friends, kid?"

Calum mumbled a few words, not being able to be decoded by the human ears. The girl sighed and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

She didn't utter another word as she shuffled around the house dragging the boy along.

She had remembered seeing him come, how he'd ran in after a girl with a skeleton face and a boy in a mariachi costume, better yet a tux, alike the boy she was holding.

Looking at almost every person's face, she finally found the group she was looking for.

A hunger walked up to the trio, worry sewed into her eyes.

"Have you guys seen Calum?"

Calum let out a soft giggle as he looked at her. The girl looked down at the boy she found and sighed, shaking her head. She walked up to the group, almost dropping Calum on the way.

"Is this the idiot you're looking for?"

The teens looked up at her. Hadley sighed in relief and visibly relaxed at the sight of her friend.

The skeleton girl simply nodded.

"Keep a better eye on him, please. I saw a few girls looking at him like he was some piece of cake."

A boy dressed in fairy wings laughed. "Yeah," he crossed his arms. "That's normal."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, the dark red haired girl look at the gathering of friends.

"Anyways, here's your friend, I got to go."

She attempted the to give him to a tall guy in a ridiculous banana suit, but the dark haired boy clutched on to her.

"No," he mumbled into her shoulder. "Please stay." He looked up at her, his lip pouted and his eyes widened in the slightest way.

A few of the boys friends muttered and whispered to each other before they spoke.

"You should come."

She looked up in surprise at the girl in a pale blue dress. "Pardon?"

"Calum's gotten attached to you and he's basically a koala, so, you should just come with us. We were gonna leave anyways, once we found my brother."

She debated the option, either get in some car with some kids slightly younger than her, or just sit around her and wait for her friend to pick her up.

She really didn't have anything to lose.

She nodded.

"Alright."

An awkward moment passed just before a boy with colored hair came bounding towards them.

He looked at the girl with long brown hair and pulled a girl with soft blonde hair close to him.

Michael looked back at his mystery girl before back at his friends. "This, is Amelia."

He glanced back at her again. Her light blonde hair was laid on her shoulders, competing with the black, tight fitting sweater she wore. Her brown eyes based with anticipation and her pale hand held on to Michaels loosely.

"She's my girlfriend."

His sister's mouth dropped.

Luke just wore a mask of confusion while Ashton and Calum just giggled. As for Hadley, for once, she couldn't give a damn.

"Excuse me," his sister spoke. "You, Mr. I Don't Date Clifford have a girlfriend? What happened to our no dating till high schools over pact."

At her final sentence, Michaels face flushed. He had forgotten about that. He felt horrible.

In freshman year, they made a deal where they wouldn't officially date people until the end of highschool, and why? Because, they wanted to have fun. To party, to break rules, without the baggage.

Now Sophia in junior year and Michael in senior, they'd kept up the pact, until now.

Michael looked down at his shoes. He heard Sophia sigh.

"Whatever," she muttered. She looked in Amelia's eyes. "Have fun, don't break him, if you do, I'll personally shoot you."

As Michael's head snapped up, Amelia nodded. He smiled sincerely at his sister, just merely catching sight of the confused dark red head.

"I'm Kristen, before you ask." She said, adjusting her grip on Calum.

Michael nodded be he looked at everyone else, "Let's go then, I'm bored as fuck."

Everyone quickly exited the rowdy house in a rush, agreeing with the colorful boy.

As they neared Calum's old mini van, Ashton unlocked it.

"Who's minivan?" Amelia asked.

Ashton snickered. "It's Calum's, you know drunk boy."

As she nodded, realization hit Ashton, she knew no one, besides Michael.

"Uh, Amelia?" He questioned as she was finally peeled away from Michael, she perked up and looked over at the curly haired boy, waiting for him to speak.

"The skeletons Michaels sister, Sophia, the fairys Luke, the drunk kid is Calum, the ginger doll is Hadley, and the redhead is Calum's new friend Kristen, apparently."

Accepting the information, Amelia nodded and smiled at Ashton. He smiled back before he walked over to the driver's side and climbed in. He looked over to his side, seeing Hadley sitting next to him. As he started up the car, he glanced at her after he turned his attention the the window.

"What're you doing up here in Ashtonville."

Hadley looked over at Ashton before she sighed.

"I'd rather not be surround by drunk Calum and his new friend or the new couple, or Sophia and Luke." She said, taking a look in the rear view mirror.

Calum and Kristen were sat next to each other, Luke swiping his thumb across his phone, trying to block out Calum's giggles. In front of them, sat Michael, Amelia, and Sophia.

It sucked. Calum was her safe place almost, and there he was. Clinging onto some girl he'd just met instead of looking for someone he's known for years to find protection in, almost.

She felt Ashton's hazel eyes on her, so she turned her head, linking her brown eyes with his.

He simply nodded and began their drive back to the Clifford's.

Silence had filled most of the car, the soft sound of guitar or drums playing every so often or the quiet chatter of voices.

The sound of voices was emitted from Amelia and Sophia, who were talking about God knows what. The same with Kristen and Calum. Hell, even Ashton and Hadley were whispering to each other. 

Sure, Michael wasn't talking to anyone but he'd still look over at Amelia and give her smile or look out the window and grin at something he was probably thinking.

Luke was unsatisfied and unentertained. He also wanted to sit next to Sophia or Michael. But Amelia took the seat next to the bright haired boy and Sophia decided now was the time to get to know the girl who had a hold on the older Clifford's heart.

So here he was, stuck next to Calum and Kristen who seemed to forget he was sat only inches away.

He used to always feel alone, not needed, discarded, like trash, or some toy that had broken and was thrown in a trash bin.

For once, Luke was ecstatic when the car pulled to a stop in front of the white mansion.

As the doors unlocked, he pushed past the two who sat next to him and climbed over Michael's very newly open seat. He nearly slammed into the boy trying to leave the closing space.

He heard Michael curse him out behind him as he ran to the door.

As Luke felt the word expand around him, everyone joined next to him. Sophia sent him a slight glance of confusion but looked away whine Amelia told her something. But besides that, no one seemed to notice his panic.

No one ever did.

Nor would they ever know about it.

Sophia peeled herself away from Amelia and pulled out her keys to unlock the door. She pushed the door open and walked inside, Luke following behind swiftly. The brunette drifted upstairs to her room, ascending the grand stairs.

In a matter of seconds, seven kids were sat in Sophia's room, minus Michael.

Just as Luke was about to question the disappearance of him, he came bounding into the room, pizza in hand. He plopped down next to Amelia and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I-," Sophia shook her head, simply giving up on questioning him.

A silence fell over the teenagers. No one knew what to say.

"Well, I wanna do something." Luke struck into the thick silence as he spoke, he stood up and held his hand out to Ashton. "Keys, sir."

Ashton dropped the bundle of keys into the blonde's hand before Luke shuffled out of the room.

Sophia rolled her eyes as she followed behind him, hearing the faint sound of chatter behind her. When she reached the end of the grand staircase, she spotted Luke in the kitchen, a backpack in hand.

In confusion, she walked into the kitchen. She watched as Luke stuffed various things into it; chips, a few water bottles, and something that caught her eye; a bottle of vodka and a few cans of beer.

"Luke," she said as she leaned against the kitchen arch. His ears perked and he looked up at her.  He gave her a wide smile before he zipped up the bag and slipped it onto his shoulder.

Sophia shook her head before she moved from her place on the wall and made her way back to her room.

No one moved that much. Calum and Kristen were still sat near each other for he wouldn't leave her side, Michael and Amelia were being couples and Hadley and Ashton were sat on Sophia's bed talking about fruit.

"Okay, so, I'm gonna change."

Sophia words cut off conversations but no one moved an inch, her brothers cough echoing in the silence.

"That means, get the hell out unless you're a female."

Slowly, Michael sat up, Ashton following behind. The brunette looked over at Kristen and watched as she struggled to balance Calum's weight with hers. Eventually, she managed and shuffled out of the room.

Sophia hastily locked the door of her room and left out a breath of relief. She looked at the two girls.

"I'm gonna get this trash off my face, feel free to take any clothing you'd like."

In a matter of seconds, she rushed past Hadley and went into her bathroom, the sound of the tap turning on following suite.

She awkwardly looked over at Amelia. She was avoiding the girl's gaze, of course, emitting an awkward tension. Finally, Hadley broke the silence.

"Uh, so, I'm Hadley."

Amelia's ears perked up as she heard her speak. "Oh," she started. "I'm Amelia, but I think you knew that." She nervously smiled and curled her lips.

Hadley nodded and walked over to Sophia's closet. It was a walk in, 'rich standards' apparently.

Growing up, there were times she envied Sophia. How she always had enough money for things, how she had so much clothing, so much freedom. But mostly, she pitied her. Her parents were never home, she grew up with no love, not to mention the fact she was judge so quickly. The whispers of her fucking some celebrity circling the school hallways. How she supposedly could buy all of Hollywood.

Hadley held back a scoff.

Shaking her head, she pulled out  pair of tights and some random black dress. She shut the closet door slightly and stripped down, changing swiftly.

Hadley and her best friend had battled over height and attention almost, not intentionally of course. Sophia would grow an inch, but Hadley would gain the attention of a boy. Hadley would get an A on some test, but Sophia would seem to get even more beautiful in the public's eye.

It was idiotic in Hadley's opinion, even Sophia's. What they suffered, was first class problems, basically worthless.

But it was a small town, it seemed important to everyone. Hell, the town celebrated a week of fucking Halloween.

Hadley zipped up the back of her dress, already feeling slightly trapped. The dress ended somewhere at her thighs, slightly tighter by the waist and looser in the chest.

One thing between the two that was different, was the their body types, Hadley curvier but more petite than Sophia.

She wiggled on the tights and, deciding against grabbing new shoes, she pulled on her converse.

Hadley slipped out of the closet and joined Sophia in the bathroom, who had now finished getting the paint of her pale face. 

The ginger grabbed makeup wipes from the counter top and started at her makeup. From the mirror, she watched as Sophia brushed through her hair, finding entertainment in it.

Sophia tucked her hair behind her ears as she painted her face delicately, her eyeliner sliding on neatly and her foundation on perfectly.

Eventually, the two finished their chores of personal affairs and went back in Sophia's room, Sophia having found new clothing, a torn gray sweater and ripped black jeans. Finding no Amelia, they assumed she went to find Mikey.

Downstairs, Luke developed a plan in his head, Michael held his girlfriend, Calum cuddled into his new stranger, and Ashton wallowed in his thoughts and memories.

Fuck.

That's all he did.

Thought about the memories he held from his highschool years and, saying he graduated two years before, he's had a lot of time to think.

His mom was concerned by the fact college wasn't in his mind, his brother and sister were going on with their lives, accepting the fact their brother was a downer now, and Ashton seemed stuck, like usual, for no real reason.

He had his good day or weeks, but it wasn't one of them today. Today, was a day in a rut.

Being stuck in his thoughts for the millionth time, he jumped slightly at the sound of Hadley jumping off the stairs, Sophia following suite.

In fact, the brunette nearly fell off the last step from Hadley's jump, saying the ginger had her hand in Sophia's.

She stumbled behind her, her converse slipping on the marble, and they made their way to their friends.

Luke stood up from his spot and a grin grew on his pierced lips. He pulled Calum's keys out from his black ripped jeans and started to the door, his backpack bouncing against his back.

Everyone stared in confusion as he opened in the door and turned round, his grin still intact.

With his head, he motioned for everyone to follow just before he was swallowed by the quiet night. 

Slowly, in a matter of quick minutes, everyone found themselves in Calum's car once again, not knowing where they were going and what the hell was going on in Luke Hemmings mind.

Sophia clipped her buckle in and looked over at the blonde boy who seemed to be covered in some exotic emotion. Behind her, she could hear Hadley sigh and Amelia's whispers to Michael.

She watched as Luke dropped his phone into the cup holder and started the car.

As he pulled out of the driveway, Sophia leaned forwards and turned the radio on. The soft sound of a Blink 182 song drifted around in the car.

Eventually, when they were lost in the pavement streets of the town, the ring of a phone sounded like a school bell.

Luke looked down at his phone, then at Sophia. With a small sigh, she picked up his phone, the soft but blinding glow of light reflected on to her face.

Mom

Her thumb slid across the phone just before she pressed the cold glass to her ear.

A slightly static voice came through the speaker, showing it was on speaker phone. "Hello?"

Sophia smiled slightly. "Hey, Liz". A shuffle came from the phone. "How're you tonight?"

Liz laughed. "Sophia, I'm fine. How are you though and, where's Luke?"

At the mention of his name, she looked over at the boy. In the driver's seat, he looked at ease.

"He's driving," she said pulling her gaze from him. "I'm good, by the way."

Their conversation continued, not ending until she yawned and had to hang up from her tiredness.

Sophia slipped the phone back in it place and took a look at the time shining and blinking on the radio screen.

2:57 a.m

She looked at Luke, seeing his eyes droop. Giving her own yawn, she nudged his arm.

He hummed out in response.

"Let's go home, or something. We need to atleast stop."

He sighed, but agreed. From the side of his eye, he spotted a small neighborhood. He took a quick turn in and searched the front lawns.

Once the Open House sign was spotted, Luke pulled into the driveway and pulled the car key out of ignition.

He looked back at everyone, seeing everyone asleep.

"Let's wake them up, then." Sophia spoke, getting out.

He followed her actions and left the car, opening up the nearest door to him.

Michael tumbled out of the minivan, falling to the floor with a thud. He groaned in pain and exhaustion. Amelia, who was leaning on Michael, was now asleep across the seats.

After a struggle Sophia and Luke's got everyone awake, finding Calum in a sober state.

As Sophia messed around with the doors lock, Calum's apologies to Kristen could be heard.

I'm so sorry

I was dead drunk

I shouldn't of dragged you into this.

Cue Calum's nervous laughing.

With too much effort, Sophia got the lock undone and pushed the door open.

She took a step aside and gestured towards the door, looking at Luke.

"Ladies first, Hemmings"

He laughed and shoved her shoulder. Her smile stretched as she followed behind him.

She took a look at the house.

It was fairly large, she guessed. The walls painted a gentle white, easy to be stained. Floors creaky wood, and broken light switches.

Luke bit down on his lip as he looked up the stairs. It was a small fit, a design flaw. A design flaw he couldn't handle. Not to mention the fact at the top of the stairs was a walkway of darkness.

"Living room?" He suggested as he struggled to look away from the staircase. Everyone mumbled an agreement as Sophia joined Luke's side.

Once the living room was occupied, spots were chosen. Michael and Amelia on the floor, Hadley situated a little ways away from them. Calum chose a recliner chair, Kristen on the coffee table, somehow, and Sophia leaning against Luke on the couch.

Everyone fell asleep, excluding Sophia.

She laid awake staring at the moonlight that leaned on the wall.

She did fall asleep at one point but not before she swore she heard something drop in the darkness.

Waking up had always been hard for Michael. Not because of a special reason, just that he loved his sleep. His sister always called him a sloth, or a hibernating bear.

But today, it wasn't hard.

Simply because his alarm clock was a scream.

It only took a mere second for him to shoot up, having detached himself from Amelia.

For once, he'd been scared almost to death.

Wouldn't the normal person be deathly afraid or shocked by a scene of a tall, terrifying rabbit holding your sister and dragging her away and her screams became muffled?

Not even caring if anyone was awake, he ran after the pair.

Turning into a wall, running down a hall, and a panic spread inside of him, Michael found the two in the kitchen.

He looked Sophia in the eyes, not spotting a single trace of tears, just fear.

She never did cry.

The sound of steps followed in the space, Sophia's thrashing coming to a stop.

Luke stilled next to the older Clifford, taking in a breath.

All the teens stared at the rabbit, not having an ounce of courage to attack or help. What do you do in this situation A? Run and hide? Bring out a knife and try your luck?

Apparently, that's what Calum decided, to try his chance. He stood by the countertops, hearing everyone's breathless words. He was panicking, not as much as Michael he'd assume. This was his best friend being held by some psycho in a rabbit costume.

His fingers twitched as he blindly moved his hand. He felt a cool touch and without thinking, wrapped his fingers around it. The object he held flew through the air.

A sound of soft ripping, that's what Calum heard. He found his eyes closed, not seeing the scene. Slowly, he opened them, letting out a breath.

The cool touch his fingers had focused, was a simple fork. It had lodge itself in the rabbits head.

Scared, Calum knew it did nothing.

The rabbits arm slithered away from Sophia's waist and their hand wrapped around the fork.

Yanking it out, they hovered the object in front of their eyes. They moved the metal down, and stared Michael dead in the eye.

He swallowed, not having control of what to do.

The rabbit spun the side berate in his fingers and in one swift moment, jammed it in Sophia's leg, somehow knowing the exact place of a rip. All while not breaking eye contact with Michael Clifford.

Pain didn't fill her whole body, but it still hurt like a bitch. Her eyes widened in surprise, she whimpered. She tried to make no noise, not knowing what would happen if she did, but failed.

The rabbit shoved her to the floor, pulling a paper from his pocket.

When everyone's attention moved to Sophia, the new player made a escape. But, not before a slip of paper was slipped into Hadley's hand.

The fake fur of the costume delicately rubbed against her skin as the rabbit walked out.

Hadley stopped in her tracks. With caution, she opened her hand and looked down at the no longer sticky note.

Afraid of what it read, she just closed her hand and placed her other hand over her mouth. A slender tear rolled down her cheek as she felt an arm around her.

Knowing the familiar feeling of their hold, she leaned into him.

Panicked words, Hadley's silent cries and Calum's whispers were only a mere whisper in Michael's ears.

He just knew, he hated rabbits.

Eventually, the note was read, but they wished it wasn't.

dear new toys,
your idiots, really. Breaking into a house that's not yours.
funny how a small action can cause a different fate.
one week of festivities, one week of play.

have fun.
xx