Chapter 25 Part A:

Beckinsile's Point of View

It's Friday, October 31st which just so happens to be Halloween. I still don't have a costume so Fiona is taking me to the costume store for last minute shopping. As usual, Fiona is finished with her costume and is only coming with me as moral support. I slip into the shotgun seat of her red Mini Cooper and we speed out of the parking lot. After fifteen minutes of driving, we arrive in front of a huge, beige building with a sign that reads "Costumes and Company". I hop out of the car and rush through the automatic doors. I push past a few people and practically run to the wall of costumes. I go to the women's section and scan the wall for something worthy of a high school Halloween party. My eyes lock on a few costumes; the angel, the goddess and the magician. All of them are equally slutty looking but it's that or I can go in normal clothes; the latter is not an option though.

"Ma'am, do you have any of these costumes in a small?" I direct a sales associate towards my costumes choices.

"I'll go check in the back," The sales associate whom I notice is named Brenda walks back into the employees' only room.

"Have you found anything yet?" I hear Fiona walk up beside me.

I point to my costume choices and look over to find Fiona smirking.

"What?" I say with raised eyebrows.

"I never would've pinned you as a slutty magician," Fiona chuckles and I punch her arm. "Ow," She pouts and then dissolves into giggles.

"What are you going to be?" I ask with crossed arms.

"A French maid complete with fishnets," Fiona has a devious smile planted on her face.

"Is it for Ethan?" I smirk as she blushes a little.

Ethan is Fiona's boyfriend whom she's been dating practically since she moved here. His parents work for some famous person as their managers and they're rarely home which leaves Ethan free to do pretty much whatever he wants. Fiona spends most of her time at his house and all she's been talking about this week is his Halloween party which is apparently going to have a bunch of celebrities, curtesy of Ethan's parents.

"He said that I should drees up for the party and we all know that I'm not the most conservative person..." Fiona shrugs and the goes back to smirking.

"Then you have no right to judge me," I laugh a little as the sales associate comes back, arms filled with two costume bags.

"We were out of the magician; is there anything else I can help you with?" Brenda says in a warm tone.

"Where are the dressing rooms?" I smile as she points in the direction they are.

Fiona and I walk where we're directed until a section of dressing rooms comes into views. Fiona takes a seat in one of the sofas while I go back to the dressing room to try on my costumes. I shut the door and slip out of my school outfit. I open up the angel costume first and slip on the cool material. The dress is short, about mid-thigh. It's tight up top but has a flowing skirt at the bottom. The costume is made of a soft material and has a silver belt. The 'halo' is a wreath of faux silver flowers which fits perfectly on my head. The sleeves are long and tight as well. I pull out the final piece of the costume which is a pair of silver wings. I slide them on and step out of the dressing room. Fiona's jaw immediately drops as I twirl in the full-length mirror.

"You look amazing," Fiona gushes.

"You think?" I place my hands on my hips and stare in the mirror.

"Definitely; you look like a freaking angel..." Fiona stands up and stretches.

"That's the idea," I wink and go back to the dressing room to try on the goddess costume.

I carefully put the angel costume in its bag before opening the other costume bag. I pull out a floor length white dress with gold trim. I slip into the cold fabric and pull out the other parts of the costume. There's a gold flower crown and some bangles. I add those finishing touches before going out to see Fiona. She gives me a small smile as I examine myself in the mirror.

"Angel," We both say at the same time and then start laughing like idiots.

I walk back to the dressing room and change back into my normal clothes. I grab the angel costume and all of its pieces before leaving the dressing room. Fiona and I walk towards the cash register and I pull out my money. I drop the crumpled bills on the counter. The person counts it and then hands me my change. The receipt prints and then we're out the door. We speed walk to Fiona's car and slip inside.

"Successful shopping trip?" Fiona asks as she pulls onto the main road.

"Totally; thanks so much for coming," I gush as she makes another turn.

"You're welcome; that party will be so much, especially since Mr. Dreamboat will be there..." Fiona wiggles her eyebrows in a suggestive way.

"Very funny," I screw up my features at her and then we both start laughing again.

We drive for a few more minutes before she pulls up in front of my house.

"I'll see you Monday, Becks..." Fiona shouts as I walk up to my front door.

I unlock the door and then wave to her before slipping inside. The house is empty which can only mean that my family has already begun their Halloween festivities.

I go to the kitchen and pour the bags of Halloween candy that my parents bought into huge bowls before carting all my stuff upstairs. I drop my bag on my bed and go to the bathroom for hair and makeup. I plug in my straightening iron while I put on my makeup. I pull up one of my makeup tutorials on my phone and begin.

I put on a soft brown shade of eye shadow and then line my eyes thinly with a black pencil. I apply inky black mascara to my already thick lashes and then polish off my look with pink lip gloss. By now my straightening iron is hot so I begin to run it over my curls.

~~~~~

My completely straight hair falls down almost to my waist and flies up a little as I walk. I slip into my costume and check my reflection in the mirror. I look angelic. My hair is soft and my makeup is nice, not intimidating or dark, just soft and heavenly.

I put a small waterfall braid on either side of my head and pin them where they meet in the back of my head to make my appearance even more innocent. My mom's silver heels are still in my closet from the last time I borrowed them and they look like they'll complete my costume perfectly. I slip them on and admire my handy work some more. I bite my lip a little and place my hand on my hip. My pulse quickens and I place my hand on my nearby desk. I take in deep breaths and close my eyes.

"I can't do this; I'm not a party girl..." I think as I try to catch my breath. "I'm not cut out for this..." I open my eyes and place my hand over my heart. "I know what happens at these parties and I don't want that to happen to me...Why am I even doing this?" I ask myself as I hear the doorbell ring.

I run downstairs and look out the peephole; my reason for going to this party is standing right out on my front porch.

"The only reason I'm doing this is Oliver and that should be enough...He'll take care of me..." I try to reassure myself and then my hand turns the door knob.

Oliver's jaw drops the minute he sees me and I can feel myself blushing.

"You look gorgeous," Oliver's facial expression is still surprised as he steps across my threshold.

"Not looking to bad yourself," This of course is a huge understatement; he looks beyond attractive.

Oliver's dressed in a black suit with a white dress shirt and tie. His hair is slicked back and he's carrying a fake pistol.

"Who are you supposed to be?" I cross my arms and give him a smile.

"Bond. James Bond." Oliver's tone is serious but his eyes are gleaming.

"Angel. Just Angel." I hold my hand out for Oliver to shake and he takes it with an amused smirk on his face.

"Well Just Angel, may I escort you to a party tonight?"

"It would be my honor, James." I say in a royal tone as Oliver grabs my hand. "But first we need a picture or our parents will shoot us..." I smirk as Oliver pulls out his phone.

We setup in front of the hallway mirror near the front door and he snaps a few pics.

"Now we can go..." Oliver holds out his arm and escorts me to his car.

I make sure that I've locked the front door and set out the candy before sliding into my usual shotgun seat. My pulse speeds up and I can feel the butterflies in my stomach as Oliver pulls out of my driveway.

~~~~~

Half an hour of driving later, we finally arrive at a huge mansion that's already buzzing with guests. There are lights flashing but no neighbors for at least a mile; oh the perks of being an estate child.

The property lines seem to stretch on forever for this house so there's nobody to call the police when you throw a loud party. I'm guessing not having neighbors for miles would be a blessing and a curse. I step out of the car and walk up with Oliver to the front doors that are guarded by two large security guards.

Oliver states our names and the security guards let us through. There's a loud rock song playing the minute we walk through the doors. There's no actual light, just colored strobe lights and a disco ball. People are dressed in different costumes and all carrying a drink. The girls are standing in groups checking out the guys. The guys, on the other hand, are on the dance floor and probably getting really drunk from whatever's in their cups. I hold tight to Oliver's arm as we walk deeper into the party.

"Oliver, welcome to the party..." A guy who's about Oliver's height walks over to us.

He has chestnut colored hair and bright, blue eyes. The guy is dressed up as a vampire and holding a red solo cup.

"Hey Brad," Oliver gives him a bro-hug which prompts an eye roll from me.

"And who's this beautiful girl?" The boy takes my hand and kisses it like some prince from an old fairytale.

"This is my date, Beckinsile Williams..." Oliver says politely.

"Beckinsile, that's a beautiful name." Brad says with a smile. "Hey Oliver, have you seen my new game room?" I roll my eyes as Oliver's light up.

"No, I don't believe that I have..." Oliver has a smirk playing on his lips.

"Would you and the lady like to see it?" Brad now directs his gaze at me.

"Video games aren't really her thing," Oliver says with a little laugh.

"Would you mind if I stole your date for just a few minutes?"

"No, go ahead; I'll catch up with you later, Oliver..." I wrap my arms around him.

"Are you sure? We were supposed to be spending time together tonight..." Oliver whispers.

"It's fine; just don't take all night..."" I smirk as Brad pulls him away.

After they're gone, I go over to the snack table and grab a can of soda.

"Beckinsile Williams, I never thought I'd see you again..." I turn around at the sound of my name and my eyes bulge out of my head.

"I was hoping that I'd never see you again..." I can feel the tears in my eyes as I walk off in the opposite direction; down a hallway with a wall of family pictures.

"Beckinsile, please don't do this..." I can hear the person following me but I do my best to ignore them. "Why are you ignoring me?"

"Kyle, I don't want to talk about this right now..." I can feel the tears making their way down my cheeks slowly.

I turn around and find Kyle standing right behind me. He looks just as attractive as the first day I met him back in ninth grade. Kyle's got big brown eyes and messy brown hair. He's tanned thanks years of swim team and Hispanic heritage on his mother's side. His dad on the other hand is Italian and owns an Italian restaurant franchise so essentially Kyle won't have to work a day in his life, plus he's an only child, meaning he'll inherit everything. He's the captain of the soccer team and used to be tight with my brother before what happened between him and me.

"C'mon sweetheart," Kyle hooks a piece of hair behind my ear and grabs my hand.

His touch feels wrong, not in the way that it's so wrong it's right, but just plain wrong. I can't even look him in the eye without thinking of what he did to me. He tugs me down the hallway and into one of the guest rooms. I yank my hand from his iron grip and make a move to leave. Kyle, however, has other plans. He slams the door before I can leave which makes me want to scream bloody murder.