Part One

I'm sitting up in bed, with my ankle in its neon-orange cast propped up on some pillows. It's itching me so badly I could scream. I lean forward to scratch it with the butter knife I keep on my bedside table, but it can't reach far enough beneath the hard plaster shell to give me much relief.

I swear I'm going to end up hacking my own leg off one of these days, just to make it stop.

The only help for it is to distract myself. I've got my cellphone in my lap, and I flick it on to see if anything interesting is happening. I have a gazillion notifications, of course. Mostly Wattpad comments from people who finished the latest update from my book of Eric Thorn one-shots:

Eric Thorn Porn (One Shots and Imagines - WARNING: EXTREMELY MATURE!!!!)
#Fanfiction #EricThornObsessed

Reads 3M Votes 29K Comments 734K

It's ranking #24 in Fanfic for today. Not too shabby. I'm kind of the most popular writer in the entire Eric Thorn fandom. Not to brag or anything... It's only because I write the filthiest smut – heavy BDSM for the most part – but you have to give the readers what they want. And Eric's been way too fully clothed in his music videos lately.

I'm about to reply to the first comment, when a new Push Notification pops up on my screen. A private message. My finger lands on it instead, and the message opens in my inbox:

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T READ THIS...
http://www.wattpad.com/152986994

"Barf," I say out loud. It's a read request. People always send me these. They spam them on my story too. "So rude."

"What are you barfing about now, Kelsey?"

I look up, startled. I didn't realize anyone else was there. It's my sorority sister, Leah standing just inside the doorway of my room. She's wearing thigh-high patent leather stiletto boots, cut-off denim shorts, and a red flannel shirt that she mutilated to make a crop top.

"Holy shitmonkeys," I say. "Nice costume, girl."

She does a pirouette to show me the back. "Sexy lumberjack. It's cute, right?" She's got a pick-axe in her hand, and she hoists it over her shoulder, striking a pose.

"Yeah, but—" I cock my head at her, contemplating for a sec. "Isn't that the wrong kind of ax? That's like a grim reaper ax. And why is it covered in blood?"

She pouts at me. "This was all they had left at the Halloween store. Sorry if I'm not authentic enough for you. Geez."

"What can I say? I'm a sucker for realism."

"Uh huh." She gives an unladylike snort. "Says the girl that's dating a life-size cardboard cut-out of a celebrity."

Leah narrows her eyes and glances sideways at my Eric Thorn display. I've got him propped up next to the window at the moment, but I like to move him around. He's pretty much my prized possession. I won him in a Twitter contest from Eric's management last year, and he's graced my cramped, sorority-house bedroom ever since.

Eric only glares at Leah in response. At least, it looks like he's glaring. I think he must have been going for some kind of sultry, come-hither look when he posed for that publicity shot, but he just looks mildly constipated to me.

"Don't insult Eric," I say to Leah. "Now you hurt his feelings. Look how annoyed he is!"

Leah laughs. She comes further into the room and sits down on the end of my bed, next to my propped ankle. "You're such a weirdo," she says, giggling. "How do you sleep with that thing staring at you all night?"

I fold my hands in my lap and plaster a saintly smile across my face. "Eric loves me," I say with mock-innocence. "He's my guardian angel."

My eyes flit to the glossy, two-dimensional face. If anything, his glare seems to darken even more. Like he might start shooting death rays out of those cardboard eyes if I'm not careful. My smile wavers slightly as I turn my gaze back toward my friend.

Leah plucks my phone from where I left it, sitting on the mattress. She purses her lips.

"Whatever you do, don't read this," she reads aloud slowly. "Well, that's not creepy or anything."

"Close that," I say. "Don't click on it. It's just some Wattpad read request."

"How do you even have time for Wattpad, Kelsey? Don't you have homework?"

I scowl at her. "I refuse to work tonight. Everyone else in this entire house is going out partying for Halloween, and I'm stuck here in this room with a broken ankle. So please. Spare me the lecture."

"OK! Sorry!" She tosses the phone back toward me. "You know you could still come with us. You don't have stay here by yourself. Do you want your crutches?" She sets down her pick axe, leaning it against the wall next to Eric, and she stands to fetch my crutches from where I left them by the door.

"Don't bother," I say, heaving a sigh. "I can't. It starts throbbing every time I'm upright for more than fifteen minutes."

"Are you sure?"

I nod. "Don't worry about me. I'll just hang out on my phone tonight. Maybe I'll write another one-shot." I bite my lip, considering. "Nothing says Halloween like some hardcore dungeon smut, right?"

Now it's Leah's turn to look like she might puke. She covers her face with her hands, but I can hear the laughter in her voice. "Oh my God, Kelsey. You are so foul."

I shrug. "You can't argue with the read count, though."

"Maybe that's why he looks angry all the time," Leah says, glancing again at Eric's face. "Maybe the real Eric doesn't appreciate the fanfiction stylings of @EricThornPorn?"

"Please." I smirk. "The real Eric has no idea I exist. He's probably never even heard of Wattpad."

"You don't know that," she says. "Zayn Malik has a Wattpad now. Maybe Eric's next."

I shake my head. No way, I'm about to answer. But I'm distracted again by my phone. A new notification just popped up on my screen.

"Speak of the devil," I murmur.

It's not a Wattpad notification. This one is from Twitter – a new tweet from the man himself.

Eric Thorn (@EricThorn)

Happy Halloween to all my fans! Don't you lovelies ever ghost on me...
(How 'bout a follow spree? Retweet!)

I hit retweet quick as a cat, and then I pause to input a reply. Hopefully he'll see it. I've been trying to get a follow back from Eric Thorn for as long as I've had Twitter. You'd think he would have noticed me by now. I never miss it when he tweets. A part of me wonders if Leah might be right. Maybe he has noticed my account – and maybe he's not a fan.

I shake the thought out of my head. There's no way. He's got way too many followers. Look at the count on that tweet he just sent out. One minute since he sent it, and the retweets just hit 40K.

But still... maybe I shouldn't reply something totally pornographic for once. I decide to stick with his Halloween theme instead. Don't you lovelies ever ghost on me...

Kelsey (@EricThornPorn)

@EricThorn Never babe. I'll haunt you till the day I die.

I click Tweet, and then look up to say something else to Leah. But the room is empty.

That's weird. She didn't even say goodbye? Maybe she did, but I was too preoccupied to hear her. Anyway, I have a feeling she'll be back. I can't help but notice she forgot something. Her bloody pick-axe is still sitting where she left it, leaning against the wall – a hair's breadth away from Eric's cardboard-cutout hand.

To be continued....

Dear Readers:
Please COMMENT, VOTE, and ADD to your reading list if you're enjoying the story! Thank you! <3