Finally. She’s back.

My best friend. My partner in crime. The one person on this planet I’d go to war for, no questions asked. She’s reckless as hell, doesn’t think before she acts half the time—but she’s mine to deal with. Mine to look out for. If someone so much as breathes wrong in her direction, I’m already halfway to ending their week.

And don’t get me wrong—I’m the grounded one. The one who spots the tripwire before we blow our legs off. She? She’s got two feet already in the explosion, smiling like it’s fireworks. Unintentionally evil, I call it. Sweet face, pure chaos underneath.

So Halloween’s coming up. Big deal for us. We don’t half-ass anything—we turn our dorm into a horror show every year. Last time campus security showed up, they stayed just to take pictures.

She disappears for a few hours—says she’s got a “surprise.” That alone puts me on edge. When she walks back in, bag in hand, eyes sparkling like she just got away with something… I already know I’m about to regret asking questions.

She tosses a box at me. I pop it open and freeze.

It’s blood.

Well—fake blood. But the good kind. The too good kind. Dark, thick, metallic-smelling. Realistic enough that I check her hands for actual injuries.

“What the hell—where did you even find fake blood like this?”

She tilts her head and shrugs, totally unfazed. “You wanted fake blood?”

I stare at her. “No fucking way. That’s your answer?”

She just grins.

And I know—I’m gonna have to keep her from accidentally summoning demons again this year.