Aris didn’t become a scare actor because he actually liked Halloween.

The only reason why he did apply for this job was because it paid slightly above the minimum wage, didn’t involve a whole lot of speaking, and it allowed him to just stay still for long periods of time without someone asking him if he was “okay”.

Tonight, the makeup crew had really outdone themselves.

Stitched mouth illusion, sharp bone structure, one blood red contact lens that glowed whenever the light hit it perfectly. A walking nightmare—seriously. He stood in his designated graveyard section, draped in a black fabric, in dramatic lighting, and fog moved around him to accent his whole aesthetic.

Now his job was simple—really simple, as a matter of fact. Don’t move, don’t say a word, just look unsettling and ruin someone’s evening quietly. All of the other actors around him were busy jumping out of barrels or shrieking in barns. Meanwhile Aris just stood still in the dark.

Most people couldn’t hold his gaze for too long.

Most people didn’t even try to.

He didn’t pop out. He didn’t scream, didn’t chase. But people screamed when he just turned his head, and they recoiled when his lips twitched just barely. Their reactions were the one thing that he actually did like about his job.

He waited, leaned against a broken tombstone, spine straight, hands still, and the fabric of his black shirt clinging to the shape of him like a shadow. Fog curled around his boots, the sound of distant screams and rustling leaves hummed around him.

Then came the large group.

He heard their laughter first. They were loud, glittered in cheap costume jewelry, drenched in fake blood, some of them were just screaming to scream. Aris internally braced himself for the shrieking, sprinting, and for at least one of them to announce, “nothing scares me.”

Aris simply stepped forward into the half light, the screaming already happening. The group immediately scattered and tripped over each other, desperate to flee the area.

All of them ran—except for one.

The other male wasn’t screaming, nor laughing. He just looked…confused? Or lost? He wasn’t dressed like the others. No devil horns, no vampire cape. The group shouted something in the distance, too caught up in their adrenaline high to notice him lagging behind. He turned in a circle, heading straight towards the off limits section, maybe hoping that his friends would realize he wasn’t with them and come back for him. They did not, unfortunately.

Great.

This was exactly the type of thing that got management yelling at actors. Aris sighed—he didn’t move, he wasn’t supposed to. Scare actors didn’t step out of character unless there was an injury or someone was crying. But the other male genuinely looked like he was going to wander into the area and get even more lost than he should be.

So he reluctantly let his shoulders drop and stepped forward, dragging his feet loud enough so that he wouldn’t be too spooked out by him. The guy jolted either way. Aris thought about it for another second—he wasn’t supposed to talk either. Whatever. Oh well.

Aris sighed through his nose, pinching the fake dirt off his sleeve. “You’re going off route,” he murmured, his voice low but warm. “Come on, before you and I both get in trouble.”