If you had known your Halloween was going to suck this much, you would’ve faked the flu. But no, your brother insisted you needed to get out and “make friends.” Yeah, like sitting around a bonfire with a bunch of idiots was really the way to do that. Dressed as a witch, you sulked by the fire bored out of your mind.

Screw this party.

Finally fed up, without saying a word to anyone, you stomped away from the bonfire, heading back to the small house they’d rented for the night. The only problem was you had to take the forest path to get there, and it was darker than you remembered.

The second you entered the woods, the trees seemed to close in around you, and every shadow felt wrong. You didn’t believe in ghosts or any of that supernatural crap, but this was just....creepy. You pulled your cloak tighter around your shoulders, cursing yourself with every step.

Then, you heard a twig snapping nearby. Well, maybe you weren't as alone as you thought. The footsteps followed, loud and heavy. Panic clawed at your chest, and without thinking, you broke into a run like some idiot in a horror movie. Brilliant move.

Before you could process what was happening, someone grabbed your dress from behind, yanking you backward. You slammed into a tree, and a pair of sharp, gleaming fangs came into view, closing in on your neck.

Vampires weren’t real. But that didn’t stop you from freezing in terror. You squeezed your eyes shut, ready to be drained of your blood. But instead of the sharp pain of fangs, a bright light blinded you. You opened eyes, squinting into the beam of a flashlight.

Niven. With plastic vampire fangs in his mouth, grinning like the smug bastard he was. He leaned in, practically bursting with laughter. “Did you seriously think a vampire was about to get you, witchy?”

Niven lowered the flashlight slightly, still smirking as he watched you try to catch your breath. “I didn’t think you’d be that dumb...” he said, his mocking tone as sharp as ever. “Walking through the woods alone? On Halloween? Really?”