It was a dark and stormy Halloween night…
Olivia Price and her posse of Pitt friends pregamed in her Tower B dorm. Their cups were filled with Fireball and Diet Coke or straight Tito’s, the girls getting tipsier by the minute. They painted makeup designs on their faces, put on wigs they got from Party City, and tightened each other’s corsets, all while hyping each other up and taking pictures on Olivia’s digital camera. Needless to say, it was a night full of promise, good memories, and impending killer hangovers.
“Okay, let’s pee and go. I’m ready to dance!” Olivia said as she stuffed a shooter in her pocket and headed for the door. Her friends followed her, and before they knew it they were deep in South Oakland, tripping over each other laughing. Olivia, ever the leader and responsible drinker, squinted at the directions on her phone.
“I think it’s over here,” she said, pointing to a small house on the corner of a rather deserted street. Nobody questioned how empty the road was, the air stilling and leaves rustling as Olivia approached the front door. The rain slowed to a light patter on the cement pavement. Low chatter and faint party music could be heard on the other side of the red door, and no one was outside to invite them in.
“I guess we can just let ourselves in?” Olivia guessed, turning the doorknob and straightening her tutu. They entered and were greeted with the smell of sweat and the glimmer of string lights leading to the basement steps. They made their way down, the air getting colder and thicker as they descended.
***
“Oh my God, that guy in the vampire costume is so hot,” Olivia gushed as the girls took turns using the small bathroom mirror.
“He totally wants you. He’s had his eyes on you the whole night! You need to dance with him when we go back out there,” her friend said, reapplying her lipstick and turning to Olivia. “Take your shot and get that man, Black Swan!”
Olivia took a deep breath, smiled, and nodded her head. As they left the bathroom, the liquid courage had her marching up to the handsome guy dressed as Dracula. He looked at her with a blank expression, half of his face hidden under his mask.
“Wanna dance?” she asked, blushing intensely as strobe lights hit her face. Without a word, he grabbed Olivia's hand, twirled her around, and led her into a dance. They could’ve been dancing ten minutes or even a whole hour, but she didn’t care. She never stopped to check her phone or see where her friends were. Her entire focus was on the deadly good dancer in front of her. One thing led to another, and they spun and swayed upstairs to the mystery man’s bedroom. Something about him entranced her so much she didn’t care that she didn’t know his name or anything else about him, really. She’d get taunted by her friends for days, but that was a later problem.
“Wow, your room is really cool,” she said, realizing with slight discomfort that he never took his mask off. “Uh, you sure do commit to the costume, don’t you…”
He stared back at her, wordless and unemotional.
“Are you ever going to take off your mask? I can’t see your face,” Olivia tried, giving him a half smile and an awkward laugh.
“It’s not a costume,” he said, his voice like shadows and suffering as it filled the air. Suddenly, Olivia felt really weirded out by this guy; she could not go any further without knowing more about him.
“Seriously, why don’t you take it off? It’s just us, um…what is your name, anyways?”
“My name…is…Count Dracula!” the mystery man blurted out, coming to his feet and whipping his cape around. He flashed his teeth at her, and suddenly the bedroom lights flickered on and off, revealing bottles of blood and floating body parts littered on his desk.
“Oh my God, you’re a freak!” Olivia yelled, running to the door. He stepped in front of it with lightning speed, blocking her only escape.
At this point, she was at least 5 drinks deep, she was pissed off that this hot guy was a weirdo, and she just wanted to celebrate Halloween with her friends. As “Count Dracula” sneered at her, evil laughter glowing in his eyes, she went with the only option she thought she had. She kicked him in the nuts–hard.
“Ow, what the…what the hell is wrong with you?” he yelped, falling to the floor in pain.
At that moment, howls of laughter sounded from the closet. A group of guys stumbled out, phones in hand, recording Olivia’s stunned face, as well as the jerk on the floor.
“Dude, this is priceless. I am totally posting this video on your birthday.”
“Whatever man,” Count Dracula started, coming to his feet. “Hey, I’m sorry–”
But Olivia was already halfway to the basement, calling out her friends’ names. She grabbed each one by the hand, leading them to the front door and out onto the street.
“Liv, what the hell happened to you?” they asked, worry plastered across their faces.
Olivia’s face was red hot with rage as she responded, “Frat dudes. That’s what happened.”
No more needed to be said.