The following day at school, the students were abuzz about Jagger's haunted house.

"Jagger is going to have a haunted house at the Crypt. I can't wait. I know it will be a real scream!" I heard a Prada-bee say in the hallway.

"I know I'll faint for sure," her friend squealed as they grabbed books from their lockers.

"Well, maybe Trevor can catch you," another teased.

"Don't you know?" the first girl, Heather, asked. "He's been hanging out with that skank - the one with over-dyed scarlet hair and tattoos instead of jewelry."

"Oh yes, that's old news. But I was hoping it wasn't true. You nold m" wknow how he is. Fixated on Raven. I think he likes that new girl just so he can feel like he's dating her."

"Nuh-uh!" the first one said.

"Yes."

"What do you think you'll go as?"

"I don't know. I really didn't have an idea for this year."

"We should go as Raven," the first one said loud enough for me to hear.

"What?"

"We can get tattoos and streak our hair."

"Gross!"

"And wear black lipstick."

"We'll look like we're dead."

"Isn't that the point? It's Halloween."

The second one sighed. "Trevor seems to be, like, in love with her."

"I wonder how he'll feel about me if I dress like her."

"You think?"

"He likes Raven. He keeps dragging that scarlet-hair chick to games. I think he really digs that look."

"That look - or Raven's look."

"Whatever. You want to go out with Trevor, don't you?"

"Duh!"

The first one took her friend's affirmative answer as motivation and headed to me.

Becky and I were grabbing textbooks from our locker.

"Hi, Becky," the first one said.

"Hi, Becky," the other said.

"Hi, Heather," Becky responded politely. "Hi, Courtney."

"Uh, Raven," Heather began. "Where do you get your clothes?"

"Off of dead people?" Courtney mumbled with a laugh.

"Ssh!" Heather said to her. "No, really, I want to know."

I wasn't sure what to say. I knew on the one hand they were trying to make fun of me. And then on the other hand, if they wanted to see how the other half lived, they might actually like it.

"We want to go goth this year. Any hints?" Heather continued.

I didn't want to divulge my secrets to them. They wore what they did to be "in." I wore what I did because it was me. It was my soul. It was my being.

Last year I went as a tennis player. And a tennis player should be able to dress as a goth. It was, after all, Halloween.

But I didn't feel like making it too easy on them.

"You can go to the thrift store," I told them. "I think they should have something black that you can rip up and make look really funky." I was pleased with myself that I gave them some helpful tips.

"Ooh," Heather said. "Wear something someone else has worn?"

"Not in this lifetime," Courtney added.

I rolled my eyes.

Just then Trevor turned the corner.

"Hi, Trev!" Heather said to him.

Trevor was passing out orange flyers with black writing. He handed them each one, and they read them to themselves.

"This looks like fun," Courtney flirted. "We'll see you there?"

"Oh, you'll see me, all right, but you may not recognize me." The two girls giggled and then headed back to their lockers. Then he looked at me. "You don't need a flyer," he said. "You already know."

"I'd still like to have one," I insisted.

His gaze was cute but menacing. "For your scrapbook of horrors?"

"Yes, right next to my picture of you."

I snagged a flyer from his hand before he took off.

Becky and I read it.

HAUNTED HAPPENINGS

LEAVE YOUR FEARS AT THE DOOR sOR<

BE THE FIRST TO MAKE IT OUT ALIVE

DATE: THIS SATURDAY NIGHT

LOCATION: THE CRYPT

"I will be clinging to Matt for dear life!" she said.

"And I'll cling to Alexander."

"And I'll cling to Alexander."

"But you aren't afraid of anything," Becky teased.

"Well, I still can cling to him, can't I?" I said with a wink.

"Can he see in the dark?" she whispered. "Or does he have night vision?"

"Yes, he can see."

"How cool! I knew he had superhuman powers." "He'll be my hero for the evening. He can save us all from the creepy monsters!" Becky looked at me as if to say, "Why should I be scared of a guy dressed up as a ghost when I'm standing by a real vampire?"

"Believe me," I said. "It's Jagger's haunted house. It will be scary - even for a vampire!" Becky and I screamed out loud, then giggled until we couldn't breathe while the Prada-bees shot us looks like we were insane.

Shortly after sunset, Becky and I picked up Stormy and we headed over to our seasonal Halloween store, which had a great selection of costumes. Scarlet and Onyx were waiting for us inside.

"Is Luna coming?" I asked. I knew Stormy wanted her to be a part of the group. But Luna had made it clear at the Crypt that she insisted that it be the two of them only, and that left Stormy with a difficult choice.

"No," Scarlet said. "I told her to come, but she seemed to be put off that we were all coming. Her loss."

"Sorry," I said. "I guess you'll have to settle for us."

"That's okay." Stormy smiled. "It's a shame she feels that way. It's really too bad. You are my friend as much as she is." I am? I wanted to say. It was so sweet of her to say and so cool to hear. I had made it into Stormy's inner circle. "Thanks," I said.

Stormy seemed so mature. She headed off to one o s ofseasf the costume aisles.

"So, are you meeting up with Trevor?" I asked Scarlet.

"No, he wants to work the haunted house," she said, disappointed. "I'll have to see him afterward. But I told him he'll have to make up for lost time."

"You really like him, don't you?" I asked her.

"I do," she said.

I was happy for Scarlet that she found someone she liked. However, I wasn't so happy that it was Trevor. I still wasn't sure how much he cared for her, and I didn't want my friend to get hurt.

"What do you think of this?" Scarlet asked, holding up a cute devil outfit.

"It looks cool!" I said.

"I like it, too, but I'm thinking of going for something different. Out of my comfort zone." She buzzed off into another aisle.

"So who is your official date for Halloween?" I asked Onyx as she eyed the costumes. "Sebastian or Jagger?"

"I'm thinking of going solo," she said. "Jagger will be busy that night with his operations. And there will be tons of girls there. Sebastian will have his hands full

- he is a flirt, you know."

"Not since he's set his sights on you. Other than dancing with Stormy, he seems fixated on you," I said with a wink.

"You think?" she asked.

"I know."

Becky modeled a pink-and-purple butterfly costume. "I think it's adorable," she squealed.

"I think you should wear this," I said to Onyx as I held up a Cleopatra wig and costume. "It seems fitting. Marc Antony or Julius Caesar?"

"Yes," she said. "I love it!"

"I can't find a thing," Stormy said as she tore through the costumes.

"I think I found what I want to wear!" I pulled it over to find Scarlet holding the same outfit. It was a preppy school uniform.

"I wanted to embrace the lighter side," she said. "And I thought Trevor would love it," she said. "I guess you had the same idea?"

"Not the Trevor part," I said. "But I usually go preppy on Halloween.

"Really?" she asked, surprised. "I bet no one in town recognized you."

"It's fun to dress up differently for the night," I said.

"Why don't you wear it?" she suggested. "I'm sure Alexander is dying to see you all prepped up."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said, spotting another costume. She held up a red-and-white soccer uniform. "This one is perfect for me. I'll have Trevor really drooling." I examined my preppy uniform. Though it wasn't me, it really was quite pretty. I couldn't wait to get all decked out.

"I can't find anything!" Stormy's temper began to flare.

"It's okay," I said. "There are tons of costumes here. We're bound to find you one." She tore back into the aisles. "I found it," she said, holding up a Princess Leia outfit. "I know Billy and Henry will love it!"

"Yes," I said. "It will be their dream come true!"