FINNED (The Merworld Water Wars) (6 page)

Chapter Five

Halloween Freak Outs

Growth, thy name was butt. Seriously, I could feel it stretching. I’d call it an a-hole, but there’s just too much irony there. I’ve been eating—more like inhaling—candy since my date with Trey. What was I supposed to do? Every morning since our date, a bag of candy corn has mysteriously appeared in my locker. Though Trey denies being my candy corn enabler, I’m certain he holds the title of Sugar Culprit. He’s so sweet (pathetic pun intended).

Trey and I have been officially going out for a little over a week, and I adore him, really. But, there was no life changing, heart-stopping passion. Maybe that was asking too much at sixteen. The kissing was nice, but shouldn’t my mind race, almost maddeningly, until the next time I can feel his lips on mine? Still asking too much, I guess. Trey was just so comfortable. Everything was so uncomplicated that, at times, it felt like a complicating dullness. I’m fairly certain he feels the same about me—comfy, but nothing befitting the “wow” category. And now, just to piss off my brain, my hormones were busily brewing a pesky crush for that arrogant Neanderthal, Troy Tombolo.

What am I doing? Here I am dating the gentlest soul imaginable, yet I cannot stop thinking about a boy whose soul was so guarded and disguised that it posed an almost terrifying risk to anyone trying to reach inside.

Well, it was all moot now anyway because tonight was HALLOWEEN! Hurray! Of course, I’m exactly two months until dip-crap death comes for me. Boo-hiss (Boo—get it? Yeah, I’m lame). Tonight, Katrina Zale hosts her annual Halloween Masque. Yeah, I received an invite from the queen herself. Imagine my shock when she shoved the bat-shaped invitation into my hands after classes yesterday. Apparently, Trey and I were the only Normals invited. Naturally, I didn’t have time to get a costume, so I’ll be going as me. Thrilling. Since the Ravenflames loathe me, I reckon they’ll find my non-costume sufficiently scary or terribly offensive. Either way worked for me.

“MARINA! Trey’s here!” called my mom. Trey and my mom seemed to be getting along really well by the time I walked into the living room. “About time,” she said reprovingly.

“Hey, ready for this party?” Trey looked hot in his white shirt and blue jeans.

“Think so. A night with the Ravenflames…should be interesting.”

“You two have fun. Marina, remember curfew.”

“Completely curfew conscious. Bye, Mom!”

“Night, Mrs. Valentine!” When Trey and I climbed into his jeep, he quipped, “Wait until you see Katrina’s house.”

“What? Is it covered in poison thorns and gargoyles?”

“Not exactly,” he said, winking.

“I feel bad Polly and Meikle didn’t get invited.”

“Don’t. Polly’s avoiding partying demon souls by hiding under the covers until tomorrow, and Meikle’s trying to unlock a portal to the other side of the blue crest, whatever that means,” said Trey, rolling his eyes.

After about twenty minutes of coastal driving, we finally reached Trinity Lane, a gated road guarded by two burly Ravenflame security officers.

“Invitations,” said the burlier of the two. Trey handed him our invites, but after carefully inspecting them—even scratching at the seals—the guard muttered, “Wait here.”

“Where can we go? There’s a gate blocking us,” Trey said.

The guard grudgingly returned to the security booth to call the main house. “Yeah, Miss Zale, I have two Normals here named—yes, that’s them, so should I—as you wish, Miss Zale.” Returning with our invitations, he said, “Drive up the road, give the parking attendant your keys, and hand the invitations to the butler. Can you remember that, Normal?”

“Oh, wow, I dunno. Maybe I should write it down,” said Trey.

The guard looked beyond homicidal.

“Just go,” I urged. “Guess that would be our first monster encounter tonight.”

“Good as,” said Trey, carefully maneuvering his jeep along the winding road.

Another ten minutes and we reached Katrina Zale’s mammoth castle with its lonely towers and turrets. Instead of ivy-covered walls, seaweed blanketed every tower and arch. Rather than gargoyles, a bevy of vicious-looking stone mermaids, sharks, and squid lurked in the shadows.

“Weird, huh?”

“I’ll trade you a creepy and raise you a disturbing.” I imagine the castle could be beautiful, and it probably was at some point, but now it looked cold and uninviting.

After leaving his jeep with the clumsy parking attendant, Trey and I approached the intimidating double front doors.

“Doorbell or knocker?” asked Trey.

“Aw, let’s be wild. Go with the doorbell.” When Trey pushed the seahorse-framed bell, my jaw dropped: their doorbell sounded like seagulls suffering a massive slaughtering.

Two seconds later, the door opened and an eerie Ravenflame butler appeared. “Have you the invitations?” he asked with a measuring eye.

Trey silently shoved his invite into the butler’s vein-covered hands.

“Here ya go,” I said cheerily, handing him my invitation. “That’s one sinister doorbell you’ve got. It’s a great touch for Halloween. Where’d you get it?”

Eerie-butler-man can definitely deliver an effective Halloween glare. “That is the standard doorbell.”

“Oh. I just assumed it was for Halloween. I mean, the sound of slaughtered seagulls doesn’t exactly scream
Ho, ho, ho
, or
Hip-hop-hooray, Easter’s on its way
.” He was so totally appalled by my bluntness.

“How about you tell us where the party is,” said Trey.

“Through the doors at the end of the hall, in the ballroom,” he said.

“Thanks,” said Trey out of the corner of his mouth.

We walked hand-in-hand down the dank hallway. Locked doors seemed to watch us, whispering inaudible warnings as we passed.

“You okay?” asked Trey after I shuddered.

“I’m just all goose-bumpy,” I said warily.

“You’ll be fine…I’ve got you. And I’ve got my lucky charm to protect us both.”

“Aw, your silver owl charm,” I said, giggling.

“Yep. Never leave home without it.”

“Better than a credit card. I can’t believe you don’t sense anything. You’re all laid back, and I’m totally wiggy about something happening tonight.”

“You mean like me suddenly kissing you?”

And so he did.

“Caution, Normals approaching,” said a cowboy-clad Benji, opening the French doors to a lavishly decorated ballroom. “Unwelcome to the party.”

“You know, if I wanted to listen to an asshole, I would’ve succumbed to gas,” said Trey. I surrendered to nervous fits of laughter, snorts and all.

Benji wasn’t nearly as amused. “Welcome to hell.”

“Original,” Trey quipped.

“You mean like your costumes?” Benji countered, marching off.

Looking around the packed room, I said, “Clearly, this is strictly a Ravenflame affair. Except for booger Benji and the servers, I can’t see any other Fairhairs.”

“There’s Tombolo.”

“Where?”

“Back corner.”

“Surprised to see Troy here.” If only my stupid heart would stop racing, and I could do without that wiggly feeling in my gut that only a set of raging hormones conjures up. Note to self: Mustn’t ever give him the satisfaction of knowing the effect he has on me.

“Well, he’s probably here with the wicked witch herself,” said Trey.

“Hmm.” I forgot about Katrina. Slut.

“What’s he dressed as anyway? A cloaked goon?”

“The Phantom…from
The Phantom of the Opera
.”

“How stupid is that, dressing up as a scarred theater lunatic?”

“Actually, the Phantom is one of the most complex, passionate, romantic, spine-tingling characters ever created. Yes, he’s dark and a little twisted, but he’s also sad, lonely, and hurt by the way the world has treated him. He’s misunderstood. All he really wanted was love.” What am I, a student study guide?

“I don’t get the attraction you girls have with a murderous opera buff. You don’t see men getting all wobbly-kneed over some psychotic broad with a cape and mask.”

“Crab puff or crab cracker?” A server unwittingly shoved a tray of crab under my nose.

Oh, God, it smelled so bad.

“Uh, no thanks,” said Trey, looking at me worriedly. He could see me turning green.

“For you then, Miss?” she asked.

“She’s taking this whole crab thing a little too seriously…and it’s about to get really serious because I’m going to puke on her tray,” I whispered, desperately trying to control my gag reflex.

“She’s good, thanks.”

She lifted the tray closer to my nose. “Are you sure? They’re freshly caught and so tender they just melt in your mouth like mousse.”

What lovely mental imagery. Don’t gag—don’t gag—don’t…gag. Enter gagging. I sounded completely spastic, and that’s probably nothing to how I looked.

“What can I do?” Trey asked. Judging by his smirk and crinkled brow, Trey was either on the verge of unrecoverable hysterics or calling the paramedics.

“Air—GAG—outside—now.”

He took my hand, weaved me through the many disgusted faces, and opened the doors to the terrace.

“Was that as embarrassing as it felt?” I asked.

“That depends. How…embarrassing…did it feel…exactly?”

“Great. It
was
that bad. I
hate
fish.”

“Maybe I should call you Gaggles instead of Squiggle.”

“Does a well-placed knee mean anything to you?”

“Got it. No Gaggles. Hey, Marina?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever look at us and think maybe we do better…”

“As friends?”

Trey nodded. “You feel the same, don’t you?”

“Sometimes best friends are just meant to be best friends, no pass go, no benefits.”

“Oh, well, I don’t agree about the benefits part.”

“TREY!”

“Kidding, kidding…kind of. How about some punch?”

“I’m thinking yes,” I said, fanning my face with my hand.

“Be right back. Don’t go anywhere, and for God’s sake stay away from the crab puff girl,” he said, squeezing my hand before leaving me alone on the mammoth terrace.

I waited and waited as the ticks and tocks clicked on.

“You’re not right back,” I muttered after too much time had passed. Trey would never leave me alone this long, and my tummy started embracing nervous waves of ick—never a good sign. “Okay, that’s it. I’m coming to find you, Trey.”

I headed for the terrace doors, but stopped cold when I heard Benji and Troy in a heated discussion just inside the ballroom.

“You know what people are saying,” said Benji. “She’s not one of us, and Katrina would kill her if she even suspected you might have a connection.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Troy grumbled.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about,” said Benji. “You’re falling for Marina Valentine.”

GASP! Falling? For me?

“Don’t be ridiculous, Benji.”

“I’m not the ridiculous one. It can’t happen no matter how attracted you are to her. It’s not recommended for good reason.”

Nosy S.O.B.

“I have never been less connected, less attracted, or less interested in someone than I am to Marina Valentine.”

I found myself desperately searching for a quiver in his voice, a brief hesitation in his delivery, or a clearing of his throat, but there was nothing. He meant every word. My mom always says, “There’s nothing worse than kicking people when they’re down.” Well, I disagree. Kicking somebody—annihilating more like—while they’re up, happy, and hopeful hurts far more because you fall that much further and hit that much harder. At least I did learn something about Troy Tombolo tonight: two words—pompous jerk.

I emerged from the shadows, sauntered by the pair of them, and briefly glanced at Troy, giving him my best expressionless face. While avoiding the still eager crab puff girl, I continued meandering about, looking for Trey, trying to ignore the painful pounding of my heart.

“Looking for something?” said Katrina, her voice oozing venom, while two of her sleazy friends blocked my progress down the hall. Her barely-there, red lace costume matched the jewelry she
always
wears—apparently, her fashion sense flat-lined with her personality.

“My date. Haven’t seen him, have you?” I replied coolly.

“Fortunately, no. So, how are things going with you two? I’m always interested when two Normals hook up. It’s so…cute.”

“Girl talk? Really?”

“You’re right. I care about as much as an octo. Have you met Mitzi and Nerissa? What am I thinking? Of course you haven’t. Girls, this is our new Normal.”

“I’m not your new anything,” I said.

“Feisty, isn’t she? As you know, it’s Halloween, that magical goblin-ghoul time where people celebrate living and dying…in costume. So, tell me, Marina, why did you not at least mask your face for my costume party? I mean…way to show a lack of etiquette. Did your mother not teach you any manners?”

“Well, getting invited to a costume party with scarcely twenty-four hours notice is hardly adequate time to find a costume. Tell me, Kat, did
your
mother not teach
you
any manners?” By the ghastly shade of maroon appearing through her overly made-up cheeks, I’d say I struck a nerve.

“She did wear a costume, Katrina,” said Nerissa, who looked a lot like a stoned giraffe. “She came as herself. What could be scarier than to look like that?”

While stout, pug-like Mitzi roared with laughter, Katrina’s mouth curled into a devilish grin. “You did dress up! Applause, applause. Couldn’t have picked a more frightening look for you,” she sneered.

“Nor I for you, Kat. Tell me, does dressing like a slutty hag take practice, or are you just naturally a loose witch?” Um…did their eyes just flash red?

“I love a Normal with plastic courage. It’s so Cowardly Lion. Do you think you’re brave, Marina?” asked Katrina, drumming her blood red nails on her pointy chin.

“No doubt.”

“Good. Want to walk through my haunted room, then? It’s just here, behind this door,” she said, moving towards the first door outside of the ballroom.