n

n

n

"You look incredible,

" she told him. She was pretty sure that she already told him that, but it was worth saying again.

nHe pulled off the vampire look well, and he seemed comfortable in his costume.

n

"Not as incredible as you,

" Elias replied as he playfully twirled her by her hand.

"I didn't even like fairies until now.

"

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"Bleh. Come on, nasties,

" Zoe fake gagged. She motioned for them to follow her down the sidewalk to the KDP sorority house.

nAlyssa smirked and followed Zoe, playfully tugging on her cape to make her laugh. She was far more excited about this party than the last one.

nMaybe it had something to do with being in costume or being with Elias, but she was ready for this.

nAs they approached the large white house that belonged to KDP, they could hear the music thumping from inside and the lights flashing through the windows.

nHalloween decorations covered the front lawn and porch, where people were hanging out and talking to one another.

nElias held out his arm to Alyssa.

n

"Let's go,

" he said.

nAlyssa felt like he was doing that to be encouraging. She wanted to thank him, but she just took his arm instead and let him lead her inside the packed sorority house.

nShe stuck close to Elias' side, practically gluing herself to him so that she didn't get separated.

n

"I love this song!

" Zoe shouted over the noise.

n

"You always say that,

" Alyssa laughed.

n

"I love music,

" Zoe replied with a proud look.

"I'm going to hunt down a drink. Safely. You'll be okay?

"

nAlyssa nodded.

n

"Go! Just be careful,

" she said as she shooed Zoe away. She didn't want Zoe to feel restricted just because she was there. She looked up at Elias.

"I honestly have no clue what to do now.

"

n

"You're asking the wrong person,

" Elias laughed.

"I have no clue either.

"

nAlyssa playfully hummed beneath her breath as she glanced around to see what everyone else was doing.

nThe house was fairly dark besides some decoration lights, so she was only able to make out flashes of people.

n

"We could drink, dance, talk, make out, or stare into space,

" she said. She felt her face burn a little when she let

"make out

" slip out, but there was a couple shoving their tongues down each other's throats in the corner of the room. She was merely making an observation.

n

"Let's get somewhere quieter. I think Zoe is occupied,

" Elias said as he nodded his head toward the next room.

nAlyssa looked that way to see Zoe playing with her hair and chatting up some guy in a grim reaper costume. She smiled, hoping that Zoe and him hit it off.

nShe wanted to see her friend succeed in the dating department. She hoped for that for herself as well.

n

"Yeah, let's go,

" she said, letting Elias take her into another room. It looked like a dining room.

nThere were people lingering around in there, but it was much quieter than the living room and foyer.

n

"Any more calls from your parents?

" Elias asked her as they leaned against a wall out of the way of other people.

n

"Not for the past week. I didn't tell them about my job,

" Alyssa replied. She was touched that he cared to ask her.

nHe knew how rocky her relationship was with them, and he never said anything about it around other people, including Zoe.

n

"Good, they'd be after your paychecks,

" Elias said.

n

"Which are kind of measly but enough for me,

" Alyssa laughed. She was only being paid a little bit above minimum wage, but she supposed it was an easy job.

nIt revolved around her hours too, so she couldn't complain about anything else. As long as she was careful with her money, she'd be fine.

n

"The experience will be good for your resume,

" Elias pointed out.

nEvery step seemed to have some tie to the future. She had to watch her steps. She couldn't just do whatever anymore.

nPeople were watching. Records were being developed. She was in the adult world now, and it seemed like a bad time to make any mistakes.

n

"How's your apartment coming along?

" Alyssa asked. She wondered if he was living in the ones that bordered campus.

nThey weren't all that nice, but they were affordable. She would probably have to live in those if she decided to do an apartment.

n

"I'm moving in soon. I'm ready,

" Elias sighed as he rested the back of his head against the wall.

"You'll have to come over when I get settled.

"

nAlyssa forced herself to hide her shocked look. She was surprised he wanted her over, but then again, he came over to her dorm.

nHowever, an apartment felt different. There was no level of limits or supervision. No sneaking out. No strict hours. No guest rules. They could do anything they wanted.

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