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“Please Jason, can we go?”
“No. We’re not going to spend my money on that creepy house. We’ll just head to Tina’s.”
Chrissy pouts, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. It’s Halloween, and she’s bored of Tina’s Halloween bashes. The girl is in their grade, and they’ve been going to her Halloween party every year for the last three years. Freshman year was exciting because it was Chrissy’s first high school party. Her and Jason were just getting to know each other back then and went with a group of their friends. Sophomore year they’d been dating, and they went together as Joel and Lana from Risky Business. It was only slightly embarrassing because Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington showed up in the same costume, but the couple got into a fight and left early, so it turned out fine. Last year, it was Chrissy and Jason’s turn to get into a fight. In truth, they had been fighting for two weeks straight, and she even broke up with him, but he showed up on her doorstep, charmed her mother, and dragged her out of the house and to the party, pretending like nothing had ever happened. Neither one of them were dressed up, and they never said another word about the breakup…
Now, Chrissy wants her last Halloween in high school to be fun. They both decided to be simple this year, and they’re dressed up as dead versions of their daily personas of basketball player and cheer captain, but Chrissy doesn’t want to go to Tina’s. Instead, the “horror” stories that she’d been hearing about the haunted house in the middle of town had made her excited about trying something different this year.
“It’s only two dollars per person! I’ll pay for myself! Heather said it was really cool, and that the Hellfire Club—”
“I don’t want to know anything about that devil worshipping—”
“It’s a school sponsored club, Jason! If it was actually full of devil worshippers, it wouldn’t be approved by Principal Higgins, and Mrs. Mann wouldn’t be the official sponsor.”
“My father has made several complaints to the school board. Higgins and Mann should think twice about giving those heathens access to school resources and funds.”
“They’re raising their own money with the haunted house, Jason! That’s the whole point!”
“Do you realize how demonic it is to use a house where multiple murders have taken place?! They’re making a mockery of the dead!”
“Those murders happened in the 50s! The Creel House has been abandoned for all these years! Plus, the haunted house has mostly been organized by Mrs. Mann! She got approval from both the mayor and Chief Hopper!”
“It’s ungodly!”
“It’s just a haunted house, Jason. Some cheap decorations and a few jump scares have nothing to do with god.”
“Fine! If I take you to this stupid thing, will you finally shut up and stop complaining about it?!”
Chrissy glowers at her boyfriend. His caustic words and disregard of her earnest excitement almost makes Chrissy say nevermind, but she refuses to let him ruin what could be a really fun night for her.
“Yes,” she says in defeat.
He starts his Jeep, peeling out of her driveway with a disgruntled expression. Chrissy turns to look out of the passenger window, and she smiles to herself.
👻
The line outside of the Creel House is long. There are kids of all ages, adults, couples, big groups of friends, and almost everyone is dressed up. Chrissy’s excitement, and the bitter air of late October, has her vibrating through her skin as Jason keeps a heavy arm around her shoulder. The line moves forward, and she skips that much closer to the entrance.
There are phantom-like ghosts hanging from the trees, flashing lights, decorated gravestones embedded into the front lawn, fog machines, and spooky sounds coming out of a speaker system. Chrissy can easily make out the terrified screams of haunted house goers and the constant revving of a chainsaw coming from inside of the house. She glances up at Jason, and he looks uneasy. Chrissy can’t help but feel smug at his expression.
“Scared?”
“I’m not scared, Chrissy. This is a waste of time.” He glares suddenly. “I’m just entertaining you, so I don’t have to hear you complaining all night.”
“Sure.” She turns her head and rolls her eyes.
They finally get to the front of the line. There’s a curly-haired boy dressed up in an obvious Marty McFly getup. Chrissy recognizes him as one of the freshmen from school, and she smiles at him kindly as she hands over her own two dollars since Jason never mentioned paying for her.
“A dead cheerleader! Nice!” The boy says enthusiastically. “Welcome to Hellfire’s Haunted House! Happy Haunting, Chrissy Cunningham!” He has a cute lisp, and his excitement is infectious.
“Thank you, I look forward to it.” She responds with a laugh.
He winks at her and snatches Jason’s money without another word. They walk through the front door and are plunged into darkness. The entrance has been fashioned into a narrow tunnel, covered in ominous threats written in neon paint and offset with blue lights. There are cobwebs and canvases of tarp that hang lowly, creating a feeling of claustrophobia. Chrissy doesn’t find it too scary, but she hears Jason’s breath hitch as they move further into the house.
The first thing to reach out between the linings of tarp is a claw-like hand. Chrissy squeals as it hovers close to her face before pulling away just as quickly. She shivers with revulsion before tittering with uncomfortable laughter. Jason’s grip tightens on her shoulder, and she looks back.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” He grits out.
They walk farther into the silence, and a grotesque clown jumps out at them through the tarp. Jason finally screams, backing himself into the tarped walls.
“It’s just a clown,” Chrissy soothes. Suddenly, arms encircle him through the makeshift walls, and he shoves them away, tripping over his feet and yelling again. Jason grabs her tightly by the wrist; planting his feet only to pick up their pace; he’s practically sprinting through the narrow tunnel, dragging her along roughly.
“Slow down, Jason!”
“You, hurry up, Chrissy!”
Chrissy starts laughing because of how scared Jason sounds. They run through the maze of the first floor before exiting the tunnel and being directed up a stairwell. There’s a parallel staircase on the other end of the first floor that looks like the exit, and Chrissy watches as a group of kids scurry down the steps screaming and laughing. She lets Jason drag her upwards as bloodied hands reach out for them, through the bars of stair railing, and Chrissy squeals, trying her hardest to avoid being touched by them.
They get to the second floor, and they’re immediately met with the revving of a chainsaw. Jason screams again, but this time it’s high pitched. Chrissy has to jump back as a person dressed in a mask, with a bloody chainsaw, swipes above their heads as flashing lights highlight his bloody costume. She knows that there’s no way the chain is attached to the saw, but it’s still scary enough that she nearly pees herself.
Jason starts running again, and Chrissy is yanked along again. He’s desperately trying to get out of the new labyrinth of the second floor. There are a few scarers that crawl towards them, dressed like gigantic spiders, and Chrissy dodges them with the expertise of a gymnast as she squeals with disgust. Jason tries kicking them away, but Chrissy has a mind to pull him back before he hurts any of them, knowing that they’re just fellow students. It’s her that drags him higher, into the attic. They reach the room, and it’s highlighted by the steady flash of strobe lights, and Chrissy’s skin prickles as she looks around wildly. There are too many hidden corners to be sure of where the jump scare is going to come from. Jason’s blunt fingers claw her shoulders, and they’re both breathless as they look around wildly.
The masked figure covered in blood comes out of nowhere, and both Jason and Chrissy scream as the axe is slashed above their heads. She freezes up just as Jason shoves her towards the axe-wielder. Chrissy crashes hard into their chest, and they fall together. She lands with a grunt, straddling the masked figure as they sprawl across the floor.
“Fuck—” the person groans.
Chrissy bangs her knees into the hardwood floors, and she makes her own noise of pain. She realizes too late that her entire weight is on the person’s chest, and she’s horrified. “I am so sorry!” She gapes at the mask that’s inches from her face and reaches to tug it up and help the person breathe. She’d scramble away, but they have an arm secured around her waist, holding her in place. She titters nervously as she realizes she’s looking down at Eddie Munson’s face as it flashes under the strobe lights. “Uhm, Eddie? Maybe you should let me up. Don’t you need to breathe?”
“Eh, this is kinda my ideal way to die…”
“Oh.” It’s all she can manage to say as she blushes from head to foot. There are distant voices coming towards the attic, and she feels his arm loosen. Chrissy squirms over him, still straddling his waist. She feels something poking her between her legs, and her mouth gapes. Chrissy sits up abruptly and looks down. “What—what’s poking me, Eddie?” She whispers, almost horrified again—if not for the sudden flush of desire that runs through her.
“It’s, uhm, the axe.” He wiggles loose the object that was stuck between them and waves it in her face.
Chrissy titters with embarrassment and moves away quickly, getting to her feet. She bites on her groan as she bends at the waist and rubs at her scraped knees. The strobe lights are also making her a bit nauseous, and she breathes through her nose to alleviate the urge to puke. The haunted house had seemed like such a good idea, and she was having fun…
She looks around and realizes that Jason left her there—with the axe murderer.
Okay.
So she knows it’s fake, but her boyfriend shoved her into Eddie because he was scared. If this situation were real, it just goes to show how he’d save himself and not his girlfriend.
Chrissy notices Eddie still sprawled on his back and has a mind to reach out her hand. Eddie takes it, and she pulls him up. “Gosh, I can’t believe him.” She says it more to herself as she keeps looking around for Jason.
“Your boyfriend is a dick…” Eddie says what she’s already thinking.
“Yeah,” she sighs.
“Here,” he offers her the axe. “Why don’t you go and threaten to cut it off for leaving you up here all by your lonesome.” Chrissy lets out a burst of giggles, taking the axe from Eddie. Up close, she realizes the blade is fake, but it still has weight to it with the heavy wood handle. Eddie picks up his mask and hands that to her too. She grabs it next and slips it over her head. “He went that way.” Eddie points towards the tunnel exit.
“Thanks, Eddie.” Chrissy turns and runs after the boyfriend that she should have stayed broken up with a long time ago. “Ohhhhh Jasonnnnn…” she says in her best growly voice.
Eddie’s laughter rings out behind her, and she’s thrilled that he decided to follow and help her. They get down to the second floor, and she starts chasing when she gets a glimpse of blonde hair in the distance. Eddie’s heavy footsteps running behind Chrissy encourages her to scare the living shit out of Jason. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”
“Chrissy! What do you think you’re doing?!!” She nearly catches up with the blonde as he pauses in the narrow hallway, his features sickly-looking under blue lights. “You’ve had your fun, let’s just get out of here!”
“Sorry, Jason. I’m just getting started.” She laughs maniacally.
“Cut it out already, okay?” He walks backwards, watching her cautiously with his hands raised up in surrender. “You’re freaking me out.”
Chrissy yanks off the mask and tosses it to Eddie who’s grinning at her like he’s halfway in love with her. She smiles shyly at him before turning back to Jason and raising the axe up high…
“Heeeerrre’s Chrisssssy!” She sing-songs and takes a swipe at him.
Jason yelps, ducking. “You’re a psycho!”
“Psycho?! Oh buddy, you haven’t even seen psycho yet!” Chrissy stalks him towards the staircase. “All I wanted was a fun! night! at a! haunted! house!” She keeps swiping at him with the axe in between her words, and he keeps having to dodge and duck to avoid being struck. “You! jerk! you! fed! me! to! the! axe! murderer!” Chrissy looks behind herself and grimaces at Eddie. “No offense, Eddie.”
“None taken, sweetheart.” Eddie shrugs, unoffended.
“She isn’t your sweetheart, freak!” Jason growls.
“Don’t yell at him!” Chrissy growls back at Jason.
“Are you serious, Chrissy?! You’re defending this prick?! You’re pissed because I left you in the attic with him when it was your idea to come here in the first place?! Get over it! I didn’t even want to bring you to this stupid haunted house! We could’ve been having fun at Tina’s Halloween party!”
“Her parties suck!” Chrissy turns back just as they reach another stalemate and get closer to the first floor. She stands on the staircase a few steps above him. She raises the axe one more time, and he cowers. “Everything I want to do is always an inconvenience for you! Anytime you agree to something, it’s because you don’t want to hear me complain!” She feels her anger crest and swings the axe again, stomping down the steps, and forcing him towards the exit. “I! don’t! complain! I’m! super! chill! all! the! time! you’re! the! one! who! complains!” They burst through the door. The crowd outside stops their chattering, watching the scene in shocked silence. She takes one final swipe at him, and he falls off the porch and lands on his ass in the mud, looking up at her in shock. Chrissy throws the axe, letting it land directly between his legs. It may be fake, but the mud is thick enough that it sticks with sickening precision. “I’m breaking up with you, Jason! For real this time!”
Jason looks back and forth between her and the axe. His face hardens, and he stands up with an air of annoyance. “Fine. Have fun being a psycho with your freak!” Jason gestures to Eddie as he stands behind Chrissy.
“Maybe I will!” She yells out stubbornly.
He storms off, and she grins at the mud caked up his back and in his hair. She hopes he has the worst time getting it all off, and his night is completely ruined, along with his basketball uniform. The crowd around them laughs and whispers together after watching their breakup unfold, but they have enough decency to focus their attention back to the entrance of the haunted house soon after. Chrissy looks around and realizes belatedly that Jason was her ride home.
“So, that was pretty bad ass, Cunningham.”
Chrissy grins ruefully and turns towards Eddie, but not before she yanks his axe out of the mud. She hands it back to him, “thanks for the help.”
“Oh no, it was all you. If you’re looking for a job as an axe murderer, feel free to join me up in the attic.”
“This was pretty fun,” she giggles.
“Yeah?” Eddie gestures towards the house, handing back the axe as she nods enthusiastically “It’s a date then, Cunningham.”
Chrissy feels a fissure of giddiness, surprisingly happy that Eddie just called it date. She follows him back into the house to enjoy her night of haunting with him.
👻
“So, what did you think was poking you earlier?”
After the haunted house closed its doors, Eddie offered to give her a ride, but she admitted that she wasn’t ready to go home, and he admitted that he wasn’t too eager to drop her off. Instead, they’ve been spending the rest of their Halloween night drinking out of his flask and sharing a joint, in the back of his van at the quarry. Chrissy is more than happy sipping peach schnapps and smoking weed while they wait to watch the sunrise because she gets to talk to him and press close to his body, sharing his warmth.
“What?” Chrissy looks up at Eddie with bleary confusion.
“Earlier,” he grins playfully, “when you fell on me in the attic, and you asked me what was poking you. It was the axe, but you seemed to think it was something else.”
“Oh my god, Eddie! Shut up!” She shoves his shoulder, blushing profusely. “You know exactly what I thought it was!”
“Mmm, do I? Maybe you should say it out loud, just to make sure we’re on the same wavelength.”
“Heh, length. Exactly.”
Eddie’s jaw drops. “You’re a pervert, Chrissy Cunningham. And I’m totally flattered.”
She rolls her eyes. “You should only be flattered if you can measure up, Eddie.”
Chrissy is definitely tipsy.
“I could show you just how much I measure up…if you wanted.”
She grins at his confidence. “You sound sure of yourself.”
“It’s a little bit because of the schnapps, but it’s mostly because I am.”
Chrissy looks down at his crotch, biting her lip and squeezing her thighs together. Eddie chuckles, and she looks back up at him, through her lashes, to see that he was watching her blatantly stare at his dick. Chrissy almost can’t believe her own gall. They’ve only spent tonight together, but she’s quickly realized that she likes being around Eddie. There’s something about him that gives her her own taste of confidence, and it’s not what’s made by the alcohol they’ve been sharing. Hanging out in the attic of the Creel house, they tag-teamed, but he let her take charge while they scared the haunted house goers. It’s something Jason would have never let her do. It’s a liberating feeling. And Mrs. Mann was totally impressed with Chrissy; even the rest of Hellfire asked if she wanted to join their club. Chrissy has no idea what it entails, but she agreed to come to one of their meetings anyway. She knows she’s never had as much fun on Halloween as she did tonight, and if their club does more stuff like it, then she’s definitely in. Getting to be around Eddie is definitely the biggest perk of it all.
“You know I just broke up with my boyfriend, right?”
“I was there.”
“And you think I’m looking for someone to hook up with now?”
“I was actually thinking you might be looking for a new boyfriend.”
Chrissy giggles helplessly. “You wanna be my boyfriend, Eddie?”
“Hell yeah.” He says it with zero hesitation.
She rubs a hand down her face and feels how warm it is and knows it’s probably red under all the caked on dead costume makeup.
“Now I’m the one who’s flattered.”
He slides off the edge of van and moves to stand in front of her. The sun hasn’t rose past the trees, but the sky is a lavender color as it moves up towards the horizon. Chrissy can hear birds chirping, and she might just become obsessed with the way Eddie’s eyes sparkle as he looks down at her. Chrissy should feel silly since the two of them are still made up in their Halloween costumes, but it’s the earnest way he stares at her face that makes her forget all of that.
“Well, we did just have our first date after all.”
She grins, “isn’t there’s usually a kiss after a successful first date?”
It’s all the permission that she needs to give him. He cups her face in his warm hands and leans in, brushing his lips gently against hers. She blooms like a flower under his touch, opening her mouth and letting him in. Their tongues tangle, and she reaches up to thread her hands in his unruly hair. She pulls him closer, and they curl around each other, desperate, as they lose themselves in the feel of their first kiss.
Chrissy won’t ever forget the feeling of her sticky-tacky costume makeup, his soft lips, and their shared taste of peach schnapps.
It’s the perfect end to a great night for Chrissy…and the first of forever Halloweens with Eddie.