“I’m still wondering why your dad had so many rolls of duct tape?” asks Jax, raising his eyebrows.
Jade and I both shake our heads.
“We don’t wanna know,” we say in unison.
“Point of the story, Silver,” I add, “making your own costume is half the fun. It’s unique, you can make it your own, and we won’t have to worry about showing up in the same costume as like twenty other girls.”
“Fine, I’m convinced, but can we at least check out the accessories section?” Stella asks reaching for the door of the store.
The Halloween store is huge with costumes in every direction. To the left against the wall are rows and rows of wigs, masks, hats, and crowns. Each section is organized by category: scary, character, funny, sexy, etc.
“Come on, let’s go toward the left.”
We walk over to the wigs and accessories where Jade finds a pair of glittery, iridescent angel wings and I grab a pair of red curved horns. They look more like Maleficent’s horns except in red, but they’re perfect for what I have planned. I try to convince Stella to dress up as a sinner instead of a saint, but she won’t budge.
“Come on, Silver, you can wear this red wig. It would look hella bomb,” says Jade, holding up a long dark red wig with blunt bangs. It really is cute.
“Jade’s already angel blonde and well, my black hair will go with my costume, but you need to get the wig and be a little she-devil. Look, I even have the perfect costume in mind.” I hold up a pair of gold horns similar to mine with red tips.
“I don’t know,” Stella mumbles softly.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” says a high-pitch voice coming from behind me.
We turn and find the four queens approaching. Great.
“Carrington, it’s so nice running into you,” I say sarcastically, giving her one of my best fake smiles.
“What are you guys going dressed as? Oh wait, slut isn’t part of the theme this weekend right, Carrington?” Kinsley sneers from beside her, clearly proud of her snide comment.
“Unfortunately, it’s not, but it’s not like anything you’d wear would hide the fact that you’re poor, dirty whores,” answers Carrington, and the other three laugh on cue. The girls are all beautiful, none more impressive than the “queen bee” herself, but something about Kinsley makes her stand out from the four. Her blonde hair is perfectly combed in place, her facial features perfectly symmetrical, and her bright green doll eyes almost sparkle. It’s kind of scary how picture-perfect she is. Carrington is more model-like with blue almond shaped eyes, high cheekbones, and naturally tanned skin, paired with an unnatural everything else. Drea has the same blonde hair and blue eyes as her twin brother, Alek, but where his is more of a dirty blond, hers is golden with a slight yellowish tint. They do, however, share the same wonderful personality. As if.
And finally Winter Servite, Ace’s twin sister and Carrington’s second in command, has platinum, almost white, hair in a long bob and his same intense ocean blue eyes. Their resemblance to one another is uncanny. Winter also has a slight edge to her that seems to be hiding a troubled past. Uncommon for a spoiled heiress like herself, but nonetheless it’s there. I’d recognize the look of wariness anywhere.
“Oh, Stella, I hope you don’t think you can actually pull that wig off. It’s a little too sultry for your virgin self,” says Kinsley.
“She can definitely pull the wig off, virgin or not. Hell, maybe I’ll be the one doing the pulling,” Kai says, coming around and draping an arm around a clearly shaken up Stella.
The girls scoff, turning around.
“Just don’t ruin the party tonight. I mean just the fact that you’re all going is bound to ruin a fun night, but tonight is a special night. And I’ll personally make your life hell if you cause another one of your scenes with Ace,” Carrington scowls, and they all turn and walk away.
“Well, she’s a total bitch,” Ruby says, holding up a sleek silver-haired wig.
“Change of plans,” blurts out Jade, turning toward us with a wicked grin. “I’m fairly sure those basic bitches are gonna show up in the exact matching basic bitch angel costume tonight. So instead, we’re all going as sinners and you, Stella, are going to be our angel.”
I turn to Ruby who’s holding out the long, sleek straight, silver wig to Stella.
“How about we switch, Silver?” Ruby says, taking the red wig in her hands. “Red’s more my color,” she says with a wink.
Stella’s eyes widen at Ruby’s remark as she laughs nervously. “I can’t pull off this wig it’s too…”
“Sexy, that’s what it is,” answers Kai from beside her.
“Kinsley’s right, everyone’s gonna see right through me,” says Stella, looking away shyly.
“Look, Silver,” I say, turning to her. “One of the first things I learned when I arrived at the foster house was that people are going to see what you decide to show them. When we got there, Ruby had a giant chip on her shoulder.” I turn toward her and hear her scoff. “Yeah, an even bigger one. Anyways, she thought she could push me around, and I almost let her. But I realized that she didn’t know me, none of them did. And if I showed her, showed them,” I say looking to Drake, “that I wasn’t to be messed with, then they’d back off. So, I did just that. I wrote in red sharpie all across Drake’s bedroom wall and I got this.” I pull up my sweater revealing the tattoo on my rib cage. Long Live the Queen.
“And here you are,” she says.
“And here she is,” answers Drake, winking at me.
“But I’m not you, Scarlett. I’m not Jade or Ruby. I’m…”
“You’re Stella Freaking Silver. If your cousin is a self-proclaimed Horseman, then you can be a self-proclaimed queen.”
“Ivy,” she whispers, and we all turn to her confused. “It’s Stella Ivy Silver.”
We make it back to the apartment with three bags each, while the guys have gone back to their place and will be returning to pick us up around eight. It looks like it might rain, yeah plot twist, so the party has been moved into Ace’s beach house. We lay out all the items we bought from the various stores we went to and begin to plan our outfits, while Ruby heads to the kitchen and grabs us the sodas and snacks we bought for the occasion. After considering our options, we realized the best idea is, in fact, that all of us, including the guys, dress as sinners making Stella our little virginal angel, which we found out is true. After the Halloween store, we stopped by a boutique that had the cutest yet most expensive pieces of clothing. However, Stella reminded us about our school issued debit cards, so we went a little crazy. Now it’s finally go time. Time to assemble our costumes.
“What’s the deal with all this obsessing over Halloween?” asks Jade as she glues some jewels on her horned headband.
“Seriously, does all that stuff about the school being cursed because of the huge fire have any truth behind it?” I ask curious to know more.
“Well, according to my uncle and all of our parents, the original founders of the academy were in fact direct descendants of the five original founding families of Hillcrest Hills. The Servites, the Silvers, the Smoaks, the Prescotts and a fifth unknown member. The fire was ruled an accident, but there’s always been a rumor that it was started by a secret member of the fifth family. They say that’s why they were exiled from the town and not brought in when the school was rebuilt, therefore erased from its history. No one, except of course for the founders, even knows their surname.”
“That’s some crazy shit,” says Ruby.
“If you really want to dig further, my mom always used to tell me that this scary story was actually a romantic tragedy. She said that two of the grandsons of the founders fell in love with the same girl. She’s believed to be granddaughter of the fifth family. She said that the girl’s brother started the fire to kill one of the two guys, but in fact she had already run off with him. Instead the fire spread out of control and took her brother and the grandso
n he wanted his sister to end up with, along with 40% of the students and teachers that were housed in the two surrounding houses.”
“Alright, that’s some twisted shit,” mutters Jade.
“Told you our parents were all sorts of fucked up. I think that’s why they started telling us the story of the Four Horsemen. The four horsemen are said to bring a reckoning, and after the revelation, they’re sent forth to cleanse the earth of the sins of man. Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Sloth, and Wrath. The seven deadly sins that were said to be broken by the five families bringing destruction against their own. The first-born sons of every family are said to have perished in the fire.”
“No offense, Silver, but your guys’ parents must have hated you all to tell stories like that,” Ruby says as she moves to the mirror trying on her horns and tail.
“My mom was a firm believer. It was kind of one of the things that drove her over the edge,” Stella says, her tone now solemn.
“What?” We all answer back.
“My mom killed herself four years ago. My dad found her in the tub with an empty bottle of pills and her wrists slit. He then drank himself to death. Died a month later from alcohol and drug overdose,” she says, looking down onto her lap.
“Stella, I’m so sorry,” I say, placing a hand on her thigh.
“Yeah, well I knew she was sad all the time, and she always had these crazy ideas, theories, and conspiracies about my father’s family businesses, but maybe if I’d known how bad it was…”
“Stella, you can’t do that to yourself,” I answer back.
“I know. I blame him, my father. I was put in boarding school since I could remember. He tried keeping me from her when she needed me. They say love took him to be with her, but I think it was guilt.”
“Like I said, that’s some morbid shit,” Ruby says.
“Ruby!” we shout, Jade smacking her on the arm.
“What, I thought my cokehead mother overdosing in front of us when my sperm donor took off was bad, but this shit, Silver, I think you fit in with us more than you know.”
“Thanks, I think,” Stella says, and we all laugh wholeheartedly.
“Anyway, enough sad shit for the night, let’s get ready to party,” Jade says, holding up the costume she put together.
After we all shower, we meet back in my room to start getting ready, while Ruby’s now switched out our sodas for wine coolers and shots of tequila. Both Jade and I have straightened our hair, since we won’t be wearing wigs, and I’ve combined a black and gray eyeshadow look with a deep red, sultry lip. My eyes look almost clear blue in contrast to the dark shadow surrounding them. I slip into the costume I put together, a short, black mesh dress, over a luxurious red silk bra and matching high waist, underwear, and put my black combat boots on over a pair of black fishnet stockings, all while Jade gets dressed. She went for a more glam makeup look, that pairs perfectly with the red two-piece outfit she’s wearing. Her cropped shirt is low cut, long-sleeved, and backless, only attached by a small gold chain in the middle of her breasts. Her high waisted skirt is the same color as her top and has cutouts on both sides of her hips laced together with a black ribbon. She’s paired the outfit with black heeled boots we found on sale at the boutique and the horned headband she decorated.
“Fuck me, look at us… we look smoking hot,” Jade says, while looking at herself in the full-length mirror.
“The guys are gonna lose their shit when they see us,” Ruby adds, emerging from the restroom wearing a bright red latex jumpsuit and matching heeled boots. She has on the sleek red wig with blunt bangs, and her green eyes are elongated by black liner, while on her lips is the same bright red color as Jade.
“Where’s Stella?” I ask, turning to the door where a sultry, sexy little minx is entering looking nothing like the shy little Stella we know.
“Damn, Silver,” Jade says, whistling at her. Stella’s wearing a white, sequined dress with a silver chain that wraps around her neck and a small one holding the back of the dress together. She’s paired it with silver stiletto heels and that sexy, sleek silver wig. Her makeup is natural and simple, making her look like every man’s fantasy come to life. The perfect virginal angel.
“This dress is so short,” she squeals, tugging on the bottom of the dress. “And the back’s missing.”
“It’s perfect,” we say in unison.
After putting on the devil and angel headpieces we picked out, we head down five minutes to eight to meet up with the guys. They’ve decided to wear all black, black jeans and black unbuttoned shirts revealing all of their tattoos. Jax has a few on his chest and arms, while Kai has them mainly on his legs and back, and of course Drake is covered in them. They watch us descend from the stairs with wide grins and whistles.
“Wow, girls, you guys look fucking perfect,” says Jax, coming up to grab Ruby. Drake turns to them and rolls his eyes while Kai walks over to Jade and Stella, reaching an arm out to each of them. They both take it, placing their arms in his and he turns to wink at me.
“I have my angel and my devil tonight.”
Laughing, I turn my attention to Drake whose gaze is locked on my outfit.
“You look fucking sexy, Scar,” he mutters, licking his lips as I reach up to kiss him.
“You don’t look so bad yourself, Dragon Man.”
“You ready for tonight?” he asks, looking slightly uneasy.
“With you by my side, I’ve never been more ready. Let’s burn these fuckers to the ground, Dragon.”
THIRTEEN
SCARLETT
The beach is already raging by the time we arrive; the house crammed with students dressed in red, white, and black, donning horns, wings, and tails. As expected, everyone is wearing the basic costumes we saw at the Halloween store. Shocker. We near the entrance of the house when I suddenly hear a loud squeal come out of Stella behind me. I abruptly turn to find her being pulled back out of Kai’s arm by none other than Sebastian Silver. Beckett quickly jumps and blocks Kai from pulling her back to him as Jade grabs both of Kai’s arms stepping between him and Beck before they start a brawl.
“What the fuck, Bass?!” Stella cries out as she tries to steady herself after almost tumbling in her stiletto heels. Bass stands beside her, scowling down at her.
“What the fuck, me? What the fuck are you wearing, Stella?” He shouts back at her even angrier than before.
“A costume, just like you are,” she says, pointing to his ensemble.
He’s wearing black leather pants and a matching leather jacket, of course no shirt underneath. His face, just like the other two, is painted like a black and white skeleton. He chuckles deviously running a hand through his jet-black hair. His gray eyes turn almost black as a small chuckle escapes him.
“That is no fucking costume, you look like a fucking slut, cuz.”
At his words I snap coming toward him, but just before I step in front of Stella, Jade pushes past me stepping up to Bass. Her hands are fists by her side, and I can tell she’s pissed. There is nothing that pisses Jade off more than when women are called sluts for dressing how they want. Sexy or not, Stella is no slut.
“She is no fucking slut, Sebastian,” she says, poking at his chest, throwing him off slightly. “Does she look hella sexy, yeah. I’d fuck her wearing that outfit, hell I’m fairly sure any of your boys would also. But just because she’s dressed like that doesn’t make her a slut, nor does it give you the right to treat her as one.”
Okay, if I thought Bass was angry before, now he is practically foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.
“Look, Little Wolf,” he says, calling her by the pet name I’ve noticed he’s given her.
She shifts slightly, almost losing her footing. I’ve never seen Jade this worked up or affected by a guy before, and he seems to be just as affected by her. He looks her up and down, surely taking in the sight before him. Jade has a banging body. She is lean and toned with a self-made perky
ass, toned abs, a tiny waist, and big enough breasts that there is plenty of cleavage showing with her low-cut top. Her abdomen and lower back are visible and speckled with tattoos, and with big round green eyes and a pouty little mouth, she’s gorgeous and I can tell Bass sees it too.
“If you think you’re intimidating me, you’re wrong. It’s because of sluts like you that I need to protect my little cousin,” he sneers, and fuck if that wasn’t the wrong thing to say.
Immediately her hand comes up to slap him, but he catches it right as it almost connects with his face. He grabs her wrist spinning her around so that he has her clutched with her back to his chest, his arm snaked around her abdomen keeping her locked in place. Both Ruby and I step up but when we do, Beck and Alek step up to us. The whole time I can feel Ace’s gaze on me, but he hasn’t made a move to stop us. I turn around and there he is, dressed from head to toe in black leather minus the shirt, of course. His face is painted like a skeleton just like his boys, a smug grin plastered on his perfect face. He’s enjoying himself.
“Back off, Sebastian,” Stella says as she walks toward him.
He reluctantly let’s Jade go and she dramatically pushes away causing me to laugh internally. Typical Jade. I didn’t see her fighting back as hard as before, and I wonder if she liked being in his arms. Stella continues to step toward him until she stands right in front of him, her head reaching just under his chin, causing him to have to tilt his head down to look into her eyes. She stands up straight, head held high, for once feeling confident about the outfit she’s wearing as she stands before him.
“Sorry that my slutty appearance is embarrassing you, but you of all people, have no right to judge me. If I want to dress like a slut, be a slut, no one, especially not you, is going to stop me.” She turns away from him and Kai immediately goes to her side. He extends his arm out to her and she grabs it walking toward the house with him, looking very much the virginal angel to his demonic beast.
The Four Horsemen : A Servite Academy For Troubled Teens Novel Page 13
