"Willa?!" exclaimed Haley, surprised and excited to see her. "I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"Surprise," Willa replied with a barely tilted smile, never breaking character.
Alex came down behind her sister, without a costume, holding a notebook and frowning.
"Whoa, great costume! I thought you didn't like Halloween," said Haley, stopping in front of Willa to examine her makeup closely.
"Your cousin convinced me," Willa said simply, without going into details.
She and Andrew both knew perfectly well that Haley, though loyal, had a big mouth.
If she found out about the prank, even by accident, there was a 92% chance it would slip out.
So… better to leave her out of that little circle of conspiracy. Willa looked down at her costume, then back at Haley's.
"And what are you supposed to be?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Haley smiled proudly and spun around.
"Mother Teresa! When she was young. And hot," she answered.
Willa narrowed her eyes.
"And what does that have to do with Halloween?"
Claire approached, raising a hand as if she had just heard the best sentence of her life, "Thank you! Thanks, Willa. Thanks! Someone with common sense on Halloween."
Then she turned to Haley, visibly exasperated.
"I told you it had to be spooky, dark, with a theme! Not sexy. Halloween is not a Victoria's Secret runway!"
"It was either this or the cat costume!" said Haley, crossing her arms. "And clearly you didn't like the cat one. What's so wrong with me having a tail?"
"The tail wasn't even the problem!" Claire exclaimed, grabbing a blanket from the couch and tossing it at her like she was putting out a fire. "Put this on. Now. We don't have time to change you."
Haley groaned, but reluctantly covered herself with the blanket.
Claire then turned to Alex, who was calmly reviewing her notes, "And you? Where's your costume?"
Alex looked up, completely serious, "This is my costume. I'm a responsible student trapped in a house of lunatics."
Claire closed her eyes. As if gathering strength for more patience. Or for committing a crime.
"Oh my God… Why do you all make everything so difficult?" Claire exhaled, pointing one by one. "Haley, it's like you don't understand what 'themed' means. Alex, you don't even try. Cam, you're still traumatized from something that happened over twenty years ago. Mitch, you're crybaby because you embarrassed yourself at work!"
Haley, Cam, and Alex didn't even protest. They just shrugged, resigned.
"Hey!" exclaimed Mitch, clearly offended at being called a crybaby. "I was the only one in costume at work along with two idiots! My anger is justified!"
Claire took another deep breath and turned to Andrew and Willa, who were standing side by side with impeccable presence.
"And you two… thankfully restore my faith in this family."
Willa raised an eyebrow slightly.
She didn't say anything.
But something in her expression betrayed the thought: 'Did she just include me in the family…?'
A little awkward, a little warm, and quite strange considering she was just Andrew's friend.
His friend… and he had a girlfriend.
"I have an idea for including Alex," said Andrew casually. "She could be a mental patient. A girl whose mind is completely broken, who thinks she has an exam tomorrow. But she's been locked in a psych ward for over five years. Every day she studies the same topics in an endless cycle."
Alex slowly turned her head, with a look that could've killed him on the spot.
"I do have an exam tomorrow. And yes, I should be studying instead of wasting time on this," she said flatly.
"Good, Alex. You're already getting into character," said Willa with a faint smile.
Alex now looked at her more closely.
Furrowed brow. It wasn't real hatred, but there was something annoying about that comment.
Alex much preferred Pippa over Andrew's actress, nerdy, and beautiful friend. With Pippa, she had academic chemistry, they were organized, studious.
Pippa was her kind of people.
Willa… not so much.
Claire, against all odds, snapped her fingers, "I love it. Alex, you'll be a patient, with books and papers scattered everywhere. And you have to say lines like 'I didn't study photosynthesis' or 'The eukaryotic cell is chasing me.'"
"I refuse," said Alex.
Claire shot her a deadly look.
Alex sighed, "Fine, I'll do it. I'll be part of the circus. Only if I get to use my real notes."
"Obviously! Stage props!" said Claire.
Just then, Phil opened the door for Jay and Gloria, "Look who's here! The gargoyle and the most fabulous witch of the West!" Phil announced.
Jay, wearing a gray gargoyle costume with small wings that barely stood up, looked at him with a frow, "This costume was on sale. Don't comment on it."
Andrew, hearing that, muttered while crossing his arms, "Pretty cheap for someone with that much money living in a house with a pool in L.A."
"My stepdad's cheap with certain things too, and then spends a fortune on others like it's nothing. Rich people things," said Willa with a faint smile, and Andrew chuckled.
Gloria came in after Jay, looking stunning in her witch costume: long dress, pointy hat, belt with a shiny buckle.
But something was… off.
"HELLO FAMILY. HAPPY HALLOWEEN. I AM VERY EXCITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS ACTIVITY OF SCARES AND SWEETS."
The voice was hers… but the accent was completely strange. Forced. Fake. A painful attempt at sounding "neutral American" that fooled absolutely no one.
Jay quickly whispered over his shoulder, "Gloria, stop it. I already apologized."
"NO, JAY. FROM NOW ON I WILL SPEAK LIKE THIS TO AVOID EMBARRASSMENT IN FRONT OF YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY."
Everyone fell silent for a second, exchanging confused looks.
Then Gloria walked into the living room with an air of offense, distancing herself from the group.
Phil tilted his head, confused, "Did Gloria go to the dentist? Does she still have anesthesia or something?"
Jay let out a deep sigh and shook his head, "No. She got mad because I told her people sometimes don't understand her."
Claire closed her eyes, trying to summon patience from the astral plane.
Willa turned slightly toward Andrew, "Your family is weird, but really fun," she said with a light laugh.
She had already witnessed it all:
Cam's eternal trauma that he always brings up but never fully explains.
Mitchell's emotional breakdown over his job.
The passive-aggressive conflict between Haley and Alex.
Claire's perfectionist crusade.
And now… this.
Andrew sighed with a resigned half-smile, "We're not weird and we're not always like this, I swear."
"I'm not complaining. Actually, this is turning out to be my best Halloween so far," Willa said with a genuine smile.
"I'm glad. And this is just the beginning," Andrew replied, happy that Willa was starting to enjoy Halloween a little more.
At that moment, Claire clapped loudly, catching everyone's attention like a general about to launch an offensive.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! We're splitting into two zones. This time there's no room for error. The entire neighborhood is talking about our haunted house, so I want full commitment."
She held up a printed sheet showing the layout, while Phil appeared beside her with two baskets full of candy.
"This will be the entrance and the first room!" Claire announced.
"It's the setup room. The Dunphy Asylum, as we're calling it tonight. Phil and I will be here dressed as psychotic nurses. We'll welcome the kids, tell them the story of the place, and introduce the theme: an abandoned hospital, plagued by paranormal phenomena... and patients still inside."
"We have a backstory this time?" asked Mitchell, raising an eyebrow.
Maybe it was a mistake not to come in costume and be part of all this.
"Obviously!" Claire replied.
"San Dunphy Hospital was shut down years ago after an unexplainable tragedy. It's said that some patients still roam the halls…"
Claire turned and began pointing at each person with her signature level of absolute control.
"Cam, you'll be at the central table as the dead patient. Your head goes under the silver platter, until Haley, our... zombie nurse... lifts the lid."
Claire was already used to improvising. She couldn't control everyone's costumes, so she did the best she could with what she had.
"Do I really have to stick my head in that thing?" protested Cam.
"Yes. And don't talk about your trauma. We don't want to ruin the atmosphere. Just scream dramatically like you always do," replied Claire, not missing a beat, while Cam stared at her, mouth half-open in indignation.
"Dad… you'll be the living gargoyle. You stand still and motionless in a corner. That's your only job, besides triggering the smoke and light effects at the right moment."
"Right… because I have a degree in special effects," Jay grumbled, already resigned. Although deep down, he was relieved he didn't have to speak.
"Gloria, you'll be at the end of this room, handing out candy as a witch… If you want, make up a story, whatever you like. Just don't use a robotic accent," said Claire. She wasn't quite sure how a witch fit into an asylum, so she didn't push it further.
Still annoyed, Gloria replied with her forced accent, "YES. I WILL BE THE WITCH. VERY SPOOKY. VERY AMERICAN."
"Oh God…" Claire muttered, running a hand down her face.
Then, Claire pointed toward the long hallway, decorated with flickering lights, cobwebs, mist, and fake blood splatters.
"That hallway connects to the second room. The area for the most dangerous patients. The kids who dare to cross it must go alone, and at the end they'll get a second reward for their bravery. We won't guide them. We'll just say: Follow the marks on the floor. But be careful… there are patients on the loose."
Everyone turned toward the second room.
Dark, more enclosed. Lit only by red lights. In the background, eerie music played along with the sound of chains dragging.
"That's where the most disturbing ones will be," Claire said, her smile a bit calmer now.
"Alex, who already has her role as the deranged student trapped in an eternal exam. Then there's Luke, scream, do whatever you want, try to scare the kids. Manny, our Frankenstein, same for you."
Luke and Manny exchanged uneasy glances. In front of them, Willa stood perfectly still. Makeup flawless, posture upright, the red balloon floating like a threat.
She looked like she'd been sculpted by Stephen King himself.
And next to her, on the couch, Andrew, already wearing the Michael Myers mask, was silently, and literally, sharpening a knife.
"Can I be in the first room?" Manny asked, using a tone he hadn't used since he was eight.
"Me too," added Luke immediately. "I can hide among the cobwebs. I can be a mutant spider. Whatever."
Claire, realizing they were clearly scared of sharing a room with Mitchell Myers and Pennywise, sighed and let them stay in the first room.
After all, the ones who would really scare the kids were Andrew and Willa. Also Alex, if she decided to take it seriously, though Claire doubted it.
Luke was already walking away when he heard a soft voice behind him:
"What a shame… I wanted to team up with you, Luke," said Willa in a low tone, accompanied by a twisted, sinister smile.
The contrast between the sweetness in her voice and the monstrosity of her makeup was so unsettling that Luke shuddered.
"Ah! No, no! The second room is all yours, Pennywise," said Luke, walking away as fast as his dignity allowed.
Manny, on the other hand, lingered a second longer.
He looked at Willa.
Even covered in white makeup, with red lines like wounds and eyes lined with terrifying precision, she was still… beautiful, he thought.
In a strange way. Like a gothic sculpture straight out of a dark novel.
He was definitely attracted.
And she seemed smart. Like someone who had actually read the novel Frankenstein.
But then his gaze slowly shifted to Andrew.
Big. Tall. Silent.
Clutching the knife with the methodical slowness of a predator in no hurry. The Michael Myers mask he wore looked too real.
Too… unsettling.
And the worst part: he didn't speak. He just stared at him. As if he were already planning how to scare him later.
That was it.
Any charm, any courage, any hormonal impulse Manny might have had… vanished completely.
He knew Andrew was a traitor in these kinds of situations. That he could, and almost certainly would, scare his own allies just for fun.
He was a sadist. Like Claire.
"Alright! Everyone to your stations!" shouted Claire, holding the organizational chart high like she was commanding a battalion.
Without saying a word, Andrew stood up. Willa followed, dragging her red balloon with an eerie elegance. Alex sighed and followed them, carrying her notes.
The three of them crossed the threshold of the hallway into the second room.
Mitchell, watching as they entered the other room, muttered under his breath, "Whether the kids survive… that's no longer up to us."
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