Jennie can feel it again.

Turn around, the voice inside her head says.

The gnawing feeling in the back of her mind.

Turn around.

The itch between her shoulder blades.

Turn around.

The unbearable need to just take one look and make absolutely sure. Just one look.

Turn around!

She swiftly turns, her eyes are immediately drawn to a particular spot within the forest, behind the thicket of large unruly bushes. She narrows her eyes and waits for something, a movement, a sign, anything, really. Suddenly the chilly winter wind picks up, effectively blowing her hair into her face and obstructing her line of vision. She irritatedly brushes the dark hair out of her face and focuses back on the spot in the distance.

Nothing.

She stares, long and hard, boring holes into what any other person would write off as nothing, simply the shrubbery being swayed by the wind. Several long seconds pass before she starts to question her own sanity. She starts to turn back to the campfire, where the rest of her friends are partying and drinking away till the crack of dawn.

Just then, there’s movement behind the bushes, a flash of red and black. She stops in her tracks, frozen in place, and scrunches her eyebrows.

A seemingly distant memory starts to manifest itself, clutching at the edges of her consciousness; a girl. Not just a girl, the girl. Full of bright, unwavering, smiles and endless love. She used to be hers.

Used to be, the words echo in her head, mocking her. It still hurts; more than she ever imagined.

The wind starts to pick up again, the chill of winter seeping into her skin and settling inside her bones. She shivers, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing at her biceps to create some form of friction – heat. Her gaze strays upwards for a second, the large trees seem to be swaying with the wind, at any other moment the sight would be calming to her. In this case, however, the swaying looks ominous, almost. The trees look more like great looming monsters moving back and forth, casting long jagged shadows along the forest floor, waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting victim.

The sound of a branch breaking has her eyes immediately snapping back down, one of the low hanging branches is shaking and awkwardly hanging at an angle. Something dark seems to be moving just beyond the trees within her sight and she unconsciously takes a step forward to get a closer look. The loud sound of dry leaves crunching beneath her shoes only serving to set her nerves on high alert.

One step.

A howl sounds off in the distance and she falters.

Two steps.

The leaves start blowing into a flurry around the forest floor, her hair whipping about her face once more.

Three steps.

She can hear scuffling from just ahead, she stops and silently observes the thicket.

Suddenly, low growls erupt from within the bushes and she starts retracing her steps back, away from whatever is up ahead, her eyes wide with fear. She’s walking backwards, unmindful of the broken branches or rocks that litter the forest floor. She steps on a rotten twig, the sound that echoes sounding more like broken bones than wood. The growls intensify and she turns to make a run for it, only to slam right into a semi-solid obstacle. She falls on her behind with a grunt and grabs at the nearest rock within reach, ready to strike down any opponent that stands in her way, or at the very least try. Her heart is nearly beating out of her chest with adrenaline.

“Whoa, whoa, tone it down, Ginger Snaps,” Bobby raises his hands up in mock surrender before offering one to help her get up, “you okay?”

She takes a glance behind her, the growling stopped and the bushes are no longer moving. Her eyebrows come together in a frown as she starts to loosen her grip on the rock.

“Yeah…I’m fine.”

He pulls her up and she starts to dust herself off.

“What was that all about?”

“I just-,” she takes another lingering look at the thicket near the tree line, “I thought I saw something, that’s all.”

Just then, two large raccoons scamper out of the bushes and onto the nearest tree. Bobby snorts and holds his stomach, his quiet laugh quickly turning into loud guffaws. He turns back and sprints towards the camp, back to the midst’s of the party.

He disappears from her line of sight, but Jennie can still hear him cackling the whole way back and announcing, “Careful, everyone, there’re some real scary racoons out on the loose in the woods!”

Jennie rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, “.”

She finishes dusting off the dirt from her jeans and throws one final look at the tree line before making her way back to the campfire.

Unbeknownst to her, a dark figure shifts behind one of the large oak trees. The pale hand that is placed upon it standing out in stark contrast to the dark bark. Obsidian eyes shining and reflecting the remnants of the receding light.

Jennie disappears from sight and the figure huffs in annoyance, stepping away from the tree.

The pale hand leaves behind an abnormally large gash on the trunk of the great oak.

**

“So, you’re coming to the party, right?”

“Do I have to dress up?”

“Yes,” Jisoo nods enthusiastically.

“Really?” Jennie gives her an unimpressed face.

“It’s not a costume party without a costume, so, yes, you have to wear a costume.”

“Really, really?”

“Really, really,” Jisoo insists.

“Ugh, fine, I guess.”

“Yes!” The older girl shouts and starts jumping around the room like a kid on a sugar rush.

Jennie laughs under her breath, lightly shaking her head at the older girl’s antics. Her eyes stray to the darkness just beyond her open window and the moving shadows in the alleyway, in between the houses across the street.

There’s a nagging thought in the back of her head.

The feeling is back again.

She feels a shiver run up her spine as her whole body erupts into goosebumps.

From her peripheral vision she sees Jisoo jump onto the bed and sprawl on it like an eagle, her limbs attempting to reach the corners of the bed.

She takes a couple of steps towards the window, her hands coming to rest atop the ledge, and stares out into the darkness. The cool wind is hungrily lapping at her face and taking the precious heat away. Her eyes scan the perimeter, up and down the street, twice, looking for anything out of place.

She comes up blank, but the feeling persists, it’s almost like there’s a voice inside her head telling her to look outside, compelling her. Part of her is already on edge, the same part that is telling her to lock the window and close the blinds. Shut it all out.

Things that lurk within the confines of darkness can only be bad…right?

**

“Not bad, but, seriously?” Chaeyoung eyes her up and down, fully taking in the older girl’s costume.

“What?” Jennie asks, affronted, “It’s a classic.”

“It’s so-,”

“Unoriginal,” Jisoo finishes off for Chaeyoung, “Seriously, a vampire?”

Jennie shrugs and walks right past the two, “It’s Halloween, people wear costumes, nothing’s original,” she turns at the doorway to glare at them, “Are you coming or what?”

**

The party, Jennie notes, is better than she actually expected it to be. Much better, really. She’s surprised to find herself enjoying the food and drink, even dancing along to the songs that are booming through the speakers. Jisoo and Chaeyoung constantly come around to check on her and part of her feels guilty because she knows exactly why they’re doing it.

Costume parties often remind her of one particular person – Jisoo and Chaeyoung know that – someone she was never apart of before. Someone who refuses to leave her memories.

The minutes slowly trickle by and she’s already turned away more dance offers than she can count. It isn’t until a certain man, dressed in what Jennie assumes to be a skeleton suit, shyly asks her for a dance, that Jisoo comes up behind her and practically pushes her into his arms.

“Loosen up, it’s a party, can’t dance alone all night long,” she shouts over her shoulder before going back to Chaeyoung and dragging her somewhere.

Jennie silently huffs, slightly annoyed but still well-aware of her friend’s good intentions. Skeleton-man is looking at her like he might just faint if she gives him one of her signature glares, so she holds back and smiles instead.

They dance for several songs, small chitchat and pleasantries scattered in between.

“I’m Jiyoung, by the way,” he introduces himself halfway through one of the songs and Jennie gives him a small smile.

He’s nice, Jennie thinks, really nice.

And handsome, her brain adds after catching a glimpse of his face when he takes off the white mask, complaining about the unexpected heat it brings.

She’s finally starting to have some real fun, he