Nora looked at herself in the mirror as she adjusted the final touches of her costume. The white leotard fit her figure perfectly, with the distorted symbol of a star emblazoned on her chest. Golden pauldrons held up a red cape, and matching golden bracelets adorned her arms. A white skirt, like that of her dress, flowed around her, and a pair of tall boots—white and gold with tiny red details completed the outfit, along with a golden tiara set with a ruby.
After checking the last details of her costume in the mirror, she decided tonight was going to be fun in more ways than one. She told herself that as she thought about the enigmatic being she called her friend—and the likely supernatural antics he would pull. Grabbing the obvious imitation of a crystal sword, she left her home full of enthusiasm.
The streets were decorated for the occasion: carved pumpkins, fake cobwebs, plastic bats, imitation skulls, and that unmistakable festive air. Children ran about in costumes while parents laughed at the joyful chaos.
Nora walked slowly toward the town square, waiting for her friends but she didn't need to wait long. There she saw Connie chatting with Sadie and Lars.
Connie wore a long black robe that nearly touched the ground. Beneath it, a white collared shirt peeked out from under a gray vest, paired with a muted skirt that almost reached her knees. A light brown-and-orange tie, autumn-like in tone, stood out along with the wand and book she carried in her hands.
Sadie's costume was a mix of leather, metal, and piercings. Her face was painted white, with a black bird-like pattern spreading across it and covering her eyes. A guitar covered in metal patches hung from a leather strap full of decorative piercings, completing her look.
Lars wore inflatable plastic muscles over his body, an orange lumberjack jumpsuit, and ebony-colored mechanic pants. His shoes were oversized, parodying massive feet. He looked like a caricature of a bodybuilder.
Nora smiled to herself as she approached the group.
"Hey guys, ready for the best Halloween night of your lives?!" she asked, her voice rising with a small shout of excitement. Her declaration was met with their usual responses.
"Hell yeah!" shouted Sadie, imitating a rock singer's scream while raising her guitar in the air.
"Of course we are," Connie said, with the practiced tone of a schoolgirl while suppressing a small laugh at her own "academic" delivery.
Lars just gave a thumbs-up, but with how comically huge his hands were in that costume, it was more than enough for her.
"All we need now is Adrian so we can head to the party," Nora said to herself just as she felt a faint touch on her shoulder, followed by a whisper of wind. That was all she needed to know.
"He's right behind me, isn't he?" Nora sighed, half exasperated, her smile widening all the same. Connie smiled back, unable to hide her laughter at their usual dynamic.
When she turned around, there was Adrian wearing a costume that was paradoxical, yet somehow perfectly in line with something he'd wear any day.
A loose white shirt with simple frills, jet-black pants, and high black shoes suited for a formal suit. Alone, it wouldn't have stood out but the waist-length cape did. Its outer layer was a harlequin pattern of black and pink diamonds, while the inside glowed crimson. Black feathers, like those of a raven, sprouted from one side. Gold earrings with aquamarine gems glimmered, and countless jewels adorned his neck, reflecting the light with innumerable star-shaped symbols. His left hand was monstrous—avian, covered in black feathers with obsidian claws.
For a moment, my heart skipped a beat before my own voice broke through, reproaching him with a hint of sarcasm. Now it was just the two of us.
"Don't you ever get tired of being the supernatural stereotype?" I asked, my voice dripping with mockery. He raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning my words.
"Obviously, I'm not the stereotype. I just do it to annoy you—and deep down, you know it, star girl," he said, his monstrous hand gesturing as a brief illusion of him and me appeared in his palm before bursting into black feathers filled with stars. "But that doesn't matter right now. Tonight, I just want to have fun with my friends."
I blinked, snapping back to reality. Connie gave me that accusatory yet encouraging look, as if pushing me to do something. I wanted to say something back, but Sadie gave me the same look, and Lars just smiled, making a small hand gesture.
Before I could reply, Adrian swept all of us into his diamond-and-feathered cape, which wrapped around us like long arms in a supernatural embrace.
"Well, now that everyone's done staring at Nora, can we go to the party?" he said, and before I could feel embarrassed, the rest of the group started mumbling. I didn't pay attention; Adrian had already moved us elsewhere with his cape, and after a few moments, we all calmed down.
I looked at Adrian in silence as we walked, my heart racing for no reason until he lightly tapped my forehead with his finger and spoke.
"You know, you shouldn't care what they think. The only thing that matters is what you desire, because desires are the only true thing that make up a being," he said slowly, his tone enigmatic before slipping into his usual false arrogance, a smirk spreading across his face.
"But obviously, you were dazzled by my beauty, star girl," he added mockingly, making a dramatic aristocratic gesture with his hand.
I smiled at the obvious joke and punched his arm before closing my eyes to avoid meeting his gaze those eyes that made my heart beat faster.
"Ow, hey, that hurts! And here I thought you were a pacifist," he grumbled, though his tone made it clear it hadn't hurt at all.
"That's what you get, oh great supernatural god," I shot back immediately, walking on with a smile, hoping he would never change.
We didn't walk in silence but in soft murmurs, chatting about our week our friends in a quiet understanding. Children ran through the streets in costumes as we made our way to a local party on the outskirts of town, organized by that girl... I think her name was Ashley.
The place looked well-decorated, though obviously fake like all party decor but that didn't seem enough for the possible (but not confirmed) supernatural god that was my friend.
"I think the decorations could use a bit more life, don't you guys think?" he said, not waiting for an answer. With a wave of his hand and a flash of silver light, the decorations and inanimate objects came to life in a spectacle where reality blurred with illusion.
Plastic spiders began playing poker with each other, pumpkins growled as they chased terrified guests, and plastic skeletons crawled while paper witches cackled. Bands of bats screeched fantastical melodies as mirrors came alive, and reality itself became whatever Adrian wished it to be. Like a mad god, nothing made sense, while the partygoers looked into their drinks, wondering if someone had slipped them hallucinogens—because what they were seeing couldn't possibly be real without an acid trip.
"Much better, isn't it?" he said to no one in particular. I could only sigh with joy, smiling at him.
"Whatever you say, supernatural stereotype," I told him before walking into the party. Adrian groaned dramatically behind me.
Things got wild after that. Sadie and Lars ended up playing a rock song together while a pumpkin in a tuxedo acted as the host, fighting for the role with a skeleton officiating a wedding.
Connie was on the roof, floating as she chatted with another girl dressed as a witch, surrounded by ghostly fish and impossibly colored coral, shadowy eyes watching them from the dark. Connie sighed but she seemed to like this far more than anything mundane.
A bunch of guys dressed as werewolves played a rugby match against a team of vampires.
A man in a bear costume chased a woman dressed as a little girl, while two mermaids chatted in a punch bowl filled with floating eyes.
I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity—the chaos, the mystery but reminded myself that only one thing mattered tonight: what I desired.
And as I joined the madness, I took the hand of that stupidly sexy supernatural being.
Nora pulled him toward the dance floor more a chessboard of glass and coral—and as the dissonant music seemed to slow down in her perception, they danced together. Not alone, but it certainly felt that way to Nora.
"You know," she said softly, "this time, I'll take your advice. So this… is what I wish for."
She placed her hands on his shoulders, pulling him closer. Time blurred, sweetness filled the air, and their lips met in a tender kiss.