There was nothing fun about being the only one at a date party without a date. It was even worse when your friends got there late because they were having dinner with their dates. After walking aimlessly around the bar for a few minutes, I ran into the last person I wanted to see. Well, maybe second to last.

"Hi Amanda!" I said with fake cheerfulness. I could do it. I could be the bigger person-or at least pretend I was.

"Hi... can we talk?" Amanda asked nervously. I didn't think Amanda got nervous.

"Why?"

"Come on, please."

I nodded. What else did I have to do? "Whatever you have to say doesn't matter. We were already broken up. I don't care."

"I messed up. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You wanted to screw with me. Or sorry, you wanted to screw Dylan."

"He's the only guy who's ever turned me down." She flipped her hair off her shoulder.

"He turned you down?"

"Yeah... I always had a thing for him and finally decided to make a move the first time I saw him this semester. He wasn't interested. He claimed there was someone else."

"Oh."

"It didn't take long to realize it was you."

"That's why you've been a bitch to me this whole time?"

"Pretty much, yeah. If I'd known before bid day...well, you wouldn't be in the house."

"Honest. Wow."

"It's the truth, so I'm glad I didn't know."

"Wait, are you actually saying you're glad I'm pledging?"

"You're pretty cool."

"Good to know."

"He's still crazy about you. He may have slept with me, but he didn't really want to. He wanted you." It sounded like it was hard for her to say it.

"He doesn't actually want to be with me. I'm not sure where this obsession came from."

"Me either. Well, I should probably find my date. I'm hoping for a more, uh, a better night tonight."

I laughed, assuming she referred to the sex with Dylan. "I get that. Have fun."

"You aren't here alone, are you?" Her words sounded more surprised than malicious.

"Yeah, I'm going it alone."

"Wow, that's brave."

"Brave or stupid." I shrugged.

"Can I get you a drink?"

"You're offering to buy me a drink?"

"Well, I did sleep with your ex-boyfriend right after you dumped him-"

"When you put it that way..."

I followed Amanda over to the bar. She leaned over to talk to the cute, young bartender. "She'll have a sex on the beach, and keep them coming."

"Is she twenty-one?"

"Absolutely." Amanda smiled.

I flashed him my fake ID. When Amy first gave it to me, I didn't think I'd use it much. That night, it was completely necessary.

"All right."

"Try to have some fun." She touched my shoulder and disappeared. Maybe it was a bad idea to let the girl who'd slept with my ex-boyfriend buy me drinks, but if I didn't get something to drink, I was going to leave. Where the hell were Cara and Mallory? They were never late.

"Where's your date?" the bartender asked as he set down an orangeish-pink drink.

"Non-existent." I took a sip. It was sweet. I liked it.

"Really? That's kind of hard to believe."

"Is it?" I concentrated on my drink. I was in no mood for small talk.

He laughed. "I like your costume."

"Do you know what I am?"

"Hmm. I might be off base, but it kind of looks like a vampire took a bite out of your neck..."

I smiled. Maybe this bartender wasn't so bad. "Exactly. I'm a vampire's victim."

"That's pretty creative. Too bad you don't have a vampire with you. That would be much cooler." Okay, he lost any points he'd earned.

"Way to rub it in." I finished off my drink. Sweet mixed drinks are so easy to drink fast.

"Sorry, I'm just saying." He actually looked as if he felt bad. "Want another?" He pointed to my empty glass.

"Please." I glanced at my watch. I was giving my friends another ten minutes before I left.

He opened a few beers for people and then brought me my second drink. "Maybe you should spend more than five minutes on this one."

"I'll try."

"Juliet! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry we're late." Cara slid onto the stool next to me. She looked hot in her angel costume.

"What happened to you guys?"

"We got held up at dinner. I tried calling."

"So did I. Is your phone off?" Mallory came around my other side. She was dressed up as a devil. Believe it or not, the angel-devil thing was random.

"I don't know." I pulled it out of my pocket. I had six missed calls.

"I guess I didn't hear it ring."

"Hey, I heard you finally dumped Dipshit." Aaron patted me on the back.

"Yeah, Dylan's history."

"Good for you." Aaron ordered drinks for Cara and himself. Bill did the same for Mallory.

"Are you here alone?" Bill asked.

"Oh my god. If one more person asks me that, I'm going to scream. Wait, I'll do it now." I was already tipsy. I stood up. "I'm here alone and dateless. I'm a loser, okay? There you have it."

"Juliet." Cara touched my arm. "I'm really sorry we're late."

"It's not a big deal. I'm just going to go." I looked at the bartender. "What do I owe?"

"It's on your friend's tab." He picked up my empty glass.

"What friend?" Mallory asked.

"Amanda."

"What?"

"She felt bad for me. Listen, have fun, guys. I'm going to get a cab."

"You should have invited Reed." Aaron said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I kind of did." I said it quietly, but I was sure they heard.

"He said no?" Aaron asked.

"Isn't that obvious? He already had plans."

"Plans?"

"He's at the Sigma crush party."

Aaron got a funny expression on his face. "I'll be right back. Don't leave, Juliet." He touched Cara's shoulder before walking off.

"I'm sorry to ruin everyone's fun, but I've had it."

"No, wait. Let's go dance or something," Cara suggested. I knew she would feel horrible if I left, but I wasn't in the mood to dance. "I'm okay right here." We sat and talked for a few minutes, and Aaron returned.

"What was that about?"

He grinned. "You'll find out in about ten minutes."

I let it go and sat back down on my stool.

"Does that mean you need another drink?" My good friend the bartender was back.

"No, I think I should probably switch to water."

"Here." He slid a bottle of water over to me.

"Thanks."

I was about to yell at my friends to go dance with their dates when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

I turned. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Reed took a pair of plastic fangs out of his mouth. "I heard you were in need of a vampire."

"I thought you had plans. You didn't ditch your date, did you?"

"My work was done. She was only using me to make someone jealous." He took the seat next to me that Mallory had quickly vacated.

"You knew that going in?"

"Of course. I didn't care, and the guy needed a push. She's been waiting for him to make a move for a while now."

"That's kind of noble of you."

"Yeah? Well, that's enough about me. How are you holding up?"

"I kind of suck at this whole independent woman thing."

"No, you don't. You're here, aren't you?"

"If I wasn't worried about upsetting my friends, I'd have already left."

"Want a picture?" Those annoying event photography people came by. Sometimes it was fun to get pictures, but I so wasn't in the mood.

"Yeah, we'd like one." Reed put his fake fangs back in and pulled my neck toward him. The flash went off just as he placed his fangs against my neck. There was something almost intimate about it even though he was goofing around. Part of me wished the fangs weren't in the way. Was I really thinking that about Reed? I certainly didn't need to be.

He released my neck, grinning when it took me a moment to regain my balance on the stool. I was such a lightweight. "Do you like scary movies?"

"Talk about a conversation change."

He stretched out his legs. "There's a Halloween marathon going on at an old theater a few blocks from here. Want to check it out?"

"That actually sounds kind of perfect."

"Do you guys want to catch a Halloween movie marathon?" Reed asked his friends.

"Not a chance." Cara leaned on Aaron. "I hate horror movies."

"If you get scared, you can spend the night with me." He grinned.

"I'll spend the night with you if you don't make me watch one."

"All right. I guess we're staying here."

"What about you guys?" Reed looked at Bill and Mallory.

"I think we're good." Mallory gave me a funny smile.

"I guess it's just us, Oakley."

***

The marathon was at this really old theater downtown. At first, I thought it would be creepy to watch horror movies at an old place, but I was totally wrong. The atmosphere bordered on comical.

"Are these seats okay?" Reed led us to seats in a nearly empty balcony.

"Perfect." I slipped off my jacket.

"Do you always get Twizzlers at the movies?" He sipped his soda.

"Yes. I love them, and popcorn is the worst movie theater food."

"The worst? This I have to hear."

"You can't eat popcorn without getting thirsty, which means drinking a lot, which means going to the bathroom during the best scene of the movie."

He laughed. "All right, because that isn't the weirdest explanation ever."

"You're not a girl. If you have to go, you run to the men's room for two seconds. A woman has to wait ten minutes in line."

He laughed harder, but then he leaned in. "Are you drunk?"

"Maybe. Why?"

"You're funnier than usual. I was wondering if this was a post-Dylan thing, or just a drunk thing."

"Let's not even mention his name."

"Good deal."

The movie started, and I settled in my seat. I liked scary movies, but I definitely got jumpy. Thankfully, Reed was hilarious.

"Don't go back there, idiot," Reed whispered. "If you're ever in a slasher movie, remember not to have sex. As soon as you take your top off, you're toast."

I laughed. "I'll try to remember that."

"Good."

Even though I knew what was coming, I still jumped, grabbing onto Reed's arm as I shrieked. He laughed as he put his arm around me. "Are you going to be able to sleep tonight?"

"Probably...with the lights on."

"There's nothing to worry about. Just don't sleep naked, and you'll be fine. You're not a good victim if you're not naked."

I nudged him. "It's really good I don't sleep naked then."

"I do, but it's the girls they want naked. The slasher would probably run the other way if he saw me naked."

Reed naked. I didn't need to think about that.

"Are you picturing me naked, Juliet?"

"No." Oh my god. Was I really staring that badly?

"I don't mind. Feel free." He looked forward again, keeping his arm around me.

***

Reed dropped me off out front of my dorm. "You all right? You were kind of jumpy the whole way home."

"I'm fine. I'll just put on my most unattractive flannel pajamas."

He laughed. "You do that."

I reached for the latch to open the door.

"Juliet?"

"Yeah."

"Do you have plans tomorrow?"

"I'm newly single, and I don't have anything Delta Mu related until Sunday night, so no plans. Please tell me you don't need me to work."

"It's not work." He smiled. "Have you ever played paintball?"

"Paintball? Nope. My brother Brandon did it a lot, but he wouldn't let me come with him. He said it was too dangerous."

"Dangerous? It's not exactly hand-to-hand combat."

"He's my brother." I said it like it explained everything.

"Want to try? I usually play with some guys once a month, and we're down a man."

"I'm not a man."

"No, you definitely aren't." He smirked. "But you shoot like one. What do you say?"

"What time?"

"I'll come get you at ten?"

"Sounds good." I started to get out again but stopped. "Thanks for a fun night."

"Same to you. We'll have to make that a Halloween tradition."

I liked the thought of having a tradition with Reed.

I got out of the car and headed up to my room. I used my key to push open the door, and then I took a step back.

"What the hell are you doing in here?"

Dylan was lying down on my bed. "Hello to you, too. I was just making sure you came home tonight."

"Whether I did or not isn't your business. Just like it wasn't my business when you fucked Amanda last night."

"I thought you hated that word." His shirt was partly unbuttoned, revealing a good portion of his chest. I was positive it was intentional.

"I do. Look, Dylan. I'm exhausted. Just get out. How'd you get in anyway?"

"Tally let me in. She's really understanding."

"Did she let you fuck her too?" I crossed my arms. Tally had been rude since finding out we'd broken up. With everything going on, I didn't appreciate it.

"That's not nice, Juliet."

"To her, or you?"

"Either. Come on, baby, this is just stupid."

"Don't call me baby. Let's go. Move it out of here."

"You're too proud to admit you overreacted."

"That's definitely not true."

"Do you want me to beg? Is that it?" He sat up, and I had no doubt he'd drop to his knees if I asked him to. He walked toward where I stood in the doorway.

"No! I don't want you to beg. I want you out of my room."

I used his momentary surprise to push him out of the room. I slammed the door and locked it. He banged on the door. "Juliet! Come on, we need to talk."

I didn't even bother to listen. I put on my headphones and found the perfect song: Beyoncé's Independent Women. On impulse, just as I was about to fall asleep, I texted Reed.

Do you really sleep naked?

LOL Still thinking about me naked, Juliet?

I'm just worried a female slasher might get you.

I appreciate the concern. I'll be sure to lock my door. You do the same.

I already did. Dylan's on the other side of it.

Do you need me to come over there?

Nope. It's under control.

You sure?

Positive.

See you in the morning, Oakley.

If you make it.

I will. I'm not missing the chance to take you paint balling.