Ben woke up, feeling more tired than he had the night before while falling asleep. Not that that was a concerning feeling for him, he felt that way a couple times a week. He was used to it. He had, however, also gone through a bit of an unsettling experience the night before. He’d been heading back to his dorm room at about 10 p.m. He wasn’t usually out that late, so he was somewhat on edge. He was walking alone, nearly no one else was anywhere near him. Despite that, he felt like he was being watched. He looked around, trying to find some glimpse of someone, but saw only a raven perched above. He hurried back to his room, quicker than even his usual brisk pace. Even as he tried to fall asleep, he felt as if he were being watched. It took him nearly an hour to fall asleep.

With a small groan Ben pushed himself out of bed, lazily trying to rub the sleepiness out of his eyes. He tried to hold in a yawn, not wanting to make any noise and wake his roommate. Not that his roommate would have been outraged over being woken. Ben was simply the kind of person to tiptoe around people.

As quickly and quietly as he could he got dressed, he always was wary of other people seeing him in any state of undress. He stealthily left his dorm room; glad he didn’t wake his roommate. Said roommate, Nick, wasn’t a bad guy per say. Ben just got major “dude-bro” vibes from him. One too many casual sexist comments and weird political opinions had made Ben not want to spend to much time around Nick. Usually this wasn’t too difficult, Nick was outgoing and didn’t tend to spend too much time in their shared room. He did return sometimes, to sleep or grab clothes, during which times Ben always felt awkward. He felt uncomfortable around most people.

Ben grabbed his backpack and left, eager to get to class and make his way through the day. The one thing that was boosting his spirits was the fact that it was Halloween. Despite the fact that he hadn’t participated in the holiday in years it was still one of his favorites. He loved the candy and the costumes and the horror. Mostly the costumes. Something about choosing who you want to be, even for just one night, had always appealed to him.

He made his way across the campus, hood up and eyes down. Ben didn’t need to do this, most people wouldn’t pay attention to him anyways, the hood probably got him more attention than he would’ve gotten if he’d left it down. Nevertheless, he had it up, hoping to hide his face. Like a phantom he quietly made his way to his first class, an introductory art class. He wanted to be an animator of some kind, and thus was majoring in animation. Not that he thought he was particularly good at it in any sense.

He got to class and immediately made his way to the back of the class room. He always felt less anxious being in the back of the room. He pulled out his sketchbook, it always helped him to relax and this was one of the few classes he wouldn’t be reprimanded in for having it out. He drew sketches of random things, his classmates, random doodles that came to mind, animals, fantasy creatures.

His class passed by quickly, as those things that one enjoys usually do. He got out of class and immediately headed in the direction of his dorm room. As he was walking, he passed by his school’s gym. He stopped for a moment, thinking about entering. He wanted to start exercising, yet was always hesitant to start doing so. He didn’t want to look like a “gym bro” even if he wanted to look better and stay in shape. As always Ben decided against going in, instead veering back towards his dorm.

He walked back to his room in relatively high spirits. The colors of the leaves in autumn lightened his mood somewhat. His steps felt a tiny bit lighter as he let himself be enraptured by the warm colors. He was so captivated by the leaves that he failed to notice as he walked into a girl. He stumbled back and looked at her with horror.

“I’m so sorry!” Ben blurted out as he started running back to his room. The girl simply looked at him with a curious expression.

He made it back to his room with ragged breath, his heart racing like a rabbit running from a fox. He let himself fall into his chair; his face red enough to light up the room. He put his head in his hands, letting out a soft groan.

“God, I hate having to interact with people” Ben thought to himself. He felt so awkward around others. As he wallowed in self pity the door to his room opened, revealing his roommate. Nick walked in with a wave of confidence, eliciting a pang of jealousy inside Ben.

“Dude, watchya doing?” Nick asked.

“Uh, just sitting around. What do you need?” Ben said.

“Listen dude, it’s making me sad looking at ya like that. Why don’t you come with me to the party tonight?”

“What party?”

“Emma’s Halloween party dude!”

“Nick, I have no idea who Emma is.”

“Emma from Bio. 101?!”

“No idea who that is, I’m not in Bio. 101. Besides, I’m not really the party kind of person.”

“Bull, man. Everyone’s a party person. Ya just have to go to one where ya vibe with the people there.”

“I don’t know Nick….”

“There’ll be free beer there.”

“I don’t drink.”

“Umm, free candy maybe? It is a Halloween party.”

“…. Okay, I guess I’ll go….”

“Great! I promise you dude, you’re gonna love it!”

Nick let a contented smile consume his face, grinning madly as he left the room. Ben let out a groan, flopping back onto the bed. He wasn’t able to figure out Nick. Was he just a dumb dude-bro who just wanted someone to come with him or did he actually care about Ben? He didn’t know, but he wanted to believe that Nick was trying to be nice to him.

Ben really didn’t want to go to the party. He’d never been to one, and based on everything he’d seen or heard about them they sounded like hell to him. Still, he was lonely, and figured maybe there was a one in a million chance that he might have a good time there. He could go, hang out for five, maybe ten minutes, and then leave if he so wished.

With well-seasoned grogginess Ben fumbled off his chair, letting gravity carry him towards his dresser. He looked through the drawers filled clothes he had no desire to ware or be seen in. Why did men’s fashion have to be so drab? Ben supposed that they at least helped to keep him from being noticed. Sourly he picked out his usual hoodie and jeans combination that he wore everywhere. He put the outfit off to the side as he made his way to the men’s room.

As quickly as he could he got into the shower, hoping to avoid having anyone see him unclothed. He always felt deeply uncomfortable having other people see him in any state of undress, thus his almost permanent combo of hoodie plus jeans, even in the heat of summer. Despite enjoying the warm water, he rushed through his shower, desperate to return to the comfort of coverings. He quickly made his way back to his dorm room, thankfully roommate free for the moment, and slipped into his default clothes. Ben knew that it was a Halloween party he was going to, but he didn’t want to dress up. It would have made him feel self-conscious, which was why he hadn’t dressed up in years, despite his love for Halloween.

Ben spent a few hours working his way through his backlog of games, trying to distract himself. He debated simply going to bed early to try and avoid the party. He decided to just go, he figured it had been too long since he’d socialized. As he was finishing up his Animal Crossing session Nick walked in, clothed in a Superman costume. He’d even done his hair up to impersonate the famous superhero.

“Ready to go dude?” Nick asked with a lopsided smile.

“Yeah….” Ben said quietly.

“Don’t worry dude, I’m sure you’ll have a good time.” Nick said, putting his hand on Ben’s back. Ben had to hold back a shiver. He didn’t want other people touching him. He didn’t say anything, simply trying to stand still. He didn’t even know why it bothered him so much, it just did.

The two strolled out of their dorm towards the Uber Nick had called. The party was being held at a frat house off campus. According to Nick, Emma was the girlfriend of one of the guys residing in said frat house. Not that Ben really cared about the deep lore of the party hosts, but he listened intently to Nick anyways.

The two rode in the car for about ten minutes, though it felt longer. Ben was okay sitting in silence for a few minutes, but he could tell that Nick did not feel the same. Ben was unused to seeing his roommate look so uncomfortable. Usually Nick emitted confidence like a heater, bathing everyone around him in it. Now he was fidgeting nervously, displaying all the confidence of a kid at the dentist’s office. Unsure of himself, Ben reached over and took Nick’s hand in his, shining a half smile his way. Nick looked somewhat surprised, but seemed to be somewhat calmer. He returned the smile as the car pulled up to the house.

The frat house was not dilapidated, but was in desperate need of repair. Paint was peeling off the sides of the house, the roof was missing some shingles, and the wood of the porch appeared to be rotting. Despite all that the house appeared lively, colors and lights and sounds pouring out in waves that washed over Ben and Nick. The two stepped out of the Uber and headed towards the house, hands still interlocked, though neither seemed to realize this. As they arrived at the front door, they simultaneously realized that their hands were still intertwined, breaking contact as their faces reddened like fresh tomatoes. Choosing to ignore what had just transpired, Nick rang the doorbell, deliberately not looking into Ben’s eyes as he did.

The door opened, revealing a pretty conventionally attractive girl, skinny with blond hair.

“Nick! I’m glad you could make it!” She said excitedly.

“Hey Emma, glad to see ya dude.” He said with his usual smile.

“Who’s your friend?” She asked, tilting her head towards Ben.

“His name’s Ben. He’s my roommate.” Nick replied.

“Hi, nice to meet you….” Ben said quietly.

“Nice to meet you too,” Emma replied, “and welcome to the party! Come on in.”

In contrast to the dour exterior of the house the inside was rather cozy. Well, as cozy as a frat house in the middle of a party could be. It was at least warm and well lit, which was all Ben and Nick really wanted after being in the chilly October air. The party already seemed to be well underway, with the living room almost completely filled with people. A few in the middle were dancing to some unremarkable techno music, while the outside stragglers spoke in small groups or nursed their drinks. Ben and Nick stood in the doorway, looking in on the party. Ben was feeling rather trepidatious, he felt like a bleeding fish swimming in open waters. He looked over at Nick, seeing a face filled with a similar nervousness. Ben would not have expected Nick to be uncomfortable at a party, he thought Nick would be at home here. After a moment of pause, Nick forced his face into one mimicking joy, and made his way inward.

With confusion plastered on his face Ben followed Nick, not really sure what else to do. Nick seemed to be making his way into the kitchen, presumably in pursuit of booze. The kitchen was less populated than the living room, though not by much. Some people had stayed behind to hover near the free source of alcohol. Nick grabbed two cans of some cheap beer, handing one over to Ben. As Nick was opening his can he got a text. Looking at it, the small smile that he’d worn morphed into a sullen frown.

“Drink up dude, this is, fuck.” Said Nick with a grimace.

Ben carefully took the drink. “Are you doing okay, Nick?” Ben asked.

“Yeah just, shit, dude, I don’t want to deal with this right now. I’m gonna go….” Nick said as he dragged himself into the living room.

With a perplexed expression Ben took a sip of some of his drink, nearly spitting it back out. It tasted like someone had spit into a cup of gasoline, but Ben managed to choke it down. He hoped Nick was okay. Ben lingered in the kitchen, taking comfort in the less populated area. He set down his beer with no intent of picking it back up, he figured someone else could drink it if they wanted. He wandered into the living room, trying and failing to find Nick. He moved over to the wall, wanting to stay away from the crowd.

Emma strolled over to Ben, shouting “not your scene?” over the music.

“Not really. Honestly, I’d rather be back in my dorm room right now. I’ve never been to a party before, and so far, I’m not a fan,” he said back.

“Come with me, I have something that might interest you.” Emma said, beckoning Ben to follow her. He was somewhat curious, so he followed Emma up the stairs and towards one of the bedrooms. He was also grateful to be getting away from the crowd. As he was walking up the stairs, he saw Nick being led by the hand into one of the other rooms. He hoped that Nick was getting cheered up by whoever that was.

Emma led Ben into a bedroom.

“Come over here, I found this weird looking thing” Emma said. As Ben walked over to where Emma was, she moved out of the way for him, grabbing a book as she did.

“Is this what you wanted to-” Ben said as Emma brought the book down on his head. He fell onto the bed, his head ringing.

“I’m sorry for what’s about to happen,” Emma said as she opened the window. Through it entered a rather nondescript looking man. If someone had googled “average white guy” this man’s picture would show up. The one aspect of his visage that stood out were the sharp fangs that were sticking out of his lips. As Ben lay moaning on the bed the man leapt, landing on top of Ben. The man drove his fangs into Ben’s neck, causing him to let out a pained gasp. The pain was brief, being almost immediately replaced by the pleasure that overwhelmed his entire being. The strange man greedily sucked out the rest of Ben’s blood. It was in that moment, as Ben’s heart beat for the final time, that gunshots rang out below.