Chapter 1
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“It’ll be an awesome party, Gabe, come on!” Fiona tugged on his arm. 

“But it’s at a sorority, Fi, I’d be the only guy there!”

“You wouldn’t, I promise! Most of the girls are inviting their boyfriends, and there’s always some frat guys that turn up at a sorority party.”

“Alright, alright, I give, I’ll go.” He sighed, then added with a coy grin: “you’re lucky I love you.”

“Sure am,” she giggled. “Oh, but just one other thing. It’s a costume party, so make sure you get something that matches. I’m going as a fox!”

“You’re already a fox,” he teased, pulling her into his lap.

Fiona blushed, and let herself be pulled into a kiss. 

“Seriously though, don’t put it off to the last minute or all the good costumes will be gone,” she said between kisses.

“I won’t, babe. Promise.”

=====

He stood in the aisle at the third costume store of the day, staring at the only selection left on the rack.

“Seriously, how can there be NOTHING left in this town? It’s a freaking college town on Halloween, why are there NO costumes?” Gabriel lamented. 

“Think you just answered your own question, my dude,” Evan said, scrolling through Tumblr on his phone.

“Fi’s gonna kill me if I show up in this, though…” he held up the big bulky latex lizard costume. “I don’t even know what it’s supposed to be.”

“I think it’s Godzilla,” he said, looking it over. 

“The tag says “Big Nuclear Lizard”... are costume companies even trying?”

“Not really. You gonna try it on?”

“No time. I gotta get home and get ready. If I’m late, Fiona’ll kill me.”

He rushed to pay for the costume, glaring at the register when the price came up. It was way too much, he thought, for a one night costume.

=====

“Are you kidding me, Gabe?” Fiona asked, hands on her hips. She had decked herself out in a skimpy outfit that basically only covered the essentials, and paired it with a fluffy fox tail and fox-ear headband. Her face was painted up to have little whiskers and dark eyeliner to make her look a bit foxier.

Gabriel shrugged as best as the latex lizard suit would let him. It was bulky and hard to move in, and the tail dragged everywhere behind him, knocking into things. “It was all they had at the store.”

“You waited until the last minute, didn’t you? I told you, Gabe!”

“I know, I’m sorry babe, I was just so busy…”

“Sure you were, Gabe… well, great, now I look cute and you look like a bad 60s movie prop. Whatever, maybe I just won’t tell people who you are so I don’t have to be embarrassed by my boyfriend.”

“Ouch,” he groaned. “I could just go home if you’re that upset.”

“Oh, no, you’re going in there and you’re going to be as awkward and humiliated as you deserve to be for that goofy costume, Gabe… or you’re cut off for a month.”

“Shit, that’s not fair Fi!”

She folded her arms and cocked a hip, indicating she would brook no further arguments.

“Fine… but I will remember this next time I ask for a bedroom favor.”

“You don’t get to stash bedroom favors for this one, Gabe. Now waddle your dinosaur ass in there and mingle.” She pointed aggressively to the main entrance to the already thrumming with energy sorority house. 

“Fuck,” he mumbled, pulling up the head of the costume and beginning his slow, steady march towards the party, like a Big Nuclear Lizard towards the Tokyo industrial center.

=====

The music was pounding already, and Gabe was glad that the thick costume helped dampen it. Unfortunately, it was also crazy hot inside this thing, and he was burning up. The press of bodies all around didn’t help matters either, and more than once he got trapped because someone stood on his tail.

“Cool costume,” he heard someone shout nearby. Turning towards what he thought was the source, he saw a frat guy dressed like some kind of LARP thief character.

“Thanks,” he said, opening the mouth of the costume so he could be heard. “What’re you dressed up as?”

“Oh, me? I’m the Dessert Thief. I’m just here to snag the party snacks.”

Gabe couldn’t help but laugh. “Sounds like a good time. Probably what I should do too. My girlfriend ditched me to hang with her sorority sisters.”

“Sorry to hear that,” the thief said.

“Eh, shit happens. Name’s Gabriel, you?”

“Just call me El,” he said, offering a hand.

Gabriel took it and slowly tried to shake it, but the articulation on the costume arms was lacking.

“You look like you’re dying in there, you want me to grab you a water?”

“Please, God, I’m burning alive in this thing,” Gabe gasped.

“Alright. Hang out here, I’ll be right back.”

=====

Esmae carefully placed the last ritual component in the circle, and moved to light the incense. Years of preparation had gone into this spell, and now she was ready. She could finally twist reality and get everything she had ever wanted. Beauty, fortune, power.

She began incanting her spell, weaving magic into the words and infusing the glyphs around her.

Suddenly, the thundering bass from the sorority house down the block broke her concentration, and she slipped up in her wording. The spell began to unravel.

‘No! Curses!’ she thought. ‘Wait, curses…’ She bitterly thought, if she couldn’t have her wish, she could at least salvage the spell into a curse. ‘If those bratty sorority bitches want to dress up like sluts and have moronic parties, so be it!’

She unleashed the potent curse, the torrent of magical energy surging forward from the spell, focused on the sorority house. Unfortunately, she was caught in the initial blast.

She felt her robes begin to tighten and shrink, covering less skin, skin that was regaining its lost lustre of youth as she began to fill out, taking on the costume party ideal for a sexy witch.

She cursed angrily as she took in the changes, but as she realized just how generous the magic had been, she calmed a bit. “Well,” she mumbled, “It’s not exactly what I wanted, but it’s a start.”

==========

“I can’t believe he had the balls to wear something so stupid and bulky like that stupid costume,” Lizzy said, rolling her eyes and twirling the tail of her cat costume, similarly skimpy to Fiona’s fox costume.

“I know, right?” Fiona agreed, taking a drink from her red plastic cup.

“At least you can find him anywhere in the party,” Chloe joked, her bunny ear headband wiggling as she laughed.

“Hey ladies,” Seth said, approaching the gathering. He was dressed as a male rabbit, and he swept in to give his girlfriend a kiss.

“Get a room,” Lizzy joked as Chloe sank into his arms.

“Why don’t we get one first?” Mark asked, sweeping Lizzy up from behind.

“Mark!” she squeaked, “You scared me!”

“Sorry, my little kitten,” he laughed, squeezing her gently.

Feeling like the third wheel without her stupid dinosaur boyfriend, Fiona slipped away to find someone else to talk to at the party.

She passed by a few groups of girls she recognized, and some she didn’t. Emilia seemed to be enjoying herself talking to Christine by the punchbowl, the pair both dressed as cheerleaders. She tossed a quick wave in their direction, though they didn’t seem to notice.

She brushed past one of her sorority sisters, Laura, wearing pointy fake ears and a regal-looking gown. She tried to compliment her outfit, but couldn’t quite get the words out before she was gone.

“You look so cute,” a latina girl in a costume that seemed to be a mix of a cat tail, rabbit ears, and a magical girl outfit said as she passed.

“Thanks,” she smiled. “You too!”

“Thanks!” the girl beamed, before slipping away to meet up with some of her friends. Fiona swore they all looked a little young to be at a party like this, but maybe it was just the whole magical girl costume vibe they all had going, though one of them seemed distinctly unhappy to be dressed up as such.

==========

“Here you go,” El said, holding out a bottle of water towards Gabriel.

“Thanks,” he reached out to grab it with his latex-foam encrusted arm, barely able to grip it and pour some into his mouth. It was cool, immediate relief. “I should probably find my girlfriend. Thanks for the drink.”

“No problem, let me know if you see any desserts in need of stealing,” he chuckled, waving casually and drifting off into the party.

He turned and started searching the crowd for Fiona’s fox ears amidst the sea of other costumed guests. He’d just caught sight of them and started shuffling towards her when a shockwave ripped through the party.

He stumbled, fell forward into the press of bodies around him, and tried to steady himself as the world seemed to spin at a thousand RPM around him.

He felt like he was going to be sick. Nope, not feeling like, he was going to be sick. He lurched over towards the nearest receptacle - a potted plant, it turned out, and hurled. Immediately the plant began to wither, and… was his vomit… smoking?

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