{Trick or Treat, Freak, Part II}

A/N [from 2019] A long one today, boys and ghouls! Read to the end for an author's note.

"Be honest with me—how stupid do I look?"

"Not any stupider than usual, Al."

"Haha. Very funny."

Maria, Alice, and Robin stood in front of a floor-length mirror at the Henderson house. They admired their costumes: Princess Leia, a shark-attacked lifeguard, and Melanie Daniels from Hitchcock's The Birds.

"We look good!" Maria said, admiring her space buns and resting her blaster on her hip. "I'm actually kind of looking forward to the party."

"Really?" Robin asked, adjusting the bird clipped to her dress sleeve. "I'm not."

"It'll be okay," Alice, said, tucking a stray blonde hair under a visor emblazoned with a red cross. "We're only staying for an hour. We go in, dance for a while, and leave."

"Where did you get this fanny pack, and the lifeguard windbreaker?" Robin asked, gesturing to the red bag clipped to Alice's hip.

"Heather's mom and my mom are friends from work," Alice explained. "She's been a lifeguard at the Hawkins Pool since freshman year and let me borrow it."

"Does she know she covered your jacket in fake blood?" Maria asked with a snicker.

Alice batted her eyelashes innocently.

"Who said the blood was fake?" she said sweetly.

Robin and Maria laughed, then shared a tense look.

"You're kidding, right?" Maria asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alice threw her hands in the air.

"Geez!" she said. "Yes, I'm kidding!"

"Just making sure," Maria said, raising her arms in surrender. "We ready to head out?"

Alice and Robin nodded, shouldering their backpacks filled with candy for the movie night.

"Let's rock and roll, ghouls," Alice said.

👻 👻 👻

Standing in Tina's living room while everyone else was getting "sheet faced" made Alice regret every decision she had made up until that point.

First of all, Samuel flaked on the shark costume, so now Alice really was just a bloody, half-dead lifeguard. He had chosen to go as the Fonz, wearing a leather jacket with his hair styled in a '50s coif.

Secondly, all of Alice's friends were drinking like it was the end of the world. Even Robin, who had been so keen on not attending the party, was drinking and giggling more than usual.

At the insistence of her friends, Alice tried the punch. She took one sip and spit it back into her cup.

"What is this?!" Alice demanded. "Gasoline?"

"Issa drink," Samuel slurred, leaning closer with his garbage, fake-fruity smelling breath.

"Get away from me!" Alice snapped, shoving him away. "You stink."

"No, you do," he murmured.

Quincy—a little drunk, but significantly less than Samuel—took Alice's cup.

"You don't have to drink if you don't want to," he said, "but at least dance! Don't waste the night away moping!"

He grabbed her hand and lead her to the dance floor, dancing with her for a bit but abandoning her when he noticed Tina bring out a platter of mini corndogs.

"Shit," Quincy said. "I need some of those. Be back soon."

"Wait!" Alice shouted. "Don't leave me on the dance floor!"

Too late. He was gone.

Alice glanced around the room, heart clenching. Samuel was cheering new kid Billy on at a keg stand, Quincy and Robin were shoveling snacks in their mouths, and Maria was flirting with Pete, a sophomore in the drama club who happened to dress as Han Solo.

Steve and Nancy were also on the dance floor, but all the way across the room. They were dancing close, and Al knew she'd be third-wheeling if she hung out with them.

Alice was all alone.

White-hot anger flared up in her chest. Alice was all of a sudden furious. Furious at her friends for dragging her to a stupid party, furious at Samuel for letting her down—again, and furious at herself for being furious.

What is wrong with me? Alice thought bitterly. I'm a teenager, at a wild party, and I'm not having fun.

The anger let way for an enveloping sadness and a sense of overwhelming dread. There were too many people at this damn party, and Alice felt like she couldn't breathe.

Alice's heart rate quickened when she realized just how hot she felt. Tina's house felt like the Mojave Desert in mid-July.

She pushed through the crowd, not realizing she was zapping everyone within two feet with her powers. People yelped at the sudden contact, glancing at Alice and muttering about "Damn static electricity" and mentally cursing her shock-inducing polyester windbreaker.

Alice didn't stop until she was outside—free of the crowd, free of the dread, but not free of the heat. She rolled up the sleeves of Heather's jacket and fanned herself, wishing Tina was serving anything but that shitty punch.

She hesitated before sitting on the edge of Tina's porch. She then unzipped her backpack and pulled out her walkie-talkie. She assumed Dustin was still mad at her for snapping at him earlier, but she took a chance and tuned it to Channel 6.

"Dustin?" she said. "Do you copy?"

Nothing but static.

"Dustin," Alice repeated. "This is a Code Red. I repeat, a Code Red. I'm having a terrible time."

More static.

"Do you copy, Dusty?" she said. "I know you're probably pissed at me for being a bitch—"

"You're not a bitch. And yes, I copy."

Alice grinned.

"Dusty!" she said. "You picked up!"

"Yeah, yeah. Don't call me Dusty, or I'm leaving."

"Sorry, sorry. How's trick-or-treating?"

Alice could hear the smile on Dustin's face.

"It's totally tubular," he said. "Max, Lucas, and I are getting king-sized candy from rich schmucks. It's awesome."

Alice tilted her head.

"Totally tubular?" she asked. "Why do you talk like a beach bum now? Also, who's Max?"

"She's new, just moved here from California."

Alice put two and two together.

"She's Billy's sister!" Alice said.

"Step-sister. He's a shithead, and she doesn't claim him."

"Oh, I wouldn't either."

The two of them laughed, Alice instantly thankful that she lucked out in the brother department.

Talking to Dustin alleviated some of Alice's stress. She was about to dive deep, apologizing for how she'd been acting lately—angry, erratic, explosive—but she heard Lucas say, "Dustin, that house is giving out money!"

"You're kidding?! Al, I've got to go. See you at home?"

"Yeah," Alice said flatly. "Sure."

Dustin paused, before saying, "Is something wrong? Did something happen at the party?"

"I'm just having a bad time, that's all," Alice admitted, suddenly feeling embarrassed for bringing down Dustin's good mood. "I can't seem to enjoy anything anymore."

Static filled the silence. Alice heard muffled talking, and heard Dustin say, "Take my pillowcase and get me something, okay?"

Her brother, voice suddenly clear as a bell through the walkie-talkie, said, "Alice, is something wrong with you?"

Alice rolled her eyes.

"Way to be delicate, Dusty," she said.

"No, I mean, seriously!" Dustin said. "Mike said something kind of shitty today, but I'm wondering if he was onto something...he said he was wondering if your powers were, like—corrupting you, from the inside out. Do you think...do you think he's right?"

Alice bit her lip and thought about the past couple of months. Sure, it did seem like her bad mood swings started a few weeks after the Demogorgon and her coma, the time when her powers kicked into high gear. Maybe they were connected...

Before she could respond, someone flew down the patio steps and tripped over Alice's open backpack, spilling candy everywhere.

"Shit!" Alice said. "Dusty, I've got to go. We'll talk later."

She turned off her walkie-talkie and closed the antennae, rushing over to help up—Steve?!

"Steve?" she said. "Are you okay?"

Mr. Good Hair himself hadn't moved from his position on the ground. He laid face-down, surrounded by fun-size candy bars.

"Leave me here to die, Al," he said, voice muffled against the ground. "My day can't get any worse."

"I'm not going to leave you here," Alice scoffed. "I have to help you up and then kick your ass for squishing my candy."

Steve barked out a hollow laugh, and then sheepishly stood. He helped Alice collect her candy, avoiding her gaze.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "You look...different."

"Different?! Different how?"

Alice eyed his sunken-in, puffy eyes and his flushed cheeks. Her own problems flew out of her mind—all she could think about now was what happened to Steve.

"You look like a wounded animal," Alice said, wondering if a signature Alice Henderson jab would cheer him up. "Cute, but pathetic."

Steve grimaced.

"That's me. 'Cute but pathetic' is my middle name."

The two of them chuckled.

"Seriously, though," Alice said, "I'm here if you need me."

Steve eyed his friend, wanting to blurt out everything that happened and admit his heartache. He knew she and Nancy were close, however. If he told her what Nance said, Alice could take her side.

"Nancy and I got into a fight," Steve admitted. "It's no big deal."

Before Alice could respond, Quincy, Maria, and Robin stumbled down the patio steps, tipsy but happy.

"Well, well, well," Robin slurred. "If it isn't Steve 'The Hair' Harrington."

"Hi, Steve," Quincy and Maria chorused.

"Hi, guys," Steve said. He and Alice stood. "Having fun?"

"Yeah," Quincy said, "but it's movie time. I'm thinking we start with a Hitchcock classic in honor of Robin's costume and then move into monster horror."

"We were worried about you, Alice," Maria said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You good?"

"Yeah," Alice said. "I'm good, now. Just needed some air. I'm glad you're ready to go, though. Where's Samuel?"

"Trying a keg stand," Robin said, making a face. "I think he's going to drown."

"He's acting really shitty," Quincy said, glowering. "I told him it was time to go for movies, but he didn't want to go even though it was his idea to leave early. Then he got mad and said I was cramping his style."

Alice noticed how Steve hung back from their group a bit. He dragged his toe through the leaves, looking a bit lost.

"Well," Alice said, "that means we've got room for one more on your couch."

"It appears so," Quincy said, tossing her his car keys.

"Steve?" Alice asked, playfully bumping his shoulder. "What do you say?"

Steve squinted.

"What do I say to what?"

Maria and Robin groaned.

"If you're going to continue to hang out with us," Robin said, "you need to work on your comprehension skills."

"We're asking if you want to watch Halloween movies with us," Alice explained. "We do it at Quincy's house every year. You in?"

"Oh!" Steve said, blushing. "Um, sure. That'd be great."

"Perfect!" Alice said, glad Steve's troubles (and her own) could be temporarily forgotten. "Let's get spooked."

{Edited July 10, 2020; Republished December 14, 2024}

A/N [from 2019] This story has 3,000 reads! I'm literally so tickled pink. I never thought anyone would like my writing this much and I'm crying in the club, thank you all! Every day I get a new vote, comment, or follow, I can't stop smiling. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! 

:))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

GOODNIGHT AND TY AGAIN!!!

July 2020 Update: I'm loving rereading this story while I edit! Reading my old author's notes is funny too. I was so amped to get 3k reads and now I'm almost at 100k! It's crazy y'all.

December 2024 Update: Past me would have a heart attack if I realized how many reads this story has now :)