Halloween Night, He Mistook My Death for a Prank Chapter 01

Twenty minutes before the Halloween Showcase, my boyfriend’s childhood friend said she needed to shoot an additional promo clip of me.

“Don’t open your eyes. I’m gonna blow the whole school away.”

Sienna covered my eyes and led me to center stage.

I’d barely bent down, resting my chin on the cold wooden frame, when I heard a sharp crack above me.

A sharp, stinging pain exploded at the back of my neck.

I opened my eyes and realized I was trapped in a guillotine.

The latch on the prop blade Sienna borrowed had failed—the blade was already sliced into my neck.

I twitched in agony, desperately reaching up for help.

Instead, the crowd burst into laughter.

Sienna held up her phone, thrilled. “The effect is so real! Hold it ten more seconds!”

Nolan walked over in his Grim Reaper cloak and took my trembling hand.

“Don’t be scared. She’s been planning this for weeks.”

“Just go with it once. Don’t let her down.”

Then he pulled the stage curtain shut, hiding my swaying head.

A few minutes later, the auditorium filled with students dressed as ghosts and monsters.

Jack-o’-lanterns flickered on. The cheers were deafening.

The host raised the mic. “Welcome to tonight’s Halloween party!”

My spirit drifted slowly to the front of the stage.

No.

It was my corpse’s party.

……

Fifteen minutes before the opening performance.

When Nolan pulled the curtain back, I was still slumped over the guillotine.

My black-and-red gown was soaked through with blood. The rigid costume collar and lace veil covered the wound. The ruptured fake blood packet made it all look like a meticulously designed practical effect.

Sienna crouched beside me, editing the video, her shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Nolan, look! Those twitches she did—that’s gonna go viral for sure!”

Nolan didn’t look at the phone.

He bent down and placed my dangling hand back on my knee. Then his fingertips paused.

“Why is her hand so cold?”

I panicked, floating right in front of his face, pointing at my neck wrapped in layers of black lace.

Nolan, please look here!

If you just looked carefully one more time, you’d see I’m not breathing.

But my body was still trapped in the wooden stock. A ring of black rigid collar propped up my jaw, making it look like I was just sulking with my head down.

Sienna didn’t even look up.

“Her hands were all clammy earlier. Probably just scared.”

“Avery’s so skittish.”

Nolan took off his Grim Reaper cloak and draped it over my shoulders. The black velvet covered the large patches of blood that had already darkened.

“Avery, we’re done filming. You can get up now.”

No response.

He reached out to touch my shoulder.

The blade in the wooden frame shifted.

My head tilted to the right, and the collar let out a faint tearing sound.

Nolan immediately caught my face.

“Still mad?” There was a helpless tenderness in his voice. “You don’t like the video? I’ll have Sienna delete it after the show.”

Sienna’s head snapped up.

“Why delete it? I pulled three all-nighters coming up with this concept!”

Nolan was silent for a moment. Then he said to me, “Then we won’t put your name on it. Happy?”

I stared at his face, so close to mine, and suddenly the blade in my neck didn’t hurt so much anymore.

He was always like this—

First he’d feel bad for me. Then he’d keep whatever Sienna wanted.

Freshman year, Sienna borrowed my camera for a competition and broke the lens.

Nolan drove me all over town to buy a new one.

But when I asked Sienna to apologize, he just ruffled my hair and coaxed, “She didn’t mean it.”

Then it was my design drafts. Then club spots. Then our anniversary.

Sienna never meant it.

Every single time, I was the one who had to let it slide.

Nolan adjusted my veil. The black lace fell, covering my nearly severed neck.

“Fifteen minutes. Calm down first. I’ll come get you after.”

He led Sienna out through the curtain.

Before leaving, Sienna glanced back at me. Her eyes suddenly went red.

“Avery, you’re not actually mad, are you? I just wanted tonight to be more fun.”

Nolan’s voice came cold.

“She wants to throw a fit? Let her.”

“I’d like to see how long she plans to keep this up.”

The curtain closed again.

But Sienna’s phone was left by the guillotine.

The screen was still on.

In the video, my body was convulsing wildly.

And Nolan’s hand was patting, again and again, the blade buried in my neck.