Halloween Night, He Mistook My Death for a Prank Chapter 02

Ten minutes to showtime.

When Sienna came back for her phone, the video already had hundreds of comments.

[This makeup is insane, the blood looks so real]

[That twitching part is absolutely unreal!]

[If this doesn’t win Best Costume tonight, I’m rioting]

Sienna liked every single one, a satisfied smile plastered across her face.

She crouched in front of me and poked my arm.

“Still faking? See? Thanks to me, everyone’s praising you.”

I wanted to tell her I couldn’t be mad anymore.

I was just dead.

But she couldn’t hear me.

When I didn’t respond, Sienna simply opened Instagram Live and squatted beside me.

“Avery’s not feeling well, so I’ll be hosting the opening tonight.”

Then she tilted her head toward me.

“Right, Avery?”

Her palm landed on top of my head and pushed it down twice.

My chin slammed against the wooden frame.

The blade lodged in my neck sank deeper, and the last bit of connected flesh tore apart.

I lunged for her hand, my voice nearly breaking.

“Stop! My head’s about to fall off!”

But Sienna just looked at me in the camera, satisfied.

“See, she nodded. It’s settled.”

The curtain was yanked open.

Nolan pulled off his Grim Reaper mask, his gaze cutting past Sienna and landing straight on me.

“Avery, you actually gave her your hosting spot?”

I didn’t respond.

He let out a cold laugh.

“Avery Bennett, how long are you going to keep this up?”

“This is Sienna’s Halloween Showcase. The whole school will be here. There are tens of thousands of people in the livestream. Do you have to ruin everything to be happy?”

Sienna quickly stepped between us.

“Nolan, don’t blame her. She just hates me.”

“I’ll go tell everyone right now that I stole her spot. I just hope she won’t gamble with her own body…”

Her voice trailed off, her eyes welling up.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

Nolan stopped her and turned to me.

“Happy now? You have to see her cry to feel good?”

“Get up, Avery. Apologize to her.”

I stared at him, dazed.

So even death felt cold.

Not my body. My chest felt hollow, wind blowing through the hole again and again.

I was already dead, and he still wanted me to apologize to the person who killed me.

When I didn’t move, Nolan’s patience snapped.

He grabbed my wrist and lifted my arm.

“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me.”

When he let go, my arm dropped limply.

His expression turned colder.

“Fine. You like pretending? Keep at it.”

He pulled out his phone and, right in front of me, removed my hosting permissions from the Campus Activities Board group chat.

“You’re off the stage tonight.”

“When you learn to respect people, we’ll talk about whether you stay on the board.”

I floated in the air, suddenly remembering sophomore year.

My first time hosting, I was so nervous I was shaking backstage.

Nolan held my hand while Chloe stood by, and walked me through the script over and over.

That day he told me.”Avery, from now on, every show you do, I’ll be in the front row.”

“Anyone gives you trouble, I’ll be the first one to step up.”

And now he really was the first one to step up.

Just to punish me.

The curtain opened again.

Chloe, the stage makeup artist, ran in with her kit.

“Why is Avery still here? We need to strike the guillotine.”

She took my hand, and her face changed instantly.

“Avery? Oh my God, why are your hands so cold?”

Chloe reached immediately for my veil.

Sienna rushed to block her.

“Don’t touch! It took me two hours to get this look right!”

“Look?” Chloe glared at her. “She’s not responding at all!”

Nolan shrugged it off. “She’s just sulking.”

“Move! Something’s clearly wrong with Avery, we need to—”

“Enough!”

Nolan shouted, yanking Chloe back, then pointed at me.

“Avery, you’ve got Chloe playing along now? How long are you going to keep this up?”

“You just want to force me into giving in, don’t you? Dream on!”

“Last chance. Get up before 8:10 and apologize to Sienna.”

“Otherwise? We’re done.”

Outside the auditorium, someone shouted.

“Nolan! The lights are messed up, get over here!”

Nolan stood and grabbed Chloe’s wrist, pulling her toward the exit.

“We need to get ready. Let her think about it here.”

Chloe looked back at me several times, but in the end, she was led away.

The curtain slowly closed in front of me.

Five minutes to showtime.