Hera sat comfortably in front of their vanity mirror, legs spread and head tilted in awe at the pure art they had just created in the mirror. Their skin gleamed red, like flames, and the restaurant logos that amplify your apetite, begging for just one taste of all they had to offer. Today, they were the devil. A fallen angel from heaven above, lost, confused, unlike the rest. Not accepted by those who claim to be saints. They dress in white to symbolize purity, but Hera’s strong legs glimmer a color that represents maturity. Knowing a different version of heaven, and therefore choosing hell. A world where sweet lies do not exist, and you learn to savor the bitter truth. Tonight, Hera wore the two horns that help them ram their way through life with pride.
Their sister, Sammy, who also body painted with Hera to become an alien, finished up her final touches behind them, then looked at Hera through the mirror for approval to leave. They nodded, standing up and walking out, around the circular hallway and then down the stairs and through the living room to exit the home. “Bye moms!!” The two exclaimed, recieving their farewells and then walking out the door and down the driveway to get into the car. Yes, the two of them were headed for a haunted home. Scared? Maybe. Would they conquer it anyway? Yes. A couple ghouls ain’t got nothin on Hera Zhou.
Shutting the door behind them, getting into the car alone, Hera leaned their head against the window pane, staring at the blurring landscape as they drove off. Sam sat in the front like she always does, so she can make small talk with the driver and such. Today the guy seemed fairly nice, he offered her gum and he and Sammy were already laughing together. She was probably explaining the costumes to him and such, he teased them about being a little devil, which they laughed at, but didn’t say anything else. They were always a little bit more on the introverted side, only talking when they need to. There were a few exceptions, like beautiful women who stood alone and unapproached, or that one joke in class that they simply have to let rip. But truly, as a person they were quite serene. Without the mental illness they would surely be so boring, Hera admits it themself.
Eventually, they received a message. Groups for the haunted house. Please be something useful, please be something useful, please be something helpful they thought. Having a good time with their friends was always nice, but so was potentially meeting a new business partner. Relationship strengthening isn’t Hera’s favorite activity… it usually exhausts them talking about their feelings. She has so many of them, she wouldn’t know where to start. She just values it when she has everything she needs on a physical level. Shelter, money, sex. Sure emotions were endearing. But they are never as certain as the physical world. Hera could not tell you that they don’t believe in anything they can’t see, that would be the lie of all lies, but damn did they trust it much more. Their guides always got mad at them for that. Toughen up and trust they say. Hera knows that they should.
Apparently, so did the universe. The text read that she got into a group with Maxon, Phoebe, and surprisingly, the worst was AJ. Oh Adlai James, such a sweet, clueless man. Over a month ago, now, they had done it again. The alchohol burned their throats until they had nothing to give into but a false lust. Sober, neither would dare try anything other than platonic with the other. Or so they think. Lately, the days without him feel longer, and his face haunts her mind like the ghosts they’re all supposed to see at the mansion. Though, truly, Hera was already one of them. A restless soul that remained unseen by who mattered most. James did not recall any of that night past a few drinks into their conversation. Hera could have asked whether or not the man remembered, but it wouldn’t really matter anyway. He seemed to remain on track with his pursuits of romance, and he was unbothered by everything regardless.
Sh!t. They read the message again. God damn it, phoebe and maxon are gonna be there. They cursed in their head. You know, by the end of the night they might actually be the monster they dressed as because this quartet was not meant for the weak. Hera didn’t particularly like Phoebe, you know, trying to steal her bestie and all. They were really jealous, and part of them would always be, but they decided that tonight they were gonna try and put it all behind them. Or at least act like it was so it’d go by faster. They were allowed to feel the way that they felt, however acting upon it would be childish. The girl never did anything inherently wrong. She just wanted a friend. I mean not really, and she was still kind of a b!tch for looking in the direction of their friend but whatever.
Ugh and then there was our guy maxon. He and Hera are good friends but A said that Phoebe girl doesn’t like him. I mean, she has good reason, he’s kind of a little sh!t but now Hera’s gonna have to watch them interact with eachother. Max isn’t a complete d0uche though, Hera didn’t expect any less then him acting appropriately. To be honest, Ra felt kinda bad for the little south african girl. He and Ricky’s bets are embarassing sometimes. They’re used to it though, since most of their friends are guys. You just play dumb and pretend you don’t know them for a minute, talk to them about wtf they just did in private, and move on. They were handfuls, but as someone who’s been through stuff themselves, Ricky will get over it all soon. He’s reacting to everything emotionally right now, but he’ll man up. Hera has faith in him. They love eachother after all. Maxon was just a little sh!t, but human.
They arrived at the house later, it was grand, and a shiny kind of dark. The vibes about it were just so off though. Even Hera could sense it. Usually that was more her sister’s kind of thing but this place was far from friendly. “Here we go, I guess” They shrugged, tracing a little witch symbol over their hand for safety before walking in and exploring the haunted hallways with Sammy, searching for their assigned groups. Quicker than they thought, Garmie and Hera saw Xavier, “Good Luck!” Hera flashed a smile, hoping Sammy would get gone before the girl pouted at them. “Oh, come on” they sighed, opening their arms in preparation for Sam’s embrace. It felt like she was squeezing the air out of them from the anxiety before Hera huffed, “Alright, that’s enough” And Sammy smiled sweetly. “You’ll be okay” Hera mouthed as Sam left with Xavier and they continued on their merry way.
Sooner rather than later, they saw AJ dressed as a greek god. Oh, how fitting. They don’t even exist in the same universe, at least not anymore, and even then they are opposites. He seemed so perfect, and they felt so wretched. “Hey Addy” they smirked, pretending everything was fine. By now it was involuntary almost, they’ve done this all their lives so the therapist would leave them alone. Performing for somebody she knew through and through was a piece of cake. “I would say nice costume, but today I’m not really f%cking with that divine rule sh!t.” They gestured at their own costume. “I make my own.” She winked the way she always does with people. Her friends tell her it comes off flirty but they don’t care. Maybe they should with Adlai, but that would be suspicious of her not to act like her usual self with him. Then he’d definitely suspect of something fishy.
@benitz786 enrique mentioned
@angelic maxon mentioned
@astxrism phoebe mentioned
