Preeta and I were currently in front of our dressers, getting ready for the halloween party. While I dressed up as maleficent, Preeta truly dressed up as an ifrit.

     "How do I look?" she asked, turning around. I took in the black floor length gown she was clad in. Two magnificent wings sprouted out from her back. They looked so real that I had to remind myself I was there when she put them on.

     "You look...well, like an ifrit." I shrugged. Preeta chuckled and said that was the whole point, to look like an ifrit. I looked beautiful in my maleficent costume and I didn't need to ask Preeta for her opinion.

     When we stepped out of the huge doors of the hostel, Aashiq was leaning against a black car.

     "Hey, Aisha." he said. I couldn't deny what the way he pronounced my name did to me. A full swarm of butterflies were fluttering around my belly and I had to keep myself as composed as possible.

     "Hey, Aashiq." I replied in a low voice. Preeta rolled her eyes and pulled the front door open. I stood awkwardly in front of Aashiq, letting his eyes trail up and down my body.

     "You look...magnificent even though you're dressed up as maleficent." he tried to joke. Even though it wasn't funny, I found it funny and giggled way too loudly, earning another eye roll from Preeta.

     "You guys should get in already."

     I got into the backseat and watched Aashiq take the driver's seat. I took the time to subtly check him out through the mirror. His hair was dyed a light orange colour, almost brown. His face was painted white with black eyeshadow covering his lids and under-eyes. Two red lines were drawn from the sides of his mouth up to the top of his brows. He smiled at me and I took the opportunity to stare at his teeth. They were painted a deep red, almost black.

     He was clad in a white dress and pants, with red buttons holding the dress together. On the dashboard lay a fully blown red balloon. I didn't take the time to study his features outside, and it was sort of dark, that was why I didn't realize earlier that he was dressed as Pennywise.

     Even though Pennywise was a big bully and a fucking clown, I still loved him. IT would definitely have been a horrible movie if Pennywise wasn't in it.

     "I love Pennywise." I blurted. Preeta raised a brow and I blushed furiously.

     "I love the movie, IT. Pennywise was my favorite character. That's what I meant." I quickly said.

     Aashiq grinned through the mirror and winked at me, then said, "I love maleficent."

     I was literally flipping inside when he said that. Preeta rolled her eyes yet again.

     "Please if you're attracted to each other, keep it on a low. I'm not about to watch my brother and friend tear at each other in the car."

     Preeta successfully made me more embarrassed than I already was. Aashiq on the other hand had a shit-eating grin on his face. We arrived at the Faculty of Witchcraft and Shamanism in no time. I hurriedly got down from the car and made to leave when Preeta stopped me.

     "You know I was kidding right? It's totally fine if you guys like each other."

     I gave her a small smile and walked in with her. Her huge wings made it difficult for us to go into the hall together so I waited behind for her to go in first.

     The faculty was decorated in a way that we didn't only have to use the hall. The entire faculty had weird stuff and paintings on every wall and tree. When I stepped into the hall after Preeta, I was met with a nun smiling at me. She held a lamp up to her face and grinned. "Welcome to the party!"

     Aashiq walked in behind me and took my hand in his. "Want to try some drinks?"

     I nodded shyly and let him lead me to the make-shift bar. After getting our drinks, we walked out of the building to his car, leaving Preeta behind.

     He sat on the hood while I stood there, sipping slowly on my drink.

     "You look beautiful." he said softly. I found myself smiling stupidly at him.

     Then boom! His balloon exploded in my face. "We all float." He grinned a grin that looked just like Pennywise's. For a split second, I felt my heart leave my chest.

     "What was that for?" I slapped him lightly on the chest, earning a chuckle from him.

     "You needed to see the look on your face." Now he was full on laughing at me.

     "You're so mean." I pouted, but couldn't stop the smile that grew on my face.

     "Admit it, it was fun." I nodded and he jumped down from the car's hood.

     "Let's see what they have behind." He took my hand in his again and led me to the back of the building.

     "Ewwww." I scrunched up my face in disgust at the scene in front of me.  Someone who was supposedly dress as Peter Pan was making out with Minnie mouse. They had succeeded in ruining my childhood.

     "What?" Aashiq laughed. I ignored him and looked away from the two people.

     "Can we go somewhere else?" I asked him. He nodded. Just as we were about to turn the corner that led to the hall, a big black raven landed on the ground, moaning in pain.

     "What the-" I held my palm to my mouth. Aashiq shrugged like it was normal to see ravens land in your way everyday.

     "Come on, it's just a bird." He picked it up and inspected it.

     "Looks just fine." he said.

     I moved away from him. "Put that away Aashiq." I said.

     "Looks delicious." He grinned like the clown that he was and opened his mouth wide. My eyeballs nearly fell out of their sockets. Just like Pennywise, he had sharp teeth. He ripped the head of the crow with his teeth and nodded in approval.

     "Yummy." I couldn't watch the sick scene in front of me. There was seriously something wrong with Aashiq and no, it wasn't my mind playing games with me. I turned back to run away but stopped when Preeta suddenly appeared in front of me. Her huge wings glowed in the dark. The smile on her face was sinister.

     "Happy Halloween, Aisha."