Annie had a problem.
"What's your sign?"
Her mouth practically dropped at the question. It had to be the lamest line she had heard all night. Next to her at the bar, typing away on her phone, Breanne audibly scoffed, rolling her eyes and not even turning to look at the man who had dared to open with such a cliché.
But it was almost midnight on Saturday the 24th. The bar would be closing soon, and Annie just could not leave without finding someone to take to this year's Halloween Party. The pickings would be even slimmer tomorrow night, and she'd have no opportunity to go out hunting for a date the rest of the week. It was finally her turn, and she was absolutely not going to let it be ruined just because that stot of a boy she'd been putting the moves on for months decided to find someone else a week before the biggest event of the semester. Quickly tossing her dark red satiny hair off of her face, and holding back her frustrated sigh, Annie put on her best sorority smile and turned to see her next prospect.
"I'm a Sagittarius!" She practically shouted, putting as much fake cheer in her voice as she could muster after this disappointing night, clasping her hands in front of her to give an air of gleefulness. It made her feel pretty silly, but it was the only way she could respond to a line like that without sounding incredibly patronizing. The man stood there, a bit taken aback by her bright demeanor. Maybe even he knew what a terrible line that was, standing there in his loose-hanging, pale blue collared shirt. At least he seemed close to her age, unlike some of the men who had walked up to her earlier in the night. And where had she seen him before? That tightly cropped, feathery brown hair sparked something in her that was at once recognizable and a little upsetting.
"And what's yours?" she offered. If he wasn't going to get things moving, she would. He was kind of cute, at least.
"Well...I'm a Libra, that makes us totally compatible!"
Annie had seen this coming from miles away, but was still disappointed. "Really?" she asked, cocking her head, her false smile dropping for a second. "Oh what a charming coincidence!"
She clearly hadn't pulled that line off well, as his face quickly turned to nervousness. "No no, really I can prove it!" The man said, fumbling to the pocket of his light blue jeans. He pulled out a black leather flip wallet with a symbol embossed on the front. Annie recognized it as her school's crest. This guy might not be such a bad choice after all. Her shoulder length hair fell in front of her face again as she leaned forward to stare at the ID he pulled out.
"See here, it was just last week, October seventee-" He stopped. She was staring at his ID a lot more intently than he had expected. Her eyes had shot open and that smile from a few seconds ago was bursting back out.
Annie couldn't help the smile that came across her face. This. Would. Be. Perfect!
"Timothy...Ryan? From Poe Circle? Tim! Oh, Tim Ryan!" She practically leapt at him. He leaned back a bit, caught off guard by her sudden friendliness. He hadn't been expecting to have this beautiful girl in his arms so quickly, especially after the laughter at his table when his roommate had dared him to open with "What's your sign?" He thought he could just make out the incredulous shouts from his friends over the din of the bar.
"It's me! Annabel Whelan! Annie! From Rosemary Lane?" She practically squealed, pulling him out of his daze as she let go of him. He had a searching look in his eyes, as if he'd just been called on without having done the reading. Perfect.
"Oh....oh! Annie! Yeah! I haven't seen you since...since..."
"Since my family moved to the other side of the state when we were in middle school? That's me!" Per-fect! Annie punched him on the shoulder with a grin, surprisingly hard for how her arms looked under that black blouse. He couldn't help thinking how athletic she must be.
"Oh, I've certainly missed you! Look Breanne," she said, turning quickly to her friend at the bar. "It's Tim Ryan, from my neighborhood growing up!" Breanne turned to look at the boy, gave a curt, unimpressed nod, and went right back to her phone. "Gosh Tim, what brings you here?"
"I just transferred here this semester actually! They have a much better Pre-Med Biology program than the-"
"Bi-ol-o-gy huh?" Annie asked, pronouncing each syllable smoothly as she circled around behind him. He started to turn around to follow her but was stopped by her arms on his shoulders and her breasts pushed against his back. She had certainly filled out since middle school. Looked like he had lucked out on this dare! "I'm a neuropsych major," she said, "I bet we have LOTS to talk about..." she trailed off, caressing his collar as she spoke. Then suddenly she spun him around, "Are you free next weekend? My sorority is having the biggest Halloween bash around and I could use a date."
"Oh- I uh-" Tim stuttered a bit, momentarily flustered. Was she coming on too strong?
Over Annie's shoulder Tim could see his friends back at the table watching. Well, he didn't really have any plans for next weekend, did he? He was probably just going to sit in watching horror movies with his roommate like they'd spent half the month on already.
"-I think I'm up for that, Annie! " he finally pulled himself out of that nosedive of a response, "Where's your sorority at...?"
"Oh you're the best!" Annie shouted, pulling him close again. She was not letting him get away. "I'm one of the fiery Phi Rho Mu," accenting the the last syllable with a kissing motion.
"If you haven't seen our house, it'll be the one with the wall of pumpkins and giant bonfire. If they try to stop you at the door just tell them you're there for me..." Annie said, pausing surreptitiously, "...the party is invite only." She turned him around again, clasping his hands in hers.
"I appreciate the invite then," Tim offered, pulling a grin to his face.
"I am so glad I ran into an old familiar face. My last guy was all set- " she was cut short by Breanne clearing her throat loudly. Breanne had good ears.
"It's midnight Annie. I think it's time we left," she said sharply, standing up and turning to the door.
"Aha...I guess I'll see you Friday then," Annie said, not looking over to Breanne yet, "we can catch up more at the party." She leaned in quickly, and touched her lips to his. For someone caught so off-guard, Tim responded quite well to Annie's taste. He didn't push back aggressively, or try to slip his tongue in her, he just let their lips melt together briefly. She was eager to see how he would respond to more intimate treatment.
Seconds later Annie had turned, grabbed her purse off the bar, and practically skipped out the door. This night had worked out better than she had imagined.
Tim was feeling much the same, but a lot more confused. He did his best to compose himself, a little mystified by what had just occurred. He vaguely remembered an auburn-haired girl who had lived on another street in his neighborhood, but it had been at least eight years since he'd seen hide or hair of her. If he played his cards right he got the impression he'd be seeing a lot more than that next weekend, as this girl was clearly not one to waste time. Annie certainly had a clearer recollection of him than he did her, though what he'd done to deserve such an aggressively positive reaction he couldn't guess. Making his way back to his table with an unanticipated smile, and taste, on his lips, Tim was greeted with a chorus of incredulity.
"She confuse you with her boyfriend?" "How much did you tell her you were worth?" "You slip something in her drink while we weren't looking?" "Nah, I bet these two set that up beforehand, she's probably one of Neil's exes!"
"Alright guys, that's enough," Tim's roommate Neil cut them off. He was always good at corralling people. "Give Runt a break, this is a big occasion- his first catch on a new campus! Let's raise some glasses!" A resounding clink and some further laughter at Tim's expense. The way their encounter had gone it felt more like he was the catch.
Runt was a nickname that had followed Tim much of his life; ever since a substitute teacher in middle school had misread "Ryan, T." The name had caught on quickly among his peers, and had become firmly attached by the time he had met Neil in high school.
"Sorry to interrupt, Tim."
Tim jerked his head back to find Annie behind him, leaning over his left side, close enough to leave her dark red hair falling over his shoulder. Her piercing green eyes quickly had the attention of everyone at the table. She turned to Tim as soon as it was silent.
"I forgot to mention -- be sure to wear a costume to the party." Her eyes quickly darted around the table as she moved in closer to Tim's ear and said more softly, "The theme is -- The Animal Inside."
Closer still, he could feel her breath warm on his ear, and her hand gently squeezing his right shoulder. She whispered now, but still loud enough that everyone at the table could hear. "Make sure it's something easy to take off."
And with that Annie stood up, turned around, and sauntered out the door. Half the table wasn't sure what to think, and the other half couldn't contain their laughter at seeing Tim's reaction.
Annie didn't need to see it though. Things were back in her favor for the big day. She knew Runt would be the perfect choice.
***
Annie sat at her desk, reading over the book she had been given. It was late on Tuesday night, and there were still so many things she had to do to finish preparing for this Friday. The whole house had been a flurry of activity all month, and Annie had to have a hand in every part of it. Right now though, what she most needed was to memorize her speech and the rules that went with it. There weren't too many that she didn't already know, but every part was very specific, and if she got even word wrong...
"...through our coming trials and prevent that which would lead us astray. We ask you-"
Knock knock.
Annie was interrupted as, not waiting for a response, Breanne flung the door open.
"Good to see you're practicing, Annie," she stopped to pull the edge of her black dress off of the floor, covered in saw dust, discarded streamers, and pumpkin juice like so much of the house was this time of year. Since mid-October though, whenever Breanne was in the house she would wear thick, flowing black dresses, with dark hairpieces, as if she were in mourning. She never explained why, but no one there was going to question her. Annie used the break to stand up and face her, leaving the book on the desk. Annie felt much of her confidence waiver when Breanne was around. Even though they were close in age, talking to Breanne gave her the same feeling of worry as being called to a Professor's office the day after an exam.
