I Am Delusional But I Am Free

Daya had never sent in a self tape, in fact she didn’t even really know if she actually knew what a self tape was. But, all she knew was that she needed to send one in to scare people for two months straight. Not that scaring strangers was a particular passion of hers. But, a job was a job, and this job would give her free entry to Paradise Isle for the entire season.

So, there she was, attempting to construct a makeshift tripod out of a large Amazon box, and precariously stacked textbooks. She carefully set her phone on the book stand before taking a step in front of it. 

Name. Height. Favorite Halloween costume. Easy.

“Hi…” Daya began. 

Just before she continued, she saw the books slide before knocking her phone off of the box.

“Fuck… Okay, let’s try that again.” 

Daya tried to even out the bookstack, and once the stack looked slightly more stable, she tried again. 

Take two.

“Hi, my name is Daya and…” 

Suddenly she forgot every word in the English language.

“Fuck.” 

Take three.

“Hi, I’m Daya. I’m six feet, yes, actually, and my favorite Halloween costume… Fuck.” She realized she hadn’t given the prompt any thought. 

Take four.

“Hi! My name is Daya, and I’m six feet tall, yes actually. My favorite Halloween costume I ever did was this one time, me and my friends all picked different classic slashers and bedazzled their masks. I truthfully know nothing about horror, but we looked really cool!” 

Daya bit her lip, still unhappy at how overly enthusiastic she sounded. 

Take five. 

“Hi, my name is Daya, and I’m six feet tall. My favorite Halloween costume was  a group costume, actually that me and some friends did a few years back. We all picked different slashers and bedazzled the masks and our entire outfits. If you’re wondering, we did win the costume contest, and I was the best looking and the tallest Ghostface that night.” 

Perfect , she thought as she uploaded the unlisted video to Youtube. 

In Daya’s world, there was only a short list of activities that immediately sent her into a sense of complete dread. Unfortunately for her, starting a new job was at the top of the list. It was unnecessarily embarrassing and vulnerable for no reason. 

Since unlike almost everyone else she knew, Daya had never worked at Paradise Isle as a teenager, meaning she had no idea where she was going. Despite her best efforts, she couldn't hide the confusion on her face. Never would she assume that the back of an amusement park would be so confusing, but every building looked the same, and she only had an extremely unhelpful map at her disposal. There were others walking in the same general direction, so she decided her best bet would be to follow at a safe distance, and hope for the love of God that they were all headed to the same place. 

A woman with a kind smile walked up behind Daya, trying her best to match her pace. “You look lost.” 

“It’s that obvious?” 

“Baby, you’ve never worked here before, have you?” 

“Again, that obvious?” 

She smiled. “I’m Kerri.” 

“Daya.”

“Where are you headed? I wanna make sure you end up in the right place.” 

“Building 17.”

“That’s where I’m going. Perfect, we’ll walk together.” 

“Have you worked here before?” 

“Yes, but thankfully not over the summers. I heard they’re so much worse than Hauntfest.”

“Oh, for sure. My cousin, Crystal, worked here for a few summers. It sounded like hell.” 

“I've heard plenty of stories. This is my second Hauntfest." 

“What were you in last year?” 

“Welcome to Hell. Did you come last year?” 

Daya shook her head. “I got food poisoning the night I was supposed to go.” 

“Well, the street definitely had a bit of a… reputation. Lots of parents didn’t like how most of us were half naked, and they really didn’t like the hot demon woman who was pole dancing and making very suggestive motions at all of the dads.”

“Sounds like I missed a great time.” 

The women continued walking together as Kerri told more stories from the previous year. Daya was nervous, but it looked like she’d already made a friend. 

Kerri pointed to the door on a trailer with a crudely spray painted 17 on the above the door. “Right here. After you.” 

Daya took a deep breath, resting her hand on the door momentarily.

“Don’t be nervous. I don’t know who else is gonna be behind that door, but everyone just really loves Halloween. Everyone’s super nice, I promise.” 

“Starting new jobs is just so embarrassing!” 

“We’ll all be nervous together. It’s new for all of us,” Kerri said once Daya finally gathered the courage to open the door. 

There were about fifteen other people already inside, most of them appearing to know each other as they excitedly chatted away. 

Kerri’s eyes lit up as she waved at two people who were in the back corner of the room. 

Metal chairs lined the center of the room where a few people who clearly didn’t know anyone sat, and as Daya went to join them, Kerri put her hand on her shoulder. 

“Nope. Come be social with me.” 

Kerri offered her hand, leading her to her friends. “Hi! So this is Daya. Daya, this is Angie and this is Willow. We were all in Welcome to Hell last year.”

“How’s your mom Kerri?” Willow asked. “Nice to meet you, Daya.” 

Kerri rolled her eyes. “I’m ignoring you.”

"What? Your mom's a nice lady! A really hot nice lady."

"Willow, shut up."

“You do have a hot mom, though,” Angie muttered. “Who do we hope is in the cast?”

“I’d love for Deja to come back. But miss ma’am was picked to do media." Before Daya could ask, Kerri explained, “That means she gets to make way more money doing way less work. She gets to do all the commercials and shit.”

“Kerri, you never answered. How's your mom? And how's Anetra?" 

“Willow, please, shut up about my mom and her girlfriend. Do we mean realistically, or who’s gonna bring the drama?” 

Angie paused. “Both, I guess?” 

Willow gasped. “Oh fuck. Imagine if Jasmine and Bosco end up here.” 

“Don’t you put that evil into the world,” Kerri warned. “At least she can pretend that she feels civil toward them.”  

“Can she though?” Angie muttered. 

Everyone looked up as the door swung open, and immediately the entire group looked away as a confident looking redhead stood in the doorway. 

“Oh my fucking God,” Willow whispered. 

“Ask for the devil and the devil shall appear or whatever the phrase is.” 

“Oh my God, hi guys!” Jasmine exclaimed from across the room, making a beeline toward the group. 

Angie offered a small wave. “Hey, girl.” 

“Oh my God, it’s so exciting that we’re all in the street together again. It was so much fun last year. I’m just hoping you-know-who isn’t cast in the street, I think I’d run in the other direction if I had to see them, not actually though of course. I maintain the civility. I’m not the type of girl to be messy.” Jasmine turned her attention to Daya before offering her hand and saying too sweetly, “Hi, I’m Jasmine.” 

“Daya.” Jasmine’s handshake was much more aggressive than she’d expected. “Nice to meet you.”

“First year haunting?” Jasmine asked in a tone that Daya couldn’t help but feel was condescending. 

“Yep. First year.” 

“Well, it’s tons of fun and everyone here’s super nice.”

Before Daya could respond, the door opened once more, and she locked eyes with the last person she thought she’d see. 

“Crystal?”

“Daya?”

She nearly plowed her cousin over with a hug. “It’s so good to see you.” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“I needed a job post grad, so I applied here,” Daya said. “What are you doing here? I thought you were in LA with Gigi. Also, sorry, my Master’s took fucking everything out of me, and I was a hermit with no social life for two years straight."

“No, no worries. Well, I guess surprise, I’m your stage manager. To answer your question, we moved back last year. I’ve just been so busy I’ve been completely MIA.”

“You know her?” Jasmine asked. 

“Crystal’s my cousin.” 

“Did you do this on purpose by casting her?”  

“Honestly, Jasmine? I had no idea she was even going to be here. I didn’t look at my list of names, since I requested all the Welcome to Hell haunters who came back this year.” 

“All of us?” 

Crystal pursed her lips. “Is that going to be an issue?” 

“Nope, no issue.” 

“Glad to hear it. You guys should sit, we’re starting soon.” 

A few stragglers made their way into the trailer before the meeting was supposed to start. Daya particularly noticed a small redhead with curly hair. She looked familiar, but as hard as she racked her brain, she couldn’t place where she'd seen the woman before. 

“Okay everyone,” Crystal began as she counted the amount of bodies in the room. “Looks like someone is late. But we’ll get started anyway.” 

“Wonder who?” Angie muttered, as her friend group started laughing quietly. 

“I’m glad to see a lot of your smiling faces from last year, and to all the new faces, hi, my name is Crystal, and I’m your stage manager this year. I’m sure you’re all itching to know what the theme is going to be—”

Someone attempted to open the door quietly, but in the process of attempting to be inconspicuous, made the door creak loudly on its hinges, distracting enough that everyone in the room turned around to a very flustered woman, hair in a messy bun with jeans covered in mud. 

“Nice of you to join us, Bosco!” Crystal said enthusiastically. 

“So sorry I’m late.”

Daya noticed Kerri, Angie, and Willow called them over. 

She glanced in Daya’s direction, who gave a small smile. 

“Hi guys,” they whispered. “I smell like horse afterbirth, I’m so sorry.” 

Daya was pretty sure she’d misheard whatever they said. 

Crystal looked in the group's direction. “I’ll wait.” 

“Sorry, ma’am,” Bosco said, avoiding eye contact.

“I’ve always wanted to say that while addressing a group of people. I’m just fucking with you. I don’t care. Unfortunately, as per the park, I have to read this slideshow to you verbatim. It's about being a new hire and the park’s values and whatever.” 

Crystal did her best to make material interesting, but it was impossible to make information about fire alarms interesting. It felt like an hour had gone by, despite it being barely fifteen minutes before she finished. “Next, I have a friend from Legal to talk to all of you.”

Right on cue, a woman in a smart pantsuit walked through the door. 

“Hello,” the woman said. “I’m Jaida, and I’m from Legal. I’ve got some paperwork for y'all to sign. Essentially, it’s saying you won’t sue the park when, I mean, if someone tries to hit, kick, grab, spit, what have you during the season.”

Her new friends stifled laughs as they saw Daya’s terrified facial expression.  

“But!” Crystal began. “Don’t worry! If they fuck with you, I’m on the street with you, so are a bunch of other attendants. Come to any of us, point out who’s giving you issues, and we’ll make sure they never see the inside of this park again. And I mean anything. If you ever feel the least bit uncomfortable with something a guest is doing or behaving, please let us know. Okay?” 

Jaida handed out thick packets of paper barely held together with a singular staple in the corner. Daya tried her hardest to skim some of the documents, but they felt like reading an IKEA manual. 

“It’s just saying you can’t sue anyone,” Willow whispered as they quickly signed, initialed, and dated all of the respective slots. “You aren’t consenting to actually being murdered, don't worry."

Daya looked up after signing the last line. “Aw, damn. I was really hoping.”

Jaida went around and collected all the paperwork, pausing when she saw Daya. “Wait, I know you. Crystal’s cousin? Daya, right?” 

“Yes! Oh my God, I knew I recognized you." 

Daya had one vague memory of Jaida, and that was her and Crystal being way too drunk at her high school graduation party. 

Jaida stood by the door, her hand on the handle. “Alright, well, I’ve got everything I need. Have a great season. Your street’s going to be amazing, I can just tell. I can’t wait to see what y’all come up with. See you in the streets.”

“So, I bet you’re wondering what the theme of our street is…” Crystal began as everyone murmured excitedly. "First let's talk location. We're in the Backlands. You already know the back of the park is where they put the good shit."  

The murmuring became full-volume conversations. 

“Our street is called Masquerade de Narcissisme, the Masquerade of Narcissism. You’re invited to the hottest, most exclusive event of the year, Masquerade de Narcissisme as an ‘honored guest.’ Just make sure to follow the hottest trend among the wealthy and elite by wearing human body parts. If you aren’t following the dress code, you’ll still be let in, or rather, parts of you will be. Beauty is pain, and the opulent garments have to be made somehow, after all.” 

“Oh fuck yeah,” Willow muttered. 

Crystal used the projector to show the concept art. 

“So, pretty straightforward. A lot of high fashion and gore. As far as costumes, I know they’re pretty revealing, so if you would be comfortable with being more covered, either send me an email or talk to me after this. The last thing I want for anyone is to be uncomfortable. Haunting is fun. It’s the most wonderful time of the year... Well, that's all I got. Thanks, everyone. Now go get drunk, but be safe, call Ubers. Okay? Wear something tomorrow you can move in. Oh, and, if you didn’t put your measurements on your application, come see me so I can take them and get them submitted for costuming. It’s going to be an amazing season, I can tell. Have fun, be safe, all!”

“Thanks, Mom,” Angie said.  

“What did she mean by ‘go get drunk?’” Daya asked.

“Oh, it's a customary tradition. Every year after orientation, we all get to know each other, or catch up with drinks at the bar just around the corner,” Kerri said. “Well. Some of us. Some of us have to be up really early for clinicals and horse girl duties.” 

Bosco grabbed her hand. “Kerri, it’s our last year. Live a little.” 

“I have to be up early, and so do you. You know you’re going to regret it.” 

“Hell yeah, I am. I’m not about to miss out on making memories.”

Kerri hesitated, looking at her friends. “Fuck it. I’ll stay an hour.” 

Angie walked over to the familiar redhead. “Hi, I’m Angeria, but you can call me Angie.”

“Camden,” she said in a melodic British accent. 

The second she heard the accent, immediately Daya remembered how she knew the girl. Sophomore year she’d gone to a frat party alone, and had gotten much drunker than she anticipated. She needed a beer pong partner, and Camden volunteered. 

One thing led to another, and Daya was doing a walk of shame clear across campus the next morning. 

“Oh my, I love that accent.”

Camden blushed. “Thank you.” 

“It’s nice to meet you Camden. Is it your first year haunting?” 

“Yeah, I desperately needed a job, and they didn’t need any more dancers for the stage show, so now I’m haunting.” 

“Well welcome, welcome. It’s tradition the night after orientation, we all go to the bar and get acquainted and reacquainted with the cast. You in?” Angie asked.

“Fuck it, why not.”

“So what’s your story, Camden?” Willow asked as everyone walked to their cars.

“Well, I moved here for ballet school, and unfortunately have been out of work for quite some time. Technically I’m still performing with this job at least.”

“I love the enthusiasm,” Angie said. “Let me get your number so I can text you the address of the bar.” 

“Give me your phone baby." Kerri held her hand out. "I’ll put my number in and text you the address."

Daya was the last to arrive and park at the bar. She saw everyone else standing by the front door watching as she walked through the parking lot, not noticing an SUV she accidentally cut off.

“Dumb bitch!” a voice from the driver’s seat screamed. 

Daya groaned as five faces, with expressions ranging from genuine concern to stifling laughter, were staring at her as she made her way toward the group. 

“Are you okay?” Willow asked. 

“I’m fine,” Daya mumbled, avoiding eye contact. 

The divebar looked like it was straight out of a movie. Various neon signs in the shape of beer logos buzzed on the walls. All of the furniture and decor looked to be pulled from the eighties. A dartboard and two pool tables were tucked in the back corner of the bar. All that was missing was the thick smoke of cigarettes in the air.

Upon arrival, there were screams of excitement as people ran to each other for hugs. 

“I’m standing next to you,” Camden said. “You don’t know anyone either.” 

“Sure don’t,” Daya said. 

“You look familiar.” 

“I do?” She sped to the bar hoping that Camden would leave her alone. “Must just have one of those faces.” 

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked. 

“Jack and Coke please.”

“Open or close it?” 

“Keep it open, please.” 

“Sex on the beach please? Keep it open,” Camden turned to Daya. “I swear I’ve seen your face somewhere before.” 

“I don’t know,” Daya muttered before standing next to Kerri, who was catching up with a girl who had to have been an entire foot shorter than she was. 

“Hey,” a voice said behind Daya.

She turned around and saw the only person she wasn’t introduced to, the girl who showed up late. 

“Daya, right?” 

She nodded. 

“Bosco. Nice to meet you. I’m so sorry I’m asking you the shit everyone else has probably asked you, but is this your first season?” 

“Yep, it was this or retail, and this sounded more fun than retail.” 

“Fair,” Bosco said, sitting on one of the stools, gesturing for Daya to take the one next to it. 

“How about you?” Daya sipped her drink as she took a look at Bosco who was attempting to flag down the bartender. “How many seasons have you done?”

“Hi, can I get a Coke, please?” 

“Is Pepsi okay?” 

“How will I ever live?” Bosco exclaimed overdramatically. “Yeah that’s fine.” 

Daya laughed. “I genuinely thought you gave a shit for a second.”

“God, I’m so glad you think I’m funny,” Bosco said as tapped the rim of her glass. “Damn I wanna do a shot.” 

“I’ll do a shot with you, fuck it.”

“I have to work at like seven in the morning, though. That’s why I’m not drinking.” 

“Didn’t you just say something about making memories earlier?”

Bosco smiled slowly. “You’re right. I did. Fuck it. One shot will be fine.” 

Daya waved the bartender over. “Two shots of Patrón, please.” 

“What’s your Venmo?” 

“Don’t worry about it,” Daya said as she watched the bartender pour the shots. 

She knew damn well she’d regret getting Patrón instead of whatever the bottom shelf shit was, but she decided she’d worry about it later.

The bartender placed the shots, lime slices, and a salt shaker in front of them. 

“Pass the salt,” Bosco said, licking the back of her hand.  

“Here,” Daya said after she poured salt on the back of her hand. 

Bosco raised her shot glass. “Cheers.” 

They touched their shot glasses together and slammed them against the bar before tossing back the shots. 

Immediately, Daya felt her face contort as she reached for a lime. She locked eyes with Bosco, who remained expressionless and calmly reached for a lime. 

Daya didn’t realize how intently she was staring until Bosco asked, “All good?” 

“I fear and respect you.” 

“I wanna play darts,” Bosco said suddenly. “Wanna play?” 

“I suck, but sure.” 

“Well, Daya, I don’t suck, and I’m not going to go easy on you, either,” Bosco took her hand as they passed through the crowded bar.

"Great! I'm so ready to lose." 

"I love the enthusiasm!" They took the darts off board before saying, “I never answered your question.” 

“What?” 

“You asked how many seasons I’ve done. I’ve done four summers. I was actually a lifeguard supervisor with Willow and Angie, and I’ve also done five Hauntfests,” Bosco said, maintaining focus on the dartboard as she aimed. 

“Damn, what other houses and streets were you in?” 

The dart landed in the middle of the bullseye. 

“Impressive.”

“Your turn.” 

Daya held the dart like how she saw in the movies in an attempt to aim, despite not knowing how or what she was supposed to be aiming at. 

“Why are you holding it like that? Interesting technique.” Bosco stood next to her.  

“I’ve played darts maybe twice ever.” 

“Here, let me show you,” Bosco put a hand on Daya’s hip and her arm and adjusted her body. 

Daya felt herself stop breathing. 

“Now throw it, but don’t move your body, and don’t angle your arm.” 

She twisted her arm as she threw the dart, causing it to not land anywhere near the board, landing pathetically onto the stained carpet. 

“You’re such a great listener!” 

“The best. And you never answered my question.”

“I was trying to help improve your dart technique, but clearly that was time wasted. First year, I had the pleasure of getting my leg cut off every night in the Saw knockoff. Second year I was one of Dracula’s brides. Third year was really fun, I was in a street for the first time. It was basically The Purge but not The Purge because copyright’s a bitch. Next year was a street that was a haunted cemetery, kind of boring, to be honest. But, last year was the fucking best,” Bosco said as she hit the bullseye again. 

“Welcome to Hell sounded incredible.”

“Sounded? You didn’t get to come?” 

“There was only one night I could have went, and I had the worst food poisoning of my life.” 

“Oh, shit.”

“Yeah, not great. What did you get to do?” 

“How much do you know about the street?” 

“Half naked demon lady pole dancing.” 

“Yeah, that about sums it up. Well, I was the half naked demon lady pole dancing. Well, the one in the A cast at least.” 

Daya threw a dart, managing to hit the very edge of the board. 

“You’re improving.” They passed her their phone. “That’s me.” 

She felt her jaw drop as she saw the photo— Bosco, hanging upside down, legs in a spread eagle on a pole in a black and red corset with horns and wings. 

“Damn, you’re hot.” 

“Thanks, now you know I don’t always look homeless.”

Daya handed Bosco their phone and a dart. 

“I wouldn’t say homeless…” Daya joked.

“Homelessness can be cute,” she said as she hit the bullseye once more. 

“It… Can?” 

“Your turn, diva. I’m sick of watching your abject failures. I’m going to make sure that you hit the center of that board if it kills me. Go stand up there.” Daya did as she was instructed as Bosco stood behind her. She grabbed Daya’s hip again, and kicked the back of her right foot. “Put that foot forward. Now you have to adjust your hips, keep them lined up with your shoulder,” she explained as she gently grazed her hand over Daya’s waist, sending a shiver up her spine. Bosco held Daya’s hand and placed the dart in it, before pulling her arm back. “Now just throw it.”

She did as instructed, and screamed when she realized that she'd hit the bullseye. 

“I did it!” 

“You did it.” 

Just then, she saw Jasmine begin to approach them. 

“You guys are getting to know each other well, but come on! Come be social,” she gestured widely to the bar where others were laughing and catching up.

Jasmine’s tone was loud enough that Angie and Camden, who were in the corner playing pool, looked up.

“Hi, Jasmine, how are you?” Bosco asked flatly before plopping on a bar stool. 

“You two are definitely getting familiar with each other,” Jasmine said before dramatically taking a sip of her vodka cran. 

“I was just showing Daya how to throw a dart.” 

“That’s what they all say.”

Daya raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?” 

“Oh I think you know.” 

“I… Don’t?”

Jasmine sighed dramatically, “I’m going to the bathroom.” 

Angie, Camden, and Willow came rushing over. 

“What in the fuck was that?” Willow hissed. 

“She’s insane,” Bosco said. “Truly.” 

“What’s happening?” Daya asked. 

“I’m gonna go hit my vape now,” Bosco announced. “I’ll be back.”

“She left on purpose,” Angie said. “She doesn’t vape anymore.” 

“Obviously,” Willow said.

Camden raised her hand. “What’s happening?” 

Angie cleared her throat. “Willow, Kerri, Bosco, Jasmine, and myself were all on the same street last year. Bosco, to put it bluntly, is a bit of a slut. Their words, not mine. One night, after a bonfire they hooked up, and swore up and down to everyone that it was a one time thing. Turns out they were fucking the entire season. As far as Bosco knew, they could sleep with whomever else they wanted to. But, Jasmine was convinced that they were exclusive. Last night of the season shit hit the fucking fan. Bosco laid it on the table, and Jasmine wasn’t happy, and claims that she was led on, and Jasmine actually left early.”

“No one knows what actually happened,” Willow continued. “Bosco claims that they talked about it being casual, but Jasmine didn’t listen. Jasmine claims Bosco agreed to be exclusive before sleeping with a bunch of other people. To this day, no one really knows who was correct. It was a lot of she said they said bullshit. Bosco is my best friend, and I still don’t know who was right. They don’t like talking about it.” 

“That entire night was so damn awkward.” Angie shook her head. “Thank God they were on opposite ends of the street.” 

“Hey, ladies!” Jasmine exclaimed, returning from the bathroom. “It’s so nice to be making new friends. Daya, Camden, I’m glad you’re here.” 

“Thanks for making us feel so welcome,” Camden said.

“Absolutely!” She turned to Daya. “You and Bosco sure seemed to hit it off.” 

“Yeah, she’s cool as fuck.”

“Yeah, well. Be careful with that one.”

Daya raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“She’s very charming, and she’s a fucking babe. I saw the way you looked at her. I can’t tell you what to do, you shouldn’t. But, you really shouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole, trust me, you don’t wanna go down that path.” 

“Jasmine, I can’t tell if you’re warning me or if you’re trying to intimidate me, either way it’s not working.”

“I’m just trying to help.” 

“I appreciate it,” Daya said sarcastically. “But I promise, I’m a grown ass adult. I can take care of myself and make my own decisions.” 

“Like I said. I’m just trying to help.

She smiled fakely. “Sure you are, sweetheart.” 

Jasmine glared and left a 20 dollar bill on the bar before taking her purse and leaving.

“See y’all tomorrow.”  

“That was…” Angie said the second Jasmine was out of earshot. 

“That was a lot,” Daya blinked slowly. “Damn.”

Willow glanced at the door. “Bosco’s back.” 

“All good?” Bosco asked. 

Angie nodded. “We good.” 

Bosco groaned. 

“Just let her get it out of her system. She’ll calm down in like a day,” Willow said. “It’s Jasmine. She gets fired up, she blows up, then she’s fine.” 

“I couldn’t care less either way. I just know she’s a shit stirrer.”

“And you aren’t?” Willow joked. 

“Well… See you tomorrow, Daya. Thank you for the shot. It was nice to meet you. You, too, Camden,” Bosco said. 

“Thanks for teaching me how to throw a dart.”

“Bye!” Camden said. 

“I give it a week,” Angie said once they were out of earshot. 

Willow shook her head. “A week? I give it two days.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“Y’all are gonna sleep together.” 

“What?” 

Camden bit her lip. “It did seem…” 

“No, she’s just cool you guys.” 

“Daya… How do I put this? Basically…” Angie trailed off. 

“You’re gonna hook up with at least one person this season. It just happens,” Willow said, glancing at Angie before they started laughing.

Camden gasped, clutching invisible pearls. “Oh, how scandalous!”

“It wasn’t like that, we were just blowing off some steam.” 

Angie nodded. “Amusement parks in general are a very horny environment by nature. Willow, Bosco, and I all worked as lifeguards together for four years. But, Hauntfest is that but worse. Everyone’s half naked and hot. Things happen.” 

“I don’t eat where I shit,” Daya said before turning to Willow and Angie. “But no offense, you do you.”

“None taken. But, that’s what they all say,” Willow said. “But hey, if it’s not your thing, it’s fine. But she’s hot as fuck and you know it.” 

Daya felt her face flush. “She’s really pretty, yes.” 

Angie raised an eyebrow before scrolling through her phone, before wordlessly passing it to Daya. “You’ll see why she won Haunter of the Year.” 

In that moment, Daya swore she was going to have an aneurysm, a major cardiac event, or both. The picture Bosco showed her did them no justice compared to a video. They weren’t only climbing the pole before spinning upside down, they also crawled on the stage seductively doing the ‘come here’ gesture. 

Fucking hell. 

Daya couldn’t speak as she handed Angie’s phone back. 

“Y’all are gonna fuck,” Angie muttered. “Is that really the worst thing?” 

“I mean, no, but we're not going to, so like... Anyway, I should head out!” Daya waved the bartender down. “Can I close my tab?” 

Camden put her jacket on. “Alright, well, I’m off, too.”

Willow held the door for everyone once tabs were paid. “What an interesting evening.” 

“Is that what we’re calling it?” Daya asked. 

“Don’t almost get hit by a car again,” Willow joked. 

“I’d actually love to get hit by a car right fucking now. Night, everyone!” 

“Nice to meet y’all!” Angie called, waving as she walked to her car.

“See you all tomorrow,” Willow said. “Nice meeting you, Daya and Camden!”

“Get home safe!” Daya called. 

“Thanks for inviting me out!” Camden called, staring at Daya once more before turning around.