Arrive at the party.

Lauren arrived at the party at the specified time. Johanna lived at the edge of the forest, near the forest's edge, in an old typical New England house that was recently renovated by Johanna when she moved in. Jack-o-Lanterns decorated the front porch, while the trees were covered in fake spider webbing.

Lauren stood frozen for a good 10 minutes in front of the house, with a note in her hand, working up her courage to go inside. Finally, she rallied her courage as she began to walk the cobblestone path to the house, up to the porch. This wasn't going to be a large and scandalous party, as neither Lauren nor Johanna nor their common friends enjoyed such endeavours. This was going to be a small, private party of maybe 23 people, all of whom knew each other on various degrees of acquaintance.

Finally, Lauren knocked on the door as her heart raced wildly. Johanna, dressed as a steampunk mechanic, greeted Lauren with a warm smile and a tight hug that put Lauren's mind to ease, if only for the moment, regarding the situation she was in.

"I'm so glad you came, Lauren. You really are a beautiful friend, you know?" said Johanna as she let go of Lauren. "Uuuuhhhh. Awesome costume! I especially like the stitches on your lips. Creepy yet tasteful." she continued as she inspected her friend.

Lauren, unable to mimic any facial expression due to her 'character', handed Johanna the note while holding her hand for a few seconds. Curious, yet perhaps a bit uneasy, Johanna began to read the note while giving the occasional intrigued look at Lauren.

"Hi. So, this is, I made this dare with a coworker who said that I never 'act the part' whenever I go to a costume party, so unfortunately, as part of the character I'm not allowed to show any emotion or talk at all. Also, if I tried to talk I would ruin the stitches that took literally hours to make, so I'm apologizing in advance and I hope I won't be too much of a boor."

"Uuuhhh, that's awesome. This is an awesome challenge, Lauren. I approve of it." Johanna said with excitement. "Come, come on in, this is going to be awesomeee!" she continued.

Relieved that her friend believed her excuse, Lauren followed Johanna inside. While walking behind her, Lauren noticed that Johanna's steampunk featured an oily scarf hanging from her back pocket, as daring thought began to form in her head. "Such a small and easily lost piece of clothing..." Lauren thought to herself, as excitement began to build up inside her.

"I have to go to attend to some guests. Feel free to wonder around." said Johanna to her friend. "And have fun!" she added. Lauren nodded.